My Heart is A Storm: Chapter Two: Turn It Around
"She felt comatose waiting for this thing to grow
She's impatient 'cause she wants it now and so it shows
She can't be bothered by the ties that bind her
She's seen ivy when it strangles everything it holds"
"Chloe?"
"Max!"
The two girls ran towards each other and Max found herself wrapped inside Chloe's arms. She could hear the frantic thumping of the taller girl's heartbeat as her head laid against her chest. For a moment, no questions raced through her mind just relief. However, that was only a moment. Max gently pulled away.
"What? How?" Max asked.
Max had seen the Chloe of this universe lying dead on the bathroom floor. She had seen her lifeless body in a casket. She had seen that casket lowered into the ground. This was impossible. Of course, a lot of things had happened in Max's life so far that seemed impossible, like rewinding time for instance. Still, dead people magically coming back to life was a whole other level of impossible. She had been thinking about Chloe even more than usual today… Did Max manifest this?
"Can we go somewhere private to talk?" Chloe asked.
"If you promise you're not some robot clone sent to murder me." Max replied.
"Pinky swear." Chloe said softly, a smile appearing on her face.
Max's apartment complex was only a few blocks away. Max lead Chloe towards the faded brick building. It had once been a factory but had been converted into beautiful living spaces filled with exposed brick and vintage lights.
They reached the front door and Max unlocked and opened it. She led the way inside, flipping the light switch as she entered. The apartment certainly had a sense of vintage hipster style. Max had decorated it with funky furniture picked up at flea markets. There were books and knickknacks scattered everywhere and of course, the walls were completely covered in photographs, big and small.
"This is so… you." Chloe remarked, as they made their way towards the living room.
On the way, they passed a section of wall dedicated to Chloe. It was filled with photos of Max and Chloe, some from their last week together, other's given to Max by Joyce after the funeral. Max referred to it as "The Chloe Wall". Max's ex Tiffany had always called it "The Shrine". It had been a weird point of contention. Tiffany had always been weirdly jealous. Who the fuck gets jealous over a dead girl? But then, Max had once felt weirdly but deeply jealous of a dead girl called Rachel Amber. Max saw Chloe's eyes pass over the photos as they passed, but she said nothing.
They reached the couch and Chloe sat down gently. It wasn't her usual comfortable plop. Max supposed she felt as awkward as she did.
"Can I get you a drink?" Max asked.
"Um, yeah. Water would be great. Fantastic, really." Chloe said. She was twisting her fingers together, looking down.
Max was glad she asked, because she needed a moment alone. Max went into the kitchen, took a glass from the shelf, and for a moment just stood still. She breathed. Hands shaking, she filled the glass with ice and water for Chloe. After a few deeper breaths, she returned to the living room. Time to face the music.
Chloe sat there waiting, her eyes fixated on a small book on the coffee table. Polarized: A Collection of Photography By Max Caufield.
Max sat next to her on the couch and Chloe's eyes broke away.
"Here's some water." Max said, handing her the glass.
"Thanks." Chloe said, seeming to be slightly dazed. She took a sip and sighed.
"You published a book?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah," Max said sheepishly, "Not known to many outside of this city but I guess it's pretty cool."
"Super cool." Chloe replied. She grinned. "Max, that is so awesome. I'm hella proud of you."
Max smiled. Hella. Been awhile since she heard that word from anyone.
"I guess I owe you an explanation, huh?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah, I kind of watched you die." Max said.
Chloe sighed, burying her head in her hands. Max could hear her breathing heavily as though as into a paper bag before her head resurfaced.
"I'm honestly still trying to figure it out." Chloe said.
"I'm listening." Said Max.
"Okay, well, um, do you remember a giant storm threatening to destroy Arcadia Bay?"
"Yes."
"Okay, well, I told you that you should use the picture you took of the butterfly in the bathroom to go back in time to let me die so the storm wouldn't come."
Chloe was speaking fast and jumbled as through she was trying to spit the story out as fast as possible before she lost her nerve.
"Right." Max sighed. She didn't like how this story ended.
"And you ripped it up and said told me no."
Wait… that's not what happened. Sometimes, Max wished that was what happened but Max had decided to save the whole bay. Fucking moral code.
Chloe looked over at Max.
"I'm assuming that's not what happened to you, right?" Chloe asked.
"No…"
"Okay, well that kind of helps me a little bit, I guess."
Max looked down at the floor. This had to be weird dream, right? How the fuck did Chloe Price traverse another dimension to end up in her living room?
"So, we stayed at the lighthouse until the storm passed. Well, we did that in my timeline, I guess. When it blew over we found my car. Somehow it had survived. We drove here to Portland. You had let me steal that five thousand dollars, so, we had enough money to get set up. Also, when we mentioned we were from Arcadia Bay people were really eager to help us. I got a job bartending at that bar you were at earlier."
"Lips?" Max asked.
"Yeah," Chloe chuckled, "It was a pretty fucking cool place to work. Good tips. You kinda did jobs here and there. Waitressing, retail, occasionally selling pictures to art magazines. But…"
Chloe sighed, her shoulders slumping.
"It's okay." Said Max. "Just tell me."
"You never got over what happened, Max. You felt so guilty for letting all those people die. Your friends… my mom… I mean, I was pretty fucking sad about it too but you really felt responsible. That mixed with all the stuff with Jefferson broke you."
Max could see Chloe tearing up a bit. She wiped a tear away.
"I wasn't happy… ever?" Max asked.
All this time she had went over that decision in her mind. She always wondered what life would be like if she had chosen to save Chloe. She guessed she knew now.
"We had good days. We did. And I loved you so goddamn much. Even through everything, you loved me too. We were Max and Chloe."
"But you're here now." Said Max.
How was she here?
"We had a dreadful day. You had locked yourself in the bathroom. You were crying and screaming, but you wouldn't let me in. So, I knocked and beat on the door until I couldn't anymore."
Chloe held her hand out and Max could see the fire red knuckles.
"So, I sat down in front of the door and started crying too. And then I had a thought, it wasn't a wish or anything, it was just a thought. I thought, maybe I should have made you sacrifice me. I guess I just closed my eyes and imagined for a moment what kind of life you might have had. And when I opened them, my apartment was empty. Our furniture was gone. You were gone. I went outside and our old neighbor Mrs. Anabelle started freaking out because she thought some punk had broken into the empty apartment next door. She had no fucking idea who I was, Max. So, I ran and ran until I got to the library. I got on the computer and looked up my name and found an obituary. Nathan Price, jail. Mark Jefferson, jail . Then, I looked up you and saw all these articles. All these reviews of your gallery exhibits. I found your website and saw you lived here in Portland. So, I was determined to find you."
"So, you went to Lips?" Max asked.
"Yeah, I don't even know why. I just thought that maybe we loved that place in every timeline."
"Yeah, I guess so." Max replied.
She leaned back against the sofa, attempting to process everything she had just heard.
"I know it's a lot." Said Chloe. "This is really fucking hard for me to understand, I can't even imagine what you're thinking right now."
Max searched her mind for some sort of explanation.
"When I was messing around with time, I made all these different realities. If I made a choice and didn't like what happened, I would rewind. Every time I did that, I was messing with the very fabric of time. I kind of learned that in a weird vision I had." Max said.
"So, I guess somehow I got the power to jump around these different realities." Chloe said.
"I guess so." Max replied.
They sat in silence for a while. Occasionally, it seemed like Chloe was going to speak but she must have decided against it. At one point, their hands found each other and grasped together. Finally, Max spoke.
"This is really weird and seems so unbelievable and impossible, but I'm so glad I get to see you again, Chloe. I've missed you so much."
"I'm glad. Well, not that you've had to miss me but… glad you wanted me here. I mean, you're okay with me being here, right?"
"Of course."
Max looked at the time. 3 AM and she had work the next day. She rubbed her eyes, stifling a yawn.
"It's late." Said Chloe.
"Yeah, I guess we should get some rest. I just want to sit here with you but I have to be at the gallery at 8 AM."
"Oh," said Chloe "That's like five hours."
Max willed herself to get up and head towards her bedroom, but it was as though her feet were rooted to the floor. What if she woke up and Chloe was gone?
"Should I sleep out here?" Chloe asked.
Max squeezed her hand.
"No, come on."
Max pulled her up and they walked towards the bedroom. As they reached the room Max said a silent prayer.
Oh Chloe, please stay. Please fucking stay.