When Max had seen David Madsen on the school grounds, first after the incident in the bathroom, and then again when he was hassling Kate, she had found him to be threatening, but she hadn't been frightened of him. She'd been in the right, after all, well, almost right. She had set off the fire bell, but she'd had good reason to do that.
And that reason was standing next to her now. Alive and well. And angry.
However, this situation was different. No longer was she under the protection of Blackwell. She was in David's home. And she was frightened of him.
"Chloe, you know I don't like strangers in my home," he said. He wasn't the largest of men, but he still towered over Max. "What is she doing here?"
"That is none of your business, David."
"Wrong. It is my business. Everything that happens in my home is my business. Wait," he said, as if noticing Max for the first time, "I know you from Blackwell, don't I? Max… Caulfield, right?"
"Yes sir," said Max.
"You've crossed my path today once already, I caught you up to no good in the bathroom, didn't I?"
"Stop freaking, David. She's here because she's my friend."
"Another one of your so-called 'friends', Chloe? Great."
"Be cool man. Max is my… best friend." Max couldn't help but grin at that, accompanied by a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach. "I've known her a lot longer than I've known you. So chill, ok? Oh yeah, and do remember that we've been in this house for a lot longer than you have. Just try and put things in perspective ok?"
"Perspective? That's rich coming from you. You need to take a more respectful tone with me, young lady."
"I will when you're worthy of my respect. Dude, seriously? Don't you always say respect has to be earned. Well, you haven't. And barging in here and dissing my best friend is not cool."
"Barging in? Since we're talking about personal spaces, how about we talk about my files, Chloe? You know, the ones I specifically told you never to go through."
"And?"
"You've been through them. How am I supposed to respect you if you…"
"Dude, I haven't been near your fucking files. I could care less about your fucking files. Chill man, go back to Blackwell and do your job and stop hassling me."
"Watch your language, Chloe. There's only so much I can take." Max could tell David was getting wound up.
"Oh yeah? Before you do what. Exactly?"
"Pray you never find out."
"Oh, like I'm so scared. You'll get your little war-rage on, will you?"
David swung around and Max gasped. His face was a mask of fury. "You haven't seen rage, you little…"
"Fuck you, pig!" yelled Chloe. Immediately, David lashed out, backhanding Chloe hard across the face. The girl fell back and Max caught her. There were tears in Chloe's eyes, whether from surprise, shock or pain Max wasn't sure, but something in her snapped.
"Don't you dare hit her, you loser!" she snarled, David taking a step back in surprise. "I caught you bullying Kate Marsh in school today, and now I've caught you bullying and abusing your own step-daughter! What do you think the police would have to say about that? Domestic abuse one-oh-one?"
All the fight had gone out of David. Max even suspected he was holding back tears. He mumbled something and turned to leave, but Max had other ideas.
I can make it better.
o_o_o
"Dude, I haven't been near your fucking files. I could care less about your fucking files. Chill man, go back to Blackwell and do your job and stop hassling me."
"Watch your language, Chloe. There's only so much I can take." Max could tell David was getting wound up, but this time she knew where it was going.
"Oh yeah? Before you…" Chloe stopped as Max grabbed her arm. She looked at Max and saw something in her eyes, she couldn't tell what. But the hesitation was enough.
"One of my guns is missing, Chloe," said David, calming down some, "please tell me you didn't take it."
"Yeah, like I'd have a gun, David," she said, still mad, but half-thinking about the look in Max's eyes. "You do know I believe in gun control, don't you? I mean, it's not like we've never talked about this at dinner."
"Chloe, I'm just looking out for you, you know. Contrary to what you might think, I do care…"
"David, enough with the shit, please. I'm eighteen now," started Chloe, but her step-father's attention had been caught by something on the desk. He sniffed the air twice before pouncing on something in the ashtray.
Shit, Chloe's joint!
His eyes narrowed as he held up the half-smoked joint. "Chloe, is this weed?"
"Oh yeah, sure David. You're trippin' balls, man."
David marched over to Chloe, who'd now stood up to him. "I'm sick and tired of your disrespect, Chloe! All the time! Tell me the truth, that's an order!"
Chloe had had enough. "It's not my pot, it's from Max!"
Whoa, what? Chloe?
That silenced David. He closed his mouth and looked over at Max, who was opening and closing her mouth like a guppy. "Is this true, Max?"
I owe you, Chloe, I owe you far more than I can ever repay, and you'll probably never know about it. Now's as good a time to start, although some notice would have been nice.
"Uh, yeah. I…uh… yeah it's mine."
"So you're bringing drugs into my home. How about if I call the police? That would screw up your spotless Blackwell record. You do seem to get around, Max." He closed the distance to max and towered over her, jabbing at her shoulder. "I'm sick of you losers dragging Chloe down. Missy, you sure do like to pop up and start trouble. Like this afternoon. You don't have anything smart to say now? Do you? Huh?"
"Get the hell away from her, David. Stop harassing my friends," said Chloe, pulling her stepfather away from Max
"You don't have any friends."
"Yeah well, that shows how much interest you take in your stepdaughter, doesn't it?" Now it was Chloe's turn to advance on David, who backed away. "I have friends. I have a best friend. A best friend I've known since I was five! Take a good look at her, David. She's my best friend. You know what that means? Damn, she's not perfect, but she's a far better person that I am." Chloe's words brought the beginnings of tears to Max's eyes, but she stood her ground and continued looking at David, who was calming down.
"If this is true, Max, then I hope you'll be a better influence on Chloe than the other losers." He turned to go but looked back. "I'll give you a second chance to prove you're not a loser," he said. "No more drugs. You do that again and you'll learn all about real trouble. You understand me?"
"Uh, yes sir," said Max as David walked out, closing the door behind him. Unseen to David, Chloe had raised both her middle fingers and, as the door closed, she broke into a wide grin and hugged Max.
"Chloe. Not cool. Seriously. Now he thinks I'm an addict."
"Sorry about that," she said, "I shouldn't have done that to you. "
"At least give me some notice when you're gonna pull shit like that next time."
"There won't be a next time."
Max grinned. "There's always a next time, Chloe."
"But thanks for taking the heat for me. We totally smacked his punk ass down. He's no match for the two of us. Epic win!" She looked at Max coyly for a moment, then grinned. "Because you're such a badass, Max, let me show you my new toy." She bent down behind the bed and then stood, holding something behind her back. Max looked at for a moment, then she jumped forward, revealing her gun and pointing it directly at Max. "I'm Price. Chloe Price! Bang!"
Max's heart stopped. Her world stopped. She just saw the gun appearing in front of her face in slow motion and she screamed, her arms flying up as she instinctively threw herself to one side. The grin disappeared from Chloe's face immediately as her friend curled up in a foetal position on the floor, crying once more. She dropped the gun and clapped her hand over her mouth.
"Oh god, Max, I'm sorry," she cried, dropping down to embrace her friend once more. "Jesus, I didn't think. Are you ok?"
"No I'm not fucking ok, Chloe!" Max was slowly beginning to calm down, her tears replaced by cold fury as she looked up at Chloe. "Seriously, is there something fucking wrong with you? A gun? After what happened in the bathroom when you were… when you nearly got shot?"
"Max," said Chloe, a little cautiously. This was the second near-slip of the tongue from Max about the bathroom incident. "Did something else happen in the bathroom? Is there something you're not telling me?"
"What? You mean besides Nathan pulling a gun on you and nearly giving me a heart attack?"
"Kinda. I just… Look," she said, "shit Max, I'm sorry. That was hella stupid of me." She grinned. "But if you wanted a hug from me, you could've just asked, you know." That elicited a giggle from the smaller girl, who stood up and wiped her face again.
"Dork. But seriously Chloe, you said you believe in gun control."
"Yeah. But when I'm in control of the gun."
"Can you just put it away please, guns are the last thing I want to see right now."
"Sure Max," said Chloe, a little sheepishly, replacing the firearm in her beside box. "Anyway, time we weren't here. There is still one cool place we can hang in this hickhole…"
Following her friend's lead, Max climbed out of the window, remembering how they used to dare and double dare each other to climb out and jump down when they were younger. Neither of them actually did. The roof seemed much higher up then. They quickly clambered down and into Chloe's truck.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
It wasn't very far, but the drive was a silent one, devoid of chat, banter or jokes. Max now knew that Chloe suspected something. She'd thought she'd covered up those slips pretty well, but obviously not well enough.
Can I tell Chloe? I mean, she's the one person I would trust with my life, but would she believe me? Fuck, I nearly told Warren, and look what happened when I told Kate, but Chloe's different. Fuck I need to have someone believe me. Get this weight off my chest.
The sun was going down fast when they arrived at the forest. Chloe parked up and bounded out of the truck, running ahead then stopping and running back.
"Isn't this awesome sauce?" she yelled. "Totally reminds me of when we were kids." She ran ahead again, laughing. "Come on, slowpoke!"
"Hold on, Chloe," shouted Max, trying to keep up but failing miserably. She finally stopped, out of breath.
Man, I need to get more exercise.
She looked around, taking in the wooded path. A worn dirt track, logs placed like steps, trees surrounding her, swaying gently in the evening breeze. A doe gently bounced across the path ahead.
No way, this is the exact same path I was on during my nightmare today!
She stopped walking as her phone beeped. Pulling it out, it was a text from Warren, a photo of him sporting a big black eye and grinning from ear to ear.
MAX: [Nice shiner. I owe u. Thanks for today, I'll call u later.]
WARREN: [NP. White knight to the rescue! And you still have to tell me your big secret.]
MAX: [kek]
Up ahead, the path broke to reveal the lighthouse, although this time bathed in the fiery evening glow of sunset. Chloe had sat down on the bench, trying to look nonchalant as Max approached. She patted the seat next to her.
"Have a seat, Pete." Max grinned and sat down next to her friend. No, make that best friend.
"You're in a good mood."
"Comes and goes. Seeing step-dork get played makes me bouncy."
"I'm not as brave as you, Chloe. And David definitely is a step-douche."
"I'm sorry you had to experience it firsthand. But shit, you not brave? Get real, Max, you stood up for me."
You don't know the half of it.
"You stood up to Sergeant Shithead for me," she continued. "In my book, that counts as heroic."
"I don't feel heroic, Chloe."
"Doesn't matter how you feel, Super-Max. You hella saved my life. That makes you my hero." Chloe's comment, although denied, warmed Max's heart.
Me, Chloe's hero. I kinda like that.
"Is he always like that?"
"David? Pretty much. Ever since my desperate mom dragged his ass home. I've never trusted him."
"I saw him freak on Kate Marsh today in the school grounds. He really got in her face. I mean, she's already upset enough without that as well."
"Kate Marsh?"
"Sweet girl, she lives in my dorm. He's not the only one, to be honest, Chloe, but all the others are just stupid kids. Kate's going through some serious shit at the moment, the last thing she needs is the head of security getting in her face. She was really upset, Chloe. I stepped in…"
"… you stood up for her as well? That doesn't make me feel so special," pouted Chloe. Max's heart sank until she saw the smirk in her friend's eye.
"You wouldn't joke if you were there. She nearly collapsed once he left, I had to catch her. He really, and I mean totally upset her."
"Man, that's not cool, but not surprising, really. And I wonder why he was going on about his files. He has some secret shit going on in the garage that I'm not allowed to touch on pain of death. Wait a sec, you went into the garage, didn't you?" She grinned. "Did you peek?"
Max felt her face burning and tried not to smile. "I might have."
"I totally knew it!" screamed Chloe, laughing. "You ninja you! What did you find? I bet he's got some serious porn in there!"
"Some fucking disturbing shit, Chloe. He'd been taking surveillance photos of Kate all over the place. He has maps of the school, all sorts of crap there."
"Yeah, he's got some surveillance fetish, always has. Rambo thinks he's still gathering intelligence. I worry sometimes he's got spy cams around the house, you know."
Oh man. I can't not say anything!
"I knew you didn't know, Chloe. Your house is under surveillance."
"What?"
"Yeah, there are cameras all over the house. Garage, living room, garden, landing, bedroom."
"No shit. My bedroom? He's got a fucking camera in my room, the perv, I'll…"
"No, not your bedroom. That seems to be clear. I saw them on a monitor in the garage."
"Fuck! He is so hella fucking paranoid. I can't tell Mom about this, though. Not yet, anyway. I'll keep it a secret. Knowledge is power, Max…"
"… and ignorance can be bliss. Yeah, I know. We don't want Joyce to get paranoid as well."
"No wonder I'm so miserable. Everyone in this shithole town knows everyone else's secrets."
Ah, here we go. Keep her talking, Max.
"So, why were you meeting Nathan in the bathroom?"
"What did you hear?"
"I heard you talking about money and drugs, but I'd obviously missed the preamble. What's his secret?"
"You mean, apart from being an elitist asshole who pumps bad shit cut with laxative?"
"Well, he…" It was Chloe's turn to hesitate, and Max was dismayed to see her struggling to hold her expression steady. Without thinking, Max put an arm around her friend.
"It's ok, Chloe. I'm here. Tell me."
The taller girl smiled gratefully. It was obvious she needed to get this off her chest, almost as much as Max needed to. "He dosed me with some drugs in his room, Max."
"What? For cereal?"
"I met him in some shithole bar in the ass end of nowhere that didn't card me. He was too rich for the place and far too wasted. And he just kept flashing bills around, flaunting himself…"
"Just tell me what happened, Chloe."
"I was an idiot, Max! I thought he was so blazed it would be an easy score."
"You needed money that bad?"
"Actually, yes. I owe big time. And I thought I'd have enough for me and Rachel to skip town if, when, if she showed up."
"How much?" asked Max. Her voice was quiet, almost to a whisper, but in the stillness of the growing dusk her voice carried perfectly. "Can… can I help?"
"Three grand, plus interest, and no Max, I won't take money from you for that. Although you're sweet to offer. You've already made my day by coming back into my life when I thought I'd lost you. So yeah, I thought I'd get a chunk of it from shithead Prescott, but he fucking put some shit in my drink."
"God Chloe," whispered Max, "I can't believe this. I mean," she added quickly, "I do believe it. Every word. But, Nathan, man, this is fucked up."
"I know I passed out on the floor. I woke up and that fucking perv was smiling, crawling towards me with a camera. Everything was a blur," she continued, her voice becoming higher and quicker, "I tried to kick him in the balls and broke a lamp. He freaked, so I managed to bum rush the door and get the hell out of Dodge. Max, it was hella insane."
"So in the bathroom today…"
"… I figured I'd make him pay to keep me quiet. So we arranged to meet in the bathroom."
"And he brought a gun."
"Fuck yeah, I hadn't bet on that. That was scary. But it's his last mistake, Max, I swear to you."
"He's still dangerous, Chloe. And not just to you."
"You could always go to the Principal. Bet that would make you feel a whole lot safer."
"Actually, no. Been there, tried that."
"What?"
"Later. But Chloe, for cereal, I won't always be there to save you."
"But you were here today for me. You saved me. I'm still tripping on that, Max. Seeing you after all these years. It feels like…"
"Destiny?"
Chloe didn't answer immediately. She leaned forward and stood, Max at her side. Together, they walked to the edge of the cliff and peered out across Arcadia Bay. From their vantage point by the lighthouse, they had a wonderful view all across the bay. The town, the Academy, the coastal path and the long sandy beach that they'd played on for hours and hours before collapsing at one of their houses, laughing and waiting for their food.
"Max?"
"Hmm?"
"If this is destiny, I hope we can find Rachel." Chloe held out her hand and Max took it, pulling the older girl closer. "I miss her, Max. I really miss her. This shit-pit has taken away everyone I've ever loved. I'd like to drop a bomb on Arcadia Bay and turn it all to fucking glass."
As Chloe said the word 'bomb', Max felt it go off in her head. She stepped back, dropping to her knees and cradling her head in her hands.
"Max?"