The silky white covers draped over her like a veil. The soft pillow cradled her delicate head as it absorbed the water that came from her eyes. The stream of light that came through the open window enveloped her and caused her to glow a soft, sad blue. Even as the room grew warmer, her small body continued to shiver. Wrapped in a bathrobe, Chloe Sullivan had her arms wrapped around her sore body, praying that her pacing friend would not X-ray the sheet to see how broken she really was.
She only let her eyes be uncovered by her white cloak of shame. She occasionally peeked around the spacious bedroom to peer at Clark Kent clad in the tight blue suit that the world now knew so well. He was either skimming through books on counseling rape victims or glancing back at his friend with a pitied look in his eyes. Chloe hated those looks. All she wanted to do was shout at the former farm boy to stop looking at her like she was a victim. However, she restrained herself, especially after all this man had done for her today.
Every now and then, her brunette cousin, Lois Lane, would come into the room asking Clark how she was. Chloe wanted to scream that she was fine and that she was not a helpless puppy, but she didn't want to lie. Besides, the affectionate touches that Clark and Lois sometimes shared were enough to sadden her into silence. It was the only way that she wouldn't cry. She couldn't cry. She had to stay strong. She was strong. She WAS strong. She was…not strong at all. How could she be strong? How could she even think she was strong? She was weak. She was as weak as all of the stupid women out there who let themselves get raped. This didn't happen to strong women. Her tough reporter image was a façade. It had to be.
Clark's sensitive ears picked up tiny whimpers in Chloe's voice that usually preceded her crying. He immediately dropped the book on the floor and slowly walked over to his friend's bedside.
"Chloe?" the man whispered as he got on one knee. He put his large hand on the bed and put it a few inches from where she lay in order to let her know he was reaching out without violating her. The girl's emerald eyes darted toward the hand to see if it came any closer, but it didn't. The only thing that moved was the glimmer that the soft light gave to his golden wedding band. That ring was the only thing that convinced Chloe that it was not his hand.
"S-Superman," Chloe said in a very tiny voice as her shivering continued.
"Chloe, call me Clark. We haven't been apart for that long," he said as a smile slowly grew across his face. "Are you ready to come out from under that sheet and talk?"
Chloe's eyes just looked down as she fought to keep back her tears. She knew from experience that if she let her emotions out in front of this man, he would never leave her alone.
Clark's smile went away as he let out a small sigh and retracted his hand.
"May I at least turn on the light?" he said as his hand began to rise toward the peach colored lamp on the bedside table.
As if by reflex, Chloe's eyes went wide and her arm shot out to grab her friend's wrist. Clark froze and looked back at her before glancing down to the bruised skin that was peeking out of the robe. Chloe noticed the direction in which his eyes were going and retracted just as quickly.
"Okay, no light," Clark laughed as he took a glass of lukewarm water from the table and blew ice breath on it to make it cold again. "Are you sure you don't want this? Your throat sounded dry."
"I'm not thirsty," the girl mumbled as she drew her body into the fetal position.
Clark was very happy that he was good at containing his emotions, because he would be visibly frustrated right now if that were not the case. A soft cough broke him from his thoughts and caused him to look toward the door and see his wife standing there with her hand over her cheek. She looked very drained as she jerked back her head to indicate that she wanted a word with her husband. Clark nodded in recognition of their unspoken language before putting the icy water back on the table and looking back at Chloe.
"I'll be right back, okay honey?" he whispered to the shivering blonde.
Chloe simply nodded as he smiled and got up from the bed before following Lois out the door.
As she watched the door softly close, she suddenly realized that the loneliness she had longed for had now come, and she wanted it to end. She needed people with her to keep her distracted, otherwise she would think of him. Or worse, she would fall asleep and dream about him. She wanted him out of her mind. She wanted what he did out of her mind. She just wanted her mind to be gone. She wanted to die. She couldn't live like this. She should not have come here. She should have just thrown herself off the Metropolis Bridge so that she could end this nightmare. She couldn't face tomorrow. She couldn't face the next five years. She couldn't face anything or anybody. Her mask was gone. Her former best friend now knew she was weak. Her cousin now knew she was weak. Soon everyone would know she was weak. She was a nobody. She was a tired nobody. No! She couldn't fall asleep. She couldn't fall asleep. She couldn't…fall…asleep.
Chloe's exhaustion finally got the best of her as her heavy eyelids slid over her pupils, thereby slipping her into the dark world of her dreams.