"I don't know your face no more,
Or feel the touch that I adore.
I don't know your face no more,
It's just a place I'm looking for.
We might as well be strangers in another town,
We might as well be living in another world,
We might as well,
We might as well,
We might as well.
I don't know your thoughts no more,
We're strangers in an empty space.
I don't understand your heart,
It's easier to be apart.
We might as well be strangers in another town,
We might as well be living in another time,
We might as well,
We might as well,
We might as well be strangers,
Strangers,
Strangers,
Strangers."
"We Might As Well Be Strangers"- Keane
The thin shaft of moonlight peeking through the slit in the curtains was the only light throughout Chloe's bedroom. She had been sharing this apartment with Maxwell Parker for a little under a month. She had insisted that they have separate bedrooms after she reluctantly agreed to live with him. Maxwell had been convincing to say the least. Nearly two months after her voluntary separation from Lex, she had, literally, run into Maxwell at the Daily Planet office. He had been kind and followed her around for a month before she agreed to have lunch with him. He was persistent and everyone pressured her to move on.
Chloe sighed, thinking once again of how she ended up where she was. She had let Clark and her father push her into a relationship she didn't want and certainly wasn't ready for. She let someone lead her life; something she vowed would never happen again.
She pushed back the silk bed coverings and gently slid her thin body out from beneath them. She pulled her feet back as they touched the cold, wood floor then set them down again. She crept slowly to her closet and pulled out comfortable clothes, slipping them on quietly with practiced ease. She opened her door and tiptoed out of the apartment and to the private garage.
Driving around in the early hours of the morning helped. Feeling the power of the car, it didn't matter what the car was, under her fingers made her want to go faster and be more daring. The lack of police at that time made her wishes easy to accomplish and she would speed around with no purpose, no general direction. However, every morning, she drove by Lex's building to look for lights or some sign that he was still hurting, still mourning her like she mourned him.
Seeing Lex on the street that day made her more determined than ever to find something wrong with him. He had no right to kiss that girl. She didn't know him. And she certainly didn't know how to make him feel. Chloe realized she was being hypocritical but, as she drove past the familiar setting for the fifth time that morning, she also realized that she didn't care. Lex was hers even if she had no formal claim to him anymore.
Chloe reentered Maxwell's apartment as the sun rose. That was something that always bothered her about Maxwell. He refused to allow his name to be shortened or changed in anyway. He said it was his name and no one should degrade it by changing it. Chloe only made the mistake once and found out that Maxwell did, indeed, have some violent tendencies. She rubbed her cheek in memory and winced as if she could still feel the slap. He made it up to her, of course, but the memory never died.
When Chloe emerged and hour later, showered and dressed appropriately, Maxwell was sitting at the island in the kitchen sipping his daily tea. That was another problem; Maxwell banned coffee in his house. It was all tea all the time which meant Chloe had to go elsewhere for coffee and, most mornings, she just wasn't up for it.
"Did you sleep well?" Maxwell asked in his condescending voice. Even if he never brought up her midnight trips, he certainly wasn't in the dark about them.
"It was fine." Chloe answered quietly, sitting herself next to him. She knew she was lying to everyone, including herself. She wasn't happy and leaving Lex was the worst thing she could have done for herself. She smiled softly at Maxwell but he was too engrossed in his morning paper to notice.
Chloe sighed into her tea. She decided she was going to be content with her life again. No matter what she had to change and which habits she had to, and wanted to, revert back to. She was going to get out of this pretty hellhole.