Hey guys, welcome back. Time to bring in some previously unexplored characters :)
Chapter Eleven: Caution Advised
Max's POV - Two Days Later – Morning
Recently, I had been trying to piece together as much information as I could about Chloe's disappearance. I just couldn't accept that she had vanished off the face of the earth like that. From what Rachel had told me, there were people still looking, not many but some. The most obvious and best place to start was with Blackwell's head of security, David Madsen aka. Chloe's step-father. He didn't have a great reputation for being friendly, especially after Chloe went missing. I sure as hell didn't blame him. It was clear that Blackwell and Arcadia Bay more generally were happy enough to forget Chloe Price had ever existed.
Before class started, I decided to find out for myself what David Madsen knew. As usual, he was stood in the hallway keeping a watchful eye for trouble. Swallowing my apprehension, I approached him. "Um, Mr. Madsen?"
"What do you want?" he barked, making me jump.
Trying to get my nerves under control, I stood my ground. "I need to talk with you. Urgently."
"Urgently, huh? It's always urgent," he muttered to himself. "Go bother Principal Wells with whatever it is you have to complain about. Don't expect him to do anything about it, though."
I lowered my voice so only he could hear. "This is about Chloe."
He seemed shocked that anyone was asking him about his step-daughter, soon turning skeptical. "What about her?"
"Look, can we…" I glanced around anxiously, "…go somewhere more private? Please."
"Fine, follow me." He turned on his heel, moving to a quieter spot. I followed, almost bashing into him when he suddenly stopped. "Say what you've got to say and make it quick."
Not wasting any time, I launched into what I wanted to say. "I used to be Chloe's friend. I moved away and just recently came back to find her missing. I need to find her and I've been told you've been digging around, even if nobody else has."
"You say you knew Chloe?" he asked, eyes narrowing as they focused in on mine with laser-like precision.
Feeling a little uncomfortable, I nodded. "Yes, we were childhood friends. I used to stay at her house a lot, Joyce knows me quite well. Hell, she was like a second mom to me."
I could tell he was considering things, eventually relaxing just a fraction. "Listen, I don't have a lot of time to discuss this now, as much as I might want to. If what you say is true, you'll know where the house is, right?"
"Assuming you guys haven't moved at all, yeah. 44 Cedar Avenue," I replied, knowing the address off by heart.
He gave me a stiff nod. "Yeah, that's it. Since Joyce'll know better if you're telling the truth or just being nosy, come by later today after class, assuming you're free of course. Guess I can give you a lift if you need it. I'm finishing at five today. I'll wait in the parking lot for ten minutes, otherwise you'll have to make your own way."
Relieved that I had made it this far, I fiddled with my bag strap. "I'll be there."
"We'll see. Now, get to class or you'll be late," he ordered gruffly before returning to his post.
With my mission complete, I headed off to class. Maybe, just maybe, I would start getting some answers.
Lunchtime
Since Rachel told me she would be busy at lunch, I decided to hang out with Kate. She seemed more than happy to join me. We found a good spot outside, away from the crowds. Lunchtime with Kate was much quieter than with Rachel.
"It's strange," Kate began, finishing her mouthful, "Victoria hasn't been anywhere near me today or yesterday having said that. In fact, she seems to be purposefully avoiding me. I did get a brief glare or two, but… that's it."
"I have a feeling Rachel had something to do with that." The mischievous blonde had been looking for an opportunity to put her plan into action and maybe she had found it, or just gotten bored of waiting. Both were likely.
Kate nodded thoughtfully. "Whatever she did, I'm grateful. I just hope it lasts."
"Oh, I think it will. Even if it doesn't, I think we can work something out." I hoped that photo would be enough to keep Victoria at bay, for her sake more than anyone. Rachel didn't do half-measures and clearly had other plans if Victoria refused to bend to her will. No doubt they would involve me in some capacity.
"That sounds ominous," Kate pointed out, clearly picking up on my concern. "She didn't do anything really bad to get Victoria to stop, did she?"
I shook my head, reassuring her. "She just got some more blackmail material. Nothing too serious. Fighting fire with fire."
She was quiet for a time, gathering her thoughts. "So long as she won't get in trouble for it."
"Rachel has it covered. I don't know how she always seems to be in control. Have to admit, I'm a little jealous of that." If I had even a fraction of her confidence, my life would be very different.
Kate allowed herself a small smile. "I'm sure if you keep hanging around with her, her confidence will rub off on you."
"Maybe." Now that I thought about it, I had already done things with Rachel I would never have even considered before. The Victoria incident as a prime example. Part of that was down to my powers, though.
Finishing up her sandwich, she put the wrapper in her bag for the time being. "If I can tear you away from Rachel for more than five minutes, we can have a tea banquet tomorrow. We need to do something special since we're celebrating."
"Ooh, sounds fancy."
"Of course, Rachel can come too if she wants to," Kate offered. "She might get bored of something like that, though."
"I think she has something planned for later, maybe. It can be just the two of us. This is basically a joint birthday tea party." Since our birthdays were so close, we decided to hold off on the celebrations until mine came around. She insisted on organizing it all, probably for the best.
With a smile, Kate explained the final arrangements. "Meet me at the bus stop at ten. I have somewhere special in mind to host."
I had to admit, I was actually getting excited about it. "I'm not sure if I can wait until tomorrow now."
"Patience is a virtue, Max." She glanced at her phone, checking the time. "We'd better make a move soon. An hour seems to go by so quickly."
I grinned at her as I stood, brushing myself down. "It usually does in good company."
She rolled her eyes playfully as she followed my lead. "Well, aren't you a smooth talker today?"
"I always am," I replied, hearing my phone go off with a new message. Not trusting myself to walk and text at the same time, I offer Kate a smile. "I just need to deal with this quick, don't let me hold you up."
"Remember, ten tomorrow. Bus stop," Kate recapped, giving me a quick hug before leaving for her next class.
Rachel: Yo Max
Rachel: What're you up to?
Rachel: It's been lonely without you :(
I had been expecting something from Rachel sooner or later. Actually, I was surprised it had taken her this long to spam me.
Max: not my fault
Rachel: so cold but true
Max: I've been doing some investigating
Rachel: Ooh exciting
Max: Scary actually had to face David
Rachel: Ouch been there, done that
Rachel: How'd it go?
Now that was a question. All in all, it had gone well. I could totally understand David's skepticism. At least he was giving me a chance.
Max: Better than expected
Max: going to Chloe's house soon
Max: you can tag along if you want
Rachel: wish i could Max
Rachel: might cause some arguments
Max: Why?
Rachel: David and I…
Rachel: we don't get along
It sounded like there was a story behind that. Eager to know what, I shot a quick text back.
Max: What happened?
Rachel: I led Chloe astray
Rachel: apparently
Rachel: guess he's not completely wrong
Rachel: so yeah best if i stay here
Rachel: AWAY from step-douche
Rachel: Chloes loving nickname for him
Max: that might be for the best
Rachel: swing by when you get back
Rachel: missing you x
A little confused by the last message, I pushed it to the back of my mind and all but sprinted to my next class, cutting it very close. A proper explanation would have to wait.
After Class - Parking Lot
I had an hour to wait until David got off from work. Time dragged, the seconds ticking by excruciatingly slow. If only my powers came with a fast forward, that would come in handy. Finally, five o'clock rolled around and I met David in the parking lot. He gave me a stiff nod and opened the door for me. I got in and belted up as he started the engine. Soon enough, we were on our way.
A few moments later, David struck up a conversation. "So, I don't think I got your name before."
"Max. Max Caulfield," I replied, feeling a little nervous. David was pretty intense.
"Caulfield, huh?" he repeated. "Might've heard Joyce or Chloe mention the name before. Guess we'll find out soon enough."
The following silence was almost unbearable, so awkward. "How's Joyce been handling all this?"
"How do you think?" he shot back, making me feel very stupid.
"Yeah, okay that was a stupid question," I conceded, realizing it was best to keep my mouth shut. I almost wished I'd taken the bus now.
After what felt like an eternity, we pulled up outside Chloe's house. To my surprise, half of it had been painted blue, the job left unfinished. The second we came to a stop, I got out of the car to escape the awkwardness.
"Joyce, you here?" David called out as we entered the house. I took a moment to look around a place I knew almost as well as my own house during childhood. It felt strange to be back, a mixture of the new and old.
"Yeah, upstairs," the familiar voice replied.
David turned to me before we headed up the stairs. "You'd better hope for your sake that you're telling the truth. Neither Joyce nor I will be happy if you came here just to snoop." With that, he went upstairs stopping outside the room I knew as Joyce and William's bedroom. He opened the door, standing just inside the room. "Someone's come to pay us a visit."
"Who?" she asked as he stepped aside, revealing me. When her eyes fell on me, they went wide with surprise. "Max?"
I stepped inside, giving an awkward wave. "Hi, Joyce. Long time no see."
Once the initial shock had worn off, she got up from the bed and strode across the room, scooping me up into a tight hug. "Oh, Max. It's really you. What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Seattle."
I found myself returning the hug just as fiercely. "I was, but I came back to study at Blackwell."
When she pulled back, her eyes widened slightly as she noticed the lingering marks from my car accident. She took hold of my cheeks, fingers running over the slightly faded scars. "What happened to you?"
"I, uh, had a little accident on the way to Arcadia. Nothing to worry about, though," I reassured, not wanting to go into too much detail. "I'm totally fine now. So are my parents." Well, fine might be a strong word for it…
Still looking a little concerned, she moved her hands down to my arms as she got a better look at me. "I expect to hear the full story later. You know, I was starting to think I'd never see you again. I can't tell you how relieved I am to see you."
"Guess you weren't lying, then," David announced.
She waved away the ridiculous notion. "Oh please, Max couldn't lie if her life depended on it. I've always been able to tell. Frustrated Chloe something fierce…"
Now that Chloe had been brought up, I saw an opportunity. "I've, uh, heard about… Chloe, going missing. I'm so sorry, Joyce."
"Me too, honey. It's been… horrible, Max. I'm not gonna lie. First William and then… this." Her voice broke at the end of her sentence, unable to continue.
"Could she have just run away?" I suggested hopefully.
"Well, she has done once or twice before," Joyce said as she tried to keep her composure. "She always ended up coming back, though. I haven't heard from her at all since she disappeared. Not a single word. Same with everyone else."
"So I've heard."
David gave me a curious look. "Sounds like you've already been looking into it."
"You could say that, yeah." I'd only really talked to Rachel about it so far.
His face crumpled in disapproval. "Let me guess, you've been talking with that Rachel Amber. Chloe's 'friend' or whatever the hell they were. Don't trust a word she says. This thing is all her damn fau-"
"David, can we not get into that now, please?" Joyce begged.
That was all it took to get him to back off. "Right, sorry."
"It's fine. We're all on edge and want her to come home, safe and sound. Is that why you came here, Max?" Joyce asked, turning the attention back to me.
"Part of it, yes. I wanted to see you again, too." That much was true.
"I just wish it was under better circumstances," she sighed. "You must have questions. I'll do my best to answer them."
"As will I," David agreed.
"Thanks, I know this can't be easy but I appreciate you guys taking the time."
Joyce smiled at me, warm and genuine. "Max, you're family. I always have time for you."
"How long has it been now?" I asked tentatively. Rachel had told me a rough time scale, but I needed to know the details.
Joyce let out a deep sigh, gathering her thoughts. "Let's see, she went missing on the 22nd April, coming up for five months ago now. Don't think I'll ever forget the date."
All I could manage was a mumbled, "Shit, that's a long time."
"You're telling me…" Her expression turned sadder then, her age suddenly showing through the numerous wrinkles on her forehead and around her eyes.
David stepped in here, practically fuming. "The ABPD couldn't even stick at it for two weeks before they completely gave up, not that they tried very hard in that time. Useless. I uncovered more in a day than they did the whole damn time, not that it helped much."
"We've been trying so hard, Max. David's worked tirelessly to find anything he could, hounded whoever he could for answers. Nearly lost his job because of it, too," she revealed, sounding proud and grateful for his effort.
"Principal Wells didn't seem to give a shit," David added bitterly. "As far as he's concerned, she's not his problem anymore."
"Chloe went to Blackwell for a time. Ended up getting kicked out. Caused quite the headache while she attended," Joyce explained, almost smiling at the bittersweet memory. "She's always been a hellraiser."
David crossed his arms, jaw tightening. "There are people still at Blackwell who should've gone before her, take Nathan Prescott as the prime example."
Too tired to get angry anymore, Joyce sighed. "Wells told us he'd 'do his best to co-operate in the investigation'. In other words, nothing."
"That's… seriously messed up." Those words did not even begin to do it justice.
Joyce nodded tiredly. "It is, yes. He seemed like a decent man when I met him the first time. As you can imagine, my opinion has changed somewhat."
Knowing that this might sound like a stupid question, I hesitantly asked, "Do you have any idea where she might have gone?"
Thankfully, Joyce didn't take it the wrong way. "Chloe's been threatening to leave Arcadia Bay for a while now, hell she's even run away a few times. There are a lot of bad memories tied to this place. Problem is, she never said where she'd run to. I don't even think she knew."
"For a while, we thought she might be hiding with that Rachel Amber girl or that she might know where Chloe was at least." For whatever reason, David really did not seem to like Rachel. That much was obvious by the way he said her name and his expression. Just what had happened between them?
Briefly glancing over at him, Joyce continued that train of thought. "Rachel was a good friend of Chloe's, and I suspect more than that. Those two were joined at the hip. Reminded me a little of you and Chloe, actually. Only difference, you were a sort of counterbalance whereas she was a catalyst to Chloe's impulsive recklessness."
David let out a deep 'hmph', expressing his disapproval. It seemed like there was more he wanted to say about that but instead he kept quiet. Probably for Joyce's sake.
"So, there weren't any clues as to where she might have gone?" I asked, hanging on to a slight glimmer of hope.
"Nothing but dead ends. Leads are getting thin on the ground. I can give you a copy of everything I've managed to dig up so far. Don't know if it'll help, but..." He let the sentence hang in the air unfinished.
"It will. Thanks, David." He nodded at me before I turned back to Joyce. "Listen, I have to get back now, as much as I'd like to stay longer. I promise I'll come visit again. Before I go, is it okay if I have a look around Chloe's room?"
Joyce offered me an understanding smile filled with sympathy. "Of course, Max. Back in the day, it was as much your room as hers. Neither David nor I have gone in for a while, so I dread to think what state it's in. Chloe wasn't the tidiest of people and I'm sure there's a few plates and cups still missing from the cupboards."
"Some things don't change, I guess." Chloe had never been tidy, the polar opposite.
"Her messiness might be about the only thing that stayed the same," Joyce mentioned sadly.
Quickly exchanging numbers with both Joyce and David, promising to share any information I stumbled across, I headed across to Chloe's room. Letting out a deep breath, I grabbed the handle and opened the door. I was in awe of how much the room had changed, almost nothing like I remembered. There was a strange smell clinging to the air, stale and herbal. Posters, pictures, and graffiti covered the walls. Clothes, magazines and crumpled up pieces of paper littered the floor, bed, and desk. I recognized the TV sat to the right, the one that used to belong in the living room.
The childhood height chart on the wall by the bed had been angrily scribbled out. That hit home hard. I opened the wardrobe and then the chest of drawers to the left, all the punk-style clothes inside seeming foreign. Digging deeper, there were a few reminders of the Chloe I used to know. She'd kept our old drawings and a phone we once decorated stashed away in the drawers of a blue cabinet by the door. There was a box of photos, too. I featured in a few, so did William and Bongo, Chloe's cat.
After a while, I found a lockbox under the bed left unlocked. Unable to resist, I opened it. There wasn't much inside but everything seemed to be related to Rachel from what I could tell. There was a picture inside of the two of them, Chloe flipping off at the camera. The other noticeable item was a CD. Curious to know what was on it, I put it in the hi-fi immediately turning it down when an indie rock tune blared from the speakers. Curiosity sated, I switched it off and sat down on the bed, laying back slowly.
This was a glimpse of the person Chloe had become while I had been away in Seattle, the Chloe I never got to meet. Might never meet now… That was when I felt something warm and wet roll down my cheeks, tears. Not even bothering to stop them, I curled up and sobbed. There were so many things I was supposed to have said to her, wanted to say. Now, I couldn't.
I stayed like that for a while, letting it all go. While it would be wrong to say I felt better after, I sure didn't feel worse. As the tears dried, I made a promise to Chloe and to myself. Somehow, I would find her, or at least find out what happened. I owed us both that much.
When I felt ready, I shuffled off the bed and, after taking one final glance, left the room. Giving my face a quick splash in the bathroom, I popped my head around the door to say goodbye to Joyce – declining staying around for dinner, as tempting as it was – and headed downstairs.
"Max." I turned to see David stood there, a file in his hand. "Here's that information I promised."
"Thanks." I took the file from him, stuffing it in my bag for later.
He nodded, leading me outside so he could drop me back off at Blackwell. When we got in his car and were underway, David finally spoke. "Max, there's one more thing I wanted to talk about."
"Yeah?"
He took a deep breath, eyes fixed on the road ahead. "Stay away from Rachel Amber. That girl's nothing but trouble. Chloe was never perfect, but things went downhill when she turned up. I don't know what she's after, never been able to figure that out myself, but she'll do anything to get what she wants. She might seem nice and charming, but that's just an act. Don't fall for it, not like Chloe did."
Hoping for more answers, I pressed him for more detail. "You really don't like her, do you?"
Giving me a sideways glance, he let out a short, sharp laugh. "Understatement. I might not be the most tolerant of people, but she got Chloe involved in a lot of questionable things. I'm convinced she's the reason why Chloe's not here with us right now. Thing is, she's very subtle about it. Not like Nathan Prescott, for example. At least you know he's untrustworthy. No, Rachel's much scarier. You won't even realize you're under her spell until it's too late… and then there's nothing you can do about it. It was that way with Chloe, at least. I don't want a repeat."
I didn't say anything in response to that, mostly because I had no idea how to reply. Was David just paranoid… or was he onto something?
So, just how paranoid is David? Stay tuned to find out…