Ken r – Michael is still Michael and Maria is still Maria so Maria is more open while Michael is more stonewall about his feelings.
April – Trouble in paradise is a big word but yes, something is going to happen.
Flamehair – Thanks for reading.
Starcrazed – Hmmm, yes, there will be more Maria-River Dog interaction because RD is the one who knows Michael the best.
DeDe Pr – Maria singing, as in the show, in a club? No, sorry.
Part 41
They sat in silence for a while, listening as the sound of drumbeats and sacred chants began to fill the air. The bonfire burned brightly, throwing eerie lights over the masked dancers charged with the banishment of evil spirits. Sparks from the fire shot up into the night sky, extinguished within seconds of being exposed to the night air.
“Michael?”
“Hmm?”
“Do you dance?” She patted his arm when she felt him tense up. “Your dad was telling me about your fascination with the dancers and their outfits earlier today and I was just wondering if you dance.”
“Oh, okay, I thought you were wantin’ to dance,” he muttered, relieved. “Yeah, I know how to do most of the dances; my dad and River Dog taught me how years ago. But, it’s not really my thing, y’know? I don’t participate or anything now.”
“Do you dance at all?”
“Huh-uh, not if I can help it.”
Maria nodded. Somehow, that was the answer she had expected. Her gaze followed the dancers as they made their way around the fire and she lifted her head from Michael’s shoulder when movement off to the side caught her attention. She smiled when she saw Joey mimicking the dancers’ movements under his father’s watchful eye, ready to intervene if the boy got too close.
“Michael, can I ask a personal question?”
“You can ask, but I’m not promisin’ I’m gonna answer.”
“Fair enough. Do you know what caused Joey’s parents to start drinking?” she asked.
Michael scratched his chin as he contemplated her question. “From what I’ve heard, it was a combination of things; Uncle Elijah couldn’t read for most of his life and he ended up droppin’ outta school when he was sixteen, he couldn’t find employment because he couldn’t read, so he eventually just gave up and started hangin’ with the wrong crowd.” He shifted slightly in his chair and cleared his throat. “Alcoholism and drug use is a huge problem on most reservations and while we’re not in the top percentage, our Rez has more than its fair share.”
Maria leaned against his shoulder again. “But, why is the percentage so much higher with Native Americans?”
“I certainly don’t condone it, but for many it’s their only escape from a reality they can’t cope with. The high rates of unemployment, poverty, homelessness, and a life expectancy that’s lower than the rest of the country’s population are huge contributing factors; they lead to depression, and in some cases aggression and suicide. Native Americans have a higher suicide rate than any other ethnic group; the number is somethin’ like 1.5 times the national rate.” He lifted his right hand to scratch his eyebrow with his thumb. “Do you know how many Native Americans are expected to graduate from college on average?”
Michael was so passionate and angry about this subject, but Maria knew he needed to express himself and share his views regarding how his family and his people were being treated, so she asked, “How many?”
“Right at one percent, and that’s a nationwide figure. One percent, Maria.” He shook his head. “Parents on some of the reservations are reluctant to send their kids to public schools because of the way their families were forced to assimilate into White culture in the past, so you can imagine how that affects them when they’re forced to attend public school.”
“Your parents sent you and Maggie to public school.”
“Yeah. Well, there’s no school on the Rez, and they knew that we’d get a quality education in town. We weren’t accepted immediately, but Mom an’ Dad weren’t gonna have their kids getting a substandard education because certain people didn’t think we belonged there.”
Maria’s heart beat painfully in her chest as she imagined the kind of treatment Michael and Maggie must have run into at school. Kids could be tough on other kids who were different. “That must’ve been difficult for you.”
Michael scowled as some of his more unpleasant memories of school resurfaced. “Some days it still is. It helps that there are quite a few of us… keeps things balanced.” He chuckled. “We weren’t the first kids from the Rez to go to school in town, but it’s a cycle that repeats itself every year with each new batch of kids. I imagine there’ll always be those who don’t want our kind around just like there’ll be some of us who don’t want Whites around.” His eyes found Dakota with ease, lurking in the shadows on the edge of the firelight’s circle.
Maria’s gaze followed his and she wondered what he was thinking as he watched his cousin. “Do you think he’ll ever change the way he thinks about White people?”
“I don’t know.” Michael had been keeping an eye on Dakota all evening, certain that he was planning something. He didn’t trust his cousin for a single second; he knew too well what the other boy was capable of, but he wasn’t gonna let him disturb the ceremony or bother Maria. He brought himself back to the discussion when he realized that Maria was talking.
“I didn’t realize that conditions were so bad on the reservations.”
Michael rolled his eyes. As if people really wanted to be reminded about what was really going on out on the Reservations… it was a part of American society that most were quite content to turn a blind eye to. “Well, it’s not exactly the kinda thing that’s gonna make the top news stories, is it? Who wants to know about poverty, alcoholism, unemployment, and lacking education among Native Americans? People don’t wanna hear about it.” He snorted derisively. “Kinda kills the myth of the handsome, heroic Indian you read about in historical romances, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, not really into that type of fiction; I’m more of a Harry Potter fan myself.” She nudged him with her elbow. “What do you know about historical romances?”
Michael looked at her, wondering if she really thought that he would ever read that garbage. Not even if they tied him up and tried to force him to read it! He had ears though, and unfortunately, he also had a sister who read the books and was always happy to share more information about that kind of literature than he had ever wanted to know. “Maggie and her friends read that crap. You don’t see anyone writin’ about the reality; they write stories usin’ characters that they’ve manipulated so that they fit some idea of what they think Native Americans were a hundred years ago. They use characters that are rarely Indian; they’re either some White guy who was raised as an Indian or it’s a guy who’s half-Indian and half-White. The girl in the stories is always some rich, pampered White girl from back East somewhere who falls in love with the guy after he rescues her from whatever completely implausible scenario the writer came up with. So, the guy would have to be White and raised native or at least half-White so that they can rationalize him settling in with other Whites when they ride off into the sunset at the end.” He shook his head in disgust. “It’s completely stereotypical; the hero’s always the guy with long hair, the thin, well-built body… y’know, the powerful Indian warrior who is completely civilized and accepted by society’s standards.”
Maria laughed at his description of the mythical Indian lover. She could just picture him lecturing Maggie and her friends about their “crappy choice of reading material!” “I guess you’re not that impressed with sports teams either then.”
What? Where had that come from? They were talking about books and out of nowhere she jumps and starts talking about sports? “What?”
She couldn’t help but smile when she saw his lost expression. He was so adorable. Of course, she wouldn’t dare tell him that to his face. He’d jump all over her, ranting about how he was a guy and guys were not adorable. Okay, she loved to watch him rant and rave over things, so she’d have to tell him that, just to get a reaction out of him. She shook her head. She was insane… totally insane. Here she was making plans to piss him off just because she loved to watch him get all worked up. “I saw a thing on the news a while back… protests against tribal names being used as names for sports teams, I think.”
Oh, that. Michael nodded in understanding when she clarified her statement. “Yeah. A lot of Native Americans have been tryin’ for years to stop sports teams from usin’ their names and symbols because they’ve been reduced to mascots for the teams, but so far they’ve been unsuccessful. I think it’s interesting that in today’s society people are encouraged to be so careful of what they say because of how it might offend someone’s beliefs, culture, or religion, but when it comes to Native Americans, we’re still usin’ them as mascots for sports teams.”
Michael was right. This was a part of their society that she hadn’t really given much thought to before. There was a lot to do, to make people understand the Native American’s way of life and to teach others to respect their religion, as well as teaching people the truth about the first inhabitants of this continent. “Not much of a commentary on our society, is it?”
“No, it’s not.”
He glanced down when she shifted around to pull her cell phone out, the light on the display briefly illuminating her face before it faded out.
“Everything okay?”
“I haven’t been able to reach my mom all day.” She frowned at the display before flipping the phone closed again.
“Cell reception’s crap out here; maybe she tried to call earlier and couldn’t get through.”
He motioned over his shoulder. “We can walk out to the parkin’ area if you wanna try to call her again,” he offered.
“Yeah, if you don’t mind.”
Michael’s eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness as they walked further away from the fire and he held onto Maria’s hand as she walked behind him so she wouldn’t trip over anything. As soon as they reached the area where the reception was the strongest, he leaned against one of the cars and stared up into the sky while she made her call. His attention was pulled away from his contemplation of the constellations when Maria sighed in frustration and closed her phone again. “Problem?”
“I just don’t understand why I haven’t been able to reach my mom all day.” She shook her head. “It’s not like her to be out of contact for so long.”
“Maybe she’s just takin’ advantage of her time alone; maybe she had a date and she’s spendin’ time with the guy.”
Maria thought back over her mother’s recent behavior and her suspicion that Amy was dating the aromatherapy salesman. “It has to be Howard,” she muttered, pacing back and forth in front of Michael. “I know she’s been seeing someone but she won’t tell me who it is… I mean, she told me it’s not Howard, but it has to be, and she knows I don’t like him, which means she’s lying to me about him.”
Michael watched her as she paced, getting more agitated with every word and every step.
“This guy is so wrong for my mom, Michael. Seriously wrong. The guy is completely boring! I mean, he sells aromatherapy products for a living and my mom could do so much better than him… she deserves better than Howard!” Maria was getting angrier by the second and she was unaware that her voice was rising as she ranted. “She can’t possibly be so desperate that she’s lowered her standards to such a low level that she’ll date a guy like him!”
“Why’re you drawin’ conclusions based on some scenario you’ve cooked up with that overactive imagination of yours?” Michael snapped, annoyed with her pointless ranting.
Maria stared at him, surprised by his outburst. “What?”
“You said yourself that she told you she’s not datin’ this guy; why would you doubt her word? Has she ever lied to you?”
She paused, staring at him in the near-darkness as she thought about his question. Had her mother ever lied to her? Amy had always treated her like an adult and she had never tried to hide things from her. She had admitted to seeing someone – and had obviously spent the night with him – but she hadn’t tried to hide that fact. She was suspicious of her mother’s behavior and now she wondered if she was just looking for lies because of the recent events with Liz and Alex. She felt the anger from minutes ago begin to fade away. “No.”
“No.” Michael repeated her answer, emphasizing the word in an attempt to get her to acknowledge its meaning.
“No, she’s never lied to me and there’s no reason for her to lie to me now.”
Michael sighed. She was obviously affected by the recent events in her life but she didn’t seem to be able to recognize it. He didn’t know Amy that well, but from what Maria had told him she wasn’t the type of woman who would lie to her daughter. “Maria, I know you’ve been havin’ a difficult time with the way your friends have been actin’, but you can’t start thinkin’ that other people are doin’ the same thing or actin’ the same way because of what they’ve done. Have you considered that maybe the guy she’s seein’ is more than just a temporary fling and she hasn’t said anything because she’s not ready to tell you about it yet?”
Maria watched him, her expression a cross between stubborn and pouting as she tried to find a hole in his argument. “It still doesn’t explain why I can’t reach her.”
“C’mere.” He reached out to take her hand, tugging her up against his body and wrapping his arms around her. “Your mom’s probably just enjoyin’ some time with this guy, whoever he is, while she’s got the freedom to come and go as she pleases. She knows you’re not plannin’ to be home until late tomorrow afternoon, and there’s no reason why she shouldn’t enjoy herself too.”
“You think that’s why she’s not answering her phone?”
“More than likely. You know a lot of people in Roswell, right? So, if somethin’ had happened to your mom someone would’ve called you. Even if they couldn’t get through to you directly they would’ve left a message.” He shrugged. “But, if it’s gonna worry you that much, I can always take you home early.”
Maria considered what he had said. “No, you’re probably right, and while we do have our don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy, she’s always been really good about being there when I get up in the mornings. So, maybe she did decide to spend the weekend with the guy she’s seeing, and if she did… I guess I’m okay with that.” Her hands inched inside his open jacket and her arms slid around his waist. “God, you’re warm; I hadn’t even realized just how cool it had gotten out here.”
Michael pulled her closer and lowered his head to kiss her, wishing that they were anywhere but there, surrounded by his loving and meddlesome family. He deepened the kiss, and smiled against her lips when he heard her quiet whimper. Her hands slid further up his back, fingers clenching in the material of his shirt as she tried to pull him closer. He broke the kiss and straightened up a few minutes later when a bright light sliced through the darkness and settled on them.
“I’ll bet Aunt Catherine would just love to know what you’re doin’ out here,” Dakota snarled.
Maria felt Michael tense but he didn’t make a move towards his cousin. He squinted against the flashlight’s bright beam and she could see him assessing the situation, determining how much of a threat Dakota was at that time.
“Y’know, I notice things,” he said in a singsong voice. “Things that no one else seems to notice or they just don’t wanna mention it.” He turned in a circle, the light cutting a brief path of illumination through the darkness. “It’s easy to learn things, hear what people are sayin’ when no one notices you.”
The tension in Michael’s body went up a notch and he knew that whatever his cousin was going to say, it wasn’t going to be pleasant.
“If it weren’t for the fact that I’m actually related to them…” Dakota waved the light back towards the area where the ceremony was being held, “I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be anywhere doin’ anything with them if it weren’t for the fact that we’re related. Not me an’ you, Guerin, because we’re not related in any possible way, but me an’ them. They don’t even acknowledge me most of the time, and it’s your fault.”
Maria watched him and she could tell that his hostility was escalating, and judging by the tension that was causing Michael’s body to vibrate, he knew his cousin was ready to move his antagonistic behavior to the next level.
“You kids comin’ back anytime soon?” Randolph asked as he joined them. He had seen Dakota take off not long after the young couple had taken their leave and when none of them had returned after a few minutes he had decided to go look for them.
Michael relaxed marginally when he heard his uncle’s voice, and in contrast, Dakota’s anger shifted up several notches.
“That’s right, Dad,” Dakota snarled. “Protect the Whites and – “
“Dakota, I’m not – “ Randolph sighed raggedly when the boy turned and stalked off into the night. “You two should get back before your mother notices that you’re gone,” he advised, and then waited for them to walk ahead of him.
Doo 'awéé ééhoozIIh da-The Lost Child(M/M,TEEN)155 - 8/24/19 - Complete
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ArchAngel1973
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ArchAngel1973
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- Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 7:02 pm
Doo 'awéé ééhoozIIh da-The Lost Child-M/M(CC-Teen)Pt42-10/4
Starcrazed – Dakota makes you nervous for a good reason. He has planned something, he wants to hurt the “the white” guy. Wait and see for what’s going to happen.
April – Dakota wants to hurt Michael and he knows where to hit to hurt, unfortunately.
Flamehair – Alex is doing okay, don’t worry. You’ll see more of him in the next parts.
Part 42
The next morning, Maria glanced at Eddie when he sat down beside her, wide-awake and perfectly alert. “How are you not completely exhausted?” she asked. “You were still dancing when we called it a night.”
Michael snorted. “He hasn’t been to sleep yet.” He yawned and slouched down further in his chair. “I’m not complainin’ though; I got the tent all to myself.”
“I thought you bunked with your cousins?”
Eddie glanced at the younger man and laughed. “Grumpy? Bunkin’ with half a dozen guys?”
Maria’s gaze bounced between them several times before finally settling on Michael. “It was your decision, wasn’t it? Because of Dakota?”
He shrugged. “It was that or get into a fight with him, and I’ve been doin’ my best to avoid that. I’ve never been that happy about sharin’ a tent with a bunch of other people anyway. Besides, I can usually count on havin’ it to myself since Eddie’s girlfriend almost always shows up and keeps him distracted.”
“Uh-huh, but sharing a tent with a bunch of people is okay for me?” Maria teased.
He turned his head to look at her and his lazy gaze turned mischievous. “I would’ve offered to let your bunk with me but my parents would’ve killed both of us.”
“I think you’d do good to remember that, Son,” John said, thumping the back of the boy’s head as he walked past him. His hand briefly rested on Maria’s shoulder. “You too, young lady. The two of you are costin’ me enough sleep as it is; if his mother hears talk like that, I’ll never sleep again.” John chuckled as he walked away, certain that they would behave themselves… for a few minutes anyway. He and Catherine had been their age once but she lacked a sense of humor where Michael and this situation were concerned.
“Oh, my God!” Maria hissed as she slouched down in her chair and smacked Michael’s arm with the back of her hand. “I can’t believe you said that in front of your dad.”
“What? I didn’t know he was sneakin’ around listenin’ to people’s conversations.” He smirked. “Just be glad I didn’t say what I was really thinkin’.”
“Well, whatever it was, do not say it aloud; keep it to yourself.” She grinned when he started to scowl. “At least until we’re sure you won’t be overheard again.”
Eddie controlled the smile that wanted to surface as he watched them; it looked like Michael had finally met his match. A smile began to creep onto Michael’s face in response to her teasing but he quickly masked it when he realized that Eddie was watching him.
“Why don’t you make yourself useful and tell Maria about the rest of the ceremony,” he snapped, annoyed by the amusement on his friend’s face.
Eddie’s smile was mysterious as he turned his attention back to Maria and his explanation of the ceremony. “We’re actually getting close to the end; it’ll be over in a few hours. The girl that danced with Kai yesterday will join her again shortly and while they’re dancin’, the Crowndancers will come back to banish evil from the area, and after that they’ll face Kai while everyone lines up to sprinkle the good medicine over them and bless them. Once that’s completed the medicine man will send Kai’s friend away and Kai will dance with her sponsor while the Crowndancers charge from all four directions to rid the area of any evil that might be lurking around.”
“They do that a lot, don’t they?”
Eddie chuckled. “Yeah, they do. Once they’re satisfied that all evil has been banished Kai will be painted.”
“Painted?” Maria repeated incredulously. “They’re gonna paint her?”
He smiled and shook his head. “It’s not actual paint,” he assured her. “The medicine man’s the only one who knows what’s really in it, and it is brushed on, but it’s not real paint. Once she’s been painted to his satisfaction, the medicine man will give her the basket of paint and her sponsor will use the brush to paint the crowd – it’s a way of blessing everyone. Once the paint is gone, everyone lines up behind the medicine man, Kai, her sponsor, and the Crowndancers, and they’ll dance through the poles in each of the four directions. At that point, Kai will take the blankets at the center and toss them to the four sacred directions, ending the public part of the ceremony.”
“The public part?”
“Um-hmm. We’ll all go back to camp while the ceremony area is cleaned up and the masks that the Crowndancers wore will be broken in a ritual and taken to a sacred place that is known to very few. The broken masks will be left with the Mountain Spirits and Kai will remain in camp for another day, but for the rest of us the ceremony is over.” He grinned. “Which means we’ll be movin’ on to Michael’s favorite part of the weekend.”
“What’s that?” she asked, glancing at Michael.
“The barbeque at Skye’s house.”
“I’m not even gonna dignify that with a response,” Michael growled. He sat up straighter when he spotted Shysie heading in their direction with her adoptive father.
“Can I hide out over here for a while?” Aaron asked as he sat down beside Michael. He shook his head at his nephew’s smirk. “You’re gonna understand one of these days.”
“Who’re you hidin’ from?” Michael picked Shysie up when she stepped up onto his boots.
“My wife. I didn’t realize my baby sisters’ anniversary was this week and that she and her husband are goin’ outta town for a few days.”
Michael snickered. “Aunt Storm wants to leave Summer and Sierra with you an’ Aunt Sarah,” he guessed.
“Monday through Thursday.”
Michael fought to hold back the laughter that was threatening to erupt. His big uncle, hiding from his wife… it was just too funny! Although he could understand why Aaron was trying to hide; he himself lived with a mother and a sister, so he sympathized with the man’s dilemma. He had been there before and he’d rather sleep in a tent out in the desert – or even without one – if it meant he never had to spend another night under the same roof with his cousins! Summer and Sierra were more than any guy should ever have to deal with. “And you think if you hide out over here long enough she’ll what? Forget about it?”
“Hey, a man can hope.”
“Well, good luck with that.”
*****
Isabel tried uselessly to force the butterflies that were churning her stomach into a knot of tension into submission. She didn’t know why she was feeling nervous about seeing Alex; he wasn’t the type to hold a grudge so she was certain they would go right back to working on the letter. Besides, she thought as she pressed the doorbell, she had given him all of Saturday to calm down and realize that she had a right to her own opinions and feelings.
Her confidence faltered when the door opened and she found herself facing his mother. She had met Elaine Whitman during a previous visit and it had been easy to see where Alex got his sense of humor.
“Hi, Mrs. Whitman, is Alex home?”
“He is, dear, but he’s feeling a bit… under the weather; he doesn’t feel up to seeing anyone today.”
“Oh… um, okay.”
Elaine saw the look of confusion that appeared on the girl’s face before she was able to mask it, and she wondered once again about the loneliness she could sense in her.
“Well, I guess I’ll just see him at school tomorrow,” Isabel said as she turned to walk away. She paused after a few steps to look at the older woman. “Please tell him I hope he feels better soon.”
Elaine’s gaze was speculative as she watched the young woman walk away and as she closed the door, she decided it was time her son gave her an explanation better than the one he had provided the night before when he had scared years off of her life.
She had come home and found him trying to clean up after what was obviously a fight and she had insisted on taking him to the emergency room to make sure he was okay. She hadn’t pushed for a better explanation for the obvious beating he had taken, allowing him to believe that she had bought his weak excuse, but now she wanted to know what was really going on.
Alex was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling when his mother knocked on his open door a little while later.
“I think we need to have a little talk about your new look and why you don’t want to see Isabel,” she said as she sat down at the foot of his bed.
Alex dropped the icepack he had been holding against the left side of his face. The area around his left eye was still badly swollen and the cheek below was already turning several different shades of purple. The emergency room doctor had assured them that Alex hadn’t suffered any permanent damage and nothing had been broken, but that he would be uncomfortable for several days.
“There’s nothin’ to talk about, Mom.”
“Why don’t we start with you lying to me, hmm?” She nodded when he carefully turned his head to look at her. “You don’t honestly think I believed you when you told me this was the result of a game of dodge-ball, do you? I insisted on going to the emergency room last night because all it takes is one punch to cause an internal injury that can kill you. The bruising on your abdomen and ribs is extensive and it was bad enough that the doctor insisted on having x-rays done last night.”
“And if memory serves all they found was bruising. Right?” He got to his feet, his movements slow. “I’m fine, Mom, and in a few days I’ll be back to normal.”
“I don’t appreciate your tone, young man. Now, sit down and tell me what happened and why you’re avoiding Isabel.”
“I’m not – “
“Sit down.”
Alex responded to his mother’s authoritative tone and sat down at his desk, his arms wrapped protectively around his tender ribs. “Some of the guys at school have a problem with me talkin’ to Isabel and this is how they expressed their feelings on the subject.”
“You could’ve told me this last night.”
“So you could call Dad? There’s no reason for him to cut his business trip short because I got beat up by the school bullies. He would’ve just told me how fightin’ isn’t the answer. Well, I’ve got news for him, Mom, sometimes a guy’s just gotta use his fists; pacifism isn’t always the answer either. A guy should at least know how to fight if it comes to a point where that’s his only option.”
Elaine regarded her son’s miserable features as he shifted to stare outside. His father was a pacifist by nature and they had that in common, but Charles had never expressed any interest in learning how to fight for any reason.
“Do you hold Isabel responsible for what those boys did to you?”
“What? No, of course not.”
“Then why didn’t you want to see her?”
Alex used his free hand to motion at himself. “Because I look like I just got beat up.” He sighed. “She’ll see it soon enough since tomorrow’s Monday. Besides, I don’t want her to think it’s her fault.” He smiled faintly. “She won’t admit it, but she’ll think it.”
Elaine couldn’t help but smile at his matter-of-fact tone. She had known about Alex’s crush on Isabel Evans for years and she knew he was hoping the girl would eventually see him as more than a study partner. He saw past her beautiful exterior and he had an uncanny ability to sense when something was bothering her, and Elaine had a feeling that it unnerved the girl. She didn’t fool herself into thinking that just because he was kind, sweet, and gentle that he was blind to the statuesque blonde’s beauty. He was a normal, red-blooded male and she had caught him eyeing the girl on more than one occasion. He was very intuitive though and she knew while he obviously enjoyed the girl’s outer beauty he was also attracted to that inner beauty that she kept hidden from the world.
Alex gently probed the swollen flesh over his cheekbone. “This isn’t the least bit impressive,” he muttered. “What kind of a chance do I have with someone like her if I can’t even defend myself?”
“There are different ways to protect people, sweetie.”
*****
Isabel sat on a bench in the park, not noticing the sunlight glinting off of the thousands of tiny light bulbs that were threaded through the leafless trees. Her eyes stared sightlessly at a point in the distance and her thoughts were directed inward as she tried to make sense of Alex’s request for no visitors.
He had looked perfectly healthy the day before when she had seen him talking to Liz outside of the Crashdown. That thought made her pause and she wondered if that had anything to do with Alex suddenly not feeling well. What if Liz had convinced him that Maria should be told the truth? What if she had convinced him that he shouldn’t be spending time with her?
Isabel pushed those thoughts aside, not liking the path that they were taking. She wasn’t used to questioning her own worth and she didn’t particularly care for the fact that it was Alex Whitman of all people who was making her take a hard look at herself.
*****
Maria’s gaze wandered around as she followed Jacey inside to help carry more food out to the picnic tables set up around the in-ground pool in Skye’s backyard. It was obvious that the family was very comfortable financially but there was nothing pretentious about them or their home. She knew from the many pieces of information she had gathered that Jacey’s father was a surgeon and her mother also worked in the medical field, but she wasn’t sure of the woman’s occupation.
“Good grief, Mom,” Jacey complained as she picked up another serving dish. “How much more is there?”
Skye smiled at the question and handed Maria a dish of warm peach cobbler. She’d had no qualms about putting the girl to work when she had offered to help and she hadn’t complained once. “You two go on; I think we can handle it from here.”
“Okay.” Jacey was quick to agree.
“Are you sure?”
“You’ve done plenty, Maria.” She smiled sincerely. “I appreciate the help, but my nephew would probably like to spend some time with you.” She chuckled. “Trust me, he’ll completely forget about everything else once the food’s served.”
“Well, if you’re sure…”
“I’m sure, now go on.”
“There’s plenty more to take out,” Catherine said after the girls had gone.
“What do you think they’re gonna get up to, Catherine?” she asked, laughing.
“Grandma!”
Skye stood when a pair of voices shouted out and little feet could be heard pounding across the wood floors before her grandchildren came running through the door. They crashed into her legs and hurried to duck behind her just as their father came into the room.
“Colton, are you chasing your children through the house?”
“No ma’am. They were runnin’, I was simply followin’ so I could tell their grandmother that they were dryin’ their hands on her lace curtains.”
Skye looked down at the boys. At two and three, Landon and Zane already looked so much like their father, but they had their mother’s adventurous spirit and outgoing personality. They were far from being innocent little angels but they knew better than to do what their father was saying they had done.
“Um-hmm, I think you were chasing them through the house.”
“Okay,” he admitted with a grin. “But they started it.”
“Go check on your father and make sure he isn’t burning anything.”
“Mom, it wouldn’t be a barbeque if Dad didn’t set the food on fire at least once.” He grinned and nodded. “C’mon, you two, let’s go check on Grandpa.”
The boys ran past him and he caught them by the straps on their overalls. Skye rolled her eyes when he wrapped his hands around the straps where they crossed over each other at the boys’ backs and lifted them up off of the ground.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Colton, they’re children, not luggage.” She shook her head when he just smiled and carried the boys outside to his wife. “Now, back to your problem,” she said, turning back to her sister-in-law.
April – Dakota wants to hurt Michael and he knows where to hit to hurt, unfortunately.
Flamehair – Alex is doing okay, don’t worry. You’ll see more of him in the next parts.
Part 42
The next morning, Maria glanced at Eddie when he sat down beside her, wide-awake and perfectly alert. “How are you not completely exhausted?” she asked. “You were still dancing when we called it a night.”
Michael snorted. “He hasn’t been to sleep yet.” He yawned and slouched down further in his chair. “I’m not complainin’ though; I got the tent all to myself.”
“I thought you bunked with your cousins?”
Eddie glanced at the younger man and laughed. “Grumpy? Bunkin’ with half a dozen guys?”
Maria’s gaze bounced between them several times before finally settling on Michael. “It was your decision, wasn’t it? Because of Dakota?”
He shrugged. “It was that or get into a fight with him, and I’ve been doin’ my best to avoid that. I’ve never been that happy about sharin’ a tent with a bunch of other people anyway. Besides, I can usually count on havin’ it to myself since Eddie’s girlfriend almost always shows up and keeps him distracted.”
“Uh-huh, but sharing a tent with a bunch of people is okay for me?” Maria teased.
He turned his head to look at her and his lazy gaze turned mischievous. “I would’ve offered to let your bunk with me but my parents would’ve killed both of us.”
“I think you’d do good to remember that, Son,” John said, thumping the back of the boy’s head as he walked past him. His hand briefly rested on Maria’s shoulder. “You too, young lady. The two of you are costin’ me enough sleep as it is; if his mother hears talk like that, I’ll never sleep again.” John chuckled as he walked away, certain that they would behave themselves… for a few minutes anyway. He and Catherine had been their age once but she lacked a sense of humor where Michael and this situation were concerned.
“Oh, my God!” Maria hissed as she slouched down in her chair and smacked Michael’s arm with the back of her hand. “I can’t believe you said that in front of your dad.”
“What? I didn’t know he was sneakin’ around listenin’ to people’s conversations.” He smirked. “Just be glad I didn’t say what I was really thinkin’.”
“Well, whatever it was, do not say it aloud; keep it to yourself.” She grinned when he started to scowl. “At least until we’re sure you won’t be overheard again.”
Eddie controlled the smile that wanted to surface as he watched them; it looked like Michael had finally met his match. A smile began to creep onto Michael’s face in response to her teasing but he quickly masked it when he realized that Eddie was watching him.
“Why don’t you make yourself useful and tell Maria about the rest of the ceremony,” he snapped, annoyed by the amusement on his friend’s face.
Eddie’s smile was mysterious as he turned his attention back to Maria and his explanation of the ceremony. “We’re actually getting close to the end; it’ll be over in a few hours. The girl that danced with Kai yesterday will join her again shortly and while they’re dancin’, the Crowndancers will come back to banish evil from the area, and after that they’ll face Kai while everyone lines up to sprinkle the good medicine over them and bless them. Once that’s completed the medicine man will send Kai’s friend away and Kai will dance with her sponsor while the Crowndancers charge from all four directions to rid the area of any evil that might be lurking around.”
“They do that a lot, don’t they?”
Eddie chuckled. “Yeah, they do. Once they’re satisfied that all evil has been banished Kai will be painted.”
“Painted?” Maria repeated incredulously. “They’re gonna paint her?”
He smiled and shook his head. “It’s not actual paint,” he assured her. “The medicine man’s the only one who knows what’s really in it, and it is brushed on, but it’s not real paint. Once she’s been painted to his satisfaction, the medicine man will give her the basket of paint and her sponsor will use the brush to paint the crowd – it’s a way of blessing everyone. Once the paint is gone, everyone lines up behind the medicine man, Kai, her sponsor, and the Crowndancers, and they’ll dance through the poles in each of the four directions. At that point, Kai will take the blankets at the center and toss them to the four sacred directions, ending the public part of the ceremony.”
“The public part?”
“Um-hmm. We’ll all go back to camp while the ceremony area is cleaned up and the masks that the Crowndancers wore will be broken in a ritual and taken to a sacred place that is known to very few. The broken masks will be left with the Mountain Spirits and Kai will remain in camp for another day, but for the rest of us the ceremony is over.” He grinned. “Which means we’ll be movin’ on to Michael’s favorite part of the weekend.”
“What’s that?” she asked, glancing at Michael.
“The barbeque at Skye’s house.”
“I’m not even gonna dignify that with a response,” Michael growled. He sat up straighter when he spotted Shysie heading in their direction with her adoptive father.
“Can I hide out over here for a while?” Aaron asked as he sat down beside Michael. He shook his head at his nephew’s smirk. “You’re gonna understand one of these days.”
“Who’re you hidin’ from?” Michael picked Shysie up when she stepped up onto his boots.
“My wife. I didn’t realize my baby sisters’ anniversary was this week and that she and her husband are goin’ outta town for a few days.”
Michael snickered. “Aunt Storm wants to leave Summer and Sierra with you an’ Aunt Sarah,” he guessed.
“Monday through Thursday.”
Michael fought to hold back the laughter that was threatening to erupt. His big uncle, hiding from his wife… it was just too funny! Although he could understand why Aaron was trying to hide; he himself lived with a mother and a sister, so he sympathized with the man’s dilemma. He had been there before and he’d rather sleep in a tent out in the desert – or even without one – if it meant he never had to spend another night under the same roof with his cousins! Summer and Sierra were more than any guy should ever have to deal with. “And you think if you hide out over here long enough she’ll what? Forget about it?”
“Hey, a man can hope.”
“Well, good luck with that.”
*****
Isabel tried uselessly to force the butterflies that were churning her stomach into a knot of tension into submission. She didn’t know why she was feeling nervous about seeing Alex; he wasn’t the type to hold a grudge so she was certain they would go right back to working on the letter. Besides, she thought as she pressed the doorbell, she had given him all of Saturday to calm down and realize that she had a right to her own opinions and feelings.
Her confidence faltered when the door opened and she found herself facing his mother. She had met Elaine Whitman during a previous visit and it had been easy to see where Alex got his sense of humor.
“Hi, Mrs. Whitman, is Alex home?”
“He is, dear, but he’s feeling a bit… under the weather; he doesn’t feel up to seeing anyone today.”
“Oh… um, okay.”
Elaine saw the look of confusion that appeared on the girl’s face before she was able to mask it, and she wondered once again about the loneliness she could sense in her.
“Well, I guess I’ll just see him at school tomorrow,” Isabel said as she turned to walk away. She paused after a few steps to look at the older woman. “Please tell him I hope he feels better soon.”
Elaine’s gaze was speculative as she watched the young woman walk away and as she closed the door, she decided it was time her son gave her an explanation better than the one he had provided the night before when he had scared years off of her life.
She had come home and found him trying to clean up after what was obviously a fight and she had insisted on taking him to the emergency room to make sure he was okay. She hadn’t pushed for a better explanation for the obvious beating he had taken, allowing him to believe that she had bought his weak excuse, but now she wanted to know what was really going on.
Alex was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling when his mother knocked on his open door a little while later.
“I think we need to have a little talk about your new look and why you don’t want to see Isabel,” she said as she sat down at the foot of his bed.
Alex dropped the icepack he had been holding against the left side of his face. The area around his left eye was still badly swollen and the cheek below was already turning several different shades of purple. The emergency room doctor had assured them that Alex hadn’t suffered any permanent damage and nothing had been broken, but that he would be uncomfortable for several days.
“There’s nothin’ to talk about, Mom.”
“Why don’t we start with you lying to me, hmm?” She nodded when he carefully turned his head to look at her. “You don’t honestly think I believed you when you told me this was the result of a game of dodge-ball, do you? I insisted on going to the emergency room last night because all it takes is one punch to cause an internal injury that can kill you. The bruising on your abdomen and ribs is extensive and it was bad enough that the doctor insisted on having x-rays done last night.”
“And if memory serves all they found was bruising. Right?” He got to his feet, his movements slow. “I’m fine, Mom, and in a few days I’ll be back to normal.”
“I don’t appreciate your tone, young man. Now, sit down and tell me what happened and why you’re avoiding Isabel.”
“I’m not – “
“Sit down.”
Alex responded to his mother’s authoritative tone and sat down at his desk, his arms wrapped protectively around his tender ribs. “Some of the guys at school have a problem with me talkin’ to Isabel and this is how they expressed their feelings on the subject.”
“You could’ve told me this last night.”
“So you could call Dad? There’s no reason for him to cut his business trip short because I got beat up by the school bullies. He would’ve just told me how fightin’ isn’t the answer. Well, I’ve got news for him, Mom, sometimes a guy’s just gotta use his fists; pacifism isn’t always the answer either. A guy should at least know how to fight if it comes to a point where that’s his only option.”
Elaine regarded her son’s miserable features as he shifted to stare outside. His father was a pacifist by nature and they had that in common, but Charles had never expressed any interest in learning how to fight for any reason.
“Do you hold Isabel responsible for what those boys did to you?”
“What? No, of course not.”
“Then why didn’t you want to see her?”
Alex used his free hand to motion at himself. “Because I look like I just got beat up.” He sighed. “She’ll see it soon enough since tomorrow’s Monday. Besides, I don’t want her to think it’s her fault.” He smiled faintly. “She won’t admit it, but she’ll think it.”
Elaine couldn’t help but smile at his matter-of-fact tone. She had known about Alex’s crush on Isabel Evans for years and she knew he was hoping the girl would eventually see him as more than a study partner. He saw past her beautiful exterior and he had an uncanny ability to sense when something was bothering her, and Elaine had a feeling that it unnerved the girl. She didn’t fool herself into thinking that just because he was kind, sweet, and gentle that he was blind to the statuesque blonde’s beauty. He was a normal, red-blooded male and she had caught him eyeing the girl on more than one occasion. He was very intuitive though and she knew while he obviously enjoyed the girl’s outer beauty he was also attracted to that inner beauty that she kept hidden from the world.
Alex gently probed the swollen flesh over his cheekbone. “This isn’t the least bit impressive,” he muttered. “What kind of a chance do I have with someone like her if I can’t even defend myself?”
“There are different ways to protect people, sweetie.”
*****
Isabel sat on a bench in the park, not noticing the sunlight glinting off of the thousands of tiny light bulbs that were threaded through the leafless trees. Her eyes stared sightlessly at a point in the distance and her thoughts were directed inward as she tried to make sense of Alex’s request for no visitors.
He had looked perfectly healthy the day before when she had seen him talking to Liz outside of the Crashdown. That thought made her pause and she wondered if that had anything to do with Alex suddenly not feeling well. What if Liz had convinced him that Maria should be told the truth? What if she had convinced him that he shouldn’t be spending time with her?
Isabel pushed those thoughts aside, not liking the path that they were taking. She wasn’t used to questioning her own worth and she didn’t particularly care for the fact that it was Alex Whitman of all people who was making her take a hard look at herself.
*****
Maria’s gaze wandered around as she followed Jacey inside to help carry more food out to the picnic tables set up around the in-ground pool in Skye’s backyard. It was obvious that the family was very comfortable financially but there was nothing pretentious about them or their home. She knew from the many pieces of information she had gathered that Jacey’s father was a surgeon and her mother also worked in the medical field, but she wasn’t sure of the woman’s occupation.
“Good grief, Mom,” Jacey complained as she picked up another serving dish. “How much more is there?”
Skye smiled at the question and handed Maria a dish of warm peach cobbler. She’d had no qualms about putting the girl to work when she had offered to help and she hadn’t complained once. “You two go on; I think we can handle it from here.”
“Okay.” Jacey was quick to agree.
“Are you sure?”
“You’ve done plenty, Maria.” She smiled sincerely. “I appreciate the help, but my nephew would probably like to spend some time with you.” She chuckled. “Trust me, he’ll completely forget about everything else once the food’s served.”
“Well, if you’re sure…”
“I’m sure, now go on.”
“There’s plenty more to take out,” Catherine said after the girls had gone.
“What do you think they’re gonna get up to, Catherine?” she asked, laughing.
“Grandma!”
Skye stood when a pair of voices shouted out and little feet could be heard pounding across the wood floors before her grandchildren came running through the door. They crashed into her legs and hurried to duck behind her just as their father came into the room.
“Colton, are you chasing your children through the house?”
“No ma’am. They were runnin’, I was simply followin’ so I could tell their grandmother that they were dryin’ their hands on her lace curtains.”
Skye looked down at the boys. At two and three, Landon and Zane already looked so much like their father, but they had their mother’s adventurous spirit and outgoing personality. They were far from being innocent little angels but they knew better than to do what their father was saying they had done.
“Um-hmm, I think you were chasing them through the house.”
“Okay,” he admitted with a grin. “But they started it.”
“Go check on your father and make sure he isn’t burning anything.”
“Mom, it wouldn’t be a barbeque if Dad didn’t set the food on fire at least once.” He grinned and nodded. “C’mon, you two, let’s go check on Grandpa.”
The boys ran past him and he caught them by the straps on their overalls. Skye rolled her eyes when he wrapped his hands around the straps where they crossed over each other at the boys’ backs and lifted them up off of the ground.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Colton, they’re children, not luggage.” She shook her head when he just smiled and carried the boys outside to his wife. “Now, back to your problem,” she said, turning back to her sister-in-law.
-
ArchAngel1973
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 373
- Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 7:02 pm
Doo 'awéé ééhoozIIh da-The Lost Child-M/M(CC-Teen)Pt43-10/11
Kenr – Native Americans cherish family gatherings, and gatherings which celebrate their past. They try to keep it alive.
Simplyshiny – Hello, new reader. It’s true that the show insisted on Maria and Liz and that Alex being apart was never really developed. In The Lost Child, the situation is reversed and we can see how it hurts when this kind of situation between friends happens.
April – Thanks for the congratulation on the nomination. Yes, Isabel is slowly falling for Alex. When will they both realize it?
Flamehair – Thanks for reading.
Starcrazed – For Catherine, Michael is her baby boy. So you can expect some tension with Maria.
Part 43
Maria was sitting on the porch swing on the back deck, watching the activity going on around her, amazed by the way the family interacted.
“It’ll be fun,” Maggie was saying as she walked down the steps with Summer. “And besides, while you and Sierra are staying with us this week, you can ride to school with me, Linda, and Christina.”
“You guys all have practice after school though.”
Maggie nodded. “Hmm, I see the problem. We’ll have to think about that.”
“What’re we thinking about?” Sierra asked from her perch on the wide railing that bordered the deck.
“Aunt Catherine and Uncle John offered to let us stay with them while Mom an’ Dad are outta town for their anniversary, so were we just discussing whether we wanna hang out after school for two hours while Maggie’s at basketball practice or if we wanna ride back with Grumpy and spend two hours hanging out with him while we’re waiting for her to get home.”
Sierra shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t mind riding back with the bear.”
“I’m sure he’ll appreciate that,” Shawnee muttered under her breath. “She’ll talk his ear off the whole time.” She grabbed her cell phone when it rang, smiling at the name displayed on the small screen before hurrying inside the house to find someplace quiet to talk.
Maria’s gaze settled on Michael, watching him as he stood behind one of his younger cousins, his arms around the boy as he demonstrated the proper way to hold and swing a baseball bat. He had joined some of his cousins for an impromptu game when the younger ones had decided they wanted to play. The older cousins had taken positions at the spots designated as bases and the outfield and it looked like they were having just as much fun as the children were.
Shyanne had taken the position of pitcher, tossing the plastic ball for the kids and Michael had remained behind the batters, giving them pointers, standing in for the littler ones, hitting the ball and letting them run around the bases, as well as acting as the catcher.
Maria’s eyes followed the ball when Michael hit it for one of Sages’ younger boys and the two-year-old made his way to first base where Yancey was crouched down, urging him on. Austin and Shadow made a big production of trying to recover the ball, making everyone laugh and giving the little boy the opportunity to get to second base.
Colton’s oldest boy took his turn at bat and wasn’t the least bit discriminating; he swung at every pitch with enthusiasm. He swung so hard on the second pitch that the momentum kept his body in motion and Michael just barely had time to jump back out of the way when the bat came dangerously close to connecting with a part of his body that had no business ever coming into contact with a baseball bat.
Maria turned her head when a commotion rose from the corner of the yard where Skye’s husband had been proudly showing off his grilling abilities and discussing college sports. She did a double take when she saw the large Golden Retriever dodging several of the men who had been gathered around and her eyebrows rose when Skye’s husband chased after the animal.
“Mom!” Jacey shouted. “The neighbor’s dog’s loose again!”
The backyard erupted in chaos when the dog spotted the ball Michael had just tossed back to Shyanne. She panicked when she saw the large animal bearing down on her and she threw the ball blindly in an attempt to take the focus off of her. The dog barked and jumped up in the air, catching the ball before dodging the people trying to catch him again. He led them on a merry chase for several minutes before he managed to work his way around to the opposite side of the pool.
“Do not get in my pool!” Kade shouted, brandishing his spatula like a weapon.
The dog dropped the ball and stretched out on the sun-warmed concrete, tongue lolling out of his mouth as he panted and watched his opponent lazily. The dog’s head snapped to the left when the slightest breeze gave the plastic ball a gentle nudge and it rolled towards the pool. His ears perked up when it paused, poised on the edge of the pool, barking joyfully when it fell into the water.
“No, no, no!”
The dog paid no attention to the man as he stood and launched his shaggy body into the water.
“No!” Kade howled as he paced alongside the pool, making sure he was close enough to grab the beast when it was finished getting hair everywhere.
“What is going…” Skye’s voice trailed off when she saw what was going on.
“What’s goin’ on? That animal’s getting hair in the pool and it’s gonna clog the damn filter up. Again!”
“Language, Kaden, there are little ears here today.”
The dog exited the pool and walked up to Kade, dropping the ball at his feet and wagging his tail before he shook himself, sending drops of cold water flying in every direction. Kade grabbed the dog’s collar with both hands and tried to pull the animal back away from the pool, but the dog planted his feet and refused to be moved. He yawned and lowered his head and Kade fell back on the grass when the collar slipped off.
“Dad!”
“Not now, Colton. Can’t you see I’m busy?”
“Dad!”
“What?!”
Colton shrugged one shoulder and grinned when his dad turned to look at him. “I was just gonna tell you that the burgers are on fire.”
“Damn it!” he shouted as he took off running towards the grill.
“Kaden!” Skye hurried after him, admonishing his use of certain words in front of the children while in the background chaos reigned once more as everyone else tried to catch their uninvited guest.
Maria took it all in and wondered if this was what it would be like when she and Michael had their own place. She had never been around a family like his and she knew it was going to take some time to get used to it. At home, it was just her mom and her; there weren’t relatives who dropped by on occasion for a visit, or who might need to leave their children for a few days while they were out of town. Michael was very involved with his family and the people on the reservation and she was sure there would be times when his help would be needed with different tasks; digging a well, building something, or helping out with some other task. She would have to get used to having his rather large family in their home, and she would have to accept that there were going to be times when that would be an inconvenience.
He wasn’t just her boyfriend or the guy she loved, she could actually see a future with him, living together, having children if it was possible, and being part of this large family…
She sat up straighter suddenly, hurrying to pull the little vial of cedar oil out of her pocket, twisting the cap off and inhaling the calming fragrance. The realization that she was thinking of Michael as a permanent fixture in her life shook her to her very core. It was a life-altering, earth-shattering revelation and it was occurring right in the middle of a family barbeque.
What did all of this mean to her future? Could she be with just one guy for the rest of her life? Was she more than just a girlfriend to Michael? Was he even interested in a more permanent relationship? What if he didn’t want something long-term? God, would he stay with her just because she knew his secret? What was going to happen after they graduated from high school? Would they be going to college? What if they went to different colleges? Could they even maintain a long-distance relationship? Would they want to?
Her gaze settled on Michael as the questions flew through her mind as fast as lightening. She hadn’t realized that there were so many unanswered questions about him, her, their relationship, and the future. She knew nothing was really set in stone; they hadn’t talked about the future or what they wanted past high school. She lifted her hands to cover her face and she shook her head, unable to believe the surprising path her thoughts had taken; she hadn’t expected to fall in love in love so young, to feel so in-tune with someone to the point of wanting it all – a future, marriage, children. She had been raised by a hippie for God’s sake! She was supposed to want freedom, to crave it, and up until Michael had come into her life, she had thought that was what she wanted. Her parents were hippies, wasn’t she genetically predisposed to want that same type of existence?
But out of nowhere, Michael and his take-no-prisoners attitude had come into her life and completely won her over, and she wanted everything that came with him. No, he wasn’t the easiest person to get along with and she had a feeling that he was always going to be challenging, but she knew life with him would never be dull. Now if she only knew whether or not he wanted the same thing. Being in love was supposed to be pure heaven, so how come it was so complicated?
A child’s laughter drew her out of her thoughts and she raised her head, her searching gaze finding Michael within seconds. Shysie was perched on his shoulders, her small hands held in his much larger ones as he did his part to corner the dog. The animal switched directions suddenly, charging towards Colton’s youngest son when he picked up the ball that had been dropped at some point during the chase. Michael shifted so he was holding Shysie against his side, and he scooped the little boy up and out of danger just as the dog ran past. A group of his cousins took up the chase across the yard, ignoring his uncle’s outraged shouts when the dog paused long enough to steal a hamburger off of the plate Kade was holding.
Michael set the kids down and crouched down beside them, taking the ball from the little boy and holding it in the palm of his hand while he explained something. He was great with children and it wasn’t hard to visualize him with their own children someday. Was it possible to fall even more in love every day? she wondered.
She stifled a giggle when Jacey went after the renegade dog and only succeeded in getting wet when the animal jumped up against her and planted his muddy paws on her shoulders. Michael laughed outright at his cousins’ look of complete and utter disgust before showing off; he snapped his fingers and the dog sat down beside him. No, she thought, laughing when he instigated another crazy chase around the yard, she couldn’t imagine a future without him in it.
What was her mom going to say? She shook her head. She could almost hear her mother’s worried voice as she explained how much Maria would be missing out on if she settled down at her age; other guys, other great loves, traveling across the country or around the world, the fun she would miss out on, and all of the other amazing things she wouldn’t get to experience because she was in a serious relationship.
She smiled to herself as she imagined her mother’s rant, easily conjuring up an image of Amy pacing around the kitchen, her hands flying as she made her points with manic gestures. She knew her mother would support her once she realized that Maria was certain that a future with Michael was what she wanted. Well, okay, she amended silently, she probably wouldn’t give her blessing until she had spoken with Michael herself. Which would certainly be an interesting conversation considering his tendency to be silent and her mother’s penchant for talking at the speed of light.
Not far away, River Dog’s eyes narrowed as he watched his grandson’s girlfriend. The girl had been watching the insanity going on in the backyard for several minutes when her expression had suddenly changed from amusement to shock, and she had pulled something from her pocket that she was attempting to inhale with deep breaths. He knew that her revelation, whatever it was, had to do with Michael, and judging by the look of acceptance on her face as she watched his grandson, he was certain that it was a good thing.
Maria looked up when Michael’s grandfather sat down beside her, his weathered face expressing concern.
“Is everything all right?” he asked. “You looked as if something was troubling you.”
“Oh, um…” Maria cleared her throat, unsure of how to proceed. Her thoughts were not only about his grandson, but they were also private and she wasn’t sure she wanted to share them. “Well, I was just thinking about Michael…”
*****
Dakota watched the insanity taking place in the backyard for several minutes before he shook his head and turned back to the sandwich he had been making when the noise outside had distracted him.
“Ungh, now I smell like wet dog,” Jacey complained as she walked in, wrinkling her nose as she pulled her tee shirt away from her body and glanced down at it disparagingly.
“That’s what you get for tackling a wet dog,” Michael commented as he rooted through the refrigerator for a drink.
“Y’know, I was gonna offer to get one of Colt’s shirts for you, but now I think I’ll just let you spend the rest of the day smelling like wet dog.”
“How fitting,” Dakota muttered.
“Why don’t you shut up, Dakota,” Jacey suggested, glaring at him. “No one asked for your opinion.”
He shrugged and focused on his sandwich once more.
“Why don’t you come with me, Michael, and you can get one of Colt’s shirts to change into. I’m sure Maria isn’t gonna want you anywhere near her smelling like that.” She smirked when Michael quickly agreed with her.
“My bag’s in the jeep; I’ll go grab a shirt in a minute.”
Jacey glanced between the two guys, uncertain about leaving them alone. Michael was in an unusually good mood, but Dakota was doing his best to antagonize him.
“Well, all right. I’m gonna run get changed real quick.”
Michael nodded as he straightened up with a can of soda in his left hand. “Don’t expect me to wait for you.”
“I think if I were you, I’d wanna know what Grandpa’s talking to Maria about.”
He shrugged carelessly, aware that Jacey was trying to separate him and Dakota.
“Must be nice to have the whole family so concerned about you,” Dakota snarled after Jacey rushed off to change. “Everyone knockin’ themselves out to make a good impression on your girlfriend… must make you feel pretty important.”
“I know what you’re doin’, Dakota, and I’m not fallin’ for it. No one out there’s goin’ outta their way to impress Maria and I’m not gonna get in a fight with you so you can make me look bad.”
“Certainly think a lot of yourself, don’t you?”
“You’re the one that made it about me.” He shrugged. “I’m not the one who changed and started hatin’ people based on the color of their skin. And if you wanna worry about the whole family, maybe you should think about how much your behavior disappoints them.”
Dakota stared at Michael and his fists clenched at his sides. “Guess you’d know all about that.”
“What?”
“Well, you don’t seem to be too worried about disappointing Aunt Catherine.” He took a bite of his sandwich and chewed it slowly. “Just seems to me you wouldn’t wanna do that since her an’ Uncle John took you in after your real family dumped you off in the desert. You gotta wonder what that was all about, huh? It’s not like your real parents even bothered to leave you someplace where you’d be found; they left you more than twenty miles from the nearest town. Come to think of it, they didn’t even leave you near the road. Seems to me your real parents didn’t want you and they must’ve thought no one else would either.”
Michael forced his hands to remain unclenched; he was seething inside and wanted nothing more than to let loose on Dakota but he knew that was what his cousin wanted him to do. At the same time though, he didn’t want to get into a fight with the entire family and Maria around. His parents had raised him better than that and as he thought about them it gave him the incentive he needed to pull his temper under control.
“Guess it’s a good thing for me that they were wrong,” Michael said as he finished his soda and rinsed the can out. He tossed it into the recycle bin and carefully masked his inner turmoil as he looked at Dakota. “And I haven’t done anything to disappoint my mom.”
“No?” Dakota sneered. “Why don’t you ask her how she really feels about your girlfriend? Because she’s not as okay with your choice as you think she is.”
Michael shrugged, trying to not pay attention to Dakota’s words. “Whatever.”
Dakota watched him carefully as he tried to decipher Michael’s emotional state. The intruder was trying to play it cool, but he knew better. He almost had him; he only needed to push him a little bit more before Michael went right over the edge. “Like I said before, Michael, I blend in with the scenery and people forget I’m there.” He finished his sandwich and washed it down with a drink of water. “People don’t censor what they say when they don’t realize someone else is listening.”
Michael turned to face his opponent. How could Dakota have changed so much? How could he take this much pleasure in hurting his own family? Ignoring him was getting harder and harder for Michael. He wasn’t the kind of guy to just let those kind of words go without responding to them… and Dakota knew it. “You think if you plant enough doubts, I’ll confront my mom? I’m not gonna destroy my relationship with the family just because you’re spreadin’ lies around. I have no intention of doin’ what you’ve done; I don’t want them to be ashamed of me.”
“They’re not ashamed of me,” Dakota snarled. How dare he say that to him? His entire family had been stolen from him and it was because of outsiders like Michael that he was being ostracized by his own people! He had played all of them, charming them, and they had all fallen under his spell. They should love him, not Michael!
Michael shook his head, amazed that Dakota could be so blind to the truth; his own family was uncomfortable with him because of how aggressive, racist, and confrontational he had become. It didn’t have anything to do with the fact that John and Catherine had taken him into their home and raised him. “You run around braggin’ about how proud you are to be Native American, but you use it as a shield and you hide behind it. You use it as an excuse to hate people, and you’re foolin’ yourself if you think anyone in this family’s proud of you for it.”
Dakota’s furious gaze locked onto Michael when he turned and walked outside, ending the conversation. Hatred pounded though his veins and his field of vision narrowed until all he could see was the object of his loathing. His feet carried him outside and towards Michael before he even had time to consider his actions.
Michael scooped Shysie up when she tugged on his shirt and motioned to be picked up. He smiled and nodded when she posed a question in sign language. He was turning to see what Yancey was yelling about from the other side of the yard when a solid right hook connected with his jaw. He was vaguely aware of Shysie’s startled cry when his arms locked around her in an effort to avoid dropping her as he staggered back several steps.
He hurried to hand her over to Sierra when he saw Dakota advancing on him again. “Take her inside,” he barked as he turned back to face the other boy, his hands fisting in anticipation of the fight.
Anger and hurt collided inside of him, but the adrenaline that surged through his body swept the emotions aside and allowed him to focus solely on his opponent. Everything else faded into the background and the only sounds he could hear were his heartbeat and the blood rushing through his veins. He saw the punch coming this time and he ducked out of the way, bringing his right fist up to connect with Dakota’s ribs.
Simplyshiny – Hello, new reader. It’s true that the show insisted on Maria and Liz and that Alex being apart was never really developed. In The Lost Child, the situation is reversed and we can see how it hurts when this kind of situation between friends happens.
April – Thanks for the congratulation on the nomination. Yes, Isabel is slowly falling for Alex. When will they both realize it?
Flamehair – Thanks for reading.
Starcrazed – For Catherine, Michael is her baby boy. So you can expect some tension with Maria.
Part 43
Maria was sitting on the porch swing on the back deck, watching the activity going on around her, amazed by the way the family interacted.
“It’ll be fun,” Maggie was saying as she walked down the steps with Summer. “And besides, while you and Sierra are staying with us this week, you can ride to school with me, Linda, and Christina.”
“You guys all have practice after school though.”
Maggie nodded. “Hmm, I see the problem. We’ll have to think about that.”
“What’re we thinking about?” Sierra asked from her perch on the wide railing that bordered the deck.
“Aunt Catherine and Uncle John offered to let us stay with them while Mom an’ Dad are outta town for their anniversary, so were we just discussing whether we wanna hang out after school for two hours while Maggie’s at basketball practice or if we wanna ride back with Grumpy and spend two hours hanging out with him while we’re waiting for her to get home.”
Sierra shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t mind riding back with the bear.”
“I’m sure he’ll appreciate that,” Shawnee muttered under her breath. “She’ll talk his ear off the whole time.” She grabbed her cell phone when it rang, smiling at the name displayed on the small screen before hurrying inside the house to find someplace quiet to talk.
Maria’s gaze settled on Michael, watching him as he stood behind one of his younger cousins, his arms around the boy as he demonstrated the proper way to hold and swing a baseball bat. He had joined some of his cousins for an impromptu game when the younger ones had decided they wanted to play. The older cousins had taken positions at the spots designated as bases and the outfield and it looked like they were having just as much fun as the children were.
Shyanne had taken the position of pitcher, tossing the plastic ball for the kids and Michael had remained behind the batters, giving them pointers, standing in for the littler ones, hitting the ball and letting them run around the bases, as well as acting as the catcher.
Maria’s eyes followed the ball when Michael hit it for one of Sages’ younger boys and the two-year-old made his way to first base where Yancey was crouched down, urging him on. Austin and Shadow made a big production of trying to recover the ball, making everyone laugh and giving the little boy the opportunity to get to second base.
Colton’s oldest boy took his turn at bat and wasn’t the least bit discriminating; he swung at every pitch with enthusiasm. He swung so hard on the second pitch that the momentum kept his body in motion and Michael just barely had time to jump back out of the way when the bat came dangerously close to connecting with a part of his body that had no business ever coming into contact with a baseball bat.
Maria turned her head when a commotion rose from the corner of the yard where Skye’s husband had been proudly showing off his grilling abilities and discussing college sports. She did a double take when she saw the large Golden Retriever dodging several of the men who had been gathered around and her eyebrows rose when Skye’s husband chased after the animal.
“Mom!” Jacey shouted. “The neighbor’s dog’s loose again!”
The backyard erupted in chaos when the dog spotted the ball Michael had just tossed back to Shyanne. She panicked when she saw the large animal bearing down on her and she threw the ball blindly in an attempt to take the focus off of her. The dog barked and jumped up in the air, catching the ball before dodging the people trying to catch him again. He led them on a merry chase for several minutes before he managed to work his way around to the opposite side of the pool.
“Do not get in my pool!” Kade shouted, brandishing his spatula like a weapon.
The dog dropped the ball and stretched out on the sun-warmed concrete, tongue lolling out of his mouth as he panted and watched his opponent lazily. The dog’s head snapped to the left when the slightest breeze gave the plastic ball a gentle nudge and it rolled towards the pool. His ears perked up when it paused, poised on the edge of the pool, barking joyfully when it fell into the water.
“No, no, no!”
The dog paid no attention to the man as he stood and launched his shaggy body into the water.
“No!” Kade howled as he paced alongside the pool, making sure he was close enough to grab the beast when it was finished getting hair everywhere.
“What is going…” Skye’s voice trailed off when she saw what was going on.
“What’s goin’ on? That animal’s getting hair in the pool and it’s gonna clog the damn filter up. Again!”
“Language, Kaden, there are little ears here today.”
The dog exited the pool and walked up to Kade, dropping the ball at his feet and wagging his tail before he shook himself, sending drops of cold water flying in every direction. Kade grabbed the dog’s collar with both hands and tried to pull the animal back away from the pool, but the dog planted his feet and refused to be moved. He yawned and lowered his head and Kade fell back on the grass when the collar slipped off.
“Dad!”
“Not now, Colton. Can’t you see I’m busy?”
“Dad!”
“What?!”
Colton shrugged one shoulder and grinned when his dad turned to look at him. “I was just gonna tell you that the burgers are on fire.”
“Damn it!” he shouted as he took off running towards the grill.
“Kaden!” Skye hurried after him, admonishing his use of certain words in front of the children while in the background chaos reigned once more as everyone else tried to catch their uninvited guest.
Maria took it all in and wondered if this was what it would be like when she and Michael had their own place. She had never been around a family like his and she knew it was going to take some time to get used to it. At home, it was just her mom and her; there weren’t relatives who dropped by on occasion for a visit, or who might need to leave their children for a few days while they were out of town. Michael was very involved with his family and the people on the reservation and she was sure there would be times when his help would be needed with different tasks; digging a well, building something, or helping out with some other task. She would have to get used to having his rather large family in their home, and she would have to accept that there were going to be times when that would be an inconvenience.
He wasn’t just her boyfriend or the guy she loved, she could actually see a future with him, living together, having children if it was possible, and being part of this large family…
She sat up straighter suddenly, hurrying to pull the little vial of cedar oil out of her pocket, twisting the cap off and inhaling the calming fragrance. The realization that she was thinking of Michael as a permanent fixture in her life shook her to her very core. It was a life-altering, earth-shattering revelation and it was occurring right in the middle of a family barbeque.
What did all of this mean to her future? Could she be with just one guy for the rest of her life? Was she more than just a girlfriend to Michael? Was he even interested in a more permanent relationship? What if he didn’t want something long-term? God, would he stay with her just because she knew his secret? What was going to happen after they graduated from high school? Would they be going to college? What if they went to different colleges? Could they even maintain a long-distance relationship? Would they want to?
Her gaze settled on Michael as the questions flew through her mind as fast as lightening. She hadn’t realized that there were so many unanswered questions about him, her, their relationship, and the future. She knew nothing was really set in stone; they hadn’t talked about the future or what they wanted past high school. She lifted her hands to cover her face and she shook her head, unable to believe the surprising path her thoughts had taken; she hadn’t expected to fall in love in love so young, to feel so in-tune with someone to the point of wanting it all – a future, marriage, children. She had been raised by a hippie for God’s sake! She was supposed to want freedom, to crave it, and up until Michael had come into her life, she had thought that was what she wanted. Her parents were hippies, wasn’t she genetically predisposed to want that same type of existence?
But out of nowhere, Michael and his take-no-prisoners attitude had come into her life and completely won her over, and she wanted everything that came with him. No, he wasn’t the easiest person to get along with and she had a feeling that he was always going to be challenging, but she knew life with him would never be dull. Now if she only knew whether or not he wanted the same thing. Being in love was supposed to be pure heaven, so how come it was so complicated?
A child’s laughter drew her out of her thoughts and she raised her head, her searching gaze finding Michael within seconds. Shysie was perched on his shoulders, her small hands held in his much larger ones as he did his part to corner the dog. The animal switched directions suddenly, charging towards Colton’s youngest son when he picked up the ball that had been dropped at some point during the chase. Michael shifted so he was holding Shysie against his side, and he scooped the little boy up and out of danger just as the dog ran past. A group of his cousins took up the chase across the yard, ignoring his uncle’s outraged shouts when the dog paused long enough to steal a hamburger off of the plate Kade was holding.
Michael set the kids down and crouched down beside them, taking the ball from the little boy and holding it in the palm of his hand while he explained something. He was great with children and it wasn’t hard to visualize him with their own children someday. Was it possible to fall even more in love every day? she wondered.
She stifled a giggle when Jacey went after the renegade dog and only succeeded in getting wet when the animal jumped up against her and planted his muddy paws on her shoulders. Michael laughed outright at his cousins’ look of complete and utter disgust before showing off; he snapped his fingers and the dog sat down beside him. No, she thought, laughing when he instigated another crazy chase around the yard, she couldn’t imagine a future without him in it.
What was her mom going to say? She shook her head. She could almost hear her mother’s worried voice as she explained how much Maria would be missing out on if she settled down at her age; other guys, other great loves, traveling across the country or around the world, the fun she would miss out on, and all of the other amazing things she wouldn’t get to experience because she was in a serious relationship.
She smiled to herself as she imagined her mother’s rant, easily conjuring up an image of Amy pacing around the kitchen, her hands flying as she made her points with manic gestures. She knew her mother would support her once she realized that Maria was certain that a future with Michael was what she wanted. Well, okay, she amended silently, she probably wouldn’t give her blessing until she had spoken with Michael herself. Which would certainly be an interesting conversation considering his tendency to be silent and her mother’s penchant for talking at the speed of light.
Not far away, River Dog’s eyes narrowed as he watched his grandson’s girlfriend. The girl had been watching the insanity going on in the backyard for several minutes when her expression had suddenly changed from amusement to shock, and she had pulled something from her pocket that she was attempting to inhale with deep breaths. He knew that her revelation, whatever it was, had to do with Michael, and judging by the look of acceptance on her face as she watched his grandson, he was certain that it was a good thing.
Maria looked up when Michael’s grandfather sat down beside her, his weathered face expressing concern.
“Is everything all right?” he asked. “You looked as if something was troubling you.”
“Oh, um…” Maria cleared her throat, unsure of how to proceed. Her thoughts were not only about his grandson, but they were also private and she wasn’t sure she wanted to share them. “Well, I was just thinking about Michael…”
*****
Dakota watched the insanity taking place in the backyard for several minutes before he shook his head and turned back to the sandwich he had been making when the noise outside had distracted him.
“Ungh, now I smell like wet dog,” Jacey complained as she walked in, wrinkling her nose as she pulled her tee shirt away from her body and glanced down at it disparagingly.
“That’s what you get for tackling a wet dog,” Michael commented as he rooted through the refrigerator for a drink.
“Y’know, I was gonna offer to get one of Colt’s shirts for you, but now I think I’ll just let you spend the rest of the day smelling like wet dog.”
“How fitting,” Dakota muttered.
“Why don’t you shut up, Dakota,” Jacey suggested, glaring at him. “No one asked for your opinion.”
He shrugged and focused on his sandwich once more.
“Why don’t you come with me, Michael, and you can get one of Colt’s shirts to change into. I’m sure Maria isn’t gonna want you anywhere near her smelling like that.” She smirked when Michael quickly agreed with her.
“My bag’s in the jeep; I’ll go grab a shirt in a minute.”
Jacey glanced between the two guys, uncertain about leaving them alone. Michael was in an unusually good mood, but Dakota was doing his best to antagonize him.
“Well, all right. I’m gonna run get changed real quick.”
Michael nodded as he straightened up with a can of soda in his left hand. “Don’t expect me to wait for you.”
“I think if I were you, I’d wanna know what Grandpa’s talking to Maria about.”
He shrugged carelessly, aware that Jacey was trying to separate him and Dakota.
“Must be nice to have the whole family so concerned about you,” Dakota snarled after Jacey rushed off to change. “Everyone knockin’ themselves out to make a good impression on your girlfriend… must make you feel pretty important.”
“I know what you’re doin’, Dakota, and I’m not fallin’ for it. No one out there’s goin’ outta their way to impress Maria and I’m not gonna get in a fight with you so you can make me look bad.”
“Certainly think a lot of yourself, don’t you?”
“You’re the one that made it about me.” He shrugged. “I’m not the one who changed and started hatin’ people based on the color of their skin. And if you wanna worry about the whole family, maybe you should think about how much your behavior disappoints them.”
Dakota stared at Michael and his fists clenched at his sides. “Guess you’d know all about that.”
“What?”
“Well, you don’t seem to be too worried about disappointing Aunt Catherine.” He took a bite of his sandwich and chewed it slowly. “Just seems to me you wouldn’t wanna do that since her an’ Uncle John took you in after your real family dumped you off in the desert. You gotta wonder what that was all about, huh? It’s not like your real parents even bothered to leave you someplace where you’d be found; they left you more than twenty miles from the nearest town. Come to think of it, they didn’t even leave you near the road. Seems to me your real parents didn’t want you and they must’ve thought no one else would either.”
Michael forced his hands to remain unclenched; he was seething inside and wanted nothing more than to let loose on Dakota but he knew that was what his cousin wanted him to do. At the same time though, he didn’t want to get into a fight with the entire family and Maria around. His parents had raised him better than that and as he thought about them it gave him the incentive he needed to pull his temper under control.
“Guess it’s a good thing for me that they were wrong,” Michael said as he finished his soda and rinsed the can out. He tossed it into the recycle bin and carefully masked his inner turmoil as he looked at Dakota. “And I haven’t done anything to disappoint my mom.”
“No?” Dakota sneered. “Why don’t you ask her how she really feels about your girlfriend? Because she’s not as okay with your choice as you think she is.”
Michael shrugged, trying to not pay attention to Dakota’s words. “Whatever.”
Dakota watched him carefully as he tried to decipher Michael’s emotional state. The intruder was trying to play it cool, but he knew better. He almost had him; he only needed to push him a little bit more before Michael went right over the edge. “Like I said before, Michael, I blend in with the scenery and people forget I’m there.” He finished his sandwich and washed it down with a drink of water. “People don’t censor what they say when they don’t realize someone else is listening.”
Michael turned to face his opponent. How could Dakota have changed so much? How could he take this much pleasure in hurting his own family? Ignoring him was getting harder and harder for Michael. He wasn’t the kind of guy to just let those kind of words go without responding to them… and Dakota knew it. “You think if you plant enough doubts, I’ll confront my mom? I’m not gonna destroy my relationship with the family just because you’re spreadin’ lies around. I have no intention of doin’ what you’ve done; I don’t want them to be ashamed of me.”
“They’re not ashamed of me,” Dakota snarled. How dare he say that to him? His entire family had been stolen from him and it was because of outsiders like Michael that he was being ostracized by his own people! He had played all of them, charming them, and they had all fallen under his spell. They should love him, not Michael!
Michael shook his head, amazed that Dakota could be so blind to the truth; his own family was uncomfortable with him because of how aggressive, racist, and confrontational he had become. It didn’t have anything to do with the fact that John and Catherine had taken him into their home and raised him. “You run around braggin’ about how proud you are to be Native American, but you use it as a shield and you hide behind it. You use it as an excuse to hate people, and you’re foolin’ yourself if you think anyone in this family’s proud of you for it.”
Dakota’s furious gaze locked onto Michael when he turned and walked outside, ending the conversation. Hatred pounded though his veins and his field of vision narrowed until all he could see was the object of his loathing. His feet carried him outside and towards Michael before he even had time to consider his actions.
Michael scooped Shysie up when she tugged on his shirt and motioned to be picked up. He smiled and nodded when she posed a question in sign language. He was turning to see what Yancey was yelling about from the other side of the yard when a solid right hook connected with his jaw. He was vaguely aware of Shysie’s startled cry when his arms locked around her in an effort to avoid dropping her as he staggered back several steps.
He hurried to hand her over to Sierra when he saw Dakota advancing on him again. “Take her inside,” he barked as he turned back to face the other boy, his hands fisting in anticipation of the fight.
Anger and hurt collided inside of him, but the adrenaline that surged through his body swept the emotions aside and allowed him to focus solely on his opponent. Everything else faded into the background and the only sounds he could hear were his heartbeat and the blood rushing through his veins. He saw the punch coming this time and he ducked out of the way, bringing his right fist up to connect with Dakota’s ribs.
-
ArchAngel1973
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Doo 'awéé ééhoozIIh da-The Lost Child-M/M(CC-Teen)Pt44-10/18
April – Thanks for your compliments about Dakota, even if he is a bad guy here. As you said, he isn’t right, but hatred is blinding him.
Starcrazed – Dakota will unfortunately manage to piss off Michael big time. And a pissed off Michael isn’t a nice one to deal with.
Flamehair – Dakota knows a lot of things but Michael has always been careful about his powers so no, he doesn’t know about Michael being an alien.
Simplyshiny – Yep, a fight is coming.
Part 44
Catherine watched, horrified as the boys continued to exchange blows with precision and accuracy, drawing blood but not slowing down. John and Randolph hadn’t yet been able to separate them, and had barely managed to avoid getting hit themselves when they had tried.
They reached out to stop their father when he walked past them, but he simply brushed their hands off. “Do you intend to let them beat each other to death?”
“How do you suggest we separate them, Dad?”
“The same way I separated the two of you when you were younger.”
John exchanged a look with his older brother and shrugged. “Well, it’s not exactly a river…”
Randolph glanced at the pool. “Bet it’s cold though.”
Their sons were only a few feet away from the edge of the pool and one good push sent them stumbling towards it. As soon as the dual sensations of being cold and soaking wet registered in their brains, the fight stopped and the boys hauled themselves up onto the concrete.
Despite the chill when the light breeze blew across his wet skin, adrenaline was still flooding his system and Michael surged to his feet, intent on going after Dakota again. He saw his uncle move to intercept Dakota and Michael tried to jerk free of his father’s grip.
“Michael, let it go, Son.”
Several yards away Dakota was fighting to get away from his own father, his eyes nearly black with hatred as he stared at Michael.
“Don’t, Michael.” John was careful to keep his hand on his son’s arm as he moved around to meet his gaze directly. “I don’t know what started this but we’ll talk about it at home. Hey, look at me.” He shook his head when the boy finally looked at him. “I know you well enough to know that this wasn’t your fault, but I think it’d be best if you took Maria home and let us deal with this in your absence. Okay?”
“You want me to take Maria home?”
John frowned as he leaned forward to stare into his son’s eyes. “Hey, this isn’t a punishment; I just think the two of you need some distance.”
Michael nodded. “I need to change first; I’ll go get my clothes outta the jeep.”
“You left a pair of boots in the truck last time we went hiking; make sure you put them on.”
“I’ll just change in the shop.”
“No self-control,” Dakota taunted. “Maybe that’s why your own people left you in the desert to die. How much do you think she trusts you now, hmm? I mean, if you’re capable of turnin’ on someone you call family, what’s to stop you from doin’ the same to her?”
“Michael.”
His head snapped to the side when his grandfather called his name and he backed off when the old man stared him down.
“Fine,” he snapped, “I’m goin’.”
******
Maria watched the scene unfolding in front of her, wishing she were close enough to hear what was being said between her boyfriend and his cousin. She wondered what had happened to trigger Michael’s reaction. The speed with which he had retaliated worried her because of the possibility that he could slip up and use his powers instinctively. But the longer she had watched them, the more she had become convinced that it wasn’t as cut and dried as it appeared.
The children had quickly been herded into the house to keep them from seeing too much of the boys’ upsetting behavior. The teenagers had stayed outside but their parents had been careful to keep them a safe distance away from the fight.
Once it had been successfully broken up and Michael had stalked around the side of the house, the parents had sent the teenagers into the house amid protests and complaints.
“Maria?” John smiled when she looked up at him. “We’ve got some things to take care of here so once Michael gets changed he’s gonna take you home.”
“You pushed him into the pool,” she accused. “That water’s probably freezing.”
He nodded. “I know it probably seems cruel – “
“Seems? What if he gets sick from – “
“Hey, he doesn’t get sick, remember?” he reminded her quietly. “I know it seems like it was a cruel thing to do, but it was preferable to him takin’ anymore of a beatin’ than he’d already taken. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that it’s nothin’ personal, but Michael’s gonna take you home so we can take care of some things here.”
“He’s gonna feel like he’s to blame if you send him away now,” Maria protested, fully intending to defend Michael.
John sighed regretfully, knowing that it was a possibility. “He might. But he needs to put some distance between him and Dakota right now. They’re both angry and ready to fight so it’s best to keep them separated for a while.”
Several of Michael’s aunts and uncles made sure to speak to Maria, assuring her that asking Michael to take her home early didn’t reflect badly on either of them and that she was welcome to join their family in the future. Michael’s mother hadn’t extended the same invitation, but she was nowhere to be seen so Maria assumed she had gone to talk to Michael.
“You’re getting ready to leave?”
Maria looked at Jacey when she spoke up from the door that led into the house. “Yes, I think so.”
“Can I walk with you? I think there’s something you need to know before you leave.”
*****
Michael threw his bag into the bed of his father’s truck and ran his hands through his damp hair. He could feel his mother’s disappointed gaze on him and it irritated him, stretching nerves already pushed uncomfortably close to the breaking point. He could feel his temper simmering just below the surface and he needed to leave before it boiled over and he said something he would regret.
“Michael, I want you to tell me what you were thinking going after him like that…”
His mother’s concerned voice faded away, replaced by Dakota’s taunting words, “Why don’t you ask her how she really feels about your girlfriend? Because she’s not as okay with your choice as you think she is.” He shoved his hands in his pockets when he felt his fingers curling into fists, clenched so tightly he was sure his knuckles were white from the strain.
Catherine fell silent when it became clear that he wasn’t listening to a word she was saying. She had been surprised by her nephew’s physical attack but she had been shocked by the intensity of Michael’s response. She wasn’t surprised that he had fought back once Dakota’s behavior had escalated and turned physical, but she wished she knew what he had said to provoke such a strong reaction in Michael.
She could tell that he was upset, that he was angry and hurt over what had happened but he was keeping it all inside and refusing to talk about it. He hadn’t once looked at her since he had come out of his uncle’s shop after changing into dry clothes, choosing instead to stare at something only he could see.
“Michael, if you would just talk to me – “
“No, Mom, I don’t wanna talk about it.” He turned to walk over to the jeep he had borrowed from Linda and jerked the drivers’ side door open. “There’s nothin’ to talk about.”
Catherine glanced over her shoulder when she heard the back gate open and a few moments later she could see Maria walking towards them. “We’ll talk about it when you get home then.”
“Whatever. I’ve gotta go.”
She bristled at his dismissive tone and shook her head. “You take her home and when you get back, make sure you go straight home; your father and I will be waiting. And, Michael, we will talk about this tonight.” She turned to go back up to the house, nodding curtly as she passed Maria.
Maria studied his rigid posture as she walked along the driveway, debating the best way to approach him in his present mood. “Hey, are you – “
“I don’t wanna talk about it!” he yelled angrily, slamming the door as hard as he could.
“Okay, first, I didn’t ask if you wanted to talk about anything,” Maria snapped, irritated that he was turning his anger on her. “I just wanted to know if you’re okay. And, yes, I thought you might wanna talk – ”
He turned to look at her, his anger so close to the surface that he never heard her shocked gasp when she got a good look at his battered face. “There’s nothin’ to talk about; I don’t need to talk to my mom, my dad, my sister, you, or any-damn-body else!” His blood was boiling and he knew he was losing it but he couldn’t seem to stop the words. “And no, I don’t want any help dealin’ with this because there’s nothin’ to deal with; it was a fight, that’s all. He pushed because he’s got a problem with me and I pushed back, that’s all that happened!”
Maria opened the passengers’ side door and stared at him, feeling her grasp on her own temper weakening in response to his angry shouting. “Don’t yell at me because you’re in a pissy mood, Michael; I’m not the one who pissed you off and hurt you!”
“This has nothin’ to do with bein’ hurt, and don’t tell me what to do! Just get in so we can go; I’m not gonna stand out here and argue about this with you.” He jerked the door open and got inside, starting the engine and turning the radio on.
Maria slid into the passengers’ seat and closed the door, slamming it much harder than was necessary before she jerked the seatbelt around her body and locked it into place. “I don’t appreciate your – “ She was forced to stop speaking when he finally found the radio station he was looking for and turned it up so loud she was surprised the windows weren’t blown out.
She shook her head and reached out to punch the power button on the stereo just as he backed out onto the street, slammed the gearshift into drive and hit the gas. His face was a mask of irritation as he glanced at her and savagely punched the power button, bringing the music to life once more.
“We are so not doing this,” she muttered to herself. She jerked on the seatbelt when she tried to lean forward and it locked, preventing her from moving. She sat back, releasing the tension on the seatbelt so it would unlock, and then after testing it, she leaned forward again and punched the power button. She slapped his hand when he reached for it again, yanking the knob off and throwing it on the floor between her feet. “I’m not about to lose my hearing because you wanna listen to a bunch of idiots screaming into a microphone at the tops of their lungs. You wanna spend the next hour acting like a complete ass, fine, but you’re gonna do it in silence.”
Michael slouched down in the seat, fingers drumming angrily on the steering wheel. He needed something, anything, to fill the silence; otherwise he wasn’t going to be able to prevent his mind from going places he didn’t want it to go. He couldn’t believe he had let himself fall for Dakota’s tricks; he knew better than to let his cousin push him to the point where he reacted physically. He tried his best to avoid confrontations with his cousin when they were around the family, but most importantly in front of the kids because he knew seeing them fighting that way would scare the younger ones.
Good job, Guerin, he admonished himself. There was nothing he could do about it now; the damage was done and he was probably going to be in trouble when he got home. His father would be the easier one to deal with, but his mother… she wasn’t happy with him, and on top of disappointing her he knew his parting words had hurt her and pissed her off.
Maria risked a glance at her silent companion and wondered what he was thinking. She could tell he was beyond angry by the way his entire body was tensed; his jaw was clenched tightly as he tried to control his temper and his grip on the steering wheel and the gearshift were taut. She was certain he was hurting, both physically and emotionally though she didn’t know if he would ever admit it.
She was angry… and, okay, she was a little hurt too, that he wouldn’t talk to her about what had happened. She wanted him to confide in her, to tell her what Jacey had already told her. His cousin had overheard at least part of what Dakota had said to Michael and she was surprised that he had walked away from the confrontation at that point.
She sighed as she shifted in her seat, forcing her gaze to remain on the road ahead. Her thoughts eventually turned to River Dog and the advice he had given her over the weekend in regards to his grandson. Maybe he was right and Michael just needed some time to cool off and get his thoughts in order before he came to her and talked to her. She was sure he hadn’t meant anything he had said when he had yelled at her before; certain that he was just trying to bury his feelings. It was hard to stay mad at him for very long since she knew some of what his cousin had said to him, and the anger began to slip away as the miles flew by.
By the time he pulled up in front of her house, most of her anger had dissipated and it took everything she had to stop herself from asking him to talk to her when he shifted into park and just sat there, staring straight out through the windshield. His jaw was clenched so tightly that the muscle there had developed a tic and he was still refusing to look at her.
He needs space, she reminded herself. Patience wasn’t one of her strongest attributes but she knew that if Michael was going to come to her she had to back off and let him choose the time. She leaned down to pick up the knob she had removed from the stereo and placed it on the dashboard before opening the door. She stepped out and reached into the back for her bag before leaning down to look at him.
“I just wanna say two things and then you can leave, okay?”
Michael shrugged his right shoulder and continued to stare straight ahead.
“First, I had a nice time this weekend and your family is great. And second… well, I just want you to know that I’m here if you need anything.” Her hand froze just before coming in contact with his arm but after a moment’s indecision her fingers wrapped around his tense forearm, giving it a gentle squeeze before she backed away. “Call me when you get home, okay? You don’t have to worry that I’m gonna ambush you and expect you to talk about what happened. I won’t answer, I’ll let the voicemail pick up; just call and let me know you got home safely.”
His nod was short and jerky but she took it as a good sign and stepped back to shut the door. When he didn’t immediately drive off she assumed that he was waiting until she was safely inside before leaving.
Michael leaned his head back against the headrest and stared at the knob sitting on the dashboard. He reached out to pick it up, thankful that the stereo Linda had bought was an older model because otherwise it wouldn’t have had knobs that could be easily reattached. He matched it up to the post and pressed it into place before turning the stereo on and adjusting the volume to a respectable decibel.
Why had he let Dakota get to him today of all days? Because he pinpointed several of your biggest insecurities and exposed them, his conscience helpfully reminded him. It was the first time Dakota had taken his verbal attack to such a personal level and he hadn’t bothered to hold back; he had been cold and vicious with his words, each of them chosen to cut deeper than the one before. The physical attack had been less surprising and easier to deal with because there he could fight back; it was a field where they could meet as equals and he didn’t have to hold back.
He hadn’t meant to take his anger out on anyone else, but he had been trying so hard to avoid losing his temper that he had snapped at his mother and then he had turned around and yelled at Maria. The difference was that he was going to have to deal with his mother when he got home and there was no way around that, but Maria had given him the option of dealing with it on his own terms.
That last thought caused him to slump down in his seat and he glanced at Maria’s house, wondering if her mother was home. He had expected her to slam the door and tell him to go to hell when they got to her house; he hadn’t even had the slightest expectation of understanding or sympathy from her. What shocked him though, was that she was the one he needed those things from.
Maria called out for her mother as she entered the house, and she tossed her clothes in the laundry room before getting something to drink. She found the note stuck to the freezer door by an alien-shaped magnet and she pulled it down to read it as she walked through the house to her bedroom.
Her mother had apparently decided to take off for a week to collect her thoughts and get them in order… in Sedona, Arizona of all places. She wasn’t really surprised by her mother’s spur-of-the-moment decision to take a short vacation at the institute; she had been distracted lately but she hadn’t brought up whatever was bothering her and Amy always said that the institute’s tranquil environment gave her clarity.
In her bedroom she dropped the note on her dresser and kicked her shoes and socks off. At least now she knew why her mother hadn’t answered her phone calls for the past twenty-four hours, she thought as she grabbed a change of clothes and went to take a shower. Amy’s note had reminded her to call Nina if she needed anything or if she had any problems, and let her know that she had gone shopping before leaving and the cupboards were fully stocked.
Starcrazed – Dakota will unfortunately manage to piss off Michael big time. And a pissed off Michael isn’t a nice one to deal with.
Flamehair – Dakota knows a lot of things but Michael has always been careful about his powers so no, he doesn’t know about Michael being an alien.
Simplyshiny – Yep, a fight is coming.
Part 44
Catherine watched, horrified as the boys continued to exchange blows with precision and accuracy, drawing blood but not slowing down. John and Randolph hadn’t yet been able to separate them, and had barely managed to avoid getting hit themselves when they had tried.
They reached out to stop their father when he walked past them, but he simply brushed their hands off. “Do you intend to let them beat each other to death?”
“How do you suggest we separate them, Dad?”
“The same way I separated the two of you when you were younger.”
John exchanged a look with his older brother and shrugged. “Well, it’s not exactly a river…”
Randolph glanced at the pool. “Bet it’s cold though.”
Their sons were only a few feet away from the edge of the pool and one good push sent them stumbling towards it. As soon as the dual sensations of being cold and soaking wet registered in their brains, the fight stopped and the boys hauled themselves up onto the concrete.
Despite the chill when the light breeze blew across his wet skin, adrenaline was still flooding his system and Michael surged to his feet, intent on going after Dakota again. He saw his uncle move to intercept Dakota and Michael tried to jerk free of his father’s grip.
“Michael, let it go, Son.”
Several yards away Dakota was fighting to get away from his own father, his eyes nearly black with hatred as he stared at Michael.
“Don’t, Michael.” John was careful to keep his hand on his son’s arm as he moved around to meet his gaze directly. “I don’t know what started this but we’ll talk about it at home. Hey, look at me.” He shook his head when the boy finally looked at him. “I know you well enough to know that this wasn’t your fault, but I think it’d be best if you took Maria home and let us deal with this in your absence. Okay?”
“You want me to take Maria home?”
John frowned as he leaned forward to stare into his son’s eyes. “Hey, this isn’t a punishment; I just think the two of you need some distance.”
Michael nodded. “I need to change first; I’ll go get my clothes outta the jeep.”
“You left a pair of boots in the truck last time we went hiking; make sure you put them on.”
“I’ll just change in the shop.”
“No self-control,” Dakota taunted. “Maybe that’s why your own people left you in the desert to die. How much do you think she trusts you now, hmm? I mean, if you’re capable of turnin’ on someone you call family, what’s to stop you from doin’ the same to her?”
“Michael.”
His head snapped to the side when his grandfather called his name and he backed off when the old man stared him down.
“Fine,” he snapped, “I’m goin’.”
******
Maria watched the scene unfolding in front of her, wishing she were close enough to hear what was being said between her boyfriend and his cousin. She wondered what had happened to trigger Michael’s reaction. The speed with which he had retaliated worried her because of the possibility that he could slip up and use his powers instinctively. But the longer she had watched them, the more she had become convinced that it wasn’t as cut and dried as it appeared.
The children had quickly been herded into the house to keep them from seeing too much of the boys’ upsetting behavior. The teenagers had stayed outside but their parents had been careful to keep them a safe distance away from the fight.
Once it had been successfully broken up and Michael had stalked around the side of the house, the parents had sent the teenagers into the house amid protests and complaints.
“Maria?” John smiled when she looked up at him. “We’ve got some things to take care of here so once Michael gets changed he’s gonna take you home.”
“You pushed him into the pool,” she accused. “That water’s probably freezing.”
He nodded. “I know it probably seems cruel – “
“Seems? What if he gets sick from – “
“Hey, he doesn’t get sick, remember?” he reminded her quietly. “I know it seems like it was a cruel thing to do, but it was preferable to him takin’ anymore of a beatin’ than he’d already taken. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that it’s nothin’ personal, but Michael’s gonna take you home so we can take care of some things here.”
“He’s gonna feel like he’s to blame if you send him away now,” Maria protested, fully intending to defend Michael.
John sighed regretfully, knowing that it was a possibility. “He might. But he needs to put some distance between him and Dakota right now. They’re both angry and ready to fight so it’s best to keep them separated for a while.”
Several of Michael’s aunts and uncles made sure to speak to Maria, assuring her that asking Michael to take her home early didn’t reflect badly on either of them and that she was welcome to join their family in the future. Michael’s mother hadn’t extended the same invitation, but she was nowhere to be seen so Maria assumed she had gone to talk to Michael.
“You’re getting ready to leave?”
Maria looked at Jacey when she spoke up from the door that led into the house. “Yes, I think so.”
“Can I walk with you? I think there’s something you need to know before you leave.”
*****
Michael threw his bag into the bed of his father’s truck and ran his hands through his damp hair. He could feel his mother’s disappointed gaze on him and it irritated him, stretching nerves already pushed uncomfortably close to the breaking point. He could feel his temper simmering just below the surface and he needed to leave before it boiled over and he said something he would regret.
“Michael, I want you to tell me what you were thinking going after him like that…”
His mother’s concerned voice faded away, replaced by Dakota’s taunting words, “Why don’t you ask her how she really feels about your girlfriend? Because she’s not as okay with your choice as you think she is.” He shoved his hands in his pockets when he felt his fingers curling into fists, clenched so tightly he was sure his knuckles were white from the strain.
Catherine fell silent when it became clear that he wasn’t listening to a word she was saying. She had been surprised by her nephew’s physical attack but she had been shocked by the intensity of Michael’s response. She wasn’t surprised that he had fought back once Dakota’s behavior had escalated and turned physical, but she wished she knew what he had said to provoke such a strong reaction in Michael.
She could tell that he was upset, that he was angry and hurt over what had happened but he was keeping it all inside and refusing to talk about it. He hadn’t once looked at her since he had come out of his uncle’s shop after changing into dry clothes, choosing instead to stare at something only he could see.
“Michael, if you would just talk to me – “
“No, Mom, I don’t wanna talk about it.” He turned to walk over to the jeep he had borrowed from Linda and jerked the drivers’ side door open. “There’s nothin’ to talk about.”
Catherine glanced over her shoulder when she heard the back gate open and a few moments later she could see Maria walking towards them. “We’ll talk about it when you get home then.”
“Whatever. I’ve gotta go.”
She bristled at his dismissive tone and shook her head. “You take her home and when you get back, make sure you go straight home; your father and I will be waiting. And, Michael, we will talk about this tonight.” She turned to go back up to the house, nodding curtly as she passed Maria.
Maria studied his rigid posture as she walked along the driveway, debating the best way to approach him in his present mood. “Hey, are you – “
“I don’t wanna talk about it!” he yelled angrily, slamming the door as hard as he could.
“Okay, first, I didn’t ask if you wanted to talk about anything,” Maria snapped, irritated that he was turning his anger on her. “I just wanted to know if you’re okay. And, yes, I thought you might wanna talk – ”
He turned to look at her, his anger so close to the surface that he never heard her shocked gasp when she got a good look at his battered face. “There’s nothin’ to talk about; I don’t need to talk to my mom, my dad, my sister, you, or any-damn-body else!” His blood was boiling and he knew he was losing it but he couldn’t seem to stop the words. “And no, I don’t want any help dealin’ with this because there’s nothin’ to deal with; it was a fight, that’s all. He pushed because he’s got a problem with me and I pushed back, that’s all that happened!”
Maria opened the passengers’ side door and stared at him, feeling her grasp on her own temper weakening in response to his angry shouting. “Don’t yell at me because you’re in a pissy mood, Michael; I’m not the one who pissed you off and hurt you!”
“This has nothin’ to do with bein’ hurt, and don’t tell me what to do! Just get in so we can go; I’m not gonna stand out here and argue about this with you.” He jerked the door open and got inside, starting the engine and turning the radio on.
Maria slid into the passengers’ seat and closed the door, slamming it much harder than was necessary before she jerked the seatbelt around her body and locked it into place. “I don’t appreciate your – “ She was forced to stop speaking when he finally found the radio station he was looking for and turned it up so loud she was surprised the windows weren’t blown out.
She shook her head and reached out to punch the power button on the stereo just as he backed out onto the street, slammed the gearshift into drive and hit the gas. His face was a mask of irritation as he glanced at her and savagely punched the power button, bringing the music to life once more.
“We are so not doing this,” she muttered to herself. She jerked on the seatbelt when she tried to lean forward and it locked, preventing her from moving. She sat back, releasing the tension on the seatbelt so it would unlock, and then after testing it, she leaned forward again and punched the power button. She slapped his hand when he reached for it again, yanking the knob off and throwing it on the floor between her feet. “I’m not about to lose my hearing because you wanna listen to a bunch of idiots screaming into a microphone at the tops of their lungs. You wanna spend the next hour acting like a complete ass, fine, but you’re gonna do it in silence.”
Michael slouched down in the seat, fingers drumming angrily on the steering wheel. He needed something, anything, to fill the silence; otherwise he wasn’t going to be able to prevent his mind from going places he didn’t want it to go. He couldn’t believe he had let himself fall for Dakota’s tricks; he knew better than to let his cousin push him to the point where he reacted physically. He tried his best to avoid confrontations with his cousin when they were around the family, but most importantly in front of the kids because he knew seeing them fighting that way would scare the younger ones.
Good job, Guerin, he admonished himself. There was nothing he could do about it now; the damage was done and he was probably going to be in trouble when he got home. His father would be the easier one to deal with, but his mother… she wasn’t happy with him, and on top of disappointing her he knew his parting words had hurt her and pissed her off.
Maria risked a glance at her silent companion and wondered what he was thinking. She could tell he was beyond angry by the way his entire body was tensed; his jaw was clenched tightly as he tried to control his temper and his grip on the steering wheel and the gearshift were taut. She was certain he was hurting, both physically and emotionally though she didn’t know if he would ever admit it.
She was angry… and, okay, she was a little hurt too, that he wouldn’t talk to her about what had happened. She wanted him to confide in her, to tell her what Jacey had already told her. His cousin had overheard at least part of what Dakota had said to Michael and she was surprised that he had walked away from the confrontation at that point.
She sighed as she shifted in her seat, forcing her gaze to remain on the road ahead. Her thoughts eventually turned to River Dog and the advice he had given her over the weekend in regards to his grandson. Maybe he was right and Michael just needed some time to cool off and get his thoughts in order before he came to her and talked to her. She was sure he hadn’t meant anything he had said when he had yelled at her before; certain that he was just trying to bury his feelings. It was hard to stay mad at him for very long since she knew some of what his cousin had said to him, and the anger began to slip away as the miles flew by.
By the time he pulled up in front of her house, most of her anger had dissipated and it took everything she had to stop herself from asking him to talk to her when he shifted into park and just sat there, staring straight out through the windshield. His jaw was clenched so tightly that the muscle there had developed a tic and he was still refusing to look at her.
He needs space, she reminded herself. Patience wasn’t one of her strongest attributes but she knew that if Michael was going to come to her she had to back off and let him choose the time. She leaned down to pick up the knob she had removed from the stereo and placed it on the dashboard before opening the door. She stepped out and reached into the back for her bag before leaning down to look at him.
“I just wanna say two things and then you can leave, okay?”
Michael shrugged his right shoulder and continued to stare straight ahead.
“First, I had a nice time this weekend and your family is great. And second… well, I just want you to know that I’m here if you need anything.” Her hand froze just before coming in contact with his arm but after a moment’s indecision her fingers wrapped around his tense forearm, giving it a gentle squeeze before she backed away. “Call me when you get home, okay? You don’t have to worry that I’m gonna ambush you and expect you to talk about what happened. I won’t answer, I’ll let the voicemail pick up; just call and let me know you got home safely.”
His nod was short and jerky but she took it as a good sign and stepped back to shut the door. When he didn’t immediately drive off she assumed that he was waiting until she was safely inside before leaving.
Michael leaned his head back against the headrest and stared at the knob sitting on the dashboard. He reached out to pick it up, thankful that the stereo Linda had bought was an older model because otherwise it wouldn’t have had knobs that could be easily reattached. He matched it up to the post and pressed it into place before turning the stereo on and adjusting the volume to a respectable decibel.
Why had he let Dakota get to him today of all days? Because he pinpointed several of your biggest insecurities and exposed them, his conscience helpfully reminded him. It was the first time Dakota had taken his verbal attack to such a personal level and he hadn’t bothered to hold back; he had been cold and vicious with his words, each of them chosen to cut deeper than the one before. The physical attack had been less surprising and easier to deal with because there he could fight back; it was a field where they could meet as equals and he didn’t have to hold back.
He hadn’t meant to take his anger out on anyone else, but he had been trying so hard to avoid losing his temper that he had snapped at his mother and then he had turned around and yelled at Maria. The difference was that he was going to have to deal with his mother when he got home and there was no way around that, but Maria had given him the option of dealing with it on his own terms.
That last thought caused him to slump down in his seat and he glanced at Maria’s house, wondering if her mother was home. He had expected her to slam the door and tell him to go to hell when they got to her house; he hadn’t even had the slightest expectation of understanding or sympathy from her. What shocked him though, was that she was the one he needed those things from.
Maria called out for her mother as she entered the house, and she tossed her clothes in the laundry room before getting something to drink. She found the note stuck to the freezer door by an alien-shaped magnet and she pulled it down to read it as she walked through the house to her bedroom.
Her mother had apparently decided to take off for a week to collect her thoughts and get them in order… in Sedona, Arizona of all places. She wasn’t really surprised by her mother’s spur-of-the-moment decision to take a short vacation at the institute; she had been distracted lately but she hadn’t brought up whatever was bothering her and Amy always said that the institute’s tranquil environment gave her clarity.
In her bedroom she dropped the note on her dresser and kicked her shoes and socks off. At least now she knew why her mother hadn’t answered her phone calls for the past twenty-four hours, she thought as she grabbed a change of clothes and went to take a shower. Amy’s note had reminded her to call Nina if she needed anything or if she had any problems, and let her know that she had gone shopping before leaving and the cupboards were fully stocked.
-
ArchAngel1973
- Addicted Roswellian
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Doo 'awéé ééhoozIIh da-The Lost Child-M/M(CC-Teen)Pt45-10/25
Simplyshiny – Thanks, glad that you like the story.
Flamehair – Thanks for reading.
April – The fight was aborted so Michael still had all this anger inside of him and unfortunately, he took it out on the ones who didn’t deserve it.
Spacegirl23 – Thanks for reading.
Ivlyfem – Maria is living a typically human problem, that many women encounter in the world, their worst nightmare: the mother-in-law. We wanted an obstacle for M&M, but not the usual one like the best friend being too close or the other girl showing up and causing problems, but something more down to earth and less used in fics: the guy’s mother being overprotective.
Part 45
After her shower, she wandered around the house for a few minutes before deciding to just settle down in her bedroom and either watch television or take a nap. She was still debating what she was going to do as she looked around for the remote that she was sure she had left on the nightstand beside the bed. She checked her phone to see if Michael had called even though she knew he wouldn’t be home yet; it had been less than an hour since he had dropped her off and he probably wasn’t in any hurry to get home.
A quiet tapping sound drew her attention to the window and she froze for a moment before it occurred to her that if it were someone trying to break in they probably wouldn’t be announcing their presence. She turned to face the window, pushing back the red, blue, and green strands of beads that hung over it.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered as she unlocked the lock on the frame and slid the window up. “Michael, what’re you doing out here?”
“I was… it’s just…” His voice trailed off and he looked away when he couldn’t seem to put the right words together to tell her why he was there.
Maria shook herself when a shiver raced through his body and she realized that while it wasn’t very cold out, the breeze blowing through his damp hair was probably giving him a chill. She took his right arm and motioned for him to climb through the window, easing it closed and locking it again once he was inside. She turned to face him and her hands came up to frame his face, careful to avoid the raw cuts and fresh bruises that marked his flesh. She stared into his dark eyes, reading the hurt there that had nothing to do with his physical wounds and everything to do with the emotional wounds inflicted with such calculated hatred by a member of his family who had maliciously turned against him.
“Oh, Michael,” she whispered as she pulled him into her arms, holding his tense body tightly against her. Her right hand massaged his neck as she rubbed soothing circles on his back with the other, and before long she felt his arms come around her in a crushing grip.
Michael buried his face in the crook of her neck and felt peace wash over him, calming his frayed nerves. How did she know what he needed? he wondered. She was always talking, but somehow, she knew that right now words were the last thing that he needed and she made no demands for an explanation as she held him.
After a while, Maria felt his muscles begin to unlock and his arms relaxed where they were wrapped around her so tightly. She looked up at him when he pulled back; his eyes were calmer than they had been before and she gently reached up to trace her fingers around the cut above his left eye.
“That looks like it hurts,” she said quietly.
Michael nodded and followed her without question when she took his hand and pulled him after her, leading him through the hallway to the kitchen where she pushed him down into one of the chairs at the table.
“Stay here for a minute, okay? I’ll be right back.”
His gaze shifted to his right hand, feeling sick to his stomach when he saw where the flesh had split over his knuckles during one of the many punches he had thrown. For so long he had done everything he could to avoid getting into a physical confrontation with Dakota, but he hadn’t been able to rein himself in when his cousin had hit him. He had lost it and he had gone after him with everything he had.
Maria saw the contemplative expression on his face when she came back into the room and she frowned when she placed a basin of warm water on the table and he didn’t even realize she was standing there. “Hey, look at me.”
“I was just thinkin’,” Michael said, glancing up at her. “What’re you doin’?” he asked when she dipped a rag into the water before wringing it out.
“Your face is a mess.” Holding his chin in her left hand to keep him still she used the washcloth to clean the dried blood from his face. She was extra careful as she washed the area around the cut above his eye and the one that had split the skin across the bridge of his nose. Both of the wounds had bled freely but once his face was cleaned up, the damage didn’t look nearly as bad. When she had finished with his face, she carefully cleaned his split knuckles, her touch gentle as she removed the dried blood from the jagged flesh.
He hadn’t realized that in his haste to change clothes, he hadn’t thought to clean his face up and now he could understand why his mother and Maria had both looked so worried. Maria’s touch was a salve to his wounded soul and he allowed himself to accept it without question. His gaze followed her when she moved to one of the cabinets and came back with a first aid kit, opening it and lifting out a small bottle of antiseptic.
“Oh, don’t be such a baby,” she admonished when he flinched away from the medication she was attempting to apply to his wounds.
“I might be an alien, Maria, but that doesn’t make me immune to pain, y’know.”
Maria met his dark gaze and stared into his eyes for several moments before she nodded and grasped his chin once more. “I know,” she said softly.
Michael had a feeling she was talking about more than he was, seeing deeper into his statement than he had intended. He winced when the stinging sensation from the antibiotic made his eyes water, but her firm grasp kept him from moving too far away. “I know I shouldn’t have gone after him with my family there, but I don’t regret it,” he growled.
She merely nodded at his defensive tone and applied the antibiotic to the wound on the bridge of his nose. “I was just worried about you, Michael.” She disposed of the Q-tip she had used for the medication and turned his head to the side so she could decide which bandage would be best. “You might as well get used to me worrying about you because I don’t see that stopping any time soon.” She leaned in closer to inspect the wound above his eye.
Michael shifted when she poked and prodded the area around the wound, squirming this way and that way in the chair in an effort to get away from her probing fingers. He hadn’t expected her easy acceptance of his participation in the fight; he had assumed he would have to defend himself to her like he knew he was going to have to with his mother.
“This one’s pretty deep…” Her tone was distracted, as if she were talking to herself as she turned to pull supplies from the kit. She tore the paper off of two butterfly bandages, pulling the backing off of the adhesive side, and carefully keeping the edges of the gash together as she pressed the small strips over the wound. As soon as she had placed a small bandage over the cut across the bridge of his nose, she leaned back to admire her handiwork.
“You finished?” he growled, but there was no heat behind the words.
“No, not yet.”
“C’mon, Maria, what else could you possibly need to patch up?”
She didn’t answer verbally; instead she carefully cradled his face in her hands and leaned down to press soft kisses to each of the wounds. “There, that’s much better.”
Michael stared up at her wordlessly when she stepped back and surveyed his features, and once again he wondered how she knew what he needed when he didn’t even know. His hands came up to wrap around her wrists, holding them against his shoulders as he stood and pulled her up against his body. He knew he didn’t have the words to tell her what her actions and her understanding meant to him, so he expressed his gratitude the only way he knew how to in this situation.
Maria melted against him when his mouth settled over hers and he tightened his arms around her. She felt his hands come to rest on her hips, his thumbs brushing against her skin when her shirt hitched up and exposed her midriff. “We should stop,” she mumbled against his lips, well aware that her mother wasn’t there to put a stop to them taking things any further.
“Um-hmm.” His agreement rumbled through his chest and he shifted slightly to sit on the edge of the table, encouraged when she moved with him and rested her weight against him.
Maybe just a few more minutes of this, Maria thought, tugging his tee shirt out of his jeans and sliding her hands beneath it to settle on his warm, muscled skin.
The feeling of her fingertips stroking against his flesh was a sensation he didn’t want to end anytime soon. What was a few more minutes? He shoved away the thoughts that kept nagging him, reminding him that he was already in more trouble than he wanted to be in and concentrated instead on her neck when she tipped her head back to give him better access.
He glanced away from her when a clock chimed the hour somewhere in the house and despite his annoyance at the interruption he wondered what time it was.
Maria turned her head to look at the clock on the wall. “It’s six o’clock,” she answered in response to his unspoken question.
He nodded regretfully and released her. “I should probably leave; my parents are waitin’ to talk to me and my mom’s pissed.”
“As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right.” She sighed and dragged her fingertips against his ribs as she stepped back and smiled up at him. “You’ll be okay to drive home?”
“I’d prefer to just stay here with you,” he said, running his fingers through her hair to fix the mess he had made. “But, yeah, I’ll be fine.”
“You’ll call when you get home, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll call.”
“Okay. And make sure you get something to eat on the way home. You haven’t really eaten since breakfast and if you’re gonna face your parents you shouldn’t do it on an empty stomach.”
*****
Michael stepped out of the jeep and stared at the front door of his house as he did his best to ignore the knot of apprehension that had been building during the last few miles. This was foreign territory and he didn’t want to explore it any further because he felt like he was on the verge of losing something important and he didn’t understand why.
“Hey, you’re home.”
He turned to look at his sister when she came up behind him. “Hey.” He nodded at the horse she was leading. “You just get back or are you on your way out?”
“Getting back. I would’ve stayed out longer but there’s no moon tonight so…”
“Right, too dark to ride.”
Maggie glanced at the keys dangling from his left hand. “You’re not just getting home are you?” She shook her head, but her tone was sympathetic when she spoke. “You know you were supposed to come straight home after your dropped Maria off.”
He shrugged. “I guess that means Mom’s still pissed.”
“She was layin’ into Dad pretty good after we got home.”
He winced. “Because of me?”
“She was having a fit about him and Uncle Randolph pushing you guys into the pool; she’s mad him for doing that.” She shrugged. “I didn’t get to hear much more than that because she told me to go find something to do and I wasn’t about to argue with her.”
Michael sighed and held the key ring out to her as he straightened up. “I’ll just give these to you now since you’re gonna take the jeep to Linda in the mornin’.”
Maggie accepted the keys and watched him walk away. “Michael?” She waited until he paused and turned to look at her. “I don’t know what Dakota said but you had every right to fight back.”
He nodded in appreciation, glad that at least someone at home was on his side. He turned back to the house and let his relief over his sister’s support give him the strength he needed to walk inside and face the music.
Flamehair – Thanks for reading.
April – The fight was aborted so Michael still had all this anger inside of him and unfortunately, he took it out on the ones who didn’t deserve it.
Spacegirl23 – Thanks for reading.
Ivlyfem – Maria is living a typically human problem, that many women encounter in the world, their worst nightmare: the mother-in-law. We wanted an obstacle for M&M, but not the usual one like the best friend being too close or the other girl showing up and causing problems, but something more down to earth and less used in fics: the guy’s mother being overprotective.
Part 45
After her shower, she wandered around the house for a few minutes before deciding to just settle down in her bedroom and either watch television or take a nap. She was still debating what she was going to do as she looked around for the remote that she was sure she had left on the nightstand beside the bed. She checked her phone to see if Michael had called even though she knew he wouldn’t be home yet; it had been less than an hour since he had dropped her off and he probably wasn’t in any hurry to get home.
A quiet tapping sound drew her attention to the window and she froze for a moment before it occurred to her that if it were someone trying to break in they probably wouldn’t be announcing their presence. She turned to face the window, pushing back the red, blue, and green strands of beads that hung over it.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered as she unlocked the lock on the frame and slid the window up. “Michael, what’re you doing out here?”
“I was… it’s just…” His voice trailed off and he looked away when he couldn’t seem to put the right words together to tell her why he was there.
Maria shook herself when a shiver raced through his body and she realized that while it wasn’t very cold out, the breeze blowing through his damp hair was probably giving him a chill. She took his right arm and motioned for him to climb through the window, easing it closed and locking it again once he was inside. She turned to face him and her hands came up to frame his face, careful to avoid the raw cuts and fresh bruises that marked his flesh. She stared into his dark eyes, reading the hurt there that had nothing to do with his physical wounds and everything to do with the emotional wounds inflicted with such calculated hatred by a member of his family who had maliciously turned against him.
“Oh, Michael,” she whispered as she pulled him into her arms, holding his tense body tightly against her. Her right hand massaged his neck as she rubbed soothing circles on his back with the other, and before long she felt his arms come around her in a crushing grip.
Michael buried his face in the crook of her neck and felt peace wash over him, calming his frayed nerves. How did she know what he needed? he wondered. She was always talking, but somehow, she knew that right now words were the last thing that he needed and she made no demands for an explanation as she held him.
After a while, Maria felt his muscles begin to unlock and his arms relaxed where they were wrapped around her so tightly. She looked up at him when he pulled back; his eyes were calmer than they had been before and she gently reached up to trace her fingers around the cut above his left eye.
“That looks like it hurts,” she said quietly.
Michael nodded and followed her without question when she took his hand and pulled him after her, leading him through the hallway to the kitchen where she pushed him down into one of the chairs at the table.
“Stay here for a minute, okay? I’ll be right back.”
His gaze shifted to his right hand, feeling sick to his stomach when he saw where the flesh had split over his knuckles during one of the many punches he had thrown. For so long he had done everything he could to avoid getting into a physical confrontation with Dakota, but he hadn’t been able to rein himself in when his cousin had hit him. He had lost it and he had gone after him with everything he had.
Maria saw the contemplative expression on his face when she came back into the room and she frowned when she placed a basin of warm water on the table and he didn’t even realize she was standing there. “Hey, look at me.”
“I was just thinkin’,” Michael said, glancing up at her. “What’re you doin’?” he asked when she dipped a rag into the water before wringing it out.
“Your face is a mess.” Holding his chin in her left hand to keep him still she used the washcloth to clean the dried blood from his face. She was extra careful as she washed the area around the cut above his eye and the one that had split the skin across the bridge of his nose. Both of the wounds had bled freely but once his face was cleaned up, the damage didn’t look nearly as bad. When she had finished with his face, she carefully cleaned his split knuckles, her touch gentle as she removed the dried blood from the jagged flesh.
He hadn’t realized that in his haste to change clothes, he hadn’t thought to clean his face up and now he could understand why his mother and Maria had both looked so worried. Maria’s touch was a salve to his wounded soul and he allowed himself to accept it without question. His gaze followed her when she moved to one of the cabinets and came back with a first aid kit, opening it and lifting out a small bottle of antiseptic.
“Oh, don’t be such a baby,” she admonished when he flinched away from the medication she was attempting to apply to his wounds.
“I might be an alien, Maria, but that doesn’t make me immune to pain, y’know.”
Maria met his dark gaze and stared into his eyes for several moments before she nodded and grasped his chin once more. “I know,” she said softly.
Michael had a feeling she was talking about more than he was, seeing deeper into his statement than he had intended. He winced when the stinging sensation from the antibiotic made his eyes water, but her firm grasp kept him from moving too far away. “I know I shouldn’t have gone after him with my family there, but I don’t regret it,” he growled.
She merely nodded at his defensive tone and applied the antibiotic to the wound on the bridge of his nose. “I was just worried about you, Michael.” She disposed of the Q-tip she had used for the medication and turned his head to the side so she could decide which bandage would be best. “You might as well get used to me worrying about you because I don’t see that stopping any time soon.” She leaned in closer to inspect the wound above his eye.
Michael shifted when she poked and prodded the area around the wound, squirming this way and that way in the chair in an effort to get away from her probing fingers. He hadn’t expected her easy acceptance of his participation in the fight; he had assumed he would have to defend himself to her like he knew he was going to have to with his mother.
“This one’s pretty deep…” Her tone was distracted, as if she were talking to herself as she turned to pull supplies from the kit. She tore the paper off of two butterfly bandages, pulling the backing off of the adhesive side, and carefully keeping the edges of the gash together as she pressed the small strips over the wound. As soon as she had placed a small bandage over the cut across the bridge of his nose, she leaned back to admire her handiwork.
“You finished?” he growled, but there was no heat behind the words.
“No, not yet.”
“C’mon, Maria, what else could you possibly need to patch up?”
She didn’t answer verbally; instead she carefully cradled his face in her hands and leaned down to press soft kisses to each of the wounds. “There, that’s much better.”
Michael stared up at her wordlessly when she stepped back and surveyed his features, and once again he wondered how she knew what he needed when he didn’t even know. His hands came up to wrap around her wrists, holding them against his shoulders as he stood and pulled her up against his body. He knew he didn’t have the words to tell her what her actions and her understanding meant to him, so he expressed his gratitude the only way he knew how to in this situation.
Maria melted against him when his mouth settled over hers and he tightened his arms around her. She felt his hands come to rest on her hips, his thumbs brushing against her skin when her shirt hitched up and exposed her midriff. “We should stop,” she mumbled against his lips, well aware that her mother wasn’t there to put a stop to them taking things any further.
“Um-hmm.” His agreement rumbled through his chest and he shifted slightly to sit on the edge of the table, encouraged when she moved with him and rested her weight against him.
Maybe just a few more minutes of this, Maria thought, tugging his tee shirt out of his jeans and sliding her hands beneath it to settle on his warm, muscled skin.
The feeling of her fingertips stroking against his flesh was a sensation he didn’t want to end anytime soon. What was a few more minutes? He shoved away the thoughts that kept nagging him, reminding him that he was already in more trouble than he wanted to be in and concentrated instead on her neck when she tipped her head back to give him better access.
He glanced away from her when a clock chimed the hour somewhere in the house and despite his annoyance at the interruption he wondered what time it was.
Maria turned her head to look at the clock on the wall. “It’s six o’clock,” she answered in response to his unspoken question.
He nodded regretfully and released her. “I should probably leave; my parents are waitin’ to talk to me and my mom’s pissed.”
“As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right.” She sighed and dragged her fingertips against his ribs as she stepped back and smiled up at him. “You’ll be okay to drive home?”
“I’d prefer to just stay here with you,” he said, running his fingers through her hair to fix the mess he had made. “But, yeah, I’ll be fine.”
“You’ll call when you get home, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll call.”
“Okay. And make sure you get something to eat on the way home. You haven’t really eaten since breakfast and if you’re gonna face your parents you shouldn’t do it on an empty stomach.”
*****
Michael stepped out of the jeep and stared at the front door of his house as he did his best to ignore the knot of apprehension that had been building during the last few miles. This was foreign territory and he didn’t want to explore it any further because he felt like he was on the verge of losing something important and he didn’t understand why.
“Hey, you’re home.”
He turned to look at his sister when she came up behind him. “Hey.” He nodded at the horse she was leading. “You just get back or are you on your way out?”
“Getting back. I would’ve stayed out longer but there’s no moon tonight so…”
“Right, too dark to ride.”
Maggie glanced at the keys dangling from his left hand. “You’re not just getting home are you?” She shook her head, but her tone was sympathetic when she spoke. “You know you were supposed to come straight home after your dropped Maria off.”
He shrugged. “I guess that means Mom’s still pissed.”
“She was layin’ into Dad pretty good after we got home.”
He winced. “Because of me?”
“She was having a fit about him and Uncle Randolph pushing you guys into the pool; she’s mad him for doing that.” She shrugged. “I didn’t get to hear much more than that because she told me to go find something to do and I wasn’t about to argue with her.”
Michael sighed and held the key ring out to her as he straightened up. “I’ll just give these to you now since you’re gonna take the jeep to Linda in the mornin’.”
Maggie accepted the keys and watched him walk away. “Michael?” She waited until he paused and turned to look at her. “I don’t know what Dakota said but you had every right to fight back.”
He nodded in appreciation, glad that at least someone at home was on his side. He turned back to the house and let his relief over his sister’s support give him the strength he needed to walk inside and face the music.
-
ArchAngel1973
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Doo 'awéé ééhoozIIh da-The Lost Child-M/M(CC-Teen)Pt46-11/1
Ken r – Maggie isn’t jealous over Michael. They get along really well and support each other.
Starcrazed – Don’t be too sure about Catherine. She has to realize that Michael is no longer her little boy.
April – Yes, it definitely had an ID feel. It was written that way on purpose. We wanted the fic to have canon moments transposed into our story.
Flamehair – Glad that you like Maggie.
Part 46
Catherine paced around the living room like a caged animal while John watched from the relative safety of his recliner on the opposite side of the room. She had been working herself up into a fury since they had gotten home and it had only gotten worse once she had realized that Michael hadn’t come straight home, as she had directed.
“Catherine, you said yourself the boy was upset when he left Skye’s place; he’s probably just tryin’ to work some things out before he comes home. I don’t think this is a matter of him defying authority – “
“And you don’t think he’s been with her this whole time?”
John sighed, worried about his wife and their son. She was going to push the boy away if she continued behaving this way. “You need to stop this, Catherine.”
Catherine refused to take his advice into consideration. “Answer the question.”
“Yes, I’m sure he’s been with Maria, but I don’t think it was out of defiance or calculated disobedience. I think she understands him on a completely different level than we do and that’s part of the reason he’s drawn to her.”
“She hasn’t known him long enough to understand him,” Catherine scoffed. “He needs to come home where he can be taken care of. Did you see his face, John? I couldn’t even tell how badly he was hurt because of all the blood that was – “
“It’s not as bad as it looked,” Michael interrupted, leaning against the doorframe.
Catherine whirled around to face her son, moving to stand in front of him and studying his damaged face. Her right hand came up to tip his head to the left so she could see the bandaged wound above his eye. “Well, that needs to be cleaned and bandaged properly.”
“Mom, there’s nothin’ wrong with the way it is.” He backed away when she reached up to brush her fingers over the bandaged area. “Maria patched me up and I’m fine.”
“You’re fine,” Catherine repeated in a flat tone, clearly not believing a word of what Michael had said.
“I’m fine.” He threw himself down on the couch and played with the hem of his shirt.
She took a deep breath and started the discussion that she was certain was going to be heated. “Good. Then you can explain what exactly you were thinking when you got into a fight with Dakota.”
What was his mother insinuating? That he had started the fight? Didn’t she know how Dakota was, always ready to start something? God, hadn’t she been paying attention at all that afternoon? “You wanna know what I was thinkin’?! I wasn’t thinkin’, Mom; he hit me and I hit him right back. There really wasn’t a lot of thought put into it.”
“Do you know how easily one of the children could’ve been hurt? You were holding Shysie, what if he had hit her?”
“What if…” He shook his head as he stared at her incredulously. “He hit me first and I made sure Shy was outta the way before I hit him back. I’m not gonna apologize for getting into a fight with him; he deserved everything he got.”
John observed his wife and Michael during the exchange, easily seeing that it wouldn’t be long before it was out of control. This was not going well and Catherine was too blind to see that Michael was getting more and more furious with her and the situation. He sighed when she barreled ahead with the next barrage of questions.
“What did he do that was so different from every other time he’s tried to provoke you? You’ve always managed to walk away, so what did he say that pushed you to the point that you were willing to risk others getting hurt?”
Michael narrowed his eyes at his mother. “Nobody else got hurt.” He had made sure of that.
“I expect an answer, Michael. Did he say something about your girlfriend?”
Michael’s gaze shot to his mother, his mind racing to justify what sounded like contempt in her voice. Was Dakota right? If he was right about this, what else had he been right about?
“Is that it?” Catherine demanded when he remained silent. “He said something about your girlfriend and you were defending her?”
Michael shoved himself to his feet, knowing he hadn’t imagined the look of disapproval on her face. “My girlfriend’s name is Maria!” he shouted angrily. “And to answer your question, no, Dakota didn’t have much of anything to say about her. That fight would’ve happened a helluva lot sooner if he’d targeted her and I wouldn’t have waited for him to throw the first punch!”
“Okay,” John said, moving between his wife and his son. He had quickly realized that he was going to have to be the mediator if they were going to get anywhere. They were both angry and defensive but they were miles apart when it came to the reasons for their emotions. “Why don’t we all take a minute to calm down, all right? Michael, go get you somethin’ to drink, Son. Did you stop and get somethin’ to eat on your way home?”
“Yeah, Dad, I ate a while ago.”
John nodded at the barest hint of a smile on the boy’s face and wondered if that meant Maria had fed him before he left her house or if she had insisted that he stop and get something on his way home. He turned to his wife when their son left the room. “I’m tellin’ you, Cath, you’re pushin’ him too hard,” he said, his voice low. “You of all people should know what a dangerous path it is that you’re takin’.”
“It’s not the same thing,” she insisted.
“The hell it’s not. If you keep goin’ after Maria you’re gonna push him right out of your life, and Catherine, that’s one regret you don’t wanna live with.” He shook his head. “And you don’t want him to have to live with it either.”
“This is not the same thing that happened with your mother.”
“If you make him choose between you and the woman he loves, then it’ll be the same thing in the end.”
Catherine shook her head and turned to walk out of the room, refusing to acknowledge her husband when he hurried to follow her. She rolled her eyes when they entered the kitchen and she saw Michael disconnecting from a phone call.
“Your father didn’t tell you to come in here to make a phone call.”
Michael sighed and tossed the cordless phone on the counter. “I promised Maria I’d call and let her know I got home safely.”
“Why?”
John rolled his eyes at his wife’s obtuse question. Had she forgotten what it was like to be in love and worried about the other person?
“I don’t know, Mom. Because she was worried about me and she asked me to call.” The edgy, defensive tone quickly resurfaced in response to his mother’s questions.
“Catherine, why don’t you sit down and give the boy some space.” As soon as she had complied with his request he took a deep breath and looked at their son. “All right, Michael, why don’t you explain what happened with your cousin. What’d Dakota say?”
“What’d Dakota say?” he repeated, snorting. “Where should I start? He said so many flattering things.” He started to pace around the kitchen, his agitation easily visible. “His central theme today was how I was left out in the desert because my biological parents didn’t want me…” His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides and his pacing became more restless and erratic. “How they left me so far away from the nearest city and any passable roads because they didn’t want me and therefore no one else would either.”
John listened without interrupting, hearing the hurt intermingled with the anger in his son’s voice. His abandonment in the desert was a very sensitive subject and it wasn’t something he talked about very often. Dakota had struck a nerve with his latest attack and it was becoming more and more clear to John that it was the reason behind Michael’s seemingly easy retaliation when his cousin had taken the confrontation to the physical level.
“Michael, you know we love you,” Catherine said when he paused in his ranting, his back to them and his hands curled around the edge of the counter. “You can’t pay any attention to what Dakota said – “
“Why not, Mom? It’s not like it wasn’t true; I was left out in the desert miles from any kind of civilization. God, Mom, they didn’t intend for me to be found! They left me out there hopin’ I’d die!”
Catherine shot to her feet and crossed the room to stand in front of him. “Don’t say that, Michael,” she begged. “We don’t know why you were left in the desert.”
“Tell me that the thought’s never crossed your mind,” he challenged. “I’m not denying that you love me; I’m just questioning whether or not I was ever expected to survive bein’ abandoned out there. It’s not somethin’ I can just ignore, Mom. Maybe I don’t think about it constantly, but it’s always there in the back of my mind.”
“You can’t allow Dakota to provoke you like that, Michael. I know that what he said hurt you, but you can’t just fight with him like you did today.”
“He came after me! I didn’t throw the first punch, and if he had just left me alone nothin’ would’ve happened today.”
Bitterness invaded Catherine at Michael’s defense of his behavior. She had raised her son well but since Maria had come into his life he seemed to be forgetting everything she had taught him! “Unless he had said something about your girlfriend, right? Because then you would’ve been quite comfortable starting the fight, that’s what you said.”
“Why do you keep goin’ after her?” Michael yelled. “What’s she done to keep you so focused on her?” He slammed his fists down against the counter in frustration. “Was he right about you, Mom?”
“What?”
“Dakota, he kept goin’ on about how I should ask you how you really feel about her. Was he right when he said that you don’t approve of Maria?” He nodded when he saw her startled expression. “He wasn’t lyin’ about it was he, Mom?” He shoved himself away from the counter and moved across the room, putting distance between them. “So, if he was tellin’ the truth about that, what’s to say he wasn’t tellin’ the truth about the rest of it?”
Damn, he had cornered her. But, denying his accusation would be an outright lie. She searched frantically in her mind for something that would put him at ease, the right words to reassure him. “It just concerns me that you’re getting too involved with this girl, Michael. I have every right to be concerned and if that has any bearing on why you got into that fight – “
“I already told you why I got into the fight. Believe me or don’t believe me, I don’t care, but don’t blame it on Maria. I have every right to defend myself against Dakota or anyone else and – “
“You cannot get into fights – “
That was it! Michael had reached the end of his rope and he was out of patience. “I’m almost eighteen years old, Mom! In a few months I’ll be an adult by society’s standards; you can’t tell me what I can and can’t do anymore!” He stormed out of the kitchen and seconds later the door to his bedroom slammed shut.
*****
Monday mornings had to be the worst day of the week, Maria thought as she slid into her chair at the back of the classroom. She opened her Economics textbook and flipped through it to find the assignment Mrs. Albrecht had written on the blackboard. Class wasn’t scheduled to start for another eight minutes but there had been no reason to loiter at her locker so here she was, early for class.
She wondered how Michael’s talk with his parents had gone. She didn’t pretend that she wasn’t worried about him; his voice had been strained when he had called to let her know he was home the night before. He hadn’t had much time to talk but it was apparent that things had started off badly, and she had a feeling that his mother was responsible for that. She couldn’t understand why Catherine seemed to be holding Michael accountable for Dakota’s actions; it didn’t make any sense.
“Are you sure you’ve got the right guy?”
She looked up when a couple of girls from the basketball team sat down several rows over. They were obviously in the middle of a conversation and they didn’t lower their voices as they continued to talk.
“Totally. My mom was on duty Saturday night and she said his mom brought him in; she said he looked like someone had beaten the crap out of him.”
The second girl shook her head negatively. “Whitman just doesn’t seem to be the type to get into a fight.”
“Well, I doubt he started the fight.”
Maria frowned. They couldn’t be talking about Alex Whitman, could they?
“Are you guys talking about Whitman?”
She watched the basketball players look up when one of the cheerleaders came in and sat down in the front row.
“Yeah. Why? You know something?”
“Well, rumor is he had a run-in with some of the guys on the football team.” She rolled her eyes and turned to face the front of the room. “He had to know he couldn’t keep following Isabel around like a lovesick puppy. He’s pathetic.”
Maria didn’t wait around to hear anymore; she had heard enough to be sure they were talking about Alex. The thought that some of the jocks had gotten together to beat him up had her seeing red as she stalked along the corridors searching for Alex. The crowded halls were beginning to thin out courtesy of the warning bell and she quickly made her way to the hall where his locker was.
His back was to her as she approached and she immediately noticed how stiff his movements were as he reached inside his locker to retrieve his books.
“Alex?”
*****
Isabel stormed through the halls without seeing the people hustling to get out of her way. Normally it amused her, but today she was on a mission and she didn’t have time to be distracted.
Rumors were flying like crazy about Alex and some of the guys from the football team. She never believed a rumor until there was substantial proof and in this case Alex was the proof she needed to see. She slowed down as she neared the short corridor where his locker was located and froze when she realized someone else was approaching him. She took a couple of steps back so she couldn’t be seen as she eavesdropped on their conversation.
“Alex, what happened? Are you all right?”
Maria, she thought, annoyed. What was she doing there?
*****
Alex turned around slowly to look at Maria. He wasn’t surprised that she had come looking for him or that her expression was a combination of concern and anger as her eyes traveled over him, cataloging his injuries.
“Is it true?” she demanded, gently turning his head to the side so she could see the worst of the bruising.
“What?”
“Did you get beat up by some of the football players because you’ve been hanging around with Isabel Evans?” Her voice was harsh, showing the anger she didn’t waste time trying to hide.
“Is that the rumor goin’ around?” he asked, neither confirming nor denying whether or not it was true.
She was quickly becoming fed up with his avoidance tactics. “Alex, I heard a couple of the basketball players talking about it; they said you were in the emergency room Saturday night.”
Alex wasn’t blind and he could tell that she knew he was avoiding the subject. “Y’know how my mom is, Maria,” he answered cautiously.
“Your mom might be extra cautious where you’re concerned, but this looks like a good reason for caution. God, Alex, have you looked at yourself in the mirror?” She was having a difficult time looking at his face, the livid purple bruising a painful reminder of how much things had changed between them. How could he not see what was happening in his own life? Why couldn’t he see that this was a direct result of his involvement with Isabel Evans?
“It looks worse than it really is, and in a couple of days it’ll just be a memory.” He shook his head slowly. “You don’t need to worry about this.”
“No matter what’s happened between us I still worry about you.” She motioned to his face and shook her head sadly. “This only proves that I was right to be concerned about you guys getting involved with Max and Isabel. Ever since you started hanging around with them it’s been nothing but secrets and lies – “
“Maria – “
“Alex, why won’t you guys let me help you with whatever you’re hiding from everyone?” Maria asked, desperate for an answer, for the truth.
Isabel felt her breath catch in her throat. This was it, he was gonna tell Maria the truth and reveal their secret. She could see it in his face, the need to tell Maria what they had been keeping from her. His voice was pleading when he spoke again and Isabel couldn’t hide her surprise when he didn’t reveal their secret with his next words.
“Maria, we never meant to hurt you.”
“Then why do you keep shutting me out and lying to me? Before you started hanging around with them there were no secrets between us.”
Isabel bit her bottom lip when she saw his hesitation.
“Maria, you know we’d never do anything to intentionally hurt you; tell me you know us better than that.”
“You’re talking in circles,” she said, sounding almost defeated. She reached up and the tips of her fingers grazed his bruised cheek. “Maybe you won’t admit what happened, but I hope she’s worth what it’s gonna cost you to be with her.”
“Why do you assume that bein’ around her and Max is dangerous?”
Oh, where to start answering that one? There were so many reasons for her to believe that they were dangerous. “I don’t know. Maybe because you and Liz have suddenly become secretive and you lie to me on a constant basis, or how about the fact that the reason you got beat up is because some of the guys on the football team took a dim view of the Ice Queen’s image being tarnished by being seen with you.”
Alex winced, knowing that she had a point. Still, he had expected better from Maria. She was quick to react, but she was also quick to forgive. But, it didn’t look like she was on the path to forgiveness where Max and Isabel were concerned. “You don’t even know them, Maria; since when are you so judgmental about – “
Judgmental? He was honestly asking her that to her face after everything that had happened between them the last few weeks? Was he kidding? “Do you know how it feels to be lied to and treated as if you’re too stupid to realize it? It hurts, Alex. We’ve spent our entire lives in each other’s back pockets and because the two of you have suddenly decided that I can’t be trusted with whatever little secret you’ve got – that quite obviously involves Max and Isabel Evans – you’ve shut me out of your lives.”
Alex felt bad after hearing Maria’s speech. She was right. But hey, she was doing the same thing. Her boyfriend, Michael? Michael who? He’d had to learn about him from Liz, who had met him accidentally. “I don’t recall you tellin’ us that you’ve got a new boyfriend… one that Liz seems to think might be dangerous.”
“You have no right to say that about him,” she snapped. “You don’t even know him.”
“No, I don’t,” he agreed, the fight draining out of him. “And you don’t know Max and Isabel either.”
“I haven’t gotten beaten up, or had to lie to my friends, or been forced to keep alienating secrets from my friends because of my involvement with him.” Maria was trying very hard to control the volume level of her voice because it wouldn’t take much before she was shouting at him. She had a quick temper and she really didn’t want to cause a scene in school.
“But would you?”
Maria shook her head. “Before you guys started acting differently, no, there’s nothing that I would’ve ever kept from you.”
Alex didn’t like where this was going. He had always believed, based on his knowledge of Maria’s character that she would understand. That she would get why they had behaved the way they had, once she knew the truth. What if he was wrong? “And now?”
Maria watched Alex closely. This was the guy she had spent countless nights watching Star Trek and X-Files episodes with. This was the guy who had helped her pull pranks on some of the biggest idiots in high school. This was the guy who had helped her with her homework so many times over the years. This was the guy she sang with. Was she ready to throw that all away? “Now? Now, we’re strangers, Alex; I don’t even know you anymore.” She backed away from him and turned to hurry down the corridor, going back to class before the final bell sounded.
Starcrazed – Don’t be too sure about Catherine. She has to realize that Michael is no longer her little boy.
April – Yes, it definitely had an ID feel. It was written that way on purpose. We wanted the fic to have canon moments transposed into our story.
Flamehair – Glad that you like Maggie.
Part 46
Catherine paced around the living room like a caged animal while John watched from the relative safety of his recliner on the opposite side of the room. She had been working herself up into a fury since they had gotten home and it had only gotten worse once she had realized that Michael hadn’t come straight home, as she had directed.
“Catherine, you said yourself the boy was upset when he left Skye’s place; he’s probably just tryin’ to work some things out before he comes home. I don’t think this is a matter of him defying authority – “
“And you don’t think he’s been with her this whole time?”
John sighed, worried about his wife and their son. She was going to push the boy away if she continued behaving this way. “You need to stop this, Catherine.”
Catherine refused to take his advice into consideration. “Answer the question.”
“Yes, I’m sure he’s been with Maria, but I don’t think it was out of defiance or calculated disobedience. I think she understands him on a completely different level than we do and that’s part of the reason he’s drawn to her.”
“She hasn’t known him long enough to understand him,” Catherine scoffed. “He needs to come home where he can be taken care of. Did you see his face, John? I couldn’t even tell how badly he was hurt because of all the blood that was – “
“It’s not as bad as it looked,” Michael interrupted, leaning against the doorframe.
Catherine whirled around to face her son, moving to stand in front of him and studying his damaged face. Her right hand came up to tip his head to the left so she could see the bandaged wound above his eye. “Well, that needs to be cleaned and bandaged properly.”
“Mom, there’s nothin’ wrong with the way it is.” He backed away when she reached up to brush her fingers over the bandaged area. “Maria patched me up and I’m fine.”
“You’re fine,” Catherine repeated in a flat tone, clearly not believing a word of what Michael had said.
“I’m fine.” He threw himself down on the couch and played with the hem of his shirt.
She took a deep breath and started the discussion that she was certain was going to be heated. “Good. Then you can explain what exactly you were thinking when you got into a fight with Dakota.”
What was his mother insinuating? That he had started the fight? Didn’t she know how Dakota was, always ready to start something? God, hadn’t she been paying attention at all that afternoon? “You wanna know what I was thinkin’?! I wasn’t thinkin’, Mom; he hit me and I hit him right back. There really wasn’t a lot of thought put into it.”
“Do you know how easily one of the children could’ve been hurt? You were holding Shysie, what if he had hit her?”
“What if…” He shook his head as he stared at her incredulously. “He hit me first and I made sure Shy was outta the way before I hit him back. I’m not gonna apologize for getting into a fight with him; he deserved everything he got.”
John observed his wife and Michael during the exchange, easily seeing that it wouldn’t be long before it was out of control. This was not going well and Catherine was too blind to see that Michael was getting more and more furious with her and the situation. He sighed when she barreled ahead with the next barrage of questions.
“What did he do that was so different from every other time he’s tried to provoke you? You’ve always managed to walk away, so what did he say that pushed you to the point that you were willing to risk others getting hurt?”
Michael narrowed his eyes at his mother. “Nobody else got hurt.” He had made sure of that.
“I expect an answer, Michael. Did he say something about your girlfriend?”
Michael’s gaze shot to his mother, his mind racing to justify what sounded like contempt in her voice. Was Dakota right? If he was right about this, what else had he been right about?
“Is that it?” Catherine demanded when he remained silent. “He said something about your girlfriend and you were defending her?”
Michael shoved himself to his feet, knowing he hadn’t imagined the look of disapproval on her face. “My girlfriend’s name is Maria!” he shouted angrily. “And to answer your question, no, Dakota didn’t have much of anything to say about her. That fight would’ve happened a helluva lot sooner if he’d targeted her and I wouldn’t have waited for him to throw the first punch!”
“Okay,” John said, moving between his wife and his son. He had quickly realized that he was going to have to be the mediator if they were going to get anywhere. They were both angry and defensive but they were miles apart when it came to the reasons for their emotions. “Why don’t we all take a minute to calm down, all right? Michael, go get you somethin’ to drink, Son. Did you stop and get somethin’ to eat on your way home?”
“Yeah, Dad, I ate a while ago.”
John nodded at the barest hint of a smile on the boy’s face and wondered if that meant Maria had fed him before he left her house or if she had insisted that he stop and get something on his way home. He turned to his wife when their son left the room. “I’m tellin’ you, Cath, you’re pushin’ him too hard,” he said, his voice low. “You of all people should know what a dangerous path it is that you’re takin’.”
“It’s not the same thing,” she insisted.
“The hell it’s not. If you keep goin’ after Maria you’re gonna push him right out of your life, and Catherine, that’s one regret you don’t wanna live with.” He shook his head. “And you don’t want him to have to live with it either.”
“This is not the same thing that happened with your mother.”
“If you make him choose between you and the woman he loves, then it’ll be the same thing in the end.”
Catherine shook her head and turned to walk out of the room, refusing to acknowledge her husband when he hurried to follow her. She rolled her eyes when they entered the kitchen and she saw Michael disconnecting from a phone call.
“Your father didn’t tell you to come in here to make a phone call.”
Michael sighed and tossed the cordless phone on the counter. “I promised Maria I’d call and let her know I got home safely.”
“Why?”
John rolled his eyes at his wife’s obtuse question. Had she forgotten what it was like to be in love and worried about the other person?
“I don’t know, Mom. Because she was worried about me and she asked me to call.” The edgy, defensive tone quickly resurfaced in response to his mother’s questions.
“Catherine, why don’t you sit down and give the boy some space.” As soon as she had complied with his request he took a deep breath and looked at their son. “All right, Michael, why don’t you explain what happened with your cousin. What’d Dakota say?”
“What’d Dakota say?” he repeated, snorting. “Where should I start? He said so many flattering things.” He started to pace around the kitchen, his agitation easily visible. “His central theme today was how I was left out in the desert because my biological parents didn’t want me…” His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides and his pacing became more restless and erratic. “How they left me so far away from the nearest city and any passable roads because they didn’t want me and therefore no one else would either.”
John listened without interrupting, hearing the hurt intermingled with the anger in his son’s voice. His abandonment in the desert was a very sensitive subject and it wasn’t something he talked about very often. Dakota had struck a nerve with his latest attack and it was becoming more and more clear to John that it was the reason behind Michael’s seemingly easy retaliation when his cousin had taken the confrontation to the physical level.
“Michael, you know we love you,” Catherine said when he paused in his ranting, his back to them and his hands curled around the edge of the counter. “You can’t pay any attention to what Dakota said – “
“Why not, Mom? It’s not like it wasn’t true; I was left out in the desert miles from any kind of civilization. God, Mom, they didn’t intend for me to be found! They left me out there hopin’ I’d die!”
Catherine shot to her feet and crossed the room to stand in front of him. “Don’t say that, Michael,” she begged. “We don’t know why you were left in the desert.”
“Tell me that the thought’s never crossed your mind,” he challenged. “I’m not denying that you love me; I’m just questioning whether or not I was ever expected to survive bein’ abandoned out there. It’s not somethin’ I can just ignore, Mom. Maybe I don’t think about it constantly, but it’s always there in the back of my mind.”
“You can’t allow Dakota to provoke you like that, Michael. I know that what he said hurt you, but you can’t just fight with him like you did today.”
“He came after me! I didn’t throw the first punch, and if he had just left me alone nothin’ would’ve happened today.”
Bitterness invaded Catherine at Michael’s defense of his behavior. She had raised her son well but since Maria had come into his life he seemed to be forgetting everything she had taught him! “Unless he had said something about your girlfriend, right? Because then you would’ve been quite comfortable starting the fight, that’s what you said.”
“Why do you keep goin’ after her?” Michael yelled. “What’s she done to keep you so focused on her?” He slammed his fists down against the counter in frustration. “Was he right about you, Mom?”
“What?”
“Dakota, he kept goin’ on about how I should ask you how you really feel about her. Was he right when he said that you don’t approve of Maria?” He nodded when he saw her startled expression. “He wasn’t lyin’ about it was he, Mom?” He shoved himself away from the counter and moved across the room, putting distance between them. “So, if he was tellin’ the truth about that, what’s to say he wasn’t tellin’ the truth about the rest of it?”
Damn, he had cornered her. But, denying his accusation would be an outright lie. She searched frantically in her mind for something that would put him at ease, the right words to reassure him. “It just concerns me that you’re getting too involved with this girl, Michael. I have every right to be concerned and if that has any bearing on why you got into that fight – “
“I already told you why I got into the fight. Believe me or don’t believe me, I don’t care, but don’t blame it on Maria. I have every right to defend myself against Dakota or anyone else and – “
“You cannot get into fights – “
That was it! Michael had reached the end of his rope and he was out of patience. “I’m almost eighteen years old, Mom! In a few months I’ll be an adult by society’s standards; you can’t tell me what I can and can’t do anymore!” He stormed out of the kitchen and seconds later the door to his bedroom slammed shut.
*****
Monday mornings had to be the worst day of the week, Maria thought as she slid into her chair at the back of the classroom. She opened her Economics textbook and flipped through it to find the assignment Mrs. Albrecht had written on the blackboard. Class wasn’t scheduled to start for another eight minutes but there had been no reason to loiter at her locker so here she was, early for class.
She wondered how Michael’s talk with his parents had gone. She didn’t pretend that she wasn’t worried about him; his voice had been strained when he had called to let her know he was home the night before. He hadn’t had much time to talk but it was apparent that things had started off badly, and she had a feeling that his mother was responsible for that. She couldn’t understand why Catherine seemed to be holding Michael accountable for Dakota’s actions; it didn’t make any sense.
“Are you sure you’ve got the right guy?”
She looked up when a couple of girls from the basketball team sat down several rows over. They were obviously in the middle of a conversation and they didn’t lower their voices as they continued to talk.
“Totally. My mom was on duty Saturday night and she said his mom brought him in; she said he looked like someone had beaten the crap out of him.”
The second girl shook her head negatively. “Whitman just doesn’t seem to be the type to get into a fight.”
“Well, I doubt he started the fight.”
Maria frowned. They couldn’t be talking about Alex Whitman, could they?
“Are you guys talking about Whitman?”
She watched the basketball players look up when one of the cheerleaders came in and sat down in the front row.
“Yeah. Why? You know something?”
“Well, rumor is he had a run-in with some of the guys on the football team.” She rolled her eyes and turned to face the front of the room. “He had to know he couldn’t keep following Isabel around like a lovesick puppy. He’s pathetic.”
Maria didn’t wait around to hear anymore; she had heard enough to be sure they were talking about Alex. The thought that some of the jocks had gotten together to beat him up had her seeing red as she stalked along the corridors searching for Alex. The crowded halls were beginning to thin out courtesy of the warning bell and she quickly made her way to the hall where his locker was.
His back was to her as she approached and she immediately noticed how stiff his movements were as he reached inside his locker to retrieve his books.
“Alex?”
*****
Isabel stormed through the halls without seeing the people hustling to get out of her way. Normally it amused her, but today she was on a mission and she didn’t have time to be distracted.
Rumors were flying like crazy about Alex and some of the guys from the football team. She never believed a rumor until there was substantial proof and in this case Alex was the proof she needed to see. She slowed down as she neared the short corridor where his locker was located and froze when she realized someone else was approaching him. She took a couple of steps back so she couldn’t be seen as she eavesdropped on their conversation.
“Alex, what happened? Are you all right?”
Maria, she thought, annoyed. What was she doing there?
*****
Alex turned around slowly to look at Maria. He wasn’t surprised that she had come looking for him or that her expression was a combination of concern and anger as her eyes traveled over him, cataloging his injuries.
“Is it true?” she demanded, gently turning his head to the side so she could see the worst of the bruising.
“What?”
“Did you get beat up by some of the football players because you’ve been hanging around with Isabel Evans?” Her voice was harsh, showing the anger she didn’t waste time trying to hide.
“Is that the rumor goin’ around?” he asked, neither confirming nor denying whether or not it was true.
She was quickly becoming fed up with his avoidance tactics. “Alex, I heard a couple of the basketball players talking about it; they said you were in the emergency room Saturday night.”
Alex wasn’t blind and he could tell that she knew he was avoiding the subject. “Y’know how my mom is, Maria,” he answered cautiously.
“Your mom might be extra cautious where you’re concerned, but this looks like a good reason for caution. God, Alex, have you looked at yourself in the mirror?” She was having a difficult time looking at his face, the livid purple bruising a painful reminder of how much things had changed between them. How could he not see what was happening in his own life? Why couldn’t he see that this was a direct result of his involvement with Isabel Evans?
“It looks worse than it really is, and in a couple of days it’ll just be a memory.” He shook his head slowly. “You don’t need to worry about this.”
“No matter what’s happened between us I still worry about you.” She motioned to his face and shook her head sadly. “This only proves that I was right to be concerned about you guys getting involved with Max and Isabel. Ever since you started hanging around with them it’s been nothing but secrets and lies – “
“Maria – “
“Alex, why won’t you guys let me help you with whatever you’re hiding from everyone?” Maria asked, desperate for an answer, for the truth.
Isabel felt her breath catch in her throat. This was it, he was gonna tell Maria the truth and reveal their secret. She could see it in his face, the need to tell Maria what they had been keeping from her. His voice was pleading when he spoke again and Isabel couldn’t hide her surprise when he didn’t reveal their secret with his next words.
“Maria, we never meant to hurt you.”
“Then why do you keep shutting me out and lying to me? Before you started hanging around with them there were no secrets between us.”
Isabel bit her bottom lip when she saw his hesitation.
“Maria, you know we’d never do anything to intentionally hurt you; tell me you know us better than that.”
“You’re talking in circles,” she said, sounding almost defeated. She reached up and the tips of her fingers grazed his bruised cheek. “Maybe you won’t admit what happened, but I hope she’s worth what it’s gonna cost you to be with her.”
“Why do you assume that bein’ around her and Max is dangerous?”
Oh, where to start answering that one? There were so many reasons for her to believe that they were dangerous. “I don’t know. Maybe because you and Liz have suddenly become secretive and you lie to me on a constant basis, or how about the fact that the reason you got beat up is because some of the guys on the football team took a dim view of the Ice Queen’s image being tarnished by being seen with you.”
Alex winced, knowing that she had a point. Still, he had expected better from Maria. She was quick to react, but she was also quick to forgive. But, it didn’t look like she was on the path to forgiveness where Max and Isabel were concerned. “You don’t even know them, Maria; since when are you so judgmental about – “
Judgmental? He was honestly asking her that to her face after everything that had happened between them the last few weeks? Was he kidding? “Do you know how it feels to be lied to and treated as if you’re too stupid to realize it? It hurts, Alex. We’ve spent our entire lives in each other’s back pockets and because the two of you have suddenly decided that I can’t be trusted with whatever little secret you’ve got – that quite obviously involves Max and Isabel Evans – you’ve shut me out of your lives.”
Alex felt bad after hearing Maria’s speech. She was right. But hey, she was doing the same thing. Her boyfriend, Michael? Michael who? He’d had to learn about him from Liz, who had met him accidentally. “I don’t recall you tellin’ us that you’ve got a new boyfriend… one that Liz seems to think might be dangerous.”
“You have no right to say that about him,” she snapped. “You don’t even know him.”
“No, I don’t,” he agreed, the fight draining out of him. “And you don’t know Max and Isabel either.”
“I haven’t gotten beaten up, or had to lie to my friends, or been forced to keep alienating secrets from my friends because of my involvement with him.” Maria was trying very hard to control the volume level of her voice because it wouldn’t take much before she was shouting at him. She had a quick temper and she really didn’t want to cause a scene in school.
“But would you?”
Maria shook her head. “Before you guys started acting differently, no, there’s nothing that I would’ve ever kept from you.”
Alex didn’t like where this was going. He had always believed, based on his knowledge of Maria’s character that she would understand. That she would get why they had behaved the way they had, once she knew the truth. What if he was wrong? “And now?”
Maria watched Alex closely. This was the guy she had spent countless nights watching Star Trek and X-Files episodes with. This was the guy who had helped her pull pranks on some of the biggest idiots in high school. This was the guy who had helped her with her homework so many times over the years. This was the guy she sang with. Was she ready to throw that all away? “Now? Now, we’re strangers, Alex; I don’t even know you anymore.” She backed away from him and turned to hurry down the corridor, going back to class before the final bell sounded.
-
ArchAngel1973
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- Posts: 373
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Doo 'awéé ééhoozIIh da-The Lost Child-M/M(CC-Teen)Pt47-11/8
Ken r – We wanted an obstacle for M&M’s relationship who wouldn’t be another girl, at least not in the traditional way. So we had this idea about Michael’s adoptive mother being very protective of her son.
PML – Yes, Maria, Alex and Liz will be friends again. It will be tough, but a story where they aren’t friends isn’t a real Roswell story!
Cjsl8ne – Isabel will start to view Maria under another angle. But it will take some time for her to completely accept her.
April – The two groups are going to meet. But not for a while yet. About Catherine… that kind of mother isn’t that rare. What’s rare is that Michael inherited such a mother.
Flamehair – Yes, don’t worry, there will be a time when the two groups will meet. Can’t reveal too much about that though.
Part 47
Alex turned to face his locker after she left to go back to class and he thumped his forehead against the cool metal surface several times in frustration. The action brought the jackhammers back to life in his skull and he winced. “Damn it,” he muttered under his breath as he leaned back, opened the locker up again, and pulled his Calculus book back out. He shoved the heavy book into his backpack and held it by its straps, his muscles still too sore to even think about carrying it over his shoulders. He was shifting the bag to his right side as he turned away from his locker and found himself facing Isabel.
Her expression was unreadable as she visually perused his injured face and after a moment she met his gaze. “Who did this to you?” she asked, careful to keep her voice under control. She hadn’t expected to feel the surge of anger that pulsed through her system when she finally saw the damage he had suffered.
“Does it matter?” He carefully shifted the bag onto his right shoulder. “It was just a misunderstanding and I really need to get to class.”
“Was it about me?”
Alex cleared his throat and searched her questioning gaze for several long moments. He forced a strained smile onto his face and shook his head. “No, Isabel, it was about me.”
“Are you lying to me, Alex?” Her right hand settled on his arm and her expression turned pensive as her eyes locked onto something he couldn’t see. After a few moments she dropped her hand from his arm and for just a split second he was sure her eyes were filled with anger, but then she blinked and when she met his gaze again they were clear. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“What reason would I have to lie to you?”
Isabel shook her head. “Because you have some misguided belief that I need to be protected from the truth?”
“Don’t worry, Isabel, I haven’t deluded myself into thinkin’ that you need any protection that I could offer.” His tone was self-deprecating and he shook his head as he shifted to go around her. “Like I said, this wasn’t about you, it was about me.” He glanced up when the final bell rang. “I’d better go; I’ve got an exam and I’m late.”
Isabel watched him go, his movements slow and calculated to create the least amount of pain. She had gotten flashes of what the football players had done to him, supposedly on her behalf, and she could tell that he was in a lot of pain because of it. She had forced her emotions under control, surprised by the force of her anger. She had quickly decided the unexpected feelings were simply a reaction to the unfair treatment he had received, and that she would feel the same way if he had been anyone else. The football players had no idea what they were in for, she thought angrily. Beating up someone like Alex for no good reason –
“Ms. Evans, shouldn’t you be in class right about now?”
She turned to look at the vice principal and nodded, shelving her thoughts of revenge as she hurried to class.
*****
Alex tossed his lunch sack on the table and carefully dropped his lanky frame onto the bench seat across from Liz. She glanced at him and did a double take when she saw his battered face.
“Oh my God, Alex! What happened?”
He probably would’ve smiled but his entire face hurt so he just shrugged his shoulder on his uninjured side. Liz had a tendency to block out things like gossip so he wasn’t really surprised that she hadn’t heard the rumors.
“Some of the football players seem to think Isabel’s reputation as one of the elite is in danger because we’ve been seen together a couple of times.”
“You’ve been seen together?”
“It’s not a big deal,” he answered as he pulled his sandwich out and placed it on top of the sack, still wrapped. He had grabbed it out of habit, even though he didn’t have the slightest bit of an appetite for anything that required much chewing. “We were out renting a movie the other night – “
“You guys rented a movie together?”
“No, it wasn’t like that, Liz. It was research for somethin’ we’re workin’ on together.”
“You don’t wanna tell me what it is?”
“Not yet. I promise I’ll tell you about it when we’ve got somethin’ concrete though. But until then I’d prefer to keep it between Isabel and myself, okay?”
Liz wondered if it was connected to whatever project they had claimed to be working on a while back, right after Max had destroyed the letter. “Fair enough.” She motioned to his face. “Does she know about what happened?”
“If she does it’s not because I told her.”
“What do you mean?”
“Remember when you told me that Max gets flashes when things get intense?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know if they both have that ability?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“Because I suspect she has that ability as well; she asked me about what happened and when I told her it wasn’t about her she put her hand on my arm and I swear she looked like she was in a trance for several seconds.”
“But you still didn’t tell her the truth?”
“Technically, yes, I told her the truth.” He shrugged his right shoulder. “They came after me because I’m bad for her image, Liz, not the other way around.”
*****
“Why do I have to give it to him?”
Isabel rolled her eyes when her brother whined pathetically. “Because I can’t give it to him, Max; he would obviously read more into it than would be intended so it makes much more sense for you to give it to him.”
“Don’t you think it’s gonna look just the slightest bit odd for me to give another guy – “
Isabel sighed, not feeling like getting into an argument with her brother. “Max, it’s the nice thing to do, and everyone knows you’re one of the nicest guys around. No one will think twice if you give Alex soup because it’s a thoughtful gesture.”
Isabel, caring about someone like Alex… this was new. Not that his sister wasn’t charitable, but she was more into the impersonal side of charity. “But if you give it to him he’s gonna think what exactly? That you’re declaring your undying love for him?” He glanced down at the heated container of soup that she had pushed into his hand when he had met her coming out of the cafeteria.
“I just think it’ll be better if it comes from you, okay?” Isabel was having a difficult time containing her temper. Of all the days to be difficult, Max had chosen today to do his best to piss her off.
Max opened his mouth to argue, thought better of it, and just nodded and followed her to their table. His gaze followed his sister’s determined stride and he easily read the signs of her anger; no one else knew her well enough to pick up on it, but he could sense the anger simmering just below the surface of her placid expression. He wondered if she had any idea that she was broadcasting her emotions loud enough for him to receive them and quickly decided that she was unaware of it.
“I take it you’ve talked to him today?”
Isabel glanced at her brother, trying to decide if he was trying to imply anything or not. “Well, it would’ve been rude to see him and not ask what had happened, wouldn’t it?”
“Did he say what happened?”
“No,” she snapped, irritated with all of his questions.
Max smiled at her annoyed tone, knowing how much that would have irritated her. He had heard the rumors, and in gym class he had heard the captain of the football team laughing and talking with a couple of the other players about what they had done on Saturday. Combined with his sister’s mood, and her sudden insistence that he should be the one to make sure Alex had something he could actually eat, he had no doubt the rumors were true. He had a feeling that some of her anger was actually directed at herself because she felt just the slightest bit guilty about what had happened to Alex. Not that she was going to admit it, he thought as they reached their table and she sat down as far away from Alex as possible while remaining on the same bench.
He sat down next to Liz and reached across the table to place the container of soup on the table in front of Alex. “I thought you might have better luck with this,” he said by way of explanation. “I figured eatin’ anything that requires chewing probably isn’t real high on the list of things you wanna do right now.”
“Thanks,” Alex mumbled, reaching for the container.
He hid a smile when Alex sent a suspicious glance in Isabel’s direction but before long he was focused on his lunch and Max turned to his girlfriend. His heart flip-flopped in his chest when she smiled at him and they discussed several different topics as they ate lunch and waited for their companions to take their leave.
“Do you know why he got beat up?” Liz asked after the other two had finished their lunches and gone off in separate directions.
“From what I understand some of the guys on the football team don’t like that he’s been seen with Isabel.” He frowned. “I guess they’ve been workin’ on that project she mentioned a while back, but she hasn’t said anything about it.”
His mention of the project Alex and Isabel claimed to be working on had Liz wondering about it again. She knew it wasn’t a class assignment and as Max talked she began to consider that maybe they were still working on translating the letter she had found at Kyle’s grandfather’s house. Was it possible? she wondered. What other reason would the two of them have to be spending so much time together? They weren’t a couple, so they weren’t spending time together romantically; Alex wouldn’t have been able to hide that or keep it a secret.
The day at the quarry Isabel had opposed her brother’s decision to destroy the letter and Alex had questioned the decision as well, but nothing more had been said about it. As far as Max was concerned the situation had come to a conclusion; he had deemed it as unsafe and had destroyed the only link they might have had with their past. She hadn’t really agreed with his decision, feeling that Isabel had as much right as he did to decide whether pursuing the translation was worth the possible danger it might put them in. If that was what Alex and Isabel were working on then she wasn’t going to say anything to Max about it; they didn’t know if it would really lead anywhere, so why give him information that would only cause him to worry and create tension within their group. If Alex was still trying to decode the letter for Isabel then she wasn’t going to do anything to keep the other girl from learning about her past.
*****
Isabel sat down in one of the booths near the back, one that she knew for a fact wasn’t in Maria’s section, and opened her Psychology textbook. For the next hour she worked on homework while surreptitiously watching Maria and thinking about the conversation she had overheard between the waitress and Alex that morning. She glanced up when a noisy group entered the café and she felt her blood begin to boil when several of the football players pushed two tables together, dragged their chairs over, and sat down.
She forced her temper back under control and watched with interest as Maria took their orders, slapped wayward hands away, and catered to them for the duration of their stay.
“Are you kiddin’?” Brad crowed proudly in response to a question from one of his teammates. “That geek folded like wet cardboard; no clue how to defend himself.”
After a ridiculous amount of food and much self-congratulation, all but four of the boys had taken off. Isabel’s gaze was once more drawn to Maria when she stopped at the table to see if they needed anything else. The running back, Larry Martin, made a lewd comment that earned him a glass full of soda being dumped right in his lap and he flushed bright red when the other guys laughed out loud, drawing attention to him. Maria didn’t look the least bit worried when he threatened payback before hurrying out of the café.
“Guess you heard about what happened to Whitman,” Ken said, still grinning about their friend’s mishap.
“You have no idea who I am, do you?” she asked, shaking her head. She reached out to snatch up the tip they had left under a saltshaker and stuffed it into her apron. “Alex Whitman is one of my best friends, and I not only heard about what happened to him, I saw what you did to him.”
“You should be thankin’ us then,” Brad stated. “It’ll toughen him up.”
“Because you think he’s weak? He’s kinder, smarter, and stronger than all three of you put together.”
Patrick snorted. “Are you kiddin’? The only sport he’s good enough to play is dodge ball. And smarter? If he’s so smart why’d he get his ass kicked?”
“Being strong has nothing to do with whether or not you can play a sport. As for being smarter… he’s careful about who his friends are.”
“Huh?”
“For the past hour you’ve ordered a ton of food, numerous drinks, and not once did you stop to ask yourselves if you should check your orders.”
“Check our orders? For what?”
“Alex is my friend, I know that you’re the ones who hurt him, and I’m the lucky one who got to serve you today, so you do the math.” She walked away from the table, moving on to another customer ready to place an order.
“You think she spit in the food or somethin’?” Patrick asked, his voice low.
Isabel just barely caught herself before she laughed out loud. She didn’t think Maria would stoop to that level, but the football players obviously weren’t as certain and for the next few minutes they checked what little food remained on the table, searching for evidence that she had done something to their food or drinks.
They finally left, disgruntled and still worried that their food had been tampered with, and as Maria cleared their table off, she chuckled to herself. “Idiots,” she muttered, shaking her head.
Isabel finished her homework before packing her things up and leaving the café. She had no intention of admitting that she was impressed with Maria’s ability to put the football players in their places and defend Alex despite the distance between her and her friends. However, she did intend to make sure they suffered for what they had done. She just hadn’t decided how to make that happen yet.
PML – Yes, Maria, Alex and Liz will be friends again. It will be tough, but a story where they aren’t friends isn’t a real Roswell story!
Cjsl8ne – Isabel will start to view Maria under another angle. But it will take some time for her to completely accept her.
April – The two groups are going to meet. But not for a while yet. About Catherine… that kind of mother isn’t that rare. What’s rare is that Michael inherited such a mother.
Flamehair – Yes, don’t worry, there will be a time when the two groups will meet. Can’t reveal too much about that though.
Part 47
Alex turned to face his locker after she left to go back to class and he thumped his forehead against the cool metal surface several times in frustration. The action brought the jackhammers back to life in his skull and he winced. “Damn it,” he muttered under his breath as he leaned back, opened the locker up again, and pulled his Calculus book back out. He shoved the heavy book into his backpack and held it by its straps, his muscles still too sore to even think about carrying it over his shoulders. He was shifting the bag to his right side as he turned away from his locker and found himself facing Isabel.
Her expression was unreadable as she visually perused his injured face and after a moment she met his gaze. “Who did this to you?” she asked, careful to keep her voice under control. She hadn’t expected to feel the surge of anger that pulsed through her system when she finally saw the damage he had suffered.
“Does it matter?” He carefully shifted the bag onto his right shoulder. “It was just a misunderstanding and I really need to get to class.”
“Was it about me?”
Alex cleared his throat and searched her questioning gaze for several long moments. He forced a strained smile onto his face and shook his head. “No, Isabel, it was about me.”
“Are you lying to me, Alex?” Her right hand settled on his arm and her expression turned pensive as her eyes locked onto something he couldn’t see. After a few moments she dropped her hand from his arm and for just a split second he was sure her eyes were filled with anger, but then she blinked and when she met his gaze again they were clear. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“What reason would I have to lie to you?”
Isabel shook her head. “Because you have some misguided belief that I need to be protected from the truth?”
“Don’t worry, Isabel, I haven’t deluded myself into thinkin’ that you need any protection that I could offer.” His tone was self-deprecating and he shook his head as he shifted to go around her. “Like I said, this wasn’t about you, it was about me.” He glanced up when the final bell rang. “I’d better go; I’ve got an exam and I’m late.”
Isabel watched him go, his movements slow and calculated to create the least amount of pain. She had gotten flashes of what the football players had done to him, supposedly on her behalf, and she could tell that he was in a lot of pain because of it. She had forced her emotions under control, surprised by the force of her anger. She had quickly decided the unexpected feelings were simply a reaction to the unfair treatment he had received, and that she would feel the same way if he had been anyone else. The football players had no idea what they were in for, she thought angrily. Beating up someone like Alex for no good reason –
“Ms. Evans, shouldn’t you be in class right about now?”
She turned to look at the vice principal and nodded, shelving her thoughts of revenge as she hurried to class.
*****
Alex tossed his lunch sack on the table and carefully dropped his lanky frame onto the bench seat across from Liz. She glanced at him and did a double take when she saw his battered face.
“Oh my God, Alex! What happened?”
He probably would’ve smiled but his entire face hurt so he just shrugged his shoulder on his uninjured side. Liz had a tendency to block out things like gossip so he wasn’t really surprised that she hadn’t heard the rumors.
“Some of the football players seem to think Isabel’s reputation as one of the elite is in danger because we’ve been seen together a couple of times.”
“You’ve been seen together?”
“It’s not a big deal,” he answered as he pulled his sandwich out and placed it on top of the sack, still wrapped. He had grabbed it out of habit, even though he didn’t have the slightest bit of an appetite for anything that required much chewing. “We were out renting a movie the other night – “
“You guys rented a movie together?”
“No, it wasn’t like that, Liz. It was research for somethin’ we’re workin’ on together.”
“You don’t wanna tell me what it is?”
“Not yet. I promise I’ll tell you about it when we’ve got somethin’ concrete though. But until then I’d prefer to keep it between Isabel and myself, okay?”
Liz wondered if it was connected to whatever project they had claimed to be working on a while back, right after Max had destroyed the letter. “Fair enough.” She motioned to his face. “Does she know about what happened?”
“If she does it’s not because I told her.”
“What do you mean?”
“Remember when you told me that Max gets flashes when things get intense?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know if they both have that ability?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“Because I suspect she has that ability as well; she asked me about what happened and when I told her it wasn’t about her she put her hand on my arm and I swear she looked like she was in a trance for several seconds.”
“But you still didn’t tell her the truth?”
“Technically, yes, I told her the truth.” He shrugged his right shoulder. “They came after me because I’m bad for her image, Liz, not the other way around.”
*****
“Why do I have to give it to him?”
Isabel rolled her eyes when her brother whined pathetically. “Because I can’t give it to him, Max; he would obviously read more into it than would be intended so it makes much more sense for you to give it to him.”
“Don’t you think it’s gonna look just the slightest bit odd for me to give another guy – “
Isabel sighed, not feeling like getting into an argument with her brother. “Max, it’s the nice thing to do, and everyone knows you’re one of the nicest guys around. No one will think twice if you give Alex soup because it’s a thoughtful gesture.”
Isabel, caring about someone like Alex… this was new. Not that his sister wasn’t charitable, but she was more into the impersonal side of charity. “But if you give it to him he’s gonna think what exactly? That you’re declaring your undying love for him?” He glanced down at the heated container of soup that she had pushed into his hand when he had met her coming out of the cafeteria.
“I just think it’ll be better if it comes from you, okay?” Isabel was having a difficult time containing her temper. Of all the days to be difficult, Max had chosen today to do his best to piss her off.
Max opened his mouth to argue, thought better of it, and just nodded and followed her to their table. His gaze followed his sister’s determined stride and he easily read the signs of her anger; no one else knew her well enough to pick up on it, but he could sense the anger simmering just below the surface of her placid expression. He wondered if she had any idea that she was broadcasting her emotions loud enough for him to receive them and quickly decided that she was unaware of it.
“I take it you’ve talked to him today?”
Isabel glanced at her brother, trying to decide if he was trying to imply anything or not. “Well, it would’ve been rude to see him and not ask what had happened, wouldn’t it?”
“Did he say what happened?”
“No,” she snapped, irritated with all of his questions.
Max smiled at her annoyed tone, knowing how much that would have irritated her. He had heard the rumors, and in gym class he had heard the captain of the football team laughing and talking with a couple of the other players about what they had done on Saturday. Combined with his sister’s mood, and her sudden insistence that he should be the one to make sure Alex had something he could actually eat, he had no doubt the rumors were true. He had a feeling that some of her anger was actually directed at herself because she felt just the slightest bit guilty about what had happened to Alex. Not that she was going to admit it, he thought as they reached their table and she sat down as far away from Alex as possible while remaining on the same bench.
He sat down next to Liz and reached across the table to place the container of soup on the table in front of Alex. “I thought you might have better luck with this,” he said by way of explanation. “I figured eatin’ anything that requires chewing probably isn’t real high on the list of things you wanna do right now.”
“Thanks,” Alex mumbled, reaching for the container.
He hid a smile when Alex sent a suspicious glance in Isabel’s direction but before long he was focused on his lunch and Max turned to his girlfriend. His heart flip-flopped in his chest when she smiled at him and they discussed several different topics as they ate lunch and waited for their companions to take their leave.
“Do you know why he got beat up?” Liz asked after the other two had finished their lunches and gone off in separate directions.
“From what I understand some of the guys on the football team don’t like that he’s been seen with Isabel.” He frowned. “I guess they’ve been workin’ on that project she mentioned a while back, but she hasn’t said anything about it.”
His mention of the project Alex and Isabel claimed to be working on had Liz wondering about it again. She knew it wasn’t a class assignment and as Max talked she began to consider that maybe they were still working on translating the letter she had found at Kyle’s grandfather’s house. Was it possible? she wondered. What other reason would the two of them have to be spending so much time together? They weren’t a couple, so they weren’t spending time together romantically; Alex wouldn’t have been able to hide that or keep it a secret.
The day at the quarry Isabel had opposed her brother’s decision to destroy the letter and Alex had questioned the decision as well, but nothing more had been said about it. As far as Max was concerned the situation had come to a conclusion; he had deemed it as unsafe and had destroyed the only link they might have had with their past. She hadn’t really agreed with his decision, feeling that Isabel had as much right as he did to decide whether pursuing the translation was worth the possible danger it might put them in. If that was what Alex and Isabel were working on then she wasn’t going to say anything to Max about it; they didn’t know if it would really lead anywhere, so why give him information that would only cause him to worry and create tension within their group. If Alex was still trying to decode the letter for Isabel then she wasn’t going to do anything to keep the other girl from learning about her past.
*****
Isabel sat down in one of the booths near the back, one that she knew for a fact wasn’t in Maria’s section, and opened her Psychology textbook. For the next hour she worked on homework while surreptitiously watching Maria and thinking about the conversation she had overheard between the waitress and Alex that morning. She glanced up when a noisy group entered the café and she felt her blood begin to boil when several of the football players pushed two tables together, dragged their chairs over, and sat down.
She forced her temper back under control and watched with interest as Maria took their orders, slapped wayward hands away, and catered to them for the duration of their stay.
“Are you kiddin’?” Brad crowed proudly in response to a question from one of his teammates. “That geek folded like wet cardboard; no clue how to defend himself.”
After a ridiculous amount of food and much self-congratulation, all but four of the boys had taken off. Isabel’s gaze was once more drawn to Maria when she stopped at the table to see if they needed anything else. The running back, Larry Martin, made a lewd comment that earned him a glass full of soda being dumped right in his lap and he flushed bright red when the other guys laughed out loud, drawing attention to him. Maria didn’t look the least bit worried when he threatened payback before hurrying out of the café.
“Guess you heard about what happened to Whitman,” Ken said, still grinning about their friend’s mishap.
“You have no idea who I am, do you?” she asked, shaking her head. She reached out to snatch up the tip they had left under a saltshaker and stuffed it into her apron. “Alex Whitman is one of my best friends, and I not only heard about what happened to him, I saw what you did to him.”
“You should be thankin’ us then,” Brad stated. “It’ll toughen him up.”
“Because you think he’s weak? He’s kinder, smarter, and stronger than all three of you put together.”
Patrick snorted. “Are you kiddin’? The only sport he’s good enough to play is dodge ball. And smarter? If he’s so smart why’d he get his ass kicked?”
“Being strong has nothing to do with whether or not you can play a sport. As for being smarter… he’s careful about who his friends are.”
“Huh?”
“For the past hour you’ve ordered a ton of food, numerous drinks, and not once did you stop to ask yourselves if you should check your orders.”
“Check our orders? For what?”
“Alex is my friend, I know that you’re the ones who hurt him, and I’m the lucky one who got to serve you today, so you do the math.” She walked away from the table, moving on to another customer ready to place an order.
“You think she spit in the food or somethin’?” Patrick asked, his voice low.
Isabel just barely caught herself before she laughed out loud. She didn’t think Maria would stoop to that level, but the football players obviously weren’t as certain and for the next few minutes they checked what little food remained on the table, searching for evidence that she had done something to their food or drinks.
They finally left, disgruntled and still worried that their food had been tampered with, and as Maria cleared their table off, she chuckled to herself. “Idiots,” she muttered, shaking her head.
Isabel finished her homework before packing her things up and leaving the café. She had no intention of admitting that she was impressed with Maria’s ability to put the football players in their places and defend Alex despite the distance between her and her friends. However, she did intend to make sure they suffered for what they had done. She just hadn’t decided how to make that happen yet.
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ArchAngel1973
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 373
- Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 7:02 pm
Doo 'awéé ééhoozIIh da-The Lost Child-M/M(CC-Teen)Pt48-11/15
PML – Yes, Isabel is starting to see another aspect of Maria, not just the motormouth. But right now, she is too focused on her anger at what the guys did to Alex, to really stop and think about Maria.
Ashleyt – Thank you for the nice compliments. The story is slow and not much is going on, it’s more an ordinary story with an extraordinary background, but the characters matter a lot, and so do their motivations, whether it’s Dakota, Catherine, the guys who beat up Alex and so on.
April – Isabel has witnessed with her own eyes how loyal Maria is. She has her own opinions, making her her own person but she still loves her friends, no matter what.
Starcrazed – Liz didn’t want to create chaos by bringing up the Alex-Isabel situation. There are enough problems going on between the characters so if some can be avoided, Liz will do what she can to keep the peace between Max and Isabel.
Flamehair – it was important for Isabel to witness that scene, so that she needs to think about Maria from another angle. She isn’t the untrustworthy motormouth she has pictured her as.
Part 48
To most people the desert was harsh and unforgiving, lonely and desolate, but to Michael it was a place that provided solace, a place where he could think without worrying whether or not others felt like he was shutting them out. His gaze swept over the place where River Dog had found him and the familiarity of it made him feel comfortable and apprehensive at the same time. The contrasting feelings had always existed when he came back to it, but his connection to it was strong enough to override the apprehension.
His first memories were of this place and even though he knew the answers he searched for wouldn’t be found there, he continued to come back. He hopped up to sit on the flat rock and his hand brushed over the cold, pitted surface, shivering slightly as he thought back to his first nights in the desert. He leaned back against the rock behind him and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, pulling his legs up and bending them at the knees as he stared up at the stars that filled the clear night sky. The full moon cast its white light over everything, creating shadows that had seemed sinister when he was a little boy, but now they appealed to his artistic side.
There were no clouds in the sky, which meant that it was colder, but Michael’s thoughts were so jumbled up that he barely noticed the temperature. He had gone home after school, but had only stayed long enough to do his chores and homework. He had grabbed something to snack on and jumped back in the truck, driving out into the desert before his parents came home from work.
He had so many conflicting feelings warring inside of him and he didn’t know where to even begin trying to sort them out. For the first time in his life he had found himself in a position that had him on opposing sides with his mother and he didn’t know how to deal with it. Sure, they’d had their differences, but never had something like this come between them and made things so uncomfortable and confusing.
How was he going to find a way to balance things out again? His mother had always said that she wanted him to be with someone who made him happy, someone who understood him, and loved him for who he was. He had found that with Maria, so why wasn’t his mother happy about it? She had seemed to be happy about it when he and Maria had first started seeing each other, so why was she suddenly taking issue with the girl he had chosen to be with?
“You look like a man with a lot on his mind.”
Michael looked up when his grandfather stepped into view, not surprised that he hadn’t heard him approaching. River Dog was an experienced tracker and hunter and he could sneak up on anyone without making a sound, something that had been quite inconvenient when Michael had been a child and looking for new and interesting ways to get into trouble.
“Hey,” he mumbled in greeting.
River Dog frowned at the dejected tone in his grandson’s voice and he moved closer to brace his right hand against the rock Michael was sitting on. “Your mother called; she said you missed dinner,” he said quietly. He waited patiently to see how his grandson responded, intending to direct the conversation from the boy’s cues.
“I grabbed somethin’ to eat on my way out.” Michael shrugged and his gaze turned back to the sky. “I wasn’t real hungry anyway.”
River Dog sighed and followed his grandson’s gaze to the stars above; it was never a good sign when the boy wasn’t hungry. “Michael, I know your mother’s havin’ a hard time with your involvement with Maria – “
“Why?” he interrupted. “Why’s she got a problem with it? God, what’s she think Maria’s gonna do?” He jumped down off of the rock and started to pace, grains of sand flying from beneath his boots with each furious step. “Do you know she accused Maria of bein’ the reason for my fight with Dakota? I even explained what happened, why we got into the fight and I don’t think she believed me. It’s like she’s got somethin’ against Maria, and I don’t understand it.”
River Dog considered how to approach the sensitive topic as he watched the younger man pace, agitation etched clearly in his features and in the tense lines of his body. “Michael, when a young woman comes into a young man’s life and has the kind of effect on him that Maria’s had on you, well, it can be of some concern to a mother who’s been the most influential woman in her son’s life up until that point.”
River Dog might as well have been speaking Chinese for all the sense he was making to Michael. His mother’s influence? What’d that mean? What influence, what was the link between his mother and Maria? “I don’t understand.”
The old man smiled at his grandson’s ignorance. Young men could be so dense. “Who was the first woman in your life, Michael?”
Michael shrugged. “My mom.”
“And who would you say the most influential woman in your life has been?”
He shrugged again. “My mom.”
His grandfather nodded. “Catherine’s been the single most important woman in your life since you were six years old. She’s been there for every step you’ve taken from the first moment you entered her life and became a part of her family. And now, after twelve years you’re suddenly pulling away and she’s comin’ to the realization that you don’t need her the way you did before.” He smiled at the frown on his grandson’s face and shook his head as he continued. “You’ve always had an independent streak and you’ve never been content to wait for things to happen; your mother accepted that about you a long time ago even though she knew that one day your search for the truth might take you away from her. And it’s always been important to her for you to find someone who could accept you and love you for yourself, but she never really considered what it would mean if you did find that someone.”
Michael was sure he was going to implode from waiting for his grandfather to finish his thought. There were times when River Dog could be infuriatingly slow in making his point during a conversation, but nothing could rush the old man when he had something to say and he had already decided how he was going to say it.
“My point is that despite your mother wanting you to find someone who loves you for who you are and who is strong enough to stand up to you when the time calls for it, I don’t think Catherine ever once considered that the woman who can do those things will in many ways be taking her place in your life. Some mothers have a very hard time letting their children go when that significant other comes into their child’s life, and if it isn’t handled the right way it can destroy a relationship they’ve spent years building.”
“So, you’re sayin’ what, that if I keep seein’ Maria I’m gonna lose my mom?” Michael was more confused now than he had been before his grandfather arrived. “Because I’m not – “
River Dog tried to reassure his grandson. “I’m not suggesting that you should stop seeing Maria; I think she’s been good for you and I believe that she’s going to be a very important part of your life. What I’m trying to tell you is that your mother is threatened by your relationship with Maria; the relationship has progressed very fast and for the first time in twelve years you’re not consulting Catherine before making decisions. Obviously you don’t go to her about everything, but suddenly you’re involved with this young woman and your mother knows you’re happy, but at the same time she’s trying to balance that against things like Maria encouraging you to find your biological family, or the very real possibility that you’re heading towards a sexual relationship.”
Michael leaned back against the large boulder and crossed his arms over his chest as he contemplated what his grandfather was saying.
“Catherine’s scared for you, Michael, and unfortunately that fear is manifesting itself as anger and it’s coming across as an attack on Maria.”
Michael frowned, unhappy with what River Dog was saying. Women could be so damn complicated. They complicated things on purpose, he was sure of that. “So what am I supposed to do? Because I’m not gonna just stand there an’ take it when she starts sayin’ stuff about Maria.” He quickly started to get agitated again. “She hasn’t done anything to deserve bein’ treated like that and I’m not – “
“Michael, take it easy,” River Dog soothed. “She’s afraid of losing you, afraid that you’re only gonna get hurt and end up disappointed if you continue to pursue your search, especially now that you’re with someone who’s actively encouraging you to do so. How you choose to deal with what I’ve told you tonight is up to you; I just want you to understand why your mother has been acting the way she’s been acting.”
The younger man relaxed slightly. Even though what River Dog had said made sense, it wasn’t helping him very much at the moment. To be stuck between the girl he cared about and his mother… what was a guy supposed to do? He looked at his grandfather, hoping that he had the answer to his problem. “How do I deal with her? This is the first time in my entire life that I’ve been in this kinda position and I don’t know what to say to her. It feels like we’re constantly at odds, like every single time one of us says somethin’ it’s gonna end up in a fight. I feel like I can’t say or do a damn thing right.”
River Dog sighed. It was a delicate situation considering the tempers of everyone involved. Heated words could hurt for a very long time and he was afraid that Catherine and Michael were going to continue to argue and say things that would only be regretted later. It wouldn’t be the first time he had seen people he cared about lose a special relationship because they couldn’t come to an understanding. He wasn’t sure he could watch that happen again. “You have to do what you believe is right, Michael.”
Ha, right, and how was he supposed to do that? By bowing down to his mother’s feelings and decisions? Not gonna happen! “How do I talk to her without it turnin’ into a fight? How do I make her understand that havin’ Maria’s encouragement is somethin’ I need? I’m not stupid, River Dog, I know why Mom an’ Dad have never encouraged me to look for the answers to all the questions that I’ve got, but I need those answers.” He slapped his hand against the rock in frustration. “I know it’s dangerous and so does Maria, but she understands that I’m never gonna be able to rest until I know why I was abandoned in the desert.”
“Be honest with her and try to control your temper.” River Dog shook his head. “You’re not gonna get anywhere by yelling at each other, slammin’ doors and locking yourself in your bedroom, or hidin’ in the desert. Avoiding your mother isn’t gonna make it any easier to deal with her; that’s only gonna put more distance between you and make her feel like her assessment of the situation is right.”
Michael considered his grandfather’s advice and nodded when the old man fell silent. “Mom called you when I didn’t come home for dinner?”
“She’s worried about you, Michael; she’s your mother and no matter how old you get or how far away you are she’s always gonna worry about you.”
“So, basically what you’re tellin’ me is that I can’t do anything to make her accept my relationship with Maria; that’s somethin’ she’ll either do or not do on her own terms. All I can do is control the way that I respond to her.” He sighed and leaned back against the boulder, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the stars overhead once more. Why did life have to be so damn complicated? he wondered.
*****
Liz reached in through the pickup window and turned on the radio that Jose, the day shift cook, always listened to. She changed it over to a station that played the type of music she and Maria listened to and turned the volume up. How many times had they closed up for the night, going about their duties while talking or singing, dancing to the music without giving much thought to their aching feet and backs? The uncomfortable silence that stretched between them now was worlds apart from all those nights they had spent working together, laughing about some of their stranger tourist customers, singing with the radio, or comparing notes about recent dates.
She gathered all of the sugar containers together, lining them up on the counter so she could begin filling them, but her gaze strayed back over to Maria. For several minutes Liz watched her placing the chairs up on the tables so she could sweep the floor, and she thought back to what she had said to Max. Could she let Maria go? It had sounded like the right thing to do when she had said it, but now, standing here in the Crashdown where they had spent so much time together, she wasn’t sure she could do it.
As little girls they had played in the café, talking to the customers, and helping out whenever her dad would let them so it had been a natural progression for him to hire them when they had gotten old enough to work. She finished filling the sugar containers and moved them all together at the end of the counter before moving on to the salt and pepper shakers. Her gaze was drawn once again to Maria and her mind wandered back to the first time they had been allowed to close by themselves.
“I can’t believe my dad finally let us do this by ourselves.” Liz had been elated at the opportunity to show her parents that they could handle the responsibility and Maria had gone along with her because she had known how important it was to her best friend.
“Yes, it’s a cause for celebration.” Maria had grinned to take the sting out of the words and motioned towards the pickup window. “Get Jose’s radio and turn it on; we need music,” she had declared while wiping one of the tables down.
Liz had rolled her eyes at Maria’s less than enthusiastic tone as she reached in through the window to tune the radio to an acceptable station before turning it up. She found the right station and turned it up loud before leaning back to shout, “How’s that?”
“Perfect!” Maria shouted back.
They had quickly fallen into a familiar rhythm, working in companionable silence, their voices blending together as they sang along with the radio, and the legs of the chairs dragging across the floor as they pulled them out to be lifted up and placed on the tables the only sounds in the café.
“Hey, Maria, what d’you think of Kyle?”
“Kyle who?”
“Valenti.”
Maria had stopped dancing around with the broom when she had sensed that Liz wasn’t joking. “I hope you’re asking what I think about him in an abstract way and not in any other possible way.”
“Well, I heard that he was thinking about asking me out and I was just wondering what you think about him.”
“I think he’s an ass and you could do much better.” She giggled. “Besides, think of the coronary you’d give poor Alex if you went out with Kyle Valenti.”
“That’s true.” Liz laughed. “He is one of Alex’s biggest antagonists, isn’t he? I don’t know though, Maria, he doesn’t really seem to be all that bad when he’s not around the rest of the jocks.”
“Right, but do you really wanna waste your time with someone who has to act differently when he’s out with his friends? I guess if you’ve just gotta go out with him you can, but I wouldn’t let it develop into anything serious. Just wait for someone who’s worth your time, and for God’s sake, Liz, if you decide to go out with Kyle, don’t have sex with him.”
Liz had laughed out loud at that and shook her head. “There’s no need to worry about that, Maria… seriously!”
“Okay, no more talk about that.” Maria shuddered dramatically. She had been just about to say something else but one of her favorite songs had come on the radio and they had started singing and dancing, laughing as they finished cleaning up.
Liz sighed as reality once more intruded and she walked into the storeroom to get what she needed to fill the shakers.
Maria never looked up from the floor she was sweeping when Liz disappeared into the back of the café, her own thoughts creeping into the past. It had been a while since she and Liz had closed together and while they had certainly had their disagreements in the past, they had never reached a point where they just couldn’t talk to each other. When they had been little girls they had never once thought that anything could come between them and the thought of being separated from each other had been too horrible to even contemplate. She could remember running into the café on the first day of their summer break, free from the confines of school for three whole months, and ready to start playing and enjoying the freedom. She had been distressed when Nancy, Liz’s mother, had shaken her head and stated that Liz couldn’t come out to play.
“How come Liz can’t come out to play?”
“She has the chicken pox, sweetie,” Nancy had answered patiently. “She’s very contagious right now and…” She had fallen silent and knelt down in front of her daughter’s best friend. “Do you know what contagious means?”
Maria shook her head. “Is it bad?”
“No. It just means that if someone who hasn’t already had chicken pox gets around her they’ll catch it too. So, the two of you can’t play together until she’s all better.” She stood and patted the little girl’s head. “You won’t be separated for too long.”
Maria’s eyes had widened in fear; she didn’t know a lot of big words but she knew what separated meant. Her mom and dad had separated and her dad had left and never come back. Being separated was bad and after it happened to her parents her dad had forgotten all about her, he hadn’t even remembered her birthday or Christmas!
“But, I already done had them chicken… things,” she said, making a grab for Nancy’s apron before she could move away.
Nancy shook her head and smiled. “Sweetie, I don’t remember you having them – “
“No, I did! It was…” Maria frantically scrambled for an answer and it suddenly came to her. “I had ‘em ‘fore Daddy left.” She hardly ever spoke of her dad because people always looked sad and she couldn’t figure out why. All she knew was that when they looked like that it made her feel like they knew something she didn’t.
Nancy’s expression had softened and she had waved at the staircase, giving her permission before hurrying back out into the busy café to give her husband a hand.
It had been a lie of course, telling Nancy that she’d already had the chicken pox, and less than forty-eight hours later she had come down with the childhood illness. She hadn’t cared though; they had been together and at seven years old nothing had been more important to them. They had spent the week hanging out together in Liz’s bedroom, playing dolls, countless board games, watching TV, and making prank phone calls when they got bored with everything else.
The third day had been the worst for Maria; she had alternated between running a fever and experiencing cold chills, and her muscles had been achy and sore. She lay there feeling miserable, wanting to cry just because she felt so awful and trying so hard not to. Liz had been asleep beside her and she hadn’t wanted to wake her up. She really missed the way her dad had held her when she was sick, knowing that he would make everything all better, and along with those thoughts came the tears that she had been doing her best to force back.
“Maria?” Liz’s quiet voice had sounded sleepy. “Are you cryin’?”
Maria had sniffled and wiped her eyes with a corner of the blanket. “Why d’you think my dad left, Lizzie?”
Liz had just shifted, hugging her friend tightly because they both knew she didn’t have the answer. “I won’t never leave you, Maria,” she promised, her tone fierce. “Me an’ you, we’re gonna be best friends forever and ever.”
“Promise?”
“Cross my heart.”
Cross my heart, cross my heart, cross my heart…
The words echoed in Maria’s mind as her thoughts snapped back to the present. She tried to block out the remembered feelings of safety and security that the promise had given to her, the words enveloping her with as much warmth and love as Liz’s embrace. As little girls they had been so certain that a simple promise and a declaration of friendship were all they needed to keep them safe and protected.
Ashleyt – Thank you for the nice compliments. The story is slow and not much is going on, it’s more an ordinary story with an extraordinary background, but the characters matter a lot, and so do their motivations, whether it’s Dakota, Catherine, the guys who beat up Alex and so on.
April – Isabel has witnessed with her own eyes how loyal Maria is. She has her own opinions, making her her own person but she still loves her friends, no matter what.
Starcrazed – Liz didn’t want to create chaos by bringing up the Alex-Isabel situation. There are enough problems going on between the characters so if some can be avoided, Liz will do what she can to keep the peace between Max and Isabel.
Flamehair – it was important for Isabel to witness that scene, so that she needs to think about Maria from another angle. She isn’t the untrustworthy motormouth she has pictured her as.
Part 48
To most people the desert was harsh and unforgiving, lonely and desolate, but to Michael it was a place that provided solace, a place where he could think without worrying whether or not others felt like he was shutting them out. His gaze swept over the place where River Dog had found him and the familiarity of it made him feel comfortable and apprehensive at the same time. The contrasting feelings had always existed when he came back to it, but his connection to it was strong enough to override the apprehension.
His first memories were of this place and even though he knew the answers he searched for wouldn’t be found there, he continued to come back. He hopped up to sit on the flat rock and his hand brushed over the cold, pitted surface, shivering slightly as he thought back to his first nights in the desert. He leaned back against the rock behind him and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, pulling his legs up and bending them at the knees as he stared up at the stars that filled the clear night sky. The full moon cast its white light over everything, creating shadows that had seemed sinister when he was a little boy, but now they appealed to his artistic side.
There were no clouds in the sky, which meant that it was colder, but Michael’s thoughts were so jumbled up that he barely noticed the temperature. He had gone home after school, but had only stayed long enough to do his chores and homework. He had grabbed something to snack on and jumped back in the truck, driving out into the desert before his parents came home from work.
He had so many conflicting feelings warring inside of him and he didn’t know where to even begin trying to sort them out. For the first time in his life he had found himself in a position that had him on opposing sides with his mother and he didn’t know how to deal with it. Sure, they’d had their differences, but never had something like this come between them and made things so uncomfortable and confusing.
How was he going to find a way to balance things out again? His mother had always said that she wanted him to be with someone who made him happy, someone who understood him, and loved him for who he was. He had found that with Maria, so why wasn’t his mother happy about it? She had seemed to be happy about it when he and Maria had first started seeing each other, so why was she suddenly taking issue with the girl he had chosen to be with?
“You look like a man with a lot on his mind.”
Michael looked up when his grandfather stepped into view, not surprised that he hadn’t heard him approaching. River Dog was an experienced tracker and hunter and he could sneak up on anyone without making a sound, something that had been quite inconvenient when Michael had been a child and looking for new and interesting ways to get into trouble.
“Hey,” he mumbled in greeting.
River Dog frowned at the dejected tone in his grandson’s voice and he moved closer to brace his right hand against the rock Michael was sitting on. “Your mother called; she said you missed dinner,” he said quietly. He waited patiently to see how his grandson responded, intending to direct the conversation from the boy’s cues.
“I grabbed somethin’ to eat on my way out.” Michael shrugged and his gaze turned back to the sky. “I wasn’t real hungry anyway.”
River Dog sighed and followed his grandson’s gaze to the stars above; it was never a good sign when the boy wasn’t hungry. “Michael, I know your mother’s havin’ a hard time with your involvement with Maria – “
“Why?” he interrupted. “Why’s she got a problem with it? God, what’s she think Maria’s gonna do?” He jumped down off of the rock and started to pace, grains of sand flying from beneath his boots with each furious step. “Do you know she accused Maria of bein’ the reason for my fight with Dakota? I even explained what happened, why we got into the fight and I don’t think she believed me. It’s like she’s got somethin’ against Maria, and I don’t understand it.”
River Dog considered how to approach the sensitive topic as he watched the younger man pace, agitation etched clearly in his features and in the tense lines of his body. “Michael, when a young woman comes into a young man’s life and has the kind of effect on him that Maria’s had on you, well, it can be of some concern to a mother who’s been the most influential woman in her son’s life up until that point.”
River Dog might as well have been speaking Chinese for all the sense he was making to Michael. His mother’s influence? What’d that mean? What influence, what was the link between his mother and Maria? “I don’t understand.”
The old man smiled at his grandson’s ignorance. Young men could be so dense. “Who was the first woman in your life, Michael?”
Michael shrugged. “My mom.”
“And who would you say the most influential woman in your life has been?”
He shrugged again. “My mom.”
His grandfather nodded. “Catherine’s been the single most important woman in your life since you were six years old. She’s been there for every step you’ve taken from the first moment you entered her life and became a part of her family. And now, after twelve years you’re suddenly pulling away and she’s comin’ to the realization that you don’t need her the way you did before.” He smiled at the frown on his grandson’s face and shook his head as he continued. “You’ve always had an independent streak and you’ve never been content to wait for things to happen; your mother accepted that about you a long time ago even though she knew that one day your search for the truth might take you away from her. And it’s always been important to her for you to find someone who could accept you and love you for yourself, but she never really considered what it would mean if you did find that someone.”
Michael was sure he was going to implode from waiting for his grandfather to finish his thought. There were times when River Dog could be infuriatingly slow in making his point during a conversation, but nothing could rush the old man when he had something to say and he had already decided how he was going to say it.
“My point is that despite your mother wanting you to find someone who loves you for who you are and who is strong enough to stand up to you when the time calls for it, I don’t think Catherine ever once considered that the woman who can do those things will in many ways be taking her place in your life. Some mothers have a very hard time letting their children go when that significant other comes into their child’s life, and if it isn’t handled the right way it can destroy a relationship they’ve spent years building.”
“So, you’re sayin’ what, that if I keep seein’ Maria I’m gonna lose my mom?” Michael was more confused now than he had been before his grandfather arrived. “Because I’m not – “
River Dog tried to reassure his grandson. “I’m not suggesting that you should stop seeing Maria; I think she’s been good for you and I believe that she’s going to be a very important part of your life. What I’m trying to tell you is that your mother is threatened by your relationship with Maria; the relationship has progressed very fast and for the first time in twelve years you’re not consulting Catherine before making decisions. Obviously you don’t go to her about everything, but suddenly you’re involved with this young woman and your mother knows you’re happy, but at the same time she’s trying to balance that against things like Maria encouraging you to find your biological family, or the very real possibility that you’re heading towards a sexual relationship.”
Michael leaned back against the large boulder and crossed his arms over his chest as he contemplated what his grandfather was saying.
“Catherine’s scared for you, Michael, and unfortunately that fear is manifesting itself as anger and it’s coming across as an attack on Maria.”
Michael frowned, unhappy with what River Dog was saying. Women could be so damn complicated. They complicated things on purpose, he was sure of that. “So what am I supposed to do? Because I’m not gonna just stand there an’ take it when she starts sayin’ stuff about Maria.” He quickly started to get agitated again. “She hasn’t done anything to deserve bein’ treated like that and I’m not – “
“Michael, take it easy,” River Dog soothed. “She’s afraid of losing you, afraid that you’re only gonna get hurt and end up disappointed if you continue to pursue your search, especially now that you’re with someone who’s actively encouraging you to do so. How you choose to deal with what I’ve told you tonight is up to you; I just want you to understand why your mother has been acting the way she’s been acting.”
The younger man relaxed slightly. Even though what River Dog had said made sense, it wasn’t helping him very much at the moment. To be stuck between the girl he cared about and his mother… what was a guy supposed to do? He looked at his grandfather, hoping that he had the answer to his problem. “How do I deal with her? This is the first time in my entire life that I’ve been in this kinda position and I don’t know what to say to her. It feels like we’re constantly at odds, like every single time one of us says somethin’ it’s gonna end up in a fight. I feel like I can’t say or do a damn thing right.”
River Dog sighed. It was a delicate situation considering the tempers of everyone involved. Heated words could hurt for a very long time and he was afraid that Catherine and Michael were going to continue to argue and say things that would only be regretted later. It wouldn’t be the first time he had seen people he cared about lose a special relationship because they couldn’t come to an understanding. He wasn’t sure he could watch that happen again. “You have to do what you believe is right, Michael.”
Ha, right, and how was he supposed to do that? By bowing down to his mother’s feelings and decisions? Not gonna happen! “How do I talk to her without it turnin’ into a fight? How do I make her understand that havin’ Maria’s encouragement is somethin’ I need? I’m not stupid, River Dog, I know why Mom an’ Dad have never encouraged me to look for the answers to all the questions that I’ve got, but I need those answers.” He slapped his hand against the rock in frustration. “I know it’s dangerous and so does Maria, but she understands that I’m never gonna be able to rest until I know why I was abandoned in the desert.”
“Be honest with her and try to control your temper.” River Dog shook his head. “You’re not gonna get anywhere by yelling at each other, slammin’ doors and locking yourself in your bedroom, or hidin’ in the desert. Avoiding your mother isn’t gonna make it any easier to deal with her; that’s only gonna put more distance between you and make her feel like her assessment of the situation is right.”
Michael considered his grandfather’s advice and nodded when the old man fell silent. “Mom called you when I didn’t come home for dinner?”
“She’s worried about you, Michael; she’s your mother and no matter how old you get or how far away you are she’s always gonna worry about you.”
“So, basically what you’re tellin’ me is that I can’t do anything to make her accept my relationship with Maria; that’s somethin’ she’ll either do or not do on her own terms. All I can do is control the way that I respond to her.” He sighed and leaned back against the boulder, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the stars overhead once more. Why did life have to be so damn complicated? he wondered.
*****
Liz reached in through the pickup window and turned on the radio that Jose, the day shift cook, always listened to. She changed it over to a station that played the type of music she and Maria listened to and turned the volume up. How many times had they closed up for the night, going about their duties while talking or singing, dancing to the music without giving much thought to their aching feet and backs? The uncomfortable silence that stretched between them now was worlds apart from all those nights they had spent working together, laughing about some of their stranger tourist customers, singing with the radio, or comparing notes about recent dates.
She gathered all of the sugar containers together, lining them up on the counter so she could begin filling them, but her gaze strayed back over to Maria. For several minutes Liz watched her placing the chairs up on the tables so she could sweep the floor, and she thought back to what she had said to Max. Could she let Maria go? It had sounded like the right thing to do when she had said it, but now, standing here in the Crashdown where they had spent so much time together, she wasn’t sure she could do it.
As little girls they had played in the café, talking to the customers, and helping out whenever her dad would let them so it had been a natural progression for him to hire them when they had gotten old enough to work. She finished filling the sugar containers and moved them all together at the end of the counter before moving on to the salt and pepper shakers. Her gaze was drawn once again to Maria and her mind wandered back to the first time they had been allowed to close by themselves.
“I can’t believe my dad finally let us do this by ourselves.” Liz had been elated at the opportunity to show her parents that they could handle the responsibility and Maria had gone along with her because she had known how important it was to her best friend.
“Yes, it’s a cause for celebration.” Maria had grinned to take the sting out of the words and motioned towards the pickup window. “Get Jose’s radio and turn it on; we need music,” she had declared while wiping one of the tables down.
Liz had rolled her eyes at Maria’s less than enthusiastic tone as she reached in through the window to tune the radio to an acceptable station before turning it up. She found the right station and turned it up loud before leaning back to shout, “How’s that?”
“Perfect!” Maria shouted back.
They had quickly fallen into a familiar rhythm, working in companionable silence, their voices blending together as they sang along with the radio, and the legs of the chairs dragging across the floor as they pulled them out to be lifted up and placed on the tables the only sounds in the café.
“Hey, Maria, what d’you think of Kyle?”
“Kyle who?”
“Valenti.”
Maria had stopped dancing around with the broom when she had sensed that Liz wasn’t joking. “I hope you’re asking what I think about him in an abstract way and not in any other possible way.”
“Well, I heard that he was thinking about asking me out and I was just wondering what you think about him.”
“I think he’s an ass and you could do much better.” She giggled. “Besides, think of the coronary you’d give poor Alex if you went out with Kyle Valenti.”
“That’s true.” Liz laughed. “He is one of Alex’s biggest antagonists, isn’t he? I don’t know though, Maria, he doesn’t really seem to be all that bad when he’s not around the rest of the jocks.”
“Right, but do you really wanna waste your time with someone who has to act differently when he’s out with his friends? I guess if you’ve just gotta go out with him you can, but I wouldn’t let it develop into anything serious. Just wait for someone who’s worth your time, and for God’s sake, Liz, if you decide to go out with Kyle, don’t have sex with him.”
Liz had laughed out loud at that and shook her head. “There’s no need to worry about that, Maria… seriously!”
“Okay, no more talk about that.” Maria shuddered dramatically. She had been just about to say something else but one of her favorite songs had come on the radio and they had started singing and dancing, laughing as they finished cleaning up.
Liz sighed as reality once more intruded and she walked into the storeroom to get what she needed to fill the shakers.
Maria never looked up from the floor she was sweeping when Liz disappeared into the back of the café, her own thoughts creeping into the past. It had been a while since she and Liz had closed together and while they had certainly had their disagreements in the past, they had never reached a point where they just couldn’t talk to each other. When they had been little girls they had never once thought that anything could come between them and the thought of being separated from each other had been too horrible to even contemplate. She could remember running into the café on the first day of their summer break, free from the confines of school for three whole months, and ready to start playing and enjoying the freedom. She had been distressed when Nancy, Liz’s mother, had shaken her head and stated that Liz couldn’t come out to play.
“How come Liz can’t come out to play?”
“She has the chicken pox, sweetie,” Nancy had answered patiently. “She’s very contagious right now and…” She had fallen silent and knelt down in front of her daughter’s best friend. “Do you know what contagious means?”
Maria shook her head. “Is it bad?”
“No. It just means that if someone who hasn’t already had chicken pox gets around her they’ll catch it too. So, the two of you can’t play together until she’s all better.” She stood and patted the little girl’s head. “You won’t be separated for too long.”
Maria’s eyes had widened in fear; she didn’t know a lot of big words but she knew what separated meant. Her mom and dad had separated and her dad had left and never come back. Being separated was bad and after it happened to her parents her dad had forgotten all about her, he hadn’t even remembered her birthday or Christmas!
“But, I already done had them chicken… things,” she said, making a grab for Nancy’s apron before she could move away.
Nancy shook her head and smiled. “Sweetie, I don’t remember you having them – “
“No, I did! It was…” Maria frantically scrambled for an answer and it suddenly came to her. “I had ‘em ‘fore Daddy left.” She hardly ever spoke of her dad because people always looked sad and she couldn’t figure out why. All she knew was that when they looked like that it made her feel like they knew something she didn’t.
Nancy’s expression had softened and she had waved at the staircase, giving her permission before hurrying back out into the busy café to give her husband a hand.
It had been a lie of course, telling Nancy that she’d already had the chicken pox, and less than forty-eight hours later she had come down with the childhood illness. She hadn’t cared though; they had been together and at seven years old nothing had been more important to them. They had spent the week hanging out together in Liz’s bedroom, playing dolls, countless board games, watching TV, and making prank phone calls when they got bored with everything else.
The third day had been the worst for Maria; she had alternated between running a fever and experiencing cold chills, and her muscles had been achy and sore. She lay there feeling miserable, wanting to cry just because she felt so awful and trying so hard not to. Liz had been asleep beside her and she hadn’t wanted to wake her up. She really missed the way her dad had held her when she was sick, knowing that he would make everything all better, and along with those thoughts came the tears that she had been doing her best to force back.
“Maria?” Liz’s quiet voice had sounded sleepy. “Are you cryin’?”
Maria had sniffled and wiped her eyes with a corner of the blanket. “Why d’you think my dad left, Lizzie?”
Liz had just shifted, hugging her friend tightly because they both knew she didn’t have the answer. “I won’t never leave you, Maria,” she promised, her tone fierce. “Me an’ you, we’re gonna be best friends forever and ever.”
“Promise?”
“Cross my heart.”
Cross my heart, cross my heart, cross my heart…
The words echoed in Maria’s mind as her thoughts snapped back to the present. She tried to block out the remembered feelings of safety and security that the promise had given to her, the words enveloping her with as much warmth and love as Liz’s embrace. As little girls they had been so certain that a simple promise and a declaration of friendship were all they needed to keep them safe and protected.
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ArchAngel1973
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Doo 'awéé ééhoozIIh da-The Lost Child-M/M(CC-Teen)Pt49a-11/2
PML – As children, we like to think that things will never change, that we’ll keep our friends but once comes the adult years, or even before that, the splits happen. But have no fear, nothing can keep Maria and Liz apart, at least, not for too long.
Starcrazed – Michael has a privileged relationship with River Dog. He found him, saved him, gave him his family and he is a good listener.
April – Little Liz and little Maria were cute, huh? Thinking that nothing could come between them and then going back to the present and the tension between the girls, tough.
Flamehair – Glad that you liked the Liz-Maria flashbacks. They were such cute girls and good friends, too.
Part 49a
Her gaze slid over to Liz and she watched her as she finished filling the salt and pepper shakers. How many times had they completed this exact same routine? Their actions so familiar and well rehearsed that they could’ve done it with their eyes closed and never missed a beat. Unbidden, she felt the hurt, anger, and frustration rise to the surface once more and she couldn’t contain it any longer. She leaned the broom against the booth behind her and she turned back to look at Liz, the words tumbling from her lips before she had time to think about what she was saying.
“Tell me why, Liz. Tell me why you started lying to me, why you expect me, your oldest friend, to suddenly be incapable of seeing through your lies, and why you think I’d just swallow them and act as if nothing’s wrong. When did I become someone you could lie to? Don’t I deserve the truth?”
She shook her head at the other girl’s silence and continued with her rant. “I know you’ve got a secret, that whatever it is, it started back in September and it involves Max and Isabel Evans. This is it, Liz, this is your last chance to set things right, to stop lying to me, and to finally tell me what’s going on. Do you think I can’t see that all this lying is making you unhappy? What do they have you so involved in that you can’t get out of it? And why do you stay involved with them and whatever the big secret is if it’s causing you so much pain?”
Liz bit her bottom lip as Maria’s words hit home; she was so close to telling her the truth. In her head and her heart, she knew Maria could be trusted with the secret and she wanted so badly to tell her everything, but Isabel’s face and her cold words provided a harsh reminder and brought her back to reality. If she told Maria without their permission, she had no doubt that Isabel would follow through with her threat, she would run away where no one would find her, breaking up her family and destroying her parents and her brother.
She was also afraid of what Isabel could do to her and Alex; she knew first-hand that Isabel was capable of going into their dreams and turning them into nightmares without their knowledge. What about Maria? Isabel seemed to have a serious problem with Maria; Liz was sure it was only because she didn’t know Maria the way they did, she didn’t believe that under Maria’s quirky and eccentric personality beat the heart of the most solid, trustworthy, and reliable person that Liz had ever known. She didn’t know Isabel that well, but she had made no secret of the fact that she was capable of messing with their heads and she could do worse to anyone who threatened them or their secret.
Maria shook her head when Liz remained silent and she felt the doubts began to creep in despite her best intentions to keep them out. “My God,” she whispered hoarsely, “could Michael be right? I didn’t listen to him when he said you guys could be involved in drugs or alcohol, but there are just so many lies surrounding the four of you.”
The mention of his name set her nerve endings on edge and Liz’s head jerked up. She didn’t want to put Maria on the defensive, so she tried to put her thoughts in order before she spoke. “I want to tell you something, Maria, but I don’t want you to be hurt or to get mad about it; the other night when I went over to your house and I met your… boyfriend, I kinda got a strange feeling about him, like maybe he’s dangerous and you might get hurt if you – “
“No, no, no, Liz, don’t confuse my boyfriend with yours,” Maria snapped. “Seems to me that ever since you started hanging out with Max, you’re always running around, cutting out on work early to rush off whenever he calls or shows up, you’re lying to everyone, not just me but your parents too.”
She shook her head in annoyance when she saw the surprised expression on Liz’s face. “What, you think I hadn’t noticed that you’ve been feeding your parents a bunch of lies too? So before you go accusing my boyfriend of being dangerous, you’d better take a better look at your own boyfriend. I got a good look at what the guys on the football team did to Alex, and that happened because he’s been hanging out with your boyfriend’s sister.”
Liz nodded slowly. “We’re definitely thinking the same thing there,” she said timidly.
Maria laughed, the sound holding an edge of bitterness. “We may be thinking the same thing, but we’re nowhere close to being on the same wavelength, Liz. This really divides us more than it unites us because no matter how much we may want things to be different, nothing that’s been said here tonight changes a damn thing.” She swallowed hard, forcing down the tears that she could feel threatening to make an appearance. “Nothing’s been resolved; you haven’t told me the truth, and if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll admit that you have no intention of telling me the truth.”
“What’re you saying, Maria?” Tears were clogging her throat, making Liz’s voice thick. Fear was starting to take her over, fear of what Maria was saying and what it meant.
“I’m saying it’s time to end this.” Maria bit her tongue and swallowed the lump in her throat. “I can’t keep going on like this, being lied to as if I’m either too stupid to notice or I’m too insignificant to matter.” She shook her head and reached for the broom to carry it to the back. “I’m clocking out and going home; we’re finished here.”
The words held a finality that caused the breath in Liz’s lungs to suddenly solidify and she felt like a block of ice had formed in her chest, preventing her from breathing. She heard the back door that led out to the alleyway close and lock a few minutes later and she hurried to turn the lights out, barely holding herself together for the length of time it took to make it to her bedroom. She locked the door and ran to the window that opened out onto the balcony, shoving it up and nearly falling out in her haste to get outside where she knew her parents wouldn’t hear her crying.
She collapsed on the lounger and curled up into a little ball, arms wrapped tightly around her chest as she tried to keep from flying apart into a million little pieces. Maria had done what she herself hadn’t been strong enough to do and now she had to deal with the guilt for that as well. It was done, there was no going back, and now she felt like there was no reason to even hope that one day their friendship could be repaired.
Several blocks away, Maria sat at a red light, cursing the tears that were falling faster than she could brush them away. There was nothing she could do to make the pain go away, but the weight on her chest was making it difficult to breathe, and she didn’t know what to do to get rid of it.
She made it home before her emotions completely broke free, but her legs failed her as she closed the front door behind her, and she fell back against it, sliding down and crumpling into a huddled ball on the floor. Nothing in her memory had ever caused this much pain; she felt like her internal organs were shattering one by one from the emotional overload and the physical release of crying onto the wood floor wasn’t helping, but she just didn’t have the strength or the willpower to get up and move to her room.
*****
Isabel paced around her bedroom as she considered what punishment would be equal to the beating the football players had given Alex. The flashes she had gotten when she had reached out to him earlier that day had been unexpected and they had allowed her to not only see what had been done to him, but also to feel his pain. She hadn’t been prepared for the way that had made her feel and she had tried to block it out, but the anger that had exploded within her kept coming back no matter how hard she tried to push it aside.
She forced her emotions back under control when she realized that her anger was causing what could only be called a tornado right there in her bedroom. Her things were flying around her, creating a whirlwind of activity that she would be unable to explain to her parents if either of them came in at that moment. As her emotions leveled out things began to settle back into their original places and she finally stopped pacing and just stood at the center of her room, her thoughtful gaze shifting from object to object.
“Anyone would react this way,” she muttered to herself. “The only reason they don’t is because they don’t have the abilities that I have.” She nodded, relieved that she had come to an understanding of her reaction. She was only concerned because someone that was completely innocent had been physically attacked by a group of guys and his only crime was being seen in public with her.
Her gaze paused when it passed over her yearbook and as a plan began to come together she smiled to herself. The ability to take a walk into the subconscious of others came in quite handy at times, she thought as she picked the book up. She flipped through the pages as she searched for one specific picture, chuckling when she found it. All three of Alex’s attackers had posed for the photograph, their stances and expressions showing off their macho attitudes, and she smirked as the plan suddenly solidified in her mind. “And it’s gonna be so much easier to get into your dreams at the same time this way.”
She rarely attempted a dreamwalk with multiple subjects in a single dream, but this was for a good cause and they deserved the punishment she had in mind. She settled back on her bed and got comfortable on her side before laying the book beside her, open to the photograph of the three boys. “So macho aren’t you, boys? Let’s see how you look at each other after tonight.”
*****
Alex hated gym class with a passion, but he hadn’t found a believable excuse to prove to his counselor that it was an unnecessary waste of his time. He had the misfortune of being in the same gym class with several of the football players, including the three who had attempted to displace several of his internal organs. Twice a week, he was expected to come to class and participate in activities that made no sense whatsoever to him.
They were going to be graded on their ability to climb a rope during today’s class. How was climbing a rope going to help him in any future endeavors? He had no intention of doing anything that required that particular ability, but for whatever reason, the school felt that it was useful. He sighed and sat down in the bleachers, choosing a seat that was well away from the area where the jocks always sat.
He stared balefully at the rope hanging from the ceiling at the center of the gymnasium and shook his head. He wondered who had come up with the idea that classes like this were good for students’ self-esteem and helped them to build strong character. As far as he was concerned, the humiliating tasks they were given combined with the constant insults and derogatory comments made by those students who were more physically able to do the assigned tasks, wasn’t doing anything for his character or self-esteem. He would have been quite happy to immerse himself in just about any other class, just as long as it didn’t involve rope climbing, running, or pushups.
He looked up when the teacher started talking, surprised to see that his antagonists had joined the class without their usual obnoxious behavior. For the next hour, he observed them, wondering why they were acting so out of character. He had already prepared himself for the expected insults and jokes when he basically failed the rope climbing task and when they didn’t say a word, he just stared at them.
“What’s up with them?”
Alex turned his head to look at the guy who had spoken, recognizing him as another one of the jocks’ usual targets. “I don’t know.” He shrugged. “They are actin’ kinda odd though.” The three football players sat on the other side of the gym, but instead of being grouped together like they normally were, they were sitting far apart from each other.
“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve heard a single rude remark out of any of ‘em. And when did they start ignorin’ each other?”
Alex knew the answer to that question but he didn’t voice it. He had seen the guys in the hall the day before but he had ducked into an empty classroom to avoid running into them at the last second. They had been together, loudly congratulating each other for some prank they had played on some of the kids in the chess club. He wondered if it was just coincidence that Isabel had been angry the day before when she had seen what they had done to him, and now today, the guys were acting odd.
His expression quickly changed to surprise when someone brushed up against Brad, the captain of the football team, as they filed out of the gym and the guy nearly jumped out of his skin. He shuffled backwards to avoid anyone else and bumped into Patrick, who hurried to jump out of the way. Ken was the last in line and when Patrick touched him as he tried to avoid any more contact with Brad, Ken shoved the other guy away from him.
Alex wondered what was going on with them; for three guys who were constantly in each other’s space they were acting strange. They had been hanging out together since they had made the football team in junior high, which meant that something big had happened for them to suddenly be acting so uncomfortable around each other. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to ask Isabel about it or not, but if the guys were still acting the same way at the end of the day he might just have to consider it.
Starcrazed – Michael has a privileged relationship with River Dog. He found him, saved him, gave him his family and he is a good listener.
April – Little Liz and little Maria were cute, huh? Thinking that nothing could come between them and then going back to the present and the tension between the girls, tough.
Flamehair – Glad that you liked the Liz-Maria flashbacks. They were such cute girls and good friends, too.
Part 49a
Her gaze slid over to Liz and she watched her as she finished filling the salt and pepper shakers. How many times had they completed this exact same routine? Their actions so familiar and well rehearsed that they could’ve done it with their eyes closed and never missed a beat. Unbidden, she felt the hurt, anger, and frustration rise to the surface once more and she couldn’t contain it any longer. She leaned the broom against the booth behind her and she turned back to look at Liz, the words tumbling from her lips before she had time to think about what she was saying.
“Tell me why, Liz. Tell me why you started lying to me, why you expect me, your oldest friend, to suddenly be incapable of seeing through your lies, and why you think I’d just swallow them and act as if nothing’s wrong. When did I become someone you could lie to? Don’t I deserve the truth?”
She shook her head at the other girl’s silence and continued with her rant. “I know you’ve got a secret, that whatever it is, it started back in September and it involves Max and Isabel Evans. This is it, Liz, this is your last chance to set things right, to stop lying to me, and to finally tell me what’s going on. Do you think I can’t see that all this lying is making you unhappy? What do they have you so involved in that you can’t get out of it? And why do you stay involved with them and whatever the big secret is if it’s causing you so much pain?”
Liz bit her bottom lip as Maria’s words hit home; she was so close to telling her the truth. In her head and her heart, she knew Maria could be trusted with the secret and she wanted so badly to tell her everything, but Isabel’s face and her cold words provided a harsh reminder and brought her back to reality. If she told Maria without their permission, she had no doubt that Isabel would follow through with her threat, she would run away where no one would find her, breaking up her family and destroying her parents and her brother.
She was also afraid of what Isabel could do to her and Alex; she knew first-hand that Isabel was capable of going into their dreams and turning them into nightmares without their knowledge. What about Maria? Isabel seemed to have a serious problem with Maria; Liz was sure it was only because she didn’t know Maria the way they did, she didn’t believe that under Maria’s quirky and eccentric personality beat the heart of the most solid, trustworthy, and reliable person that Liz had ever known. She didn’t know Isabel that well, but she had made no secret of the fact that she was capable of messing with their heads and she could do worse to anyone who threatened them or their secret.
Maria shook her head when Liz remained silent and she felt the doubts began to creep in despite her best intentions to keep them out. “My God,” she whispered hoarsely, “could Michael be right? I didn’t listen to him when he said you guys could be involved in drugs or alcohol, but there are just so many lies surrounding the four of you.”
The mention of his name set her nerve endings on edge and Liz’s head jerked up. She didn’t want to put Maria on the defensive, so she tried to put her thoughts in order before she spoke. “I want to tell you something, Maria, but I don’t want you to be hurt or to get mad about it; the other night when I went over to your house and I met your… boyfriend, I kinda got a strange feeling about him, like maybe he’s dangerous and you might get hurt if you – “
“No, no, no, Liz, don’t confuse my boyfriend with yours,” Maria snapped. “Seems to me that ever since you started hanging out with Max, you’re always running around, cutting out on work early to rush off whenever he calls or shows up, you’re lying to everyone, not just me but your parents too.”
She shook her head in annoyance when she saw the surprised expression on Liz’s face. “What, you think I hadn’t noticed that you’ve been feeding your parents a bunch of lies too? So before you go accusing my boyfriend of being dangerous, you’d better take a better look at your own boyfriend. I got a good look at what the guys on the football team did to Alex, and that happened because he’s been hanging out with your boyfriend’s sister.”
Liz nodded slowly. “We’re definitely thinking the same thing there,” she said timidly.
Maria laughed, the sound holding an edge of bitterness. “We may be thinking the same thing, but we’re nowhere close to being on the same wavelength, Liz. This really divides us more than it unites us because no matter how much we may want things to be different, nothing that’s been said here tonight changes a damn thing.” She swallowed hard, forcing down the tears that she could feel threatening to make an appearance. “Nothing’s been resolved; you haven’t told me the truth, and if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll admit that you have no intention of telling me the truth.”
“What’re you saying, Maria?” Tears were clogging her throat, making Liz’s voice thick. Fear was starting to take her over, fear of what Maria was saying and what it meant.
“I’m saying it’s time to end this.” Maria bit her tongue and swallowed the lump in her throat. “I can’t keep going on like this, being lied to as if I’m either too stupid to notice or I’m too insignificant to matter.” She shook her head and reached for the broom to carry it to the back. “I’m clocking out and going home; we’re finished here.”
The words held a finality that caused the breath in Liz’s lungs to suddenly solidify and she felt like a block of ice had formed in her chest, preventing her from breathing. She heard the back door that led out to the alleyway close and lock a few minutes later and she hurried to turn the lights out, barely holding herself together for the length of time it took to make it to her bedroom. She locked the door and ran to the window that opened out onto the balcony, shoving it up and nearly falling out in her haste to get outside where she knew her parents wouldn’t hear her crying.
She collapsed on the lounger and curled up into a little ball, arms wrapped tightly around her chest as she tried to keep from flying apart into a million little pieces. Maria had done what she herself hadn’t been strong enough to do and now she had to deal with the guilt for that as well. It was done, there was no going back, and now she felt like there was no reason to even hope that one day their friendship could be repaired.
Several blocks away, Maria sat at a red light, cursing the tears that were falling faster than she could brush them away. There was nothing she could do to make the pain go away, but the weight on her chest was making it difficult to breathe, and she didn’t know what to do to get rid of it.
She made it home before her emotions completely broke free, but her legs failed her as she closed the front door behind her, and she fell back against it, sliding down and crumpling into a huddled ball on the floor. Nothing in her memory had ever caused this much pain; she felt like her internal organs were shattering one by one from the emotional overload and the physical release of crying onto the wood floor wasn’t helping, but she just didn’t have the strength or the willpower to get up and move to her room.
*****
Isabel paced around her bedroom as she considered what punishment would be equal to the beating the football players had given Alex. The flashes she had gotten when she had reached out to him earlier that day had been unexpected and they had allowed her to not only see what had been done to him, but also to feel his pain. She hadn’t been prepared for the way that had made her feel and she had tried to block it out, but the anger that had exploded within her kept coming back no matter how hard she tried to push it aside.
She forced her emotions back under control when she realized that her anger was causing what could only be called a tornado right there in her bedroom. Her things were flying around her, creating a whirlwind of activity that she would be unable to explain to her parents if either of them came in at that moment. As her emotions leveled out things began to settle back into their original places and she finally stopped pacing and just stood at the center of her room, her thoughtful gaze shifting from object to object.
“Anyone would react this way,” she muttered to herself. “The only reason they don’t is because they don’t have the abilities that I have.” She nodded, relieved that she had come to an understanding of her reaction. She was only concerned because someone that was completely innocent had been physically attacked by a group of guys and his only crime was being seen in public with her.
Her gaze paused when it passed over her yearbook and as a plan began to come together she smiled to herself. The ability to take a walk into the subconscious of others came in quite handy at times, she thought as she picked the book up. She flipped through the pages as she searched for one specific picture, chuckling when she found it. All three of Alex’s attackers had posed for the photograph, their stances and expressions showing off their macho attitudes, and she smirked as the plan suddenly solidified in her mind. “And it’s gonna be so much easier to get into your dreams at the same time this way.”
She rarely attempted a dreamwalk with multiple subjects in a single dream, but this was for a good cause and they deserved the punishment she had in mind. She settled back on her bed and got comfortable on her side before laying the book beside her, open to the photograph of the three boys. “So macho aren’t you, boys? Let’s see how you look at each other after tonight.”
*****
Alex hated gym class with a passion, but he hadn’t found a believable excuse to prove to his counselor that it was an unnecessary waste of his time. He had the misfortune of being in the same gym class with several of the football players, including the three who had attempted to displace several of his internal organs. Twice a week, he was expected to come to class and participate in activities that made no sense whatsoever to him.
They were going to be graded on their ability to climb a rope during today’s class. How was climbing a rope going to help him in any future endeavors? He had no intention of doing anything that required that particular ability, but for whatever reason, the school felt that it was useful. He sighed and sat down in the bleachers, choosing a seat that was well away from the area where the jocks always sat.
He stared balefully at the rope hanging from the ceiling at the center of the gymnasium and shook his head. He wondered who had come up with the idea that classes like this were good for students’ self-esteem and helped them to build strong character. As far as he was concerned, the humiliating tasks they were given combined with the constant insults and derogatory comments made by those students who were more physically able to do the assigned tasks, wasn’t doing anything for his character or self-esteem. He would have been quite happy to immerse himself in just about any other class, just as long as it didn’t involve rope climbing, running, or pushups.
He looked up when the teacher started talking, surprised to see that his antagonists had joined the class without their usual obnoxious behavior. For the next hour, he observed them, wondering why they were acting so out of character. He had already prepared himself for the expected insults and jokes when he basically failed the rope climbing task and when they didn’t say a word, he just stared at them.
“What’s up with them?”
Alex turned his head to look at the guy who had spoken, recognizing him as another one of the jocks’ usual targets. “I don’t know.” He shrugged. “They are actin’ kinda odd though.” The three football players sat on the other side of the gym, but instead of being grouped together like they normally were, they were sitting far apart from each other.
“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve heard a single rude remark out of any of ‘em. And when did they start ignorin’ each other?”
Alex knew the answer to that question but he didn’t voice it. He had seen the guys in the hall the day before but he had ducked into an empty classroom to avoid running into them at the last second. They had been together, loudly congratulating each other for some prank they had played on some of the kids in the chess club. He wondered if it was just coincidence that Isabel had been angry the day before when she had seen what they had done to him, and now today, the guys were acting odd.
His expression quickly changed to surprise when someone brushed up against Brad, the captain of the football team, as they filed out of the gym and the guy nearly jumped out of his skin. He shuffled backwards to avoid anyone else and bumped into Patrick, who hurried to jump out of the way. Ken was the last in line and when Patrick touched him as he tried to avoid any more contact with Brad, Ken shoved the other guy away from him.
Alex wondered what was going on with them; for three guys who were constantly in each other’s space they were acting strange. They had been hanging out together since they had made the football team in junior high, which meant that something big had happened for them to suddenly be acting so uncomfortable around each other. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to ask Isabel about it or not, but if the guys were still acting the same way at the end of the day he might just have to consider it.
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ArchAngel1973
- Addicted Roswellian
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Doo 'awéé ééhoozIIh da-The Lost Child-M/M(CC-Teen)Pt49b11/29
Starcrazed – Oh, Isabel did something all right. She is still the ice princess in this, and she doesn’t hesitate to use her powers when she feels like it. Even if it means doing something unpleasant to humans.
Flamehair – Hmm, this is Isabel we are talking about, it’s sure that the dreams those jocks had weren’t pleasant.
April – Yes, you’ll get to see what Isabel did to those guys.
Cjsl8ne – Hmm, will Max meeting Michael help Maria and Liz’s relationship? Or will it make it worse?
Part 49b
Michael snatched his towel off of the hook on his closet and opened the door to the bathroom that he shared with Maggie. For the past two days he had been taking cold showers because his sister and their cousins who were staying with them for the week used up every bit of hot water in the house before he had the opportunity to call the shower. He hadn’t gotten the shower first one single time since Summer and Sierra had arrived and he was fed up with all three girls and all of the stuff that he kept tripping over.
He looked around at the counter and noted the obvious lack of space; every available surface had been filled with… stuff. It was everywhere. He frowned when he realized that while there was lots of stuff on the counter, none of it belonged to him. He turned to hang his towel on one of the hooks on the back of his door, but they were all occupied. Just like the ones on Maggie’s side, he noted with an irritated growl. He pushed the shower curtain aside, resigned to hanging the towel over the shower rod, but as he reached up to do just that he noticed that the corner shelves were practically bursting with more stuff.
“Just none of my stuff,” he muttered caustically.
“Somethin’ wrong, Son?” John just barely contained the laugh that wanted to escape when Michael turned to look at him. He had heard his son moving around and grumbling in a low voice, and it hadn’t taken more than a moment to realize why. It only took a quick glance around to see that he had been evicted from his own bathroom; the girls had taken over every square inch of space and from the looks of it there hadn’t been room left for any of his things.
“No, Dad, there’s nothin’ wrong.” He waved a hand around the room, the gesture wild and uncoordinated. “Not as long as I don’t mind smellin’ like coconut-almond, some sort of lavender-vanilla crap, or watermelon-somethin’-or-other. Why do girls gotta have so much crap? And why can’t they all use the same damn thing? I’m sharin’ my bathroom with three girls and they all use different… stuff! There’s three of everything in here and not one single thing is in here twice! All of my stuff fits on the single corner that Maggie was kind enough to leave open for me when she went and turned into a… a… a girl, and now I don’t even have that!”
“Why don’t you go ask your sister where they stuck your stuff and you can use the shower in my bathroom for the rest of their stay.”
Michael nodded. “They’re usin’ up all the hot water too,” he complained.
John chuckled after Michael left the room, shaking his head when he heard the younger man shouting for his sister to give him his things. As soon as Maggie had discovered boys and makeup, or become a girl, as Michael so eloquently put it, he had quickly lost all rights to equal space and time in the bathroom. He had eventually gotten over that, but John knew that Michael wasn’t going to have any rights at all to the bathroom while there were three teenage girls in the same house.
After dinner Michael barricaded himself in his bedroom, unwilling to hear one more thing that involved makeup, guys, romantic movies, or which actor was currently the hottest – a topic that had started a rather heated debate over dinner. He was fairly certain that they’d had the exact same conversation the night before. He shook his head as he sat down in front of his computer, pulling up his photography folder and quickly losing himself in his work.
His mind drifted to Maria while he was going through the pictures he had taken out in the desert, and he could easily see her in many of them. He wondered if she had given any serious consideration to his request that she pose for him. He stood and walked over to the bookshelf that sat in one of the corners and pulled his portfolio down, carrying it back over to his desk. He moved his keyboard out of the way and placed the book down on the cleared surface, opening it up and studying some of his favorite shots.
He leaned in closer to the portfolio, elbow braced on his knee and his chin resting in his hand as he stared at the way the sunlight played over the canyon in the photograph. In his mind’s eye he could see the layout for the scene he wanted to create for Maria; the cliffs above the canyon on the west side were a perfect place to shoot the photos he had in mind. He was sure she would be willing to go along with the costumes he wanted to use for the photographs; she had an adventurous spirit and he had a feeling she would be able to appreciate what he had in mind.
He turned his head to the side when someone knocked on his door and he considered ignoring it when his sister called him.
“Go ahead and ignore me, Michael; I’ll just tell Maria you’re – “
Maggie jumped back when the door was jerked open, nearly knocking Summer and Sierra over in her haste to move. Michael stared at the three girls, mouth open to snarl some insult or other, but at the last second he simply snatched the phone out of Maggie’s hand, stepped back into his room, and slammed the door. He slapped the lock into place and crossed the room to lock the bathroom door as well before sitting back down and putting the phone up to his ear.
“Hey.”
“It sounds like you’re outnumbered,” Maria said, laughing quietly.
Michael relaxed at the sound of her voice and he smiled as he looked down at the photos lying on his desk, imagining her in the panoramic scene. “Outnumbered and quite possibly outgunned,” he muttered. “I can’t do anything or go anywhere without them bein’ right there; they haven’t even been here a full forty-eight hours yet and they’ve taken over everything.”
“You’re hiding in your room, aren’t you?”
“It’s the only safe place in the house. And, since I don’t really wanna talk about them why don’t we talk about somethin’ else,” he suggested. “Did you find out if your mom was out on a date this weekend? That why she wasn’t answerin’ your calls?”
“No, she’s gone to an institute where she can meditate and contemplate whatever’s had her so distracted lately. She should be back either this weekend or early next week.”
“That’s gotta be nice,” Michael said, thinking of the lack of silence or privacy in his own house.
“Yes and no. It might’ve been nice to have her here last night; comin’ home to an empty house was a little lonely.”
He sat up straighter, frowning when her tone altered just enough for him to notice. “Did somethin’ happen at work last night?”
Maria sighed as she thought back to the night before. She walked into the kitchen and looked through the cupboards, debating about what she was going to fix for dinner as she responded to his concerned question. “I um, I got into it with Liz again and I told her things were over between us.”
“Oh, wow.” What was he supposed to say to that? he wondered, searching his brain for a proper response. “Um, is there anything…”
“I don’t think there’s really anything anyone can do, but thanks for the offer,” she said, appreciating the gesture. “She won’t tell me the truth about what’s going on with her or her new friends and it’s only causing more problems between us, and I’m tired of being lied to.”
“Well, I’m not gonna tell you that it’s her loss because I know she means a lot to you, so obviously you’re losin’ out too. But, maybe it’s better this way, Maria.”
“You think so?” She really just needed someone to tell her that she had made the right choice.
Michael shifted the phone and swore quietly. This sucked, he thought. He couldn’t express himself this way, and Maria needed him to comfort her. This would be a lot easier if he were right there with her; he wasn’t a talker and he sucked when it came to verbalizing stuff like this. If she were there with him he could’ve taken her in his arms and he could’ve sent her silent healing vibes that he was sure she would pick up on.
But, she wasn’t there, she was on the phone and she was waiting for an answer, for reassurance that she had done the right thing. He was going to do his best to try to ease her pain, even if his little comfort speech wasn’t going to be that good. Okay, you can do this. It’s probably gonna suck, but you can do this. He took a deep breath and prepared himself, hoping it would be enough.
“If she was gonna keep lyin’ an’ hidin’ things from you you’re probably a lot better off this way. She’s been your best friend your whole life, and if there’s a reasonable explanation for why she’s been actin’ that way I don’t know what it is, but you’re the one who’s been sufferin’ because of it. Personally, I’m glad you ended things with her, but I know you’re the one who has to deal with it now, and knowin’ you I’m pretty sure it’s gonna take time to do that. So, I’m here, y’know, if you need to talk or anything.”
*****
Max shuffled along the sidewalk, his shoulders hunched against the cold wind that was blowing. He paused when he reached his destination, staying back out of sight as he looked in through the plate-glass window of the Crashdown Café. For the past couple of days Liz had been distracted, distant, and she had been avoiding him, but that was going to end today.
He watched Liz moving around, taking and delivering orders, smiling and making small talk, but her cheerful demeanor was forced and her smile lacked any real warmth. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but he knew it probably had something to do with Maria. His gaze wandered over to the other girl and he briefly thought that she seemed to be missing some vital part of her usually upbeat personality.
He didn’t know Maria personally but he knew she was important to Liz so whatever had happened between them must have been big. They were working together but it was easy to see that there was no personal interaction between them; they were like two strangers and he could tell that things had moved from strained to the girls actually being estranged.
He pushed the door open and made his way to the booth at the back, shrugging out of his backpack and jacket and tossing them on the bench before sliding in after them. He frowned when Liz came by and placed a glass of his preferred soda on the table in front of him but hurried away, claiming that she was busy. He had never worked in a restaurant before but even he could see that the usual dinner rush was nearly over and most of the patrons who were still there were conversing over coffee or dessert.
After several attempts to talk to her Max finally accepted that Liz was going to ignore him, but that was fine because he could wait her out. He pulled his textbook out and started working on his homework, hoping to lose himself in the complexities of Calculus until the time for her break rolled around.
At nine-fifteen Liz glanced at the booth in the back and knew she couldn’t avoid him any longer. Max hadn’t tried to talk to her again and he had been sitting in the café for three hours so she knew he wasn’t going to leave until they had talked. He was stubborn in his own quiet way and once he had set his mind to something he didn’t let up until he had seen it through.
Max looked up when a shadow fell across his notebook and he smiled when he saw Liz standing there. He motioned to the seat across from him and was relieved when she slid into the booth and reached for the hand he held out to her.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” he chastised gently.
“I know.” Liz could feel all of her carefully constructed barriers threatening to crumble at his words and she swallowed hard in an attempt to control her emotions. “I’m sorry; I’ve just had some things going on…”
Max could feel her emotions so close to the surface and he cast a quick glance over at the blonde behind the counter. “You let ‘er go,” he guessed.
“No.” Liz shook her head and reached up to wipe away a couple of tears when she blinked and they spilled over. “No, she let me go,” she choked out.
“C’mon, let’s get outta here for a few minutes.” He stood and pulled her up with him, grabbing his jacket before leading her outside. The cold wind nipped at their exposed flesh and he hurried to drape his jacket around her shoulders. He led the way to the end of the building and stepped around the side to avoid the worst of the wind before wrapping his arms around her and leaning back against the wall. “I’m so sorry, Liz.”
“I thought it would be better for all of us if I let her go, if I stepped back and she wasn’t constantly in a position where we had to lie to her and hide things from her.” She drew in a shaky breath and tightened her arms where they were wrapped around his waist. “But, I couldn’t do it; I even thought about it before she said anything and I realized I wasn’t gonna be able to do it.” She sighed raggedly. “I never expected her to be the one to put an end to our friendship.”
“And you think because she’s the one who did it you’re not gonna be able to fix things.”
“The fact that she ended things…” She shook her head. “I should’ve been the one to take that step and I couldn’t do it; I put her in the position where she didn’t really have any choice but to end things and now… Things are never gonna be the same again, Max.”
“Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?”
Liz smiled at the sincerity in his voice. “Can you make me forget about this?” she asked, wishing he could. “Even if it’s only for a little while?”
“Are you working Saturday?” he asked without missing a beat.
“No, I’m not scheduled to work.” She glanced down when the alarm sounded on her watch, letting her know her break was over.
He lowered his head to look deep into her anguished eyes and he vowed to take her mind off of the painful subject for a few hours. He framed her face in his hands and leaned in to kiss her gently. “Don’t make any plans for Saturday, okay?”
Flamehair – Hmm, this is Isabel we are talking about, it’s sure that the dreams those jocks had weren’t pleasant.
April – Yes, you’ll get to see what Isabel did to those guys.
Cjsl8ne – Hmm, will Max meeting Michael help Maria and Liz’s relationship? Or will it make it worse?
Part 49b
Michael snatched his towel off of the hook on his closet and opened the door to the bathroom that he shared with Maggie. For the past two days he had been taking cold showers because his sister and their cousins who were staying with them for the week used up every bit of hot water in the house before he had the opportunity to call the shower. He hadn’t gotten the shower first one single time since Summer and Sierra had arrived and he was fed up with all three girls and all of the stuff that he kept tripping over.
He looked around at the counter and noted the obvious lack of space; every available surface had been filled with… stuff. It was everywhere. He frowned when he realized that while there was lots of stuff on the counter, none of it belonged to him. He turned to hang his towel on one of the hooks on the back of his door, but they were all occupied. Just like the ones on Maggie’s side, he noted with an irritated growl. He pushed the shower curtain aside, resigned to hanging the towel over the shower rod, but as he reached up to do just that he noticed that the corner shelves were practically bursting with more stuff.
“Just none of my stuff,” he muttered caustically.
“Somethin’ wrong, Son?” John just barely contained the laugh that wanted to escape when Michael turned to look at him. He had heard his son moving around and grumbling in a low voice, and it hadn’t taken more than a moment to realize why. It only took a quick glance around to see that he had been evicted from his own bathroom; the girls had taken over every square inch of space and from the looks of it there hadn’t been room left for any of his things.
“No, Dad, there’s nothin’ wrong.” He waved a hand around the room, the gesture wild and uncoordinated. “Not as long as I don’t mind smellin’ like coconut-almond, some sort of lavender-vanilla crap, or watermelon-somethin’-or-other. Why do girls gotta have so much crap? And why can’t they all use the same damn thing? I’m sharin’ my bathroom with three girls and they all use different… stuff! There’s three of everything in here and not one single thing is in here twice! All of my stuff fits on the single corner that Maggie was kind enough to leave open for me when she went and turned into a… a… a girl, and now I don’t even have that!”
“Why don’t you go ask your sister where they stuck your stuff and you can use the shower in my bathroom for the rest of their stay.”
Michael nodded. “They’re usin’ up all the hot water too,” he complained.
John chuckled after Michael left the room, shaking his head when he heard the younger man shouting for his sister to give him his things. As soon as Maggie had discovered boys and makeup, or become a girl, as Michael so eloquently put it, he had quickly lost all rights to equal space and time in the bathroom. He had eventually gotten over that, but John knew that Michael wasn’t going to have any rights at all to the bathroom while there were three teenage girls in the same house.
After dinner Michael barricaded himself in his bedroom, unwilling to hear one more thing that involved makeup, guys, romantic movies, or which actor was currently the hottest – a topic that had started a rather heated debate over dinner. He was fairly certain that they’d had the exact same conversation the night before. He shook his head as he sat down in front of his computer, pulling up his photography folder and quickly losing himself in his work.
His mind drifted to Maria while he was going through the pictures he had taken out in the desert, and he could easily see her in many of them. He wondered if she had given any serious consideration to his request that she pose for him. He stood and walked over to the bookshelf that sat in one of the corners and pulled his portfolio down, carrying it back over to his desk. He moved his keyboard out of the way and placed the book down on the cleared surface, opening it up and studying some of his favorite shots.
He leaned in closer to the portfolio, elbow braced on his knee and his chin resting in his hand as he stared at the way the sunlight played over the canyon in the photograph. In his mind’s eye he could see the layout for the scene he wanted to create for Maria; the cliffs above the canyon on the west side were a perfect place to shoot the photos he had in mind. He was sure she would be willing to go along with the costumes he wanted to use for the photographs; she had an adventurous spirit and he had a feeling she would be able to appreciate what he had in mind.
He turned his head to the side when someone knocked on his door and he considered ignoring it when his sister called him.
“Go ahead and ignore me, Michael; I’ll just tell Maria you’re – “
Maggie jumped back when the door was jerked open, nearly knocking Summer and Sierra over in her haste to move. Michael stared at the three girls, mouth open to snarl some insult or other, but at the last second he simply snatched the phone out of Maggie’s hand, stepped back into his room, and slammed the door. He slapped the lock into place and crossed the room to lock the bathroom door as well before sitting back down and putting the phone up to his ear.
“Hey.”
“It sounds like you’re outnumbered,” Maria said, laughing quietly.
Michael relaxed at the sound of her voice and he smiled as he looked down at the photos lying on his desk, imagining her in the panoramic scene. “Outnumbered and quite possibly outgunned,” he muttered. “I can’t do anything or go anywhere without them bein’ right there; they haven’t even been here a full forty-eight hours yet and they’ve taken over everything.”
“You’re hiding in your room, aren’t you?”
“It’s the only safe place in the house. And, since I don’t really wanna talk about them why don’t we talk about somethin’ else,” he suggested. “Did you find out if your mom was out on a date this weekend? That why she wasn’t answerin’ your calls?”
“No, she’s gone to an institute where she can meditate and contemplate whatever’s had her so distracted lately. She should be back either this weekend or early next week.”
“That’s gotta be nice,” Michael said, thinking of the lack of silence or privacy in his own house.
“Yes and no. It might’ve been nice to have her here last night; comin’ home to an empty house was a little lonely.”
He sat up straighter, frowning when her tone altered just enough for him to notice. “Did somethin’ happen at work last night?”
Maria sighed as she thought back to the night before. She walked into the kitchen and looked through the cupboards, debating about what she was going to fix for dinner as she responded to his concerned question. “I um, I got into it with Liz again and I told her things were over between us.”
“Oh, wow.” What was he supposed to say to that? he wondered, searching his brain for a proper response. “Um, is there anything…”
“I don’t think there’s really anything anyone can do, but thanks for the offer,” she said, appreciating the gesture. “She won’t tell me the truth about what’s going on with her or her new friends and it’s only causing more problems between us, and I’m tired of being lied to.”
“Well, I’m not gonna tell you that it’s her loss because I know she means a lot to you, so obviously you’re losin’ out too. But, maybe it’s better this way, Maria.”
“You think so?” She really just needed someone to tell her that she had made the right choice.
Michael shifted the phone and swore quietly. This sucked, he thought. He couldn’t express himself this way, and Maria needed him to comfort her. This would be a lot easier if he were right there with her; he wasn’t a talker and he sucked when it came to verbalizing stuff like this. If she were there with him he could’ve taken her in his arms and he could’ve sent her silent healing vibes that he was sure she would pick up on.
But, she wasn’t there, she was on the phone and she was waiting for an answer, for reassurance that she had done the right thing. He was going to do his best to try to ease her pain, even if his little comfort speech wasn’t going to be that good. Okay, you can do this. It’s probably gonna suck, but you can do this. He took a deep breath and prepared himself, hoping it would be enough.
“If she was gonna keep lyin’ an’ hidin’ things from you you’re probably a lot better off this way. She’s been your best friend your whole life, and if there’s a reasonable explanation for why she’s been actin’ that way I don’t know what it is, but you’re the one who’s been sufferin’ because of it. Personally, I’m glad you ended things with her, but I know you’re the one who has to deal with it now, and knowin’ you I’m pretty sure it’s gonna take time to do that. So, I’m here, y’know, if you need to talk or anything.”
*****
Max shuffled along the sidewalk, his shoulders hunched against the cold wind that was blowing. He paused when he reached his destination, staying back out of sight as he looked in through the plate-glass window of the Crashdown Café. For the past couple of days Liz had been distracted, distant, and she had been avoiding him, but that was going to end today.
He watched Liz moving around, taking and delivering orders, smiling and making small talk, but her cheerful demeanor was forced and her smile lacked any real warmth. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but he knew it probably had something to do with Maria. His gaze wandered over to the other girl and he briefly thought that she seemed to be missing some vital part of her usually upbeat personality.
He didn’t know Maria personally but he knew she was important to Liz so whatever had happened between them must have been big. They were working together but it was easy to see that there was no personal interaction between them; they were like two strangers and he could tell that things had moved from strained to the girls actually being estranged.
He pushed the door open and made his way to the booth at the back, shrugging out of his backpack and jacket and tossing them on the bench before sliding in after them. He frowned when Liz came by and placed a glass of his preferred soda on the table in front of him but hurried away, claiming that she was busy. He had never worked in a restaurant before but even he could see that the usual dinner rush was nearly over and most of the patrons who were still there were conversing over coffee or dessert.
After several attempts to talk to her Max finally accepted that Liz was going to ignore him, but that was fine because he could wait her out. He pulled his textbook out and started working on his homework, hoping to lose himself in the complexities of Calculus until the time for her break rolled around.
At nine-fifteen Liz glanced at the booth in the back and knew she couldn’t avoid him any longer. Max hadn’t tried to talk to her again and he had been sitting in the café for three hours so she knew he wasn’t going to leave until they had talked. He was stubborn in his own quiet way and once he had set his mind to something he didn’t let up until he had seen it through.
Max looked up when a shadow fell across his notebook and he smiled when he saw Liz standing there. He motioned to the seat across from him and was relieved when she slid into the booth and reached for the hand he held out to her.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” he chastised gently.
“I know.” Liz could feel all of her carefully constructed barriers threatening to crumble at his words and she swallowed hard in an attempt to control her emotions. “I’m sorry; I’ve just had some things going on…”
Max could feel her emotions so close to the surface and he cast a quick glance over at the blonde behind the counter. “You let ‘er go,” he guessed.
“No.” Liz shook her head and reached up to wipe away a couple of tears when she blinked and they spilled over. “No, she let me go,” she choked out.
“C’mon, let’s get outta here for a few minutes.” He stood and pulled her up with him, grabbing his jacket before leading her outside. The cold wind nipped at their exposed flesh and he hurried to drape his jacket around her shoulders. He led the way to the end of the building and stepped around the side to avoid the worst of the wind before wrapping his arms around her and leaning back against the wall. “I’m so sorry, Liz.”
“I thought it would be better for all of us if I let her go, if I stepped back and she wasn’t constantly in a position where we had to lie to her and hide things from her.” She drew in a shaky breath and tightened her arms where they were wrapped around his waist. “But, I couldn’t do it; I even thought about it before she said anything and I realized I wasn’t gonna be able to do it.” She sighed raggedly. “I never expected her to be the one to put an end to our friendship.”
“And you think because she’s the one who did it you’re not gonna be able to fix things.”
“The fact that she ended things…” She shook her head. “I should’ve been the one to take that step and I couldn’t do it; I put her in the position where she didn’t really have any choice but to end things and now… Things are never gonna be the same again, Max.”
“Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?”
Liz smiled at the sincerity in his voice. “Can you make me forget about this?” she asked, wishing he could. “Even if it’s only for a little while?”
“Are you working Saturday?” he asked without missing a beat.
“No, I’m not scheduled to work.” She glanced down when the alarm sounded on her watch, letting her know her break was over.
He lowered his head to look deep into her anguished eyes and he vowed to take her mind off of the painful subject for a few hours. He framed her face in his hands and leaned in to kiss her gently. “Don’t make any plans for Saturday, okay?”