Meeting the Man of Steel

Ch.11 Leaving home

Charlie's POV
I hide in the bathroom for awhile. I let the water run hot before I get in. I'm not sure if I was rinsing what just happened off of me or just avoiding Clark.

I drop epsom salt in the steaming water to relax my muscles. Pulling my hair back into a messy bun I let myself sink into the water. I need to let go and let the events sink in. So much sinking. My heart. My body. My thoughts.

I sit in the tub mulling over what just happened. Will being with Clark always be like this? I constantly have to fear for my life? I've worked so hard to rediscover my life, I'm not ready to give it up yet.

But I'm not ready to give him up either.

I can't believe myself. But then I also wonder why I should hold myself back from being happy. Clark makes me the happiest girl on earth. Maybe that's enough to take a risk on.

The world was so much darker before him. He shows me new things every moment. It's like being a child and learning about colors for the first time. Each color he shows me opens my eyes a little wider.

I tilt my head back when I hear the door creak open. I look up to see Clark standing solemnly and closing the door behind him. He hangs his head with sadness. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. All I do is put you in danger." His eyes are filled with pain.

"Clark, I-" I pause not really knowing what to say. I don't even know what to think. So I hold out my hand to him. He sits on the floor next to the tub and takes my hand. "I would risk anything for you." I squeeze his hand showing I meant it. He looks down and looks back to me. His eyes are wide with puddles of sadness. "But I can't let you risk your life for me." He's sitting with his back against the tub and looking forward at the door. He seems fixated on something as he doesn't bother to turn to look at me.

The realization consumes him. He slowly stands up and begins to leave. "I can't put you in danger anymore." He turns away. "Clark-" I begin to plead but he walks out the door and closes it behind him. And he's gone again..

I sit in the tub a little longer and I can't help but cry. This first time in what seems for ever I have finally found someone that has turned my world around. I don't feel sad like I was before. He makes me realize what made me so happy before the loss of my parents. I felt like I was discovering myself all over again. And he just leaves me.

Superman's POV
After all that she's been through, I can't imagine hurting her more. I close the bathroom door behind me and hold the knob for a moment. My heart sinks. If I love her I put her life in danger but I fear the thought of living without her. Does that make me selfish? I can't sacrifice her life for my happiness. I fly off her patio and I fly til I realize I can't fly for ever.

I go to Antarctica to clear my mind. The vast whiteness surrounding me helps silence all the noise that was once around me. The sounds of the busy city and people are finally quiet in these snowy mountains. The cold barely effects me and the wind is the last thing on my mind. I sort through my thoughts as I walk in the mountains, feeling my muscles in every step through the snow. The wind sharp on my skin.

Am I helping mankind if I am just constantly putting them in danger? Not only speaking of Charlotte but for everyone in the world. Disasters happened everyday before I was superman and the world survived. I feel that I have become tangled in humanities mess. Maybe their problems were not meant to be mine. The birth of Superman has only brought out more evil. It's like I cancelled everything out only to cause more chaos. Maybe I have only hurt humanity more.

I stop and look around me. White silence for hundreds of miles. And that's when I realized... maybe the world is better if superman was silenced.

Charlie's POV
I go to bed alone and cold and wake up to an empty bed. Laying my hand where his head used to lay. Days go by and every morning I hope to see Clark sitting in the chair across from me watching me sleep but the chair remains empty. I don't care if the bed is empty as long as he's near. I am happy with him just being in the chair close by. But everything is empty. My bed. My chair. My heart.

I unwillingly leave my bed and start to get ready for work. It's been days since I've seen Clark. Everyday becomes a blur. Everyday I wake up without him I feel myself draining. The light is slowly leaving me and I miss him more every second. It's not fair. I finally find my light. My reason to give life another chance. He showed me that I can go on and be ok. But then he left. And I wonder if what me showed me was what he really meant.

I'm falling into my old, solemn routine. I walk into work peering over to his cubicle but all of his belongings are unmoved. Nothing has been touched. His chair is still empty.

Sometimes my arms clench my chest because my heart yearns so much for him. Just to look at him again. Eventually I can't feel anymore. I've become so numb that I barely look at anyone's face. I move through the office like a robot.

Days turn into weeks and soon it's been months. I've given up hope on seeing Clark again and I absorb myself into my work. Staying ahead of every article and being present at every big event. I plaster a pretty smile on my face and work myself to the top of the best reporter list.

But every night I go home hoping to feel a cool wind through my hair and see Clark leaning against my door.

After so long, my sadness turns to anger. Even the world is questioning where Superman has gone. "Why has he left us?" "Has superman found his own planet?" "Does he not care about us anymore?" The news circulates these questions over and over and so does my brain. Why did Clark leave me? I don't care about the rest or the world. Why would he do that to me?

I can try to understand why he would want to let go of Superman but to leave me.. I can't understand that.

I head home from work after another 12 hr day. Everyday is the same and every week hasn't changed. The only thing that's changed is the seasons. Spring turned to summer and summer flew into fall. I can't remember anything from summer but the sadness and the humidity. But now the cool September air was settling and soon October would be here.

I walk to my apartment and go to unlock my door. I step inside, throwing my belongings on my side table and flick on the light. I look up to see him sitting at my kitchen table.

The joker.