Chapter 12

The next day, a full school assembly was called at Blackwell. Students clamoured into the courtyard where chairs had been laid out. Voices danced through the air with gossip about what might be going on. Once everyone was seated, Principle wells took the microphone. Everyone shut up instantly. He didn't even need to ask for attention.

"Okay, I need everyone to listen closely." His voice carried over the audience and seemed to chill them to the bone. "This is rumour control. Here are the facts. We have just received confirmation that yesterday, on the eleventh of October; Max Caulfield sadly passed away. Out of respect to her family, we're holding back the full account. Max was a hard-working photography student who put love into everything she did. She would never have agreed to special treatment, or to be elevated above any other student. But we must acknowledge the loss we have all, as a community, suffered today. In these exceptional circumstances, classes have been cancelled for a week to give the school time to reorient itself. We are also starting a fund to the hospital that she was in. Blackwell is automatically donating three-thousand dollars, and any student wishing to add to that may do so freely."

Once Wells had finally finished talking, everyone went back to their dorms, or was allowed to get their stuff and go home. Unable to face what was happening, Warren just collapsed onto his bed. Strangled sobs escaped his chest. When Max was in hospital, he'd been the only one to send her flowers. Chloe and Rachel were visiting every day, so that was okay, but it was only yesterday that Kate and Victoria took flowers to her with the card, and they got there too late. Was it just him, or was Max really cared about that little? It disgusted him. Why did people used to judge her from afar? If they'd tried talking to her, they'd have seen how different she was on the inside. With dark thoughts clouding him, Warren cried himself to sleep.

Victoria Chase sat on her bed with her head in her hands and tears streaming down her face. She looked up to see Kate Marsh standing in the doorway in a state that wasn't much better than her own. Without a word, Victoria beckoned her over. She sat next to her in an awkward silence.

"I'm going to change." Victoria said suddenly.

"Do you want me to wait outside?" Kate asked, getting up to leave.

"No Kate, I mean I'm going to change as a person." Victoria corrected herself. "I just- I wasted the time I knew Max being nothing but horrible to her. Granted, I didn't think she was going to get ill and die so suddenly. No one saw that coming. But that's no excuse. I should have been a better person. I could have had a great friend in her, and despite all the crap I threw at her she never once retaliated. She just sat there taking it as though it did nothing. I can't help but wonder if that's part of the reason why this happened. Whether the stress I put her under caused this."

"Victoria, did you not see the state she was in when we found her?" Kate asked. "There's no way that was just stress. There was something else going on. Whatever it was though, God can sort it out. But we were truly blessed to know her for the time we did. I know that when the principle just announced her death, everyone felt physically sick. There are very few people here who'll carry on being the same person they were before now."

"Come here." Victoria said as she laid herself down on her bed.

"What are you doing?" Kate asked.

"I think right now, we're both worn out." Victoria sighed as her body relaxed for the first time in over a day. Kate went to join her but suddenly stopped. She grabbed the chain on the crucifix round her neck before unclipping it and tucking it in her breast pocket. "Now what are you doing?" Victoria asked.

"I don't want to strangle myself." Kate said as she lay down alongside her. "To be honest, I don't know if I'll put it back on when I wake up." A shocked look crossed Victoria's face. "It's only for a few days." Kate said quickly. I want to speak to the priest at church this Sunday. I have more than a few questions to ask him."

"Kate Marsh, are you turning your back on your faith?" Victoria asked.

"No, I just... I don't know right now." Kate said. "I'm confused since Max's death. My mother always said God didn't kill without good reason. What had Max done that deserved anything like what she got? In my opinion, she was one of the most kind-hearted, dedicated and hard working people I knew."

"Whatever you decide, I'm here for you." Victoria told her. "To put it simply, I want to help you. For the first time in my life I genuinely want to help people. It feels great."

"It'll feel even better once you start doing it." Kate replied. "Trust me on that. Thanks though, Victoria. I truly feel like there's some hope for the pair of us. I hope we both find the answers we're looking for." With that, the two girls held each other close before drifting off into a sleep that they knew would be haunted by heart-wrenching dreams.

The news from Chloe's house wasn't much better. Chloe was a wreck. She'd barely moved from her bed all of yesterday and today. Rachel hadn't left her side except to get her food and water. The rest of the time, she just lay there cradling Chloe in her arms. It was just before supper that Chloe dared to open her eyes and face the world.

"How are you feeling?" Rachel asked.

"Do you really want to know?" Chloe looked like she was barely clinging to any will to live. Rachel hugged her closer and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Rachel, I want to go to the junkyard." Chloe said.

"Okay." Rachel replied slowly, not knowing why Chloe would say that so randomly. "Go get a shower and then we'll go down there."

"Yeah, that's fine." Chloe said, getting up and going to pull Rachel with her.

"What are you doing?" Rachel asked.

"You never said I was showering alone." Chloe winked.

The girls pulled up at the junkyard two hours later. Chloe and Rachel got out from Chloe's truck and started walking. Rachel followed Chloe, who didn't have the strength to tell her to stay in the truck this time. Enough was enough. Her final hurdle would be removed today.

Eventually, the girls reached the shallow stream at the edge of the junkyard. Reaching into her pocket, Chloe pulled out the bag of grass substitute she'd got from rehab. Before Rachel could stop her, she'd thrown it into the river, watching as it was carried away.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Rachel asked. "You need that to stop you having withdrawals!"

"No, I don't." Chloe said. "I needed to get rid of it so I wouldn't mentally collapse. I've spent the last twenty-four hours hiding from the world and feeling like everything out there was evil. As you were holding me, I realised the evil wasn't outside at all. It was in my back pocket waiting to be smoked to prevent me from falling into a negative state of mind. I'm going to be feeling so crap over losing Max for at least a few months. But provided you're with me, I'll barely notice it's even gone."

"Chloe Price, I'll never leave you." Rachel said as she wrapped her arms around Chloe's neck and kissed her gently. "I love you."

"I love you too." Chloe replied lovingly. A hushed silence fell over them as they both looked at the grey clouds overhead. The one above them seemed to break open in the centre, letting a tiny ray of sunlight shine through which bathed the girls in a radiant light. Rachel held Chloe tighter, feeling a warm energy rise inside her.

"Chloe, I didn't get to know Max nearly as well as I hoped, but there is something I did know about her." Rachel's tone completely changed. "When everything in her world was going dark, there was still one bright shining light that she looked to for strength. Just the fact that she was there, was more help than any hospital."

"Who was it?" Chloe asked.

"It was you." Rachel told her. A sad smile spread across Chloe's face. "We may not like it, Chloe; but we can't deny that life has changed."