3/7/2009 4:03 PM
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(New message)
Chloe Price: Hey Max. Please don't freak out. I hit a small delay on my end but I'm leaving tonight. I love you. Stay strong. I'll be there soon.
(Send)
Chloe stared up watching the trail of her cigarette smoke curl into the sky.
Peaceful sounds. Woodland creatures. Wind in the trees. My junkyard. My fortress away from all the crazy.
She lay on the hood of her dad's old car.
Max...
I'm going to come save you.
I promise.
I can hot wire my truck...
and I can break the garage lock if I have to.
I'll wait until late tonight and then I'll steal my truck back when David is asleep.
Then I'm fucking out of here... and I'm not looking back.
Her phone buzzed.
Max Caulfield: Hey Chloe are you around?.
Chloe Price: Yeah. I've got some down time before I can go. How are you doing?
Max Caulfield: Can I call? I really really need to hear your voice.
Chloe's stomach wobbled.
Of course you can. Please.
Chloe Price: Yes!
(send)
Within a second...
(buzz)
(buzz)
(buzz)
Chloe's phone lit up with Max's old picture.
I wonder if she looks different now. I wonder if she would even recognize me...
I miss her so much.
(Accept)
"Hey Max." Chloe tried to wrap her words in a warm blanket.
"Hey Chloe." Max whispered.
You don't sound so ok.
"Hey Max... it's so good to hear your voice. How are you doing?"
I really hope you're at least sort of kind of ok.
"I'm ok... I guess. I just... Chloe I... What made you delay?"
Chloe sighed.
"Max I'm so sorry... I needed to grab some supplies from my friend's locker. The principle thought I was stealing and my mom got super freaked out. My step dad took away my truck keys."
"Wow... Chloe... are you in trouble? Are you still going to be able to come?"
"Max, I'm not going to let a damn thing stop me from getting to you. I've hot wired my truck before. I can do it again."
Max paused for a long second.
"What about your parents?"
"I can get past them. I'm just waiting until it's dark. Getting to you is what matters."
"Isn't someone going to try and stop you?"
"I'd like to see them try. No one is going to stop me from being there for you. Not ever again."
Max sighed and her voice got a little calmer.
"Wow you're like... crazy brave. Like you're just defying your parents like that?"
"Yeah... I guess I'm kinda used to it these days. A lot of shit has gone wrong since you were here."
"Like what?"
"My mom remarried a dick weasel of a guy who's made my life miserable... and I... haven't exactly been doing so hot ever since... well you know. Shit has been really hard."
"Oh Chloe... I'm so sorry. I didn't even think about your life. I was to busy being scared of my dad. I guess I kind of abandoned you huh?"
Chloe's eyes teared up a little.
"Max... I don't blame you. We've had a lot of shit we've each had to deal with. Just promise me you won't do it again ok?"
Max sighed.
"I promise."
They were both silent for a little while.
"Hey Chloe?" Asked Max. "Is it ok if I like... talk to you about some stuff? I mean... "
Max paused.
"I mean... I have no one that I can talk to here. I avoid everyone at school because I don't want them to know what's really going on with me."
"Please talk to me Max... it would be awesome."
"T-thanks Chloe."
Max was silent for a long minute.
"Chloe... I feel like it's my fault. All of the horrible things that happened with my dad. I know it's not true but I can't stop feeling that way."
"When my dad died, I couldn't stop being angry at myself... like if only I had done something different he would still be here."
Max started crying quietly.
She spoke through her tears.
"But I helped him. I lied for him and fought with him and I stole money for him. He would always promise that things would get better but he would always start drinking again no matter what I did."
She sucked in a ragged breath.
"Chloe I tried... so much..."
"Max I'm so sorry..." Chloe's voice caught for a second and she cleared her throat.
"It's so not your fault. Your dad sounds like he's really fucked up... I think you've done all you can."
Max mad a small sad sound of agreement.
"I think when one person in a family is really sick, it sometimes makes people around them a little sick too. I've seen it with my mom. She remarried that paranoid asshole and he rubbed off on her. She used to be so nice.. but not anymore... it's not your fault you can't get through to them Max. Do you hear me Max? Not. Your. Fault."
I just want to wrap her in the biggest hug.
"Hey Chloe..."
"Yeah?"
"Can you... tell me a story? Something out of your life to take my mind off all this."
"Yeah... Sure..."
Chloe thought for a minute...
... and she decided to tell Max everything. Everything that had happened since Max had left.
It took a long time. Chloe had been through a lot.
She told Max about David and Joyce. Failing in school and getting kicked out.
Falling for Rachel and how Rachel had stopped talking to her.
How she had missed Max so damn much and how sorry she was that Max had suffered in silence.
While she was talking, the sun started to set and the light changed.
The junkyard became a city of rust and gold.
It's so beautiful here.
"...and that's when I texted you. I was feeling so horrible and I really really missed you. Like so bad. And now David took my truck keys... but that's not stopping me. I'll come be there for you Max, I promise."
Max was silent for a long minute.
"Wow Chloe... after everything you've been through. You'd drop everything for me?"
"Max... you're my number one priority. My parents can go fuck themselves for all I care."
Max let out a defiant giggle almost despite herself. Then her tone became more somber.
"What about that girl you like?"
"I don't know... she doesn't want to talk to me anymore. She told me to forget about her."
"I'm so sorry Chloe... she sounds so amazing."
"Yeah... I miss her a lot. Not as much as I miss you though."
"Thank you Chloe... you'll be here soon right?"
"Yes... I promise."
"T-Thank you."
"Hey... Price!"
Chloe froze in fear.
What the fuck?! Frank's voice. What the hell is he doing here?
Frank emerged from behind one of the piles of smashed cars.
"Price." Frank stood with a scowl and his arms crossed staring at Chloe on the phone.
He does not look happy.
"Shit! Max... I gotta go... I'll text you when I leave Ok?"
"Chloe is everything ok?"
"Yeah. I just gotta go for a bit. Love you ok?"
"Love you too." Max Whispered.
(End Call)
She looked up warily to meet Frank's angry glare.
"Price. I've been looking for you everywhere... we need to talk."
Not good.
I'm so sorry for keeping Max from Chloe! I didn't even realize when I first planned out this story how agonizing it was going to be to keep them apart for so long. I'm really excited about how it all plays out and I promise that I'm only keeping them apart for an even more epic ending where they can come back together.
TL-DR.. stick around for the ending. I promise I'll make it worth it.
Update / tune up: I rewrote the opening dialog in this scene. It felt weird to me to have Max jump straight into telling Chloe about her life without asking about why Chloe was delayed so I added that first. The conversation between them now reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend of mine about standing up to her shitty parents.
