Max had been rummaging through her closet when she spotted her old ukulele, which only needed a slight tuning before it became playable. And that's how the brunette spends her Sunday morning, cross-legged in the middle of her bedroom floor strumming a random string of cords together.
She thinks back to the day she purchased it, and how sometimes she would sing to Nathan with it when he fell ill. Now she frowns on those particular bittersweet memories, hating to remember her abuser.
So instead she trudges past those, and to the ones that made her happy. I don't have anyone to sing to now… or no one to sing as I play.
She places the ukulele where she had found it, not really wanting to think about the memories that came with along with it anymore. She lets out a heavy breath, realizing that now she has nothing to occupy her time.
Max peers over at her newly purchased phone, with the money she had been saving up combined with the money that Kate gave her; it was fairly easy to get it along with a two-year plan.
Of course she only has one number in it; Kate. The brunette's visit with Kate had been sweet but short, and she's been feeling more lonely than ever. Max's mind wanders to the nice officer that had saved her, and she suddenly remembers that Chloe had given her a card with her number on it.
She extracts the card from the pocket of her jacket, yet again clutching it as if it might fall apart from the slightest movement. Max snags her phone, and gradually begins to dial the number written on the card; hoping the officer would answer.
It wouldn't hurt to bother her again, right?
—
Ever since Chloe's tiny meltdown, David has given her more time off than usual; the why is obvious. Chloe has been on edge, stressing out over something as simple as breaking the news to Max.
She doesn't know exactly how she wants to do it, but that part isn't as important to her; what she is actually worried about is Max's reaction. The last thing Chloe wants is for Max to have to deal with more pain. That girl has dealt with enough these past years, she doesn't need more of anything that could make her upset; especially reliving any of those abusive memories.
She gives out a heavy sigh, settling back into her seat. David is letting her off this afternoon, so her eyes keep wandering to the clock; finding that the time is going much too slow.
Chloe rolls her eyes and scoffs, pulling a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from her pocket. She knows she's not allowed to smoke inside of the police station, but she didn't care. The never-ending knot of stress unravels slowly as smoke occupies her lungs.
She feels calm for a few moments, ante her phone vibrates in her pocket. Flicking the ashes of her cigarette into an ashtray she always hides behind a pile of paperwork, she pulls her phone out.
"Officer Price." Chloe speaks into the phone, taking a draw off her cigarette. "H-hey Chloe, it's Max."
Chloe beams at the sound of the small girl's voice, very much relieved it wasn't a call for work. She barely ever had time to just sit and chat with a friend. "Hey, you. How are things?"
"Better, I guess. I got a new phone so, I figured I'd give you a call." Max explains, timidly shifting from the other end of the line.
"You called at the right time," Chloe speaks, leaning to put her cigarette into the ashtray. "I… uh," She stuttered, swallowing hard. Come on Chloe, we have to tell her and get it over with.
"I have something to talk to you about today," Chloe adds, wedging her phone between her shoulder and her ear as her hands fluttered around her crowded desktop. She hates to be the bearer of bad news, but the sooner, the better. "In fact, I'm getting off work soon. Wanna hang at my place?"
"It's not anything… bad, right?" Max says in a small voice, her heart slowly climbing up her throat.
Chloe bit the inside of her cheek in thought, suddenly feeling a twinge of guilt. I wish it wasn't. The officer couldn't stand to hear Max sound worried, so she quickly sputtered out a "No! No, of course not!"
Max lets out an audible sigh of relief, in which she was also glad that Chloe had taken the initiative since the brunette was a bit anxious about bringing up the topic of seeing Chloe again.
"I'll see you in-" Chloe pauses, looking up at the clock on the wall, seeing that she still has about an hour before she clocks out. Fuck it. "I'll see you in about ten, yeah? I'll come pick you up."
"Oh, okay... I'll see you soon." Max replies, hanging up on her end. Chloe shoves her phone back into her pocket and stood up from her office chair to stretch out her body. She had snuck out countless times before on boring days like these, but she hopes this wouldn't be the day that she'd get caught for it; she's already in enough trouble for her little freak-out on the chief.
Soon enough, after quickly sneaking by multiple coworkers and the front desk, she was already on the road. She felt a little like a rebellious teenager again; except this time she was skipping out on her job, which had a bit more of a detrimental consequence than just skipping out on school. The officer somehow memorized the direction to the cheap motel, even though she had only taken the trip twice. Plus, it isn't that far of a distance from the police station.
Before she knows it, Chloe is already pulling into the parking lot. She stops right in front of the small brunette, who is sitting on the stairs, wrapped in the leather jacket that was still much too big for her. The Punk can't help but smile. "Miss me?" Chloe says, smirking as Max raised her eyes to meet Chloe's.
"Hi," Max replies shyly, standing up from the stairs and brushing any dirt off of her shorts. "Ready to go?" Chloe asks, already pulling a helmet out for Max.
"Yeah, but…" The brunette pauses for a second, scratching the back of her head. "What did you need to talk to me about?"
Chloe swallowed nervously. She almost forgot that this was her goal for today; she has to remind herself that she isn't here to just hang out with Max. "Don't worry about it, I'll let you know when we get to my place. Here ya go," She replies, placing the helmet on Max's head; patting the top of it afterwards. "Hop on."
—
The ride to The Punk's apartment wasn't long, but Max realizes how far away from her own abode it really is. She notes that it doesn't seem too big while Chloe is trying to unlock the door. "Uh, by the way, it might be a bit gross or something. I'm barely ever here so not like I do much when I am." Her shoulder shoves the door open, tossing her keys on the nightstand with a bowl of fruit on it.
Max gulps while slowly making her entrance, staring at the fruit before realizing it's fake. Then her eyes roam over the rest of what she can see, which is really nothing. "I like your… fruit." Chloe cracks a lopsided smile, "Delicious, isn't it? The real ones are the fridge."
The brunette finds that her gaze keeps landing back on the officer, who pushed her sleeves up to the elbow; revealing the slightly tanned and toned forearms.
"You can uh, move away from the door. Y'know? I know my apartment is small but that's not the best part." Max nervously nods, having never really been in anyone else's apartment besides Kate's after her relationship began.
Her small feet make it to the living room, the most obvious thing being Chloe's large TV. The officer seemed to have disappeared for a moment, so the brunette takes it upon herself to look around more.
She takes note of how there were barely any pictures, maybe only four. All containing either only a girl with luscious brown hair, or the same girl but with Chloe too. The apartment is practically bare, Max looked at everything she could; so she sits on the couch waiting for her previous companion to return.
"Sorry, I was making coffee. Gotta wait for it to brew and all." The officer plops onto the other end of the couch with a heavy sigh, happy to finally be able to relax.
They sit in silence for a few moments, comfortably. "Hey, Chloe?" The Punk's eyebrows raise at the younger girl, sniffing slightly before, "Yeah?" Max fiddles with her fingers in her lap, nervous about whatever Chloe needed to speak to her about.
I hope it has nothing to do with the case… "What did you need to talk to me about?" A loud crash summons in the back of the officer's mind, bringing her back to the reality of the situation once more. Her mouth opens but only a beep is heard, she closes it to turn her head.
"Oh, the coffee is ready. C'mon, we'll talk in the kitchen." Max is hesitant to follow, but does as she's told; sitting on a stool that resides in front of the bar of the kitchen.
The brunette watches Chloe move from behind her bangs, thinking that her uniform really suits her. "You like cream or anything in yours?" The small girl jumps slightly, blushing from the embarrassment of possibly being caught.
"No," Max responds, trying not to seem too awkward. The brunette actually does, but she's to nervous to actually list what she likes. She forces herself to look at other things in the apartment other than Chloe, admiring how much nicer it was than her own home.
"Here you go," Chloe places a warm mug before Max; the brunette's eyes watched the other's hand as it moved away from the coffee. "Um, thank you."
Chloe nods as a you're welcome, and sits to enjoy her own cup of coffee. They sit in silence for a few moments, as Max's eyes roam around the apartment once more; but her eyes seem to wander to one particular picture of Chloe, with her arm wrapped around a beautiful girl, the same girl she sees in a lot of the other photos as well. She looks like a model, almost. Max, being a tad bit nosy, wanted to ask about it; but Chloe beats her to it.
Chloe notices the small girl's eyes fixated on the picture, knowing that she would ask about it sooner or later. Chloe turns to look at it, smiling softly. "That's Rachel."
Max felt her face burn, knowing that she was caught. "You... look like good friends," Max says, noting the goofy smile on Chloe's face in the photo.
"That's putting it mildly." Chloe's voice has a sudden sadness to it. Max glances over to the officer, who's looking down into her coffee as if she's far away in her thoughts. "She was everything."
Was? The brunette immediately has a thousand different questions running through her mind, but she knows it'd be inconsiderate to ask.
"I uh," Chloe visibly swallowed, "I met her when I got the job, she was my partner." She explains, stirring her coffee.
"We always took on the most dangerous jobs. Together, we were gonna kick the world's ass," Chloe chuckles slightly. "She was smart, and strong… she always saved my ass when I needed it. But when the time came, I was never able to save her."
Max listens attentively, her heart beginning to feel a bit heavy. The brunette was speechless, she didn't know exactly how she could console Chloe; but she hated to see her look so miserable.
"Sorry," Chloe laughs, trying her hardest to cover up how she truly felt. She takes a sip of her coffee after so long of just staring down into the cup. "I'm getting too sappy."
"I'm so sorry," Max actually did feel sad for her loss, even though she doesn't really know either person. The officer shakes her head, "Don't say that." I want to make Chloe feel better, come on Max! Say something right, for once.
"I'm serious, Chloe, you shouldn't have to-" The Punk's chest heaves, turning her head to see Max's eyes. "I said don't!" The last word was loud, loud enough to scare the smaller girl. Her body instinctively pulls back, the brunette's pointy elbow clashing against the hot mug; pushing it off the edge to a shattering demise.
Oh god, not again! Please not again! Her head shakes violently, Nathan's large shadow casting over her own. "You can never do anything right!" She tries to run but her jacket is caught, "Please! I'm sorry I didn't mean it! Don't hurt me!" Max's heart pounds faster and faster before her vision starts to get blurry.
Nathan's shadow grows greater; looming. His throat reverberating every one of her mistakes, bringing all of her flaws to one big spoonful; shoving it in her mouth. But Max can't swallow it, it's superabundant. The lack of breath causes the tears to flow, wracking her body with violent shakes. "Please, stop it!" I thought it was over! Chloe said it was over! "Chloe! Save me!"
"Are you fucking serious, Max?" Nathan screams when his large hand rises, but the blow never lands. When her eyes open again, only Chloe is there. Chloe, with her worried eyes and tight grip. "Max, are you okay? Please say something!" The officer's hands grip the girl's thin arms, speaking to her in the same soft voice that clouds her dreams at night.
The brunette's lungs are calm, but still feels as if they exhaled fire. She realizes they are on the floor now, in a corner, even though she has no recognition of how they got there. "I-I'm okay." Chloe sighs heavily, closing her eyes; bringing the younger girl into her arms. I… I can't tell Max to testify. Not like this. She's not okay… fuck. What am I going to do?
Max didn't feel scared or collapsed as the older girl holds her. She feels… safe; like a real home. The feeling is so foreign to Max that she pushes the officer away, scared to let anyone close. Chloe seems disappointed at this, her worry replaced with hurt. The Punk tugs her bottom lip between her teeth, chewing it slowly as she stands. "Are… are you sure?"
Max felt a little lightheaded and shaky, her quickened heartbeat reverberating all throughout her body. She clenches her fists as an attempt to try and regain her self-control. The small girl nods frantically, "Yeah." She responds.
Then the officer's tall, slim body turns and walks out of the room. The smaller girl panics; not wanting to be alone. "Wait!" She scrambles to her feet, exiting the kitchen to find the officer standing in front of the door. "Let's just go out, Max. Like to eat or something. My home doesn't feel too homey right now. I'll meet you outside."
Chloe exits, careful to not slam the door. Max wasn't sure what she did wrong, before turning her head to see the broken glass and stained floor. I should clean this up, it's my mess. But I don't want to keep Chloe waiting. She decides to at least get it off the floor, putting the broken glass on the counter and wiping the floor with a rag from the sink.
When she's out the door, Max notices Chloe leaned against her bike. Legs crossed, cigarette in mouth, hand on utility belt. She thinks how she wouldn't mind staring a bit longer at the sight, but deems that idea weird and intrusive. "So," Chloe tosses her cigarette bud onto the pavement; crushing it with the heel of her boot.
"Where does Max wanna go to eat?" The officer clasps her hand together, waiting patiently for the answer. "Well, I-I don't know." The brunette nervously peers down at her feet, pushing a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "Oh no, you're picking. C'mon. Tell me what you want." Max had never really been anywhere in a long time, and she didn't have a lot of money.
"Well, I don't have much money-" The Punk shakes her head, "I'm paying." Oh man, she's already done a lot for me. "Nowhere expensive then," the small girl shrugs. But the officer seems determined to make this girl happy, she wanted to see her smile and- well, she can't quite place the reason why. Chloe chews her cheek, letting the breeze drift by before saying, "I'd go anywhere for you."
Max finds that the wind must have taken her breath with it; the small statement pumping her heart faster. And their eyes never disconnected, Chloe's face is hard; showing the truth she spoke. But the wind blows her bangs across her eyes, breaking the eye contact that held Max's tongue. "I… I would- well, I mean that I could-" She stops herself before sounding like a babbling idiot.
"I could really go for a milkshake."
