After a hectic evening filled with night workers grabbing snacks for the graveyard shift, truckers grabbing coffee and smokes, and teenagers picking up condoms, it was past midnight and Chloe intended to take advantage of the lull in activity; her mind free to reflect. While the cigarette in her mouth helped to calm some of her stress, it did nothing for the loneliness that she felt stronger than ever as of late. Maybe it had to do with the weather turning colder? The snow had been falling more often and so things looked bleaker?

She scratched the back of her head with chewed nails and pulled her coat tighter around her body. The wind had picked up and it had started snowing again, chilling her through her thin jacket. Taking one last drag off her cigarette, Chloe flicked it onto the snowy ground and made her way back into the store.

The fluorescent lights burned her eyes, and she squinted and reached below the counter for her Slurpee cup. She knew she should clean the soda machines, or mop the floors, or check the toilet paper in the washroom, or any number of tasks that she got paid to do. She suspected that the store manager checked the cameras to make sure things got done, and she needed this job. She hated this job, yes, but she needed it.

No more Chloe the fuck up! I have to be responsible, and dependable, and all sorts of fucking 'ibble' words! I can't screw up anymore! There's...nobody left to look out for me.

Her father, her mother, Rachel, even Frank and David were gone now; like a giant wave had come out of nowhere and stripped her life away of everybody that ever mattered to her; that even knew her or ever gave her half a chance. They were gone.

And it was all because of me.

The hardest part had been in the days following the storm. She regarded the immediate aftermath like a numb blur, driving away from the only place she'd ever known and hitting the open road. She always used to talk about leaving Arcadia Bay - first by herself and then with Rachel - so putting the small Oregon town behind her should have been the culmination of a lifetime of desire. But she felt a numb, devoid of emotion or purpose. It didn't even occur to her the full extent of what had happened until three days later, and when it did, it hit her. She remembered that everything had seemed like a dream of some kind - some sort of disembodied fantasy that happened to another Chloe in another life. When you pass a motor vehicle accident on the highway, and see the blood on the road; you feel deep down that there's a tragedy in that wreckage, but you feel nothing. But then one evening she stood in a motel bathroom, staring at her naked reflection in the mirror just before she stepped in the shower and...it happened. It felt like a train had come out of nowhere and slammed into her, wrenching her heart out of her. She had sunk to the floor, oblivious to the cold tiles against her bare skin, and broken down in a sobbing fit so all-consuming that seemed to take her breath away. She couldn't move...couldn't think...couldn't even swallow. She just cried and cried, sitting alone and unloved in a world where she had nobody.

Back in the present, she turned away from the cameras as she felt the tears start to stream down her cheeks as the memories got the best of her again. Only during the nights when she was alone at work did she allow herself to give in to her emotions. Chloe thought about her mother, who loved her despite her flaws, who forgave her swearing and drug use, who spent her life working her ass off in a diner just to support an ungrateful piece of shit like her.

She probably died in that fucking diner too.

Chloe thought about Rachel who made her laugh, made her so nervous she felt like throwing up; who taught her what it felt like to be loved, who saved her from suicide, who gave her a first kiss, a first requited romance, a first orgasm. Rachel, who promised to move with her to LA, get married and live happily ever after; Rachel Amber who promised to run away with her...but then ran away from her...to Frank...then to Mark Jefferson.

And now they're all dead: all three of them. And I'm alone.

She stared out the window at the falling snow; how the moon rays fell on them, so they glittered like diamonds. She stared at the soft flakes falling like bits of glass from the sky, illuminated by a single dim street lamp. The whole scene outside soon found itself blanketed in white.

Actually no...

A small smile came across her lips as she thought about how much it looked like something out of an artsy photograph. An old, corny scene from an old, out-of-date camera. She wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her work shirt, then took a sip of her melted 'Rad Raspberry' Slurpee.

Actually that's not true. Almost everybody had been taken away, but there's still...still...

Chloe closed her eyes, swallowing hard as more tears came; on that day two months ago, when she lay an anguished, sobbing wreck on that motel bathroom floor, she hadn't actually been alone after all. She remembered skinny arms wrapping around her, hugging her tightly and whispering reassurance in her ear. When she ran to the toilet in between sobs, a pair of hands had rubbed her back and held her hair out of her face as she threw up. Those same hands had washed her in the shower that night, patted her dry, and helped her into bed; they also had been wrapped around her all night, warming her shivering bare body, and nuzzling her neck as the sobs continued to hiccup out of her until the sun came up.

The next morning felt only slightly better, and she had been there for her again. She had been there to comfort her when she cried, hold her hair back as she vomited, and hug her when she needed to feel someone's presence. That night, as she brushed Chloe's hair and asked if she needed anything, Chloe had turned around and, without thinking about it, they kissed for the first time; at least the first time that didn't feel playful or teasing. That first kiss turned into two, then three...then she had lost count as they both lost themselves in each other's embrace.

That night, even as the tears were still damp on Chloe's face, they had given their bodies to each other. Unlike the teenage fumbling of Chloe's times with Rachel, or the casual lays with various people whose names she couldn't remember anymore, this felt like, for the first time, she actually was 'making love'. Devoid of urgency, or single-mindedness; it was about touching, kissing, quiet noises and tenderness. When it ended, the two held each other close and whispered at the same time "I love you." Chloe had looked into the eyes of this person who she had known her entire life – lovingly running her still-damp fingers through the downy soft hair between her lover's legs - and knew that things somehow would be okay.

The next morning, the two had driven north, found an apartment, and she had got this job. From that point on, she never far from those warm hands, those skinny arms, those kind eyes and freckled, hippie face. That's why she mopped floors, cleaned soda machines, and dusted shelves; it's also why she hadn't given in to the despair of losing her world and even why she bothered to wake up each day.

Maxine. My Super Max. She gave up everything for me...changed time for me...saved my life. She came back into my world and destroyed a whole fucking town for me because...

*ahem*

Chloe broke from her revelry to see a man standing by the counter with a small pile of snack foods. "I'm ready." He said with a smirk; Chloe would put him in his mid-to-late twenties. Chloe wiped her eyes on her sleeve again, gave her head a shake and her lips curled up in fake "happy to help" smile. "No problem! Sorry about that! Just...a little distracted, I guess."

"No problem. It's late...or should I say early?" He chuckled as she rang through his purchases. She stopped herself from rolling her eyes and tried her best to make eye contact, "Yeah... I...guess either works, huh?"

"I guess it does. So... I like your hair. It's...cool."

She snorted in laughter. "Thanks, but...it looks awful." Her natural reddish blonde hair showed so much through the blue and purple that not even her knit cap could hide it anymore.

"Naw...it's unique! It suits you."

"Thanks, I guess. Um...anything else?" Chloe asked, handing the bag of items to the guy.

"I think I'm done, babe," he said smiling, "Unless you feel like giving me your phone number?" he added with a wink.

"Smooth." Chloe said; this time she didn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. Being regularly asked out was getting to be a common, albeit annoying, part of working the overnight shift for her. "Well, I had to try." he said, opening the door the outside.

"No you didn't!" she called after him as he walked through it. She watched him get into his car and drive away before she walked out from behind the counter with the broom and started sweeping around the front-end of the store.

Still half the night to finish up in here; still plenty of time for another break.

Chloe leaned the broom against a nearby wall, grabbed her coat from behind the counter and lit the cigarette as she walked out into the cold winter night.

The rest of her shift passed by without much incident - a couple more people came in for snacks or cigarettes, and one of them may or may not have given her a creepy look - but Chloe's mind dulled by the time the sun rose over the horizon. When the day crew arrived, and she stumbled into her truck with a tray of nachos in one hand, and a coffee in the other, she felt like collapsing.

The roads were empty this early on a Sunday morning, so Chloe's only challenge while driving home involved keeping her eyes open as she sipped at her coffee and stuffed cheese-soaked chips into her mouth.

Fucking tired...can't believe I have to work so much just to pay for a shitty apartment in a shitty town! Max deserves better than this... Max deserves better than me.

Suddenly, she startled with a realization; she turned to look in the back seat and slammed her hands on the steering wheel in frustration, "Dammit! I forgot to bring home something for Max!" she shouted.

Must have been super tired this morning; I never forget to bring something home for Max!

She contemplated heading back to the store, but the idea of being there when she didn't have to made her feel anxious; and she knew nothing else was open this early.

Fuck! Well...maybe I'll take her for breakfast or something.

Chloe tossed the empty coffee cup and nachos tray in the growing garbage pile in the back seat of her truck, and made her way into the building. All the lights were off in the first floor hallway and the emergency lights were on.

Son of a bitch! This place hella sucks!

By the time she reached their door at the end of the hallway, her depression had returned, and Chloe squeezed her eyes closed in frustration.

Is this really what you wanted, Max? A shitty apartment in the middle of nowhere, with a roommate that can barely afford not to be homeless or have to beg at the food bank?

She entered quietly in case Max was still asleep, but finding her in the shower she grabbed the blanket that sat by the door, and collapsed onto the bed. "Just a few hours. Then I'll take Max out somewhere." Chloe thought to herself, listening to the sound of Max in the shower.

She could have been famous. She could have had an amazing future, instead of...this. But she chose this...all because of me. Me. She gave it all up for me.

She chuckled and turned over in bed, closing her eyes and starting to doze off.

"Um... Chloe? Are you here? Are you back?"

Her eyes opened again, "Mm?" She said sleepily. Suddenly, she heard the padding steps of someone racing across the floor; the blanket pulled aside for a moment, and then she was being clutched by a cold, damp person that smelled like dollar store lavender shampoo.

"Hmm?"

"I'm cold. The power is out again."

Chloe sighed; she loved her more than she could ever say...yet she couldn't help but be reminded again of what Max could have had if only...she had chosen differently.

She turned over and her stomach did cartwheels.

Those eyes..those same eyes with the same look of concern they always seem to have lately whenever they look at me.

Chloe exhaled softly, and felt so many emotions all at once as she unconsciously lost herself in counting every freckle on Max's nose. Max's mouth at first seemed to open to say something but then closed again and the concern in her eyes deepened. Chloe cringed without meaning to as Max's fingers brushed the hair in her face aside, and restrained an urge to take the fingers in her hand and kiss them over and over until Max laughed and pulled them away playfully. She didn't think Max looked like laughing though.

Any second, she's going to tell me she can't handle all of this anymore. Then she's going to tell me she's leaving. Maybe her parents are already on the way to get her?

Swallowing back a lump in her throat as she felt the tears threaten to start, she knew nothing she could say would change Max's mind if it had indeed been made up. But she also knew that she loved the skinny, freckled girl more than anything - certainly more than herself - and she wanted to tell her so. She never seemed to tell her enough, Chloe felt.

Finally, she found her words and, blinking back her tears, she said "I'm sorry, Max."