Chapter 4: Arcadia Nights
4th September 2017, Arcadia Bay, Oregon
Downtown
Arcadia Bay wasn't what teenagers would call a party mile. Besides of all those shabby bars for truckers, fishermen and other shady people, there was only one place with a welcoming atmosphere and a playlist that didn't contain any country songs. The Spot was a bar for people who enjoyed to have a drink after work or wanted to meet some friends. Of course it was forbidden to sell any alcohol to persons under 21, but a fake ID or 50 bucks could easily shift the age limit.
With a click a flame emerged from Chloe's lighter, igniting the cigarette in her mouth. Her face was enlightened by the orange glowing tobacco as the bluenette girl took a deep draft, followed by a long exhale. For over 30 minutes she had been standing in a dark alley across the street of that bar where Max and her friends wanted to meet for a girls night.
As she spotted her crush walking down the street, she just dropped the half-smoked cigarette. It joined the other five cigarette-butts around her feet and with a last stomp on the remaining ember she left the alley and approached Max.
To Chloe's surprise, the small brunette wasn't wearing her casual clothes, but a violet button shirt instead of her grey hoodie and black skinny jeans instead of blue ones. The punk girl on the other hand wore the same standard garments as usual. Summed up, Max looked like she was about to go on a date. The wide, amorous smile on her face as she spotted Chloe underlined this fact even more.
"Sorry for being late!" Max said, giving Chloe a warm hug.
"No thing, Maximus," the punk replied, backed away a bit and glanced at the girl in front of her from head to toe, "Damn, lookin' hot, Caulfield!"
"Well, I kinda wanted to look good for you." she answered shyly, averting the bluenette's gaze.
A slight blush appeared on Chloe's cheek. She'd never been officially a mushy person, but hearing such a romantic comment from a sweet girl like Max let her heart skip a beat. 'Fuck, if she's looking that hot on a girls night, then how hella hot is she gonna look on our date?'
"So, where are the others?" Max asked, bringing Chloe back from her thoughts.
"Oh…uhm…they're already inside. I…uh…I just waited for you."
"Aww, that's so sweet! Never thought, you could be such a romantic."
"I…uh…I'm actually not, but…uhm…but for you I made an exception." she stammered with a wry smirk, blushing a bit more as Max suddenly planted a peck on her reddened cheek.
"You look cute when you're flustered," she spoke softly, intertwining her fingers with Chloe's, "C'mon, let's get inside!"
A mix of modern pop music and loud chitter-chatter engulfed Chloe as she and Max entered the bar. Figuring that the smaller girl wasn't the first time in this place, she let her take the lead, guiding them between the tables until they reached what seemed to be their regular space.
On said table already sat three girls of which only Rachel was familiar to Chloe.
"Hi guys," cheered Max, giving every one of them a hug, before she stood at Chloe's side again, "I want you to meet Chloe. Chloe, these are Dana," she pointed at a tall brunette girl, who gave her a smile and a nod, "Brooke," the black-haired Asian girl just gave Chloe a short glimpse before focusing on her smartphone again, "and you already met Rachel."
"Hey guys!" Chloe just said plainly, shaking everyone's hand before taking a seat beside Max.
"So, this is the infamous Chloe, who turns our little Max's world upside down?" Dana started the conversation, making everyone shifting their attention to the blue-haired girl. Except Brooke, who was still playing with her phone.
"Yup, the one and only," Chloe replied with a smirk, "I hope she just told you good stuff 'bout me."
"It sounded like you are a goddess."
"Really?!" Chloe gasped out of surprise, glimpsing at Max, who just blushed and looked the other way, while the other three girls giggled.
A few minutes later the waitress arrived at the girls table and took their orders. While Max, Dana and Rachel ordered some Cocktails, Chloe stuck with a simple beer and Brooke took an orange juice.
"Alcohol is poison for the brain. Each sip kills a lot of brain cells and I just can't afford to lose one of them." was the Asian girl's explanation after she received some snarky comments.
"I heard you're from Portland, is that right, Chloe?" Dana asked the bluenette after their drinks had arrived.
"Uhm, yeah. Lived there as long as I can remember."
"That's cool," said the brunette cheerleader, smiling widely, "I spent my childhood there, too. My parents moved to Arcadia Bay when I was 11 years old. Are your folks still living in Portland?"
Not knowing, how Chloe would react to this question, Max instinctually took her hand an gave it a reassuring soft squeeze. And the punk-girl was grateful for it. At first her gaze just dropped, but after receiving Max's soft and comforting touch, she just took a deep breath before she answered with a melancholically voice.
"My…my parents are dead." It was like a shroud of silence was suddenly covering the whole table. Besides a loud gasp and a I'm so sorry! by Dana, everyone stayed quiet. "They died when I was a child. I…I don't know how old I was, but…since that day I lived in an orphanage."
"Chloe," Rachel said on the behalf of the others, giving Chloe's other hand a soft touch, "We're sorry! We didn't know…"
"It's okay," she answered with a scoff, taking another deep breath and a long sip from her beer, "I don't brag about it or want anybody's pity. Life sucks most of the time, but sometimes," she glimpsed at Max with a warm smile, "sometimes it gets better."
Max and Chloe shared a long gaze, both of their eyes watery, until the taller girl looked away again. "I need a cig." she mentioned out of a sudden and walked to the exit in a bee-line.
Sometimes smoking helped against the stress, and sometimes it didn't. Today was a day it didn't help. And it was during these days that Chloe wished for nothing more than to stop smoking; to get rid of this bad habit; but it wasn't that easy. Her body always wanted more, but maybe Max could help with that; give her enough distraction. Maybe even make her forget the past.
'Max is special. Something about her gives me so much comfort…even more than…than Steph was able to give me.'
'I'm special, too. But in a fucked up way. Hopefully, Max never has to find out about my special abilities. I never asked for them, I don't want them.'
"Chloe," Max's soft voice chimed from behind, followed by a soft touch on her arm, which sent electrically jolts through her body, "You're alright?"
"Yeah, I'm…I'm okay, just…y'know…"
"Bad memories?"
Chloe blew a column of bluish smoke in the air, before she nodded, flicking away the half-smoked cigarette. Then, both girls embraced each other in a tight, comforting hug.
"Wanna go back inside or…I don't know…take a walk?" Max asked after they parted.
"Nah, let's get back inside. I don't wanna be the sucker who separates you from your friends."
Arm in arm, the two girls went back inside, only to stop half-way.
"Head on to our table, I need to hit the loo."
"The loo?" Chloe asked cynically with one arched eyebrow, receiving a soft push on her shoulder.
"Oh, shut up, you! Not everybody speaks your gutter language!"
"Hey, shitter is a classic!"
Giving Chloe a stuck out tongue, Max made her way to the restrooms, while the bluenette headed for their table, but changed her direction to the bar as she remembered that her beer was almost empty.
A new bottle in her hand, she approached their spot and realized that only Rachel and Brooke were still sitting there, their backs turned to Chloe.
'Huh, looks like Dana had to take a piss, too. Or powder her nose 'n' shit. Maybe I should use the opportunity to learn more about Max's BFF, since as her gonna-be-girlfriend I…what the fuck?! Are Brooke and Rachel holding hands under the table? If Max knew about this then she would've told me yesterday. So much for BFF, ey? I should poke the bush a bit, let's see what comes out!'
With cautious steps Chloe came closer and closer to the table. Since the front door and the restrooms were in their perspective, Brooke and Rachel never would expect someone approaching from behind. Chloe knew that she needed to use the element of surprise to render all possible excuses useless. The closer she came the more she could overhear their conversation.
"…just a normal girl, no worries!" said Brooke, squeezing the blonde's hand.
"I don't know," Rachel sighed, "Something's pretty off here."
"Rach, don't go there again. You know very well that the High Coun…"
"Heya, girls!" shouted Chloe as she jumped on her seat, giving the both startled girls a loud, mischievous snicker.
"Goddammit, Chloe, I almost kicked your ass!" yelled Rachel at the blue-haired punk, while Brooke embraced her arm.
"Sorry guys, but it was too tempting. Now fun aside, how long are you two a thing?"
Instantly, Brooke broke the contact to Rachel, averting everybody's gaze, while the blonde stared at Chloe with a sour expression.
"Listen, usually I don't give a shit 'bout such things, but I know that Max doesn't know about this and she hella deserves to know."
"Chloe, whatever you think you saw…"
"Think I saw?" Chloe interrupted the blonde girl, "Don't gaslight me here, Rachel. Holding hands under the table is pretty obvious, plus you two acted kinda caught when I jump-scared you."
Rachel let out a big huff in defeat. "Fine, if it's so important to you, yes, we are a couple. Happy?"
"For how long?"
"1700 years, give or take." Brooke muttered, receiving a soft hit in her side by a really pissed off Rachel.
"Listen, Chloe, it's not official and we want to keep it that way, got it?"
"Not even Max?"
Rachel crossed her arms, her stern expression radiating determination. "Not. Even. Max."
"Just FYI, since she's your best friend, I think that's just fucked up. I won't talk, but consider myself pretty pissed about this!" Chloe answered, crossing arms herself as, suddenly, she received a soft peck on her cheek.
After she went to the toilet, Max washed her hands and splashed some water in her face. The flush of another toilet chimed and Dana emerged from another stall.
"Wow, you and Chloe really have something going on. How long do you know each other?" the brunette cheerleader asked, washing her hands, too.
"Since yesterday," Max answered with a warm smile, paired with a soft blush, "It's sooo magical, like in a dream. I never thought that I could crush on someone that hard." Then she turned to Dana, looking into her eyes deeply. "Dana, I know you meant well this morning, but considering what you know about her now, can you really judge her for having a meltdown?"
"No," answered the taller girl, chiding herself internally for her said words, "she really seems to be a nice girl, not my type, but definitely nice and good for you. I see how you finally blossom up after the whole Victoria-crap."
"Don't remind me of that. Though I'm not happy how it ended, I'm definitely relieved that it's finally over. Vicky is history and Chloe's my future."
"Wow, that was somewhat poetic."
"Shush, you!" Max said with a wink as she and Dana left the restroom and headed back to their table.
As soon as the small brunette saw the shining blue hair of her crush she went straight towards it, leaned in and gave Chloe a peck on the cheek, clearly surprising her. And as the punk-girl blushed, Max wasn't able to suppress a chuckle.
"Girl! Y'know, one day I'll get back at ya for this mushy ambush!"
"I hope so!"
"Geez, get a room, you two!" said Brooke, her gaze fixed on her smartphone again, while Dana and Rachel chuckled upon Max's and Chloe's fluster.
For the next two hours the girls talked about various topics: school, teachers, other students, upcoming contests and bandwidth of other girl's stuff.
Though most of the time Chloe didn't know what they were talking about, Max tried to give her the needed information so that she could at least have an opinion.
Sometimes, the small brunette gazed at her crush for several minutes, taking in her beautiful silhouette. Even without the whole dating and the fact that they only knew each other for two days, everybody on this table agreed that Max and Chloe were an official couple.
"Well, girls, curfew's getting close. We should head back to Blackwell," Rachel mentioned, taking a last sip from her Cocktail. "And as I said, all drinks are on me, so I'm just gonna pay the bill and be with ya in a jiff!"
While Dana, Chloe and Max grabbed their stuff and left the bar, Brooke went for the toilettes and Rachel paid the tab.
"I ask myself when they're finally gonna make it official." said Dana out of the blue as they waited outside.
"Who?" asked Max with a frown.
"Rachel and Brooke. It's pretty obvious that they have something going on."
"What?! You're shitting me, right?" the smaller brunette replied in unbelief.
"Nope," Chloe threw in, "They're fucking each other. Found out myself after I came back from having a smoke and surprised them."
"Great," Max huffed, crossing her arms, and pouted, "Everybody knows and I'm out of the loop again."
The door of the bar opened and Brooke and Rachel came out, chatting with each other. Both stopped and looked at the three other girls, who were watching them with serious glimpses.
"Is something wrong?" Rachel asked with a wry, but also insecure smile, clearly unaware of what's going on.
"You and Brooke, seriously? Why haven't you told me?" Max blurted out, making Rachel look at Chloe with an agitated glare.
"Hey, don't look at me! I kept my pie hole shut. Dana babbled it out." the bluenette said, putting up her hands in defense.
Rachel sighed in defeat while Brooke took out her smartphone again and hid her blushing face behind it. "Listen, Max, I'm sorry I haven't told you, but I and Brooke wanted to keep this between us for the moment. But I would've told you, eventually."
"And what about this stupid story with Warren? Brooke almost drove me insane with it!" yelled Max aggressively.
"That was just bullshit, Max." chimed Brooke's mumbled answer from behind the phone.
"Great! Really fucking great! Not only, that you kept it a secret from me while I was hitting on you two, no. You assholes even lied to me!"
"Max…" Rachel tried to comfort and wanted to touch Max's arm, who, however, withdrew it instantly.
"You know what, Rachel, fuck you! First this crap with Victoria, then Nathan tries to rage on me and now this. I'm done for today!"
Without wasting another second, Max turned on the spot and walked away with angry steps, first tears already emerging from her eyes.
"Max, where are you going?" the blonde called after her, making the brunette girl to glimpse at her furiously.
"I'm going home and there I'm gonna bawl about that my best friend fucked me over!" she yelled back, only to turn around and keep on walking again.
"Well," Chloe began, inhaling the night's air deeply, "It was a nice evening with a shitty ending. See ya!" With a faint wave of her hand, Chloe followed Max but turned around one more time to gaze at Rachel. "By the way, I told you so!"
Streets of Arcadia Bay
"Yo Max, wait up!" chimed Chloe's voice from behind as they walked through the dark and empty streets. But Max didn't stop because she wanted the bluenette to catch up, but to turn around and yell at her, too.
"Why should I wait for you? Why are you even following me?" the brunette girl blurted out, fury burning deep inside her, because she felt betrayed by everyone.
"Chill, Maxi!" Chloe replied with a calm voice to pacify the angry girl, "I just wanna walk you home and talk with you, that's all."
"You knew it, Chloe, and didn't tell me shit, too!"
"Okay, you're right. I knew it and didn't tell you anything. Guilty there, but…I found out a few minutes before you came back from the bathroom and Rachel asked me not to tell you, though I told her that it's pretty fucked to keep you out of the loop. I'm sorry that I played her stupid game, okay!"
For a long moment, both girls looked at each other, and the longer their gazes were connected the more Max calmed down, until she made a few steps towards Chloe and embraced her tightly.
"I'm so sorry, Chlo," she said with a trembling and weak voice, "This day has already been so fucked up and now this…"
"It's okay, Maxi. I'm not mad at you. I…uh…I even deserved a bit rage."
"No," answered Max, shaking her head as she backed away a bit, "You deserve better!" Without any warning, Max leaned in, tiptoed and placed a kiss on Chloe's lips.
Entirely surprised by this sign of affection, the punk-girl just stood there, limbs stiffened, barely able to reply the kiss.
"S-sorry," the brunette stuttered after she broke the contact, biting her lower lip, "I…I broke your rule, but…"
Chloe didn't bother to let her girlfriend finish the sentence. She pulled the smaller girl closer once more and let their lips collide again.
Softly, both girls backed away again, gazing at each other intensively. It took Max a lot of self-control not to burst into tears. After such a long time she felt happy again. All the troubles, the worries and these almost devastating feelings of loneliness were blown away in merely seconds. If there were any doubts before, this kiss eradicated them instantly.
"Chloe," Max whispered softly, "I…I think I lo-"
This intimate moment was interrupted by a sudden thud. With a groan and a pain grimaced face Chloe lost her balance fell towards Max, who was unable to hold the bluenette and hit the ground together with her.
Before she was even able to free herself from Chloe's body on top of her, Max was grabbed by her collar, dragged into a dark alley and pulled to her feat, only to be face-to-face with Nathan Prescott.
"Surprised to see me, cunt?" he hissed into her face and before the girl was able to answer him, she was pushed further into the alleyway. Unable to hold her balance, Max stumbled and fell again, hitting the ground with a groan. A kick into her stomach followed stat, making her whimper in agony.
As the first pain abated slowly after a few seconds, the brunette girl was able to look up and saw that Nathan stood right beside her, a baseball bat in his hands.
"N-Nathan…" she whispered with a shivering voice, the pain in her stomach almost unbearable.
The brown-haired boy kneeled down beside Max, grabbed her hair and pulled her head up. The additional strong pain made the young girl scream in agony.
"Not so strong when your punk-dyke isn't able to help you anymore, huh?"
"Nathan…please…" Max pleaded, but only achieved that Nathan dropped her head, letting it hit the concrete.
"I got suspended because of you! My truck got confiscated by the police and my dad refuses to get it back and grounded me for a whole month!" His words followed a kick into Max's stomach.
"V-Vicky…sh-she will…"
"Oh, you think Vic will bust my ass for this? Well, newsflash, cunt: Vic left Arcadia Bay after you fucked her over!" he spoke with a slight amusement, "You see, no one can help you, feminazi. You're alone and now you'll get what you deserve!"
"Chloe…" Max whimpered in desperation as she realized that Nathan was right. She was alone at the moment. Maybe her only chance to get away from this psycho was to scream for help, but she hadn't even taken a breath as Nathan's foot hit her head.
For a short moment everything went dark and colorful lights danced in her sight. Then she suddenly heard a groan, followed by Nathan's yelling voice.
"You fucking dyke, lemme down!"
Max tried to focus on the scenery, but everything in her view was all blurry and her hearing must've been damaged, too, because Chloe's voice sounded pretty strange.
"I told you to leave her alone!"
"Wh-what are you? Put me down, you sick freakshow!" chimed Nathan's fear dripping voice.
With every passing second her senses normalized again. The multiple lights had stopped and only a bluish one, which was hovering around Chloe's head like a corona, stayed.
"You will pay for what you did to her! Prepare to…"
"Chloe?" Max finally managed to say, the vail of dizziness dissipating more and more.
"Max!" Chloe now said with a normal sounding voice, while Nathan hit the ground hard. The blue light was gone and slowly Max tried to get up. Every part of her body hurt, making her groan, but as the brunette felt the warmth of Chloe's embrace as the bluenette helped her, all the pain was suddenly gone and replaced by relief. "You're okay? Are you hurt?"
As she heard this deep and sincere concern within Chloe's voice, Max just smiled at her warmly, before taking her into another tight embrace.
Arcadia Bay Harbor
His muscular body was covered with sweat. He was focused, ready for everything. Unaware of where the next attack would come from, he put every bit of concentration into his senses.
The room was entirely dark. Colonel Sanders only wore his training sweatpants, while his opponents were armed with wooden training batons and equipped with night vision goggles.
His breathing was calm and steady, almost not hearable. The rustling of some fabric told the Colonel that someone was behind him. Some heavy breathing made him aware that another opponent was straight ahead. And as the mat he was standing on moved a bit to the left, Sanders instantly knew that someone was closing in from the right.
He took a step back, averting the attacker's wide swing by some inches, and let follow a hard punch to the adversary's stomach, sending him on his knees with a groan. But before he could knock him out entirely, the next attack occurred from behind. Not able to dodge this strike, Sanders blocked it with his arm, altering its direction and placed a heavy kick on the other man's chest, which let him fly backwards until his body collided with the wall. Unconscious he slid to the ground.
While the first attacker still tried to get on his feet again, the last opponent approached, ready to let his baton hit the Colonel's back, who, however, quickly turned around and grabbed the wooden stick mid-air. At the same time, the lights were turned on, blinding the combatants.
While the attacker tried to remove the night vision off his head with a groan, Sanders just blinked a few times, ripped the stick off his grasp and hit him on the forehead, sending him unconscious to the ground.
As the door was opened and a young Lieutenant entered, the Colonel pointed the wooden baton at the last capable fighter.
"Stay down!" he said with a cold voice and the other man complied without any resistance. "Report, Lieutenant!" the broad man continued, grabbing a towel from a hook on the wall to dry himself off.
"Sir, we detected another high peak of blue Omega-Waves." the young man spoke after straightening his body.
"Confirmation?"
"Yes, Sir," the Lieutenant answered, handing the Colonel a thin sheet of plastic, where various data and a picture of a blue-haired girl were displayed. "99 percent confirmation."
"Excellent work, Lieutenant! Set our team on stand-by and inform Mr. Wilcock! I want full observation on the target."
"Sir, yes, Sir!" spoke the soldier, turned on the spot and left.
Colonel Sanders took a sip from a water bottle and made his way to the door. He stopped one last time in his tracks. "NVGs are a nice gimmick, but also have a lot of disadvantages. The key is to trust your own senses. Tell this to the others as soon as they're awake. Dismissed!" he spoke without turning around, then continued to walk towards his quarters, caught deep in thoughts.
'This time she won't get away! If this is my last operation, I'm gonna do it right!'
Not far from Blackwell Academy
Walking side-by-side, their arms wrapped around each others hip, Chloe and Max slowly approached Blackwell Academy and Max's house, which was on the way.
"Dude, this Nathan-guy's hella shitty-fucked-up dangerous. You need to report this!" Chloe said, making them stop and gazed into Max's eyes seriously.
"I-I know, and I will. This time, he went too far. Normally, Vicky held him on a leash, but now that she's back in Seattle…" Max let out a deep sigh, averting Chloe's sight for a moment. "This lunatic needs to be locked away. I ignored it way too long." Then she locked eyes with her girlfriend again, giving her a warm smile. "Thank you, Chloe, for everything!"
"Hey, saving your sweet butt-"
"No, not just that…" the brunette interrupted her, "Thanks for saving me yesterday at the tour. Thanks for comforting me in my office and keeping me company. Thanks for saving me from Nathan, twice. Thanks for asking me out for a date. Thanks for the kiss. Thanks for making me happy!"
With every spoken Thanks Chloe's eyes welled up more and more. She was speechless. Nobody before thanked her so much. And as she realized the deep determination and love that was radiated by Max's eyes, all Chloe could do was to take the smaller girl into a tight embrace. Small sobs emerged from her mouth, while her grasp on Max got stronger as her emotional barrier broke down.
Already knowing that Chloe was carrying lots of emotional pain inside, Max rocked her softly and whispered in her ear. "Let it all out, Chloe. It's alright. I'm here and I'm ready to share your burdens."
Her head still resting on the small brunette's shoulder, Chloe shook it. "I'm a fucked up person, Max. I'm broken beyond repair. You better run and-"
Quickly, Max broke the hug, looking at Chloe intensively. "You are a good person, Chlo! You helped me so much; rescued me. You even comforted Vicky after I raged on her, though you couldn't even stand her. Chloe, you are a hero!"
"Max…there's a bad side in me. I'm…I'm dangerous…I…"
Wrapping her arms around Chloe's neck, Max pulled her close for another intense kiss that lasted nearly a minute. After they parted, the smaller girl brushed over the bluenette's wet cheek and gave her the warmest smile she ever had given someone.
"Everybody has a bad side, that's normal. Don't think so less of yourself. You're so special, Chloe; so unique! I never met someone like you before." she soothed, followed by another peck on Chloe's lips, "C'mon, let's get you back to Blackwell!"
Max and Chloe arrived at the campus past curfew. They both knew that they had to stay out of sight from the guards or else Chloe would be in big trouble.
"Well, I better sneak inside. You sure you wanna walk home alone?" whispered Chloe to Max as they hid behind a brick wall.
"No," answered the small brunette, making her girlfriend turn towards her, "C-can I spent the night at your place? My mom's working late and my dad's on business travel in New York. I-I just don't wanna be alone tonight."
Entirely stunned by this proposition, Chloe gulped and stared at the small brunette, not knowing what to answer out of nervousness. "Uhm…uh…s-sure…uh…"
"Thanks!" Max said with a smile, planting another kiss on the punk-girl's cheek, "C'mon, I know a safe way inside."
"How so?"
"Back, when I was still dating Vicky, I used to sneak in and out the dorm frequently. With the time you learn the shift patterns and patrol-routes of the guards, plus the one or other trick, such as…" She reached inside her bag and pulled out a keyring. "…stealing a stupid guard's keys and copy the master-key for the Prescott-dormitories."
"Okay, Caulfield, you just took the pole position on my list of badassery." Chloe commented with a toothy smirk as she followed Max along the brick-wall that surrounded the campus.
"Damn!" Max cursed as they'd reached a tree.
"What is it?"
"These fuckers cut down the branch, which I always used to climb up the tree and over this stupid wall."
"Hmm…I think I can do it and give you a hand once I'm up there."
Not believing her girlfriend, Max crossed her arms and gazed at her with a frown. "Chlo, it's too high, even for you, and there's nothing to hold on to."
"I bet that I'm gonna be up there in under ten seconds." Chloe replied with a grin.
"What's the bet?"
"A backrub. I really need one of those after Prickscott batted me in the neck. Damn, I'm gonna kill this little fucker if I see him again!"
"Okay, one backrub it is. And if I'm right, you'll be my model for one day!"
"Oooh, how kinky!"
Max closed in slowly, painting with her index finger a hot trail over Chloe's chest. "Who said that I wanna take T-rated shots?"
The seductive tone in the smaller girl's voice almost cut off Chloe's breath, which she only could overcome with a gulp. "D-damn, Caulfield, now I almost want to lose the bet. But…I still wanna show you how awesome I am! Plus, I'm a sore loser."
Before Max knew what was going on, Chloe had already taken a few steps back, sprinted towards the tree and jumped. For a brief moment it seemed like the bluenette was floating up high, like in these old Kung-Fu movies. But knowing that this was impossible, the small brunette just shook her head and smiled at her girlfriend, who was sitting now on the lowest branch.
"See, told ya!" the punk-girl said victoriously with a toothy grin, earning an honest thumb-up and agreeing nod from Max.
"Alright, you got your backrub. And now to the part where you get me up there."
Chloe let herself fall with a giggle, now dangling headfirst from the tree, her legs crossed tightly around the branch. "C'mon, you can climb up on me."
"I'd rather love to climb onto you!" replied Max, staring at Chloe's bare belly that was visible due to the punk-girl's lose hanging top.
"Geez, you little horn dog, just keep it in your pants for some more minutes and focus on getting your sweet ass up here, will ya!"
With a deep breath, Max complied and began to climb up with Chloe's help. As soon as she was up that tree, she bridged the small leap between the plant and the wall and climbed down on it. Her eyes widened in awe as she saw how Chloe easily did the same in an incredible speed.
"Wowser, I never thought you were that sportive." Max said, panting heavily from the effort.
"Actually, I'm not. I just loved to climb up trees when I was a kid, hiding in the dense foliage from the other kids and the orphanage's supervisors," Chloe answered, her expression darkening a bit, "I would've loved to build a treehouse and live there forever, shutting out this fucking world."
"Hey," Max said softly, giving Chloe a warm smile while brushing over her arm, "We still can do that, y'know? Build our own tree-fortress and keep the world outside. Just the two of us."
"Yeah! I…I'd love that! Though we would shake all leafs off the tree."
Resting her hand on her hip, Max gazed at the blunette with a mocking smile. "And I'm the horn dog here?"
"Hey, you started it, now I'm hella horny," she replied with a shrug and headed for the back entrance.
Luckily, Blackwell hadn't changed any locks during the time after Max's and Victoria's break-up, so that the copied keys still worked and both girls could sneak inside the dorms. As they approached Chloe's room, which was right on the opposite of Victoria's, Max stopped and gazed at her ex-girlfriend's door, sighing deeply.
"I hurt her, Chlo." Max said with a low, melancholy voice, "I-I know she somehow deserved it, but…"
Taking the smaller girl in an embrace, Chloe brushed calmingly through her brown hair. "Just say it, Max. Say that you still had feelings for her, it's okay. I understand."
"Thank you! Sometimes I wished that we would've stayed in Seattle. Maybe she wouldn't have changed, but…ugh, it doesn't matter now. It's over and I'm glad to have you!"
"Sadly, we can't change the past to make a better present. C'mon, Maxi, let's get inside."
Chloe opened the door to her room and as soon as Max stood inside and looked around, her jaw dropped. "Wowser!" she gasped, "D-did you draw all those pictures?"
"Y-yeah…"
"They're beautiful!" Max took one of the sketches, showing a spaceship, and gazed at it more intensively "All those details. It's just awesome!" Then she an inscription caught her sight. "Tha'lia?"
Chloe came close to Max, looking into her blue eyes. "It's the name of the ship. Like every one of these pictures, it appeared in my dreams. I don't know why, but this name sounded so beautiful…like Max."
"M-my name isn't that beautiful, Chlo." the smaller girl replied, lowering her gaze with a blush.
"It is." Chloe spoke softly, leaned in and gave Max a soft kiss, whose breathing almost stopped.
"W-wowser, Chlo. Y-you really are a romantic."
"I'm a pile of mush, Max. I…I just don't like to show it to others." the punk confessed and turned away, but was turned around by a Max's soft touch.
"I like your mushy side," was Max's almost whispered answer, before she bit her bottom lip, "Now take off your shirt. I still owe you that backrub, right?"
"Mh-hm," was the blunette's short answer. Nervously and with shaking hands she stripped off her jacket, followed by her top and, to Max's full surprise, her black bra. "Like whatcha see?"
Staring at Chloe's bare chest with her mouth agape, everything the brunette could muster was a frantically nodding. She was only brought back to reality as Chloe turned around and laid down on her bed, her back showing upwards.
"C'mon, Maxi, your girl needs a rub!"
Once more, Max's small heart skipped a beat upon this more than ambiguous comment. Breathing became hard and her whole body was shaking out of nervousness as she slowly walked over to Chloe and sat down beside her. With some slight hesitation, Max's hands softly touched Chloe's slight pale and silky skin. The small girl had to muster every bit of concentration not to moan out, so did Chloe. But as Max started the massage, the blue-haired girl couldn't resist to groan in relief.
"Damn, Caulfield, y-you're a freakin' talent…r-right there…fuck yes!"
"Chloe?" Max suddenly spoke, stopping the treatment.
"Hmm?"
"Wh-where do all these scars come from?"
In a blink of an eye the relaxing moment was over. Chloe opened her eyes wide, jumped up and gazed at Max angrily. "Why do you ask? Think I did them to myself? Think I'm a fucking psycho?" she blurted out, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Chloe, I…I…" was Max's first stammered reply, before she closed her eyes, took a deep breath to overcome her first shock and talked with a soothing tone. "Chlo, you're not a psycho, and I never would've thought that you would do something like this to yourself." Slowly, she approached the blue-haired girl, like you would close in on a frightened dear, trying to calm it down. She stretched out her arm and softly touched one of the visible scars. "Who did this to you?"
"That's the treatment you got at Sunrise when you didn't play by their rules or refused to let them fuck you."
Max's eyes widened as she somehow recalled this name and combined it with what Chloe already had told her about her past. "Sunrise? As in Sunrise Orphanage in Portland?" She covered her mouth and gasped as she saw the hurt in her girlfriend's watery eyes as she spoke out the name. "Oh my god, y-you where there! I-I heard about it in the media. The scandal, th-the murder. I…I'm so sorry…"
Chloe exhaled deeply, wiping one tear from her cheek, and sat down on the bed. "Why are you sorry? It wasn't you who locked me up in this hellhole. At least one of those fuckers got what he deserved and they closed the place down." A sob by Max let her look up to her, and as she realized that the small girl was crying, because she was now understanding Chloe's inner pain, the bluenette grabbed her hand and pulled her softly closer, only to wrap her arms around her girlfriend for a long, soothing hug.
"I'm so sorry, Chloe. I didn't know…"
"Nobody here knows, Max. And I wanna keep it that way. I don't need anybody's pity. I only need you!" They broke the hug, gazing at each other deeply, until Chloe spoke some words Max wanted to tell her earlier this evening, but was interrupted by Nathan's attack back then. "I love you, Max!"
Max would've loved to cry again, but instead, Chloe pulled her in for another long kiss.
The rest of the night, both girls were curling up in Chloe's bed, arms entangled and bodies pressed close together. This was the first night Chloe had no fear of uncertainty, because she knew that Max was right there with her and would never leave her alone.
6th August 2016, Portland, Oregon
Sunrise Orphanage
The epic soundtrack from Lord of the Rings chimed through the speakers of her car as Detective Stephanie 'Steph' Gingrich approached the vicinities of the Sunrise Orphanage. Policeman and police cars were scattered all over the grounds, blocking the road or searching the premises.
The young, auburn-haired woman with a blue beanie on her head parked the car right in front of the large door that lead inside the building. She waited until the last tones of the recent song had abated, bobbed her head in satisfaction and got out of the vehicle.
Wearing her casual clothes, a blue jeans and a shirt, only the holstered gun, the badge and handcuffs on her belt indicated that she was a police officer. She made her way to the big front door, where an Afro-American, young man with glasses waited for her.
"Mikey, 'sup?"
Her partner, Michael 'Mikey' North, greeted her with their personal handshake and took the slender woman into a tight hug. "Geez, Steph, the Captain's already raging around the house. What was it this time?"
Steph backed away and gave Mikey a soft push. "I only finished the quest for next weekend. Elamon is going down this time!"
"You wish!" Mikey responded as they made their way inside the building, which swarmed with police. "I hope you won't dig up Duurgaron again. I killed this guy nearly a hundred times already."
"Pft, Duurgaron stays dead. Besides…"
"Detective!" a furious sounding male voice chimed from an older man in police uniform, "This is the second time you're too late. The operators of this place want to go back to normal as fast as possible and these fucking reporters are already trying to enter the premises."
"Sorry, Cap, won't happen again!"
"I hope so!" he snapped back, changing his focus to Detective North, "Have you already briefed her?"
"No, sir."
"Then do it! I need to talk to the Commissioner and try to feed these fucking vultures out there with some info."
With angry steps, the captain stomped away, leaving Steph and Mikey standing in the hallway.
"Geez, this guy needs to take it easy on coffee." Mikey mentioned, earning a snicker from his partner.
"Yeah. So, gimme the juicy details."
The two Detectives walked down the hall, heading for the crime scene while Mikey told Steph about the case.
"The whole thing's pretty fucked up. This morning, the morning-shift of this place was about to take over. Normally, the boss of this joint; a Pater Mark Jefferson; always instructed the staff before they started their work, but he didn't show up. One of the supervisors thought that he might've overslept and searched him in his quarters, but didn't find the Pater there, so he tried to find him in his office."
They now arrived at Jefferson's office and as Steph Gingrich looked inside she gasped, covering her mouth with one hand. "Holy fuck!"
"The door was locked from the inside, but as the supervisor saw the blood seeping from under the door, he called the police immediately. As soon as our men arrived, the janitor opened the door and this is what they found."
The whole office was sprinkled with blood from floor to ceiling. Guts and body parts were scattered everywhere, and on the desk laid Jefferson's bloodied head with his sex stuffed into his mouth.
From a metallic case that was standing right beside the door, Steph and Mikey took some rubber gloves and plastic sheaths for their shoes before they entered the office, watching that they didn't step too much in the half-dried blood, which sometimes let them stick to the ground.
"Well, looks like the Butcher's room."
"Yeah," scoffed Mikey dryly, "Sadly we're not in a videogame."
"What's this?" Steph asked, as she pointed at a big, circular and bloodless spot in the middle of the room.
"As I already told you, this whole thing's shady as hell. As the officers came in here, they found a half-naked girl, laying curled up and unconscious in exactly that spot; not one drop of blood on her."
"Wait, you said that the door was locked from the inside. Do you think that she…?"
"No. Not even the strongest man on this planet could rip a human into pieces."
"You mean that he was ripped apart?"
"Yes. No signs of cuts or saw-marks. Ripped off. And unless someone managed to bring some heavy machinery in here to do the work, it's impossible to do something like this."
Steph crouched and took a closer look at one of the ripped off limbs, scrunched up her nose and stood up again. "Still, to pull something like this off must've caused a lot of noise. Didn't anybody hear a thing? Even if Jefferson was killed someplace else."
"That's the weirdest thing, nobody heard or saw anything. Everyone stays quiet and acts frightened." Mikey leaned towards his partner, whispering into her ear, "Steph, something's pretty off with this place. The staff wants nothing else than to get rid of us and the kids are afraid as soon as we ask something."
"Hmm…" Steph hummed, now in deep thoughts, "What about the girl?"
A big sigh emerged from Mikey's mouth as his gaze dropped. "The same shit, though she doesn't seem to be scared of us."
"Did anyone already talk to her?"
"Yeah, Jacobs tried-"
"Jacobs?!" the auburn-haired woman blurted out, "You can't let this idiot talk to a girl!"
"Steph, you weren't here and the Cap wanted some answers."
"Hopefully he didn't ruin everything." she said angrily, walking out of the office.
Both threw the sheaths and gloves in a waste bag and headed towards another office, where a policeman stood guard at the door. Inside, sat a teenage-girl with blue hair, wrapped in a blanked.
"Her name's Chloe Elizabeth Price," Mikey began to read from his notepad, "17 years old. She lives in this orphanage since she was a little girl and is described in the files as a loner and troublemaker."
"We were loners, too, Mikey." mentioned Steph, gaze still fixed on the blue-haired girl. "I wanna talk to her."
"The Cap said that we should bring her to the station and question her there."
"Yeah…sure," she huffed, "What's less intimidating than being escorted to the station and being questioned in one of our cozy observation rooms?" Then she gazed at her partner. "No, Mikey, I'm gonna talk to her and you try to get some information from the other kids. I wanna know what's going on here and why this Jefferson-guy had to bite the dust like this. Believe me, this thing's bigger than we think!"
Michael gave her an agreeing nod and made his way to the other kids, while Steph walked slowly into the office, approaching the young girl cautiously.
"Hi there, Chloe…right?" the young woman said softly with a smile as she sat down right across the blue-haired girl, "I'm Detective Stephanie Gingrich, but you can call me Steph."
Emotionlessly, Chloe gazed at the auburn-haired Detective, just shrugging with her shoulders before she broke eye contact and stared into empty space again.
Not unfamiliar with such behavior after such traumatic events, Steph stayed calm and kept on trying to break the ice. "Can I get you something? A coffee or hot chocolate, and maybe a sandwich?"
"How about a cig?" Chloe spoke, giving the Detective another glimpse.
"Uhm…sorry. Non-smoker."
Once more, the bluenette shrugged. "Ugh, fuck it. I'm not allowed to smoke in here anyway. But I'd take the sandwich, though."
As Chloe let her words follow a wry smirk, Steph couldn't do anything but smile right back. "A sandwich it is!" She ordered the officer at the door to bring the girl a sandwich and then focused on her witness again. "Nice hair, by the way!" She added, playing with one of Chloe's stray streaks.
Instantly, the girl's expression darkened again as she swatted Steph's hand away. "Yeah…"
Disappointed about the step backwards, Steph sighed deeply before she spoke again. "Listen, Chloe, I know it sucks, but I need to know what happened here last night."
Chloe's first answer was an annoyed and angry glare, followed by harsh words. "If you really wanna know: Jefferson brought me into his office to get busy with me, I blacked out and that's it. I can't remember shit. I woke up after the cops stuffed me in here. One guy just told me that Jefferson's dead and I just hope that this fucker burns in hell!"
Once more, not surprised by this reaction, Steph calmly analyzed every word the young girl just said with an internal routine, until she stumbled upon something which almost made her wish that she interpreted it wrong. She leaned in, looking deeply into Chloe's blue-eyes with a frown. "What do you mean with: get busy with you?"
Remembering last night, and every night with Jefferson before, Chloe's eyes widened; the burning fire of fury replaced by sadness. Her lips trembled as she spoke with a shivering voice and flowing tears. "Why don't you ask them? Why don't you ask the others who didn't resist them?" Her voice broke as she turned away and cried in shame and hurt.
Steph Gingrich backed away as realization hit her like a jackhammer. She was on the brink of crying herself as her brain fought against the imagination of what Chloe and the others must've gone through over all those years. The woman with the beanie on her head stood up and took out her phone, dialing her partner's number.
"Mikey, I…I found something out. It…" She sighed in order to fight the need to sob.
[Mikey]: Yeah, me too. One of the girls just told me.
Her grip on the phone tightened as anger took over and she almost hissed her words with gritted teeth. "I want this place under a complete lockdown. Nobody gets in or out!"
[Mikey]: Got it! Should I tell the Cap or…
"Yeah, I'll stay with Chloe and try to calm her down. She must've been through hell."
[Mikey]: Okay. This turned into a real big pile of shit.
"You name it."
[Mikey]: I'll come over as soon as the Cap got the info.
"Okay. See ya in a jiff!"
Steph put away her phone again and breathed in deeply. Chloe had stopped crying and was gazing into empty space again. Slowly, she approached the young girl once more, sat down and touched her shoulder softly. "Chloe," she said soothingly, "It's over now. We'll take care that these…these fuckers get what they deserve, promised! Did they…I'm sorry that I have to ask this, but…did they do anything to you?"
With red-cried, watery eyes, Chloe looked at Steph. Although she knew that the police would investigate the whole case and bring justice to these monsters, the blue-haired girl felt empty and hopeless; not in the mood to talk about any of this. But she wanted to help; wanted to take care that at least Stacy would never become a victim. So, she mustered all her strength and told Detective Gingrich about her injuries; how they took girl after girl, night after night. Told her how they lived in constant fear.
Steph typed every bit of information in her phone, wiping away a tear from time to time. "And…uhm…last night? Did he…?" she asked, after Chloe had finished her testimony.
"I…I don't know. And I…I think I don't wanna know."
With a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder, Steph leaned forwards and gave Chloe a warm smile. "Thanks, Chloe! You are so brave! With your testimony alone we'll have those bastards by their balls!"
Both of them exchanged a long gaze, until Mikey entered and Steph had to focus on him.
"Hey Steph, the Cap wants to talk to you!"
"Sure."
"Steph," Chloe spoke, making the auburn-haired woman to look at her, "Wh-what will happen to us?"
"Well…I think they'll stick you kids into other orphanages. But for the time being you'll have to stay here…under police protection, of course."
"I-I don't wanna stay here anymore. This place creeps the shit out of me. I'd rather sleep on the streets than spending another night in this fucking shithole!"
For a long time they just looked at each other. Who could blame her after everything that had happened; after everything that they've done to her? It was only understandable that Chloe wanted to get away; didn't want to stay here. But what was the alternative? She was still 17 and needed a legal guardian. That was the law. But who would take in a 17 years old girl?
'I would.' thought Steph, 'She really doesn't deserve to stay here, and maybe she needs a bit nerdy lifestyle.'
"Listen, Chloe, I'll figure something out, okay? You stay here, eat your sandwich and I'll be back in a jiff."
Receiving a determinant nod by Chloe, Steph left the room and approached her Captain. "You wanted to see me, Cap."
"This whole thing turned into a fucking mess!" he hissed, handing the Detective his smartphone, where the latest News were displayed. "It's already all over the media. More and more reporters are waiting outside. The Mayor and the Governor want some answers. Answers I can't give them. Gingrich!" he blurted, "You and North need to solve this case as fast as possible. Do what you have to do, I don't care, but we need to wrap this up quickly or they'll serve us our badges for lunch."
"Well, then we better get started," Steph answered, giving the Captain his phone back, "And…uhm…I kinda have a first…request that is way off the books."
"Name it!"
"Chloe…the witness…I wanna take her in. At least for some time."
"What?! Are you crazy? She's a 17-year-old girl under the protection of the state…"
"Which has failed!" she interrupted him, "This poor girl's traumatized and needs someone she can trust. I already made good progress and think that this could be destroyed again, if we just let her stay here. Please, Cap. She's been through enough and needs a break."
"Fine," the Captain sighed after some moments, "I'll take care of the paperwork. But I want to see you both tomorrow at the station for questioning and you give me a daily report about her condition!"
"Thanks, Cap!" she replied with a wide smile, already making her way to Chloe again, "I'm gonna bring her to the hospital first, for a check-up and then to my apartment."
"Don't let me regret it, Gingrich!" the Captain yelled after her.
Before Steph could bring Chloe the news, Mikey blocked the door, gazing at his partner sternly. "I hope you're doing this for her and not for yourself."
"What's that suppose to mean?" Steph said with a frown, clearly not liking where this conversation was going.
"Breakups can be pretty bad and hurtful, but using others as a compensation won't heal any wounds. Please, Steph," he spoke, now stepping aside, "Keep it professional!"
Understanding the well meant advise of her partner and close friend, Steph nodded and touched his arm softly, giving him a wry smile and vise versa.
"C'mon, Chloe. Time to get you dressed, packed and ready to leave!"
The bluenette looked at Steph with furrowed eyebrows upon being slightly confused. "Where are we going?"
"My place." answered Steph nonchalantly with a big smile as she grabbed Chloe's hand and pulled her on her feet.
With eyes wide open in an almost overwhelming surprise, the young girl gazed at the woman, her lips trembling. "Y-your place?! D-does that mean…"
"That I adopted you?" she completed her question, "Sadly, no. But I'll take you in until we found a suitable and safe home for you."
Out of relief, Chloe jumped forward and wrapped her arms around Steph. "Thank you!" she whispered with a brittle voice, tears running down her cheeks. A long wanted wish was about to come true. Chloe would leave this godforsaken place forever. Though she was visiting a private school with the possibility to live in a dorm, the orphanage never allowed her to leave. But now everything was different. She finally had the chance to be free and would've loved to bail right away, until one name came into her mind; one name that changed everything.
"Stacy!" Chloe gasped, breaking the embrace, "Steph, I…I'm sorry, but…I can't go…I…"
"It's okay, Chloe." chimed a girl's voice. Stacy, the 12-year-old girl with the red hair, stood in the doorframe, gazing at Chloe, who didn't waste any second and walked over to the girl, embracing her tightly.
"I won't leave you! I promised." the bluenette whispered back.
Then the younger girl backed away softly, gazing at Chloe with an honest, but also sad smile. "Chloe, I-I'm gonna be fine. The bad people are gone and you deserve to be happy." Both of them looked at each other for some time with watery eyes, until Stacy brushed through Chloe's blue hair. "Wow, I like that new color."
"Y-yeah. Did it secretly last night…y'know, before…"
Chloe's face grimaced as she remembered what happened last night, before she had her black-out. Instantly, Stacy pressed the way taller girl close to her body again, both sniffing and sobbing now.
Seeing this, Steph brushed another emotional tear from the corner of her eye and crossed her arms, while her lips were forming a warm smile. 'Even in a fucking hell like this orphanage there's still light and hope.'
"Who is she?" the auburn-haired woman asked Mikey, who now stood beside her, smiling as well, but also seemed a bit absent.
"Stacy Miller, 12 years old. Her mother died of cancer and her father is a junky. No other relatives who want to take her in. She was the one who told me about the abuses. And she also told me that Chloe protected her the whole time. She just wanted to see her before she leaves."
Steph looked at her friend for some time, one eyebrow arched, as she realized how Mikey gazed at the girl warmly. "What's up, Mikey? Is everything alright?"
His gaze dropped and he sighed deeply as Mikey North told Steph his thoughts. "Steph…you know that Grace can't get pregnant, and we wish to have a family…"
"You thought about adopting her!"
"Yeah. She'll be alone without Chloe and, so far, we got along pretty good."
"You'd be an awesome dad for her and Grace an awesome mom! Go for it!" she said and turned her sight towards the two hugging girls again, letting some minutes pass. "Y'know, Mikey, we have the chance here of giving these two girls hope and the possibility of a better life. We should use it."
"Yeah," he returned, though instantly his expression darkened a bit, "But what if Chloe is involved in this murder?"
With determination, Steph glanced into her partner's eyes, ready to defend the bluenette girl. "Mikey, you saw the mess. It's just not possible that she could've done this. Believe me, she's absolutely innocent!"