Max delicately kissed away the tears streaming down Chloe's face.
"So now you know. All of it. Every sordid, horrible detail. I've never told anyone this, Max, not even Mom. Christ, she still goes around telling people that Rachel is a 'sweet girl'."
"God Chloe. I can't believe this! I mean, I do...I am so furious I can't even speak. What did you do then? Why didn't you let Joyce know what Rachel was really like?"
"I was in pieces, Max. Then, when I was back up and about again, I tried to erase all of it from my memory. I didn't want to talk about her. I didn't want to think about her. Besides, what good would it have done? I would have just given Mom extra stress and there was nothing she could have done to help me. The only person who had even the slightest chance of making me feel any better was miles away in S...well, was you."
"I wish I could have been here for you, Chloe. You have to believe me. I never wanted to leave you."
"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to guilt-trip you."
"Chloe, from now on, I will always be here to save you."
"You're so strong, Max. How do you do it? I mean, you got over me – our separation. I never did."
"Is that what you think? That I got over you? Chloe, nothing would be farther from the truth. I never got over you. Sure, people thought that I had, but I was just hiding how I truly felt inside. Chloe, my heart was shattered. Into a thousand pieces. My spirit was completely crushed. I felt like my insides had been brutally ripped out and thrown onto the ground. That feeling never went away."
"I don't think my pain is ever going to go away either, Max. Not all of it. I don't think even you can fix that for me."
"Well, I'll damn well give it my best shot. I'm not going to walk away from you, Chloe, no matter how hard it gets. I'd walk over fire for you."
Chloe stared at her lap for a while, then broke out into tears again. "Max, why are you even here? With me? Why are you doing this?"
"What sort of a question is that? I am here with you because I love you. Because you're a part of me. Because I need you. What other reasons do I need?"
"I'm going to drag you down, Max - hold you back. I'm always going to be a little bit broken. You have such amazing talent, and here you are throwing it all away in Arcadia Bay. Take a look at me – a trashy punk lesbian who pissed away her education and now spends her days getting wasted on beer and grass. Anxiety. Depression. Eating disorders. I'm just a total mess. You're wasting yourself on me. I don't want that for you. I want nothing but the best for you. You can do so much better than me. You deserve so much more than a fucked-up, bulimic dyke with more issues than a Soviet nuclear power plant. You'd be way better off cutting yourself loose from me – I'm toxic. You should go. I wouldn't blame you for it."
"Look at me, you. I am not going anywhere. Not without you. When you look at me, when I hear you speak, when you're next to me, when I see your wondrous smile, that mischievous twinkle in your eye, when you hold me, when we kiss - my pain is forgotten, even if only for a moment. I hope it's the same for you. If I can take away your pain for a second, then I will. We're not going to drag each other down – we're going to raise each other up. I can't do better than you. You want the best for me? Well the best for me is you. The only person for me is you. I could have a multi-million dollar mansion, my own art gallery, priceless paintings, fabulous soirées, the whole lot – and it would mean absolutely nothing. Without you there by my side, it would all be worthless. I wouldn't be happy. You wouldn't be happy. No. Whatever we do, we do it together. For better or for worse. I meant every single word of what I just said, Chloe. I just want you. Nothing else matters. You might well be a trashy punk lesbian, but that's why I love you. I wouldn't try to change anything about you. You're my trashy punk lesbian."
"And you're my adorable hippie nerd. I suppose we do make a great team. I love you, Caulfield. You're simply amazing."
"And you're not?"
"Nope. I'm awesome. I'm sure I've mentioned that before once or twice."
"Yes you have. A million times. But I totally agree - you are awesome. A special kind of awesome. Don't you ever think otherwise. Deal, Chloe Price?"
"Deal. And you got it bang on. Right here, right now, I don't hurt. That's down to you. No one has ever made me feel as happy as I am at this moment – not Rachel, not my mom, not even Dad. When you smile at me, it reaches deep inside of me and massages my heart. Being high on the smoke is nothing compared to this. Your smile makes me glow, inside and out. I haven't felt like this since before my dad died."
"Wowser!"
"What?"
"My wish."
"What wish? What are you on about?"
"The wish I made on my tenth birthday. You remember?"
"Sure I do. You never told me what it was. Meanie."
"Well I can now. It's come true."
"What was it then? C'mon, spill the beans."
"I wished that you would meet your soulmate early on in life. I wished that you would love them as much as you did your parents, and that the person you met would make you as happy as your mom and dad did. That they would love you as much as Joyce and William did. I wished that they would make you as happy as you were that day. All of it has come true."
"Oh Max. Your wish wasn't for yourself? It was all about me? That is just...man, you are so special. I don't deserve you. You're such a beautiful person. God, I love you so fucking much."
"You do deserve me, more than anyone. We deserve each other. I love you, Chloe. I idolise the very ground that you walk on." They joined together in a sweet, slow, sensual kiss.
"Man, all this kissing is making my mouth as dry as a nun's crotch. Fancy a drink, Maxo?"
"Please. My mouth is a little dry. But no beer."
"Nope. Of course not beer. Just a sec." Chloe reached through a hole in the wooden wall and fumbled about in the foliage. Her hand came back through holding a bottle of blueberry flavoured water. "You go first, Angel."
"Blueberry? Hmm, I think I may start calling you that - my beautiful Blueberry. Yes. I like it."
"Max?"
"Yes, my darling Blueberry?"
"Short version – no. Long version – fuck no."
"Well, I'm your 'Angel'. I want a pet-name for you too."
"Sure, I'm cool with that, but just not that one. Pick another."
"Princess?"
"Yawn. No. Next."
"Erm...what about 'Butterfly'?"
"'Butterfly'?...yes. That's the one. I love it. You're not just a pretty face, are you?"
"If you say so, my beautiful Butterfly...the more I hear it the more I like it."
"Me too." Chloe stifled a yawn. "Man, I sure feel bushed. I think all this magic and shit has really taken it out of me."
"I feel a little sleepy as well. C'mere. Snuggle time." They both lay down and Max cradled Chloe in her arms. She kissed the back of Chloe's head. "Sweet dreams, Selene, Goddess of the Moon."
"My dreams will be sweet – they'll be about you. And who the hell is Selene?"
"That's who you looked like when you were performing your butterfly trick. Except you're way more beautiful than her. She isn't fit to polish your boots. And you had wings. No contest."
"Max?"
"Hmm?"
"I love you Angel."
"I love you Butterfly."
The two girls curled up tightly into their habitual spoons-like embrace and drifted off to sleep. The butterfly descended from the branches and landed gracefully next to their heads, watching over them as they dreamt of each other.