okay, Chapter 6.. sorry for the hiatus. will not be so long next time ;)
all i'm gonna say is..remember the clues. remember the easter eggs. remember Lilies. :)
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Author: Alison
Disclaimer: Characters belong to DC, WB, AlMiles, etc, etc, etc. I only own the story, so please don't take that away from me. The only thing I no longer own is my appendix. And maybe my nice attitude. Just ask the docs at the ER...or my cat.
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Chapter 6
She didn't know if she'd slept. Had she dreamed he was there with her?
She was barely awake when he slowly slid out of the bed on the other side and walked out of the room. She saw his silhouette in the morning sunlight as it filtered in through the windows. He walked out of the room, but she couldn't get up just then. She couldn't say anything.
What would she say? She was running out of words. She didn't know how much longer she could try to find the right thing to say or do.
She rolled over on her side towards the center of the bed and pulled her knees close to her chest. His scent was still there. She took a deep breath as her hand slowly reached up and grasped the pillow. She bit her lower lip as she closed her eyes and sighed.
Why was she like this? Was it just the events of this week? Was it what happened before between them?
She could feel it. The tears were there.
But why? Why did she want to cry? Because of him?
Sure, she cared for him. He was her best friend. Even though she'd never admit it out loud, part of her already knew her feelings.
But she held his hand. She even sang to him. She closed her eyes tighter at the thought and buried her head in the pillow.
What did he think of that? She probably made a fool of herself. He probably felt sorry for her.
But…then again…he did hold her hand. All night. He never left her side. Of course, she didn't leave him either. She couldn't.
She could see how much his father's death affected him. She knew how he was hurting. And for some reason, she felt she was the only one that could get through.
"Lois?"
Her eyes popped open.
Oh no.
There would be questions. She just knew it.
"What are you doing in Mrs. Kent's bed?"
See?
She rolled her eyes, took a deep breath and sat up, trying her best to avoid her cousin's investigative look, but to no avail.
Maybe this was what she needed. She hadn't really talked to Chloe since Mr. Kent's death. And Mrs. Kent was always telling her how much talking helps.
She placed her hand to her head, the headache already coming on. She spun her legs around and over the side of the bed as Chloe sat next to her.
"Hey, Chlo."
She hesitated. Maybe Chloe would forget the question she asked.
"Yeah, hey. Lois, what are you doing in Mrs. Kent's bed?"
Or not.
She sighed and closed her eyes, rubbing her temples as she tried to figure out how she was going to explain to her cousin what happened last night and how it must look this morning.
"It's nothing, Chloe. I just must've fallen asleep."
"In Mrs. Kent's bed? I thought you slept in Clark's bed when you stayed here?"
Why all the questions? Did it look that suspicious?
She sighed as she slipped her shoes on and pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
"I do, Chloe. But last night when I came over to check on Smallville, I found him in here. Just…sitting on the bed."
She trailed off as her thoughts drifted back to seeing him in the same spot she was now. She placed both hands on either side of her on the bed.
They hadn't even crawled in under the covers. They didn't even say another word to each other. She sang to him as he fell asleep. But she wasn't nervous, she wasn't freaked out. She didn't mind laying there in his parents' bed with him.
The thought that she wasn't freaked out about it did seem to freak her out. Why was she so comfortable with him?
"Well, his father's death had a huge impact on him, Lois."
"I know, Chloe." She paused. She didn't mean for it to sound as harsh as it did. "That's why I sat with him. We talked. That's all."
She hoped she wouldn't ask anything more.
"Right. Talked." Chloe paused, which was never a good thing. It meant she was thinking. Or deciding if she should hold back from what she really wanted to say. She heard her cousin take a breath. "So, then tell me this, Lois. Why do both pillows have indentations?"
Lois' head shot up at her cousin.
"What?" She turned to look at the two white pillows. Why did Chloe always have to be right? She stood and walked to Mrs. Kent's dresser, checking that her ponytail was straight in the mirror. "I don't know, Chloe. Maybe I rolled over to that side during the night."
There. Hopefully that would appease her cousin.
"Right. Sure, Lois." She paused again. "Are you sure you're okay? I mean, I know Clark's going through a lot right now, but this past week couldn't have been easy for you." Lois picked up Mrs. Kent's handheld antique mirror as she slowly turned to look at her cousin. "Am I right?"
Did she even have to ask?
It had been rough for her. But she didn't want to let anyone else know that. It wasn't about her. This wasn't her family. She'd just been thrown in the mix in this small town when she came to investigate Chloe's supposed death.
He'd been there for her in the beginning. He was there for her those few times she couldn't save herself. In her darkest hour, remembering her mother's death, he was still there. He might not have always understood her or what was going on, but he never left her. Even if he did, he still showed up later or surprised her when she least expected.
And his father…she loved his father. She missed him so much it literally hurt. But Smallville needed her more than she needed to grieve. She'd done enough of that recently anyway.
"No, Chloe. I mean, yeah." She shook her head as she looked in the mirror at her reflection. He was right. She really did look like her mother. She smiled weakly at the thought and laid the mirror on the dresser. "It's just…I don't know. I don't know what anything is anymore, Chlo. I thought things were…I don't know. I'm just…I'm not confused. I just don't know what it is." Chloe softly laughed. "I mean, I sang to him, Chloe. Sang to him."
"You what?" Oh crap. She didn't mean to. But that's what seemed to be at the forefront of her mind right then. "You sang to him? What did you sing? And more importantly, why?"
She sighed. She'd already told her that much. What could it hurt to tell her the rest?
After all, it's just Chloe.
"Moon River."
"You…what? But isn't that the song that--"
"Yeah. That's the one."
"Oh. Um. Wow. Okay. So, this is--"
"Yeah, it is, Chlo."
"So, what are you gonna do? I mean, what did he do?"
She smiled at remembering how he took her hand in his. He never said a word. But they both knew.
"He uh…he held my hand."
"Oh."
She wanted to talk about it, but at the same time, she just didn't want to dwell on it. After all, what if it was nothing?
Then again, it could be everything.
It would at least explain a lot.
She sighed.
She needed coffee.
"Yeah, but it's… Everything's okay, Chloe. Or it will be." She had a thought. "But what are you doing here? I thought you'd still be in Metropolis?"
Chloe rose off the bed and headed towards the door.
"I was, but I had to come to Smallville for something. Just thought I'd stop by and check in on Clark and his mom. See if they needed anything."
Lois nodded.
"Well I don't know about you, but I need some caffeine. Wanna go downstairs and grab some coffee?"
Chloe smiled as Lois walked towards her.
"Sure, but I can't stay long. I've gotta get back to Met U later."
"Okay, well you can catch me up on the latest big city gossip over a nice cup of joe."
Chloe laughed as she walked down the hall. Lois paused in the doorway of the bedroom, her hand on the doorframe. She looked back at the bed and the indentations in the pillows.
Her heart sank as she closed her eyes and sighed. She wanted to take away his pain. She knew the intensity of it. It was unbearable at times. She wasn't sure how she'd been able to do it alone as a kid.
It was then she realized maybe, just maybe, she might need him, too.
