To find out the tortured souls.
"Liz, do they look familiar to you?" Max asked with curiosity in his eyes, as he then led her out into the alley, seeing that the two kids were gone from his sight.
"They do," Liz said softly, as her eyes went wide, and she turned to look at Max. "M-Max… I think I know who those two kids are…"
"You do? Who are they, Liz?"
"Max, I think that was Claudia and Alexander… our children from the past…"
Max's eyes went wide, as he listened to the words that left Liz's mouth, and he just couldn't believe it. His children from his past from Antar were alive? He wasn't even sure what to say or even do at the moment. Both Liz and him were finding out so much information.
"Max?"
Max looked over at her, seeing how scared she looked, and he couldn't even imagine what she was going through. Her life was in shambles right now and the only one to blame was Tess Harding. God, he just didn't even want to imagine what Liz was going through right now.
"Why did Tess do this to me?" Liz mumbled, as she let go of Max's hands, and she bit down on her bottom lip. "I mean, she worked for us, right?"
Max nodded his head. "Yeah, she did… well, mainly you. She was your servant, basically, but I really don't remember what the hell she did to split us up, Liz…"
"I don't, either, but I think I might know who does," Liz said, as they stood at the door of the Crash Down, and she took a deep breath. "Actually, I think two people might know exactly what happened…"
"Are you talking about Zan and Ava?" Max asked Liz, as he opened the door, letting Liz go inside, and he walked inside right after her.
"Yeah… I mean, she has told me stories about her past, so I am pretty positive that she knows," Liz said, watching Zan and Ava walk through the double doors, and she pulled Max with her to the back.
"Stop it right there!" Max said, once they walked through the double doors, seeing Zan and Ava trying to walk through the back door. "We've got questions and we're pretty positive that you two are the only ones with the answers."
Zan sighed, as he ran a hand through his messy hair, and he looked in between Max and Liz. "Are you sure you two want to know?"
"Well yeah, but –" Liz paused for a second, as she looked at Ava and Zan with raised eyebrows, placing her hands on her hips, and she shook her head. "Wait, you know what we were going to ask?"
"Is this about Claudia and Alexander or what exactly happened with Tess… or rather my evil self on Antar?"
Max sighed. "Both. We want to know about both, you two, but not here where anyone could hear us. We need to go somewhere private where Tess won't have any way of listening in…"
"Well, there's always my room?" Liz offered.
"No… why don't we go to Ava's and my place?" Zan suggested with a slight nod of his head, as he grabbed Ava's hand, thankful that Ava was off of work right now.
"Sure, that's the perfect place," Max said with a nod of his head, as he looked from Ava and Zan down to Liz, giving her a small smile on his face.
. . . . .
Michael watched Maria, as she came from the back, and she shook her head. He had sent her in the back to see if Max, Zan, Ava, and Liz were in the back, but they were already gone. Then, he watched those two kids from earlier take a seat beside him, and he frowned. They looked like they lived on the streets but they were clean."Hi, would you guys like something to eat?" Maria asked them, as she looked at the two brunette kids with those dark eyes that seemed familiar, and she flashed them a smile.
"We don't have any money," Alexander said softly, as he looked down at the countertop, and he looked away from it, shaking his head. "We just came in to get warm…"
"Hold on one second," Maria said, as she walked away from them, approaching Jeff Parker. "Mr. Parker?"
"Yes Maria?"
"Do you see those two kids that are sitting by Michael?" Maria asked him, as she watched him look over to the kids before nodding his head when he looked over at her with a slight smile on his face.
"Maria, go ahead. Get them enough food… on the house," Jeff said, as he walked away, heading into the back to do some paperwork.
Maria walked back to behind the counter, looking at the two children, and she smiled at them. "So, I talked to my boss. You two can get whatever you want. What would you two like to eat?"
"Really?" Claudia asked with excitement, as she was then handed a menu in between the two, and she blushed just a little bit.
"Go on… it's been quiet and I am sure that our cook would like for something to do."
Claudia and Alexander nodded their heads.
"Where are you two staying?"
Claudia bit down on her bottom lip. "Um… We aren't staying anywhere, actually to tell you the truth. We woke up at some place called Vasquez Rocks about four years ago…"
Michael's eyes went wide. Were they from Antar, as well?
. . . . .
Now that the four of them were at Zan and Ava's place, things would be easier for Liz and Max to get the answers that they desperately wanted and needed. Liz needed this most of all because it would explain why Tess did this to her, along with why the blond hated her guts for that matter. It just didn't make any sense, though."So, what do you want to know first?" Zan asked, as he placed his bottle of water down in front of him, and he placed his hands in his lap.
"Let's start with those kids from the diner. Was that Claudia and Alexander?" Liz asked, pulling her knees to her chest, biting down nervously on her bottom lip.
Ava sighed, nodding her head, and she pushed some of her hair away from her face, glancing to Liz and Max for a second before she looked down at the ground.
"Yes, that's them. I couldn't honestly tell you guys. I mean, Liz… you had no recollection of your memory of you being from Antar, and Max… if you knew, you would have went to Liz. I just couldn't, especially with Liz having an anger problem. I'm sorry," Ava said with a frown, as she glanced up, looking over to the two of them with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Anger problem?" Liz seethed, as she looked at Ava with a glare, and she frowned, sulking in her seat. "God Ava, I'm so sorry…"
Ava gave Liz a soft smile, grabbing Zan's hand, and she bit down on her bottom lip. "It's fine. It's a good thing that Michael's going to start helping you tonight."
"How did you know that?" Liz asked with a raised eyebrow, taking a deep breath, and she licked across her bottom lip, still keeping her knees against her chest.
"Michael told us when Max went to see you," Zan informed Liz with a small smile, as he looked over at her, and he sighed softly. "Claudia and Alexander don't really have a place to go. Now… since Ava and myself are a few years older than the two of you and we have a bigger place, we could give them a room since we have a few, extra rooms."
Max actually liked that idea and he turned to look at Liz. "You know… that's a good idea, Liz. It would give you time to get your stuff together before you actually meet them. Well, you could meet them, but well… it's all up to you. What do you want to do?"
Liz didn't even have to think about it because these were her children and she wanted the best life for Claudia and Alexander. She wasn't even twenty years old, and until she had her stuff together, Alexander and Claudia just couldn't live with her. Hell, Max and her weren't even together at the moment.
"I wouldn't want to impose them on you… but the two of them living on the street just isn't-"
"Liz, don't even worry about it. We would be so grateful to having them in our home. Besides, they can get to know McKenna," Ava said with a grin on her face. "You two can even help me decorate their rooms tomorrow to surprise them. I am going to see if Michael can track them down to let them stay with him."
"That would be really nice, Ava," Max said with a smile on his face, as his smile faltered, and he looked pretty serious. "Now, what exactly happened to Liz's and my relationship?"
"Are you two sure you want to know?" Zan asked with a hesitant look on his face, as he ran a hand through his messy hair, and he bit down on his bottom lip.
"Is it really that bad?" Liz asked with a glance in between the two of them.
"Well… my evil side, Tess, was evil on Antar, and Liz, she really didn't like you. The things she did to get Zan was pretty brutal," Ava explained with a deep breath leaving her lips, as she inhaled a deep breath, looking down at the ground.
"Was it really that bad?" Max asked, looking at both Zan and Ava, frustration definitely in his eyes. "What exactly did she do?"
Ava sighed. "Well, at first, she started to send him letters to Zan, confessing her undying love to him, but Zan wasn't hearing it because he told her he was completely and utterly in love with Evangeline. He truly did love her. Not once did he ever cheat on her. When Evangeline got pregnant, his love only got stronger. He would always show her his affection in and out of the bedroom…"
Liz's cheeks flushed to the thoughts of her being intimate with Max because they weren't even together. Although, Ava had told her that Max did like her. Could it even be true?
"I couldn't help it," Zan admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. "Well, Max and I couldn't since we're the same person, but anyways, let me tell you the rest. Evangeline had a hard pregnancy and Ava wanted to terminate the pregnancy. Any stress was bad for her and the children. Well, Zan had told Ava that, and she decided to use that to her advantage. Evangeline was about seven months pregnant. One night, Ava set it up where Evangeline would catch her with Zan…"
"What did she do?" Liz frowned.
"Liz, she made it look like Zan and Ava just had sex. Max was under the covers asleep and Ava was in some sexy… disgusting nightgown," Ava explained with a sigh leaving her lips, as she bit down on her bottom lip, not too sure what to do or even say.
"Oh… wow. She was a piece of work, wasn't she?" Max grumbled under his breath, sighing. "Did Evangeline believe that he didn't sleep with her?"
"Of course she didn't, Max…"
"Actually…"
"Zan, please tell me you're joking?" Liz asked with another frown on her face, shaking her head, and she bit down on her bottom lip.
"Liz, Evangeline was so emotional, and she definitely gave Zan a piece of her mine, but when she saw that smile on Ava's face, pregnant and all, Evangeline decked her!" Zan said with a proud smile on his face, as he ran a hand along Liz's arm, flashing her a grin. "Ava actually tried to retaliate, and unfortunately… I couldn't stop her because she mind-warped me."
"Damn her!" Max said with a growl leaving his lips, shaking his head in complete disgust, sighing heavily. "What happened next?"
"When Ava sent Evangeline across the room and tried to burst Eva on fire, that's what snapped me out of my thoughts," Zan said, inhaling a deep breath, looking between the three of them. "And because of Evangeline for the first time being so scared, she went into labor."
"If it wasn't for the built in emergency room Zan had built in the mansion, Claudia and Alexander wouldn't have made it…"
Hearing Ava's words, Liz bit down on her bottom lip. "So, did Ava stop there?"
"No. She definitely didn't stop there. She thought that she could be Claudia and Alexander's mother and she was going to do anything to get that position…"
Zan looked to his girlfriend and he sighed before he looked at Max and Liz. "So, one night when Evangeline wasn't feeling good, but Evangeline and I had promised to take the kids out to a movie. When I returned home with the kids, my mansion was on fire. Ava had set my bedroom on fire and she made sure that Evangeline couldn't get out, either…"
"That bitch burned her?" Max asked in horror, feeling Liz's hand squeeze his when she grabbed his hand, and he sighed. "Oh my God… what the hell are we dealing with?"
"I told you, Max… when you go and see Tess, you can't go alone. She'll do something," Liz said quietly, as she looked down at the ground, and she shook her head.
"I… I won't."
"Max, promise us that you'll let us know when you intend to see her," Zan said with a serious look in his eyes.
"I will. After what you both have told us, I won't go alone," Max said, still in shock to everything he heard.
