Chapter Four: James, Chloe, Rachel

Sitting with Rachel and Chloe in front of Ray Well's empty office, James Amber had found his daughter far angrier with him than he had anticipated.

He had expected sound and thunder, he had counted on it. The past few days he had been playing conversational scenario after conversational scenario to be ready to counter anything she might be able to throw at him. It reminded him of the old days, during the darkest days with Sera in her downward spiral.

Unfortunately for him, there was an old saying that he had failed to take heed to, but it turned out to apply perfectly to his new situation: Generals prepare to fight for the last war. For Rachel, Rachel operated her rage in a way Sera never could.

Her rage was in her literal silence.

Standing in the doorway to the Price home, James watched Chloe lead her down the stairs. She looked rough, wearing clothing that clearly belonged to Chloe, she only spoke to Joyce to thank her for her hospitality, and pushed by James without uttering a word, without even sparing him a glance. She refused sit in the front, and the only acknowledgement of him was that she demanded Chloe to join her in the back seat.

He was a ghost to her. It had… hurt more than he had anticipated.

It gave him time to take in her appearance. She was a physical mess, her hair frayed and messed up, her make up smudged from tears, her clothing was too big for her, they had been clearly raided from Chloe's dirty clothing as they stunk of mildew, cigarettes, pot and alcohol. Worse yet was the giant hickey forming on the front of her neck, marked with teeth.

The moment he took in that, he had to glance up to look Chloe dead in the eyes. At least she gave him the curtsy of truth. It came in a guilty look and a shrug. That pretty much marked Chloe down as more than a friend to his daughter. Next time she was over, he supposed he would have to sit down and talk about it.

Preferably this would happen as he was cleaning a shotgun and drinking something with a little more kick than sherry.

As he glanced again at Chloe, who shuffled in her seat still very much aware that of him knowing about where she stood with Rachel, James silently marked 'buy one shotgun' in his list of things to do today.

The door open behind them and Ray Wells entered his office. James stood immediately up from his seat out of respect and offered his hand to the man. The girls, on the other hand, remained locked in place. It was probably for the best, it drew Well's attention away from the silently fuming Rachel.

"Principal Wells," James greeted Ray by his title. A little jerking off another man's ego went a long way.

"Mr. Amber, how may I help you today…" Wells returned, shaking James' hand briefly before looking at the audience.

His attention flickered from Rachel to immediately Chloe. Any warm reception he had for James vanished as he found Chloe Price staring back at him. He looked annoyed at her, like she was a pest that he could never seem to just get rid of.

"Chloe Price, I cannot seem to shake you," Ray spoke, his tone edged with elitist sardonicism at the sight of the child he booted from the school forty-eight hours prior. "I do suppose I should thank you for your role in saving the school play. If only you had taken up hobbies and participated in school project before your expulsion."

"You're welcome for the save, Ray, and for the cash flow that came instead of refunds," Chloe snapped right back. There was no fear or hesitation or respect for the older authority figure. She was a girl with nothing to lose and clear burning hatred for the man who had humiliated her in front of her friends and her mother.

It took all of James' efforts not to grin out of admiration. The gall this girl possessed at her age was absolutely astounding.

"I came here on behalf of Miss Price here and her mother, who unfortunately could not make it," James interceded so that Chloe didn't meltdown and go wild. Enjoyable as it might have seemed, it was better to keep the ball rolling.

Ray turned back from Chloe. He looked ready to continue his fight with the girl, but James' words had caught him off guard just enough to keep the fray from turning into a full-fledged conflict.

"It is unfortunate that you have wasted your time in this understandable endeavour," Wells informed James as he took a seat behind his desk. "Miss Price has flippantly thrown out all her many opportunities she was granted in light of her… tragedy. Considering the financial… difficulties, not only did we show compassion, we are certain Chloe would be better suited for public education or applying for her GED through online or community college courses. To be honest, Miss Price was never Blackwell material to begin with-"

"You're a total bastard..."

The outburst had erupted from Rachel, who for the first time since James was in her, had spoken to someone outside of Chloe. She was shaking with righteous anger in defense of her friend from the passive aggressive insults issued by the educator.

"Rachel," he warned his daughter.

Just as it was a first time she had been willing to speak in front of him, it was the first time she had looked at him. Rachel looked at him like she was ashamed to be his daughter.

Swallowing the knot in his throat, James reorganized his himself and directed his focus once again to Wells, who was staring almost fascinated by what he was witnessing between father and daughter. You didn't get to his position without first obtaining a decent skillset of observational awareness.

"Please… excuse my daughter's outbursts," James apologized on her behalf. "She's upset for a friend, it's only natural for outbursts like this."

Wells laced his fingers together. He looked from James, to the girls. His eyes stopping at Chloe, who sat there looking like she had wanted to call him something awful and perverse, or perhaps a combination of the two.

"Then perhaps she needs to find a better friend," he stated simply.

Rachel and Chloe shared a look.

And just like that, James forgot all his niceties and good nature. The gloves were coming off now. No more dancing around, it was time to get to the heart of the issue, because if he stayed he was liable to hit the man across from him.

"The way I see it, I see it you have two option," he informed Ray, his voice tinted with falsified humour. "Option One: You drop the expulsion in favour of a suspension, place her on probation for next year and we all walk away from this with mucking up everything. I'll pay for her entrance fee, no harm, no foul…

Wells, as expected, was not particularly thrilled by Option One.

He would just have to learn to accept it. Option Two… Well, it really wasn't the option a man in Ray's position would want to take a chance on.

"And option two?" Wells asked, leaning into his chair, so far unimpressed.

Gathering up the briefcase he had brought, he placed it in his lap and unlocked it. Pulling out a police file, he dropped it in front of Wells, who stared at it blankly. After a moment, he reached out and opened it, revealing several mug shots and documentation.

"My office has been keeping tabs on a Damon Merrick and his associates," James introduced the leader to Wells, his fingers tapping the sneering mug shot staring back at the educator. "Mr. Merrick is a bit of an entrepreneur; and one of his recent ventures is running controlled substances into Blackwell Academy for the expressed purposes of distribution to the athletes."

Chloe shifted nervously next to him. Yes, he was well aware of her one time job for Frank Bowers. His informant had said as much. In the grand scheme of things, he knew this only came about due to Rachel's insistence they flee from Arcadia Bay; and he didn't need an informant on that. Between their declaration on stage and Chloe's attempt to deescalate Rachel's rage at dinner the night his world got torn apart, he knew exactly what was happening to force Chloe into that desperate move.

As far he was concerned, Chloe had nothing to do with the matter.

"Tell me, Ray, since you're the professional educator here," James continued, twisting his metaphorical knife deeper and deeper into the Principal. "How is it going to look when your star athlete Drew North is busted for his part in an oxycodone smuggling ring? I'm going take a stab in the dark and assume that it's not going to go over well."

James fell silent and allowed Wells the opportunity to stew in all the awful implications and outcomes that would arise if James went in gang busters and knocked the ring down from the ground up rather than the careful neutralization of the organized ring's leadership. Blackwell Academy's reputation destroyed, all under Wells' watch.

"My office has no real interest in arresting children. Our focus remains entirely on Merrick and his partners," James assured the numbed principal. "However, that being said, illegal distribution of a controlled substance is a serious offense, especially within school grounds. One which would not only destroy the reputation of this esteemed school, but would jeopardize it. Imagine the outrage that would ensue to a doping scandal. Your competitive licences would certainly be revoked pending the investigation and hearings. Financial backers of the team would bail… but then there are the Prescott's..."

The mention of the wealthy patrons of Blackwell was enough to force Ray to look back up to the DA. He was shaking in unspoken rage at being placed in this sort of position; but it was no one's fault but his own. Ray skimped on security and got exactly what was bound to happen: Chaos.

"I know you Ray," James spoke, his tone dropping the edge in favour of sympathy. "I know you'd rather drag your dick through a mile of rat traps then get into bed with the Prescott's any more than you already have to be; they would pick up the financial slack and seize total financial control over this institution. You don't want that, and I know that I don't want that."

James emitted a small sigh, if only for dramatic effect.

"But I guess all of that wouldn't matter, would it?" he pressed forward. "Once the first arrests are made, inquires will be made into your competence in providing a safe environment. You would be out of a job, or you will be placed on leave, never to educate again, which would be a shame, considering your illustrious career so far."

James leaned forward, allowing a knowing grin cross over his face. He was pulling no punches; he hadn't the time for any of this. He had a busy schedule and this glorified secretary was the smallest concern on his list at the moment.

"So here's what's going to happen," he said, his hands lacing together as the rested on Ray's desk. "You're going to place Chloe Price on suspension for the rest of the year, you'll hand her reapplication papers to sign, which will be approved come September 1st of this year. You will take my goddamn money. Or else on September 2nd, I come here with a search warrant and burn your career to the ashes."

The cards were on the table now. Ray remained locked in an intense staring down from Ray. If they had been friends once, then those days were long over. He also knew this was a potentially career ruining move, but he knew Wells would stake the reputation of the school over calling a bluff any day of the week.

"Girls, could you please wait outside?" James requested, unblinking as he stared down Wells'. "I think Principal Wells and I need some time alone now."

Rachel and Chloe glanced at each other for only a moment before they flew out of their chairs to leave James staring down the fury of Ray Wells. They did not need to be asked twice.


The yelling between James and Wells only got worse and Chloe could not help but grin ear to ear after watching Wells get hella fucking owned by Rachel's dad.

Rachel had wandered off to the bathroom, leaving Chloe behind to wait and take in the sweet moment of victory she felt. Whether she had to go to the bathroom, or just didn't want to listen to her dad any more than she had to was up for debate.

While she had been looking forward to her escape from Blackhell forever, and while the idea that she would be back in school sucked, at least it seemed more than likely that she would be back in school with Rachel again, only under vastly different circumstances now. For now all cared about was listening to Wells holler at the top of his lungs.

Cracking her neck she glanced away from the office and took a look at the students passing by. Some of them curious by the noise, but in large part they remained apathetic. None of them mattered to Chloe, so whatever. At least that was the case until she noticed Steph Gingrich at her locker, one of her arms was pinned down by half a dozen books. She appeared to be in the process of opening up the one next to her, which of course, belonged to Mikey North.

Pushing herself off the wall, Chloe crossed the hall and slammed her back into the locker on the other side of Steph's. The bang earned her an annoyed look from some rando couple. Chloe made a point to ignore and looked to Steph, who had turned and issued a small grin to exiled Blackhell inmate.

"Yo Steph, what's shaking?" she asked her, grabbing the arm load of books out of Steph's grasp.

"Thank you, Calimastia," she spoke gratefully as she focused on opening the locker properly. "I'm just picking up Mikey's assignments for today. I'm going to be his scribe. Hey… is there a Battle of Helms Deep re-enactment going on in Wells' office?"

She could not stop herself. Chloe issued Steph the widest of shit eating grins.

"Oh yeah, my Lawyer is in there ramming his fist, fuckin' straight up Wells' ass at the moment…" Chloe waved off. "It's looking like you're not going to be the coolest kid in Blackwell for much longer."

Steph arched her brow as a small horrified expression emerged at the graphic depiction of Wells' current status as James Amber's bitch boy.

"…then I'll have to savour every last moment before your return from exile," she replied. Steph paused and glanced at the blue fringe.

Cool hair by the way," she added. "I won't ask if Rachel Amber's was the inspiration…"

The small knowing smirk on Steph's face did more damage to Chloe's cockiness than she had ever anticipated. It became painfully clear that she was standing in front of probably the only person she had ever met who was clear minded about her sexual attractions on the same sex, and there Steph stood, gently poking holes through Chloe's armour.

Sooner rather than later, she was going to have to take Steph up on her offer to talk. There was only two other people in her life she'd fee she could talk about this. One was the object of her attraction, the other was gone and never coming back.

"Well… yeah… maybe…" she said, knowing how stupid she must have sounded as she rubbed her neck, which only made things worse, because it gave Steph the opportunity to look at Rachel's bracelet which still store wore.

The smirk washed away from Steph's expression. Her small warm smile had thankfully returned as she closed Mikey's locker.

"Mikey told me what happened the other day, that you stopped that Damon guy from beating up Drew," she said, changing the subject, but not entirely for the better. "That was really cool of you, Chloe."

Chloe eyed Steph wearily as the guilt of what had happened on Saturday returned to the center of her mind. She had actually thought that there was an appeal to crime; on first contact she had seen what her actions had done. All they did was hurt people who didn't deserve it.

"He doesn't blame you for what happened, Chloe," she gently reassured her. "You giving the money to this Damon asshole was the best move."

"I keep hearing that, but it doesn't make me feel any better…" Chloe muttered back. It didn't matter how much reinforcement she got, she was still going to feel like shit over this whole awful thing.

Steph reached out and took the hold of Chloe's forearm, the touch surprising her. She looked up and met Steph sharp blue eyes.

"It wasn't an easy thing, but Chloe… you did the right thing," she stated to the taller girl. "Drew was desperate, and desperate people do stupid things like jump in bed with drug dealers, then not give up the money they owe to said dealers. He made a mistake, and he was lucky as hell you were there… I mean, if Drew had lost his scholarship…"

Steph trailed off, her head gently shaking as though she was attempting to purge the thought out of her mind. Chloe rubbed her neck, she got it. Drew had painted the picture clear about the state of his family. The North family needed him to carry them, which was a responsibility no one Drew's age should have been forced to have to do.

"If I'm being honest… if I was in the same situation Drew was, I might not be too proud to do that as well…" she murmured to Steph, shrugging.

"Yeah, me too," Steph agreed with her. "If there was one person who needed a punch in the dick, it's this Damon guy."

Chloe did a double take at the slightly smirking girl.

"In the dick?" Chloe faintly repeated.

Steph nodded gravely.

"Right in the dick," She confirmed, offering no wiggle room on the subject. "No one hurts Mikey ever again, not on my watch."

Chloe looked on Steph with a deeper respect for the girl. Chloe didn't know much in life, but she now knew that she would never want to face down a pissed off Steph Gingrich.

"I take it back," Chloe said, impressed by her. "When I get back into school, you can keep the Coolest Person in Blackwell title."

As Steph looked close to blushing, down the hallway the girl's bathroom door opened and out stepped Rachel, her hand running through her mused hair again. She had paused for a moment to take in her surroundings and paused as she noticed Chloe standing by Steph next to her locker.

Steph looked dumbfounded. Rachel really must have been quite the sight to see, considering how put together she usually was. There was, standing there in same clothing Chloe wore last Friday and Saturday, her neck marks left by Chloe now officially visible from the fucking International Space Station…

In spite of this, Rachel still stepped forward confidently as she approached Chloe and Steph, who looked somewhat flabbergasted as she seemed to be working the pieces out by herself. Steph rounded on Chloe for a moment. There seemed to be a mixture of awe and shock in her eyes.

"Hey Steph," Rachel greeted as she stood next to Chloe. "How are you doing?"

Glancing to Chloe for a moment, Steph exhaled and turned to face slightly smirking Rachel. As calm and collected as she might have seemed, Rachel looked close to melting down. Chloe could see it in her eyes. They darted in the direction of the Administrative offices. It would not be long now before James came out.

"Fine," Steph broke the strained silence. "We're just talking about… stuff…"

"Mikey stuff?" Rachel inquired, her voice growing concerned in spite of never speaking to the boy before. "God, what a fucking thing to happen to him, he's seems so nice. Would it be too much for the two of us to drop by the hospital and check in?"

Chloe watched as Steph smiled widely and nodded. She ignored the small surge of jealousy that washed over her for a moment. She wasn't going to play that game with Steph. She was too sweet.

"Not at all, Mikey would love more visitors," Steph said excitedly. "Why don't you two drop by after school sometime? There's a D&D scenario I've been working on the past couple days. I'm calling it 'Escape from Fortress Laitosh'. Elamon is trapped in prison after killing Duurgaron. I got Drew recruited to fight to free Elamon as a Paladin named Kalerius the Unbroken. Mikey and him have been building his character for days, and he's totally into it. You two should totally come and join the game. I… might just know a spell that brings Callimastia back from the dead…"

"Fucking sweet!" Chloe exclaimed, for getting that strange flash of emotion as her fist pumping outwards. She froze as she noticed Rachel looking up at her with her brow raised.

"I mean… sure, whatever… nerds…" she lamely for good measure.

Emitting a small huff, Rachel swung her hip and checked Chloe hard enough to stagger her slightly.

"Don't deny what you are, Price," she teased Chloe before turning back to Steph. "Never table topped before. We'll be there, if you're gentle on me…"

As Steph blinked and nodded, the administration office doors opened and out stepped James Amber. He was looked well beyond agitated. He only spared Rachel, Chloe and Steph a parting glance.

"Girls, parking lot right now." he commanded before he stepped heavily towards the nearest exit he could find.

The three girls shared a look. Steph stood there, her eyes wide as tracked James until he had left the school. Rachel exhaled heavily.

"Sorry Steph, DA Fuckface is calling us," she grumbled mutinously. "I'll see you in class?"

Steph nodded blankly, and with one final parting glance and smile to Chloe, Rachel followed after her father. Probably the last thing she wanted to do, but there she was doing it anyway. After two days of silence, she was going to finally talk to her dad… all for Chloe's sake.

As soon as Rachel was out of earshot, Steph rounded back to Chloe.

"So... let me get it straight," she spoke, her voice barely more than a whisper as she looked at Chloe incredulously. "You're basically with his daughter, and he's already getting you out of trouble you pretty much brought on yourself? How in the hell can you get that lucky?"

Chloe cleared her throat dramaticly

"What can I say?" Chloe retuned as she handed the pile of books back to Steph. "Trying to tame a dragon has its rewards."

Clasping Steph on the shoulder Chloe followed after Rachel, leaving the Queen of the Indoor Kids still in a state of growing confusion and perhaps some unintended envy.


Trailing a good twenty yards behind her father, Rachel Amber tried her utmost to remain as cool as she could in the face of the overwhelming desire to go to war against her own dad right in front of the entire academy.

Right now, nothing outside the tension between father, daughter and her new best friend mattered.

She was only vague aware that she had walked by Victoria Chase, looking ravished, and clinging onto Chloe's hand as she walked like a zombie in the direction of the parking lot. She didn't pay attention to Eliot Hampden as he looked at her like she had kicked his puppy.

She didn't care about the rumours that would spread faster than the fire she had started. The only thing that mattered now was what she would say to her Dad. That was if she even wanted to talk at all. She had only promised Chloe that she would listen what he had to say.

Perhaps that was all she should do. Listen and bide her time until she could properly string together coherent sentences of how betrayed she had felt. She didn't want to stand there and babble out a string of nonsense to her father. He needed to know exactly what she felt. How much his lies had destroyed the world she had known.

Chloe's warning about unsaid things came back to her thoughts. Dad had attempted to explain, why he did what he did, but she was barely coherent to pay it attention. Now that she had a few days, it might have been time to actually listen. The last thing she wanted was for things to be left unsaid. Even if it meant having to listen to him attempt to somehow justify his actions.

Here are your papers, Chloe have them notarized by yourself and your mother and deliver it to me. The second is a contract pertaining to your probation period which will last all next school year before it is lifted. Wells was insistent on you taking up certain… academic activities to help motivate your success. So I signed you up for Drama class.

Noticing Chloe was looking back; Rachel turned and found that they had been tailed by Hampden. Chloe looked frazzled and nodded her head in an attempt to shoo him the fuck out of their business. An unnatural fury at the intrusion startled the smaller girl. What in the fuck gave him the right to casually creep into their business?

As her dad turned back, he too had noticed the boy. He pushed by Rachel and Chloe and stared at him.

"Can we help you?" he inquired, breaking the silence.

"Can I… ahhh… talk to Chloe for a moment?" Eliot spoke up, his voice was friendly but here seemed something… off about it.

Turning away from the teen, Dad glanced at Chloe. Chloe was red in the face and unable to look up from her shoes, as though she was ashamed or something. She emitted the smallest of head shakes. Rachel stepped closer to Chloe and gripped onto her arm properly, giving her a reassuring smile. In spite of the reassurance, Chloe remained locked in place. Was it guilt? They had been close.

Whatever it had been, Rachel knew she didn't like it.

With the discomfort in Chloe this palpable, Dad stepped directly in front of Chloe's line of sight with Eliot, shielding her away from the strange gaze of the boy.

"No, you may not," Dad replied in a calm but authoritative voice. "Could you please allow us some space for a private conversation? We would appreciate that, thank you."

Smart enough to know not to push it any further; Hampden attempted to get one last glance at Chloe by tilting to his left. Dad mimicked him, his expression hardening as he continued to shield Chloe behind him.

"I'm so sorry…" she whispered to the shorter girl. "I gotta fix that mess soon…"

Rachel squeezed her hand tightly.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," she reminded her, looking to her father.

Dad was still standing there, watching the Hampden boy retreat to a safe distance, Dad looked like he had something to say. Instead he dug into his briefcase. If he did, he chose intend to keep it for himself, or save it for later when she wasn't around. Rachel wasn't sure if she liked the silence he held, but she did… appreciate what he had done.

"Here are your papers, Chloe. Have them notarized by yourself and your mother and deliver it to me," he said as he handed a stack of documentation to the girl. "The second is a contract pertaining to your probation period which will last all next school year before it is lifted. Wells was insistent on you taking up certain… academic activities to help motivate your success. So I signed you up for Drama class."

Pausing for a moment, Dad looked over Chloe examining the papers.

"I'm required to take personal responsibility for your actions," he added, catching Chloe's attention. "So please… try not to push them too much."

Chloe remained focused on the papers. There was the strangest mixture of resignation and relief written on her face. She had spent the weekend writing off her educational future, but now here she was, about to be reenrolled back into school from the actions of the man standing in front of her. Chloe was a proud person. She didn't take perceived hand-outs lightly.

She looked and found the Ambers looking at her. She emitted a small grin as she looked from Rachel, to Dad who thankfully wasn't being smug about what he had done. Instead, all that he did was quietly wait for Chloe to say something, anything.

"I… shit, thank you Mr. A," Chloe spoke in her standard elegance. "You came through… You know you're basically going to be my Mom's favourite person from now on, right?"

Dad allowed a ghost of a smile to cross over his mouth.

"You'll find your tuition cost has been cut in half, I did some digging last night, and found you were eligible for a scholarship, which you failed to apply for," he spoke up, breaking his silence. "With everything that happened, it's understandable why you didn't see to applying for it. I filed the paperwork this morning, and I am more than certain you'll get it."

Chloe remained silent, shifting in place as she seemed at a loss of words. She could not even look at Dad. Both Ambers knew the reason why. This would go a long ways towards getting the Price family out of the grips of financial strain from school costs.

Rachel wanted to be as happy for as she deserved, but she couldn't. Not totally, not with that nagging voice in the back of her head telling that this was not nearly as altruistic as it appeared. It seemed to her that her Dad was just tying the noose around the Price family's neck, forcing them more and more into his sphere of influence. This sort of control was far reaching. With Rachel so close to Chloe, it was inevitable that she too would get tangled up in this.

This was exactly what he wanted; a quiet reestablishment of control over everyone in his life in light of the unforeseen discovery of Sera. It was so fucking typical of him.

"Mr. Keaton is going to freak he's going to get a new star…" Rachel spoke up finally, looking to Chloe as hatred for her father ebbed back into her heart. "Maybe we could bully him into a production of Blade Runner…"

Chloe made a face and rolled her eyes at her. Even now she was still pretending like she hadn't enjoyed her new stage career.

Breaking up the moment was a cough. Rachel and Chloe turned and found Dad standing there, looking like he was ready to get to the business at hand. Chloe remained locked in place, her expression hardening as she stared at Dad as though he was being room.

Rachel felt her heart flutter. In spite of the generosity shown to her by dad, Chloe still stood by her. Dad could have given her the world, and she would be shaken from her support. This raised her spirits for a moment, only to be crushed by the guilt that she actually thought that for a moment Chloe would do anything less.

Reaching out, Rachel touched her Chloe's bicep. The taller girl looked back to her, and Rachel emitted a smile stained by the guilt and shame she felt.

"It's okay Chloe…" she reassured her gently. "I got this."

Chloe looked her over carefully, as though she was looking to see if Rachel was actually ready to do this. She wasn't, but she had come to terms with that. Exhaling and making a point not to look to Dad, Chloe leaned in and brushed her lips on Rachel's forehead before she turned back.

Dad stepped out of way and impassively gestured to the car, a silent offer to the girl for a ride back to her home. Chloe stepped by him and walked off, leaving Rachel alone with her father for the first time in what felt like forever. It was certainly the first time in her new reality.

The two remained silent, neither of them knowing just where to start. She watched as Dad stepped past her and took a seat on the steps. He looked up at her, his hand patting the concrete step he sat on.

Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, Rachel obliged him and took the seat he had offered.

"Is there actually a scholarship for her?" Rachel started first, her voice neutral as she examined her father impassively.

Dad did not look at her. His eyes remain distant, like he was at a state of attention.

"Does it matter?" he asked her just as impassively as she had.

"It does if you're buying off my friend for your own goals," Rachel fired back right away.

Dad remained still and silent as he watched Chloe climb into the front seatg and closed the door behind her.

"I know her better than you think, Rachel…" Dad murmured. "She's… all too familiar…"

Breaking his distant stare, he turned his attention back to Rachel. His expression was far sterner than it had been.

"This is a hard fact to swallow, but everything I do doesn't have to revolve completely around you," he informed her piercingly. "But go ahead, Sunshine. You go ahead and tell her that the scholarship comes out of my pocket. You'll get to watch from the front row as she throws it away, and then her second chance at an education as well. For you, she would give up everything and anything…"

Sunshine. She hadn't heard that childhood nickname in years. It only made things worse. She felt sick as her dad's assessment of Chloe Price was brutally spot on.

Silently, Dad reached out and took her right hand into his.

"I need you to understand the power you have over that girl, the length she could go for you with just one word from you," he pressed on, unblinking as he held his eyes on her. "Loyalty is one of the rarest gifts on this planet, Rachel. That girl will discard everything away for you if you were to ask it. If you care for her, you won't treat it like its blasé."

He trailed of as his rant simmered down and was left lurking now in Rachel's thoughts. Satisfied that she seemed to have gotten the message, Dad let go of her hand.

"I… hurt you in a way that you will never heal," he said in a smaller voice. "Don't make that same mistake with her…"

Looking at her Dad and the expression he wore. There was visible shame in every facet of him. Although she could never express it, there was a small part in her that… might have believed he felt this strongly. That maybe this lie had hurt him as much as it had hurt her. She could not imagine what it must have been like spending 13 years in fear that the truth would come out.

"I'm meeting Sera tonight," he announced, thankfully breaking Rachel away from the growing doubt. "We'll discuss the conditions to how she's going to slowly reintegrated back into your life."

Rachel looked away from him and nodded stiffly. Chloe had already made it clear this was what he wanted to do. This was just a confirmation.

"I need you cool your expectations of this as well," he spoke again as he looked away from her as well. "A recovering addict is one bad day away from a relapse, especially for someone newly sober. Sera must be handled delicately by you. There will be ground rules and supervision, and I do not want you to be under the impression you're getting unlimited access to her because this is happening. One day perhaps, but now is not the time for that."

Running her hand over her face, Rachel pushed herself off the steps and swiftly moved away several paces from him, her arms crossing over her chest as she looked at Chloe sitting in Dad's car, pretending not to look their way.. The conversation was done in her opinion. Sera and she were going to meet. That was the end of it.

"I don't expect your forgiveness, Rachel…" she heard her Dad admit as he stood up. "But I don't want to go the rest my life knowing I did nothing when something had to be done. Everything I ever did was meant to protect you from her demons, but all it did was hurt you that much more."

The pain in the pit of her chest had returned, She looked at Chloe, who was looking her way. What she would do to just be back in Chloe's bed again, pretending the world didn't exist…

"If I could do it all again, I would have told you five years ago… but I can't," he continued on as Rachel held her back on him. "I just have to limp on knowing how much wrong I have done to you, and that things between us will never be the same. The girl, who'd drag me out of my work so we can act and play together – and these moments might not have much meaning to you, but for me they were the only things that kept me from getting lost in all the shit my job entails - is never coming back to me; and I'm going to miss that so damn much…"

Rachel turned back to face her father, who was standing there, his mouth pushed together like he was struggling to remain his composure. She wanted to leap forward and hug and cry and hit him, and tell him that she loved him with all her heart in spite of all this shit that had gone down. He was still her dad, and she would never stop loving him.

"I think I want to move onto campus full time," she said instead.

There was no malice or spite in her words; it was just a tired recognition that everything was broken between them. For her, this was as close to divorce as she could come up with sort of emancipation. She didn't want that sort of finality. There was still chance, but she just needed to get away out of arms reach of her parents.

Dad stared at her like his heart had been broken right in front of her with such a simple request. It was the worst fucking feeling Rachel had ever had in her life. The lie was one thing, but standing there was man whom she shared her entire with… and she had told him she was just... done.

"If that is what you would like, I'll… look into it," he spoke in a slow monotone.

Silence returned between daughter and father. Rachel felt ill, she just wanted to walk away, but the idea of her dad standing there alone reeling from this was too much to handle, too much of anchor to keep her from fleeing back to school.

"Are you coming home tonight?" he quietly asked her.

Rachel looked at him for a moment before she nodded stiffly.

"I will… but I'm inviting Chloe over to stay the night," she returned, unable to look him in the eye. "I want to know about Sera… and not just the bad things."

"If Chloe's mother is fine with this, then of course," Dad allowed. "After dinner I'll tell you everything you wish to know."

With that, Rachel nodded and stepped back to the stairs so that she could head back to school and reorganize herself for tonight. But before she stepped by her Dad, he reached out and grabbed her by his arm, bringing her to a stop.

"Look…" he said to her, his tone lightening up somewhat as he nodded in the direction of Chloe.

Rachel eyed him with a scrutinizing expression for a moment before she decided to look Chloe's way. Silently she looked at the girl in the front seat, fidgeting like mad, like she was worried to be left alone with James Amber.

"See that face?" he spoke again. "That's the expression one gets when they're aware they're about to get reamed by an interrogative father. I should know, I had that look on my face more than once at her age."

Rachel closed her eyes and groaned. Although she wanted to get honesty from her dad, she really didn't need to know that much about him.

"I know you're just friends, but is it too early to insist we make up the guest room for her tonight?" he went on without missing a beat.

Dad gestured to the mark Chloe left on her neck.

"That right there would be an assault and battery charge in most cases. Do you think I should go that angle on her tonight?" he asked her, his grin widening. "I could mention it tonight at dinner. We could watch her squirm for our dining entertainment…"

In spite of everything, Rachel could help but emit a laugh. Chloe didn't deserve that sort of teasing… not yet, at least. It should have to wait until the friendship they were investing in bloomed into something more. The last thing she wanted was for Chloe to get scared off now.

"I got you to smile…" Dad murmured as he released his hand off her arm and stepped out of her way. "I'll take that small win."

Rachel nodded to him; it was a small acknowledgement to that. With a final look to Chloe, she turned away and headed back to school, her thoughts racing with everything that was spoken between father and daughter. Perhaps one day things would get better, but that day would not arrive for a very long time. There was still a lot of healing left to do first.


This Chapter came out extremely fast. In fact I had it mostly done before I went out for New Years.

Next Chapter: James and Sera settle accounts.