Chapter 10 - Whispers

Clark couldn't stand to touch Earl for longer than a moment, so they left him on the catwalk, and Lex promised to let the SWAT team know to go pick him up.

For a moment, the air outside tasted sweet, as Lex exited the plant in one piece. But gratitude only lasted a moment.

Lex glanced around at the activity outside the plant—the few remaining teenagers and their parents, the police taking reports from the employees who had been taken hostage, the SWAT team packing up to go, the camera crews. And his father, right in the center of it all.

Lex breathed in to ask if Clark might want to catch up later, but before he could get the words out, Clark had raced off to meet his parents. Lex sighed. He knew it was coming, but that didn't make it less painful to abruptly lose his friend again.

Lex approached an officer to let him know where Earl was, then he confronted his father. He didn't bother with pretense. "You lied to me."

His father gave him an almost amused look. "No. No, I didn't. I said Level 3 wasn't on any plans. It wasn't. It's plausible deniability."

"What were you doing down there?" What secret could be worth my life?

"Doesn't matter. It was a failure. We closed the door and moved on."

"You almost got me killed."

"No, you almost got yourself killed. It was your call, remember?"

Lex had never been so livid in his life. He could feel his pulse in his fingers, in the whites of his eyes.

"Mr. Luthor!"

Reporters. Lex's dad muttered, "I'll handle this."

"Mr. Luthor, what can you tell us about Level 3?"

"I think you're referring to a redundant storage area at the base of the plant. Mr. Jenkins is a very sick man who desperately needs medical attention—"

There was Lex's chance. He could do something good, something his father would never do, and stick it to him at the same time. "That's why my father and I have pledged to find Mr. Jenkins the best medical care possible. He was a LuthorCorp employee, and here at LuthorCorp, we always put family first. Isn't that right, Dad?" He knew he was going to suffer for that one. He just didn't care.

A reporter asked, "Mr. Luthor, is it true that the government is trying to shut you down?"

"No, no, no. No more questions, please. My son has been through quite an ordeal today." With that, Lex's father pulled him into a hug.

Lex had known punishment was coming. He just couldn't have imagined that it would be like this.

There had been times of his life when Lex would have killed to feel his father's true embrace, but that's not what this was. This was torment. He had Lex pressed lightly against his chest, tauntingly close, but he patted his back just a little too hard and at uneven intervals, limbs stiff. Holding everything Lex desperately needed and wanted at the surface of his skin, but keeping it back.

Lex remembered the way his mother's arms around him had made him feel. Like her embrace was a whisper in his ear:

You are safe.

You are loved.

You are mine.

This embrace whispered something else entirely.

I could love you. But I don't. I never will.

I am repulsed by you.

You are worth nothing.

The fear and adrenaline of walking into the plant had been nothing. The pistol whipping had been bearable. The threats from Earl, no problem. This—this was true pain. Lex couldn't have imagined worse.

Then he spotted the Kents, maybe twenty feet away. Hugging and laughing, deep love and affection in their eyes. The knife in his heart twisted, and it was all Lex could do to hold back his tears.

Lex could have had a family like that. Parents and a little brother who loved him. Maybe his mother's health wouldn't have been so bad if not for the trauma of losing her younger son. If Lex hadn't killed Julian, maybe she'd be alive, too.

He deserved this pain. Deserved to be so alone.

That didn't mean he could stand it.

His father let him go after a bit, as soon as he was sure the reporters weren't watching. "See you at the mansion," he said before walking away, and Lex's eyes fell closed. That meant more punishment. Lex was torn between fear and indifference. The thought of any more pain on top of what he'd already experienced today was terrifying, but whatever his father had in mind, it couldn't be worse than what he'd already been through.

A light tap on the shoulder broke him out of his trance. He turned to find Clark.

"Hey. Glad you're alright." With that, Clark pulled him into a hug.

All of the pain Lex had been through that day paled in comparison with the joy of that moment.

The embrace was tight enough that Lex couldn't pull in a breath. Lex realized that Clark must actually have been holding back quite a bit, but he had still underestimated his strength, and his grip hurt. It was awkward—Clark had one arm over and one under, and his face pressed oddly against the side of Lex's head. It was also somehow both too long and too short at the same time.

But God, if it wasn't a real hug. It whispered something Lex hadn't heard in far too long.

You're my friend.

I care about you.

I'm glad you're safe.

Lex's eyes stung, and he blinked a few times as he let go. "I guess I have to thank you for saving me. Again."

"I should be thanking you."

Lex shook his head. "You were the real hero today."

"That's pretty self-centered, Lex. I only saved you and Earl. You saved, like, fifty people. Besides, I barely risked anything, but you would have died in there."

That wasn't technically false, though Lex was sure his father could think of another way to spin it.

Clark looked him right in the eyes. "Thank you for saving my friends."

Lex swallowed against the tightness in his throat. "Your dad going to be okay with you talking to me?"

Clark scoffed. "No. He didn't even really want me to come to the plant tonight. I'm probably getting the worst grounding of my life."

Lex nodded. He'd expected as much, but it was still hard to hear. "I guess this is good bye."

Clark's voice lowered. "No way. The minute he springs me, I'm coming over."

"Really?"

"I miss you way too much. I have so much to tell you about."

Lex's throat tightened as euphoria flooded through him. "I'll be sure to have Twizzlers around."

"I thought you hated them."

"I do. They're disgusting."

Clark grinned. "You're the best."

Lex returned the smile.

"See you soon, Lex."

"See you."

Lex watched Clark return to his parents. The look on Jonathan's face was far less than pleased, but if Clark could face his dad, Lex could face his own, whatever the night brought.

He wasn't alone. His best friend was coming back.