Chapter 13: Mistletoe
The train station was crowded with peoples. Some were on their way to visit their relatives in other parts of the country. Some just arrived to visit their families in or around Seattle. And some people, like Max and Ryan, were waiting for a beloved person to arrive.
Max took a peek at her phone and saw that it was already past 5 pm. Chloe had send her a message that her train was going to be late because of the bad weather. It frustrated her to wait any longer than she already had to.
Unable to sleep the whole night, both girls texted each other from dusk till dawn. It started with topics like school and their childhood. But the closer sun rise came, the more their conversation turned into nonsense, climaxing in a discussion about the right spelling of the word 'Arrrr'.
A wry smile formed on Max's lips as she remembered this funny texting session as, suddenly, her phone buzzed. She unlocked it and read the long awaited message from her girlfriend.
[Chloe]: Train's about to reach parking position.
[Max]: About time!
[Chloe]: Stupid weather! Where are you?
[Max]: Lobby, near the exit.
[Chloe]: kk, omw!
Max put her phone back in her pocket and turned to her dad. "She's finally arrived!"
Ryan gave his daughter a warm smile. "That's good. I was about to send a rescue party."
Father and daughter scanned the crowd for Chloe, which was almost impossible for Max, because she was way smaller than the most people.
'Ugh, it sucks to be so small!' the young girl cursed internally as she tried to get an overview by tiptoeing, but to no avail. A pat on her shoulder shifted her focus firstly to her dad and then to his stretched out index finger. She followed his gaze until her eyes finally caught sight of a girl with a dark blue beanie under which some streaks of strawberry-blonde and blue-dyed hair emerged. The next things she recognized instantly were her characteristically mischievous smile and her catching deep-blue eyes.
"Chloe!" Max shouted out and ran through the masses of people towards her long awaited girlfriend.
Chloe let drop her backpack and opened her arms to welcome Max's embrace. Both girls collided and pressed each other as close as possible. Tears of joy were running down their cheeks as they both laughed and cried in pure relief that they were finally reunited.
Although it was never gone, Max could feel the strong and unique bond between them now even more. She took her head off Chloe's shoulder and gazed into her eyes, only to get lost in them immediately. She leaned in, ready to place a kiss on her lips, her soft and so long desired lips. She felt how her girlfriend's hand grabbed the back of her head, but instead of leading her lips closer to their so much wanted destination, they were moved past Chloe's cheek and into the taller girl's shoulder again.
"Not here, Maximus!" whispered Chloe into the smaller girl's ear with a giggle. "Gosh, I missed you little geek so much!"
Although a bit disappointed, Max was glad about Chloe's intervention. "I love you!" was her whispered answer, followed by a sniff.
"Wow! It almost looks like you two haven't seen and spoken each other in years." said Ryan with smile as he approached the girls. "Hello Chloe!"
Chloe broke the hug and shook his outstretched hand. "Ryan! Long time, no see. How's it going?"
"Good. Very good. Now c'mon, you two. It'll take us some time to drive home and we don't want our dinner to get cold."
With these words said, Ryan picked up Chloe's backpack and all three made their way through the crowded train station towards the parking lot.
'I wanna touch her!' was the incredible loud thought that pestered Max's mind in an endless loop during their ride through Seattle.
While Chloe was busy looking out of the window, enjoying the views of the big City, and her dad needed to focus on the heavy traffic, Max just sat on the back seat beside her girlfriend in silence and gave her a shyly glimpse now and then.
Her gaze wandered from Chloe's face to her right hand, which rested on the seat.
'I know, I shouldn't, but…ugh, it's just torture to sit right beside her and do nothing but to look at her!'
Glimpsing at her dad to check if he was still focused on the traffic, Max gulped and her heart raced as she moved her left hand slowly towards her girlfriend's. Inch by inch it came closer. The tip of her finger already touched Chloe's soft and warm skin, which made the blonde turn her head to Max with a warm smile. Their fingers entwined and Max closed her eyes as she let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"Goddammit, just move it!" Ryan suddenly yelled at the next car, hitting the horn.
Max jump scared and ripped her hand from Chloe's away, scratching her with her fingernails.
"Ouch, fucking shit!" Chloe blurted out as she withdrew her injured hand and glanced at it.
"What was that, Chloe?" Max's dad said sternly, as he gave the blonde girl an agitated glare through the rear mirror.
"I…uh…" she began to stammer. "I-I…just got…uhm…butt-HURT…" She glimpsed at Max from the corners of her eyes, making her look at her lap again. "…by these idiotic drivers here in Seattle. Sorry."
"Yeah, the traffic is just horrible at this time, but we're almost out of the city. Hopefully, it will be better then. But still, don't use such words at home or you'll never hear the end of it, okay?"
"'Kay 'kay, Mr. C!" Chloe replied and gazed at Max again, who mouthed her a sorry.
"Whoa, nice place, Ryan!" Chloe said with awe as the car came to a halt in front of the garage.
"Thanks, Chloe!" he answered. "I hope, you'll like the inside as well as the outside."
All three got out of the car. And while Ryan was about to get Chloe's backpack, the two girls already walked towards the door.
"I'm so sorry!" Max whispered to Chloe, who just chuckled.
"No thing, Maxi. Just a few scratches. Honestly, it didn't hurt that much, I was just scared by your dad, too." she said with a wink and gave the smaller girl a slight nudge with her shoulder.
The front door got opened by Max's mom, who instantly gave Chloe a warm smile and a hug as soon as she'd reached the doorstep. "Chloe! Welcome to Seattle! It's so good to see you."
This time, Chloe replied the embrace without hesitation. "Thanks Vanessa, it's so awesome to be here!"
"Come on in, you three. Dinner is ready and waits to be eaten."
"Mom, c-can I show Chloe my room first?" Max suddenly stated.
"Yeah, I definitely wanna see Max's mosh pit!" Chloe added.
Vanessa put one hand to her hip and gazed at her daughter sternly. "Maxine, you'll have the whole evening to show Chloe your room and if we wait any longer the pizza will be cold."
"But mo-om…"
"No buts, Maxine. Wash your hands and sit down at the table!" her mom replied, making clear that the conversation was over.
"C'mon, kiddo." her dad said as he patted his daughter on the shoulder and walked past her.
Gazing at her feet in disappointment, Max stood in the hallway as suddenly, Chloe embraced her. "Don't be sad, Maxi. We waited this long, now we'll survive this one hour, too." the blonde girl soothed. "Besides, there's a pizza to eat! You know how much I love pizza."
Max nodded and giggled. "Yeah, no pizza's safe from you!"
"Well…" the blonde began and broke the hug. "…then let's munch!"
The girls took off their jackets and shoes, and Max let Chloe into the living room, where Ryan and Vanessa had already taken their seats at the set table.
"Chloe, I want to welcome you once more at our home. This is, literally, your first stay at our house, so I hope you'll have good time. If there's anything you need, just ask us, okay?" Vanessa said after both girls had sat down.
"Sure thing! I…uhm…I just wanna thank you folks, too, that I can stay here for the holidays…uhm…yeah…"
Ryan gave Chloe a warm smile as he took the hand of his wife. "Chloe, you know that you and Joyce became a part of our family. So, there's no need to thank us."
'Wowser, part of our family. Before William's death, mom and dad weren't really that close with Chloe's parents. I mean, there were some Barbeques or the one or other talk when they saw each other in town, but no close friendship and stuff. I wonder, if we'd just moved to Seattle without another word, would they've stayed in contact with Joyce, or…?'
"Maxine?" her mom's voice chimed and brought her back to reality.
"Y-yeah?" she stammered and looked around the table, only to see that everyone was already eating.
"Aren't you hungry?"
"S-sorry, I…uh…I just thought about something and…"
"Maxine, you forgot to take your medicine again, haven't you?" her mom rebuked.
"I-I hate those stupid pills." the small girl muttered as she lowered her gaze.
"What pills?" Chloe asked, glancing at Max with concern.
"Maxine's private teacher mentioned that she loses her concentration during classes sometimes and recommended that we should take her to a doctor, who diagnosed…" she turned her head to her husband. "What was the term, Ryan?"
"Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder." he sighed and shook his head. "And I still believe that this is a bunch of bullcrap!"
"Darling, the test was positive."
"I know the test results, Vanessa, but still." He sighed again. "Our daughter is a normal kid. So she has some problems, staying focused during classes, but that's not a reason to pump her full with some pills."
"I agree!" Chloe added to the argument, chewing on some pizza. "I have SAD and I don't need any drugs."
"But your SAD doesn't interfere with your academic results, Chloe." Vanessa shot back and shifted her attention to her daughter again. "Maxine, please go upstairs and take your medication. The doctor said you have to take them regularly."
Without saying another word, Max stood up and walked upstairs into the bathroom. She opened the cabinet, which held a wide variety of different medications and medical equipment. With shaking hands, she took out a small pill bottle with her name on it and stared at it for some time.
'These fucking pills creep me out like shit. Nausea, dizziness, nose bleeding. Every time I take one of those I feel like I'm gonna die. My private teacher's a dick. This asshole did this to me, because I backtalked to him. Why's mom even listening to this jerk?'
The door to the bathrooms opened and Chloe's voice chimed from behind. "Maxi? Are you okay?" She closed the door and embraced Max from behind, laying her head on the smaller girl's slender shoulder.
Max closed her eyes, took a deep draft and just enjoyed her girlfriend's closeness, the warmth and the fragrance she's been desired for so long. "I missed this so much!"
"Me too, Maximus, me too."
"How did you get away from my parents?"
"Just told them that I need to use the bathroom. They were so deep in a conversation about psychology that they didn't ask any questions, and technically, I it wasn't even a lie."
By mentioning her parents and psychology, Max opened her eyes and gazed at the pills in her hands again. "I don't wanna take this shit, Chlo."
"Then don't do it." Chloe said with a shrug. "Here, let me help ya!" The blonde girl snapped the bottle out of Max's hand, opened it, threw the content into the toilet and flushed. "See, problem solved!"
Max gave Chloe another tight hug and sniffed as she whispered with a slightly shivering voice. "Thank you!"
"Hey, it's alright, Maxi." she soothed and brushed with her fingers through Max's brown hair. "You know that I'm on your side. And I definitely don't wanna see my girlfriend getting drugged!" Chloe broke the hug and looked into Max's watery eyes deeply. "I love you the way you are. You are special and nobody should try to change this, not even your mom!" she said, brushed a single tear from the brunette girl's cheek and smiled at her warmly. "Dammit, Maxi, you're the only person who can turn me into a big pile of mush!"
"And you're the only person who can turn me into a badass!" Max replied with a wry smile.
Both girls looked at each other and began to chuckle for some time, before they leaned in and gave each other a long kiss.
After their lips parted, Max took another deep draft and kept her eyes closed, enjoying the moment.
'Dog, I missed this so much! Chloe's right, it's like an addiction. A positive addiction. Fuck drugs! All you need is love!'
As Max opened her eyes again, she recognized that Chloe was giving her a wide smirk. "You really needed this, didn't you?" she mocked.
"As if you didn't stare at my ass all the time." the brunette girl shot back mockingly and gave Chloe a soft push.
"Wh-what?! I-I…uhm…n-no…I-I mean…"
"Chill, Chlo. It was just a joke." Max giggled, but Chloe averted her gaze with a deep-red blush, which made the younger girl widen her eyes. "You really stared at my butt?!"
"Maxine! Chloe! What are you two doing up there?" Vanessa' voice chimed from downstairs.
"W-we better head back or else your mom's gonna freak", Chloe sighed, obviously glad for the change of topic. She opened the door and turned around one more time, only to see that Max hadn't moved a bit. "Are you coming?"
"Chloe, can you please tell them that I don't feel well and gonna lay down?"
"What?! What's wrong? Are you okay?" the blonde asked with concern, walked over to her girlfriend again and raised her head. But instead of a serious expression, Max gave her a warm smile.
"I'm fine, Chlo. I just wanna spend some time with you, without my parents and…" She sighed. "Honestly, I need a break from my mom."
Chloe scoffed. "Got ya there, Maximus! I'll be right back!" she said and walked back downstairs.
After Chloe had left the bathroom, Max splashed some cold water into her face and looked at her reflection in the mirror.
'Okay Max, chill. These holidays are gonna be awesome. So far, everything went smoothly. Mom still accepts Chloe and dad even sees her as family. Nothing can go wrong!'
'Hmm…decisions, decisions.' Max thought while she was browsing through the movie folder on her Laptop and the already stacked up DVDs on her desk.
She heard how her room door was opened with a groan. "Okay, Maximus...I told your folks that we're staying up here for the rest of the evening and…fuck, this shit's heavy!" Chloe cursed, panting heavily. And as Max turned around, she wasn't able to suppress a chuckle, because the blonde was packed with sheets, towels, covers, bed linen and an inflatable mattress, barely able to look over the pile in her hands.
"Need some help?"
The stuff for Chloe's improvised bed hit the ground with a loud thud. "Nope!" the older girl answered, closed the door and let her sight wander around Max's room. "Whoa, what a sick room you got there!" She stops in front of a photo wall, gazing at all the pictures. "Nice! Dude, if you weren't my girlfriend, I'd say you're kinda obsessed of me."
"Well, let's say, I'm just kinda addicted."
"No way!" Chloe blurted out as she continued her tour. "You've got your own balcony?!"
"Yup." Max said proudly with a big smirk, crossing her arms. "It's really cool to wake up in the morning, jump out of bed and make some awesome shots from there. I guess that's the reason why I got this room."
"Okay, Maxi, change of plans. I'll quit school in Arcadia Bay and move in here."
"Sure, you just have to convince my parents and your mom."
"Well, that's gonna be the tough part." Chloe stated with a sigh. "So, what have you planned for tonight?" she changed the topic.
Max shifted her attention to her Laptop and DVDs again. "I thought we could cuddle ourselves into my bed, watch some movies and munch on my secret coconut-cookie stash."
"Sounds cool."
"The only remaining question is: What movie shall we watch?"
After getting no answer for some moments, Max turned around, only to be startled, because Chloe was right behind her, waggling a green something in front of her face with a big grin. "You know what that is, Caulfield?"
Max focused her sight on that green twig. "A mistletoe?"
Her heart began to beat faster.
"Aaand what are people supposed to do, when they're standing under said mistletoe?"
Her hands got clammy, while they tugged on her pants.
"Uhm…k-kiss?"
Now Chloe's smirk got even bigger as she held the mistletoe right above their heads and closed in on Max's face. "Then gimme some mush, girl!" she said in a whispered tone, closed her eyes and pursed her lips.
Her breathing got fast and shallow.
Their lips almost touched each other, as Max suddenly backed away. "W-wait!"
Chloe opened her eyes again and glanced at her girlfriend with some concern. "What is it Maxi? Is something wrong?"
Without saying a word, Max took the grey instant-cam from her desk and held it up high, the lens facing them. "J-just wanna capture the moment." the brunette girl said shyly, earning a warm smile from Chloe.
"Sure, my little photo-geek." she replied and leaned in again.
This time, their lips finally met. The shutter clicked and a bright flash enlightened the room for a fraction of a second. With a whirring sound the picture emerged from the cam, but instead of taking it out and looking at it, Max continued kissing Chloe. She wrapped her arms around her neck and pressed the blonde girl's head even closer.
Chloe threw the mistletoe aside, embraced Max's back and drew soft trails over it with her fingers.
The warm feeling of pure love overwhelmed Max completely, and before she knew what was happening, she started to cry. She broke the kiss and dug her head deep into Chloe's shoulder.
"Max?" Chloe asked with worry.
"I-I'm alright. Just…too much…" she spoke under her sobs.
"Emotions?"
Max nodded and pressed herself even closer to Chloe, holding her tightly. "I love you so much, Chlo!" Chloe broke the hug and as Max gazed at her face. She was more than surprised to see wet lines on her cheeks, too. "Chloe, a-are you..."
"I'm sooo happy right now, Max. I love you so much that nothing can describe it. I…fuck!" the blonde spoke with a trembling voice, which broke as some sobs escaped her mouth. "Dammit! Look at what you turned me into!"
"A big pile of mush. My big pile of mush." Max stated with a smile and brushed with her hand over the blonde's cheek.
Both girls gave each other another kiss, before they parted. "So…uhm…care if I take a look at your shot?" Chloe asked after they'd calmed down again.
"Right, the photo!" Max answered, almost face-palming herself that she'd forgotten about the shot. She took the picture from the slit of her camera, which she put back on the desk, and both girls looked at it.
"Wow-ser!" Chloe gasped. "Dude, this shot's amazing. I definitely need a copy!"
"You got it! But I have to use dad's scanner, so we have to wait until both of my folks are out of the house." Max said with a smile, satisfied about the shot and put the picture into her journal.
"No thing, take your time. But for now back to the movies. What do you have in mind?"
"Well, we have a lot of choices, but…" Max began, her hand hovering over the DVDs. "How about…"
Chloe's sight caught the movie Max's hand was moving to and crossed her arms with an adamant expression. "No…fucking…way! Not this movie. Nu-uh!"
"Why not?" Max replied with a sad face.
"Because we watched this fucking movie a thousand times already and I never liked it, because: A: It has nothing to do with Final Fantasy. And B: The plot and characters just suck!"
"Thanks for ranting about my favorite movie, asshole!" Max shot back, crossed her arms too and turned away.
"Shit." Chloe sighed quietly. Moved closer to her pouting girlfriend and hugged her from behind. "I'm sorry, Maxi. I…" She sighed again. "I'd love to watch this flick with you, okay?"
But Max shook her head. "N-no, you don't have to. It was selfish of me to suggest this film, though I knew you can't stand it. Let's…let's choose another one!"
Both broke the embrace and sighted the remaining choices.
"What about Blade Runner? You know I like it and you don't dislike it, aaand Pris is kinda hot." Chloe saw how Max's expression got angry again and realized that she just made a huge mistake. "I-I mean not as hot as you…uhm…you're the hottest here a-and she's just fictional a-and…ugh…" she stammered, trying to reach safe ground, but only achieved that Max crossed her arms again.
"Okay, from this day on Blade Runner is officially banned from our watch list…forever!"
"What?! Why?"
"Because now I'll always be jealous of Pris and will hate her guts!"
"Ugh, fine." the blonde groaned. "Any other suggestions, Miss I-am-jealous-of-fictional-characters?"
"How about Star Wars: Episode 1, Miss I-crush-on-fictional-characters?" Max suggested with an impish grin.
"What?! No! That's even worse than Final Fantasy!"
"Maybe, but it doesn't contain any characters you could possibly have a crush on, aaand you deserve some punishment!"
Chloe stretched herself and let out a big yawn. "Fine. I bet I'll fall asleep during the first half of the movie anyway."
Smirking victoriously, Max took the DVD and her Laptop, and brought it over to her bed. "I'll keep you awake, dork."
"Don't you dare waking your beloved Captain from her precious slumber!" Chloe spoke with her pirate-voice.
"Aye aye, Captain Dork!"
Both girls cuddled themselves in Max's bed and began to watch the movie. As predicted, Chloe fell asleep 10 minutes after the movie had started, but instead of waking her up, Max cuddled her girlfriend even closer and let her sleep. Soon, her eyes got heavy too and she drifted into a restless slumber.
Max sat at her desk and browsed through all the pictures she'd taken of her and Chloe. She felt anger, sadness, despair and loneliness. Every shot she looked at was another sting in her heart.
She took a peek at her phone and felt worry as there was no message or missed call.
It knocked at the door, but she didn't feel like answering. She didn't even felt like seeing someone, except Chloe. Nonetheless the door was opened.
"Maxine…" Vanessa's soft voice chimed from behind.
Instantly, Max felt burning hate inside of her, while her hands became clenched fists. "What?" she answered with an agitated tone.
She heard how her mom sniffed before she continued. "Maxine, you have to be strong now."
Hearing that her mother's voice sounded so brittle and shaky, she finally turned around, only to see that Vanessa's cheeks were wet and her eyes red-cried. The girl's anger was replaced by worry. "Mom! Wh-what happened?"
"I-it's Chloe. She…the police just called and…"
Hearing Chloe's name, Max jumped up, darted towards her mom and grabbed her by her arms. "What is with Chloe? What happened? Dammit, mom, tell me!" she said with some panic.
Vanessa mustered all her strength to continue. "…th-they found her…in the streets. Sh-she probably was mugged and…" This was the point when she lost her composure. The brunette woman covered her mouth with her hand and began to cry out every word. "How could anybody do something like this to a poor girl like her?"
"Do what? For fucks sake, mom, just tell me!" Max yelled at her mom, shaking her intensly.
"Oh my poor baby-girl, I'm so sorry!" she just answered, brushing with a shivering hand over her daughter's cheek.
Slowly, Max put the pieces of the puzzle together and began to understand what happened to Chloe. Why she never received a message or sign. Her worry changed now into grief, desperation and denial. "No." she whispered, tears flowing down her cheeks. She shook her head and moved away from her mom. "N-no. Th-this can't be. You're shitting me!" But her mother's answer was the shaking of her head. Max sobbed as realization struck her with full force. She would've collapsed to the ground, if Vanessa hadn't caught her. Now in the soothing arms of her mom, she let out every emotional pain in a loud cry.
"I'm so sorry, Maxine! So, so sorry." she comforted her daughter.
Hearing those words, however, didn't sooth her. Something happened inside of Max, something that she never experienced before. Every feeling she just had, turned into hate. Pure, burning hate. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" she shouted at her mom and pushed her away.
"Maxine…" Vanessa said in a quiet tone, trying to calm down her daughter. But as she tried to touch her arm, Max ripped it away from her grasp.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she kept on yelling. But then her voice became low and threatening. "You send her away. You threw her out. It was your fault. You killed her! Her blood is on your hands!"
"M-Maxine, I didn't know…"
All the anger that had been building up inside of her was suddenly released by a heavy punch right in Vanessa's face, sending her wailing to the ground.
"DIDN'T KNOW?!" Max screamed out. "You didn't know that something might happen to her, if you send her out there at night, all by herself, seriously?"
"Maxine…" Vanessa pleaded, but Max felt no emotions for her mother, not anymore.
"You wanted her dead, didn't you?" the young girl whispered with an anger dripping, shivering voice and stepped closer to her, on the floor laying, mother again. "You prayed for this, didn't you?" But the brunette woman didn't respond, earning her a kick in the stomach by her own daughter, which made her cry out in agony. "TELL ME!"
"Maxine, stop it! You're hurting your mom!" her dad yelled as he rushed into the room and intervened, by taking Max into a tight hold and pulled her away from her mother, before she could place another kick.
"She's not my mom anymore! Lemme go!" she screamed as she tried to struggle against her father's strength, but to no avail.
"No! You're under shock, Maxine. You're not thinking straight. Just calm down, okay? Calm. Down." he said, his voice getting calmer with every word. Max's fighting became weaker with every second, until she hang limp in the arms of her father and began to sob again. "That's it, Maxine. Calm down." Ryan turned his daughter around and gazed with his also watery eyes into hers deeply. "Max, I'm going to take care of your mom now, okay? I want you to stay up here. I'll be right back. Got it?"
Max answered with a nod. She felt empty, without any motivation. Even after her parents had left the room, she just stood there, not moving a limb. After a while she raised her gaze and instantly saw the picture that was still shown at the screen of her Laptop. A picture that showed her and Chloe, arm in arm, having a great time. Her face grimaced again, as she felt the emotional pain return. This pain dwelled inside of her, it made her feel angry again. She wanted to release it and so she let it all out in a big eerie scream as she darted to her desk and smashed her Laptop against the wall. The various objects on the desktop, including her cameras, followed stat. Everything laid on the floor in bits and pieces after Max additionally had kicked and stomped on it. Once she was done with her thrashing, she stumbled back into the middle of her room, took some deep breathes and gathered every bit of strength for one last scream.
"CHLOEEEE!"