The drive down to Portland was very different from the last time they had traveled with Victoria. There was a deathly silence that hung over them all, and even though Chloe had had great things to say about the sleeping capabilities of the car previously, she just felt uncomfortable.
Max, on the other hand, passed out after the first gas stop. Chloe kept glancing into the backseat, checking to make sure her girlfriend was actually sleeping.
"Jesus, Price. She's asleep, okay?" Victoria commented after the umpteenth glance.
Chloe shook her head, slouching in the passenger's seat and pulling her beanie further down. "She hasn't been sleeping well since the trial started," she responded, looking out the windshield. There were few other cars on the winding road - not many people seemed to drive down to Oregon on Sunday mornings.
Victoria's knuckles were a little white as she clutched the steering wheel. "I know how she feels." The blonde sighed heavily, glancing over for a second. "Really, thanks for coming."
"I wasn't going to let her come on her own." Chloe cast a look over at Victoria, who nodded. "It's more you and Kate that I'm worried about, though," she added quickly.
Victoria was shaking her head, her face flushing a little as she exhaled angrily. "I don't care what happens to me on that stand. I'm worried what shit they'll try to drag her through." Her hands were still tight on the wheel, her voice strained. "I'm expecting the lawyers to try to write her off, you know, because she doesn't remember? Make it out that it wasn't Jefferson who-"
"I know, Vic." Chloe was disgusted by the thought. Regardless of Nathan Prescott's involvement, Jeffershit was the mastermind behind the whole dark room. "Would have been nice if we had Nathan to testify against him," she commented.
"Yeah, it would have been." Victoria's response was quiet, and there was a sadness to it that actually hurt to hear. "Fuck, I miss him sometimes."
Chloe sighed. As much as she did feel bad about how Nathan's life ended, she certainly didn't miss the little shit. "You two were always, er, close."
Victoria looked over at her again, a little smirk on her face. It was a relief to see, even with her overall saddened mood. "No lost love on your end, huh?"
Chloe shrugged. "Last time I saw him, he tried to pull a gun on me and Max. There's no 'lost love' there," she said sarcastically.
The car jerked a little as Victoria accidentally hit the brakes. Chloe whipped around to check on Max, who was thankfully still sleeping. She glanced over at Victoria, whose face was now white, frozen in shock. "He did what?" Victoria asked, each word sharper than the last.
Chloe couldn't help but shudder at the expression on Victoria's face. She'd always figured the blonde was in the dark as far as Nathan's more severe misdeeds, and that look was confirmation. "Yeah, he and I were definitely not on good terms after he-" She cut herself off. She wasn't sure what she was about to say - after he drugged me? After he technically shot me and killed me?
"Chloe." Victoria's voice wavered on those two syllables, desperation leaking in. "What did he do?"
She shook her head, crossing her arms tightly across her chest. "You really don't want to know."
"Yes, yes I do." She shot a pleading glance in Chloe's direction. "Please."
Chloe sighed, rubbing her chin. "He, ah, drugged me once and tried to take pictures, which didn't work in his favor - I broke that lamp in his room." Victoria stared straight ahead, silent. Chloe wondered if Victoria had asked about that lamp, and what story Nathan told as cover. "Oh, and he tried to shoot me in the girl's bathroom that one time, that was fun."
There was a long pause. "'Shot in a bathroom or something'," Victoria muttered, shaking her head. It took Chloe a moment to realize those were her old words, uttered months ago under happier circumstances. "You weren't fucking joking that day. I thought you were just high."
"Well, technically, I was high - or do you not remember smoking weed that day?" She tried be cheery, but the words fell flat on delivery.
"Chloe-"
"If you're about to apologize or something, please don't," she quickly said, slouching a little further into the passenger seat. "You had nothing to do with it."
"He was my friend," she said quietly. "And I've been treating him like a fucking victim in all of this." She cast yet another furtive glance in Chloe's direction. "What else did he do?"
"Vicky-"
The car jerked suddenly, coming to a quick stop on the shoulder as Victoria turned in her seat to look Chloe straight on. "What else did he do, Chloe Price?"
"He's the one that killed Rachel." They both jumped at the sound of a third voice, coming from the backseat. Max was still laying down, her eyes closed, but her eyebrows had knitted together as she spoke. "He's the one that drugged Kate."
"Are you-" Victoria looked at Chloe with an almost desperate look, as though she was hoping Chloe would deny it. Chloe forced herself to maintain eye contact, watching her friend's eyes get wider. "You're serious?"
"Victoria, I'm sorry," Max said quietly.
Victoria looked between the two of them, flabbergasted. "How long have you guys known?"
Chloe hesitated, turning to Max reflexively. "Since the week of the storm," Max responded, eyes open now, apologetic.
"And you didn't…" She trailed off for a second, staring out at the quiet road. Chloe jumped when Victoria suddenly started pounding on the steering wheel, spitting cuss words. "Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded.
"What the fuck did you want us to say? 'Oh, hey Victoria, your friend was a fucking sadistic psychopath'? Yeah, that would have went over well," Chloe retorted.
"I knew he was fucked up, but I didn't think he would-" Her sentence cut off abruptly as one of her hands flew up over her mouth. She looked between Max and Chloe with panicked eyes. "Does Kate know?"
Chloe could see Max nod out of the corner of her eye; she was watching Victoria's face as it crumpled, the hand not currently resting over her mouth curling around her torso. She had always wondered how much of their Jeffershit experiences the two girls had shared with each other; evidently, not all of it.
"God fucking dammit," Victoria muttered, facing forward and leaning into the steering wheel. "And I was...FUCK!" Her hand hit the horn as she swore, causing Chloe to jump again.
"Victoria," Max started, but cut off as the driver whipped around in her seat, finger raised in a threatening fashion.
"No Max, don't say whatever bullshit you're gonna say to try to make me feel better, okay?" She snapped, glaring into the backseat.
Chloe reflexively put both hands up, open and palms facing forward. "Vic, you need to calm down."
"Don't tell me what I need to do, Price!" Even through the anger, Chloe could see the edges of Victoria's control fraying, as her eyes became watery. "I'm a fucking monster, I did all that shit to her, and Nathan, fucking-"
Before she could start pounding the wheel again, Chloe caught her wrist, gripping it tight. "That's not you anymore, okay? Remember what you told me last week? You changed."
Victoria shook her head, but the anger had subsided. She wiped at her eyes with her free hand. "It was still me, though," she said quietly, her voice breaking. "It was still him."
Max leaned forward, resting a hand on Victoria's shoulder. "You know Kate doesn't blame you for any of this, Victoria." There was no verbal response, only a nod. "She knows who you are now, she doesn't care about who you were then."
Victoria's eyes closed for a second, and Chloe finally released her wrist. She rubbed it for a minute before opening her eyes, glancing at the two of them. "Sorry," she muttered, staring at the road. "We should get moving, don't want to get in too late," she said as she straightened up.
"Vic, you-"
"I'm fine, Chloe." She looked over, eyes red, but calm. "Really. I'm okay."
Chloe stared back at her for a few moments before nodding, looking towards the road herself. "Portland it is, then."
Victoria had refused to let the two of them try to get a cheap motel somewhere - they were staying with her at a hotel that was above their comfort-level (and way above their credit limit), but Victoria blended right in. Chloe could honestly say she'd never stayed on the top floor of any hotel, let alone a giant suite that might as well have been an apartment.
Under normal circumstances, she would have had a field day with all the extra room, but there was a dark cloud hanging over her companions. She tried to act her normal goofy self as she claimed the suite as her own, hoping to get some smiles on their faces, but all she got were slight nods. After a while, it was easier to just be quiet.
That night was the first time in a long time that Chloe was woken up by screaming, but this time it wasn't Max. She got up after realizing what was happening, casting a glance at a groggy Max before leaving their bedroom and heading into Victoria's.
If she had thought Max's nightmares were violent, they were nothing compared to Victoria's. By the time Chloe had gotten her awake and calmed down, she felt multiple scratches and bruises forming over her arms, and might have obtained a black eye from a particularly dangerous elbow jab. It felt weird, trying to comfort Victoria as she slipped into the crying phase of waking up, but someone had to do it.
When she had finally fallen back to sleep, Chloe quietly slipped back into her own bedroom. Max had woken up the rest of the way at some point, as she was sitting up, watching Chloe come back to bed with a worried expression. "Is she alright?"
Chloe nodded, slipping back under the covers. Max threw an arm around her waist once she got comfortable on her back. "Yeah, she's asleep now. Scratched the hell out of my arms, though - and I thought you were rough on me."
Max didn't respond, just snuggled in closer. Chloe felt her girlfriend's breathing shift as she went back to sleep, but it took a lot longer to shut her own brain off. When she closed her eyes, she just saw Victoria's terrified face, still mentally trapped in the dark room.
Kate's arrival the next day should have been a highlight of the week, but that dark cloud was still hovering over Max and Victoria as the morning progressed. Chloe's prepared jokes at the expense of Kate and Victoria were quickly forgotten when Kate came in that afternoon, looking more timid and dejected than normal.
"Kate, you okay?" Max asked as they sat down on the two living room couches. Chloe didn't say anything as they of them split into their respective "couples", sitting across from each other.
A weary smile spread across Kate's face, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm fine Max, just...I'm fine." Her tone was quite convincing, and in a less attentive crowd, she might have gotten away with it.
"Kate." Victoria's tone was slightly reprimanding, but it was paired with a hand resting on Kate's knee. It was an oddly intimate gesture, one that actually made Chloe feel slightly uncomfortable to witness.
The smaller blonde sighed, shoulders slumping. "It's...it's my parents. We got into a fight before I left home."
"Didn't they drive you here?" Victoria asked, looking confused.
Kate shook her head. "No, I took the bus. They...they didn't want me to come." Jesus, she looks so small. It seemed as though her shoulders were going to touch at the rate she was compressing.
"I don't blame them," Chloe said, watching three pairs of eyes stare at her in varied levels of concern. She shrugged in response. "What? Lawyers are a fucking nightmare, and this is gonna be a shit show."
"They're not worried about my wellbeing, Chloe." Kate's voice was shaking, and Victoria quickly had an arm around her shoulders, glaring at Chloe reflexively. In a different situation, Chloe would have been all over that gesture, but Kate was looking far too distressed for jokes. "They're worried about more people finding out about..."
She trailed off, but there was nothing more that needed to be said. Max had mentioned how negatively Kate's parents had reacted to the video of her post-drugging - at least, how negative her mother had been. Far as Chloe was aware, her dad wasn't a total dick.
"Well, who gives a fuck what people think?" Kate looked up at Chloe with alarm. She ignored Max hissing her name in her ear, a warning. "They're gonna think what they're gonna think, okay? Shit happens, but that doesn't mean it's gotta define you."
There was a deafening silence once she finished speaking, and she instantly felt nervous, staring down at the carpet. Not the kind of thing to say in front of this crowd. She cast a slightly fearful glance at Max, who was watching her as well, not in anger, but with an almost awe. She felt Max's fingers intertwining with hers.
"Damn Chloe, for someone who's such a bitch, you got your moments," Victoria commented, sounding a little impressed.
Chloe rolled her eyes, reflexively making an exasperated sound. "Shut it, Vicky."
"Aaaand she's back."
The girls ordered takeout for dinner, not wanting to go out into the world just yet. Chloe in particular didn't want them to leave the hotel - she didn't know how aggressive reporters could be on a trial like this, but she'd rather not attract their attention just yet. As much as Chloe thought she was a changed woman, she wasn't sure she'd be able to stop herself from knocking someone out if they tried to get in their faces.
Kate was first to go to bed, as her testimony was tomorrow, and she wanted to be well rested. Chloe bit her tongue when Kate walked right into Victoria's bedroom after asking which ones were being used. Once Kate had closed the door, she glanced over at Max, who was chewing her lip in an attempt not to laugh.
"Oh, fuck you, Price," Victoria huffed, glaring at the two of them. "Of course you'd tell her."
"Believe me, Vicky, the whole thing is hilarious," Chloe teased as Max started giggling, glancing at the door again. She couldn't quite believe her luck - maybe this trip was worth it, after all, just for all the ammunition she'd get. "I'm loving every second of this."
She flipped them off, rolling her eyes as she sunk back in the couch. "Whatever." Victoria glanced back over at them after a few minutes of silence, sighing. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but what should I do?"
Chloe looked back at her, grinning. "I mean, if you're asking me-"
"No, I'm not asking you, because you're going to give me some batshit crazy advice that I'm not going to listen to anyways," Victoria said quickly, glaring at her. "Max?"
Max opened and closed her mouth, quickly turning red. "I do not want to be in the middle of this," she muttered, looking like she'd rather be anywhere else.
Victoria was frowning, watching Max's blush and Chloe's grin. "What the fuck is wrong with you two?"
"Like I was going to say...why don't you just tell her?" Chloe finally finished, shrugging.
Victoria's jaw dropped slightly. "You're crazy," she muttered, watching Chloe with a shocked expression. "You're actually crazy. I can't- she won't-"
"Victoria. Go. Talk to her." Chloe waved in the direction of the bedroom, trying to hide her grin. "You can thank us later."
She could almost see the lightbulb moment in Victoria's head. "Wait...did she say something to you guys?"
Chloe waved her hand frantically towards the door again. "Shut up and get in there!"
"I swear to god, if you're pulling my leg," Victoria muttered as she stood up, looking towards the door in trepidation. She glanced at Max again, who gave her a reassuring nod. She quietly slipped through the door, and Chloe cursed under her breath when she realized the place was actually somewhat soundproof. Of course, the one hotel conversation I want to be able to hear...
"How much you wanna bet they're about to have an excellent make out session?" she commented, waggling her eyebrows at Max, who immediately punched her in the shoulder.
"Oh my dog, Chloe, stop!" Max was laughing though, clearly enjoying herself as well.
Chloe shrugged, unable to keep the grin off her face. "What? I'd pay to see it."
"I will make you sleep in the extra bedroom," Max threatened, but the smile on her face said otherwise.
"Pff. Yeah right. You wouldn't last five minutes without me." She glanced back over at the bedroom door, wondering how the conversation - or lack there of - was going behind it. "Do you think if I put my ear against the door, I'll-"
Max stood up, using their linked hands to pull Chloe to her feet. "C'mon, we should get to bed, too."
Chloe groaned, but let herself be pulled into their room, muttering the whole way. "Max, you are a fun sucker. You're a vampire, but instead of blood, you suck the fun out of everything."