Chapter 7

It took a very long time for either party to say anything. Hope knew she had to tell them what she'd found, but wasn't sure if she was supposed to talk first or the adults were. She could tell they were furious, but knew that if she tried talking first she might antagonise them further. She waited for them to make a move, but they also seemed to be waiting for her to do the same thing. In the end, she decided to just try and cut through this by holding out the bag. At the very least, it might get the inevitable heated exchange about dealing with strangers and homeless people out of the way.

"What's this?" Chloe asked, taking the bag and peering inside.

"That's what someone used to try and blow up the garage." Hope told her. At that, Chloe almost dropped it in shock.

"How did you get hold of it?" The suspicious look on Max's face said it all. There would be serious talks later.

"I told you I saw something glinting." Hope replied. "I could smell perfume on the other side of the road. I followed it into the alleyway and a lady living in a pile of trash bags handed it to me. It smells of the same perfume. And I can see the white hand prints where whoever did this held it. I think the mirrors were what was glinting." Max and Chloe didn't say anything. They just looked at each other then at the bag. Eventually, Max was the first one to speak. Hope was expecting to get accused of lying again like every other time she'd opened up to someone about the things she could do, but Max seemed to have other ideas.

"Chloe, keep hold of that bag, will you? I think I need to have a talk with this lady. Hope, show me where she is." Hope nodded and led Max over to the alleyway, heading down to the bottom where the pile of trash bags was. The lady was still there, looking wistfully up at the sky. "Hey!" Max called out, getting her attention.

"Oh, I know that voice. It's nice to see a friendly face. I see so many pass by me. So many unfriendly ones, too. How's it going, Max? I take it this flashy-eyed little terror is yours." That got Hope's attention. She knew Max?

"How do you two know each other?" Hope asked.

"Oh, Max told me about a storm she dreamed about." The homeless woman said. "I trust dreams more than I trust most things I see in the waking world so I got the hell out while I could. I went to the outskirts of the town just to the hills beyond. I got soaked to the bone and had to be seen by the medics when the relief aid arrived since I caught croup. But I'm alive and it's all thanks to her." It hurt Hope like a slap. Max had known about the storm? She'd seen it coming? She could have saved the entire town and she only told one person? Hadn't Chloe mentioned losing her own mother in that storm? And the fact that her own parents had died in it...

"Hope, are you okay?" Max asked, noticing how quiet the young girl had gone.

"Oh, I think I said the wrong thing." The woman's own expression shifted to one of concern. "Her eyes are changing again. Yep. She's pissed alright."

"So you gave her that bag she was holding when she came out of the alley?" Max asked, oblivious to Hope glaring up at her.

"Yeah, a woman threw it at my head just after the explosion." The woman shrugged. "I knew what she'd done and I knew your little girl would get it to the right people. There's something about that child that's so wild and untameable yet beautiful and unique. I hope you know just what a special girl you got there."

"I think I'm starting to get that picture." Max nodded. "Look, I feel bad just leaving you here after you helped us like this. We have no spare rooms, but if you ever wanted to come in for a hot shower or a meal, you're more than welcome."

"Ah, think of this as payment for the warning you gave me all those years ago." The woman shrugged it off, but her heartbeat had changed. Hope could tell Max's words had touched her. "That said, I might take you up on that offer if the weather doesn't change. This hot sun isn't doing me any favours. Your poor girl almost got a nosebleed halfway down the alley." The woman started laughing at her own words. It confused Hope as to how someone could laugh at such a predicament. She'd heard about people living in situations like this when she was in the care home. In one sense, she'd thought of herself as similar. Yes they gave her a roof over her head and a bed for until she found a family, but that didn't mean it was a home. But she also knew how lucky she was not to be living outdoors all the time with trash bags for warmth or cover.

"Do you want some water?" Hope didn't know where the words came from, but it instantly caught the lady's attention.

"Now that I will take you up on. It's hotter than hell out here." Max nodded, stepping back and wrapping her arm around Hope.

"We'll bring some out to you. Thanks for all your help."

"Hey, like I said, you're the reason I'm still here in the first place. And I'm glad to see how things worked out for you. Chloe certainly settled down. She's finally the woman we all knew she could be. And so are you."

"She really is." Max nodded. "Thanks for everything." With that, Max turned to leave with Hope hot on her heels. They came out of the alleyway and Chloe joined them as they headed into the house. Hope flinched as the door shut behind them. She'd once heard the expression 'being marched towards the firing squad' and while she didn't know what that was she imagined this must be pretty close to it. She didn't care too much, though. If it helped catch whoever did this, it was worth it.

They all got sat down at the table and once again the invisible jousting match began. Hope wasn't sure if she should start talking now or if they had a rant prepared after last night that they needed to get out of their systems first. Whatever the case may be, she just prayed she did it quietly. Her headphones were still charging up, after all. But once again, to her surprise, Max and Chloe's minds seemed to be on other things.

"So..." Max said as Chloe set the bag with the strange weapon in it on the table, "you mean to tell me that you traced this into the alleyway by following someone's scent. Is this something you've always been able to do? Because I've heard of kids having heightened senses before but I've never heard of that."

"Everyone assumed I was lying." Hope shrugged.

"Well after the way we saw you jump high enough to clear that chair from a standing start, I've often wondered what else you can do." Chloe gave Hope a pointed look. "We decided not to make the mistake of putting anything past you. But you can't just be running off like that. What would have happened if you'd found the person who'd caused that explosion? Did you ever think of that? Did you even stop and think what might have happened if it had been anyone other than Melissa down there?"

"Melissa?" Hope asked, confused.

"Wait, you know her name?" Max asked, looking just as confused as Hope. It would almost be enough to make Hope laugh if she wasn't so angry at that point.

"Yeah, I spoke to her once or twice." Chloe shrugged. "Melissa Lee Grayson. We had her Missing Person poster from 1997 in the original Two Whales. For whatever reason, she didn't want to be found. And since I was planning on running away myself at that time, I wasn't about to blow her cover." Chloe's voice dropped as her entire mood seemed to shift. "At the time, I honestly thought she was in a better situation than I was." Max moved over, wrapping Chloe in a hug. They stayed like that for a few seconds before there attention was drawn at the sound of a sharp scratch. They looked over to see that Hope had curled her fists on the table, her nails sharp enough to leave vicious rake marks in the glass top. It took a second for them to process what they were seeing.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Max asked tentatively. Hope's glare spoke volumes.

"You knew about the storm." Hope said, her focus entirely on Max. "You warned that woman but didn't tell anyone else. My parents died because you kept quiet about it!" Max flinched like she'd just been slapped. Chloe instantly wrapped her arms tighter around her as Hope jumped down from the table. She went to move away from them and head to her room, but Chloe was on her in a second and taking her firmly by the arm.

"Hope, if we'd have tried to tell everyone then no one would have believed us!" she protested. "Think about how everyone thought you were lying about your abilities! And yet here you are, able to track someone's movements from their perfume and jump distances no other seven-year-old can. Max dreamed about a tornado. She told me about it and she told Melissa. Melissa believes dreams need to be closely watched, so she left. Max and I didn't. We were here! We got stuck on the cliff by the lighthouse and had to watch helplessly as the entire town was destroyed!" Tears were running down Chloe's cheeks now, but they were also running down Hope's too. Looking over showed that Max wasn't doing much better. And Hope had to admit that Chloe was making sense.

"I just- I was stuck in that place for years with those people..." Hope's voice gave out and Max moved around the table to join Chloe in holding her close. The three of them were an emotional wreck and there was no point in trying to hide it. Eventually, they were all able to sort themselves out and let go of each other. In that moment, Hope realised that Max and Chloe had been through so much more than she ever thought of. She had no doubt they had a lot of stories and that most of them were probably best saved for another day.

"Don't worry about it, sweetie." Max said gently, wiping tears off the young girl's face. "You're with us now. And you've got a play day on the beach tomorrow to look froward to. Now go clean up. Your face is a mess." Hope nodded and headed down the hall to the bathroom. She grabbed the step that allowed her to reach the basin and started running the cold water. After all the stress and tears, the chill brought an instant sharp shock to her system followed by a heavenly cooling sensation. Outside, she could hear Max and Chloe talking.

Max and Chloe were restless. It was barely past ten in the morning and already they'd found out so much about both Hope and themselves as well as having some painful memories dredged up. And the very thing Max feared had so nearly come to pass. Max felt this was her chance to do some right after the tornado. If Hope had grown to hate her thinking she might have been able to save her parents... Max didn't know what she might have done.

"Did you see her eyes? Could they always do that?" Chloe asked, an uncertain note to her voice.

"Melissa mentioned something about it in the alley." Max replied. "I wonder if it's connected to the things she can do. And can we just take a moment to remember that she's seven years old? She's carrying so much weight on her shoulders. I remember when we were just barely teenagers and we didn't have anywhere near as much to cope with. I'd like to think we've managed to get back a glimmer of those glory days."

"Aye, 'Tis a good life we lead, Long Max Silver." Chloe said in her old pirate voice. At the sound of it, Max instantly found herself tearing up again.

"The best!" the shorter woman replied as she allowed herself to be pulled into an embrace just as she had done all those years ago. "May it never change." At her words, Chloe looked down into her eyes. On that day, she hadn't known what she'd seen there. Now she knew all to well. It was love. And the bluenette was bursting at the seams with it.

"May it never change us." This time, as Chloe's hand came up to rest on the back of Max's head, Max didn't pull away. There was nothing to ruin the moment as their lips met. And for the first time, Max realised that her rewind power wasn't the only way to recapture a moment.

Author's Note: People loved Cooking Up Trouble so much that ever since I wrote it I wanted to reference it in some way in another story. Now I have. I really enjoyed writing this chapter since Melissa isn't a character that's covered too much despite being pretty significant for a minor character. There's so much about her that wasn't explored. Hell, I'm curious as to how many others who've played the game actually knew her name or searched for the poster in the diner.

As always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks to everyone who's shown support so far. See you all on Friday for the next one.