Chapter Twenty Eight: Sanguine Union
…
It was early morning when Rachel woke up from her stupor.
Jesus Fucking Christ, all that she wanted right now was to go back to sleep for the next three days.
The girls backed down on the whole 'let's take a peyote trip in the desert' idea that Rachel had pushed. Sera started sending them a series of passive roundabout pleas for them to back down as well as a couple of videos of the after effects of Peyote on a person, so in they instead traded hallucinogenic drugs for a bottle of legal poison (aka tequila) which they polished off and spent the night utterly plastered, which Rachel supposed was more or less something they did all the time.
Although they were in a desert, she could feel the cold air coming through the cracks in the window of the motel room they had rented so that the two of them did not have to sleep in the truck or set up camp somewhere intoxicated. She sighed and pushed herself deeper into Chloe's chest; one finger reached up and gently worked its way into one of her stray locks.
Rachel Amber was kinda angry.
Her anger (annoyance was probably a better word for it) was directed at the conversation Chloe and her had had about a week ago in Port Orford. That marriage was a remote chance for them even after she hit 18. It was a wake- up call about what she was and she just could not quite shake it from her thoughts. Sure, she thought men could be attractive, but nothing about them came close to what she had felt for Chloe.
With that attraction, with the love that she felt for Chloe came all the titles she had more or less avoided using to describe her and what she had with Chloe. Notably was that what they had was pretty gay. Two years into them being together and only now she was trying to rectify what they were together and what people were probably calling them behind their back
God… she was too drunk for these thoughts right now. Her point was that she wanted to get fucking married anywhere she pleased and not have fucking fucks tell her no, but no one fucking said no to Rachel Fucking Amber; especially not when it involved shit that no one else had a say in it.
Now, she accepted Chloe's argument about waiting, no problem. Rachel was willing to admit that they were young as fuck to just up and get married, and after what happened to Dad and Sera. Dad and Sera was the clearest cut example why you don't just jump head fucking first into matrimony, because not everyone was lucky to have a parent like Joyce had in William Price. Chloe could have been a carbon copy of patient, steady William, but she would still have to deal with Rachel's temperamental nature.
Another aspect which gave Rachel pause was the shit show that inevitably would have entailed. She had promised both herself and Joyce that the two of them would try to work on being friendlier with one another; and she doubted very much that would happen if she came back with Chloe after a whirlwind trip to Massachusetts or New York with all the proper paperwork.
But while she might have accepted logic to postponing, she did not like being disallowed from something she wanted and didn't harm anyone. It drove that little part of her mind that made her crave what she could not have to take what she wanted and fuck all the consequences. Christ… she had to check that indulgence to stir shit… she would end up like her mother… biological mother.
Noticing her phone tangled in Chloe's cleavage (her phone holster from time to time) she slipped her fingers forward and tapped the screen. Sure enough two unread messages awaited her, but she squinted at the name of who had sent them.
Victoria Chase.
Rachel racked her brain. She could vaguely recall that Victoria had spent the better part of a month bragging to whoever would listen that she would be sojourning to Europe for the summer, which she conveniently dropped on them when Chloe and her road trip plans were leaked by Juliet Watson. Chloe spent a good week ready to fight Victoria on the grounds of stealing their thunder.
Victoria Chase – You there?
Victoria Chase – Pick up the fucking phone there's shit that needs to be said
God, what in the fuck could she have wanted?
Rubbing her eyes, Rachel bit the bullet and tapped the call button. It was better to just get it out of the way while Chloe was asleep and unable to insert her commentary which would in-fucking-evitably lead to a big blowout. She didn't have the mental strength nor had eye coordination to type anything legible, so fuck it, she'd call.
The phone rang three times, before the line was picked up on the other end.
"Make it quick Victoria," Rachel immediately spoke before Victoria could talk. "I'm drunk as hell and you're disturbing my sleep."
At first there was only a brief silence before she finally heard it.
"Hello, you have reached Victoria Chase," a very gentle sleepy voice which wasn't Victoria's voice in the slightest greeted her. "I'm afraid she cannot come to the phone right now as Her Majesty is in disposed. Would you like to leave a message?"
Rachel checked the time. It was only 9 in the morning and the girl on the other end of the line was not Taylor or Courtney or anyone from the Vortex Club. In fact as a rule, no one got to use Victoria Chase's phone fucking ever; and now on top of that, whoever this was, it as though she seemed brave enough to dismiss any sort of reputation Victoria Chase had made for herself.
…or perhaps she wasn't aware of it at all in the slightest…
All of this peaked Rachel's curiosity far more than she was prepared for this early and this intoxicated to handle this right now. The only thing she wanted to know was just who in the hell was this girl?
"Her Majesty…" Rachel repeated, placing a small tired chuckle into her words. "Wow, someone out there who calls her out too and you have access to Victoria's phone… and why, may I ask, do you have access Victoria's phone?"
"Oh, mostly because Victoria is supposed to be getting us breakfast and she's a slowpoke," the girl replied back before adding. "… coincidentally that's her favourite Pokemo-"
"OH MY GOD, SHUT UP!" Rachel heard the familiar shriek of Victoria Chase.
From the sound of it, there was a fumbling battle for the phone going down. The girl on the other end was fighting back and laughing; but what was much more strange, was that so too was Victoria. Rachel could not imagine any situation where Victoria would allow herself to be dragged down to any position lower than what she built herself up as. Whatever this was… it had captured her curiosity for real now.
Damn... Rachel kind of liked her already…
"Yeah, who is it," Victoria demanded, having apparently won her little battle against the girl she was chilling with.
"It's Rachel… you texted me…" Rachel reminded her. "…who's the girl?"
Rachel knew better than to get an answer, and she was right. Victoria blew over that part. She could hear the sound of footsteps on the other end as Victoria apparently went to go and find somewhere quiet and out of the way to talk. Rachel idly wondered if Victoria was shrugging off her obviously self-hating ways, but right now she just didn't give that much of a shit to push for anything of substance.
"I can't talk for long," Victoria replied briskly. "Look, I owe you two for what happened. If you two are in Seattle anytime soon, you both can crash at my place or whatever... There's some… weird shit I need to talk to you about in person."
Chase was opening her home up for the two of them? What the hell was going on in her mind right now? Wasn't she supposed to be getting ready for Europe? None of this was making any sense. It probably would have if she was sober, but right now it was mostly just a tiring blur and all Rachel wanted as to go back to sleep. As before, she just didn't give a single solitary fuck anymore.
"So… Victoria Chase is a Pokémon Master, hey? Please thank that girl for me, will you? I was always partial to the red one with a fire tail myself…" Rachel replied as she attempted to use her limited knowledge in the subject. "Come on Vickie…. who is the girl-"
"Yeah, fuck you too, Rachel!" Victoria interjected and hung up on her.
Happy that disturbance was dealt with for the time being, Rachel grinned and threw her phone on the counter and pushed herself back against Chloe, closing her eyes. She had a plan for today, but for now they another three hours or so before they would have to check out. It would be plenty of extra rest for the drive chauffeuring Chloe on.
"Whozzat about…" she heard coming above her.
Chloe had been stirred awake by the conversation. This was the last thing she had wanted to do. Rachel sighed and leaned forward, kissing what skin she could reach with her limited mobility. In this case it would be Chloe's right breast, which suited her fine. Any excuse to kiss some Priceless Tits, was an excuse she would not pass up.
"Victoria being fucking Victoria again…" Rachel mumbled as she pulled her lips back from Chloe's revealed cleavage. "…you know I think she may like us. You're not going to believe this, but I think Victoria might be into someone... a girl no less…"
Rachel smiled as she felt Chloe's hand reach out and run through her hair soothingly. It was a massage which helped ease some of the tension brewing in her head. Reaching out, Rachel snaked her arms around Chloe's waist and drew herself closer so that she could listen to Price's strong heartbeat.
"You're right, I don't believe it," Chloe murmured back sleepily as she nestled the top of Rachel's head with her chin. "I'll eat my fucking beanie the day Victoria Chase descends from her perch, stops being a self-involved closeted bitch and tries to love someone else for a change."
Rachel breathed a small sigh. Chloe was very logically cynical about Victoria Chase. This was rooted in deeds accumulated through the years. Rachel could not fault Chloe for that policy, especially when Rachel as a rule subscribed to it as well. While that was the case, there was definitely a part inside of her that wanted Victoria to find a modicum of happiness as well. For her to find someone she could trust. Judging from what she heard, it sort of seemed like she had finally found that in someone. If that was what was happening, then all she could do was hope for the best.
"…and what if I'm right?" Rachel decided to pursue.
Chloe sort of grunted as she pressed her lips against Rachel's forehead.
"If you're right, we're going to have to pre-emptively kick a rich girl's ass before she says something awful… just in case…" Chloe replied without hesitation.
Rachel smirked and nodded at the predictable but perfectly reasonable answer to the question. Yes, she supposed that asskicking would have to be an inevitability.
…
…
Chloe Price was not scared of much in this world. But there was one thing that terrified the hell out of her the most: Rachel Amber driving.
Rachel had the basics down no sweat. Her problem was that she was not timid behind the wheel, or safe. Instead she drove like a demon out of hell down these busted ass Oregon back roads, quickly getting frustrated by other drivers and swerving around them. If Rachel was in a sports car or something a little more finesse, she would be at home, but this was a mid to late 1980's truck they found in a fucking junkyard.
Perhaps this was why she did not mind being the driver of the two of them. Every time Rachel drove for her, she was God's biggest fan.
As worrying as it might have been, Chloe was still somewhat curious as to why Rachel was in such a hurry to leave desert lands and head north. Even in the face of a terrifying hangover, somehow Rachel could have plans brewing in her mind. Not that Chloe minded of course, it kept her on her toes.
There had also been some talk of moving on, heading north to Portland before they crossed the border into Washington State. This was something she both dreaded and looked forward. With Rachel's birthday fast approaching, Rachel wanted a little class. They would rent out a nice place, eat at nice places, and find a nice tattoo artist to get their long anticipated Tats. It would be a nice, classy week or so in America's premiere hipster city.
As fucking cool as it be to finally get to Portland and as neat as it was to venture through regions of the state neither Rachel or her had been to before, the two of them were inching closer and closer to Seattle; closer to her encounter with Max Caulfield; even with literal years of build-up… she wasn't ready for this.
She had no fucking clue what she was going to say or do about it. She was settling somewhere between screaming and hugging the ever loving fuck out of the girl. Considering just how much Chloe may have discussed her history with Max to Rachel, Rachel unsurprisingly suggested giving her a big old sloppy kiss. It wasn't some jealousy thing, at least not anymore. Rachel loved to push the boundaries and the buttons of other people. It was a shadow of who she used to be before all the shit that happened.
Rachel's recommendation... well… it might have crossed Chloe's mind on more than one occasion. There was a history to Max and her that she could not ignore. She would just have to wait and see. It was quite possible that Max had long since moved on and Chloe was now just grasping for a friend she no longer had.
Chloe glanced to Rachel, who was adorable as fuck at how focused on the road. The truck bounced underneath them as Rachel had taken them off the road and onto to a dirt road leading to what appeared to be an improvised parking spot. Chloe noticed the sign they past ready Crooked River Observation Point. Chloe looked back to her girl, wondering again just what was going on in that head of hers.
As Rachel brought the tuck to a stop, she turned the key and pocketed them. She turned back, smiling as she pulled off her seatbelt. She leaned forward, kissing Chloe's cheek briefly
"Come on, Priceless, we have places to be!" she announced as she pulled back and opened the door.
As Rachel stepped out of the truck, Chloe unbuckled herself and slid across the truck bench seat and squinted as the sun hit her eyes. Rachel closed the door behind them and took Chloe by the hand, not allowing her a moment to collect herself.
As they walked Chloe took in her surroundings. There was nothing particular to note, if you didn't count the fact that the two of them were standing on the edge of a canyon gorge which had a railway track bridge running from one side of the canyon to another. Chloe wouldn't have been particularly interested in it had Rachel not been dragging her up the manmade embankment to the bridge.
"You... took us to a bridge?" Chloe could only voice the obvious.
Rachel nodded as they made it up the embankment and found themselves standing on wood, steel and iron. She turned back to Chloe and grinned even wider, as she reached out and looped her arm around Chloe's waist. She was the cat to Chloe's canary apparently.
"This is the only river gorge bridge I could find in the vicinity," Rachel spoke up as she walked Chloe along the train tracks, "I always wanted to go and stand in the middle of one. Don't ask why, the reasons are non-existent. I have ideas and you know me…"
Rachel trailed off as the two of them reached the edge between safe ground and the drop to the winding shallow river below. She turned back and arched her brow at Chloe who remained locked in place several steps behind where she had stood.
"Chloe Fucking Price, if you're going to tell me you're afraid of heights I am so not going to be impressed with you for the next 12 seconds!" Rachel teased her, her hands jutting against her hips.
Chloe Price was not afraid of heights. She was not a fan of being in the dark.
"I want to know what's going on first," she called to Rachel, squinting back at her as her head throbbed from last night's overindulgence.
The confusion of Chloe's refusal to blindly follow washed away from Rachel's expression. She slinked forward; her eyes were hooded as joined her girlfriend again, her hands slipping into the waistband of Chloe's shorts as they stood on the edge together.
"You're less than two hundred feet away from learning what's going on..." she salaciously breathed to the taller girl. "… Are you really going to back away now?"
Chloe remained silent as she gently grasped Rachel's feather earring, the small tug earned the smallest of gasps from Rachel as she in turn tightened her grip and pushed herself even closer until body meshed into body. As Chloe nodded, Rachel stepped on the tips of her toes and sunk into Chloe's giving her a deep, sensory numbing kiss.
"My brave girl…" Rachel whispered throatily as she pulled back. "I'm so proud you're mine…"
Releasing her grasp on her waist, Rachel captured Chloe's hands and took slow steps onto the bridge proper; Chloe now entranced enough to follow her along without any further complaint. She had gone from being curious to officially intrigued by just what it was her girl had in store for them.
As the two of them reached the middle of the bridge, Rachel let go of Chloe and took a step away. She glanced over the edge, a sly grin crossing over her mouth as she gestured Chloe to follow her. Chloe obeyed and silently looked over the edge. She really fucking wished that she hadn't.
"I've been thinking a lot the past few days about our talk…" Rachel spoke up over the loud wind gusting through them. "I've thought about how we're too young to get married, and the whole 'we're gay for each other and America is apparently still a fundamentalist country that has to stick its nose in our shit' thing and I know you're right, but I was wondering if you would like to bind yourself to me…"
Chloe blinked as she watched Rachel dig into her pocket. What in the absolute fuck was she talking about?
"What… the fuck are you talking about?" Chloe asked her blankly, "… and why the hell do you have a knife?"
Her eyes fell and looked at the switchblade held firmly in Rachel's hand. She looked up and directed her curiosity to Rachel, who looked somehow defiant and needing validation from Chloe for her decision to carry a fucking weapon on her. Like… wasn't it fucking illegal?
"I have a knife because I can't buy a gun yet, and I'm not going out into the world without something to protect us… protect you," Rachel replied as though she had rehearsed it "… and what I'm talking about is you and I bonded by blood."
Chloe rubbed her face and turned away. If she was going to bring a fucking weapon on this trip, the least she could have done was tell her. Chloe wasn't about to sit here and deny it was not the right move. They had seen how bad shit could get and if she could get access to a gun, then the knife was the next logical step.
As for this bonded by blood thing… well, Chloe had no fucking clue what to chalk this up to. Rachel was always sort of into mysticism like astrology and horoscopes, but it was less so these days after Rose. She always seemed to want to be facing firmly towards what was directly in front of her rather than focusing on the background world.
This sounded something which Chloe would have thought up with Max, which they did do at one point… with a thumbtack, not a knife. Neither of them could break the skin… but this was something on a whole other scale.
"Dude, how drunk are you still..." Chloe attempted to lighten the mood.
Rachel's smile vanished off her face. This was not one of those light moments. This was something well past serious.
"I'm not drunk, Beth," Rachel replied, using her pet name. "I just… Chloe Price you're my best friend, my one love; and all I seem to think about these days is pushing the boundaries, to push what we are into what we can become. That conversation was a drop in the bucket compared to the thoughts that swim in my head whenever you're in my thoughts, and lately you are always in my thoughts. I want you to be my forever, Chloe, and since I can't have that for some time, I want to do the next best thing. We'll be together in a way nothing and nobody can stand against."
Rachel went silent as Chloe went over what she was saying. She wasn't sure why… but there was some sense in it. It was love, love from Rachel to want to make such a sweeping potentially embarrassing disaster, and love from Chloe that made her want to say yes to this romantic - albeit odd – request.
"It's… kinda badass… sorta…" Chloe admitted to Rachel, a small disbelieving grin crossing over her mouth.
Rachel arched her brow; she was obviously thrilled that Chloe seemed to be on the same page.
"Hella badass," Rachel said as she offered the knife out to Chloe. "You cut me, I'll cut you next."
Looking at the knife in the palm of Rachel's hand, Chloe snatched it up and flicked the blade open. Rachel had not taking back her hand. She held it out in a display of sacrifice for their commitment. Exhaling Chloe gripped Rachel's wrist and brought it close to her face.
Chloe looked up and met the expression of determination written in Rachel's face. She was committed completely.
"It's okay baby…" she breathed to Chloe. "…a girl's first time is supposed to be painful…"
Biting back her smirk, Chloe nodded and pressed her lips against Rachel's palm. She pulled back, and without any pause, she ran the blade along her flesh. It was deep enough to leave a mark. As the blood started to flow, Chloe watched in amazement as the only noise Rachel made was a sharp inhale and an abrupt snorting noise.
Taking the knife from her, Rachel pressed her lips against Chloe's and pulled back as she raised Chloe left hand and immediately ran the blade along the exact same spot. Chloe grunted as the nerve ending s in her hand fucking screamed throughout her entire body.
Rachel threw the knife off the bridge and stepped forward, placing her bleeding hand into Chloe's. Together the two of them watched as Rachel pushed their hands out over the edge and allowed their intermixed union of dark sanguine roll off their hands and trickled into the river below their feet.
"My blood and my life, your blood and your life... it's one in the same now, for real," Rachel gasped out through her growing pain. "You are everything to me, my Chloe Elizabeth Price."
Rachel fell silent and looked expectedly up to her new blood wife. Chloe could only emit a shit eating grin. This wasn't exactly how she thought the day was going to go. She had no words prepared… all she had was one absolutely stupid thought running through her head that she knew she shouldn't voice, but fucking did anyways.
"You do realize you stole this whole thing out of fucking Natural Born Killers, right?" she blurted out. "Blood bonding on a bridge so that the blood goes into the water... you're such a dork."
Rachel sort of squinted at her… it was not exactly what she had expected to here, but she was not about to argue the point. Not when the small grin she had clearly recognized Chloe was not far from the fucking truth about this whole thing. They had become Mickey and Mallory Knox without the body count… God, she was a secret nerd…
"Other than that… I'm with you… until the end…" Chloe added, leaning in to kiss her forehead.
Rachel smiled properly as the two of them leaned against each other, their hands painfully gripping each-others to compress their self-inflicted injuries. Chloe was put on the spot and she seemed to be factoring that in.
"Good save, Priceless-"
Rachel was cut off by the sound of a whistle blast from the other side of the river. They looked and noticed a loaded freight train rolling their way. The two of them broke apart and ran at full tilted towards back towards the truck, sliding down the embankment.
As Chloe stood up, pulling Rachel with her, she unconsciously wrapped her hand in her shirt as they walked and limped towards the truck. Perhaps running like that was a little dramatic considering the Train was rolling along with a dozen plus boxcars, but Chloe Price didn't fuck with trains. She watched too many Liveleak videos.
There was a small slap on her shoulder.
"Come on, don't use your shirt, you savage!" she heard Rachel cry out to her. "We got a first aid kit, remember?"
As Rachel threw her the keys, Chloe emitted a dramatic sigh.
"Goddamn… five minutes into ritualistic blood marriage and you're already fuckin' naggin' me…" Chloe muttered theatrically behind her as she went to open the truck up.
Rachel rolled her eyes as the blood continued to clump in the dirt she was standing in.
"Bitch." Rachel called out to her.
"Double bitch." Chloe snapped back.
"Victoria."
As soon as Rachel dropped the V bomb, it was all over. She supposed it was their first argument and the wife, of course, won it.
Knowing there was nothing in the world that could count Victoria Chase's cuntery Chloe threw up her hands in surrender and reached into the glove compartment, pulling out the slightly ill-fitting bag which Sera had presented them the day they had left. Taking a seat on the edge of the truck bench, Chloe dug through the bag, finding a small bottle of antiseptic, medical tape and fabric bandaging,
Chloe was about to fasten the bag up and join Rachel when she noticed something peculiar. Strangely, there was a small second black bag buried in the bottom of the kit. She unzipped it and stared at the contents for a good long moment, not entirely sure what to make of what she was staring at.
"Rach," she called out to out, unable to break her attention from the contents of the second bag. "Why are there drugs in the first aid kit?"
Rachel snapped her head back; all the good humour was lost as the implication became clear. As she stamped towards her, Chloe only had a long enough amount of time to reach in and remove a small note written on paper before Rachel snatched the bag out of her hands and removed the strange sort of injectors.
"What in the fuck…" Rachel muttered to her, looking up from the drugs to Chloe as Chloe read the note left for them.
-R&C
You're going off into a world that can be exciting wondrous and frightening. You may end up in absolutely beautiful places, and you may end up in the seedy North-western underworld as well. Wherever it may be, I only want you to be prepared for anything you may encounter during your journeys.
In this kit are Naloxone nasal sprays as well as the proper instructions of how to administer the shots. Naloxone is an anti-opioid used to block the effects of an overdose. You are heading into Portland and Seattle, both of which have a huge drug culture, and I will not pretend that you won't be close to that scene. If you are to witness an overdose or god forbid have one, it is better you are prepared instead of waiting on an EMT who may or may not have a spray on hand.
If you do witness an overdose, do not hesitate with it. You could change the life you have saved. It was a stranger who saved my life with a Naloxone shot, and that encounter gave me a second chance to turn everything around, a second chance to finally be with you, Rachel as well as an opportunity to make a wonderful new friendship in you, Chloe. For this, I ask you to pass on this second chance to someone else should the need arise.
Until then, I love you both and I look forward to your safe return back home.
Love,
Sera
Chloe looked up and noticed the anger mounting on Rachel's face. Realizing she was making an assumption. Considering the sordid past of her mother, it was an understandable flare up, so Chloe quickly pressed the note into Rachel's hand.
"Dude, your Mom gave us anti-heroin drugs and made it hella fucking cute," she remarked brightly, hoping to ease out some of the tension growing in Rachel. "You know, I might have to marry her instead."
Rachel did not look up at the remark; she carefully was reading the note.
"My mom is straight…" Rachel reminded her as she held her eyes low on the note between her uncut hand.
Chloe smirked.
"Yeah, she's straight up for my pussy…" Chloe retorted without a pause.
That was all it took. Rachel immediately snapped her head up ad shrieked incoherently at her new blood bride. In a mixture of laughter and screams and their injuries almost forgotten for the time being, the smaller girl chased after the taller one with murder in her mind.
Well, that or something close to it.
…
…
Rachel was a weird girl in season one. I wanted to play with that.
Victoria likes to play with fire more than Rachel.
Chloe is...Chloe.
And poor Max is caught in the middle.
Anyways, another chapter down. I'm thinking of doing a Maximum Victory chapter next and we'll go back and forth until the girls are in Seattle. Remember, while the first part of the story was for Amber and Price, the rest of the story is a split so please factor it in before you tell me you want less of one and more the other.
Thank you for reading, and as always for your continued kind words. I always enjoy hearing from you all and if I do not answer it's not that I'm not ungrateful, I'm usually writing and can get so of in a one track mind keeping myself to the steady releases.
Anyways enough of that. Seen you all soon for some Max and Victoria goodness.
