Perfect with You

Chapter 45 - The Final Plan

"Alright, Max. You need to tell me, right now, why you think Ethan doesn't have the power to rewind time"
Her nose sounded stuffed and the grip she held on her naked arm only became firmer with every breath that followed the rhythm of her heart. The oxygen came in too fast, went to her brain and made her feel dizzy. This could be it.

"Chloe," Max said, not even concerned about the fact that it wasn't a response. She just said the name because it came to her; because the only part of her that had any control wanted her to say it.

Still rightfully concerned about her friend's mental state, Chloe slid her hand down and leaned closer, placing her forehead against Max's and taking a shaky breath.
"I know your theory or whatever is probably reasonable, but now, more than ever, I am questioning your mental health so I need to have a reason to..."
She almost said it, the one thing she would never need a reason for. A reason for trust. She curled her tongue and pressed the edge hard against the back of her teeth and slid her hand down the final inch to grab Max's.
"You keep mumbling things, so I know your brain is– or already have pieced together some puzzle or whatever- but I am still fucking confused and being confused kinda freaks me out"
Being so close to her face made Chloe's vision of Max blurry and she couldn't tell if she were looking back at her, but chances were, she wasn't.
"I'll trust whatever you say, I just need you to talk to me"

It was an ongoing act of whispers, of burning muscles and sore skin.

It seemed like Max finally reacted when Chloe felt the fingers in her hand bend just as she swallowed.
"Wait" It sounded almost like a whimper before she moved her head to the side, forcing Chloe to lift her head back, followed by a step that broke their connected hands.
"Ethan, you wanted reassurance that we will cooperate, and we will, but..." Her voice was now loud and clear, speaking towards the phone still lying on the ground, to the man that was losing his patience but hopefully smart enough to not make any drastic decisions.
"I need to ask something of you"

A few seconds passed, but it was all a different moment for each person in the room. Max tried to regain a sense of apprehension, feeling as if she should, but had unwillingly accepted that she was damaged and no longer with the characteristics that define a human.
Ted made minimal but visible movements, waiting for his moment to ask yet another question, still thinking he was the most confused one of them all, when in reality, the lack of information on his part had made him the most clearheaded of everybody.
Chloe, lastly, simply kept fighting the ongoing battle between desire and reason. For all she wanted to do was to hold her beloved friend and never judge her and never mention the fact that she was quiet. She just wanted to make things better. To make things okay again.

But what they all shared in the moment, was the thought of the end.

"Okay" And as the short answer came from Ethan, it felt unbecoming that there was no objection. No supercilious voice that clutched power. Maybe Max really had backed him into a corner. Or perhaps Ethan could hear how subdued Max was and found no desire to kick a fallen girl.

"As you can probably guess, going through with this plan will end Chloe's life- or rather- make her not have existed"
At this point, Chloe came to fully realize that whatever Max had said to Ethan; she was playing him, downright lying to him. Simply because there was no alternative plan to save Arcadia Bay or his daughter for that matter. What Chloe just didn't understand, was the reason behind Max's lies.
"And... I need to talk some things over with her for a couple of minutes"
Perhaps it was just to buy some time?
"After that, I promise, I will fix everything... I will save Arcadia Bay and your daughter"
But never had she been so adept at deceiving as she was at this very moment.
"I will do what you have wanted me to do all this time"
And it frightened Chloe, because she couldn't see or hear any hint of pretense. Only the cold atmosphere surrounding her. And she could simply wonder while waiting for Ethan to respond, waiting for him to process the words as he pictured his daughter in his head, if he was realizing that this was his doing? That all that shit he had pulled had always had the mark of a mentally broken girl at the end?
Was he proud?
Ashamed?