"Oh, I think that's it!" Max said, pointing through the truck window. She narrowed her eyes. "Or, that...was it." She turned to Chloe, who continued staring at the road but wore a smile as her tongue peeked through her teeth.
"Just want to get some last minute lovin'," she said, pulling over to the shoulder once they were a bit further up the road. "You know, before we have to pretend like I don't want your hands all over me all the time." She put the truck in park. Max nodded and pointed at her.
"That's good thinking, I don't want to go through withdrawal." She unbuckled her seat belt and crawled across the seat, rising up on her knees as she slung her arms around the blue haired girl's neck. "Maybe we could just high five a lot. That's kosher, right?"
"They're not...Jewish, are they?" Chloe asked with a smirk. Max chuckled in response before enveloping the girl in a slow, long kiss.
"You know," she said after pulling away, but staying close enough so they could still feel each others' breath, "I'm kind of surprised you're willing to do this. Act like we're not a thing? I expected more fight." The punk sighed, showing her discontentment.
"Ehh, I'm not really a big fan of it, no," she replied. "But it's a weird situation. I don't want to rock the boat for Kate anymore than we have to. If that means we have to play pretend for a few hours, then fine." She lightly tapped her forehead against Max's. "Plus, I'm not naive. I know there are people out there that still have some...fuckin' stupid beliefs." She smiled. "Pardon my French."
"Right, right," Max snickered, leaning back in. "Speaking of French..."
This is going to be...difficult. Why did Kate push for this so much?
After about ten minutes of foggy windows and uncomfortable contact with the steering wheel, the girls found themselves on the front step of the Marsh family home. Nervously (she'd be nervous regardless meeting the parents of someone so important to her,) Max rang the doorbell. They waited a moment until the sound of the lock on the door clicking could be heard, followed by a muted female voice announcing 'Kate, I think your friends are here!' The door opened up, revealing Kate's mother. Already, Max was having a difficult time correlating the frigid wording of the email to such a lovely looking woman. But it became just a little easier when the woman's forehead creased as she analyzed the two presumably questionable looking girls on her doorstep.
Weird hair color, check. Piercing, check. Bullets around our necks, check. The smell of cigarettes, check. It's going okay.
"So, you must be Max and Chloe," she greeted enthusiastically, rearranging the suspicion in her eyes back to warmth.
"I'm Max," the smaller girl said, offering a smile as she held out her hand. The woman took it loosely.
"And I'm the Chloe one," the punk added, rocking back on her heels.
"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Kate's mother said. "Kate has been going on and on about you two since she's been home!" She turned away from them and slipped to the side. "Please, come in." The girls entered the house and were struck immediately by the cloying scent of lavender, wafting off what seemed to be a structured plan of candles scattered through the home. It was a cozy atmosphere, with twitching light from candle flame reflecting off the polyurethaned wood paneling lining the walls.
"You have a lovely home," Max said, pulling at her bag so it switched from her back hip to her front.
"Thank you," Kate's mother replied, closing her eyes as she smiled. "I try to keep it tidy, anyway." She titled her head curiously as Max searched through her bag.
"Um," Max said, "I thought it would be rude to come over empty handed but I'm not exactly great at baking..." She pulled out a Ziploc bag filled with gingerbread men. "I thought these might suffice? They're kind of cute." She fought every impulse to turn to Chloe and blurt out 'am I doing okay?'
"Aw, how sweet of you!" The woman took the bag from her and held it up. "My youngest can't get enough of gingerbread people, she will love it." Max exhaled a small sigh of relief. Just then, Kate barreled down the stairs, releasing a shriek of joy when she saw her friends.
"Guys!" She ran at them, crashing into Max with an enormous hug. The brunette returned it, gripping the girl tightly in her arms. "Oh, I'm so happy you came!"
The smile worth freezing time for.
"Of course, Kate," Max replied, releasing her. She moved toward Chloe with her arms out, but the girl struck first, scooping her off the ground in a bear hug.
"I've missed you!" Chloe said, squeezing happily. Kate giggled and wrapped her arms around the taller girl. Max watched on with a grin as her heart began to pool in her stomach. She even caught a glance of Kate's mother smiling at the deep friendship on display. After she was set down, Kate turned to the woman.
"Mom, I'm going to show them my room, okay?" She took Max's hand in her right and Chloe's in her left as she began toward the stairs.
"Okay," her mom said with a laugh. "Your father will be home with your sisters soon. Enjoy the peace while you can!"
"Sorry it's a bit messy," Kate said, opening the door. Perhaps as one would expect, it was a fair reflection of her room at Blackwell, though the wall was a loud pink as opposed to the neutral tones used in the dormitories. There was spots here and there of barrenness, where something once was that was now in her room at school.
"This is your version of messy?" Chloe asked with a snirk as she looked around. "No empty bottles, no cigarette burns in the rug, no half empty bags of Doritos strewn about..." She held a hand out in explanation. "I don't know, this place is practically squeaking with cleanliness."
"Okay," Kate snickered, "for me it's messy." Max found herself looking over the room, admiring the simplistic innocence of it. Though as she continued to look, she felt a twinge of sadness. It was just so plain. The only things decorating the walls were a framed family photo and a poster with a biblical quote on it. It was like a neutered version of Kate's personality.
It looks like it's trying to be Kate's real room but...it just can't quite get there.
"Your madre seemed a bit surprised when she saw us," Chloe said, shaking Max out of her thoughts. She leaned against the door frame. Kate regarded her with an open mouthed smile, her lips tightened into a small 'O' shape.
"Did she?" She asked, giggling. "I guess I didn't mention how hella cool you guys look!" Chloe's head snapped in alert and she glanced around the room like she was searching for something.
"Can you say that here? Shit, Pumpkin, please don't let your parents find out I've been corrupting you. Although..." She danced a little cockily as she headed over to Kate's vanity and pulled out the chair, sitting on it backwards so she could rest her chin on the back. "I must say, you wear it very well."
"Thanks," Kate said, sitting down on her bed. She patted the space next to her for Max.
"So, how has your vacation been so far?" Max asked as she took a seat. "Nice to not have homework for a change, huh?"
"It is nice," Kate agreed with a nod, but then she shrugged. "I kind of miss all of the social interaction, to be honest. I liked how I lived in a building with a bunch of friends and I could see you guys whenever I wanted. Here, it's..." She scrunched her nose, "really boring!"
"I guess it is pretty different when you're surrounded by family instead of people your own age, huh?" Max took a moment to think about how she'd feel if she were suddenly spirited away to Seattle, cut off from the routine of tired, rowdy young adults she had grown used to. It did seem particularly jarring.
"It's nice to spend time with my sisters though," Kate added. "I miss them a lot when I'm at Blackwell. Lynn loves to tell me about what she learned in school and Abby is at that age where drama is becoming the norm, so I like being there for moral support."
"That's them, I take it?" Chloe asked, pointing at the family photo. "Cute. The little one's going to be a heartbreaker."
"Oh gosh, let's hope not," Kate laughed. She let out a small squeak of excitement and hopped off the bed, rushing over to the desk where she removed a present from under a pile. "I almost forgot I could give this to you finally," she said, turning back to Max and holding out the familiar flat shape. She grinned as Max took it from her, but the brunette was doing her best to fake a scowl.
"Uncool," she mumbled, then chuckled. "You really shouldn't have, Kate." The girl shrugged playfully.
"Since I was with Chloe when she got everything, I wanted to get you something too! At least as a thank you for being such a good friend." Toward the end of the sentence, her voice picked up that quiet, timidness that Max had identified as a 'Kate thing.' Max unwrapped the gift and gasped, but Kate spoke before she had the chance to. "I had no idea what to get you, so Chloe suggested this one. She said it was like the 'holy bible' of your style of music..."
"Which is appropriate," Chloe added with a smirk as she nodded at the religious poster. Kate rolled her eyes.
Uh, yesss. The Aeroplane Over the Sea is like, god-tier.
"When break is over, can I listen to it with you?" She asked.
"It's a date," Max replied, then wrapped the girl in a hug. "Thank you so much."
"You're so welcome!" Kate said, tightening the hug. From the floor below them, the sound of the door closing pierced the tranquility, followed by the loud ramblings of a young child. "Oh, I guess my dad and sisters are home. I should probably introduce you."
Kate led the two down the stairs, maintaining a jaunty bounce in her step. When she was near the bottom, she spoke up.
"Hi, Daddy! This is Max and Chloe!" She waited until she was off the steps to properly motion to each of the girls in correlation with their names. Kate's father was still by the door, sifting through that day's mail. He smiled as he set the mail down and approached them.
"It's so nice to finally meet you," he said, shaking each of their hands. He nodded with a hint of acknowledgment at Chloe, then at Max. "I like your hair! It's very expressive."
"Thank you!" Chloe beamed, then nudged Max with her elbow. "See that? We're expressive."
Not too much, though. Not right now, anyway.
"It's nice of you girls to come over for dinner," he said, turning away and walking back over to the mail pile. "I hope you like roast."
"It sounds delicious," Max said. "Thank you for having us over!" A brief movement caught her eye and she focused on the doorway into the living room where one small hand could be seen grasping the visible side, along with half of a small face peeking out.
"Lynn, do you want to meet my friends?" Kate asked, going toward the child. In response, the girl only recoiled further behind the door. She chuckled and turned back around. "She's shy."
"That's okay," Max laughed. "I can relate."
"Mom said dinner's ready," another girl said, hanging out from a doorway. Her eyes, shielded behind a pair of glasses, widened when she saw Max and Chloe.
"Abby, these are my friends Max and Chloe," Kate said, the the audible smile in her voice burning brighter.
Aw, she's so happy to show us off. Kate, you're too precious.
"Uh, hey," the girl drone, almost confused, then slowly retreated back into the room she was in.
"My sisters are so weird..." Kate pouted dramatically.
"Well, you heard her, girls," Mr. Marsh said. "Time to eat!"
"Now then, finally," Mrs. Marsh said as she set the final plate of food on the table. She took her spot at the end, opposite her husband. Max, Chloe and Kate sat on one side while Abigail and Lynn sat on the other. "I swear you always have to do it just a bit longer than recommended. I hope it's not dry..." She pulled the napkin onto her lap and gestured to Kate's father.
"Right," he said, nodding his head. "Max or Chloe, did you want to lead us in grace?" Somehow Max could not only feel her own heart stop, but the sudden stillness of her girlfriend's as well. Kate scoffed.
"Daddy, don't make them do it," she said, smiling a little. He chuckled back, holding his hands in defense before clearing his throat and beginning the prayer himself. Following Kate's lead, Max and Chloe both bowed their heads and clasped their hands.
Kate with the save. Somehow I don't think "good food, good meat, good God, let's eat!" would have gone over very well.
Once prayer was over, Kate's parents made it a point to allow Max and Chloe the first helping of the food.
"So, I take it you girls both go to Blackwell as well?" Mr. Marsh asked as he carefully shifted plates around. Max decided to speak first to give Chloe a chance to formulate a respectable way of saying she did not.
"Yes!" Max said. "I'm a photographer, so I came all the way back here from Seattle to take their course on it!" She could feel the tension kick up from the floor and wrap around them.
Shit. Shit. Not a good subject.
"She's amazing," Kate said with little hesitation, breaking the awkward air and allowing Max a sigh. "She'll be a very famous photographer one day, I know it."
"Oh yeah?" Her father asked, doing his best to file in with the lightened tone. "You know, I used to be a bit of a photographer myself..."
"Dad," Abigail protested, rolling her eyes. "Please don't. All of your pictures are those weird Polaroids anyway."
"Oh, actually, that's what I use," Max added. She noticed the girl's behavior switch a bit, as if embarrassed. "There's something about instant photography that I just can't get with digital cameras. Maybe I'm just pretentious." She chuckled after that. "If you um, had any of your photos still, I'd love to see them." The slight jolt in posture from Mr. Marsh told her that was a good move.
"I'd love to! I'll have to find my albums." He only just shifted his eyes so they were now focused on Chloe. "What about you, Chloe? You seem the artistic type yourself."
Please tell me you thought of something to say...
"I like art, yeah," she said. "I'm into science, too." She scrunched her nose a bit. "I was kind of...expelled from Blackwell." Everyone at the table looked at her with varying degrees of shock, leaving Max the only one to simply look straight ahead and mutter inside her head 'oh, dammit.'
"You were expelled?" Kate's mother asked, lowering the glass of wine from her lips.
"Yes," Chloe said with a bit of conviction. "The truth is, I had kind of a hard time after my father passed away, so I was acting out a bit. I had pretty good grades before then, though!" She smiled brightly and turned to Kate, plopping a hand on her shoulder. "I've been doing a lot better lately though, and Kate here has been a huge help." The little blonde blushed a bit.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Mrs. Marsh said, offering a sympathetic pout. "The loss of a parent, I can't even imagine someone so young having to deal with it." Chloe nodded graciously.
"Thank you. It was hard, but like I said, I'm getting much better. I'll get my GED soon and go to college, but I'm not sure what I want to do yet." Max felt a light tap against her leg, which she could immediately recognize as 'well that wasn't so bad!'
Look at you with your honesty, Chlo. Bold move but it seems to be appreciated.
"You'll figure it out," Kate's father said. "I didn't know what I wanted to do until later on in life. One day, you'll just know what God put you here for."
For meeeee. Ugh, keeping these cheesy jokes inside gives me agita.
"Thanks, I really appreciate that," Chloe replied.
The meal continued, with the interrogation portion of it winding down into more banal small talk. Kate seemed to be the most chatty and she did her best to include her friends wherever possible in the conversation. Once dinner had concluded, Mr. Marsh and Lynn escaped upstairs to work on a science project and Kate was deemed the sacrifice to help her mother with dishes and tidying up the kitchen.
Max, Chloe and Abigail sat in the living room all together on the couch as the typical prime time game show poured from the television. They sat in silence, but it wasn't necessarily unpleasant as Max found a bit of joy in watching Abigail try her best to be 'cool.' It was a behavior Max had gone through, presumably the same as most teenagers. Anytime she or Chloe would shift their stance or position, the young girl would try to subtly mimic their movements. Chloe was aware of this as well, as she kept shooting side glances to Max.
I can't believe she thinks WE'RE cool. Okay, enough suffering for this poor girl.
"So, Abigail," Max finally said, swinging her hips to the side on the couch so she could clearly see her.
"You can call me Abby," the girl responded quickly, almost desperately.
"Abby," Max chuckled with a nod. "What grade are you in?"
"Eighth..." She frowned for a moment. "I'm almost in high school," she made sure to tack on.
"Eighth grade!" Chloe slumped back into the couch a bit. "That feels like so long ago, man!" She sighed. "All I can remember from then is..." She rolled her eyes, insinuating a 'you know.' "Oh, that and if I recall correctly, a lot of awkward photos of us thinking we were way cooler than we were." She snorted. "Fuck, not everything changes, huh?" Max knew she must have stared daggers with the way Chloe winced "Crap, sorry," she said, turning toward Abigail.
Your big, beautiful mouth. Dammit, Chloe, we're trying to maintain an image!
"No, no! It's okay!" Abigail swore, pushing her palms out as if bracing for impact. "It's okay! I curse too." She whipped around and stared at the doorway to the kitchen for just a second before turning back to the girls. "Yeah, like..." the volume of her voice dipped, "shit."
"Nice," Chloe hissed proudly, holding out her fist. The girl hesitated, then bumped it.
Uh oh.
"Do not encourage her," Max scolded as she rolled her eyes, though the smile betrayed her. "Abby, do you have any hobbies?"
"I like fashion," she responded. "I like to draw too but...I'm not as good as Kate."
"You are way too young to be beating yourself up over artistic comparisons," Max laughed. "Trust me, there's plenty of time for that later. You and Kate probably have completely different styles, anyway. That's just as important!" Abigail stuck her legs out straight and ran her hands over the fabric of her pants.
"I guess so," she mumbled. Then she turned to them with an eyebrow quirked. "Are you guys friends with Victoria?"
"Friends is maybe not the right..." Chloe snickered, but Max cut her off.
"Yes, we're friends with her," she said, smacking Chloe on the shoulder. "Why do you ask?"
"She seems really different from you two," Abigail said. "Then again, I guess you're all pretty different from my sister, too..."
"That's the funny thing about friends as you get older," Max said. "You kind of just fall into them, regardless of anything else." The young girl seemed to think it over.
"I have this best friend now, her name is Cassie. We kind of got into a fight though..." She sighed and put her face in her hands. "Over Aaron Green. We both like him..." Chloe smiled and nodded.
"Trust me, you two will patch it up. Boys are dumb," she said. Abigail turned her head in her hands so she could see the punk.
"You don't have a boyfriend?" She asked. When Chloe shook her head, wearing the most nervous yet amused smile, she then turned her attention to Max. "You do though, right?"
Well, this is complicated.
"Nope," Max said back, shrugging her shoulders. "I have my hands full with other stuff..." She let it linger, then was sure to add, "like school and friends, you know. No time for those pesky boys." She felt herself stifle a sympathetic chuckle at the poor girl. "I agree with Chloe, I'm sure you guys will make peace." Now she did allow herself to laugh out loud. "I'm older, so I know better."
"You sound like my dad," Abigail gave a look of feigned disgust, but smiled. "Um, do you think..." She picked up her phone and fiddled with it, "I could add you on Facebook or something if I need advice? You seem like you know what you're talking about and...I love my sister, but I think there's some stuff she's not too helpful with." The uncertainty in her tone struck of a note of familiarity with Max, as if she was already preparing to be shot down. Then she smiled awkwardly. "I have two accounts, one with a fake name so my parents won't know!"
That seems kind of sad.
"Of course," she said, giving a smile. "My last name is Caulfield." Abigail began typing on her phone and Max watched as Chloe's eyes grew wide.
"Wait," she said, her voice loud and panicked as she reached toward the girl's phone. Instinctively, Kate's sister jerked away and looked at Chloe with confusion. It was as her eyes aimed back toward the phone and the reflection of an image took root in Abigail's glasses that she understood the problem.
Oh shit, oh shit.
"What?" Abigail asked quietly, more confused than anything. She stared at her phone a moment longer, then turned it to the girls, showing off the image of Max's profile picture – a photo of her and Chloe kissing she had taken a few days ago. "Why are you kissing?"
"Abby," Max said quietly, her posture seizing still. Chloe clamped her eyes shut and pressed her palm against her face. Abigail looked between them, then back at the photo. The lack of immediate explanation allowed the girl's mind all the time it needed to come to the proper conclusion.
"You're dating each other?" She asked in a loud, hushed tone. "That's why you don't have boyfriends!"
"Abby," Max repeated, still trying to pull together a calm way to handle the situation. The girl tapped on her phone.
"In a relationship with Chloe Price," she read, her voice loud as if the volume would soothe her confusion. She looked back up, her face contorting more and more into the realm of incomprehension. "You're lesbians?"
"What?" A voice asked from behind them, causing all three to turn in a frenzy. Kate's mother stood by the doorway to the kitchen with a plate of cookies in her hands. Her face only registered a look of pure disgust. "What did you just say?"
Oh fuck. This is the worst timing.
"Mom," Abigail began, holding up her hands. "We were just kidding around. They're not..." Her voice trailed off. Max's heart thumped in her chest faster and harder. Chloe was still as a statue, her eyes as wide as they could get. There was something about seeing her, frozen and vulnerable that snapped at Max's heart. Because she knew Chloe. She knew that the girl was putting one hundred percent of her focus and concentration into remaining as docile as possible. She knew Chloe wanted to argue, wanted to be proud. And that Max had managed to put her into a position where she couldn't be only set her own mind on fire.
"Yes, Mrs. Marsh," Max said.
Don't. Don't. Just let it...
"Chloe and I are a couple. We love each other and..."
"Love?" Mrs. Marsh scoffed, her eyes blackening under the weight of the scripture. "You can't love each other. It's a..."
"What? A sin?" Max shot back, the temperance in her tone ebbing away.
"It's an abomination. It isn't right," the woman said back, her words cold and stinging. Max sprung up from the couch.
Abomination?! How dare she say this isn't right after everything we did to be together! That's just evil. That's...that's...
"That's SUCH bullshit!" Max shouted. "Who are you to tell me who I can and can't love?!"
"You will not raise your voice to me in my own home," Kate's mother said with an ugly evenness in her voice. Unbeknownst to her, Kate had returned from taking the trash out and was behind her.
Dammit! No, no, no...
"What's...going on?" She asked.
"Secret's out," Chloe said quietly, making eye contact with the floor. Her mother's eyes twitched with anger as she spun around toward the girl.
"You knew about this!?" She shrieked, jerking the plate around and sending the cookies to the floor. The monstrous fire inside of Max dampened just a bit as she could read a look of collapse in Kate's expression. But instead of backing down...
"Of course I knew!" She shouted back, holding her arms out angrily. "They're my best friends!"
"And you invited them into our home!?" Her mother's face grew red.
"They're. My. Best. Friends." Kate replied, this time with a seething slowness.
"Well, I guess this explains why you've been acting so differently lately," her mother said flippantly. She attempted to step by Kate, but the girl moved in front of her.
"What? Do you mean happy?!" She growled as her fists bundled tightly together. "Why do you act like all I'm supposed to do is be quiet and mope around all the time!? Something must be wrong if I'm actually enjoying myself!" Her father descended the stairs and Max could see Lynn near the top of the steps, peering through the banister with fear.
"What in the world is going-" He started to ask, but was cut off.
"Do not speak to me that way, I am your mother," Mrs. Marsh said, pointing at Kate with enough intention that it seemed a bullet might actually escape her fingertip. She turned toward Kate's father. "Richard, I just learned that your daughter's friends are in a romantic relationship with each other. And Kate knew." Her father stopped, his brows knitting together as he cast his gaze over the girls.
"They're my friends!" Kate repeated, this time screaming. She looked at her father, shaking her head at his clear uneasiness at the sight of Max and Chloe. "What is wrong with you guys!?" Max felt a tap on her arm and she turned to see Chloe, the punk mouthing 'should we leave?' Max only shrugged at her. Chloe nodded and stood up from the couch, catching Max by the arm as she headed for the door. "Please don't leave!" Kate called after them.
"Kate, it's okay," Chloe assured. "You didn't do anything wrong. We love you. But we should probably head out..." The blue haired girl was clearly struggling to aim her words at Kate and ignore the veil of judgment being cast over her.
"I think that'd be best," Kate's mother said. "Before you have a chance to influence my other two children." That struck Chloe hard as she looked over at Abigail. It was rare for Max to see her so tangled up and defeated. Kate rushed passed her mother and toward the girls.
"Influence?!" She yelled, turning back around. "You want to know what their influence is!?" She gripped her hair as rage induced tears rolled down her cheeks. "I was actually thinking about killing myself! They saved me!" As the words passed her lips, it was as if every candle in the house was blown out at once, sucking any and all warmth and light away. Her father had a visible reaction of horror, clapping his hand over his mouth. Kate began to laugh, though it was a bitter sound. "I was so depressed! I hated getting out of bed! I couldn't help it, I just started...thinking about it." Her father let go of a sob, along with a fractured 'Katie.' But her mother just...kept staring. Her eyes cold and devoid of all empathy.
"You didn't have to resort to this," she said, flitting a hand at the girls. Kate's father turned to her, unbelieving of his ears. Kate, however, lost the rigidity of her posture. Her frame slumped. Not only had she admitted that she thought of taking her own life, but her mother disregarded it entirely in favor of another jab at her friends. All of her fight, torn to shreds with one single sentence.
"You..." Her head only just barely shifted side to side. "You have this much hate in your heart because they love each other?" The query was posed delicately, but Max could see the girl was ready for the answer to tear through her. With what seemed to be a mindless action, Kate reached up and grasped the silver cross hanging around her neck. "You'd never accept this, would you?" She asked, though the question seemed more like an answer for something she had been wondering for a while. She stared at her mother, who offered nothing more than a glare back. Kate nodded in defeat and turned around to Max and Chloe. "Is it okay if I come with you guys? I can stay in my room."
"Of course, Kate," Max said, her voice uneasy. The blonde moseyed over to a small table where her purse sat and picked it up, slinging it over her shoulder. She motioned to the door, giving Max the okay to open it.
"Where do you think you're going?" Her mother asked.
"I'm going to go be with the people who actually care that I'm alive," Kate responded despondently, not even turning around as she followed Chloe out the door.
Not much was said on the ride back to Blackwell, but that didn't mean it was quiet. For the entirety of the trip, Max cradled Kate against her chest as the girl repeatedly sobbed, shouted and apologized. She exchanged worried looks with Chloe on multiple occasions, but otherwise didn't utter a word. The crying had quieted as they arrived at the school, though Kate was still trembling as they walked to Max's dorm.
"I'm just so, so sorry," she said, plopping on the floor next to Alice's cage. "I should have never put you in a position to keep it a secret. I'm sorry. I thought once they knew how great you guys were..." Chloe sighed and went over the girl, sitting down across from her.
She didn't think it'd matter. She thought she could change their minds...
"Kate, it's alright. It's not your fault." She tilted her head up at the ceiling, trying to loosen more words from her skull. "Some people are just weird, I don't know..."
"I swear to God I'm not like them," Kate said, flustered. "I swear."
"We know," Max assured, sitting down on her bed. Kate unlatched the cage and scooped Alice into her lap. "Of course you're not like them."
"I'm not. I'm not," she repeated, her voice slipping further away as she stroked the bunny. "You guys are amazing, there's nothing wrong with you."
"Hey, come on," Chloe said, trying to seem chipper. "It's alright. Look," she gestured to Max's bag, making eye contact with the brunette, "we'll put on the album you got her so you can see how it sounds, okay?" Kate bundled her shoulders tighter but nodded.
"I don't know what happened... Everything fell apart so fast..." She snarled in annoyance as she tore her phone out of her jacket pocket, the screen lit up from an incoming call from her father. She scowled and tossed it away from her. As Max stepped away from the player, allowing the music to start, Kate closed her eyes. She worked her bottom lip between her teeth, then held her hand out. "Sorry, can you hand me my phone?"
"You going to answer?" Chloe asked, retrieving it and giving it back to her.
"No," she said coldly, and that may have been the first time Max saw any of the girl's mother in her. "Just texting someone else." Max stood by the desk, looking down over the other two girls, when her own phone vibrated. She took it out to see she had a message on Facebook from Abigail.
Abigail Marsh: Is my sister okay? I'm so worried!
Max sighed to herself and retreated over to her bed, sinking down onto the mattress as she typed back.
Max Caulfield: She's pretty upset, but we're taking care of her. Are you and Lynn okay?
Abigail Marsh: Idk I feel so bad! I didn't mean to be so loud! Mom and dad are fighting
Shit.
Max Caulfield: Don't feel bad, it's nobody's fault. Just a shitstorm.
Abigail Marsh: Why isn't she answering her phone?
Max Caulfield: I think she just needs a little space away from your parents. Let your dad know she's safe with us. I'll try to get her to call him in the morning, okay?
Abigail Marsh: Ok. Thank you for being such good friends to her. I still think you're really cool.
Max Caulfield: Ditto, Abby. Good night.
"Uh, well..." Max said, completely unsure of her tone, "impromptu sleepover is kind of fun, right?" Both girls looked up at her slowly, though Kate did crack a small smile.
"I can just sleep in my room," she said. "I don't want to impose. I think I've already orchestrated enough chaos for you two today." She scowled when the words 'I love you, Jesus Christ...' flowed out of the record player. "Are you serious?" There was a chuckle of disbelief.
"Impose?" Chloe asked, placing a hand on her chest in feigned shock. "Kate, for any chaos you may have orchestrated, you have to remember that you're looking at the fucking conductor of the year." She pointed her thumbs at herself. "We're not going to make you spend the night all alone."
"Thank you," she whispered, closing her eyes once more as she rested her back against the cage. "My head feels like it's going to burst. I just want to scream from the rooftops." Chloe's mouth opened slowly as she turned to Max, that 'okay but what if' eyebrow raised. Before Max could even begin to protest, the punk was back toward Kate.
"Okay," she said, standing up and pulling the blonde to her feet.
I do not like this.
Max brought up the rear, with Kate in the middle as Chloe jingled the doorknob to the roof. To the brunette's dismay, it opened. She walked behind Kate, keeping herself lined up with the girl as her breathing quickened in nervousness.
"It's just open like that?" Kate asked as she stepped out onto the roof. "You'd think they'd lock it."
Yeah, you'd think.
Though some of it had melted, a fair portion of snow remained on the roof, crunching under their feet as they moved further out. The sky above them was clear, showing off its array of stars with warranted pride. Kate stared up, jaw slacked open.
"I've never been up here," she said quietly, but something in her voice sounded like she was reassuring herself. She looked at Chloe. "It's so pretty, you can see the whole campus."
"Yeah..." Max said nervously, taking a side step to be closer to the girl. Chloe cleared her throat.
"You were saying about screaming?" She asked, gesturing out into the night air. The blonde recoiled a bit.
"I didn't think you'd tell me to do it. I don't really have anything to say and...I'm not the screaming from the rooftops kind of girl, anyway." Kate's head drooped a little as she sighed. "But I appreciate you taking me up here."
"It's not so hard," Chloe said and stepped away. She hunched down with her hands on her knees and took in a big breath. "This is just a demonstration!" She shouted into the the night. "I don't actually have anything to say but I want to show my friend how to do it!" She turned back around and smiled. "See?" Without realizing, Max hand wound her fingers around Kate's forearm, only noticing when the girl moved away from her and broke contact.
"Okay," Kate said, her voice small but excited. She stood next to Chloe and cleared her throat. "Hello!" She yelled, then burst into laughter. Chloe turned to her and placed her hands on her hips.
"Kate, really?" She gave Max an unimpressed look as the brunette joined them closer to the edge.
"Sorry, I said I wasn't going to be good at it!" Kate wheezed, pulling her jacket around her tighter. She stopped laughing abruptly and stared out. The sudden shift drew worry from Max. "Have you ever..." She nibbled on her bottom lip. "Have you ever thought about how when you're up some place high like this, you could just...jump? Almost like it's a magnet?" Her head slumped once again as Max wasted no time wrapping her arms around her, even if it was partly for her own comfort.
You're staying right here.
"The call of the void," Chloe whispered before also throwing an arm around the blonde. "It happens to everyone. It's like a French thing, l'appel du vide or some shit. I used to get it a lot..." She closed her eyes with a wince when she could feel Kate trembling.
"I never told you guys," she said, with clear evidence of crying in her voice. "I actually thought about it. I didn't want to have those thoughts, but they were just there..." Reliving a slanted version of her memory of being on the roof with Kate sent shivers through Max's skin, pulling it to goosebumps. She clung tighter.
Even then, at your worst, you didn't do it Kate. You stayed strong the whole time.
"But we're here now," Max whispered. "Let the void's call go to voicemail, okay?" Kate snorted in a laugh of acknowledgment.
"You guys saved me," she said, now unfolding her arms to pull the girls closer to her. "I'm so blessed to have you two." She let herself smile. "And everyone else now, too..."
"Like Victoria," Chloe said, and it felt too right for Max to even summon 'how dare you' eyes.
"Like Victoria," Kate agreed. Her hand found its way to the cross again as her fingers lightly ran along its edges. She huffed and angled her head upward as she screamed, "I am so sleepy!" She began to laugh, letting a bit of her weight rest evenly divided between Max and Chloe. The punk chuckled too.
"Sorry, she's new at this!" Chloe shouted, causing the three of them to laugh harder. But when the night answered back, their laughter ceased.
"Chloe!?" A voice called, lobbing itself from the ground onto the roof. Cautiously, the blue haired girl crept toward the edge and, placing her palms on the side, peeked over. She bared her teeth as she cringed, glancing back over her shoulder at the other two girls.
"Uhh..." She began, looking back over the edge, "hey, David. Nice night, eh?"
A/N: Happy 40 chapters! Er, maybe not 'happy' in this case, but you know...
I guess a little behind the scenes talk - I've done my best to sidestep the idea of people having problems with same sex relationships throughout this story. It's not even something I'd really particularly like to acknowledge as a thought process. But when it comes to Kate and her family, it would just be...bad storytelling for me to brush it off, especially considering how much she likes that new necklace of hers.
It's kind of hard to believe we're just a little over two weeks away from it being a whole year since I started Ouroboros. That's nuts! Some of you have been with me for a YEAR! I only hope you've all enjoyed your time reading and will hopefully stick around for all the stuff we have left. Which reminds me, last chapter when I told you guys about those Ouroboros Twitter accounts, I forgot to mention mine. It's TomorrowHeart (shock) please do feel free to say hi or tell me I suck!
Thank you all so much for continuing to read. You're the best. I'll see you guys for the next chapter! Xoxoxoxox