Chloe is hunched over sipping on hot chocolate, the steaming mug warming her fingers as she coddled the mug in between her hands. The warmth of the hot liquid giving her comfort and calming her nerves. Chloe felt jumbled and disoriented before she got to the Two Whales, but now she felt...content.
Moments later Joyce came back; Chloe's mother had always been the strong one, she had to be just that after William for both Chloe and herself.
"Come on darlin', everything's going to turn out fine, you'll see. "Joyce's hands started trembling slightly, anger and fear raged inside of her, Max was a big part of her life and it was like having another daughter at her side, to have that stripped away from her would be like living in another hell altogether.
"Mom.." Chloe shifted her eyes from her mug to the floor, her boots lightly kicking an empty box on the recently swept floors. " I know it won't. I can't even go see her because I'm too much of a chicken shit. I can't be there for my best friend because it was supposed to be me… Nathan texted me and she was just there. I- I just.." Placing the mug on a small box before burying her face into her palms, wanting to gouge her eyes out; just to avoid seeing all the disappointment that she laid out on the floor.
"Chloe Elizabeth Price, what do you think Max would say if she heard you talking like this? You didn't cause this. I don't know why you are befriending a Prescott but enough is enough." Joyce wrapped her arms around her daughter, kissing the top of her head as she ran her fingers through the faded blue hair. "We can't think like that. What we have to do is put on some big girl pants and move forward. Max.. She's a tough one," Joyce's words stumbled as they rolled off the tip of her tongue you "both take after one another." She heard Chloe silently crying and in light of keeping her busy Joyce wasn't going to let Chloe run away from this, not Max and not now or ever.
"I was trying to find Rachel.." She lied, maybe at the time she talked to Nathan that might have been true but now she knew exactly where her body laid. Rachel was a ghost now, Max was fighting for her life and the universe wasn't taking her away again. She might and as well make light of this situation that she buried herself in. "I'll go. I'll go and bring Max one of her favorite Belgian waffles." The corner of her lips slowly turning into a smirk "Come on mom, I bet you can't deny a dying girl her last dying wish. That'd hella psych the universe out.."
Joyce couldn't help but smile. "We wouldn't want to upset the universe, now would we? Also I bet this pirate would have my tongue if her first mate went without the most important meal of the day." She appeased Chloe, searching the pockets of her apron for her cell phone. "Why don't you go ahead and help Noah with that." She told Chloe to go into the kitchen and assist the cook. Joyce would rather not have an audience for the dreaded phone call to the Caulfields. This most likely meant that Max would have to get dragged back to Seattle, whether she wants to go or not. Explaining that their daughter was in a critical condition or near death to Vanessa and Ryan was going to be disastrous nightmare.
Chloe stationed herself outside in the far parking lot of the hospital, looking down in her lap at the container marked Max's surprise. "Okay Chloe, she's in there all alone. She'll be happy to see you with...waffles." Sighing heavily, she made the fearful leap outside of her truck and started strutting towards the emergency wing.
Just entering the double doors was hectic, there was a lot going on; overworked nurses, scared paramedics and strained doctors whose only love ones just happen to caffeinated drinks. Chloe made her way past the chairs filled with family members in the waiting room and to the receptionist. She stepped forward biting the corner of her lip.
"Excuse me." She waited patiently as the Nurse was logging notes before looking up. "I'm looking for Max Caulfield, I think she's staying in this wing, or something. Can I see her?" Grinding her teeth made it rather difficult to take seriously but she couldn't help what she was feeling, her head was spinning and her stomach in knots.
"No. At this moment Ms. Caulfield is in critical condition and has been taken up for surgery, has been for a couple of hours." The receptionist at the desk popped her gum in Chloe's face, what was more irritating than that was the loud chewing, which had Chloe just on the verge of blowing up. "We weren't able to get a hold of her parents." She looked up at Chloe giving her additional details and asking her to wait with the other patients family members scattered all over the waiting room.
Hours passed and by that time Joyce, David, Ryan and Vanessa had joined Chloe outside the waiting room, there had been complications that had made Chloe's skin crawl. All she wanted to do is see Max. She didn't care how, she wanted to show her that she would do anything for her and that meant take her place, to somehow go back in time. She didn't care she'd die a thousand times before going through this hell for one more moment.
Moments later a tall curvy gorgeous doctor came out, Chloe had to avert her eyes by how breathtaking she was but that was not important. This was about Max. "Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield?" The doctor approached all of them "My name is Doctor Torres, Your daughter is out of surgery, everything went as planned and the surgery went swimmingly." The doctor came and grabbed Max's parents, their voices turned into whispers as they vanished into the hallway and further down behind the double doors.
Chloe's smile turned into a flat line and then a stern pout, she felt like she had been in this hell hole hours ago and all she did is wait and for what? She couldn't sit still just sucking her thumb, she couldn't come clean to any of this without coming clean to Max first. Chloe turned to face David as an idea struck her.
"David, dude, I have a proposition for you. You get me to Max's room in your security get up and I promise to stop calling you step douche. " She pleaded intertwining her hands together with her palms facing each other. A rare sight a young Chloe asking David for anything.
David turned to Joyce, studying her expression; it was very pleasant and slightly amused by what her daughter had requested. "Chloe.." He sighed, taking his cap off giving her a scornful look. "I already stuck out my neck for you today, at Blackwell, and with Mr. Wells." He cleared his throat, always being the one having to put his foot down. "I haven't a clue why you were there when I told you Wells isn't having any of it and especially if you take into account the stuff you've pulled while you were at Blackwell."
Chloe's face turned stern and grumbled under her breath as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Come on man, I never ask you for anything." She lightly kicked her mother's chair asking for a hand, Chloe couldn't take it anymore, she couldn't come up with a better idea, not like how Max could. Her best friend had always been the smart one.
She breathed. Right now, it was all she could do. Looking around the room, she got her idea. Her stepdad had two uniforms. One he was wearing, the other…
Chloe swiped Joyce's spare keys and stepped outside of the hospital, making her way to her Step Douche's car. Chloe slipped into the back of the car unnoticed, and finds exactly what she was looking for with ease, and shimmies into the extra security uniform. Tucking her blue hair into the extra-large hat, soon after the determined teen reenters the hospital.
The security uniforms from Blackwell looked somewhat close to what the ones in the hospital looked like. It was just that the suit was far too big on her, but it made ample room for the waffles she promised herself, and the universe that she'd give Max. At a glance she should be okay as long as she keeps her head down.
Chloe shuffles past the nurses, past Joyce, past David, trying to remain inconspicuous to the staff of the hospital. Chloe laughed to herself, how stupid was Step douche to not notice his own uniform?
As time passed, making her way to the corridors it became more apparent that she should not be there with people staring at her longer than she was accustomed to. Murmurs around her grew, and Chloe's heart raced, the pitter patter beats becoming aches in her chest.
If she had been in the halls for another moment, she would have surely been caught. Turning from the door, she breathed. Right now, it was all she could do. Closing the door behind her taking a deep breath before fluttering her eyes open again.
There she was. Max.. lying unconscious, lifeless seconds later her heart beat went flat.