Whose fault is it when things go bad? It's easy to point fingers - William shouldn't have been in that car when the accident happened, Joyce shouldn't have remarried so quickly, Max shouldn't have abandoned me - but can I really hold anyone responsible for what happened in Arcadia Bay? Nathan was a horrible person, but he was pushed by Jefferson as well, and Lord knows what broke him. Sometimes I wonder how much in control we really are. Just look at Max, who had the ability to control time itself, and even she could not fix what was broken. I guess we are all victims of life in some way or another.


Over the next few days, Max and Chloe took care of whatever business they had to take care of in the wake of their departure from Arcadia Bay. Max had disenrolled from Blackwell, and they both needed to get new clothes, as Max's dorm was wiped away by the storm and Chloe's were still in Arcadia. Max noticed how her girlfriend chose a wardrobe that was punky and stylish at the same time: she could only gasp at how amazing her sense of style was. It contrasted sharply with the plain and boring outfits Max wore, since she never really bothered to dress in any meaningful way. Chloe needed a new phone as well, and both required laptops that weren't broken or left behind.

The couple also catched up on what happened in their hometown, and the news coming out of their birthplace was not good. Arcadia Bay had been hit hard by the storm. Blackwell was mostly gone, most houses were destroyed, and it took several days for the power to be restored for the remaining survivors. Not that there were many, as over half of the town's population - including everyone Max knew - succumbed to the storm. A wake for the victims was to be held on Saturday. The damage to the town was too severe to properly bury all the dead, so the wake was picked instead as an opportunity for survivors to come together, share the grief of the disaster, and remember those that had been lost.

When Max heard about the plan, she took it to Chloe as fast as she could. She didn't particularly like the idea of returning to Oregon, but she felt the two of them needed to be there nevertheless - it should provide them both with some closure. When she prepared to bring to news to her blue-haired best friend, Chloe was just about to finish up in the kitchen.

'Chloe, I've heard there's gonna be in a wake in Arcadia this weekend.'

'There is?'

'Yes. I think we should go.'

Chloe put the plate she was washing down into the sink, and turned over to Max.

'I don't know. I really don't think I want to go back there so soon. I mean, the last five years I spent there without you were hell. It'd just remind me of that.'

Max could see where Chloe was coming from, for if their return wasn't another reminder of how Chloe had to deal with her father's death without the unconditional support of her best friend, it served as a chilling remembrance of those that had perished due to Max's selfish desire for her partner. They were gone. They were dead. And no matter how much Max had loved them, there was nothing in the world that was able to change the brutal truth: she had chosen Chloe over their lives.

'Are you sure?'

'Yes, Max. I really want to turn the page from the past five years.'

'Okay. Ryan and Vanessa are probably pleased anyway that we're not going away so soon after we've returned, so I guess there is a silver lining after all.'

After a few seconds of silence, Max thought of something else she wanted to discuss.

'How are you gonna pacify with David? I figure he's not pleased that you're not going back there.'

'He's gonna have to put up with it. I'd take living with you in Seattle over sharing a house with him any day of the week, so he's tough out of luck I'm afraid.'

'I hear you. It's just, he may still want to see you from time to time. I think he does care, in his own way.'

'I know, Max. It's just… He'll just remind me of my shitty years back in Arcadia. So yeah, I may want to see him again, just not yet, okay?

'It's all right. I respect anything that you decide. Remember that I'm here if you need me.'

'I will Max. You're the best.'


Chloe Elizabeth Price. It still took some time for Max to adjust to the fact she was her girlfriend now. Although their relationship didn't substantially alter the way the pair interacted, - they could make out like lovers, but still make up like best friends - Max had just never considered she was gay before. Being together with Chloe made perfect sense to her however, and her parents had said so as well: she and Chloe had been intimate since childhood after all. Regardless, that they were able to rekindle their friendship and intimacy so quickly after all those years meant a lot to her, and she realized the two of them shared something truly special.

After the dust settled and Chloe had formalized her relocation to Seattle, there remained only the question on what the way forward would look like. Neither had any desire to go back to school immediately, so they decided to postpone their senior years until after summer. For now, they wanted to focus on themselves - what their dreams would be, how their futures would take shape, and how they were gonna move on after Arcadia Bay.

But it's hard to escape the pull of the past. A couple of weeks after she left Oregon, Max opened her mailbox to find a mail from a certain Kristine Prescott. Considering her history with Nathan and his father, her initial impulse was to delete the mail without even opening it. However, she reconsidered: this Prescott should at least get a chance to reach out to her - Nathan and Sean shouldn't be considered the sole representatives of the family. She clicked on the message in her inbox, and began to read what it said:

'Dear Maxine,

My name is Kristine Prescott, and I am the sister of Nathan. I am verry sorry to hear you and Nathan had a falling out. My brother wasn't a fundamentally bad guy, but he was troubled, and it seems you were one of his unfortunate victims. You should know that he grew up in a family that was, for all intents and purposes, fucked up and rotten to the core. As my family's petty empire comes crashing down around them and they are rightfully condemned in the public eye for what they're responsible for, I am reaching out to you. You have suffered at Nathan's hands, and I would like to apologize to you in person for the harm my family caused. Even though I will be cutting all ties to the Prescotts, you deserve at least an apology for what has happened. I'm in Seattle, and you can mail back to this address.

All the best,

Kristine Prescott'

Max was left flabbergasted by the text on her screen. Nathan's sister wished to meet with her? She remembered the e-mails she saw on Nathan's laptop, and how she seemed to distance herself already from the confines of her family's 'heritage'. But meeting face-to-face with a Prescott? Wasn't that a bridge too far? Maybe she just wanted to clear her conscience, but for what reason? She hadn't drugged Kate and Rachel, and she sure didn't wave a gun around Blackwell. Perhaps she just wanted to show to Max that at least a single member of the family feels responsible for what happened, and only wanted to convey that she cares.

In that case, Max reasoned, she should get in touch with her, and hear her out. She lived in Seattle too, so it wouldn't be too much trouble. Convincing Chloe to come with was probably gonna be the hardest part, since Nathan had actually threatened and drugged her. But Max figured even she would budge, if confronted with a persuasive argument from her best friend.

She disconnected the laptop from the charger, took the laptop in her left hand, and commenced to descend the stairs into the living room. Chloe was in there, reading a newspaper on the sofa.

'Chloe?'

'Whassup?'

'I just recieved this mail. I would really appreciate it if you'd read it.'

'Don't tell me it's from David, and he's angry with you.'

'No, it's not. Just read it for me, will you? And don't be mad when you're done!'

'I like it when you're all dictator-like, Idi Amax. Gimmie that!'

Max gave her the laptop, and her girlfriend began to read what was on the screen. After she was done, she put the laptop down and turned towards Max.

'I'm not meeting her. Unless you want me to strangle her for what Nathan has done to you, Rachel and me. You shouldn't go either.'

'But Chloe, if she really wants to apologize, we should give her a chance. I saw some of her correspondence with Nathan in his room, and I really think she could be different. Please, will you do this for me? I promise I'll find a way to reactivate my power, so I can just flip a rewind in case you do strangle her.'

'I don't think you can keep that promise... Besides, do you really want to meet with someone who calls you Maxine?'

Max reached out, and gently squeezed Chloe's wrists.

'Please? I really want to do this.'

A short silence followed.

'We can just get out of there if the meet goes bad, right?'

Max lunged forward, and took Chloe into her arms.

'Thank you. I love you!'


Kristine never enjoyed being a Prescott. Despite the power, wealth and influence of her kin, she was quick to see through the thin layer of prestige her family's name carried. Behind the shiny facade, there really was something rotten in the state of Denmark. She remembered the infighting, the pressuring to preserve the family 'legacy', the corruption that held it all together, and she was glad she was able to escape from the gilded cage.

She rebelled by enlisting in the Peace Corps, by helping people, by making the world a better place. Instead of attempting to own people, she tried to liberate them. Instead of institutionalizing greed and selfishness, she attempted to promote charity and altruism. Her family had scorned her for it. But her concern was never really for herself - it was for her little brother, who clearly crumbled and cracked under the weight of their destructive father, the ruthless master of puppets orchestrating all of the suffering. She did try to help, but it was not enough: she heard about the unspeakable terror he and Jefferson unleashed, and was torn between sensations of pity for her fallen brother and disgust for what he'd done.

None of this was Maxine Caulfield's fault, though. When she learned of Jefferson's dark room and the girl who had the courage to take a stand against Nathan, she knew Maxine deserved at least an attempted apology. It didn't make right what was wrong, but she felt the gesture mattered.

Maxine replied that she accepted her offer, and they were to meet in a Seattle coffee house. Kristine hoped they would recognize each other, and she'd tried to describe her appearance as best as possible. Brown hair, a little over shoulder-length. Alice in Chains t-shirt. Jeans. Mid-twenty's. Strangely, Maxine never told her how she and her girlfriend were to be recognized, so she couldn't help but feel a little anxious when she walked out of the late October cold and into the bar that would be the backdrop of their conversation.

She looked around for a table to sit, and found one in the far corner. She sat down, put off her coat and ordered whatever coffee the waiter recommended her. Looking around, Kristine attempted to figure out which one of the patrons would be Maxine. Was it the blonde girl who was talking to her friend near the counter? Perhaps it was the brunette at the other side of the building who was playing with her phone while her companion was busy paying the bill?

'Are you Kristine Prescott?'

She looked up to a brunette with dots of freckles under both her eyes, wearing an open grey jacket; a black shirt underneath, the strap of a shoulder bag across her body on top. Beside her stood somewhat of a punk kind-of-girl, sporting bright blue hair and dressed in a trendy white jacket and a ditto black top - she spotted a necklace consisting of three bullets adorning her neckline as well. They made a somewhat strange combination together. She pictured one as rather artsy type, and the other as a moshpit regular. Surely these two weren't into each other?

'Yes, I am. Are you Maxine Caulfield?'

'It's Max. This is my girlfriend, Chloe Price.'

'What's up?'

The pair sat down at the other side of the table, and Kristine offered to shake hands with them. Max accepted, but Chloe pretended she didn't notice the reached out hand.

'Thank you for taking the time to meet with me. How long have you two been together?'

'We've known each other since we were little kids as best friends, but we've been a couple since the beginning of this month.'

'Wow, that's amazing!'

'It is. How are the Prescotts doing?'

'Not good. My father is in serious legal trouble for what Jefferson and my brother have done, and the real estate he was developing was wiped away by the tornado. Plus, everyone is turning their backs on them. I'm changing my name as well, if you want to know.'

'I'm sorry about your brother.'

'You shouldn't be. I know you saw him with a gun, and he threatened you.'

'I was the one he pointed the gun at, by the way.'

Both Max and Kristine appeared surprised by Chloe's sudden contribution.

'You were? I… I don't know what to say… I'm so sorry you had to go through that.'

'Well, he also killed Rachel Amber - a girl I was close with - and he drugged me, so I guess I'm an expert when it comes to your brother.'

Kristine noticed how Chloe and Max reached out for each other's hand underneath the table.

'Chloe… that's horrible. Nathan had serious issues, and I failed to take of him. None of that should have happened to you, and that's on me. Is there anything I can do for you?'

'I'd help if your sick family was gone, that's for damn sure.'

'You're right, my family is sick and my father is a horrible man. He was never there for Nathan, and all he ever cares about is the family 'legacy'. I'm with you in hoping that they're never able to rebuild, Chloe. They have caused a lot of harm to Arcadia Bay.'

She turned her attention back to Max, still holding Chloe's hand.

'Max, I also feel bad for what happened to Kate Marsh. I read about your heroics in the paper, and I wish to thank you for saving her from that roof.'

'I wasn't there for her when the storm came…'

'There's nothing you can do about that. Don't blame yourself for something you had no power over.'

'But…'

'No buts. You were a hero for saving her on that roof, and no disaster can change that.'

'Thanks.'

Max took a second to breathe, and then continued their talk.

'It must be hard for you to leave your family like this.'

'Well, I've distanced myself from them already for the last couple of years. I was just so sick of all the bullshit even before this scandal broke out. But yeah, hearing your brother was working with a psycho and that he was killed is anything but fun. It's just so surreal, 'cause I still have these memories of him playing in the backyard with my mother and I. He was so happy back then, and thinking about the way his life went from there just breaks my heart. It really does.'

She noticed how that struck a nerve with Max, who was visibly having trouble keeping herself together.

'I'm sorry. None of this changes anything about the pain he's caused you. If you guys ever want to talk about what happened back in Arcadia, you can call me.'

Kristine reached into her pocket to grab a pen, and she wrote down her number on the closest napkin in reach.

'Again, thank you for meeting with me. It means a lot.' She took a final sip of her coffee, and made an effort to rise up from her chair.

'Can I ask you something, Kristine? Why did you want to meet with us? Wouldn't it be just easier for you to get away from it all?'

'I wanted to speak with you, because at least someone should make an effort to apologize for what the Prescotts have done. Heaven knows they won't be the ones to do it, so I figured it could well be me. Again, if you want to talk, the both of you can reach me anytime. I live here, so you'll know where to find me.'

'Thank you, Kristine.'

'Pleasure's all mine, Maxine. You too, Chloe.'

She threw the girls a quick smile, grabbed her coat, and proceeded towards the exit of the coffee house. She knew a single talk wouldn't relieve her of the family's burden, but if it helped Chloe and Max to move on just a little bit, she knew it would have been worth it.