Liberosis

Blue and Red

"So you wanting me to tell my mom about my nightmares means we're not leaving yet?" Chloe asked, making Rachel speechless. She hadn't thought that much about it. "You know," Chloe continued. "I once tried to run away before."

"What?" Rachel gasped. She barely heard a bird standing on the window hole fly away outside of the shack.

"Yeah, a few months after my dad died. I had just cut my hair short. I was so angry all the time." Chloe lowered her head. "Especially at my mom... I used to blame her." She blinked and looked back up. "Thing is, I'd seen her being all flirty with a mustache at the dinner, making things worse. I just bolted, packed and walked out of my house. No goodbyes. I just... left."

"Chloe..." Rachel whispered and put her hand on hers, noticing her blue teary eyes.

"No, no, it's okay. I'm here, right?" Chloe squeezed her hand. "But my mom went worried-nuts. I had never sneaked out before. I remember the next morning, being at the station, back when I didn't jump into trains, and the TV played a news report. My mom crying, begging me to come back."

Rachel's heart broke, imagining the pain of losing her Ariel again.

"The police wasn't doing anything because it hadn't been twenty-four hours yet, so she went straight to the local news. I just couldn't stand to see her like that. I'd been selfish. I saw her smiling and it was like dad was never gone."

"I-I don't know what to say," Rachel admitted.

"You don't have to. That's why I was a little hesitant about leaving last night."

"All of this is making me think that maybe I should stay a little while longer... be with my mom through this."

Chloe looked understanding and also a tiny bit disappointed as she nodded.

Rachel caressed her cheek. "For now, we should fix that truck."

"You're right."

"And isn't today Mother's Day? What kind of daughters are we?"

Chloe snickered and then stopped. "Wait, it's Mother's Day? Oh, shit. I haven't done anything for my mom."

"I guess we could go buy her something before we go back."

"Really? Thank you."

Rachel waved her hand, like it was no big deal. Shopping with Chloe Price did sound appealing, but they weren't shopping for her, which didn't make it sound as fun. But she was sure any time spent with Chloe would be thrilling.

x-x-x

"So what are you thinking?" Rachel asked as they walked inside Arcadia Bay's mall, which wasn't crowded and had half the stores closed due to the early morning. The ride back felt short because of that, too.

"I have no idea, actually," Chloe said, rubbing the back of her neck. "She's a simple woman, she likes homemade things."

"Then what are we doing here? We should be wheel throwing." Rachel smirked at her crush's scoff and eye-roll. "But seriously, we could surprise her with something fancy."

"Oh, I get it. Something store-made!"

Rachel chuckled. "That's why we're in a mall."

"Right, my bad." Chloe slapped her own forehead. "Made-in-China made!"

"I don't know if those classify as fancy. But yeah, it could work."

"You have a China cabinet, so it definitely does."