Chapter 34
It was now two weeks later.
Max was still in hospital for rehab, Rachel visiting him almost every day. She had by now moved into his boyfriend's room for the time being, until there would be a free place in the dorms of Blackwell, which seemed to be happening since Principal Wells had her invited to the Academy for a personal conversation.
Right at the moment, the blonde girl was sitting on the toilet, the pregnancy test in her right hand, waiting for the result to develop.
Together with Steph she had read the instructions on the package again and again, just to be sure. Her bleeding was now overdue for over a day, so she decided to finally take the test.
"C'mon!" she hissed impatiently, her leg moving rapidly on the spot as she waited.
Suddenly it knocked loudly on the door, followed by Chloe's annoyed voice.
"Hurry the fuck up or I'm gonna piss my shorts!"
Sighing heavily, Rachel quickly picked up her stuff and hurried out of the bathroom, ignoring Chloe's witty "Finally!"
Back in Max's room, she tossed the pile of sleeping garments onto the bed and rummaged through them as she searched for the test. But to her dismay, she couldn't find it.
"Fuck!" she cussed, already having a bad feeling where it might be and as it knocked again, she knew better. She was mad. Mad at herself for being so sloppy. And now the one person who she never wanted to know about this, was probably standing in front of the door, ready to rub this damn pregnancy test right under her nose.
And of course it was Chloe, holding the plastic stick in her hand with a stern demeanor. The taller girl simply shoved past Rachel and was standing in the middle of the room, waiting for the other girl to close the door and give her full attention.
"Guess you dropped somethin'," Chloe simply mentioned, throwing the test lazily towards Rachel, who caught it. "I just hope for you that it was Max."
"It was," she answered defiantly, already expecting to explain again that she didn't cheat on her boyfriend. But instead Chloe shrugged and wanted to leave, yet Rachel stopped her before she could grab the handle by touching her shoulder, causing her to turn around. "Chloe, there was a time we used to be good friends. I know I fucked up, but…"
"Are you really that desperate for my attention?" the lanky girl scoffed. "You stole my fuckin' truck, crashed it and almost killed Max. I honestly hate your guts for that, and it's just because I know how it is to lose your mom that I accept you here without givin' you any shit. Otherwise you can go and fuck yourself, asshole."
Rachel should feel hurt. She should be on her knees, crying her eyes out. But instead, a fire began to burn inside of her, like during that one moment Chloe had confronted her in the locker room. Angrily, she grabbed Chloe by her shirt, pulled and threw her on the bed, ripping the fabric.
"Are you fuckin' nuts?!" Chloe exclaimed as she wanted to get up again, but got pinned down as Rachel jumped and sat down on her chest and fixated her arms on the bed.
"Have you selfish cunt ever considered that our friendship meant something to me? I'm sorry for what I've done and I'd love to undo it, but I can't. I have to fucking live with it. I-..."
Her voice broke for a moment. A moment she needed to suppress the urge to become a crying mess.
"I have to live with the fact that I almost killed Max. That…that I hurt you. And that…that I wasted months at my dad's as a punishment instead of being these last months with my mom. I hate myself, okay! I fuckin' hate myself for that! Isn't that already enough?"
Not impressed by the blonde's tears, Chloe once more just scoffed "Boo-fuckin'-hoo." But this time, it wasn't without consequences.
Growling in fury, Rachel let go of Chloe's arms as she wanted to hit her for making fun of her mental condition, but the lanky girl was faster and grabbed her wrists. A wrestle began, whereas both girls rolled off the bed while struggling with each other, both of their eyes burning with fury.
"I…HATE…YOU!" Chloe yelled and started to choke her opponent with both hands. But Rachel wasn't defenseless. She grabbed a fistful of Chloe's hair and pulled it to the side using the leverage to turn the tide.
Groaning in pain, Chloe loosened her grip and now Rachel used the chance to free herself from the violent grasp, changing roles again as she was now above the other girl. Once again she took a hold of her harshly by the collar and pulled her close to her face.
Both then stared at each other in hate and anger, scanning each other. But the more Rachel was looking at Chloe, the more she realized other things than anger and hate, especially one thing: beauty.
'What the fuck?!' she thought, as she got overwhelmed by these strange feelings.
Her expression softened as well as Chloe's did while heat was crawling up their faces. It was an awkward moment. A strange moment. Only disturbed as Vanessa came into the room.
Instantly and synchronously, both girls jumped up and behaved like nothing serious happened though they both looked like they'd been in a heavy bar fight.
"What the hell's goin' on here with all this commotion? Sounded like you're murdering each other," the older woman asked, gazing at both girls suspiciously. Both were bathed in sweat and breathing heavily. Chloe's shirt was ripped open, only barely keeping on covering one of her beasts. Rachel's neck was now beginning to show some red marks from the choking.
"We, um…" began Chloe to tell, scratching the back of her head, having no idea what to say until Rachel came to the rescue.
"We were just rehearsing…for an audition. I wanna be the lead actress for next year's play again, so…Chloe's helping me out."
Huffing out loudly, Vanessa just shook her head and looked around the room, scanning the mess the two made. And just now Rachel asked herself where her test was. She knew she dropped it somewhere, but where?
"Just tune it down a bit, you two, and clean up after you're done!" Vanessa eventually mentioned and was about to leave until she suddenly stopped and looked at them again. "And I'd appreciate it, if you'd take more care about each other, because ripped clothes and marks are definitely going too far."
As soon as she was gone, Rachel and Chloe let out a simultaneous huff as the tension decreased again. Still, Rachel felt like she was on the edge.
Chloe, on the other hand, acted like nothing had happened and tossed the pregnancy test - which she had been hiding behind her back - onto the bed, commenting "It's negative, by the way."
"Chloe," Rachel then said, making the other girl stop in her tracks before she could leave. "You got some weed?"
The lanky girl froze for a moment, slowly closing the door again and turning around with a giant smirk on her face.
"Did the school-princess just ask me for a joint?"
With a stern demeanor, Rachel approached her, face-to-face.
"You know that I'm not like this."
"You sure, you're not in over your head?"
"Try me, Price!"
Again, both looked deeply at each other, until Chloe simply shrugged again and left for her room without another word. However, she let all doors wide open, like an invitation for Rachel to follow her, which she did.
Dense, white smoke was rising above Rachel as she was slowly emptying her lungs. She felt relaxed, like she was lying on those cloudy remnants of burning weed, getting carried away to a far away, beautiful land.
But, of course, it was just because of the drug, Rachel knew that. So that she was instantly back in the here-and-now, where she was lying beside Chloe in her bed, staring holes into the ceiling while the THC was calming her mind.
"So, tell me…" Chloe then suddenly asked, breaking the silence. "...since when are you smokin' pot? Always figured you'd be in the 'No-drug-section'."
With a warm smile on her face, Rachel told her about the ride on the train with Lucy. How they chilled out while the landscape was passing by. The star-filled night sky. The long talks while being high. Having this constant thrill while illegally being in this wagon.
"Sounds awesome," Chloe eventually agreed as she was gazing nowhere particularly, like she was trying to imagine the story. "So, lemme guess. You fucked with her."
Okay, maybe Rachel should've left out Lucy's immoral offer, but being high was like being drunk: it eased the mind and the tongue.
"Nope," the blonde with the feather earring returned calmly, not being offended by this accusation. "Though to be honest, it crossed my mind."
'Fuck, why did I say this?'
But all Chloe was doing was to break out into laughter, before she turned on her side, her head resting on her hand while she was gazing at the other girl with a wry smirk.
"So you say that you'd consider dipping your toe into the warm waters?"
Immediately, Rachel began to blush, especially as she recalled the situation from before, when she and Chloe had been face-to-face.
"Dream on, Price!" she retorted, sitting up and swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, ready to stand up. "Let alone that we both are in a relationship and you still hate me."
"That I hate you doesn't mean that I never considered to fuck with you. Fucking has nothin' to do with love, y'know."
Rachel froze in her movement and slowly turned around. Chloe's expression - the smirk and the predatory gaze - told her that she meant it. And for a fraction of a second, a quiet voice in her mind told her to just go for it. As long as it would stay a secret…
'No! Fuck, no! I'm not a slut. I love Max, and sex has something to do with love for me.'
Putting on her acting skills automatically, Rachel - instead of being shocked or mad - gave Chloe a playful smirk, answering "You should stop smoking pot, Price, 'cause it turns you into a horny ape. See ya!"
As soon as the door fell into the lock, her facade crumbled again. Right away, Rachel walked back into Max's room, Chloe's loud laughter following her. Her heart was thumping in her chest while her breathing was rapid. She still couldn't believe what just happened. All those implications. This flirting.
Not an hour ago, they both had been ready to kill each other and then…
It had been like they had smoked a peace pipe. She had made up with Chloe, and not just that. She somehow had developed feelings for her.
But where did they come from? It's not like they both had been that close before. And the thoughts of having sex with another girl had only been there spontaneously and had always been controlable. Yet, now it was somehow different. She was really considering it for the purpose of 'dipping her toe into the warm waters' as Chloe had called it.
Maybe this was just a trap from Chloe's side. She probably just wanted to lure her into safety, seduce her and then rat her out to Max. Rachel knew that Chloe used to have the hots for her step-brother.
Her head started to spin, she felt dizzy and confused. So she laid down again and began to ponder. To ponder about what had happened. Though, soon, her mind drifted. Back to Chloe and this one special moment between them, and then further.
At first, she and Chloe were alone, making out. Then they were naked. And then, even Max joined in. All three of them were making out, but it wouldn't stay at that. Over time, Rachel's mind wandered more and more, while her hand was sliding into her pants in search of relief.