The Calm Before The Storm

Road Trip

~Chloe~

-October 1st-

Today should have been the day we left on our trip to San Fransisco, but with everything that happened with Joyce and David, we decided to go to Arcadia Bay instead. I know that Max and I sorta made this silent promise never to return to the bay, leave our pasts behind and hopefully never have to deal with it again but...

I have to see them.

I have to see my parents... I just have to.

Max, on the other hand, is reluctant to go.

"I just... I don't understand why Joyce and David can't drive or even fly out here," she tells me as we both load our bags and things into the bed of our shiny new truck.

Ryan helped us with the payments, yet another thing we can add to the list of things I owe people.

She does raise a good question though, I want Mom to see the life I've created on my own... with Max. I want to rub it in David's face, show him that I'm not the screw up her always told me I was. But, at the same time, I want to go home. And yeah, I know that my real home is wherever Max is but... I wanna go back to where we grew up, I wanna go back to my roots and get back in touch with the town I once wanted to torch.

"Plane tickets are useless for a day's drive, Max. Plus, I don't want to set them back any more than I already have".

I hear Max sigh and immediately feel like shit, now only just hearing how that must have sounded.

"Hey... come 'er," I tell her, opening up my arms to her.

She looks down at the ground and allows me to hug her, her small body shaking ever so slightly.

"Come on, you have to stop guilt-tripping yourself over this, okay? You saved me, mom and David... that's all that matter" I reassure her.

"And what about everyone else? The ones that didn't make it?" she asks, her voice beginning to tremble.

"Fuck-".

"And don't say, fuck everyone else, Chloe" Max warns, "I lost people too".

That shuts me up and sends a pang of guilt through my chest.

"I'm sorry".

"Don't be, Okay? It's my fault they're dead, not yours".

"Please don't start with this, Max. Not now. You know the tornado wasn't your fault".

"Fine! Maybe it wasn't, but I had a chance to fix things, Chloe. We knew the storm was coming and we did nothing! I don't regret my decision but god, do I have so much guilt. We could have warned people, I mean, we didn't even check for survivors".

Max buries her face in my shirt. I stroke her hair a bit, knowing that that usually calms her down.

"I know we didn't, but after we got down from the cliff, I was so afraid that you'd just fall apart if I didn't get you outta there as soon as I could,".

I'm still scared you might fall apart...

I can hear her take a long deep breath before pulling away and smiling at me half-heartedly.

"We'll only be there for a few days, okay? We've checked the weather and it's nothing but sun for weeks".

"I know... ".

I kiss her softly, making sure to let my lips linger over hers for a moment before pulling away.

"You're such a tease," Max mutters, looking a little flustered.

"But that's why you love me?" I ask, having successfully distracted her from the conversation for the time being.

"Yes that's one of the endless reasons why I love you" she continues, reaching up on her tippy toes and returning my kiss. "Now, let's just get on the road before it get's any later".

It'll take about a day to get to Arcadia Bay and that's without stopping for the night, which is most likely not what we're going to do.

Max still isn't comfortable driving any vehicle and I don't blame her. Even being a passenger is a little nerve-wracking.

So we get in the truck and buckle ourselves in, sitting there idly in the parking lot for a moment.

"Ready?" I ask.

She shakes her head.

"But I'll be okay...".

I nod and reach over, taking her hand in mine and giving it a feather-light kiss.

"We'll be okay".

---

The first few hours on the road aren't all that interesting, we just blast the radio, singing 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun' at the top of our lungs and laughing like the idiots we are.

"Hey, Chloe?" Max says randomly, lowering the volume, "Can I ask you something stupid?".

"There are no stupid questions, Max. Only stupid answers," I reply with a devious smirk that earns me a playful slap on the shoulder.

"I'm serious, Chlo," she says.

I swallow hard and nod at her.

"I'm listening...".

"What..." Max begins, fiddling with the hem of her sweater, "What do you think your parents will say about... us, being a couple and all?".

That's a good question and frankly, I have no idea.

I shrug my shoulders and sigh, "Not sure. Mom I know is more open-minded about this sorta thing".

"And David?".

I shrug again even though I'm pretty sure the answer is no.

"... Promise that you won't tell them that we're together. I- I don't think I'm ready to tell anyone else".

I look over at Max and sigh, "It's not always like that, Max".

"I know but... it's still terrifying".

Since her coming out (if you can even call it that. It was more of an outing than anything else) Max has done her best to keep out relationship quiet.

I don't entirely mind, I mean, It's not like she's denying who she is or anything. She's just scared.

"I Promise," I reply, drawing an X over my heart, "But... we can like, still kiss and shit when it's just us... right?".

She giggles a little and nods. "Of course".

I lean over and take hold of her hand, smiling.

Max smiles back.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asks.

"Because you're the most beautiful person I've ever seen," I say, allowing myself to be seen blushing, "And I'm really glad you're here with me. It means a lot".

Max squeezes my hand, running her thumb over my knuckles.

"I'll always be here, okay? I'll... I'll always have your back".

"Always".