Chapter 4: Farewell

They'd almost reached the edge of the woods and it was still raining cats and dogs. Officer Berry had taken Max's backpack, because the small girl was too exhausted to carry it on her own.

'My head is killing me. I feel so miserable; so weak.' she thought. "Chloe, c-can you hold me?" Max asked her friend with a soft tone.

Chloe gave her a warm smile and embraced her body in order to support her. "Sure thing Maximus, we're almost there." she told her with a soothing voice.

"Why did you two run away in the first place?" Officer Berry asked, looking at the two girls.

"Because her parents suck." was Chloe's plain answer.

"But you know that they're worried sick about you two?" the policeman continued.

Now the blonde girl shot him an evil glare. "Dude, stop going all guilt-trip on us! We had our reasons, end of story. Now mind your own fucking business!"

"Chloe! He's a police-officer." Max blurted out, gazing at her friend in shock.

But the policeman just chuckled. "Belief me, Maxine, I heard a lot worse from kids of your age. And I'm not here to interrogate you, so if you don't want to tell then don't. I was just curious."

Finally they'd passed the last trees and were standing on an empty parking lot with just a single police car standing there.

"Okay girls, get in. I'll drive you home." said Berry and put their backpacks in the trunk, while the two girls seated themselves in the back of the car.

'Wowser, I've never seen a police car from the inside. Hopefully it will be a once-in-a-lifetime-experience.' Max thought, until suddenly a new wave of pain emerged from her head. 'Dammit, in this state I won't be able to have an argument with my parents. Maybe Officer Berry has some Aspirin.' "Mr. Berry, sir, do you have some Aspirin?"

"Nope, but I got some Ibuprofen." He rummaged through the clove compartment and came forth with a white plastic bottle. "Here, but take only one!" the Officer said, handing her the pills.

"Thanks!" Max answered with a smile and gulped down a pill with a sip of water.

Chloe gazed at her with a worried expression. "Pardon my French, but you look like shit, Maxi."

"Thanks for the compliment, dork." she responded, giving the blonde a shove with her shoulder. "I'm also feeling like shit."

The older girl embraced Max's shoulders and pulled her closer. "C'mon Maxi, rest for a minute."

Max took the offer thankfully and laid her head on her friend's shoulder, closed her eyes and cuddled herself even closer with a sigh. "Thanks Chlo!" she said, enjoying the warmth and closeness with a smile on her lips. For her, it felt like she's in heaven.

The police car came to a halt in front of the Price's house. Officer Berry opened the back seat doors and got the backpacks out of the trunk.

Both girls grabbed their stuff and headed for the entrance, which was opened rapidly and a very furious Vanessa Caulfield came out. "You two are in big trouble!" she yelled. Ryan and Joyce followed her stat.

'Ugh, and here we go. Thankfully the pill already kicked in.' Max thought and sighed. "Mom…" she began, but was instantly interrupted as Vanessa pulled her into a tight hug and began to cry in relief, almost hurting her daughter with her grip.

"Oh my baby-girl, I was worried sick about you." Vanessa said between the sobs.

Chloe laid one hand on Max's shoulder with a wry smile. "Nothing to worry about, Vanessa. I was with her all the time." she tried to calm down Max's mom.

But the brunette woman shot her the most evil glare Max has ever seen. Her red cried eyes were piercing daggers. "YOU!" she yelled at the blonde girl and pushed her away so that she landed on her butt. "STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!"

Max broke the hug with her mom. "Chloe!" she gasped and helped her friend up.

"What's your fucking problem, bitch?" Chloe spoke to Vanessa with an angry voice, about to jump at her, but Max held her back.

"What did you just call me?" Vanessa asked, clearly surprised by the aggression and the insult.

"Vanessa Mary-Ann Caulfield, if you ever touch my daughter again, I'm gonna slap you silly!" Joyce's agitated voice chimes from behind as she closed in.

"Way to go, mom!" the blonde girl cheered.

"Don't get cocky, missy." she continued. "You're in for some huge trouble, too!"

"Maybe you should've taught your daughter not to be such a brat, then nothing like this would've happened." Max's mom said, now shooting in on Joyce.

Max watched the whole scene in horror, trying to calm down her mom. "Mom, please…" she pleaded.

"You stupid…" Joyce was about to return, her fists already clenched; ready to throw a punch at Vanessa.

"Everybody calm down!" Ryan intervened with a loud but still calm voice, stepping between the two women. "We agreed to do this peacefully. This means no yelling, no insulting and no physical violence! And this counts for everyone, especially you, Chloe! Now, can we please go inside and talk about this whole situation like adults?"

For a moment a heavy silence hovered over the scenery, until Joyce and Vanessa nodded and started to head back inside. Ryan patted Max and Chloe reassuringly on the back. "Come on, you two." he said in a low and almost soothing voice, and both girls followed their moms. "Officer Berry, thank you for your help." he spoke to the police man, shaking his hand.

"No problem, Mr. Caulfield. That's my job. Have a good day, sir!" Berry said with a smile and went back to his car.

The girls sat down at the dining table in the living room; their moms already sitting on the opposite side. Ryan joined in by seating himself between the two women. He inhaled deeply to overcome the strong tension that was filling the room, before he started to speak. "Okay, first of all, we're very relieved that nothing happened to you two. But, we're also very disappointed. We thought that you were smarter than this."

"Especially you, Maxine!" Vanessa added, making her daughter lowering her gaze.

"Vanessa, darling, making our daughter feeling worse isn't the right way." he said, calming down his wife. Then he focused on the two girls again. "We probably know why you did this, but we want to hear it from the both of you. So, please tell us."

Chloe and Max looked at each other for a moment. They knew why they did it; why Max wanted to stay. But they also knew that telling their parents about Max's fear of Chloe's fate wouldn't help their case; it was just unbelievable. 'And here comes the part I've always been afraid of: coming up with a good reason.'

The brunette girl licked her dry lips; nervousness made her shiver. "Mom, dad. The reason why we did this was…"

"Me." Chloe threw in and both girls shared another glimpse. "Because I need her."

Vanessa had already opened her mouth to interrupt her, but was stopped by her husband as he put his hand on her arm, signing her to let the girl finish.

"You all know how I was doing after my…" She paused, inhaling deeply in order to suppress a sob. "…my dad…died. Mom, you were busy with your own grief and I understand that, but Max…she was there for me; she helped me. And I don't know what will happen, if…if she leaves me. I just need her." she said with a trembling voice; her deep-blue, watery eyes gazing at her best friend again.

"And I won't leave her." Max added, locking eyes with the blonde girl.

Chloe searched for Max's hand under the table and as she found it, they both intertwined their fingers. "We wanted to build our own lives; just the two of us. But…it was a stupid idea and we know it. You can out all guilt on me. Ground me, punish me, do whatever you want, but please, don't take her away from me!"

'Wowser, Chloe sounds so mature and she wants to take all the blame for this, even though it wasn't her idea alone. And her hand. Is it strange to say that it feels amazing to hold her hand? I feel like I never wanna let go of it again!' Max thought, enjoying the warmth and the feeling of Chloe's hand.

Joyce, Ryan and Vanessa looked at the girls for some moments, throwing each other the one or the other glimpse, like they're overthinking Chloe's words very cautiously. Then Max's dad sighed. "Listen Chloe, I think I speak for the three of us when I say that we're admiring your decency and by god, we all know what you and your mom are going through. But unfortunately, we can't just cancel everything just because of this situation, I'm sorry."

Chloe tightened her grip on Max's hand, as if she feared that her friend might slip away. "B-but there has to be a way."

"There is none, Chloe!" Vanessa blurted out. "Stop living in a dream and face reality! We are moving to Seattle, period! We gave up everything here to make this happen."

Again, Ryan put his hand on his wife's arm. "It would only be for a few years. You two could still stay in contact and when Max has finished Highschool you can still attend the same college."

"He's right, honey." Joyce added.

These words seeped into Chloe's mind and made her despair. Tears started to flow down her cheeks as she realized that they had lost the argument; that there was nothing she could do or say to keep her one and only friend at her side.

Max tried to comfort Chloe by brushing with her thumb over her hand. She recalled her visions; recalled what would happen if she would leave her and it gave her new strength to continue the discussion. "I won't leave her!" she said with a determined voice, underlining how important it was for her. "You were right. I have no right to destroy your dreams, so move to Seattle, and live your dreams! I'll stay here in Arcadia Bay. I can live with Joyce and Chloe. I'm sure they wouldn't mind. I'd finish Junior High and after that, I can attend Blackwell. They have an international renowned photography-program and you both know that it is my dream to become a photographer. It would be like I'm in boarding school."

All eyes were now fixed on the brunette girl. Even Chloe looked at her with awe. It was very intimidating for Max, because she never was a person being comfortable standing in the spotlight. She just hoped that her argument was enough to change her parent's mind.

Ryan and Vanessa shared a long gaze. It was strange, like they knew something her daughter didn't. And as her dad nodded, Max had hope that they would agree with her suggestion. But this glimpse of hope was merely destroyed as Vanessa shook her head and started to yell again. "No! I won't leave her here. She's my baby-girl; my Maxine!"

"Vanessa…" her husband tried to calm her down, but she jumped up with such a force that her chair almost flew away.

"No! I've heard enough. This conversation is over! Maxine, get your behind in the car! Ryan, grab our luggage and Maxine's backpack. We're leaving, now!" she spoke, then walked over to her daughter with angry steps, grabbed her arm and pulled Max to her feet with force.

"No, mom. Let me go!"

Joyce and Ryan held Chloe back as she made an attempt to intervene, while Max tried to free herself, but Vanessa held the small girl tight by her shoulders, looking into her eyes deeply. "You will move your butt into the car right now or else!" she threatened with gritted teeth.

A sharp pain pierced through Max's head, making her close her eyes. As she opened them again, she was blinded by a white light. She needed to blink a few times until her eyes had adjusted to the brightness.

Max saw a person, sitting on a chair right beside her. She took a closer look and realized that this person was Chloe, who was a bit older – maybe 18 or 20 – and her short blonde hair had some blue streaks dyed into it. The originally white shirt she was wearing was soaked with blood; her own blood, seeping through a wound on her shoulder. Her head rested with the chin on her collarbone, while her skin was way paler then normal.

Max tried to reach her; wanted to help her, but she wasn't able to move. And as she looked down onto herself she saw that she was bound to chair too. Panic engulfed her heart and she started to cry out Chloe's name, but it seemed like Chloe couldn't hear her.

Suddenly, Chloe raised her head and gazed at Max. The brunette girl saw that this act cost her lot of strength. The blonde gave her a weak smile and seemed to say something, but Max couldn't hear it. Then a deafening BANG rang in her ears and with horror she saw as Chloe's head rocked to one side and fell back onto the collarbone. Her whole body was limp now, without any life. Blood flowed from a fresh wound on the side of her head over her cheek down to her chin and dripped from there onto her body. She was dead. Chloe was dead. Shot in the head.

At first, Max was in complete shock and her whole body trembled. "Ch-Chloe…" she whispered with a shivering voice and began to sob. "No…" Desperation, anger, hate and thousands of other feelings rushed through her mind, until she unleashed them all with an eerily shriek. "NOOOOO!"

With another blink of her eyes she was back in the living room. Four pairs of eyes were fixed on her, looking completely surprised and terrified. Max's gaze wandered from person to person, but when she locked eyes with Chloe, the image of her previous vision repeated again and again. Tears flowed down her cheeks instantly and strong sobs escaped her mouth as she was on the verge of hyperventilation. She couldn't take it anymore. Max turned around and ran out of the house.

The throbbing inside of her head got worse with every second she kept on running. Her limbs hurt. Max knew that she was in no condition to run; that the Ibuprofen she had taken thirty minutes ago wasn't able to suppress the pain anymore. But she didn't care. She had to run away; away from everything. It was too much for her to see Chloe dying like this; to know that Chloe's fate was sealed if her parents would drag her to Seattle. But what could she, a 13 years old girl, do? Her mom was adamant; reasoning with her impossible.

The brunette girl reached a small park at the end of Cedar Avenue. Her body was about to give up, so she headed for the next bench and almost collapsed on it. She buried her face in her hands and cried hard. 'Why? Why am I seeing this? Why is Chloe the one who has to suffer? Why is this happening? Why her? I can't take this anymore!'

Two arms embraced the young girl, pulling her closer into a hug. Max knew who it was; knew the scent and she welcomed it by pressing herself closer to her friend's body. "I don't wanna lose you! I…I don't want you to die!" Max said between the sobs.

Chloe patted her back. "Shhh, calm down Maxi! I'm not gonna die. I promise that I'll always stay in contact with you. I'm gonna bomb your phone with texts every day!"

Max broke the hug and shook her head. "No, Chloe, you don't understand. It's…" she began and sighed, mustering some strength to tell Chloe everything about her visions. "Chloe, I need to tell you something."

"Okay, last time you started a conversation like this I almost kicked you out of my life." The blonde said with a sour expression.

"Will you just listen, Chlo? It's important!" Chloe gave her a slight nod, but there was still some suspicion left. "Remember the day William…the accident happened?"

"How could I forget this fucked up day, Maxi?" was her sarcastically response for her friend's rhetorical question.

"I mean before the accident…" Max saw how Chloe's expression got darker and darker. She knew that Chloe was about to remember the good times with her dad, right before he was ripped out of her life. So, the younger girl continued in order to distract her. "My zoning out while we were playing Mario Kart?"

"Yes Max, I remember a lot of shit that happened on this glorious day, even your zoning out. What's your fucking point?" Chloe blurted in annoyance.

"I wasn't really zoned out, I…I…"

"Shit!" the blonde girl suddenly hissed. "Your dad is coming."

As Max glanced at him she let out a deep exhale. "Damn, I can't catch a fucking break." She muttered.

"Don't let him hear the F-word." Chloe joked with a wry smile, before shifting her attention to Max's dad. "Wow, you let Vanessa and my mom alone? That's hardcore!"

"They calmed down enough, so that in a worst-case-scenario it would only result in some bruises. But jokes aside, I need to talk with my daughter."

"Sure thing." Chloe responded.

"Alone." Ryan added, gazing at the blonde deeply.

"Okaaaay. I'll beeee…over there." She said, giving her friend a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder, stood up and walked over to another bench, giving father and daughter some privacy.

"If you're here to convince me that I should go back and get in the car, I won't do it. Not without force." Max said calmly, looking at her hands.

Her dad sighed. "Max, you know that this is a very delicate situation for us, especially for your mom. She did what she did because she loves you very much and is just afraid to lose you."

Now the young girl gave her father a serious glare. "But it was wrong! She hurt me. And if you force me to move to Seattle, I'd just run away again."

Despite the aggressive words of his daughter, Ryan stayed calm, but held her gaze. "We know. That's why I came up with a solution." He reached inside of his pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper, handed it over to Max, who unfolded and read it.

"Blackwell-Junior-Talent-Program?" the freckled girl read out loud.

Ryan nodded. "Mh-hm. It's a new idea of Blackwell's Principle Mr. Wells. I know him since we were your age. He's a decent man, but under a lot of stress. Always trying to bring some positive publicity to Blackwell Academy and this new program is one attempt. The main concept is to find some very talented students from Arcadia Bay Junior Highschool and give them some classes at Blackwell. If the students' results are good enough, they'll have a very high chance for a scholarship."

'Wowser, this program is like a dream coming true. Photography classes at Blackwell and a chance for a scholarship. Additionally, it would make a great impression on my record and therefore my college application.' She thought, reading the flyer over and over again. "But how do I get into this program? I mean, it's still a concept, isn't it?"

"That's right, but it will be more next year. And you're already in the program, because you will be their test-person." he said with a smile.

Max gasped. "Wait, I'm already in? How? I mean, why am I the one they test it on?"

"Well, I showed Mr. Wells and the photography teacher of Blackwell some of your photos and they were impressed by your talent, and I was searching for a reason to keep you here. You can say that this is a win-win-situation for everyone."

Max's eyes widened. "D-does this mean that I can stay in Arcadia Bay?" Ryan nodded with a big smile and was a bit surprised as his daughter suddenly jumped at him and gave him a strong hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she spoke, while tears of joy soaked her father's shirt.

"Of course, this all will come with some catches." he continued, expecting his daughter to be disappointed again, but instead she broke the hug and was still smiling all over her face.

"Anything!" was all she answered.

"First of all, these terms are not negotiable. It took me a lot of talking and pleading to convince your mom, so if you don't accept our conditions the deal is off, alright?" Max nodded seriously, showing that she was willing to accept everything her dad was about to say. "Okay." he continued. "During your stay, Joyce will be your legal guardian until you're 18. This means, you'll listen to her any time, no exceptions. She will stay in contact with us, giving us a report about how you're doing."

'Okay, this is just reasonable, since I'm only 13 years old. And having Chloe as my legal guardian? A funny thought, but probably not the best idea.'

"And this is where our other terms come in. We know that you and Chloe are having a hang for shenanigans; and there's probably no way around it, but if you two make Joyce's life a living hell, we'll get you to Seattle. Got it?"

'This sounds fair too. Chloe and I have a hand for letting things get out of control. Like when we almost burned down the house, because we wanted to iron out some folds on the carpet.' Max thought, nodding again.

"The next point will be your grades." Ryan proceeded. "We know that you're not a straight-A-student and we won't demand it from you, but we know that you can do better. Therefore, we want that every future grade of yours isn't less than a B-, except PE, because you're barely able to get a C there and it's not that important to us."

'Now this is a hard one. I know that I could do better in school, but since Chloe doesn't need to learn for good grades I always fail in bringing up some motivation. This means good bye leisure, hello hard work. Ugh! At least they're gonna cut me some slack on PE.'

"Last but not least, we want you to visit us on every holiday and vacation. Of course you can bring Chloe if you want. Well, that's it. Are we having a deal?" he asked, reaching Max his hand.

'Okay, that I'm supposed to visit my parents constantly was something I already expected. And I can even bring Chloe with me. So, no problem there.' Max finished her thought and shook her father's hand. "Deal!" she said and pulled him in for another hug. After a moment they separated again. "Dad, why haven't you told me right away?"

"Because we wanted to be sure that this all wasn't some teenage-rebellious-thing; that you truly want this. I'm sorry that everything went out of control, but as I said, your mom loves you very much." he told her and took a glimpse at Chloe. "I suggest that you should tell Chloe the good news right away, because she almost fell off the bench as she tried to overhear our conversation."

Both chuckled. "Yeah, I'm gonna do that. Wanna see her falling off when I tell her the great news. Thanks again, pop!"

Again, they shared a short hug. "Pop? You haven't called me that in years." He spoke, got up and sighed. "Well, I better head back. Hopefully I won't barge in on a cat fight."

Max couldn't suppress another snicker, upon the idea of her mom and Joyce fighting like cats in a cartoon. "Chloe and I will join you guys in a bit."

Ryan gave his daughter another smile and made his way back to the Price's house. While Chloe jumped to her feet and darted towards Max, clearly full of anticipation. "TellmeTellmeTellme!"

Not wanting to leave her best friend without a clue, Max told her everything. With every word Chloe's joy grew more and more, until it exploded into a loud cheer and laughter as the brunette girl had finished her story. Chloe jumped up and down. She was in such euphoria that the blonde girl grabbed her friend's head and pressed her lips onto Max's.

As their lips collided, the only thing Max could do was standing there, her eyes wide open. In a lexicon the definition for 'plank' would say 'Maxine Caulfield while she's kissed by Chloe Price'. Her heart raced like the engine of a Formula One vehicle. She'd stopped breathing. Only one word was repeated in her mind in an endless loop. 'Wowser. Wowser. Wowser…' Everything else was just numb or didn't exist.

After both girls separated again, neither one of them could tell how much time had been gone by. Chloe, now with a deep-red color in her face, gazed at her feet, shoving some pebbles from here to there. "Uhm…well…y-y'know…uhm…I-I s-still owed you a dare, so…uhm…yeah…" she stuttered, barely able to look at her friend. But as she did, she realized that Max was completely pale. "Hey Super-Max, are you okay?" she asked, her voice full of concern.

"I-I don't feel that super." Max answered as all strength left her body and dizziness engulfed her head. Her headache was worse than ever before. The world began to spin around her, luckily Chloe caught the smaller girl before she hit the ground.

"Shit! C'mon, we need to get you home." The blonde said, embraced Max's body, half-carrying her home.

It was already dark as Max opened her eyes again. She still felt like a freight train had been run her over. 'Wh-where am I? Is it night already? Okay Max, just overthink everything; be logic. I probably slept in and now I'm in the guest room. So far so good, but what happened before? The last thing I remember is that I told Chloe that I can stay here, she was very happy and then…then she kissed me. Holy dog, she kissed me! And from this point on it gets blurry. C'mon girl, focus! Easy said than done while a jackhammer is hitting my head constantly. Ugh! Okay, she told me that the kiss was just the fulfillment of my dare, and awkwardly, this makes me feel really sad. But why? It was just a dare, wasn't it? Stupid feelings-stuff! Why is growing up so complicated? Anyway, after the kiss-dare-thingy I felt weak and…oh shit, I fainted! Now I remember. Chloe brought me back to her house and they stuffed me into Chloe's bed.'

As Max tried to move into another position she recognized that an arm was draped over her body. Becoming aware of her surroundings she also felt a hot breathing on her neck. Max put all pieces together and gasped. 'Oh…my…dog! Chloe's spooning me!'

"Hey sleepyhead, are you awake?" Chloe's drowsy voice chimed behind her.

Max turned around rapidly, ignoring the mumbled complains of her friend. "Chlo, why am I in your bed? Where are my parents?" 'And why were you spooning me?'

"Chillax Maxi! You were completely exhausted and came up with a fever, plus your parents are sleeping in the guest room, so we tugged you in here and I took care of you. Now go back to sleep, 'cause you need it and I'm fucking tired, so nighty night Maximus!" Chloe told her in a sleepy tone, turned around and started to snore.

'So my parents slept here the entire time we were gone. I'm still feeling bad that I put them under so much pressure, but finally they gave in. I got what I wanted. But why does it make me feel guilty; like I made a big mistake? Gosh! Maybe Chloe's right and I just need some more sleep.'

Closing her eyes, Max tried to sleep in, but her mind found no rest. Memories, feelings and the events of the last days swirled around in her head; one event in particular: the kiss. Max opened her eyes again and stared at the back of her best friend's head, almost wishing that she would turn around and kiss her again.

'This stupid kiss is everything I can think about right now. Understandable, because it was my first kiss and her lips felt so soft and…ugh, it was just amazing and weird at the same time. I wonder what Chloe felt? After all, she was the one who initiated it. And it seemed far too passionate for just being a dare. Or was it? I could ask her, but what if I interpret too much into this? This could make everything between us awkward. Fuck, I don't know what to do.'

A quiet sob escaped her mouth. She tried to suppress it, but failed and just hoped that she wouldn't wake Chloe. 'This is all too much for me! These horrible visions, these stupid feelings! I don't want any of this! I just want everybody to be happy, but no matter what I do, I always end up hurting someone. I'm a bad person…a failure!' With these thoughts Max's sobs became more frequent. She moved to far side of the bed, as far away from Chloe as possible and kept on crying until she was embraced by Chloe's arms again.

"Shhh, don't cry Maxi. I'm here. Everything's gonna be fine." the blonde girl mumbled, cuddling herself closer to the brunette's trembling body.

Max held on to her friend's arms in a tight grip and with every passing second she calmed down more and more, until she finally was able to fall asleep again.

It was almost 10 am as Max woke up. Right on time, Chloe entered the room with a platter full of pancakes, which the small girl almost instantly inhaled.

Chloe always wondered how it was possible that so much fit into the tiny girl. Max betted on an upcoming growth spurt, while Chloe held on to the theory that inside of Max's stomach was a microscopic black hole.

Max felt way better than the day before. No headache, no dizziness and no fever. But one thing still hurt since last night, her heart. Because her parents were about to leave for Seattle in a few hours. Every time she saw her mom and dad it made her sad.

The time went on without any mercy and the moment to say farewell came faster than everyone wished. Max, Chloe and Joyce stood on the lawn, while Ryan and Vanessa put their last pieces of luggage into the car. First tears flowed down Max's cheeks as she watched her parents getting ready to leave.

After everything was packed into the vehicle, Vanessa went for her daughter in a bee-line, embraced her into a tight hug and both started to cry hard. "Stay safe, my little girl!" said the brunette woman between her sobs and everything Max could do was to nod and cuddle her face even deeper into her mom's shoulder.

They both stayed like this for some time until Vanessa broke the hug and brushed over her daughter's cheek, giving her a soft smile. "I can't belief how fast you grew up. My little Maxine is now becoming a woman and wants to go her own way. You were right; we should all live our dreams, even though…" Another sob emerges from her mouth. "…even though we have to go separate ways." Again, Max only nodded, her red cried eyes gazing at her feet. "Joyce, please watch over Maxine like she's your own daughter."

"I'll do that, Van." The blonde woman answered with a determined voice.

"And Chloe, remember what you promised me." Vanessa continued.

Chloe gave her a long look and then an agreeing nod.

Now Max's dad took his daughter in for a strong hug. "Stay strong kiddo, keep out of trouble and remember, whenever you have any problems or even want to move back in, just call; we're always there for you!" Vanessa joined in and the whole Caulfield family was bond together in a big hug.

"I'm so sorry for being such a terrible daughter." Max suddenly cried out.

"No, no, you're not a terrible daughter my little munchkin! You're the best daughter in the whole, wide world. You made a very difficult decision and choose to help a friend in distress. This is nothing else but noble. And if this helps you to fulfill your dreams then it was the right choice!" her mom soothed her, cubing her head.

"Your mom is right, kiddo. Don't put yourself under too much stress. As you said, it will be like you're attending a boarding school. A lot of kids go to boarding schools. It will hurt for the first time, but it will also get better with every day. Just remember, we'll already see us on Thanksgiving in two month, after that come Christmas." Ryan said with a warm smile.

"Please, just stay a day longer!" the brunette girl pleated.

"We can't, Maxine." Vanessa answered. "God knows that we would like to, but your dad has to go to work tomorrow, because his superiors are already growing impatient. But we will call as soon as we arrive, okay?"

Max just nodded again. She felt so terrible, like she's about to collapse and would never be able to stand up again.

"Darling, it's time." Max's dad spoke to his wife, before turning towards Joyce and Chloe. "Joyce, I'll send you all necessary documents first thing tomorrow. You both take good care of our little munchkin."

"We'll do. You both have a safe drive!" Joyce said. She and Chloe hugged Max's parents a last time.

Vanessa gave her little daughter one last kiss on the forehead and made her way to the car, followed by Ryan. Both waved one last time and then they drove off. As soon as the car was out of sight Max's crying became more intense and she held on tight to the only important thing that remained for her: Chloe.