This was probably the first time that Max was thankful that her blue haired friend didn't knew how deep the Prescotts were involved in Rachel's death.
Thankfully she didn't yet read the last part of my journal.
As she stood up from the sofa to move in the corridor, she didn't let the man out of her eyes for even a second. What did he want from her?
"You must be Maxine Caulfield?"
"What do you want from me?"
"I'm the father of Nathan Pre-"
"I didn't ask for that. I already know who you're."
"Coming straight to the point, are we? I like your spirit Miss Caulfield." Sean Prescott said as he still stood in the door. The punk was blocking the entrance with her body, and didn't even think about letting him one step closer to her girlfriend. She didn't fully understand what was going on, yet she knew that Nathan had been involved in this whole dark room mess, so she couldn't trust Nathan's father one bit.
"I don't want to be liked by you either. Chloe if he does have nothing to say just close the fucking door."
"You got us good, Maxine." He suddenly dropped the polite act and his voice turned into a sharp and toxic one. Max hated to hear her full name but she found it on the other hand somewhat fitting that a person she despised would use a name she hated.
"I didn't do anything, Mr Prescott. You were the one who bought the... the bunker for your son."
"Yes, because I thought he would use it for his meaningless little club!"
"The vortex club?" Chloe asked.
"He always wanted money for their petty little parties so I assumed that this was nothing else. I never bother with worthless things like that. But still, look what happened to my family! My son needs to do some psychological tests right at this moment, and if that was not enough to ruin the future of the Prescott's, the police is commencing a court process against me and my son! The annoying investigation aside, do you know what that'll cost me?!" It somehow didn't shock Max that Sean Prescott's biggest worry was not his son probably getting locked away in a mental hospital or something like that, but what he had to pay for all of this.
"And you think you don't deserve this?" The freckled girl couldn't understand how this man could be blind to his own fault in all of this. He never paid attention to his own son. Never showed him affection. This ultimately led to Nathan being a broken person.
"Of course I don't! Did I touch any of those girls? Your teacher was the monster, not me. He was also the one who forced my son to all of this. Nathan is not mad man, he's a Prescott."
"You really have no idea, do you? Nathan admired Jefferson's work."
"Don't think you know more about my son than I do, Miss Caulfield. You don't. All of his life some weak peasants wanted to gain influence over him. First this club, and then the teacher. That's the burden a man who'll someday inherit my empire has to carry. Being Alone. Not being able to trust anybody, knowing that they would try to exploit him for their goals."
Max let out a sigh. She couldn't care less about what Nathan's father was thinking. In fact she didn't even feel sorry for Nathan because she hated this boy too much for everything he had done. Empire? Is he being cereal right now?
Chloe suddenly spoke up in an annoyed voice. "So what? Who cares about this? Just tell us why the hell you came to my mom's house or I'll throw you out." Her threat visibly angered the wealthy man in front of them.
"As I already said, you got us good, Maxine. So that's why I came all this way to ask you to sign this statement that'll explain that the Prescott family is fully innocent." He pulled out a piece of paper and gave it to the blue haired girl who in return gave it to Max who was still behind Chloe. The punk still wouldn't let him inside the house.
So he basically asks me to save him from ruin. At least his reputation would get buffed if I did this.The brunette tried to wrap her head around the whole new situation she just found herself in. But even after taking a look at this paper, the only answer that came to Max's mind was, "Why should I?"
"Why should you? You're dooming me and my family despite us being innocent, and you just ask why? A true hero, aren't you? Let me get this right, as soon as this dumb high school drama is over-" The punk raised her fist, but before it could crash into Sean Prescott's face, Max was there to stop her. Both of her arms were pulled around the bigger girl, holding her tight.
"High school drama?!..." Chloe spat those words, boiling with anger.
"That's enough. We're better than that!"
"Fuck better, he'll bleed for this."
"A wise choice to stop her, Maxine." The man in the suit said as he pointed a finger at the enraged girl.
"Just shut up already!"
"Chloe!"
"I won't him let him talk about Rachel like that!"
"He wants you to act like that. Don't let him influence you. You're smarter than that."
And after a short while the smaller girl could feel how Chloe somewhat relaxed in her arms. "Tzz. I know... you can let go of me by the way..." The freckled girl hesitated but after a short moment she let go of the the punk. She was still angry but Max was pretty sure she wouldn't try to hit Nathan's father anymore. She understood what I wanted to say. Good. He just needs one mistake to be able to use us. Max thought, but she also saw that he was genuinely scared when the bigger girl exploded a moment ago. Not so much of a man when it comes down to it, are you?
Nathan's father cleared his throat before he started talking again. "If I were you I would think very good about my decision. Just imagine how Arcadia Bay'll would be if I would start to take an interest in reorganizing the local food supplies. Even a good running diner like that of your mother won't be able to survive without fresh groceries, Chloe Elizabeth Price." Both girls needed a moment to understand what he was trying to say. Was he threatening to destroy Two Whales? "Hmmm, maybe I should start thinking economical and cut the money that is being spent for the maintenance of the dorms in your school, Maxine? They probably would need to drop the number of students they could have in their dorms."
"Are you... are you blackmailing us?" The punk asked bluntly. Which made Sean Prescott chuckle a bit. Is he enjoying this? Yea, he probably feels great to have power over two teenage girls. What a great man he is, my ass! Chloe said to herself as she clenched her fists again. She would have loved to break his nose, or some teeth... or the whole face.
"Me? I just tried to explain the consequences of not signing this statement. Blackmailing is such an evil word, I merely wanted to help you two ladies to see the whole scope of the situation you're in right now. But don't be all tensed up now, I don't need it to be signed until next Friday. I think about a week is more than enough time to consider your choices." The man in the suit said.
"Yep, definitely blackmailing. And also this was a really cheesy line you just said." The punk said, trying to make fun of the man in the suit. But as she turned her head towards the small girl behind her, she saw that her girlfriend was on the bring of despair. Oh no... She thinks that all of this is her fault again. Chloe instantly knew what was going on in Max's head. She had seen this expression too many times over the past few days to forget it already.
With a shaky voice Max tried to beg Sean Prescott, "Y-you can't do that... W-we didn't... we didn't do anything w-wrong! Please, j-just leave us alone already..."
"But that's exactly what I want. All you have to do is to sign this statement and I promise you, I'll never get close to you or any of your little friends ever again."
"I... I..." The small girl couldn't find her breath. It sounded like she was about to hyperventilate.
"No, no. Don't decide just yet. we don't want to rush things, do we? Just think over it very carefully. I'll take my leave now. Hopefully we'll see each other next Friday for the last time in our lives, Miss Caulfield." Chloe could see that he was enjoying this, since he had a faint smile on his lips as he moved back to the car he probably came from.
The punk slammed the door and immediately embraced the smaller girl.
"I-I...so sorry... Joyce... my fault..." Max stuttered through her girlfriends t-shirt. God fucking damn it, since Thursday she has become so much more open. I won't let you through this shit alone this time, The blue haired girl thought as she squeezed the smaller girl even stronger. She could feel that Max was struggling to breathe. Should she call an ambulance? She was scared of the thought that Max may had another seizure coming. But then, to her relief, she heard a faint voice.
"Chloe... I never wanted to pull you or Joyce into this."
"The fuck? What's that supposed to mean? I'm gonna bring myself into this, even if you don't want me to."
"This is not the time to be joking!" The freckled girl suddenly shifted out of Chloe's hug and stared at her face. "He... He'll hurt you and your mother. I promised that I'll protect you from something like that."
"Yep, you did and you know what? I'll promise you that I'll protect you from it as well. Huh? Wait, what're we gonna do now? Looks like we have to do protect each other, after all."
"Stop messing around!" Max screamed at her girlfriend, as she pushed her away. The smaller girl then started hugging herself.
"C-Calm down." It hurt the punk to be rejected like that. She just wanted to be together with her freckled girlfriend after all. Everything else was of minor importance.
"You can't help me!"
Right in front of Chloe's eyes images of Max leaving her behind started popping up. 'I can't talk to you about it. I don't want to bring you in danger. You would mess things up. I don't trust you. I don't need you ...' The blue haired girl couldn't get rid of the feeling that the smaller girl was about to abandon her. "Don't yell at me like that..." Chloe's voice was nothing more then a whisper at that point.
But the smaller girl didn't stop screaming. Max was angry at Nathan's father, not Chloe, but her emotions were consuming her like flames. "It's too dangerous. I can't risk to loose you at any cost!"
"Please, Max... just cut it out already..."
"You don't know what he's capable of!"
"I just want to-" But the punk was being cut by the loud voice of the small girl.
"Why don't you understand? I can't le-" A sudden bang followed by pain made the smaller girl stop talking. Her head was thrown to the side. her cheek felt numb, and at first she was to dazzled to understand why.
Chloe had slapped her in the face. It hurt, but not as much as the fact that it was Chloe who was the one who hit her. The Chloe she loved. For a moment she just stood there, her mouth wide open. She felt how her stomach started cramping, thanks to rage and anxiety boiling up inside of her. It felt like she was about to explode. But as her gaze returned to the blue haired girl, she didn't find an angry punk gazing at her, but a broken girl who had eyes full of fear. This view was more than enough to defuse the bomb of emotions inside of her.
"Stop isolating yourself!" The punk screamed at her. Her hands were clasped over her mouth in horror over what she just did to the smaller girl. Tears were pouring out of her blue eyes, down her cheeks. It hasn't been her intention to hit the one person she loved more than anything, but Chloe also couldn't bear to see her drowning in despair. Not accepting the help she was being offered made the punk infuriated.
The freckled girl blinked a few times, in utter confusion. Then she started to understand what her girlfriend meant to say. Until now Max hadn't realized that she wasn't the only one hurting. As a matter of fact, she hadn't even considered how the blue haired girl felt at all.
"I won't fucking back down now! Do you really think I'll let you through this shit alone?" As an answer Max could only shake her head. "See?! Of course I won't! I hella love you after all!" Upon hearing this, the smaller girl immediately started sobbing again. I love you too. That's why I have to sign the pap-
"We'll find a way... Together!" Chloe said as she put her hands on the other girl's shoulders. "But you can't just leave me out of this. Maybe you had a good reason to hide your time travel shit, but this time you're not permitted to leave me. Actually you're not permitted to do that ever again!"
"I-I never intended to do that, you dork..."
"You just fucking tried it." Chloe pouted.
"Try putting yourself in my shoes for once, god damn it!" For a moment the smaller girl's voice was full of tenseness, but as quick as it came it disappeared again. Only an absent look and a weak and empty voice were all that remained. "Do you think I want to be like this? I can't do anything without some small part of me telling me that I shouldn't do it. I wish I could just lie down with you in my arms, forever. Not needing to decide anything." The smaller girl groaned.
"No you don't. I've been like this for the last 5 fucking years. Blanking out everything that you don't like does not prevent you from pain, trust me."
"But... But I can't... I just can't." Not knowing where to look in her panic, her eye's jumped between the floor and her girlfriends face.
Naturally the punk saw how damaged the freckled girl was and slowly embraced her girlfriend again. This time Max didn't resist it. Feeling two arms around her filled her with warmth. As she buried her face in Chloe's chest, she let out a sigh and closed her eyes. For the moment she needed nothing else but this closeness. The punk whispered, "You're my super Max, but even you can't stomach everything alone, can you?"
"I'm not super... You saw how I begged this asshole to leave us alone. A-and he s-smiled at me, like I... was some insect... I'm pathetic!"
As an answer the bigger girl said through her teeth, "Don't make me punch you again. Cry, scream or hit me if you feel like it, but don't you dare let it out on yourself. I won't allow anybody to touch you. Not even you." The freckled girl was surprised. She didn't expect that the punk would get so mad at her again. But then she just sighed and showed Chloe a small smile.
"But you just did, didn't you?"
"Except me.
"That's unfair." The freckled girl let out a little chuckle.
"Buhhuh. Life is unfair Caulfield. You are all mine. Deal with it."
"Smartass." The freckled girl said as she stuck out her tongue.
"Finally you start talking like the Max I love again!"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that I hate it when you try to push me away."
"Yea, you certainly do." The brunette said as she rubbed her cheek again. For a moment both girls went quiet.
"S-sorry..." Chloe said in a now saddened voice.
"Don't be. I kinda deserved it. I wasn't listening to you at all."
"Doesn't mean I should have done it thought. I feel like shit now." The punk said with an avoiding look on her face.
"Hey, I thought you're a toughie?" Max said as she gently touched her girlfriend's cheek with one hand. Chloe snuggled against the hand and her eyes found back to Max's again.
Then, with a serious expression the smaller girl said, "There's no way out of this, Che. I have to sign this, or he'll ruin our lives..."
"Bullshit, and you know it. He said it himself, there is some kind of investigation running against him. He can't just do as he pleases right now."
"This gives us time, not a solution."
"Well... that's true... "
Both girls fell silent afterwards. They both knew that helping the Prescotts after all that has happened was the wrong thing to do. "Hella wrong!" And yet it felt like there was no other way out without hurting someone. Chloe didn't want to see Nathan being cleared of all the shit he had done. And Max feared that she would destroy Chloe's and Joyce's life if she didn't sign the paper. For some time Max just lay down on the punk's bed, and tried to think of nothing. Chloe was sitting right next to her.
After some time the bigger girl started scratching her head again, more than anything else she felt like she needed to take a shower. Especially after having a talk with such a disgusting man. The bigger girl felt filthy from hearing his voice. Also since Max has been in the hospital I pretty much didn't have a chance to take a shower. But she still didn't leave her girlfriend's side, cuddling and comforting her until all the stress took her into a fast sleep.
After taking a last glimpse at the freckled girl, who looked all helpless as she clinched onto the blanket, the blue haired girl wanted to go to the bathroom, but couldn't find her beanie anywhere. As quietly as possible she searched her whole room: On the table, between some boxes, and even under the bed, but still no beanie in sight. Just before she wanted to go downstairs to see if it was somewhere there, Max rolled from one sight to the other, revealing that she wasn't only hugging the blanket, but her face was also snuggled against the long lost beanie. Ahh, master has stolen it from us.
Not wanting to take it from her, the punk went into the shower. Finally warm water ran down her whole body, and for some time she was able to truly relaxed. Which was a first this day. This didn't hold for too long thought. Damn it. Nathan and his father need to be fucking locked away. Alcatraz is calling them. But I can't be mad at Max for wanting to protect me and mom. It's actually hella adorable that she wants to. I bet she actually wants them in chains as much as I do. As water drops were falling onto her face, it felt like at least now the dirty feeling she got from Sean Prescott was washing off.
As she tried to remember their conversation she actually started laughing. "Haaa, look at my empire. I'll show you the legacy of the Prescott's. Muhahha. Nathan, I am your father." She said while trying to hum the imperial march as she chuckled at herself for a bit. A few moments later she went outside the shower. "Yeah, sure. And you probably sleep in coffins as well don't you? Assholes." She said, still talking to herself.
After putting most of her clothes on she took a look in the mirror and noticed that some of her blue color was coming off. She could actually see some of her old strawberry blonde hair coming out already. "Oh shit!" She said as she went through her wet hair with her fingers. It's already coming off. Coming off... I washed the dirt away. Wait! That's it! We just need to find dirt that'll prove that those fuckers are hella guilty! If this investigation is over, he won't be able to fuck our lives up, will he?
And with that in her mind new hope started growing inside of the punk.