Pros ta Empros

Chapter I: Through the Blizzard

Max knew she could never live without Chloe. But she didn't know if Chloe could ever live with her. How will Max learn to live with the consequences of her choices, can the two girls learn to live in this new world, and will they sort through their baggage to truly understand each other?

This story will follow the cannon of Life Is Strange Season 1 closely, while using some trivia from Lis: BtS and LiS2. This story is a post-sab story set immediately after the events of Episode 5, so don't read this if you somehow got here without knowing the ending of the game.

The scene before us is terrible. There's chaos. The destruction of Arcadia Bay is unfolding right in front of us, and we're standing here just watching. How could we do anything else? There's nothing left to do but stand there, and wait. There were no shocked expressions left to make, no tears left to shed, no words left to speak. So we stayed where we were. It's terrible. My home, most of my life, and the entire lives of so many people are being torn apart. The only sounds are thunder, lightning, rain, and wind. I'm just... staring. After several minutes, I feel my legs start to give out, and I collapse onto my knees. Chloe tries to hold me up, but she ends up falling too, holding me in her arms. It's at this moment that I finally broke my stare, turning into Chloe's shoulder and burrowing my face. But again, no tears came.

What is wrong with me? Why can't I move? Why can't I do anything?

I think Chloe is trying to decide what to do next, or where to go, but no one could have possibly been prepared for the level of destruction in front of us. She tries to pick me up now, and I want to help but I just can't bring myself to move. That doesn't stop her from trying, though. I mean, I had to assume she recently carried me up this cliffside from the beach, seeing as I blacked out for most of it. So she kept pulling, and up I went.

After an uncomfortable silence, Chloe opens her mouth. "We can't stand in this rain, Max. I know the truck is still down near the beach, and it's probably safe from the storm, but it still wouldn't be a good idea for us to go down there. But we're going to get sick if we stay out here. Let's just… head inside the lighthouse?"

I try to say something, but no words come out. Instead, I look up at the lighthouse instead. The roof is still there. Wasn't that supposed to have been taken off by now? I shook my head, it doesn't matter. Chloe is right. We need shelter.

"No? Max, we can't stay out here. Come on, please," Chloe is practically begging, now.

"Not… you." I force out with a whisper. I turn towards the lighthouse entrance and start walking. I guess even if the roof did blow off, the staircase could provide some protection from the rain. We walk - or more accurately, stumble - towards the tower. Chloe pulls the door open, seemingly struggling to fight the wind, and ushers me to hurry inside. So I do. Immediately, I go to sit under the staircase on my left.

The door closes, and the sounds of the storm get a little quieter. I can tell that Chloe hasn't started walking because there are no footsteps. I can almost hear her judging me. Is she mad at me? Does she regret me picking her? I sure hope not. I can't lose her now. I can't believe that this is all happening. I spent so much time trying to save everyone, and now… they're all going to die. Either way, the silence doesn't last long. She walks over and sits next to me. She puts her arm across my back, and I can feel a little warmth return to me. I like that she sat so close, maybe her stall was out of pity instead of guilt? Either way, I'm enjoying the comfort, and I lean into her shoulder. We're both soaked, and we're shivering, but it doesn't matter. It's barely a problem.

For a while, nothing happens. So I'm left to think. Did I really make the right choice? Chloe is my best friend, after all. No one knows when it actually started. Yeah, I screwed up the last five years, but things were different now. After all, this all started with Chloe. Saving her had to be the right choice, why else would I have gotten these powers? Still, there is blood on my hands now. That… other me from my nightmares? She's right. I screwed up. I tried to save everyone and it cost me.

I start to lose it, because Chloe interrupts my thoughts by saying, "Hey, Max. I know it sucks just… try to breathe, okay?" I want to take comfort in those words, but I can't. With everything going on outside, she's masking her pain and is only concerned with me. Guilt surges through me. I'm a monster, I don't deserve this girl's sympathy.

Still, I owe her a response. I take in a deep breath, and try and form words, but the only thing that comes out is a pathetic, "Chloe…."

"I'm here, Max. Always here," she responds, rubbing her hand across my back. I want to ask what she's thinking and be there for her, but I can't. So I kept my head on her shoulder, unable to even cry.

I keep thinking that she's going to hate me for this. She's never going to be okay. I killed her family and ruined her life, all for… what? This feeling I get when I see her? Was it really worth hundreds of lives?

"Max, we're gonna… we're gonna get through this. We'll head into town as soon as the storm clears, there's no way everyone's gone. There's no way…``she trails off, seemingly running out of encouraging words. I know Chloe too well, she won't get through this without breaking down. And then right on cue, as if to spite me, she starts sobbing. I try to sit up, to comfort her, but all I do is move my hand to her thigh. She takes it with her free hand.

"Max, please, say something. I… I need to know you're there. Please." She continues, still crying in the process. It broke my heart. Or… shattered the pieces.

"Chloe… I'm so, so sorry." I whisper. And I am. I know that because I refused to listen to her, and instead tore up that photo, that we would now be stuck in this lighthouse for an unpredictable amount of hours. I can feel my anxiety worsening, I can just tell that the next day is going to be terrible. The silence drags on. Neither of us say anything for several minutes. The only way we acknowledge anything is periodically squeezing each others hands. It would be nice, if not for the context. It's a subtle reminder that at least one thing worked out as planned. It doesn't last too long though. Chloe pulls her hand from mine, and her arm from my back, forcing me to sit up.

"Listen, um, no good is going to come from the two of us just sitting here. We're still wet as fuck. So um… gimme your hoodie?" She holds her hand out, and to be honest, I'm confused. Still, I comply and hand her my hoodie. She walks over to the railing of the stairs, laying the jackets across the railing of the staircase. She pauses for a moment, then turns back around and sits down again. I don't know why, but she puts a little distance between us, and I can't help but feel hurt. Maybe she really is pissed at me.

Instead, she just pats her leg. "We should try and get some rest, despite all the noise. I know sleep is probably the last thing on our minds, but we're going to have a very, very large amount of shit to do tomorrow. Please, try and lay down?"

I'm… surprised. She seems to be handling this all relatively okay, despite the sobbing earlier. Or, more likely, she's forcing herself to pretend. For me. And I hate that. She's doing everything she can to make it better for me, as if I'm the one who needs protecting. I feel very confused, I don't really understand how I should be reacting. But her puppy dog eyes just eat through me even more. I lay down, resting my head on Chloe's lap. It's still damp, but there's nothing we can do about that right now. Chloe laid back against the wall, and I start staring off at the underside of the staircase. I don't think I'm going to be able to really sleep tonight. I guess I was only laying down to… appease Chloe? Give her some rest? Try and keep her from pushing me away? I try to piece together my emotions, but I feel more numb than anything else. I should feel something. After all, I just signed the death warrant for who knows how many people. Including Joyce… Chloe really won't be happy with me when she finds out I already know how she is.

I should have told her by now, I just didn't get the chance. No, that's not true, there was actually no time for any of the words we spoke. I'm just scared. Not that she'd believe me at first. She'd go into denial, demand we check it out, and then just… give up. That's when she'll walk away. How do you stay with the girl who knowingly killed your parents? If she really knew everything I've seen, she certainly wouldn't want to be with me anymore. And then, just like that, saving her would be worthless.

Not worthless. Bad Max. She still deserves to be happy. Even if it is without me. Even if I lose her again. Is that why I did it? Because I feel like I owe her a second chance? Or did I do it just because of this… idea that I have. I know I'm probably treading the same ground again, but still, I can't figure it out. I'm so lost in thought by now that I didn't realize Chloe had started running her fingers through my hair, dealing with the matted, rain-soaked mess. This simple action just kind of makes everything feel… a little better. I guess I'm not broken yet. I know I'm scared, and if Chloe and I made it out of here we'd need therapy for years, but how do we even talk about this? We'd say one word about time travel and end up in a mental hospital. I guess we'd have to take it a day at a time. We'd keep going, keep pushing back against life itself. We beat fate once, we can do it again. At that, I know my thoughts are getting more sluggish. Exhaustion has certainly peaked. When was the last time I slept? Did I have the body of 'photo jumping me' or 'lost to time' me? Shit, maybe that other Max really was left behind… Nevermind, I can't afford to think about the nightmare right now. I couldn't even judge based on hunger, because I've felt nauseous ever since I was in San Francisco. I guess I'll add it to the list of things to do tomorrow, figure out who the hell I am. Along with… Joyce… I really hope I will fall asleep soon.

When I open my eyes, it's quiet. I'm still cold. Shifting my weight, I saw Chloe staring down at me. She looks oddly content, for everything that had happened. I try piecing together my thoughts, but the only thing that comes is that there were no nightmares. Weird, any other time I would have woken up in a cold sweat. I'd feel relieved, but I'm honestly scared that they would just be back with a vengeance tonight. But I'll… worry about that later. For now, I had something a lot more important to do. I sit up quickly, surprising Chloe.

"Shit, Max, what's wrong?" She gasps, clearly concerned. "Was it a nightmare?"

"No, no nightmares," I respond quietly, clearly not having my voice back. I clear my throat and look back at Chloe. She looks… terrible. Between the dark eye bags, disheveled hair, and unkempt clothes, Chloe looked like she hadn't moved in days. But also, there is something in her eyes. The light hadn't gone out. I find relief in this, and find myself staring at her for a little too long. Despite looking like a complete mess, she's still Chloe. I figure I should say something, so I open my mouth. Without words, the only thing that comes out is, "how sleep?"

"Enough. Clearly, you need more of it."

Any other time, I would have laughed, but I realize now that Chloe fell asleep after me, and woke up before, so I have no way of knowing if she's being honest. I go to question her, but instead, I find myself looking up. The roof is gone. Shit. "It's.. day…"

"Yeah. And from what I can gather, clear and sunny. A nice 'fuck you' from the universe. First, the roof goes, and then when the storm clears it's just, 'all is good here.'" She ends the sentence muttering, turning her head to the ground. She looks like she's thinking, but doesn't hold the pose long before turning back to me. "Are you ready?"

"No. But I guess… we should try and help," I answer, my uncertainty shining through perfectly. The thing is, I don't know if anyone is left. Surely the storm couldn't have gotten everyone… right? But I think I know the answer to that. I did make this choice, after all.

"Well then, I guess our first move is to go see if the truck survived," Chloe says, mostly to herself. She stands up and offers me a hand. I take it. She pulls me to my feet. Almost on instinct, I wrap my arms around her. It doesn't take long for her to return the hug.

"Chloe… I…" I begin, my voice straining.

"I know, Max. I'm sorry. Let's just go. We'll figure it out." She responds, as if to say, 'yeah, it won't be okay, but what else can we do?' Chloe grabs our coats and tosses mine to me. It's dry, and I can tell her's isn't. I put mine on, since I'm still freezing, and we head outside. Chloe immediately tenses up, I assume from seeing the destruction. I couldn't bring myself to look.

"Fuck, man." Is all she says. I feel something turning inside me, but the tears still don't come. I feel a hand on my shoulder, and Chloe starts guiding us down the path. It's funny, the one tree is missing and the same log stack is gone. Of course nothing changed. Butterfly effect my ass. The universe has to be taunting me, I can hear it whispering, 'of course nothing changed it. Fate is fate, and Joyce and Warren are as good as dead.' I really wish I knew how to feel right now. I am more uncertain now than I had ever been. Truthfully, I don't think I would have left the lighthouse if not for Chloe. It's probably bad that my sole source of life seems to be Chloe right now. I don't think I'll be able to move once I tell her about the diner. I could probably mention it now. I really should rip the bandage off, or she'll find out later and be even more pissed.

"Hey, Chloe.."

"Holy shit Max, look! The truck's okay!" Chloe suddenly shouts, temporarily pulling me out of my train of thought.

"Oh, okay, good. So… the storm didn't really destroy everything." I murmur, desperately trying to convince myself. Oh, Joyce, please be okay.

"I really hope not," Chloe says, clearly losing the spark of joy from only a moment before. We climb into the truck, and Chloe revs the engine. We put seatbelts on, she makes sure the mirrors are all okay, and we drive off. It takes all of twenty seconds before we see the absolute destruction around us. 20 more, and I can't look out the window. Hundreds of negative thoughts swarm through my head, all centering on the guilt I'm feeling. I know the Two Whales diner is closer than Chloe's house, I don't have much time to tell her. To warn her. I know I stopped the diner from exploding, but I erased that time from existence. That probably means that I never saved them. I never even saved Alyssa and Evan, or the trucker and the fisherman. It was all for… nothing. I look at Chloe, she's lost in thought. If I do tell her, she's going to freak out. Bad. Who am I kidding, she's going to freak anyway. I sigh, and Chloe picks up on it.

"What's going through your head?" She asks me. I hate this. She still only cares about me. Why? I don't deserve this.

"Chloe… I was at the diner last night. While photo hopping." I begin, but the strength to continue fails me.

"What? Really? What did you see?" She asks. When all I do is sink into the seat, she panics. "Wait, is she… oh god… Max, what the hell happened?"

"I talked to her. She was scared, but okay. At least at that moment. But right before I got there...:" I choke up again. Fuck this. She deserves to know.

"No. Whatever happened there, it might not have happened now. You said before, so you saved her? Maybe it happened across the timeline. Or nothing bad happened to her at all. Butterfly effect, right? Maybe it went better." Fuck. She's clearly panicking.

"Chloe… I knew the lighthouse would collapse since Monday."

"What the fuck does that have to do with this?" She asks, clearly not understanding at first, before continuing with, "Oh. Shit. Well, who the fuck cares? We have to go to the diner. We have to check. I need to know" She pushes harder on the gas, now speeding through the road. She's swerving a lot, I could look up and see the extent of the damage, but I can't bring myself to do it yet. It's over. She's going to hate me now. I should have said it sooner, maybe last night. No, she would've run out of the lighthouse, I needed her to be safe.

"Oil tanker. I'm sorry."

"Max, I really want us to make it through this, but please be quiet right now. She'll be okay. There's no way she's gone. She can't be." There it is, the denial. The anger. The regret. I don't miss it, and it makes me feel sick. I did this to her...

"Chloe, please, let's-"

"Max, for the love of God, don't!" She shouts, and I recoil away. "Please. Just stop." The words cut through me. I know it's over. Anything I built up with her was gone. I pick my head up, and rest it against the window, finally taking in the horror around me. Two words stand out: whales and death. I immediately feel sick, but now looking at the horror is the new default state, and I can't look away. I ruined so many lives. So much pain, because of me. Because I was given powers I didn't want and made a choice I didn't want to make. The truck started to slow down, and I know immediately that we're there. Based on Chloe's sheer silence, I can tell that there isn't much of the diner left. I feel the last bit of hope in me disappear. If the explosion did happen, of course no one made it out. I could've told Chloe about this when jumping, outside of the party, but I didn't. Now, it's all over. Chloe stays quiet, and I still look out of the window. For some reason, the next thing that happens is Chloe putting her hand on my shoulder. I look over at her, seeing the destruction behind her, but I'm more focused on what's right in front of me.

The tears were everywhere, and Chloe looked… broken. She didn't scream or anything, she was completely quiet. But somehow, despite everything, she smiled. I couldn't help but smile back. It 's only for half a second, but there was nothing else to do. I shift in my seat, staring ahead, and Chloe puts her hand back on the wheel. The car starts up again, and we keep driving.

"Hey, is it okay with we stop first? I want to see if… anything made it back home." Chloe asks after what feels like the hundredth uncomfortable silence.

"Of course, yes," I whisper, still in a trance at the broken houses around us. Worse yet, the damage is only getting worse as we continue towards the center of town. It's terrible, there isn't a single untouched home in sight. It doesn't take long before we're in Chloe's driveway, and things don't look good. Windows are shattered, the garage door is somehow just gone, and a utility pole is resting across the roof. At least it wasn't another whale.

"Alright, let's… see if anything is salvageable." Chloe says as she starts walking towards the door, with no inflection to her voice. I follow close behind, and she stops as soon as she enters the front door. I put a hand on her shoulder, but I swear that she is somewhere else. Lost in thought, much like I had been for the past 12 hours. Her eyes are devoid of every ounce of hope that had made me feel something at the lighthouse, and I feel my heart skip a beat. Before moving, Chloe manages to whisper, "I'll check upstairs." She does just that, leaving me where I am. I could follow her, but I figure I'll just handle the downstairs.

I walk into the living room and look at the photos all over the floor. The glass door is shattered, and shards are everywhere from the broken TB to the kitchen stove. The swing set out back is gone, the end of the utility pole taking its place. The room to the right is almost entirely untouched, but it was bare since David had moved out earlier in the week. With nothing worth grabbing, I walk upstairs. Immediately, horror courses through me. The utility pole wasn't leaning against the house, it went through it. The entrance to the attic and the one-room next to Chloe's is gone, exposed to the sky.

"Chloe?" I call out, hoping she hadn't tried to climb into that room and fallen.

"Bathroom," is the only response I get. I walk forward, and the scene is just as depressing as the rest of today. Contents of the cabinets and shower were all over the floor, but it doesn't look like too much had spilled. Chloe is holding her towel and looking around the various bottles and products strewn across the floor. After a moment, she stands up with two bottles, one of which is her blue hair dye. She hands the other bottle - shampoo - to me. I grab it with shaking hands. Chloe is clearly in tears.

"You know, I really did want to leave this place. I hated it here. But now… I can't believe it's gone." She is sobbing, and it isn't pretty.

"I'm sorry, Chloe."

"Don't be. This isn't on you." She replies, wiping tears from her cheeks. I want to argue, to tell her that this is actually entirely my fault, but I say nothing. I don't want to make it worse for her, we can't argue about this now.

Chloe drops the dye behind her, startling me, and says, "come on. There's got to be something left in my room." We walk into it, and I'm surprised that her room isn't entirely gone. Yeah, the wall where her bed had rested and part of the roof was not spared the wrath of that damn utility pole, and part of the wall where the window was is gone as well, but Chloe is able to start pulling a few pairs of jackets, shirts, and jeans from the closet. I stumble over to the blue shelf next to her closet and find the CD I made for Chloe all those years ago. I place it in my bag, right next to William's camera, and take another look around the room. Chloe's laptop, tv, and music player are gone. So is anything else that was at that wall. I head Chloe sigh, and turn to see her holding a ruined picture of her and Rachel. The box it was from is in a now crushed box where the surviving half of her bed remained. She set down the photo and turned back to Max.

"Alright. I don't think there's anything left to find, or that I want to see. Let's get ready to go. I'm gonna check the kitchen for food we can take. Should have enough to last a few days. Meet me in the truck." Chloe instructs, and I kind of just stand there. Everything around me is so depressing, and I keep waiting for the moment the other Max shows up and pulls a 'gotcha' moment on me, but I don't think that's happening. This is real. I feel sick. I walk into Chloe's mom's room, painfully aware of Chloe's refusal to enter. When I open the door, is sight is not too different from the one in the bathroom. Everything is just scattered around, and the only things I see are the picture of Joyce, David, and Chloe and a broken necklace that had to have been the one Chloe made years ago. I pick up the picture and place it in my bag. I don't exactly know why, but I'm sure Chloe won't want to keep it, but I figure I'll just hold onto it anyway. I take one last look around and head back downstairs, painfully aware of the fact that this may be my last time in this house.

Chloe is leaning against the door of her truck, smoking a cigarette and refusing to look at the house. I walk around to the passenger side and get in, not sure if I should have said anything. Two minutes later, Chloe drops the cigarette. She stomps it out and gets in.

"Okay, so I think we have enough to make it, like four days. I don't really know what to do after that or where we're going. But we'll figure it out. Let's hit the road."

"Do you have any ideas?" I ask her, as we really don't have anywhere to go.

"No, not really. Um… Oh! Seattle. We… probably need the help."

"Chloe, I don't think I want them to see me like this," I say, turning my gaze to the storm.

"Max, they're probably worried sick about you. I know our phones are dead, so we can't really call them."

"I know but… Chloe, I'm a total mess."

"I think it'll be good for you to talk to your parents. Tell you what, we'll just start heading north since we don't have a different direction, and we can decide what to do as we get closer. Okay?"

I thought about it. I guess she's right. I don't really know why I don't want to go to Seattle right now. My guess is that I know my parents will see the guilt on my face, and I can't lie to them about what happened so it's better to just… not tell them. Not yet, at least. I'll call them as soon as I can. "Okay, Chloe. North it is."

The car starts up again, and we pull out of the driveway. I turn back as we start driving off, once again mentally apologizing for all the harm I caused. Chloe doesn't turn back, we just drive the way we came. The only thing Chloe does is make sure to turn away from the Two Whales, and I understand why. She's planning on running again. I don't blame her. The ride continues in silence for some time, and that only changes when Chloe reaches down to grab my hand. Had I not been zoned out, I probably would have responded. Or at least been flustered. But I only squeezed slightly, to let her know I'm here. After two more minutes, we get to see the heavily damages 'thanks for visiting' sign. Although there wasn't much to be thankful for.

Shortly after we passed the sign, Chloe pulls the truck over. The action is quick, and I fly forwards.

"Chloe?" I look over, puzzled. She isn't moving, just staring ahead. I reach out with my free hand and put it on her shoulder, and she immediately starts sobbing. It was probably the fourth time today. I continue from earlier, saying, "Chloe, I am so, so sorry. For all of this."

"It wasn't your fault, Max. You can't know it was," she says, still crying to herself. She uses her free hand as a cushion and rests against the steering wheel.

"But the storm happened because-"

"I know Max. You think your powers caused the storm, but we can't prove that. Storms happen. Yes, all the evidence points to your powers being a cause, but it just as easily could've been that both your powers and the storm were a consequence of something else. Please, stop blaming yourself." She picks her head back up, and I feel like I might be annoying her. "Even if the storm is your fault, it doesn't matter. Even if saving me caused this, you going back in time probably won't have played out the way it was supposed to, and the storm would have come anyway."

That one hurt. Chloe was only trying to help, but it still felt like she was saying, 'you still tried to play god, so you're fucked either way.' Chloe realized this and immediately turned away.

"I'm just saying… neither of us knows what the hell we're talking about."

"Chloe, I did this. I made the choice to save you. Oh God… I killed them all.." I whisper.

"Damnit Max. You didn't kill anyone. You didn't ask for to make those choices. If anything, I asked you to choose. I made you use your powers for dumb shit. If you want to blame someone blame me. Maybe I really am destined to die, and we're just putting off the inevitable." Her tears pick up, and she takes her hand from mine to cover her face. "Oh Max, I'm a fucking living apparition. What if we go to a new place, and the world still keeps trying to kill me? I'm not supposed to be here, am I?" She looks back up at me, and the pain in my chest grew larger than it had been all day.

For the first time, the tears come, and the damn inside bursts. My breathing picks up rapidly, and in moments I'm hyperventilating. I whisper, "sorry," and leave the truck. I killed them. I stumble to my knees, dry heaving. They're dead because of me. I broke Chloe.

"Fuck. Max? You there?" I hear Chloe say, meaning she followed me out of the truck, but I can't respond. The names fill my thoughts

"Max, please, listen to me. You have to breathe. In and-" The voice fades off. Warren. Joyce. Frank.

"Max!" The voice screams, but I don't listen. Alyssa, Evan, Dana.

"Stay with me, please!" What about Kate? Did her parents pick her up in time?

"Please!" What about Victoria? Did David get to her in time?

"Stay here, I'll be-" I screwed it all up, didn't I? The other me was right all along. Everything I worked for and it's gone now. Even Chloe will leave me, she can't pick up my pieces.

"-back. Here, take-" Fuck! Why? I just wanted to save them!

Something is wrapped around me, and I feel a bottle on my lips. I think it's water. I swallow without thinking, then spit more out. Swallowing hurts too much. It's all too much. I'm sorry Chloe, it was too much. I'm sorry.

"We made it. Just-" I didn't want to ruin this thing we may or may not have had, but there's no way I could make it work now. I screwed it up.

"I know the water-" How many people were crushed last night, or drowned in the floods?

"-head north, and find-" Warren tried to warn me, the storm was my fault, and he died because of it.

"-5 hours from Seattle, we'll-" What would my parents think when I told them I killed hundreds of people, ruined thousands of lives?

"-New life, together. I-" I took the lives of so many people. For one person. Can Chloe even live with herself?

"-leave you. Never." Chloe. God, I need her. I can feel her hand on my shoulder, and I now realize that she was in front of me, staring right into my eyes.

I force the word out. "Chloe?"

"Yes! I'm here, I promise," replies a voice of pure concern. I tried to take in a deep breath, but my lungs wouldn't allow it.

"Chloe… Sorry… sorry…" I start saying, still struggling to breathe. I don't know how many times the word left my mouth.

"Max, please, listen to me. It wasn't your fault. You didn't kill the." She was speaking in a very calm voice. I thought she was shouting?

"Chloe… I don't. Know what. To do." I was forcing each word out in a hiss, my breathing slowly returning to manageable.

"I know. I don't know either, but we'll figure it out. Together. I promise."

"Sorry… for this…"

"Max, these things happen. I kind of figured one of us would come out of this with a panic attack. Just didn't think I'd be trying to help."

"Thank. You." Every word hurt.

"Thank me later. Here, drink up." I took the water from her, glad we have any of it, and start drinking. After a moment, I hand it back to her and look down. I think I was okay. Chloe sets her hand under my chin. She asks, "Let's get out of here, okay? Can you stand?" Still so much care.

"Think so. Yeah." I whisper, struggling to stand. Chloe helps, and I'm in her arms. After a moment, I break the hug and look down at one of her coats, one she must have used to cover me with. I pick it up and turn to face her again. "Chloe…"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. You're… are you okay?"

"Better now. Come on, Max, let's go." She wasn't trying to rush me, she was taking her time, but I could tell she really wants to get away from here. We walk back to the car, and I just slip inside and keep drinking the water. Damn, my throat is really scratchy. When Chloe sits down, I hold the bottle out to her knowing she also has not consumed anything in the last several hours. She holds up a hand to block, but mine doesn't move. Resigning defeat, she takes the bottle, and takes a few sips before putting it in the cupholder. It stupidly makes me almost happy, but it also doesn't last long.

"Chloe, just so you know, we really do have to be careful from now on. No more rewind," I say, not quite looking at her.

"I was hoping you'd say that. Don't worry, we won't need it. We've got each other." She looks over with a smile, and I can see some of the hope is back in her. Then, the smile drops. "And hey, thank you. I know it's horrible, and I shouldn't have asked, but… thank you."

I know what she's talking about. And I know what she means. She isn't saying, 'thank you for killing hundreds of people,' she's saying, 'thank you for saving me.' That simple sentence alone makes me feel that at least one thing turned out okay this week: Chloe didn't hate me for choosing her. Wow. Maybe I did assume too quickly that she would resent me. "Chloe, I promised you before, and I'll do it again, I am never leaving you."

Chloe didn't respond. There were no words for quite a while after that, just the sounds of the engine. Neither of us was touching the radio, we were just… going. After all, despite everything, going was all we could really do. We weren't now, but we have a chance to be okay. And we will, so we were pushing forward, through the storm, together. I reached over and took Chloe's hand again, offering support, and she squeezed back. The roads in front of us were peaceful. That didn't mean we would ever forget that the roads behind us were battered and scared, and I knew that the two of us were going to have to sort through a lot of baggage of the next few… who knows how long, but it would be okay. Probably. Because I had Chloe, and I was never going to lose her again.

Author's note:

Hey everyone, I just wanted to take a moment and do the whole, "thanks for taking the time to read" thing. I've never really written a story before, this is entirely new to me. Because of that, I would really appreciate any reviews of this story pertaining to pacing, plot, grammar, structure, and well… anything. No, this is not a one-shot. This will be updated over time, and I do have more of the story to tell. So stay tuned if you enjoyed it!