"You know as soon as there's enough of a charge, it's gonna blow up," Chloe stated as Max plugged her phone in. She was sprawled out on Max's bed again, tossing her keys repeatedly into the air. "I'm enjoying being phone free myself."
Max gave her an amused look as she set her phone down on her old school desk. "What, are you trying to be free of the addiction that is the World Wide Web?"
She caught her keys, pausing. "Why yes, yes I am. Thank you for noticing." After an awkward lunch with the Caulfields, Chloe was good to minimize contact with outside world. The Internet made everyone an expert at everything. "Besides, the only person who would possibly text me is in this room."
Max kept fiddling with her phone. "I know there's going to be some gnarly stuff on here...but I have to know."
Chloe understood. That was why she was avoiding turning on her phone. She fully expected texts and voicemails that would tear her down again. No need for that. The storm had torn down the cell towers near the town, and although Max had called her parents once reception came back, she had avoided looking at the notifications that were popping up.
Max sat down at her desk chair, leaning her head on the back of it. She was rubbing her wrists absentmindedly, something that made Chloe's chest tighten. There were no marks in this version of reality, but Jefferson had done a number on Max. It infuriated Chloe to no end.
"Some lunch with your folks, huh?" Chloe blurted out, hoping to distract her. Max lifted her head, a small smile on her face. "It's cool that your dad still wants to take you to games."
"You should come. You'd like hockey," Max responded.
Chloe laughed. "Maybe. People hitting other people with sticks does sound like my idea of fun." She sighed heavily. "Speaking of fun, this has got to be the longest I've gone without my, er, medication."
Chloe didn't need to look up to see Max's eyes rolling. "You're fine," she commented.
"I'm just saying, it's a new city and all so I'll need to figure out where to get my fix."
"Chloe, you don't-" They both jumped a little as Max's phone came to life, buzzing on the desk. There was a moment of hesitation before Max reached out to pull it closer. She started playing with it, and Chloe sat up as Max's eyes started tearing up.
"Max..." Chloe didn't know what to say. As Max scrolled, her eyes would close as she read whatever text, bracing herself for the next one, and doing it all over again. After a few minutes of this, she suddenly shot a hand out to Chloe, who grasped it.
"Chloe, Kate's fine." Tears of relief were running down Max's face. "She's safe, the hospital wasn't hit."
"Max, that's...that's great." Chloe knew Kate meant a lot to her best friend, even if she wasn't the type of person Chloe would normally associate with. There was a lump in her throat though as Max kept scrolling through the countless other people who had texted that weren't fine, and weren't safe.
She felt Max's grip tighten for a second. "Chloe..." Without another word, she handed the phone over, and Chloe reluctantly took it.
Max, this is David-
Chloe recoiled. "I can't read this, Max-"
Max pulled on her hand. "Read it." Chloe took a deep breath and continued.
Max, this is David. You girls were right about that bunker. Jefferson had Victoria, like you said.
The bunker made it through the storm. We're safe.
I can't get in contact with Chloe or Joyce, if you've seen them please let me know.
"He's...he's alive." Chloe fell back onto the bed, her hand slipping out of Max's. Her own eyes were watering now. She held her hands over her face, hiding the afternoon rays that were seeping into the bedroom. She couldn't quite place how she was feeling - relief that someone she knew made it, but also bitterness, that of all people, that psychopath Jefferson...
She could feel movement on the bed as Max climbed in next to her, sitting up against the headboard. Max's hand rested on her shoulder, an anchoring pressure. Chloe was hyper aware of her own breath, labored and jagged. She forced herself to pull her hands away, still gripping the phone, and opened her eyes, staring up at Max.
The way the sunlight hit Max's hair made it look far redder than it was. It was almost an ethereal glow, an angel from up above sent down to make sure she, Chloe, didn't keep fucking up her life. Her best friend, her savior, and now her everything.
You are all that matters to me, a shout above a storm, a statement on a cliff declaring that the world couldn't keep trying to keep them apart. She had been surprised to hear Max say those words to her, but after everything they went through, she found herself believing it.
Max was still watching her, a sadness and understanding on her face. "What are you thinking about?"
"I was..." She trailed off for a second, trying to decide how honest to be. "I'm glad David is okay," she said slowly. "And I guess Jefferson will get quality jail time now, but I kind of wish the son of a bitch was dead."
Max grimaced. "He deserves to rot in hell." Chloe felt her lips quiver as she fought a sudden grin. Her little Max was all grown up and feisty.
"Well, I'm sure once the Prescotts find out what he did to Nathan, they'll fry his ass." Chloe said thoughtfully. She looked down at Max's phone again, sitting up slowly. "I should probably call him. David," she clarified, and Max nodded.. With trembling hands, she dialed the number she had memorized out of spite, in order to avoid when it came calling.
David picked up on the second ring. "Max, Max is that you?" Chloe felt her voice catch in her throat. "Max? Hello?"
She coughed, clearing her throat. "Hey, David. It's me, it's-"
"Chloe." David's voice just about broke as he said her name. Chloe wrapped an arm around her legs as she heard David's breathing hitch. He was silent for a few moments, surely as emotional as Chloe suddenly found herself. "Chl-Chloe, you're alive," David said, his voice wavering. "Thank god, I was worried. Where are you? Are you safe?"
Chloe couldn't help but laugh, a teary laugh forced out of her throat. Max put her arm around Chloe's shoulders, and Chloe reflexively grabbed her free hand. "Yeah, yeah, we're safe. Max and I are up in Seattle, at her parents' place."
A relieved sigh made its way across the phone. "That's- that's great. Great. Are you two okay?"
The question of the century. "Yeah David, we're okay." She used her arm to wipe at her face, trying to focus on Max running her thumb across the back of her hand. "Where are you staying? Are you okay?"
"Pretty banged up, but I've been sleeping over at Blackwell - the school didn't take a full hit, it's missing some window panes, but nothing that can't be fixed." Of course Blackhell was fine. "Listen Chloe, I've been helping out the last couple of days, and I need to stay in town for a couple more. Once it's done, I want...I mean, would it be alright for me to come up and visit?"
Chloe felt an unexpected smile form on her face. "Of course, yeah, that'd be hella dope."
David gave a slight chuckle. "Alright Chloe, you take care, alright?"
"David," she said suddenly, not wanting him to hang up. Not until she asked. "Have you...did Joyce..." Max's thumb stopped moving.
Silence on the other end. Chloe started shaking her head, knowing what was going to come. David started speaking slowly, softly, as if trying to lessen the blow. "There was an explosion in the Two Whales. There's...no one survived." David's voice cracked once again, and Chloe let the phone drop from her hand. The room was silent, but the blood in Chloe's ears pounded like a war drum. She heard a voice, repeatedly shouting denials, and it wasn't until Max started to try to soothe her that Chloe realized it was her own voice.
And suddenly she wasn't in Max's bedroom, she was in the junkyard, feet away from the remains of the girl Chloe loved until the world ripped them apart, always the world ripping her apart from the people she cared about. Her hands pounded into the ground, trying to hit it the world a fraction of how it kept hitting her. But it was futile, and she grabbed at her hair, pulling, ignoring the pain as strands ran out of slack and threatened to pull out of her scalp.
She felt something closing around her, and she fought, flailing as something wrapped around her arms and torso, fought and clawed and screamed until she ran out of air and just laid on her back, defeated.
When she came to, she momentarily panicked as she felt bindings around her body, but as she started to move she heard Max saying her name. Chloe forced herself to open her eyes again, realizing she was still on Max's bed, her head having just left Max's shoulder and her best friend's arms tightly wound around her. After the adrenaline faded, she let me head fall back down, and Max pulled her closer, encompassing her. For the first time in a long time, even through the emotional pain, Chloe felt safe.
They laid there for what felt like hours, Max murmuring into her hair and Chloe trying to remember how to breathe, holding on to the one person who was still here, still with her after all this time.
And she cried. Chloe felt like she'd never stop crying. For her mother, for the town, for Rachel, for her father. She cried until she had exhausted herself and could not keep herself awake any longer.
But just before she succumbed to sleep, she was aware of Max brushing her hair out of her face and pressing her lips against Chloe's forehead. It wasn't a goofy kiss on a dare, but one with emotion and free will. Chloe smiled as she drifted off.