Chapter 2: Doubts
Max had called her parents as soon as she was able to speak again. Both arrived half an hour later at the Price's house. Chloe hadn't stopped crying since, what was way over an hour now. The brunette girl tried to comfort her friend, but the blonde girl kept on shedding tears. Vanessa called a doctor from the hospital, who is specialized in trauma therapy.
As soon as Dr. Mortensen, an older man with white hair and a trimmed beard, arrived, he took care of Chloe, who Max and the doctor brought upstairs in her room. Some minutes later the freckled girl came back down and sat down on a chair, new tears in her eyes and deep in thoughts. She thought about the daydream she had two hours ago. Focusing on the pictures she saw, especially the one with the crashed car, she tried to bring some sense into them. And the longer she focused on these images, the clearer they became; more detailed. 'The crashed car was William's. The funeral; Joyce and Chloe in the front row, a picture on the coffin, William's picture. Oh my god. It all came true. I saw the future. And I did nothing.'
Becoming aware of the truth, Max started to cry again, burying her face in her hands. 'Oh Chloe, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. If I'd just told you…'
Dr. Mortensen came back downstairs. "How is she?" Vanessa asked with a worried voice.
The doctor rubs the bridge between his eyes. "I gave her I mild sedative. She's asleep for now. Sadly, the incident seems to have traumatized the poor girl."
"Is she gonna be okay?" Max asked.
"Probably, however it is unpredictable if she'll fully recover from this. What she needs now is rest and a lot of support from her friends and family."
Hearing those words, Max's heart fell to her feet. 'How can I be a support for her, if I'm moving to Seattle? Oh Chloe, I'm so sorry.' She knew that Chloe had no other friend besides her. And her family? Joyce was her only family and who knows how she's doing right now.
Just in this moment the door opened and Joyce entered the house. Her eyes red from crying, her face still wet from all the shed tears. Vanessa walked right towards her and hugged Joyce, both crying. "Oh Joyce, I'm so sorry. How could this happen?"
Joyce tried to focus in order to regain control over her voice. "A drunken driver of a truck ran over a red light, hitting the left side of the car. The police…" She sobbed and took a deep breath again. "…the police said that he was killed instantly. No chance of survival." Vanessa hugged her again. "Where's Chloe?" Joyce asked, clearly worried.
Max's mom introduced Dr. Mortensen, who gave her a brief report, regarding her condition. He also gave her his calling card, if Chloe's condition shouldn't change or become worse, and then took his leave.
The Caulfields stayed the rest of the day at the Price's house, trying to help and comforting Chloe and Joyce. While Joyce tried to stay strong the whole time, Chloe completely shut herself in. Max tried to speak with her whenever she was awake, but got no response. The silence continued for the next days, until William's funeral, 5 days later.
After the funeral, Chloe had her next breakdown. Max stayed at her side the whole time, comforted her; took care of her. During this whole time she thought about the inevitable move to Seattle 6 days later. 'I can't do this! I need to be at her side. She's my first priority, my best friend, my lo…' Suddenly Max stopped her train of thought, due to sudden feelings she never had before. 'Where did that come from? I never thought about her that way. What is happening to me?' She looked at Chloe, who was lying beside her, still asleep. Max stretched her hand out and combed a streak out of her beautiful face, but withdraws it as her blonde friend moved.
Suddenly Max's head started to ache again. The pain caused her nausea and dizziness. Holding her head with two hands, eyes closed, new images flashed in front of her gaze. Images of herself, happy in Seattle. The headaches got stronger, almost unbearable. She groaned. Images of Chloe appeared. She's sad, depressed, smoking, lying in her own blood.
As fast as the pain appeared, it vanished again. Max opened her eyes, breathing heavily. Black spots were dancing in her sight. 'Wowser, this was much worse than before.' A warm stream of blood ran from her nose over her lips, dripping on her hand. She startled upon seeing the red fluid on her hand, but instantly took out a tissue to wipe her nose. 'Okay, Max. Focus. Last time you saw this weird stuff, it showed you William's death. Maybe the images will give you some information about future events.'
Closing her eyes again, she brought the images back into her mind. 'The first images were about me. I'm in Seattle. I see the Space Needle, Rainier Mountain, and the Seattle Skyline. I seem to be happy, at least, I feel happy seeing these images. Strange. Okay, the images about Chloe next. She has a blue streak in her hair and looks a bit older. She looks super sad, like depressed and… Smokes?! A bong! She's taking drugs!' The last image appears and a deep grief embraced her heart. Her eyes are welling up with tears as she opens them again and gazed at her friend, still lying in front of her. 'I-I saw her die. Does this mean that this all will happen to her, while I'm all happy in Seattle?' Again, her hand reached for Chloe's face, but stopped a few inches before touching it. 'I can't leave her! I need to talk with my parents!'
Usually Vanessa expected her daughter home at 6 pm, except sleepovers. However, since William's accident she didn't mind that Max got home a bit later. She knew, Maxine took care of Chloe and needed her time.
The small brunette arrived around 6:30. Her mom had already finished making dinner and her dad sat on the set dining table. Although, she spent the whole day with Chloe, she was in a sad mood, slightly depressed. Her mother served the meal and the family started eating, although Max was merely stabbing her steak with her fork; she wasn't very hungry, just thinking about her last daydream.
"How was your day, honey?" her mom asked with some worry in her voice.
"Fine." she answered monotonously. Her gaze still locked on her full plate.
"How's Chloe?"
Now looking at her mom with a sad face, Max answered. "Still the same. She just lies in her bed; cries and stares into empty space; not speaking."
"That poor girl!"
For the next minutes, the Caulfields continued eating in silence, until Ryan spoke. "So, have you packed all your stuff into the card boxes?"
Maxine nodded. "Almost."
"Still excited about Seattle?" he asked with a smile, trying to lighten up her mood. But Max just stayed silent; her expression darkened even more. Her dad realized it. "What's bothering you, kiddo?"
Max just shrugged. 'C'mon Max, ask them. Now's the chance. Be strong, for Chloe!' She sighed, her gaze still on her plate. "Mom, dad. I…uh…I don't wanna move to Seattle anymore. I-I want to stay here, with Chloe."
Ryan just raised an eyebrow, but her mother dropped her fork and looked sharply at her. "What?! Are you kidding?"
The small brunette startled due to her strict answer, but nodded. Ryan put his hand on Vanessa's arm to calm her down and took over. "Max, we know that this is a very bad timing, but it isn't that simple, you know?"
Now Max raised her head and looked at her parents, slightly agitated. "Why? Just cancel the move. We stay here, in this house, in Arcadia Bay."
Her mother took over again, in a calm voice. "Listen Maxine, we can't just cancel everything, because you want it to be this way or because of second guesses. I'm sorry for Chloe, but you have to see the big picture here. Your father already took the new job. If he backs out, he'll be unemployed. We invested a large amount of money into my new business, filled out and filed in all documents. If we undo this, we would lose all the money and the bureaucratic effort would be a nightmare. Additionally, we already sold the house and bought a new one in Seattle. We would have to sell it under value, losing a lot of money again. Let alone the company for the move."
"Your mom has some points there. Canceling the whole stuff would nearly bankrupt us. Sorry, kiddo, but we need to pull this through." Max's dad added.
Max jumped up from her chair, now even angrier. "That's not fair! Not for me and especially not for Chloe. She doesn't deserve to lose two important people in her life in such a short time!"
Now her mother stood up, too, yelling at her. "Maxine, what is wrong with you? A week ago you were head over heels moving to Seattle and now you want us to cancel everything?" Her gaze on the girl got even sharper. "Was it Chloe again? Has she told you to do this?"
Mentioning her best friend's name and assuming that she told Max to rebel against her parents, although she hasn't spoken since the accident, is so unfair and made Max even more furious. "Leave Chloe out of this, mom! Yes, she's the reason, but she's not the one behind this, that's one hundred percent me." Her eyes started to well up. "Every time I mess up you blame Chloe, making her a bad person who poisons me. This is so wrong and fucked up!"
"Max, language!" Ryan said with a stern voice.
"I want to stay here, because I have the feeling that she needs me!"
"Chloe, Chloe, Chloe, always Chloe." Vanessa rolled with her eyes in annoyance and throws her hands up in the air. "Don't you see that she has you under her control? And what is about us? About our wishes? You know that your dad worked very hard to get this job. And I always dreamt about my own business. Is Chloe really more important to you than our dreams; the dreams of your parents?"
The brunette knew that she had lost the argument. Some tears flew down her cheeks. 'They're right. How could I ignore their wishes and dreams? Oh Chloe, I'm sorry. I'm…I...' The image of her dying friend reappeared in front of her eyes. New courage grew inside of her. 'NO! I won't leave her, sorry mom and dad.' And then she nodded.
"You're kidding, right?" Vanessa asked with a huff. "Max, get up to your room and stay there. And from today on, you're forbidden to visit Chloe."
Shocked, the brunette looked at her mom. "What?!"
She crossed her arms. "You heard me Maxine, now go up to your room!"
Max's lower lip started to shiver; new tears welled up in her eyes. "Fuck you!" She turned around and started walking towards the stairs, but gazed over her shoulder once more, yelling at her mom. "And it's Max, never Maxine!" As Max reached her room, she slammed the door shut with a loud BANG, ignoring her mother's yelling downstairs. 'They can't keep us apart, Chloe. I'll find a way. WE will find a way!' With these thoughts she started to cry, until sleep embraced her.
The next morning Max snuck out of the house and headed for Chloe's. All the way she thought about what to say to her, worried how her friend might react. Before entering the house, she took a minute to take a deep breath. 'Okay Max, this is it. Now don't chicken out!'
Slowly she opened the door. Joyce was in the kitchen, making some breakfast. She gave the brunette girl a warm smile. "Morning, dear! Want some breakfast?"
Max hugged her. "Morning, Joyce! Yeah, I'm starving."
"That I believe. There is no time for some food, if you want to avoid your parents and sneak out of the house." She said with a wink and Max startled. "Oh, don't worry, sweetie. I won't tell Vanessa. Had a little fight, huh?" Nodding silently, Max took a pancake and ate it eagerly. "Y'know, I'm glad that you stick to Chloe. Although your mom is not a bad person, she can sometimes be a real bitch…but don't tell her that." Max shook her head with a grin and grubbed in the next pancake. "Well, Chloe's upstairs, as always. Can you bring her some pancakes? I need to get going."
"I'll do that. Thanks, Joyce. You're the best." The young girl said, smiling warmly and hugging Chloe's mom again.
"Don't mention it. You two belong together and just because you get in some shenanigans, it's not necessary to separate you two. Now, take good care of my Chloe, I'll cover you, if your mom gives you a hard time." With these words said, Joyce left the house and Max walked upstairs towards Chloe's room. One last deep breath and she opened the door.
Chloe wasn't in her bed. She sat at her desk, looking out of the window. She turned around as her best friend entered the room, smiling warmly, joy in her deep blue eyes.
Max stood in the door, merely shocked to see Chloe smiling. The older girl jumped to her feet and gave Max a big hug, pressing her tight. The smaller girl dropped the breakfast to the ground and wrapped her arms around Chloe's back, hugging her equally. A small sob of joy escaped her mouth.
Both girls separated again. Their eyes met and they looked at each other for some time. Max felt the urge to hug her some more. In her stomach flew butterflies, airplanes and other stuff that flies around. But before Max could say or do anything, Chloe broke the gaze and looked down. "Was that for me?"
Looking at the broken plate and scattered pancakes on the floor she mumbled. "Sorry."
"Don't be, I was the one who hugged the shit out of you." She said with a smirk, giving her smaller friend a little push. "By the way, mom's pancakes are unbeatable, even if they're lying on the ground."
Chloe picked up her breakfast, brought it to her desk and started eating it. Max sat down on the bed and looked at her, very deep in thoughts. 'This is it Max, tell her now. What?! She's up and happy and you want to destroy it again? No, but she needs to know. You should've told her months ago! I know, but it happened. You're such a chicken shit! Not anymore, I'll tell her now!'
"Max, are you okay?" Chloe snipped her fingers in front of her friend's face.
Max blinked. "Y-yeah, I'm okay. Just zoned out a bit."
The blonde chuckled. "That's my Max. Always in the zone."
The brunette girl tried to fake a smile, but failed. Took a deep breath and started. "Uhm…Chloe. I-I need to tell you something. I tried to do so for some time now, b-but I always backed out, because I feared your reaction." Chloe looked deep into Max's doe eyes and as the brunette tried to find worries or fear in her friend's eyes, she just saw anticipation and a sparkle, like she was expecting something. Something she waited quite some time now. "My…my parents…and I …are moving to Seattle." Max could see that the sparkle in Chloe's eyes vanished in an instant and was replaced by sadness and unbelief.
"What? When? Why?"
"In 5 days…"
Max expected that Chloe would start to cry or even break down, but instead anger dwelled inside her eyes; anger in a form she never saw before. She yelled. "5 DAYS! 5 FUCKING DAYS! And you're telling me now? Are you fucking shitting me?"
Obviously surprised by the rage of the blonde, Max stayed silent, looking on the floor.
Chloe stood up and pointed with her finger to the door. "Get out!"
The small girl now looked at her and saw pure hate and anger in her friends face. Her voice shivered. "B-but…"
"Get…the fuck…out!"
"Chloe, I…"
"GET OUT! And never come back again!"
These last words cracked Max's heart. Tears welled up in her eyes and flew down her cheeks as she walked out of Chloe's room; the door got slammed shut behind her. Max buried her face in her hands and cried. "I'm sorry, Chloe. I'm so sorry!"
"Fuck off, Max!"
'C'mon Max, you have to tell her everything. Don't give up yet. If you leave, you'll lose her forever.' A glimpse of new courage built up inside of her. "Chloe, I'm so sorry that I haven't told you earlier. That wasn't right, and I know it. But there's some more I need to tell you. Please, hear me out!"
The door opened a bit. "You have one minute. One…fucking…minute!"
'That's a good sign; she hasn't given up on you yet!' "Thank you, Chlo."
"Now only 55 seconds."
"Okay. The thing is I don't want to leave you. I don't want to move to Seattle anymore."
"Anymore? So you wanted to move?"
"Yes…I mean no…I mean…"
"You're not doing so well. 30 seconds."
'Here it goes Max, everything or nothing.' "Yes, I wanted to move, because Seattle is a Mecca for art. But I always felt terrible by the thought of leaving you here and yesterday I had some sort of…of…ugh…I don't know what it was, but I have the feeling that if I leave you here, you're going to die."
The door opens a bit more. Max sees Chloe's stinging blue eyes in the gap. "I'm going to die, if you move to Seattle?" said Chloe, her voice full of doubts and unbelief. The brunette just nods and suddenly the door's slammed shut again, right into her face. "Nice try, but I'll manage without you. Time's up. Good bye, Max."
"Chloe, wait!" New desperation crawled inside of Max. She turned around, almost ready to accept her defeat and leave the house. 'Dammit, why is she always so stubborn? Think, Max, think.' Reaching for her heart, the brunette girl forms her feelings for Chloe into words. "Remember that I looked after you the whole time while you were grieving; never left your side? I've always been at your side, even when we were in trouble. Chloe, you're my best friend and I…I really care for you and…and I have a really bad feeling that something might happen to you." She sobs as the image of her dying friend appeared again. "I couldn't take it, if some harm would come to you, because I…I…" Her words were eaten by the following sobs.
Arms embraced her from behind to comfort her. Chloe's shivering voice whispered in her ear. "I believe you. Thanks Max, I appreciate that you always care for me and that you stood by my side the whole time. Sorry for yelling at you."
Max turned around and hugged Chloe, squeezing her as close as possible. She felt her body, the warmth it radiated; enjoyed her smell. After some minutes, both girls separated and went into Chloe's room again, sitting down on Chloe's bed.
"So, you really want to stay here?" Chloe asked. Max just nodded again. "Are your parents okay with it?"
Max shook her head; new tears were forming as she told her friend about yesterday's fight with her mom. "They'll never gonna let me stay in Arcadia Bay."
The blonde girl puts her arm around Max's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll figure something out."
Withdrawing from her embrace, Max stood up and walked around the room. "And how?" She sounded desperate. "How can WE stop this, Chlo? We can't just move out and get an apartment of our own."
Hearing these words, Chloe started to grin mischievously. "Actually, we kinda can." Earning a puzzled expression from Max, she continues. "Maximus, I have an idea…"