Chloe looked around the room for the red button, pushing it frantically just before running into the hallway hyperventilating. "Help! I need help over here, we need a doctor!" Just seconds later, she tracked down a nurse and directed her to the room Max was in. There was no point in hiding now. She took her cap off and tossed it to the side, pushing her hair back as the sweat trickled down her temple. "Look, you got to do something. She's not breathing! Don't just fucking stand there." She snapped at the frightened nurse, probably new at this job but Chloe didn't care. Just then, she felt hands around her arms. It was Dr. Torres, one of the doctors on call that night.
"Ma'am I'm going to ask you to step out of the room so I can get to work." Her voice was urgent squeezing past Chloe to the defibrillators. "Push to 110." The doctor commanded. The staff surrounded Max's bed. That was the last thing she saw before being shooed out of the room when both Ryan and Vanessa came bolting down the hallway. "Chloe what's wrong? What happened with you? We went looking-" Ryan was interrupted with urgent stiff voices coming from Max's room. "What happened with Max?" His eyebrows furrowed looking from Vanessa to Chloe.
Chloe looked to the ground and then back up. "I don't know. I came up to see Max. I wanted to see how she was doing." Chloe wrung the beanie in her hands. "There must be something I can do. Now look at what has happened, Why didn't she tell me she was coming back to Blackwell?" Her lip was trembling as she sunk her teeth at the corner of her mouth. "Why didn't you guys?" Her guilt was replaced with reproach and remorse "I thought you said... I meant something to you both."
Vanessa slowly approached Chloe, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Chloe honey, that wasn't our call to make. Max.. well she." She paused taking a deep breath before searching inside her purse, taking a stack of letters tightly wrapped around a extra large rubber band. "Max might not have sent these for only reasons that she will understand, but she wanted to." She handed the letters to Chloe, addressed to the girl herself. Chloe let her beanie hit the floor before taking the letters in her hand. "Max wrote these?" She was dumbfounded. Hugging the stack to her chest, her lips started quivering and her eyes began to water.
Mrs. Caulfield nodded. "Yes, she wrote them. She didn't send them because she was scared. She was scared that the both of you would get attached just like you were when you were that you were miles away from each other was not ideal." There was something Vanessa wasn't exactly telling Chloe. "I don't think she knew what she was saying, but she felt very passionate about writing you, being there for you. We know she wanted you to be there for her too."
Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly the door opened to Max's room, the gush of wind sending her chills all across her arms. The nurses and the doctors were on the move, racing down the hallway as they wheeled Max along to the elevator back to the OR. Chloe wanted to ask where they were taking her but it made no difference. They were already gone by the time the Chloe reached for the elevator door. Chloe clenched her jaw and hugged the letters even tighter this time, walking back to her truck. She rushed back down the flight of stairs until she crashed into the doctor from before, scattering her letters all over the stairs. "Shit man, sorry." She began to pick up her letters feverishly, Dr. Torres helping her. She recognized her as the girl from earlier with Max and then again the waiting room.
"Here, I'm sorry about that." She, too, was being as understanding as possible. Before giving the letters to Chloe, she read what was written on them from Max Caulfield. Chloe took them graciously, nervously looking at the doctor who was the one going through the hell of saving her best friend. "Thanks, I have to go." Chloe's voice cracking as her words fumbled out "Please save her," she managed. "She's all I have. And I am not ready to lose her, not like this." The sheer desperation oozing out of Chloe and absorbed into Dr. Torres.
Later that day, Chloe drove by the junkyard , her own secluded area where she had shared memories with the most important people in her life. Making her way to her to her fortress, keys in hand as she hugged the stack of papers in the other. This was it, the moment of discovering what 13 year old Max thought, why she wanted to move far away from her best friend so bad. Chloe sighed sliding into the chair by her homemade table, placing a stack of letters rummaging to find the first one, five years ago.
Dear Chloe,
I know I said I would call but it's been crazy here, seattle is so big and very loud, now I don't just mean the noise but I mean the artists out here are so bold, I kinda like it. I didn't want to leave after what happened to your dad. I'm so so sorry Chloe. If I could, I would catch a bus to you. I've been plotting ways to run could live in my old tree house so your mom doesn't catch us (: . It hasn't even been a week and I miss you. Okay I know you don't do mushy stuff but this is for real, that's not weird right? You miss me too; I am your best friend after all, captain. I also miss your mom's cooking too (p.s. Don't tell my mom that, I think she was jealous that I hardly ever touched her food.) I don't think you'll believe me, but I made it my secret mission to convince my parents to do something amazing. What if I told you I begged my parent to stay with you, I know I'm pretty chicken shit but I legit asked my parents. You'll take a wild guess and know that my masterful plan flopped. You were always the evil genius/ captain (evil captain, should I just call you a pirate?) Plan B, if I saved enough money maybe you could come stay with me in Seattle for a while, like during the summer or something. Be extra good Chloe Elizabeth Price, we want Joyce to say yes and I'm counting on you!
xoxo your first mate
"Well shit." Chloe sighed running her thumb along the edges of the already crinkled paper. "I always knew she was chicken shit but this tops it off." She smiled grabbing her jacket from where she placed it on the chair next to her. Nothing else came to mind except getting back to Max, whatever was going on with Max hopefully someone had news about her.
Chloe stuffed the letter in her pocket and proceeded to hide the remaining letters in a hidden board. Getting back up on her feet she dusted off her pants and snatched her keys from the table, setting off in a jog to her beaten up truck. Chloe stayed at the wheel giggling which turned into an outburst contagious laugh, not very long after her laugh died down and tears ran down her face. All of this excitement, all the horror that she had to discover and face on her own was so vivid in her mind, Chloe didn't know how to deal with any of it. After a few minutes had passed she looked in the rear view mirror wiping her eyes and teasing her hair a bit before she calmed enough to drive.
Back at the hospital Chloe had settled in sitting with her head on Max's bed, the girl was still limp and had not woken up since going back to the OR. Chloe didn't want to think about the possibility, she wouldn't accept this fate not for herself and definitely not for Max. Chloe reach for Max's hand, running her thumb over her knuckles "Max please you have to wake up from this." Chloe whispered "Please I can't do this with you, without Rachel or my dad. You're the only good thing left in my life." Defeated Chloe buried her head into a soft pillow silently crying, tiring herself out of exhaustion.
What was a little more than an hour later the anesthesia started wearing off and a very woozy Max started waking up from her slumber, noticing a blue haired person sleeping at the edge of the bed. Max tried to lean up on her elbows with no prevail, her right shoulder felt as if it was made out of glass. Chloe woke up from the shriek that came from Max, joy followed by worry inhibited Chloe to sit.
Max surprised had to double take "Chloe?" she wanted to get up and reach for her but her arm gave out and seconds later she was screaming in pain.
"Max! What's wrong tell me what to do." Her face went pale white, her heart was sinking she couldn't think at all.
"C-Chloe.. I-I can't feel my hand.. " she cried out trying to move, her shoulder was in excruciating pain " I can't feel any of arm.. help me Chloe " She whispered.