Right in Front of You, Chapter 11

[babydee1]

As promised, guys!

Right in Front of You, Ch 11

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: All characters belong to the CW & DC comics.

 

 

 

 

“Okay, Clark.  What did Lana do that was so wrong it has you of all people in a major snit?”

 

Chloe was sitting across from him in his truck as they headed toward the Kent Farm, still dressed in her absurdly short shorts and vest.  She’d pretty much eaten her meal in sixty seconds flat, and then proceeded to press him non-stop for information about Lana’s misdeeds. 

 

“We’re practically at the Farm, Chloe,” he responded wearily.  You’ll find out soon enough.”

 

“But you’ve been saying that for hours!” she complained. 

 

Clark sighed, bringing the truck to a halt in the Kent Farm driveway.  Patience was not one of Chloe Sullivan’s strong points.  She’d had her seatbelt off and the truck door open in one fluid move that was so fast he could have sworn she’d used superspeed. 

 

As they approached the farmhouse, Shelby gave some cheerful yaps and bounded off the porch, heading straight for Chloe.  Tail wagging, he raised himself up on his hind legs and planted his paws firmly in her middle, knocking her over.  Chloe toppled backward and landed on her rear, laughing merrily and ruffling the dog’s ears whilst the silly pooch slobbered all over her.  Clark couldn’t help but smile at the picture they made.   Chloe and Shelby had made an instant connection from the moment they met.  It was like they’d always been best buds.  It hadn’t been like that with him and Lana, he reflected.  In fact, he recalled, when Lana had returned, Shelby had growled threateningly, as if warning Clark of pending danger.  He smiled ruefully.  Even the damn dog had known that Lana was no good for him. 

 

“All right Shelby, she gets it – you missed her,’ he laughed, as he pulled Chloe to her feet.  He turned her round and dusted off her behind, taking more care and more time than he needed to.  It seemed like ages ago that he’d had her in his arms, and he was beginning to suffer withdrawal symptoms.  He didn’t know how he had ever managed without her.

 

They all made their way up the porch and into the farmhouse, and Chloe took a seat at the kitchen table.  Shelby stayed close to Chloe and rested his head on her knee, content to be petted and fussed over by someone who cared.

 

Clark headed toward the fridge.  “Can I get you a cold drink – some water, or-”

 

“Clark,” she said gently, “You just made me down a man-sized portion of chicken and almost a gallon of orange juice, so I don’t need food or water right now.  What I do need, however, is to know why you’ve written off someone who was a friend to both of us for years.”

 

Clark sighed as he sat beside her and took her hand and studied it for a while, tracing his fingers along her palm lines and just wishing he didn’t have to do this.

 

Finally he spoke.

 

“Lana put your life in danger to try and discover my secret,” he said. 

 

Chloe’s eyes widened.  “Deliberately?”

 

Clark nodded.

 

Chloe shook her head.  “No.  Lana wouldn’t do that, not on purpose.” 

 

“Yes she would, and she did,” Clark replied tersely.  “On the day of her wedding, she locked you in the wine cellar, expecting you’d call me to get you out.”

 

“The door slammed shut by accident,” she corrected.  “And besides, even if you hadn’t shown up I’m sure she’d have opened the door herself before I turned into a popsicle.”

 

This time Clark shook his head.  “She wouldn’t have been able to, Chloe.  She broke the door handle off so there was no way she’d have been able to open it.”

 

Chloe’s eyes narrowed.  “If I recall correctly, you broke the door handle off.”

 

“No,” he denied.  “It broke off in my hand, but I did nothing to facilitate that.”

 

“Oh, no?” she challenged.  “Clark, you were pretty cut up about Lana marrying Lex.   You must have yanked on it harder than you intended to.”

 

“That’s what I assumed happened,” he said carefully, “until today.”

 

Chloe’s expression hardened, and she pulled her hand out of Clark’s and stood up.  “Take me back to the Talon, Clark.”

 

Clark sighed.  Here we go again, he thought.  “Chloe, I’m not making this up-”

 

“Seriously, this is a new low, Clark,” she interrupted.  “Smearing Lana in a pathetic attempt to convince me you’re over her?  Come on!”

 

“It isn’t ‘smearing’ when it’s the truth,” he countered.

 

“Lana’s my friend!” she yelled.  “She wouldn’t hurt me on purpose.  And she was your friend too before today, and you should at least respect that and let the girl go with her integrity intact.”

 

“Integrity,” he snorted, “is a word that’s missing from her dictionary.  Lana has no integrity, and I don’t know why you’re defending her.  You could have died because of what she did.”

 

“So you keep telling me,” she said coldly.  “Clark, I’m sorry but I can’t just take your word for it on this.”

 

“I didn’t expect you to.  That’s why I brought you over here.”

 

“Bullshit!  You brought me here because you felt it would be easier to convince me on your home turf!”

 

“Chloe-”    

 

“This argument is pointless unless you have proof,” she said with an air of finality.  “So where’s your proof, Clark?”

 

“You’re standing on it.”

 

Chloe glanced down, noticing for the first time that she was standing right over a discarded piece of folded paper.  Curious, she bent to retrieve it, seeing it was a letter addressed to Clark in Lana’s handwriting.  Clark could see the expression on her face turn to one of fear as she actually considered the truth of what he was alleging.  She stared at the object in her hands, not quite knowing what to do with it.  She looked at him, question in her eyes, and he nodded, silently giving her the go-ahead.

 

Chloe opened the letter and began to read.  He could see the sad look of betrayal and hurt on her face as she scanned the page.  Clark wanted nothing more than to go over to her and hold her, but he knew that wouldn’t take her pain away.  Chloe had loved Lana like a sister, and in one moment she’d discovered that all that love, affection and friendship was one-sided.

 

Finally, Chloe sat down at the table again next to Clark.  He noticed that she was trembling slightly.  She folded the letter back and pushed it slowly toward the centre of the table.  For long minutes she sat there silently, and he watched her, seeing emotions chase themselves across her face.

 

Finally she spoke.

 

“I don’t know what to say,” she said numbly.  “I just…I mean, I’ve seen it there, in black and white, and yet, I…” she trailed off, still not quite believing what she’d just confirmed with her own eyes.

 

Clark placed a hand over hers and put his other arm around her shoulder.  She leaned into him and squeezed his fingers, and Clark’s heart almost broke when he heard her quietly sobbing.  He held her closer, feeling her shoulders shake as her breathing hitched and her tears wetting his t-shirt.  Not for the first time, he wanted to throttle Lana for doing this to Chloe.

 

“How could she?” she asked between sobs.   “She was like a sister to me.”

 

“She wanted to discover my secret at all costs,” he replied, his voice grim.  “She didn’t care who she hurt along the way.  I’m so sorry it was you, Chloe.”

 

Chloe sniffed.  “But maybe she already knew about your abilities…maybe she was completely sure I wouldn’t come to any harm-”

 

“If she was that sure of my abilities,” he said gently, “she would have locked herself in there.”

 

Still she persisted.  “But-”

 

“No, Chloe.  She had no idea what was going to happen, but she was ready to risk your life to solve a riddle.  There’s no way to spin this that puts her in a positive light.  She used you.”

 

“I still don’t want to believe she could be that callous.”

 

“Well, she is,” Clark said.  “Any number of things could have happened.  You may have lost reception on your cell, or I could have come across some GreenK and been incapacitated.  And with the door handle gone, there’s no telling when you’d have been rescued.  Not to mention the fact that Lex has surveillance cameras all over the mansion.  Things could have gone horribly wrong for both of us.”

 

Chloe snuggled closer.  “I don’t know how I could have been so blind.  I really thought she liked me.”

 

“She fooled us both, Chloe.  I guess she knew I loved you, knew I’d do anything for you.  She must have realised how I felt for you deep down, and capitalised on it.”

 

“Oh sure, say that now,” she scoffed.  “I don’t think it’s a deep as that.  She just saw an opportunity and she ran with it.  I just happened to be the poor sap dumb enough to walk into it.”

 

Clark shook his head.  “I think Lana’s friendship with you was a direct result of your relationship with me.”

 

Chloe lifted her head.  “How do you mean?” she asked, puzzled.

 

Clark smiled.  “You didn’t read Lana’s letter all the way to the end, did you?”

 

She grimaced.  “When I saw how she used me to discover your secret, I felt I’d seen enough,” she said.  “Why?  What did I miss?”

 

Clark’s eyes danced.  “She returned something with her letter, something that was mine that she’d taken.  Something I’d never received,” he replied.

 

Chloe’s eyes widened.  “Well, don’t leave me hanging, Clark!  What did she give you?”

 

Clark reached into his pocket and fished out a pink piece of paper.  He held it in front of her, his face triumphant.

 

“This.”


Read Chapter 12 here...