lis prompt: chloe price + "crushed glass"
lis comics verse, Post Issue #12 AKA Volume 3 ‘Strings’
Max doesn’t try to cross back to her reality for a while. Chloetries not to admit how glad she is for it. She hates that Max, who’s beenliving with Rachel and her for the past couple of years, will vanish again.Another day, waiting to be abandoned.
But it’s for her. There’s a version of her out therewithout Rachel, a version that lived and loved and reunited with Max when shehad no one left. A version of herself she can so easily imagine. Max isn’tabandoning her; she’s just finding her way back.
“When you leave, will there be another Max around?” Chloeasks in the dim light of the spruced-up van, and Rachel’s sleeping, orpretending to. “I mean, a Max existed before you came here. Or… is she gone?”
Max, her Max but not her Max, looks down at herselfand wonders like she does. Always so self-reflecting, but never having a solidanswer for how her powers works. She can rewind time, skip through photos, andjump realities. Of course, there was Tristan too, off in the reality Max had triedto get back to. How did he do it when she couldn’t?
“I don’t know. When the flickers happened, I was in one thatI was switching between another Max. But my Chloe never said anything about her whenI got back. I think I—my body—was passed out the whole time.”
There’s no follow up. Chloe rolls over and Max says goodnight,and in the quiet Rachel reaches over and takes her hand.
It’s not for another month until the world turns its head,and Max is wiping her nose while fading from existence like she had before. Fuckingagain.
Chloe’s tempted to reach for her. To jump inside and pullher out like last time. Physical contact is dangerous but so is letting herbest friend wander the multiverse maze on her own.
“I hear Tristan.” Max’s tells them from the spot where shesits and blinks in and out of their world. Rachel’s squeezing hard at Chloe’shand. They both feel the ache at knowing Max is going.
The air growls, and Max has blood dripping down to her chin.Tristan is there, and he’s not alone.
Chloe stares at herself, with longer hair, and wearing agrey jacket. She looks frantic, but there’s a moment where time seems to stop.Their eyes meet, and the Chloe that Max has been trying to get back to looks tothe Chloe that got to live with her best friend the last two years.
“It’s okay.” Rachel says with a low voice that’s too loudamong the tear in their reality. Is this what’s supposed to happen?
Max’s Chloe starts to hunch over, clutching onto Tristan’sjacket like she can’t bear the weight of where she stands anymore. Max tries toreach for her but her body pushes back.
“It feels wrong to just watch.” She says, and Rachel agrees.They glance at each other, and Chloe knows she can’t risk it. She holds herhands over her knees, clutching tight.
Max disappears before them in a snap, Tristan yells and turnsthe other way, and that Chloe pulls his arm and loses her balance, her shoeslipping closer. Solidifying into their world.
Chloe’s own head start to pound. She coughs and struggles,and Rachel gets up without a word. Panic rushes, worrying and unable to think.
“No!” Chloe says, getting to her feet and pushing Rachelaway. The other Chloe continues forward, slipping out and Chloe can’t thinkthrough the pain. She moves and her arms stretch out to catch her double, andit feels like her mind splits open, grinding glass into her veins.
“Max!” The other Chloe yells, and she’s fully solid, before sherelearns how to move and looks up at the Chloe holding her. Eyes wide, theystare at one another.
“I can’t stay here.” The other Chloe says, eyes droppingover to Rachel. Chloe bites her lip and takes the other Chloe by the arms.
“Call to Max. We’ll get you to her.” She says, and then she’sdragging them both to their feet.
Almost on cue, Tristan is back, and he has Max in his other arm.He reaches and grabs the other Chloe, and Chloe lets go the moment he does.
The trio blink, and Chloe’s pain fades. She sees theflickers fading, the world becoming one once more. But before they turncompletely away, she sees Max, tears in her eyes, as she reaches to herChloe, embracing her and kissing her. Tristan looks back at Chloe and Rachel,and he gives a somber nod. They won’t be coming back again.
Chloe sits down and starts to shake her head, and Rachel isat her side, reminding her what they knew. It was the right thing. They haveeach other. They’ll be okay.
She’s right. Chloe still cries into the night, falling asleepwith Rachel holding her close. And the next day they wake together and greetthe morning. They call the Highseas to let them know about Max finally gettingthe call for her job. They have breakfast. Talk about their friend who found herway home.
“If… there’s another Max out there. I’d like to try and findher. After the tour is over, I mean.” Chloe says. Rachel looks concerned, butnods.
“She won’t be the same. We can’t replace her.”
Chloe already feels her vision blur again. She swallows. “Iknow. I don’t want to. But if she is out there…” She trails off. It’s alot of what ifs. Rachel reaches over to take Chloe’s hand, bringing it up andkissing the back under her knuckles.
“We can, Chloe. If she’s out there, we’ll find her.”
