Chloe sat on a bench and watched the skaters go by, wishing she could join them. If she hadn't lost her board, she would've been rolling too, showing off her skills. Instead, she waited, exuding her air of practiced indifference.
At the least, if she spotted Justin or Trevor, she could pick up some weed. She was almost out and really did not want to see Frank for a top-up. Unfortunately, she couldn't spy either of them in the few lone groups out on this cool morning. Class, probably, if they weren't skipping.
A sigh escaped her lips. What was she even still doing here? Joyce barely put up with her. Stepdouche was riled up about something and took it out on her. School was a lost cause, and that worthless skank who gave her life any meaning had long since left. If Chloe was smart, she'd be well to do the same.
A shuffle beside her as someone took a seat.
"Fuck off," Chloe said without looking. Whoever it was, she wasn't in the mood.
"I thought I would at least get a 'hello'."
Chloe didn't immediately recognize the voice, so she twisted her body to see who it was. The movement sent a wave of pain through her gut. David's parting gift from yesterday still stung like a gunshot wound.
The other person stared back at her with big doe eyes that Chloe had never forgotten. They graced her dreams and thoughts almost every day, and seeing that girl in the flesh after so many years stunned her. So many emotions that she couldn't hope to name them all. Almost all of them some form of relief or excitement.
The girl reached over and took Chloe's hand in her own, feeling no resistance. Chloe could only imagine the look on her own face as she stared and attempted to comprehend this surprise.
"Hi, Chloe. It's been a while."
-Final Timeline, October 7th
Max had just woken up from her final visit with Old Max, and Chloe still had that strained worry on her face.
"We need to talk," Max had said.
"Yeah. We do." Chloe nodded, frowning. "But first, are you okay?"
That could mean a lot of different things, and each of them had a different answer. One thing Max had learned though, is that the truth was needed. No more lies.
"I don't know, Chloe. After everything... I don't know."
At that, Chloe moved over and sat side-by-side next to Max on the single cushion and wrapped an arm around her. The gesture calmed Max, helping her think. There was so much to go over and so little time if what Old Max said was true.
"Are you mad at me?" Max continued. The question had been on her mind ever since that phone call, worming its way through her thoughts and souring herself.
Chloe sighed in response. "I was pretty pissed when I found out. Luckily Steph was there to calm me down. I don't know if I would've otherwise. But no, I'm not mad. Just... tell me what happened."
So Max did. She began from that moment in her room where she discovered the photo with the instructions on the back. Going through, then being forced to watch everything play out. Her short chat with Victoria and the trip to Wednesday to stay.
Max told Chloe about the party and talking to Nathan. Seeing the bunker and finding Old Max for the first time. Losing two whole days. Doing one more jump then pulling back to Sunday, where she talked with Frank and Victoria, then finally Old Max one final time after reading that letter.
Chloe asked the occasional clarifying question, but mostly let Max speak. When Max finished with the choice that Old Max left for her, they sat in silence, thinking.
Chloe was the first to break it. "Damn."
"Yeah."
"Like, how can she even drop that bombshell on you? I get that she went through all this to save everyone, but... forever?"
"I really don't think she wanted to," Max said. She reached up and held the hand that Chloe had placed on her shoulder. The connection helped. "But she had no other option. She can't live unless I let her."
"And you would be trapped there instead of her."
Max nodded. "I could still watch, though, like she is now."
Chloe tensed up. "How fucked up is that, us just debating whether we should let her die while she sits there and listens? This whole thing is a mess."
"I know, Chloe, but she just wants to live."
"And for you to die," Chloe stressed.
It wasn't as straightforward as that. Or was it? Would it still be life if Max sat all alone in that strange place watching Old Max and Chloe live their lives together? Old Max wouldn't survive the night, if the rapid decline in her health from the two times they talked was any sign. It was her only chance, and Max had seen the pain it caused her to ask it.
But she couldn't expect Max to just give up her life, could she? Even if her being here was a mistake, she still had a right to this timeline. She was as real as every other Max. Right?
Chloe lightly bumped their knees together. "Hey, Maxi. You're zoning out again."
"Sorry," Max eked out. Maybe Old Max would be better than this. At least she wasn't a broken amnesiac version of herself, constantly losing time. The reminder of the confirmation that Max would never get her memories back sent a dull wave of depression through her.
"S'alright. I still love you."
The words brought a smile to Max's face, but it dropped off before she spoke. "So. That's what happened to me. I'm really sorry I lied to you."
"I get it, Max. You wanted to know what was going on. It's a little on me for just taking off to California like that, but yeah. I forgive you. If you hadn't gone, we would have no idea that Old Max was still there."
"I guess so."
It was growing dark outside, and it would be night proper fairly soon. Chloe said nothing in response, so Max took a moment to relax. She tried not to think about Old Max, or time travel, or death, and instead only enjoy the warmth of Chloe's body next to her on that couch in a ruined junkyard shack. With Chloe there, she felt protected and safe.
The moment of calm lasted only a few minutes, but Max needed it. It was nothing like her zone-outs, and when the feeling passed, she considered all the many of those she had had. They were pieces of lost time; sometimes her brain skipped a beat or crossed a wire. Old Max had said they were all on her, nothing to do with her power, but maybe she was wrong.
Some of those moments were short and might have actually been a slip of the mind, but others were longer. The worst ones were almost half an hour, and it was hard to believe that she could lose all of that. Others had objects moved from where they were, exactly like an Auto Max could have done. Max didn't remember doing that, but then again that was the point. She supposed there was no way to know for sure.
Old Max wouldn't have these zone-outs, would she?
No. She would be free of many of Max's problems. She hadn't survived the Max Royale. The only thing she had done was walk away when her job was finished, and Max couldn't blame her. Sitting there watching, and the only change afterward making sure Max didn't screw up her photojump back to Blackwell. Max was the strongest of all except the original, and even that had been close. Max suspected that the only reason Old Max could manage the fight was that she had caught Max by surprise in a photojump. But that had been the extent of it.
It was a good thing. If Max changed something, all of Old Max's work would have been for nothing.
"Whaddya thinkin' about?" Chloe asked.
"Old Max."
"Oh. Yeah..." Her expression was unclear.
"So, how was L.A?" One story for another.
"It was... interesting." Chloe looked up to the sky, thinking about what to say. "I found Rachel on the first day we were there, surprisingly. She came out of the bar super drunk so we let her sleep it off before we talked. Went by the name Jess, just cause she wanted to make a new life for herself. We talked a lot of personal stuff and I think Old Max had something to do with it."
Old Max and Rachel? Max furrowed her brow.
"It turns out she worked with Jefferson for a time. She helped him take those pictures in exchange for drugs and, uh, she slept with him too. Like, a lot." She spoke quickly, trying to get through everything. "She saw Stella the day she disappeared, too. So... yeah."
"Why didn't the cops go after her too?"
Chloe shrugged. "I don't think they knew. That piece of shit Jefferson never told them, and they never found anything connecting her to it, I guess. Maybe Jefferson thought he had killed her, and Old Max saved her after that. It's weird, but I'm glad she's okay."
Max knew nothing about Rachel Amber more than what Chloe had told her, but she was surprised that Chloe didn't seem more emotional about it. Before, even the mention of her name was enough to anger her.
"Then, when Rachel decided to leave, she told Jefferson and he didn't take it well. He drugged her, just like all the others, but the next thing she knew she woke up here with a note from you and a stack of cash. After that, it was goodbye to Arcadia Bay."
"Wow," Max said. "What did the note say?"
Chloe reached into her pocket and pulled out a Polaroid. She held it out, but hesitated.
"Don't go?" She knew it was the one Old Max wanted; the photo to save her.
When Max realized what it was, she looked Chloe in the eyes. "I won't," Max promised.
Satisfied, Chloe passed it over. Max examined the photo and immediately recognized herself standing in front of a tree, ready for school. The moment itself she couldn't quite remember, but she knew it was her all the same. On the back was a small message:
Keep this safe. It's important for both me and you.
"This is it," Max said.
"I guess Old Max gave it to her for safekeeping. Do you think she knew this would happen?"
"Not until the end, I think," Max guessed, "but she was always prepared."
Chloe was silent for a moment before she spoke. "Are you going to do it?"
That was the question, wasn't it?
"I won't blame you either way."
"I know, Chloe. I... haven't decided."
They both stared down at the photo. All it would take was a single jump and Old Max would be free. But this Max, the one with all the power, would be gone. Truthfully, Max was scared. No one would think her in the wrong for doing nothing and living her life in this timeline. A life with Chloe was ahead of her, if she only wished to take it.
Chloe lightly coughed, knocking Max from her thoughts, and pointed to the metal box on the table. "She did the same for us. Take a look."
The table was too far to reach from their spot on the couch, so Max disentangled herself from Chloe's hold and stood. A quick unlocking of the clasp on the front revealed the inside. Cash stacked around two Polaroid cameras.
"Wow," Max said as she looked at all the money. It was more than she had ever seen.
"I think that's worth at least a 'wowzer'," Chloe joked. She peeled herself from her seat and stood by Max. "But yeah. That camera there was yours. You got it in Seattle, probably. The other one was my dad's. That Monday you came back, I gave it to you because it seemed right. I thought it odd that I never saw you use it, but I guess this explains that."
Max reached in and grabbed the camera that Chloe pointed out. She kept the photo of herself in her other hand. The name William Price was written on the bottom. Holding it felt right.
"He was the one that got you into photography. I wonder what he would say if he saw us now?"
"Do you think he'd be proud?"
"He always was. Even when I was being a little prick, he still made sure to show that he cared. He loved you so much, too."
Max gave a soft smile. "I wish I could have known him more."
"Yeah. Me too."
More silence. So many times their conversation veered off into it, because they both knew that eventually they would have to face the problem of Old Max for real. They didn't know everything about her fight and her travel through so many timelines, not even close, but did it matter? Max didn't think so.
A buzz vibrated from Max's pocket, and she set the camera down to reach in for her phone. She took a seat back on the ruined couch and Chloe joined her, protectively holding Max once more.
Victoria: Nathan's back. He's not in the mood to talk, but I think he's okay. Thanks, Max.
Max showed the text to Chloe, who nodded once she read it.
"That's good," she said. "I'm glad he's all right."
"Really?"
"I mean, I still don't like him, but I get how he's having trouble. His dad and Jefferson doing their weird shit didn't help. He needs therapy or... something."
Max agreed. He wasn't a bad guy, just a little unstable. A little like herself. She put the phone away, leaving only the photo in her hand.
Would therapy help if she went? The parts about time travel and other versions of herself she could never say, but it might make it easier to deal with things.
Money wouldn't be an issue for a long while; Old Max made sure of that. In fact, only a few more months of school and she could be free. The cushion would help, and if they ever ran out there were infinite ways to make money with her rewind. Whatever Max went forward, that was one less problem.
"What... do you think I should do?" Max asked. The subject was obvious. No matter how much she wanted to push the problem away, she couldn't. Not doing anything was a decision too.
"I don't know, Max. Like, I get that she saved us all, but it's also her fault you're hurting, even if she didn't mean to." Chloe was visibly working to keep it together. "I love you so much, Max. And I love her as well. You both did so much for me, more than I ever deserved. I..." She choked on her words. "Don't ask me to choose."
Max didn't. Chloe would live no matter what happened, and she would have a Max. Both of them meant so much to her, though maybe in different ways. It wasn't something to put on her shoulders. Not this time.
There was something Max had to say, something she had been thinking for some time. Maybe it was too early, but this might be her final chance.
"Chloe." The words brought their eyes together, and the intensity of her gaze weighed on Max. "I love you too."
At the confession, a smile revealed itself on Chloe's face, reaching her reddened eyes. With no more hesitation, she leaned in close, bringing their lips together in a kiss.
There was so much emotion between them and Max tried to savor every ounce of it. Every second of Chloe's practiced movements sent warm glows through her body, helping her lose herself. The world was painful, but this made it all worth it.
Too soon, Chloe pulled back, leaving Max wanting more. There could be so much more, if she wished it.
"Thank you," Chloe whispered. Speaking too loudly would break the spell. She still kept that hand wrapped around Max's body and Max wished for it to never leave.
They needed no more words. It was time.
And so Max sat there, thinking. She glanced back and forth between Chloe beside her and the photo in her hand. The moment to decide was now; Old Max withered away in that other realm with every second.
Was this how Old Max had felt the very first time when she had to choose between Chloe and Arcadia Bay? Unfortunately, there would be no third option here. That was what had gotten them into this mess.
Chloe stayed silent, letting Max consider, and Max knew that she would support her either way. But this decision was for her alone. No matter what, she promised herself she wouldn't live a life of regret.
Finally, she knew she could wait no longer. Stay or jump. Do nothing or save a life. Live or die. No matter how she phrased it, neither one called out to her as the 'correct decision'. Maybe a philosopher could tell her what to do, but all she had were the experiences of her own fractured existence. No answer but her own.
Photo in hand and two lives ahead of her, Max made her choice.
The End
•••
And where does one go when faced with two paths, each more terrible than the other, and between them lies no middle ground? It is better to live with a poor decision than to die having made none at all.
•••
Max...
Are you still there...?
A/N:
Well. That's it. The story of a broken Max and the timeline she was left with has come to an end.
It's been a great time going through this with everyone. Your reviews and opinions were the best part of writing this and it gave me the energy to, week after week.
Now the question is: Knowing what Max does, what would you do? Frankly, I don't know what I would choose. This story is mostly maintained on AO3, and I'll be leaving a comment there with some random thoughts about the story.
This won't be my last tale. I've two more ideas that I plan to work on Soon™. One is a fun romp through time in a very different time travel AU, and the other is a "canon-adjacent" adventure story.
The first will begin soon, and for that, I leave you one question:
Do you have the time?