Aftermath (A PriceField Fanfiction)

Chapter Thirty Five: Demons at the Gate of Hell

Rachel

"Max? How did you get over... everything?" I ask some time later. Chloe's soft snores fill the air while 'Hush' by Au/Ra is playing quietly as background music.

"Well, for starters, Chloe helped me through a lot of it. She helped me internalize it, realize that what happened was not my fault. But I don't think that's what you mean, is it?" She responds, glancing at me for a brief moment. I shake my head, and she sighs, visibly readying herself to relive the trauma of what Jefferson did to her.

"I still have problems sometimes. I don't think that will ever go away. There are days when it's totally fine, but then there are days where even the smallest touch can send me into a spiral. What happened in that place was horrific. I noticed you flinch when that man grabbed you at the gas station. I can't have things on my wrists sometimes. It's too much... sensory." Max says quietly, gently biting her bottom lip.

"And on the days it's bad?" I prompt, and she nods.

"Sometimes, I'll take pictures. It tends to ground me, help me cling to this reality a little better. It keeps me in the moment, you know? Other times, I'll sleep. Keeps reality out for a bit. And... yeah." Suddenly, Max's face turns red, and I press her to tell me the last thing she was going to say.

"Fine! Most times, Chloe and I will sleep together. It also keeps me in the moment, but it also reminds me that I survived one of the hardest things anyone can survive." Max's blush becomes worse, staining her ears pink.

"But you haven't since I've been around, right? It would be a little awkward to wake up to you and Chloe having sex or something, you know?" I say, teasing her.

"Oh, shut up. You can't tell me you wouldn't want to join us if you did walk in on us having sex." She jokes back, and I feel the blood leave my face slightly. Max glances over, noticing the silence from me.

"Oh, so you would join us? You kinky bitch! Well, if you do walk in on us, I think you'd be welcome, from both Chloe and I." Max whispers, her face turning redder than before.

"Oh, now who's the kinky bitch, hmm? It's appreciated, anyway. I don't think I would though. I mean, you and Chloe are married. It's kind of cheating if I did decide I wanted in on your lovefest." I mutter, the blood returning to my face. I notice a sign up ahead that says 'Welcome to Idaho!', and watch as it passes by us in a blur of metal and colour.

"Hey. You know what? This is really nice. This trip, I mean." I say, and Max hums in agreement.

"I agree. Although, you guys could be a little quieter when talking about having a threesome up there, ya know." Both Max and I jump out of our skin when Chloe's voice drifts between us. The girl sits up, her hair a mess from laying in the backseat for so long.

"Fuck, Chloe! Scared the shit outta me!" Max swears as she rights the truck again. I nod in agreement, glaring at a still-sleepy Chloe from over my shoulder.

"And, anyway, that was an A-B conversation. I thought you were asleep!" I direct my words to Chloe as she rubs sleep out of her eyes.

"Well, I was kind of on the brink of sleep, but then I heard the beginning of the conversation and decided to listen in. So, Rachel, you want to have sex with Max and I? I thought you didn't swing that way." Chloe leans her head on the shoulder of my seat. Max hisses at Chloe harshly.

"Chloe! I don't think she remembers that!" I feel a throb in my head as a small memory comes back to me.

I'm in a RV home. In a bedroom. A man is on top of me, his brown-blonde hair covering his eyes.

"Rach, are you sure this is what you want? Are you sure I'm what you want?" He asks, his voice questioning me one last time. My fingers drag up and down his bare back as I reach up to kiss him.

"Yes, Frank. God, yes."

I come back to my senses with a gasp.

"What... the fuck... was that? Max?" I pant as my hand clutches the skin above my heart, which feels like it's about to burst from my ribcage at any moment.

"Well, if Chloe hadn't mentioned it, it wouldn't have happened, but we call it the flash. It happens when someone remembers something from a previous timeline that didn't happen in this one. Essentially, you just saw something that didn't happen in this reality." Max says, throwing a glare at Chloe from the rearview mirror. 

"So... in a previous timeline, I fucked Frank? No way, no fucking way! I don't even like men! Gross." I shudder, attempting to shake the memory from my mind.

"Well, that's what happens." Chloe says, and I shoot her a look. She awkwardly laughs, and turns to Max.

"So, do we fill her in on Warren's theory?" 

"I dunno. It's kind of a brainfuck. You up for it, Rachel?" Max asks, and I nod after a second.

"Bring on the demons at the gate of Hell, Max."