Being in a mall just felt...weird. After everything that happened the last week, doing something that was considered normal felt abnormal. The only thing that felt right to Chloe was that she was on an adventure again with her best friend.
"Ahoy, matey, have you spotted the booty?" Chloe asked Max, who was looking around at the stores with a guarded look on her face. She didn't seem to notice Chloe talking. Chloe waved a hand in front of her face, causing her to jump. "Earth to Max, where did you go?"
"Oh, uh...nowhere, just...just lost in thought, I guess." She was playing with the hem of her shirt, still casting glances all around her as if something was going to pop out at any second.
"If this is too much, you can wait out in the truck until I'm done," Chloe offered, dangling the keys off of one finger.
Max's eyes flashed fear for a moment. What I wouldn't give to be able to read her mind right now. "No, I'm fine. Let's get this over with." She started walking off, and Chloe followed her lead, not willing to let Max leave her sight.
The two wandered the mall for a bit, with Chloe complaining most of the time about the lack of reasonable clothing. Here and there it felt like old times when they were kids, window shopping and making comments about the signs and mannequins.
In the back corner of the mall, they finally found a decent store with graphic t-shirts, much to Chloe's delight. She walked around the store, trying to make financially responsible decisions (the Caulfields had given them one of their credit cards), when she realized Max had disappeared.
"Max?" She walked around the rack she was in front of, but with a sinking feeling in her stomach, her best friend was nowhere to be found. She walked quickly through the surrounding racks, but there was no sign of her.
She called for Max again, still receiving no response. She was just about to throw the clothes to the ground and leave of the store when she heard an alarmed shout from back in the dressing rooms. The clothes fell out of her arms, and Chloe raced to the back where an employee was standing flustered outside one of the rooms.
"Can-can I help you?" The employee asked, alarmed by her sudden appearance.
"Who's in there?" Chloe demanded. The employee seemed confused. "Small girl? Brown hair?" The employee barely nodded before Chloe slammed her fist on the white door of the room. "Max, open up!"
She tried the handle, and the door swung open - it wasn't locked. Chloe barged in to see Max sitting on the ground, back against the white wall, with both of her hands over her head. She was breathing heavily, and was muttering under her breath as she rocked back and forth.
Chloe crashed on the ground next to her, grabbing both of her wrists. In the changing room mirror, she could see tears running down Max's face as she tried to pull away. "Max, hey, it's okay, it's me." Max kept trying to pull away, and Chloe released her hands in order to bear hug her. "You're okay, you're safe." Chloe felt the panic in her own voice as she willed for Max to mentally come back to her.
Gradually, after what felt like hours, Max stopped leaning away from her and started leaning in, grabbing her arms for support. "Chl-Chloe," she whispered, holding on tight.
"Just breathe, okay? I'm not going anywhere." She glanced towards the door, noticing the employee still standing awkwardly in the doorway. "Can you give us some space? We just went through that fucking storm in Arcadia Bay, hear about that?" The employee stuttered apologies, pulling the door shut as she fled.
"Chloe, I-I was..." Max was shaking, still holding on to her friend's arm. "I was b-back there. I could...hear him."
"Who, Jefferson?" Max nodded, her head sinking again as she leaned as far into Chloe as she could. "He's gone Max. He can't hurt you again. He's in a fucking hole somewhere, I promise."
They sat in that dressing room for a few more minutes, both girls holding on tightly to the other. Eventually, Max sniffed and pulled a hand away to wipe her nose. "I'm a mess," she said quietly.
"Yeah you are." A laugh bubbled out of Max's mouth as she sat up, trying to dry her face off. "You're making me look normal. It's kind of embarrassing," she added, pulling one arm away but leaving the one draped across Max's shoulders. "What are you doing back here, anyway?"
Max looked up at her, eyes still red. "I didn't know where you went, must have been ducked down or something." She took a deep breath. "I came back here to check, and..." she looked around at the walls, and it clicked.
"The white walls," Chloe muttered. "Just like that fucking dark room."
Max nodded, starting to play with the hem of her shirt again. "And I just...I panicked, I guess. It felt like I was back there..." she trailed off, looking into a distance that didn't exist. Not in this reality, at least.
"Hey." Chloe grabbed one of those fidgeting hands, holding it firmly. "Stay with me now, 'kay?"
Max's hand tightened around hers, and a shy smile teased the corners of her mouth. "Okay." She moved her shoe to bump Chloe's knee. "Did you at least find anything?"
"What? Oh yeah, clothing, pfft. It's laying on the ground somewhere. If we're lucky it's still there and I don't have to hunt it all down again." Chloe got to her feet, pulling Max along with her. Max still gripped her hand, a reassuring pressure that brought a warm feeling in her stomach.
As they walked out of the dressing room area, the employee Chloe had barked at awkwardly approached them, avoiding eye contact. "I-I have the clothing you-you dropped up at the register, just in case you were still wanting it."
Chloe looked over at Max, a smile forming on her face. "Hella lucky."
The drive back home was quiet. Chloe kept glancing over at Max, who had her eyes closed. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought Max was sleeping. As they pulled into the driveway, Max opened her eyes and rubbed her face absentmindedly.
"Feeling better?" Chloe asked, throwing the truck into park and turning it off.
Max nodded, shifting so she was sitting up straight. "Can we sit out here for a little bit? I'm sure my parents are waiting right inside the door for us, and I'm not ready for them yet."
"What, don't want to be told to go to the head doctor again?" Max gave a small smile, shaking her head. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Max laid her head on the window. "You okay over there?" Chloe asked, concerned.
Max turned to look at her, her emotions mixed on her face. "I'm just...I know you're worried about me."
Chloe couldn't help but laugh. "No shit, Sherlock."
"I know you're worried about me," she repeated, more confidently. "And I'm worried about you too. You have your own shit to deal with, before mine."
Chloe shrugged, resting her arm along the bench seat. "Most of my shit is old news anyways. No need for reruns here."
"Rachel. Joyce." Both names felt like punches to the gut. Chloe started shaking her head in denial. "I know I went through hell this week, Chloe, but so did you."
"It's not...I'm not...it's not the same," Chloe stammered, feeling heat rising up in her cheeks. "People I cared about died, so what, it happens to every fucking person on this planet!" She waved a hand in Max's direction. "You jumped fucking timelines, Max! You saw shit my dumb ass willl never understand!"
Max smashed her fist into the dashboard in frustration. "I did everything - EVERYTHING - to make sure you were safe!"
"And I fucking asked you not to!" Chloe yelled back, leaning closer. Max stood her ground, glaring back. "I asked you to go back and let that little shit kill me in that fucking bathroom because I am a shitty person, Max! I don't deserve to be alive."
"And I can't fucking live without you!" Max screamed, and Chloe felt her anger abate as quickly as it had been brought on. Max's eyes were filled with angry tears, still staring her down. "You think I didn't, for one second, think about going back and getting rid of that storm?" Chloe sank back as the tears began to roll over. "All the people I could have saved, but I would have lost you, and I..." Her breathing became labored, and Chloe found herself sliding closer to pull Max into a hug. "I was selfish, I couldn't live in a world where you weren't living," she said quietly as the waves emotion crashed down on them both.
"Oh, Max," Chloe breathed. Sitting there holding on to each other for the second time of the day should have been worrying, but instead, Chloe felt strangely calm. Max had always been so innocent, so quiet, that watching her back had always been a part of Chloe's life. There was an odd comfort in knowing that after all the shit she had went through, Max still needed her.
You didn't just save me from the world, she wanted to say. You saved me from myself. The week's events flashed back before her eyes - shooting bottles at the junkyard, breaking into the school pool, daring Max to kiss her...
"Hey now," Chloe pulled away, grasping Max's face with both her hands to pull her gaze up. "Whatever happens now, wherever we go, we are each other's broken best friend, got it? 'Cause everyone needs one." Max laughed quietly, and Chloe pulled her in for one last firm hug. "Now let's get inside, I'd be hella shocked if your parents didn't hear us pull in. Yeah?"
Max smiled. "Yeah, let's go."