CHAPTER 11

Lex wound his way through the hallways of Lexcorp, pressing his identification card into the scanner and walking past the opening metal doors. This entire day he had been on edge, feeling paranoid and out of sorts. He forced his anxiety into a back corner of his mind, refusing to let it interfere with the quality of his work. The night before had been bizarre. That, plus the puzzling note left on his pillow, was certainly cause enough to feel a little off note. He hadn't intended to take things with the Sullivan girl…Chloe… that far. He grimaced at memories of the evening. Of all the people in the world, it was most unfortunate that the witness to not only his violent loss of control but also his utter emotional vulnerability should be a woman he desperately needed something from. It was a small setback. Damage control would be implemented immediately. A twinge of leftover emotion pulled tight in his chest as he remembered Chloe's tear-stained face, his hands trapped in tangles of blonde hair, the smooth touch of her skin. Lex gasped for breath, fumbling with shaking hands to loosen his tie, trying to stave off the drowning feeling overcoming him. A few deep breaths allowed him to regain his composure. He smiled stiffly at a few employees down the hall, eying him strangely. This was unacceptable.

He twisted a key into an old-fashioned lock, the only one in the building, leading to his own private work office, and turned immediately to the bookshelves on the side wall. Reaching behind a particularly large hardcover, he froze in panic as his hand grasped nothing but air. Lex pulled out two other nearby books, only to throw them to the ground. His eyes flew open and he jumped backwards in shock as his desk chair spun around, revealing a blonde girl holding a manila file in her hands, breezing through it casually.

"Hiya Lex." She deadpanned. "Nice office." She raised an eyebrow over the folder she was holding.

Lex shook off his shock and allowed himself a tight smile. "How did you get in here, Miss Sullivan?"

"Oh, the mystical, magical ways of investigative reporting. Call it luck."

"How about we call it breaking and entering."

"Semantics." She frowned. "You should be more careful where you leave your planner."

Lex moved to stand awkwardly by the edge of the desk. He wasn't planning on dealing with this today, but he might as well do what he could with the situation.

"You left before we had a chance to talk."

Chloe's eyes narrowed. "We both said things we shouldn't have, and did things we shouldn't have, but what's done is done. We both got what we needed, right?" Chloe forced her voice steady and dry.

Lex sighed audibly in relief at the seemingly easy out. But something in him ached and he couldn't understand why. The memory of Chloe clinging to his body, arms wrapped around his waist so tight there was hardly a breath of space between them, flashed before his eyes. As upsetting and miserable as the argument had been, the evening had been unlike anything he had ever experienced. The girl now tapping her hand impatiently against the arm of his desk chair had actually needed him, relied on him like oxygen. And he had abused that.

"Lex, tell me you aren't making some fairy tale romance out of what was clearly nothing of the sort." She tried to harden her voice, but it came out wobbly with the strain.

The façade returned immediately. Lex flat lined his voice into paper-thin monotony. "Hardly. I simply regret what I put you through. Apologies don't seem like they could possibly be enough."

Chloe felt the return of his stony defense and tried to be happy. The emotional Lex from last night had been unpredictable, dangerous and strange. This was the Lex she knew how to deal with. This was business. And yet her voice remained thick with everything she couldn't say- regret, embarrassment, need. "I don't need diamond earrings." She said quietly.

Lex raised his eyes to look into hers. "I know."

"I'm sick of playing this." It wasn't until the words were out of her mouth that she realized how truly and deeply she meant them. Chloe's hands began to tremble violently, to the point where she had to lower them behind the desk. She was tired of crying and tired of fighting and tired of wasting her time. Her father was dying. And she wasn't prepared to let that happen.

Lex stared blankly at her, flashes of…something striking through. "I never meant to do this to you, Chloe."

"I'm not a Luthor." Chloe went on. "I don't do this. I don't want to. I'm exhausted. I haven't slept. I can't eat. I can't pay the price for beating you at your stupid games. I don't have the time to waste." She took a breath before continuing. "I know you have a lot to be afraid of. I understand that. You have no reason not to think every single person in the world is out to destroy you. You have no reason not to try to destroy them first."

Lex squeezed fistfuls of fabric from his pants in his hands, fighting the emotion he felt rising in his throat. She shouldn't have come here today. He needed a day to recoup, to recollect himself. She needed it too.

"Maybe we should discuss this later." He offered to Chloe, feeling weak and useless and hating it.

"No, we shouldn't. You have been out to wreck me for weeks. Do you think I don't have enough to deal with? You weren't trying to help, don't delude yourself. Your grand gestures are hot and cold. You offer to help me and then you hurt me. You get to play savior on an unfortunate rainy night and then you thoroughly fuck it up." Her voice lowered at the direct mentioning of their evening together. Lex's mouth twitched and it didn't escape her. "You're not a monster, Lex. You didn't need to break me. I was already broken."

Lex felt the room crumbling around him. Every last bit of resistance, every infinitesimal breath of strength, was sucked out of his body with her words. "I shouldn't have…I mean, I know I…Chloe." He spoke desperately.

"So fix it." She pushed the file towards him, sliding it across the desk. "It's not like you'd be without benefit. You need a test subject. My father needs to live."

Lex found himself unable to speak. This was exactly what he wanted. So why did it feel so sick, so entirely undeserved.

"Lex?"

"Why…why would you trust me?" His voice was so low it was almost a hum.

Chloe tilted her head to Lex and the sides of her mouth twisted so that he couldn't tell whether she was smiling or frowning. "I wasn't aware there was another choice."

Lex didn't appear to have anything to say, so Chloe continued. "Before you found the sample, the similar products your father used were temporary."

Lex nodded, still silent.

"But it's not like that anymore. It'll be a one time thing and it's done."

"Yes." Lex cleared his throat, rediscovering his voice. "It's a DNA mutation. It would be an intensive procedure. I don't know what the potential side effects could be."

'Super strength? Heat vision?' Chloe thought dully. "He'll be alive, right?"

"Chloe, I promise you I won't let anything else happen to him…or you. I won't hurt you again." Lex stood up sharply and took a step closer, getting down on his knees to bring his face to her level. "I promise."

Chloe looked directly into his eyes, felt a tug of emotion and realized it was pity. He really thought he meant the words he was saying. She bit the inside of her cheek when, as he stood up, he brushed a hand inconspicuously through the back of her hair.

"Lex? Don't make promises you can't keep."