She couldn't believe it. Her gaze was lost in the landscape rolling in front of her eyes. Suddenly she was feeling so numb. At the exact moment she could heard the radio saying it. A deep and heavy silence had settled in the cabin of the pick up and she could have swear that she even heard the leather of the steering wheel when Chloe was clamping it, getting anxious listening to the voice on the radio.
« Arcadia Bay one year anniversary is coming, the senator is doing a huge celebration to open to memorial for the one who died on this terrible event. »
Max's heart squeezed up a little more while Chloe cut of a dry gesture the car radio.
« I'm glad we see your folks. Was nice. » adressed her to the brunette with a distant tone.
« Chloe… »
She probably could hear to Max's voice that she was worry and was going to ask or tell her something about all of this. And she didn't want it, Max knew that most of the time, the tattoo girl was just escaping the subject. How could she blamed her ? She was doing the same.
The pupils of the photographer settled sadly on the punk. She noticed that this one did her best to hold on crying and concentrating on the road, but the shivers which shook the fingers to wrinkle on the steering wheel betrayed her.
« It's ok Max. I'm fine. We're almost home anyway.»
But she knew she wasn't. She could feel a hundred miles away when the Price wasn't ok, especially on this topic. Many have died on the storm the hispter caused to save her best friend a year ago. Most of the people Max knew on Blackwell weren't here anymore. Chloe suffered lost too. If David was safe and ok, taking care of Jefferson's corpse in the dark room after saving Max, Joyce didn't have the same luck. She was into coma for a long year now, and the doctors weren't really optimistic about it. David was working his ass off to pay the hospital bill, and, ironically, that the thing that made her step daughter and him stop their stupid war. They stick together ever since, doing the best for her. Kate was alive, safe in the hospital back in time when she tried to kill herself. Alyssa and some other survived too, but most of them just didn't give any news.
Chloe and Max moved in Portland, and the military followed them . It was actually strange that the storm only hit Arcadia, but Max always thought that it was chaos theory making fun of her, they'd never find a real explanation anyway so eventually, she stopped asking herself question that were torturing her even more. Most of Arcadia's survivor moved very far away, wanted to cut out with bad memories and pain.
Arcadia was rebuilding tho, and it was a matter of time before the last trace of this awful event will only be the monument.
The two young women were also on the Portland road after visiting Max's parents in Seattle. Those last ones had shown themselves as usual, more than concerned and protective of them and Max had more than appreciated the visit that had put a balm to the heart. Not enough to cure her guilt, but enough for her to forget about it for a while, until now.
Max sank deeper into his seat, his muscles tensing. The rest of the trip was in a heavy and heavy atmosphere, neither of them daring to add anything more.
When they arrived at the little house they rented-she only had a bedroom, a bathroom, a toilet, a small living room, and a kitchen-the tension had not subsided and Max could feel his stomach twisting as the punk parked and slammed his door. She watched, hurt, the punk move away to open the door of the house and rush into it and she followed her.
« Chloe, if you want to talk… »
« I'M FINE ! »
Her tone was so dry that the Caulfield felt his heart stop. Her eyes were black, and Chloe herself realized that because she was softening, guilty.
« I'm sorry Max… »
The brunette bit her lip, this kind of situation made her crazy. She did not know what to do to relieve the pain of her best friend, which she was responsible for. Sighing for a long time, she gave her a weak smile.
« Don't worry. I'm going to take a bath. »
The blue nodded silently, looking guilty as Max moved away to run the hot water, undressing and entering the almost boiling water. Her muscles needed to relax and she sighed in relief despite the water that burned her skin, as for a second, relieved of all that could bother her. She closed her eyes for a moment, until dull noises followed by a crash startled her, followed by cries of despair from punk. Panicking, the brunette immediately came out of the water, grabbing a t-shirt and panties to get dressed simply and quickly, not even taking the time to dry, and join his best friend who was in full frenzy of destruction.
The objects were flying and smashing against the walls under her cries and tears, and the sight literally tore the heart of the Caulfield which froze in shock a few seconds, helplessness before finally recovering and rushing towards her, holding the wrist of punk to break an umpteenth object. Chloe's arcade was bleeding and running down her face.
« Chloe stop ! You're bleeding. »
The tattooed woman stared her eyes full of tears and anger, and pushing the hipster, she slammed the cup she was holding on the ground before dropping to the floor, despair weighing too heavily on her shoulders, sobbing even more as Max crouched at her height, pulling her against him in a firm embrace, refusing to let her escape once again. But this time the punk did not intend to flee and she clamored even to the brunette as if it was the last time she could.
« I'm so sorry Max. I'm sorry… I fucked up…I fuck up everything… All of this, this is all my fault… They all died… were hurt… because of me… Mum would be ok…»
Max's heart stopped and her throat tightened. They never really talked about all that. Both had always been evasive since Max had made his final choice. It was a year since their souls were in pain and their consciences too heavy with unacknowledged things, repressed guilt.
« I should have died, everything would be ok…»
Her voice was trembling and shattered by the sobs and to hear her, Max simply felt his heart shatter like never before. Pulling back just enough to fix Chloe, she looked at her, her face betraying the pain she felt at that moment hearing such a word.
« I wouldn't be ok… Chloe… this was not your fault, this was my choice… I'm the only one to blame, please don't do that to yourself, if you got to hate someone, this is me… »
Max felt the tears win her too. She had destroyed so many lives, so much family for sheer egoism. And yet, never, she had never managed to regret this decision when her eyes were on Chloe. She knew she had made the "right" choice, she would never have been able to continue without punk at her side, she could never have let her die in the bathroom, having forgotten all her things that she had lived , all her things she had to tell her.
Chloe lifted her eyes drowned by tears in the hipster's, sliding her fingers gently on her cheek, pulling him a shiver.
« I'll never blame you… You saved my life Max.. It's just... I wasn't worth it...»
This time, Max grabbed the face of the Price firmly.
« You're worthing everything on Earth, Chloe. I would do it over again and again if I had another chance to change the past. I would ALWAYS chose you. »
Punk's tears continued to flow, but her sobs seemed to have calmed down, she looked at Max lost, how could she say that? She who played the hard constantly Max had always known that this little game hid a cruel lack of self-confidence.
« How can you be so sure ? »
She was trying to understand but could not, her, who would have given the sky and stars for the brunette yet, she could not believe that someone could do the same for her.
« Because I lost you so many time… When I moved away, when Nathan killed you, then Jefferson… You have no idea how awful it was… I can't live this life without you Chloe, and I know it was selfish to chose you, but never say you didn't worth it. You worth everything to me… I'd give my life for you if it could save you and only you…As much as I would give it to see you smile again…»
She had fought so hard to have her alive, by her side. She would never stop bringing her back and could never bring herself to sacrifice her, the same idea made her sick and it was her turn to sob. The punk looked at her as if she were stunned by her words, as if she was struggling to believe that all of this was real. She ends up drying her tears and sliding her fingers on Max's neck, slowly approaching his face to hers to capture his lips tenderly. Max closed his eyes automatically, responding to the kiss in a long sigh of relief. Chloe did not blame her to the point of being disgusted by her and his selfishness, and if they had never spoken, the feelings of the hipster had only grown since their departure from Arcadia.
The hispter could feel his heart throbbing like never before. It was not their first kiss, but their lips had not met since that ridiculous I dare you in the old room of Chloe, and it had another taste, more bitter and sad, and yet it was able to ignite his whole being. In a year their relationship had not really changed or evolved. Chloe was more shy than she appeared, and she never took the first step towards Max, though she had left her with a lot of hints in her own way. Max, meanwhile, had never found the right moment, she had let the remorse prevail and the depression sink. Their relationship had stagnated into a much deeper friendship because deep down, both of them knew very well that the other wanted more. But that kiss was chaste and wise, sad under the sobbing of the hipster and the breath still broken by the negative emotions of punk.
The punk ends up receding, the cheeks red, the look away, his pride soaring.
« I'm sorry for that I just… »
Max did not give him time to finish, grabbing his three-bullets necklace to bring her closer to her, kissing her in turn with a little more passion, her lips pressed hard against hers. She did not want that sorry kiss, she did not want that sad and haunted kiss from the past. At first the punk seemed astonished and surprised, and she could feel her heart stopping for the initiative of her best friend, always more courageous than her, and against her lips, she forgot her pain, she forgot everything, her brain becoming white, her heart exploding with such violence yet jubilant. Sliding her fingers into Max's hair, she greeted the kiss with the same passion before both of them moved back, breathless, their eyes immersed in each other.
« So… you're sleeping in my bed tonight ? » dropped the punk with a mocking smile hiding behind his irony the roar of feelings that stomped on him and his sudden embarrassment.
The brunette was amused and smiled, rolling her eyes. They had always slept together. She felt relieved that the atmosphere relaxes in this way after finally breaking the ice
« You mean my bed ? The one you're always in ? »
« Shut up. » replied the punk smiling, eyes still wet
She scratched her neck nervously, and while Chloe still played the badass girl, Max knew she did not know what to say after that kiss, and the hipster's heart still had not recovered. She knew that one day soon they would have to talk about this growing tension between them, the force that drew them towards each other, but the moment was not yet right.
The brunette got up, followed by blue eyes that straightened immediately, catching the arm of the brunette as if she was suddenly afraid she ran after what they had to share. Her thoughts were still confused, and even though Max had kissed her, she had no idea if she had offered him for pity or anything else.
« Don't go… » hesitated Chloe, in a breaking whisper, gently pulling the hipster closer to embrace her.
Sliding on the tip of her toes, Max put her fingers on the cheeks of her best friend, her lips grazing his own again, she could feel the hot breath of punk and she hold a shiver. Her smell made her completely crazy already maddening her senses that required a new kiss, so close to his lips.
« I'm not going anywhere Chloe. »
Price's gaze became more intense and the small smile she sketched before capturing her lips again made her just as melt, long sighing against the lips of punk as she pressed her against her, the kiss Igniting much more quickly than the previous ones, while Chloe gently pushed her back into their room. The same despair united them, but there was something else that they both had always been afraid to say for fear of destroying everything. But for now, the Caulfield surrendered herself in the arms and lips of punk, their kiss being much more passionate, seeking more contact, while Chloe was cautiously lying on their bed, lying down gently against her taking hold of his arms so as not to crush him, not leaving his lips for a moment. Her tongue finally slipped between the lips of the hipster who felt his heart racing like never before, her belly writhing as she responded without delay to this new invitation, her tongue joining his, provoking more intimately, their saliva is melting without embarrassment as she could feel the punk moaning warmly against her lips as her body pressed against hers.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand suspence for the next part :3