The Only

Brick in the Wall

Visibility returned as the sunlight made its beginning approach through the cracked window in her upstairs bedroom. She could barely keep her eyes open the night before, as she continually and obsessively checked her phone for notifications. She had hoped for anything at that point, but half-expected the worst. Sometime during the night, her worry turned to anger. Anger turned to fear. Fear turned to anguish. Her jealousy and suspicion had been replaced by Max's main concern, her girlfriend's safety. From her memory, the last time a girl her age went missing, it didn't turn out very well.

She regained awareness and checked her phone - still nothing. She was surprised she was able to fall asleep at all with how upset and uneasy she had been the previous night. Her girlfriend was missing, and she had acquired new information about her power. She desperately desired to discuss her coffee house experience with Chloe.

Max's head felt like it had been fractured into a thousand pieces. She needed some type of cosmic adhesive to put it back together. Chloe was Max's glue. She knew her partner in crime could help her make sense of the new knowledge, as well as ground her a bit. It was difficult to concentrate on the events at Victrola given the circumstances. The only thing that mattered now was Chloe. The other issues felt minuscule in comparison, though they continued to loom in the back of her mind.

"Max, how are you, sweetie?" her mom asked through the closed and locked bedroom door. "We haven't seen much of you this weekend?" She got up and opened the door for a face to face chat.

"I'm sorry, Mom." She reached up and touched the back of her head with her hand, smoothing her hair down. "After the last few weeks, I really just needed some me time, you know?"

"How was your coffee date last night? We heard you come in and shower, but nothing after." Vanessa's arms were folded in front of her chest. "Hope you're enjoying your car."

Max honestly didn't remember showering. Everything besides Chloe and the new information had been on autopilot. "It wasn't a date, Mom. I just had coffee with a... friend, that's all. And yes, the car is amazing, thank you so much." The photographer realized she wasn't sure what details her mom knew about her life. After the photo jump, she checked emails, texts, and social media, but didn't ascertain anything about her parents.

"You really don't look well, sweetie. Are you sure everything is fine? You don't have to talk to me about it, but a mother knows when her daughter is hurting. Just know that I am here."

"Mom? Thank you so so so much for sending Chloe that letter earlier this year!" She wrapped her arms around her mother and gently squeezed.

"We should never have split you two apart the way we did. I'm sorry, I regret that decision. When you have a family of your own, you have to make tough choices where no outcome is ideal. You just do the best you can. The letter was nothing at all, I'm glad I found it."

"No, not nothing," the daughter cut in, "It meant everything."

Max heard her phone's ringtone come on and nearly jumped out of her skin. "I have to take this, Mom," she said as she began closing the door.

"You should join us for dinner tonight. We're going to your favorite restaurant, Sho Gun!"

"That sounds great, thanks."

As soon as the door closed, she ran to her bed and grabbed her phone. The caller ID read '<3 Chloe Price <3'. Her heart was jumping so fast she had to take a deep breath to calm her nerves. Her eyes were beginning to water as she answered the call.

"Chloe!"

"No, this is Rachel."

"What? Rachel? Where's Chloe?"