Maxine Caulfield
Prescott Dormitory – Room 219
October 12th, 03:23 am
"And Max Caulfield? Don't you forget about me…"
"Never."
Max wakes up in her bed with puffy eyes, adjusting to the darkness immersed her room. She can only see the silhouette of her furniture. It has only been a day since Chloe's funeral. Those memories Chloe and she had for that week were real, and she is the only one who has them now. All those moments she had weren't real. She can't share it with anyone, they would just dismiss her as crazy.
'Oh… my Chloe… if only there was another solution to get out of this mess … I'd do anything just to wake up next to you... but then… people will die because of the storm…' She clumsily slopes upwards and rolls off her bed to retrieve her phone from her desk, her eyes blinded by the bright light as it slowly adapts to the light.
03:23 am
Unsurprisingly, she received a lot of messages from her parents, friends, and acquaintances. 'Most of them didn't bother to talk to me before she died…'
[10/08 2:34 pm] Victoria:
Hey Max, I'm sorry for your loss. I hope you're doing OK.
[10/09 20:15 pm] Kate:
Hey Max if u need someone to talk to I'm here for you :)
[10/09 23:53 pm] Max:
Hi Kate, I'm doing fine. All of this was a huge shock.
I need some time to think.
Thanks for today.
[10/11 21:48 pm] Warren:
Hi Max, just to let you know.
We're here for you.
[10/11 22:03 pm] Max:
Thanks, Warren.
I'm busy rn, TTYL.
[10/08 01:10 am] Mom:
Hi honey We received a txt from Joyce about Chloe Srry we cant be there for u this Friday I know it must be hard for you right now We arranged a trip to visit you this Sunday afternoon! Stay strong Maxine! Xxoo Mommy
Tears well up in her eyes as she drags herself back to bed. The room is dead silent. Not a single soul can be heard. 'Then again, no normal person is awake at this time.' Max forces her eyes shut as she lay there attempting to resume her slumber, but she can't. The only thing she can think of is the blue-haired punk that was her entire world. Chloe was all that mattered to her. "Max, you finally came back to me this week, and… you did nothing but show me your love and friendship." The tears trapped in her blue eyes burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down her face as she curls up like a fetus. There is static in her head once more, the side effect of this misery that the brunette is in. Her lips tremble as she calls out the bluenette's name once more, hoping for her to just show up out of nowhere.
Maxine Caulfield
Prescott Dormitory – Room 219
October 12th, 07:23 am
The sudden hollow echo of knuckles rapping on the door accompanied by a familiar, sweet and gentle voice can be heard. "Hey Max, may I come in?"
"Hey Kate, give me a second." Gripping the doorknob, Max tries to put on her best face before letting her close friend in. Max sits on her bed as she gestures Kate to sit beside her.
"Good morning Max, how have you been?" The girl with the bun hair smiles, trying to comfort the brunette.
No response.
Max is staring at the wall that is opposite of her a long moment, and Kate almost repeats her question. Finally, she looks up with a tiny smile, "I'm sorry," she says, "I was thinking." Her voice is soft, and a bit strained like someone had hit her in the gut and she is still recovering. "I get lost a lot these days," she adds, "I'm sorry. And I'm… fine… to say the least. Everything just… happened so fast. I didn't even get a chance to talk to her, Kate. She died thinking that… that everyone abandoned her." A tear tickles her cheek as a great sob escapes her, covering her face with shaking hands. The brunette mumbles incoherent things through her hands and chokes on her sobs, "I'm sorry, you shouldn't see me like this…" The brunette speaking with a shaky voice.
"I know you're having a hard time with this, I'm sorry you're hurting so much. Max, your friends are here for you. We can help you get through this, together." Kate replies as she wraps her arms around the brunette.
"Thank you, Kate. I feel much better already." Max looks at Kate with a tiny smile on her face. She didn't want her friend to worry too much as Kate has her own problems to deal with. "Kate… I don't want to bother you if you're busy but are you free today? I am thinking of going over to Ch… Joyce's house to talk to her. We haven't talked much since… since…"
Kate speaks after noticing Max's trembling voice, "Anything for you, Max."
Max breathes in and out, trying to get a hold of herself. 'Okay, Max, calm down. You can do this.' She then proceeds to call the bluenette's mother. "Hi Joyce, are you at home today? I was wondering if I can go to your house at around 9 am. Alright, thank you, Joyce." The brunette slouches after hanging up, not having much energy left in her. She feels physically drained, like a huge weight that is chained to her. "Hey Kate, I'm going to and take a shower first. Do you mind waiting for me?" The brown-haired girl speaks with just a hint of melancholy in her voice.
"Sure Max, I don't mind waiting."
Kate's POV
When Max left the room, Kate wanted to find out if Max is okay. It is obvious that Max is sad, but she wants to be sure that it isn't worse than that. 'Max wasn't this sad a few days ago… but during and after the funeral she changed…' Kate thinks to herself. She walks over to Max's laptop to check what Max was browsing. 'Oh… this bad?' As her eyes are fixated on the display screen. 'I shall not be nosier than I already am… Max is not going to like it if I bring up her issue. I don't think anyone will if their friend snooped around and found out about things like these… She hasn't told me about it yet, guess I should wait for her to tell me and not the other way around.'
Maxine Caulfield
The Price Residence
October 12th, 09:03 am
After a long bus ride and a few minutes of walking, Max and Kate arrived at the Price's house. Max's fist was barely clenched as a soft and discreet knocking soon followed afterward. A distant and faint sound of footsteps can be heard, ever so slightly becoming louder but it stops there. The creaking of the door can be heard as David opens the door. "Hello Max, I didn't know you were comin'. Come on in." David steps aside to let the two girls in.
"Hey David, this is my friend Kate. We called Joyce earlier in the morning to tell her that we were coming."
'David's eyes look… sad.'
"Joyce hasn't been feeling the best ever since the incident. That rich fucker and that sick fucker should've died instead of being jailed. Sorry, Joyce is upstairs."
Max and Kate go up the stairs and knocks on the door. There isn't a response, so they try knocking again. "Hey Max, how have you been?" The blonde woman asks.
"I'm coping, what about you?" Max, of course, is telling a white lie so that Joyce won't be worried about her. 'She has too much going on right now... I can't let her be worried about me.'
"I'm… devastated. First William… and now her too, the world is so damn cruel to the good people in the world. She was my whole world ever since William left." Joyce replies with tears in her eyes that is reflecting against the sunlight, making them look shiny, almost looking like orbs.
"Joyce, I am so sorry about William and Chloe, I have great memories of them. I know things were hard for you and Chloe, I feel bad I didn't call." Max replies.
Joyce senses that Max has an immense amount of guilt judging by her reply. "You did the right thing, you moved forward with your life. I did when William passed on. Chloe… Chloe chose to stay angry. I'm sorry you had to witness that, honey, it must have been traumatizing. If only I could go back in time to save her."
"Me too, Joyce."
"Max, have you and your friend eaten yet? I'll make breakfast for the both of you." Joyce replies after a few seconds of silence between them. Kate didn't know what to say at this point as it might have been awkward to say something. So, she follows Max to Chloe's room while Joyce prepares to go down to make breakfast for them.
They both step into Chloe's room. The overwhelming guilt engulfs Max as her legs can barely carry her weight. Max sobs as she sat down on the floor with her chest on her knees. 'Everything is still here; the magazines, papers and Chloe's clothes scattered across her floor along with pizza boxes and empty beer bottles and soda cans.' "This is my fault… I should've done something to p-prevent her from dying."
Kate wraps her arms around Max as she tries to console her brunette friend, "Max, this isn't your fault. There wasn't much that you could've done. He had a gun, you were scared. Nathan was at fault here, not you."
"Thank you, Kate. Do you mind if I spend a few minutes alone in her room? I just need… some alone time." With that, Kate leaves after comforting her once more.
Max sits and sobs for a few minutes in silence, recalling what happened during that week.
"No way! When did you take this? YOU took this photo, you brat! In the bathroom today... You set off the alarm! That's why Nathan raged after you... It totally makes sense. You hella saved my life... Now tell me the truth, Max."
"I, er, know it was your birthday last month... This was my real father's camera... I want you to have it."
"Yep yep, I'm fucking insane on the brain! Let's dance! Shake that boney white ass! Or take my picture with your new camera!"
"This song fucking rules! Can't dance, hippie? Come on! Rawk out, girl! Yes! Break it down, Max!"
"I… I miss you so, so much, Chloe..."
"I miss you too, Max."
"…Chloe?"