Song(s) that inspired this chapter: Your Ghost by Marianas Trench, and the end of the chapter made me think of Flaws by Daughter
Chloe's P.O.V
We were leaving for Portland in one day, and I had been impatient the entire week. Max insisted that she come along, and I had to wait for her school week to finish.
I just want to find Rachel, and Nathan will lead us right to her, whether he likes it or not. I'm not going to put up with his shit, I'm there to get info on Rachel, and maybe fuck him up a little, that is if I can keep Max away from him for a bit.
I sat up on my bed with a sigh, and looked around my room. It was messy, as always.
Clothes were strewn around the floor, pop cans were resting on random surfaces, boxes of CD's and pictures piled up in the corner of my room. My walls were covered with posters, and anything that was bare had my graffiti on it. I like my room. The filth doesn't bother me. It's quite comforting, actually.
My skateboard was on the top shelf of my desk. I raised an eyebrow as I looked at its chipping paint and cracked surface. It was old, but still usable. I stood up and walked over to it.
"I have to pass the time somehow. I guess boarding could be fun." I muttered aloud to myself, and grabbed the old battered board from off of my shelf. I looked down at my faux black leather boots then at the board again. This footwear ain't gonna work.
I strolled over to my closet and rifled through my shoe bin, looking for my Vans. I passed through my Converse that were tattered and dirty, Rachel's Converse that barely had a blemish, and tons of other old pairs. I eventually found them at the bottom of the bin and pulled them on. They fit snugly, it had been around two years since I'd worn them.
I was seventeen the last time I wore them, and I tried teaching Rachel how to skate after she had found a board in the junkyard. She didn't pick it up as easily as I thought she would though, so it was something I held over her head and teased her about for a long time.
"No, Rachel, push off with your foot!" I laughed and caught her before she toppled on the ground.
"This is too fucking hard!" Rachel groaned and got up from out of my arms.
"Watch me do it again." I stood on the skateboard, and pushed off with one foot, making me sail down the street. The blonde girl watched in annoyance, although she had a slight grin on her face.
"You're supposed to be good at everything," I teased her as I handed her the board.
"Says who?" She raised her eyebrows in amusement.
"Everyone!" I raised my arms in the air and spun in a circle. "Everyone's like 'all hail Rachel Amber, the goddess who can do fucking everything perfectly!'"
Rachel bent over in laughter and punched me in the arm. "You're such a shit-head."
"And you're shit at boarding." I replied with a smile, happy to see my best friend laugh.
No one was home, so I helped myself to one of David's beers from the fridge. It opened with a satisfying fizz, and I raised it to my lips.
I texted Steph on my phone as I drank, it'd been a while since we last talked. I finished my beer, then, I had an idea.
Maybe Rachel still had her phone, maybe she had gotten it back now that she was back in Arcadia Bay. It'd be a slim chance, but it couldn't hurt to try.
I dialed her phone number from memory, and held it to my ear. It rang, and for a second, I thought she answered, but it was just her voicemail.
"Hey, it's Rachel Amber. I'm probably busy right now, or ignoring you. Leave a message." I smiled at the sound of her voice. It had been a while since I heard it, and it felt good, and normal. With a sigh, I hung up, and walked outside with my skateboard.
The skate park was two blocks from my house, so it wasn't a very long walk, and it would just waste gas to drive.
I reached the park and saw two familiar people, Trevor and Justin. When they saw me, they waved me over. I raised my hand in response.
"Chloe Price! Long time no see!" Justin exclaimed with a slur in his scratchy voice, he was high as always.
"Hey Justin. Trevor." I replied and shifted my board to my other arm.
" 'Sup Chloe?" Trevor nodded in my direction.
"About to try skating after taking a hella long break."
"Oh dude, it's about time you get back on a board." Said Justin as he scratched the light brown stubble on his chin.
"I agree man," I said and dropped my board on the ground.
"Well, we'll leave you to it." Trevor and Justin walked over to a ramp and began skating again.
I decided to start small first, on a ramp that was barely off of the ground. I pushed off the concrete with my foot, and quickly pulled it back on the board. I went up the ramp fast, and sailed down, heading for the big ramp. Instead of stopping myself, I pushed off the ground harder and said "Fuck it! Let's do it!" And I soared up the big ramp, toppling off on the top. It'll leave a big bruise on my thigh, but it was totally fucking worth it.
After a few more hours of me screwing around on my skateboard, I got hungry, and returned home.
Step-douche and mom were sitting at the dining table talking about something.
"Oh, hi Chloe. Dinner's on the counter if you're hungry." My mom pointed to a collection of plates, pots and pans.
"Thanks." I strolled over to the counter, ignoring David glaring at me, and looked at the food.
Pork chops, mashed potatoes and gravy, and some steamed vegetables. Not bad, but I could do without the vegetables.
I grabbed a plate from the cupboard and scooped some food onto my plate. David was sitting in my usual seat, so I sat directly across from him, next to my mother.
"-and then Ray had the audacity to get angry at me, because he said I was being too harsh on that Wagner kid." David continued angrily as I sat down.
"Maybe try a gentler approach next time," Mom suggested, and took a sip of her tea. I said nothing, although I wanted to, and took a bite of the pork chop.
"Gentle doesn't work with those kids, they're all hard headed." David insisted.
"Maybe you're just the hard headed one, and you can't socialize like a normal being." I smirked, and ate a bite of my potatoes. His face turned red, and the corner of his mouth twitched, tell tale signs that he was getting angry.
"Chloe," Said mom sternly. She looked at me with a disapproving look, to which I responded with a shrug and eye roll.
"No, Joyce, let me speak to her." David began. It was easy to tell he was trying to control his anger.
I know he cares about me, but it's too much to fun to get him all riled up. Honestly, I don't blame him for getting mad at me most of the time, but it doesn't mean I enjoy him screaming at me.
"Yes mother, let David speak to me." I folded my hands and rested them on the table, and stared at him expectantly.
"Chloe, I don't appreciate the way you speak to me." David started.
"And I don't appreciate the way you treat me, and all of the students at Blackwell." I responded. My mom sat quietly, looking anxiously at us.
"Okay, and I respect your opinion, Chloe. I know, I get upset easily, but I'm trying to control my emotions better. I care about you and your mother, whether you like it or not. I don't want to fight or argue." Said David, which was surprising.
"I find fighting amusing though. It kind of brings me, like, a sense of accomplishment, y'know?" I responded sarcastically.
"Chloe, stop this right now! David is trying to be polite and civil and you-" Joyce angrily turned to face me.
"Making him angry is fun though. It's kind of like a game, and he is a douche." I shrugged.
"You think you're a riot, don't you?" David spat angrily.
"I know I am a riot. I'm fucking hilarious." I retorted, with a snarky grin on my face.
"No you're not. And you didn't need to start an argument." David lectured through his clenched teeth.
"I was just stating a fact, and you didn't like it. Sorry that the truth is too fucking hard for you to understand."
"Language!" My mom cut in.
"Jemapelle don't give a shit," I used my line that I always used when getting yelled at about language.
"Chloe, just shut up for once and eat." My mother said angrily.
"Gladly." I stabbed my fork into my steak. David left the table with a scowl on his face, and my mom just sat there and looked at me sadly.
She didn't say a word to me, so I finished eating, then walked outside to smoke a cigarette.
I took a cigarette from out of the blue crumpled package in my back pocket, and lit it with my black lighter. I raised it to my lips with a sigh, and instantly relaxed when I inhaled it.
A bang on the glass door interrupted my smoking and I turned around. My step-douche was standing there looking pissed off. He motioned for me to put the cigarette out. I rolled my eyes and stuck up my middle finger at him, then continued to smoke.
It had gotten dark outside, and the sky shone brightly with thousands of little, white stars. It reminded me of when Rachel and I would lay in the back of my truck and look at the stars. I still remember when Rachel had the idea.
"Chloe, let's watch the stars." Rachel suggested, twirling a lock of her blonde hair around her finger.
"Are they going to put on a show?" I joked with her.
"No, you idiot." She laughed and punched me in the arm. "Go get us drinks."
"Yes master." I rolled my eyes with a grin and walked over to the shed to grab two bottles of beer, while Rachel pulled the tie-dye towel off from the seat of my car and laid it out in the back of my truck. She grabbed her backpack and pushed it up against the wall of the cab, and sat against it. I hopped over the side into the back, and handed her the green bottle.
"Cute and useful." Rachel commented with a sly grin.
I sat beside her, and she rested her head on my shoulder. We sat in silence for a while, staring up at the blue sky, from the back of my truck, parked in our favourite place, American Rust.
"This is beautiful." I commented, and sipped my drink.
"It really is. You see that?" Rachel pointed to a constellation, a collection of stars that formed some type of scene.
"That's Orion. It's one of my favourite constellations." She admired it. "It just leaves me in awe, of how something so beautiful can be in a place this shitty."
I chuckled, and looked at her. "I could say the same about you." She grinned and shortly after, we fell asleep, under the stars.
I stopped reliving the memory, and put out my cigarette, and returned inside.
David was sprawled on the couch, snoring loudly, with some stupid cop TV show on.
I trudged upstairs and changed, then quickly fell asleep, anticipating the next day, the day we discover what really happened to Rachel Dawn Amber.
x-x-x
I woke up at ten o'clock the next morning, which was surprising considering I usually wake up at noon.
An uncomfortable knot formed in my stomach, a ball of dread. What if Rachel wasn't really alive? What if this was an all too real, cruel joke? I just have to stay positive.
I hopped into the shower and let the hot water wash away all of my worries and doubts. After I got dressed and ready, I texted Max.
Chloe: yo mad max ready 2 go?
Max: I've been up since seven, I'm ready. Don't forget the address.
Chloe: its in my pocket rn. b there in 10
Max: See you soon :)
Chloe: no emoji
My phone buzzed again, but I didn't bother to check it. I was too excited to wait any longer. I quickly ran downstairs and to my truck, then drove to Blackwell. Or, Blackhell as I call it.
Max was sitting at a picnic table, talking to Bitchtoria. Ew.
I honked the horn and rolled down the window.
"Let's go hippie!" I yelled out at her, and honked once again.
"Okay, okay!" She grabbed her bag, and said a quick goodbye to Victoria.
"Why was Victoria talking to you?" I asked when Max climbed into the car.
"To apologize. For every time she was a bitch." Max said matter of factly.
I laughed. "Let's see how long that lasts."
"She actually seemed genuine." Max defended Victoria.
"And bears are cute until they eat you." I replied sarcastically and pulled out of the parking lot.
Max rolled her eyes, and pulled out a bottle of pop and handed it to me.
"I brought snacks," she said with a small smile.
My stomach rumbled.
"Good, I forgot to eat breakfast this morning." I placed a hand on my stomach.
"That excited, huh?" Max chucked.
"Hella yes." I took a sip of the fizzy, brown drink.
"So, since we're searching for Rachel, I thought maybe you could tell me more about her." Max suggested. "You don't have to if you don't want to." She added quickly with a worried expression on her freckled face.
"No, it's fine." I said softly, and sent her a reassuring smile.
A good thing about Max is that she doesn't pry- well, not usually. And she is really considerate and caring. At first, when I found out Rachel died, I hated talking about her, because I thought it showed weakness on my part. Max didn't mind, she just wanted to do what she could to help me feel better. And if she's going to meet Rachel, I should tell her more about her.
"Okay, so, uh...where do I start?" I began.
"Maybe a recap of her personality?" Max suggested.
"Uh, okay. That works." I nodded. "Rachel. She was- is, fucking awesome. Rachel's smart, sarcastic, fierce and determined, funny, confident, and hella hot." I drew out the word hella. Max laughed and nodded. "Got it." She said.
"She's an amazing actress. Once, she convinced me to do The Tempest play with her. Not gonna lie, it was pretty sick." I reminisced. Max almost choked on her drink.
"You? In a play? Who'd you play?" She was laughing hard now, and clutching her stomach.
"Ariel." I said with a defeated sigh.
"Ariel? Are you cereal? I need to see a picture or video of this." She wheezed.
"No! Do you want to learn about Rachel, or not?" I said harshly, but Max knew I didn't mean it.
"Fine, fine. Tell me more." Max stopped laughing, and looked at me expectantly.
"You've seen pictures of her, but I still think I should describe what she looked like." I explained.
"Shoot." Said Max.
"Alright, she's got long blonde hair, hazel eyes, uh, she's pretty fair, but not as much as me. Oh, and she wears a lot of flannel." I thought for a second. "Oh yeah, she got stabbed in the arm once too, but I'm pretty sure I already told you about that."
"What?" Max eyes widened in disbelief. "No you didn't!"
I laughed at her expression.
"Well, it's a long story, so I'll give you the short version. Rachel found out that her mom wasn't her real mom, her real mom was this chick named Sera. Sera wanted to meet her, Rachel's dad wouldn't let her, and one day I saw Sera come out of Frank's trailer, so we called Frank and asked about her. This dude named Damon didn't like people asking about their business, Rachel got mad and hit him in the head, and he stabbed her. She's got a scar on her arm there. But that's that." I explained quickly.
"Jesus, Chloe. That's a lot to swallow. How come I never heard this story?" Max asked, still shocked.
"You never asked." I shrugged.
"How would I know to ask about it?" Max rolled her eyes and grinned.
"Uh, you have time powers?" I rolled my eyes too, and laughed.
"I can't go back that far in time," Max shook her head.
"Well, you ended up finding out anyway." I chuckled.
x-x-x
A few hours later, we were in Portland, standing outside of the apartment building where "Arthur Bennington" resided.
"Chloe, you need to stay calm, promise me that you will." Max warned me, and placed her hand on my arm.
"Calm? Around Nathan?" I scoffed.
I don't know how I'd be able to keep my hands off of that little twerp, especially after all that he's done.
"Chloe," Max shot me a warning look.
"Fine, fine. You're like my mom." I groaned. Max giggled.
"Shut up and let's go Cap'n Chloe." Max chuckled and dragged me towards the door.
I mocked her and rolled my eyes, but followed her brown bob up the stairs and to the door. She rapped her knuckles on the wooden door.
"Arthur Bennington? It's uh..." Max looked at me with a panicked expression on her face. "What do I say?" She mouthed.
"I don't know!" I hissed quietly. "Say you're......the cleaning lady!"
"It's the cleaning lady!" She called out.
"I don't have a cleaning lady." The familiar male voice replied through the door.
"It's Chloe. Open up." I stepped forward and pounded on the door.
"Chloe? I-I don't know anybody named Chloe." The man replied unconvincingly.
"Chloe Price. You fucking know me, Nathan Prescott." I said his name loudly.
He opened the door with the chain still attached. His eye appeared in the crack. I shivered, unsettled at the sight of him. It really was Nathan.
"Shut up! Don't say my name." Nathan seethed angrily.
"I'll keep doing it until you open the door." I folded my arms across my chest.
"I-I'm not letting you in here. Go away." He stuttered.
"NATHAN PRESCOTT!" I shouted loudly. "Everyone misses you in ARCADIA BAY, OREGON!"
"Ugh, you bitch!" He cursed and opened the door. "Get in here, quickly." He glanced up at a security camera in the corner.
We stepped inside his apartment, which was surprisingly clean. We both got a good look at him. He had changed quite a bit.
Instead of being a light brown/blondish colour, his hair was dyed midnight black, but styled the same, combed, but messy at the front, with a few pieces hanging in his face. He was more tanned, and had gotten more muscular.
Nathan wore a navy blue pullover sweater and light blue acid-wash jeans. He was barefooted, and stood looking at us, with an expression mixed with anger and fear.
"What are you two doing here? How did you find me?" Nathan asked anxiously, looking around him as if his head was on a swivel.
"We know about Rachel." I said through gritted teeth.
"I know, that's why I left town. Jefferson would've pinned the whole death on me, if he hadn't gotten Max in his dark room, he would've fucking killed me before I could even pack a bag."
"No, we know that the body we found, wasn't hers." Max stated, and stepped forward.
Nathan's face paled, and he looked frightful. He plopped down on his white couch and buried his head in his hands.
"How.....How did you find out?" He asked after a few moments.
"She left me a note." I replied, trying to contain my anger. I wanted to punch him in the face, or do worse, and I would, if Max weren't there to stop me.
He looked up from his hands in surprise. "No she didn't. That's not possible."
"What the fuck do you mean that's not possible? I have it right here!" I shouted and pulled the crumpled up paper from my jean pocket. Nathan stood up, and snatched it out of my hands.
He read it over, and after a few moments, handed it back to her.
"What the fuck...." Nathan's voice trailed off, and looked a bit shocked.
"Tell us everything, Nathan. Fucking everything." I sat in the chair across from him on the couch. Max stood beside me.
"Okay, okay." He sighed.
"I drugged her at the Vortex Club Party. I took her to the dark room, because I wanted to impress Mr. Jefferson. He wanted to have a photo shoot with her for a long time." He started shakily, his hands trembling.
"Sick fucker," I muttered under my breath.
"He got mad. He said I was an idiot, because he had brought another girl from out of town to do a photo shoot, and I shouldn't have tried to surprise him." Nathan hung his head down low, in sadness and in shame. "He finished the other girls photo shoot, and he overdosed her. She died. Her name was Kelly, or something like that. Rachel kept waking up during the photo shoot. He got mad, and hit her in the head a few times. I was scared he'd kill her. She was still my friend, even if I did treat her like shit." His voice broke on the last word.
"You did. You are shit." I glowered at him, my face turning redder by the second.
"I-I...I know. And I'm sorry. I'm shit. I was fucked up in the head. I, I got the help I needed." He apologized, and his face bore a shameful expression.
"What next?" Max squeezed my arm.
"I told him that I had overdosed her too, because I wasn't paying attention. Really, I was going to take her away somewhere, so he wouldn't hurt her once he found out she was really alive. He said to bury them in different spots, so it was more likely that only one body were to be found." He looked truly disgusted in himself, as he should be.
Rachel is so fierce, and strong, and he took that away from her. He's a dick, and I don't give a fuck what Max says, because I'm going to give him the beating that he deserves.
"I went to the junkyard, because only you would hang out there, and of course, I took pictures with her, because I was still a selfish prick.
I switched outfits with Rachel and Kelly, so it'd seem like it'd be Rachel's body being found." He looked into my eyes sadly.
"I'm sorry Chloe. I really am."
"What about DNA? They'd know it wasn't her." I asked sharply. I didn't have time for his bullshit.
"My dad paid off the police department." He stated.
"He paid off the police department? He knew what a twisted, sick dick his son was, and didn't even try to get help, or bring justice to her? And the police department accepted it?" I was shaking with anger at this point.
"I know, I'm ashamed. I know nothing I say will change this, but I regret it, and I should have accepted the help I was offered a long time ago.
I'll finish the story now."
"Go ahead," Max sat on the arm of the chair, looking at me worriedly, with good reason.
"So after I buried the other girl, I took Rachel in my car, and drove out of town. She woke up half way there, and couldn't remember anything. It must have been because of all the times Mr. Jefferson hit her in the head. He hit her pretty hard.
I just told her that her name was Rachel, and she was going to live in Portland. I fed her some lies, and gave her a bit of money, then dropped her at a motel nearby. That was the last I saw of her.
I heard though, she moved into an apartment, with a roommate, through a private eye my father hired." Nathan finished, his eyes glinting with tears.
"When I saw you guys, I thought that if I acted like my old self, you would leave me alone. I'm sorry, for everything. I'll help you find her, if that's what you want." Nathan stood up, and shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He wouldn't look me or Max in the eye.
My hand went to the gun in my back pocket. Not to kill him, but just out of pure rage and anger. "You fucker..."
"Chloe, give me that!" Max scolded angrily and snatched it from out of my pocket.
Nathan's eyes widened with fear, and he put his hands up.
"Woah, woah. I'm sorry, okay, I was a jerk, a real messed up idiot, but I swear, I'm better now. I swear." His voice wavered, and he looked like he was about to piss himself.
"I'm taking this from Chloe, so she doesn't hurt you. You don't need to worry about me." Max assured him, and slipped the silver pistol in her bag. Nathan sighed with relief.
"Do you know her address?" I asked him, my voice flat, and hard.
"Uh, yeah, I think it's somewhere in my desk. One second." Nathan walked over to a black desk, with a shiny brand new computer and big white printer. Papers were scattered all over the desks surface, and he opened an empty drawer and swiftly swept them all into it.
He opened another drawer and searched through that one.
"Max, I'm going to fucking kill him." I whispered angrily to her, and grasped the armrest so tightly that my knuckles turned bone white.
"Chloe, I swear to god if you do anything, I'll-" She started, but got interrupted by Nathan.
"I found it here." He said, and solemnly handed me an envelope with red pen inked on it.
"243 Lancaster Avenue, apartment 31." I read aloud from off of it.
"That was from around four months ago. My dad likes to keep tabs on her 'so she won't cause any trouble', as he puts it." Nathan said grimly.
"Is your dad the one threatening her?" Max asked with concern.
"No, he would tell me. I didn't even know she was in Arcadia." He admitted, with his hands shoved in his pockets.
"Thank you Nathan. I'm glad you got help." Said Max.
"I'm sorry, Max. For the bullying, the threats, everything. I was unstable.
And Chloe, I'm sorry for taking away your best friend, and being a dick to you and everyone around me." Nathan looked me in the eyes for the first time since we arrived.
I walked over to him slowly. I towered above him slightly, because I had always been a little bit taller than him. Before I even knew what I was doing myself, my fist swung and struck him in the nose. The other one went straight to his gut, making him groan in pain.
Blood streamed from his nostrils, and he clutched at his stomach.
"Fuck!" He muttered and wiped at the blood on his face.
"Chloe!" Max shouted sternly, and angrily, then grabbed me by the arm. I shook her off of me.
"If you ever do something like that to someone else again, I will personally find you, and fucking tear you to shreds. If Max weren't here right now, this would be an entirely different story." I growled at him, still trembling from rage, rage that had sat and stewed for the eleven months that I hadn't seen Rachel. Nathan stumbled backwards and bumped into a bookcase.
"I deserved that, it's my fault." He mumbled, dazed.
"Chloe, let's go." Max grabbed me by the elbow, and dragged me out. I shook her off angrily, and walked fast off out to the truck, leaving Max behind me.
I climbed in, and lit a cigarette, resting my leather booted feet up on the dashboard.
I saw Max jogging to the truck, her face a mask of fright and worry.
I stared out into the distance, at the hustle and bustle, the cars and people, the buildings and nature.
"Chloe, do you want to talk?" Max asked softly.
"No. Leave me alone." I snapped at her, and returned to my sweet cigarette. If only I had weed instead, but cigarettes are pretty good too.
My lips were set in a hard line, and my eyebrows were furrowed. How the fuck could he just run away from something like that? Anything could've happened to Rachel when he dropped her off, anything! That little shit is lucky that I only punched him, because I wanted to do a lot worse.
Max sat beside me, in silence, just looking at me worriedly.
"I'm fucking fine, Max. Take a picture, it'll last longer." I barked at her, my voice raised.
"You're clearly not. We can talk about it, or you can bottle your emotions up like always." Max said calmly, although I could tell that I was getting on her nerves.
"Bottle it up." I replied, and threw my cigarette out the window. I put the car in drive, and began to drive to the address that we had gotten from Nathan.
"That's not healthy Chloe."
"I'm not healthy. I don't give a flying fuck, Maxine."
"Don't call me that."
"Stop bugging me."
With a sigh, she turned her back to me and stared out the window.
We drove in complete silence to the address and after around forty-five minutes, we got there.
"This is it." I said and glanced at Max, whose back was still turned. She unbuckled her seatbelt, and climbed out of the car, without a word.
Fuck, I probably messed things up with her after throwing my little hissy fit.
We walked up to the white apartment building and took the elevator up to her apartment.
"Max I'm sorry, I was upset, and shouldn't have been such a bitch to you." I apologized to her. She looked at me.
"You're right, you shouldn't have. But I forgive you." She said quietly, then knocked on the door.
After a few moments, no one had opened the door.
"I don't think anybody is home, Che." Max looked through the peephole in the door.
"Let me knock." I said and pounded on the door, hard.
A few seconds later the door opened, and a girl was standing there.
She had a small heart shaped face, and was tanned. Her long black curls spilled over her shoulders, and her eyes were icy blue. The girl wore a white T-shirt with skinny black stripes, and black spandex shorts.
"Sorry, I was cleaning the house and had my headphones on, can I help you?" She asked in a high, lilting voice.
"Uh hey....." I started, but realized I didn't know her name.
"Mackenzie." She responded.
"Hi Mackenzie," Max greeted her. "We were wondering if Rachel lives here?"
"She does, but I'm not sure I've met you before." She glanced at both of us.
I dug my phone out of my pocket, and showed her my wallpaper, a picture of Rachel and I hugging and grinning at the camera.
"Oh, well, you clearly know her." She chuckled and handed my phone back to me.
"Yeah. Is she here? It's important." I asked, a bit impatiently.
"No, she went on a little vacation to some town called Acadia Creek or something." Mackenzie shrugged.
"Arcadia Bay." Said Max.
"Yeah, that's it." I nodded.
"Do you know where she's staying? And her phone number?" I asked a little bit too quick. She furrowed her thin eyebrows.
"I, uh, got a new phone number." I quickly added. She smiled, and grabbed her phone from her shorts.
I was finally getting Rachel's number. I couldn't wait to hear her voice again, and not just in videos and dreams.
Mackenzie quickly added it to my phone. "She wrote the address done somewhere, one second." She ran back into the apartment, and searched a counter in the kitchen. Mackenzie returned a few moments later.
"She's staying at the Sunrise motel, I don't know what her room number is though. I hope that helps." Mackenzie said with a friendly smile.
"It does. Thank you Mackenzie. Sorry to bother you." Max smiled back at her.
"Nice to meet you guys," she said, then closed the door.
As soon as the door was shut, I bolted outside, with Max following closely behind.
"Chloe, wait up!" She called out, but I didn't listen.
I ran to the phone booth I had seen earlier on the corner, and ran inside quickly, and dialed the number Mackenzie had given me. If I called her from
My phone, she probably wouldn't answer.
Max caught up and waited outside, watching me.
The phone rang once, twice, then someone answered it.
"Hello?" My heart swelled when I heard her voice.
"Rachel..." I whispered into the receiver.
"Chloe! How did you get my number? I told you to wait!" Rachel sounded frustrated, yet relieved.
"I couldn't just leave it when I found out you were alive Rach, you know me. I-I miss you so much." I began to tear up and my voice cracked.
Rachel sighed. "And I miss you too Clo, but it's not safe to see each other yet."
"I don't give a fuck about whether it's safe or not! I just want to see you." I shouted angrily into the phone.
"I don't want you getting hurt Chloe! I love you, and I promise I'll come see you as soon as it's dealt with."
"I love you too Rachel, but let's deal with it together! We can and we will. We've done it before." I protested.
"Chloe, stop looking for me. I have a plan, and I swear, I'll visit you. You're the only reason I came back to this shit-pit. Give me two weeks." Rachel begged.
"No." I said harshly. "It's been hell for me this past year, and I'm not waiting any longer." I didn't budge.
"Chloe, I'm not letting you get hurt." Rachel insisted.
"I'm not going to get hurt! I'm coming now,"
"No, Chloe, you're not." Rachel sounded like she was crying.
"Yes I fucking am, Amber."
"I love you! You know that! We can run away together like we planned, but just let me deal with him." Rachel was crying now, I could tell. Her voice was wavering and cracking, and she kept sniffling.
"Who is it? Who's threatening you? Tell me right fucking now." I demanded
"Chloe, stop, please." She pleaded.
"Where are you?" I asked, tears rolling down my cheeks.
"Goodbye Chloe." Rachel said sadly, and hung up.
"Fuck!" I roared and slammed the phone angrily against the wall. I opened the door and ran to my truck. Max followed closely behind, her face a mixture of concern and curiosity.
"I talked to her. She tried to convince me not to come, she said wait until she comes to me." I said angrily and started my old truck.
"Chloe, she's just doing it protect you. She cares about you. Maybe we should listen for once." Max tried to calm me.
"She's probably right, and I know she cares about me, but I need to see her Max. She's my best friend." I said, and with that I pulled out, and drove as fast as I could to Arcadia Bay.
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