Chapter 2: Returning Home
Four Years Later...
Max awoke from the nightmare, panting heavily as sweat coated her body. She looked around only to see her room. She stayed in her bed, trying to calm herself down.
"It's okay, Max. Just a bad dream." She thought to herself. Max looked at her phone, which was placed on her bedside table. 5:42 AM, just three hours before she would board a flight to Portland, and then it was just an hour-long bus ride to Arcadia Bay. She slowly got up from her bed, trying not to wake Vanessa or Eric, even though the latter was probably up by now, getting ready for work. Max went to the bathroom, closing the door behind her quietly enough to where it wouldn't disturb anyone. She twisted the faucet on full blast, cupping the cold water and splashing it on her face. She turned the faucet off, wiping her face off with a small towel. Leaving the bathroom, she walked down the carpeted stairs, on her way to the kitchen for a bite to eat or a cup of coffee if possible.
As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she turned left and headed through the family room. Eric was sat in his armchair, his eyes focused on his laptop, a cup of coffee on the small table next to him.
"Good morning, Eric." Said Max, which prompted Eric to look up from his laptop. A warm and gentle smile spread across his face.
"Ah, Max," He began, "How is your morning?"
"I just woke up, so I got that going for me." She replied, not wanting him to worry about her bad dream. Eric knew of her nightmares, but he didn't press the issue if she didn't want him to. "Is there any coffee left?" Eric let out a hearty chuckle.
"I'm no coffee fiend, Max." He said, readjusting his round-framed glasses. "The thermos is on the counter next to the toaster."
"Thanks, Eric." She said, nodding to him.
"Anytime, Max." Eric went back to his work, while Max continued to the kitchen. Sitting by the toaster was the coffee thermos. Grabbing a mug off of a nearby shelf, she poured the black liquid into the cup and closed the thermos tightly. She took a seat at the counter, looking out the window while drinking her mug of coffee. The sun hadn't peaked the horizon yet, so the sky was a dark shade of blue. Her Polaroid camera was upstairs, sitting with her luggage, and she didn't feel like digging through it to take some pictures, though the urge to do so was still there. Finishing her cup, she went over to the sink and cleaned it, then dried it off with a dishrag.
"Might as well get everything in order, now would not be an ideal time to fuck something up." Max thought to herself, remembering the time she forgot her spare clothes one summer. She passed Eric again, thinking he would simply be doing his work.
"Hey, Max?" Eric began, now looking at Max.
"Yeah?" She said. "Crap! Did he see through me?" Regardless of her panic, she kept a calm complexion.
"I just want to say, I'm proud of you for following your dreams." He said.
"Thanks, Eric." She responded. "It means a lot coming from you." Max finally waved farewell to Eric, who simply went back to his work. There were times when Max would've blown up at Eric, more commonly during the first two years of Ryan's death. Though Eric knew that Max was going through an even harder time than Vanessa, so he tried his best to help her. She eventually moved on from the accident and accepted Eric as her step-father. That didn't mean that the shouting matches stopped occurring, they had just stopped becoming a recurring theme for the interactions between Max and Eric. She made her way back up the stairs, almost colliding with her step-sister Dianna. Thankfully the two saw each other at the last second and stopped themselves. "Crisis averted." Max thought to herself.
"Shit, my bad, Max." She said, her ginger hair still suffering a brutal case of bed head.
"Why are you up so early?" Max asked, puzzled.
"Woke up around the same time as you, I think." Dianna began, tapping her index finger on her chin. "Dunno, just felt like getting up. Same goes for you?"
"Yeah," Max said plainly.
"Excited for Blackwell?" She asked, only for a sudden wave of realization to flood her face. "Wait, that was a stupid question, of course you're excited!"
"You know that better than anyone, Dianna," Max said with a smile.
"Tell Chloe I said hello." And with that, she continued down the stairs, probably to the kitchen. Max remembered when she and Dianna went to Arcadia Bay for the first time together. Chloe, oblivious to who Dianna was, actually thought she was Max's girlfriend. That was a year ago, a fun story to bring up at parties, and a story that Max and Dianna would make sure Chloe never forgets. Continuing to her room, Max began scanning the room for anything she might have missed, making mental notes for everything in her bags.
Five Hours Later...
Chloe waited eagerly at the bus station, sat atop the hood of her Mini SUV as the late morning sun beamed down. Max had left from Union Station in Portland two hours ago. Chloe was about to send Max a text out of pure boredom when a bus rolled up. A crowd of people left the bus, with the last being a petite brunette with freckles and brown hair, carrying two duffel bags slung around her shoulders and pulling a large rolling bag. Chloe rushed over to her, grabbing one of the duffel bags and the rolling bag from her.
"Thanks, Chloe," Max said, probably exhausted from hulking the luggage around.
"I bet baggage claim was a nightmare." Chloe joked, receiving a giggle from Max. "Welcome home, Max."
"You feel like helping me out?" Max pleaded, "Pretty please?"
"How can I say no to you, dork?" Chloe put the luggage in the trunk of the SUV. "So, you like my wheels?"
"A 2007 Ford Escape, I like it," Max remarked while inspecting the vehicle. "Though you know I like retro, so six out of ten."
"Oh my god, you're just like Warren." Max gave Chloe a look of confusion. "Warren is a geek who goes to Blackwell. Trust me, you'll like him." Chloe had come to praise Warren's genius intelligence which has saved her Science grade more times than she cares to mention. The two finally got into the car and set off onto the road.
"Dianna says hi from Seattle." Max started. Chloe let out a chuckle.
"That's the first time you've mentioned her without calling her your girlfriend," Chloe said, cringing at the memory.
"Only if you forget," Max comments with a small snicker. A few minutes passed before they passed a construction site for Pan Estates. Max and Chloe had the same idea and flipped off the construction site as they passed it. Max and Chloe let out a hearty laugh.
"I can see Nessie has taught you well," Chloe remarked. "Eric giving you shit for anything?" Max snorted at the thought. Eric trying to be strict, there was a funny thought.
"Chloe, you know Eric." Chloe just kept her eyes on the road. "He really wants me to succeed though, he's even been encouraging me to share my work."
"But have you?" Chloe asked, "Cause there is a strong difference between showing your work and saying you'll show it."
"Ease up, Che, I've been sending stuff around, hell it's the main reason I'm able to go to Blackwell!"
"And what did you get in response?" Max adjusted in her seat.
"Appraisal from some colleges in the Midwest, but nothing much other than that." Max began, "Plus, none of those schools have a photography teacher like Mark Jefferson."
"It's good to hear that, Max. I'm hella proud of you, Freckles." Chloe got a soft punch on the arm. Max dreaded that nickname. "Aw, must've hit a nerve."
"You ass," Max said, exaggerating a pout.
"A cute ass, though," Chloe said with an impish grin, earning another punch from a beet-red Max. The two continued driving through the scenic routes of the town, finding themselves parked outside the Price household.
"Here we are!" Chloe said as she and Max got out of the car. "You can leave your stuff in the car, me and William are gonna help you get settled in at the dorms." Max and Chloe walked up to the door. Max was about to hit the doorbell when the door opened, revealing William Price from behind the door.
"Max! Welcome home!" William exclaimed as he pulled her in for a warm hug.
"Hey, William!" Max said returning the hug with gratitude, "I missed you all so much!" William worked as a teacher at Bayside Elementary School, which wasn't surprising, considering that he was the kindest soul on the planet. While it wasn't the most interesting job in Max's perspective, he certainly loved it to no end. "Is Joyce still at Two Whales?"
"Not when you're here, Max!" Joyce called from inside the house, which made the three giggle. Max entered the house and had only taken a few steps into the breakfront before Joyce caught her in a hug, planting a kiss on her right temple. "Oh, Max, it's so good to see you." And with that, Max walked around the house she'd spent so much time in as a kid. Wave after wave of nostalgia washed over her for every single thing she saw inside the house, from the couch that doubled as a pirate ship to the infamous stain on the carpet.
"I'm guessing you guys don't keep wine around Chloe anymore?" Max joked, which made Joyce and William chuckle, while Chloe had a look of betrayal painted on her face.
"Let's not neglect the fact that you were the one who made me spill it!" Chloe remarked, folding her arms and pouting. The face Chloe made was a weird mix of Steve Buscemi and William Dufeau, and Max broke out into uncontrollable laughter.
"I guess I can for sure call you Captain Sodium from now on." Max saw a grin spread across Chloe's face.
"Fair enough, Freckles," Chloe said, letting her arms fall to her side. Max was about to start a playground insult war before Joyce stepped in, playing the diplomat.
"Now now you two, play nice." Joyce interjected, "Or you ain't gettin' extra servings!" Joyce knew how to dismantle any argument between Chloe and Max, was to mention food. It worked every time. Max, Chloe, and William couldn't help but laugh.
"Life couldn't get any more awesome." Max thought to herself as she followed Chloe and Joyce into the kitchen.
AN: For anyone wondering, I intended for Chapter 1 to be a sort of dream that Max has, mainly to set up the plot for the whole thing, so Chapter is more like the Prologue. Also, Dianna and Eric, You'll learn more about them later on, as the story continues.
Thank you all again for reading, and I will see you in the next chapter!