The Calm Before The Storm

The Great Caulfield Reunion

~Chloe~

"Maybe if we're quiet they'll leave," Max say, watching as I continue to scamper around the apartment hiding any photos that would suggest that we're in a relationship.

"They already saw me, Max," I explain, "No use trying to hide".

She goes quiet for a second, seeming lost in momentary thought.

"I- I can rewind, make it so they didn't see you...".

I blink and turn to her, "What?".

Max blushes and looks away, "N- never mind, just... don't say anything that'll make them question our relationship, okay?".

I nod slowly, keeping my eyes settled on her, "Think they'd approve?".

"No..." She replies quickly, "At least my mom. Dad, I'm not sure".

"Well, keep your hopes up, Maxie. They might surprise you," I say even though I get the feeling that nothing good will come out of telling Max's parents about us.

"Okay... I think that's the last of them. *sigh* you ready?" I ask, giving Max one last kiss before opening the door.

She nods absently, keeping her gaze off of me, "Yeah... yeah. l- let's do this".

I take a slow deep breath as I make my way back to the door, the knocking continuing at a steady pace.

"Alright, alright, I hear you" I mutter, becoming increasingly annoyed.

I unlatch the door and swing it open, seeing Vanessa and Ryan Caulfield standing before me. They look basically the same as the last time I saw them, all except for a few more gray hairs.

"Hey," I say, greeting them warmly.

The couple stares at me for a second, acting like they've never seen me before.

Then I realize that they genuinely might not recognize me. I mean, the last time either of them saw me was when I was 14 and didn't have blue hair or tattoos and looked somewhat more innocent.

"Chloe? Chloe Price?" Ryan asks.

I smile politely and nod, "The one and only. It's... it's nice to see you both, you look great!".

Vanessa scoffs slightly and rolls her eyes.

"Um, so... what brings you to our corner of the woods".

Ryan blinks, "Oh! Well, we're here to see-".

"We're here for our daughter," Max's mom cuts in, seeming utterly annoyed and pissed at something, "Now are you going to let us in or not?".

I nod and swallow hard, "Um, yeah, yeah, sorry. Come on in guys" I say, opening the door wider and inviting them inside.

"Wow, It's really good to see you again, Chloe," Ryan says as he enters, followed by his wife.

I smile and shake his hand, "You too, Ryan," I reply, closing the door behind him.

"That's 'Mr. Caulfield' to you missy," Vanessa snaps, looking around our small under-furnished apartment with what can only be described as disgust. "Now, take me to my daughter,".

I sigh and reluctantly lead them to where Max is, briefly mentioning her current situation.

The moment Vanessa sees Max, she rushes over and hugs her tightly. "Oh, you're ok. Oh, my baby girl" she cries.

Max, clearly surprised by her mother's sudden display of affection, pushes her away.

"What are you doing here?" she asks, trying to sound somewhat excited, "Is Dad with you?".