---
"I am one and forgotten,
I am
I am love loss destruction
I am
All but gone" -Koethe, I am.
---
Max
The rain stung like needles, it threatened to pierce my skin.
Wait.
Rain? When had it started raining? I sat up in my seat. But the truck is gone, Chloe is gone. I'm alone on the cliff, hot pain pelted my skin, the lighthouse shone brightly beside me. Not again.
I've lived and relived this nightmare, I'm going to watch over and over as the hurricane shreds Arcadia to pieces, and it's all my fault. I'm am a bearer of death. I am love, loss, destruction.
"Well isn't that true little Maxine?" A voice calls.
Well shit, that's new.
I'm always alone in this cliff, always, watching the destruction I caused. Because I was selfish, I was vain, greedy, and selfish. I turn to see Chloe on the cliff, she looks just like when we were on that cliff. A soaked angel. She squints her eyes. "Happy now, Caulfield? Look what you did."
I blink. What?
"You fucking killed a town, thousands of people dead just because you wanted to save me. A girl who you don't even know likes you back. Huh?" Chloe growls, I blink again. "God, say something, idiot."
IDIOT
I shake my head out. When I look back at Chloe, a deep red stain spills out from her abdomen, soaking her shirt. "I don't love you Max." She sneers, slowly stepping towards me. "I never did, you were just my little puppet." In the blink of an eye, Chloe was close enough that she touched my cheek delicately with her fingers. "You were my key to Rachel. And now that I've found her..." Chloe trails off.
She leans in real close, her lips brushing my ear. And whispers, "I don't need you anymore." Chloe moves her hand from my cheek to my chest.
And pushes me off the cliff.
-
I flinch awake, smacking my forehead against the chilly glass of the window. I slowly shuffle over in my seat to see Chloe My head is cloudy and my mouth tastes horrible, what ever garbage Chloe listens to is playing on the stereo, a cigarette loosely dangling from her lips. Chloe's jacket is used as a blanket for me, making her tattoo lie in perfect sight, I smile at the blue butterflies wrapped in red ribbons. She's normal again, she doesn't wear that twisted smirk...
"She lives." Chloe comments, stopping at a red light. "I thought you would sleep forever, Sleeping Beauty." I sit up in my seat, but immediately regret it. My muscles scream at me. That's what I get for sleeping in a curled position... I grunt. "Funny" I reply, my voice is scratchy, and my throat dry. I cough.
"So, I have no idea where I'm going." She says, turning the music off. "Oh." I wipe my eyes, looking out the window for street signs , or any indication of where we may be. Five years in this place and my knowledge is sometimes limited.
I catch the name of a street and my internal GPS instantly turns on. "We aren't far off. Keep straight." Chloe nods and steps on the gas, "aye, aye, Capitain."
I silently roll my eyes, but don't respond. I'm not in the mood for jokes. That seemed to distress Chloe, as she tightens her grip on the wheel. At the amount of times she's done that, I'm surprised she hasn't split the wheel in half. I hate seeing her in a further state of panic than me. She's the older one, the tougher one. She's supposed to be stronger.
"Left, left." I call, shaking my head out. These Seattle roads remind me of a bad, but also great time of my life. Living in Seattle helped me peruse my love of photography, I made friends and spent time with my family. The city was alive, people on the streets, cars humming and roaring. It was never silent in Seattle.
It was hard to sleep for the first while, in Arcadia the streets were dead by 9:30. Everyone was inside for the night, the only sound was the waves. Or Chloe's lapping breaths when we had sleepovers. I sighed. Chloe twitched at the sound, but never kept her eyes on the road as we cruised to my parent's place, my place.
'That's right, your place. Your safe haven away from your friends.'
What was that? Chloe? I looked over at her, she quietly drove.
No dumbass. I'm in your mind, I'm the real Chloe.
Very funny, shut up.
Now don't be so rude, Maxine.
I try to claw her voice out of my mind. Why, why her? I would understand if some, like, Other Max was in my mind. Taunting me. But Chloe? I don't get it.
Of course you don't, Max
Max
Max
"Max! Hey!" Chloe shouts. I come to.
"Do I turn here?" She asks, I blink at the street sign. "Yeah, yeah. Second house on the left." Chloe turns into the street, stopping in front of my Seattle residence. Seeing it makes my stomach do backflips, not in the good way. I rub my face.
"Yo Maximum Rewind." Chloe says, flicking the ignition off. "You feeling okay?" I glance over at her, she seems exhausted, her eyes swollen and bagged, skin paler than normal. "Yep, feeling fine." I answer, pulling together some sort of human-ish looking smile. She's been through enough, I don't need to damper her further by piling my problems on her shoulders. She seems satisfied.
I pull open the door to the truck and slip myself from the seat. Chloe does the same, slamming the door behind her. The car groans in response. I stare at the front door of the house, I wonder if my parents left my room the same? They probably did.
A sudden pressure forms on my hand as Chloe links her fingers with mine, squeezing lightly. I know she has my back. My palms sweat as we walk to the door in silence, no bags or luggage. Just her and I and the clothes on our backs. My heart swells, I look at my best friend, pale and destraught. But here. She is officially the only person that I have left. I can't lose her, I've forgotten our silly fight. All we have is each other. We can't fight. I won't fight with the only other person left in the world. I look back at the door.
Time to live at the Caulfield's.
ČTEŠ
Hellions of Arcadia
Fanfikce"If you died, would anyone care? Would they really care? Maybe, they'd cry for a day. But let's be honest, no one would give a shit, they wouldn't. That's who you are. That's what you are. You're nothing to no one." A continuation of the Sacrifice A...
