Deep down I think the reason why Liz hasn't rushed to tell Max that she has her memory back because deep down she's curious if Max will still love and choose the Liz she is without her memories.
Once again thank you my wonderful readers
FSUMSW94
begonia9508
frenchkiss70
tequathisy
Jason's Lover
Earth Angel
Ace Roswell - You'll just have to wait and see
con angel
Part 20
Max closed the door to the house he had called home for the past year with relief. His shift had finally ended at 9 am this morning and he was now not due to go back for two weeks. He looked around the house and everything was spotless like it normally was and he sighed. He could go upstairs and get some more sleep but after the 8 hours he had been able to steel luckily last night he felt alright for the moment. Sighing he picked up the things he had dropped in the entryway and made his way to the study.
The house was empty accept for him. Maria was working the day shift and wouldn’t be home until three o’clock that afternoon, he had seen her briefly this morning she had brought him breakfast and sat with him for 10 minutes before she started her shift. There were very little words between them though and what was spoken was never what they both wanted to talk about anyway.
***
Liz and Parker pulled up out the front of the Crashdown. It was lunchtime so the place was fairly busy. Jeff and Nancy had returned a couple of days ago from their restaurant convention so they had been busy helping her and Parker get settled in their new house. They were a little sad when they found out that she wasn’t going to stay with them but when they found out she planned to buy the home and settle in Roswell again permanently they were thrilled.
Parker was spending the night with Phillip and Diane tonight but Liz was dropping him off this afternoon to spend sometime with them before Diane came to pick him up.
‘Oh there’s my adorable grandson’ Nancy smiled when she saw him enter the café.
‘Nanny’ he squealed. He loved having a Nanny and Poppy and a Gram and Granddad.
‘Hey mum’ Liz smiled she loved seeing her son so happy.
‘Hi darling’ she smiled leaning in to giver he a kiss. ‘What are you going to do with yourself tonight’ she asked her taking the bag with Parkers stuff from her.
‘Set my dark room up’ Liz smiled. She couldn’t wait to get it up and running so that she could develop the rolls of films she had been taking since she got to Roswell.
‘Ok well have fun, do you want anything before you go?’
‘No thanks’ she shook her head.
‘Have fun baby’ Liz smiled giving her son a kiss on the cheek.
‘Bye Mummy’ he waved as Liz headed back out to her car.
***
It had been a long day and Max took the time to have a shower before returning downstairs and waiting on the couch. It was almost three thirty and he expected Maria to walk in the door any minute now. He was dreading it and looking forward to it all at the same time and for the same reason.
He heard the front door open and watched as his wife entered the house. Her face lit up with a smile when she saw him sitting on the couch freshly showered like he was waiting for her, it gave her hope.
‘Hi sweetie’ she greeted ‘You would never believe the day I’ve had I didn’t think I’d ever get out of that place it was like everyone in Roswell wanted to have their baby today’ she laughed ‘so I thought we might be able to go out to dinner tonight maybe to that little French place that opened a few months ago. I’ve been wanting to check it out for ages and it would be nice to spend some quality time together and have the time to talk’ she rambled. It wasn’t unusual for her to do it and like usual Max just let her go. ‘So what do you think?, I can ring and book and’ her words stopped abruptly then and Max looked up and saw her staring at the last of his suitcases. The rest were already packed in his SUV along with most of the things out of his den including his photos. He had left the last one there hoping that she would see it.
He didn’t do it to hurt her it was simply that he didn’t know how else to tell her. He had picked the boxes up on his way home this morning. He wasn’t sure when exactly he had made the decision, truthfully it was probably the day he saw Liz Parker in his ER. But sitting there watching the little girl he had treated over the past few days made everything seem easier. Even though he hadn’t had time to think or make decisions with how fast everything had happened over the past week and half the truth was he realised that he was sitting in the middle of an intersection holding all this traffic up because he wouldn’t decide left or right or even straight ahead. And the fact was he always knew that he needed to go right, and that he would go right there was never any doubt.
He spent the day packing everything up. He didn’t intend on taking anything except what was personally his, like the photo’s and eventually the furniture in the den which was the only thing he wanted in the house. The house was still mortgaged and he knew Maria couldn’t afford it on her own but he intended on walking away and letting her have anything she got from the sale, or letting her stay there as long as she picked up the mortgage from now on. He had never wanted to buy the house and never liked anything about it so it made sense to leave it to Maria since it had been her dream all along.
‘Are you going somewhere?’ she asked becoming slightly panicked. Her first thought was that he was leaving but when she saw only one suitcase she calmed down slightly.
‘I’m leaving Maria’ he replied.
‘Ok when will you be back?’ she asked him.
Max sighed he thought the suitcase would speak for itself.
‘I wont’ he whispered.
Maria dropped her bag and keys then. ‘You’re, you’re leaving me?’ she asked him. No, she thought this cant is happening.
‘Yes’ he answered.
‘Why?’ she cried, the tears had started and she was approaching the spot he was sitting in.
‘You know why’ he smiled sadly.
‘No, no Max obviously I don’t or I wouldn’t be asking’ she cried.
Max pulled her down to sit next to him then and took his hand ‘Is it because she has Parker?’ she cried. Why would the man she loved that had vowed to be with her forever throw that away so easily. They had always been so happy and in love and it was obvious that Liz’s life had flourished away from him.
‘It’s because I love her with every fiber of my being and I cant live in a world that Liz Parker lives in and not share it with her’ he told her honestly.
‘But you married me Max you love me and we were so happy’ she argued. ‘Please don’t do this’ she begged.
‘Maria’ he started he knew it was going to break her to hear this ‘I haven’t been happy in eight years, not for one single day until a week and a half ago. Our wedding day was the single worst day of my life, the guilt I felt marrying you almost stopped me from going through with it and I wish that it had because we wouldn’t be here now’ he told her sadly as he watched his words break her heart
‘I made a mistake becoming involved with you. Yes I love you, but it’s the same love I feel for Tess. A friendly love and I thought that it would be enough for you, that you would be happy with that but the thing is Maria is that I never thought about me and making you happy it isn’t enough for me. It will never be enough for me and I’ve spent the last 2 years making sure you were happy and safe because I thought that was what Liz wanted and what Michael wanted but I cant pretend anymore. I knew I would never find love or happiness after Liz so I decided that it didn’t matter but it does Maria and I cant walk away from it now that I have it back. Please don’t ask me to’
Maria was openly sobbing at his words. He didn’t love her all this time and Michael had been right. He would never love her why could no one love her like they loved Liz.
‘Are you going to her?’ she cried.
Max hesitated for a moment ‘I want to but I’m not sure if she wants me’ he replied.
‘And if she turns you away? How do you know that she feels the same way for you?’ she asked angrily. She knew Liz wouldn’t turn him away but any doubt that she could plant would work in her favor.
Max looked down at his feet guiltily ‘I know she loves me Maria I’ve felt it’ he told her he didn’t think telling her about their night together would do any good now it would only hurt her more.
‘Will you come back to me?’ she asked him then and knew what she was asking though. If Liz did turn him away would he come back.
‘No, never’ he told her honestly because he knew there was no second best. A life alone would be equal to the life he had with Maria at least he didn’t have to lie to anyone.
‘Oh god I can’t believe this is happening’ she sobbed then. He didn’t move to comfort her. ‘You cant do this’ she demanded then ‘you married me, you made a commitment to me and I’m not going to just let you walk away. I know you could love me if you just let her go’ she told him angrily.
‘You don’t have a choice and even if I did stay it would be worse that it already is because now I know that you’re a liar. You know Maria there was a man that once upon a time loved you with everything he had and you threw it away. I’m not sure why, you claim it was for a better love, but it was a love that you’ve never known that you still claim to feel. You lied to get what you want and you broke Michael’s heart in the process. Did he ask you to stay? No, yet you’re asking me to stay in a loveless marriage when the life I’ve always wanted is so close I can touch it. Sounds a little hypocritical’ he replied bitterly.
‘I wont stay and I promise you that if what you want is for me to hate you then keeping me from my son and Liz is the right away of going about it’
Maria didn’t respond she just continued to sob uncontrollably. Max placed the key to the house on the coffee table in front of him. ‘I’ll call about getting the furniture in the den everything else is yours’ he told her.
‘Max please don’t do this?’ she begged grabbing on to his hand hoping to stop him walking away.
Max gently removed his hand off hers. ‘For what it’s worth I’m sorry’ he told her sadly and then he left.
As he pulled out of the driveway of 14 White Street, for the first time in eight years he was hopeful.
***
He dialed the familiar number in his cell as he drove.
‘Hello’ he heard Tess’s voice
‘Hey Tess’ he greeted.
‘Max what’s up?’ she asked.
‘I need to speak to Kyle is he there?’ he told her.
‘Sure hold on’ a second later Kyle was on the phone and Max couldn’t help but inwardly chuckle it was obvious that he had interrupted something.
‘Max’ Kyle practically growled.
‘Hey Kyle. Listen I’m sorry to do this but do you think you could head over to Maria’s she could really use a friend right now and you’re the best man for the job’ he told him.
‘Oh’ he said. Kyle was the only person Max could think of that hadn’t ceased their friendship with Maria so he was the logical choice. ‘Is she ok?’ he asked concerned.
‘No she wasn’t when I left’ he told him. The way he said the word left was enough for Kyle. ‘I don’t want her to go through this alone and I didn’t know who else to call’ Max told him honestly.
‘No problem Max I’ll take care of her. Call Amy over and all that’ he promised.
‘thanks Kyle’
.