Perfect with You

Chapter 31 - Angel

A traitorous mind and an insensible heart amidst these daunting surroundings were what the cautious and admittedly excited girl had to deal with while putting on the first piece of clothing on her bare body. Chloe had become a ghost in the corner, just waiting for the right time to strike. She had already dressed and while it could just be the black clothes in contrast, her skin looked exceptionally pale. Her blue eyes wandered from side to side while she was biting at the skin of her thumb. It was all very offbeat but Max knew that patience would be key and rather than push her friend for the information, she simply continued to put on her dark blue bra while occasionally throwing a look around. In order to not alarm Chloe with any unnecessary staring, she had begun focusing on the wooden closet on her right, which she could have sworn had not been in this hotel room before. As any old closet should, it had fulfilled its purpose in life and had collected all the dust particles in the room throughout the years.

It was a guessing game if Chloe was purely waiting for Max to dress before she was going to start telling her about whatever was on her mind, or if she was actually building up the courage to say it. The latter option seemed to pique her interest as the idea, deemed as silly by her own tired self, of Chloe actually about to take it one step further than simply saying I love you, but perhaps even show it in a way that, after all the consideration that could be done in the span of ten seconds, would be rather hasty. Indeed, if Chloe suddenly got down on her knees there would be a hole somewhere in the wall of this room in the shape of a little girl. However, it annoyed her mind that her always disagreeing body lit up like a damned Christmas tree on the inside from the thought of her friend about to ask such a crazy question.

"Alright, alright" Chloe suddenly spoke up and took a step forward, throwing her arms in the air annoyed. Max, having put on her bra and now stumbling around trying to get her pants on, reacted quite shockingly, having to regain her balance as to not fall.
"There was like... a time when I was really down and eh- I thought... I didn't... I needed help of some sort, but... when I was a kid... I was dumb as a kid, but still..." The pauses rapidly increased with every unfinished sentence, prompting Max to push her legs through the pants hole and take over.

"I see what you're saying and I agree, but maybe we should lie down? If you're starting off by talking about your childhood, then I could definitely use some snuggles" Max jokingly said to undermine her nervousness, and also in an attempt to calm Chloe down.
However, in the split-second after she said this, Chloe sent her such an empty stare that it almost became intense in the vast nothingness. Yet, when she blinked once, her entire face feel into its usual place and her eyes much softer.

"Fair" She smiled softly while lazy lifting her right arm with fluid movements.

It had seemed odd, spending all that time getting clothes on, just to lie down on the bed, but now was, unfortunately, not the time for sleeping, so no harm no foul. Using less than three seconds to get in a proper position on the bed, Max was somewhat eagerly awaiting Chloe's words that seemingly were about to be turned into a story while lying on the right side of the bed, partially under the sheets. Much more ominous, Chloe had sat down on the side of the bed, her arms resting on her legs, facing away from Max.

"Right, so..." she began hesitantly.
"First off... and remember this... I only wanted the best for you. That was the only thought I had and the single thought that will always be the most important" Her words were struck with a sense of sadness, her voice desperate and clingy. Her head fell down, just a little, with Max only being able to stare at her back, now utterly frightened.
"I'm so tired" Chloe sighed.
"Right, I... have been keeping something from you" Every breath found its way towards Max's eyes and dried them.
"And I hate myself for being so fucking dishonest... It has always been in the back of my head, nagging fucking endlessly into my brain and at this point, I feel like it would be better just to fuck everything up rather than glue together something that has such a major crack in it already, and would only grow wider" This was no good way to start off and it was clear that Chloe was building up to something that would either end up in story of the loss of hope or a story with no end, always continued by the strum of the depraved string.
"There is no nice way to say this, and neither do I want to sugarcoat it..." It was if Max prepared herself for a punch, her whole body instinctively curling up.
"You're not perfect, Max" Said with such an emotionless tone, it carved a pathway that would lead to something unwanted and sickening.
"I know you don't feel as if you are and I certainly don't expect you to be, but you are so special and... powerful, that not being perfect is a way bigger deal. I know being perfect, just being good actually, is subjective, but I have my own morality that points me in a general direction of right and wrong and yours... is so different" Chloe began tapping one of her knuckles with the tip of her finger three times, then held it. "So basically... fuck. Yeah, fuck" It slowly became clear how she tried to push down her emotions, that if being allowed a breath would grow into something else and become uncontrollable. With three taps on the next knuckle on her hand, she continued with a forced voice.
"I look at a group of people and I want the best for all of them. I want the best for the majority, whoever they are. If my own body would allow it, I would kill an innocent guy to save a larger amount of people. I believe that my life is not worth anything more than that fucking receptionist from the lobby, but that's just generally speaking. It gets complicated and this is something that keeps me awake at night so..." It became obvious to both of them how her words became unsure of themselves, prompting Max to break in and help her along, but something stopped her. Even though she knew Chloe was uncomfortable, even though the ache she was in was so obvious, she didn't attempt to help her.