Chapter 11

Taking a deep breath Clarke walked into her new apartment, it was just the right size for her and was only a 20-minute walk to campus. The campus where was taking criminal psychology. The rent was affordable on her own, she worked mornings, weekends and in between classes at the off-campus cafe. Coming home only to sleep, shower and change before going out again.

The dark circles under her eyes getting harder to hide with makeup and Clarke was becoming lazy with it. No one enrolled in her classes knew her before, therefore couldn't say if this looked wasn't due to constant studying that came with student life.

The people outside of school hadn't seen her in nearly two months, Clarke had thankfully been able to transfer and enroll immediately at a school just outside of her hometown. Some people like Finn and Octavia had tried to contact her, even Jasper and Monty gave it a try for the first month. Clarke wasn't even sure if they knew what really happened.

(FlashBack)

The box containing her father's head was immediately removed from Clarke's field of vision, Bellamy pulling her away and standing in front of her while the others moved fast.

Miller and one other guard took the box and drove off, leaving one guy behind to keep an eye on things. Meanwhile, Bellamy choked back his feelings getting a grip on himself, Clarke on the other hand was completely catatonic.

"Clarke." His words sounded to her like they were underwater.

Nothing felt real at that moment and even though it was Bellamy's chest in front of her just then, all Clarke could see was her father.

"Blake. It is best if we get back to base."

Bellamy nodded, he knew they had to get going. Someone had to have dropped that box off and most likely stuck around to watch the fallout. Clarke's legs seemed to move with Bellamy as he moved them toward the SUV, helping her inside he buckled her up. He would have sat in the back seat with her but he needed to be doing something.

The base had already been informed of the situation before they arrive, Bellamy pulled into the garage parking not paying attention to his surroundings. Before Bellamy had a chance to, one agent waiting in the garage already having opened Clarke's door. Bellamy moved around them to get to her, pulling her from the car. From there they walked together, Bellamy burst into the command base, angry to see Detective Miller was not in there.

"Where is detective Miller?" He demanded to know.

The two agents and the techs in the room, who'd been staring at the still not there Clarke turned to look at him.

"Want to tell me what I'm missing here?" Bellamy snapped, his girlfriend still tucked into his side the only thing slightly calming him.

One of the commanders stepped forward, "Agent Blake, Detective Miller is off base-" The softness of his voice bother Bellamy.

Bellamy looked on in disbelief, "He left base knowing we were coming with sensitive material."

"He left to look at her son." Bellamy's mind re-winded to five minutes ago when he pulled into the garage, he hadn't noticed that the vehicle his partner was driving hadn't returned. "Agent Miller and Jaxson's vehicle was tampered with, rigged with an explosive. The charge ignited 8.51 minutes into their drive."

Bellamy fell apart then, he motioned for Wick, the other agent who had gone to the cemetery with them. Without looking at them, he passed Clarke to him. Once Bellamy's hands were free he took off, ignoring the car he'd driven in and grabbed one of the motorcycles. He tore off the base, the gate open for him before he approached it.

It took him 12 minutes to reach the intersection where the explosion happened, but at 11 minutes Bellamy could smell the gasoline.

The days following the base had a funeral for Miller and Jaxson and the search for Jake Griffin was called off. Bellamy was swimming in grief and anger, he'd seen horrible things but they were always while he was at war in struggling counties. Never on his own soil.

Clarke had spent the days in a guest bunk room, she hadn't talked to anyone but the tech guy when he asked to borrow a laptop. She's started filling out applications and paperwork online, spending the rest of her time waiting for a response. Three days later, on a Friday the university emailed her back. The programs she'd applied for had a couple of spots to fill. The place to live is already taken care of.

By Saturday Bellamy was already deep into the investigation to find his partner's killer, while Clarke packed the few things she had at the base with her and left.

The psychiatrist on base had visited her on Wednesday and decided with the blonde, the best thing for her was to leave and get some semblance of a life back. The medical professional was the one who set everything up so Clarke could leave, with the insurance that she would no longer be under the agency's protection.

(FlashBack)

Clarke hadn't consciously seen Bellamy since they stood outside that graveyard, her feeling lighter than he'd been after talking to her mother's grave.

Without locking the door, if someone was going to come after her they could get through a locked apartment door, she headed into her bedroom. Her black shirt and black skinny jeans for work were already laid out for her on her desk chair. Changing Clarke was back out the door before her 10 minutes were up.

.

After only two weeks Bellamy had found information and put together a board of pictures and evidence leading to the men on Pike's team responsible for killing his partner and Agent Jaxson. At two months he had already killed three men, low grunts from Pike's team. He'd yet to get the name of the man responsible for the act, at this point Bellamy didn't think it mattered. He was too deep, he'd kill any son of a bitch he'd have to, at this point he wasn't going to rest until Pike and everyone who works for him were dead.

Detective Miller's case on finding the men who killed his son was a little less gory. Bellamy had gone off on his own a week after Clarke left, figuring he could get more done on his own without all the red tape of the agency weighing him down.

.

Getting back from her 11 PM shift, Clarke at 5 hours before she'd be up and out of the house for an early morning class. She learned to live with her energy level on empty and didn't blink an eye when she entered the code for her building's main door and found Octavia Blake sitting on one of the lobby couches.

"Spiffy."

"It's a school night Octavia."

"I'm a senior Clarke, my grades don't matter."

Clarke pressed a button on the wall calling the elevator.

"Do you want to come up?" She asked the younger girl.

Octavia seemed shocked. "Seriously?"

Clarke just looked at her, her hollow eyes saying 'I don't care.

"I just figured all the unreturned phone calls and texts- though I completely understand the reasoning behind it." Octavia blabbered, she hadn't expected Clarke to say more than a few words to her, let alone invite her up.

"I don't use my phone anymore."

"Just as well, all the apps are the same. Video's of our drunk friends living up the college life in loud clubs."

Clarke just raised an eyebrow in response.

"Bell came by to see me the other day." Octavia watched the blonde flinch at her words.

Clarke felt Bellamy's large hands on her shoulders as her eyes took in the sight of her father's decapitated head.

"He wouldn't talk about you, won't talk about anything really. He's looking like maybe he's slept less than you, you guys in some kind of contest? I think he's just trying to find Miller's killer. Those two have been together for so long, it was like losing family to him. You're feeling the same way I bet."

The psychiatrist who did Clarke's evaluation had broken the news to her about Miller and the other agent from the graveyard on the days following the Tuesday. It took a couple of tries over two days for all the information to stick.

"I'm not feeling anything at all." That was the first honest thing she's said since leaving the army base.

Those Octavia didn't voice it out loud, she was seeing the same Pain in Clarke that she was in her brother. He'd come to see her twice and Octavia guessed that it was only so he didn't go full killer and lose his humanity.

Octavia followed the shell of her friend into her apartment, Clarke invited her to put but hadn't planned on entertaining her. While Octavia gazed around the space Clarke took off her work clothes, folding them neatly on the desk, finding pj's on the floor in her closet. After putting them on Clarke climbed into her bed, listening to the sounds in her apartment.

There was the sound of the lock sliding on her door, Octavia opening the closet door, the sound of clothes being dropped to the floor. Finally, the blankets on Clarke moved, Octavia slipped in behind her, without hesitating the young girl spooned her best friend.

Clarke's eyes stared dead ahead, not feeling in them. The memory of the last time the two slept in the same bed crossed into her thoughts.

They went on like that, one a week Octavia would come over after Clarke's 11 PM shift. They would talk on the way up to the apartment, well Octavia talked, but once they got to Clarke's floor, silence. Clarke would sleep with Octavia curled into her back and in the morning they would both go to their separate learning institutions.

.

"Clarke's the same ya know," Octavia told her older brother during his monthly visit.

Octavia waited until four months had gone by of her and Clarke's nightly sleepovers to tell her brother. She saw the way he seemed to flinch at the mention of her, the same way Clarke had the first and only time she'd mentioned her brother.

"Good." Octavia's jaw dropped at that, "The same is better than worse."

"It's been seven months since you two last saw each other, you won't tell me where you're going all the other days when you aren't here. But I know it has to do with Clarke's dad and Miller, you guys need each other Bellamy. You are both miserable."

"People died O." Agony clear in his voice.

She sighed, she couldn't seem to make headway with either one of them.

.

When summer rolled around Clarke decided to keep her apartment, unlike most college kids who went home for the summer month. The apartment was Clarke's home now.

Kane had gotten in contact with Clarke a couple of months back, said he'd gotten some cleaners to completely do the floors in the living room and kitchen. Clarke had told him to sell the house, it wasn't hers and she didn't want it.

It had sold not even a month after being on the market, she only knew because Octavia had mentioned the new people moving in during one of her weekly visits.

Sometimes during their hanging out, Octavia started meeting Clarke at the coffee shop, they would walk back to the blonde's apartment together. Octavia was finishing telling Clarke about Monty and Jasper and how they've started supplying their moonshine, becoming the kings of their university.

Clarke smiled at that, those guys did make good alcohol, strong too. Even though Octavia was the only one in the group she 'talked' to, she was happy their other friends were doing well.

They were a block away from the apartment when Clarke's phone went off. The constant buzzing told her that it was a phone call. No one called her anymore because she never picked up, if they wanted her to know something it was sent in a text. No, she didn't respond but her read receipts let them know she saw it. With that in mind, she decided to pick up.

Clarke had been without her phone for seven months, but after a while, Octavia insisted she started having it on her again. In case they missed each other or one of their plans change.

"Hello."

"AH Griffin's daughter." Clarke stopped walking. "You know I was shocked when my father told me you were no longer under the protection of Agent Blake. You see he wasn't sure if you'd gone into hiding after that little present was left for you."

"Lexa. What do you want?" Clarke's voice was monotone as she felt the fire in her stomach get hotter.

"The man who murdered your father, he'll be at 394 Polaski tonight at midnight."

Polaski had nothing but old warehouses, it wasn't a well-populated area either, nobody for miles.

"Why?"

"Because revenge killings are the best kind baby." Lexa's voice got to breathe as if turned on by the thought.

The line went dead, Clarke kept the phone to her ear a couple of seconds longer, ingesting the information.

"I have to go," Clarke said allowed, ignoring the questions being thrown at her. "I'll see you next week."

Octavia reached for her friend's arm but Clarke was moving too fast, she slipped away.

"Wait! No Clarke."

She had less than an hour to make it all the way to 394 Polaski.

I've been waiting for the perfect time to kill off Miller, thankfully I didn't do it back when Clarke was taken and the housing bomb exploded.