“Obstacles are like wild animals. They are cowards but they will bluff you if they can. If they see you are afraid of them… they are liable to spring upon you; but if you look them squarely in the eye, they will slink out of sight.”

– Orison Swett Marden

As Max sat in the specific diner booth waiting– surrounded by hollow versions of the Arcadia Bay population, thoughts about the last two years bubbled inside her head. None were very pleasant, though some felt more hopeful than others.

Those memories included:

Listening to that fateful gunshot, and experiencing the death of her soulmate from around a corner.

Burying the most important person in her life.

Speaking with Joyce after the funeral.

Crying into her pillow for countless hours.

Convincing her parents that she needed to get away.

Yelling at Kate and Warren; the only two friends she had remaining.

Obtaining a mode of transportation from an unlikely source.

Locating a special gypsy during an online search.

Meeting Robin at a campsite in Northwest Idaho.

Traveling east with little money in her account.

Sleeping in cheap hotel rooms and hostels during her travels.

Making her way south, and arriving in Georgia.

Attempting to locate a specific man by chatting with locals.

Finally discovering the destination she sought.

Speaking with the woman in the window.

Meeting the Voodoo Man.

Crossing into a perfect dreamscape where she was reunited with Chloe.

The perfect beach timeline and her heart being ripped from her chest.

Jumping to an alternate timeline.

Trying her rewind again, ultimately propelling herself outside of tangible reality in the past.

Ballroom dancing with Chloe in her dream.

Creating the memory lane path.

Now, waiting to meet herself and play her final part.

Unlike summoning memories for the Max and Chloe ‘museum’, she would need to get this final part completely right the first time. Max was able to make tiny adjustments to the memories she crafted as she thought more and more about their details. Having to play the role of the nightmare version of herself, she was terrified she would mess everything up. The Voodoo Man made it particularly clear that this was her final chance at saving Chloe.

Max thought through the wording, as she remembered it, like an actor preparing for their scene.

I bet this would be easy for someone like Rachel. Everyone said she was a fierce actor. 

Suddenly, she noticed a strange rattling, seemingly coming from the restroom area. It sounded like a metallic vibration followed by footsteps and heavy breathing.

Shit, that’s her! When she realizes the code is Chloe’s birthday, she’ll be here. It didn’t take me long to see the reflection in the mirror. 

Max’s heart rate increased, thundering in her ears at an almost distracting level. She took a deep, airy breath, intentionally trying to calm the internal noise. After a few inhales and exhales, Max found her mental awareness cozied-up inside a pocket of excitement. She was scared, but she was ready.

The restroom door swung open and Max stepped out. The inanimate townspeople began speaking.

“Don’t kill us, Max!”

“I guess I’ll never dance again, Max.”

“Right when I was about to start a new life in California.”

“Shit, Max. I thought we were on the same team. Now I’ll die alone.”

“Max, I hope you do the right thing. I hope.”

“I was happy just being your friend… Why do you want all your friends to die?”

“Max, please, save us.”

“Save the Bigfoots, Max. Please.”

“Honey, I always thought of you like a daughter… and now you’re going to take me away from my family? Why would you do that?”

“Max, you’re exactly the kind of soldier I’d want by my side in war.”

“Son of a bitch, this is going to hurt…”

“So this is how Max gets her revenge on?”

“Max, you saved my life, gave me the chance to catch more fish…”

“Thank you for that warning, Max… You treated me like a human, not trash… I sure hope you do that for everybody in town…”

“Killing me is so not cool.”

“Wow, Max. Right when I finally find a cool chick to date… you have to kill us off. This sucks.”

“Breaker, breaker… Thanks for saving me and carrying that load, good buddy. That’s a big 10-4.”

“This is not how I wanted to spend my last hour on Earth…”

“Max, can you call my mother in Portland and tell her that I love her?”

“I know I haven’t been the best principal to you… but you’ve been a great ‘Everyday hero’ for us.”

“Please, save us.”

“I guess my husband and new baby will have to go without me…”

“Max, I hope you can live with yourself after this.”

“Don’t let the squirrels die.”

“I wish we had been friends, Max. But please… don’t let me die like this… I’m still a teenager.”

“Max, I’m… truly… I truly am sorry for being such a bastard. You would have been cool to hang out with. I just don’t want everybody else to suffer like me.”

“You’ve always had my back and now you’re going to let me die? Thanks, Max,”

“Oh Max, what exactly was the point of saving me if you’re only going to let me die?”

“Please, Max. Don’t kill me, so we can finally have our tea session.”

“Max, I want you to know how much confidence you gave me… Nobody ever did that for me.”

“I survived poverty and an abusive family… just so I can end up here to die…”

Finally, she was standing over the booth where Max sat, fear and uncertainty spreading across her face. Max remembered being simultaneously confused and terrified.

Fuck, I don’t wanna do this! 

“Who… Who are you?”

Here we go, I guess. 

“Holy shit, are you cereal? I’m you, dumbass. Or one of the many Maxes you’ve left behind…” 

This sucks so bad. She looks so sad. 

Tears started stinging the back of Max’s eyes, but she fought through it and continued looking up at the visitor standing in front of her.

“Can you get me out of here?”

“Oh, so you want help? Thought you could control everybody and everything, huh? Twist time around your fingers?” 

Goddammit, look confident, Max! 

“I tried to help… I only wanted to do the right thing.”

“No, you only wanted to be popular. And once you got these amazing powers, your big plan was to trick people into thinking you give a rat’s ass.” 

Just have to get through this. Play your part, Max. 

“I do care! That’s why I was trying to make friends…”

Somehow, Max remembered the exact phrasing of each response, as if she was always supposed to be right here at this moment.

“By telling people what they want to hear? You were just looking for a shortcut, because you can’t make friends on your own.” 

“That’s not true. I have great friends. And I’ve used my powers for good.”

This is so hard. 

“Please stop playing innocent. You goddamn hypocrite. You’ve left a trail of death and suffering behind you.” 

“That was not my fault, you son of a bitch…”

“Don’t you dare talk about our mom that way… ha!” 

This isn’t funny. This is fucking painful.  

“What about the crap that was your fault? Wait, wait, let me guess… You fucked up time and space for your precious punk Chloe. You think she’s worth all that? 

Of course she’s worth it! She’s worth it a million times over! 

“This has to be my destiny to save her… I wouldn’t be trapped in here if I didn’t believe that…”

“No kidding. Chloe trapped you with her drama. Guns, drugs, Rachel… Even stealing from the handicapped fund. She’s just using you dude.” 

That’s such a fucking lie! 

“Like, she even asked you to end her life and do what she couldn’t do by herself.” 

This is fucked up! 

Max wasn’t certain she could hold the tears back much longer. The things she was having to force herself to say were slicing at her soul.

“Chloe does a better job of guilt-tripping me than you do.”

“Because you let her bully you. It’s called ‘Stockholm Syndrome’. But you didn’t do that homework… so you’ll have to learn the hard way. Like Rachel…” 

“Just shut up. You’re not scaring me anymore.”

“I’d be more worried about Chloe killing us than Jefferson…” 

This is so unfair. But her spirit has to be pushed to the edge. It’s the only way she’ll be able to make the right choice. 

“Max, do you really think she has any feelings for us? You’re just another puppet…” 

That’s not true. My own self-doubt is my worst enemy. That’s what I represent now.  

“Man, you are so stupid. I’m embarrassed to have the same name… And someday Chloe will destroy–” 

Out of the blue, the diner’s front entrance door abruptly crashed open.

“Oh, hell… speak of the devil.” 

Oh god, it’s her! Chloe! 

Chloe assertively marched to the table and jumped into the other side of the booth, leaning forward as she spoke. It took everything Max had in her to not look directly at her. All she’s wanted for the past two years was to see her best friend again. Now that she was in the girl’s presence, she needed to finish playing her part.

To distract herself, Max picked up the camera and started fidgeting with it.

Almost there, Max. Be strong! 

“Dude, do not even fuck with her head!” Chloe began. “She knows what we went through together this week and you don’t! There’s no way you can break up our team! This is reality!”

Max watched as her other self vanished from the diner as well as the other lifeless individuals that crowded the area. As her eyes slowly scanned the room, they came to rest upon a scowling version of her favorite person sitting across from her.

As their eyes locked together, Max’s heart dropped inside her chest. The tears that were threatening before, came spilling from her face. Immediately, Chloe’s features softened, as she stood and moved from the opposite seat to the one shared by Max.

“Hey, hey. Max. I am so fucking proud of you. Okay?”

Max knew Chloe’s words were intended to make her feel better, but the tender, heartfelt tone her best friend used broke and restored her heart a hundred times over. She felt enveloped by a warmth of love while simultaneously aching in her soul.

Chloe snaked her arm around Max’s neck and shoulders, pulling the pair together at the side.

“I love you so much, Max. You’ve fought so damn hard.”

Max sniffed and wiped her eyes so she could respond.

“Chloe, is th-this real? Are you really h-here with me?” Over the past two years, Max was forced to embody the confidence and strength she gained from reuniting with Chloe. She rode a bike, smoked cigarettes, and took care of herself on her own. Part of her was proud of how she managed to handle things. Now, in this moment, she felt like a kid again; in many ways, relying on her tall, beautiful best friend to help boast her confidence once more. “I’ve dreamed about this for so long. About you. About us. Together again…”

“I’m as real as you are, Max.” Chloe shifted her weight with one leg folded beneath her on the seat; her torso facing Max. She placed both of Max’s hands on her cheeks and closed her eyes. “Feel me.”

Max touched Chloe’s skin with her palms and tenderly rubbed tiny circles with both thumbs. Her face felt smooth and silky, perfect to the touch.

“Oh, Chloe! I’ve missed you so much!” The tears returned and Chloe stretched her arm back around, using her hands to wipe the liquid trailing down Max’s cheeks.

“I told you, I’m never leaving you.” A tiny smile formed above Chloe’s chin.

Max moved her hands back down from the girl’s face and balled them on top of the table. “There were times I couldn’t hear your voice anymore, Chloe. I needed you so badly and you wouldn’t respond to me. Why?”

“I have been with you the whole time, Dude. Those moments when you didn’t hear me respond; those times you couldn’t feel me with you– those were the moments I was carrying you. Everything worked out because we are one, Max. We walk as one. And, again, I am NEVER leaving your bony, white ass.”

Max giggled.

Abruptly, outside of the diner window to their left, a viewing portal opened up, and they could see Max walking down the museum of memories from that week. Chloe pulled Max back into herself in the booth, and the girls shared a tight, sideways hug as they cuddle together.

Max walked around and observed each personally crafted scene. She stopped and took additional time gazing at the swimming pool memory. From their seat in the diner, Max and Chloe could see the corners of the girl’s lips curl up. Max knew exactly what she was thinking at that moment. It was like suddenly she cared about Chloe’s body. Not that she didn’t care before, but there was this new animalistic, natural, beautiful feeling that she had never experienced before. She was beginning to understand that she was in love with her best friend.

As Max meandered farther down the path, reliving her memories, the girls in the diner enjoyed the warmth of one another’s spirits. Being together again was magical.

Chloe nuzzled her mouth and nose into the hair that covered Max’s ear. “Even when we are apart, we are always together, Max. I love you so much.”

Max’s body tingled from the vibration of Chloe’s breath on her ear. It sent a tiny trimmer through her body that felt both physically pleasing and spiritually joyful, causing fireworks to explode in her heart.

After the sensation dulled a bit, through the viewing portal, Max noticed herself nearly at the end of the path she had created.

“I have so much I wanna know, Chloe. Like, what did you experience after the cliff?” As if a two-thousand-pound anchor had been dropped on her, Max remembered her own choice. The same guilt that plagued her back then for letting Chloe go, unexpectedly resurfaced.

“Max, listen to me.” Chloe must have sensed Max’s sudden discomfort. “I would have never tried to convince you to save everyone else if I thought for even a damn second you wouldn’t eventually be okay. I… I fucked up. Your perseverance and general hard-headed ass just wouldn’t let me go. I should have known because I wouldn’t let you go either. I love you for that, Maxter. You’re the fucking best, do you understand me? The best!”

“But I made the wrong choice, Chloe! I am the one who fucked up!”

“No, Max. How could anyone deal with all this shit? You were just a teenager with fucking time rewind powers. Supernatural bullshit, if you ask me. All the fucked up shit, and you are still standing! We are going to make it out of here, Max. NOTHING can keep us apart. Don’t you see!?”

Max nodded.

The end of the trail was nearing, and they could see Max staggering up to the cliff towards Chloe. She would rejoin her body and make her choice in moments. It was just about time to see if Max’s love for her soulmate, a father’s love for his daughter, and a supernatural spirit’s resolve were enough.

Through the portal, Chloe’s voice from the cliff seemed to reverberate.

“Max? Max can you hear me? Please say something.”