Unfinished Business

Chapter 32

Lexa was sitting in her office busily working on her latest article and though she felt completely exhausted, she also felt oddly light and now, she really just wanted to focus on her work – like, really. Granted, she had only been with the company for a couple of months and she had already written them several really good articles, but her work had honestly taken a backseat lately and now, she desperately wanted to give them a great one. One that would set her apart from everyone else and really show off her skills. Part of her knew that it wasn't necessary, she knew that Nia knew her work and respected it and her, but another part of her – another part of her just needed it. Spending the last two years doing more babysitting and order barking than actual writing had, in a way, robbed her of something and now, she was determined to get it back.

So much had transpired in the last week and none of it had left her feeling the way that she thought that it would have. Honestly, it was the strangest thing – even with all of the fighting that she and Clarke had been doing lately, somehow, it almost felt like they were getting back to good – that she, was getting back to good and that was a path that she really wanted to stay on.

Though her mind was whirling with everything that had been happening and she was putting every bit of effort that she had into attempting to focus on her work, there was really only one fact that was dominating her mind. Clarke wasn't seeing anyone. Holy shit.

Lexa spun in her chair and grabbed a stack of notes off of the table behind her.

All of this time she had been so careful with the words that she chose to use and trying to make sure that she didn't cross any line that could cause waves in Clarke's relationship, only to find out now that there was no relationship – there never had been. Clarke and Niylah were just friends – they were not together. Not together. Meaning, Clarke was single – is single. The thought filled Lexa's heart with the tiniest bit of hope, because maybe, just maybe, if they could work through their mountain of issues, maybe there could be a chance. Maybe they, could have a chance.

Glancing at the time, Lexa decided to take a quick break and run outside for a smoke. She had been staring at the screen for hours and honestly her eyes were starting to feel it. She knew that she still had a lot to do, but her head was extremely full and really, one small break wasn't going to kill her. Finally getting outside, Lexa took a cigarette in her teeth and lit it before leaning back against the building and letting her mind go again.

Niylah was definitely an interesting character and though Lexa wasn't quite sure that she was ready to admit it, she actually enjoyed her company and could see why Clarke liked her. She could tell from their brief interaction that Niylah was, without a doubt, a confident woman and there was this no nonsense air about her, but then further than that, she was so very kindhearted and understanding that it actually warmed Lexa's heart to think that Clarke had someone like that in her life.

Lexa flicked her thumb against the filter of her cigarette and let out a small sigh. She hadn't asked Niylah about the details of her relationship with Clarke – she hadn't and she wouldn't, but Niylah still offered a few – the most important one being that she and Clarke were not, in fact, a couple. The least important being that they occasionally slept together. That information had definitely caused Lexa's blood to boil a bit, well in truth, more than a bit, but she didn't fault Niylah for that fact – nor did she really fault Clarke. Did it make her jealous? Hell yes, it did - more than anything, but still, it was her own fault that Clarke was finding comfort in the arms of someone else, so really, the only person that she could be angry with was herself.

Snuffing out her cigarette, Lexa quickly made her way back inside. There was something else that had caught her attention and fixed itself in her mind. When Niylah spoke of when she and Clarke had met – the timeline fell right in line with when Clarke had been calling her in the middle of the night and then Niylah absently mentioned that when they met, she had never seen such an emotionally broken person and that – that just made Lexa's heart ache. Though she had known that Clarke had been in a really dark place and she had already heard Raven refer to her as broken – somehow that still hit her harder.