Welcome back, frens! I figured I needed to get in a quick update before the New Year. I know it's been taking forever and you all have been patiently waiting for another chapter. So, with this chapter, I wish you Happy Holidays and safe travels if you're going anywhere :).
Now, on with the story!
Max pulled into the parking lot of the Two Whales diner, and Chloe's face lit up in an excited grin.
"Man, this place still looks exactly how it did five years ago." she commented as she undid her seatbelt.
Max ejected the CD from the player and returned it to its case, laughing a bit. "Fewer things changed than you think, Che."
I'd like to believe that.
Chloe opened the door and slipped out, with Max following suit and locking the car once their doors were closed. Chloe breathed in the reminiscent smell of the diner. Her mouth started to water just by the scent of food wafting through the vents atop the building. Max gently brushed passed her and smiled over her shoulder. "Come on, Cap'n." she said, chuckling. "Time to plunder some booty."
"Aye, aye, First Mate." Chloe laughed softly and fell in step behind Max, thanking Max when she held the door open for her. She dismissed the small flutter in her heart when her mind caught up with the fact that they just used their old pirate slang.
Feels like centuries ago...
The smell only got stronger once they were inside, and Chloe felt her stomach growling. There were a few other patrons occupying booths and seats at the counter; a trucker, a mother with her son, and two guys arguing over a movie in a booth in the corner. Chloe's eyes scanned the diner and she nodded down the isle.
"Would it be too much of me to ask that we sit at our usual spot?" she asked Max.
Max's features brightened at her suggestion. "Of course not."
Eagerly, the two girls made their way down to the second to last booth by the window. Max sat on one side, and Chloe on the other. For a split second, they were brought back to the many times years ago where they would come running in after a long day at school, donning their pirate clothes because that's how they loved to unwind. They would hop into this very booth and Chloe would stand on the seat with her cardboard sword pointing at the waiter. "Bring me the treasure!" she'd declare. And Max would cover her mouth to quiet her hysteric giggles because, whenever Chloe would stand on the seat, shoulders squared and chest puffed out, she looked just like a captain.
And she looked beautiful.
"Max?"
Max picked her head up, realizing she'd been caught staring at Chloe blankly. Chloe had her hand raised like she'd been waving it in front of Max's eyes to regain her attention.
Chloe smiled. "You okay there, tiger?"
Max felt her face warming up. She fidgeted with her jacket zipper under the table. "Uh, yeah. J-just thinking."
Max flinched. She stuttered. She wasn't supposed to stutter. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Cool, confident, steady. That was it. She'd start biting her tongue if it meant she could continue to be perceived as if she were okay.
"Looked more like reminiscing than thinking." Chloe placed her hand palm down on the table, her smile more gentle now than before. "Were you thinking what I was thinking?"
"If you were thinking about how we used to come in here after school like we were about to raid the place as small pirates, then yes." Max laughed softly.
Chloe's eyes started to sparkle a bit and her shoulders trembled with her quiet laughter. "Yep, me too."
"It's been so long, hasn't it?" Max asked. She leaned forward and rested her chin in the palm of her hand.
"It has." Chloe agreed. "Life is crazy that way, huh?"
Max chuckled. "Yeah. It is."
A somewhat uncomfortable silence settled between them. Max found herself watching the world go by outside. The lighthouse loomed in the distance, creating an almost eerie image amongst the background to the cars passing by on the street. Chloe simply sat back and tapped her fingers absently on the table, trying to decide on how to start a conversation. She didn't know what kind of things Max was still into and vice versa. She knew this would have been easier if they didn't fall out of step with each other so long ago.
"So..." Chloe stopped tapping and looked at Max hesitantly. She was clearly letting anxiousness nip at her heels.
"So..." Max echoed. She turned her attention from the outside world to Chloe. They watched each other anxiously, both chewing on their lips in the weighted silence.
"Well, well, well." Another voice, an amused one, chimed in from behind the counter. Max and Chloe looked from each other to the direction of the voice, Max smiling instantly. "Is that Chloe Price I see?"
It took Chloe a second to recognize the woman speaking to them. "Vanessa?"
Max's mother grinned and made her way around the counter towards the girls. Chloe stood almost immediately and Vanessa enveloped her in a hug, to which Chloe returned it with just as much enthusiasm.
"You've grown so much since we last saw you." Vanessa said when they parted. "And I'm loving the blue hair."
Chloe's face colored slightly at the compliment, her hand reaching up to lightly touch her ends. "Thanks." She dropped her hand and made a small gesture to the diner. "The place still looks great. It's good to see you're keeping it up."
"Nothing compared to when your mother owned it." Vanessa said, and laughed a bit.
"I'm sure she'd still be impressed." Chloe said.
"I appreciate the kind words." Vanessa patted her shoulder and took the notepad and pen from her apron. "So, what would you to like to eat?"
"The usual for me, mom." Max said. "I'm not sure if Chloe's taste has changed as drastically as her style." She gave Chloe a teasing grin.
"Ha, ha." Chloe made a face at her, then looked back at Vanessa. "I wouldn't mind some bacon and eggs, though."
Vanessa took down their orders and read over again to be sure. "Coming right up, sit tight." She grinned and headed to the window behind the counter to clip the ticket to the line.
"So good to see your mom again." Chloe said as her and Max took their seats again. "I'm glad she's not one to hold a grudge."
"Just wait until Dad sees you." Max said. "He's been wondering when we'd hear from you again, more than mom actually."
"Really?" Chloe's eyebrow raised. "Why so?"
Max shrugged, and her gaze locked on an imaginary stain on the table. "Don't know. He just... loved our friendship, I guess."
"Well, maybe we could schedule a day for me to stay for dinner." Chloe suggested, her smile returning when she saw a small one gracing Max's lips.
"I'm sure they'd love that."
They stayed at the diner for an hour, their plates emptying slowly due to their invested conversations. Chloe was sharing her story about sneaking to an abandoned warehouse with Rachel to see Firewalk perform. Max was listening, her head resting on one hand and the other closed tightly on her lap.
"So we get to the warehouse and there's this big burly looking guy, right?" Chloe said. She puffed out her chest and flexed her arms as he described him, which drew a chuckle from Max's throat. "And he asks for our ID. I'm sixteen, Rachel's seventeen. We don't have IDs. So I'm trying to think of a way to get past this guy."
"What, did you pull a, 'what's that over there?!' and r-run past him when he turned around?" Max joked. She clenched her hand tighter under the table.
"If only. The guy had a motorcycle with flowers on it." Chloe said. "So I get the bright idea to call him out on it. After a bit of back and forth, he finds my banter amusing and lets us in. So we get in there, and..." Chloe trailed off. She noticed how tense Max seemed. "Hey, you okay?"
"Y-yeah, I'm f-fine." Max winced. "I just g-gotta go to the b-bathroom."
She stood up shakily, flashing Chloe and apologetic smile, and hurried to the bathroom in the far corner with Chloe watching her retreat. She felt her concerned gaze boring into her as she dipped into the bathroom. Max leaned against the door. Her heart was racing in her chest. She couldn't stop them, they were coming too fast.
Fuck, fuck..! She thought. The imagery, dear God, the imagery...
She slipped her purse off her shoulder and rested it on the basin, opening it up to rummage through the contents inside. Phone, keys, tampons... Fuck, where are they?!
Though being mostly steady, Max felt like her whole body was trembling uncontrollably. Her breathing was slightly erratic, her thoughts muddled. She reached further down into her bag and felt her fingers brush against the item she was desperately in need of. She grasped it tightly and pulled it out. She stared down at the orange pill bottle clasped tightly in her fist, just barely able to see the word 'Valium' between her fingers. With only slight hesitation, Max opened the bottle and tipped it over her hand. Two pills tumbled into her hand and she quickly closed the bottle back and placed it back in her purse.
Max looked up at her reflection in the mirror, the panicked expression she was wearing surprisingly not catching her off-guard. It's a face she'd been seeing every morning for three years. Still, that didn't make it any less unnerving. Underneath the thin layer of makeup she wore, she could still see the discoloration below her eyes. She could see the exhaustion in her irises when she let her walls crumble. Her heart ached at the fact that she couldn't show this to Chloe. Or anyone.
Anyone but-
Max shook her head and popped the pills into her mouth, grimacing as she swallowed them dry. Her face twisted up in discontent. The strain in her eyes was clear. She turned on the sink and bent down to splash some water on her face, using some paper towels to dry her face with, and straightened herself back up. With a somewhat obviously forced smile, Max turned to the door and opened it back up. She took a breath and exited the bathroom. When she rounded the corner, it eased her mind a bit that Chloe was still seated in the booth waiting for her rather than leaving. She'd be lying if she said she didn't think Chloe only went along with this to unload her anger and hurt towards her.
"Hey," Chloe smiled when she looked up from her phone, seeing Max sliding back into the booth. But the worry was still there. "Everything good?"
"Mhmm." Max hummed. She wanted to avoid speaking for a bit until the medication took effect.
Chloe, however, knew Max better than that. She didn't address it though. She guessed it was better for Max's sake to drop the issue. "So, as I was saying..."
More time passed, and Max was feeling her nerves easing. She engaged more in Chloe's attempts at conversation and shared her own stories here and there. It wasn't until it was nearing three o'clock that the started to gather their things and stand to leave. Even though her anxiety had subsided and her stuttering was over, Max found herself paranoid. She was kind of zoning out on Chloe's going on about the story of her tattoo. They slipped out of the booth and started for the door. Max picked her head up to bid her mother a goodbye when a little boy suddenly ran into her. Max cried out in shock and stumbled back. Chloe, who was thankfully behind her, caught her with ease and straightened her up.
The side effects chose then to kick in to full gear.
"Watch where the hell you're going!" Max snapped at the kid, her frown more defined than the smile she was wearing earlier.
Chloe's eyes widened and fell on Max. Her hand, which had been holding her elbow to keep her steady, now hovered away from her.
"Don't talk to my son that way!" The son's father came around the corner from the entrance. He returned Max's steely gaze with his hands on his hips.
"Then tell your brat to stop running around in a crowded space." Max huffed.
"Max, calm down." Chloe whispered. She glanced around at the pairs of eyes now fixed on their position.
Max rolled her eyes. "Whatever." And with that, she made her way haughtily around the boy and his father, heading outside to her car.
"I'm... really sorry." Chloe said to the father before following suit.
Max already had the car started up when Chloe reached the passenger side door. Chloe hesitated at the door, her teeth grinding slightly against each other. She opened the door and slipped inside. She didn't quite meet Max's eyes when she looked over at her. All she heard was a small huff of annoyance as the car started out of the space.
Hey! So I know this chapter was short and a little awkward, but that was on purpose. I'm hoping you readers are starting to connect a few dots now. Happy Holidays, and I'll be seeing you all soon!
CaptainVampireKing awaaay!