Hellions of Arcadia

Chapter 21: The Journal

Max

I start to get nervous after 20 minutes.

The store is close, I know that. Chloe shouldn't take this long to run out there and back. Waiting on the couch, I find any way to fidget and occupy my mind. I pick at the skin on my thumbs, bite my lip, rub my face on the blanket, and anything else to distract me from my worries.

With a sudden slam, the apartment door opens, and two people enter.

Chloe limps in, a cut and bruised face. She has an angry yet remorseful look. She's clutching her stomach. My guts squeeze together, and I'm on my feet in a second. Chloe looks up at me just as the second person comes into my line of sight.

It's Nathan Prescott.

My first instinct is to blink, and try to shake off the illusion in front of me. I know Nathan is dead, he has to be. He couldn't have survived that storm, nor the assault from Jefferson. I continue to get him out of my sight, evaporate the fake image in front of me.

I flinch when Chloe's hand is on my shoulder. I didn't even notice her come over to me.

"Max." Is all she says. I force my way out of my trance to look at her. She's got dried blood and bruises everywhere. It upsets me to even look at her.

"What happened?" I ask, looking between Chloe and Nathan carefully. Chloe sighs and sits down, flinching a little at the contact from the couch. She really is injured. Something inside me clicks and I stand. "I'm getting a cloth and some bandages. Don't move." I elaborate when I see Chloe's confused expression.

In the kitchen, I round up a small baggie of ice, some cloths, ointment, bandages, and other things I could use to treat Chloe up. Upon returning to the couch, Nathan has taken a seat on one of the worn chairs beside the couch. I'll get to him later, still shocked he's alive.

Sitting beside Chloe, I put some ointment on a cloth and dab it on Chloe's injured eyebrow. She hisses and squirms upon the contact.

"Stay still." I say with a stern tone, and hold her jaw still with my other hand. I want to be mad, I want to be so mad. But I just can't. I don't know the whole story behind this incident. For all I know, Chloe could be the innocent victim who just fought back in defense. And Chloe and I need to work together, I've said this so many times I feel like a broken record. But it's true, despite how hard Chloe is making it for me, I know she's not doing it on purpose.

"Max-" Chloe starts.

"Tell me what happened." I cut her off, wanting to get down to the middle of it.

Chloe is hesitant, sharing a look with Nathan that I really don't like. I press the alcohol based ointment on another of Chloe's open wounds and she jumps back in to focus, literally.

"Okay, okay." Chloe says, getting adjusted to the sting of the medicine. "You really shouldn't have let me out alone, Max." Her starting point is valid, for sure. I don't know why I decided it was okay for her to go out. Maybe because she insisted, maybe because I wanted to pretend that everything was alright, and nothing bad had happened to Chloe.

"I went out to the store, and Nathan jumped me." Chloe sighs.

"Jumped you?!" Nathan bursts out, rising to his feet.

"Sit down." I bark at him. Nathan stares at me, not knowing that I was capable of such anger. He slowly sits back down on the chair and lifts his foot to cradle his toes, probably broken. I'll have to get to that later. "Keep going."

Chloe sighs and indicates that the back of her head is injured too, I give her the ice pack to use herself.

"We were in the alley, and Nathan said he needed to talk to you, but I didn't let him." Chloe groans in pain as she pushes the ice onto her injury. Nathan wanted to talk to me? I feel my heart rate rise suddenly. I look over at the boy in question, who continues to try and nurse his injures with nothing but his own hands.