Safe and Sound (Part Eleven)
Prologue | One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten | Eleven | Twelve | Thirteen | Fourteen | Fifteen | Sixteen | Seventeen and Epilogue
Chapter Eleven
Felt like I was a stranger
Felt like I was an angel
It had taken her over an hour to walk back to the dorm. She could have gone back into the club and gotten a ride with Clark and Lana, but right then she just wanted to be alone. By the time she got to her room, she was carrying her shoes because they’d become too painful to walk in. Her cheeks were stained with dried tears and her eyes and nose were red from all the crying she’d done during the long walk.
Letting herself into her room, she kicked her shoes under her bed and crawled under the covers without changing clothes. It wasn’t fifteen minutes later when Lana and Clark arrived, but she snapped her eyes shut and held still, making her breathing even out to make it seem like she was asleep.
The last thing she felt like doing right then was talking.
She just wanted to go to sleep and pretend that this night had never happened.
She heard footsteps approach her bed, and heard Clark whisper very softly, “Chlo? You awake?” She remained silent, and after a moment, she heard his footsteps retreat. She heard him whisper a goodnight to Lana and then leave.
She knew he was worried. Lana probably was too. It had become quite obvious that Marty was right--her friends didn’t like him. Not that it mattered now. After all, he’d broken up with her.
* * *
“You’re up early,” Lana commented the next morning as she watched Chloe gather her things in her bag.
She shrugged, pushing some hair out of her face. She’d barely gotten two hours of sleep and she could only imagine she looked like hell. “Class.” She shoved some books into her bag.
“What happened last night?”
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” she said, a little more harshly than she’d intended.
Lana bit her lower lip. “Will you at least answer one question?” she whispered.
Chloe let out a breath, not looking at her. “Shoot.”
“Are you all right?”
There was a long moment of silence. “No. But I will be.” Without glancing at Lana, she grabbed her bag and purse and left the room.
* * *
Clark stood at the counter of the Talon, watching as Lois ran the cash register. The crowd of people slowly dissipated until it was just him standing there and she raised an eyebrow.
“What’s up, Smallville?”
“We need to talk.”
Lois moved over to where he stood. “What is it?”
“I’m worried about Chloe.”
Immediately her face grew serious. “What happened?”
He let out a breath and looked down at the counter. “I was out with Lana last night, and we ran into her and Marty.” He said the word Marty as though it left a bad taste in his mouth.
“That’s not exactly a front page headline,” she pointed out.
“No,” he agreed. “But he was all over her. She really wasn’t acting like herself. I’m worried.”
Lois searched his eyes, then nodded slowly. “I can see that.”
“I don’t think she wants to talk to me, and Lana said she tried to talk to her earlier this morning, but…” He shook his head. “Maybe if you talk to her…” His voice trailed off.
“Of course.” There was no hesitation and she immediately pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. “I’ll call her right now.”
“Good.” Clark sat down on one of the stools, watching as she dialed her cousin’s number.
Chloe picked up after the third ring. “Hello?”
“Hey, Cous. What’s up?”
“Oh. Hey, Lois.” Her voice was dull.
“It’s been awhile since we talked, so I thought I’d call and see how you were doing.”
“Clark or Lana?”
Lois frowned. “Huh?”
“Which one of them put you up to calling me?”
Clark closed his eyes, hearing every word.
“Neither of them,” Lois lied. “You’re my cousin, Chlo. I just wanted to talk to you.”
“No offense, but…I’m really busy right now, Lois. I’ve got homework to get done. Besides, you’re a really bad liar.”
“Chloe--”
“I’ll talk to you later.” The line went dead.
Lois sighed heavily. “So much for that.” She hung the phone up and set it on the counter, staring at it as if she was willing it to ring.
Clark rubbed the back of his neck. “What do we do?”
“I guess we just give her some time and space. Trust me when I say it’s best not to crowd the Sullivan-Lane women when we’re upset.”
“That much I already knew,” he said wryly and she smirked.
“You want something to eat?”
“As long as you’re not cooking it.”
Lois glowered at him. “Watch it, Smallville. We’re also vengeful.”
Clark grinned.
* * *
Chloe sat on a bench in front of the dorm, watching as her fellow students went to and from classes. She rested her chin on her knees, her gaze falling upon a cute couple a few feet away. They stood beneath the branches of a tree, wrapped up in one another’s embrace and completely oblivious to the world around them.
Sighing softly, she closed her eyes for a moment and Marty’s words echoed in her head. “It’s time to make a choice. Me or Clark. Who’s it gonna be? The guy who loves you or the guy who just uses you to help him research sh*t when he needs help?”
Biting her lower lip, she tried to push away the enormous sense of loss she’d felt as she’d watched him walk away from her the night before. The enormous sense of loss she felt now. Shivering against a breeze that to most felt warm, Chloe only felt cold.
She opened her eyes and spotted Clark and Lana several yards away, gazing at one another intently. She felt a pang of regret that nearly took her breath away. Had she done the right thing? It sure didn’t feel like it. Clark didn’t love her. He never had, and never would.
But Marty did.
God, she missed him.
As if a sign from above, her cell phone vibrated and she picked it up to see that she had a text message.
-->---->---@ I miss you. <3 Marty
A smile touched her lips.