Chapter 11
„Come on, Monty, tell me something.“
Monty looked up and glared at Bellamy.
“There is nothing I can tell you yet. Lexa only called a few hours ago. I could have started this earlier if you had called me right away, you know …”
Bellamy raised his eyebrows and Monty looked at the computer screen again.
“Listen, I get it. I need to find this guy and I will. But it doesn’t help anyone if you keep breathing down my neck.”
Bell sighed. He knew Monty was right, but it was frustrating to wait.
Anya was already waiting when he entered her office a few minutes later.
“Bring me up to speed.”
“We walked around Central Park. It was a spontaneous decision so Finn must have been close by. He also must have planned to contact Clarke, because the text on the card was printed. He paid a man to deliver it.”
Anya stood by the window and looked outside.
“What else?”
“Nyko saw him first. We tackled him, questioned him and the second he told us where he met Finn Lexa was on it.”
She turned to face him.
“She ran after him without a gun or backup?”
“She told Nyko to take care of Clarke and me to check the immediate surroundings. It was a sensible decision to split up.”
“You really think so?”
“Yes.”
She nodded.
“Okay.”
Bell walked over to her and took in the view over the city. It was breathtaking.
“What is the deal with Lexa though?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I hate being on the defence like the next guy, but Lexa … she just can’t stand it. For someone who is in this business it is an odd trait.”
Anya sighed.
“Lexa doesn’t like to feel helpless.”
“Yeah, I figured as much.”
Anya looked at Bell. He was a good guy. She trusted him. Hell, she trusted him with her sister’s life. She decided to tell him.
“When Lexa was ten someone broke into our house. Our parents were out and I should have been there to watch her.”
“But you weren’t?”
“I was sixteen. I had better things to do than watch my kid sister on a Saturday night. At least that’s what I thought at the time.”
Bell looked at her.
“What happened?”
“I had a feeling. I can’t explain it. I somehow knew that I had to go home, so I did. When I arrived the back door was open.”
She sighed again trying to get rid of the memories that were flashing before her eyes.
“Lexa was on the kitchen floor and the man … he had a knife to her throat.”
“What did you do?”
“I took an even bigger knife and killed him.”
Bell stared at her.
“You killed him?”
Anya looked at him.
“Don’t tell me you wouldn’t gut anyone who tries to lay a hand on your sister.”
“You have a point there.”
Anya looked back outside. “He had been in the kitchen with Lexa for ten minutes or so threatening to kill her. I don’t think he actually intended to steal anything and he wasn't about to rape her. I think he just got a kick out of threatening a ten year old girl and seeing her freak out. Lexa has never been the same since then. She shut people out, wouldn’t talk about it. She learned how to defend herself. She is as tough as they come. … Costia was the only one who could get her out of her shell and make her smile. And after Costia’s death I … I was sure she would kill herself.”
She turned around. “But now there’s Clarke …”
Bell nodded. “Now there is Clarke.”
--
“It looks worse than it is. I will patch you up, but after that I expect you to rest.”
“Okay, Doc.”
Abby looked at her.
“I’ve heard people lie way more convincing than you.”
Lexa smiled.
“I am sorry. I promise I will try, but if there is a chance I can get to Finn I will take it.”
Abby nodded.
“Fair enough.”
Clarke came back from the bathroom and looked at her mother and her … whatever Lexa was. They hadn’t talked about the kiss yet. Between the actual kissing and her mother arriving … there had simply been no time.
“So?”
Abby looked at her.
“She’ll be fine. Can you get me more light? I will redo the two stitches.”
She took a syringe and injected a local anaesthetic. Clarke switched on the lamp next to the couch and Abby looked at her.
“It’s going to take some time until the anaesthetic kicks in. Would you leave us alone for a minute, Clarke? Lexa and I have something to talk about.”
Clarke frowned. She didn’t like to be sent outside like a child. She looked at Lexa who just shrugged.
“Mum ...”
“Clarke, please.”
Clarke sighed.
“Okay.”
After Clarke had left Abby focused her attention on Lexa who was a little uncomfortable. She was lying on the couch in her jeans and a sports bra waiting to have the hole in her stomach sewn shut for the second time while her … Clarke’s mother wanted to talk in private. Nothing was comfortable about that.
“How dangerous is the situation?”
Abby looked at her and Lexa knew she couldn’t lie to her. She knew Abby would know if she lied so she didn’t.
“I don’t know. I haven’t met Finn yet, but the fact that he is hiding and paying people to deliver creepy messages is not a good sign. If you want my professional opinion I’d say it’s as dangerous as it can get.”
Abby nodded.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For telling me the truth.”
“I have no reason to lie to you. I know you’re scared for Clarke’s life.”
“I know that you are too.”
“I am.”
Abby looked at her.
“Are you in love with my daughter? I am sorry if this is a blunt question, but I was wondering.”
Lexa didn’t have to think about her answer this time.
“Yes, I am.”
Abby smiled.
“Good.”
“Good?”
“Yes. You two are good together.”
She tested the skin around the stitches.
“Do you feel this?”
“No.”
“Okay, then I can start now.”
She took the needle, but kept on talking.
“When Clarke’s father died … it broke her. Sometimes I think it broke her more than it broke me.”
She looked up to see Lexa’s reaction only to see her watch her with curiosity.
“He died in a car crash when she was seventeen. Clarke has always been her father’s little girl and she missed him like crazy. She still does.”
She started to work on the first stitch.
“She never cried. She just shut down and wouldn’t talk about it. I think the two of you are pretty similar when it comes to dealing with loss.”
“How do you know how I deal with loss?”
Abby smiled at her.
“You talked to Bellamy?”
“Don’t be mad at him. I asked him about you. After all my daughter is basically living with you.”
Lexa nodded.
“Okay. I guess, you have a point”
“Lexa, the thing is this: Clarke is bright and sunny on the outside, but after Jake’s death there has been a void that just couldn’t be filled. I tried, her friends tried, hell, even Finn tried, but nothing would make her face light up like it does when she looks at you. I have no idea how this happened so quickly, but I guess I just wanted to make sure that you know that and that you feel the same thing about her.”
She put down the needle and bandaged the wound.
“Okay, all set.”
Lexa didn’t really know what to say. It was clear that Abby cared about Clarke. It was also clear that she didn’t seem to mind that Lexa had feelings for her daughter. She wasn’t used to that sort of motherly acceptance. She sat up and carefully put her shirt back on while Abby put away her equipment.
“Abby …”
“Yes?”
Abby looked up.
“I don’t … I don’t know how to say this, but thank you …”
“For what?”
“For telling me. And for trusting me with your daughter.”
Abby smiled.
“I’ve seen you with her. And more importantly I’ve seen the way she is around you. There is nothing you have to thank me for.”
Lexa looked at her.
“Given the fact that you talked to Bell I guess you know that I had a pretty tough year.”
Abby nodded and Lexa kept going.
“I was in a bad place and I am still not completely over that, but I swear to you that I will do anything for Clarke.”
Abby smiled.
“I know. I know that you will.”
--
“Bellamy, tell me I’m the man!”
Monty grinned so much that Bell was afraid he might pull a muscle.
“You’re the man?”
“Yeah, I am!”
“Okay? Why?”
“I found him.”
Now Bellamy was all ears.
“You found Finn? Where?”
“East 87th St and Lexington.”
“What’s at this location?”
Monty tipped something on his computer and shrugged.
“Starbucks.”
Bellamy was already half way through the door.
“Keep your eyes on the traffic cams and tell me if he moves!”
Monty focused on his computer screen again.
“Sure, boss, everything you say.”
--
“Mum, I want to go back to work.”
Clarke put down the glass she had been holding and looked at her mother.
“I can’t stay inside until they find him. I can’t let the fear of him getting to me run my life.”
“Clarke, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. You have to be patient for a while longer.”
“But I don’t want to. I don’t want to be the one who is afraid anymore. I don’t want to feel like the victim any longer.”
Abby put her hands on Clarke’s shoulders and looked at her.
“Honey, I know that you are frustrated right now, but this isn’t the way to deal with this. You can choose not to be afraid anymore and you can choose not to feel like a victim, but you cannot disregard your safety.”
Clarke frowned. She hated this. She hated everything about it … well, maybe not everything. She sighed and nodded.
“I know. I know. You’re right.”
“She’s right about what?”
Lexa entered the room and looked at them.
“Did I miss something?”
“I told my mother that I want to go back to work.”
Lexa froze in place.
“Clarke …”
“I know. It’s not safe.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Okay. I get it. I will stay here until … whenever.”
Clarke sat down on the couch and pouted which made Abby laugh.
“Clarke, you look like a four-year-old who was just told she couldn’t have chocolate.”
Lexa laughed, too.
“It’s cute though.”
Clarke glared at them.
“Great. Now my mother and my girlfriend are teaming up on me.”
She froze the second the sentence had left her lips.
Lexa just looked at her for the longest moment before she smiled.
“So that’s what I am then? Your girlfriend?”
“If you don’t mind?”
Lexa grinned at her.
“No, Clarke, I don’t mind.”
Abby just shook her head.
“I don’t think anyone can be more complicated than the two of you.”
She looked at Lexa.
“What are you waiting for? Go, kiss her. I’ll leave you alone.”
Lexa was on her way over to the couch when she heard her phone ring. She took it out of her jeans pocket and looked at the display.
“It’s Anya.”
In this second Abby’s phone started to ring as well. She raised an eyebrow. Both women answered their phones at the same time and when they hung up the mood had changed completely.
Clarke looked from Lexa to Abby and back to Lexa.
“What is it? What is wrong?”
Lexa stayed silent for a second before she looked up to face Clarke.
“It’s Bellamy.”