Handcuffs, Latched to the Past

Chapter Seven

The annoying, ear-piercing beep kept going, over and over. But Chloe didn't want to move, the small girl wrapped up in her arms. They fell asleep sharing the covers, and when Max had a bad dream, she pushed her way into the other's arms. And the officer held her tightly, smelling the scent of her own shampoo in the girl's soft, brown hair. It smells better on her, even my clothes look better on her.

Finally, she finds the source of the tone, accepting the call that's been ringing for 5 minutes. "Whaaat?" She croaks out, her eyes still shut. "Chloe! Where the hell have you been?!" Her body lurches forward, panic surging through her heart. "Never mind, it's almost been a whole damn month, with no word from you! Nathan has been bailed out of jail."

Her teeth clench together so tightly that she was sure they would break, the grip on her phone becoming lethal. Her eyes land on Max, the girl who is sleeping peacefully; something she never did before. The officer could hear her father's heavy sigh. She didn't want to wake Max, so she gets up and goes to the kitchen quietly before responding.

"What the fuck do you mean he's been bailed out? Who bailed him out?" Chloe balances the phone between her ear and shoulder, trying to make a cup of coffee to calm herself down. "His father, of course. The press never figured out Nathan was in jail, and his father wanted to keep it that way. Where the hell have you been? No one's seen you around the station for weeks. Your goddamn office is collecting dust."

Chloe licks her lips, her mind blank; no excuse to save me now. "I've- I've been doing what you asked me to." She wasn't wrong, he asked her to spend time with Max and she did. The coffee machine beeps, signaling the dark liquid is ready to be devoured. "I've been with Max, trying to convince her. I mean-"

"You've been with the victim this entire time?" David's voice was both curious and pissed off. "Quit calling her that! She has a name!" Her fist pounds into the counter-top with every few words. A drawn out, disappointed sigh leaks out of her mobile, "I told you not to get attached."

"Dad, I'm not-" She shakes her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm not attached, alright?" The sound of shuffling feet causes Chloe to turn her head, seeing a sleepy Max standing at the kitchen archway. "I'll talk to you about it later, I promise I'll pull through." She ends the call without hesitation, turning to face the younger girl.

"Who were you talking to?" Max speaks raspily, rubbing the sleep from her half-lidded eyes. Chloe forces a grin on her face to cover her frustrations with the chief.

"It's uh... it's nothing. Just business, is all." Chloe scratches the back of her head. The last thing she wanted was to make Max concerned or upset. "I made some coffee, want some?" Chloe says, already turning to open the cabinets.

"Sure," Max says, sluggishly pulling herself up to sit in a stool. The small girl watches Chloe as she pulled two mugs off of the top shelf; jealous of her obvious height and her ability to reach things without having to climb on chairs and countertops for them. Max always enjoyed watching Chloe do whatever she was doing; she thought it was humorous to see how concentrated the officer gets when she plays video games or when she's doing paperwork for the police station.

"Oh, yeah... It has been a while since you've been to work, hasn't it?" Max asks softly, feeling a twinge of guilt.

"Hm? Yeah, what about it?" Chloe responds, pouring the hot liquid into the mugs. She gently hisses when she burns her finger on the steam coming up, putting the tip of her finger in her mouth in an attempt to cool the sting of it.

"I've been keeping you out of work this whole time," The brunette states, biting her lower lip. Even after all this time, she still couldn't think of a reason as to why the officer has done all of this for her. Max felt as if she didn't deserve any of it.