Rachel Amber. Dead
Local teen actress shot dead after kidnapping three Blackwell teens
One hospitalized, Two injured.
Rachel Amber, daughter of Arcadia Bay's very own District Attorney, James Amber, has been killed. The up and coming actress; who had been arrested earlier this year on multiple accounts of domestic abuse, statutory rape, and assault, kidnapped three Blackwell youths with the aid of fellow accomplice Warren Graham as a revenge plot against her former lover.
Security cameras placed around Blackwell's campus picked up footage of Amber stalking and drugging the young Ms. Caulfield during the night of February 14th whilst she was returning to her dorm after a school party. Thankfully, before any real harm could be done, Mr. Prescott just happened upon the scene, jumping into action to protect Ms. Caulfield which ultimately ended in him being abducted instead.
-An unidentified Male, approximately 6'1, aided in this abduction, seeming to be in good relations with Amber herself. If you or someone you know knows the whereabouts of this unknown man, please contact your local Arcadia Bay police with this information-
Hours later, (February 15th) the same footage showed and injured, clearly disoriented Ms. Caulfield stagger away from the scene, struggling to return to her dorm, where a close friend (who wishes to remain anonymous) found her unconscious body. A medical report taken later the next day showed traces of an unknown drug that, when given in low doses, can render the user numb, clueless, and unable to move. After regaining consciousness, Ms. Caulfield was seen leaving campus with Ms. Price after corresponding with Graham, who gave them false information about Mr. Prescott's location.
Approximately 15 minutes after leaving, Graham was seen trailing two girls, disappearing out of sight of the cameras.
In the early morning hours of February 16th, police traced a call to a remote barn in the woods, just outside of town. Authorities discovered a torturous bunker under said barn where the students, Maxine Caulfield, Nathan Prescott and Chloe Price were found, tied up and severely beaten.
While Ms. Caulfield and Mr. Prescott received only superficial injuries, Ms. Price was rushed to a local hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound from Amber. Last knowns reports stated all three teens to be recovering nicely.
According to anonymous sources, Ms. Price and Ms. Amber were once in relations until late last year, prompting the abduction of Ms. Caulfield, Ms. Price's current partner. Graham allegedly threatened young Ms. Caulfield throughout the school year under the authority of Amber. The young 16-year old has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, the first two being spent in Juvie.
Ms. Caulfield, Ms. Price (despite her injuries) and Mr. Prescott been attending court in the ever-unfolding case of Arcadia Bay VS Amber, the biggest thing to happen to the small bayside town in more than 50 years.
"Max... are you even paying attention?" Chloe says, her voice snapping me back to reality.
I jump, ripping my attention from the newspaper article on the ground. "Shit... sorry," I mutter shaking my head slightly to rid my mind of all these heavy thoughts.
"Geez, and here I thought you'd enjoy having your hands all over me," she says, clearly trying to cut the tension already in the air.
"I'm only dying your hair, you perv," I say, my voice lacking its usual enthusiasm, "but I guess you're right... I never thought touching someone else's skelp would be so...intamate".
Chloe buckles at the way I say intimate, "Thanks for doing this by the way. I know how much you liked my natural hair, but I kinda felt like I needed a change. Plus, this gives us something fun and relaxing to do together".
"Huh, you only had it undyed for less than a week. But I must say... I do love seeing you with blue hair again" I say, continuing to rub the dye into her hair, "And yeah... anytime I spend with you is time well spent in my book".
"I hope so," Chloe whispers softly for a moment, before releasing a relaxed sigh.
We both sit in silence for a moment, the only sound in the room is that of our quiet breathing.
"We're gonna be okay, Max... I swear," Chloe finally says, reaching behind her and placing a hand on my dye stained gloves.
I swallow the lump in my throat and nod again. "I know...".
"You've been reading the articles again... haven't you?".
I swallow hard again and nod, watching her expression sour in the mirror in front of us. "It's been a month, Chloe. I can handle it".
"Three weeks isn't a month, Max. Going to the court trials is bad enough for your anxiety, but re-exposing you're self to that shit is just going to make it worse," she says, carefully turning herself around to face me. "And I know you're still having nightmares".
"I can h- handle it," I repeat, silently cursing at myself for stuttering, "I can handle it".
Chloe sighs and closes her eyes for a second, "Okay... maybe you're right. Maybe you can handle it... but that doesn't mean you should do it alone. You can talk to me about it. I'm here for you, alright. Forever".
I sigh breathily and nod, "F- forever".
"Now sit down and take a breath okay? Just take it easy and relax".
I continue to nod and pull away from her, taking a seat on the toilet of Chloe's upstairs bathroom.
She gets up from the chair I dragged up here and carefully kneels down in front of me.
"You're okay, Max. I'm right here, right here,".
She takes my shaking hand and places it over the thick bandaging on her shoulder.
I wince when she winces and hold back a sob, my mind going over just how she got hurt.
Everything is different now.
That night... that horrible, horrible night... has left us with scars that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.
And I mean that in a literal and figurative sense.
I don't remember much about what happened after Chloe got shot. All I really remember doing is crying next to her as she bled... there was blood... so much blood... then, as if by magic, I was in the back of an ambulance with one of those weird foil blankets they use for shock victims around my shoulders.
Of course, no one would tell me where Chloe was, which made me assume the worst and sent me into a full-blown panic mode.
Not even Nathan (who at the time didn't know Chloe's whereabouts either) could get me to relax. So, I ended up passing out after triggering an asthma attack, the paramedics on sight having to give me one of those epi-pen shots that Chloe told me about during my first week at Blackwell.
I was in the hospital after that, where, the literal moment after I woke up, I was checked over and looked at for 4 excruciating hours. Whatever Rachel and Warren dosed me with was powerful and experimental, and everyone said I'm lucky to be alive. It didn't help with my already heightened panic, but the doctors kept me sedated so I'd stay calm.
Nathan was in the same large room I was, with a few other patients scattered about. We upheld simple conversations, avoiding any and all talk about what happened in the past last hours. It was nice for a while... I wasn't completely alone... at least until Nathan's parents showed up and reserved him a private room away from the chaos.
And so I was alone again. Anxiously waiting for word on Chloe, which the doctors refused to talk to me about.
Joyce and David had come by a few hours after I was given the all clear, running up to my hospital bed and crying just as hard as I was. They're the one who told me that Chloe was alright, awake and conscious but still in the ICU, recovering from emergency surgery for her gunshot wound. I was relieved and so happy that she was okay, that I desperately tried to get out of my hospital bed and go find her, but of course, I was more or less confined to my room but... Joyce and David promised they'd let Chloe know I was okay since... well since I'm not her immediate family.
"We'll be back to check up on you, alright sweetie?" Joyce had said, knowing that I don't exactly have any family that will be visiting me... aside from Chloe. I'd reluctantly agreed, once again being left all to my lonesome in the large hospital room. Well, I wasn't alone for very long, to be honest, a few police officer and reporters had wandered into the room, spamming me with tons of questions.
I hardly remembered anything of what happened after I was abducted for the second time, just small fragmented pieces of time that even today make little to no sense. So, once again, the added stress of racking my fragile memory for clues about exactly what happened to us made my anxiety and panic worse. The orderlies milling about rushed the cops and told them to wait until I was emotionally stable enough to talk, which... wasn't until a few days later, when I was finally, finally able to reunite with Chloe.
Needless to say, the reunion was an overdramatic moment filled with one too many tears. I'd nearly broke down all over again upon seeing Chloe's shoulder being heavily bandaged and her arm slung across her chest. I felt guilty... I still feel guilty... for bringing so much more drama and trouble into her life. But of course, she didn't care. "What's life without a little chaos to make it interesting?".
Despite all the bullshit, Chloe and I complete each other, we were made for each other.
"Shh," Chloe coos, suddenly making me realize that I'm crying again, "It's okay... it's okay to cry, Max. I cry too, more than I'd like to admit".
I whimper and shake my head, reeling Chloe's hand reach up and brush away my tears. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Chloe. I'm sorry..."
I feel so pathetic crying like this in front of her when she basically cries herself to sleep each night. Joyce told me that because, well she's living at home for good now.
Being seen as a delinquent at school was bad enough, but now... even if it was in self-defense, Chloe still; in the end; shot and killed Rachel which cost her her scholarship at Blackwell. It's not like the board is scared she'll hurt the other students or anything, all the tabloids clearly stated that Chloe was innocent regardless of the situation, but apparently, Blackwell is willing to let go of an extraordinarily smart girl just so the school's reputation won't get tarnished.
Utter bullshit.
Chloe was crushed when David broke the news to her, locking herself in her room for almost two days. I was the one who was able to get her out, having to basically resort to crying and pleading until she couldn't hold herself back and just had to comfort me. It hurt seeing her like that, so vulnerable and heartbroken. She cares so much about her education, even when it didn't seem like it when we first met. Hell, Chloe had plans of going to college, getting a bachelors degree in chemistry. But now...
I cut the first few days of class when I was finally allowed back, half rebelling against Wells but mostly wanting to stay and comfort Chloe. She cried a lot over those first few days, either crying over the fact that she will forever have to deal with the weight of taking the life of someone she once loved on her hands or over the fact that she no longer has an academic future ahead of her. But, aside from all that, Chloe seemed a little proud, seeing a rebellious side in me, but didn't want me to ruin my shot at a bright future.
"You've got nothing to be sorry for, Maxie," Chloe says, grabbing a wad of bath tissue and handing it to me. "None of this..." she gestures to her arm, "was your fault".
I sniffle a bit and nod again, taking a few long, deep breaths. "I- I know, Chlo,".
"Then don't beat yourself up over it okay? I don't blame you for what happened and I wouldn't," She says, placing soft kisses on my lips, "Just one more week of trials and then we'll be out of this hell hole, out there on the open road together".
I smile and hum dumbly for a moment, "Your birthday trip".
"Yep! And... Maxie's first concert!" Chloe exclaims with great excitement.
I giggle a little, my tears and sadness disappearing in an instant. "Are you sure you're okay with the other's coming along?".
"Totally! I'm the one who invited them,".
"I know but... it's your birthday and... I kinda thought..." I let my voice trail off and a blush settles on my cheeks.
Chloe raises an eyebrow and chuckles, "You offering me birthday sex, Caulfield?".
I blush even, half afraid to even answer.
"I'm just teasing, Max," she adds giving me a friendly rub on the shoulder, "Kinda".
I roll my eyes and sigh, "I- I mean... um... if you're ready, then... yes. I'm totally offering you birthday sex".
"Heh, we'd have to ditch Kate, Brooke, Tori, and Nate if we're gonna do it though," Chloe says, gesturing for me to help her get up.
"We're going on a road trip down to sunny California for the entirety of Spring Break, Chloe," I say, pulling her up, "We have time,".
"All the time in the world, right?".
I nod and smile, leaning in and gladly returning the kisses she gave me, "Right".
"Finish dying my hair?" she asks, poking at the crusted up dye, "looking a little uneven here".
I roll my eyes and gesture to the chair again, "Sit down and let me finish".
"Then maybe we can do you?".
"What?".
Chloe turns to me excitedly, "We can dye your hair! Methinks you'd look good with red or pink hair,".
I can't help but chuckle a little as I glomp another wad of blue dye into her hair, "Not in this life, Price. As badass as the dye makes you look, it'd only make me look like an even bigger nerd".
"Nerds are hot, Max. Believe me," Chloe says with an idiotic smile, "This will make you ten times hotter".
I roll my eyes and groan a bit, "I'm guessing this means you already have the dye waiting and ready for me".
"You know me well".
"Ugh, fine. You know I can't say no to that face. We'll start small though, like... a few streaks" I say, unable to mask my stupid grin.
"You're gonna look great, Max. Totally set and ready for the mosh-pit!".
"Hmm, you going to take me shopping for punk clothes too?" I tease, "Maybe a tattoo?".
Chloe is silent for a moment and I can see that she's holding in a snicker.
I scoff and give her a friendly shove. "Well?".
"Okay, okay. So I may have some of my old punk clothes from when I was younger that you can wear. They're more lowkey and more your size. And as for a tattoo... it's honestly up to you. Once I get my stitches out and the wound heals up enough, I'm thinkin' a get a little something over the scar".
"That's... inventive," I say, still a little uneasy talking about the fact that she got shot, "What are you thinking about getting?".
She shrugs, "Not sure yet... maybe another blue butterfly,".
"Oooh, like the ones on your arm?" I ask, tracing the tip of my finger over the said tattoo.
She shutters momentarily and nods, "Yea, or... I can leave it as is... with No Filter and all that shit".
I hum a little and smile, content with the work in front of me my work.
"We done here?" Chloe asks excitedly.
I nod, "Looks like. How'd I do?".
She focuses on the mirror for a second, a serious look on her face as she inspects her hair.
"It looks amazing, Max. Well done!".
I blush and gawk for a moment, "You're just saying that,".
"Am not! It looks great, Max, better than what I can do. Now, you get in the chair and I'll see what I can do about that hair". she says, getting out of the chair and guiding me down into it.
"What's wrong with my hair? I thought you were just going to dye it!" I say, grabbing a length of my hair, which had grown down past my shoulders.
"Do you trust me enough to give you a makeover?".
"Of course, I trust you!" I say without hesitation.
"Buuuut? I get the feeling there's a but, added to this," she says, still smiling.
I sigh a little and look back up at her.
You can stand a little adventure in your life, Max. Take a risk every once in a while, Live on the edge, actually live a little.
"No buts",
Chloe blinks. "What?".
"Let's do it! Make me look good, Price!".
She smiles and nods, digging through one of the cabinets until she finds a pair of scissors. "You're, like... sure about this, right?" Chloe asks, hesitant to begin cutting.
I nod again and smile, actually excited to have a fresh new look.
"Hella".