Thanks for the replies all.
nibbles2 wrote:I think Ava was being so harsh on Alex though. He was being mindwarped. It's not like he's forgetting her or snubbing her deliberately. And she knows that so why is she hurt and disappointed in him? It's not his fault.
It's not the fact that he doesn't remember that hurt her most, it's the fact that he seems unwilling to believe her. She's giving convincing arguments and he still holds on to the fact that his memories are real. It's really not fair to Alex, but he's the first guy Ava has trusted in a long time and she feels like he should instinctively at least try to believe her.
Part 5
The mood at the breakfast table of casa Valenti was strained. Kyle tried to silently reach out, but it was quite clear that Tess was majorly embarrassed and did whatever she could to avoid his stare. Finally, Kyle couldn't take it any more and decided on a more direct approach. “So, I see you're doing better.”
“Yeah,” Tess said awkwardly.
“So what are you going to do today?” Kyle asked. Last night, Tess had let her barriers down and he couldn't help but wonder whether that was a one time thing or if she would start to confide in him on a more permanent base.
“I don't know,” Tess said softly.
“Are you going to talk to anyone about what we discussed last night?” he pressed.
Tess sighed and put down the spoon she was holding before finally looking back at him. “Look, I thought about it and I never should have said all the things I said last night. I wasn’t feeling very well and it’s just too late to change anything anyway.”
“Bullshit,” Kyle said pointedly. “What you mean is that it’s easier to just do nothing.”
“Kyle, there is no way that any of them will want me around when I tell them that I lied to them, held back important things and basically forced one of them to help me. Really, it’s just better to forget it and hope…”
“Hope that it goes away?” Kyle suggested.
Tess frowned. “Look, I was a little depressed last night, alright!” she said loudly. “It happened, but you don’t have to make a bigger deal out of it than it is.”
“Tess, it’s your choice. As long as you’re happy, it’s fine by me. If you feel content with living like this for the rest of your life, you have my blessing. Just tell me that's what you want."
“I don’t have a choice. No one will understand… well aside from you,” Tess said, correcting herself with a smile, which immediately faded. “Nothing good can come of telling them.”
“Well, you can stop worrying about what they will do when they find out,” Kyle said. “They’ll be angry… but eventually they’ll forgive you. I can’t speak for the pod people because I really don’t know them that well, but if there’s one thing the others respect, it’s honesty.”
“Be serious, Kyle,” Tess said, a frown appearing on her face. “They don’t like me now and it’s not going to get better by telling them I’ve been using one of them for weeks.”
“Perhaps you're right," Kyle said as he shrugged his shoulders and continued eating.
"So... what? No Buddhist saying? No immortal wisdom to spare?" Tess asked sarcastically.
"Tess... you can't have it both ways." Kyle sighed deeply when he said it. "If you want to free yourself of this web of lies, you have no choice but to come clean with them. If you want the nightmares to stop, all you have to do is tell the others everything. Maybe they'll forgive you and maybe they won't, but you will be free."
"I already told you that it's not that easy."
"Nothing worthwhile is," Kyle said softly. "But I'm gonna stop pressing. You know my opinion, so you just do what you think is best."
Tess sighed. "I seriously don't know why I like you so much. You can be really annoying."
Kyle smiled. "Well, it beats having one of those little angels on your shoulder telling you what to do."
"Yes, well, that is fiction. This is real."
Kyle grinned and then suddenly his face became a little more serious. "Tess, I want to ask you something and I would like you to tell me the truth, regardless of whether or not I'm gonna like it." He looked at Tess expectantly until she slowly nodded. "Do you remember that day that we were going to do some uh... lamptrimming?"
"Uh huh," Tess said a smile and a nod.
"And you remember Liz interrupting and the whole circus after that," Kyle continued.
"You mean you sleeping with Liz?" Tess asked.
Kyle shrugged. "Yes," he said softly. "You know, a few days later, a rumour started making its way around in school that me and Liz had... you know."
"Kyle, if you're doing it, you really should be able to say it."
"Had sex," Kyle said softly. "Did you start that rumour?" he blurted out.
Tess looked at Kyle for a few seconds. He wondered what she was thinking. Either she was outraged by the suggestion and couldn't find words, or she did it and was wondering how to respond. "W... what makes you think it was me?" Tess asked softly. She sounded hurt and that fact did not go unnoticed by Kyle.
"Well, I didn't tell anyone, Liz didn't tell anyone, and while Max can be a real dick, I can't imagine that he would spread a rumor like that," Kyle deducted. "…So did you?"
Tess frowned. "No, of course I didn't," she said with a dead-serious tone of voice. "Why would I?"
Kyle raised his eyebrows in a don't-pretend-I'm-an-idiot look.
"Kyle, I love you! Why would I start spreading rumours about you in school?!" she asked loudly. It wasn't until she finished her sentence that she realized exactly what she had said, but by then it was too late. "Kyle, I did not spread any rumours about you. I would never do that to you, and contrary to what you may think, I do not hate Liz."
Kyle looked at her for a few seconds. He could have sworn Tess just told him he loved her, and the uncomfortable expression on her face definitely backed him up on that. "You don't hate Liz?" he finally asked.
"Kyle, I'm not an idiot! Liz came to me that day and she was so desperate to get rid of Max that she actually wanted to help me get him... and then suddenly, on the same day, you sleep with her and Max catches you? Come on Kyle! Since we're in the spirit of honesty, tell me this - did you really have sex with her?"
Kyle hesitated for a few seconds. He promised Liz never to tell anyone, but Tess asked for the truth and since he more or less demanded the truth from her, didn't he owe her the same thing? "No," he admitted. “I didn’t.”
"Something happened," Tess said knowingly. "I don't know what, but whatever it is, she's convinced that it's better for Max to be with me." She paused for a few seconds, taking a deep breath. "She still loves him, you know."
“It’s hard not to notice,” Kyle softly agreed.
"I was ready to leave Roswell," Tess admitted. "I figured that if Max didn't want me, there was nothing keeping me here. And then she came to me, and she got me closer to Max than I had ever imagined being possible, so I stayed."
"So you stayed for Max?" Kyle asked hesitantly.
"At first, yes," Tess admitted. "But then I started to feel more at home here... you know, with you and your dad. I realize now that trying to get Max is a complete waste of time. Even if he wasn't still in love with Liz; he just doesn't love me and I don't think it'll ever happen."
Tess paused for a few seconds, taking a few deep breaths. "I’m really glad I stayed," she admitted. "And in some strange way, I feel like I owe that to Liz. So no, I don't hate her."
"And it's a good thing you stayed," Kyle said with a smile. "Who else could kill an army of Skins by setting them on fire with her mind?"
Tess smiled. "Yeah... it's almost like she knew that."
~~
Alex stared at the clock above the kitchen door, watching the seconds tick away as he absentmindedly ate the sandwich he had made. He had spent the entire night thinking about his conversation the night before. He remembered being in Sweden, but Ava... he remembered her name now, seemed so sure and so hurt.
"So, are you going to tell me what's wrong or are you counting the seconds in an hour?" Liz asked. She was sitting on a chair on the opposite end of the table and looked at Alex expectantly.
Alex let out a deep sigh. "I had a visitor last night," he said and then went silent.
After a few seconds, Liz spoke. "Am I going to have to guess who it was? Uhm... Brad Pitt?"
Alex smiled. "No... it was Tess' dupe."
"Ava?" Liz asked, visibly confused.
"Yes," Alex said. "She said she was with me in Las Cruces for the last couple of weeks. Of course I told her I was in Sweden, but she was so sure and she knew things about me that nobody knows."
"So what did you say?" Liz asked, still trying to grasp the latest information.
"I told her the truth; I said I was in Sweden. I have six carousels of slides to back up my memories."
"Alright, so maybe it was someone else," Liz offered.
"Liz, I thought about all that," Alex said desperately. "She knew things she couldn't possibly know unless I told her, and she gave me this." Alex stood up and walked towards one of the closets where he pulled the destiny book out of the top drawer. He then put in on the table, directly in front of Liz. "She said she was helping me decode that thing."
Liz was getting a little freaked out. "Alright, let's take a step back. If you weren't in Sweden then that means that someone forged your memories, not to mention no less than six carousels filled with slides."
"Look, I suppose someone could have forged those slides but to erase my memory… that sounds like an awful lot of work for someone like me. Besides, who would do something like that?"
"Tess Harding comes to mind," Liz mumbled.
"Yes, but Tess also came to mind when you were missing a pair of shoes the day before I left,” Alex countered with a grin on his face.
“Alex, we’re talking about wiping memory,” Liz reminded him. “You have to admit that if anyone could do it, it would be Tess… and it’s not like she has a soul or anything to stop her.
“Meow!” Alex said. “But just because she could have done it doesn’t mean that she actually did it. Let’s hold off the witchhunt until we have some evidence.”
“Alright, point taken,” Liz said reluctantly. “So what are you going to do?”
“Uh, why do you think I asked you to come over here? I have no friggin clue!”
Liz smiled. “Well, I can take a look at those slides. If they’re not real, maybe there’s a clue in them, but I have to say it’s kind of a longshot.”
Alex sagged back into his chair. “I’m stressing out over nothing, aren’t I?”
“Maybe,” Liz admitted. “But Ava is a nice girl and I can’t image she would just make up something like this.”
“You’ve known her for two days, Liz,” Alex argued. “I like her too, but we know nothing about her.”
Liz’ smile suddenly widened. “Ooooh,” Liz said in realization. “Right.”
Alex raised his eyebrows in both suspicion and curiosity. “What? What are you talking about?”
Liz just grinned at him, visibly enjoying watching him figure out what she meant by himself.
“What… you mean Ava…? No!” Alex denied emphatically.
“If you say so,” Liz said, the grin still firmly in place.
“Hello!” Alex said, waving his arms above his head. “Memory loss. Strange alien. World in peril! Any of those things ring a bell?”
“Way to be overdramatic Alex,” Liz scoffed. “So, how did your conversation with her end?”
Alex sighed. “I don’t think I handled that part very well. She got kind of upset… I don’t think she’ll come back.”
“Oh, she’ll be back,” Liz said with a grin.
“What do I do, Liz?” Alex asked desperately. “This is insane. How can I believe her and at the same time not believe her? I mean, it’s crazy what she said, but she had that alien book-thing and she knew something she couldn’t have known. It’s just impossible either way.”
“Well, what did she know that had you freaked out like this? Maybe there’s a perfectly logical explanation for her knowing,” Liz offered.
Alex’ eyes opened wide in terror. “That uh… that’s not really the point, is it?”
Liz smiled at him. “Something I’m not supposed to know about?” she asked sweetly.
“Just ancient history; very ancient history,” Alex said quickly.
Of course, Alex’s evasive answers didn’t go unnoticed to Liz. “She knew about the poem, didn’t she?” she asked softly.
Alex coughed in surprise. “What? How? What?”
Liz smiled. “Come on Alex. If you send a girl you’ve known for years a handwritten letter, she’s going to know you wrote it,” she explained.
“That was…” Alex said before pausing and frowning. “…really stupid of me.”
“I thought it was sweet,” Liz said comfortingly.
Alex smiled meekly. “And you knew all those years? Why didn’t you say anything?”
Liz shrugged. “I didn’t want to embarrass you and I figured you would tell me when you were ready. I didn’t want to lose one of my best friends.”
Alex smiled. “Alright,” he said softly before quickly steering away from this uncomfortable subject. “But anyway, it’s something that Ava couldn’t have known. And even if I were with her, I very much doubt I would have told her this.”
Liz shook her head. “This is really a strange case. I mean, how did she get that book in the first place? I thought Max kept it someplace safe.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought too,” Alex agreed.
“Well, maybe he didn’t… or maybe this is just a replica that the other set had,” Liz tried, before letting out a sigh. “I’m just making this up as I go along.”
Alex thought about it for a moment. This was all just too strange to make any sense of. “Okay, you look at the pictures and I’ll go ask about that thing,” he said, pointing at the book on the table.
~~
Tess cautiously stepped into the empty dorm room. The blinds only let through the tiniest bit on sunlight, basking the room in an eerie glow. How could she have been this stupid? How could she forget to bring back something as important as the destiny book? She knew she wouldn’t find it here, but this was as good a place to start as any. Alex must have hidden it somewhere near the computer he was working on, but she didn’t even know where that was.
“Looking for something?” a familiar voice sounded though the room. It sounded strained and definitely not happy.
Reacting quickly, Tess’ hand shot for the light switch, brightly illuminating the room. She looked towards the direction the voice came from and saw a familiar figure. “Who…” Tess started before realization struck. “Ava?”
“Yeah,” Ava said as she quickly advanced towards Tess until she was within arms reach. “I should have known Lon wouldn’t have the guts to come back here herself.”
Tess looked at Ava. When they met a few months earlier, Ava had looked so different from her with the piercings, tattoos and purple hair, but now the only giveaway was the wardrobe. Tess also noticed the knife attached to her belt and she swallowed as she took a step backwards. “W… what are you doing here?” Tess stammered.
“Waiting,” Ava said firmly as she took a step forward, closing the distance again. “What are you doing here?” Ava asked firmly.
“Well, I was… I…” Tess stammered. Ava obviously knew about Alex and there was nothing she could say that would explain why she was here.
“Let me ask you an easier question,” Ava said sarcastically. “What did you and Lon do to Alex?”
Tess recovered from the initial shock and stared back at Ava. “I don’t really think that’s any of your business. How do you know Alex anyway?”
“I was here with him, and the day he finished, he left without a word and now suddenly, he doesn’t remember a thing. Your doing?” Ava asked suspiciously.
“I guess it’s little use denying it,” Tess said softly.
Ava sighed and took a step backwards, giving Tess some much appreciated breathing space. “I don’t get it,” she said. “He would have done anything for her.”
“Like I said, I don’t think that’s really any of your business,” Tess said defiantly before Ava’s words suddenly registered. “Wait a minute. He finished it?!” Tess asked loudly.
A grin appeared on Ava’s face. “Well yes… oh, I’m sorry,” she said sweetly. “I forgot for a second that it wasn’t my business.”
Tess took a few deep breaths. The sudden urge to beat the information out of her was huge, but aside from the fact that Ava looked more than able to defend herself, this was not the route she wanted this conversation to take. “Look, this is not a game. What did the book say?”
Ava squinted her eyes and looked straight into Tess’ eyes. “Screw. You,” she said in a dark voice.
“I’m sorry for what happened to Alex, but we’re fighting a war here,” Tess argued.
“No you’re not,” Ava countered. “You think if you can help Lon translate that book that it’ll make everyone suddenly like you.”
The last hint of a smile disappeared from Tess’ face. “Now you listen to me…”
“No,” Ava interrupted. “How about you listen to me! Give Alex his memory back. Now!” Ava demanded.
“How on Earth am I supposed to do that?” Tess asked loudly. “I don’t have much experience in the matter, but wiping memory kinda sounds like a one way thing. Besides, if you know so much, why don’t you do it?”
“I don’t mindrape and you evidently do,” Ava said firmly. “You caused it... you figure out a way to fix it!”
Tess’ mouth opened wide in shock. “Mind… rape?!” she said indignantly. “How dare you! You have no idea what happened!”
“Wait, don’t tell me; let me guess. You’re the victim,” Ava said sarcastically. “You had no choice. You had to do it to protect the greater good, the lives of fluffy puppies and the spirit of Christmas.”
Tess was seething but she did her very best to hide it. “Look, you can ridicule me all you want. He was working here for five weeks and now he remembers having a wonderful time in Sweden. I admit it’s a bit extreme, but it solved a lot of problems.”
“You mean it solved your problems… but he’ll find out eventually,” Ava said sternly.
“No he won’t,” Tess said. “He’ll believe what his memory tells him.” She was surprised at how certain she sounded. The reality was that she had no clue whether the memory loss would be permanent.
“I don’t think you’re giving him enough credit.” Ava’s voice was soft but she sounded just as sure of herself as Tess.
Tess tilted her head and looked at Ava with surprise in her eyes. “You have a thing for him,” Tess said with a small smile on her lips.
“I do not have a thing for him,” Ava firmly denied.
Tess’ smile grew wider. “Friendly advice, don’t get too attached. He is totally obsessed with Isabel.”
“That will stop when he finds out what she did,” Ava countered.
Tess looked at Ava like she had gone completely insane. “Do you have Gandarium for brains or something? “ Tess asked sarcastically. “Isabel has nothing to do with this.”
Ava closely examined Tess’ expression. She wasn’t kidding. “I’m sorry, alright,” Tess apologized when she saw Ava’s shocked expression. “Alex would have told Isabel what I did and I couldn’t let that happen. I understand that this was the wrong move, but it was already too late when I realized it.”
Ava squinted her eyes. “You know, he already told me that he didn’t trust you,” she said softly before she let out a short laugh. “He had no idea how bloody right he was.”
“Then what do you think I should have done?” Tess said indignantly. “He would have been devastated and I would have been majorly screwed!”
“You’re lying yourself into a corner and believe me, that corner just gets smaller and smaller. You don’t honestly think this will never come out, do you?”
Tess snorted. “You sound like Kyle.”
Ava smiled. “He sounds like a smart guy. Does he know what a backstabbing bitch you are?”
Tess swallowed and averted her gaze. “No,” she lied.
“Poor him,” Ava scoffed.
“I don’t want everybody to hate me. Does that make me such a bad person?” Tess asked.
“You lied to Alex for five weeks and then you wiped his mind! He did everything you wanted and you spat on him!” Ava shouted. “I can’t believe you and I share the same genes.”
Tess frowned. “I am trying to do what’s best for everyone. I admit I should have gone about it a different way but I for one am desperate. Kivar knows who we are and he knows we have the granolith. He will not just do nothing.”
Ava let out a sigh of frustration. “Look, you tell yourself whatever you want so you can sleep at night. We’re done here.” With that, she brushed past Tess and walked out of the door.
Tess was stunned for a few seconds. “What about the book?” she finally called after Ava.
“Ask Alex!” Ava shouted angrily from outside the room.
And then it was silent.
TBC