Life is Better

Chapter Fourteen - Betrayed

"Let's show this to Chloe" Max said and walked to the front, while I stayed in the bed. "Ronnie" Max said, walking back to me "What's on your mind?" She asked. "What would you think if your boyfriend kept photos like that of his  ex?" I asked her. "I don't know. I have no idea what I would do" Max said. "Yeah, me neither. I never thought I had to worry about something like that" I said and looked down "We talked about our relationship just yesterday and everything was fine. Better than fine. Guess that was all a lie" I said and got up. 

I walked passed Max and sat down on the passenger seat. Max showed the photos to Chloe. "It makes me ill, that Rachel posed like this for Frank... or wrote him love letters. I can't believe she was banging Frank! Rachel straight up lied to my face! Why didn't she say anything!?" Chloe asked.

"Because she knew how you would react" Max said. "I can't believe she did this either! I was friends with Frank, really good friends, but that she would do something like that to me. Why would Frank do something like that to me!?" I asked. "Not everything's about you, Chloe!" I said. "This involves me too! Although she was my best friend and girlfriend, she doesn't seem to be much of a friend, huh? Just another person who shits all over me. Why does everybody in my life let me down? My dad gets killed, you bail on me for years, my mom gloms onto step-fucker, Clare abandons me just like that, leaving me in the dark if she's even alive anymore and now Rachel betrays me!" Chloe said upset. 

"Chloe, Rachel is missing and I'm sure Clare is still alive. She just wanted to get out of here. Nobody betrayed you!" Max defended Rachel and me. I wasn't in the mood to defend myself, not that she would have known that. I felt shitty enough as it is. 

"Bullshit! Who hasn't?! Fuck everybody!" Chloe said and got up. "Chloe!" Max called and hurried after her. I groaned and followed them. Outside Chloe threw the keys away. They landed on the roof. "What the hell Chloe? I need those keys!" I yelled at her. "I don't give a damn shit. Why don't you fuck off?! We're not even friends, so stick to your own fucking business!" Chloe said. "You broke into my fucking home and now I'm the bad guy?! You know what, Chloe? Fuck you!" I said and turned to Max "Can you rewind, so I can get the keys before Chloe tosses them away?" I asked her. "Sure" Max said and rewound the time. 

"Chloe, can you give me the keys before you look at the photos?" I asked. "Why?" "Because they're the keys to my home. Give them to me now" I said and Chloe groaned, but gave them to me. Pretty much everything else stayed the same. 

"Pompidou" I called for my furry best friend and locked him back into the trailer. Chloe went to her car and got in, so did Max. "Are you coming?" Max asked and I shook my head "I'll get Frank to drive me. I can't survive even five minutes in the car with Chloe!" I said to her and entered the diner. "Hey Frank, can you drive me to school?" I asked him. "Aren't you meeting with your friends?" He asked. "Not anymore. Can you drive me or not?!" I asked, letting him know I am fucked off. 

"Are you okay?" He asked confused. "Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" I asked, walked ahead towards the RV. I waited in front of it, until he finally arrived. He then started looking through his jacket. "Looking for your keys?" I asked, holding them up "You dropped them" I said and gave them to him. 

As soon as we were at Arcadia Bay, I went to the main campus. When I was sure that the RV was gone, I walked to the dormitory and to the girls floor. I hurried through to get to Max's room. I knocked. "Max?" I asked, but she wasn't here yet. Great... 

I leaned against the wall and waited. "Ronnie, are you looking for Max?" Juliet asked, sticking her head out of her room. "Yeah, isn't she here yet?" I asked. "No, I haven't seen her yet" She replied "But you can wait in my room, if you want to" Juliet offered. "Sure" I said and pushed myself away from the wall and followed her. I went ahead and sat down on her bed. 

"This is sure not what I though Juliet Watson's room to look like" I said. "What did you expect?" She asked, sitting down on the desk chair. "I don't know, maybe a few more sticky notes since you're a reporter" I said. "I have that in the office" She said. "Hey, maybe you are interested in a position in the Blackwell Totem" Juliet said. "Not a writer, Jules" I said. "Jules? Haven't been called that in a while" She said and looked at me. She looked me in the eyes. "Somehow I can't stop thinking that I saw you somewhere before. A different version of you, I mean" She said.

"Yeah? I don't think so. Not the most social person around here" I said "At least not anymore" "I do remember you. Your eyes seem so familiar" Juliet said and I sighed "That's creepy, Juliet!" I said, trying to get her away from that thought. She got up and took a closer look at me. "No... no way!" Juliet said and moved away. "What?" "Don't you what me, I know why you look so familiar" Juliet said "Because we were friends. When we were younger and your hair was less... blue" Juliet said. "I don't know what you are talking about" I still played dumb. "Clare, stop it!" She said and my face turned pale. "It is you, isn't it?" She asked and I sighed.

"Please keep it to yourself!" I asked her "No one around here knows" I said "Not even my sister" I added, looking down onto the ground. "You haven't told her? How did she not figure it out herself? I mean, we haven't spoken in forever and I recognized you" Juliet said, sitting down beside me. "Chloe has too many problems to deal with than to notice anything around her. Her grief and anger is in the way of it" I said and she wrapped her arms around me. "You can call me any time" She said. "I'll definitely will. Thanks Juliet" I said and hugged her back.

"I think I just saw Max walking past" She said and I pulled away.  "I'll see you around, Jules" I said and got up, then followed Max to her room.