Chapter Thirty Seven: The Photographer's New Muse
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As the Caulfield clan, Chloe, Victoria and Rachel ate the Chinese takeout Mrs. C picked up; Rachel could not help but feel uneasy at the tension building up in the room.
Considering the long absence from each other's lives, one might reasonably expect Chloe and Max to be the source of the tension. There was still so much left unsaid between them, yet here they were sitting next to each, laughing and chatting as though neither of them missed a beat as well as her parents who were just as enthused to have Chloe back. As Rachel picked through her almond chicken, she tried her utmost to remain upbeat about this. She wanted to give Chloe this time, no matter how much she may have… worried.
During her conversations, Chloe - of course - carefully skirted around all the troubles they had and presented them with a nice, sterile, idealized version of the past few years which Rachel (and by extension, Victoria) knew was a bullshit feel good story which was entirely meant to make the three of them feel better about their roles in compounding her pain.
The real tension, the dangerous tension was what existed between Chloe and the girl who sat next to Rachel, Victoria Chase. She started there, barely in control of her seething as passive aggressively battled for attention from her Maxine.
Victoria might have been out of most of her trouble with Max, who had mostly forgiven her; but Chloe was not going to be so easy to convince. Not with the bad blood and resentment which had simmered for years. The tension between the two of them had never really been released thanks in large part to Rachel's plea for peace which they had both honoured for her. Now here they were, mostly unable to even look at each other, and when they did it was like they were both ready to snap and kill all of the good cheer between them.
Then again, perhaps it was exactly what was needed to happen. Flare up a fight now so that they got it over with and ease into a new, more productive friendship, where they could both be able to divvy up Max's attention. It would be nice to get her girlfriend… wife… whatever they were back to her for a while.
Rachel exhaled and remembered to keep her mood in check. This time was not at all about her. It was for Chloe, and if Chloe needed Max more, so be it. She supposed it was time she could be using to get to know Victoria. All this time stabbing each other in the back, it would be strange to have this opportunity to voluntarily bond with someone who she was - at best – on frosty terms with.
"So, you go to school with Victoria?"
The question came from Mrs. Caulfield, who was looking intently at Rachel. It was obvious to Rachel that she was not exactly thrilled at her presence. Chloe, she was fine with, but Rachel was an unknown, and with her playing a role in the discomfort of Victoria – whom Mrs. Caulfield seemed to be on good terms with – she was naturally a little worried for her daughter's… friend.
"Yes. Chloe, Victoria and I are all go to the same school, but this wasn't planned by all of us. It all just happened. Victoria and Max met at random and we were coming this way," Rachel explained, her voice as pleasant as she could be. "I can't imagine any of us being so terrible a human being to have Victoria not to tell Max that she knew Chloe just so we could surprise her."
Mrs. Caulfield nodded, somewhat satisfied with the response. Next to Rachel, she felt Victoria burning her glare into her at the back handed comment. Rachel hoped that Victoria would get used to it. It was a preview of how the rest of Chloe and Rachel's time in Seattle would be like for her. Still, there was a level of mistrust from Mrs. Caulfield and it was solely directed at her.
Rachel should have expected it, really. Chloe more or less made the claim that it was Rachel's doing that put everyone around this table together. Once again the assumption had been made that she was pulling strings. To a certain extent she had, but it was only enough to push Chloe to take the steps herself. She reminded Chloe to be brave about this, which was all she did.
Thankfully the other two people she had met today were not quite so leery about her. Mr. Caulfield was very easy-going in comparison. He had a dry, wicked dad sense of humour which her Dad lacked even before what happened to Mom. In a way knowing Ryan Caulfield was a glimpse at what William Price must have been like; and that small taste she was permitted had given her a longing to know William even more than she had before. The question of whether or not William would have loved her as one of his own would remain unanswered.
Max 'Don't call me Maxine, but it's okay if you do it, Victoria… please kiss me' Caulfield was sort of a blend of both her parents in terms of her demeanour. She was extremely on edge, having been lied to by Victoria and now sitting next to her best friend, shooting the shit like nothing had happened. Her mistrust was not directed at Rachel, but it was much more internalized. Like, she did not quite believe that this was happening.
Thankfully Max was extremely personable to Rachel in spite of their brief time knowing each other. There was this strange sort of… instinctual trust which she had for Rachel. Perhaps she knew that this was all happening because Rachel had prodded Chloe to take the first steps. Rachel couldn't wait to pull Max aside and ask her a ton of questions. It was partially out of genuine curiosity, partially to ease this bubbling jealousy. Everything told her it was wrong to feel like this, but there was still that small lingering part of her.
So what are your plans?" Mr. Caulfield asked, his cool as hell beard covering the smile he directed towards her. "If I'm to understand it correctly, you've been wandering all over the Northwest for the summer."
Rachel nodded and smiled for Max's Dad.
"Yup, we've been playing it by ear," Rachel informed him enthusiastically, as she briefly caught Max's eye. "We were thinking about heading south, make it to Cali, but Chloe and Max here are tight again so we'll be staying for as long as we can. We'll find a Hostel or something, it should be fun."
The mention of Cali caught Chloe attention. There was flash of strained guilt which Rachel hadn't meant to muster from her. Their escapades to California had always been a spur of the moment hopeful wish for her. In spite of herself, Rachel was satisfied to stay in Seattle. At least it was a proper city, and it brought a real measure of happiness to Chloe, which was an added bonus.
"Nonsense, the two of you will always be welcomed here," Mr. Caulfield answered her, sounding almost offended by the idea. "It's the least we could do. God knows we owe a debt to William and Joyce for taking on Max as often as they did back in the Bay."
The comment from the father immediately captured Chloe's attention. She looked to Ryan, who offered her a faint warm grin. Chloe smiled back and looked away. Any mention of William was usually dangerous treading ground, but from the Caulfield's it was just… different. They had a real connection to William; Rachel only had bits and pieces. There was nothing that she could do or say to make Chloe smile when the shadow of William overtook his daughter.
"Thank you, Ryan, Vanessa," Chloe spoke to the Max's parents. "We'll definitely take you up on that, but Victoria has been generous enough to open her home for us. It'll give you two some time to get used to us. I'm trouble, and then there's Rachel."
Next to Rachel, Victoria downed her glass of water; her annoyance was flaring back up.
"Understatement of the year…" she sarcastically replied, just loud enough for everyone to clearly hear.
Rachel closed her eyes. Being the only person in the room who knew exactly what was about to happen, meant that the Caulfield family was going to be in for a real treat. She probably could shut it down if she wanted to, but she was kind of on ceremony. She wanted to be Max's friend, so it was a little early to start acting up as well.
Besides, this was probably classic Chloe to them….just older and more prone to losing her shit…
"Don't mind Victoria," Chloe announced loudly, not even bothering to look at Victoria. "She has a super fragile ego. One word she doesn't like and she turns into a snivelling cow. You know, Maxie, I'm surprised you haven't seen it yet, but… she is a talented at being fake."
Victoria tilted her head as Chloe poisoned the air between them. Rachel sighed; she knew for sure it was on now.
"Oh, I guess you would know all about that… being fragile," Victoria retorted, her voice friendly, sweet even as though she was trying not to lose herself to anger. "The moment you don't get your way you start stomping around like punk trash who's never known a hard day in her life because she freeloads off everyone in her life, from her mother, to her girlfriend to her girlfriend's father. You know you can hate on me all you like; at least I'm self-aware…"
Rachel did what she perfected over the years at Blackwell, dealing with the rumour mill and the fights like this one. She tuned it all out and focused entirely. It was probably not the healthiest things to do, but it worked for her. Especially for the times when she was not allowed to express just what was on her mind.
"What is going on…?" Mrs. Caulfield asked, looking entirely perturbed by the argument Victoria and Chloe were engaged in but Rachel had refused to acknowledge up until the question was asked.
"You might as well walk away, Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield," Rachel as she stood up from her seat and stepped around the table. "They could be at this for hours… Watch this."
Rachel stopped in front of Max and offered her hand, a smile crossing on her face as she looked at little Max Caulfield and her steadily reddening face as Rachel stood over her. Max exhaled and reached out, taking Rachel's hand and allowing herself to be pulled up. She did not fight it either as Rachel wrapped her arm around her waist.
"Chloe Price, Victoria Chase," Rachel boisterously spoke to her girlfriend and Max's friend. "Maxine and I are in love and will be eloping. I hope you both don't mind!"
Max cringed in Rachel's arms and struggled to remain still and silent with Rachel clinging off her. Chloe did not look up, nor did Victoria answer as Rachel used Max's pet name. The two of them were bickering on, leaving the Caulfield's dumbfounded by the level of anger the two of them had held for each other. If anything, Chloe and Victoria were holding back out of respect for the others.
"Come on, Max," Rachel took a step back, dragging Max with her, a small grin crossing onto her face. "Take me to the bedroom where you made Victoria Chase go weak in the knees… but seriously though, get me the fuck out of here before I make all of this so much worse for everyone."
Glancing at Victoria and Chloe and then her parents who were gathering their plates and the Chinese food so that they could eat somewhere else in peace, Max nodded and together the two of them left the two angry tall girls to their heated scrimmaging.
…
...
Rachel Amber was an awful flirt, and Max had no idea how to handle it at all.
Chloe might have grown up, but Chloe was still - for the most part - the same old Chloe. It took a relatively small amount of time to figure her out. Or rather, she was starting to understand her. Victoria… Victoria was a battle between two self-images which Max had known about since probably the first day that they met.
Both Chloe and Victoria were easy to figure out, but Rachel was cloaked in a sensual mystery which overwhelmed Max to a silent stupor as she allowed Rachel to lead her up to her bedroom, her hand still tightly wrapped over Max's as it seemed as though Rachel glided with a grace Max hadn't seen before. Not even from the far more expensive Victoria.
Rachel was such a visual distraction that Max did not even pause to wonder why it was that Rachel knew where her room was in the first place.
As they reached her bedroom, Max opened the door and allowed Rachel to enter first. As she closed the door, she watched Rachel kick off her shoes and plop right down on her bed as though the room already was hers. Rachel's lips curved upwards as she turned her head and noticed immediately the photograph of Max and Chloe in their younger days.
Max watched as Rachel grabbed Captain the Stuffed Bear and smirked at it slightly. The expression was enough to make Max flush, but thankfully Rachel did not speak on the matter, instead she placed the bear back down and sat up, her back pressed against the wall. Her smirk never left her face as she patted the spot next to her.
Rachel was inviting Max to sit on her own bed, worse yet Max was grateful at the invitation. She stepped forward and sat down on the edge of the bed, facing Rachel as she lifted another photo frame from the side of Max's bed and examined it.
"If you're upset with what Victoria said, don't be…" Rachel murmured, her fingers tracing over the glass frame holding the photo of young Max and Chloe from the ravages of time.
Max remained silent. It sort of did upset her to see Victoria's display of passive aggressive rage directed to Chloe in the way it did. Max Remained silent and instead saw Rachel's mouth form back into a smile as she set the photo back down.
"What you heard Victoria say is classic Victoria to be sure… but Chloe is agitating it," Rachel informed her as she patted the spot right next to her as a massive hint. "She's trying to get a response like this. She's trying to push her buttons so that you dislike Victoria just like Chloe does."
Max remained wordless as she pushed herself right next to Rachel and folded her arms over her knees. From the corner of her eyes, she took in the details of Rachel a little closer. Notably the ugly scabbed over cut running over her hand and the tattoos covering old scar tissue.
Max kept her darker hypothesises to herself and focused on the conversation at hand instead.
"It's just, this is really weird," she confessed to Rachel, who was staring at her, her head tilted. "Chloe is my oldest friend and Victoria… Rachel, I really care about Victoria and it's kind of confusing and thrilling, and I don't want it to end but I don't want to choose."
Rachel sighed and rested her elbow on Max's shoulder like the two of them were already old friends. It was sort of comforting to have that feeling. It was sort of like she could trust Rachel with everything she held in her heart. It was a strange thing to do, and Victoria would no doubt warn her about this, but Rachel just held this… allure which made everything so much easier to discuss.
"So don't choose," Rachel spoke simply. "Don't play into their bullshit games, don't fall for their ultimatums. Take it all. Take them both as your friend and… whatever the hell the two of you are. If Chloe and Victoria make you happy, and they both respect you, then they should be mature enough to share a place in your heart."
Max ignored the small flutter she felt. This felt like the diplomatic thing for Rachel to say.
"What about you?" Max inquired softly, but the intensity was there ebbing in the background. "What do you want out of this?"
Rachel looked at Max curiously. It was sort of like she had been completely caught off guard by the question Max had posed. Max did not know Rachel, but from what she observed today, Rachel wasn't exactly the sort of person to be startled often by others.
"What I want is irrelevant in this," Rachel softly belittled her own needs as she remained locked on Max. "Chloe's been dealing with me for years. This is all for her. If I did want something… then I suppose it would be to have Chloe genuinely happy… and I don't… know if I can do that."
Max blinked as she examined Rachel closely as the older girl turned away. She could see that Rachel words hadn't at all matched with the strained expression she wore. She did not know what it was exactly Rachel had been dealing with, but whatever it was it must have been awful. The strange desire to ease Rachel's conscious washed over her.
"I don't really know you, but I don't want you left behind in this, Rachel," Max spoke delicately to slightly sullen Rachel. "I'm not… I'm not trying to replace you. God, Chloe loves you, Rachel… she adores you. She wants us to be friends, and I want that too. After everything you've done, I wouldn't do anything to get in the way of that, so if you worry about that… don't."
Max trailed off as Rachel turned back to face her. She still wasn't smiling, but her disillusionment seemed to have vanished. Replacing it was a thoughtful expression which burned into Max's heart. She seemed to be probing her, looking for any sort of insincerity which she could pounce on.
Max meant every word. She was not blind to the passion Chloe had held for Rachel. She… might have even envied it a little. The years they had had bonding had made their connection secure and so much braver than the fragile flame Victoria and Max had in comparison. They had so many more barriers to push though before they arrived at what Chloe and Rachel had.
Rachel cleared her throat; she looked a little embarrassed by her display of weakness.
"Anyways, if you like Victoria, don't fall for Chloe's attempt at revealing Victoria's mean side," Rachel pressed on, her tone brightening significantly. "I spoke to Victoria, and I think you've already done some good on her. She's a hard case to crack, but you seemed to figure it out. I have to say… its impressive how you got her to where she is at. As for Chloe, if she gets bad, you come to me. I got your back, Max..."
Max nodded. She was glad to know that she had Rachel's support, even if she had a vested interest in keeping Victoria in play. They might have been on track to achieving a friendship, but it was still young and Rachel was clearly uneasy about how fast Chloe and her had snapped back into each other's lives after a short window of awkwardness. She would have keep at it, keep showing Rachel she had no intentions on replacing her or whatever it was that kept Rachel's smile from being genuine.
"So," Rachel spoke again, as she looked around the bedroom. "As I understand it you're interested in photography... like as if you really need to answer that…"
The two of them shared a small laugh and Max nodded, a genuine smile breaking out on her face as Rachel seemed to be easing back up. It actually appeared to be that Rachel had an interest in it. If she wasn't just humouring Max, then perhaps that would be the first connection the two of them could form without Chloe being the source.
"I am," she spoke quietly. "It's nothing too serious, but I wouldn't mind going to the next level. Maybe one day though. "
Rachel nodded, her smile widened slightly as she leaned towards Max much closer than Max had expected.
"Well, if there's one friend out there you could make for that aspiration to come true… you found it…" she luridly suggested.
Max narrowed her eyes at the implication Rachel had made about Victoria and her. That wasn't at all the point of why they were friends, and the very suggestion that it had been by Rachel had incensed her more than she had expected to be.
"I would never use Victoria like that," she affirmed, her tone biting enough to catch Rachel by surprise.
Thankfully unlike Chloe, Rachel did not push it or was too proud to admit she had crossed a line. Rachel bit her lip exhaled. She nodded, her expression growing into something approaching contrite.
"I'm sorry," she apologized immediately. "I run my mouth some times. I did not mean to insult you… or Victoria, I suppose… holy shit, can't believe I said that last part."
Rachel pulled her head back and ran her hand through her luscious blonde mane. She eyed Max carefully, like she was making a decision on the spot. It made Max more nervous than she ever thought she would be.
"I would like to see your work sometime," Rachel suddenly declared. "You know… I used to have this crazy idea that I could pull off modeling. Now I think I found the right photographer to come along and kick start that idea back up… do you think-"
"You totally could!" Max blurted out before she could censor herself.
As Rachel arched her eyebrows, Max felt the overwhelming urge to run from the room screaming. She hadn't meant to say that. Well, she had, but she had meant for it to come out far cooler than it did. Now here she sat staring stupidly at Rachel who looked as though Christmas had come early or something cliché like that. Rachel remained silent, and in so doing she only served to drive the embarrassment deeper into Max.
"Well… I mean, you have the right look..." Max hoped to play down. "Maybe we could have a session or two… without Chloe and Victoria breathing down our necks…"
Thankfully Rachel was not feeling too cruel when she easily could have drawn this embarrassment Max was drowning in out for all it was worth. She instead took pity and nodded, smiling faintly.
"Name a time and a place and we'll totally chill and shoot together," she agreed happily. "Vic-bore-ria and Doughy Chloe could spend that time learning to be friends themselves… maybe."
Although she nodded and held the exact same sort of hope which Rachel held, Max really had to doubt that…
…
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This was delayed a little. My bad. With all the characters now together, there is an added measure of complication of how to figure out the right sort of interactions. It'll smooth out soon enough though.
Thanks as always for reading!