Ch. 2: Breaking the Silence

AARON WATSON'S POV:

I enjoyed being in the embrace of the random woman. I normally hated people touching me, but she did it out of compassion, not hatred. A flash went off and there was another woman with a camera standing in front of us. She had blue dyed hair covered with a beanie, and she had eyes the color of sapphires.

"This will look great in the scrapbook," she said.

The woman next to me began to stir as the other woman held the newly developed picture of us in front of her.

"Aw, look at how cute you two look Max," the woman said.

The woman next to me, who apparently was Max, tried to snatch the photo, but it was pulled out of her reach before she could grab it.

"Is this your first time 'sleeping with' someone, Caulfield? I was so sure it would be with me. I'm kind of hurt," she had a mock hurt expression in her voice. "I thought we had something special. Now I find that you have stabbed me in the back and slept with someone else, a stranger no less. Oh the pain in my heart right now in unbearable. I thought I could trust you. How could you do this to me, Max?" Her face was strained trying not to grin.

Max rolled her eyes, "Chloe, give that to me, right now."

"Aw, is Max embarrassed? Payback is a bitch," she said with an evil grin on her face.

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

Chloe put one hand on her hip while the other one held the picture in front of her, "Remember that time you oh so kindly took that picture on Halloween of me passed out in a hedge with cat ears and a tail? The one you literally show to everyone we meet?"

"I haven't seen it yet," I thought "I'd better stay out of this for now."

"Um," Max blushed "I don't remember that."

"Funny how these things work. Anyway, now I have my revenge. Maybe we can trade pictures if you want," Chloe said, offering Max a chance.

"No way," Max whined "that's my only ammunition against you."

Chloe shrugged, "Then I guess I'll be keeping this then. I think this would look nice on one of the notice boards in the dorm corridor."

Max stood up, "Don't you dare."

Chloe spoke in a taunting voice, "What, are you afraid Victoria might see it? Do you have a secret crush on the Queen Bitch of Blackwell? That would explain why you tormented her after she got painted, trying to wind her up and push her buttons, get her all hot and bothered?"

"I don't and you know it," Max said "you knew that I'd had enough of putting up with her shit."

"Ooooh, Max is asserting her dominance," Chloe said, still taunting her.

Max tried to snag the picture again, but Chloe dodged and smacked Max on the ass. "I haven't seen you blush this much since we went swimming in the Blackwell Pool," Chloe said.

"I was not blushing," Max defended, but she was as red as a tomato.

"Oh right," Chloe said "like you weren't eyeing me up. I could see you glancing at me, not that I blame you. I mean come on, why wouldn't you?" Chloe gestured to her body to demonstrate her point.

"I so was not," Max defended.

"Oh please, Max. If you're going to lie, at least make it believable. You were totally checking me out," Chloe argued.

"And you weren't?" Max asked.

Chloe was noticeably starting to blush, "We are talking about you hippie, not me. Don't change the subject."

Max rolled her eyes "Chloe, just please give that back."

"Beg, then I might consider it," Chloe said grinning evilly.

"Okay, fine," Max said "I beg you to give me back the picture."

"Okay," Chloe said. However, when Max had the photo in her grasp, Chloe grabbed the front of Max's shirt and stole a kiss. While Max was distracted, Chloe took the picture back and took a few steps backward.

"Maxine Caulfield," Chloe shook her head "when will you learn that I am better at stealing stuff than you? I always have been and I always will be."

I decided to speak up, "Um... I'm still here."

"Oh, right," Chloe said turning her attention toward me. "Who are you again?"

"I'm Aaron," I said "Aaron Watson."

When I said that, Max swiped the picture back and put it in her bra. "You know, I'm not afraid to try to take that back," Chloe said.

"Um..." I said "are you two... lovers?"

Max blushed "No."

"Not yet," Chloe said pinching Max's ass.

"Ouch," Max said rubbing the spot where Chloe pinched her.

"Still here," I said chuckling.

"Aaron," Max said "I have class in a few hours, but... um... I'd like to meet again."

"Um... sure... where?" I asked.

"I have to go now," Max said "ask Chloe." She walked away and disappeared into the brush.

"So," I rubbed the back of my neck "um..."

"Look," Chloe interrupted "normally I don't want people messing with my girl, but you look harmless enough, so let me give you some pointers. Her name is Maxine Caulfield, but you have to always call her Max, a lesson I learnt the hard way. You should be grateful. I'm saving you from getting hit on the head like fifty times. Although it is all worth it to see her angry face, it's so sexy. Anyway, back on track. She's eighteen years old, and if you do anything to hurt her, I will shoot you."

I was literally speechless. Chloe placed a hand on my arm.

"That's a lot to take in... come on," she said "I'll bring you to my home."

"Okay," I said. As I was about to stand up, I remembered my gun. I discreetly slipped it in the back of my pants.

"Well look at what we have here," Chloe said picking up Max's camera "Max seems to have left her camera behind. I wonder how much money we can get for ransoming this."

"Chloe," I said shaking my head.

"I'll give it back to her after I drop you off at my place," she said.

"Alright," I said. I tried to take a step, but a sharp pain crawled up my legs and I fell to my face.

"Are you alright?" Chloe asked looking concerned.

"I ran for an hour and a half to get here," I said "my legs are just sore."

"Can you walk?" She asked.

"Probably not," I answered.

"Maybe I can help you to the truck," she said.

I rolled onto my back, "That'd be nice."

She held me up and supported me with her shoulder as we started to walk. "So," I said "is blue your natural color."

"That's your pickup line?" She asked chuckling, "At least it's better than 'are those real?'"

"Sorry," I said "I'm not that social, and I'm not that good at talking to women."

"You talked to Max last night," she said."

I thought for a moment, "…I guess that's true."

"Well," she said "here's the truck."

Her truck had seen better days. The doors were brown, but the rest of the truck was mustard yellow. She opened the door, cleared a space for me, and sat me down.

"Buckle up pretty boy," she said "because you're about to go on the ride of your life."

"Off roading?" I asked buckling my seatbelt.

"No," she said winking.

The dash was covered in little bits of paper along with a few crushed cans, a bobble head, and several charms hanging from the rearview mirror. Almost every blank space in the truck was covered in graffiti. She got in, started the engine, and got the car moving.

There was a moment of silence before Chloe spoke up, "So…what was the deal back there? It's not often I find Max passed out under a tree snuggled up to a stranger."

I remained silent; I did not want to tell her that I tried to kill myself… at least not yet.

"It's cool," she said "you don't have to tell me. I was just curious. I get that some things you just have to keep to yourself. I won't pry."

It was quiet for a few more minutes before she spoke up again, "You from around here?"

"That depends," I said "where is here?"

"Arcadia Bay," she answered.

I was shocked, "Damn, I ran seven miles."

"I'll take that as a 'no,'" she said.

"So," I said desperate to change the subject "you and Max seem…friendly."

She chuckled, "That's the understatement of the year."

"How long have you two known each other?" I asked.

Her eyes lit up remembering their times together, "A hella long time. We've been friends since we were kids. We were…separated for a while." All of a sudden she looked sad "Max's parents moved away to Seattle. She's only just recently moved back here about… just over a month ago. We've been through a lot, but we've come out of it stronger than ever. You have to do a lot to break us apart." She half smiled at the thought of her and Max together.

"You really love her, huh?" I asked.

Chloe blush slightly, "What…what makes you say that?"

"The way you speak about her and the way you act around her… everything really," I said.

Chloe laughed nervously, and then she sighed in defeat, "Is it that obvious?"

"Kind of," I answered.

Chloe sighed, "Well, I guess I can tell you. You seem like a decent guy and you probably won't laugh at me or anything. Max seems to think you're okay."

"I'm not that great," I said.

"Come on man," she punched me in the arm playfully "where's your self confidence?"

I looked out the window and saw trees and buildings rush past us. I sighed, "It was one of the first things beaten out of me as a child."

"Then that's the first thing that we need to build back up," she said.

There was another moment of awkward silence. "Life can be tough, God knows I know. I don't suppose you've heard of that missing girl, Rachel Amber?"

"I heard her name on the news, but I don't know that much about the story," I answered.

"Let me fill you in," she said. "Rachel was my girlfriend. Max helped me look for her. She was murdered and buried in the junkyard, and Max helped me find her. Max helped me get through everything. If she hadn't been there…" she paused for a moment, "who knows what could have happened. She saved me so many times in so many different ways, most importantly from myself."

"Like how she saved me when I tried to kill myself," I thought. "I see."

"Yeah," she said "anyway, it's too late to change stuff now. Things are how they are and you just have to deal with it as best you can. I can't keep looking to the past. I have for too long and it's caused me nothing but pain and suffering. It's stopped me from being happy now. I have to look forward and enjoy my time with Max." A gentle smile formed on her face, "So, in answer to your question, yeah I do love her a lot and have done for a while now."

"That's what I need" I thought "someone who loves me for me, someone who I can love without regret."

"She's lucky to have someone like you to love," I said.

"You really think so?" She asked.

"I do," I said.

"You're such a charmer. I think we'll get along just fine," she said pulling into a driveway.

Big shoot-out to my co-authors mentioned in the first chapter, this wouldn't be possible without their support. Please review, my Traffic Stats are not working so I can't tell if people are enjoying my story or not.