Chloe was texting her uncle when Max opened the rear car door, tossing her bag into the back per usual. As Max opened the passenger door, Chloe put down her phone in the cup holder, looking over at her with an expectant smile. "Hey Ma- what the hell happened?"
Max was holding a napkin under her nose, already soaked through with blood. Her face was unusually pale as well, and she was trying not to look in Chloe's direction. It sent a chill down Chloe's back, followed by an intense wave of panic and worst case scenarios flooding through her brain. "Max, did you rew-"
"No, I didn't," she responded quickly, voice nasally from holding her nose. She struggled for a minute to buckle herself in one-handed, not willing to lower the napkin. "I tripped."
The tone of Max's voice said it all. Chloe's eyes narrowed, giving her a once over for any other out-of-place damage. "You tripped?" Chloe glanced out at the thinning crowd of students in front of them, looking for someone in particular. "I swear to god, if that dick did this-"
"I'm serious. I tripped over some books on the ground, and caught a locker with my face, okay?" She was definitely avoiding eye contact, though. "Could've happened to anyone."
Chloe's head was shaking, and she was aware of how tightly her left fist was clenched out of view of Max. "You're not 'anyone', Max. What really happened?" she asked again, turning in her seat to face Max fully.
Max had taken a deep breath before looking over at her, a numb look in her eyes. "Can we just go home, please?" Between the look in her eyes and the fact there was an all-too familiar bloody tissue between them, Chloe nodded, sighing.
"Let me take a look, first. Just in case it's broken," she added, as Max gave her a reproachful look. Reluctantly, she lowered her hand, revealing her red and swollen nose. Minus the blood still trickling, everything else seemed fine. Chloe looked her over one last time before exhaling heavily, finally turning the key in the ignition. "Alright, let's get you home. You're gonna want ice on that, stat."
The drive home was quiet, although there was a dangerous energy in the air. Chloe had no idea what was going through Max's head, but she knew what was going through her own. It wasn't until they were home and sitting at the table, blood wiped up and Max holding an ice pack to her nose, that Chloe cleared her throat. "Okay, what the hell happened?"
Max was slightly cross-eyed, staring at her raised hand as her cheeks flushed. "I tripped, and hit a locker. End of story."
"You tripped over an inanimate object," Chloe questioned, eyebrow raised as Max's eyes gradually drifted towards Chloe. "Over what, a backpack?"
Max nodded, although she seemed to be staring at Chloe's ear instead of making eye contact. "That's what I said."
"You said 'books' in the car, Max," Chloe responded, watching Max wince as she realized her mistake. Her eyes darted down . "You weren't tripped on purpose, or shoved, or something?" Chloe knew she sounded accusatory, but the way Max was acting screamed lies.
Max sighed, the type of sigh that meant she was going to try to talk her way out of something. She shifted her elbow against the table to help hold the pack at a better angle. "Chloe-"
"Max."
Max had closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them again. "What are you going to do? March into school and kick his ass?" she muttered, sounding and looking defeated.
Chloe was already on her feet, pulling her phone out. "I fucking knew it," she muttered, struggling to get her screen unlocked as she walked towards the front door. I already got his address, I'll show this little shit-
"Chloe, stop. Please," Max called, still sitting at the table.
Chloe turned to face her, already halfway to the door. "Why the hell are you letting him get away with this shit, Max?" She raised her arms, beckoning an answer. "Is this some - some kind of sick, masochistic punishment you're basking in?"
"Chloe." It was a warning, a weak one, but a warning. There was a fire burning in those blue eyes, though, and Chloe almost wanted to keep pushing Max until she could feel the burn herself.
She took a heavy step forward, finger raised and pointing back at Max harshly. "No, Max, I'm sick of this shit. Give me one reason-"
"I can give you six hundred and forty-three," Max snapped. Her brows were creased, glaring back at Chloe over the ice pack.
Her comment, however, stopped Chloe's own anger in its tracks, hand dropping to her side. Chloe looked around the hall blindly for a second, chewing on her lip, before returning to the dining room. She gripped the back of the chair across from Max, staring at the table for a minute as she tried to collect her thoughts. "Max, fuck, you can't just...keep blaming yourself for that, okay? We don't know. We don't," she repeated, trying to remind herself that she loved Max, that she wanted what was best for Max, even if she's being fucking stupid about it.
Max sat there for a minute, all spitfire and seemingly ready to fight, before her shoulders slumped. Her expression soured as she crossed her arms, letting the ice pack fall to the table with a noisy thud. "No, we don't," she muttered darkly, eyes focused on the table.
"Keep the ice pack on," Chloe said quickly, reaching for it. "You're already gonna look like a trash panda in the morning."
Max sent her a hard stare, arms tightening across her chest as Chloe tried to pass her the pack. "Bite me."
Chloe dropped the pack as well, groaning. She pressed the palms of her hands against her eyes, exhaling loudly before looking back at her girlfriend. "Max, you think it doesn't make me feel like shit, too? Knowing how many people died, wondering if I...if I deserve to be alive when they're not?"
It was a question that obviously dug under Max's skin. She flinched, and finally broke eye contact with Chloe as her face grew dark. "I made the only choice I could live with," she said quietly, pointedly looking at the table.
"Did you? 'Cause from where I'm standing, you're giving yourself absolute hell for that choice."
Max's eyes were dark when she glanced back up at Chloe, chewing on her lip. "I don't want to talk about this," she muttered, jaw clenching as she looked away again.
"We are talking about it. Right here, right now," Chloe responded firmly.
Max gave an exasperated sigh, putting her hands down flat on the table. "I don't know what you want to hear from me, Chloe."
"Well, I don't want you to lie to me, that's for sure," she responded, aware how hurt she sound. Max heard it too, wincing as she clasped her hands together and stared at them instead of back at Chloe. She sat there for a minute, and Chloe couldn't help but groan. "Max?"
"I made a choice," she finally whispered, entirely focused on her joined hands. "I made a choice, and I don't regret it, and I'd do it all over again. And that makes me wonder how shitty of a person I really am."
Chloe was on autopilot, walking around the table so she could sit in the chair next to Max. "You're not a shitty person, you know that," she said quietly.
That fire was back in Max's eyes, a quiet defiance. "Six hundred and forty-three people, Chloe," she repeated, shaking her head as she shifted in her chair, as if trying to put distance between them. "Six hundred and forty-three people died in that storm, and regardless of what caused it, I chose to let it happen, to not even try to intervene."
"Max, you are a good person." Max scoffed in response, still leaning slightly away from Chloe. "I'm serious. Look, that first time you saved me, you didn't even know it was me." She tentatively rested a hand on Max's forearm, and although the brunette stiffened, she didn't pull away. "A shitty person wouldn't have developed instantaneous super powers to save a stranger."
"It's not the same," Max whispered, still grasping her own hands tightly. "You know it's not the same thing."
"Bullshit, it's not!" There was the tiniest twitch at the corner of Max's mouth as she listened, as if she appreciated that Chloe didn't agree with her. "It's just life, you know? Some boss fights just can't be beat, and you just gotta roll with the punches." Max still seemed stiff, although Chloe thought she saw a small wave of relief roll over her face. "Are you happy?"
Max turned to her finally, starting to frown. "What?"
"I asked, are you happy?" she repeated, finally getting to look in Max's eyes as she spoke. She couldn't tell what was going through Max's head right now, and her eyes held no answers, either.
Max was quiet again for a while, moving back to staring at her hands as if they held answers to life itself. "There's only two weeks left of school," she said eventually, with a little shrug.
Chloe exhaled through her nose, not surprised Max would flee from the conversation at the first chance she got. Chloe slowly pulled her hand back, resting it on her own knee instead. "Yeah, I know."
"It doesn't make sense for me to drop out and get a GED now," she said quietly. One of her thumbs was tracing over the other, and she kept her eyes on the slow movement. "I know you've been wanting me to do that for a while."
"For good reason," Chloe muttered darkly.
"I think I can handle another two weeks." Max finally unlocked her hands, reaching over to grab one of Chloe's. Her hand was warmer than usual from her previous position, but Chloe didn't care. "But I am. Happy, I mean," Max said, squeezing Chloe's hand as she spoke.
"That's all I want," Chloe said quietly, pulling Max's hand up to her mouth so she could kiss it. Not an hour ago, that same hand had held a bloody napkin, and the thought sent a little chill down Chloe's spine again. "I fucking hate this," she muttered into their joined hands. "I want to punch him in his stupid fucking face."
Max grimaced, although her overall expression had softened, watching their joined hands. "I know. I'm sorry I lied."
"I'm still gonna kick his ass one day," Chloe responded, tipping her hand towards the door. "I'm gonna kick his ass, and I'll give you a front row seat."
She was rewarded with a little amused smile as Max watched her. "Okay."
They sat there for a few minutes, Chloe still muttering plans into the back of Max's hand, until they heard the garage door start opening. "Your mom?" Chloe asked, frowning as she turned towards the door.
Max glanced at the clock, suddenly pale. Her free hand moved up to her nose, touching it gingerly. "Shit, probably. Should I hide?" she asked, panic in her voice.
"Unless you're going to hide for the next week, might as well get it over with," Chloe commented, releasing Max's hand in order to pluck the ice pack off the table and holding it out to her. "Please?"
Max obediently took the pack and held it back to her nose. "Only because you asked so nicely," she responded, a small twinkle in her eye as the main door opened, and Vanessa walked in.
"Hey girls, how was- Maxine, what happened?" Vanessa's cheery smile quickly turned into wide-eyed shock, staring at the ice pack on Max's face. She stood frozen by the door, awaiting an answer.
Max was looking at Chloe, who turned to look at Vanessa. "You know how much of a klutz she is, Mrs. C. Wiped out on a book and high-fived a locker with her face," she responded, putting on what she hoped was a convincing amused expression.
There was a beat where she feared Vanessa would see right through her, and call her out the same way Chloe had called Max out earlier. After a short infinity, Vanessa merely snorted before setting her purse and keys down on the table, getting closer so she could take a look at her daughter's face. "Doesn't surprise me. How does it feel?"
"Like I high-fived a locker with my face," Max joked, shifting the pack slightly so her mother could see her nose. Chloe thought Max still looked pale, but she otherwise was putting on a good front.
"Well, luckily your exhibition already happened," Vanessa commented, heading towards the stairs. "That would have stunk, having those pictures to remind you of the time you decided to be friends with a locker."
"Mom, not helping," Max complained loudly. As her mother left earshot, she looked back at Chloe, sighing in relief. "Thank you," she said quietly, grabbing Chloe's hand again with the one that wasn't holding an ice pack to her face.
"'Course," Chloe muttered, glancing back towards the stairs, trying to ignore the guilty feeling in her stomach. "Two weeks?" she asked, hoping for reassurance. Only two more damn weeks.
Max nodded, squeezing her hand. "Two weeks."