"But I saw him. I've- goddammit, I've seen him twice now" Max's voice shook along with her hands on the steering wheel, nearly forgetting to turn to the left as Ted had instructed.
"It couldn't have been his brother though" Leaning back in his seat, Ted shrugged before loosening the seatbelt on his chest.
"How the fuck do you know?!" The exclaim came out louder than she intended, immediately sensing the mistaken hostility in her voice, which both Ted and Jo reacted to. Ted shied a little away while looking puzzled as a dog getting yelled at without knowing its wrongdoings, Jo was, however, more upfront and pulled herself closer to Max with a dissatisfied expression on her face.
"Don't talk to him like that!" She replied defensively, her vocal pitch sinking.
"He's trying to help, so bag up your bitchy attitude"
Max instantly felt like a kid being scolded by a grown up and her first instinctive response was to yell back, but she clenched her body instead and bit down on her bottom lip as Jo leaned back in her seat while looking at Ted who was slowly curling into a ball. The silence that followed was painful, closing in around Max as she slowed down the car with a sinking feeling of shame and watched Jo in the rear-view mirror seeing her brush her black hair away from her blue eyes.
Max sighed and loosened her body, "I'm sorry" she apologized, being unable to stand the tension.
"Ted, I'm just confused. I've seen Ethan's brother twice now, so can you please tell me how you know that Ethan doesn't actually have a brother?"
Creating a few shuffling noises as Ted shifted on his seat while sweeping his long orange hair behind his back.
"It's because… well, I've done some info scrapping on Ethan and it was pretty easy to find out that he is an only child. Other than that, the man you said was Ethan's brother, the one at the mall, got arrested after the attack and the police revealed his name as being 'Nicholas Belardinelli' with Ethan's surname being Kestal" Ted informed Max quite marvelously, somewhat bewildering Max to get a read on his personality, given that he showed astounding bravery when he defended Max at the bar, but somehow still acting jumpy and confused.
He did mention he was high when he met Chloe, so maybe that's what's up with his weird behavioral changes. Jo reacted quite defensively, though, so maybe he's unstable?
The thought concerned Max to an extent, but given the situation, she decided to brush it off and focused on the salient question.
"So the attack has been on the news?"
"If they can call it a terrorist attack, then it will be the headline of anything related to news" Ted made a fair point and it should have been something Max should have thought about earlier as her thoughts went off the grid once more, wondering if she and Chloe had been identified, given the amount of witnesses that saw them.
"Not only that, but it's becoming a popular subject on TTF. At least among those who live in Idaho"
Again, Ted forced Max to ask an unenlightened question, bringing her ignorance into the light.
"What's TTF?" She asked through a breath, trying to randomly guess the acronym, but all she could think of was 'Timber Trade Federation' which was probably far off.
Instead of answering, Ted snapped his fingers and pointed at Jo, who quickly replied, "Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook" as if this was not the first time he had used that acronym in the presence of Jo.
"Ah," Max nodded derisively, not feeling so ignorant for not knowing the answer to that one.
"That's smart," she said with a forced voice.
"It's convenient, is what it is" Ted seemed oddly proud of his made up acronym as he looked for appreciation in all the corners of the car, but all Max could give him was a low-spirited smile, while Jo went for the casual thumbs up without even looking at him.
"Has, eh, anyone said anything about Chloe and me being there?" Max purposely focused on her voice to not sound as if would be a huge deal, when in reality, it could have a major impact.
Ted seemed prepared for the question, not even taking a breath to answer.
"Not by name, I think, but a few have mentioned that they saw two girls being there and called out Chloe's eh… distinct hair" he stated, rubbing his eyes and yawning with a closed mouth.
"So, let's summarize, yeah?" Ted eagerly continued, not giving a chance for Max to respond.
"Ethan, a crazy stalker, published your private information, went berserk with his friend that he claimed to be his brother. After that, Chloe went missing and we are the unlikely heroes about to embark on a journey to save her" He shortened the issue down in a fairly simplified manner, and with Jo, a stranger, in the car, Max decided to not clarify and simply confirmed instead.
"Yes, pretty much" With her reply, came the guilt of keeping Ted in the dark of the full story, but given that the full story involved time-travel powers and the destruction of Arcadia Bay, it would be anything but stupid to withhold information.
Through the rear-view mirror, Max watched Jo to see if she seemed puzzled or the least bit interested, but she kept her reserved expression, barely moving a muscle. If that was any indication of her already knowing as much as Ted did, was uncertain. The possibility of her just not caring was also up to consideration.
Max looked back at the road and noticed the small houses in a row, now having driven into a suburbia looking area. The first sign she noticed, read "Daphne St."
"See the big, white house?" Ted asked while needlessly pointing, most likely towards the house in question.
"Now, see the small, faded, ugly, old, run-down, yellow house?" He continued just after Max nodded.
"Guess which one is mine" He had an all too serious expression on his face, while Jo was silently grinning.
Purely out of a habit, Max read ahead and knew that by the fact that Ted added the most adjectives on the second option, that he expected Max to guess that, which would lead him to become jokingly offended and reveal that he actually lived in the big, white house. Max's social instinct dragged her towards amusing him by picking the second option, but not in the mood to play these social games, Max sighed and decided on her answer.
"The big, white house" She tilted her head to the left, her voice a clear line as she had already pulled the car to the side.
Ted's smile slowly faded, his teeth disappearing behind his lips in a frown.
"Don't think you are something" Even through his narrowed eyes, it was clear to see he was merrily surprised by Max's answer.
Max couldn't help but to present a small smile just as Ted winked at her before taking off his seatbelt as the car came to a stop.
"I'll just get my laptop and maybe a snack if someone's hungry?" He quickly looked at Jo and Max with wide eyes, but when neither of the girls answered, he simply nodded.
"No snacks for Max. Got it" And with the questionable rhyme, he closed the door and walked around the car and towards his house.
It was remarkable how Ted managed to drag Max out of her fear-driven state, if only for a second. He did mildly remind her of Chloe with his indecorous sense of humor and it was clear he was trying to calm Max down as well, not by saying everything will be all right, but instead, by showing it through his wacky approach. However, as Ted had now entered the big, white house, the lingering uncertainty about his character was still stuck in her mind.
"Hey, eh, Max" The hesitant voice of Jo instantly snapped Max out of her own thoughts, having almost forgotten that the girl was still sitting in the back.
"Sorry for snapping at you or whatever. I know I must seem like a bitch to you at this point" Max looked back at her, her face looking apologetic and somber. The moonlight made her red lipstick glitter and highlighted the black eyeliner.
"No. I mean-" Caught off guard, Max felt the uncertainty in her words with Jo waiting patiently for her to continue.
"It doesn't matter, I just need to find Chloe, so who cares" She eventually explained, suddenly remembering she hadn't turned off the car and quickly rushed to pull the key from the ignition, but began pulling before she turned it, leading her to awkwardly struggle to do this simple task.
"If that's the way you want it" Jo smiled resentfully while leaning back in her seat.
"All that stuff you talked about on the way over here… it must really have taken a toll on you, so I guess it's fair that you're a little misbehaved"
Finally getting the keys out from the ignition, Max had to use a few seconds to process her words before taking a breath.
"Yeah, sure Jo" Her voice was uncaring as she didn't really feel the need to get sucked into whatever game Jo was trying to play.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" The girl in the back suddenly raised her voice while flipping her head downwards.
"You're being a complete douche to Ted and now you won't even accept my apology that you haven't at all deserved" She flipped her head back up in a way Max perceived as acting superior as if she was standing above everything and everyone.
"Some apology that was," Max said quietly at first but didn't want Jo to perceive as if she was willing to take her criticism.
"Just be quiet will you?" She cringed her face as little from the stress and she realized that Jo didn't purposely try to antagonize Max, but it annoyed her at how little situation awareness she showed.
"You really have no manners" She responded while resting her head on her hand. It brought upon familiar feelings in Max that she hadn't felt in a while, and it was the last thing she needed right now.
"Do you not understand what is going on? My friend might try to kill herself, maybe she already has and just because you have no understanding of actual problems, doesn't mean you can just ward it off like it's no big deal because I certainly don't have the energy to focus on whatever drama you're trying to start" Max blurted out in annoyance, making sure Jo heard her words clearly.
"So yes, I accept your apology and here is mine" She turned her head towards the girl in the back.
"Sorry for being a bitch or what the fuck ever the next words from your lips want to call me, but I haven't slept for six months and the only person that doesn't fuck me over might be dead. It's a life we're talking about here, with a childhood and a future, friends, and family. All that is… so valuable that I can't even find the words, so sorry Jo, sorry for freaking out and taking it out on you" Her hands were shaking in frustration.
"How's that for an apology?" These were the last words she wanted to say to her. She didn't want to waste another ounce of energy on a stranger that she felt had no right to even comment on the situation.
Jo just took a breath and looked the other way. The air in the car had become increasingly cold now that the heat was no longer running in the car. The wind was clearly having a laugh outside as well, blowing hard and trying to knock everything over that wasn't attached to the ground. The wind hitting the car was the only noise, if not for that, there would have been complete silence. Max tried to use the time to think about Chloe, but her mind wouldn't let her focus and instead wandered around in an uncontrollable fashion. There was too much going on and the only means of calming herself was to look at the surrounding houses, all different in their own personal way, whereas every lawn and every neatly trimmed bush were nearly identical. The aching in her stomach got worse when she took a breath and it would only become more painful for every second without Chloe. She missed her so much that it was almost unbearable.
"My name is actually Tiffany" The somber voice of a girl broke Max's unbalanced chain of thoughts.
"Not Jo or Josephine. Ted is the only one who calls me that" The voice demanded no attention; the words were just loosely hanging in the air. Max listened but stared at nothing.
"You can ask him why that is" Waves of diffidence were present in her tone, but it was building towards something else.
Max very well acknowledged the words, but couldn't bring herself to move an inch or even respond in the slightest way. The name Tiffany lingered in the air, almost taunting Max as a symbol of her misjudgment.
"I don't know what it's like to suffer from trauma or whatever is going on with Chloe, but don't you dare say I don't understand problems" Her voice got serious, now demanding the attention through certainty.
"I met Ted in high-school. Believe it or not, he was actually one of the cool kids. People sat next him in class and in the cafeteria. It was not like he was every girl's dream, but he was just so outgoing and down to earth, never caring about meaningless things. He was what most people wanted to be. I ended up dating him for 7 months… We were always at his mother's house. It made sense because he lived in the big, white house down the street, and because my parents were fucking uptight, I was more than happy to spend half the week at his house. Ted's father was in the military and had been away for months, so his mother enjoyed the company as well. The only time where he actually came over to my house… he was down on his knees when I opened the door, panting and sweating with this panicked shaking all over his body. His eyes were screaming for me to help him, they were begging me, but I didn't know what had happened. He just wept on my doorstep. It turned out a few weeks ago his father who I had never seen and he rarely talked about, was killed on the battlefield. I knew he was in the military and that he had been gone for so long, but Ted had kept it a secret for everyone that his dad had died. And despite me spending so much time with him, I really couldn't tell either. I don't why he didn't tell me, but fuck… I kick myself every fucking night because I couldn't see the pain my boyfriend was in… but he was not at my doorstep because his father had died, but because his mother could no longer handle her husband's dead, so she went crazy. She broke a window and smashed her head into the broken glass still attached to the window. Ted found her in the bathroom, lying in a pool of her own blood and he was in so much shock by the sight that he could barely call 911. I thank the freaking gods that his mom survived, but Ted was never the same after that day. He became distant. He remembers the incident with his mother as a dream- or a nightmare, like it happened in a fantasy world, not a thing that really took place in reality. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia just a few weeks after and that only messed with him even more. He was not the same guy I had known for so long and loved for so long. I ended the relationship with him. I just didn't love him anymore after he had changed, and that might sound unfair- it might sound fucking cruel, but when it all comes down to it; he didn't need a girlfriend. He needed someone to look over him and that was me. I broke up with him, but I never left his side. I did not abandon him, I could never do that. I tried to take every ounce of pain he could muster outwards and store it within me, so he didn't need to. I have done that ever since that day and I will never stop doing it because the look in his eyes when he was down on my doorstep… it haunts me"
She paused for the very first time, and while Max tried to take a breath, the air was so thick that it just filled her body with a dense and uncomfortable sensation of dread.
"So Max… that's why I fucking hated when you yelled at him and talked him into helping you without showing any gratitude, and why it's a shitshow when you tell me that I don't know fuck about problems. I know plenty…"
Her last sentence stood above all the rest, but it was not aggressive nor contemptuous.
Max wanted to say something, apologize or deride, it didn't matter, but she knew her words were unwanted. Her story was not a topic to be discussed, but a lesson to be learned. It came about clearly how Tiffany had only acted aggressive towards Max because she was defensive about Ted. It was something she could understand and the reason why she lowered her head to show Tiffany that she had heard her and didn't intend to argue further.
A suspensive silence was left hanging in the air, but it could not be broken by any of the two girls sitting in the car. Tiffany was already fiddling around in her purse to avoid making eye contact while Max stared blankly at the speedometer. However, when Tiffany chuckled with a muted voice, Max instinctively looked up at the rear-view mirror to see the girl with a subtle smile on her red lips, her black hair hanging over her face, covering it almost entirely. It prompted her to look elsewhere, as she took notice of the purple midriff shirt instead, complimenting her slender body while also revealing her tanned stomach with her silver belly button piercing. Max's vision quickly changed, however, as steps could be heard approaching the car, and as both the girls looked to their left, they saw Ted walking towards them with a black laptop in his hand and two gadgets that Max wouldn't even pretend she knew what was. He had a mellow expression carved on his face, and it could just be coming from the newly revealed information that influenced her perception, but Max felt as if she saw a glimpse of despondency in his tired eyes.
Tiffany was quick to open the door for Ted as he got close given that he had his hands full, and just as she did; a chill air entered the car making Max's muscles retract.
"Oh, what a gentlewoman," Ted said in delight as he ducked under the roof of the car and carelessly dumped his PC and gadgets on the space in the middle before sitting down.
"Is that even a word?" Tiffany smiled gently, looking more relaxed now that Ted had returned.
"Oh yeah. You can't have words that are specific to one gender in this day and age" He replied tilting his head to the side with a lecturing expression on his face.
"Unless you want a horde of SJW's on your ass," He jokingly added while taking the laptop in his hands and opening it.
Tiffany shook her head while chuckling, with Max confusedly trying once more to crack the code of the dodgy acronyms. She clearly remembered seeing it in writing somewhere on the internet, but before she could recall the circumstances, Ted began drumming on his laptop with his thumbs, snapping Max out of her thoughts. He seemed like he was waiting for it to start up while Tiffany glanced at Max, giving her the impression that she should say something, and with the shaky scolding she had gotten it intimidated her to say anything really.
"Ted," she eventually mustered while her eyes were falling down on the dashboard of the car as Ted was quick to look up at the back of Max's head.
"Why do you call Tiffany, Jo?" With the inconsequential question, came a surprised look that quickly turned into a melancholy leer.
In reality, Max didn't care and she only asked because Tiffany mentioned it. Her only priority at the moment was whether or not Ted had the means of helping her to find Chloe, but the fact that he had talked so confidently about the different methods of tracking someone down, both comforted her and concerned her.
How is there not more people freaked out by living in a world where it's apparently fairly easy to tell where everyone is at any given moment? The again, that same advancement in technology also gives me the opportunity to find Chloe. It's the age-old topic about giving up privacy for safety I guess, in which there has always been the various pros and cons.
It was an interesting thought, but she had to get ready for Ted's answer to her question, however, as he took an idle breath and looked down. Max put the keys into the ignition and Tiffany closed her eyes, distancing herself from the upcoming explanation. In that moment, it really felt like three unlikely heroes that were about to embark on the most depressing journey.