Author's Notes:

As you might have noticed, I changed the title of the story, because I decided to turn this whole project into a multi-story-series. The reason is, I need a short creative break from this story, but also don't want to leave it completely unfinished without any closure. The whole series will probably consist of 4 stories total (that's my plan, at least).

There will only be one more chapter left for this story. (16 chapters total)

Chapter 15: Scars, part 1

Salty air filled her nose. A warm breeze played with her lose hair streaks and brushed over her face. The sun in the perfect blue sky warmed her body and made her blink a few times to get used to the brightness.

Max finally managed to open her eyes and began to scan her surroundings.

'Wh-what happened? This…this isn't Seattle. I-I know this place! This is…'

"The Arcadia Bay lighthouse." A very familiar female voice finished her thought.

As Max tried to find the source of the voice, her gaze fixed on the bench right beside the tall building. On it sat a person with chin-long brown hair, looking at the town and the ocean. The young girl took a few cautious steps towards the bench.

"I'd never thought, I'd miss this shithole of a town." the unknown person suddenly spoke with a scoff. "Y'know, Max, this fucking town took the most precious person of my life away from me, but…I can't escape it. It's like a curse. A fucking curse that haunts you forever!"

Taken aback by the now more agitated tone, the small girl stepped back a bit. "It isn't that bad, y'know."

Another scoff chimed from the brunette on the bench. "Yeah, easy to say if you never had to make the choice between Chloe and everyone else in this fucked up town. I never should've listened to her! I should've saved her instead of this…this pile of asshole!"

Max stopped in her movements, now completely stunned. "H-how do you know my and Chloe's name?"

"Still haven't figured it out, huh? Well, no wonder. We never saw the obvious, even if it was literally kissing us."

"Who are you?" Max asked, her hands tugging on her shirt in nervousness.

The strange person turned around and Max gasped in surprise as she suddenly looked at an older version of herself.

'Th-this can't be! She's way older than me, but it's…ME! How is this possible? Am I…'

"Dead?" the older Max huffed and rolled with her eyes. "Welcome to the other side, Maxine! Your punishment for stupidity will be to talk with yourself for all eternity!" she spoke with an exaggerated spooky voice, waving around with her hands mysteriously.

"Okay, now I know that you're just shitting me." the younger Max responded with crossed arms and furrowed eyebrows.

"Really? You're a smart one, aren't ya?"

Anger started to boil inside of Max and took over. She jumped forward, grabbed her older version by the collar of her grey hoodie and yelled into her face. "Listen, bitch, I just ran away from home again, because my mom sucks. I got mugged and stabbed by some motherfucker. And now I'm stuck here and I don't even know why, or how to get back to my Chloe. So, will you just stop behaving like an asshole and tell me what the fuck is going on here?"

Instead of being intimidated by the young girl's rage, older Max just gave her a wry smile and stayed calm. "Wow! You're way different than the others."

"What others?" she kept on yelling.

"The other Yous…uh…Us'…uhm…the other Maxines."

The young girl let lose of the other brunette's collar and took a few steps back, her eyes wide open and her mouth agape. "Wh-what?!"

Her surroundings began to flicker. The scent of nature and the ocean vanished and was replaced by an unpleasant smell. She felt dizzy, almost unable to hold her balance.

"Shit!" the older Max hissed.

Panic flooded the young girl's mind as she looked around in fear. "Wh-what is happening?"

The brunette woman stood up, ran towards Max, grabbed her by her shoulders and gazed deep into her blue doe-eyes. The mockery attitude she'd shown before had vanished completely. "Listen closely, Max! I don't have much time left to explain everything, but know this: This reality shouldn't exist; YOU shouldn't exist. One of us fucked up and I'm sorry to say this, but you have to let go of Chloe! She's a trigger and you need to accept her fate!"

"What?! I-I don't understand. What reality? Why…"

Everything around the two Maxines crumbled into nothingness. The older Max began to blur. "Damn! I don't know if I'll be able to contact you again. Let her go, Max! I don't know what will happen if... she…"

The other Max vanished, as the rest of Arcadia Bay already did. Only young Max stayed behind and, once more, darkness and silence accompanied her.

A small source of light and sound appeared in front of her. She tried to grab it, but it seeped through her fingers like water and moved away. She mustered her strength and followed the light. The closer she got the brighter it became and the more different sounds she could hear.

Again, the source moved away, but with a great effort Max was finally able to get a hold of it. She got blinded by the light and closed her eyes. She could hear voices and other sounds. They became louder and faded, like the rhythmic sound of waves. Then she felt pain throughout her body, coldness and warmth. The strength that she'd originally used to follow the light was completely gone. It felt like she wasn't in control of her body anymore, but as time went by, the feeling and ability to move returned step by step, until she was finally able to open her eyes.

Slowly, Max became more and more conscious. As her senses began their work again, she was able to become aware of her surroundings.

She smelled this unpleasant scent from her dream again. She felt that she was lying in a warm and comfy bed. She had a bad taste in her dry mouth and felt the need to drink something. She saw that it wasn't night anymore, or that the place where she was, was enlightened. She heard that someone else was close by.

Max tried to open her eyes, but the brightness let her close them shut again. She wanted to move, but felt too weak and exhausted to even budge a limb. Her body screamed at her to get back to sleep and get more rest, but a sudden thought about Chloe gave her some strength to fight against it.

The young girl groaned and began to squirm a bit. "Ch-Chloe…" she said with a weak voice.

"Ah, Miss Caulfield, you're finally awake!" an unknown female voice responded.

Hearing a strange voice sent a jolt of panic through Max's body. Her struggling against her weakness and exhaustion intensified, leading to some intense pain, which made her groan even more.

"Sssh, take it easy, Miss Caulfield! You're safe here." the unfamiliar person soothed and softly pressed the young girl back onto the mattress.

The struggling abated and her breathing normalized. Slowly, Max managed to open her eyes and gazed into the friendly smiling face of a young nurse with straw-blonde hair.

"That's it, Maxine. Do you mind, if I call you Maxine?"

"M-Max." the girl spoke with a hoarse voice. "J-just Max…never Maxine."

The warm smile of the young woman grew even wider. "Alright. Hi Max, I'm nurse Stephanie."

"Hi Stephanie." Max said with a weak smile, moved her head a bit and tried to scan her surroundings, but it was hard for her to focus her sight, making everything a bit blurry. "Wh-where am I?"

"You're at the hospital. You were in pretty bad shape as they brought you here. Our doctors had to…"

"Where's Chloe?" she interrupted the nurse, who just gave Max an even wider smile, turned around, opened the room door and spoke with someone outside.

"She's awake now."

Something outside hit the ground and fast steps could be heard. The nurse stepped aside and Chloe appeared.

Blue doe-eyes locked sight with deep-blue almond-shaped ones. An intense feeling of joy, relief and love rushed through Max's body, made her smile and let her eyes well up. "Chloe!" she whispered.

But Chloe didn't respond. She kept standing in the doorframe. First tears rolled down her cheeks and her lips were trembling. A sob emerged from her mouth. Then another one followed. With slow steps she walked over to her girlfriend's hospital bed, and as she'd finally reached her, she nearly collapsed on it. Chloe cried out every feeling, positive and negative, that had been built up since the incident in the park.

If Max would've been able to, she would've joined in, but she was too exhausted for an intense crying. Instead she managed to raise her hand and brush through Chloe's hair. Nurse Stephanie did the same with the crying girl's back.

"I thought I'd lost you." Chloe managed to whisper between her sniffs, after she'd calmed down enough to speak.

Max looked at Chloe for some time and saw the still present hurt in her eyes; the fear of losing her most beloved and important person in her life; the fear of being alone again; and it filled the young girl's mind with guilt. "Chloe, I-I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have tried to be a hero. I should've…"

Chloe's sudden touch of her cheek and the intense glare she gave her, silenced Max instantly. "You are a hero, Max! My hero! You saved my life! This guy was about to hurt me and you…you just stepped in. I don't care, if someone says that it was stupid or reckless, 'cause they're just wrong!"

"She's right, y'know." Nurse Stephanie threw in and handed Max a cup with water.

"Thanks!" said Max and took a deep sip, eagerly, while she thought about Chloe's words. And just now she remembered this strange dream she had before; how the other Max had told her to let go of Chloe; and as she gazed at her most precious Chloe once more, she decided that – Vision or not – the other Max could go to hell! Then another thought went through the brunette's mind. "How did I get here? I-I mean, last thing I remember, you told me that your phone's been busted and you wanted to get some help."

Recalling this night, darkened Chloe's face some more. "Some jogger came by, right after you passed out. He called 9-1-1 and treated your wound way better than I did. If it weren't for him, you…you would've…" Chloe's face grimaced as she began to sob.

For Max it was pretty obvious that this night left some scars on her girlfriend's mind.

'Hell, I don't even wanna know about the scars it left on me!'

She took a hold of her hand, making Chloe to look at her. "But I'm not, Chlo! I'm still here! Or do you think I'd miss the opportunity to go on your nerves with my geekiness?"

Max's lips formed a weak smile, while Chloe made a sound that was a mixture of a scoff and a sob. "You're such a dork!"

"Your dork!"

Once again, both girl's got lost into their eyes, forgetting everything around them. Chloe closed in and placed a soft kiss on Max's lips. A kiss that soothed and told them that they were still alive and together.

"Oooookay!" Nurse Stephanie suddenly spoke, which almost startled the two lovers as they remembered that they weren't alone. Both of their faces blushed instantly as they looked at the nurse, who stared at them, one hand resting on her hip. "Listen girls, it's none of my business, but…wow…never saw that comin'. But you should keep the cuddling to a minimum here, 'cause this is still a hospital, not a hotel, 'kay?" Chloe and Max shyly nodded in agreement. "I'm gonna get the doctor now for a checkup. So, don't elope, you two lovebirds!" she spoke with a wink and left.

The two girls shared another gaze, before they both started to giggle. "We really need to pay more attention, before we get mushy." Chloe mentioned.

"Yeah…" Max added, her head still beet-red.

Half an hour later the doctor arrived in Max's room. Most of the time, Max and Chloe had spent in silence, just enjoying to be together again and not in the mood to talk about the recent events, although Max almost went crazy out of curiosity.

"Hello, Miss Caulfield, I'm Dr. Sanchez." the Hispanic-looking man in the white coat said with a smile, walked to the foot-end of the bed and took a clipboard out of the installed holder. "How are you feeling?"

Just now as she's been asked about her condition, Max realized how bad she really felt. "Like sh…" She paused, closed her eyes for a moment and tried to describe it with more than just one word. "Weak, very weak. Like run over by a train. My whole body hurts and…breathing's very hard and hurts."

The doctor nodded and scribbled some notes on the clipboard. "Mh-hm. Understandable. You have some pretty rough days behind you."

"How rough?" Max suddenly threw in. She didn't know why, but somehow she wanted to know what had happened to her during the time she'd been unconscious.

Silence filled the room for a minute as Dr. Sanchez gazed at her for some time, like he was weighing what to tell her and what not. "Miss Caulfield, I don't think…"

"You were dead, Maxi." Chloe suddenly interrupted the doctor, staring into empty space as she squeezed Max's hand out of fear to lose her. Her voice trembled and first wet lines got drawn on her face. "You were dead for one minute. The longest fucking minute of my entire fucking life!"

"You were there?" Max gasped in a low tone. Hers and Chloe's gaze met again, blue eyes locked for some moments. The brunette saw the hurt in her girlfriend's eyes. Another deep mental wound that'd probably become a scar.

"It happened during the ride to the hospital." the doctor broke the heavy silence. "Luckily, the medics were able to reanimate you in time. After 8 hours of emergency surgery we were finally able to stabilize your condition." He exhaled. "It was a really close call, Miss Caulfield. If it weren't for the brave actions of your friend and a fellow citizen, you wouldn't have made it."

'I was dead! Close call! 8 hours of surgery! Chloe's brave actions!'

These thoughts whirled around in Max's head in an infinite loop. She didn't know what to say. The fact that she almost died hit her, like a truck on the Interstate, with full force.

"Max?" Chloe's voice and the soft touch on her cheek brought the young girl back to reality. She stared at her girlfriend for some time, until she came to a final conclusion.

'She saved my life! Chloe's the hero, not me!'

"Thank you!" she finally managed to say, her voice a mere whisper.

"No need to, Maxi." Chloe gave back with a warm smile, entwining her fingers with Max's. "I'd give my life for you!"

A sob chimed through the room. The two girl's and the doctor shifted their attention to the nurse, who was just wiping with the back of her hand over her nose and her cheek. "S-sorry. It's just…" She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. "Ugh, this damn cold weather!"

Doctor Sanchez shook his had as he fixed his gaze on the clipboard again. "Alright, let's take a look at your wound. Miss Burton…" he addressed the blonde nurse. "Please, see Miss Price out."

She didn't know what it was; the imminent separation from Chloe or that she's about to be alone with a stranger; but somehow Max felt very uncomfortable and panicky. "I-it's okay, Ch-Chloe can stay. I-I don't mind." she stuttered, gazing at her girlfriend with pleading eyes.

"I'm sorry, Miss Caulfield, hospital policy. But…"

"SHE STAYS OR I'LL FREAK!" Max screamed out in panic, making everyone startle and stare at her. Her whole body was trembling and hurting. Her heart, mind and breathing raced. Unable to process why she'd just made such a big thing out of it, Max covered her face and began to cry. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Chloe reacted without any hesitation and took the freckled girl into a tight, soothing hug.

Doctor Sanchez gave the nurse a nod and she closed the door. "Okay, Miss Caulfield, she can stay, but to perform the checkup I sadly need Miss Price to stand aside."

Chloe broke the hug, gazed into Max's eyes deeply while brushing some tears from her cheeks. "Don't worry, Maxi! I'll be right over there and keep watch, okay?"

"Okay." Max replied with some sniffs, calmed down enough by the knowledge of Chloe's presence.

Nurse Stephanie touched the blonde girl softly by her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. "C'mon, Chloe. I need to change your bandage anyway."

Chloe walked over to a chair on the wall of the room and took off her t-shirt. Just now Max realized the bandage on her right arm. The brunette girl gasped as the nurse cut off the white gauze, revealing a long, sewed cut.

Seeing the shock in Max's face, Chloe gave her a wry smile. "Don't worry, it looks worse than it…fuck!" She hissed the last word with gritted teeth as Stephanie cleaned the wound. "Okay…" she groaned. "…it hurts like hell!"

Somehow, Chloe's behavior painted a slight smile on Max's face as she's reminded how Chloe always acted like a strong and hard person, but in truth she was sensitive and caring. A lovable pile of mush in a thick armor, and Max was the only one who had always been able to take it off her.

Meanwhile, the doctor had put on some rubber gloves and was about to take off Max's gown. Once more, this feeling of discomfort and panic creeped through her body and was about to drive her bonkers. "N-no…please…" she stammered, pushing the gloved hands away.

"Miss Caulfield, in order to check your wound I have to see it."

"I-I know, but…d-don't touch me, please…I-I…"

"Alright, no problem. The nurse could…"

"No…n-not the nurse…" Max glimpsed at Chloe. She felt the need for her warmth; the safety she represented. The brunette girl realized that Chloe was the only person she trusted; the only one she wanted to be touched by. "Ch-Chloe, c-can you help?"

The blonde girl blushed, her eyes wide at first, but with a deep breath she became sternly and nodded, ready to help out her Max again, if it weren't for the doctor.

"Miss Caulfield, I don't want to make Miss Price bad, but she has no medical experience and…"

Max was about to tell him that it was either her or nobody, but then nurse Stephanie stepped in and whispered something into Dr. Sanchez's ear, what he responded with a nod. She turned to Max with the sweetest smile on her face. "Max, is it okay, if I assist Chloe? She would still do the main work and I'll only jump in if necessary. Just very few touching from my side, promised!"

She knew that it was impossible to avoid any touches by strangers at all, especially when they needed to treat her injury. Therefore, Max agreed with the offer.

After her wound had been taken care of, Chloe stood beside Max's bed. The blonde's face was still red and her hands clammy. "Ready?" she asked the younger girl, who gave her a short nod.

Under the instruction of nurse Stephanie and the doctor, Chloe, first took off the gown and then the bandage.

The first of Chloe's slight touches on her bare body felt strange, yet not unpleasant. Max got used to them very quickly until she almost enjoyed them. They comforted her; made her feel alive; told her that her heart was still beating.

Sadly, this all came to an end as Chloe had to step aside to make way for the doctor, so that he could examine the wound.

Seeing her injury for the first time – especially were it was located – Max gasped loudly, while Chloe's face darkened.

"The blade missed your heart by merely an inch. As I said before, Miss Caulfield, you were very lucky and you still are!" He took off his gloves and gave Max an reassuring smile. "Your wound is healing very good and you will fully recover."

Hearing this didn't sooth Max at all. Maybe she will recover physically, but she felt that something inside of her had been damaged permanently. And as they cleaned and bandaged her again, she only felt pain and not the comfort by Chloe's touches anymore. Depressing thoughts of loss, and the reason behind all this suffering darkened her mood even more.

Nonetheless, Max took hold of Chloe's hand and entwined their fingers. "Thank you, Chlo!" she spoke with a smile, which the blonde responded with a wry smirk as she lowered her head to whisper in the brunette's ear. "No thing, Maxi! Always wanted to play doctor with you!"

This pun made Max's face turn red in an instant, but also cheered her up a bit. Every time she was reminded that - despite the own sacrifice she had to make - her Vision didn't come true, she wanted to jump up and down and celebrate her victory over fate.

A knock on the door caught everyone's attention. It got opened and the Caulfield's and Joyce Price entered the room cautiously, not knowing if the doctor had already finished the checkup.

"Dad! Joyce!" Max cheered with a smile, purposely ignoring her mother.

"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield! Right on time!" said the doctor with a smile.

Ryan gave Chloe a short a hug and a reassuring smile, then moved on to his daughter, embracing her tightly. "Heyyy, kiddo! We were so worried about you!"

They parted and the young girl gave her father a weak smile. "I-I'm okay, dad." she told him with a trembling voice, while some tears rolled down her cheeks.

Joyce was next, who gave first her daughter and then Max a hug, shedding some droplets herself. "Oh my poor sweetheart!"

Vanessa stayed in the background, not saying one word. Max saw that it hurt her to see her little daughter like this; that it hurt her to be ignored; but Max wasn't ready to forgive her, not right away.

"How's she doing, Dr. Sanchez?" Ryan asked with some concern.

"She's doing great. So far, her wound is healing properly and there are no signs of any infection. We can move her from post-op to her room now. However…" The Hispanic man's face became serious. "I'd suggest that she should talk with our specialist for trauma therapy."

Although, Ryan knew that his daughter never liked going to a psychiatrist, he agreed, knowing that such an incident could cause a trauma, especially on a 13 years old girl.

"Dad, I-I wanna talk to mom. Alone!" Max suddenly spoke after the nurse and the doctor had taken their leave.

Ryan, Chloe and Joyce exchanged some gazes and then nodded. "Alright, Max." he answered and left with the Price's. Only Max and Vanessa remained, not looking at each other. An eerie silence filled the room, until Vanessa spoke, her voice brittle and about to break.

"I'm so sorry, Maxine!"

Again, there was only silence for some time, waiting to be broken once more.

"I'm sorry, too, mom!" Max replied, now gazing at her mother. "I said some things that…that were exaggerated and hurtful. You're still my mom, but…" She looked at the ceiling again, new wet lines forming on her face. "You hurt me and Chloe. You said things that I can't forgive you." Max shifted her view to her now sobbing mom once more. But this time it gave her heart a big sting to see Vanessa like this. "You're not responsible for what happened. I don't blame you for that. Never will, and neither should anyone else! But…things between us will never be the same again."

"Maxine…I love you."

Max didn't reply. She just turned her head away, trying to suppress the feelings that were about to take over. Feelings that almost made her forgive her mom in an instant. But somehow she didn't want to. Not now. Not today.

"I…I need some rest now. Please…just leave me alone."

A sob emerged from the freckled girl as the door was closed. She felt bad. Max knew that she'd just dropped a bomb on her mom. And it hurt her, because despite the things Vanessa had said in the kitchen, she still loved her. But her mom needed to learn that her daughter could make her own decisions, eventually.

"I love you, too, mom!" the brunette spoke into the room and cried even more, until the exhaustion took its toll and she slept in.

'She knew that it would come to this. But how? She wanted us to leave Seattle, because we were in danger. Was this the threat she meant? She wanted to tell me something as soon as we would've been on the train. And even earlier that day, she tried to talk with me about something serious.'

Since the day of the incident, these thoughts were a constant, repeating stream in Chloe's mind. The strawberry-blonde girl's head rested in her mother's shoulder. For the last days, her mom's soothing presence has been everything that kept her going.

'This is my entire fault. Instead of running away, I should've stood my ground. I'm such fuck-up!'

A tear formed in the corner of her eye and rolled down her face as a new wave of self-doubts flooded her mind. She sniffed and dug her head even more into her mom's shoulder, who brushed through her daughter's hair.

"It's not your fault, Chloe! Sometimes bad things happen without our doings." Joyce soothed.

"But I should've stayed. Instead, I choose the easy way and wanted to run away from my problems." Chloe responded. More droplets were flowing down her face.

Joyce lifted Chloe's head up and gazed into her eyes deeply. "Sweetie, you're just 14! Nobody should ever expect from you to deal with such a difficult situation like a grown-up. Dammit, most grown-ups wouldn't have been able to deal with such a bullcrap!"

"But I almost got her killed, mom!"

A warm smile formed on her mom's face as she brushed her daughter's tears away. "That's strange, baby-girl, 'cause last time I checked, you did a darn good job of saving her life."

The door got opened and a completely devastated Vanessa left Max's room. She buried her face in her hands and cried intensely. Ryan instantly wrapped his arms around his wife and rocked her softly.

"My own daughter hates me!" the brunette woman whimpered out.

Chloe watched this whole scene; watched how the woman that wanted to separate her and Max, broke, and felt pity for her. Despite for Max, Chloe never felt pity for anyone else before.

Joyce tried to hold her daughter back, as she stood up and wanted to walk over to the Caulfield's, but the blonde freed herself from her grasp.

She stood in front of Max's parents, gazing at Vanessa intensively. Ryan broke the hug and almost begged Chloe with his glare not to freak out right now. Finally, Max's mom raised her sight and looked at her daughter's girlfriend.

"Chloe…" she sobbed, almost expecting to get another punch in the guts, but to her and everyone else's surprise, Chloe bridged the gap between them and embraced her into a tight hug.

"Maxi doesn't hate you! She still loves you, just give her some time to heal out those wounds. She'll come around eventually."

"Oh Chloe, I'm so sorry for what I've said! Please, forgive me!" the brunette woman kept on crying.

For a minute, Chloe stayed silent, overthinking if she should forgive Vanessa this fast. She'd said very hurtful things; called her a slut; wanted to break up her relationship with Max. Reminding this, Chloe made a choice. "Not today, Vanessa. Not today."

Her pleading for forgiveness rejected again, let the brunette woman sob some more.

"You should be happy that Chloe's even considering to forgive you, Vanessa, 'cause the hell I will!" Joyce's voice chimed from behind.

Chloe broke the hug and faced her mother, who stood there, arms crossed and her eyes radiating anger. "Mom…" Chloe tried to calm her down, but was ignored by Joyce as she continued her rage.

"You endangered the lives of our daughters. Dammit, Max is lucky to be alive and Chloe…just look at her arm!" Joyce continued her barrage of chiding words on Vanessa, her tone getting louder.

The brunette woman's crying intensified and her legs failed to hold her. Ryan wrapped his arms around his wife's shoulder and tried to give her some hold. "Joyce, stop it! She knows that she made a mistake!" He intervened, but only received an agitated glare.

"A mistake?!" the blonde woman yelled.

Never seen her mother that angry before, Chloe lacked words to calm her down. "Mom, p-please…" she spoke, her voice nothing more than shivering whisper, and, once more, ignored by her mom.

"She's a mother, for Christ's sake!" Joyce kept on raging. "What mother throws a 14 year old girl out of the house at night?! Let alone that she not even had the guts to do it by herself. You're a gutless bitch, Vanessa, and it makes me sick that you're pleading my daughter for forgiveness!"

"Joyce, that's enough!" now Ryan shot back, holding his wife, whose sobbing had now changed into a constant whimper, even closer.

A Security Guard came down the hallway in a fast pace, heading their way. "What is wrong with you people?" he hissed. "This is a hospital, for fucks sake, and not Oprah. You're disturbing the peace! Now get the fuck out of here, all of you, and continue your family-drama elsewhere!"

"We're sorry, sir. It won't happen again." Ryan said calmly and lifted up his wife. "We're leaving."

While Max's parents and Joyce left without another word, Chloe stayed behind, still completely stunned by the rage her mother unloaded on Vanessa.

'I've never seen mom like this. What she did…it was just cruel how she dropped bomb after bomb on Vanessa, even though she was already done.'

"Miss?" the Security Guard said and brought her back into the real world. "I need you to leave, too."

"Wh-what?! B-but I didn't do shit, I…" the blonde stammered panicky, not wanting to leave Max behind.

"I don't care. Leave or you'll be removed from the hospital."

Anger build up inside her, making her head turn red. "Fine! Fuck you, asswipe!" she hissed, flipping him off. But the Guard seemed to be unimpressed.

"Cute. Now fuck off!"

Still pretty angry, Chloe left the hospital, only to see that her mom and Max's patents were arguing again.

"…you just don't know when to stop, do you?" Ryan yelled at Joyce.

"At least I didn't throw out Max when I learned that she and Chloe were together." the blonde countered.

Hearing them fight again, Chloe couldn't control her anger anymore. She threw her backpack on the ground, stomped between the two parties and started to yell. "Will ya just stop behaving like fucking children, huh?"

"Chloe Elizabeth…" Joyce began, but was shut down immediately.

"Stop using my stupid middle name and just shut it!" She now glanced at her mom, her look full of rage. "Thanks for getting us thrown out, mom! Now Max is all alone in there and I…" Her eyes were welling up as she continued her chiding words. "Why didn't you just leave Vanessa alone, huh? She's done, for fuck's sake! She knows that she fucked up. And she knows very well that she has to earn my and Max's forgiveness."

"Chloe…I'm sorry!" her mom finally said in a low voice, now gazing at her feet in shame. And from one moment to another, Chloe's anger dissipated and was replaced by sadness. The young girl wrapped her arms around herself and sniffed. She wanted to be at Max's side; wanted to hold her hand; wanted to feel her. She had to hold back for days, and now she's been robbed of this chance again. It almost made her despair and she would've cried out her pain on the spot, if she hadn't been distracted by Ryan's voice.

"Mr. Madsen! Here to visit our daughter?" Max's dad spoke to a tall man with short, black hair and a moustache, holding a bunch of flowers in his hand.

"That's right, Mr. Caulfield. Wanted to check on our brave, little soldier."

Mr. Madsen shook everyone's hand with a smile, but as it was Chloe's turn, she hesitated.

'Actually, I don't like this kind of person. Wannabe hard-ass ex-military guy, who even calls kids soldier, thinking that it sounds kinda cool. But…he saved Max. So, I guess I have to be at least grateful and should try to like him. Ugh!'

"Hi Mr. Madsen!" the blonde girl said with a forced, weak smile and shook his hand.

"Hello Chloe! You can call me David, by the way. How's your arm?"

"Still hurts like shit, but I won't lose it."

"Chloe, language!" Joyce chided her daughter, who, however, just rolled with her eyes.

"I'm gonna be fine." she sighed in annoyance.

"That's good to hear! And how's your friend?"

"She…uhm…she's getting better, but still needs a lot of rest, so…" Chloe answered, not wanting that a stranger visits her alone.

'Poor Maxi already freaked out as the doctor wanted to do a checkup. Sorry dude, maybe you saved her live, but I still don't trust you enough to leave her alone with you.'

"I understand…"

"Give her a few days and she's gonna be better." Ryan told him with a reassuring smile.

"That's good, but I'm heading south today, so there won't be any chance to visit her. I'm just going to bring these flowers to the reception and then be on my way again." David Madsen said and walked into the hospital.

"And I think, we're gonna head south, too. C'mon, Chloe." Joyce was already about to leave, but Chloe hadn't even moved a limb, which made her turn around. "Chloe?"

Still embracing her body, Chloe gazed to the ground and spoke with a brittle voice. "I-I'm gonna stay. I…I don't wanna leave her alone."

"Chloe…" her mom sighed, touching her arm softly. "We don't have the money to pay you a hotel."

"It's alright, she can with us." Ryan threw in, but instead of calming down Chloe's mother, it made her angry again.

"The hell she will!" the blonde woman snapped back and a new argument began.

Chloe's hands and jaw clenched, while tears dropped down from her tight shut eyes as she heard her mother's repeated rage. She was about to blow; ready to punch her own mother in the face to finally shut her up. Only her bangs hid her anger grimaced face. It took the strawberry-blonde girl every bit of strength to reroute her anger into a loud scream.

"SHUT UUUUUP!"

She finally raised her gaze and looked into her mom's eyes deeply. Her face was wet from tears and her breathing was heavy. Her whole body shook from the pure fury that was boiling inside of her. "I'm…gonna stay here, like it or not. 'Cause nobody is gonna separate me and Max ever again! Not you, not Vanessa, not even death!"

"Chloe…it's not that easy."

"Why not?"

"I…" Taking a deep breath, Joyce kept on speaking with a quiet voice. "I didn't want to tell you, but I probably can't pay the next rate of the mortgage."

"What?!"

"That was the reason I stayed in Arcadia Bay. I wanted to do some extra shifts to get enough money, but then…then this happened and I had to buy a ticket and the hotel and…" She sighed. "Chloe, if I have to pay you an extra ticket and a longer stay, we will lose the house."

"Then ask the bank to give us some more time. I could get a job, too, and…"

"It's not that simple, Chloe. The bank won't give us another postponement. I have to pay this rate or…I'm sorry, sweetheart!"

"Joyce…" Ryan addressed her, calmly. "I know we aren't seeing eye to eye right now, but our offer still stands, Chloe can stay with us. We'll take care of her. That's the least we could do."

"Mom, please!"

The tall woman sighed deeply. "But this doesn't solve the problem of getting you back to Arcadia."

"I think I can help with that." David Madsen's voice chimed behind Chloe, making everyone look at him. "I couldn't overhear that you need a ride to Arcadia Bay. I'm actually heading there myself. So, I could give you a lift."

"I don't know." Joyce murmured.

"Mom…" Chloe said, looking at her mother with pleading, watery eyes. "I know I've never been an easy child, but…please, mom, don't take us apart. Not after I almost lost her. Make it my late Christmas- and early birthday-present, if you want to. Cut my allowance, I don't care. Just let me stay, please!"

The next seconds felt like hours for the young girl as she waited for her mom to make a decision. It was almost unbearable for her.

Joyce's loud sigh finally broke the tense atmosphere. "Alright. But…"

With a shriek of joy, Chloe jumped at her mother and gave her a strong hug. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she cried out in relief.

"But…" Joyce almost yelled to gain her daughter's attention again. "…no strolls throughout Seattle all by yourself, especially not at night!"

Chloe broke the hug, nodded frantically and wiped her wet cheeks with the back of her hand. "Promised!"

"And keep me up to date every day." Joyce said, while she embraced her daughter again. "Take good care of yourself and of Max!"

"Will do, mom. Thanks again!"

Both parted and the blonde woman gave her daughter one last brush over her cheek and a weak smile, before she shifted her attention towards David Madsen. "Mr. Madsen, I thank you for your offer and take it. We just have to stop by the hotel and get my things."

"That will be no problem Mrs. Price." he answered with a smile.

"Call me Joyce, please!"

"Only if you call me David." the tall man joked, which made Joyce giggle. Then he turned one last time to Chloe and shook her hand once more. "Take care of your friend, Chloe! I hope she'll get well soon."

Chloe looked deeply into David's brown eyes, her gaze radiating gratefulness. "Thanks, David! For everything!"

He gave her one last smile, before he moved on to the Caulfield's. "Thank you, Mr. Madsen. We owe you a lot, so if you need anything…"

"No need to." David answered. "I just did what any citizen should do. Besides, I was not the one who saved your daughter in the first place. Without Chloe's first aid, even I wouldn't have been able to help her. So, if anyone, you should thank her."

Hearing such praising words from an almost strange man, Chloe just gazed to her feet, not knowing what to say. For her, saving Max's life was something self-evident. Her life revolved around her girlfriend. Losing her, meant losing her will to keep on living.

Joyce and David took their leave. Chloe watched as her mom embarked an overtuned car.

'Huh, a muscle car…kinda figures. At least he seems to be a nice guy. Well, can't label a book by its cover…sometimes.'

"Chloe?"

Be called by her name let the young blonde gaze at Ryan. "Hmm?"

"Are you coming?"

Although Chloe knew that she's just been thrown out if the hospital, she was very determined to go back in there. She knew that Max needed her right now. Even imagining how it must feel to wake up and nobody's there, just sent a shiver along her spine.

'I never wanna be alone again! Those weeks without Max were so fucked and I don't want her to go through this!'

"Listen, Ryan, I know it sounds crazy, but I wanna try to get in there again. Max needs me and, honestly, I need her."

Instead of telling her that her plan was almost impossible, Max's dad just nodded. "Alright, but I need to take my wife back home first. Try your best to get back to Max's room. But no matter what happens, stay inside until I'm back, okay?"

After giving him a nod, Chloe watched Ryan and Vanessa walking back to their car.

'Damn! Vanessa looks really bad. Mom gave her some pretty heavy shit to think about. Hopefully she's gonna be okay again.'

She shouldered her backpack, ready to get inside and, if necessary, talk her way back to Max's room.

'Okay Price, here goes nothing!'