Notes: Well folks, this story has already come a good way. I have enjoyed it so far and hope others have and will continue to. So, very recently, as in yesterday, I believe, the new episode of Before the Storm released. I wanted to tell you, flat out, that there are two direct references to that new episode in this story. They should not give away any major plot devices and are not overt or obvious here in this chapter as being references without having seen it. One of them is simply the existence of an object mentioned early on in the episode. So, if that bothers you, I advise you to play the new episode before reading any further. If not, know that I don't intend to spoil the new episode. I will have more to say about it and how it affects this story later, but for now, I welcome you to read on. I see some sleuths are starting to catch onto a certain aspect of this story. That's really nice. Awesome that people are starting to ask questions, too. I hope it's enjoyable. I really do. I've found that I feel a lot better when I get to write, and that's part of why you're getting two chapters (maybe even three, if all goes well) this week. That's enough of me babbling. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Anything familiar to you, I do not own. This is entirely a word of fan fiction for the sake of amusement and self-fulfillment. I make nothing from any of this and claim to own none of it.
Chapter Six: The Hero's JourneyThis would be so much easier if I didn't have to worry about Rachel at the same time. Chloe briefly caught sight of her reflection in the glass of the door. She ran her hand through her freshly colored hair, half imagining that it would come away blue. Seriously, I want to talk to two people in this entire town right now and neither of them can answer their texts? I should have stayed there last night. Instead of open the door, Chloe turned her back to it and stepped aside. Nervously, she opened her phone. There were plenty of unread messages waiting: Steph, Mikey, Drew, Eliot, even one from Victoria Chase. She would care about all (okay, most) of them eventually, but right then she wanted to hear from Rachel or Max. The last time I saw them, I left them alone together for like, the first time. I'd be lying if I told myself I didn't know why that made me nervous. I just want to know why neither of them are answering.
Exhaling, Chloe turned and entered the diner. It was still early enough on Tuesday morning that a bit of the early bird crowd was present. The majority of the Two Whales' patrons at this point were well over sixty and a handful of them were dressed as if they had just come back from or were about to go fishing. Chloe knew she would stick out like a sore thumb: blue hair, ratty blue jeans and Rachel's leather jacket. I'm gonna have to give that one back, she thought, feeling a tiny bit disappointed. Rachel likes it too much. If she hadn't been busy talking to Sera I don't think she would've let me put it on.
Chloe sought out her mother and found her quickly, filling cups of coffee at the counter. The nerves she had been feeling about the encounter faded quickly as her mother first noticed her and then her hair. A rueful smile and shaking head was her first reaction and Chloe felt the smile forming on her own face. Perhaps it was everything she and Max went through two days before or seeing Rachel reunited with her biological mother, but Chloe felt at peace with their last discussion, even if it lacked a sense of closure. She sat down before she could be directed, once more, at the booth closest to the door.
She busied herself while she waited for her mother to have time to talk by staring at her dim, quiet phone on the table. As if summoned by her gaze, a message arrived, causing the phone to vibrate. And they say a watched pot never boils. Chloe opened it quickly, unsure whose text she wanted more. I don't think it would have mattered, I'd be disappointed it wasn't the other one, she told herself as she opened Max's response.
Max
Yeah, I'm alright. I left pretty early this morning, before Rachel or her parents were up. They'll never know I was there. I was just finishing up some business in town.
Relieved, Chloe decided not to question what kind of business Max might have in Arcadia Bay that didn't involve her. Maybe it's something to do with Blackwell. Chloe looked up at the sound of clicking heels approaching. She did so just in time to see her mother slide into the seat opposite her and deposit a glass of coke on the table between them. Chloe gave her best smile, despite a slight resurgence in her nerves and took a sip.
"So," her mother started, nails tapping against the table. "The hair."
"The hair," Chloe agreed finally.
"I like it.." Feeling almost a little surprised, Chloe continued with the plan. Not Max's plan, not Rachel's plan, just her plan. It felt good to get up to her own antics.
"So, I think there's something you should know," Chloe started.
"Oh," her mother interrupted, brightly. "Is this the part where you finally tell me where you and Rachel have been hiding Max all week?" Chloe did manage to catch and lower the glass that slipped from her hand before she spilled coke all over the table and onto the floor, but it was a close thing. The only thing that cut the surprise in the moment was annoyance at the smug, 'mothers know everything' look on her face. It was the same one she wore when she first asked if Rachel was a 'very close friend.' "Chloe, I love you dearly but you can't lie for crap. Your face screams 'guilty!'" If she only even knew what we've been up to.
"How did you even find out?" Chloe asked.
"Well," her mother started. "Two things. First, as soon as Max went missing, her dad called me to tell me she'd probably be by." Reaching across the table, the woman took the glass Chloe had just almost spilled and took a long drink. "Second, if Max wants to stay hidden so badly, she probably shouldn't go to school plays and stand around the crowd beforehand. You know she was sitting right beside Rachel's parents, right?" She was? Chloe wondered. Shit. Small world. Her cheeks reddened as she reflected that yeah, her mother could have easily seen Max at The Tempest. "So, spill."
"Well, the night before last she and Rachel stayed where I've been staying," Chloe admitted. "Then last night, I told her to sneak into Rachel's place with her and get an actual decent night's sleep." The woman's face contorted into concern and Chloe saw a hundred questions in her eyes. "Look, I know you want to know where I've been and all that, but trust me, it's not as bad as where she was sleeping before. I think it was probably in a park or something stupid." The tired sigh this was met with meant two things: one, the gamble worked and she had managed to shift the subject away from herself. As for item number two….
"That seals it. We can see about getting her home tomorrow, call her up right now and get her to come back to the house tonight." Chloe sighed and leaned back in her seat. "Are you- what, are you not coming back?" For a moment Chloe took her mother in. Her hair was, of course, pulled back and partially obscured by the hat but a few strands hung down and it made her look tired. Not tired like someone who needed a nap but someone who was getting weary of life around her. It did not set well with Chloe.
"I, kind of have to. Gotta start school so I can get back into Blackwell next year and I can't keep sleeping in a tru-" her mother leaned forward and Chloe let the statement trail off. "Anyway," she continued quickly, "Max is going to the bus station in a couple hours to go back home." Her mother shook her head.
"No, not like this. You get her here, right now, you understand me, Chloe Price?" Chloe knew her mother was a little confused by the grin on her face in response but she saluted and held up her phone. "Good," the waitress continued, sounding confused by her happy compliance. Let her be. This is my plan, this is her plan. Not Rachel's and not Max's and damn sure not Damon fucking Merrick's. Upon thinking of him, Chloe had to push the thought and associated feelings away. As her mother got to her feet and returned to work, the clicking of silverware on plates drowned out the digital imitation of a typewriter her phone emitted with each press of a button.
Me
I told mom you were here. She already knew. Saw you at Blackwell during the play. Dumbass.
Max
Shit. Well, I knew it was a gamble but I wanted to see Blackwell before the tour.
Me
She says she wants you to come stay at the house tonight and go home tomorrow.
Max
I don't think that's the best idea.
Me
Then come to the diner at least.
Max
I do think that's the best idea. I'm getting waffles. I'm like five, ten minutes out by bus.
Chloe grinned to herself and finally gave in. She backed the phone out to the home screen and called the number two on her speed dial. Leaning back, she watched the early birds getting their worms and her mother move back and forth from tables to counter to kitchen, stuck in an endless loop that Chloe felt was unfair to her. I wonder if it's actually any better when she's on the grill? Finally, the ringing was interrupted.
"Hey," Rachel greeted, quietly. Okay, she's definitely still upset about everything, but who could blame her? Relieved that Rachel sounded alright, she decided to rib her a little.
"Oh, you're not dead after all?" Chloe asked. "I was starting to think you were poof, gone into thin air."
"Yeah," Rachel continued, in the same down tone. "Yeah, sorry. So um, everybody's kind of pulling a disappearing act on me today. Max was gone when I woke up and S-Sera left a message saying she was going to be leaving town."
"Did she give you a number to call her at least?" Chloe asked, leaning forward slightly.
"Yeah, I just, I guess I was hoping she'd stick around a few days, but I get it." Sighing, Chloe wished they were having this conversation in person. "Well, I mean, she wants to make sure she can get clean again, I guess." That bastard Merrick, I don't think I actually care what happened to him. It had been scary in the moment and the dreams of her father and Max standing over Damon Merrick as he bled out talking with her and with each other about one's 'lot in life' were disturbing, but if there was someone who deserved to get his nose broken, Damon Merrick was the man. And if he never shows up again? What then? Then I guess I know not to fuck with Frank.
"Hey, Rachel?" Chloe started. "I really wanna see you tonight, after mom gets over me being back home."
"Yeah," Rachel replied again, and this time there was something like a relieved laugh to accompany it. "I do too. You going to take Max to the station?"
"Well," Chloe said, glancing up as the door opened. Not her, yet. Too soon still. "I think plans might be changing. Mom might try to talk her into staying at my place tonight."
"Cool. I think I really didn't get the chance yesterday to actually tell her thanks." Chloe nodded. Answering noverbally when she could not be seen was a weird habit, one she couldn't entirely explain. "At least this way I could do it in person."
"That sounds alright. I'm sure she gets it, though."
"No, by the sounds of it the two of you got into some crazy shit for me." Not me. All I really did was tag along for the ride. Actually, I kind of hate that part. I should have done more but I just stood there scared and stupid. If Max hadn't been there I'd probably have been one more body for Damon Merrick to bury. "Chloe?"
"Sorry, Rachel. I'm just a little-"
"Yeah, me too," Rachel assured her through the phone. "Look, I'm going to go make some breakfast now that there's no one in the house. I really can't wait to see you."
"I can't wait to see you, too." There really was no need for any other form of goodbye and the few seconds of silence before she hung the phone up were not awkward. They were actually kind of warm. The door opened again and admitted Max, who, strangely enough, looked a little more like her old self. She had not bothered with any kind of makeup, her hair was pulled back a little too tightly (Chloe had never enjoyed having her hair back like that, herself) and she had discarded the grey hooded sweatshirt. And that would have something to do with the blood on it, Chloe told herself, feeling a little guilty at having had to put away one of Rachel's old shirts.
"Hey you," her mother greeted, cutting across Chloe completely. She decided it was best not to show that that miffed her. Max turned a smile on Chloe's mother that smacked of the silly, goopy girl who moved away from Arcadia Bay. It simultaneously warmed Chloe up slightly and made her want to roll her eyes. It was probably at least mostly an act. She didn't interrupt as Max returned her greeting and eventually the two shared a quick hug. When Max was finally allowed to sit down, Chloe offered her a closed fist. The look she shared with Max was different, it was guarded on her end. A suspicion was starting to build in her mind, one that had gone from 0 to 60 in the span of one day. Upsetting as it might have been in the moment, and maybe even in retrospect, Chloe had to admit that she had no proof and could face the problem if it arose. Max pressed her fist against Chloe's and then turned immediately to her mother.
"I'm starving. I have my emergency card and I'm about to call my mom and dad. So can I use this to get breakfast?" Max asked her, quite suddenly. "I mean, a lot of breakfast."
"You can keep your money, Max and you should call your parents. I think they'd really like to hear from you." Chloe nodded, as if in agreement with her mother which made Max turn a raised eyebrow on her. "So, what's it gonna be?"
"Belgian waffles," Max said immediately, in a voice that sounded like a congregant confessing their sins to a priest. "I'm starving."
"How long has it been since you actually ate anything?" Chloe asked, realizing suddenly how valid the question was. She leaned forward and this time it was no raised eyebrow Max shot at her, but pure irritation.
"Now if that isn't just the right question, Chloe," her mother added, waiting with her hands on her hips.
"I mean, when was the play?"
"Three days ago," the Prices answered in unison, in matching tones of concern and disbelief as Max lowered her head.
"So, like, I got something out of the vending machine when I toured Blackwell."
"Max," Chloe exclaimed, pounding the table. "That was two days ago, for shit's sake."
"Chloe, language, Max, call your parents then eat your damn breakfast." Max grinned across the table at Chloe as her mother walked away.
"You got in trouble," Max taunted.
"Yeah? Well at least I've already talked to my mother about me running away. How's about you pull out that fancy phone of yours and start dialing. Or do I need to do it for you?" For just a moment or two, they shot volleys back and forth at each other over the table and it was like old times. Except it really wasn't like old times. They were older, they had both seen things that neither of them even imagined back during the 'old times' and there was, she had to admit, a whole world of questions and answers and things that needed understanding between them, now. But it's Max, a weird ass Max who might be keeping secrets but still Max and she's really back.
Eventually, Chloe did her best to pretend to be paying attention to her phone instead of Max's conversation with her mother. The half she could hear though (and she was listening) consisted mostly of apologies and promises ('this will never happen again, it was stupid' and 'I'll tell you everything when I get home, I swear. I just kind of hung out with Chloe and another girl and took a tour of the school,") and uncomfortably honest sounding regret. Just when Max was starting to sound as if a lump was growing in her throat, the subject changed to how she was getting home.
"No, what do you mean? I promise it's no big deal, I'll just take a bus out. There's one leaving in two hours and another in five." Chloe lifted her head and watched Max's face contort in confusion. "What do you mean you've already handled it, mom?" Chloe looked over at her mother, whom she suspected knew something they did not. "You-what? Well she's busy, I think-" At that point, Chloe watched her mother set the pot of coffee down on the counter and walk over to her.
"No she's not," the woman insisted, holding her hand out. Max deposited the phone in it without matching her eyes. "Hello, Vanessa," she said, without hesitation. "Yeah, everything should work out fine. I already took care of a ride, you just tell me what time to get her there and we'll handle the rest." Chloe blinked. Why does that give me the worst feeling of existential horror? "Yeah, that's more than enough time. I'll have her there with time to spare. Oh, of course, Vanessa." Chloe and Max shared looks, Max's embarrassed, Chloe's confused. A bell from behind the counter signified that an order was up. "Oh don't even, you know Max would have done the same for Chloe. Those girls were never gonna let each other down." Mom looks amused. "Alright, you take care now, I'm gonna hand you back off to Max. Tell Ryan hey and not to worry. His little girl's in good hands."
From the time Max said goodbye to her mother and looked up at Chloe with a look of terror on her face to the moment two large plates piled with Belgian Waffles were placed in front of the girls, Chloe did not say a word. The look of horror was comical and though Chloe wanted to know the source, had a thousand questions to ask, she instead cut into the waffles and took that eager first bite. Other than a couple of granola bars and a coke at the diner a couple days prior, this was Chloe's first meal since the Amber family dining room table was put permanently out of commission. She closed her eyes and savored the sweet taste on her tongue after swallowing. In that moment, nothing Max could say could ruin her good mood.
"Mom says David's going to drive me to the airport in Portland in a couple hours."
"Oh god damn it." Chloe sat her fork down. Except that. Son of a bitch, son of a bitch, son of a bitch. "Well, obviously it's going to be us, I'm not leaving you alone with David." Chloe pushed the plate aside and opened her phone.
"What's up?" Max asked, concerned.
"Just updating Rachel. I'm gonna try to see her tonight if I can."
"Oh," Max replied, sounding a bit like the wind had gone from her sails. "Yeah, I sort of snuck out this morning so her parents didn't see me. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye." Chloe nodded absently, finished her text and sent it before digging back into the waffles. "Hey, Chloe?" Mouth full, Chloe looked up at her letting her eyes do the question asking. "You alright on that front? I mean, I really thought you'd stay with us. I think she wanted you to."
"Yeah," Chloe replied when she had time to finally swallow. "I wanted to, too, but I also needed a little air. Time to myself. I mean, we kind of slept in Frank's RV the other night. It doesn't get much closer quarters than that." Max shrugged in agreement and went back to her breakfast, tearing into the waffles like she might have done when they were younger. It was almost comforting to watch, even though Chloe knew David was hanging over their heads. At least Max can get on a plane and fly away from him at the end of the drive. I've basically got to come back home and the only way I'll get to see Rachel is if I can convince mom to let her come over tonight.
Rachel
Try not to get too pissed off at him or Xena might go all Warrior-Princess on his ass.
Me
Don't tempt me, Frodo!
Rachel
Nerd.
Chloe looked up from her phone to Max, who was stationed on the bench beside her as the two waited. Max clutched her bag closely to herself. The photography nerd's right leg bounced up and down with nervous energy and, when Chloe looked, she could see that Max was mouthing something. She watched blatantly for a couple of seconds, which was all the time she needed to realize that whatever Max was saying as she stared at the road, it was repeating. In a way, the sight of Max staring blankly at the road and mouthing something over and over disturbed Chloe and it didn't get any better when Max stood, shouldering her bag and started to pace the same few steps over and over.
"Max, you alright?" Goosebumps were rising on Chloe's arms.
"Yeah," she answered, suddenly and almost defensively. "I'm just thinking." The feeling of someone walking over Chloe's grave left.
"You know," Chloe started, thinking that this was about seeing her parents again. "Your mom and dad were always pretty cool. I'm sure they'll calm down after like, a month… two tops. Vanessa keeps a chill head." Max turned, brow furrowed and looked her in the eyes for a second before bursting into laughter. Okay, maybe I shouldn't have said anything.
"No, no, sorry," Max said at seeing the look on her face. "It's just, I was sitting here thinking about getting in on scholarship to Blackwell." Chloe rolled her eyes, making damn sure Max saw it when she did.
"I kind of feel bad actually," Chloe said quietly, as if admitting this out loud for the first time. "I was using Rachel's laptop to write Wells an email last night." Max furrowed her brow again. "Yeah, I know. Weird. It was weird. I basically decided to do whatever it takes to get back in and Wells can help. I just told him I've been handling dad badly and I was sorry." Max nodded, encouraging her to continue. "And maybe that's true, maybe it's not but it feels shitty. It feels like I'm using him to get back into school."
"So what?" Max replied without hesitation. Chloe shook her head, wondering how Max could say something like that and get away with it. "Chloe your dad loved it that you got into Blackwell. He was happy. I think he'd be happy if he could help you get back in." Chloe felt like arguing at first, remembering a series of confusing dreams that involved mostly talking to her father from the back seat of their old car, in its state both before and after the crash. When he asks questions about Max and Rachel it leaves me more confused about everything than usual. I hope these dreams go away, soon. Chloe opened her mouth to say that maybe Max was right, but a familiar sounding engine drew her eyes just a bit down the street and she groaned as David's blue muscle car came roaring toward them.
"Here we go, Max." She rose to stand beside her friend and threw an arm around her shoulder. "Cheer up, David's only going to be able to be horrible to you for a couple hours. I've got a lifetime with him." Max seemed to stiffen slightly at the embrace, so Chloe lowered her arm, trying not to do it so quickly as to make it more awkward for either of them. David pulled to a stop as Chloe tried to predict what he would do first-comment on her hair or give her shit about running away. If he even thinks about telling mom I should get some kind of buzz cut, he's got a fight on his hands. The passenger window rolled down.
"Well, Chloe," David started, "It's good to see you've come to your senses." Okay, so it's the whole 'running away' thing. "You two get comfortable. I'm going to go talk to your mother for a second." Surprisingly, if anything, as David stepped out of the vehicle, Chloe judged him to be in an unusually good mood. "I guess you'll be the first one to hear the good news," he started as he drew closer to them. "I've found a job." I guess that's a good thing. At least he won't be spending all day at the house.
"Where at?" Max asked him, quietly.
"Oh, right," the man replied. "My name's David. You can call me Mr. Madsen." Chloe rolled her eyes unabashedly as David extended a hand. "And that'll make you Max." You can call her Ms. Caulfield, Chloe thought, biting her tongue against the retort. After a second, Max shook his hand and Chloe spotted what he did not: Max was nervous around him. As she lowered her hand back to her side, it shook. I mean, he's an asshole but, scared? I never said anything that should make her scared of him. "As of Wednesday I should be the new daytime security guard at Blackwell Academy."
Mother fucker! Chloe immediately snapped at the sick, twisted side of her mind that laughed in response and added, Yeah, well when two people love each other-. Unable to form any response to that, Chloe stepped aside and let David past her, presumably to tell her mother the good news. Right, well fuck me. My options now are to either never go back to Blackwell and break promises to both Max and Rachel or to actually willfully put myself in a situation where David has more power over me.
"Earth to Chloe?"
"I need a drink," Chloe responded, automatically. "I need a drink and I think I made the wrong choice agreeing to come home." One of Max's hands closed over her shoulder.
"Chloe, you can't go on living in a truck in the junkyard." Chloe shook her head.
"Maybe not," she said as she crossed the sidewalk and opened the passenger seat door, sure that David would take it as an offense if she did not sit up front with him. "But I might be willing to try. I'm going to miss that truck." Max eased herself into the back seat and responded, forcing Chloe to turn back and look at her while messing with her seatbelt.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Max offered no further comment, even when prompted. About the third time that Chloe asked her what she meant and Max changed the subject to something else entirely, David reappeared in the doorway of the diner. Chloe was treated to the nauseating sight of her mother sharing a kiss with a man whom she, on his best days, disliked. And I've got to spend like, four hours stuck in this car with him.
For the most part, David was cordial enough as they passed through the streets of Arcadia Bay. Chloe was expecting plenty of shit to get thrown her way, but the one thing she was not in the mood for was anything to be heaped on Max, especially given her apparent serious discomfort with the man. Wasn't she the one telling me he probably wasn't that bad just a couple days ago? However, it was as if Arcadia Bay was the grounds for some sort of truce, because they had not been on the freeway long before Sergeant Moustache started in.
"You two make quite the little pair of runaways," he said, quite out of the blue. Chloe was put on edge immediately mostly for the fact that the statement included and was directed at Max, who for the most part had been silent for the last two or three minutes. When neither of them reacted, he looked up in the rear view mirror. "What, am I talking to myself or something? Is this thing on?" Chloe turned toward him.
"Cut it out," she said, feeling rage enter her voice from the very outset. One quick look backward showed Max to be engaged in a staring contest with the floorboard. David looked as if he was going to fire back at her, but Chloe thought that perhaps even he had enough brain cells to recognize that people might be going through shit, and when he glanced over at her, she gestured back at Max. He examined the girl once in the rear view mirror and turned his gaze back on the road.
"Don't get me wrong," David said. "I've been there. I ran off from home once, too." Oh really? Was it to join the military against your evil, vicious liberal mother's wishes?
"Why?" Max asked, her voice rising just high enough to be audible over the sound of the roadway. Instead of laying into her, David cracked his neck and explained. What twisted alternate reality did I fall into?
"When I was about to graduate high school, I told my dad I was going into the army." Chloe snorted. She was rewarded with a cold glance, before he continued. "Anyway," as if her response was some sort of severe interruption, he spoke louder. "My father wasn't having any of it. Every man in my family who had served in the military had flown planes, as far back as they could trace. If I wasn't going to go to college and get a good job like he told me to, I was sure not going to disgrace the family name by being some sort of common infantry man. Elitist prick." Oh wow, oh, wow, never before has someone described themselves so accurately without knowing it. In a greater test of willpower than even Damon Merrick could have assigned her, Chloe neither laughed nor erupted on David, instead she looked pointedly at the road and tried to keep a straight face. "Well, I hated the hell out of flying. I still do. It takes the order of a superior officer to get me on a plane. So, I decided, "screw it." I took off with the intent on spending a week or two away. I figured it would change his mind. You know, 'love me or lose me.'"
To be fair, he's stopped being a dick long enough to actually tell a coherent story. That has to be some sort of record. Chloe turned back to Max to see that at some point the girl had lifted her head and was eyeing David's reflection in the mirror with a bizarrely calm gaze. Why do I have a bad feeling about this? Also, why do I keep imagining David as Mr. T. It can't just be that I want someone to stab him with a syringe and knock his ass out. Max shifted her open bag from her lap to the seat beside her and adjusted herself in her seat. It was like she was preparing for something. Then, before David could change the subject, she spoke.
"One day, my mother told me we were moving a few hours up north. I was going to leave my school, my house, my best friend." Chloe grew still, unsure if she should look away from Max or not. The decision was robbed from her when the girl slid her eyes from the rear view mirror to Chloe's own and exposed regret and grief to her. "I made some promises and I broke them and sometimes I still hate myself for it but it happened. We moved to Seattle and I made a couple friends. Nice people. Cool people, but it wasn't home. It wasn't Arcadia Bay and they weren't my best friend. They weren't the people that loved me."
"You had your parents, a roof over your head and you were in the big city. What more did you really need?" She told you what more she thinks she needs. You're just too fucking stupid to get it. Perhaps the vitriol was her transferring the feelings the conversation was stirring up in her to David but, Chloe was rapidly becoming uncomfortable with the whole thing and they had only just gotten on the road.
"Why didn't you just go into the air force? You fly on planes now if your superior officer orders you to. You'd still be serving your country. You'd just be doing it in a different way. What more do you need?" Chloe waited to see aggravation rise up on David's face and sure enough, it set in. For a second, she expected some comment about 'being a smartass.' Instead, after a moment or two of audible grumbling, David grunted.
"Point taken. You're doing it wrong, but I get the need to decide your life. When I did it, I was almost a man. You're still a kid. Your parents are looking out for you. You might feel powerless right now, but it's no call to go acting like a delinquent." Wow, that's a real subtle shot, David. Who else in this car might you be talking to? God, I wish my little girl brain was smart enough to figure out this mystery. Where is Nancy Drew when you need her?
"I like delinquents," Chloe said, defensively. "They're some of my favorite people."
"You know," Max said, ignoring her completely. "Maybe when the only option left to you is delinquency, it's everyone else that's doing something wrong. Not you." Oh shit, Super Max to the rescue. Chloe watched David's jaw work up and down as if he wanted to respond and then he turned his attention to the road. Chloe glanced back several seconds later to see that Max had dug her MP3 player from the bag. Fair enough, Chloe thought, as it hit her that Max's apparent nerves around vehicles might be heightened on a freeway. Beside her David was looking askance in the mirror.
"She- she gets kind of nervous around a lot of vehicles," Chloe told him, hoping that he was in a good enough mood as a result of his getting hired at a place where he could theoretically torture Chloe day and night for the foreseeable future to let it go. "It's not her slighting you." David scoffed, but he did turn back to the road .Okay, maybe this is the start of a long period of silence and I can space the fuck out. The naive hope was shattered only a minute or so later.
"Since we're alone," David said, as if truly injured by Max playing music instead of talking to them, "I guess now's as good a time as any."
"For what?" Chloe asked, nonplussed.
"Joyce and I have been talking." And nothing good ever comes from that. Chloe braced herself for whatever bad news he was going to hit her with. "We've come to a-" his voice dropped and he sighed. "An agreement. Now that you're back there's going to have to be a change in attitude, immediately." Chloe closed her eyes. Yes sir, no sir, I'd like to drop and give you twenty but I hate your fucking guts, sir. "From both of us." What? She opened her eyes again, to see David glancing over at her.
"I don't like some of your behavior and I won't tolerate it." Yeah, yeah, the cannabis panic. "But there are things your mother doesn't like and won't tolerate and I am going to have to respect that." The urge to laugh bubbled up, but it was humorless. Holy shit, did mom actually stand up to fucking David? "It's all about respect, Chloe. If I want your mother to respect my rules, I have to respect hers and I- I guess that extends to you." I can almost hear mom. Holy shit, she gave him an earful! Chloe grinned which seemed to upset David immensely. He doesn't like people smiling and happy around him. He opened his mouth to respond but quite suddenly jerked his eyes back to the road.
Chloe followed suit and had just enough time to see a car too close to their nose, with brake lights showing before she was thrown forward. Forced to slam the brakes, David looked almost wildly left and right before jerking his wheel suddenly to the right. Even riding their breaks, they overtook the car that moments before had been in front of them easily. Holy shit, that was a close one. David began to hurl insults out of his driver's side window. While Chloe watched, the man in the car next to them rolled down his passenger and they exchanged what Chloe always thought of as Road Pleasantries over a cacophony of horns that filled the air like thick wet fog.
She glanced back to see if Max was alright and her heart dropped. Beside her, David was roaring in a genuine rage she could not remember having seen from the man. It was enough to make Chloe unnerved, but seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back for Max. There's a reason I don't like this asshole. Restrained by the seatbelt, Max was not able to assume the familiar position of burying her face against her knees and pulling them up against her. Instead, with her MP3 player abandoned in her lap, Max's arms were wrapped around herself as best as they could, though they ended in tightly closed fists. Just as tightly shut were her eyes, giving her ultimately a look more of pain than panic, but the rapid breathing was obvious even from the front seat and even with Max otherwise still.
"Hey," David called, but this time it was quieter, too quiet by far to reach the other driver. "Hey," Chloe turned her head to see him looking in the rear view mirror. Pissed off, she opened her mouth to chew him out and David reacted quickly. His right hand shot from the steering wheel and she jerked back. This was how Chloe first learned that she actually experienced some fear of physical violence from David Madsen. It was not violence that drew his hand from his wheel, though. Instead, with an open hand held up to shush her, David spoke again, apparently unaware of Chloe's severe reaction. "Hey, Max." Nothing doing, though. Max remained shutdown, save for the rapid breathing. This time, David barked. "Max, listen to me, right now." Max's head snapped up and eyes somewhat like a panicked dog about to bite met David's in the mirror.
"I know it doesn't seem like it right now, kid, but you are safe." Chloe blinked. "I don't know where you went or who you were with, but you're right here now. The trouble is over. So I need you to take a deep breath. Four seconds in, four seconds out. Can you do that for me?" Max shook her head, with the same angry eyes. "Yes you can. Yes, you fucking can. Listen, you breathe now and the rest comes later, understood?"" Despite her denial a second ago, Chloe could hear the slow, loud intake of breath. "Good." He was still barking like a drill sergeant, but it did work to get Max's attention. "Good, now listen. Wherever you went, it's over now. It's in the past." Max laughed, loudly. "It's over," he repeated, emphatically. "Chloe, talk to your friend."
"Hey, Max," she said, by way of compliance. Max had closed her eyes again but once the strange laughter passed, she had gone back to trying to breathe as instructed. Slowly, Chloe watched her fists unclench though her arms did not drop to her side. "You remember the secret pirate fort we built right up on the border of Carlin Park and the national forest?" After a moment, Max nodded and opened her eyes to show she was focusing. "I went back up there a year or so ago. Most of it's gone now but someone left our flag hanging." This earned some sort of echo of a smile, but the sadness in the smile was not encouraging. Chloe realized why the topic was not the best choice a second later. I can't really talk about a lot of our more recent history with David in the car.
"That's why I thought to do this," Chloe told her, gesturing to her hair. "Captain Bluebeard." That did the trick, earning a real chuckle from Max, not one that sounded crazed or angry. She covered an eye with one hand. "We could go in search of some booty to burrrrrrrrrrry, when you get back." Max shook her head, grinning.
"You can definitely rock the blue hair," Max told her. "No matter what anyone says." Her eyes shot briefly toward the back of David's head before returning to Chloe. For a moment, Chloe saw that sight in them, the one that unnerved her so much earlier, but it was buried just as quickly and this time Chloe could bear it. It was a trouble deferred and it was so much better than seeing Max in pain.
"You know, I was looking for a change with this for a long time," she ran a hand quickly through her hair. "I just stopped caring at one point. I stopped caring about everything." Chloe did her best to get more comfortable in the seat, turned halfway around. I need to talk about this but I don't want to talk about it in front of David. She looked Max in the eyes. Maybe she needs to talk about it. "I stopped caring about a lot of shit."
"Me too," Max replied. Frank's question echoed in Chloe's mind, as to whether Max had any sense of self-preservation or not. Okay, at least this is distracting her, Chloe thought, noticing that Max lowered her arms, slowly. "I don't care about a lot of things but I have to, you know, keep up appearances."
"Losing you and dad all at once hurt like hell." Chloe exhaled. "I didn't think anything mattered anymore. Not until I met Rachel and then, out of nowhere there you were, too." Max reached for her bag, setting it on her lap and digging into it.
"Rachel's important. You need to hold onto her. Hold onto that." Chloe shook her head and then shrugged. God, please don't do this, Max.
"When you come back, we'll all get to know each other better. Properly."
"I know this may not mean much, not anymore but," Max let out along breath. "I promise to come back." Twisting together, several emotions battled for control but Chloe put them firmly under her foot and nodded, trying to keep her face impassive. Curiosity and trepidation slipped through, anyway, as Max pulled something dark and red from her bag. "I wanted to give you this later, before I left, but this seems like the time." With some difficulty, Chloe reached back and took the red bundle of cloth. She faced front, drawing David's eye as she unfurled it and wanted to cry, herself, for the first time in what felt like forever.
It was a sweatshirt, one that was just barely in the realm of possibility for fitting her, but one she had worn time and time again. A gift from her father years ago, it had been her favorite for a long time until classmates at Blackwell had begun to tease her for its ratty state. She looked back at Max, who matched her gaze almost forcefully. If she opened her mouth to say something, she was going to cry instead and that was not okay; not in front of this Max right now and definitely not in front of David fucking Madsen. Instead, she swallowed against the lump in her throat and nodded.
"That thing looks like it's been through hell," David commented.
"That thing is Long Max Silver's buried treasure," Max replied, as if she did not care how it sounded. "Buried in a closet in Seattle for a year and a half." God, damn, has it really only been a year and a half? "Because I knew that in the end, you would really want it back." Defeated, Chloe pressed her face into the fabric as her eyes teared up and for several seconds, she fought against allowing it to go any further. When she was in control again, she lifted her head. "Chloe, check the pocket."
Chloe did as she was bade and reached into the pocket that stretched across the front of the sweatshirt, beneath the logo of the lion and just above one large hole. Something thin and crisp-edged brushed her hand and after a second, Chloe secured and removed a tri-folded piece of paper. She was unfolding it in curiosity when David looked at first her, then into the rear view mirror and spoke.
"Is that the title to a car?" Chloe unfolded it, feeling jolted.
"Chloe's been practicing some skills her dad taught her, and she's had her eye on an old junker she thinks she can fix up," Max lifted her chin higher as Chloe turned around, quickly enough that her neck hurt. "I made a couple phone calls and the guy was so happy to get anything for it, he literally took a hundred."
"You had a hundred dollars on you and didn't eat for two days?"
"Oh, stow it with that," Max told her. "I had like three hundred on me and an emergency card. Birthday money saved up for a few years. I saw a chance to spend it on something important." Chloe glanced at David, curious as to his reaction. He leaned over and for a second she thought he was going to grab the title from her hands to examine it, but instead he reached down and popped open the glovebox. After a second he came up with a pen.
"You'll probably need to sign that and we can see about getting you to the DMV and getting the car towed to the house tomorrow." Feeling stunned, Chloe took the pen and, where he pointed, she signed her name. She looked back at Max.
"Actually," she said, quietly. "It's a truck. An old, absolute piece of junk truck." David grunted. "And I'm going to turn it into a Frankenstein and make it live." Best not to tell him you've already got it running. Not right now, at least. "As for you?" Max raised an eyebrow, with a more genuine, soft smile on her face. "Your next birthday is going to be a fucking legend. I promise that."
"Hey, language," David called.
"English," Chloe said, as if confirming the answer to a question. David looked irritated as he turned back to the road. God damn it, Max. She felt absolutely silly and childish, but Chloe stowed the title back inside the sweatshirt, gave the lion on the front one more look and then settled it on her lap, where it stayed until they reached the airport. She moved that sweatshirt only to allow herself to get out, hours later and share one last hug with Max, one in which Max again showed too much strength for a girl her size and nearly squeezed the life out of her. Not even the prospect of hours alone in a car with David dampened Chloe's admittedly mellow mood as she watched Max pass through a set of double doors and disappear from sight, shouldering her bag.
Chloe ignored David's calls for her to get back in for a moment. She watched and waited until she was certain that Max was not going to come walking back out refusing to leave and then settled herself into her seat, buckling her belt and securing that sweatshirt once more on her lap. She didn't have anything else to say, so she leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes, not letting go of Max's gift. That evening, if all went to plan, she would have a lot to say to a couple of people and she would see Rachel. Maybe, though, she had done enough for the moment. Maybe she could actually get a little rest.
Maybe everything is going to be alright.
Zujge O sayz xkskshkx:
Znoy oy tuz muujhek lux muuj. O igt gtj corr iusk nusk gmgot. Nuvklarre, kbkxe vxuhrks zngz sgqky lux sk iusky cozn g vxusoyk.
Cngzkbkx lxoktjynov jkbkruvy cozn Inruk corr hk jollkxktz zngt gteznotm kryk O'bk kbkx ngj cozn nkx gtj zngz'y uqge hkigayk O's yzorr muotm zu hk znk raiqokyz vkxyut ot Gxigjog Hge.
Cnkt eua mkz urjkx, znk znotm eua lkgx znk suyz oy naxzotm znuyk eua igxk ghuaz. Ol eua ju, eua payz ngbk zu nuvk eua igt yzorr ykz oz xomnz.
End Part 1
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