*VRRRRRRRRR*

The desk fan in the lobby was loud and slightly annoying, Max thought. The clerk took long enough to gather all the information required for Max and Chloe to check out of the hotel. Strangely, this motel seemed so nice earlier. But now it seemed lazy and half-assed. There were litter on the ground, the staff was a bit rude and not very helpful, and Max got a generally bad vibe from the place.

Chloe was outside as usual, stowing the bags in her truck. The heat was almost unbearable, as Chloe was sweating like a pig. Leaning into the driver seat of the truck, she turned the air condition to max cooling in a vain attempt to bring the temperature in the car down a bit. At least enough so they could drive for a little while without fear of passing out.

Finally swiping her card, Max paid for the stay, and rushed to get out to Chloe. However, before she left the motel, she could see the heat waves radiating from the truck. Giving it a second thought, she walked over to a nearby vending machine to buy two overpriced bottles of water. As Max approached Chloe outside, she threw one of the bottles towards Chloe.

"Think fast!" she yelled playfully as the bottle left her hand and started a graceful flight towards Chloe.

"Thanks!" Chloe replied as she caught the bottle mid-air. The bottle was pretty wet from condensation already, so the contents were probably ice-cold. At least that's how it felt.

After standing around a bit, drinking water and trying to cool the car off, Max and Chloe decided to just live with the heat, and got into the car. It was time to leave this place. Although the hotel had seemed to nice when they first got there, it showed its true colors after that first night. When Max had had that nightmare about Chloe's death, she had fallen into an emotional pit, where she had become really clingy to Chloe, and almost hadn't let her out of her sights all day. Though a bit tiring, Chloe could definitely understand why she was that way. She'd probably be a nervous wreck herself, had something like that happened to her. But now they could just sit back and enjoy the road trip back to Arcadia. There were still a few stops to be had, but Max wasn't eager to get back to Arcadia. Or Blackwell, for that matter. Not after that damn nightmare…

"How're you doing, my Max? Feeling a bit better?" Chloe asked, trying to break the silence. Not that it was an awkward silence, but Max was suspiciously quiet. Maybe she was just tired? She hadn't slept last night, so that could definitely be a reason…

"Fine, I guess". There was a bit of sass in her voice, but it couldn't be helped. Realizing that it could be interpreted the wrong way, Max corrected herself a bit.

"I mean, I'm just really tired. I can hardly even think straight, let alone focus on stuff. And I know that I might be sorta clingy… But I'm just so scared about that dream… What if it'll come true? I-"

"Hey. Relax. Don't worry. I don't mind you being a bit clingy. Means more snuggles for me, right? And I understand that you're tired. I'll watch over you. Try to relax a bit"

"Thanks, sweetheart" Max sighed and drank a sip of water, before lying back in her seat and trying to get some much needed sleep.

Driving for a good while was tiring for Chloe. As much as she wanted her sweetheart to get some much needed sleep, she herself felt the need to stop and take a breather and to stretch her legs further than just down to the pedals.

Stopping the car at a small field of gravel, Chloe gently stepped out of the car. She made sure to stay close to the car and in view of Max, just so she couldn't freak out and panic if she woke up and discovered that Chloe wasn't there.

'Boy, she's a mess. I wish there was something I could do to help her… But I guess she just needs time to figure this out for herself. Fuck, after what she told me, I can't judge her. I'd be pretty messed up as well… My poor Max…'

The skies were blue, and the sun was boiling hot, but at least there was some wind to be had. A soft and gentle breeze cooled Chloe's skin a bit, and was warmly welcome by her. Going against her better judgement, she decided to take a little walk to gather her mind a bit, and to further stretch her legs a bit. She usually went for a little jog back in Arcadia Bay, but ever since she went to Seattle, she had stopped doing so in order to be with Max a bit more.

However, clever as Chloe was, she wrote a small note and left it on the driver's seat, just in case Max woke up and freaked out. In Chloe's mind, this could justify her absence. A bit more than if not, at least.

After a little while, Chloe found herself in a field of clovers that stretched for quite a distance. If nothing else, this was a moment of tranquility. Not that being with Max was pretty fucking tranquil as well, but upon getting some time alone, she realized that maybe she needed it, if nothing else but to think about her life and stuff. She was only human, after all, and needed time to gather herself every now and again.

Sitting in a soft bed of clovers, and feeling the warmth of the sun on her face, Chloe sat in that field and contemplated her life for a bit. She'd had mixed feeling about returning to the Bay ever since mid-way through their little vacation up in Seattle, but they seemed to grow steadily as she came close and closer to home.

But she couldn't just sit out there and feel sorry for herself, could she? She had responsibilities now. She had to care for Max. She had to care for the one she loved with all her heart, and it was an unusual feeling of responsibility. On one hand, she hated having to be responsible for anything, and usually ended up doing the exact opposite. But on the other hand, this was Max she was talking about! The one person in Chloe's miserable little life that actually cared about her. That actually loved her! Except for William, of course, but he was gone. Taken from Chloe so far to early. And Joyce… Well, Joyce loved Chloe, she knew that. But they didn't exactly see eye to eye all the time, and when every day becomes a shouting competition, it sorta loses the meaning.

Feeling a bit warm and bored, Chloe finally decided to get back up and head back for the car. Who knew, maybe Max had woken up already, and was freaking out left and right when Chloe was suddenly gone? She didn't like the thought of that scenario, and picked up the pace a little. Fortunately, it seemed like Max was still fast asleep in the passenger seat in Chloe's car.

With a sense of relief, Chloe got into the driver's seat of the car, started the engine back up, and pulled back onto the road. It was time to move onwards, and to slowly creep towards Arcadia again.