Chapter Eight

A/N: Donnie Darko spoiler in this chapter. Go watch it if you haven't as it serves as an inspiration for the game.

"She might be getting up," an unfamiliar voice says. An EKG machine beeps next to me as I groggily open my eyes.

I'm in a room in what appears to be Arcadia Bay General Hospital, and this space is very similar to the one in which I met Kate last Thursday. Sunlight strains to get through the closed blinds to my room, and rays of light caress the floor. Fluorescent lights shine above me, but their hum is drowned by the sound of the machinery in the room. I have the whole room to myself.

Joyce is sitting at my bedside while a nurse leans over me, looking into my eyes as I open them. David is next to Joyce, snoring in a chair before Joyce wakes him. I wonder how long they have been here, waiting for me to wake up. I guess Joyce is taking this second mother business seriously.

"What… happened?" I manage to say weakly.

Joyce moves to my bedside and takes my hand. "David found you in your dorm room asleep, and you wouldn't wake up after David shook you. You had been acting weird lately. It sounded like you were saying goodbye to us on Sunday and then you missed classes on Monday. I got worried and asked David to check on you. That's when he found you passed out."

The nurse checks on my condition, and then tells us that she will inform the doctor that I am awake before leaving the room.

David gets closer to the bed and smiles as he sees me. I can see the lines of worry on his face. "I hope you don't mind that I entered your room after I knocked and you didn't answer. It was early in the morning, and no one had seen you leave the day before, not even for food. We were really worried."

I shake my head and give him a weak smile back. It's so good to see him after the hell I've just been through over the last few days. I was doubting my sanity, but now that I'm back home, I feel silly for thinking that this may not be real. That whole experience in the asylum just felt like a very strange, surreal dream. There's no way this isn't real. I would know.

David nods as he sees my response. "Good. Don't worry about your door. I'm sure Samuel is fixing it now. Just worry about getting better. There's a lot of people who care about you."

"My… other… parents?" I ask. I can only imagine how worried they are now.

Joyce lights up as I imply that I consider David and her my parents. "I called them as soon as David found you. They are on their way from Seattle right now."

What are my parents thinking now? I'm sure that they are upset and very worried as I apparently didn't take care of myself and wound up in the hospital. Though I'm sure they are less worried about that than me being stuck in the middle of a magical storm.

The cobwebs are starting to clear as I begin to feel more alert. I notice an IV coming from my right arm, which is tattoo free. There are some get well soon balloons decorating the room, and I find a card on the nightstand next to my bed. I pick it up and examine it. It says "Get Well Soon" and has everyone's signature from my photography class. Inside is the class picture that Jefferson took.

The door opens, and an older man in a white lab coat walks in. The doctor is balding with tufts of grey hair stubbornly clinging to the side of his head with a matching trimmed grey mustache. He is carrying a clipboard with what I assume are my files, and he puts on his glasses to read them. A ketchup stain graces his tie, which is white with yellow smiley faces that look like they had been drawn by kids. "Good afternoon, Miss Caulfield. I'm Doctor Monaco."

"Afternoon," I greet him. My voice feels much stronger than before.

"It looks like you were admitted this morning after you were found unconscious in your dorm room. We have you on an IV because you came in very dehydrated. Have you been feeling ill? Has anything in your environment changed recently? Are you drinking enough water?"

I nod no to all of his questions, and Dr. Monaco continues. "We aren't sure what the problem is as our initial tests came back negative. Now that you are awake, I would like to perform a scan to see if there's anything wrong that would explain your fainting." Dr. Monaco looks up from the clipboard to see my reaction.

"Do you think that this could be more than just me fainting from dehydration?" I ask nervously.

The doctor furrows his brow. "Maybe. We don't know precisely why you fainted and were unresponsive. It could be from dehydration, but I would like to run more tests to get some more information."

"Umm… sure, I guess." I am nervous of what these tests may reveal given my powers. I don't have them in this timeline though so they probably won't find anything interesting.

"We will return in a bit when the machine is available. If you don't have any questions…" Dr. Monaco then leaves the room after I shake my head.

I turn to look at Joyce and David. My second mother is wearing a white blouse with a blue skirt. I guess she didn't have to go into work today. I hope she didn't take time off because of me. David is in his Blackwell security guard uniform.

"Thank you for coming to my rescue. I'm sorry I made you worry. I didn't intend for all of this. I just got really depressed as Monday was the first day back after the funeral. It made everything too real. It just hit me that I could never have a life with Chloe. I couldn't get married. Have kids. Grow old together. I guess I got a little too absorbed by all of that." I cast my eyes away from Chloe's parents, embarrassed by making such a fuss.

I can see tears line the edges of Joyce's eyes, but her smile remains planted on her face. She must feel as shitty as I do about Chloe, but she's trying to put on a happy demeanor for me. She probably was really worried for me. "Hun, it's okay to mourn someone that was close to you, but you need to get on with your life. David and I are right there with you, but we know that Chloe wouldn't want us to just stop living. I know it doesn't feel like it now, but there are other people who could make you very happy." Joyce holds my hand, trying to comfort me.

"I don't know if I can just get over Chloe. She is… was so unique. I keep seeing her in my head, and I'm reminded of all the good times we shared. I just can't forget about her." I force a smile for Joyce.

"No one can replace her, but you will find someone else who makes you happy in other ways. Who knows? Maybe it's even someone at school." Joyce gives me a very odd wink.

"Yeah, who knows?" David chimes in. He is also obviously masking his sadness over Chloe for me. He turned away after I said all of the things that I could no longer do with my girlfriend. "Point is don't surrender, soldier."

"You are right. It's just so hard right now. Anyway, I should give my folks a call so they know I'm awake. Do I even have my cell phone here?" I look around my bed and notice my camera bag lying next to it.

"I got your bag and put your phone inside it. I can go to your room to get more of your stuff if I forgot something." David picks up the bag and places it by my side.

"Thanks for everything, David. I appreciate you being there for me." I reach for my camera bag and pull out my phone. I have many messages from my parents and classmates that express concern and wishes for me to get well soon. "Do you mind giving me the room?"

"Not at all. We will be right outside if you need us." Joyce pokes David and they get up to leave.

"Thanks mom," I tell Joyce as she leaves, eliciting a smile.

I unlock my phone and read over the messages from my parents. They are really worried about me and seem confused what is going on. I learned from the timeline with Chloe that I should call them as soon as possible.

I dial my mother and she immediately picks up. She must have been eagerly waiting for me to call. We talk for a few minutes as she tells me that they are still a few hours out. I let her know that I need to talk to them about something that will help explain what's been going on with me. Seeing that telling them about Chloe went well in her timeline, I figured I might as well do that here as well.

A few minutes pass before a gentle knock hits the door to my room. I don't need to see the door open to know who is on the other side. Kate pokes her head through the opening she just made. "Is now a good time for visitors?"

My face lights up as I see my friend. "Of course! It's good to see you, Kate. You really didn't have to come all this way. I'm sure it's nothing."

Kate is wearing a grey skirt, a dark blue cardigan over a light blue shirt, her cross necklace, and a green bracelet on her right wrist. She enters the room and takes the seat by my bed formerly occupied by Joyce. "Hey, Max. Everyone at school is concerned about you, especially considering all that you've gone through recently."

"I'm fine, really," I protest. It's so weird to be on the other side of this hospital visit. I remember being here last week to see Kate. Now, she's the one trying to lift me up.

"No, Max, you aren't," Kate kindly but forcefully responds. "You stayed in your room all day on Monday, missing your classes. On Sunday, you gave this really weird vibe at brunch, like you were going somewhere and wouldn't see Warren and me again. I'm really worried about you. You haven't been taking care of yourself, and now you are here. What's going on with you?"

"I've had a tough couple of weeks, that's all," I try to assure Kate. It's certainly not a lie, but I can't tell her the whole truth. I don't want her worrying about me as she's got enough on her plate. She's had to process being in the Dark Room ever since Jefferson was revealed for the sick fuck he is. I know Kate is willing to do horrible things to herself if she gets put into a corner, and I don't ever want to put her even close to that position again.

Kate uncomfortably shifts in her chair and looks away from me as if she is contemplating asking a tough question. I can see the concern on her face shift towards guilt. "Max?" Kate gingerly begins. "Mind if I ask you a personal question? It's totally okay to say no. I won't be offended at all. In fact, this is probably just a bad idea."

"Err… sure, Kate. You are one of my best friends and a kind, sweet person. I know that you would never hurt me, so ask away." I give Kate a warm, reassuring smile.

Kate blushes at the compliments. "Thanks, Max. Umm… this is difficult to say… there's a rumor going around the girls' dorms about you."

"Yes?" I probe, though I have a good idea what this could be. My conversation with Juliet the other day probably sparked a rumor that I'm gay.

Kate anxiously wiggles in her seat. "Well, umm… are you in love with Chloe?" Kate quickly asks, likely doing that so she doesn't lose her nerve.

"What? Chloe?" I ask, very confused. The color drains from my face, which gives Kate the answer to her question. How did that rumor get started? Surely Joyce didn't tell anyone, and I only told Warren that I was gay. Plus, I don't see Warren starting a rumor in the girls' dorms. What the hell?

"Umm… yes. Juliet told us that you said you had a secret admirer that didn't go to Blackwell but things were weird. She said that she noticed that you awkwardly avoided using any pronouns when you were talking to her about it. We thought that your admirer must be Chloe given how hard you have taken her death. It just makes too much sense. I know you said that you haven't seen her in five years, but maybe you were lying to cover up the fact that you were in a relationship with her." Kate avoids eye contact with me, and I can tell that she is very ashamed to be asking me about a rumor. She's probably only doing so because I'm here, and she's trying to find out why.

I don't know how to respond. "It's… true. I do love her, but I didn't want you to get caught up in all of my drama. I know that you are dealing with a lot right now. Sorry for being such a burden, Kate."

Kate shakes her head at the suggestion that I'm a burden. "No, Max, you are a good friend. That means you could never be a burden to me. I don't care about who you love, but your behavior makes much more sense now that I know the truth. I'm so sorry that you had to lose Chloe like that. I can't begin to imagine how awful that was for you." Kate becomes withdrawn as she thinks about losing someone so close to you right in front of you like that.

I start to get out of bed to go comfort Kate, but Kate moves closer to me in response. I wrap my arms around her. "Yeah, that definitely sucked. Afterwards, it felt like I couldn't talk to anyone about my feelings, so I guess that made me even more withdrawn than usual."

"You can talk to me, Max," Kate calmly tells me. "No matter how crazy it may seem, I'm here to listen. That's what friends are for."

Well, how about this for crazy? I used to have time-travel powers (still kinda do but in other timelines), and I had to sacrifice Chloe to save everyone else because there was this magical storm that would have wiped out the town if I saved Chloe in the bathroom. And now I'm hopping between timelines when I go to sleep. I've even seen a timeline in which everyone was trying to convince me that I'm insane and that Arcadia Bay and you aren't real.

As much as Kate sincerely thinks she can listen to anything, she couldn't hear all of that without thinking that I need professional help. Who knows? Maybe I do after all the trauma that's been inflicted on me, but the only person I can talk to about all of this is trapped in another timeline.

"Thanks," I wearily respond. "I may take you up on that. I just need time to process everything that's happened."

Kate gets up from her chair. "Well, I shouldn't be greedy with your time. I'm glad that you seem to be doing better. Please come talk to me if things get worse. I'm here for you. I'll send in your next visitor if you are up to it."

I nod, and Kate leaves the room. Almost as soon as she leaves, Warren rushes into the room with worry etched all over his face. "Maximus Prime," Warren greets me half-heartedly as he takes the chair formerly occupied by Kate. Warren is wearing his Schrodinger's cat shirt, a white long-sleeve shirt underneath, and jeans, and he is carrying a stack of graphic novels. "Brought you some reading material so you have something to do while you are stuck here."

"Aww," I gush. "You are so thoughtful. What are you going to have me nerd out on?"

"I brought The Walking Dead graphic novels, volumes 1-18," Warren informs me. "I wasn't sure how long you would be here, so I just brought all of them." Warren places the large stack on the nightstand next to my bed. It's pretty intimidating. "So, uhh… how are you doing?"

"I'm okay. Wish I was already back at Blackwell, but apparently there are some tests I need to take." I grumble at the thought. "By the way, you didn't happen to tell anyone I what I told you the other day? It's not supposed to be a huge secret or anything, but I was hoping to tell people myself. It seems there is a rumor going around that."

"No!" Warren quickly and emphatically replies. "You didn't tell me that it should stay between us, but I don't go gossiping about my friends. I want you to be able to trust me with what's going on."

"I thought so," I sigh. "The rumor is my own damn fault then. I was too careful with my words when talking to Juliet, and she must have noticed."

"Speaking of talking to me about what's going on, I'm really worried about you, Max. Ever since Chloe died, it's almost like you are a different person. I think you should talk to someone about what went down in that bathroom. That couldn't have been easy to deal with. I would be happy to listen."

I sit up in the bed and look at Warren in the eyes. It seems like I have his rapt attention. "Okay, I guess it would be nice to talk about it. But this stays between us."

Warren nods in agreement. "Of course, Max."

"You've seen Donnie Darko, right?"

"Yeah, really fun movie with some time-travel mind screws," Warren shrugs, clearly wondering why this is relevant.

"Well, would you think that something like that could happen in the real world?" I ask, testing Warren before fully diving into my insane tale.

"I suppose. Are you saying that you are hallucinating killer rabbits named Frank?"

"No. I guess I should start at the bathroom. I initially went in there to calm myself down after an embarrassing moment in Jefferson's class. I saw an effervescent blue butterfly behind the stalls, and I went back there to take a photo. This butterfly wasn't like anything I had seen before. It was almost translucent, so I knew I couldn't miss that photo op. Then, Nathan and Chloe burst in, got into an argument, and you know what happened next."

"Yeah," Warren casts his eyes towards the floor. "I do. Did you just hide the whole time, scared that Nathan would see you?"

Do I tell Warren the truth? He did believe me in another timeline, but he had a magical storm and all this other supernatural evidence to convince him. Though he did pretty much take me at my word and believed me really quickly. I wish I could tell him and then rewind if it all goes to shit. I guess I have to make this decision like a normal person. I'm so tired of holding this in.

"I could have stopped it from happening," I begin to confess. "All I had to do was hit the fire alarm and Chloe would still be here."

"That's not fair," Warren says confidently while returning his gaze to me. "Hindsight is 20/20. You can't just replay moments like that. Those kind of quick calculations are impossible IRL. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"Except I knew for a fact that the fire alarm would have worked at that moment, and I decided to do nothing. I chose to let Chloe get shot. I basically killed the person I love." I hold Warren's hand to get his attention and let him know that I'm serious.

Warren shoots me a confused expression. I can see him try to work this out in his head, but his demeanor doesn't change as he can't think of a way in which my statement makes sense. "Wait, what? There's no way that you could have known that for a fact. And you love Chloe? I thought you hadn't seen her in five years. None of this makes any sense, Max."

Well, I've gone this far. No point in stopping now. "That wasn't my first time in that moment. It was my third."

Warren just stares at me with a blank look on his face. "That didn't help this make more sense. It just did the opposite."

I sigh. Here's where Warren starts thinking I've lost it. "This is going to sound totally insane, but please hear me out. The first time I went into the bathroom, I saw Chloe get shot and die, but instead of doing nothing, I raised my right hand and yelled. For some reason, time started to reverse itself, and I found myself back in Jefferson's class."

Warren remains silent, waiting for me to continue. He doesn't have a look of complete disbelief all over him, so I guess that's a good thing. I continue on. "I learned I had the ability to rewind time for up to a few minutes. The world around me would move backward as I stood still. It was so fucking strange. I then went back to the bathroom and was able to save Chloe by hitting the fire alarm. That's how I knew that it would work."

Warren waits until I pause, and then he excitedly shifts in his seat. "Wow, Max. I don't know what to think. You can control time? I've always wanted to be able to do that. That superpower is so OP. My best friend has a broken ability." Warren's tone seems to be genuine, so I think he may at least be trying to believe me. I don't know if I would believe him if our roles were reversed.

"Actually, it sucks," I counter. "Turns out the universe doesn't like you screwing with predetermined events. You know, things like saving someone from getting shot to death. Remember Donnie Darko? My story turned out similarly, but instead of me sacrificing myself, at the end of the week, I had to sacrifice Chloe to save Arcadia Bay from getting hit by a magical E-6 tornado. I did that by using that butterfly photo to go back to that moment because I could also use photos to time travel. I don't blame you if you think I've totally lost it."

Warren starts scratching his chin as he thinks this over. "Yeah, it is hard to believe, but you wouldn't just make this up, Max. Either you are insane, which I don't think is the case, or you truly do have these powers. Just give me a demonstration. Hmm… that would be hard to do, though. How would I know if you traveled into the past? I know. I'll show you what's in my wallet, and then you can rewind and tell me what's in there."

Warren starts to pull out his wallet, but I wave him off. "I wish I could do that. I don't have my powers in this timeline anymore."

"Oh, well, that's inconvenient," Warren responds as he puts away his wallet.

How can I show him that I used to have powers? I certainly would want some proof if he all of a sudden started claiming he had superpowers. I could use the info I got during the week that never was. Maybe that will be enough. "I can tell you that you were planning on taking Brooke to the drive in if I said no. Your student record shows you have a 4.0 GPA. You were supposed to add chlorine to the chemistry lab last week, but you were debating between sodium and potassium. If you would have added chlorine, you would have gotten an "A-" on that lab. You told me that you feel invisible at Blackwell after you got drunk at a Vortex Club party."

As I tell him the things I learned from that lost week, which I hope didn't overlap much with the week that actually happened, Warren's mouth opens wider and wider. "Wha?" Warren manages to say.

I smile at him. "Yeah, that all happened for me last week, but I erased that when I was forced to let Chloe die in the bathroom."

"Wow," Warren finally says after a few more seconds of dumbfounded silence. "I don't know what to think. How did this happen?"

"I don't really know," I admit. "All I know is that Chloe's first death somehow triggered them. After I came back and let her die, I haven't been able to use my powers in this timeline."

"There you go again, saying something about this timeline. What is that all about?"

"Well, ever since Friday, I've been traveling to other timelines that I made when I go to bed in my dorm room. I've been able to see Chloe that way, and in those other timelines, I still have my powers. This may sound like I'm just dreaming, but it felt way too real. Last night, I went to a timeline that I thought I put behind me forever. I was stuck in Jefferson's Dark Room." I shudder at the fresh memories of the humiliation I suffered at the hands of that monster.

Warren slumps in his seat. "You mean that during the week that never was you were in that awful place? I don't know what to say. I can't imagine how horrible that was, and you haven't been able to talk about it with anyone."

"Yeah, that sucked pretty hard." I knew that sounded lame as it was coming out of my mouth, but I can't even begin to describe everything that he did to me. Warren and I sit in an awkward silence for a few minutes, neither of us sure of what to say.

I'm the first to break the uneasy stalemate. "After that, instead of finding myself awake in my dorm room like usual, I was in some psychiatric hospital, and everyone there was trying to convince me that l was insane and Arcadia Bay was just in my head. I'm still tripping over that one." I shake my head as memories of Jefferson and Dr. Price come back. They sounded convincing, but how can this all be fake?

"Maybe that has something to do with you blacking out this morning?" Warren suggests. Blacking out? Of course, why didn't I think of that before?

I give Warren a huge smile. "You're a genius. You don't know how much better you just made me feel."

Warren noticeably brightens when he sees me beaming at him. "Why am I genius again? Aside from the obvious reasons, of course."

"Because the last time I blacked out like that I was having a nightmare. That means that the whole time in the asylum was just a nightmare. It makes so much sense now." I feel so giddy. This world is real! It's totally not just some fantasy in my head. Come to think of it, I can't think of something much more disturbing than being married to Jefferson. Definitely the stuff of nightmares.

"Of course, if you really were insane, then this would be where you make something up like a nightmare to explain away the real world so that you can live in your fantasy." Warren adds, quite unhelpfully.

"Umm… remember what I said about genius? Let me take that back." I groan. Of course, Warren's right. There's no way to actually know for sure. I guess I just have to trust myself.

"Nope, you already said it. Unless, you want to rewind?" Warren laughs at his own joke as I facepalm. "I can assure you that I feel real and not some figment of your overactive imagination. Then again, I would so say that if you were losing it."

I can't help but smile at Warren trying to figure out all of my drama even if he's not being very reassuring right now. He's been such a good friend ever since I got to Blackwell. From saving me from Nathan, to bubble hearthing for some chemistry advice, to saving me again from Nathan, to being there with a photo when he was my only hope of rescuing Chloe, Warren has always been there when I really needed him. I wonder what he sees in me. Brooke is so much smarter. Dana is so much prettier. Victoria is so much cooler. I'm just a shy geek girl who is just horribly awkward around everyone. Whatever it is, I'm glad he's here now. I almost told Warren about my powers last Monday. It feels right that I finally was able to.

Warren's face lights up as an idea comes to him. "You said that your random timeline jumps happen when you fall asleep in your dorm room? Well, we should conduct an experiment to see if it is tied to your room or if it just happens when you fall asleep. You should spend the night with me." Warren is almost bouncing in his chair as his idea excites him. I don't think he means anything romantic by this. He's probably enthused by the idea of spending a night with a friend, playing video games, and watching anime.

"Hmm… that sounds like a good idea," I tease Warren. He gets the biggest grin on his face. "Testing my timeline jumps by sleeping somewhere else, not spending the night in your room." His grin disappears, but he still looks excited about the experiment. "I can't go to sleep for this test anyway if we are up all night playing games. I will go spend the night in Joyce's house."

"Well, okay, be that way," Warren says wistfully. "We would have had so much fun."

"Yeah, but I would get in so much trouble if someone found out I spent the night in the boys' dorms. Anyway, thanks for coming and listening. I'm not sure if I would have believed me."

"Hey, as a scientist, I have to be open to unusual and unexplained phenomena. I shouldn't prejudge the data just because I haven't seen anything like it before. Besides, I trust you. If you say that you have superpowers, then it must be true." Warren flashes me another smile as he gets up and leaves the room. A moment passes and the door opens again, Warren reappearing. "Have time for another visitor, Max?"

"Umm… sure?" I respond, confused. Who else would come over? I'm not that close with anyone else at Blackwell. Warren leaves again to tell whoever it is that I'm free.

Before I can stop to consider who might be coming through the door, Victoria emerges. "Hey, hipster. Mind if I come in?" When I first see Victoria, I start to panic as I think I see her missing an ear, just like in the Dark Room timeline. I quickly get a hold of myself as she pushes her blonde hair behind that ear, shattering the illusion.

Victoria? She hates me in this timeline. At least, I think she hates me, though she was somewhat nice when I broke down in her room. "Sure… I mean, no, I don't mind," I awkwardly respond.

The Queen Bee strolls into my room wearing a red cardigan over a white blouse and dark skinny jeans. Her trademark pearls hang around her neck. Victoria is carrying some binder that is wrapped neatly in some red wrapping paper with yellow polka dots under her arm as she enters the room.

"You are probably wondering why me, the Queen of Blackwell, would come to visit you." Victoria says as she takes the visitor's seat by my bedside.

"Yeah, I was," I admit. "I thought we were enemies. At least, I didn't think we were friends."

Victoria gives me a slight smile and looks away from me as if she was embarrassed by something. I haven't ever seen her like this. I didn't know she was even capable of those emotions. "Yeah, well, I've done a lot of thinking since our talk the other day. I've been trying to come to terms with some things about myself and why I've been such a bitch to you ever since you came to Blackwell even though you have done nothing to me other than be an obnoxious hipster."

My curiosity is perked now. What could she mean? Why is she acting so strange? What is that thing under her arm that she is trying to shield from me so that I don't get a good look at it? I stare at Victoria, waiting for her to continue. The Queen Bee still won't return my gaze.

"At first, I thought that I was simply jealous of you. I know that's shocking as I am totally awesome and amazingly talented. But you probably don't know this because I try to exude this confident bitchy aura all the time, but I'm really insecure. I see you, someone who I thought doesn't give a crap what other people think and who could care less about impressing that asshole Jefferson, and I just can't take it. I want to feel that way, and I thought I was just taking out that frustration on you." Victoria continues to examine her shoes, a pair of black flats.

"It's okay, Victoria," I chime in. "I know that you feel insecure, so I understand where you are coming from. I just wish we could get past that and be friends. We have so much in common, and I think we could really enjoy each other's company."

The blonde still doesn't look up at me. "I haven't told anyone else this. It's really something I just found out myself as I was thinking of you. You see, I know that you are as insecure as I am and you do care what others think, even Jefferson before we found out that he was a monster. So, I'm not jealous of you. There's another reason why I'm such a bitch to you."

"... Yes?" I offer, confused where this is all going. What could possibly be the reason for her to act like this?

"I think that I like your hipster ass." Victoria quickly responds.

"Okay, so you want to be friends?" What the hell is going on? Why does Victoria suddenly want to be friendly?

"Oh Christ, you are really going to make me say this, aren't you?" Victoria replies, clearly annoyed. "You must be really enjoying this."

"What?" Confusion still lingers around me like a thick fog.

"Fine," the Queen Bee says in a huff. "I lo… err… have strong feelings for you. God, I'm so embarrassed right now."

My lower jaw separates from the upper as I take this in. Alternate universe Victoria was totally into me, but things were so different there that I didn't think this was possible over here. How could she ever find me attractive?

"Really?! Me?" I add. It's all I can think to say as my mouth remains gaping open in shock. This seems so sudden from this Victoria. She never even hinted that she was interested before unless being constantly bitchy to me is her way of flirting.

"Yeah," Victoria answers as she finally looks at me in the eye. I can see why she was avoiding looking at me as she is wearing her emotions all over her face. I can see some tears forming around her eyes, and she is looking at me with compassion and longing. It's really fucking strange to see her look at me this way, so vulnerable. "I know. Turns out I have a thing for shy, geeky photo nerds. I didn't realize I was even attracted to you until the other day when I held you in my room. After you left, I kept replaying it over and over in my head, and I've had reoccurring dreams of you and me together. In short, I've been a mess. I can't stop thinking of you."

Before I can say anything, Victoria continues, running a hand through her short blonde hair. "Here's a peace offering. Sorry about everything that I said about Chloe. She sounded like an amazing person."

Victoria hands me the gift, gives me a kiss on the cheek, and abruptly leaves the room. I take a moment to lay there, appreciating the silence other than the sound of medical machinery in the background. I look at the wrapped binder in my lap, wondering what it could be. I open it up and discover a photo album.

On the front of the album is the picture of Chloe and I dressed as pirates that we took as preteens. I open it up and see photos of places around Arcadia Bay that Chloe loved. All of the photos are taken with an instant camera, which shows how much time and care Victoria put into this as I am sure she's not used to trying to get good shots with it. There's some photos of the Two Whales, including a shot of the sign with a sunrise in the background. Then there's pictures of the bench at the lighthouse on the next page. I flip the page again and find a series of photos of American Rust. At the end of the album is a group of pictures of Chloe's house, ending with shots of her room. All of the photos are lovingly taken and are simply breathtaking. I knew Victoria had talent but damn. I would be jealous right now if I wasn't so touched.

On the last page of the album is a note. Next to it is a loose photo of the beach. The note reads:

Max,

I'm sorry if I freaked you out by my sudden admission of love. I think I've been so mean to you because part of me was denying my feelings for you. I've never felt this way about anyone, so I think I was scared as I didn't know what was going on. I felt so out of control that by harassing you I could get back some control over my life.

I went to see Joyce after you were acting so strange on Sunday. She told me about Chloe and how amazing she was. She also mentioned a few of her favorite spots as well as the fact that you two were an item. Sorry, I think she thought that everyone else knew.

I know how much Chloe means to you. I can't imagine having to watch her die in front of you. I try to picture being in that bathroom, scared shitless like you likely were, and watching Nathan shoot you. I don't get very far with this before I break down, so I get that you are not in a good place right now.

But I'm here for you. I deeply care for you, and I want you to know that I will be whatever you need. I don't want anything that you aren't ready to give. I will wait for you for as long as you need if you happen to share any feelings for me. In the meantime, I hope we can grow to be good friends.

Love,

Victoria

PS: Taking decent photos with an instant camera is so hard. Mad props to you. Hope I did you proud.

PPS: Couldn't help myself with the beach pic. It reminds me of a dream of us sunbathing there.

I don't know what to think anymore. I am beyond blown away by Victoria's gift and how perfect it was. I can see why she inspires such loyalty in her friends even though she can treat them like shit. I want to climb out of bed and go find her to let her know how much the album means to me, but I'm stuck here, waiting for the doctor to return.

I pick up my phone and type out a text to Victoria.

Max (1:47 p.m.): I am beyond touched by your gift. Tyvm! I would be honored to call you a friend :)

I immediately get a response.

Victoria (1:47 p.m.): don't worry about it. Just get better whore ;)

Max (1:47 p.m.): Oh dog, what did I just get myself into? Whore?

Victoria (1:48 p.m.): term of endearment among my close friends. You should be proud to be a part of my posse now. We will totally be planning the next vortex club shindig soon

Max (1:48 p.m.): As long as I don't have to do any of your homework. I've got enough already, whore.

Victoria (1:48 p.m.): no. Only I get to call you a whore. Find another name 4 me. I suggest Your Grace

Victoria (1:48 p.m.): besides, I couldn't pass your beautiful photos off as my own, so don't worry

Victoria (1:49 p.m.): should stop texting b4 I turn into a creepy stalker. I will totally do that if I don't stop myself

Victoria (1:49 p.m.): probably shouldn't have told you that. Your first whore duty is to keep that a secret. Cya later ^_^/

Without any more visitors, I lay there, pondering what all of this means as the EKG beeps next to me. Thoughts of the Dark Room soon overwhelm me as all I can see when I close my eyes is Victoria's head getting blown apart by Jefferson's bullet.


The doctor eventually returns, and I take the test. They didn't find anything, and I am released from the hospital. The doctor suggests that I follow up with my primary care physician in a week and of course, drink plenty of fluids.

My parents arrive as I am ready to leave, and after some hugs and tears, I confess my love for Chloe, giving them the same story that I told Joyce. They take the news the same as when I was with Chloe, except their joy at their daughter finding love was replaced with sorrow that their child had to lose someone close. I tell my folks that I think I need a break from my dorm room and ask if they would mind if I spent the night with Joyce. They seem a bit put off by this as I think they would rather just have me get a hotel room next to them, but they relent as they see how much I want this. They drive me to Chloe's home, and we part ways for the night.

Joyce and David are thrilled that I'm staying the night with them. They start to fix up the couch as they likely think that being in Chloe's room would be too traumatic, but I say that it's fine. I would rather be there and feel like I'm with her than anywhere else.

I lay in Chloe's bed, trying to bask in it all. I can smell faint whiffs of cigarette smoke, and my thoughts are consumed by my girlfriend. I wonder what she is doing now. I hope that Warren's experiment fails and I find myself in Chloe's embrace as soon as I fall asleep.

It takes me a while, but sleep finally comes for me.


I wake up, keeping my eyes closed for fear of what I might see. I hear a bird chirp nearby, and the familiar scent of cigarette smoke fills my nose. I thrust my eyes open, hoping to find myself next to my bae. Instead, I see an American flag covering a window, obscuring the morning sunlight.

A/N:

I'm closing in on 50k words, and my manuscript is now over 100 pages. Thanks to everyone who has shared this story with me so far. I'm encouraged by the response that I've received, and I appreciate your feedback.

This chapter was fairly long, but this seemed necessary as a way to reset things after the drama of the two previous chapters and because we haven't been back to this timeline, excluding short visits in between other timeline trips, since Chapter Three.

I found Victoria's explanation of why she is bitchy towards Max at the Vortex Club party to be pretty unconvincing. She basically says it's because she is jealous that Max doesn't give a shit about what anyone thinks, but we know that Max very much cares about what other people think. The entire reason why she needs a serious time out in the bathroom at the beginning of the game is because Victoria made fun of her in class and Max felt ashamed in front of everyone. I think the reason given in this chapter makes much more sense.