Chapter 08: Truth or Dare

I awoke, feeling groggy and, quite frankly, comfortably buzzed. Though I was thirsty and needed to pee. I pushed myself up, only to find myself completely naked as the blanket fell away. "Ugh… what happened?"

Looking around, I found myself in Chloe's bed. But Chloe wasn't with me. What force in this mortal realm could possibly keep Chloe away from a naked me?

A pang of regret and jealousy tore through me as my memories came rushing back. Max. That cute little freckled thing from Seattle. The girl Chloe always considered her best friend, even though she left Chloe in the cold for half a fucking decade.

I found a pile of clothes next to me on Chloe's dresser and quickly got dressed as I tried to piece back together the events leading me here. I didn't even remember coming to Chloe's place. As I continued to tease out what happened, I grabbed my makeup from Chloe's desk and headed for the bathroom.

I took care of my business, brushed my teeth, and did my face and hair. I even found my earrings and phone waiting for me there. Most of what happened came back to me. Max confessed to murder. We decided to go back to the junkyard. Then Max wanted to hear the story of how Chloe and I met. After that, it started to get really fuzzy.

My stomach churned. If I passed out, then that meant that Chloe and Max got to spend hours together. It didn't take a genius to figure out that those two were crazy about each other. Five fucking years apart and they clicked right back together like it had been five minutes.

I headed for the stairs, and already I could hear their voices. Or at least Chloe's. It always carried. She really should've given the stage a fair shake. I got about halfway down before I heard my name. "If you wanna know more about Rachel, why don't you just ask her yourself?"

I sat down, leaning my head against the banister. Max's voice was much harder to make out. "You really have to ask?"

"Yeah. Stupid question."

Sleeping in a chair was a really bad idea. I don't think I was asleep long, but my neck was killing me. Massaging it with a hand, I mentally kicked myself. "Yeah. Stupid question." I looked over at Max, lamenting the cowardice keeping me in the chair instead of cuddled up next to her on the couch. It was pretty stupid of me to not go after that little pack of hers, too. I chose a shitty nap over going through her journal to glean more clues about whatever the fuck happened to her.

"So, what's Rachel really like, if she's not the person she pretends to be?" Max asked me, pressing me for more information.

"She's been pretty straight with you, Max. She's an amazing actress, on and off the stage. Usually, she'll just morph into this ideal version of herself, but the crazy thing is that it'd be the ideal version of whoever she's hanging with." I chuckled a bit, remembering our first meeting. It never really occurred to me how lucky I was, seeing behind the mask at our very first meeting, though that mask has been slipping on and off ever since. "Old habits die hard, and she's been acting for you, too. But like I said, she's been on the level with you more than anyone I can think of."

A bit of color showed on Max's face as a small smile graced her lips. "So, she really is such an amazing person then, huh?"

"Fuck yeah!" I replied. My jovial mood fell away quickly as I thought more about Rachel. Her demons. "I, uh, I wish she could see it a little more, though." I reached a hand up, rubbing my still-sore neck.

Max's head tilted, a quizzical look on her face. "What do you mean?"

Sighing, I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. "Rachel hates herself, you know." A cynical grin found my lips. "We have that in common, I guess."

"Chloe…" The sadness in Max's voice painfully squeezed my heart.

"So, Rachel," I said, preempting whatever bullshit platitude Max was going to try to feed me. "Her problem is that she sees the worst of her parents in herself. The apple not falling far from the tree and all that bullshit."

"But… I mean it might've been years and years too late, but Sera improved herself. She proved to the world that she was a better person and deserved to meet her daughter," Max replied. "That couldn't have been easy for her."

I sighed. "I said the worst in her parents. Not everyone sees the best in people like you do, Maximus." A shuffled a bit in my seat. "It… it's not like there isn't anything there, either. She's into way harder drugs than the stuff I'll touch. And when she goes on a bender it can get downright scary. And, at the other end, you've seen how well Rache can read people. She's even better at manipulating them. Everyone loves her, but hardly anyone even knows her—because she puts on a mask and just becomes whoever they want her to be. Her dad does the same shit."

"But… Rachel, I mean…" Max rubbed her arm. "I mean… she did scare me back there, but she's not a bad person."

"No, she's fucking amazing," I replied. "She just… can't see it. Yeah, Sera was a junkie. Sera wouldn't deny it herself. Rachel isn't. She's a fucking straight-A student. She might party hard, but she doesn't let the drugs dictate her life. She just uses them to unwind because she fucking needs it."

I sat back, crossing my arms as I looked away from Max. "I might not do the harder stuff like she does, but if either one of us is closer to a junkie, it's me."

"Neither one of you are! None of us are…" Max replied, hugging herself.

"Yeah," I replied, hoping like hell that it sounded even a little convincing. "And then there's all the shit with her dad. He uses lies and manipulation to control people and get everything he wants. Now that… Rachel used to do that shit all time before we met. But she's not stupid, Max. She saw how that kind of approach destroyed her fucking family when all the lies came crashing down. If they'd just been straight with her…" I sucked in a lungful of air, letting it out through my nose. "Rachel's been trying to be more honest. With herself, with me, with you. She really has."

"I… I can't say that I know Rachel that well, but I know that she has a good heart. She deserves better than the hand she's been dealt," Max said. "We all do."

"Fucking preach," I said, leaning forward to get up, but I stopped myself when I saw Rachel in the hall. She held up a finger to her lips before pointing next to the couch. A glance showed me Max's bag. Her journal. Rachel crept down the hall, intending to get a peek into Max's mysterious history. Something I should've done instead of passing out.

"So, uh, enough of that mushy shit," I said. "The day's still young. What do you wanna do while we wait for Rachel to get up?"

Max tensed up, a frown appearing on her face. I wondered for a moment what happened, then she leaned toward the edge of the couch. Just as Rachel started to reach for the bag, Max threw her arm over the armrest, snatched the bag, and put it on. "Do you want to go back to American Rust, or…?"

Wide-eyed, Rachel looked over at me. I just shrugged. No fucking clue how she knew Rachel was about to grab her bag. Did she know? Or did she just grab her bag because I mentioned doing something? But that look in her eye. Disappointment? Anger?

"No offense, but I think I'm done with the hideout for now," Rachel said, seamlessly inserting herself into the conversation as she walked behind my chair so she could drape her arms around me. "Joyce and her pet nazi aren't here, so why don't we just hang out here?"

My eyes flitted back over to Max. "We don't know when step-fucker might get back, though," I said, directly aiming that jab at Max.

"I… don't think he'll be back any time soon," Max replied, her eyes suddenly trying to hide away from mine.

"Perfect!" Rachel said, giving me a squeeze before hopping over and plopping herself down on the couch by Max. "So, then, my fair lady," Rachel said to me with a wink, "Max and I have already had our turns at what we're doing. That just leaves you." Her head tilted oh-so-slightly toward the TV. "And you better not cop out and suggest something stupid like watching a movie."

"Come on! Movies are tits!" I shot back, more to antagonize Rachel than to actually support the notion of vegging out in front of the TV. Not that it would've been a bad way to kill a couple of hours, sandwiched between Max and Rachel on a sofa barely big enough for two… But it wouldn't get us any closer to figuring out what the fuck haunted Max, either.

Rachel threw an arm around Max. "Watch all the movies you like, Price. But if you do, Max and I are going to find something more fun to do."

I consciously stomped down the burning jealously that seized my heart. It was a tit for tat battle, and Rachel always fought dirty. While I could give as good as I got, it wasn't fair to leave Max in the middle. I sighed, waving the white flag. "Whatever, Rache."

She pouted, knowing full well that I'd just put an early end to her little game. "So," she said, withdrawing her arm, "what're we doing next, then?"

"Fuck if I know," I said, leaning my head back despite the pain in my stiff neck. These games of teasing bits of truth out of Max really was Rachel's forte. Not mine. My dumbass brain just latched onto the first half-formed thing that came to it. "Truth or Dare?"

"A bit trite," Rache quipped. "But I'm game." She elbowed Max. "How about it Mysterious Max?"

Max put her armor up again, giving a little, halfhearted shrug. There had to be laws against that kind of weapons-grade adorable. "I don't know," she muttered. Should she ever learn to actually flirt… God help us all.

"So, why don't you go first, Max?" I said, holding my arms out. "Give me your best shot."

But Max turned away, setting those pretty blues instead on Rachel. To her credit, Rache didn't back down. She gave Max a smile as she turned toward her, throwing an arm over the backrest. "Truth," Rachel preempted Max's redundant question. She always picked truth.

Max turned to her, and I couldn't see her face anymore, so I focused on Rache's poker face. That thing was damn near impenetrable. "So…" I watched Max squirm a bit before she found her voice again. "What big secrets are you keeping from Chloe?"

Holy fuck!

I was expecting kiddie gloves, not a precision strike right through the fucking heart. Even Rachel's eyes widened in surprise at that. A wry smile then formed on Rachel's lips as she relaxed. "Chloe and I don't keep big secrets from each other. It's kind of our thing." I noticed something off about her expression, but I couldn't place it exactly. Her smirk grew. "You should try it, sometime."

A surge of anger tore through me. Rachel could parry all she wanted. That was fine. But a direct counter like that was way out of line. "Hey, she said before that she was fucking trying!" I shouted over at Rachel.

Rachel's eyes rolled. "She's already admitted to murder. How are some actual details too much to ask for?" When she turned her sight back to Max, her features softened. She sighed. "Shit." Reaching a hand up, she stroked Max's cheek. "Let's… let's just move on, yeah?" Max nodded, sending Rachel's eyes back over to me. "I think I know of just the apology."

"Chloe," she said with a devious grin, "truth or dare?"

She didn't have to ask. Every time this dumb game came up, she picked truth. Me? I only ever chose "Dare."

Her smile only grew. It was just what she expected. But hell, if I could help in her apology to Max, all the better. "I dare you…" Rache's eyes flitted back over to Max. "To make out with Max."

Full. Stop.

The first thing that registered in my brain after it rebooted was that air was good. I should breathe. "I-I-I," I stammered out, staring at a wide-eyed Max as my heart beat a frantic tattoo in my ears. Oh, God, that look on her face. It reminded me of when I dragged her to the Ferris wheel at the carnival. So terrified and so very excited at the same time. "I-I, just, I mean I'm not chickening out or anything. But that's not fair to Max," I said, finally forming words.

Rachel cozied up to Max, putting a hand on her shoulder as she whispered to her, "You don't have any objections, do you, Max?"

Max's eyes never drifted away from mine, but her head shook oh-so-slightly. My heart started to pound in my chest as Rachel pushed Max up from the couch.

It's a dare. Just a dare.

No matter how much I tried to rationalize it, my heart wouldn't stop pounding in my chest. Max said it was okay. Rachel assured me that Max really did have a thing for me. She wanted this as much as I did, right? Oh, God, I just woke up. My breath probably smelled like shit. When did I last shower?

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

I found myself standing in front of Max. In just those few seconds I'd started sweating, and now my palms were wet. Still, I had to look confident. Max expected that of me. I was always her rock.

Just… be cool. Do not dork out in front of Max!

Reaching a shaky hand out, I cupped one of those soft, freckled cheeks, painted oh-so-slightly pink. I closed the distance, bringing my face inches from hers. My chest felt too tight as I lost myself in those brilliant, blue eyes. It took me a minute of struggling for breath to choke out, "I-it's okay?"

Max cupped my face with her hands as she closed the distance, pressing her lips to mine. I never imagined Max could be so bold. Had she not had such a grip on me, I might've pulled back in sheer surprise. After the initial jolt ebbed away, settling into a burning fire in my chest, her lips started to move before I could even think to reciprocate.

I wanted—needed—more! My hand moved to the back of her neck, slipping my other hand behind her to pull her small frame flush against me. Every inch of my skin burned with desire and ecstasy. Everything melted into a seamless sea of passion. My hands wandered, one sinking lower across her hip to press into her flesh. The other snaked under her shirt, my fingertips drinking the taste of her bare skin.

A familiar sound shattered my three-pronged assault of carnal desire. Suddenly, it wasn't just me and Max alone in the world with our embrace. I peeked an eye open to find Rachel, a huge smile on her face, pulling a picture free from Max's camera. My hand released Max's ass so that I could flip Rache the bird for ruining the moment.

And ruin it she did. Max pulled back, breaking off the kiss as she panted, burying her face in my collarbone. I pulled my hand out from underneath her shirt, settling for a more chaste hug as we stood there. "Rache, you are the worst fucking wingwoman."

Rachel parried, and hit home with her riposte, "And the best girlfriend ever." Sauntering over, she shoved the camera back into Max's bag. The picture, though, she shoved into her pocket.

With a big sigh, Max pushed herself off me. "Apology accepted," she muttered, keeping her head ducked low. Her efforts couldn't hide that bright red face of hers.

It made me wonder how flushed I might've been. We all found our way back to our seats. It felt like a haze of contentedness draped over everything despite my still-pounding heart. I knew Max felt the same way, sitting there fidgeting with her hoodie, face still aglow. And even Rachel, smiling like the cat that got the canary. This feeling… If things could just stay like this forever, everything would be fine.

"So," Rachel spoke up after a couple of minutes of silence, "where were we?"

I sighed. I didn't even wanna play this stupid game anymore. Unless Max picked dare…

Oh, please, fuck!

"Truth or dare?" I asked, leaning in toward Max.

Her shoulders rose as she breathed a big breath in. Instead of blurting out her answer, she sighed, deflated as she hunched in on herself. "Truth."

"Fuck!" Max's head snapped up, giving me a wide-eyed stare at my stupid outburst. "S-sorry, I just…"

"She wanted you to pick dare so she could make out with you again," Rachel quipped, cutting right through to the truth.

I covered my face with my hands. If my face wasn't flushed before, it glowed like a cherry now. "Fuck me," I muttered.

"She didn't say 'dare,' Chloe," Rachel said in a sing-song tone.

The sweltering heat in me deepened. Chancing a peek, I found Max every bit as embarrassed as myself. And oh, God, did I want to erase that smug look on Rache's face. She enjoyed this fucking teasing way too much.

"C-can we just get-get back to the game?" Max stammered, hugging her bag to her chest as she stared straight down.

"Uh…" I stupidly said, not even knowing what to ask. Dozens of questions lingered around Max's mysterious past. Rachel wanted me to pry. Hell, I wanted to pry. Something terrible haunted her, and I couldn't protect her from it if I didn't know what the fuck it was. But Max, for whatever fucking reason, didn't want to share that with me. No. She said the reason. Somehow, she thought she was protecting me.

Nodding a bit, I looked over at Max. "Okay, tell the truth. What are you trying to protect me from?"

Max flinched at the question. She raised her arm a moment, but then let it drop. "I…" Sighing, Max cast Rachel a glance before turning her eyes back to me. "Fate."

I blinked a few times, not quite able to turn that word into reason. "I-I'm sorry, fate?"

Max nodded but refused to elaborate. "Yeah. Fate."

I looked over at Rachel, who leaned out as far as she could to study Max's face. Rache's eyes flitted over to me, giving me a small shake of her head. That look… Whatever the fuck cryptic answer that was, Max wasn't lying.

Throwing up my hands, I all but shouted my frustration, "What the fuck is that supposed to even mean?"

Max shrank in on herself, putting up her Max Armor. "You already asked your question, and I told you the truth."

Why? Why the fuck wouldn't she just tell me? I roughly kneaded my knuckles into my thighs. How could she even protect me from "fate?"

"Fuck it! Fine!" I sat back in the chair, seething. Nothing I could do could make Max open up, not without really risking fucking things up between us.

A heavy silence settled in, but Rachel didn't let it stay long. She nudged Max, speaking softly, "Come on, Max. You're up."

"Oh, okay," Max muttered, turning those big blue eyes on me. "Truth or dare?

I sighed, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my thighs. My endorphin high from making out with Max crashed away. Bitterness and confusion were all that was left in my brain. It didn't even matter what I picked. Max wouldn't ask too much either way. I held up a hand toward Max. "Truth."

Max ducked her head a bit before she straightened up. A small smile on her lips told me that was the one that she wanted me to pick. Despite my anger and pettiness, it made me feel at least a little better that something I did made her happy.

"Um, so…" Max started, fidgeting there as she rubbed her arm. "Was-was it good? The kiss?"

My heart clenched in my chest. That brought me right out of the mire. I cast a wary glance over at Rachel. "Max it was… that makeout sesh was hella awesome." I grinned as I sat back up. "You been practicing in Seattle?"

The color returned to her cheeks. "I, um… That was actually just my third kiss."

I could hardly believe she'd barely kissed before. Sure, her wallflower qualities made it totally believable that she'd be inexperienced. But damn if she didn't impress me. Especially with her making the move like that. "Mad skills, Max!" I said, bouncing in my seat. "Who was the lucky number one?"

Max shook her head. "Uh-uh." Thumbing over at Rachel, she said, "I'm not the one you get to ask questions."

Rachel nodded back at Max before turning to me. "Truth, by the way."

"Come on, you're not even gonna try something different?" I said, shooting back at her in a well-honed reflex.

Rachel's face never faltered. "Nope. Truth."

I rolled my eyes, sitting back. No point existed for us to do this shit. Rachel said it herself, we don't keep secrets from each other. What could I even ask her about? Then, my eyes settled on Max.

Licking my lips, I struggled to ask the only real question I could think of. Because it terrified me just what her response might be. "O-okay, Rachel. What do you really think of me and Max?"

"You and Max," Rachel parroted back at me, her grin widening. "I fucking love it."

"Is that sarcasm?" I shot back.

"No. Really." Rachel leaned forward, getting to her feet. "I've been more than clear that I've wanted an open relationship, Chloe. You're the one that's always had hangups about it." Holding out an arm in Max's direction, she kept those hazel eyes locked on me. "I am beyond psyched that someone came along that can open your eyes to it."

A new rage bubbled in my chest. She manipulated me. Again! "Hey! You're not gonna twist this shit around just to get what you fucking want!" I yelled as I shot to my feet.

Rache didn't back down. "But it's not just what I want! Don't you want it, too?"

"You, fucking around with whoever tickles your goddamned fancy while you're off on a bender? Fuck, no, I don't want that!" I shouted.

"Stop it!" Max screamed. Both our heads whipped around. She sat there, her hands balled up in fists on her lap. "Don't… don't do this, because of me."

I tore my eyes back over to Rachel. She gave me a little nod, which I returned. A truce. We could have our fight when Max wasn't around.

Rachel then turned to Max. "So, Max… Truth or—"

"No!" Max shot up from her seat. "We're done. No more games!" she ranted, rounding the couch, only to rest her arms on the backrest. Her head draped down so low, that neither Rache nor I could see her face.

"Come on, Max," Rachel said. "We each got to ask each person. It's only fair we finish at least one round."

"Yeah, Max—"

Max shook her head. "No! It's not fair. Rachel's spent this whole time coming up with just the right things to ask no matter which one I choose!"

Max's words definitely rang true. Rachel's capacity to dominate this game showed in full-force already. On some level, Rachel just couldn't stop herself from twisting people around. But she knew where the line stood. She wouldn't really cross it, would she? "How… how about Rachel promises to go easy on you, eh?" I suggested, sending a look to Rachel so that she would know to go along with it.

Rachel frowned back at me. It made her unhappy to hold back, but even she had to understand that she'd get nothing if Max didn't agree. "Fine. Kiddie gloves. Promise," Rachel said, her hands dropping to her sides. "Truth or dare?"

Max took a deep breath. Then, she nodded. "Truth."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Rachel tilted her head just a bit. "Okay. I was going to ask for more, but I'll just settle for a name. Nothing else." Rachel shot me a glance before turning back to Max. "Who did you kill?"

"No! That's not fair!" Max's head shot up, revealing red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. "It's-it's not…"

My insides twisted even just seeing Max like that. But really, it wasn't like Rachel asked for much. "C-come on, Max. It's just a damned name." A name we could research to find out a helluva lot more about her mysterious past, but just a name nonetheless.

Max hung her head again as she fished tissues from her bag. "No."

"You told us what you did," Rachel softly said. "I'm not asking you to tell us the how or why. Just, who?"

The question hung in the air as Max stood there, her hands gripping tightly into themselves. "Just… the first name?"

Rachel's eyes rolled up as she sighed before she covered her face with a hand. The universal face of "I fucked that up." Cursing under her breath, she shook it off, replacing her mask with an unwavering smile. "Fine. You got me there. Just the first name."

"O-okay," Max muttered, leaning forward to put her weight on the back of the couch. Still, she kept her head hung so low even Rachel couldn't get a glimpse. "Her name… was Chloe."