Chapter 11 - TRUTH
Jesus, what a morning.
I cranked the engine then sat in silence, marshalling my thoughts. It was too much to deal with all at once.
I was relieved that Warren and Brooke had so readily agreed to help me. For Warren especially, who'd always been bullied by Nathan, the opportunity was too good to pass up. Kate was supportive, but warned us to be careful.
I guess I should have felt more surprised than I was at finding out Bree's sister had abilities like mine. I wondered how badly she'd squandered her power, and what kind of environmental effect it may have had.
Yet another thing to look into.
Man, I wish Chloe was with me.I could always handle things better when she was around.
The messy cab of Chloe's truck - with the random clutter, colorful stickers, and scribbled philosophical musings - was a reflection of her personality. Much like her room, it felt a bit like being inside her head. Oh, Chloe… I hope you're okay.
I dialed Joyce's number, and in a few seconds I could hear the ringing on the other end.
"Hello?" The voice was tremulous and soft.
"Hi Joyce. It's Max."
"Max… where are you?" An exhausted sniffle.
"Chloe?"
"Where are you?" she whispered. "Come back."
"I'm coming, Chloe. Where's your mom?"
"Just come back, please…"
My heart broke to hear her like this. "I'll be there soon. Just hold on."
Remembering you standing quiet in the rain
As I ran to your heart to be near
And we kissed as the sky fell in
Holding you close
How I always held close in your fear
Remembering you running soft through the night
You were bigger and brighter and whiter than snow
And screamed at the make-believe
Screamed at the sky
And you finally found all your courage
To let it all go
The song from Chloe's mix CD echoed in my head as I made my way through the spotless white corridors to the ICU.
Turning a corner a bit too quickly, I nearly ran into a tall, leggy blonde girl.
"What the fuck, Max?"
"Sorry, Taylor," I said breathlessly.
"Yeah, you better be sorry, nerd." Her voice was icy. Of course Victoria would have told her the bullshit story about me and Nathan.
I had to think fast. "How's your mom doing? I heard she was here."
"Why the fuck do you care, Max?" Taylor still looked pissed off, but her voice had softened a bit.
"I heard she had back surgery. I hope she's doing okay," I said in a conciliatory tone.
"…yeah, she's doing better," Taylor replied after a moment, the angry façade falling away, "though it was pretty scary for a while."
"That's so good to hear, Taylor. How are you holding up?"
"I was stressing out for a bit there, but I'm good." She sighed. "Thanks, Max."
I laid a gentle hand on her arm. "I'm just glad you're both okay."
"I'm sorry to hear about your friend, Max. You're here to see her, right?"
"Yeah, I'm headed there now. Listen, Taylor… whatever Victoria told you about me and Nathan…"
"It's okay, Max," she interrupted. "Victoria's just pissed, and Nathan… he freaks me the fuck out. I believed Vic about you at first, but when I thought about it… well, anything would have set Nathan off. And you don't look like the type who would provoke him."
"Thanks, Taylor. I really appreciate it."
She smiled. "Go be with your friend, Max. Say hi for me, and… try to stay out of Victoria's way for now."
"I will. See you around."
She waved goodbye as we parted ways.
That turned out better than I hoped.
The ICU nurse on duty was the same one from this morning. She looked up at me as I approached.
"Hi… it's me again," I said sheepishly, hoping she didn't blame me for Chloe's earlier outburst. "How's Chloe?"
"Oh! She's been moved upstairs. The docs thought it would be better if she had more privacy."
Embarrassment colored my cheeks. "Sorry we disturbed the other patients this morning."
She smiled sympathetically. "Don't worry about it. I think anyone would have reacted the same way she did. She's in Room 224, by the way. Turn left here and take the blue elevators."
Room 224. That was Rachel's dorm room in my nightmare… Coincidence?
Taking a deep breath, I quietly opened the door, knocking softly at the same time.
The window blinds were open, and I squinted in the glare from the bright sunlight off the white walls and polished floor.
Chloe was reclining in the bed, staring listlessly out the window. She was biting her lower lip, her face was streaked with fresh tears, and her eyes were puffy. Joyce's phone was on the wheeled table next to her.
"Hey," I said softly, shutting the door.
She turned to look at me, stifling a sob. She was clutching the hem of the blanket in both hands.
In a flash I remembered my earlier vision. Chloe weeping alone in a blinding white room.
I rushed to her side, standing between her and the window. "Chloe… I'm so sorry…"
"Max… you came back…"
Emotion swelled in me as I stared at her pale, sad, beautiful face. "Of course I did. I promised, didn't I?"
"After all the things I said to you… when I woke up, you were gone. I was afraid you'd left me again. For good."
I pulled out a tissue from a box on the bedside table and dabbed her cheeks dry. "Never, Chloe."
She closed her eyes, leaning her face into my hand. The touch of her skin felt electric.
It was a long moment before she looked back up at me, stray locks of her untidy blue hair falling across her face. I smoothed them back with gentle fingers.
She took my hand and squeezed. "Max… I dreamed of you… of us, again."
"Yeah?"
"I wasn't knocked out for very long, but the dream was so vivid… I swear it felt real."
"Tell me," I prompted.
"It was a bit like the dream I had last night. You were, like, a superhero. I got stuck on some train tracks, and you rescued me just before I was run over. And one of your friends nearly fell off a building and you saved her."
"Wow."
"I know, right? Then the bad guy kidnapped you and took you to his underground lair."
I bit my lip, trying to keep calm. Chloe didn't notice and kept talking. "You were tied up and he was gonna kill you, but I busted in and killed him first… Ow! Max, don't squeeze so hard!"
I gasped, releasing my iron grip on her hand. "I'm sorry…" I whispered, dropping my gaze.
"You don't look so hot. What's wrong?"
I shook my head. "I'm okay… it's nothing."
"Sure didn't feel like nothing, Maximus," Chloe replied, rubbing her hand.
"Where's your mom and David?" I asked, changing the subject.
"They stopped by for a few minutes to say hello. David had to go back to Blackwell, so Mom walked him downstairs."
"He seems nice."
"He used to be such a paranoid hardass, always giving me shit… but we managed to have an actual conversation today. It was hard for him to get the words out, but he looked so worried and scared for me."
"When you got shot, he was screaming for a doctor. And I heard him call you his daughter. I think that's sweet."
"Yeah okay, whatever, Max." Chloe tried to act unconcerned, but I thought I could see traces of a smile.
"Anyway," she went on. "You still owe me an explanation about magically appearing back in my life after five years."
I took her hand and massaged it. "Chloe…" Just do it. Just tell her. "…I'm gonna start talking, and you're gonna listen, okay?"
She looked in my eyes and nodded. "Okay, Max."
"I know Nathan drugged you in his room, and you tried to kick him in the nuts and broke his lamp instead. I know why you were there in the first place – because you were trying to get some money off him. You owe Frank a lot of money too. You and Rachel were planning to leave for California."
Chloe pulled her hand away from mine. "Max, what the fuck…?"
"Just listen, Chloe, please? There's no easy way to explain this."
She clasped her hands together in her lap, looking nervous.
"Chloe… I was hiding in the bathroom yesterday because I knew you were gonna be there. After Nathan drugged you, you threatened to go to his family unless he paid you to keep quiet. But… he killed you instead."
"What are you talking about?"
"I watched you die, Chloe. I had to save you… so I hid in the bathroom to stop it from happening."
"Max, you're freaking me out."
"I saw you die… I knew it was gonna happen…" I stammered. This isn't going the way I wanted.
"So, you're saying… you're psychic or some shit? You saw the future?"
"It's not that simple… but yeah, I… had a vision." Fuck it, let's just go with that for now.
"Max, do you even hear yourself?"
"Look, I know it sounds crazy…"
"This is way beyond regular crazy. This is, like, Japanese prank show crazy."
I sighed in exasperation. "I saved your life, Chloe. What else can I say or do to make you believe me?"
She shook her head. "Max, seriously. This isn't some anime or..."
"…or a video game, this is real life," I finished the sentence along with her. "Yeah, I knew you were gonna say that. How? Because you already said the exact same thing to me before."
"You're just fucking with me now."
"I'm not. Any minute now, the nurse is gonna come in to check on you."
She looked at me dubiously. "What?"
"Any minute now. Someone's also gonna bring in a tray of shitty hospital food for your lunch."
"Okay, Akira, we'll see if you're telling the truth—"
She was interrupted by a knock at the door, and her eyes widened incredulously.
"Come in," I called out, winking at Chloe.
The door swung open and a nurse entered the room. "How are we feeling? Better?" she asked, smiling as she checked on Chloe's IV drip.
Chloe could only stare and nod.
"She's doing all right," I said, "but I think she's getting hungry."
"Lunch will be here soon," the nurse replied. "Don't hesitate to call if you need anything."
No sooner had she opened the door to leave when another lady came in, wheeling a cart loaded with covered food trays.
I greeted her then turned to Chloe. "Chicken or vegetarian?"
It was a moment before Chloe found her voice. "…Uhhh… chicken?"
Smiling, the lady set a tray onto the wheeled table next to the bed before departing.
"Max… what is this?"
I nodded toward the tray. A stainless steel lid covered the food, hiding it from view. "This? I believe this is a single piece of chicken, a sad-looking roast potato, some peas and corn, and cup of red jello."
"Huh? No, not that. I mean, this…" she gesticulated wildly at me, "this… thing… you're doing! You're fucking scaring me, Max!"
"What? I'm proving to you that I can predict the future." I lifted the cover off the tray, revealing the food. It was exactly as I described.
Chloe's eyes locked onto mine. "Jesus, Max. How…?"
I smiled at her and shrugged.
Had Chloe not been on morphine, she probably would have figured out that I'd secretly pressed the call button to the nurses' station earlier, or that I'd seen the lunch cart on my way upstairs and – being my usual nosy self – sneaked a peek at the food. It was cheating, but I needed her to believe me.
She took my hand, her expression unwavering.
"Max… start from the beginning. Tell me everything."
Chapter End Notes
The song lyrics in this chapter are from "Pictures of You" by The Cure.
I don't know about you, but as important as I think Bree is, I couldn't wait to get back to the Pricefield side of things. :)