Chloe came to consciousness slowly, stretching out as she came to. Her eyes still closed, she reached for her trusty ash tray to start her day off properly, but found nothing but air. Confused, she picked her head up and realized she was in a strange bedroom.

No, Max's bedroom. She turned her head to see Max sitting at the foot of the bed, playing with her phone. Her hair was sticking up in odd places, and she was still in the same clothes they had arrived in. Upon hearing Chloe moving, she looked over, a small smile on her face.

"How'd you sleep?" Max asked, and for a moment it seemed as if she was back to the normal, pre-tornado Max, the kind that was ready to raise some hell.

"Like a fucking rock. I was hella exhausted," Chloe sighed happily, dropping her head back to the bed. "You seem like you're in a good mood."

There was a small pause. "I'm just...I'm happy you're here, Chloe."

Chloe couldn't help but laugh. "Where else would I- No, don't answer that." She sat up, but fortunately Max still seemed rather chipper. No need to rub it in her face that I could be dead. "You getting booty calls over there?"

"No. I must have taken all of my chargers with me to Blackwell, and my phone's dead."

"Oh man, those chargers are long gone now." Chloe immediately regretted her response as Max stiffened. "Shit, dude, I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Max said quietly. "I mean, I knew the storm was coming, all this time, and I...I guess I just never thought about, you know, what comes after."

And there it was, the broken Max that kept breaking her heart to look at. Chloe considered herself already messed up enough for the both of them. Max didn't need to be, too.

"Well, normally I'd say any morning should start with a good wake and bake, but I'm guessing your parents don't consider weed an essential grocery item...and I'm all out."

Max actually laughed. "Of course you'd say that. What else would you say?"

Chloe thought for a moment, but before she could think of anything more concrete, her stomach rumbled. "Let's go with breakfast. Fingers crossed your parents can hold a candle to Joyce-"

She cut herself off with the distinct feeling that she got sucker punched. This. This is what she had been trying to avoid. The feeling of helplessness, the thought that her mom...

Max gripped her hand, having reached across the bed. They didn't say anything to each other for a minute. Chloe tried to steel herself again, but felt a couple of tears slip out of her eyes. She wiped her eyes quick, well aware that Max was watching her. "Food, let's go." She forced herself to get up, despite the aching in her chest and the longing to fall back into bed. Max watched her with a nervous look in her eye.

"Chloe, I'm-"

"Don't." Chloe cut her off. She took a couple of deep breaths, feeling an outburst growing. The nervous look had become amplified as she awaited the rant that was coming her way, but Chloe wouldn't do that to her. Not now. Before Max could say anything else, Chloe ducked out of the room.

She didn't get far before she heard talking - no, arguing, from somewhere downstairs. Chloe quietly moved down each step, hoping that the house was new enough not to have a creaky plank.

"-and we are not equipped to handle this, Ryan! I'm not comfortable leaving them alone until they're seeing someone!" Vanessa exclaimed, and Chloe quickly deduced what they were arguing about - she had, after all, done her time with the shrinks.

"And they are both adults, and can make their own decisions," Ryan said firmly.

"Max is our daughter! Does that not mean anything to you? An F6 tornado came through right next to her and you think she'll...she'll just be fine?"

Chloe had heard enough. She made sure to hit the last step extra hard, just to warn them of her approach. Coming around the corner into the dining room, she could see them putting on their happy faces - Vanessa releasing the back of one of the chairs from a death grip, while Ryan sat across from her, arms uncrossing.

"Morning Chloe, how'd you guys sleep?" Ryan asked, getting up out of his chair.

"Like a rock. Apparently all it takes is an apocalypse to get a good night sleep." She was met with silence, and Vanessa cast a pointed look at Ryan. "Too soon, got it."

"W-we have coffee in the kitchen if you need any. Cups are above the sink," Vanessa said, gesturing with her own cup.

"Sweet, thanks." Chloe made her way over to the pot, helping herself. "So, uh, what were you guys talking about? Heard some heated whispers on my way down."

There was almost a panicked glance between the two. "We were wanting to wait until Max came down, too. Is she up?"

"Yeah, she's up, she should be down in a minute." Chloe made her way around the table and sat down, enjoying the coffee's warmth seeping through the cup.

The parents seemed to be exchanging looks, and Chloe could hardly blame them. It's not every day your child's former best friend shows up looking like a total punk immediately after a giant storm took out the whole town.

"So, ah, Chloe, what have you been doing? We haven't seen you in a while," Vanessa asked, smiling kindly.

Oh boy, where do you want me to start? "Not much. Went to Blackwell for a bit before they decided I was too cool for them. Got a stepdou- stepdad. You know, life stuff."

Ryan chuckled appreciatively. "And you just ran into Max this week, right?"

Chloe felt a smile spreading across her face. "Like a white knight in skinny jeans, she rode in from the north."

Vanessa smiled back at her. "I've always regretted moving away when we did. You two were so close, and right after your father..." Chloe shifted uncomfortably. "Max struggled for a long time with it. I'm glad you were able to reconnect after all this time."

"What can I say, partners in crime." And in time.

The sound of footsteps started making their way down the stairs. Max had switched out of her clothes into a different pair of jeans and t-shirt. Her eyes seemed to be a little red, and Chloe felt worse about walking out on her earlier.

"Hey honey, how are you feeling?" Vanessa asked as Max took the seat across from Chloe.

"I'm okay," Max responded, avoiding eye contact. "It's all just...just a lot."

"It absolutely is," Ryan said, still standing. "Your mother and I will be hanging around the house this weekend, but we'll try to give you both space."

"Not too much space, though," Vanessa quickly added. "We want to make sure we're here if you need us."

"Sounds good," Max replied, fiddling with her shirt. It must have been folded for a while, as there were creases that wouldn't disappear. "We need to run down to the store though, I don't have my charger and Chloe's going to need some clothes."

"What, don't want me stealing your shirts?" Chloe joked, reaching across the table and bumping her arm. "Or do you think I can't pull off floods, shorty?"

Max smiled, a true smile that took Chloe back a few days. "Both. And I'm not letting you steal my underwear."

"Dude, that's a fucking dare if I've ever heard one." She glanced at Max's parents, who both looked slightly uncomfortable with her word selections. "Sorry, language came with the hair. Get it? Because it's colorful..." She trailed off as her joke was lost. "Never mind."

Vanessa shook herself slightly, as if trying to ignore what Chloe just said. "Max, I'll give you my phone then while you're out, just in case you need something while you're out."

Max smiled again. "Thanks Mom." She looked over at Chloe, who was slamming the last of her coffee. "You good to go?"

"Only if we can pick up some weed on the way." Both parents whipped their heads around, alarmed. "Kidding, I'm just...I'm kidding."

"Hold on," Ryan said, looking slightly awkward. "Before you guys head out, we wanted to talk to you. Both of you."

Chloe shot a look at Max before rolling her eyes. "Here we go," she mouthed. Max looked slightly confused.

Vanessa cleared her throat. "We want you to know that you are both welcome to stay here, as long as you need to. But, with the...with everything that happened, we-" She firmly glanced at Ryan. "-think you should both see about talking to someone."

Max seemed surprised by this chain of events. "You mean, like a psychologist or something?"

Ryan nodded. "We're not going to force you, but we think it would be best. You just went through...well, through hell. And Chloe," he added, "I know we have no authority over you, but we do see you as part of our family and want to make sure you're taken care of as well."

"Too bad you can't adopt me and add me onto your insurance, then I'd really be part of the family," Chloe remarked, but she was touched nonetheless. Max still seemed stunned, so Chloe kept talking. "I mean, I saw someone after my dad died. I got tired of hearing what they had to say after a while, but sometimes it's nice to bitch to someone new for a change."

Vanessa seemed exasperated at Chloe's answer, but Ryan continued to hold the parental floor. "It doesn't have to be tomorrow, it doesn't have to be a year from now, but if you think you need it..."

"Thank you, both of you," Max finally spoke, seemingly embarrassed. She glanced up at Chloe, not fully meeting her eye. "Shopping?"

"Hell yeah, Queen Max. Let's roll."