Perfect with You

Chapter 48 - If Only Tonight We Could Sleep

The light flashed behind them, exchanging between red and blue, making it difficult to see anything else. The excessive howling noise pierced the eardrums, a sensory overload, making Chloe's body react before her mind had a chance to access what was going on. Her face went pale, even more than it had already been for so long. Her foot was locked on the gas while the hair on her neck rose.

Max watched all of these reactions to the police car behind them while trying to combat her own. She only saw two possibilities. Only dared herself to imagine the two outcomes.

Stop the car. Don't... just don't drive, don't keep on driving. Don't try to... outdrive the fucking police. They'll catch us and we'll be in a shitload of trouble. Just stop the car. They're probably just gonna give us a ticket for speeding or some other trivial shit. Just stay calm, Chloe.

A few seconds in her thoughts and she questioned herself why she didn't say it out loud. Why was she thinking it, when she wanted to say it? And then it occurred to her; she was panicking. Her lips trembled- her heart could be felt beating in her throat, making it impossible to speak. If there ever was a reasonable, yet inconvenient time to panic, this would be it. She just wasn't prepared for it, because in some ignorant attempt to stay somewhat composed, she had told herself that she was in a state of deep depression; totally emotionless. If you are depressed, you can't be anxious, she had assured herself.
She knew she was wrong, she just didn't want it to be proven. But it had become increasingly difficult to play ignorant.

Ted, on the other hand, was totally frozen. He was looking at his hands and his legs, his eyes forgetting to blink when he was clearly inside his own head, perhaps considering the outcomes as well. Maybe trying to distract his mind to keep from getting to the realization that he was frightened. Nobody really knew what was going through each other's minds.

It was all up to Chloe at this point. She was the driver, the decision-maker. For better or for worse, given that she, in some perspective, was the most messed up of all of them. She whispered without showing where to attain her words.
"They've got nothing" And so she slowly lifted her foot from the gas.
"Nothing" Another reassurance for herself, for her worries.
The car slowed down, but she didn't break. Simply letting the wheels go slower, buying herself time to think of future words.

Max looked, but found no comfort in any thought she could manage to connect. She tried looking at Chloe, but her pale face made her even more nervous, so she turned to face the empty field on her left, only inhabited by a small group of trees being lit up by red and blue, the leaves bouncing up and down in the rain.
Seconds before the car stopped, Chloe pulled over to the side, watching the police car do the same in the rear-view mirror. There was a quiet couple of seconds where nothing happened, a stall, a tactic to let them wonder and panic so they would blurt out excuses they could use against them later.
Then, someone stepped out of the police car, a male in his thirties, looking both stressed and cautious.
And only then, did Max realize that she was scared. Not nervous, not apprehensive, but truly scared. Her mind was too free to wander, and so she couldn't even tell if it was an irrational fear that drove her to take two quick breaths, followed by a gasp.

And even though it had become second-nature to Chloe to notice when her friend was unwell, her actions still surprised Max. Maybe it was her attentive nature, her desire to comfort, or perhaps a chance for her own mind to calm, when Chloe slid her hand under Max's palm that she thought was nailed to the seat and lifted it up, squeezed it, and leaned closer, prompting Max to turn and face her friend.

"We'll be fine... everything will be fine" Even in the whisper, her agitation was obvious, her words not believing in themselves. Yet, as much as she was transparent, as much as she was hollow-hearted, something within the touch and the way Chloe leaned her body towards Max as if she was shielding her... felt comforting.
"No matter what happens, I will make sure you're safe" She continued, making her voice as quiet as possible.
Was that a lie as well? Was there any doubt in her words? Max couldn't tell because when she felt Chloe's sweaty forehead bump against her own, it kick-started her brain.