This is my very first time writing a Life is Strange story. I saw a discussion on Tumblr on how there was rumored to be an ending involving a hospital, so it gave me the idea to write this. I hope you enjoy it. :)
"I just spoke to Ryan and Vanessa; they'll be here soon." Joyce said as she entered the hospital room. Her high heeled shoes clicked against the white tiles as she headed over to the bed. She put a supportive arm around her daughter and patted her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. The sound of steady beeping from the machines being the only noise in the room. "Honey, why don't you go home and get some rest?"
"No, I want to stay with her. I'll go when her parents get here." Chloe answered, keeping a firm hold of Max's hand. She stared at her childhood friend, still trying to get her head around this crazy situation. "I haven't seen or heard from her in five years…and the first time I see her again; she saves my life. How does that happen? If she didn't come in when she did, Prescott probably would have shot me."
"This isn't your fault, sweetheart. It was just a crazy coincidence that Max was there too. This isn't the way I wanted us to see her again." Joyce reached forward and brushed a loose stand of hair behind Max's ear. This was a situation Joyce couldn't believe. When Joyce heard what happened in the bathroom, the last person she was expecting to be there was Max. She wasn't even aware that Max had moved back to town. "I'm going to go to the canteen to get a coffee. You want to come?"
"No, I want to stay. Just in case she wakes up. I don't want her to be alone." Chloe told her, not taking her eyes away from Max. She felt her mom pat her shoulder once again before walking out of the room and closing the door behind her. "Don't you dare die on me, Caulfield." Chloe had said once again for what must have been the fiftieth time this week.
Chloe examined Max's face, she looked so different yet hadn't changed at all. She had shorter hair and looked more grown up, but she was still Max. Chloe was always hurt that Max had never contacted her, but after the events that happened four days ago, she couldn't be upset with her. After five years with no contact, Max appeared out of nowhere and saved her life. How it happened, Chloe had no clue. It was like Max was her personal superhero.
Nathan Prescott had pinned her to the wall and held a gun to her stomach, Chloe never thought Nathan would carry a gun around. He did drug her in his dorm room, but if Chloe thought for a second he would be dangerous enough to carry a gun, she would have never met him here.
"Nobody would ever even miss your punk ass, would they?" Nathan shouted, Chloe could now feel the gun poking her stomach. Before Chloe could say or do anything, a third voice echoed through the small bathroom.
"Nathan! Stop!" Nathan turned the gun away Chloe and towards the other end of the bathroom. A loud gunshot caused Chloe to jump, her heart was pounding wildly. She pushed Nathan out of her way and opened the bathroom door. She screamed for help before turning back into bathroom to see if the other girl was okay.
"Oh god, no, no, no!" Nathan chanted, putting his hands to his head. He had dropped the gun onto the tiled floor. Chloe quickly picked it up before Nathan could get to it again. He paced the room before approaching the brunette at the end of the room.
"Get away from her!" Chloe shouted as she pushed Nathan against the stall door. She looked at the shorter girl, what she saw was like a scene out of a horror movie. The girl's entire body was trembling; her breathing was extremely shaky. She held the right side of her stomach with both hands. When she moved them, Chloe could see they were covered in a crimson red liquid. She was pale with a look of shock and horror on her face. Chloe rushed over and caught the girl before she fell to the ground. Chloe had no idea what to do or say, she looked at the girls face and realised who she was. The brunette hair, the freckles across her nose and cheeks and those big blue eyes.
"M-Max? Max Caulfield?" Chloe said, her voice beginning to tremble. "No way! No fucking way!" Chloe used her right arm to support Max's head. She moved her left hand down to the wound that Max was already trying to cover with her shaking hands. Blood was rapidly spreading across the pink fabric of her t-shirt. Chloe pressed her hand down on Max's blood soaked shirt, causing her to cry out in pain. "Max. It's me. Chloe, Chloe Price. You remember me, right?"
"Chloe…" Max gasped out between shaking breaths, tears rolling down her pale cheeks. Chloe couldn't help but let out a sob as tears poured down her face. She began stroking a stand of Max's hair in an effort to comfort her, even though Max didn't notice.
"Yeah, we have a lot of catching up to do, huh?" Chloe let out a shaky laugh, trying to hide her fear and panic from the wounded girl in her arms. "You'll be okay, Max. We'll get you to the hospital and you'll be fine." Chloe looked behind her to see her step-father was already there, pinning Nathan to the ground. "David, call an ambulance! Now!" She shouted.
"They're on the way. Try to keep her awake and talking." David called over the noise of the students in the hallway, while handcuffing Nathan's hands behind his back. Chloe turned back to Max, stoking her thumb along her tear soaked face. "They'll be here soon."
"I…I'm scared…" Max whimpered, her breathing becoming shakier and uneven. Chloe could see the fear in her eyes. She pulled Max closer to her, trying to comfort her.
"I know, I'm scared too. Don't worry, I won't leave you. You are going to be fine." Chloe was no medical expert, but she knew she needed to put pressure on her wound to reduce the bleeding. She pressed her hand down even harder on Max's stomach. Max let out a weak scream and began whimpering even more. "I'm so sorry, I know this hurts but it'll help. I promise."
Max's eyes began to close. Chloe gently shook her shoulder when she realised she was beginning to drift away.
"Max? No, come on! Stay awake for me! Okay?" Chloe begged, not wanting Max to die like this. She just lost Rachel six months ago, Max has only been back in her life for less than five minutes and she was slowly dying in her arms. Life couldn't be that cruel. It just couldn't be. "Please, Max! Don't do this! Not like this! Come on!" Chloe was trying to come up with anything to keep Max awake. She was gently shaking her shoulder to keep her alert. "W-when you're better, we can go to the lighthouse, like when we were kids. We can catch up on everything there! Sound good?"
"Chloe…" Max whispered before drifting out of consciousness. Chloe lost it. She broke down sobbing, pulling Max as close to her as possible. Max stopped Nathan from shooting Chloe, but got shot herself. Max couldn't die like this. This certainly not how Chloe imagined or wanted Max to come back into her life. Five years since she had seen or spoken to Max, now here she was in a school bathroom, begging her to stay alive. This is sick. This isn't fair. This must be some kind of sick joke.
Chloe had no idea how long she held Max in her arms for. It seemed like hours even though it was only a few short minutes. The EMT's rushed in and took Max's limp body from her arms. Chloe backed into one of the bathroom stalls and watched as they fought to keep Max alive. One medic worked on the wound, while another started attaching wires to Max's body. She was still breathing, which gave Chloe some hope that she would pull through this. They were working hard on Max, but to Chloe it seemed like they weren't working fast enough.
"Come on. Come on, Max." Chloe said to herself without even realising. She watched as they put a mask over Max's nose and mouth, one medic who was kneeling down by Max's head was using one of those self-inflating bags that was attached to the mask. He squeezed the bag at a steady beat every five seconds. The medics spoke to each other, using medical terms that Chloe didn't understand. She watched as they finally lifted Max onto the gurney and wheeled her out of the bathroom and to the waiting ambulance outside. Students who had gathered in the hallway watched in shock as one of the quietest students in Blackwell was taken away by the medics. Chloe followed and kept her eyes on Max until they closed the ambulance doors.
Max was doing good, according to the doctors. The bullet missed her major organs, but she did have serious internal bleeding which the doctors were able to repair. They said Max was strong and making good progress. Since Chloe wasn't a doctor, she couldn't see much change. She needed Max to wake up. It was the only way she would be convinced that everything is okay.
On Monday, when this whole nightmare started, Max was taken into emergency surgery to have the bullet removed from her stomach and repair the damage it did to her body. She was then taken into the ICU where she was kept on a ventilator, to allow her body time to heal. Chloe begged the doctors to let her see Max. They simply wouldn't allow it. It was strictly family only while she was in the ICU, even though Chloe told them over and over that she was the only person there for Max until her parents arrived. They refused. Joyce told Chloe it was probably for the best and she shouldn't have to see Max is such a vulnerable way.
On Tuesday, Ryan and Vanessa Caulfield finally arrived back to Arcadia Bay. They hadn't heard about what happened to their daughter until late Monday evening. The earliest flight that could get was overnight flight. They were taken from the airport to the hospital in a cop car. After learning about Max's condition, they went to Chloe to hear her side of the story. They were so determined to learn what exactly happened, they didn't even seem to notice Chloe's dramatic change in appearance. Nathan had been arrest for what happened. Chloe also heard Mr Jefferson was arrested too. She didn't know why; she was so focused on Max that she didn't follow the news.
Wednesday was when Max finally had a huge improvement in her condition. That morning she was slowly and successfully weaned off her ventilator. She was closely monitored now that she was breathing independently. Chloe still wasn't allowed in the ICU to see her, but that didn't stop her from sitting in the waiting room, waiting for any updates. Joyce stayed with Chloe when she wasn't in work. She told Chloe to go home a number of times, but she wanted to stay. The fact that Max saved her life ran through her head over and over again. If Max hadn't of stepped out like she did, Nathan would have shot Chloe instead. Chloe did feel incredibly guilty that Max was hurt in all this bullshit.
Thursday was the day that Chloe had been waiting for. Max was moved out of the ICU, meaning she could finally see her again. The doctors were happy with how well she was doing now that she was off the ventilator. Even though she was no longer in the ICU, the doctors were still keeping a close eye on her. Chloe stayed with her the whole day, giving her parents a chance to get some rest. Chloe still couldn't believe she was looking at her childhood friend like this. She wondered if Max had any idea that she was looking at her old best friend in that bathroom.
Today, the doctors were hoping Max would finally awaken. Her parents were away sorting out work related issues while they were away from Seattle. The doctors had reduced the sedation and now the rest was up to Max. The doctors had warned she could be very confused and may be easily panicked when she woke up. They were all advised to take it slowly and let Max ask all the questions.
"You saved me, Max." Chloe told her. The doctors had told them there was a chance Max could hear them, so Chloe spoke to her and just hoped she could hear. "I still can't believe it. I didn't even know you were back in Arcadia." Chloe held her hand and looked at her friend. Max was still hooked up to a heart monitor and had an oxygen tube in the side of her nose. Besides from that, Max looked like she was in a peaceful sleep. "I need you to pull through. I don't want to lose you like this." To Chloe's surprise, she felt Max's fingers move in her hand. She gasped before looking at Max's face to see she was beginning to awaken.
"Max…" Chloe quickly got up and hit the call button on the wall before quickly returning to Max's side. Max scrunched up her nose as she lightly moved her head across the pillow. "Come on, Max..." Max's eyes blinked several times before finally opening them fully. Her eyes scanned the room, with a confused look on her face. Chloe was unsure as to what do say or do. She gently placed her hand over Max's, causing her to turn and look at Chloe. "Hey Max…"
Max looked at the blue haired girl on front of her. Her memory slowly returning. She remembered the bathroom, she remembered everything that had happened. A tired smile rapidly spread across her face when she realised her Chloe was okay…she was alive. She rubbed her heavy eyes with one hand and keeping a firm hold of Chloe's hand with the other.
"Hi Chloe…"