The warm morning sun was beginning to peek through the trees, casting a bright light on anything that stood in its way. After a long and emotional night, Chloe and Rachel both decided that it would be best to head back to Chloe's house where not only would Rachel stay there, she would also be given a proper introduction to Max.
Grabbing a duffel bag filled with clothes and other necessities, the two managed to sneak out the window, quickly hopping in Chloe's truck and driving away, now avoiding all potential problems the Amber family wanted to cause. Rachel didn't want to risk it, knowing how many boundaries were crossed the night before with her father. It left a mark on her, that was for sure, and she would never see him in the same way again.
Rachel was blindly following Chloe at this point, without knowing of a better option. It felt rushed, and while it was, she quite literally could not be at her house for another minute. She was still recovering from everything that staying in the hospital brought, but she was well enough to embark on this new adventure.
Chloe pulled into the driveway, coming to a screeching halt. Rachel did miss being over at Chloe's house, even if it had been a while. There was a slightly awkward tension forming between the two, and it was only growing more noticeable since the previous night. Chloe still had feelings for Rachel, which became obvious with the way that she always showed up at Rachel's plea for help. Whether it was through a text message or quite literally saving Rachel from her death. Rachel on the other hand felt…a lot of different emotions. It's not that she didn't feel the same way for Chloe—she definitely still liked the girl—she just had more to unpack with her time spent with Frank and with Mark Jefferson.
Last night was a close call for both of them, and they knew it. Rachel would have been lying to herself if she said she didn't feel the urge to kiss Chloe—or even go further than that—when two two were laying next to each other in the same bed. She didn't want to cross any lines, though, even if she was sure Chloe felt the same way. There were too many moments throughout the night that could've gone in a completely different direction, potentially causing regrets the next day, but how it actually played out was probably for the better. In the past, Rachel would've used her relationship with Chloe as a distraction from her emotions and the pain she was carrying, however, now, it was more slow and methodical. More grounded. She still wasn't sure how much longer she could hold herself back, though, especially since now she was going to be staying with Chloe for the immediate future.
Max had just woken up from a rough night sleeping on the couch. She had fallen asleep watching Blade Runner with Chloe, but to her surprise, saw her friend missing when she woke up. It was a little surprising because Chloe didn't mention anything to Max the entire time of any plans she might have had. If Max was being honest, it made her really nervous. She couldn't help but pace around the living room, clutching her phone in her hands, hoping for a text or phone call from Chloe saying she was alright. Max was carrying a lot of emotional baggage, which was to be expected, but she let it get the best of her a lot of the time. She was becoming a little too attached to Chloe throughout the time they spent together, and she knew it was only because of one reason.
Pouring herself a bowl of cereal, Max heard the front door begin to unlock and the sound of keys jingling as the door handle was beginning to turn open. There were several voices behind the door, laughing and full of life. Max cautiously peeked around the corner of the kitchen doorway, watching in anticipation of who the mystery guests were so early in the morning.
"Chloe?"
The two began to walk in, first Chloe, then Rachel. Max had fully stepped into the hallway, catching both of their gazes. "Woah, Rachel?"
Max was shocked to see Rachel again, this time acting like what appeared to be her normal self. She was seemingly happy, radiating the kind of energy that everything was going to be ok. Max walked over to both of them, feeling such a sense of relief. Excitedly, she smiled.
"Max Caulfield." Rachel was the first to approach Max, appearing to catch onto Max's enthusiasm. She rushed up to the girl, giving her a hug. "I'm sorry we met in such a god-awful place before this. It's so good to finally see you again!"
Max noticed that both Chloe and Rachel were fully ready for the day, making her feel a bit self-conscious. She looked down at her clothes, realizing she was still in her pajamas. "Sorry, I look terrible right now. I wasn't expecting to see anyone this early."
"Don't worry about it, we're not the fashion police." Chloe muttered from the stairs. She was halfway leaning over the railing, only curious to how both Rachel and Max would respond to each other. To her surprise, it seemed to go well.
Max was starting to return back to the kitchen, grabbing her bowl of cereal from the counter, "So…how is everything? Like from being back from the hospital?"
Rachel followed her into the kitchen, with Chloe trailing behind, grabbing something from the cupboard. The sound of bowls clanging from behind her, followed by a box of what sounded like cereal was shaken.
"I'm doing good." Rachel just shrugged, "I wish I had more to say, but for the most part, everything has been smooth sailing."
"Arrrgh." Chloe said from behind the two girls, still fixing herself a bowl of cereal like Max had.
Max and Rachel laughed at Chloe's bad pirate voice, though she would always be Captain Bluebeard to Max. They made their way over to the dining table, sitting down. The house was quiet, as Joyce was working an early Sunday morning shift at the diner, and David was nowhere to be seen. Max actually hadn't seen him in days, now that she thought about it, but it wasn't too concerning. At least not yet, anyway.
Chloe joined them at the table, practically shoveling the spoonfuls of cereal into her mouth. She acted like she hadn't eaten in days. Though, nobody was talking and it was becoming slightly awkward…at least for Max. She was never that good at coming up with small talk, and was especially bad around new people. She had previously met Rachel in the lighthouse, but now being face to face with her outside of that terrible place was daunting. Max had no idea how to talk to her.
"So, Max." Rachel must have been listening in on Max's thoughts, as she cut through the silence. She looked over at Chloe, then back to Max, "You said you were from Seattle?"
God. Not this again.
Max knew that the friendliness was all a facade from the second she watched the two enter the house. Her stomach was burning, knowing exactly where this conversation was heading.
"Well I was born here…but I moved to Seattle with my family when I was thirteen."
Rachel nodded, still looking like she was communicating with Chloe through each other's minds. It was making Max uneasy.
"So you stayed there for five years, right? Then came back here?"
"Yeah, pretty much." Max couldn't even finish her breakfast, feeling too much on the spot with the questioning. She pushed the bowl to the side, crossing her arms, bracing for whatever came next.
"I know you said you were here for spring break, but hasn't that already ended? Don't you have to go back to Seattle?"
Max was beginning to breathe heavier. She tried looking over at Chloe, who knew Rachel enough to stop her, but she was too focused on whatever Rachel was saying. Almost hoping she would ask Max these questions.
"I–I don't know–"
Suddenly, either by the grace of the universe or maybe just a stroke of luck, the phone from the hallway started to ring loudly, stopping everyone from speaking. The three just all looked at each other, not really knowing what to do. The ringing was only getting more annoying as the time passed, so Chloe stood up to go answer whoever was calling. However, as soon as she did, dread appeared to fill her entire body. "Yes. This is her. Uh huh. Yep."
Max and Rachel just looked at each other, growing more and more concerned. The entire room seemed to go still.
"Are you—are you sure? Yeah, got it. I understand." Chloe put the phone back down, hanging up, looking back at the two sitting at the table with disbelief.
"Who was it?"
"The police." Chloe said simply, not too bothered by the fact that the police were calling her house, or wanting to talk to her directly.
Max was growing incredibly anxious, though, as she hoped it wasn't related to her. She knew deep down it probably was. "What did they want?"
"We have to go to the station for an interview. An officer is going to show up in like ten minutes. He said we'll be handcuffed and shit."
Rachel raised her eyebrow at the suggestion, not wanting to not take any of it too seriously. "Kinky."
Chloe rolled her eyes and laughed, not noticing how distressed Max was becoming. She felt sick to her stomach, really in need of some moral support, but no one was giving it. It wasn't shocking, she knew neither of them were going to think much of it. Hell, Rachel didn't even know she was in the darkroom to begin with.
It seemed like Max couldn't catch a break. First, she showed up in Arcadia Bay, only to find Chloe missing. Then, she ended up in the lighthouse by Mark Jefferson and met Rachel. Next was the darkroom. Then the hospital fiasco. Then the entire week after, recuperating after everything with Chloe. This was just another example of nothing going according to plan for Max, and the more time went by, the more she felt a sense of regret creep up inside of her. She was agonizing daily in her mind over if she even made the right choice to begin with. If any of this suffering was worth it.
Max was dwelling on it so badly that she was starting to get horrible nightmares. Nearly every night, she would wake up drenched in sweat, sometimes rushing to Chloe and shaking her awake. The one that occurred a few nights ago was the worst of them all. It was almost a vision, not a nightmare. Chloe was dead in it, but so was everyone else from the storm. Max hated thinking about what it could possibly mean, since she knew that her weird powers only brought weirder situations to the forefront now. It was her new normal.
Everything seemed to have gotten worse since Rachel left the hospital, and none of it made any sense. There was a small possibility that Max thought about, where Rachel was somehow connected to her powers, and while it was a bit of a stretch, she couldn't deny the correlation. Every nosebleed, every nightmare, every freaky event that had happened so far seemed to correlate somehow with Rachel Amber.
Several minutes had passed until there was another knock on the door, this time seemingly from the police from the phone call earlier. Everyone was reluctant to answer it, not knowing exactly what was about to go down, resulting in Chloe taking one for the team, once again.
The police officer stormed in rather aggressively, drawing his gun from the holster on his belt. Two others followed behind him, not seeming to be in such a rush. "Which one of you is Max Caulfield?"
"I am, sir." Max stood up from the other room, timidly showing herself to the policeman, only to be greeted with a gun practically in her face. She wasn't just nervous, she felt like her life was at stake.
Everybody in the room stood still, not really knowing what to do. The officer wasn't happy with the way everyone was handling the situation, though. "Everybody, hands up! You all have the right to remain silent! Anything you say will be used against you in court! Do you understand?"
Max, Chloe, and Rachel just nodded.
The main policeman urgently went over to Max, aggressively patting her down and handcuffing her, leaving Rachel and Chloe to feel rather uncomfortable watching the scene. Max was still in her pajamas, and whatever was going on looked like it was going to take awhile. There was no time for her to change, and while it was going to be slightly embarrassing to be out in public without something respectable on, it would have to do.
"Miss Caulfield, you need to come with me." He grabbed her hands, now handcuffed together tightly, and looked back at the other two girls standing in the house, gesturing to the other two cops that joined him, "Take care of these two. Please, we don't have all day."
The other cops did as they were told without hesitation, handcuffing Rachel and Chloe and bringing them outside after Max. Nobody said a single word the entire time.
Max was taken out to one of the police cars that sat out front. There were two rather large SUVs parked beside the curb, lights still flashing. Forced in the backseat, there were metal bars everywhere over the windows. It was probably the most secure car she had ever seen. She watched and waited for Chloe or Rachel to join her, but they never came, only to be placed in the second vehicle behind the one Max was in.
The entire situation was terrifying, as the police just seemed to show up without warning, arresting everyone—even if Max knew it was coming. It was no doubt that the darkroom situation had gotten out of hand by this point, and Max couldn't handle it. Even worse, was that Chloe and Rachel had only shown up twenty minutes ago, and no one had the chance to really talk. Max still didn't know Rachel very well, and it felt like any effort to get to know her was blocked by something terrible happening.
The policeman then slammed the door, getting into the driver's seat, turning on his radio. "922, I'll be en route from 44 Cedar Avenue with one juvenile female."
Max couldn't decide if she wanted to cry, or scream, or both. She had so many thoughts running through her mind, all of which were going to end terribly. She didn't know anything other than a little over a week ago when David Madsen mentioned that after being in the darkroom he was taken to the police station. Max didn't think too much of it, not realizing that more was said there than she had realized. Maybe David lied to the cops, maybe Mark Jefferson wasn't actually killed, or maybe Max was a murderer. She knew that sometime today she was going to be relentlessly questioned on everything, and she knew that she could not ever mention anything about her powers. She wouldn't get taken seriously anyway.
Driving away from Chloe's house with the second SUV trailing behind, the officers sped through town to the Arcadia Bay police station. They were clearly in a hurry, for one reason or another.
Walking into the police station, Max immediately had the most security on her. She tried looking around, but everything was moving so fast. First her finger print was taken, then a mugshot, then she was placed in the waiting room.
The room was extremely quiet, only with subtle taps on a keyboard and hums of distant machines. There weren't many people working at the station that morning, only a single receptionist, a security guard by the entrance, and a single cop across the room keeping watch. Max assumed that the rest of the police department must have been the ones that showed up at Chloe's house, or maybe they were at the diner getting some breakfast on this slow Sunday.
Chloe and Rachel abruptly walked in accompanied by the other two officers, and they quickly recognized Max sitting by the entrance door in the waiting room chairs.
"Max?" Chloe briefly looked over before the policeman grabbed onto Chloe's arm tighter, making her stop talking. She glared back at him.
They were then put under the same procedure Max initially went through, though they didn't seem as watched as she was, making the process go much smoother. After fingerprints and mugshots, they eventually made their way over to sit by Max.
Chloe just seemed confused at the whole situation, while Rachel didn't say a word. She didn't look too terribly scared, if anything she just looked numb to it all. Max was easily the most freaked out, because once again, no one knew about her powers. She had no clue what David told the police over a week ago, and he never brought it up again after that day. If Max messed up any information in the interrogation, she knew there would be hell to pay. While the three girls sat waiting in the chairs with no knowledge of what was going to happen to them, the handcuffs around each of their wrists made noises, subtle metal clinks, everytime one of them moved slightly.
Chloe then leaned over closer to Max, talking so quietly even Max had a hard time hearing her, "Max, what the fuck is going on?"
Max just shook her head, observing the metal handcuffs around her wrists. The chairs were uncomfortable, she was still wearing her old pajamas, and the police were watching them. Eyes were on the three at all times, making sure they weren't getting into any sort of trouble, but little did they know that the supposed criminals they thought they caught were anything but that.
"Chloe…I have no idea." Max's voice shook, only showing how anxious she was. She tried so desperately to hide it, but she wasn't sure how much longer she could.
At that moment, another officer entered the room, looking far more intimidating than the rest of the cops in the building. Coming closer, Max noticed that his badge read 'Lieutenant Chris Rossi'. It was gold plated, shining the glare from the morning sun across it. He came over to the three girls, greeting them and quickly escorted Max to a separate room for the formal interrogation. Chloe and Rachel stayed back in the waiting room, with no idea how long any of this would take.
The room had no windows and it was painted a light tan color, with a small table and several chairs set up. If Max thought the waiting room was silent, this was so much worse. It was constricting, and smelled like a dingy old office.
Max sat down in one of the chairs, while Lt. Rossi was seated across from her, getting a few papers ready at the table. "So, Max Caulfield, correct?"
"Well, legally Maxine, but you can call me Max."
She was tense, rushing everything she was saying. She couldn't get out of her mind where the conversation was going to lead. Max hated being in the room alone, having to deal with all the repercussions her shitty rewind power brought. She just wanted her best friend in there.
"Alight." The small pen clicked, and he began to write something down on the paper. "I'm just going to need some basic information before we start the interview."
Max nodded.
"When's your birthday, Max?"
"September 21st, 1995."
"And where do you currently live?"
The first stressful question of the day. Max's breath began to become shallow, with her mind wanting to go in a million directions at once. "I've been living with my friend, Chloe, but…before that I was with my parents up in Seattle."
"Seattle, okay." Lt. Rossi gladly wrote down the information, not seeming too suspicious of anything Max was saying. "So what brings you down to Arcadia Bay?"
The atmosphere became relaxed, as Lt. Rossi leaned back in the chair, chewing on the end of the pen. It definitely didn't seem like he thought Max had done a heinous crime by any means.
"I lived here when I was younger, so I came back for both spring break and to visit Chloe."
"Got it." He leaned forward, sliding the paper across the table to Max, "If you could just sign here and here."
Max willingly signed the document, not caring if she needed a lawyer for it or not. She knew a little bit about criminal justice—and that you probably shouldn't sign anything when in front of a cop—but she knew she had nothing to lose. She wasn't guilty of any crime, unlike Mark Jefferson.
"Great. Thanks."
Then, two more people entered the room, sitting down in the chairs provided. One was another police officer, Officer Berry, and the other was the District Attorney, James Amber. They both seemed to kill the mood fairly quickly, making the room feel stuffy and hot again.
It was also the first time Max saw Rachel's father, and everything about the man was to be expected. A steam-pressed suit, a fancy gold watch…it was no surprise James was the District Attorney. However, his demeanor was immediately hostile and slightly aggressive, as Max noticed rather quickly, and she wasn't sure if something had happened to have caused him to act that way. Oh, she had no idea.
"Max," James Amber started to lead the conversation now, leaning in closer to Max, "Are you aware of the legal repercussions you may have caused?"
"...yes."
Max started to choke on her breath, feeling the pressure to answer everything correctly even more so now. Why was she getting so nervous in front of James Amber? He couldn't be that bad.
"Because what every police officer in this town allegedly found out was that it was you who shot the Blackwell photography teacher, Mark Jefferson. Is that correct?"
"In an act of self-defense, yeah."
Max was starting to get defensive, and rightfully so. The way he was addressing her, and even the way he was sitting didn't seem like he even trusted Max. It wasn't surprising though. If Max knew anything about Rachel, she assumed her dad was probably similar…or worse.
The little clock in the corner of the room ticked softly, filling the uncomfortable void. The Lieutenant was busy writing down every word Max was saying on several documents, while Officer Barry stood by the door, not very involved in the questioning.
James continued, not losing eye contact with Max. "David Madsen arrived last Thursday to explain what had happened, but he failed to mention that you were the one that fired the weapon." His eyes were burning a hole in the girl, almost searching for any reason she might be guilty. It was putting her on the spot so much, Max was beginning to shake.
"I have no idea why he wouldn't say that. He was there, he knew it was me." Max was absolutely terrified, looking back at the Lieutenant as he continued to write something down. She had no idea David lied for her, and the fact that he did was proving to be problematic.
"Are you denying his accusation?"
"Yes." Max nodded harshly, "As a matter of fact, I am."
James leaned over to the Lieutenant, whispering something Max could only barely hear, mentioning the word 'premeditated'. If Max had thought moments ago that Lt. Rossi didn't think she was guilty, she was terribly wrong. Instead, it was almost like James bought out something in the Lieutenant, making him question his own beliefs.
She didn't know what she was even saying at this point, but tried her hardest to say nothing but the truth. But now with David apparently lying for her, it was getting complicated and messy…only leading to more confusion. Max didn't want to be the one to blame for all of this, and she didn't want to be put on the spot for murder, but she knew deep down that unavoidably, it needed to be done.
Lieutenant Rossi placed the pen down and leaned back in his chair, "Max, did you happen to tell anyone previously about the darkroom? Were you aware of its existence beforehand?"
Well yes, but also no. It was a complicated subject for not only the police, but for Max. She obviously knew more about the darkroom than she would have liked to explain, but knew that not only would it complicate everything, but it would potentially incriminate herself. She couldn't begin to explain how she even knew it was there, or how David knew, and had to come up with a lie fast.
"I-" Max hesitated, only making everyone in the room more suspicious.
"Max, did you or did you not know about the darkroom in Sean Prescott's barn beforehand?" James was getting loud, practically yelling. He didn't have a lot of patience, and it was clearly showing.
"I did not."
Lt. Rossi went back to scratching something off on the paper, as James leaned back in his chair angrily, "Now was that so difficult?"
"No," Max looked down at the handcuffs around her wrists, "I'm sorry."
She was horrified. Max had to answer everything alone, in a room with two people she had never met before, questioned to the death about things that never should've happened in the first place. She knew she made a huge mistake, and at what cost?
Was it even worth it at this point to deal with the repercussions the death of Mark Jefferson brought? Max was starting to not believe it. She couldn't go back to the other timeline, though, since the choices she made in the current one seemed a lot better. Not only was Chloe drastically changing already, but she got Rachel back. Alive.
Although, it was a sore subject for Max, and not because she didn't like Rachel or didn't want Chloe to be happy, it was because Max was jealous. Plain and simple. She didn't want to admit it. It would be shameful. Selfish, even. She didn't know what happened the night before when Chloe left in the middle of the night only to show up the next morning with Rachel carrying packed bags into the house, but even when she saw Chloe interact with Rachel back at the lighthouse, she knew that this version of Chloe wasn't going to be hers. And it had to be okay. She had to get used to it, or else Max was going to break her friendship apart from the seams.
Lt. Rossi broke the silence, stopping Max from thinking anymore, "Okay, so fast forward to being inside the darkroom. Explain to us what exactly happened."
Max took a moment to answer, trying to recount the painful memory.
"Me, Chloe, and Rachel all woke up inside the darkroom after being drugged. Nathan Prescott was there and threatened Chloe with a gun, only to leave after getting a phone call."
Almost running out of ink, the Lieutenant shook the pen rapidly before writing it all down.
"Mark Jefferson also had to make a phone call after Nathan left and he went into another room, so I was able to get my phone and tell David to come and save us."
James Amber abruptly stopped Max, "And how did you know David?"
"When I arrived in Arcadia Bay to find Chloe," Max swallowed back the lump in her throat, feeling everything immediately tense up at the question. She couldn't make the lie obvious, but she couldn't say something so bizarre that would only make her look more guilty. "He's her step-father, so I met him at her house."
"Why didn't you call the police?"
"I–I panicked. And I felt like I could trust David more."
"Surely a security officer at a high school isn't more trustworthy than a cop?" James hit back with one more accusation, trying to get the last win. He wouldn't though, and Max wouldn't let him.
Max leaned back, placing her hands comfortably on her lap, "He's not paid for by the Prescotts."
She was getting bold now, and it came out of nowhere, shocking both the Lieutenant and Mr. Amber. The room went silent again, but only grew more awkward for the two asking the questions.
Lt. Rossi anxiously started shuffling the stack of papers, seemingly done with writing anything more down. "So David comes into the darkroom, then what?"
"He snuck up behind Jefferson, who was on the couch, and they fought each other. David needed help and I ran over to the nearby cabinets to grab the gun."
"How did you know the gun was in the cabinet?"
"I had previously watched Mr. Jefferson open the cabinet to adjust the speaker, and I saw it then."
It was another lie, but Max was getting so good at them, that she knew nobody could tell. Thank God this wasn't a lie detector test, though.
"So you fired the gun at Mr. Jefferson—was he facing you or was his back to you?"
"He was coming right at me, but turned around to David in the quick second that I ended up firing the gun."
The Lieutenant sighed heavily, seeming stressed. This case was a lot more complex than anyone anticipated, and it was showing. "You see Max, I want to believe you, but there's a bit of a problem."
The room went completely still. It almost seemed like the clock had stopped working, freezing everyone in place.
"There's no evidence to back up anything you just said."
Max's stomach sank deep into the floor. "What? What do you mean?"
The Lieutenant and James just looked at each other, trying to figure out how best to word the entire situation to Max. There was a whole lot more to the story, and the more they didn't say anything, the more Max got worried.
"When the police arrived back at the darkroom after talking to David Madsen here at the station, everything was missing from the darkroom." James had shifted his tone, now more sympathetic. Either the entire attitude towards Max moments ago was all a facade, or he was just having a bad day. Neither option made Max feel any better, though.
Lt. Rossi scooted his chair closer to Max, hunching over across the desk. "So, picture this with me for a second. We get a serious phone call of a murder out in some abandoned barn, I send some of my officers to the scene and the gun is on the floor, Mark Jefferson was laying on the ground with the paramedics, and they took Mr. Madsen back here to interview him over what happened. And yet, when they arrived back to collect the evidence, there wasn't any."
Max just shook her head, becoming more and more confused. "I'm so sorry, but none of that makes any sense."
"I know it doesn't." The Lieutenant smirked, playing with the edge of the stack of papers, "That's why we've been taking it so seriously. Nobody in this room believes that you murdered a man in cold-blood, I can tell you that. The problem is that there was an ulterior motive present that no one can figure out."
Max sat back, absorbing all the new information. It was a lot of process, especially so suddenly. What Max just heard was that not only did the entire darkroom situation seem faked, but the police couldn't find anything there. No gun, no blood, no left behind cell phone or wallet. The Lieutenant didn't mention anything about Mark Jefferson, making Max feel incredibly uncertain only to think about what could have happened. That psychopath could be roaming the streets, taking in more helpless victims or even worse, tracking down the three girls for some kind of revenge. Every option seemed horrifying, and Max was seeing no end to the living nightmare she seemed to be trapped in.
James Amber stood up from the chair, adjusting his tie, "Thank you for your cooperation, Max. You may go wait in the waiting room with your friends. I apologize for any stress this may have caused you."
Officer Barry accompanied Max out to the waiting room, where Chloe and Rachel looked immensely relieved, but saw the worried look spreading across Max's face.
Max sat down, though didn't say a single word. She was too freaked out by everything still. She had to process it all.
Chloe just looked over at Rachel, growing concerned. Both of them wanted to relentless question Max on everything that was said in the interrogation, but was interrupted by the Lieutenant and Mr. Amber who was making their way back into the waiting room to leave the station. Rachel immediately saw her dad and glared at him, only to be let down when he didn't even look in her direction. There was hostility between the two, becoming only more apparent, and Max and Chloe could feel it.
Finally, after minutes of talking about something apparently important with James, the Lieutenant walked over to the three and told them that they were all welcome to leave the station, and that Officer Berry would take them back to Chloe's house in one of the extra police cars.
Walking into the house, Max stormed in, already making her way into the living room. Chloe and Rachel were behind her, still walking up the sidewalk. Max remained silent after her interrogation at the police station, and while it wasn't necessarily surprising, she seemed more overwhelmed than usual. Chloe on the other hand, was getting tired of Max being so ambiguous with her, not giving her anything to go off of. She still hadn't explained to her what her nosebleeds were about, and the recurring nightmares were already making Chloe feel on edge.
Chloe and Rachel stepped in the front door, with Chloe growing more furious as she quickly realized that Max wasn't going to talk any time soon.
"No, it's okay, we don't have to talk about it!" She threw her jacket on the nearby hook and looked out into the living room noticing Max sit down on the couch, ignoring her. Rachel just stood by Chloe, not really sure what to do.
Chloe waited another moment, looking back between Max and Rachel, hoping that someone would just say something, but no one did. "You two and fucking secrets! Am I the only one here without problems?!"
Rachel rolled her eyes, watching as Chloe angrily stomped up the stairs up to her room. She felt like she had no choice in the matter, and didn't want to rush after Chloe just to call her out on acting like a baby. But, it's not like Chloe was wrong, either. Rachel wasn't telling the whole story of how she ended up with Mark Jefferson, and she hoped that she never would, so in a weird way, she understood how Max was feeling. And for that reason alone, Rachel decided to go talk to Max over by the couch.
"You okay?"
She slowly sat down on the couch, sitting at the other end, giving Max a bit of space. The air felt a bit tense, and while Rachel wasn't sure what she was getting herself into, she did know that having a one on one conversation with Max couldn't upset her anymore than she already was.
"All I seem to do is hurt her." Max was zoned out, looking out the window, "I don't want to hurt Chloe, or you!"
Rachel didn't say anything and just listened. There wasn't much she could say, since she didn't know Max that well.
"Believe me, Rachel, there are things I wish I could tell you both. I want to so badly. But I don't want to cause—"
"I–I get it, Max." Rachel moved closer to the girl, trying to reassure her, and felt a strange sense of empathy grow inside her. "There are things I wish I could say, too, but I can't."
Rachel was starting to open up to Max, being a kind of vulnerable she hadn't been in years. It was strange how much someone could bring it out in her, but that's just who Max was. However, they both knew that it wasn't like Rachel to act this way, especially after everything that had happened within the past two weeks. She was changing, just like Chloe was, and the only thing either of them could blame it on was Max. Max was this grounding force, something she had no control over, that seemed to make everything better. It left Rachel feeling confused, not understanding what it all meant, but she was trying.
"I wasn't trying to make you feel weird earlier–" Rachel paused, thinking, "When I was asking you about Seattle, by the way. It was shitty and I shouldn't have pried."
She knew that she had gone too far, acting in blind trust behind Chloe's words the night before and in turn made Max feel not only uncomfortable, but seemed to be more distrustful of Rachel. She wasn't the type of person to be outwardly mean to someone, unless they deserved it, and nearly the entire morning it was bothering her. Her and Chloe were too wrapped up in heavy emotions last night, and she didn't even realize what she was saying. Max was clearly hurt, and although she probably wouldn't admit it, Rachel felt like she needed to be there for the girl, whether it seemed unexpected or not.
Max just shook her head, not wanting to talk any more about it. "I understand, I really do. I'm like the queen of being nosy. Nothing I've been doing makes any sense anyways, so it probably does look weird."
"No, it's not weird, Max. You're allowed to be here without anyone else questioning it. Fuck, I would know." Rachel paused, not wanting to explain much further, "I just hope that whenever you're ready to let me into your life, you will. You and I are a lot more similar than I thought."
She lightly pushed Max in the arm, nudging her. Despite their differences, Rachel and Max shared a strange, but familiar connection, one that almost seemed supernatural. It was a type of friendship that only became more effortless the more they talked. It was definitely unexpected for the both of them. Max weakly smiled back at her, not sure of what to say.
Rachel continued, "And Max, whatever happened today at the station was bullshit. I'm so sorry you're getting pulled into all of this."
"I know, but," Max looked down at her pajamas, starting to feel gross for wearing them this long, "I think everyone had a part to play in it, unfortunately."
"Yeah, maybe you're right." Rachel started to stand up, but looked down at Max, putting her hand on her shoulder, "If you ever want to tell Chloe or I what happened, know that we're both here for you, alright?"
Max nodded as Rachel made her way upstairs, carrying the duffel bag from that morning into Chloe's room. She was left alone again in her thoughts, unsure of what to make about any of it. It was completely unexpected to have talked with Rachel, but it did make her feel better talking to someone who in some mysterious way, seemed to understand. From everything Max had heard about her back in October, she wasn't acting like the person others made her out to be. Maybe she was there the whole time, guiding Max and Chloe to her body in the junkyard. Maybe she was the storm, seeking revenge on the town. Either way, there was something there, and for once, Max was starting to become hopeful.
Max stumbled into Chloe's room, carrying a huge stack of old board games she had found downstairs. It was almost meant to be a peace offering, one she hoped would make up for any weird communication from earlier. The room was dark, dimly lit with the string lights that hung above the stereo system. Rachel and Chloe were sitting on the bed, talking, until they were interrupted by Max.
"Which one do you wanna play? There's Clue, Scrabble–" Max leaned over to look at the stack she was trying not to drop, "Monopoly…"
Rachel just looked at Chloe, who seemed to want nothing to do with this so-called game night, and stood up to walk over to Max. "Monopoly sounds fun, huh?"
"Yeah, if you want it to take all night. Rachel are you–" Chloe said from across the room, laying back on her bed, looking up at the ceiling.
"It's not like we have anything better to do." Rachel shrugged and sat down next to Max on the floor, opening the flimsy cardboard box to take out all the pieces. She took out the stack of money from the box and placed it on the ground next to the board, "Alright, who wants to be the banker?"
"I will." Max said as she was organizing the little paper money stack into piles. She couldn't trust either of them to play fairly, and even if Max wasn't planning on either, she could hide it better.
Eventually, Chloe made her way down onto the floor, and the three played Monopoly for a while, not having any conversation outside of the game. That was until Max was starting to zone out more, which Rachel had already caught onto.
"Max, I need $200 from the bank."
Thoughts were spiraling through Max's mind, only becoming more intense when Rachel spoke. It was happening again, as she felt the signature feeling start to arise in her head again. The dizziness, warmth in her chest, and lightheadedness were only getting worse the more she tried to hold it in. Although, she knew she couldn't prevent it this time. It was unexpected and strange for it to be happening again, especially at a time like this and the fact that it happened previously a day ago. Her nosebleeds were becoming more and more tied to Rachel, and Max could feel dread begin to fill her entire body.
Chloe looked over at Rachel, only becoming more concerned as Max wasn't responding to her, "…Max?"
Max immediately snapped out of it for a moment, but was only able to talk a little bit before holding her head in pain.
"I–I'm good. Yeah. You said $200?"
Rachel nodded, carefully watching Max struggle to count the money. She reached over to the girl, "Max, are you okay?"
"I–" Max was now covering her face, feeling the slow trickle of blood flow out of her nose, "I think it's happening again–"
She fell back onto the floor, making Rachel and Chloe both instantly freak out. It was one thing for it to happen back at the lighthouse, and while they both knew it probably wasn't from the drugs then, it was a good enough lie to tell themselves that would keep them from worrying too much about it. But now with it happening again, for the second time for Rachel, it was starting to become alarming.
When Chloe had told Rachel the night before about Max getting more frequent nightmares and nosebleeds, she didn't want to think too much about it, discounting it to stress. It couldn't have been true, though, and none of it made any sense. There was no reason for it to happen tonight, as it was supposed to be a fun game night with no stress. And from the conversation Rachel had with Max earlier, she hoped she didn't say anything that might have triggered the girl, but there was no time to think. Max was knocked out cold, blood rushing from her nose, and face growing pale the longer she was out. Her breathing was barely audible.
Chloe and Rachel just sat there, not knowing if they should even bring Max to the hospital. This time, Max was horribly blacked out, without any clue of when she would wake up. She was gently twitching on the floor, making little noises of jumbled up words, like she was speaking to herself…or someone.
The room was silent, and the best thing either of them could come up with was to let Max be…and hope that eventually she would wake up. Although, she had a lot of explaining to do when she did.
—
Waves gently crashing on a sunny shore. White sand lay on the ground, sparkling under the sun. Distant rolling hills covered by fog.
Forced into a vision, Max was thrown into the depths of time and space only to wake up laying on what looked to be a sandy beach. She was alone in this tropical paradise, not knowing how or what caused her to come here. She recognized it as a vision almost instantly, since there were little strange events happening around her. Birds flying backwards. A completely empty beach. Sand that spanned across the Earth looking like it went on for miles.
It was incredibly peaceful, she would have to admit.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
Suddenly, a bellowing voice appeared from Max's consciousness, echoing throughout her head. She jumped up, a bit frightened. In all her previous visions, there was no voice. This one was immensely different.
THE PAST GUIDES YOU FORWARD.
Max began to slowly walk down the shoreline, letting the water crash onto her bare feet. Nothing about this environment seemed like it was Arcadia Bay, or even Oregon for that matter. There was no storm, no natural disaster. If anything, it was starting to become too calm.
BUT IT DOESN'T COME WITHOUT SACRIFICE.
Continuing to walk along the beach, Max spotted a pier appearing several miles away. It was rather large, bridging out into the ocean. Sat on top of it was a giant Ferris wheel slowly uncovering itself from the ocean mist. It was moving in a circular motion, with brightly colored lights flashing in mesmerizing ways.
As Max watched the Ferris wheel, a small blue butterfly emerged out of thin air, flying gracefully toward her. It instantly gave her chills, reminding her of something she tried not to think about since she came back to Arcadia Bay. Her Chloe.
She could feel it in the air, almost like an energy. It was no doubt that this was somehow Chloe trying to connect with Max in the afterlife. It had to be.
Wherever was going on was deeper than any other vision or nightmare Max had ever had. This one felt prophetic, in a weird way. The version of Chloe that Max was around in the previous timeline would continue to be around her, even if she wasn't still present in her life anymore.
Max knelt down in the sand and started to cry, with the intense energy radiating from the butterfly surrounding her. She was simultaneously connected to two separate timelines at the same time, and wherever she was in this vision, Chloe was there too, watching over her.
YOUR FUTURE IS NOT SET.
The voice continued speaking in Max's mind, saying nothing but ambiguous language. Max couldn't tell if it was her subconscious coming up with it saying things she needed to hear, or if it had to do with her powers.
"Max?"
Another voice, this time not coming from the beach. It was outside of Max, pulling her out of the vision.
The butterfly began to fly away towards the sun, leaving Max alone, kneeling on the sand. She reached out, hoping that it would come back, but it never did.
YOU HAVE THE CHOICE.
Everything was becoming fuzzy, almost dreamlike. Words were turning jumbled and mis-matched. A loud ringing appeared, until everything went black.
Chloe.
—
"Max?" Chloe was shaking Max back and forth in fear that something majorly wrong was happening. Max didn't know how long she was out, but it was clearly enough to make everyone worry.
Max slowly sat up, acclimating to the present time. She felt a little disoriented, as she was looking around the room with her eyes still getting used to everything. Chloe and Rachel watched the girl, anxiously waiting for her to say something. Time was at a complete standstill, and they were both holding their breath. Suddenly, Max rushed towards Chloe, nearing making her fall over, giving her the biggest hug of her life.
"Woah, Max, you good dude?"
Max was holding onto Chloe with dear life, not even caring how it looked to anyone else. She sniffed her tears back, "I…I just had a vision."
The silence in the room spoke volumes. Nobody knew what to say, even if Chloe and Rachel both knew that this had happened multiple times before. However, this time, Max acted differently. She almost looked…relieved.
