Chapter 3
Chloe was awoken by Max shaking her shoulder gently and sat up with a start, almost bashing the smaller girl in the face as she sat up quickly. Max jumped back just in time as Chloe gripped her head and fought to keep herself from hyperventilating. Max's arms were around her instantly, but the embrace didn't offer its usual comfort as she continued to shiver uncontrollably. That didn't stop Max from holding on, though. She pulled herself up so that Chloe's head was against her chest in the hopes that her heartbeat would help with whatever Chloe was going through as it had so many times before.
"Chloe, I need you to listen to me! Whatever you're hearing now, it's not real!"
"Max-" Tears were streaming down Chloe's face and she fought to keep from turning into a screaming witch and waking up anyone who might be asleep. "I can still hear the truck exploding! I just- I'm hearing it over and over again!" That made Max pause for a second before she turned and walked over to the curtains. She threw them open to reveal a mess of multi-coloured explosions lighting up the sky. The festival was in full swing.
"That's what you're hearing!" she snapped, gesturing to the window before walking back over and throwing her arms around the bluenette, who was staring dumbly at the window while trying to put the pieces together in her mind. "It's fireworks, you dumbass! You scared me to fucking death! Damn you!" Max didn't say anything else. She just held on as Chloe rolled sideways so that they were both lying on the bed facing one another. They didn't say anything. They just leaned forward so that their lips were pressed together. Once their arms curled around each other it went from gentle kissing to a full-blown make-out session. And once Chloe's shirt came up over her head, there was no stopping the events that followed. This wasn't as it usually was for them. It wasn't passionate or love-filled as it was when they planned to stay in the bed all night. This was purely and simply the two of them having a unanimously bad day and needing to release energy before they went out again to avoid risking a criminal record. Or any more of a criminal record as far as Chloe was concerned anyway.
Once they'd both calmed down a bit, Chloe decided to be the first one to take a shower. They would have gone in together, but they'd done that once before and their water bill had been astronomical that month. They weren't keen to do that in the hotel in case it got put on their tab. For that reason, Max decided she could make herself more useful by calling Vanessa and grovelling for money. While Max knew there was no other option, she also hated to do it. Part of her had enjoyed fighting for her own independence. The knowledge of how proud her parents and Joyce had been with her and Chloe for standing on their own two feet- all of that felt wasted in that moment. A small part of her that was too stubborn and proud for her own good hoped Vanessa didn't pick up. Fortunately, Vanessa couldn't hear that part of Max and picked up on the second ring.
"Max? How are you?" she asked. "Is something wrong? Why the late call? What's all that noise?"
"Sorry, Mom." Max replied sheepishly. "There's a festival going on outside our hotel but I didn't want to call sooner because Chloe was asleep and we've had a hell of a day."
"Okay, well is this something that could maybe wait until morning?" Vanessa asked and Max didn't miss the hopeful note in her voice. Unfortunately she couldn't grant that request. If she hesitated now, she'd never be able to bring herself to ask.
"Not really, Mom." Max told her. "Look, I'll cut to the chase so you can get to bed: Chloe's truck exploded. Like 'fireball a mile high' kind of exploded. Our cases were in the back and we literally lost everything but the clothes we've got on now and my credit card."
"What?" There was silence after Vanessa's scream but it had been loud enough that Max was certain that Chloe had heard it. "Honey, are you okay? Please tell me you're okay!"
"Yeah, we're fine physically. Just a bit shaken up." Max told her. "Look, I feel like crap asking this but we're literally out of options. I can cover the hotel and any transport fares home that we need, but I don't have enough to replace our clothes, a suitcase and everything else we need. I just- we need enough clothes to see two people home, we need clean underwear, we need deodorant, shower gel, tampons- There's just no way we can cover it all!"
"Max, it's okay!" Vanessa assured her from the other end of the phone. "Look, I'm glad you reached out. In situations like these, this is the kind of time when you have to accept help from others. You have no option. Okay, the banks are shut tonight but I'll be down there as soon as they open tomorrow to send over the money. We have three-hundred as emergency money and I'd say this qualifies. And be glad you're not one of those bitchy high fashion girls and that you don't mind diving into charity shops. Otherwise this would be a harsh lesson on why it's good to not have your head stuck right up your cu-"
"Bathroom's all yours, babe!" Max looked over to see Chloe coming out and shutting the door behind her as she dried her hair on a towel. There was just something about her soaking wet yet clad in her t-shirt and skinny jeans that Max found incredibly alluring and she fought to suppress the wave of heat that hit her as she flashed her the thumbs-up and refocused on her phone call.
"Sorry, Mom? You were saying?"
"I was saying enjoy your festival." Vanessa said. "Don't spend too much on festival food. You don't have that much to play with right now. And for the love of god, watch that hotel tab. If that eats into that three-hundred then you're as good as boned."
"Got it." Max nodded. "Well the hotel has half-price dinner tonight because of the festival so that's our best bet. As for the festivities, we thought we'd check out the wishing ceremony. They say that on this night it's guaranteed to come true and we have literally nothing to lose right now so we're going for it."
"Yep, that sounds like as good a plan as any." Vanessa agreed. "Okay, well enjoy it, sweetie. I love you."
"I love you too, Mom." Max said before hanging up and turning to Chloe. "It's all sorted. She's going to transfer three-hundred dollars over to us first thing tomorrow. She advised we stick mainly to charity shops for the clothes but a small town like this should have a bunch of them. And you can get new underwear on the cheap from some of the lower end shops and even a few of the bigger dollar stores that have clothes sections. Not perfect but it's all we've got. It'll probably cover one suitcase as well, so we'll just have to spend carefully and make sure we get home as soon as possible to consolidate resources."
"Sounds like a plan." Chloe replied, beaming as she moved in and planted a chaste kiss on Max's lips. "Go on. Hit the showers. There's a party going on out there and it sounds like we're missing it." Max did. She grabbed the towel the hotel provided and sprinted towards the bathroom. The water was still white hot from when Chloe had been in there and it felt like heaven as it cascaded over her body. Back at Blackwell, it had been tough boarding with all those other girls. You could never rely on a decent shower because some silly bitch would always come in and turn on a tap. The constant temperature fluctuations would turn the experience into a speeded up Chinese water torture. But here in a hotel where she was the only person in the bathroom and the only other person she had with her was her own wife, she could properly relax. And it was just what she needed after the day she'd had.
Eventually she stepped out and stretched to ease her tired muscles. Her back gave several audible clicks as she felt the pressure release. She quickly re-dressed before heading back out to Chloe, who had found out how to turn the ceiling heater on and was stood under it drying her hair under the blast of warm air. She beckoned Max over and swept her into an embrace as the two of them gently rocked in place together. Neither of them minded that Max's hair was now making a wet patch on Chloe's shirt or that drying themselves off properly like this would probably take ages. In that moment, it was the two of them and no one else. Just as it should be on their honeymoon.