Six years.
It had been six years, since her best friend died. Since the light left Max Caulfield’s world.
She remembered it, as if it were yesterday. She would always remember, it was engraved into her mind.
“Get that gun away from me, psycho!”
BANG
Nathan attempting to shake her awake, then running. Seeing Chloe sprawled on the floor, red covering white.
Max sat in front of her laptop, trying to work on some pictures she had taken for a wedding. It wasn’t like being featured in galleries in New York or Paris, but, kept food on the table.
A song started playing on her Spotify.
I fell by the wayside, like everyone else
I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, but I was just kidding myself.
Our every moment, I start to replace
Cause now that they’re gone, all I hear is the words I needed to say
That was pretty much the 5 years that she and Chloe had spent apart. She had been so damn angry. Angry at William for dying. Angry at Max for deserting her. Angry at the world for treating her like shit. And Max deserved all of her anger, for abandoning Chloe. She had replaced Max with Rachel Amber. Together, they had started to heal the heart Max had destroyed.
When you hurt under the surface
Like troubled water running cold
Well, time can heal, but this won’t
Chloe had held so much pain, under her surface. She had gotten angry plenty of times, but, it was nothing compared to what she felt. Max chuckled darkly at that last lyric. Chloe would be a scar on Max’s heart for the rest of her life, one impossible to forget.
So, before you go
Was there something I could’ve said to make your heart beat better?
If only I’d have known you had a storm to weather.
So, before you go
Was there something I could have said to make it all stop hurting
It kills me how your mind can make you feel so worthless
So, before you go
If only she’d kept contact with Chloe, to help her with William’s dying, and David’s entry into her life. Would she have been happier?
Was never the right time, whenever you called
Went little by little by little until there was nothing at all
Our every moment, I start to replay
But, all I can think about is seeing that look on your face.
Max had left Chloe on her own, to face the world. She had created a cocoon using her cowardice, telling herself that Chloe had moved on. She told herself that Chloe didn’t need Max dragging her down. Now, all Max would ever have are memories.
Would we be better off now?
If I’d have let my walls come down?
Maybe, I guess we’ll never know
You know, you know
Max felt the tears running down her face. If only she hadn’t been a chickenshit. Chloe might not have turned out to be the same girl she remembered, but, her life would be better than it had been.
Was there something I could have done to make it all stop hurting?
It kills me how your mind can make you feel so worthless
Max pulled out a photo she had taken of Chloe, a month before Max had moved. She kissed it reverently, like Kate would kiss a crucifix She had lost the only thing that made life worth living. Her Captain. Her best friend.
So, before you go
Max broke down, sobbing. She put a pillow against her face, to stop a keening wail that rose up from her throat.
A ice cold weight gripped Max’s heart. She knew it would never leave, until she saw her Chloe again.
However long that would take.