Chapter Text
This was not how Clarke saw everything turning out in her life. She thought she found the person she was going to spend the rest of her life with. It turned out, he was not at all who she thought he was. Now she was on the run, fearing for her life.
The last thing he told her, “If you try and leave me, I’ll kill you.”
She had a feeling he was the kind of person that would go through it, and the words haunted her every day. But one day, she left anyway; without anything but a small backpack and the clothes on her back. She ran down the street the opposite direction his car had taken one day after he’d left for work. The first night she spent terrified behind a dumpster that he’d find her, clutching onto her bus fare as tight as she could.
The next morning, she was on the first bus out of the city. She switched buses in each city and crisscrossed the county, never staying in the same place for long until she ran out of money and found herself in Polis, a tiny town in the mountains and the last place she figured he would look. She chose not to stay in town, with too many people and too many questions. She dragged her feet outside of town until she couldn't walk anymore. She was exhausted, hungry, dirty, and in a lot of pain.
It was getting dark and she needed to find shelter for the night. Clarke looked around and saw nothing, but mountains on one side, but a light on the opposite side shown like a beacon. She saw a sign that said Wood's Ranch carved in the wood. She ignored the 'No Trespassing' sign and climbed over the fence and walked what felt like a mile when she looked up and saw a bright red barn with a modest size house beside it. She noticed other buildings around, but the barn was calling her to her. It was like a sign or at least a sanctuary. Her heart pounded for fear of being caught, but she crept in anyway.
Giant horses stood in horse stalls on each side of her, their ears pricked at the sight of her, and they stomped and snorted because they didn’t recognize her. She knew nothing about animals, especially horses, but she knew better than to spook them.
“Easy there,” Clarke whispered to them. She was surprised at how hoarse her voice sounded after not using it for days and her stomach growled though at the sight of a basket of fresh apples at the end of the row. Reaching it, Clarke grabbed the basket quickly, feeling guilty for stealing, but she was on the verge of starving and promised herself she would repay the owner. She took a couple of blankets as well and looked around for a place to curl up for the night. Clarke noticed a loft and slowly climbed up into the hay piled loft and made a bed there.
She’d slept like a baby that first night, and well into the day. That was until she heard the barn door crack open and upright with a start,
“Easy, Zeus….” a woman’s voice said, it was soft and strong at the same time and had Clarke scrambling forward on hands and knees to see the speaker, when she should be afraid of getting caught, “easy, girl…” the horses below snorted and stomped, clearly trying to tell their person she was hiding here.
Clarke managed to peek over the piles of hay and caught sight of long chestnut-colored curls held back by braids covered by a black cowboy hat. The woman looked to be about her age, but she couldn't say for sure. She wore a green flannel, suspenders, and jeans tucked into muddy boots. Clarke couldn’t tell anything else, because her back was to her.
“Damn, I wish I could see her face,” Clarke whispered to herself.
“Hades, what’s wrong? What has you all stirred up?” The woman arrived at where the apples had been. Heart hammering, Clarke ducked down behind the hay just as the woman started to turn and Clarke could feel her scanning the barn before she said, “well..that’s strange. Has Indra been giving you all extra treats?”
That was two days ago.
Clarke had stayed ever since.
Each day like clockwork, the beautiful brunette would come into the barn to feed and take care of Zeus, Posiden, Athena, Aphrodite, and Hades. She must like Greek mythology and Clarke couldn’t get enough of her. She listened to the way the woman spoke lovingly to the animals and her voice had a small lilt to it that Clarke couldn’t place. She was captivated by her and each time the brunette came in, Clarke would peer over the edge and watch her until she left. Every day, twice a day.
Her stomach rumbled painfully, and her ribs ached worse, a painful reminder of the last time she’d been with him and the fact that she barely ate. The second day, she watched through slats in the barn as the woman drove away in a truck. Clarke didn’t know how long she had. But she knew enough to know the barn had an office, she’d seen the woman go in there. Clarke ran in and stole a few more apples and a couple of bottles of water, enough to keep her starving, but not enough to be noticed.
Or so she thought.
It was after six that night and Clarke figured it was safe to climb down for another bottle of water. First, she needed to check her ribs. She yanked up her shirt as she laid on her pallet and looked at the angry purple and black bruises that had only grown darker. Clarke barely touched it with her fingertips and couldn’t help the cry of pain that echoed around the silent barn.
It stirred up the horses. But that wasn’t all. She snapped her lips shut and hissed instead, but it was too late. A voice she had come to recognize over the last couple of days called out, “Who’s there?”
“Fuck,” Clarke muttered and sat up quickly. Her ribs protested the sudden movement along with the rest of her body. He had really done a number on her, but it gave her enough courage to leave.
“I know you’re up there,” The woman’s voice had hardened and she could be heard moving closer, “Who are you?”
Clarke grabbed her backpack and stood up, but as she did, a flashlight shined directly on her, “Hi,” She said meekly and shied away from the light and the woman holding it. She really didn’t want her to see her. She didn’t want anybody to see her.
“What’s your name?” The woman asked softly, her demeanor changed as the flashlight shined up and down her body. Clarke knew she could see all the bruises, and she blinked back the tears that threatened to fall.
She debated lying but decided against it. Clarke needed help and knew it, “Clarke.”
“I’m Lexa,” She stepped closer and Clarke immediately shrunk back, “How long you been hiding in my barn?” Clarke could hear the steel behind the words and wondered for a split second if she made a mistake.
“Two days,” Her voice was barely over a whisper, “I’m sorry...I didn’t mean...I’ll leave..didn’t mean to...bother you.”
“Why don’t you come on up to the house for supper,” Lexa suggested softly and Clarke’s stomach rumbled at the thought of food.
“I don’t...I don’t want to be a bother,” Clarke shook her head, “I don’t want to be a bother. I’ll..I’ll just go.” she ached at the idea of having to leave and be on the run again, but she had known she couldn’t stay here forever.
“Please, I have more than enough food, you’ll be doing me a favor,” Lexa gestured for her to follow her, but still Clarke hesitated. She wanted to believe that Lexa was a good person, but she’d been fooled before and was terrified it would happen again, “I promise you’re safe here.”
Clarke’s eyes shot up and she looked at Lexa with her mouth parted in shock, “I never said I wasn’t.”
“You didn’t have to,” Lexa shined the flashlight up again the ceiling, “Tell you what, my door will be open and I’ll give you fifteen minutes to come up to the house. If you do, great. I’ll feed you and give you a safe place to sleep until you figure things out. If you chose to leave, I understand, but remember it’s the end of October and it’s getting colder, especially out here.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“I’ll answer your question if you come to the house,” Lexa stepped back with her hands up, “I’ll leave the porch light on. Just follow the path and it will lead you where you need to go.”
Before, Clarke could reply, Lexa disappeared back down the ladder as silently as she came up and she was left wondering which way to go. Part of her really wanted to believe in Lexa and what she was offering, but the other part was telling her it was too good to be true.
She stood up and climbed down slowly, mindful of her sore body, and headed out of the barn.
-=-
As Lexa made the short trek back to her house, she replayed the last few weeks and rubbed a hand over her face. After everything that had already happened, the last thing she expected was to find a woman hiding in her barn.
She couldn’t see much of her in the light from her flashlight, but Lexa could spot the signs of abuse a mile away. It was why she offered Clarke a place to stay. It’s what she would want if she was put in that position and she couldn’t very well turn away someone who seemed to be escaping from an abusive relationship.
If the flinching and cowering desperate urge to run were anything to go by.
She climbed up onto her porch and walked into her house, letting the screen door slap behind her. Immediately, her two-year-old collie bolted towards her.
“Hey, Skip, hey boy,” She leaned in and loved on him for a minute and couldn’t help but laugh when he rolled over for some belly rubs, “Such a spoiled boy, aren’t you?” She crooned before she patted his head and moved to the kitchen.
Dinner had been ready before Lexa went back to the barn, so she tossed it back into the oven and set it on warm. Lexa looked around her at her spacious kitchen that held white shaker-style cabinets, grey granite countertops, and a massive island with a waterfall edge. She hadn’t spared any expense in her kitchen as she loved to cook, but didn’t always have the time.
“We may have a visitor soon,” She spoke to Skip as she pulled a beer from her fridge and cracked it open and took a long drink, “I need you to be on your best behavior, okay?”
Skip just stared at her and laid down at her feet with his tongue lolling out.
Lexa laughed and hopped up to sit on the counter as she swung her feet back and forth. She yawned and quickly covered it with her hand. She’d been burning the candle at both ends for a while now and it was finally taking its toll. Lexa stretched her back and was rewarded with a couple of pops that somewhat eased the stiffness of her back.
Anya would yell at her for taking on too much, but Lexa wasn’t one to sit idle and enjoyed being constantly busy. She had a full staff that helped her keep the place running, but Lexa was a hands-on boss, not hands-off like the guy who owned the place before her. In the past three years, Lexa had turned this failing ranch into one of the most successful ones in the state. Lexa never took full credit for it because without all the hard workers she had, none of this would have been possible. She’d been approached for interviews and everything, but Lexa always shied away.
She preferred her solitude and the company of her animals. The only exceptions were her ranch hands and her sister. People called her a recluse or a loner, but Lexa paid no attention to it. In the small town of Polis, it wasn’t easy to hide, which was one of the reasons, Lexa had bought the ranch in the first place. Her sister had been shocked when she’d told her but had quickly warmed to the idea. Anya ended up taking care of the finances for her as she was terrible at math. It helped to have a sister who was good at it and enjoyed it. Lexa never understood math, much preferred reading to anything else. Hell, she owned a television, but never watched it.
She glanced at the time and wondered if Clarke had decided to disappear or not. She really hoped she hadn’t because Lexa had the undeniable urge to protect her and that wasn’t something she normally felt for someone she didn’t know. Skip started growling low in his throat before he darted towards the door. Lexa jumped down and followed right behind him. She smiled when she heard a tentative knock on the door and hurried forward.
She was hoping that Clarke had decided to give her a chance after all and she couldn’t help wonder why that mattered so much to her. Lexa took a deep breath and opened the door.