Solitude by the Boardwalk
Max's POV
Until today, visiting the Boardwalk was never on my list of spots to revisit.
I know it's sounds strange, but I felt like this place never existed. Or maybe I just thought of it as some ancient unimportant relic of my past. Now that I'm here, I feel... a strange sense of content.
As I leaned myself against the wooden railings looking out at the virtually pitch black ocean, I drowned out every surrounding noise to hear the waves clashing against the support structures underneath. In a strange way, I felt as if I was clearing my mind.
I feel I can just stay here forever. Just having no past or future, it feels so serene. It's good not all of Arcadia Bay has lost it's magic touch.
I can already feel my eyelids starting to flutter themselves close. I think that big dinner at Carraba's is affecting my ability to stay awake.
It's funny how a full stomach can one feel so sleepy.
I can smell that strong salty smell from the ocean, and the nose crinkling fishy stench mixed in with it. In that moment, I felt I wasn't on the boardwalk anymore, I feel as if I have my own pirate ship ready to sail the seven seas for all eternity. The vast horizon of the ocean enriches my vision of my life as a pirate.
"Yo ho... haul together... hoist the colors high... Heave ho... thieves and beggars... ne-he-ver say we die..."
As I slowly sang the famous pirate folk song, I unknowingly plunge myself into a world I never thought I would get to see again. My glory days as a pirate pillaging and looting forts and ships, stealing vasts amounts of treasure, and celebrating on our plunders with the crew... and the captain.
Captain Chloe Price.
I can feel my lips trembling into a small grin. In a way, it's good thinking of Chloe right now. My heart is aching, but those memories relieve much of that pain into something to make feel tired, but peaceful.
I guess this is what a good retirement feels like.
I increase the volume in my voice extending my vowels. "Heave ho... thieves and beggars... ne-he-ver say we die!"
"Never picture you for the morbid type, Caulfield."
Well... slap my face, and call me Jack Sparrow...
Okay, is Victoria stalking me now? I can't even have just ONE peaceful moment singing out hoisting the colors?
I don't even acknowledge to turn to face her. If Victoria is going to be berating me, it's going to be with my gaze out to the sea. However, it seems Victoria has other plans, because I can see her reeling against the railings by the very edge of my peripheral vision. I still didn't turn to look at her, nor did I open my mouth to say hi.
"Soo... lemme guess..." She starts rudely. "You're emo now?"
I scoff and let out a bitter laugh correcting her with, "Pirate."
"Whatever..." I can feel an unpleasant talk up ahead, but I'm going to allow Victoria to make an ass of herself. "Soo... ditching class, being an emo pirate. What next? Some lost treasure pierced on the inside of your clit?"
"Well since you brought it up, maybe you can show me yours." I deadpanned. "I mean, forgive my judgmental asshole side, but with your wardrobe, you're bound to have a few priceless piercings right?"
"What the fuck's wrong with you?" I can hear Victoria's voice crack underneath her enraged voice. "Right now, I dunno who the fuck I'm talking to."
I bang my hand down on the railing and flash my body in Victoria's direction feeling this red haze boiling inside me. "Well what do you think, Victoria? Go ahead, who do you think you're talking to?" I slowly approached her with my fist trembling. "You want to know who I'm talking to? Some rich snob who has remarkable talent, but is so fucking insecure with her abilities, that she has to take her shit out on other people!" I breathed out a humorless laugh. "Ohhh ho yeah, I'm going to bring up Kate. Like that time at the Vortex Party where she was fucking drugged, and you just kept tearing her up like she was some easy target. You, Taylor, Courtney, You all gave her just so much shit to the point she ended up on a fucking rooftop of the fucking dorm..." The distance between us is dangerously close and I can hear my voice rising. "Because she was going to fucking jump off of that fucking Prescott abomination!"
"Snap out of it, Caulfield!" Victoria grabs me by the wrist and that's when my free hand just squeezed down on her arm. "You're hurting me!"
"And don't even get me started on you trying to get into bed Mark Jefferson! You want to know how close you were from being locked up in some god forsaken underground darkroom?! And ended up IN A FUCKING BODY BAG?! SIX INCHES UNDER?! Because YOU! WERE THAT! CLOSE!" I jerked Victoria away from me not even acknowledging that she fell to the floor. "AND WHY THE FUCK DO FISH HAVE THAT OBNOXIOUS SMELL?!" I ripped my shoe off my foot and violently discarded it into the sea. My stomach started to churn and I can feel the pressure building up inside. When I hurled my other shoe out into the sea, I slipped and fell only to be saved by my hands sparing my face from the full brunt of the wooden floor.
Everything hurts... I can't... I can't hear... Everything's foggy... What's happening..?
All I could think about is getting as far away from here. I staggered away from the railings struggling to keep myself from falling back down, but the upset stomach was not helping matters. I locate staircase off to the side and trembled to the side slowly struggling down the first couple of steps only to have my buckling legs give out on me lose my footing. My vision was in this violent dizzy rolling, and I although I felt the impact, it didn't inflict any pain. When my static sight was restored, I can see my my feet with a few cuts and bruises on them. The same with my arm.
The adrenaline pumping through my body begins to fade, and I can feel the gradual building up of pain in my legs and arms. But that's not what's hurting the most.
I'm trying SO hard... to be the old Max again... I'm trying so hard to forget Mark Jefferson, The Junkyard, the storm... Chloe... Just so I can heal and move on... but... I don't know... I don't know how much longer I can hold back... what happened to me... I'm so tired...
My eyes begin to flutter themselves close. All I can think of is going to sleep. It felt a few minutes have passed until my eyes open up to see someone racing down the stairs and I can hear a muffled cry for my name.
It's Rachel.
I can feel her arms wrapping around my body as she pulls me up close to her.
"It's okay." She whispered. "It's okay. I gotcha." She hurls me up higher until I'm paste myself onto her chest hearing her heartbeat. "Oh sweetheart..."
She deserves so much better than my fucking drama bullshit... I know it's not bullshit but... she doesn't deserve it... I have to... I have to... for her...
"I'm not the Max know..." I confessed letting my voice crack. I couldn't face her. "I'm not the Max you fell in love with. I just keep thinking I just woke up from some horrible nightmare... I thought I could just ignore it so that I can move on with my life and be happy... But it's all too much... And not just with Chloe... But with Kate... Nathan... Jefferson..." My body shivers saying his name, but my voice breaks croaking out, "And you... I wan- I want to be that Max again... you have NO idea how much I want to be her again, and not this... short fused snarky girl. But I can't..." Sobs just start wrecking my whole body. "And I want to tell you why I can't, because you won't believe me... No one will..."
There was no point holding back anymore. "I'm sorry..."
As I cried myself into Rachel's chest, I can only imagine what she might be feeling right now. Scared, confused, angry, or just wanting to get as far away from me. Or all four of those things. I know I have to come clean, but right now, it feels so hard to tell her the truth.
And it's growing more difficult.
"Max..." I can feel her breath trickling down my ear as her hand around my head pushes me in. I know that voice. She's going to tell me everything will be alright, and that will figure this out. Or that we'll get through this and get you the help we need. I internally panicked thinking that she just might just end up visiting me in a mental hospital. Sensing she's going to speak again, I tighten my body bracing myself for all the possible scenarios. "I want you to tell me about your week with Chloe. About the storm, Kate, Mark Jefferson, William, Joyce..."
My heart skips a beat and my eyes were as wide as saucers hearing her soft mellow murmur. When I break away to face up at hear, I can see her smile and tears staining her cheeks.
"And how you and Chloe found me."
I know what you guys are thinking, and I've been thinking about this for awhile and whether or not I should go with this.
My answer to all you're questions: Rachel has super powers! (Not! You'll find out in the next chapter.)
:P :)
