Push open the door.
Rachel looks so small in the hospital bed.
Vulnerable.
But her eyes are bright.
She smiles when I walk in...
And my heart melts.
Oh my god.
Rush to her. Throw my arms around her.
I can feel her shaking against me. We're both crying.
I can't believe I'm holding you again.
I thought I'd lost you.
James has discreetly left the room.
It's just the two of us together.
Rachel snuggles close to my chest.
Her tears are warm against my skin until they're caught by the fabric of my shirt.
A long heartbeat to hold her while the rest of the world falls away.
I love you Rachel... I'm so sorry I fucked this up. I almost killed you.
"Chloe?"
Her voice is slightly muffled when she finally speaks.
"Chloe... I'm so sorry... I told you to leave. I was so fucking crazy."
She squeezes me tight.
Rachel you are the best kind of crazy.
But... I'm pretty sure I'm the one who should be sorry.
"It's ok... god Rach I'm so sorry... I didn't think about how much it would mess you up when I told you about you dad. I super fucked this up. I'm so fucking sorry."
Rachel shook her head. Her voice was stronger.
"Not your fault. I think I would have done the same thing. It's not your fault that my dad is such a fucking coward. I'm glad you told me."
Rachel clenched her fists in anger.
"A monster and a fucking coward... to scared to risk his daughter having a relationship he couldn't fucking control."
He's kept Rachel in a cage her whole life.
And she's fucking breaking free.
Rachel's voice softened.
"You got to meet my mom right?"
Sera. God that was so fucked up.
Take a deep breath. Rachel deserves to know the truth.
"Yeah... I think she really wanted to meet you too... but Damon got her re-addicted and she couldn't believe she could get sober again. She told me to lie to you. I think she was scared she would hurt you if you found her. She didn't want you knowing about your dad."
Rachel snuggled closer for warmth.
"That's so fucked up... I can't believe my fucking pathetic dad sent Damon to kill her. How did you find out what had happened?"
Chloe thought back to being trapped in James' office with that creeper Elliot.
"It was when I broke into your dad's office. I found a phone which had texts from Damon. I tricked Damon into sending me a picture that showed me where Sera was and I went to confront him in the old mill. He knocked me out but Frank killed him before he could attack me. When I woke up, Sera explained everything. I tried to convince her to visit you but she was to scared of hurting you. Frank is ok by the way... he's not exactly happy with me but he's ok."
Rachel looked down.
"Wow... you did all of that for me?"
She paused for a breath.
"You are brave as fuck Chloe Price. I... I don't deserve someone as amazing as you... but I'm so god damn grateful."
Tip Rachel's chin up so her eyes meet mine.
"Not true. I did all of that because of how amazing you are Rachel. You inspired me."
Look down a little.
"You still inspire me."
Chloe's heart missed a beat.
Rachel gently put a hand on Chloe's cheek and started to lean in.
Alarm bells went off in Chloe's head and her breath froze.
Oh god... what?
Rachel's mouth slowly met Chloe's and suddenly the rest of the world didn't matter anymore.
The kiss deepened and flowed moving from a desperate need to gentle trembling and light.
When they broke apart, both girls had tiny flecks of tears in their eyes.
Rach...
The desire to tell Rachel out loud how much Chloe loved her felt like a lump in the back of her throat.
Fear pushed the words back down. Even after everything...
No. I can't right now.
Rachel's frown slowly returned.
"Chloe... after everything with my dad, how do I face him again? He's the reason..."
Rachel's voice died and she gestured at her hospital bed.
He's the reason you almost ended your life.
"Fuck your dad. He doesn't deserve someone as amazing as you for a daughter."
Rachel was quiet for a long minute.
"Let's leave. Let's just get the fuck out of here and never come back. Like we planned. I can't live in this fucking shit hole another minute."
Rachel set up a little in the hospital bed.
"Let's leave. Today."
Her eyes were dancing with sparks.
I want to but...
"Rachel... I really want to go... but there's one more thing I need to ask you first. I'm scared to ask though... it's kinda a lot."
Rachel squeezed her hand reassuringly.
"Chloe I'll tell you anything... I trust you."
Chloe's heart missed a beat.
Take a deep breath. Ok here goes...
"Rachel... your dad told me about your little sister."
Rachel's eyes fell and she stiffened in Chloe's arms.
"Yeah." She whispered. "What about her?"
Put a gentle hand on Rachel's hair.
"I know about her."
Rachel nodded without looking up.
The big question
"Why didn't you tell me about her?"
Rachel looked up with tear streaked cheeks.
"Because I think what happened to her was my fucking fault."
Oh god Rach. So not true.
"Rachel... you know that's not true right?"
She doesn't believe it though.
Rachel turned her eyes away in shame.
"Sort of... I want to believe it but I can't. Chloe... that was the most horrible moment of my life. It plays in my head any time I'm not distracted by something else."
Oh Rach.
Chloe took a long breath to compose her thoughts. Her voice was very quiet when she spoke.
I know how this is.
"Rachel... when my dad died I used to blame myself. If only I had distracted him or gotten in the car with him or told him to be more careful... I still catch myself playing that day over and over again trying to figure out what I could have done differently. It's the most horrible day of my life... but I go back to it all the time."
Rachel nodded.
"It wasn't my fault... driving is dangerous and accidents happen. It's the worst part of the world... that a little bad luck can take away something as amazing as a living, breathing person."
Rachel's eyes watered.
"Yeah..."
She bit her bottom lip.
"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you before. Even after everything. I know I should have trusted you to understand."
Squeeze Rachel extra hard. Stroke her hair.
"You don't need to apologize... I know ... And I am so fucking sorry."
Rachel broke down crying.
"Chloe we were... just walking and laughing and she ran into the street and it all happened so fast. Then she was gone and that asshole looking over from his car. He saw me and then he just drove off like it didn't fucking matter."
Rachel sobbed into Chloe's chest.
Hold Rachel for a long minute.
She's been through so much...
Rock her slowly back and forth. Hold her gently. This pain has a purpose. It will heal with enough time.
If we're going to run away though, I need to tell Rachel the truth in case Max still needs me.
We might need to go to Seattle.
"Rachel... I don't know how to tell you this so I'll just tell you... the guy who hit her... he's Max's dad. The same Max that I told you about who left. He's been hurting her. He's an alcoholic and a crazy addict too. I think Max knows what happened and she's super traumatized by it."
Chloe felt Rachel go rigid with tension.
When she spoke, her voice was icy. Distant.
"I saw someone in the back of the car. Someone young looking. I thought it was a girl but I wasn't sure. That must have been Max."
Chloe nodded.
"I think it was. I think Max blames herself for what happened. Her dad probably abused her into not saying anything. I knew him when Max and I were friends. He could get... really scary when he had drunk too much. Angry and violent. He actually smashed a coffee table once in front of all of us and then the next day he was all smiles like nothing had ever happened."
Look at the floor.
"I think that's why Max left and stopped talking to me. All of this. I think it killed her inside."
Rachel's eyes narrowed.
"What a fucking monster. I wish he hadn't fucking run away. My dad would have put him away for life. We should find him."
Find him... and make him pay.
Chloe had never hated someone so badly that she wanted them dead.
David had made her life a living hell but she never really felt like he deserved to die for his crimes.
This piece of shit though... Ryan had cost them all so much...
And he seemed like he couldn't care less.
Without warning Chloe's pocket started buzzing snapping her out of her angry thoughts.
Bzzzt!
Bzzzt!
Bzzzt!
What the fuck? My phone?
Chloe fumbled it out without letting go of Rachel.
(Incoming Call)
Max Caulfield
Oh god.
Max you didn't give up on me.
Chloe felt a firework of emotion go off in her chest.
Max!
She's actually calling me after everything. She might be ok.
Chloe's looked back up at Rachel. Rachel's eyes were wide staring at the phone screen with Max's name on it.
"That's her isn't it?"
"Yeah."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to see if we can be there for her. I think she's in danger. Do you want to help her?"
Rachel nodded fiercely.
Hell yes.
(Accept Call)
"Max." Chloe filled her voice with all of the love and support she could.
Staring into Rachel's defiant eyes. She's silently giving all of her support to Max too.
"Chloe... I'm so sorry... I got so scared and I thought that no one could ever understand..."
Max's voice was high pitched and frantic.
Speak gently. Try to calm Max down.
"I know... it's not your fault angel. This has been the most horrible nightmare for you."
Max sucked in a breath.
"Chloe... it's my mom... she's going to meet with him tomorrow. I keep begging her not to but she won't listen to me. It's like she's living in a fantasy world where all the horrible things he's done didn't happen. I think he's going to hurt her."
Max took another deep breath.
She sounded like she was choking.
"Chloe I'm really scared."
I look at Rachel and she stares back at me.
"We could go save her." I mouth silently to Rachel.
Rachel nods and clenches a fist. Her eyes are dancing with fire.
Think for a second before I speak.
"Max... I can still come visit you if you'd like. I want to see you. I need to see you... so badly."
Max made a small scared sound.
"Ok." She whispered.
Then she seemed to break down.
A sharp sob.
"Oh god Chloe... I need you here so badly. I'm so sorry I freaked out before. I was just so sure you were going to hate me once you found out what had happened... what my dad did... I knew about it and he made me keep silent. He threatened to hurt my mom if I told anyone."
I look over at Rachel. She's shaking with anger.
This is the last time that fucking slime of a father ever hurts anyone again.
Rachel and I already know what we need to do.
"I'm coming for you Max. I'll leave as soon as I can. I should be there by tomorrow."
"Thank you... thank you so much. I don't ... deserve you."
So not true.
"No way Max. You deserve all the support in the fucking world."
Rachel squeezes my hand and nods.
She and I are going to save Max. Not sure how yet... but we definitely will.
"I love you Chloe." Max's voice is all wobbly.
Chloe's heart missed a beat.
"I love you too." Damn right I do.
You're going to be ok even if I have to bend time and space to save you.
"Chloe I'm going to... go get ready for when you come. Can you text me every half an hour... to tell me where you are?"
"Yes... I'll text you every damn five minutes."
Max hiccuped in a ghost of a laugh.
"You'll be here soon right?"
"Sooner than you can believe. Google says about five hours.
Max hiccups again. She sounds stronger than before.
"Thank you."
"You're worth it Max. I'll be there."
Max sighed longingly.
"I don't want to hang up." Her tone is almost a playful whine.
"I know... me neither. I'll see you so soon ok?"
"Chloe..."
Long pause.
"Thank you... for... for everything."
"You're worth it Max. Love you. I'll see you soon ok?"
Another sigh from Max.
"Love you too."
Click.
And that ended the call.
Ache.
Max I miss you so much.
"I'm coming with you."
Chloe looked up from her phone to stare into Rachel's eyes.
"Do you feel up to this?"
Chloe gestured at the hospital bed.
"You maybe probably should rest for a little while."
Rachel's brows lowered in a defiant frown.
"Fuck that."
"I'm not going to let that fucker hurt another person... especially not his own daughter and your oldest friend."
Rachel's tone softened.
"Please Chloe... I need to face him. He's the monster that haunted all of my nightmares ... I need to do this."
She clenched her hand into a tight fist.
"Let's go... let's save your Max... and then we'll find a way to make Ryan pay."
Chloe nodded.
But... uh...
"Uh... How will we get there? I'm pretty sure my truck got towed this morning after I parked on half the sidewalk. I don't even have the keys to it. My douchebag step dad still hasn't given them back."
Rachel's mouth stretched in a sly grin.
"Something like this?"
She unfurled her palm to display a ring of keys.
Chloe blinked in shock.
"Where the hell did you get that?"
Rachel grinned wider.
"Swiped them off my loser dad when he was busy pretending to be a worried father figure."
Rachel winked.
"I haven't totally lost my touch."
God Rachel you kick so much ass.
Fuck yes.
Chloe felt a little dizzy.
"I can't believe we're actually doing this... we're leaving Arcadia Bay. You ready to go now?"
I'm so fucking ready.
Rachel stared Chloe right in the eye.
"Yes. We're leaving. Now."
Let's fucking go.
Boooom. So absolutely over the fucking moon to finally post this chapter. This is what the story has been building towards since day one. All of the complex tangles with Rachel's sister and Frank and David taking Chloe's keys were all set up to get the story here where Rachel and Chloe could team up to go save Max.
I promise no more delays. It's fucking road trip time.
A huge thank you to everyone who's stuck it out up to this point. We've all earned this.