I'd Come For You 22/24
banner by: alxnhnt22
Title: I'd Come For You
Chapter: 22/24
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Chloe Sullivan and Oliver Queen
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 6,584
Prompt: This is dedicated to the amazing slytherinpunk who wanted to see a fic where Chloe met Oliver and Green Arrow before Lois and Clark did. Happy Birthday, Dawn! ♥
Previous Chapters: One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty Twenty-One
Lois stood in the hallway, arms crossed over her chest as she looked at Chloe’s closed bedroom door. It was times like this that she wished she had Clark’s x-ray vision so she could see exactly what her cousin was doing in there. Normally, she’d have no qualms about pushing the door open and investigating, but the little sneak had started locking her door at night and Lois did not appreciate it. She wanted to help Chloe, but it was hard to do that when her cousin was literally shutting her out.
She stepped forward and was about to yell out for Chloe when there was a knock on the front door. Lois sighed and made her way into the main room. She opened the door without bothering to check and see who it was and motioned for Clark to come inside. “It’s about time you got here, Smallville.”
Clark’s brow furrowed as he studied his girlfriend’s face. He could see that she was upset, but she didn’t appear to be hurt. He’d been doing chores at the farm when he’d received her message asking him to come over and had showered and changed before super speeding to Metropolis. “Did something happen? You didn’t say it was an emergency,” he pointed out.
Lois rolled her eyes. “It is an emergency, but I didn’t want you blurring in here in case Chloe actually ventured out of her room before we had a chance to talk.” She pulled on his arm, leading him toward the couch.
“Is Chloe all right?” Clark asked worriedly as he sat down beside Lois. His head turned in the direction of the hallway. He hadn’t seen her for a few days and she hadn’t said much the other night when the three of them had met for dinner.
“Of course she’s not all right,” Lois snapped. She loved Clark, but sometimes he just didn’t understand. Chloe had become a shell of her former self and Lois was scared it would become permanent if they didn’t do something right away.
It had been two weeks since things had ended between Chloe and Oliver and he had left town the night after Lex’s party. Of course Lois only knew about that part because she had checked on his flight plan. It wasn’t like Chloe was sharing anything. From the moment she had walked back into the apartment, looking like someone had died, Lois had been trying to get details from her and her cousin had been tightlipped aside from telling her it was for the best and they’d both get over it eventually.
That was complete bullshit and Lois was pretty sure Chloe didn’t even believe the words that were coming out of her own mouth. But instead of talking about it or trying to help Lois understand her convoluted logic, Chloe had shut down. She rarely came out of her room except to go to work and when she did speak, she usually gave one word answers or snapped at Lois and then retreated to her room. If her heart didn’t ache for her cousin, Lois would have already kicked her ass.
Clark frowned at Lois’s tone. “Did something else happen?” he asked. He knew Chloe was upset after her breakup with Oliver, but she’d told him that she didn’t want to talk about it and he respected that. He hadn’t talked to Oliver or the rest of the team since he’d seen them in New Zealand and he wondered if a mission had gone wrong or something.
“Aside from my cousin finding a new level of stubborn, no, nothing has happened and that’s the problem,” Lois said. She shifted closer to Clark and lowered her voice. “I can’t watch her do this to herself anymore. It’s time for an intervention and it’s going to have to be a two for one deal.” She knew Chloe wasn’t the only one who needed a swift kick in the head at the moment.
“Lois,” Clark said warily. He loved his girlfriend more than anything, but her plans had a tendency to be extreme. He didn’t like seeing Chloe in pain either, but she was an adult and it wasn’t their place to argue with her decision.
“I know what you’re going to say,” Lois interrupted before he had a chance to speak. “Clark, do you remember all those times when we first started dating and you tried to push me away for my own good?” She reached for his hand, lacing their fingers together. “What if I had actually listened? Where would we be right now? Alone and miserable,” she answered for him.
Clark knew she was right. Even though Lois had known his secret for years, there had been times when he’d wondered if she would be better off away from him where she wouldn’t constantly be in danger. Of course, she was Lois Lane and trouble seemed to find her whether they were together or not but she’d made it very clear to him that she wasn’t interested in his self-sacrificing ways and she wasn’t going anywhere. He was grateful for her stubbornness because he knew couldn’t live without her.
He also knew that she was closer to Chloe than anyone and Lois wouldn’t be this upset without a good reason. Clark squeezed her hand gently. “What do you want me to do?” he asked.
Lois opened her mouth, but before she had a chance to fill him in, she heard the sound of footsteps in the hallway. She glanced up and saw Chloe making a beeline to the coffeepot. She filled her favorite travel mug to the brim and then turned, her eyes widening briefly when she saw the two of them on the couch.
“Good morning, don’t mind me,” Chloe said. She made her way to the closet and grabbed her coat. She shrugged it on as she walked, scooping up her purse and keys from the table. “I’ll see you later.”
“Chloe, you can’t just pretend like everything is normal and you don’t see us sitting here worried about you,” Lois said as she watched her cousin in disbelief.
“Stop being so dramatic, Lois. I said good morning. I’m late for work. Good-bye,” Chloe said firmly. She opened the door and quickly closed it at her back before either of them could say anything else.
Clark blinked, mouth falling open as he stared at the closed door. Chloe had barely looked in their direction, but when their eyes had met for a brief second, he’d felt like he was looking at a stranger instead of someone he had known since middle school. There was no warmth or humor in her eyes and her face had been completely devoid of all emotion. He could see why Lois was worried.
“She’s getting worse,” Lois confirmed. Her instincts were telling her to go after her cousin and shake her until she started making sense again, but Lois knew that would only make Chloe dig her heels in more. There was only one person who she needed at this point and Lois had a feeling getting him back to Metropolis would not be an easy task. Her eyes met Clark’s. “I need you to go to Star City and get Oliver.”
***
Chloe parked her car in the employee lot across the street from the Daily Planet, but she made no move to get out of the vehicle. Instead, she continued gripping the steering wheel as she stared sightlessly out the windshield at the spinning globe atop the building. The short drive from her apartment had been a blur and she could still hear her cousin’s voice echoing in her head telling her that they were worried about her.
It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate their concern. Chloe knew that Lois and Clark loved her and she loved them too, but she also knew without a doubt that if she told them what was going on inside her head, she was liable to start crying and never be able to stop. She had cried the entire walk home from Oliver’s the morning she had ended things and for another hour after that as she sat in the lobby of her building, too emotionally fragile to face Lois. But she kept reminding herself that it had been her choice to walk away from Oliver and she had no right to fall apart every time she thought about it.
Taking several deep breaths, Chloe willed herself to calm down as her mind started to drift into dangerous territory. It was inevitable at this point. She couldn’t go more than a few minutes without thinking about Oliver and remembering their last night together. The way he had touched her, the look in his eyes as he moved deep inside of her, the feeling of his arms wrapped around her as she drifted to sleep haunted her whether she was awake or asleep. Not that she’d been getting much sleep lately.
She leaned forward, closing her eyes as she rested her head against the steering wheel. Chloe knew she needed to pull herself together and move on with her life. But no matter how hard she tried to just let herself be numb and not feel anything or care about what was happening around her, she couldn’t stop herself from wanting to go back and tell Oliver that she didn’t mean anything she had said and beg him to come back to her.
Chloe felt tears welling up in the corners of her eyes and she quickly sat up and brushed them away. Oliver was gone because she had told him to leave and that was all there was to it. She took another deep breath, grabbed her purse and slowly got out of the car. She did her best to clear her head and get her mind into work mode as she made her way across the street and up the steps leading into the Planet.
The newsroom was filled with its usual morning buzz as Chloe made her way to her desk. She’d been trying to use work as a distraction, but she wasn’t having much luck. Lex was still assigning her mindless stories and she spent most of her days staring sightlessly at her computer screen as she wondered what Oliver was doing and if he was okay. She hadn’t heard anything from the team since he’d left town and she wasn’t sure if that was because they were in the middle of a mission or if Oliver had decided that she was no longer part of the team.
Chloe wasn’t sure if that would be for the best or not. She’d meant it when she’d said she wanted to help them in any way she could. Selfishly, she wanted the remaining connection to Oliver, even if Victor ended up being the one who gave her all the updates on the missions. She’d feel better knowing he was safe. But on the other hand, she didn’t know if she’d be able to handle it if something went wrong and she couldn’t reach out to Oliver. She felt the familiar lump rising in her throat and quickly pushed her emotions aside, blinking as she tried to focus on her email.
“Ms. Sullivan, it was nice of you to join us this morning.”
Rolling her eyes, Chloe turned away from her computer to see Lex making his way toward her. He had been smugger than ever lately and she had no doubt it was because he knew that Oliver had left town and wasn’t coming back. She really was not in the mood for him or his less than subtle comments on the subject. She bit down on the inside of her cheek and sighed inwardly as he got closer.
“Did you need something, Lex?” She refused to call him Mr. Luthor even if he was technically her boss. As far as she was concerned, he had bought the paper for all the wrong reasons and she was not about to give him the satisfaction of pretending she had any respect for him or his so-called authority.
“What I need, Chloe is employees who show up to work on time and hand in quality stories.” Lex held up a folder in his hand before unceremoniously tossing it on the desk in front of her. “It was brought to my attention that your work has been slipping lately and I can only assume it’s because of personal issues.”
It took every ounce of self-control Chloe had not to tell him to go to hell then and there. She knew he was talking loud enough for the whole room to hear and she didn’t have to look around to know they were all listening. The buzz in the air had died down to the point she could probably hear a pin drop on the side of the room. She stubbornly held Lex’s gaze and kept her voice calm as she spoke.
“Personal issues do not affect my work, Lex, or I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you right now.” She gave him a sweet smile, ignoring the folder he’d placed in front of her.
“I have to disagree with you there, Chloe.” Lex stepped forward and pushed the folder open himself. “Your last three articles were so poorly written that I had to cut them from the issue which in turn makes more work for other reporters.” He shook his head disapprovingly. “If this was the only problem, I would suggest trying to work something out, but between your attitude toward your editor and the fact that you come and go as you please with no regards to office etiquette, I’m afraid you’ve given me no choice in this matter.”
Chloe gritted her teeth. She doubted her writing had anything to do with the reason the articles had been cut. They were all puff pieces and they had probably been removed when page space was needed for real news. The office etiquette line was also bullshit. It was a newsroom; people were constantly running in and out because news happened in the field. If anything, she’d been putting in extra hours because she wanted to avoid Lois. But she held her tongue, determined not to give him the satisfaction of arguing with him in front of the entire bullpen.
“I’m sorry, Chloe, but the fact that you’re not even trying to defend yourself just shows me that you’ve given up on this job.” Lex sighed and looked down at the floor for a moment before meeting her gaze. “Chloe, you’re fired. Effective immediately,” he said. “If you leave quietly, I won’t have security escort you out of the building.”
She swallowed heavily as his words echoed through her head. Lex had just fired her from her dream job. Chloe stood up slowly and reached for the purse she had tossed in the drawer when she’d sat down. Her mind was screaming that she needed to react to this, that she needed to fight and tell him that he couldn’t do this to her. Instead, she simply turned and made her way toward the door, ignoring all the eyes that followed her out.
***
Clark stood in the hallway, hesitating as he stared at the closed door in front of him. He’d been stalling since he blurred into the building, but he was sure what to expect. He knew Lois thought this was the only way they were going to get through to Chloe and he wanted to help her. But even though he’d worked with Oliver a few times, Clark didn’t really know him and they didn’t have the kind of relationship where he felt it was okay to just show up on his doorstep and confront him about his love life.
But Lois was confident and that was going to have to be enough for Clark. He stepped forward and knocked on the door. As he waited, Clark resisted the urge to listen to what was going on inside the penthouse. He had no idea if the whole team was there or if Oliver was alone. He’d tried his office at Queen Industries first and he’d been informed that the billionaire was working from home for the week. For all Clark knew, that was a cover and the team was off on another mission.
Before he could worry too much, the door was thrown open by Bart. “Hey Stretch,” he greeted him with a small smile. “Welcome to the land where fun came to die.” He motioned for Clark to come in and then sped off, reappearing a second later with a bag of chips as he dropped onto the leather couch, eyes focused on the giant TV.
“You’d better not get any crumbs on the furniture,” AC warned. He was sitting in the leather chair across from him, a stack of brochures in his lap. He lifted a hand as Clark stepped into the room. “Hey Boy Scout,” he said.
“Hey,” Clark replied uncertainly. He closed the door behind him and glanced around the spacious apartment. From what he could see it was much bigger than the clock tower penthouse. “Is Oliver here?” he asked.
Bart made a face as he scooped out a large handful of chips. “Bossman is here, but trust me; you do not want to talk to him.” He tossed the chips into his mouth and reached for the remote control. He turned off the boring news channel Victor had left on and flipped to one of the sports channels.
“Vic was watching that,” AC reminded him. He set down his brochures and shifted in his seat to look at Clark. “Bart’s right. Unless it’s an emergency, I wouldn’t recommend bothering Ollie. Even if it is an emergency…” He let his voice trail off.
Clark frowned. “Is he all right?” he asked, not sure if Oliver was upset because of what happened with Chloe or if there was something entirely different going on.
Bart snorted. “Would you be all right if ‘licious dumped you? Well, I guess since you’ve got her hot cousin, but…” He clamped his mouth shut when he heard footsteps, letting out a small sigh of relief when he saw Victor enter the room. He’d been prepared to run and not stop until he hit Mexico if Oliver had overheard him.
Victor shot a disapproving glare in Bart’s direction. “You’re lucky I’m not Ollie because as fast as you are, he would find you.” He rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Clark. “Hey Kent,” he said. “What are you doing here? Is everything okay in Metropolis?” Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Bart had turned off the station he’d been watching. He used his internal system to change it back and Bart groaned.
“No fair,” he grumbled as he reached for another handful of chips.
“I came to see Oliver,” Clark said. He saw AC wince and Bart just shook his head as he finished the bag out of chips. Clark turned to Victor. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“Ollie is not in the best of moods after what happened with Chloe,” Victor explained. He sent Bart a look when the younger man opened his mouth. AC laughed and Bart threw the empty bag of chips at him. Victor rolled his eyes at them. “Is it a business thing or is it personal?” Victor assumed it had something to do with Lex because he knew Oliver and Clark weren’t very close.
“Personal,” Clark replied. He didn’t really want to get into it with the guys, but he had a feeling Victor wasn’t going to let him anywhere near Oliver if he didn’t give him something to go on. “I need to talk to him about Chloe.”
Victor shook his head. “I know you’re made of steel, Kent, but that is not a good idea. Actually, I’m not sure you should see Ollie at all because you’ll just remind him of Chloe and he’s liable to get angrier than he already is.”
“Not possible,” Bart muttered. He shifted on the couch so he was facing Clark. “He broke my Play Station because he said the game was too loud. Can you believe that?”
“Technically, it was his Play Station,” Victor reminded him. “Look, Clark, I like Chloe. But what she did to Ollie was bad and he needs time to get past it so I’m going to suggest you go back to Smallville and maybe give him a call in a couple months or so.” He knew Oliver wasn’t likely to snap out of his funk anytime soon because he’d never seen him fall for a woman like he had for Chloe and it wasn’t going to be easy for him to get over her. But Victor wasn’t about to let Clark swoop in and make it worse for Oliver.
Clark frowned. “Victor, I’m not here to debate about their relationship. Chloe is hurting too and…I just need to talk to Oliver.” He was on the verge of just using his super speed to go past Victor and find Oliver himself. But he didn’t want to be rude if he didn’t have to be. He understood that Victor was just trying to protect Oliver.
Victor sighed. “All right, but don’t say we all didn’t warn you to turn back.” He gestured down the hallway. “Make a left at the end and Oliver’s office is the first door on the right. Watch out for arrows,” he warned as he moved to take a seat on the couch beside Bart.
“Thank you,” Clark said. He followed the instructions Victor gave him and found himself in front of another closed door. He knocked once and this time he did use his super hearing. He didn’t hear anything coming from the other side except the slight rustling of paper. He knocked again. “Oliver?” he called out uncertainly. “It’s Clark. Clark Kent,” he added.
Sitting behind his desk as he scribbled angrily in the margins of the latest contracts his assistant had sent over, Oliver paused when he heard Clark’s voice. He’d assumed it was Victor and he’d planned on ignoring him since he’d already told him that he didn’t want to be disturbed. His chest tightened as he wondered what Clark was doing there and if Chloe was all right. “Come in,” he called, trying to keep his voice even.
The door opened and Clark walked in, greeting Oliver with a small smile. The other man looked agitated and Clark decided he’d better get straight to the point. “I’m sorry I came by without calling, but I needed to talk to you about Chloe.”
“Is she okay?” Oliver asked. His chest constricted even more as he watched Clark’s face carefully. He seemed nervous, but he didn’t look upset. If Lex had made a move against Chloe, Oliver assumed Clark would have called him instead of making the trip to Star City.
“Physically,” Clark said. He sat down in the chair across from Oliver’s desk, shifting uncomfortable under his watchful gaze. He didn’t know Oliver very well, but he could see the tension pouring off of him. He suddenly felt more awkward than ever about this conversation.
“Could you be a little vaguer there, Boy Scout?” Oliver asked. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes still focused on Clark. The tightness in his chest had eased when Clark said Chloe was physically all right, but the tension that had riddled him since that morning she’d walked out on him continued to course through his entire body. He wasn’t sure why Clark suddenly felt the need to get involved, but he wanted answers immediately.
Clark could see that Oliver’s patience was running out and he nervously ran a hand over the back of his neck. He really shouldn’t have let Lois talk him into this. “Chloe hasn’t been herself since the two of you ended things.” He saw Oliver’s jaw tense even more and he shifted his gaze to a spot on the wall behind him. “Lois and I are worried about her and…” He paused, not sure what he was supposed to say. Lois had basically sent him to bring Oliver back, but the look on his face was not exactly welcoming.
“Let me get this straight,” Oliver interrupted as he watched Clark struggling for words. “Chloe is upset because she told me to leave and I did and now you’re sitting in my office telling me this because…?”
Wincing at his tone, Clark sat up straighter and tried to remember that this was for Chloe and he would do anything for his friend including put up with this situation. “I know what Chloe said to you, but I don’t think it’s what she actually wanted,” he said.
Oliver rolled his eyes. “Do you think I don’t know that?” He leaned forward again, folding his hands on the desk in front of him as he pinned Clark with a hard stare. “I may not have known Chloe as long as you have, but I probably know her better than you do at this point. She’s stubborn and she has no idea how important she is to anyone, including me, and that’s why she’s willing to sacrifice her own happiness for what she considers to be the greater good. How am I doing so far?” he asked.
His tone was biting, but Clark forced himself not to take it personally. He knew Chloe hadn’t been open about her breakup with Oliver, even with Lois, but from what Lois told him, she had walked away for the exact reasons Oliver was listing. It was just like Chloe to put everyone else above herself. “I know this isn’t easy for you,” he started.
“Stop,” Oliver warned. He pushed his chair away from his desk and stood up. He had the sudden need to move before he started throwing things. “Look, Clark, I get why Chloe did what she did. Obviously I don’t agree with her, but it was her decision. I’m still not sure why you’re here. What do you want from me?” he asked.
“I want you to come back to Metropolis and try to work things out with Chloe,” Clark replied. He stood as well and moved into Oliver’s path. “I can see that you care about her, Oliver. Why did you leave?” he asked.
Oliver laughed humorlessly. “That’s a good question, Clark.” He dragged his hands through his hair and sighed loudly. He knew the guys were wondering the same thing, but none of them had actually come right out and asked him. “Let me ask you something,” he said quietly as he leaned against the desk, crossing his arms over his chest. “I know you love Lois and it seems like you two have a solid relationship. But how would you feel if she told you that wasn’t enough?” he asked.
Clark frowned. “I don’t think that’s what Chloe meant,” he said.
“Maybe it’s not what she meant, but it’s what she did,” Oliver pointed out. He’d asked himself the same question over and over again. How could he just walk away from her? Oliver knew she was pushing him away for all the wrong reasons. He also knew without a doubt that she felt the same way about him that he did about her. But Chloe had some twisted notion that he wouldn’t be able to do his job if he was with her. She didn’t seem to understand that being with her made him want to save the world that much more.
“She doesn’t trust me enough to stay with me,” Oliver said when Clark just continued to stare at him, eyes wide with confusion. “What’s the point of me begging her to change her mind if she’s just going to walk away the next time there’s a catastrophe that needs Green Arrow’s attention? We all know Lex isn’t going to stop anytime soon and even if he does, there are plenty of psychos out there waiting to take his place.” He shook his head. “I’m giving her what she wants.”
“No, you’re not,” Clark replied. “You said yourself that you know this isn’t what Chloe really wants,” he reminded him. On some level, he understood where Oliver was coming from. Even though he’d been unsure about Oliver and Green Arrow at first, Clark could see how much he cared about Chloe and he didn’t want him to give up on her. “Just come back to Metropolis with me and talk to her,” he suggested.
Oliver shook his head. “Chloe made her choice and it’s not up to me to change her mind.” He walked around the desk again and dropped back into his chair. “If you need my help with Lex or anything else, feel free to call or stop by, but Chloe and I are done. I need to get back to work.” He picked up his pen again and tried to focus on the contract in front of him.
Clark sighed inwardly. Oliver was definitely a match for Chloe when it came to being stubborn. He was starting to think he might have been better off just bringing Lois here to talk to Oliver while he stayed in Metropolis and tried to get through to Chloe. But he was the one who was here and he didn’t want to see Chloe suffering anymore nor did he want to go back and tell Lois he had failed to get through to Oliver.
“I know she hurt you, Oliver, but this isn’t about your pride.” He saw Oliver’s eyes narrow as his head shot up, but Clark pressed on. “Chloe doesn’t let people in easily and she opened up to you. Yes, she pushed you away, but it’s destroying her and from what the guys told me when I got here, you’re not doing much better. Is it worth all this misery?”
“I don’t know, Clark,” Oliver replied honestly. He could see why Clark thought this was about his pride. He had a feeling the guys thought the same thing and were just waiting for him to cool down and go back to Metropolis and fight for Chloe. But the way he saw it, Chloe didn’t want him to fight for her or for them and he needed to respect that and let her go. But that didn’t stop him from wanting to do exactly what Clark was suggesting.
***
Lois sighed when Clark’s phone went straight to voicemail. She balanced her cell phone between her ear and her shoulder as she slipped her key into the lock, pushing the door open with her shoulder as she waited for the beep. “Clark, it’s me. What is taking so long? I…” She stopped short when she saw Chloe sitting on the couch staring at the wall. “Call me,” she finished. Lois ended the call, set her bag down on the chair and cautiously moved toward her cousin, taking a seat in front of her on the coffee table. “Chlo?” she asked uncertainly.
“Hi Lois,” Chloe replied quietly. She continued staring past her cousin at the wall.
“What are you doing home so early?” Lois asked. She’d been hoping Clark would have Oliver back before Chloe was done working. She knew it was important to catch her cousin off guard if they were going to wear down her stubborn defenses.
“Lex fired me,” Chloe replied matter-of-factly.
Blinking, Lois stared at Chloe like she’d grown a second head. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” she asked. Lois held onto the table, grateful she was already sitting down. She waited for Chloe to expand her answer, but Chloe seemed content leaving it at that. “Chloe, what the hell is going on? It’s one thing for you to ignore me for weeks on end but to just sit here and calmly say that Lex fired you like you’re telling me that you had a cheeseburger for lunch.”
Chloe sighed, finally turning her gaze to her cousin. She could see that Lois was irritated with her, but she also saw the worry in her eyes and Chloe felt guilty about that. She’d been avoiding her cousin and pretending everything was fine, but Lois obviously knew better than that. “You heard me,” she said. “Lex fired me because my personal life interfered with my job.”
“That’s rich coming from him,” Lois muttered darkly. She took a deep breath to calm herself down as she felt the anger welling up inside of her. “I have half a mind to go down there and show Lex the definition of personal.” Her expression softened and she reached for Chloe’s hand. “I’m so sorry this happened. I know how much being a reporter meant to you.”
“It’s been my dream job for as long as I can remember,” Chloe said. She chewed on the corner of her lip as her gaze met Lois’s again. “Do you know what I felt when Lex told me that I was fired and threatened to call security if I didn’t leave quietly?”
“What?” Lois asked. She held Chloe’s hand tighter.
“Nothing,” Chloe admitted. “I lost the job I’ve wanted my whole life and I felt nothing.” She still didn’t. Maybe she was in some sort of state of shock, but after Chloe had left the newsroom, she’d waited for the tears or the outrage to set in as she walked to her car and drove home. But she couldn’t seem to muster up any kind of reaction. Even telling Lois and seeing her cousin upset on her behalf didn’t spark anything inside of her. Chloe hadn’t known it was possible to feel so numb.
Lois sighed. She could see that Chloe still wasn’t going to admit what the real problem was. “Chlo, I love you and we both know the hand-holding approach has never been my thing, so I’m going to come right out and say this. Do you want to know why you’re not upset about getting fired?” She didn’t wait for her cousin to answer before pressing on. “It’s because you stopped caring the minute you walked away from Oliver. You can deny it all you want, but you’re in love with him and it’s killing you that he’s gone.” She gave Chloe a knowing look, daring her to challenge her.
“I made a mistake!” Chloe shouted as the carefully composed dam she’d been building since that fateful morning came crashing down. She shook her head, hot tears streaming down her face as her chest ached. “I thought it was the right decision because I didn’t want to get in his way, but I love him. I love Oliver, Lois, I love him. Is that what you want to hear?” She began to shake as she sobbed uncontrollably.
“Oh, Chloe.” Lois shifted to the couch, wrapped her arms around her cousin and held her tight as she cried. “I know you love him. I’ve known that for months.” She stroked her hair as Chloe started to cry harder. “You can’t live like this, Chlo. You need to get Oliver back and then you need to fight for your job. You can’t let Lex win,” she said.
Chloe took several deep breaths as she pulled away from Lois and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “The Planet will never be the same as long as Lex is in charge. I was barely a reporter anymore, I certainly wasn’t writing about truth and justice,” she reminded her. She knew the only hope for the paper was having Lex removed as editor, preferably because he was in prison for all of his disgusting crimes.
“Well, lucky for us, we know a team of heroes who are doing everything in their power to stop him. If I remember correctly, you were part of that team. Maybe it’s time to give the leader a call and let him know you have some free time,” Lois suggested. She knew one of Chloe’s biggest excuses for pushing Oliver away was the fact that she was tied to Metropolis while he and the rest of the team were not. Losing her position at the Planet could end up being a game changer for Chloe and her status on the team.
“I can’t,” Chloe said. She felt fresh tears welling up in her eyes as she remembered the look on Oliver’s face when she’d stepped into the elevator. He’d told her to be sure and she had been at the time. Chloe sighed. No, she’d been lying to herself and to him at the time, she corrected. She didn’t know how to fix that or if it was even possible to fix it.
“You’re scared,” Lois replied. She took Chloe’s hands in hers and waited for her cousin to meet her eyes again. “I get it, Chloe, I do. But ask yourself this. Is the fear worth losing Oliver? Or do you want to admit that you were wrong, tell him that you’re sorry and fix this?” she asked.
Chloe hesitated. She knew what she wanted. She wanted to be with Oliver. She loved him and the idea of never being close to him again terrified her. But she had hurt him and she wasn’t sure he was going to be able to forgive her for that. She wouldn’t blame him if he never wanted to see her again after the way she had acted. He probably thought she didn’t trust him or their relationship.
She swallowed hard to force the lump in her throat down and slowly stood up. “I can’t let Ollie think that I don’t love him enough to fight for him.” Chloe leaned down and hugged Lois. “Thank you,” she whispered before moving away and grabbing her cell phone from the counter.
“You’re welcome, where are you going?” Lois asked as she watched Chloe hurrying toward the front door.
Chloe smiled. “No offense, Lois, but this needs to be a private call. I’m going to take it outside,” she said. She loved her cousin and she appreciated her help, but she knew even if she went in her room and closed the door, Lois would have her ear pressed up against it.
“I’ll want every detail when you’re finished!” Lois called. She reached for her own phone to call Clark back and tell him that everything was going to be okay.
Chloe stepped outside and walked around the building, some of her newfound determination suddenly giving way to nerves. What if she called Oliver and he wanted nothing to do with her? Or what if she called and he didn’t even pick up? Her chest burned at the thought, but Chloe knew if that was the case, it would be her own fault and she’d just have to work twice as hard to show him she was serious.
Taking a deep breath, Chloe scrolled through her contacts list. Her thumb hovered over Oliver’s name. She closed her eyes for a moment and gave herself one last mental pep talk. Satisfied that she wasn’t going to fall apart, Chloe opened her eyes and pushed send. Before she could lift the phone to her ear, she felt something sharp digging into the back of her neck. The phone fell from her hand and as she leaned down to pick it up, the world tilted in front of her eyes and everything went black.
Twenty-Three.