The next morning, Rachel took Max up the eastern hills, along the same grassy route leading to her Aerie. Being there again made Max ache inside; it seemed only yesterday that Chloe was laughing and joking with them as they labored up this same slope.
When they reached the top, Rachel stopped and gazed sadly around her.
"Look at the mess I made, Max."
Dismayed, Max shaded her eyes as she looked toward the eastern mountains. Swathes of denuded land lay before her—fallen, burnt trees that looked like they had been decimated by a meteor. Rachel's firestorm had lasted only minutes, yet there was no denying its monstrous power.
"I see it," Max said.
But that wasn't all. Vines embraced every blackened tree trunk she could see, and the new grass that carpeted the hollowed-out forest carried only a hint of autumn brown. When she turned to Arcadia Bay, she spotted several houses under construction. Even from here, Max could hear the sounds of hammers and buzz saws, day laborers chortling and calling to each other as they worked.
Only a few feet away in Rachel's Aerie, Max found a large tree nursery: rows upon rows of prepared soil lined with healthy young trees. These saplings had grown quickly in only four months—a remarkable effort at reforestation.
"But I also see someone who's trying to fix it," Max averred. "And it's beautiful, Rachel."
"Yeah." Rachel bent down to examine a sapling's branches. "I gathered as many seeds as I could find from the nearby forests and filled a couple of acre's worth with them. I had to hustle before autumn came and the ground got too hard. There's still a long way to go, but before I'm done with Arcadia, a forest will be standing here again."
"Wait, you did all this by yourself?
Rachel nodded. "Lulu and her tribe offered to help, but I turned them down." At Max's quizzical look, she continued, "It's something I have to do on my own."
Max came to kneel beside her. "Well, can I help? I don't exactly have a green thumb, but I can dig."
"Thanks, Max, but I got this," Rachel replied, looking toward the still-devastated part of the land. "It was only a garden, but it was my garden."
"O-okay." Max couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed by the rejection, but said, "I'm glad you're doing this, Rachel. You're bringing Arcadia Bay back to life."
Rachel looked back at the sapling, turning its leaf in her hands before standing up and taking Max's hand. "Not everything grows back," she murmured, leading her along the hill.
They walked until they came near an abandoned home. Max frowned at the flame-gutted ruins at the foot of the hill, thinking how familiar the remaining green tiles on the roof looked. Then it hit her.
"Is that Hayden's—?"
Rachel nodded, staring sadly at the house.
"Did he and his family…?"
"Thanks to Warren, they made it out in time. But after all that's happened, it was too much for Hayden. He and his parents decided to live with family in Boston." Rachel turned away, head bowed. "I don't blame him. I promised myself I'd find a way to repay everything he's done for us. Brooke too."
"Brooke? What happened to her?"
"After Maja forced her suicide attempt, her mom took her away and locked her in a sanitarium for two months. She's never letting Brooke come back to Blackwell."
"Oh," was all that Max could say. The full cost of their choices was plain to see: lives destroyed, and several others ended. She was afraid to know more but knew she had to ask.
"Rachel, what went on with you and Chloe after I left?"
Nodding, her companion led them to sit on the grass, the town spread before them. "How much can you recall?"
"I remember lying on the ground and seeing Chloe's panicked face above me. Yours too, though I didn't know you then. You looked both so relieved I was okay, but it turned into confusion and horror when I said I couldn't remember how I got there. Then my parents pushed past the crowd and took me away.
"Mom and Pop took me to every specialist they could find. They were all amazed—they said it was a miraculous recovery from severe head trauma. They claimed my memories would eventually come back. Mom never wanted me out of her sight again, but I knew I had to make sense of everything that happened. My parents and I had a few fights over it. Still, they gave in and let me enroll in Blackwell.
"But when I got here…"
"Your memories didn't return," Rachel continued for her, gazing up at the sky. "And Chloe decided to walk away."
Max bit her lip, remembering how warmly Kate and Rachel welcomed her when she first arrived, and how Chloe kept her distance. "Could you tell me what happened between you and her? Was it really that bad?"
Rachel kept her eyes on the clouds, and Max wondered if, like Chloe, it was to keep the tears from falling.
"After you left, we had to pick up the pieces ourselves. Chloe returned to her home, and my parents claimed me and took me back to mine. It was humiliating, but I had nowhere else to go.
"I couldn't begin to tell you how hard we had it, Max. We were broken without you. We didn't know what to do, so we stayed where we were, hoping time would play out as it should and you'd come back to us."
She fell silent. Max touched her shoulder, encouraging her to go on.
"I dreaded going to sleep at night because I was afraid of what I'd see in my dreams. When I couldn't take it anymore, when the nightmares came, I'd fly to Chloe. I'd tap on her window and ask to be let in. There was no one else in this whole world who would understand how I felt. And Chloe, God love her, she'd welcome me in. I'd lie on her bed and sometimes, that would be enough to let me fall asleep."
"I'm glad you were there for each other," Max said, and meant it.
Rachel shook her head. "In the morning, I'd make her coffee as thanks. But she'd be so busy on her laptop that she'd let it go cold, and I stopped doing it. Chloe—she wasn't herself, not without you, Max. She was closed off. There was a gap I couldn't bridge with words or a touch. And when she said she wanted to go, there was nothing I could say."
Max recalled the vision of them sitting apart in Chloe's room and her heart shriveled inside her. "I wish I could've stopped her."
"I thought the best way to help her heal was to not get in her way." Rachel gestured around them. "And I did what I could to rebuild."
"Rachel, please don't blame yourself for this. It was what the spirit wanted—"
"I wish I could say that was all the spirit forcing my hand, Max. But the moment I became the firestorm...I loved it. I knew exactly who I was, what I was meant to be: this incredible supernatural presence who decided what was good and right for the world.
"It was only after you and Chloe brought me back that I was horrified by what I'd done. I couldn't undo it. And I discovered exactly how much easier it was to destroy than rebuild.
"I spent all my time sowing seeds. I helped with fundraisers for those who lost their homes. I secretly healed those who got sick or injured. And I did everything I could to help our friends, especially Brooke and Hayden. I did my best and it's still never going to be enough. Max, I'm sorry I wrecked your hometown."
"It was my choice, too," Max replied. "And if this is the price for keeping you and Chloe alive..." She paused, looking far away. There was no changing the past; they had to work with what they had. "How's Chloe now?"
Rachel followed her gaze to the horizon, as if she could see Chloe in the distance. "Sometimes she sends me selfies, always in some new town or landmark, always heading south. Every day she drifts further away. If she'd only asked, I'd fly to wherever she is. But she never did.
"I regret that no matter what I fixed or brought back to life, I couldn't bring back what mattered most to me. Like in our favorite book, right? 'What's gone is gone.'"
"I'm not," Max stated, fingers brushing against Rachel's.
"No, you aren't, are you?" Rachel linked hands with her. For once, her smile was genuine, though the sorrow never left her tone. "I'll always be grateful you came back. That means Chloe will, too. For you."
"I—" Max's face fell. What else could she say to that? It was Rachel telling her goodbye, knowing that once Chloe returned, their time together would end. Then it would just be Max and Chloe, driving off to find their future together.
"We should head back," Rachel said, standing up. "Don't want you to miss your classes."
"I'm sorry," Max murmured as Rachel pulled her to her feet. "I wish I knew how to help you."
"You're helping right now, Max." Gazing tenderly at her, Rachel led her down the hill. "You're here, and we have today."
Max tried to focus on her classes, but it was no use. Her mind was elsewhere and elsewhen, consumed by thoughts of her friends and worries for their future. She was glad none of her teachers called on her; they wouldn't have appreciated her stumbling answers anyway.
During her break, she sat in the courtyard and scrolled through the local news to catch up on everything she'd missed these past four months. Amidst wild rumors of flying saucers causing the Arcadia Bay fires and a new winged cryptid scaring off paranormal investigators, she found news that mattered.
The Storm Raven tribe was finally returning to Arcadia Bay. Their shaman, Lulu, was negotiating with the Prescott Foundation for the return of the land they had previously sold—all on equitable terms. Without Sean, the Foundation was seemingly under new, more enlightened management.
Of Dionysus, there was almost no trace. Authorities remained nearly as mystified by the abandoned luxury cars and yachts as the burnt remains of the Theater. Till now, they were still confirming who had died there and what had caused the fire. But there were no more agents, no threatening phone calls. Rachel had done exactly what she'd promised: Dionysus was finished.
Reading further, Max found an article on the Jefferson case—or mystery, as it had now become. She was tempted to put her phone down the moment her eyes caught the name. But it was Chloe who killed him. If she was anywhere near being a suspect, Max had to know.
The authorities had discovered Jefferson's second secret bunker and found his remains—or what little was left of it. Police theorized that wild animals had gotten in and torn him to shreds, leaving bits of rotten flesh and bones. And while the case became a true crime podcast favorite, no mention was made of any evidence linking him to Chloe. Despite the grisliness, Max heaved a sigh of relief. Again, Rachel was thorough.
Rachel and set her phone down and leaned against the tree behind her. In the end, her thoughts always returned to them. Chloe's voice had haunted her throughout the day, finding her as she walked through the halls or gazed at her face in the bathroom mirror.
"Us pirates have to stick together, right?"
"She and I made plans to leave Bigfootsville for good—would you like to come with us?"
"I want you to know I love you."
Had anything changed in the last four months she was gone? Did Chloe lose hope and decide she was better off on her own? Wasn't Rachel enough to make her want to stay?
Wasn't one of our rules 'we don't go places the others won't'?
At last, Max couldn't wait anymore. Gathering her courage, she dialed Chloe's number.
The phone rang twice before a strained, tentative voice came on, accompanied by a truck's familiar growl. "Max?"
Hearing that wonderful voice, Max had to hold back a swell of emotion. "Hi, Chloe," she said, barely suppressing a sob, "it's me."
"Oh shit, Jeezus—lemme stop the car!" Tires screeched and a handbrake squealed, then Chloe came back on. "Max, I'm so glad you're back! I've been waiting!"
"Y-yeah..." There was no holding it back now. Max swiped a hand across her eyes as the words came bubbling out of her. "I'm so sorry I left you again, Chloe! I didn't mean for it to happen—"
"That doesn't fucking matter! The important thing is you're you again! I never doubted you'd be back, and—and—" She paused, breath hitching. "God, it's so good to hear your voice."
That put a smile on Max's face. Her doubts eased away, and she leaned back to feel the sun's warmth through the leaves above. "Same here, Chloe. I-I wish I could see you."
Chloe paused. "Now I seem like a real asshole, being away while you're back there."
"Rachel told me you needed to go. So…where are you, Chloe?"
"A few miles southeast of Vegas, I'd say."
Max's eyes popped open. "Wait. As in Las Vegas, Nevada?"
Chloe chuckled. "Not a lot of other Vegases out here, yeah?"
"But—it's—it's such a long way." Why did she have to go so far? Max wondered.
"Yeah, yeah it is. I'm actually heading south. To Arizona."
Moving even farther away, just as Rachel said. Max could imagine her parked on the side of a wide-open highway, tumbleweeds rolling through the dirt and dry air, no traffic to be seen for miles either way.
In another lifetime, Max would have found some roundabout way to phrase the question she wanted to ask. But being around Rachel had made her bolder.
"Chloe, if you knew I'd come back, why'd you leave?"
Chloe didn't reply right away. "I wish I could tell you," she began, "I wish I could explain it, but—I can't right now. This is something I gotta do."
"Okay." Max was afraid of that. More secrets between us. The more things change...
After a beat, Chloe sighed. "Max, I want you to know that there's no heavy meaning here. My feelings haven't changed. I meant it when I said I knew you'd be back. And I WILL come home."
"I believe you," Max assured her. Then she asked the most important question of all. "When are you coming back, Chloe? When will I see you again?"
"Even if I wanted to, I don't think I can be out here much longer," Chloe confessed. "Cash-wise, I'm pretty much strapped. I'm thinking I got a week before I have to turn around and head home."
"D'you need help?"
"Nah, I got this. Gimme a week, tops."
"Okay." Max tugged at a lock of hair. A week wouldn't be so bad, probably. "I'll still miss you."
"Of course! Who wouldn't? I'm adorable."
That drew a giggle from Max. "Get home safe, Chloe. Okay?"
"You know I will. I've got a cute girl waiting for me."
They talked a bit more, with Chloe asking what was going on in town, particularly on how Rachel was restoring Arcadia Bay. Max regretted having to hang up and go to her final class, but hearing Chloe's voice did lift her spirits.
She would get one email from Chloe after that call, then it would be silence for another three days.
The nightmares came for Max that same night, as she knew they would. Even the knowing did nothing to prepare her.
She was back in Jefferson's final Dark Room, in the bare, concrete hallway that ended with the flat steel door. As before, she threw herself at it, yanking at the handle and pounding on its unyielding surface while crying for help. But this time, no one was on the other side to hear her screams.
Instead, a chorus of groans rippled through the air and buried itself in her skin. She turned to see nightmarish forms emerging from the other side of the hall, a lumbering mob composed of white hair, pale staring eyes, and grasping shriveled hands.
"What have you done?" they screeched. "You killed us!"
Max pushed her back against the door, teeth bared, tears and sweat mingling on her cheeks. She could do nothing but watch as the skeletal mob stumbled towards her, their aged hands outstretched, reaching for her flesh.
In their midst, a bloody-faced figure slumped ever closer, his enormous camera held against his bloodshot eye. "You are my greatest subject, Max," Jefferson crooned. "You will be my Dark Room. I'll live in you forever."
Max shook herself awake, hands on her mouth to suppress a scream. The lamp beside her revealed only her room, with Kate still fast asleep on her own bed. Max's stifled cry hadn't awoken her, thank goodness—she hated explaining her nightmare to someone who would care but could never understand.
But there was someone who did.
Gulping for breath, Max swung her legs off the bed and lurched for the door. Moments later, she was standing before Rachel's room, her hand poised to knock.
Would Rachel even be awake? Could Max go to her like a little kid chased from her bed by boogeymen? Could she throw her problems onto someone who was suffering just as much, if not more?
Max let her hand fall. As she was about to turn away, the door opened and there was Rachel, standing before her in a white tee and flannel pants.
Max's lips worked to produce something to say. "Rachel, I..."
"Shhh, I know." Rachel reached for Max's shoulders. "I can hear your heartbeat through my door. Please, come in. I can't stand being by myself either."
Max realized no amount of head-hanging would hide the red on her face. "Sorry. I didn't want to bother you. It was—"
"Nightmares. Believe me, I can relate." Rachel sighed as she led Max in. "We're both not okay, but we don't have to be alone, right?"
Stepping inside, Max took a moment to observe her room. She hadn't noticed many details the first time, but now that she had a closer look, the more she feared for Rachel's state of mind.
Unlike her Blackwell dorm room, no posters adorned the walls, no dreamcatchers hung over the bed. No theater masks decorated the dresser, which carried no lipstick tubes and make-up kits—just a single hairbrush and a few unlit scented candles. The open window held pale blue curtains, and on the sill sat a familiar red ashtray, which Rachel must've swiped after Chloe left.
It was the room of someone who wasn't planning on staying for long, and it saddened Max beyond words.
Rachel passed her hand over the candles and they lit up one by one. "Why don't you sit on the bed?" she said, picking up her hairbrush.
When Max did so, Rachel settled behind her and brushed her hair. "You still haven't treated your split ends," she observed, smiling. "Plus you need another haircut. Would you let me?"
Max would let her give her a full makeover if it made Rachel one degree happier. "I was going to ask. I didn't want anyone else to do it for me."
They said nothing for a while, content to let the silence speak for them. Max wondered if she was under some kind of spell: each brushstroke eased the tension in her neck and shoulders, driving the nightmare further away. As she breathed in the scent of lavender and peppermint, Max wished she could stay here forever.
By accident, her eyes fell on the left corner of the nightstand mirror. Taped on it was a photobooth strip showing a younger, happier Chloe and Rachel, laughing and pulling faces for the camera. She'd seen it before as the wallpaper of Chloe's phone. Seeing it here brought on a familiar ache inside.
Rachel noticed her looking. "It's just a photo, Max," she murmured. "Something I stole from Chloe's room after she left."
Max understood; it was her way of keeping Chloe near, even as it was a postscript to their relationship. For once, Max wished she had taken a selfie with all three of them. Rachel could have had more than just this one picture.
Isn't there something I can do for her?
"It's in the past, Max," Rachel went on, interrupting her thoughts. "You don't have to think about it."
Abruptly, Max stood up. Rachel blinked up at her in surprise, hairbrush still in hand. "Max? Something wrong?"
"Please wait here, Rachel."
Max hurried out of her room, only to return a few seconds later with a shoebox she had taken from beneath her bed. Sitting beside Rachel, she opened the lid and showed her the contents. "I want you to have these."
Rachel's eyes popped open. "These are—"
"I found them in my room in Seattle," Max explained. "It's how I knew that our time together was real."
In the box was a collection of Polaroids, all of Rachel and Chloe. Scenes from the beach, driving along the coast, having coffee in the Two Whales, dancing in the sunset.
Max picked up a Polaroid and placed it in Rachel's hands. It was the one with her and Chloe chasing each other around the campfire. "You mailed this to me back in August. I couldn't remember taking it, but I knew it was mine. Right then, I also knew I had to come back. I needed to remember everything, for all our sakes. Because what happened here was—is important. My therapist once told me that, when in deep water, it's just as important to hang on to what helps us float as to let go of what weighs us down."
Rachel stared down at the picture, hazel eyes misting, but she looked up again as Max touched her shoulder.
"Rachel, what I want to say is…" She paused, listening to the patter of her own heart, knowing that Rachel could hear it too. "You want me to be happy with my life here and now, but that's not enough for me."
Rachel gazed at her in silent surprise, so Max stumbled on.
"You live in this world too, and I want you to be part of it. I—I don't want you to keep hiding yourself away." She enfolded Rachel's hand in hers. "I'd like you to let people in. To let them help you. I want you to live again."
Rachel looked down at the pictures on her lap. "I'll…I'll try, Max. For you."
"For you," Max said. "I know you can be happy. It's what you—what we deserve."
Rachel smiled at her, and there was gratitude there now, flooding into the space sadness left behind. "Can I hug you?"
Without another word, Max pulled the other girl into her arms. "Why are you so good to me, Max?" Rachel whispered.
"Do I need a reason?" Max replied, soaking in the warmth and scent of her. "But if I have to have one...it's because you gave me something I thought I'd never get back. You make me love being alive."
Rachel pulled back to look her in the eye, and there was a heat in her gaze that made Max's heart race. "You know, I have the power to give you anything you want. Name it and it's yours."
Max's eyes sparkled. The vision that unfolded before her was so clear: an open road and an endless blue sky. She had never wanted something so badly before.
"I want what you and Chloe offered me," she stated, leaning against Rachel's shoulder, "but all of it. The three of us, leaving this place together. I want the future you promised. You, me, and her."
Rachel's lips fell open, hazel eyes round and clouded. Then she looked down and shook her head. "Max, what I had with Chloe—it's gone. I've hurt her so much. She deserves better."
Max gripped Rachel's hands as if to anchor her down. "IknowChloe. She can be the most stubborn person in the world when it comes to the people she loves. She doesn't let go, and I know she wants this too."
She tilted Rachel's face back up to meet her gaze. "So do you want what I want, Rachel?"
Rachel closed her eyes, swallowing. When next she opened them, she said, "We can't decide on our own. Not without Chloe."
Max nodded, satisfied. "Then…let's wait."
"Let's wait." Rachel squeezed her hand, her smile returning. "Think you can sleep now, Max?"
She nodded and even gave a little yawn. Now that she had helped Rachel, it was easier to feel her exhaustion. She made to get up from the bed, but Rachel tightened her grip on her hand.
"Don't be silly, Max. This bed is good for two."
"Uh…" The prospect of staying next to Rachel certainly had an appeal. "I'm just not sure what Kate would think if I slept over."
Rachel shrugged and laughed. "Let them all think what they want. Pirates play by their own rules, right?" She leaned closer, her smile lingering. "You know, I can still hear your heart. And the beat that it skipped."
Eep. Max was relieved Rachel couldn't read her thoughts each time she caught a glimpse of those soft lips.
As Max hesitated, Rachel grew more solemn. "If you stay, you won't be alone when you have nightmares. I'll guard you in your dreams."
Max melted inside. If she had half of Rachel's courage, she would have answered, I'll let you guard my dreams if I get to dream of you.
So she lay down next to Rachel, letting the silence settle between them as she drifted off to sleep. And when Max woke the next morning, it was to the sight of Rachel next to her, slumbering peacefully beneath the radiant sunshine.
Max knew her life would change two days later when she checked her laptop to find an e-mail from Chloe.
MAX!
Sorry for the radio silence no service out in the boonies but nvm
I'M COMING HOME
THIS IS NOT A DRILL
guessing I'll be there in 4 days with minimal stops
Gtg this isnt my laptop will tell you more when I see u
Hang in there till I get back.
Love u,
Chloe
Of course, Max immediately told Rachel, who grinned. "See? I told you she'd come back for you."
There's more to it than that, Max thought. Something's up, I can feel it.
Max would end up reading the message every hour for the next couple of days to make sure she hadn't dreamed it. It was hard to sleep at night knowing Chloe was racing toward her.
The third day arrived, and Max's phone rang as she was heading for lunch. The name on the screen was Joyce's, but it was Chloe who said, "Max?"
She halted like she had run into a wall. "Chloe?"
"Hey! I had to borrow my mom's phone coz mine died like sixty miles ago."
"Wait—y-you're back in town?"
"Yeah! Cut down on travel time by driving all night—hey, look, can I see you?"
Max was already striding down the hall to the main doors. "Where are you?"
"Stay in school, kiddo. I'm turning into the parking lot right now." She paused. "And hey, could you bring Rachel too? I wanna see you both."
Max's heart lurched in her chest. "S-sure. I will."
When she hung up, she messaged Rachel to meet her in the parking lot before sprinting to the exit. She couldn't explain it, but her pulse ran wild with hope. In mere moments she was taking the steps down to the parking lot two at a time, eyes straining to find that familiar truck.
She found it haphazardly parked—where else—in the PWD slot. But even she couldn't bring herself to get miffed when a figure emerged from the driver's side and started toward her.
Max's pupils dilated. Chloe seemed taller, shoulders back and walking proudly in her dusty cowboy boots. Her mouth spread into a pleased grin that lifted her blue eyes and dimpled her cheeks. Her travels had made her leaner, her cheekbones more pronounced. Apart from the three-bullet necklace, silver chokers adorned her neck and a single beaded braid swung next to her ear. But most tellingly, Chloe had dyed her bangs a vibrant blue, framing her smiling face.
She's so beautiful, thought Max as heat spread across her it possible to fall in love with the same person twice?
Max realized she was standing there gawking, but a second later, Chloe closed the distance between them and they were in each other's arms.
"Oh God," Max gasped. "You're really here!"
"We're both here," Chloe whispered. "I have you back and I'm not letting go. Hey, can I kiss you?"
She didn't even need to ask. In the next moment, their lips had fused into one. Max's senses melted at her touch, along with any doubts about them being together again.
They came up for air a long moment later, both short of breath, and Chloe took a step back to take her in.
"Man, if I knew you were going to be this cute, I'd have driven a lot faster."
"Stop it! Are you going to tell me what this whole thing was about?"
"I will. But first—"
Chloe's expression flattened as her eyes strayed to a point behind Max. Following her gaze, Max caught sight of Rachel standing at the top of the stairs, watching them, ready to back away at any moment.
Swallowing, Max said, "I'll give you guys a minute."
"No. Please stay." Chloe squeezed her hand before letting go. "I want you to hear this."
Looking back to Rachel, she started up the stairs. In silent accord, Rachel descended toward her. They met on the landing, facing each other.
"Hey, Rachel." Chloe laced her hands in front of her. "Uh, I'm back."
"Y-yeah. I'm glad you're here."
"Sorry I barely kept in touch."
"I-it's fine. You were busy, I get it."
Chloe sucked in a breath and unlocked her hands. "It was more than that. This road trip—I always meant to come back. Because I've got something to tell you.
"Rachel, I—I lied and hurt you. I broke your trust when I was the only person here you could give it to. And for the longest time, I justified that by telling—by convincing myself it was for your own good.
"Everyone in Arcadia's trying to control you somehow, Rachel. They lie to make you love them, or they lie to protect you from something. We both hated this town, but I realized...I wasn't any different from those people. I'm part of that world that you're trying to escape. I didn't mean to be. I just—I loved you too much, not knowing if I was doing right by you. That's where I fucked up."
"Chloe, it's okay. You've already apologized, and I'm the one who—"
Chloe shook her head. "Wait, let me finish or I'll forget." She looked down at her shoes, gathering her resolve, before meeting Rachel's eyes again.
"Everybody apologizes. It's easy to say something and pretend it's done and dusted. But…it wasn't like that for me. Every day we were together, I felt like there was this distance I couldn't cross. Because no matter what I said or how I apologized, I couldn't get over that I hurt someone important to me. I felt like I didn't deserve you in my life. I had to do something more, just like you were doing for Arcadia Bay. I had to fix what I broke.
"That's why I went on this journey, Rachel. I went to look for your mom."
The silence permeated the world. Unbelieving, Max's eyes strayed from Chloe to Rachel. The blonde held very still, face pale and round eyes quivering with shock.
"It took weeks," Chloe went on. "I found her name and address on a map in Frank's RV when I went to get Pompidou. I knew I had to go out there and look for her myself. Even then, it took a long time to pin her down—she kept changing addresses—but the point is, I did it, Rachel—I found her! And she's doing great! She's a counselor in an Arizona rehab center. She's happy to know you're alright and she'd love it if we—"
Chloe couldn't say anything more, because the girl standing before her was now on her knees, shivering as if cold. Max stepped forward in concern. Rachel's eyes were still saucer-wide but unseeing, her lips shaping words that wouldn't come.
"Rachel?" Chloe reached down to help her stand.
Rachel buried her face in her hands and let out a long, wounded cry. The sound pierced through Max's chest and tears welled up in her eyes. Before either of them could react, Rachel fell to the ground, her forehead and hands touching Chloe's feet.
"I'm sorry!" Rachel wailed. "I'm sorry I hurt you, Chloe!"
Max's hand covered her mouth as the tears coursed down her face. She had never seen Rachel break, not like this. But Chloe wasn't having it—she got down on her knees, gently lifting Rachel to pull her into a tight hug, right there on the landing.
Max wiped her eyes, a faint smile growing on her lips. Though she had always believed they would reconcile, it was hard to imagine exactly how. Leave it to Chloe to find a way.
"Why, Chloe?" Rachel whispered. "Why would you—for me—?"
The taller girl hugged her tighter, resting blue hair against gold. "Because it's what I do."
I should give them a moment, Max thought. She tiptoed past them, but a pair of hands shot out and caught her arm. With an exaggerated sigh, Max knelt and let Rachel and Chloe pull her into their embrace.
"There's no easy way for me to put this, so I'll just say it."
Chloe stood before them, the cliff edge and the rosy afternoon sea providing her a radiant backdrop. Max and Rachel sat together on the bench by the lighthouse, precisely where Max's adventures began a week before. Normally, the November air would have made the place nippy, but Rachel warmed the breeze coming from the mountains.
They had spent a good amount of time on the way there pestering Chloe for details about her trip—what she did, where she went, how she found Sera—all of which Chloe had done her best to answer.
"Why'd you keep it secret?" Max demanded. "You made us think you ditched town for good!"
"I'm sorry!" Chloe replied. "I had no idea if I was going to find her, and to be honest—" She glanced at Rachel. "If it didn't work out I didn't want to disappoint you even more."
Despite her answers, Chloe seemed distracted. Jittery. Max sensed there was something else she wanted desperately to talk about but was waiting for the right moment.
That moment had arrived. Chloe had spent a good amount of time pacing in front of them, clasping and unclasping her hands, gathering her courage. Rachel didn't say a word and neither did Max.
Finally, Chloe blurted out, "I'm in love with you both."
Max held very still, keeping her eyes on Chloe. From the edge of her vision, Rachel was doing the same. They let Chloe say her piece.
First, she turned to Rachel. "I want to be with you, Rachel. With every cell of my body. You had my back when I hit rock bottom and you helped me hold it together. I couldn't let you go if I tried."
She shifted her gaze. "But I love you too, Max. I thought of you every day we weren't together, and I don't want to spend another day without you beside me."
Max kept a look of concern on her face but also scratched at her lips to hide a smile. Beside her, Rachel was doing an immaculate impression of a marble statue.
Meanwhile, an agonized Chloe pressed on. "Do you understand? I don't want to hurt anyone, not after all we've been through. But I also don't want to have to lose either of you. I know that sounds selfish and fucking nuts, and it is, but I still can't let either of you go.
"So I want to ask if there's any way we can—make this work. I mean, we're different from everybody else, and—no one knows what it's like—to go through what we did, and..."
At last, Max couldn't take it anymore. She clamped both hands on her mouth to strangle a laugh.
Rachel whirled toward her. "Did you have to break now?" she pouted. "We were getting her so good!"
"You know I can't lie to save my life!" Max blurted out. "What did you want to happen? Let her talk until she cried?"
"After she made us wait? I wanted her to cook a little longer!"
Chloe was goggling at them, utterly lost. "Wha—what the fuck's going on?"
"Well," Rachel said, smiling and shaking her head, "you gotta understand something, Chloe. Max and I have come to an arrangement."
Chloe's forehead crumpled. "What…what do you…are you saying…?"
"She's saying we have feelings for each other, too," Max clarified, grinning broadly. "We feel the same way about each other like we do about you. So it's a packaged deal, Chloe. You get one, you have to take the other."
"You won't have a problem with all three of us being the crew of a pirate ship, will you?" Rachel added, hazel eyes dancing.
Through it all, Chloe's gaze swept between them, astonishment turning into understanding, then to wonder, then finally, to heat. With narrowed eyes and a growl that emerged from the lowest part of her chest, she demanded, "Prove it."
Max laughed and did what she'd wanted to do since she laid eyes on Rachel again: she cupped the blonde's face in her hands and kissed that gorgeous smile.
Her lips differed from Chloe's—softer and fuller but no less warm, and grew hotter by the moment as Rachel gripped her hair to deepen their kiss. And like with Chloe, every inch of Max's skin tingled, like with her first taste of champagne, like listening to a singer hold a single, perfect note. Still, Max didn't miss the whoop of joy that erupted nearby, and when the two of them came up for air, Chloe was kneeling at their side, raining kisses of her own on their faces.
They stayed by the lighthouse, talking until the sun dipped behind the sea and the moon rose over the mountains. Through the laughter, stories, and plans, Max thought that if this was the fate she had earned, the place her luck had led her, she would take it, regrets and all.
They would have their tomorrow.