We're not in Arcadia anymore."
"Somethings never change."
In Carlos' car, Chloe looks over at Carlos. "So not as nervous now are you?" Carlos says. Chloe says "Yeah, so you've known them long, why is you say that thing back there?" "What thing?" "Familia es familia, amigos son familia." Chloe says. "I said it because it true. You, Joyce, David, Max Warren..." "We're all family to you?" "Yeah. I have such a small one that i need to count you guys as one." A police car pulls behind Carlos and follows him for a little while. He pulls into a parking lot of a liquor store and connivence store. The police car pulls up next to him. The officer turns the car off and gets out. He takes s on the window with a flash light. Carlos rolls the window down. The officer says "So is this su carro?" "Sí." "She's nice. So where'd you buy it?" "When I was shipped off to school, I had some money and saw it for sale a few blocks away, for sale sticker in the window. When'd you join the force?" "When you were shipped out. I was told it was my only option. Boys in blue or join the vatos in orange." Carlos looks at Chloe and says "Chloe, this is Ramone. Ramone this is Chole." "Hello. You're probably wondering how I know Carlos. He and I were homies. That was way back."
A few hours later Chloe and Carlos walk into the house. Henrique sits at the table and sees them walk in. "Yo, you won't believe who I just ran into." Carlos says. "Who?" "Ramone, he's a cop now." "I was wonder what happened to him after Peco set him up." "What, where he at? I'm a cap his ass." "He's been hiding." I got a hot spot that he frequents." "Let's go deal with his ass." Carlos goes to the garage and gets in the cadilliac. Henrique gets in the driver seat and turns the car on. Chloe walks into the garage. Henrique rolls the window down and says "Hop in." Chloe gets the n the car. The garage door opens up and they back out.
At a club in west Hollywood the group walks in. "He hangs in the VIP section of this club. He comes down to dance every so often." Henrique says. "We'll wait for him to come down."
A few hours go by and a bouncer walks up Chloe and says "A gust of hours would like to invite you to our VIP lounge." The men wave for her to go. Fifteen minutes go by and Chloe and Peco walk down. They get on the dance flour. The two guys watch her and Peco. After the dance all four of them and walk out. Chloe walks to the side and Carlos sucker punches Peco. "Why the fuck would you do that!?" "Why would you set your boy up?" Carlos, Chloe , and Henrique run to the car.
Back at Henrique's house. The group walks in. "I'm going to bed." Chloe says as she walks away. Henrique says "Damn man, you are the same. Art school didn't change you!" "Some things never change. I'm a cholo to da core." "His blood shootin the flour." "Soon as we walked out the door." "Fist to face, no time to waste." Henrique grabs the door to the fridge and grabs a bottle of José Caurvo and two shot glasses. He pours two drinks. "That's what happens when you set one of your boys up." Carlos says. "He had to know this was coming." "I never liked that fuck any way." Carlos says. "Yeah, you should of seen General's face when he found up about that set up." "What went down?" "Peco set him up by giving him weed to sell, well the customer was a cop that Peco was working with." "That's fucked." "Maybe we're the fucked ones?" Carlos cocks his head. "He got to live out of the joint for so long and party." "Look man, I didn't put two shots in a perverted photography teacher and punch through that bitch ass just so you can think about working for the pigs. What in the fucks going through your head?" "Nothing man, but he had it good for so long." "Yeah but it always comes to get you." "But we're getting older man, you got college and Chloe, you're not living for you. You're living for her." Henrique says. "You got a point there. Trouble follows me though." Max walks out and sees the men talking. Carlos sees Max and says "Hey, what are you doing up?" "Hard nite and I couldn't sleep." "What about Warren?" Henrique says. "He's out like a light and why bother waking him up." Henrique says "I don't know how you kids keep such late hours, I'll see ya in the morning. Remember what I said." Henrique says looking at Carlos before walking off into a bedroom. Max looks at Carlos. "Why don't you and I go for a ride?" Carlos and Max get up from the kitchen table and walk out to his car. They ride up the Pacific coast highway. Carlos says "H was talking about a guy who set an old friend up and how that guy lived on easy street because he was feeding the police information. I told him he was going soft, he then brought Chloe into it. Saying that I'm not just living for me, but I'm living for her." "Carlos, and this is just my opinion, but your friend is right. You are living for Chloe, but your aren't going soft. You never will. I'll give an example and this keeps me up at night. I was drugged saw my best friend get shot, then while be carried away by a perverted photography teacher I see you. I wake up after a few bouts of Jefferson's 'sessions' who comes wielding a shotgun with my friend whom is presumed by the last two people who saw her, you. You used the gun on him and now he can't hurt anyone. For my and Chloe's sake never change who you are." Max says. Carlos stops the car at the side of the road and they both get out. "Max, you're going to love it here." They both stand looking over the cliff. "It's so picturesque here." Max pulls her phone out and snaps a few photos. Carlos walks to the trunk of his car and opens it. "What are you doing?" Max asks he pulls out a little box from the trunk and walks toward Max. "This is from Warren. He saw it and said 'This has Max all over it.'" He hands max the brown cardboard box. She stands there looking at the box that was just placed in her hand. After standing there for what felt like an eternity to Carlos, he speaks up by saying "Just open, I know it's nothing bad." Max opens the box to find a smaller box. "What is this, a sick game of nesting boxes?" "Just open it. It's the last one, I swear." Max gives into his request by oppening the box and finds a Sony digital camera and a charger. "Turn it on." Carlos says. She turns the camera on and lines Carlos and his car in frame with the cliffs at his back. Max looks at the picture that she had just taken. "How..?" "We take care of our own Max and you and Warren are friends of mine so when H found out you were using flim he and warren wanted to save that expense on you. H knows a guy who owns a pawn shop and the owner owed him a favor." "Carlos, this is..." "Say no more Max. Say no more." "Can I ask you something importatnt?" "Shoot." "Why did you save us, Chloe, Me and Kate?" Carlos takes a deep breath and says "Kate was a matter of right place..." "No Carlos, tell the truth. I saw you rush in. Now why?" "Okay, with that, I rushed in because it was the right thing to do and nobody else would." "Why didn't you freeze up like everyone else?" "Max." Carlos says as he squeezes her arm gently. "there was bad shit in my life since I was young. I learned that you got to react cause no one else will." "What made you save Chloe?" "I love her." "Me?" "You're her beest friend." "But wern't you worried about Jefferson shooting you?" "I had a stolen shotgun. Jefferson isn't the first person with a gun that I stood toe to toe with. I grew up on the streets with junkies, dealers, gangin' homies and the police. Guns aint nothing new." "I know this is cheesy but II had never met anyone like you. The stories are sad and painful." Carlos Rubs the back of his hand across Max's face and says " That was the only life I've ever known. we never know that the grass is greener on the golf course if we haven't seen one." "But you must have known that other people had it better than you." "You can't live if your main focus is the survival from day to day. Yeah I had it bad but I had to keep moving and everyone around me had it just the same." Max yawns and stretches. Carlos walks over to the passenger side door and opems it for Max. "I think I better get you home. Max gets in and Carlos shuts the door for her. He gets in on thed driver sid and turns the car on. "Night Call" by KavinSky plays as he drives back to the house. The car parks in the drive way and Carlos looks in the passenger side direction and sees that Max is asleep. He gets out and carries Max inside the house and into the bedroom. He tucks her into Bed and kisses her Fore head. He walks into the bedroom and sees Chloe laying on the bed asleep. He walks over and gets into the bed.
The next morning Carlos wakes up to Chloe and Max Laughing in the kitchen. Carlos wwalks out to the Kitchen and sits at the table while Chloe and Max stare at him. "So Max here tells me about your night last night. So you'd make good father material." "What do you mean?" "You tucked me into bed and Kissed my forehead, if you had read me a story, you have done the same things my parents did till I was eight years old." Max says with a smile on her face. Carlos says "Well, you were having a rough night..." Chloe interjects by saying "Hey, you don't have to explain yourself. I thought it was cute and a nice thing to do."
Author's Note; So, I know that was a little mushy. I"M getting to the point in my life where I start to realize that people are valuable. This is the kind of thing I would do if put in this position. Before you ask for more explanation, Carlos loves Max in a way that isn't physical, but he wants her to be happy and never wants to see harm happen to her. He would do anything to see her happy and the love he has for Chloe is similar but he has physical attraction to her. I know that may be a little confusing. I w