they scream at her. they tell her that it’s her fault, she did this to them. did what? max tries to cover her ears, tries to apologize for something she’s not sure of, but nothing works. she’s drowning ; drowning in their profanities and screams and, soon enough, she’s literally drowning. thunder booms ahead and lightning is her only source of light. that is, until, a hand reaches out. max grasps it and instantly, the storm clears. the words hush. chloe stands before her, much to max’s relief. but before max can speak, thank her, chloe has suddenly turned her back and the world is dark. chloe speaks few words: “ you did this, max. my dad dies and you had to go and let mom die, too. just give up, max. you’ll never save me when you keep hurting me like this. ”
max wakes up with a start. she reaches to the other side of the bed, her heart dropping when she finds only a mess of blankets. she blinks away a few stray tears and kicks away her sheets, body enveloped in a cold sweat. just what was that nightmare ? she’s no stranger to them, but ever since she got to the city, they’re different... and her head starts to hurt when she tries to think on them too hard. it’s all just too much. being without chloe on some nights hasn’t helped, though max makes it a point to spend as much time with chloe as possible. max sighs, jumping into a pair of sweats and pulling on a jacket. with complete disregard to her sloppy looks, max slowly makes her way out of the apartment, careful to not make noise that could disturb her roommate.
she’s pulling out her phone as she walks down the hallway and out of the apartment complex, breathing in the fresh air. right away, she pulls up chloe’s contact. she didn’t want to knock on chloe’s door as to not wake her roommate either, and calling would be useless if chloe is asleep. so, max sends a simple text accompanied with a picture of the tree she finds herself near.
to: chloe ♥
You awake? I can’t sleep, I’m gonna be hanging around outside and thought you could join me. Up for some late night adventures again?
with that, max pockets her phone, and waits. she really hopes that chloe is awake and hates that they don’t live together. she... can’t even quite remember how that happened. why? oh well, at the very least, they were finally able to leave arcadia bay. something unsettles her... but she brushes that off as leftover feelings from the nightmare. with another sigh, max finds a bench to wait on, making sure her eyes are clear of tears for when chloe shows up ─ and max has a strong feeling she will.
