Chapter 10: Outside the Box
Chloe leaned back on the plush black leather seat, her eyes never leaving the group gathered around the brown casket being lowered into the ground. It felt kind of spooky. But still, she didn't feel any regret over the pain she was causing them.
Chloe had a hard time believing what she had done. 'Made a deal with a devil, I did.' Her internal voice sounded strangely like Eliza Dolittle, except her devil would never have a heart of gold beneath the cold exterior. Her friends stood out there, ranged around an empty grave. Lionel had made sure there wasn't an enough of her 'body' left at the accident site to fill a thimble.
Lionel had also insisted she remain in the limo during the funeral, he didn't want the whole charade blown by someone accidentally spotting her. He had set up some monitors around the grave so she could get a good view and hear what was said. Chloe had been rather insistent about viewing the funeral. She didn't pay much attention to the eulogy, it was the people here she wanted to watch.
For the longest time Lana stood ramrod strait, her eyes kept straying away from the grave, but something seemed to be spooking her and she started to cry. Chloe felt a stab of jealousy when Pete took her into his arms. They seemed so perfect together, her soft and fragile, him so strong and protective despite the tears that gathered in his eyes.
Chloe had always wanted that, but every time she got close to anyone things fell apart. She didn't see Pete until it was too late, Lex only wanted to use her for revenge, and Clark, well, he never really saw her as anything but a friend.
Her heart ached at the thought that she would never speak to them, never touch them again, but she still did not regret this. They had grown apart in the last year and without them there was nothing holding her to that life.
Tearing her thoughts away, Chloe turned her attention to Clark. She could see it in his face, the naked grief. After so many years with the young man she knew it wasn't that she died so much as the fact he did not save her. In the end Clark cared more about saving people than being a constant and true friend to any one person. Not that she blamed him. If Clark was good at one thing it was saving people.
A latecomer caught Chloe's eye. 'So the bastard decided to come.' Chloe felt a jolt of anger, similar to when she found out Lex had purchased her headstone. The man had no right to be here. He was the one who drove her to this, striking the last and deepest wound that led her to this point. In her mind he was the responsible for destroying her life.
Lionel on the other hand had been practically gleeful over his son's actions. "He still feels regret!" She could remember the excitement in the man's voice.
Chloe didn't care. Lex had screwed her and used her for nothing more than revenge on Clark, whom she was not even all that close to towards the end. 'I wonder if Clark even knows…no, he would never let Lex get that close if he did.'
Blinking, she noticed Clark looking directly into one of the monitors, as if he could see the tiny electronic bug. Then his gaze seemed wonder around until he was looking directly at her limo, despite the fact it was hidden behind bushes at a rather great distance from the grave. He seemed startled for a moment, and then his face fell as he turned back to grave.
'My imagination,' Chloe whispered to herself, 'it was my imagination. Clark can't see through the limo doors.'
'Really, he can't.'
Clark tried to distract himself. He didn't want to break down and sob in front of his friends and family. He had promised himself he would be strong for them. His eyes caught on a small bright object in the trees. At first he thought a magpie had a nest in there, but then he looked closer and saw it was a camera bug. 'Now why would anyone want to record this funeral?' He cut his eyes suspiciously towards Lex, but the man looked like he was truly grieving, though he had no idea why the man would care so much. Lex and Chloe had little or no association with each other as far has he knew. A suspician wavered at the edge of Clark's mind, then vanished as quickly as it came.
Glancing around using his x-ray vision Clark covertly scanned the outlying area. He almost gave up when he saw a limo hidden behind some bushes. There were two people, one looked like a male standing next to the car, the other female inside.
Shaking his head sharply Clark turned away, it was just his imagination. Some old rich woman was visiting a relative's grave, purely coincidental. He turned back to the funeral, firmly turning his thoughts back to those gathered around him and the empty casket.
The gravediggers had been long gone and twilight was settling over the graveyard. Chloe quietly opened the car door and headed for her first final resting-place. She glanced at the driver, but he acted more like a moving statue then a human being. If he was annoyed at staying in the graveyard for hours on end it didn't show.
Chloe sighed as she headed for the fresh grave with its pink headstone. He eyes flickered curiously to the inscription, eager to see what it read.
Chloe Sullivan
1987 - 2005
Beloved daughter and friend
Her life was cut short before any of her
dreams could come true.
Chloe snorted, not much of a memorial. Casually she threw a bundle of red roses down on the grave.
"Thanks for nineteen years, Chloe, though the last one really sucked." She giggled a bit, feeling silly giving herself a eulogy. "Despite your horrible death, I fear I cannot regret this since it gave me your life. Your friends will miss you, but it's for the best. Be happy Chloe, be happy in death since you couldn't be happy in life." It felt appropriate to say this to her empty grave. The feelings of regret and emptyness that had plaged her since the ...incident slowly melted away. 'A new life. A new name.' It felt like she had a new soul with those few simple words.
Chloe continued to stare at the grave until well after the moon had risen. A cricket landed on the headstone, startling her out of her contemplations.
The limo driver stood where she had left him, his tanned face still as granite. He opened the rear door for her to get in, asking no questions about their destination. Her new bags were packed and reservations made. The driver pulled through the gates and headed for the airport, leaving the graveyard behind empty and quiet.
Clark leaned back against the tree, his mind in shock. Chloe was alive. Chloe was alive and he couldn't bring himself to confront her.
All he had wanted to do was spend a last few moments alone at her grave before heading home. Seeing her standing at her own grave startled him enough when he landed that he did not confront her first off. Then her words came to him over a distance, filling him with shock. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine Chloe, sunny, happy Chloe could be so unhappy.
'She wanted us to believe she was dead.' Clark really could not understand why anyone, much less Chloe, would make their friends believe they were dead.
Clark's brow furled a little as his thoughts became more troubled. She allegedly had been driving from Smallville to college when the accident had occurred. His mother had seen her the day before. Apparently Chloe had come by to see him, though she never told his mother why. 'Mother said she came by early Friday, but the accident occurred on Saturday. What happened in a day that led to her fake death?'
Clark turned and headed towards town, his destination the local hotel. Though he didn't feel it was the right time to confront Chloe about her fake death, he couldn't resist making a few investigative inquiries. He dropped his speed down to a reasonable walk when he got to town, but it still only took a few minutes to reach the motel.
The clerk behind the desk was young, but had been only a year behind Clark.
"Hey, Clark. Heard about Chloe, man I'm really sorry."
Clark looked at the dark-haired skinny girl. "Thanks." He paused. "I was wondering if Chloe spent Friday night here. I wanted to put together an article for her, but I wasn't sure what she was doing the last few days."
Samantha, the clerk, nodded then pulled out the registry. "I only work on Saturday and Sunday." She flipped through. "No, she wasn't here on Friday, but she did stay here Thursday night." She paused, then added, "I heard she was at the Talon Friday afternoon with Lex Luther. My friend Angie was there and saw them leave together. Told me they looked real friendly."
Startled Clark leaned closer to Samantha. "With Lex? Are you sure?"
"Positive. Angie's always got a eye out for what's happening at the Talon, mostly cause she's the worst gossip, but she never tells a lie. Says the truth is more than interesting enough. Said Chloe came in alone and tortured a donut and coffee for a while, the Mr. Luther came in and sat with her. Angie said they left together in Mr. Luther's Spider, and Chloe was seen the next day being dropped off by a chauffeur at her car that had been left in front of the Talon all night.
Clark blinked at the slew of information, then thanked the girl and left, his thoughts dark.
Chloe quietly walked through the airport checkpoint. With each step she took she could feel her former life falling away.
A small smile twisted her face as she handed her ticket to the taker. The woman politely smiled at her. "We'll be seating first class in about 15 minutes, Ms. Quinzell. You can wait over there until we make the call."
Lex stared blindly at the colorful banners in the Talon. Perhaps he had gone too far with this last bit of revenge. He had not meant for the girl to die. Obviously she had been a bit more unstable than he expected. He did not think she even had time to tell Clark what had happened before dying, which made this whole charade pratically meaningless.
Absently he tapped his finger against his glass. He was actually feeling guilt over the death of Chloe. On the other hand Clark had looked really broken up over her death. The satisfaction it brought almost covered the feeling of guilt.
The bell rang quietly through the café. A shadow fell over Lex and looking up he stared into the face of Clark.
The young man pulled the chair out across from Lex. "I heard you left here with Chloe the day before she died." Clark gave Lex a hard stare.
Lex smirked. "So what if I did." Perfect.
"I want to know what you did to her. Mom said she came by to see me, the she comes here, leaves with you, and the next day she drives over a cliff. What did you do to Chloe Sullivan?"
"Clark, you're repeating yourself." Clark glared at him. "Yes, I met Chloe here, we talked, and we left together. I took her back to my house, we talked more, slept together, and then she left."
Clark's mouth dropped and his eyes grew wide. His fist clenched around his cup, shattering it. "You slept with Chloe?"
Lex grinned. "She didn't mind at the time. She wasn't that good though, no experience you know." He moved to leave, but Clark roughly grabbed his arm, forcing him to stay in the seat.
"Really Clark, you can't blame me. It was you who was not there for her when she needed someone. We had the longest talk that night. Did you know she was having a horrible time at school? Or that she felt abandoned by her friends?" Leaning forward Lex gripped Clark's hand. "She came here expecting you to save her and you weren't here. Some friend you are."
Clark wrenched his hand out of Lex's grip. "You bastard." He wanted nothing more than to bash Lex's face in. It took all his self-control to resist the temptation. Slowly Clark stood up. "Stay away from my friends, Lex. If I find out you've messed with any more of my friends, I won't be responsible for what I do to you."
"So I have a get out of jail free for messing with Chloe? Is the first one free or is it you just didn't care as much about her?"
Clark's eyes widened, "Do you not feel any regret for her death?"
Lex grinned. "All I did was sleep with her. One night stands happen every day, and people don't go driving over cliffs because of it. I feel no guilt because I was not the cause of her dispair. I was not her friend. I was not her confidant, I was not her savior." With each statement Clark flinched a little, giving Lex a jolt of glee.
"Whatever was wrong with the girl started a long time before I ever touched her. So if you're looking for someone to blame, look in a mirror, Clark." With that last statement Lex left the cafe. Clark could not find the energy to go after him. His words rang to true, and the guild felt to heavy.