"Holy. Shit."
"I know."
"So let me get this straight. I died, you saved me. That creep Jefferson is a psycho. My step-douche is a hero, and a giant storm is going to kill us all if we don't start telling people to get out of here?"
"Pretty much."
Chloe started to rub her temples. This was something beyond anything she ever imagined. It was already startling enough to see her old best-friend pop back into her life with a sudden request to meet, and then this whole rewinding ridiculousness. She didn't want to believe her, but there was a look in Max's eye that said it wasn't a joke, and it wasn't in her imagination. Plus, Max sounded way too coherent to be imagining things. Furthermore, Max proved it by saying all this super secret stuff that she would have no business knowing. David's penchant for surveillance at the house. Jefferson's secret photography torture chamber, her trying to blackmail Nathan. How else could she have known?
"And Rachel? What about Rachel?"
Max faltered. Chloe's fervent gaze made her feel shy.
"I don't know. I don't really know what became of her, but I know that Jefferson and Nathan had something to do with it. The sooner we get David to bust their bunker, the sooner we'll find out. But I need your help to figure how we're going to do that." At the mention the unimaginable, Chloe's eyes darkened. She brooded for a minute, playing with her coffee spoon. Max spoke.
"I know how important she is to you."
The thought of finding Rachel installed a newfound sense of motivation that Chloe hadn't felt since she was determined to fix her wreck of a car.
"Leave that to me. I'll get one of my disposable phones and text him the coordinates and tip him off about it. Something like: Jefferson and Nathan have been abducting girls. Go to these coordinates. Be careful. Bring protection."
"You think that will work?"
"I mean, it's all I can think of. Is there another way to do it?"
"I guess you're right. It's pretty direct. But if they trace that back to you, then what?"
"Then I can take credit for being right. Well, you being right."
"Chloe, it's time you buried the hatchet with David. He saved my life."
"He did?"
"Yeah, and when you died…when Jefferson killed you…He was absolutely devestated. He really does care about you, Chloe. He's just…kind of a jerk."
Chloe looked long and hard at Max. Then she peered over to her mom.
"I guess my mom isn't so stupid to have married a complete idiot. And if he saved your life…after everything you've done for me…then I can grow up and face the step-douche."
Max laughed.
"What? It wasn't going to be easy? I'm so used to bashing on him. He's just….such a douche!"
After breakfast, Chloe saw that Max kept looking at her phone.
"I can't believe I'm skipping class today."
"Oh shit! You still have school. Haha, I didn't even notice anymore. My days at Blackwell ended a long time ago."
"What happened exactly?"
"About 2 years ago. Too many skipped classes. Bad grades. Lost my scholarship. Mom couldn't afford to pay for full tuition, so…I just dropped out. Started working a few odd jobs here and there. Helped out at the diner or the garage for petty cash. Rachel gave me some money from time to time to make things a bit easier. She paid for most of the car parts in my truck. All in all, I've been wasting away since, just waiting for a chance to get out of here. But every time I think of how sad Mom would be, even though I can't stand David as part of the family, or how afraid I am that I would have nowhere to go and it would all go to shit…"
"I just never had the courage to actually do it. I was close though. There was one night with Rachel. The first few days we met actually…but that's a story for another time. What about you? Glamorous photographer student now, are we?"
"I don't even remember what my life is anymore, since I started having these stupid powers. It seems like a million years since being good at photography was my main focus. All my efforts have been going into saving this town. And you."
Max shot Chloe a look that made her blush. It was so intense, and full of unspoken meaning. What the fuck could have happened in the alternative timelines? She could see that Max's eyes were wet, almost like they were about to cry.
"Thanks Max. I owe you one. Now let's head back to mine and start researching stuff. I have Samuel's number- I bet he could tell us about some weird places we could get people to hide out in while the storm hits."
She weakly smiled as Chloe got up. Then Max put some money on the table and quietly said to Joyce, "The food was better than I remembered Joyce. Keep the change."
Chloe got on her truck and lit up a cigarette. Holy smokes. Was Max being for real? As Max exited the diner, she started talking to a few people and observing a few things. This gave Chloe some time to process.
Okay, so your best friend saved your life a million times because you're a dumb shit who keeps getting killed in alternate realities, and now you have to help her tell your step-douche about those creeps and save this town that you hate from a huge storm that will kill everyone. And find Rachel. Could she be dead? Now I'd believe anything.
She took another long drag. She found one of her trusty disposable phones and drafted a text to send to David.
hey david we need to talk. important shit is going down and we ned your help
Seems legit enough, she thought to herself. Max eventually climbed aboard.
"What do you think of this?" Max almost laughed out loud. She rewrote another draft.
David. I know you're investigating disappearances. Go to the Farmhouse registered under Aaron Prescott's name and look inside. Jefferson and Nathan have been abducting and murdering girls in underground bunker. Bring protection and back-up. Could be very dangerous.
"Dude, that went from like 0-8 in like a second."
"Well, do you think he'll believe it?"
"Ha, please. That douchebag is so paranoid. He'd look for any lead to prove his point. In any case, I'm sure he'll check it out even if he doesn't believe the text entirely."
"We need to make sure he takes it seriously though, or we could be putting him in danger!"
"Is there any more proof you could give him?"
"Hm…It'll just have to do . We'll figure it out later. Just send it."
"Done. Now what?"
"We gather information on safe places for the storm."
"Should we split up? I could go home and research and you could ask around Blackwell."
"No. I'm not leaving your side."
"Good idea. I seem to do stupid shit when you're not around to save me."
Chloe suddenly felt her hand being clasped by Max's. All a sudden, everything became tense.
"I love you, Chloe."
