Rewind

(Present time: early November 2019)

"Are you ready to see them again", Rachel asked Chloe. Chloe nodded yes, of course she was ready. Max was her best friend in the world. It was almost two o'clock in the afternoon, and that was the time Max and Warren were supposed to arrive. It was a few days after Halloween.

Both Rachel and Chloe had been shocked by the recent news regarding Mark Jefferson. They had agreed that they would need to talk it over with Max and Warren. As coincidence would have it, Max and Warren were already scheduled to visit. Chloe checked her cellphone and saw a text from Max that they would arrive in a few minutes. To Chloe's satisfaction, Max had not used any emojis this time.

The bell rang and Chloe rushed to open the door, and upon seeing her friend Max embraced her tightly. Max thanked her for the grope which made Chloe grin. Chloe then dragged Max inside, Warren followed them.

Max was familiar with the Amber apartment as she'd been a frequent visitor throughout the years. Max often exhibited her photography in the many art galleries of Los Angeles, and always visited Chloe and Rachel whenever she had the opportunity. Seeing Chloe with Rachel always made Max happy, it was such a change from the depths of despair that Chloe had been through. Some of the pictures on the walls in the apartment had been made by Max, and she had given them to Chloe and Rachel as gifts.

It started raining outside and the wind was blowing audibly around the building. "It does create kind of a spooky atmosphere", Warren said. Chloe and Rachel sat together on the couch and Max and Warren occupied chairs on the opposite side of the table.

They talked about the lives Chloe and Rachel were leading, Max's career as a photographer, Warren's Silicon Valley start-up and of course about the baby that Max and Warren were expecting. Chloe especially wanted to know everything and was looking forward to becoming an unofficial aunt.

Past three o'clock, Rachel served tea. A silence suddenly fell in the room. They all realized that despite the happy reunion, they had talking to do about serious issues. The news could not be ignored. Chloe suggested they might want to have something stronger than tea later.

Chloe started the discussion. "Well, we've all heard it, we can't ignore it. Just when we try to have a nice reunion here, that fucker is back in the news. I'm sorry Rachel, but I'm not very forgiving when it comes to him."

"I was appalled to hear what happened", Max said. "But I suppose he had it coming."

Chloe stated that she had sometimes wished for this sort of news. But the fact that it had now actually happened had caught her off guard. Rachel sighed and agreed, moving a little closer to Chloe at the same time. Mark Jefferson was not their favorite topic, to put it mildly.

Max turned to Warren, and asked if he could share all the details he'd been able to find on the recent development. Warren said that according to the FBI, early signs pointed to an organized hit. Most speculation seemed to suggest that Mark Jefferson's death was the work of a fellow inmate. Someone who was a cousin of the father of one of Jefferson's earlier victims. But the police weren't sure. There were some other rumors suggesting a more familiar force behind the events.

"He was beaten to death just days after being moved into general population", Warren said. "That he was even moved to general population is suspicious enough in itself. The CrimeFile website has tons of information. They called him the Darkweb poser-killer, considering his method of forcing models to pose, usually after drugging them, and killing some of them when he was done making pictures. The FBI thinks that people who frequented the Darkweb section where Jefferson put his pictures on display were likely not aware that a few of the models had been murdered."

"At least you won't have to testify anymore", Max said to Rachel.

Rachel said that she was glad about that, as another trial would have been very difficult for her, perhaps more so than the initial trial had been. Rachel recalled that Chloe's presence in the courtroom had been the only reason she had been able to make coherent testimony.

Chloe said she had forgotten all about the horror scenario of the impending re-trial. Justice had seemingly been served a few years earlier when the court had handed down the death penalty for Mark Jefferson, only to be overturned on appeal earlier in 2019 on account of procedural mistakes. A re-trial had been scheduled for 2020, but with Mark Jefferson's death it was no longer needed. The other perpetrator, Nathan Prescott, was still in a psychiatric hospital, his status was unknown.

"You know what I think we should do now", Rachel said to the other three. "We've talked about bits and pieces in the past, Chloe and I have been going to therapy, you guys have visited us many times, but I think it's time we discuss all of it, the whole story, our collective experience. It's not going to be easy but this way we might all be able to get some closure, now that Mark Jefferson is gone for good".

Chloe looked anxiously at Rachel and asked if she was sure. Rachel confirmed she was and Chloe voiced her support for Rachel's suggestion. Max thought it was a good idea but didn't know where to start. Warren suggested that a good starting point would be the day that Max and Chloe reconnected after years apart.

The rain outside kept pouring and the wind intensified. Conditions were getting steadily worse.

Max then offered to start off and Chloe said she was ready to help. "Alright, time warrior, please rewind."

(Flashback: spring 2013, as told in 2019)

Max: "I had just returned to Arcadia Bay to prepare for studying photography at Blackwell Academy. I had no idea at the time who Mark Jefferson really was, all I knew then is that he was one of the best regarded teachers. He had organized an extra class for the new students, and I attended it. But all day long, I could not concentrate. Disturbing thoughts just kept going through my mind.

I went to the bathroom because I'd gotten a nosebleed. After freshening up, I suddenly saw a beautiful blue butterfly, and as it landed I decided to make a picture of it. Then it happened, Nathan Prescott barged into the bathroom, he looked very nervous and was talking to himself whilst checking the stalls. Fortunately, he forgot to look around the corner.

Then you appeared, Chloe. But I didn't even recognize you at first. You seemed to be blackmailing Nathan for cash but then he pulled a gun on you and started threatening you. I was so scared at the time, all I could think of was hitting the fire alarm after which you bailed. Nathan fell onto the floor after dropping his gun. I remember having visions of him killing you."

Chloe: "It seems you saved my life that day, Supermax. And not for the last time."

Max: "I told principal Wells about Nathan's gun but he didn't seem to want to believe me. I felt a headache and went outside. Then Warren texted me to meet him in the parking lot."

Warren: "I was super excited because I planned to ask Max out to the old drive-in theatre for a scary movie, and wanted to show her the car I bought to take her there."

Max: "I liked your car. But we had barely started to talk when Nathan Prescott showed up. He started shouting at me about how he heard that I had talked to the principal about what happened in the bathroom. He said that no-one was allowed to screw around with him or order him around, not even the principal."

Warren: "Nathan was always screwed up as far as I can remember him, but we didn't realize yet just how much."

Chloe: "After bailing from the bathroom I went back to my truck. I called Frank Bowers to tell him that I had delivered his packages, which I did before my bathroom confrontation with Nathan. Sitting in my truck, I saw him running towards you two and he seemed to be freaking out. Then suddenly, I realized it was you, Max. I raced towards you and told you to jump in my truck as Nathan started to beat Warren up. You took a hell of a beating for her that day, Warren."

Max: "As we drove away we saw David Madsen, Chloe's stepdad, intervening. Warren told me later he tried to press charges, but David and the principal did not want to hear about it."

Chloe: "Blackwell was hella fucked up. They were all covering for that little shit, all because of his dad's money. And Max, I think I still have to apologize to you for being angry with you after you reappeared in my life, five years after you left for Seattle with your parents."

Max: "No, you don't have to apologize. You were right to be angry with me for not contacting you for so long. When I just got to Seattle, I didn't know what to say to you. And later, I was just so scared of how you would react. Then we lost contact for five years. But I remember I was really happy to see you that day. Though the first few minutes we were back together were eerie.

And then, we finally started to talk. Once back at your home you showed me your room, it was so different from what I remembered, but I guess it was in line with the changes in your appearance. You asked me to switch on the music while you were chillin' on the bed, and then I found out that you were the one who had printed all those missing person posters of Rachel. They were all over Arcadia Bay. I had wondered about that right up to that moment."

Chloe: "I had tried to investigate her disappearance, but couldn't figure out more than to make posters and to keep asking people if they knew anything. But no one did."

Rachel: "You did not give up on me, Chloe, I can never forget what you did for me. What all of you did. None of you owed me anything."

Chloe: "You're wrong, Rachel. I owed you, because like Max, you also saved my life. But darkness had overtaken all my thoughts those days, and I felt more depressed than ever, desperate, fearing that I'd lost you forever. I started behaving recklessly, taking more risks in running jobs for Frank, and all the other bad stuff I did. I didn't care about my safety or anything. I just missed you so terribly much."

Chloe briefly paused and choked back a tear. Rachel held Chloe's hand and caressed it.

Chloe: "Had Max not shown up that day, I would probably be dead now. I'd been thinking about it for some time, always postponing it, hoping I'd find some news about you, Rachel, but my hopes were fading with each passing day.

Anyway, after David confronted me about the gun he was missing and the weed he found in my room, I got angry with him. I said he should leave me alone and that he wasn't even a real cop anyway. Hindsight sure proved me wrong, didn't it? I've never been so happy to be so wrong. David went back downstairs, and later that evening Max and I decided to go to the lighthouse to hang out a bit more and have a place where we could talk."

Max: "I am so glad you opened up to me that evening about all your thoughts and fears, Chloe."

Chloe: "I figured I had nothing to lose anymore. I might as well tell you, my best friend, everything. I'd gotten Rachel's letter months before, the one in which she wrote about how she had met someone that could change her life, someone who could make her famous.

I was very bitter about it. I was very possessive at the time. Always have been a bit of a drama queen. All things started adding up, my dad dying, my best friend disappearing for years, Rachel showing up and promising a beautiful vision of a life away from Arcadia Hell.

Then after hearing the truth about Rachel's mother, Rachel and I didn't leave like we had said we would. We kept hanging out together but from time to time Rachel just vanished. I saw her less and less. There were rumors about her being seen hanging around Frank Bowers, but I tried not believing that, and then she disappeared for real.

I just couldn't handle it anymore. I was tired of feeling like shit all the time. Plus, I owed Frank a lot of money, some of which I had borrowed from him to pay for Rachel and me leaving Arcadia Bay. Everything was closing in on me, that's how I saw it.

I told Max about how I had tried to steal Nathan Prescott's wallet several weeks earlier, figuring he'd be an easy target. But he was ahead of me, he put something in my drink and when I came to he was there in that empty bar with that weird grin on his face, making pictures of me. If only I had known, Rachel, just how much worse you were having it at that same time, and just how fucked up Nathan was. He turned out to have been completely under the influence of Mark Jefferson.

Finally, I told Max about how often I'd stand in front of a freight train, only to jump away at the last moment. And maybe that night, without Max, I would have just let the train…"

Chloe was becoming visibly distraught and Rachel suggested a time-out. Chloe insisted they continue. "It has to be now, angel", Chloe said.

Chloe: "David's gun was my backup plan. I lied to you, Max, when I said it was just for self-defense. I had spent some time looking up the best way of doing it, the right angle and all that stuff. I figured that it would only take one moment, and then eternal peace, no more feeling like shit."

Max: "By then it was clear to me that you were desperately in love with Rachel, I mean really deeply. I didn't know what to say. I hated seeing you in the state you were in, so bitter and sad. I was also blaming myself for adding to your frustrations by my lack of communication all those years. I wanted to try and help you, so I suggested we start investigating Rachel's case for real.

I said that as long as we didn't know where Rachel was, she might be found. And I described to you my nosebleeds and recurring visions about a storm, I suppose we ended up in the center of it."

Chloe: "You restored a little hope in me that night, Max. I cannot thank you enough for that. You once again proved you were Supermax Caulfield, my best friend. You pulled me back from the brink, you saved my life. And I was very glad you spent the night, Max, I needed company that night. I was totally freaking out."

Max: "I was happy to be with you again. I do love you, Chloe. There was just no way I was going to leave you alone that night. The next morning, I saw that my camera was broken. Chloe said I could find some tools in the garage. When I was downstairs I discovered weird pictures of Kate Marsh and other girls on David's computer, and boxes filled with documents.

At the time I had no idea he was investigating Rachel's disappearance as well as the pictures. I just thought it was extremely creepy. I mentioned it to Chloe and we talked about it. Afterwards, you drove me back to Blackwell. Surely neither of us expected the drama that played out there that morning."

Chloe: "You were awesome Max. You weren't just there for me, but also for Kate, and you saved her too. You are a real superhero. They should make a movie about you."

Max: "I don't remember much about how I talked Kate out of jumping from that building. There are shards of a conversation in my head. But I was so glad when she finally stepped towards me. Kate just kept telling me she remembered absolutely nothing about those horrible pictures being taken, or that video being made. Of course, now we know that she'd been drugged and used like so many other girls.

For some reason they decided to let her live. I guess their goal was to take away her innocence. And also, Victoria and her crew had been picking on Kate for weeks, which added to her state of mind. Chloe and I theorized that maybe Kate's situation was connected with Rachel's disappearance. We didn't know how right we were at the time. We decided to step up our efforts and that's when I said to Chloe we needed more help."

(Present time: 2019)

Chloe looked at Warren knowing that he'd been the help that Max was referring to. Warren felt both proud and awkward at the same time.

Rachel took a deep breath and said that maybe it was time for her to talk about how she and Chloe had met. It might be needed to help Max and Warren understand Chloe's state of mind during those times. Chloe nodded in agreement. The four took a break to order food from a nearby Chinese restaurant.

After dinner, Rachel added that she would also address what happened after the fateful night at her parents' place, and how the shocking revelation about her mother had affected her and her plans to elope with Chloe. That night, Rachel said, had been the catalyst for all subsequent events regarding her and Chloe.

Rachel mentioned to Max and Warren that she and Chloe had often talked about that particular time during therapy, which had greatly helped them both. Rachel added that it would be good to get the story on the table once more. Chloe put her arm around Rachel as Rachel began to tell about how she met Chloe.

PS

With reference to Chloe's talk of suicide, depression is an issue that should never be casually dismissed, and always taken seriously. Please find help if you need it.