You've Got To Hold On AU/M.L. ch: 17 & Epil. 12/7/09

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mary mary
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You've Got To Hold On AU/M.L. ch: 17 & Epil. 12/7/09

Post by mary mary »

12/7: Happy birthday Shiri!!! :D
Image

I downloaded the tornado and lightning picture from the internet…I have no idea who the photographer is so I don’t know who to give the credit to but it inspired this short little fic. I hope you enjoy it. Ginger

(Sorry Destiny...no steam on this one. :lol: )

Banner by: Me

Title: You’ve got to Hold on.

Genre: A/U: M/L teen

Author: Ginger

Disclaimer: I own nothing Roswell, I have borrowed the names of the characters simply because I like them.

Summary: Max is a wildcatter on one of his own rigs…Liz works at the local diner nights and is a senior at UT during the day. The picture tells the story.

*~*~*

Chapter: 1


Max



“Hey Max, can’t you find someplace else to stop besides this coffee shop? You know she’ll never give in, why do you keep trying?

The guys went through this same routine every night after our shift…ragging on me, Max Evans their boss, who was quite taken with one of the waitresses at the all night diner. Why don’t they give up already? I know they would much rather have a beer than coffee but I really don’t care, if they want to ride with me then they will have to settle for coffee until Liz Parker has a night off. Then, and only then, will we stop for a beer before heading home.

I just smile, take the keys from the ignition and open the door to the cab of the truck. Everyone piles out and that’s when I notice Michael, my best friend, brushing off his jacket and running his hands through his tousled hair before heading into the diner. I have to grin to myself as I think ‘Maria must be working tonight’ and then, without giving it a second thought, I reach over to the center of the seat, take out my Stetson and put it on my head. I don’t know why I bother, no one knows why I bother actually, because I’ll remove it the minute I enter the diner anyway. It’s just something I do…no good reason… just a habit… that and you shouldn’t wear a hat while eating. My mother taught me that! I smile again, ’way to go mom!’ I tell myself… she’s great, my mom, you’ll meet her later.

We are all pretty tired as we pile into the diner and find our usual booth. We set our jackets on the bench seats and all four of us head to the men’s room to wash up before settling in for some relaxation after another hard day in the Texas sun. Sometimes I don’t think the work is as hard as the sun is to deal with. It takes a certain type of man to be able to deal with the heat from the sun all day long and then there’s the sidewinders and those damned red ants, they’re no fun either. Of course there’s a lot to be said when the crew you work with are your best friends, friends since childhood. So the grumbling and good natured chiding in the men’s room at my expense is all in good fun and I don’t mind because I know that they would have my back, always, without a doubt.

When we return to our seats our coffee has been poured for us, as usual, and menu’s are at each place setting there on the table waiting for us.

Liz caught my eye as she headed back to the pick up window just now and she gave me one of her killer smiles before she turned her back on us and as usual my heart took a leap in my chest. I have no idea why I react to her this way but it happens every time I see her. I don’t know how I will ever convince her to go out with me, God knows I’ve tried every time we’ve come in but she never gives an inch. Maybe I need to come in without the rest of the crew and sit until she has a break and we can talk and get to know each other better. I’ve been coming in here every night she’s worked for the past three and a half years and she always smiles and chats pleasantly with all of us but she never once acts like she’s heard my question… “Will you have dinner with me?” She just smiles, ignores me and goes on about her work as though I’m not even there.

A few of the other male customers have come on strong to her a few times and she’s made short work of them in no time flat so I really don’t want to push her and get her angry with me but I would definitely like to get the chance to know her better. There is just something about the petite little brunette that intrigues me, I don’t know what it is but I can’t help the gnawing that is present when she’s around.

*
Liz


Maria comes up behind me and whispers in my ear again…

“Liz, when are you going to give that man a break and go out with him?”

I look at her, smile and say as I put an order up on the wheel…

“Maria, he doesn’t want to go out with me. It’s just a line…just like all the other guys that come in here with their cocky attitudes. It’s nothing more than that although he is more polite than some of them. And besides, I really don’t have the time to go out. This is my senior year Maria and I only have one more semester before I graduate. I need to focus on that if I want to continue with graduate study on scholarships. It isn’t easy to get a doctorate on scholarships and I need to focus really hard. Between working and school I don’t have a lot of time to be socializing. Besides, why waste my time and his, it can’t go anywhere.”

And then I think to myself with a bit of smile, ‘If only he WAS serious I might be willing to donate some time but he’s just another good looking flirt trying to impress his friends.’ And so I keep this thought to myself just as I do with all of my thoughts and continue to work. I pick up an order and head to another table to drop it off before going back to Max and his buddies to take their orders.

“Good evening gentlemen.” I say, smiling down at the four of them. ”What will it be this evening?”

‘The bigger the smile the bigger the tips’ I think to myself.

“Well, I don’t know about the rest but I’m still hoping for a date Ms. Parker.” Max says with a smile as he sits back and scans me with an approving eye. He is up to his usual tricks…and wow, is he easy on the eye I think to myself as a chill runs up my spine.

His eyes look like autumn leaves, every color of gold, honey and orange imaginable and they seem to sparkle and dance with every word he speaks. He’s a real charmer, that’s for sure, and I love it. I didn’t just think that, NO, I won’t think things like that I scold myself, seriously Liz, get a grip!

“Oh, Ms. Parker is it? Well Mr. Evans, as usual, the answer is the same sir…no thanks.” I tease back at him nonchalantly, but I’m anything but…

I have to giggle when I see a look pass over his face…is that disappointment? Oh well, it disappeared as fast as I thought I saw it, I just give him another big smile.

“Well, if the answer is the same then I guess I’ll have my usual. How about the rest of you, the usual?” Max asks his friends as he hands me his menu, places his hands on the table in front of him, laces his fingers together and gives me a crooked little grin. God is he gorgeous! Wow! SHIT!@! There I go again…I have to stop thinking like that.

*

Michael


Kyle, Alex and I all grinned and nodded our assents at Max’s question, we’ll have our usual as usual and then I look up from my menu… I just have to ask, I’ve watched this dance long enough and it was time to get some answers…my friend deserves as much.

“Liz, do you ever date anyone?” I just have to know, hell…Max has to know. Max has been playing this same game for over three years now and we really didn’t know a whole lot about her or Maria for that matter. Kyle and Alex are both married but Max and I really are interested in these two waitresses. We razz Max about Liz all the time but truth be known I’m just as interested in that Maria girl as he is in Liz.

Liz looks over at me and obviously sees the seriousness of my expression and smiles at me as she shakes her head no,

“No Michael, as a matter of fact I don’t. I attend UT during the day and then homework, after that I come to work here from 6:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m. By the time I get home and get to bed it’s 3:00 a.m. and my first class starts at 10:00 a.m. so there isn’t a whole lot of time left in the day for anything else.” Liz’s expression takes on a seriousness that I have never seen on her before and I’m shocked at her response.

Max’s head jerked up and looked at Liz with a new found admiration and I could see the lights begin to blink off and on in his head. I could tell he had to know more and then he asks,

“What are you studying Liz?” I could tell he was shocked at her confession…the realization was written all over his face.

“Oh, I’m studying molecular biology. If I keep my 4.0 GPA I will be able to attend Harvard in the fall for graduate study on a full scholarship and then on toward my doctorate. I really want to study under Dr. Laura Holt so I’ve got to stay pretty focused if I want to achieve my goals.”

Liz smiled as she took our menu’s from our hands and wrote our orders down on her pad as we watched her, all of us slack jawed by her remark.

To say that we are impressed is an understatement. Here we thought we were dealing with a waitress at a diner all of these years. Not that we mind that she is a waitress but to learn the underlying depth of the waitress is a real shock.

“Wow, that is really impressive Liz. How far are you in your studies?” Alex asked, sounding a little awestruck.

“Well, I graduate with my Bachelor’s degree in May and I have been accepted to Harvard for the Fall semester so all I have to do now is keep up my grades, find a place to live, find a job and get myself moved before August. I attend UT because they offered me the best deal, otherwise I would have attended Harvard or Yale. Why spend that kind of money when another school is willing to educate for simply having a good GPA? Anyway, I guess Harvard wanted to make sure the incoming students are serious about their education before giving out the really good STUFF huh?” She answers with that gorgeous smile she has for everyone, I know Max would like to think that smile belongs to only him but she treats everyone the same.

I also know that Max is listening and watching her like a hawk looking for it’s next meal. We had no idea her life was so full and regimented. I know Max actually feels sorry for her right now, I have known him long enough to recognize the expressions change as thoughts run through his head.

He had graduated four years ago from UT with a degree in business and was being primed to take over the families oil business one day but he still likes working on the rigs more than he likes the office work. He keeps his hands on the internal workings but he has very good hired help to do the daily hum drum office details and besides his dad hasn’t fully retired yet but his dad’s business dealings are mostly on the other end of the oil business. While he attended school Max only worked in the summers and I can tell he truly admires Liz far more than he had before because of her tenacity and her achievements, hell we all do.

Then Liz looks at our somber faces and starts to giggle as she replies…

“Hey guys, this isn’t the end of the world here. Cheer up, do you want anything else?” And she smiles again.

“Only a date…” Max grins. Liz shrugs her shoulders at him and smiles as she turns and walks toward the order wheel. ‘Boy, Max if you only meant it’…she thinks to herself.


“Wow! Who would have thought? I had no idea she was anything but a waitress, and molecular biology…jeeze! That’s got to be some heavy crap.” Kyle says with awe in his voice.

“God, you better believe it. I barely made it through high school biology and those damned dead frogs.” Alex adds. We all laugh at him, he’s such a happy dude.

“Max, what’s got you thinking so hard over there? Aren’t you as shocked as we are?” I ask.

“Well, yes and no. I knew she was intelligent but, yeah, you could have bowled me over with a feather a minute ago. I’m surprised she has time to know where she’s supposed to be at any given minute during the day.”

Max has a very puzzled look on his face.
“Even if she did say yes when would she have time to go to go out on a date?” He asks to no one in particular…then I notice the wheels turning yet again, Max is starting to come up with a plan.

*
Max

I need to find out her schedule from Maria and I need to come in here alone so that I can talk to her by myself. I really need to make sure that I have a chance to get to know her before she moves back east.

So, before we leave the diner I have a chance to corner Maria and ask if Liz ever works week-ends and she tells me that she works every Saturday morning, that’s why she doesn’t work on Friday night. I smile, tip my hat and thank her and with a huge grin on my face I follow the crew out to the truck. I know where I’m going to be this Saturday morning…that’s for sure.

*~*~*
Last edited by mary mary on Mon Dec 07, 2009 5:58 pm, edited 16 times in total.
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"Age is just a state of mind"...I think that's mine? I could be wrong! I'm old, so sue me.
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mary mary
Obsessed Roswellian
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Re: You've Got To Hold On AU/M.L. Teen 8/26/09

Post by mary mary »

Pom: Thank you so much for your kind words, I hope you aren't disappointed. :)
Carolyn: I was going to wait until Best Friend was posted but I couldn't wait, just like a kid...I hope you enjoy it and if I've made any geographical errors let me know and I'll fix them. I checked the map for a lot of it and a lot of it is from memory but it has been years since I was in San Antonio so I hope I got it right.
Eve: thank you, it will all come together, I hope. Oh, and in the U.S., a wildcatter is an oil field worker...sorry, I should have made that more clear.
Natalie: thank you so much.
Jan: Thanks so much.
Hunter: Thank you!
Lilloucfer: Thanks, I like cool! :)
Ken: You are so right! :)

*~*~*


Chapter: 2



On Saturday morning Max headed to the diner alone for a change…He intended to find a way to get to know Liz Parker better before the end of the summer if it was the last thing he ever did.

When he arrived at the homey little diner on the outskirts of town he pulled in to his usual parking space only this time he was driving a Mercedes and although Liz knew the truck by sight she had no idea that Max also owned a Mercedes. She knew Max as just one of the rig workers that frequented the place and had never associated the name Evans with Evans Oil, not that it should make any difference. At least he hoped it doesn’t.

Liz noticed the tall good looking gentleman getting out of the silver vehicle and thought that he looked familiar but she didn’t put two and two together until he walked through the door and gave her his killer smile.

She couldn’t believe it, “Max?” she thought to herself. ‘Wow…doesn’t he clean up nice! Great fitting jeans, gawd!!!…great ass, oh my! Black Lucchese boots, great tailored western cut shirt, no hat, hair nicely combed with a little bit of bangs hanging down on his forehead, it looks like he might have done that on purpose, maybe not though, it looks so natural.’ and she sighed out loud…“OH. MY.” …and whose car is he driving?

Max walked over and took a seat in Liz’s section and waited…he could tell by the look on Liz’s face that she was surprised to see him there and he got this funny feeling in the pit of his stomach, he couldn’t figure out what it was he was feeling but it felt damn good. As a matter of fact it happened every time he saw her now that he thought about it.

It didn’t take Liz very long to show up at his table with his usual coffee and a menu in her hand and as she handed Max the menu she smiled down at him…’God he’s gorgeous’ and she catches herself before she lets loose with another sigh.

Max:

“Good morning Max…where’s the rest of the crew?” Liz asks.

“Well, today is kind of special Liz. I wanted to see if I could convince you to have dinner with me without the others trying to horn in on my time.”

I feel just like a teenaged kid asking for a date to the prom but I plaster a smile on my face…trying to convince myself that I’m not nervous as hell and trying to convince Liz that I am serious at that same time.

Liz smiles down at me, then looks at me and says very seriously …”Max, don’t you think that line is getting a little old?”

I’m shocked, she doesn’t believe me!

“Oh God Liz, this isn’t a line…honest.”

I can’t believe she thought I was feeding her a line, now I am now practically begging…I never beg! Shit!@!! I’m telling myself to just calm down…just breathe deeply…there, that helps…I can’t let her see how nervous I really am.

“I really do want to take you out Liz…if you don’t want dinner then maybe a movie? Dancing? The zoo? A picnic? Anything Liz, honest, I’ll take you anywhere you want to go. Just say yes… I hate to beg, but if I thought it would help I’ll even get down on my knees.”

Boy, talk about desperate…shit, I wouldn’t blame her if she threw my sorry ass out the door. Okay Evans, just work with what you’ve got here, you’ve done this before. So I give her a shy grin and raise my eyebrows in question…don’t hold anything back I tell myself.

Liz starts to giggle, she thinks this is funny!?!

“The zoo huh? Max, please, just stop it.” Then she looks down at me and smiles shyly and says,

“What would you say if I said yes?” Now my hearts doing flip flops in my chest and I think I’m about to pass out…

“Well” I drawl…I’m cool remember? Yeah…cool! Bull shit!

I finally get a grip and grin, continuing hopefully,

“If you say yes I’ll sit here and wait for you until you get off work or I’ll come back when you tell me to or I can pick you up at your place…What do you say?”

Desperate again…I wouldn’t blame her if she took off running…

I am practically begging her now and I don’t give a damn what it sounds like…

*
Liz


“Tell you what Max…I get off at 2:00 today and then I have some errands to do. What time did you have in mind anyway.”

I smiled, if I am going out to dinner I need something to wear. Apparently the man with the Mercedes doesn’t plan on dinner in a diner I think to myself. I think he might actually be nervous about this, he seems to be acting a little differently this morning.

*

Max

“Would you like to go to dinner and then maybe a movie or something?”

Right about that time I wanted to get up and wrap her in my arms and twirl her around the restaurant but I was cool, I was a wreck but I wasn’t about to let her know that, no siree by God I was going to be cool if it killed me…and it just might!

“Dinner and a movie sounds nice Max, I haven’t been out in so long I don’t think I remember how to use a fork. I usually grab a sandwich and a book and sit at my table and study while I munch…so yes, dinner and a movie will be very nice.”

Liz seemed extremely calm about all of this compared to me, I was dancing a silent jig in my head and she seemed extremely comfortable with the entire scenario, but I’m cool…remember that, okay, moving forward here…

“Great, where and when? If you get off at 2:00 how about 3:00?”

Now I’m acting like a fool again…stay cool man, just stay cool.

Liz started laughing this time, she’s killing me here….

“Max, how about six or so. That way I’ll have time to get my errands finished and get dressed. I’ll write down my address for you and my phone number. Now, did you want something besides coffee?”

She’s too damned relaxed to suit me, at least she could show a little enthusiasm!

“Yes, I think I’ll have some breakfast…do you get a break, I could wait and we could eat together. What do you say Liz?” I ask, using my best Texas drawl and then I added a smile just for good measure, I’m cool! Remember that, I wish the hell I could remember that!

Liz

God, he’s getting a little pushy here, but then that could be a good thing …I really do feel comfortable with him. I have been waiting on him for over three years and he is always very polite and pleasant and very good looking doesn’t hurt either so I think I’m going to go for the whole program, watch this.

“Tell me what you want to eat and then drink your coffee Max, I’ll be back in half an hour with our orders. How’s that?”

I ask with a smile on my face…I really am trying to control myself and not show my excitement, I don’t want to look like I’m desperate or something, just stay calm is my motto…yeah, right…stay calm!

Max is beaming from ear to ear…can you see that…

“That’s excellent Liz. I’ll have the breakfast special with pancakes and I’ll be here when you get back.”

Oh he’s got that killer smile on his face again…Oh God!...breathe Liz, just breathe.

I return Max’s smile and place his order in the back of my order book for a few minutes while I go and pick up a full coffee pot and head out to make some more customers happy. About 15 minutes later I turn in Max’s order after having added a side of pancakes for myself and then I deliver orders to my last few tables before clocking out for my break. It was another 5 minutes before I was seated across from Max enjoying my breakfast and the view sitting across from me, I must say he certainly is easy on the eyes.

*

Max had the same feelings as Liz did as he watched her dig into her pancakes. ‘Oh God she’s beautiful’ he thought to himself, he didn’t know if he could hold it together until tonight he was so excited.

*

My break was over much too soon to suit me and I told Max that I would see him around 6:00 and then I got up to leave. Max grabs my hand and kisses the top of my knuckles as I start to walk away and I look down at him in utter shock…

“Liz, you don’t know how happy you’ve made me, honest.”

I don’t know what to do or how to act so I just give him a shy smile and say

“Thank you Max, I’ll see you later.”

I feel like I’m floating…I only hope he is as sweet as I think he is…I’m not in the mood for a wrestling match with some burly oil rig worker that’s for sure. I really don’t know what I’m feeling…everything is a jumbled up mess of giddiness, enthusiasm and apprehension all at the same time. I only hope I’m not making a mistake. It doesn’t seem right to me to start having dates after all of this time with just a few more months left in this state. God, what I have done? But he’s gorgeous I tell myself and as I clock back in.

*
Max

I left the diner and headed to my office to check on some business and to sign some checks before I headed on home to get ready for what I thought was one of the most important dates of My life. I have waited over three years for this and I wanted everything to be perfect, and if I had anything to do with it, it was going to be. I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face to save my soul. She finally said yes!!! Could life get any better…I can’t remember anything ever making me this happy before.

*~*~*

Back at the diner there was a young waitress who was having the same problem and saying a silent prayer that she hadn’t made a mistake in accepting Max’s offer.

*

Liz got off at 2:00 that afternoon and headed for the bank where she made a deposit via the ATM machine and then headed to the little boutique around the corner to find something to wear for the evening. She found a very cute little basic black dress that could be dressed up or down, depending on the occasion, and some nice black beads and matching black stud earrings. She already had a nice pair of black leather three inch heels that would look very good with her outfit and she was all set. She even bought a pretty clip for her hair since she decided she would wear it up for a change. It had been a very long time since she dressed in anything but jeans and she was looking forward to this. The last time she had worn a dress was to her father’s funeral and she didn’t want to think about that. This was going to be nice, she just knew it was. She needed something nice for a change and she smiled as she headed home to get ready for her dinner date.

By the time she got home it was almost 4:30 so she decided to pamper herself with a nice bubble bath instead of a shower and then she started to work some magic with the curling iron and to apply some make up. She hadn’t worn anything but lip gloss in so long she almost felt ridiculous putting the foundation, blush and mascara on, but when she was finished she was very pleased with herself. She wasn’t going to get her hopes up with the anticipation of great things happening between her and Max but she was certainly going to enjoy the evening, no doubt about that, these types of occasions didn’t happen to her very often and she was going to make the most of it.

*~*~*

Max was walking on cloud nine right along with Liz… he was so excited he could hardly contain himself. He had been hoping for this evening for three years and he was going to make it everything he had been dreaming of as he stopped at the florist and bought Liz a dozen white roses.

Soon he was at his own home getting ready. He showered and then decided on a black tailored Armani that he had purchased in New York on his last trip there on business, a dark maroon shirt and a black and maroon silk tie finished things off. He had taken his shoes in to be shined last month and hadn’t worn them since so he gave them a quick going over with a chamois and when he stood before his mirror he was pleased with the result. He only hoped Liz would be pleased as well. He had made dinner reservations for 7:00 at one of the nicer restaurants in the San Antonio area as soon as he arrived at his office that morning and he did a print out of the movies that were playing at the local theaters so that Liz would be able to choose something she would like to see. He couldn’t think of anything else before leaving so at 5:30 he felt ready to start his evening. He still had that strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, but it was still a good feeling as he smiled to himself and locked his front door…’this is going to be wonderful’ he thought.

At 5:50 p.m. Max pulled into the parking lot of Liz’s apartment complex and headed toward apartment 3 B. She was on the third floor of a very large, very well kept complex. Max figured that there were many college students living here since the parking lot was full of the smaller vehicles that college kids usually drove. He made his way through the lobby and to the elevators without any trouble at all and when he got off the elevator on the third floor he was directly across from 3 B. He walked the short distance and knocked lightly on Liz’s door and she was there in a flash. She had seen him arrive through her living room window and when she saw him get out of his car he took her breath away. ‘God, I can’t believe I have a date with this gorgeous man’ she thought to herself.

“Hi Max, right on time…you look very handsome, I almost didn’t recognize you without your Stetson.” She teased.

“Hello Liz, you look absolutely beautiful and, in case I forget, thank you for allowing me the privilege of taking you out.”

Then he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek and handed her the roses. Her skin felt as soft as the petals on the roses and was just as smooth he thought to himself. his stomach started to flutter and he couldn’t get over the giddy feelings he was having, he felt like a seventeen year old kid picking up his high school crush for the first time. ‘God, this is worse than those dance lessons my mother made me take as a kid’ he continued with his thoughts.

Liz looked at the flowers and then up into Max’s eyes and she saw something there she couldn’t put her finger on…’His eyes are mesmerizing’ she thought to herself and she had to get away from him to collect her thoughts and to take control of herself. She excused herself to put her flowers in some water, that should give her time to get herself together and not make a fool of herself before the evening got started.

She had a vase in the top of her kitchen cabinet over the refrigerator and started hauling a kitchen chair over toward the cabinet in order to reach it and Max chuckled at the sight and gently guided her away from the chair and reached up over the refrigerator and opened the cabinet door for her and pointed to the vase…she nodded and he retrieved it for her and gave her a big smile…

“A little short there aren’t you?” he chuckled…

Liz looked up at him shyly and shook her head in agreement.

“A few extra inches would come in handy once in awhile.”

She said as she took the vase over to the sink to rinse it off and to fill it with water before putting the roses in it. They were positively gorgeous and she told Max so.

“They are my favorite Max.”

“I kind of thought so. I noticed that you would occasionally wear a white rose in your hair so I figured you must like them.” Max confessed.

“Oh…well… my father used to send me white roses on my birthday and for special occasions and I always wear one in remembrance of him. I miss him quite a bit actually, but that’s another story. Are you ready?” She confessed a little personal information to him as she reached for her purse.

“Yes, but we have a couple of minutes. Our reservation is for 7:00 and I have a printout of the current movies that are playing for us to go over. We can make the last show for any one of them very easily with time to spare if that’s what you would like to do. We can always do something else if you want to. I’m open for any suggestions Liz, as long as we do it together.” Liz smiled and sat her purse back down on the table by the front door.

Max didn’t know if he was being too pushy or just how to handle the situation but he was still walking on cloud nine, he just didn’t want to scare her off.

“Oh, well, let’s check out the movies first then and see if there’s something we would both enjoy. What types of movies do you like Max?”

She didn’t seem to be uncomfortable with him so he continued to follow her lead.

“The truth? Most comedies, light drama…James Bond, The Bourne series was good…stuff like that. Marley and Me was fun, how about you?”

“Pretty much the same…if there isn’t anything to our liking then we can just play it by ear. We could even rent something and watch it here if you would like.” Liz suggested. “I can pop some pop corn for us.” And she gave Max one of her killer smiles.

Max smiled and said…”Liz, I have a home theater… we could always go there.” Then he noticed the look on Liz’s face…it wasn’t really fear but it showed a little apprehension and he back pedaled pretty fast…

“Maybe that would be a bad idea for a first date…let’s just go to dinner and then the video store. We will come back here unless you would rather go have a cocktail later.”

Liz relaxed a little after his suggestion that they come back to her place and then she confessed that she didn’t really drink all that much. It wasn’t that she was opposed to it, she just didn’t enjoy it and Max just smiled. ‘She is definitely a keeper’ he thought to himself as he helped her on with her jacket and they headed out of the apartment. There would be plenty of time for her to get to know him before she had to leave in August and he definitely hoped they could come up with a feasible plan before she left that they could both live with because he was positive he wanted her in his life on a long term basis. So far she was everything he thought she would be.

*~*~*

The dining room of the restaurant overlooked the city skylight and it was beautiful. They could see for miles since the restaurant was located on the top floor of one of the taller buildings in the city. Most people in Texas weren’t too thrilled with all of the flat lands but there were a few hills around San Antonio, still it possessed a beauty all of it’s own. Just as the majestic mountains of the Sierra Cascades did in the NW of the U.S.. Another one of God’s beautiful paintings that man had adorned with buildings and concrete. Max loved it all and he so wanted to introduce Liz to the wealth of beauty the world had to offer. Max looked over at her beautiful face and had to smile…Liz took notice and wanted to know …

“What Max? What are you looking at?” She questioned with a shy smile, he was making her slightly uncomfortable.

“I’m enjoying you Liz, you are one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen and I feel so fortunate to be sitting here with you tonight, that I am overwhelmed. Please don’t let me make you uncomfortable but you asked and I have to be honest with you.”

Max noticed the slight blush form on Liz’s cheeks but he had to tell her how he felt, how he had been feeling for years. Maybe she wouldn’t like being with him and this would be the last chance he would ever have to make her understand.

About that time their waiter arrived at their table with water, wine glasses and a basket of bread, a tray of appetizers and some butter. Max nodded his appreciation and the man exited the scene without a word. Liz took in all of this and noticed that every table had their own waiter and then her practical side took over…’how do these guys make any money in tips if they only have one table to wait on?’ Her question would be answered in short order since she took this opportunity to read her menu and noticed there were no prices on it. What the…how would she know what was acceptable?

Max noticed the frown on Liz’s brow and asked…

“Liz, is something wrong…isn’t there anything on there that you like?” He was starting to get concerned…

“Oh Max, that’s not the problem, there aren’t any prices on this menu.” She said as she leaned forward and whispered across the table to him.

Max chuckled,

“There isn’t supposed to be Liz, just order what you want. It’s alright, honest.”

“But Max,….” Max held up his hand,

“Trust me Liz, I know there aren’t any prices on your menu. There isn’t supposed to be, honest.” Max was getting quite tickled at her concern…

“What do you mean, ‘there isn’t supposed to be’, how do you know how much something costs?” Liz queried.

“Honey, none of the ladies menu’s have prices, only the men’s do.” Max was trying to contain his urge to laugh, her expression was priceless.

“Why is that? You get to know what it costs and I don’t?” She was starting to get a little miffed with the whole idea.

“Because, now you can order what you want for dinner and never be concerned about whether or not you should or shouldn’t. I think it’s a great idea myself.”

Max nodded his head in agreement with himself and smiled at her for assurance as he popped a black olive into his mouth.

“Well, how about that! It sounds a little chauvinistic to me.” Liz muttered and started to contemplate her options more seriously while Max sat and enjoyed her from across the table. ‘She is just about the cutest thing I have ever met’ he thought to himself.

Finally Max made a suggestion…

“Liz, do you like Chateau Briand?”

“Well yes, doesn’t everybody?” Liz answered…she had filet many times but never served according to the description on the menu, it would give her a chance to try something familiar prepared a new way.

“How about we get Chateau Briand for two and a nice bottle of wine? Does that sound good?”

Liz smiled at Max and scrunched up her shoulders in happiness before answering…

“That sounds positively delicious Max.” She smiled…

“Good, shall we just let them serve whatever comes with it or would you like to change some of the sides?”

“No…let’s just see what they have back there to surprise us with.”

“Alright then, Chateau for two with all the trimmings.” And Max was still floating he was so happy.

“So Liz, tell me, where are you from originally?”

They continued to enjoy the appetizer plate and the cutting board with fresh baked bread that was placed on the table prior to being presented with their menus and each was enjoying the other’s company…

“Oh just a little town in New Mexico, Roswell to be exact. My parents owned a small restaurant there, an alien themed restaurant actually, that’s where I started to do waitress work. I can be more flexible doing that kind of work than I can with a regular 8 to 5 job. I can work as many or as few hours as I need in order to keep up with school and still live comfortably, as long as I’m not too extravagant. Mr. Johnson, the owner is very understanding with the students that work for him. Besides, he doesn’t have to pay benefits on employees that aren’t full time.” Liz smiled and continued… “My grandmother left me a small inheritance but I don’t want to tap into that in case I really need to and my parents left me the restaurant of course. I have a general manager taking care of it for me because I haven’t decided what to do with it yet. The family apartment is still up over the restaurant area but I haven’t the heart to go through it yet. My Mom passed away a few years ago and then my dad last year so I’ve left things the way they were. You never know what kind of lumps are headed your way until they rear their ugly heads.” And then she gave Max a big smile and asked about him and his job.

It took Max awhile to answer Liz’s question about himself because he was still wrapped up in the fact that she was all alone in the world and working herself ragged to achieve her goals. What a strong person for such a tiny little thing he thought to himself.

“Max, what about you? You and the rest of the guys?” Liz looked over at Max and he seemed to be in another world… “Max?”

“Huh…Oh, sorry Liz I got lost there for a minute.”

“I can see that. I asked, what about you and the other guys. The oil business must be doing very well for you to be driving that beauty out in the parking lot.”

Max had to chuckle at the way she put things,

“Well, yes it is, sort of. Michael has a degree in archaeology and scopes out new wells for me to drill. Alex is a computer genius who programs all of our equipment and is also married to my sister Isabelle and Kyle is a mechanical engineer and it’s obvious what his duties are. He is also married to his high school sweetheart Tess who is a registered nurse. And that leaves me, the scallywag of the bunch. I graduated from UT with a bachelor’s degree in business and then went to graduate school there as well. I work in the field because offices drive me crazy, I generally go in on Saturday mornings and check out the financial statements and read the mail for the week and by two or three in the afternoon I’ve had all I can handle for one week and I am ready to head back out to the fields and get dirty again come Monday morning.”

Max smiled over at Liz and noticed she was frowning at him and he just had to know what her problem was…

“Liz, do you have a question?”

“Well sort of…Max Evans…are you Evans Oil by any chance?”

Max chuckled at her question, he thought she knew…

“Yes Liz, I thought you knew that.”

“No, I had no idea. I thought you guys just worked the fields like the rest of the men that came into the diner. Wow, talk about surprises.”

Liz looked over at Max and shivered, one of the wealthiest men in Texas, probably the world if the truth was known and here she was worried about the price of a meal…he must think she’s a real dumb ass…jeeeese…could she get any dumber?

Max smiled at her and reached across the table and took her hand in his and asked,

“Does it make a difference? You know? Does it matter that I’m a little rich?”

“A little rich…holy God Max…I would say that you are a little more than that wouldn’t you?” Liz was flabbergasted!

“Well, I’m still me. I haven’t changed in the last 60 seconds have I?”

“Well…I don’t know…maybe…I guess not. God Max…and I’m worried about the price of dinner over here.” She could hardly form a coherent sentence.

Now Max really started to laugh…

“It’s okay Liz. I like that about you, please, don’t change a thing okay…please.”

“Well Max, I don’t think I could if I tried. I’ll always be plain old Liz Parker.”

“Liz, there’s nothing plain about you, believe me…please don’t ever think that okay.”

And the evening just got better after that. They continued to question and answer each other and got acquainted and enjoyed a beautiful meal and then around 9:00 they headed to the video store to find something they both might enjoy and bought some ice cream at 31 flavors to take back to Liz’s apartment for some more fun and relaxation.

Max couldn’t have asked for a better evening and Liz was still on cloud nine so things were progressing very nicely.

They arrived back at Liz’s apartment around 10:00 and after Liz let them in she excused herself before getting the bowls for the ice cream and headed to her bedroom to take her shoes and jewelry off. She didn’t want to make herself too comfortable but the heels and earrings had to go. She let her hair down and made her way back to the living room wearing her black dress and a pair of huge fuzzy slippers. Max took one look at her in that get up and could only chuckle, Lord how he wanted to take her in his arms and hold her to him and never let her go…this getting acquainted was the pits he was already sure of what he wanted.

“Liz, you look positively adorable. Do you mind if I take my jacket and tie off and get a little comfortable as well?”

“Oh my no Max…take your shoes off too unless you think your feet will get cold. I don’t have any slippers that will fit you but I can get a blanket or something.”

Max was positively delighted with her, there was no other word to describe his feelings…She was so natural, relaxed and sure of herself, he gave her a huge grin and said…

“Liz, just the tie and jacket will be fine, I’m not in the least bit cold. What can I help you with?”

Liz returned his smile and said,

“You just get yourself comfortable in there and get the movie set up…I’ll only be a couple of minutes.”

And that’s about all the longer it took her to dish out the ice cream and to join Max on the couch…Max started the DVD and they sat in comfortable silence, eating their ice cream and watching their movie.

Max sneaked a peak at Liz every so often and it wasn’t too long before her head started to nod and then she was out, he smiled down at her and didn’t know if he should leave or finish the movie so he made a decision…he wasn’t ready to leave, whether she was asleep or not he wanted to be near her. So he pulled her over to him and got her comfortable, he pulled the small coverlet from the back of the couch over her and continued to watch the movie through to the end. When the credits started to roll Liz started to move in closer to Max to get more comfortable and he smiled down at her and kissed the top of her head before getting up from the couch. He put a pillow under her head and found his jacket, stuck his tie in his pocket and let himself out. This was one of the best nights of his life and he was looking forward to many more.

*~*~*
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"Age is just a state of mind"...I think that's mine? I could be wrong! I'm old, so sue me.
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mary mary
Obsessed Roswellian
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Joined: Fri Dec 12, 2008 9:45 pm

Re: You've Got To Hold On AU/M.L. ch. 3 Teen 9/4/09

Post by mary mary »

Eve: I agree...having no one is the worst feeling on earth. :(
Destiny: Hi there, you really should take a long whip to school with you and just set it on your desk... (tee hee) As for the steam, I'm still not sure. :D :) :D

*~*~*

Chapter: 3


The following morning Liz woke up on her couch covered in her afghan and wondered what in the hell was going on. She was still in her dress and her slippers were neatly placed on the floor next to the couch and then the lights came on in her head…

“Oh no!” She groaned, rubbing her forehead and trying to remember what had happened. The last thing that came to mind was watching a movie with Max…’Oh God’ she thought, I fell asleep and left the poor man sitting here all alone. “Damn it” she said aloud … “Damn, damn, damn.” What an awful thing to do…he probably thinks I’m the worst person on earth. “Ah damn!” She exclaimed aloud for the fifth time.

She straightened herself up and managed to put her feet into her slippers as she unwrapped herself from the afghan and stood …she stretched and headed to the bathroom for a quick stop before doing anything else. She thought maybe she could pull herself together and figure out how to handle this situation. After she took care of the necessities she headed to her bedroom and grabbed some jeans, a tank top and some clean underwear and headed back to the bathroom about the same time as her phone started ringing…She wondered who would be calling her at this time of the morning and then a thought crossed her mind as she made her way to her night stand…maybe it’s Max and she smiled.

“Hello…” she said uncertainly…

“Well good morning sleepy head, did you have a good rest?” The voice on the other end of the line said jokingly…He could just imagine how she was looking right now and had a feeling of joy spread throughout his entire body. He didn’t know why she affected him the way she did but he liked it…of that he was certain.

“Oh God, Max! I am soooo sorry. Can you forgive me? I am so embarrassed!” Liz felt just horrible that she fell asleep after such a great dinner, a very expensive great dinner she was sure.

Max chuckled, “Liz, there’s nothing to forgive. You were tired and you fell asleep. At least you didn’t do it in a theater. You know you snore…Right?”

“NO!!! You’re kidding!…Right? You are, aren’t you?” She was horrified at the thought of snoring and drooling and God knows what else…oh this is awful she thought to herself.

Max chuckled again…

“Yes Liz, I’m kidding. You were adorable. I am so sorry that I kept you up, I know you must be exhausted with the schedule you keep. I just wanted to thank you for spending the evening with me and wanted to know if we could do it again sometime.”

Liz was so relieved that Max was not upset that she said the first thing that came to her mind without even thinking…

“Of course Max…when?” And as soon as the words left her mouth she wanted to grab them from the air and put them back…this was just awful.

“Well, how about breakfast?” Max wasn’t in the least bit upset, as a matter of fact he was elated.

“Oh Max, you don’t have to do that, I mean it’s okay…I don’t know what made me say that.” Liz was apologizing all over the place.

“Liz, I know I don’t have to, I want to, now how about 20 minutes. That’s how long it will take me to get to your place. Or do you have plans for today?”

“Not really…it’s my day off so there’s laundry, dusting, vacuuming, and cleaning the bathroom and kitchen. That about covers it and then tonight it’s another chapter to read before class tomorrow. Any of those things sound like fun to you Max?” She queried.

Max laughed again and said,

“I wield a mean mop Liz and I’m sure that between the two of us we can make short work of the place and be off to, let’s say, brunch in about an hour and a half.”

“Max, you’re nuts. I’m not letting you clean my apartment. Why don’t we make it a lunch date and that way I can get my chores done before noon and we can spend some time together without me worrying about anything. I could let it go but if I do it will just take twice as long later. How does that sound?”

“Fine Liz, if you insist. Noon it is, see you then.” And he hung up.

Liz was in seventh heaven by this time. She quickly stripped her bed and grabbed the rest of her dirty laundry and shoved it in the middle of the sheets, tied them up and headed to the laundry room. She had a coin purse full of change and started loading washing machines with clothes and detergent, deposited the proper amount of coins and turned everything on. By the time the clothes were washed she could have the kitchen and bathroom done and then put the laundry in the dryers while she dusted and vacuumed the rest of the apartment. She could be finished by 10:30 and then she could shower and start reading her assignment for tomorrow. Maybe she would have everything done by noon. She was now running on pure adrenalin, life was getting very good for Miss Liz Parker and she liked it. She usually took her sweet time doing her chores on Sunday, since it was her only real day off, and would read in the laundry room but today she had to multi-task and she was certainly no stranger to that. She would be able to relax with Max, and then she started to smile…nothing could wipe it from her face…ever.

Right at noon there was a knock on Liz’s door and she opened it with a huge smile on her face. She was dressed in her tank top and jeans and Max had on his usual western attire and looked absolutely beautiful in Liz’s eyes. He held a single white rose out to her as she stood there looking at him and she didn’t know what to do. She wanted to kiss him so badly and knew she shouldn’t so she did the next best thing…she took the flower and stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. Max bent down and brushed a light kiss on her forehead and said in a very low, sexy drawl…

“Hello Liz.” And Liz melted, she turned 50 shades of pink and red and led Max into the living room.

“Sorry for the smell of bleach, it will be gone soon but it takes time for it to dissipate.”

Max chuckled at her…’she’s such a doll’ he thought to himself…so unpretentious. I know my mother is going to love her and dad is going to be so pleased, I can’t wait to introduce them and then he had a brainstorm.

“Liz, are you free for the rest of the day?”

“Yes Max, why?”

“Well I don’t want to make any plans if you have to be back at any special time.”

“No, I’ve done everything I needed to do, even my homework, which really surprised me, but it was a short review chapter so no, I don’t have any more plans.”

“Good, we can have a nice leisurely lunch over at the river walk and then maybe later some dinner, what do you say?”

“I think that sounds wonderful Max. There’s a book store over there that I’ve been meaning to look into…maybe, if we have time, we could check it out?”

“That sounds great, so shall we?”

And so they went…off to enjoy the day together and while Liz was checking out books Max managed to call his parents home to see if they had any plans for dinner…to say they were surprised at their son’s question was an understatement. Max had never, in all of his 28 years, invited himself to dinner…with a female yet…never, so of course they were going to be home. Max told them to please make it casual because he had not told Liz where they were going for dinner and they were both in jeans. Diane assured him that she would keep it casual…”How about a barbecue at 6:00?”

“Oh Mom, that would be great. We’ll see you then. You’re going to love her Mom…she couldn’t have breakfast with me because she needed to do her laundry and clean her apartment so we had lunch instead. She’s your kind of people Mom, not a pretentious bone in her body. She’s graduating from UT in May and then off to Harvard on a full scholarship for graduate study in molecular biology. Her parents are both dead and she has a restaurant in Roswell, New Mexico. Oh, here she comes, we’ll see you in a couple of hours.” And Max hung up on his mother who was standing there smiling like the cat that ate the canary.

“Who was that Diane?” Philip asked his wife.

“Max. I think our son is in love Philip, he’s bringing a girl to dinner.”

“Max is bringing a girl to dinner? Well my God, will wonders ever cease. Did he say who she is?”

“Not who, but what. She’s a senior at UT, she graduates in May and then is off to Harvard for graduate study in molecular biology on a full scholarship and then he had to hang up because, apparently, she doesn’t know she’s coming to dinner over here and he needs to tell her.”

“So what your saying is, maybe we’re having guests for dinner and maybe we aren’t depending on whether or not she agrees?”

“Well, why wouldn’t she agree…look who’s asking?”

“Diane, you are biased.”

“Yes I am, and I’d better make sure to take some steaks out of the freezer for our barbecue.”

“Barbecue…what kind of dinner is that?”

“The kind your son requested, that’s what kind. Apparently they are dressed in jeans so it has to be casual. She couldn’t go out to breakfast with him because she had laundry and cleaning to do before she could do anything else.”

“God, who does that sound like?” Philip grunted.

“Don’t knock it Philip, you have to have your priorities straight if you’re going to get along in this world.”

“I know Diane, but what’s wrong with putting some fun before everything else.”

“Philip, there’s is nothing wrong with fun, you know that and I know that but if you haven’t made time for fun then it’s not fun because you can’t relax due to other things on your mind.”

“If you say so Diane.” And Philip smiled, there was no way he was going to win this argument…they have been having it for over thirty five years and she’ll never change.

“Let’s go check out the steaks and make sure we have everything we need for dinner, since we’re the one’s doing the cooking today we need to start ‘planning’.”

“Shut up Philip and start ‘planning’”

They both laughed as they left the study to check out the grocery situation. Today was the cooks day off so things were going to be very simple and hardy. Diane had a wonderful chocolate cake recipe so she figured she would just make that for dessert and they could have steaks, baked potatoes and a large salad for dinner. That was easy enough and they could eat on the built in patio off the kitchen. As a matter of fact this would be very nice since the house sat on a slight hill and overlooked the lake. It would be very nice indeed, something they hadn’t done in a long time.

*~*~*

When Liz came out of the book store she noticed Max was putting his cell phone in his pocket and she asked

“Is everything alright Max?” Max smiled down at her and replied

“Of course…why do you ask?”

“Well, you were talking to someone and I just wondered if there was a problem or something.”

“No, as a matter of fact everything is wonderful. Did you find the books you were looking for?”

“Yes, there was a John Steinbeck novel that I wanted and when I checked e-bay the other day it was listed in this store. I haven’t had a chance to get over here before now and it was still here, I am so happy I found it.”

“Good. Would you like to take a boat ride?” Max asked and Liz nodded an assent.

She had been here many times but never took the time to take the river boat ride. It looked like a lot of fun. And so they found a bench at one of the boat stations and waited for a boat to come along. Max didn’t know when he was going to break the news to Liz about their dinner plans but he was sure the right time would pop up…it had to or he would be parked in front of his parents home and she still wouldn’t know where they were eating.

*

When they boarded the boat Liz noticed the many shops that had river side entrances only, she knew there were many businesses along the river but had never taken the time to enjoy them before. She was always in a rush to get somewhere else so this was a welcomed change of pace for her and it was also nice to be enjoying it with Max. He certainly was an attentive date that’s for sure. She didn’t want to get her hopes up for anything long term but she was certainly taken with the young man. Her parents would be so proud of her. They had both accused her of never taking any time to enjoy life and she was definitely enjoying this. She only hoped they were smiling down on her right now because she was thinking about them quite a lot lately.

Max sat back in his seat and leisurely put his arm on the back of the bench behind Liz and crossed his right ankle over his left knee. ‘This is great!’ he thought to himself. She is so much fun to be with and seems to be intrigued with everything. She’s like a sponge…she soaks up information like it was water, he thought to himself. Liz turned slightly to smile at Max and then returned her attention to the guide on the boat. The boat ran through the San Antonio river that made up the river walk with the old trees that were hundreds of years old, branches hanging over the banks like a protective umbrella, and it was breathtaking to Liz. She knew a lot of it had a lot to do with the company she was with and she only hoped the feeling never left, it was all so new to her. She also knew that it was because she would have someone to share the experience with and that made it doubly enjoyable. It reminded her of the pictures she had seen of Venice with all of its’ canals and bridges, sans trees, like something on a postcard.

After their boat ride it was close to 4:30 and Max asked Liz if she had ever taken the tour of The Alamo…

“Not really, I’ve driven by but never took the time to actually stop and go through it,
why?”

“Well, we’re here. Why don’t we just go over and take the tour. It doesn’t take long and it is very interesting. It’s part of our heritage you know.”

Liz grinned up at Max and shook her head…

“I know it’s part of our heritage Max…so okay, let’s go over.”

And so our young couple headed over to the Alamo and Liz was very impressed. It wasn’t as large as she thought it would be…most of the size of the place was actually the entrance. The rest of it was small by today’s standards and thinking of all of the lives that were lost here made her shiver. She was very quiet after their tour and Max asked her if she was alright…

“Of course Max…it’s just amazing to think of all of the lives that have been lost preserving our nation and how many more will be.”

“What do you mean Liz, will be?” Max was very puzzled at her analogy.

“Oh nothing…it just seems like it never ends doesn’t it?”

Max thought about it for a minute and then nodded in assent. Then he led her to the car and told her they were going to dinner.

“Oh, where are we going to have dinner at this hour and looking like this Max?”

“My parents’ home, they’re expecting us.”

“Oh God Max, you’re kidding…I can’t meet your parents looking like this.”

Max chuckled,

“Sure you can Liz. You’ll see that my mother probably looks the same as you…she lives in jeans and boots. Honest, she has horses for pets…do you like horses?”

“Are you sure Max…please, don’t lie to me and yes I like horses very much.”

“Liz…I am going to make a promise to you right here and now and I want you to remember it for the rest of your life…I will never lie to you, never.”

“For the rest of my life Max?”

“Yes Liz, for the rest of your life.”

Then Liz got very quiet and finally answered…

“Oh!” She was one puzzled young lady…unless he planned on killing her soon the rest of her life sounded like an awfully long time.

Max just smiled…’that got her attention’ he thought to himself and he drove toward his parents home.

*~*~*
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"Age is just a state of mind"...I think that's mine? I could be wrong! I'm old, so sue me.
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mary mary
Obsessed Roswellian
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Joined: Fri Dec 12, 2008 9:45 pm

Re: You've Got To Hold On AU/M.L. ch. 4 Teen 9/8/09

Post by mary mary »

Eve: Thank you so much for the fb Eve. :)

*~*~*

Chapter: 4

When Max started to wind around the circular driveway Liz noticed that they seemed to be climbing. There weren’t that many hills around but Max’s parents apparently found one.

The scene that came into view when they rounded the last curve was positively breathtaking. It was the beginning of Spring and, although it was only 5:45 or so, the sun had started it’s descent and the view over looking Mitchell Lake was breathtaking, Liz looked over at Max and smiled, “It’s beautiful Max.”

“I’m glad you like it Liz. Mom fell in love with the lake when she and dad first met and dad bought this property for her as a wedding gift. She’s the one that designed the house and landscaping and dad was never happier. I think you’ll like them Liz.” Max said with a smile on his face…he was so happy he probably could have flown by his own power, he couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out just what it was about this little brunette that had him so intrigued.

“Max, I’m not worried about me liking them so much as I’m worried about them liking me.” She said as she bit her lower lip nervously…

Max turned to look at her and then pulled his car over to the side of the driveway, just out of view of the house, and leaned over and took Liz’s hands in his.

“Liz, they are going to love you…please relax and just be yourself okay. They are probably as nervous as you are.” Max wasn’t as reassuring as he’d hoped…

“Oh, then they know I’m coming?” And now she was even more nervous…

“Of course they know you’re coming…do you think I would bring you to dinner without letting them know we were coming to dinner. I don’t usually have dinner with my folks. This is a first for them too.” Boy, that’s all she needed to hear, smooth move Max.

“What do you mean a first…you mean you don’t see your folks? Why not? Max, you need to change that because you never know how long you are going to have them with you.” And Liz started to shudder, a little of the nervousness left and was replaced with some shock and then she couldn’t stop rambling, he could tell she was near tears.

Max reached over and pulled her into him and hugged her close, letting her rest her head on his shoulder as he ran his fingers up and down her back in a soothing motion. He knew exactly what she was talking about and it did make him think, but he needed her to calm down, thank God for bench seats otherwise one of them would have been very uncomfortable.

“Shhh, shhh, Liz, it’s okay…I will try to be more of a son, honest. Now shall we continue, we’ll be late if we don’t, okay?”

Max was sorry he confessed his lack of concern for his parents…it certainly wasn’t anything he did consciously. It was something he, like everyone else, took for granted…that they would always be there.

“Sure Max…I’m sorry for getting so emotional, I don’t usually do that.” Liz felt terrible for her outburst, she didn’t know what had gotten into her, it must be meeting Max’s parents without any forewarning and the fact that she really didn’t know Max that well either. Something was out of whack here and she had to pull herself together quickly otherwise this could turn into a real disaster. She couldn’t really say she was uncomfortable with Max, quite the contrary, but she was feeling things she couldn’t recognize and she wasn’t totally comfortable with them. Feelings of familiarity maybe? But that’s impossible, I don’t really know him, it can’t be that.

“It’s okay Liz. I can appreciate how this must seem to you and I don’t want you to be overwhelmed…they are just people like everyone else. I didn’t mean for it to sound as though I never see my parents…” Oh shit, here goes he thought to himself… “It’s just that I have never brought a girl home to dinner before.” Oh God, Max thought, he noticed the look on Liz’s face and she looked positively terrified.

“Yeah, some of the richest people on earth is who they are.” Liz mumbled to herself but Max heard her none the less and chuckled at the remark,

“Honest Liz, I think you’ll like them. At least I hope you like them.” And then Max started to get a little nervous about the whole thing…my word, what was she doing to him? He had a mountain of strange feelings running rampant in his body and he wasn’t sure how to handle them.

Soon Max pulled into the driveway of his childhood home and there was nothing pretentious about it at all. It was your run of the mill ranch style home that spread out over a very large area and sort of disappeared under a blanket of very old, very large trees. The house was deceiving at first sight, a whole lot larger than it appeared to be. Very big but nothing fancy, sort of like Max, nothing fancy or pretentious just a big heart. Liz smiled…maybe she could relax up here after all and about that time a very tall gray haired gentleman dressed in jeans and a very pretty middle aged woman with long blondish hair also dressed in jeans came through the front door to greet them. Max was right, they are just people and Liz smiled at the two waiting for them and Philip and Diane Evans were thrilled. The looks on their faces were gleaming with pride and love. Philip squeezed Diane’s shoulder and whispered, “I think you’re right Diane…Max is in love and I know why.” Diane just smiled at the two young people headed their way and said “mmm hmmm.” And gave her husbands hand a little squeeze in return.

Max gave his mom a big hug and shook his dad’s hand as he gave him a hug and a pat on the back, man style, and then he introduced Liz who was waiting patiently for the familial greetings to be over.

“It’s very nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Evans.” Liz said as she shook their hands and then Diane pulled the young girl into her and gave her a big hug just like she had done for her son.

“Liz, you must call us Philip and Diane, please.” Diane said smiling.

“Well, alright.” Liz said bashfully and then smiled at the warm welcome she received from Max’s parents. They seemed very nice and Liz started to relax immediately. Max was pleased as punch with the way things were going as he thought to himself… ‘This is just great! Just great!!! and he stood back and smiled at the whole group.

(‘See, I told you that you would like my mom’ I don’t lie….’)

Soon they were all congregated in the kitchen and Liz was busy setting the table while Max was getting drinks for everyone. Philip was barbecuing the steaks and Diane was finishing up the salad and getting the bread ready to pop into the oven to heat up. Everyone had a little job to do and Liz was tickled pink that they would allow her to help, she felt like part of a family again. It had been a long time since she had that feeling and she almost started to cry but knew she should keep it together and so she did the best she could. ‘This is wonderful’ she thought to herself. She must remember to send Diane a thank you note for her hospitality, she hadn’t been to anyone’s home for dinner since she was in high school when she used to go to her friend Serena’s home for dinner and that was a long time ago.

Soon everything was ready and they were all seated at the table on the patio and Liz couldn’t take her eyes off the lake, the sun had set and the moon was leaving ripples of light on the water as the wind blew slightly. It was beautiful…

“Liz, do you like the water?” Philip asked.

“Well, there isn’t a lot of water around Roswell, but we had a lake out in Frazier Woods that my friends and I would camp at when I was younger. It was a lot of fun but that was a long time ago.”

“Well, maybe Max can bring you out one week-end when it’s nice and we can spend a day out on the lake and you can spend the night. Would you like that?”

“Well, that sounds lovely but I don’t have week-ends off. I only have Sunday off and I have to get things done otherwise they just pile up. I would love to come out and spend the day on the lake but it would have to be during a break from school.”

Philip looked at Diane and remembered their earlier conversation and nodded toward Liz and simply said,

“I see. Well we’ll just have to make some plans then won’t we?”

And then Diane almost choked on her salad and grabbed for her glass of water and Max just smiled at his dad knowingly…

“Yes, that would be nice.” Liz said, and was a little confused at the looks on everyone’s faces. She had no idea that she and Diane would have said the same thing and everyone continued to enjoy their meal.

After dinner was over and everything was cleaned up Max asked Liz if she would like to do something else and she told him she thought she should go home and get things ready for tomorrow. So Max agreed that they would head on out.

Liz thanked Philip and Diane for a lovely evening and promised that she would come back again and Max gave his mom and dad each a big hug and thanked them over and over again before he led Liz out to his car.

Philip and Diane were both overjoyed at meeting Liz and Diane whispered as much in Max’s ear. He only grinned at his mom knowingly and patted her on the back. He knew exactly what she meant and he had nothing to say one way or the other. This was only the second date he and Liz had been on and although he was pretty certain of what he wanted he had no idea how Liz felt. Everything in good time he thought to himself as he held the car door open for Liz to get in and then headed to the other side of the Mercedes, ‘yes, all good things in their time’ he thought to himself.

*~*~*

The ride back to Liz’s apartment was uneventful, they talked about plans for the future, the lake through the wooded area of Max’s family home and its beauty, their childhoods and food in general. They were thoroughly enjoying each others company and then Max asked Liz if she and Maria were close.

“Not super close, we don’t hang out or anything like that, I really don’t have the time and neither does she. She is a music major but we do watch each other’s backs at work and she teases me a lot. Why do you ask?” Liz was a little curious as to why Max would want to know about Maria.

“Oh, it’s nothing really. I think Michael has a little crush going there and I was wondering if she might have ever mentioned anything to you about him.” Max looked over and noticed a thoughtful expression on Liz’s face.

“No, the only thing she ever mentioned to me was that ‘I should give you a break’. And that’s pretty close to a quote. Her actual words were “When are you going to give that man a break?” unquote.” Liz looked at Max and grinned when she confessed that.

“But, if you think Michael would like to know I will certainly ask her if she’s ever noticed him. Would you want me to do that?” Liz was now curious herself. That would be very interesting she thought.

“Only if you feel comfortable doing it. I don’t want you getting in dutch with one of your friends.” Max teased.

“In dutch…jeeze Max, I haven’t heard that one in years…my dad used to say that all of the time.” She smiled over at him and he reached over and took her hand in his…they were nearing her apartment building and he didn’t want to let her go. Then he smiled back at her…

“My dad says it all of the time.” He told her and he saw a little tremble of her lower lip and he knew she was thinking of her father. He needed to change the subject quickly…he didn’t want to make her unhappy so he went back to Maria and Michael.

“How about we just let Maria and Michael take care of Maria and Michael. Do you think that’s a better way to go?” Max was very smooth in his transition…

Liz smiled as she spoke… “Yes, I think so, but I will give her a little push just as she gave me a few regarding you. Okay?”

Max chuckled and thought to himself…’way to go Maria’,

“Okay.” And now they were stopped…and Max still didn’t want to let Liz go…he knew he was pushing his luck and he had to take control of himself or he was going to blow it before he ever gave it a chance so he just gave Liz a shy smile and removed
the key from the ignition and stepped out of the car. Liz started to open the door to let herself out and Max looked at her and shook his head no.

“No?” she asked confusedly,

“No” Max said as he leaned into the drivers side of the car door with his left shoulder…

“I’ll come around and open your door for you Liz. When you’re with me you are mine to take care of and I fully intend to see to it that you are properly taken care of at all times, okay?” And he was dead serious…

Liz smiled at him shyly and dropped her eyes to her lap before answering…”Okay.” And she remembered the words of her mother long ago…”If a man treats you like a lady Liz it means he’s had a good upbringing and never argue with him when he wants to treat you like one.” And she thanked her mother silently as she sat and waited for Max to reach her door. She was becoming more and more taken with this man by the minute and she was beginning to feel afraid of becoming too attached. She had plans and she needed to stick to them. She had no one but herself to rely on and she couldn’t let anything nor anyone get in her way. She couldn’t allow anything or anyone prevent her from achieving her goals, her existence depended on it.

Max reached her door and held his hand out to her and she took it without a seconds hesitation and her heart started to thrum in her chest. She needed to calm down and start thinking with her head…

Max walked her to her door and when she took her key out of her purse Max took it and unlocked her door for her and then he turned around slowly and looked at her and smiled as he put the key back into her hand and said,

“Liz, I’m going to kiss you now and if you don’t want me to I suggest you say something quickly because it’s going to happen very soon.”

Liz just looked up into Max’s honey colored eyes and melted, she licked her lips as she realized that her head was not cooperating with her at all and she stood on her tiptoes and held onto Max’s shoulders to balance herself and closed her eyes and when Max put a hand behind her neck to tilt her head and another around her waist she melted. His lips touched hers ever so softly and she let out a little moan that sent Max straight into feelings of absolute delight. He ran his tongue over her bottom lip and she immediately opened to him and they stood there in her doorway experiencing the most heated kiss either had ever had. It went on until air became an absolute necessity and only then did they break before one of them passed out.

“Wow!?!” Liz said as she straightened up and looked at Max with a confused expression…

“Yeah, Wow!” Max whispered with a smile.

“Wha…wou…would you like to come in for some coffee or something?” Liz asked breathlessly.

“Yes I would, but I’m going to head on home while I still can. I will call you tomorrow. Your first class is at 10:00 right?”

“Yes…you remembered!” Liz smiled.

“Oh yes Liz, I remembered. Would you like to have breakfast before you go?”

Liz thought about it for a minute and then said…

“No, I don’t think so. I want to brush up on some data before going in and if I have breakfast with you I will forget why I’m even going. Sorry Max, but I WILL be looking forward to hearing from you.” She smiled…

“Well okay then…is 9:00 too early to call?”

“No, 9:00 is perfect. I’ll talk to you tomorrow then, and Max, I had a wonderful time today. Thank you for everything, lunch, the tours and your parents. Your parents are wonderful.”

Max smiled down at her and nodded…

“Liz, believe me when I say this, the pleasure was all mine and my folks think you are wonderful. They were serious when they invited you for a week-end and if you are ever free we will make it a date, alright?” Max almost looked pleading…

“Alright Max, I would like that, I would especially like to see your mom’s horses. I was serious when I said that I loved them. I grew up around horses in Roswell and my dad taught me how to ride when I was quite little. He almost scared my mother to death but I did alright.” Liz smiled as she remembered her mother’s fears, unfounded as they were.

“We have a lot to learn about each other Liz Parker, please put some time for us into your busy schedule, will you?” Max asked her in a very sincere tone of voice.

“Of course I will Max, now I need to get to bed. Again, thank you for a lovely day.”

“Your welcome.” And Max leaned down and kissed Liz on the forehead before turning toward the elevator. Liz waited at her open door until he was gone before entering her apartment as she thought to herself that she wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or not but it sure did feel good and she smiled as she closed her door and locked up for the night.


*~*~*
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"Age is just a state of mind"...I think that's mine? I could be wrong! I'm old, so sue me.
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mary mary
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Re: You've Got To Hold On AU/M.L. ch. 5 Teen 9/12/09

Post by mary mary »

Ken: Thank you so much for reading, I know this isn't your kind of story and I so appreciate your fb.
Natalie: Thank you for being here, I really appreciate it.
Eve: You are too kind, thank you.
Pom: I hope this is soon enogh for you. Thank you.

*~*~*



Chapter: 5

Liz


Right at 9:00 a.m. Monday morning my cell phone rang and let me tell you it was no secret that I was sitting at my kitchen table waiting for it.

“Good morning Max, did you sleep well?” I asked, while smiling out of my kitchen window. Max replied to my question without a moments hesitation…

“Liz, I know I don’t know you well enough to tell you how I really slept but let’s just say I’ve had better nights.” Max answered honestly.

“Oh? Well, let’s pretend you do know me well enough and tell me honestly Max, how did you sleep last night?” I giggled nervously, I do that when I’m nervous all of the time but I really wanted to know the answer and Max didn’t disappoint me…

“Okay, let’s just say I couldn’t get a certain brunette out of my head long enough to close my eyes. Is that what you wanted to hear?” Max asked me with a little uncertainty in his voice.

“well, if it’s honest then yes, that’s what I wanted to hear because I had a little trouble with the same problem over a very dark haired gentleman.” I confessed…I wanted the truth from him and I figured the least I could do was reciprocate.

“Glad to hear it. Now should we do something about this problem we are having or not Liz?” Max said very softly, I almost missed it. He really wanted to know how I felt about this.

“Max, I don’t think it’s a good idea after only two dates to try and make decisions about something like this do you?” I could tell he was thinking and then after a minute and still no answer I interrupted his train of thought…

“Max?” I questioned, and then he replied,

“I really don’t know for sure. I know you have definite plans lined up for your life and up until a few days ago you were totally unencumbered but maybe something has changed in your life that you might want to take into consideration. What do you think?” He seemed very very interested in my reply.

“I think I have to think about it a little more. I have no one in my life to rely on but myself and I know this. And I really don’t believe I can afford to add any encumbrances, as you put it, right now. There are too many important decisions that have been made to secure my life to let anything change right now and my long term plans consist of at least 3 more years of study. But right now I am starting to have some doubts and I don’t think I like these feelings, and a big part of those feeling are coming from my association with you Max. I’m not used to giving in to anything that represents a change in plans. I am so confused.” I confessed to him wearily.

“Liz, I don’t want you to feel any pressure from me and I don’t intend to prevent you from reaching your goals in any way. I want you to achieve everything that you have set out to do with your life and I don’t want you to feel as though I am a hindrance. I would love to be a part of that life with you, I want to make it easier for you not harder and if we can talk about this together I am sure we can make some important and rational decisions that will be beneficial to both of us. Will you give us a chance Liz. I sincerely mean every word I am saying. Please give us a chance.” …’Oh God’…

“Max, I really have to get to school now…I get out at noon today and I have to be at work at 3:00 and then I’ll be off at midnight. I know you have to be at work this afternoon so maybe we could meet somewhere that would be convenient for both of us.”

“Liz, I will be at your apartment at 2:00 to talk to you today. The guys can get along fine without me for awhile. Is that alright with you?”

“No, wait Max…I have to study until it’s time to head to work. Meet me after my shift at midnight and we can come back here and talk if that’s okay with you? We’ll have more time that way.”

“Yes… that will be fine Liz and thank you. Til then…and don’t let this interfere with your class work, I know how important this is to you so you just relax okay? We’ll figure it all out. We have at least 5 full months, maybe more, to come up with something that will work. I don’t want to put any pressure on you Liz and I don’t want you to ever feel that we are moving too fast. Just give us a chance to see where it can go, if anywhere…okay?” He sounds so hopeful.

“Fine, until later…take care. Bye Max.”

“Bye Liz.” And we hung up reluctantly …each of us unsure of what our futures entailed.

I left my apartment right after my conversation with Max and I noticed all of these black clouds forming out toward the oil fields and all I could think of was that they looked very ominous. ‘Boy, it sure looks like a bad one stirring up out there.’ Was all that kept running through my mind as I drove to school.

When I arrived at the lecture hall close to 10:00 a.m. I had myself in such a state that I didn’t know which end was up. I couldn’t get Max’s face out of my head, our conversation had really upset me and I didn’t want to think about my plans, I didn’t want to think about changing any of my plans. I wanted Max in my life, I wanted to go to Harvard, I wanted a doctorate in microbiology but I really wanted Max in my life. This shouldn’t be so difficult, it really shouldn’t be as difficult as I was making it sound anyway. ‘Oh God, please help me here…I’m going nuts!!!’ was all I could think of.

Going to class today was almost a waste of time, it’s a good thing that I always carried a mini tape recorder to class with me just in case I missed something so I could always go back and listen to the tape. Well today was one of the days that I really was going to need that tape because my mind was everywhere but in that class room. Finally my first class was over and as I headed to the next one I flipped the tape out and inserted a new one just in case…I definitely wanted to make sure I had things covered and I was positive that I needed to take that precaution today.

As I walked through the hallway that led to the next lecture hall I overheard a few students talking about an 18 wheeler that had overturned on the highway caused by the high winds. “This definitely sounds like tornado weather to me.” The one student remarked and I said a silent prayer. The black clouds forming out over the oil fields definitely was not a good sign, ‘keep him safe’ was all I could think of. I really was working myself into a frenzy and I repeated my prayer over and over… ‘Just keep them safe, please. All of them.’

Finally twelve o’clock rolled around and it couldn’t have come too soon…I was out the door and on my way to my apartment as fast as I could safely make it. I ran through the pouring rain and managed to get to my door without any major disasters and I let myself in, I quickly deposited my books on the kitchen table and took my wet jacket off and hung it over the back of the chair while trying to keep the water out of my eyes so I could see where I was going. I was practically soaked clear through to my underwear. I quickly made my way to my bathroom and began to peel out of my clothing and I jumped into her shower to get myself warm as much as anything and while I was washing my hair I thought about Max and the guys out on that rig and hoped that they would have sense enough to get out of that field and to some place safe.

The apartment complex had an underground room for just such occasions and I was seriously thinking I should head down there as soon as I was dressed but first I would put the portable radio on in my bedroom to see if there were any warnings to be aware of. I found the emergency station and listened carefully to what the announcer had to say and so far it seemed that they were only concerned with high winds and thunder showers. We were to stay tuned for further instructions so I kept the radio on and took it to the kitchen with me and turned the volume to a very low setting as I grabbed my cell phone from my purse and started to dial Max’s number. I hated to be such a wimp but I needed to hear his voice. This wasn’t something I was used to…I hadn’t been concerned about another single individual since my father passed away and I wasn’t sure I liked this feeling at all. ‘If you don’t care then nothing can hurt you’ I thought to myself, ‘it’s a great way to live if you can get away with it’ I thought to myself again…but I truly needed to hear his voice, even if it was a recording. So I completed the call and waited.

“Hi Liz, are you okay?” It was him, thank God.

“Hi Max. I’m fine, I was just calling to make sure that you and the rest of the crew are all okay? Have you been listening to the news?”

I was so relieved to hear his voice and to know that he was okay that I could hardly stand still.

“Yes, we’ve had it tuned into the portable radio we carry in the truck…we’re going to shut it down soon and head on out. Are you sure you have some place safe you can go to?” Max asked with deep concern in his voice.

“Oh sure, we have a tornado shelter here at the complex we can go to. I have my radio on as well and will go there if we’re instructed to find safety. I just wanted to make sure you were okay…actually… I really needed to hear your voice. I don’t want to sound clingy or anything but I was really worried about you. Please take care, okay?”

“Of course we’ll take care and you do the same. Why don’t you stay home from work today, I’m sure there won’t be that much going on.” Max suggested, still concerned for Liz’s safety.

“Nah, I’ll be fine. We can’t run from life Max and if we all called in because of the rain they just might as well shut the place down.” Liz said with an upbeat tone to her voice.

“Well, I don’t think that sounds like a bad idea. Look, I’ll see you over at the diner then. I’ll stop by before heading home…if that’s alright with you?” Max questioned.

“Of course it’s alright with me…you stop in every night anyway. Why would this afternoon be any different?”

Max smiled…”Liz we only stop when you’re there, if you aren’t there we go have a beer.”

“Oh. I didn’t know that.” Liz smiled, “I’ll see you later then …bye. Max”

“Good bye Liz, til later.” And they both hung up smiling.

*~*~*

Max

“Well, what’s got you so happy looking Maxwell?” Michael said while grinning at me.

“Nothing big guy…let’s lock this up. This weather doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better and I don’t think we need to get caught out here without someplace safe to go to.”

“Fair enough.” We both whistled to Kyle and Alex and motioned for them to gather up their tools and head for the truck. We battened down everything we could and started on home.

“Are we headed for coffee today Max?” Kyle teased and I gave him a crooked grin and said ,

“You better believe it. Do you want me to drop you off at home first, is Tess there alone? How about you Alex, you wanna head on home as well?”

Both of the men looked at each other and thought for a second and then Kyle and Alex both said they’d rather go home and make sure their wives were safe. So I did a little detour on my way to the diner and dropped off both my friends who lived fairly close to each other.

“What about me Max…don’t you want to know if I want to go home?” Michael asked.

“Nah, Mike, I know you want to see Maria. I’ll just take you with me.”

“Maria my ass, you want to see if Liz is working? You’re not shittin’ me Max Evans.”

“Michael, I’m going to tell you something and I don’t want you raggin’ on me about it okay? Liz is working…I just talked to her awhile ago. She called to see if we were all okay and I told her I would see her shortly. We spent most of the week-end together and we had dinner with my folks on Sunday. Michael, it was the best week-end of my life.”

I couldn’t believe I was telling Michael all of this…it could go one of two ways, I was either going to be teased to death or Michael was going to be happy for me. I was hoping for the latter.

“No shit? Max, that’s great. When in the hell did you get up the nerve to ask her out for real?”

Michael couldn’t believe that I finally bit the bullet and went to see her alone, without backup.

“I went over to the diner on Saturday morning, we had breakfast together and talked. Liz thought I was just being a typical teasing jerk all this time, she had no idea I was serious. We went to dinner on Saturday evening and then spent most of Sunday together. Michael, she’s everything I thought she would be and then some.

She’s sweet, funny and very intelligent. She has no family at all, her father passed away last year which makes her totally on her own. She has a guy running the family restaurant back in Roswell, New Mexico but other than that she is totally alone in the world.

My folks think she’s adorable…my mother’s words not mine, although I totally agree with her and she is going to start working on Maria for you. They aren’t really close friends but they do work together four nights a week so Liz said she will push Maria the way Maria pushed her, and Michel, Maria is a student also. A music major.”

When I finally finished my speech Michael just sat there looking at me disbelieving my every word.

“Max, I don’t think I’ve heard you speak that many sentences at one time in all the years I’ve known you and what makes you think I want to know anything about that Maria girl?”

“Come on Mike, who do you think you’re talking to here…I know you as well as you know yourself and you know it, so cut the bullshit. Liz will work on Maria for you, okay?”

“Whatever you say Max. But really, congratulations buddy, I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks Michael, now let’s go see how our women are doing.” Michael just looked at me and grinned, he really was happy for me, I could tell just by looking at him. I only hoped that Maria’s feelings were mutual, it would really crush Michael if this didn’t turn out well, he doesn’t play around at all and if his feelings were as strong as I think they are he could get hurt pretty badly.

*~*~*

Liz

Maria saw the two men come into the diner and turned quickly to catch my eye .

“Liz, half of your favorite crew just walked in…are you going to give that man a break or what?” Maria teased me, trying to get a rise out of me but I was on my toes today,

“Maria, what keeps you so interested in that group anyway? You don’t carry on this way about any of the other guys who frequent this establishment…do you have a secret crush on somebody?” I watched Maria for a second and then realized…hey, she does!

“Which one Maria…tell me?” I was almost dancing around the coffee cups…maybe Michael has a chance after all.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…they are always in your section you know.”
Maria was actually blushing. I wasn’t about to let her get away with this, I’ve been on the receiving end of this game for far too long.

“Maria, I need a bathroom break…take them some coffee and menus and I’ll be back in a minute or two. Okay?” Boy was I on a mission or what?

“Okay Liz, but hurry back I have a bunch of my own tables to take care of.” Maria grabbed a couple of cups, two menus and the coffee pot and was on her way to my station as I worked my way to the ladies room… cell phone in hand.

When Maria arrived at Max and Michael’s table Max looked around the restaurant for me, I could see him scan the entire dining area. He knew he had seen me when he walked in…I could tell he was wondering what happened? Maria caught this action and looked him square in the eye and said…

“Potty break.”

Max just grinned up at her as he took his menu from her hand…He didn’t know how much she knew but she was sharp. About that time I heard his cell phone ring and he checked his caller ID and wondered ‘what the hell?’. ‘ It was me…’ I could see the confusion on his face…

“Hey, what’s up?” He asked in a confused voice.

“You remember that conversation we had about Maria and Michael…well I don’t think we need to work on either one of them…they just need a chance to get together for a minute so I faked a bathroom break and asked her to take my table. Work on them.” And then I giggled into the phone before I hung up.

Max looked over at Michael, who couldn’t take his eyes off Maria and she was having one hell of a time concentrating on pouring his coffee. If she didn’t get it together soon Michael was going to have a lap full of the stuff, so Max spoke up.

“Maria?” And she came to and looked at Max with a big question mark on her face…Max chuckled,

“Do you think Michael has enough coffee in his cup?” As he pointed over to the nearly overflowing cup at Michael’s place, thank God she wasn’t pouring too fast. Maria followed his gaze and turned beet red as Michael looked up at her and smiled…

“It’s okay blondie…it didn’t spill.” Michael said with a sexy grin on his face. Then she really turned red. I was watching the entire exchange over at the pick-up window and could hardly contain myself. Max and I were doing a good thing here…these two really needed to get to know each other better. Maria filled Max’s cup and left the two men to decide what they wanted for dinner and then headed on to her own section to take care of her regulars. She found me watching her and asked in a short voice…

“What?”

I grinned at her and said…

“Nothing, nothing at all. Why don’t you just finish up with that table and I’ll just go ahead and take care of one of yours…is that agreeable?”

“Why? Max is here, he wants to see you. As a matter of fact he was looking for you when I went over with the coffee.” Maria was totally confused by my behavior.

“Are you trying to avoid Max?” Maria asked.

“Of course not Maria…but you started their order, I just think you should finish it up. Don’t you?” I was afraid Maria wasn’t going to go along with my plan at all.

“Well, I don’t know Liz. It seems to me that giving them coffee and menus doesn’t mean I’ve started their order. They haven’t even placed their order yet.” Maria shot back.

“Maria, just finish it up for me, okay?” I was getting very frustrated with the girl…as a matter of fact I was about ready to shake her.

“Fine Liz, I’ll finish it up for you, what’s got you so up tight about this anyway? It’s not like you at all, you’re usually so cheerful with everyone and all of a sudden you’re starting to act really strange. Are you alright?”

“Of course I am, now go see what they want.” And I took the full coffee pot and started out to refill cups and left Maria standing there with a puzzled look on her face.

I caught Max’s eye as I passed his booth and gave him a great big smile and a wink for good measure. Max returned the gesture and continued to read his menu. Michael looked over at his friend and wondered what in the hell was going on.

Maria returned to Max and Michael as soon as she finished delivering an order to a table in her section and Michael started in with the “why don’t you have dinner with me?” routine that Maria was so used to hearing from all of the male regulars in the place and she took it all in stride…only this time she was very tempted to say “okay” and see just how far Michael was willing to take this flirtation. Instead she gave him her usual smile and asked again… “Have you decided.”

Michael looked up into those gorgeous green eyes that he had only seen from afar and couldn’t believe the color…he started to feel a really big tightening in his jeans and then he said in a very serious tone… “Yes I have and I want to take you to dinner. Will you go with me?”

About that time the sky went black, it was only about 3:30 p.m., and a very strong wind started blowing outside of the diner. Max didn’t even think twice about what he was about to do…he grabbed his hat and headed toward the door, got into his truck and took off. Michael couldn’t believe his friend would go and do something that stupid. This was not the kind of weather anyone should be out in. He knew for a fact that the diner had a tornado shelter and that should be where everyone should be going… not out in the open. God, what was he thinking taking off like that. It wasn’t like Max to be irrational, not at all.

Michael jumped up from the booth and grabbed Maria’s elbow and yelled at everyone in the place to follow him, he had been in this situation before and before he could get away I grabbed his other hand and asked where Max was. Michael looked at me and I could tell he didn’t know what to do or say.

“He left Liz, come with me.” He had a terrified look in his eyes and I recognized this…I have been waiting on him for over three and a half years and I recognized many of his expressions and this one was ---- fear.

“No Michael, where did he go?” I was getting frightened now as well.

“Liz, come on. I don’t know where he went.” I looked at Michael and then remembered, Philip was going out of town today. Max was headed home. I looked at Michael and Maria and shook my head and said “Take care of each other.” I grabbed my keys out of my pocket and headed for the front door and I heard Michael yell,

“Liz, come back!” but I kept on running.

“Michael, do something.” Maria begged…

Michael looked down at the terrified Maria and pulled her toward the shelter door.

“Come on Maria, they’ll be fine.” But he really didn’t believe it and as they made their way to the shelter along with the other patrons in the building…a horrible sound could be heard from outside. Michael said a silent prayer and held Maria close. Boy if there was another way to get close to someone he was certainly willing to try it. This was not fun at all.

*~*~*

As Max drove through the blinding rain and tried to see the road ahead he could only think about his mother, getting to her was uppermost in his mind. He knew she would try to get the horses to safety without any regard to her own well being and he had to get to her to make sure she would take care of herself. He couldn’t see a damned thing for all the dust and debris that was being thrown around and he began to wonder if what he was doing was the smartest choice he had ever made.

He thought of Liz back at the diner and he knew that Michael would see to it that she was safe as well as the rest of the people in the building. If he could just make it through these gusts he’d be fine.

About the time he started to relax he felt a sudden shove against the truck…it was like it was being lifted off the ground and Max grabbed the steering wheel and held tight…the truck was being tossed around the highway like a toothpick …God, this wasn’t good.

*~*~*
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"Age is just a state of mind"...I think that's mine? I could be wrong! I'm old, so sue me.
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mary mary
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Re: You've Got To Hold On AU/M.L. ch. 6 Teen 9/17/09

Post by mary mary »

behr_able: Welcome to my story and I love your sig., it's great. When my son was in school he used to do book reports from motor cycle magazines and his teacher said she didn't care what he read as long as he read something...I didn't agree at the time but I guess she was right because he reads everything he can get his hands on now.
Carolyn: I know, I'm a meanie sometimes.
Eve: I'm so happy you're enjoying this.
Natalie: Yes she is!!

*~*~*


Chapter: 6

Max continued with a silent prayer over and over, ‘God don’t let mom do something stupid’, he was too shaken to laugh at himself for doing what he was hoping his mother wouldn’t do...God, what was I thinking?

Then, as if there was a giant hand grabbing hold of the truck, he felt it being lifted and it was turning over repeatedly. Max continued to hold fast to the steering wheel and the windshield was literally sucked from the frame and his hat went flying across the highway. Finally he felt the truck come to a stand still but he was upside down and his eyes were full of dust and dirt, they were running copiously and he knew better than to rub them. He had to let the tears run in order to help clear out the dirt. He knew he was in some serious trouble…there wouldn’t be anyone out there to help him, he had no clue what other damages there were. He didn’t know if he had any other injuries besides his eyes feeling like they were on fire. He really couldn’t feel anything, he just hung there upside down in the cab of his truck wondering if he would live through this nightmare. What a stupid thing to do he thought to himself and then he passed out.

Liz, in the meantime, was having as much trouble staying on the road in her little VW but she was plowing through it with sheer determination. She would find Max one way or another. The gusts had veered away from the highway long enough for her to make it through the worst of it and then she saw something resembling a Stetson fly by and she put both of her feet on her brake and almost turned her car over trying to stop. She immediately grabbed her cell phone and flashlight from her purse that was kept on the floor of the back seat, she turned on her flashers and left her car at the side of the road, red lights blinking away like a beacon in the night. It was only about 4:30 in the afternoon but it was pitch black.

She shined her flashlight in a complete circle trying to make out anything that would indicate a truck and then she shined the light on the ground. She saw skid marks leading to a field and started following them…it wasn’t long before she spotted the overturned truck and her heart started to beat so loudly that she could hear it in her ears.

“Please God.” Was all she could think as she ran toward the wreck. “Please, oh please God please.” The thought played over and over in her head like a broken record. She couldn’t bring herself to think of anything else. “Haven’t I paid my dues yet?” she asked as she silently prayed, it was the only thing she could do as she ran, pray. Then she stumbled and fell, she felt the scraping on her forearms as she landed on her belly and her leg stung a little but she managed to hang onto her phone and flashlight and she was up in a second and off running again.

When she got to the truck she could see that Max was unconscious, there was no windshield and she couldn’t tell whether he was still alive or not. She took out her cell phone and continued to pray…”Please let there be reception.” When she pushed the send button after keying in ‘911’ she heard ringing...”Oh thank you God, thank you.” And then the voice on the other end asked what the emergency was. Liz told them that she was standing in the middle of a field off of highway 281 approximately 7 miles north of Sophie’s Diner.

“The driver is unconscious and the windshield is missing, he’s hanging upside down in the cab of the truck, the airbag is supporting him and I can’t see any injuries. The wind seems to have died down but the sky is still very dark. My VW is sitting on the highway with the flashers going and we are on the left side of the highway. Please hurry.”

The dispatcher said, “Thank you ma’am, an emergency vehicle will be there as soon as we can get one to you. Do you know who is in the truck?”

“Yes, it’s Max Evans. His mother is alone at their home at Mitchell Lake and she has horses. I am sure that is where he was headed when this happened.”

“Thank you miss, we will see if we can contact Mrs. Evans. Can you stay with Mr. Evans?”

“Oh, I have no intentions of leaving his side, you can count on it.” Liz was practically in tears now.

Then the dispatcher asked Liz if she was okay.

“Yes, I’m fine. Just hurry…he could be bleeding internally and he’s upside down.”

“Yes miss, I understand…just stay calm. What is your name?”

“I’m Liz Parker.”

“Well Miss Parker just try to stay calm and I will call you back with updates as regularly as I can.” The dispatcher didn’t want Liz getting hysterical and start trying to help Mr. Evans, so if she could keep her calm it would be better for all concerned.

“Thank you…do you want my phone number?”

“No Miss Parker, it was registered the minute your call came in. I promise you I will contact you with updated information. This has been a very busy night and calls are still coming in, so I’m going to have to leave you for a bit but I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

“Thank you, and I know I said it before but please hurry.”

“Yes, good bye Miss Parker.”

As the dispatcher hung up she immediately rang up Mrs. Evans to make sure she was alright and when Diane answered the phone she told her that there was an inquiry regarding her safety and Diane assured the woman she was fine. Then she asked who wanted to know and the dispatcher didn’t want to alarm her so she told her that Liz Parker inquired. Diane smiled and told her that she was fine and the dispatcher thanked her and hung up. She immediately called Liz back to give her the news and Liz was relieved to hear that and then asked if she had told her about Max. The dispatcher assured her that she had not and to relax. Help was on the way. Again Liz thanked the woman and hung up. Then she grabbed hold of the bumper and climbed under the hood of the truck and worked her way into the cab and settled herself onto the roof and grabbed hold of Max’s hand and just sat there.

“I called for help Max, they’ll be here shortly. Your Mom is okay, they called her for me. I knew you would want to know that. Oh Max, I don’t want to care for you but I can’t help myself. Please Max, ‘you’ve got to hold on’. I don’t know how you feel about me but I really think I’m falling for you and I don’t want to Max, I really don’t, but I can’t help it.” Liz was rambling and the tears were running down her face as fast as the rain had come down earlier and she had no control…they just kept flowing as though someone had turned on a faucet.

Max felt like he was floating outside of his body, like he was looking down at himself and Liz was saying something to him. He wanted to answer her but he couldn’t get his mouth to work. He could feel her holding his hand, it was so small and soft. He wanted to smile and tell her how he felt about her but nothing was working. Why wasn’t he able to tell her…what was going on? And then he didn’t hear anything more.

Liz heard the sirens getting closer and was hoping the emergency vehicles were on their way to them and not headed somewhere else when she saw their lights. Their lights seemed so much brighter than the ones on her VW and she smiled. They were here. Liz turned on her flashlight and shined it out the window of the cab so the paramedics would be able to find them.

Soon two men in blue jumpsuits were shining flash lights into the vehicle and they saw Liz sitting on the upside down hood of the truck holding a man’s hand. The man was unconscious and they knew he could be seriously injured. They looked at Liz and they weren’t sure if she was okay or not so they asked…

“Miss, are you injured?”

“No, I’m fine. I crawled in here so he wouldn’t be alone.” She answered through her tear stained mouth.

“Great, now you have to come out of there so we can take care of him…okay?”

“Mm hmm.” Liz nodded, she had a really tough time letting go of Max’s hand but the rescue team finally convinced her and she crawled out of the cab the same way she crawled in. She went back to her vehicle and turned her flashing lights off and waited. She waited and waited and waited. It seemed as though they were taking forever to get Max out of there. She could hear the men talking as they carried a stretcher and other equipment to the truck…”He has a pulse.” The one man said and Liz wanted to scream…she could have told them that. It was the first thing she checked.

Then they had Max released from his seat belt and laying on the stretcher. They had him in a neck brace and he was strapped to the stretcher and in the back of the ambulance in no time. Once they got everything together they moved quite fast.

“Are you family?” They asked Liz.

“No, I’m his girlfriend.” She answered. She didn’t want them keeping any secrets from her and although she didn’t know if she was Max’s girlfriend or not she was going to make them believe she was.

“Are you going with us or do you want to take your car and follow us?”

“I’ll follow you if you aren’t going to go too fast.” Liz answered.

“No, we won’t be breaking any speed limits but stay close…we will be running red lights and you’ll have to keep up. We have a spare flasher for on top of your car so you won’t get stopped. Can you do that?”

“Absolutely.” Liz answered and she jumped into her little VW with the portable flasher on top and started her engine. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and called the diner…the night manager answered and she asked if Maria was there and he put her right on.

“Maria, it’s Liz. I found Max overturned off highway 281 and I’m following the ambulance to the hospital now. He’s unconscious and they aren’t sure what’s wrong but will you tell Michael. Tell him that Max’s mom is okay and not to upset her until we know what’s wrong with him, okay.” Liz felt that they should know what was going on before calling Diane.

“Oh God Liz, I’m so glad you’re alright. How did you know where Max would be?”

Michael looked at Maria and after having spent the past few hours with her he knew this conversation could go on forever and he took the phone from her and hugged her close as he talked to Liz.

“Liz, it’s Michael…what’s going on?”

Liz could hear the concern in Michael’s voice and she started all over again.

“Michael, I knew that Mrs. Evans was home alone and I knew that she would be the only reason Max would do something so foolish so I headed out toward their home and I saw Max’s hat blow across the highway so I stopped. I took my cell phone and flash light and went looking. His truck was upside down in a field so I called 911 and now we are on our way to the hospital but we don’t know what’s wrong with him yet. He’s unconscious Michael but don’t tell Mrs. Evans yet. Let’s wait and see what the problem is before we go upsetting her. Mr. Evans is out of town until Friday and I don’t think it’s a good idea to upset her with this news over the phone. I’m on my way to the hospital…the paramedics fixed me up with a portable flasher and I’m following close behind them. They said that Max had a pulse but they have no idea what else is wrong, there’s no blood anywhere Michael so it’s all internal. They didn’t say that, but they didn’t have to…why else would he be unconscious?”

Liz was feeding Michael information like she was a robot and Michael recognized shock when he heard it.

“Okay Liz…honey…listen to me. You have to calm down or you’ll be in there with him. I will hitch a ride to the hospital and then I’ll get hold of Alex and Isabelle. They can meet us at the hospital and Isabelle can decide what to do about her mother. Do you understand Liz?” Michael knew if anything happened to Liz Max would be devastated so he was just as concerned about her as he was about Max.

“I understand Michael…hurry, please.” She begged unnecessarily .

“I’m right behind you Liz. Just relax.”

“Okay Michael, bye.” And they hung up.

“Michael, what’s going on? How did Liz know where to find Max? What do you mean about calling Alex and Isabelle? Who’s Isabelle?” Maria was her usual self and Michael just continued to hug her. The diner was closed and people were starting to leave for their homes so there was no reason for Maria to hang around.

“Maria, do you have a car?” Michael asked

“Yes Michael, why?” She was still so confused about all of this.

“I need a ride to the hospital in the city…can you take me there?” he asked the little green eyed blond still hanging onto him.

“Of course Michael, let’s go.” And so Michael let go of Maria and she grabbed her jacket and purse from her locker and led Michael out to her Jetta that was parked in the back of the diner. Luckily it was still there what with all of those winds Michael thought to himself.

After they were on the highway Michael turned and looked at Maria and smiled…

“Maria, Max and Liz have started seeing each other and Liz knew that Mrs. Evans was alone tonight so she put two and two together and figured that Max was headed to his Mom’s. She was right, she found Max’s truck turned upside down in a field and Max was inside unconscious. She called 911 and they sent emergency vehicles to rescue him. Liz is on her way to the hospital with Max and she knows Mrs. Evans is alright because she had the dispatcher call and check on her but she doesn’t want to upset Mrs. Evans because she’s alone. Therefore I am going to call Isabelle and Alex and ask them to meet us at the hospital and have Isabelle decide what to do about her mother. And that’s everything I know so far.” Michael let out a big sigh and Maria gave him a sideward glance and smiled.

“So, they are seeing each other. It’s about time. And who is Isabelle?”

“Isabelle is Max’s sister, she’s married to Alex.”

“Oh, that explains why Alex never hits on anyone…he’s always with his brother-in-law.” Maria stated triumphantly, like she had just solved a big puzzle.

Michael laughed at her…

“Maria, when you see Isabelle you will know why Alex doesn’t flirt and it’s got nothing to do with his brother-in-law. He is totally in love with his wife, no doubt about it.”

“Oh. Do you think the rest of your group is as trustworthy?” Maria grinned at Michael.

“Yes Maria, I do. If you’re worried about Liz and Max, don’t be. They don’t come any straighter than Max.” Michael spoke of his friend in the kindest of ways.

Maria grinned at Michael again…”I wasn’t talking about Max Michael. How about you?”

“Well Maria, you’ll just have to take a chance and find out for yourself won’t you?”

Michael was about as sincere as he could get under the circumstances, he was very concerned about his friend even though Maria was helping to keep his mind off his worries at the moment.

And in due time they pulled up in front of the hospital…

*~*~*
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"Age is just a state of mind"...I think that's mine? I could be wrong! I'm old, so sue me.
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mary mary
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Re: You've Got To Hold On AU/M.L. ch. 7 Teen 9/22/09

Post by mary mary »

Carolyn: Yes, Mrs. Evans is fine...as for the rest, let's see. :P
Alysluv: I really don't think that Max was thinking at all!!! :?
behr_able: I'm so glad you're here and I hope it's nothing serious also. :(
Eve: I know I'm a meanie and I'll try to make it better. :)
Natalie: Thank you and here's some more.... :wink:
Destiny: Welcome back, I know school can be a real bummer for teachers as well as the students sometime...just glad to hear from you. :)

*~*~*

Chapter: 7

As soon as Maria parked her car she and Michael headed for the emergency room and found Liz sitting with a clipboard on her lap filling out information for the ER staff. Michael went over to her right away and reached out and squeezed her shoulder letting her know they were there. She smiled up at Michael and Maria and then put her purse on the floor under her chair and made room for them to sit next to her. Michael noticed immediately how pale she looked and attributed it to shock.

“Michael, I need your help filling out these papers. I don’t know a whole lot of information about Max other than his name and place of employment, do you think you could help me?” Liz asked. She was shaking from head to toe and could hardly keep the pen in her hand, she was as white as a ghost.

Michael smiled down at her and took the clipboard from her and started to read the questions, he motioned for Maria to exchange seats with him and pointed to the coffee machine, then he noticed a big rip in Liz’s jeans and a huge piece of glass sticking out of her leg. The blood was soaking through her jeans, not fast, but very steady.

“Liz, are you injured?” Michael asked and pointed to her leg.

Liz looked down at her leg and saw the tear in her jeans and the big gaping hole had a very large piece of glass sticking out and she looked up at Michael in a daze.

“I don’t know Michael, it looks like I might be.” Maria got this horrified look on her face and ran to the admittance desk and asked the clerk to send someone out to take a look at her friend who just came in with the paramedics. Maria pointed to Liz’s leg and the clerk immediately ran through the swinging doors and grabbed the first person she found. A person in a white lab coat came running out pushing a wheelchair and got Liz settled and rushed her into the examining room yelling for a doctor. One of the doctors working on Max turned around to see what the excitement was and when he saw the huge piece of glass protruding from Liz’s leg he immediately called for assistance and headed over to see what he could do for Liz. They hooked her up to monitors, took her temperature, blood pressure and set her up to a heart monitor. All of the routine procedures and then the doctor asked her what happened. She explained that she came in with Mr. Evans, pointing over to Max’s bed, that she had crawled through the broken windshield of his truck and held on to him until the paramedics arrived. The paramedics told her she could follow them to the hospital in her car and they gave her a portable flasher for the top of her car for the journey.

“You mean you drove here in your car with that glass sticking out of your leg?” Liz looked down, unfazed by the gash, and shook her head yes.

“Good God.” Was the doctors only reply. And then his associate came in and took one look at the situation and told the charge nurse to get an O.R. ready and preferably one with an X-Ray machine. “If you can’t get one with an X-ray machine order up a portable one so we can see exactly what we are dealing with here. Also, see if Doctor MacIntyre is on tonight, I think this young lady is going to need a plastic surgeon to handle this.”

The nurse was already on the ‘in house’ phone as the doctor spoke and soon Liz was being wheeled out. When she passed by Max’s bed she noticed that his eyes were fluttering and she motioned for the nurses to stop. They looked at her for a moment and noticed what she wanted and they halted. Liz told them she needed to get up and everyone around her was against it…nurses, orderlies and a doctor all trying to convince her she needed to stay put.

“No, I need to talk to Max…please!” She begged. The doctor could see how agitated Liz was becoming and told the nurses to stop.

“It is psychologically better for Ms. Parker to speak with Mr. Evans first.” The doctor explained and so she did.

They wheeled Liz over to Max’s bed and Liz held his hand as he regained consciousness. He looked around in confusion and then he heard Liz’s voice and smiled.

“Max, it’s Liz…are you alright? Can you talk?” Liz’s heart was breaking. The doctor’s noticed that Max started to calm down immediately on hearing Liz’s voice and his vitals started to even out.

“Liz, what happened?” Max asked in a very forced whisper. His mouth was so dry he could hardly speak, he really needed a drink of water.

“You were in an accident Max but you’re going to be alright. Michael and Maria are outside and Alex and Isabelle are on their way. Isabelle is going to go get your Mom as soon as they know what your condition is. I have to leave right now but I’ll be back soon, behave yourself.” And Liz took Max’s hand and kissed his palm and laid it back down next to him.

“Wait Liz, where are you going?” Max was very concerned about Liz, he knew something wasn’t right…why was she in a wheelchair, he could hear it.

“It’s okay Max, we’ll talk about it tomorrow, okay?” And Liz smiled as they wheeled her back to her gurney.

As soon as they wheeled Liz out Max asked the attendant that was reading his vitals what was going on with Liz Parker.

“You mean the young lady that was just here?” the orderly asked.

“Yes, Miss Parker. What is going on with her, why is she in a wheelchair?”

“I don’t know Mr. Evans. She came in with you and now she is going to be treated for something I guess. I have been assigned to your case. We are going to take you to X-ray soon to see what kind of damages you sustained in your accident. Apparently your truck was overturned and Miss Parker found you and called 911. That’s all the information I have right now.” And the young man continued to read Max’s vitals and write in his chart.

“Liz said my friends are outside, is there any chance that I can talk to Michael Guerin?” Max asked.

“I’m sure you can Mr. Evans. I will bring him in as soon as I’m finished here.”

Max nodded and waited patiently, he was really worried about Liz. How in the hell did she find me anyway? He thought to himself.

*

The orderlies wheeled Liz into the examining room and the surgeon and plastic surgeon were there waiting for them the minute they opened the door.

“What took you so long?” Doctor MacIntyre asked…”Do you want this poor woman to bleed to death?” He was livid.

The orderly looked at the doctor apologetically and explained,

“She wouldn’t let us take her away from Mr. Evans until she saw that he was alright. We felt it was in her best interest to be emotionally stable so we allowed her to talk to him. He had regained consciousness just as we were leaving.” Jon explained, Liz was to find out that she and Jon would be communicating with each other quite extensively over the next few days.

“Hello Miss Parker. I’m Dr. MacIntyre and I’ll be removing the glass from your leg this evening. Can you explain to me how this happened to you?” the kind doctor asked as he helped Jon get Liz off the gurney and onto the examining table.

“I really don’t know. I didn’t know it was in there until my friend noticed it in the waiting room and then my coworker, Maria, ran to the admitting desk and told them I needed a doctor.” Liz looked very pale but was very coherent.

“Well, what were you doing prior to coming into the emergency room?” The kind doctor asked.

So Liz went into her story about Max leaving the diner during the worst of the storm and she knew how his mother was alone tonight and that was where he would be heading. She explained about Mrs. Evans having horses and she figured that would be the only person Max would do something stupid for so she followed him. She explained how she found his truck overturned in the field, the windshield was missing and how she crawled into the cab of the upside down truck to make sure that he was okay. How she phoned 911 and the dispatcher walked her through what she should do and then when the paramedics arrived she got into her car and followed them here. The doctor’s waited patiently for Liz to finish her story…that wasn’t really what they were after but they knew she would eventually give them something to help them understand her condition.

“You mean you have been in this condition for hours and didn’t notice it?”

“Pretty much.” Liz said, never once looking at her leg. She had no idea how much trouble she was in.

Soon the lab tech. came in and drew some blood for a CBC and discovered her hemoglobin was dropping drastically so they sent out for a type and cross match…she was going to need blood and from the looks of things a lot of blood.

“What do you do Liz?” the doctor asked, he wanted to keep her talking in order to check on her lucidity and then when she told him she was a Sr. at UT studying microbiology and she would be attending Harvard in the Fall the doctor became very impressed with her. She still had no idea what the fuss was all about.

“Do you remember anything at all about shattered glass when you crawled into the cab of the truck Liz?” The doctor continued to ask, very concerned by this point.

“No, only that the windshield was missing. It looked as though the wind had taken the entire glass out in one piece. I didn’t notice any other broken glass around the area.” Liz continued to answer their questions to the best of her ability. She hadn’t noticed any broken glass at all. Then…

“I do remember falling once in the field while I was trying to get to the truck but I don’t remember any glass…I just wanted to get to Max.” She added.

“Oh, do you know Mr. Evans well then?” The doctor asked.

“Yes, sort of, we’ve been seeing each other socially. We’ve been acquaintances for a little over three years.” She smiled up at the doctor just as she lost consciousness.

*


Michael:

“Max, man, what in the hell were you thinking…taking off like that?” Michael asked in an almost angry tone…

“God Michael, I don’t think I was thinking at all. The only thing I could think of was Mom. I knew she’d be out trying to get the horses all to safety. I know they were safe but I couldn’t help thinking Mom would do something dangerous and I needed to get to her. How in the hell did Liz find me?” Max looked very puzzled and scared.

“She figured out where you were headed the minute she discovered you left. She was out of the diner like she’d been shot from a cannon. You should have seen her Max, she didn’t hear any of us yelling at her to come back. She just grabbed her keys and went like a bat out of hell.” Michael informed his friend.

Max looked in the direction of Michael’s voice again and wondered…

“Michael, what’s she doing in a wheelchair?”

“Oh, you saw that. Well, she has a pretty bad gash on her leg and they are checking her out.” Michael didn’t want to upset his friend until they knew more about Liz’s condition.

“Michael, has Mom got here yet?” Max needed his mother to oversee any care that Liz may need, she knows Liz has no one.

“No man, Isabelle and Alex are on their way over to get her right now. Probably won’t see her for about another 45 minutes or so, what’s up?” Michael could tell that Max was becoming agitated and the main concern of the doctors at this point was to find out why he lost consciousness and to keep him calm.


“Michael, Liz is an orphan. She has no family at all and someone needs to take care of her.” Max was getting close to hysteria.

Michael understood where he was coming from and said,

“Maria is filling out her emergency paper work Max, she has their boss on the phone and is getting all the personal information needed to administer treatment so don’t worry about it okay.” Michael was scared for his friend but he was scared for Liz as well.

“Get me someone in charge Michael, right now.” And Michael left Max’s side immediately…he recognized that determined look on Max’s face and was out of there in a flash. Michael had no idea that Max couldn’t see a damned thing.
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"Age is just a state of mind"...I think that's mine? I could be wrong! I'm old, so sue me.
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mary mary
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Joined: Fri Dec 12, 2008 9:45 pm

Re: You've Got To Hold On AU/M.L. ch.8 Teen 9/27/09

Post by mary mary »

Natalie 36: Help is on it's way!!! :)
Carolyn: Yeah, I did didn't I? :P
behr_able: Okay, here's some more for you! :)
Eve: We can only hope Eve... :)

*~*~*


Chapter: 8

In the meantime an eye specialist came in to check Max’s eyes. It was one of the things they first noticed when he was admitted…his eyes were watering profusely and there was an awfully lot of debris among the tears.

“Mr. Evans, can you tell me how you got all of this dirt in your eyes?” The doctor wanted to know what he was up against.

“It was the wind and dirt…when the windshield was sucked from the truck all of this dirt and dust came swirling in and then I went flying across the road and into a field. My eyes started watering immediately and then I blacked out. I don’t know why I did that, the only pain I had was my eyes.” Max confided to the doctor who was shining a light into Max’s eyes and it was hurting like hell.

“Well, the first thing we need to do is flush them out and then maybe I will be able to see more clearly if there is any damage. Can you see alright? Is there any double vision or blindness that you can tell?” The doctor was trying to gather as much information as he possibly could.

“No, it hurts to open them, so I don’t know.”

“Very good Mr. Evans…let us get you cleaned up and then we’ll work from there, alright?” The doctor said with a smile.

“Fine Doc…can you have someone check on Liz Parker for me. I need to know if she’s alright.” The doctor smiled and told him he would see what he could find out.

In the meantime Michael got hold of Isabelle and told her she needed to get her mother here quickly…

“Max is awake and, like Liz, he’s more concerned for her than he is for himself and Liz is not doing so well.”

“Who the hell is Liz?” Isabelle asked…she didn’t mean to sound as curt as she did but she had no clue as to whom Michael was talking about.

“I think Liz is the woman Max is in love with Isabelle. She’s the one who knew where to look when he ran out of the diner like an insane fool.” Michael added.

“What do you mean ‘in love with’. Max isn’t in love with anyone!” And Alex snorted. He knew this wasn’t funny but his wife sure was. Then Isabelle looked at her husband.

“Michael, I’ll be back with Mom as fast as I can. Just hang in there okay?”

“Okay Isabelle, just hurry.” And they hung up.

*

“Okay Alex, who in the hell is Liz?” Isabelle was almost livid…not quite, but getting there. The fact that her brother drove into a tornado knowingly and then wound up in the hospital was enough, but now she’s finding out that he has a girlfriend she knew nothing about and this was just about all she could handle. And to top it all off she has to be the one to tell her mother just how stupid the man can be. Cheeeeese..!!?!#! She thought.

“Well sweetie, Liz is a waitress at the diner out by the new rig. Max has been trying to get her to go out with him for the past three and a half years and so far as I know that hasn’t happened. That’s who Liz is and that’s all I know.” Alex couldn’t tell Isabelle anymore because he really didn’t know about the events of the past week-end.

“There’s more to this than that.” Isabelle stated in Isabelle fashion and Alex just kept on driving.

As soon as they pulled up into the driveway of her mother’s home Isabelle was out of the car almost before it came to a stop. She ran to the front door and used her key instead of ringing the bell and found her mother in the kitchen on the phone with her dad.

“Yes Philip…we are all fine.” Then Diane turned around and saw Isabelle…”Just a minute Philip, Isabelle just came in and I don’t think that last statement holds much credence.”

“Isabelle, what’s wrong?” Diane asked her daughter as Alex walked into the kitchen.

“Mom, Max is in the hospital and you need to come with us now…he’s awake and lucid but he needs you…apparently Liz needs your help, whoever Liz is.” Isabelle added to her statement.

“Philip, Max and Liz are in the hospital and Max said Liz needs my help. I’ll take my cell and call you as soon as I have any information worth passing on. Isabelle said that Max is awake and lucid. That’s all I know for now and I love you Philip. I’ll call. Good bye love.” And Diane grabbed her leather jacket and keys, her cell phone off the table, and was out the door.

Apparently Mom knows Liz…how is it Mom knows about this Liz and I don’t ? Isabelle was just full of questions for everyone and her mother could have cared less about her daughter’s ‘out of the loop’ feelings at the moment.

*

“Get that blood up here STAT!” Doctor MacIntyre yelled to the staff in the O.R. She is bleeding out and we don’t even know how deep or if this is her only wound. They got the portable X-ray machine up and running and started snapping pictures of Liz’s leg first and then started on her entire body. They went over her with a fine tooth comb, or so they thought. The only injury they found was to her leg and it was determined that the glass had not severed any main arteries. It was the length of time of the injury and the activity of her driving that was causing all of the problems to her body. The doctors prepared her for surgery and removed the glass as promptly as they could and then Doctor MacIntyre took over and started working his magic needles on her as the other doctors administered blood and drugs as needed. Liz had been in surgery for three hours before doctor MacIntyre was happy with his work on her leg and then they worked on the minor scrapes and bruises she had received from her fall in the field. When they were all satisfied that everything visible had been taken care of they wheeled her out to recovery. Jon was with her the entire time.

Meanwhile back in the E.R. the eye specialist, who had finally introduced himself to Max as Doctor James, was conscientiously working to remove all the debris from Max’s eyes when he was interrupted by Jon.

Jon looked at Max and then the doctor for permission to speak…Jon was as concerned about Max’s condition as he was Liz’s.

The doctor nodded to Jon and he addressed Max immediately, he knew that he and Liz had come in together and that there was a connection between the two young people.

“Max?” Jon asked.

“I’m here, what’s up?” Max asked.

“It’s Jon, I was with Liz in the operating room and I wanted to let you know that we got the glass removed from her leg. She’s in recovery and is expected to be in her room in a couple of hours. How are you doing? You know she will ask as soon as she comes out of the anesthetic.” Jon smiled at Doctor James who nodded toward the man and smiled back.

“I’m doing great now that I know that Liz is alright. What was wrong with her leg anyway?”

“Oh, she had a very large gash in her leg caused by the huge piece of windshield that was imbedded there. There were no main arteries severed and the extensive loss of blood was caused from the length of time that the glass was in there. Apparently she had no idea that it was in there until your friend noticed it in the waiting room. She is one brave girl Max.”

Max smiled before he thanked Jon.

“Yes she is Jon…you have no idea just how brave. Thank you for taking the time to come and tell me. Oh, and Jon, can you see if my mother has arrived yet. I need to speak with her as soon as she gets here.”

“Of course Max, but then I need to get back to Liz.”

“I know, and please, keep me posted on her condition. You can use the hospital phone to do that if you want to…I don’t want Liz left alone…please take good care of her for me Jon, I really appreciate it.”

“You know I will Max. It isn’t only my job but it is also a pleasure.” And just as Jon was leaving the room a distinguished looking middle aged woman wearing jeans, boots, a button down shirt and leather jacket came in.

“Are you Max’s Mom?” Jon asked…smiling at Diane Evans…

“Yes I am and you are?” Diane asked.

“I’m Jon, I just came from Miss Parker’s room to let Max know how she was doing and he asked me to find you…I didn’t have to look far did I.” Jon smiled.

“No you didn’t Jon. How is Liz?” Diane asked.

“Now that the glass has been removed and she’s all stitched up she’ll be fine. We will continue the transfusions, replacing the blood she lost. I’m sure she’ll be ready for some visitors as soon as she is out of recovery. It seems a lot of people are worried about her.” Jon said smiling.

“Well, I know my son and I are concerned. She has no family at all you know, so we are all she has. Please keep us informed of her condition Jon. We really would appreciate it.” Diane asked through unshed tears.

“I certainly will Mrs. Evans. Good night.” And Jon left Max’s room.

“Max, how are you doing sweetheart?” Diane didn’t care whether she embarrassed her son or not, he was her sweetheart and she didn’t give a damn who knew it, the fact that she was seething was not apparent at this time.

Max smiled, as did Dr. James, and answered his mom.

“I’m great Mom but we need to make sure that Liz gets the best care possible.”

Max could hear the concern in his mother’s voice, Dr. James was still working on his eyes and he couldn’t see a damned thing. Dr. James did a double take when he suggested that Liz would get anything less than the best care possible but then he remembered how he felt when his son was in here and took it with a grain of salt.

“Max, you know that I will make sure she is well cared for, the same as I will do for you. Now tell me Max,” and Diane couldn’t hold it back any longer,

“JUST WHAT IN THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING? TO DRIVE OUT INTO A STORM LIKE THAT ON PURPOSE! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND???”

Diane never talked that way in her entire life but she had never been that mad at anyone and that scared in her life either and there have been times when she had been very mad.

Max cringed at his mother’s voice and Doctor James almost had to leave the room. Hell hath no fury like a pissed off mother. He contained his urge to laugh and allowed the woman to vent, this was one pissed off mother and now he knew what the term ‘pissed off mother’ really meant. Michael was coming around the corner to check on Max when he heard Diane go into her tirade and spun on his heel and headed in the opposite direction. He had never heard Diane Evans speak like that in his entire life and he had known her since he was five years old. “Good God remind me to never make her mad.” He thought to himself.

*

“Well, how is he?” Isabelle asked.

“If he was okay he sure as hell isn’t now. Your mom is in there yelling her head off at him. Isabelle, I never knew your mother knew those words, holy Christ, she’s madder than a pit bull that just had his nuts bit off by a toy poodle.”

Maria and Isabelle both looked at Michael with horror in their eyes and Alex started to laugh. Neither woman appreciated the joke but Isabelle understood what Michael was talking about. They never upset their mother…she didn’t show it but when you pushed her too far she had a temper that would put Satan to shame, but she never cussed, never.

“I guess Max really pissed her off huh? Mom doesn’t usually get carried away in public. She usually waits until she calms down to speak up. Is there anyone in there with him?” Isabelle didn’t seem too surprised by her mother’s reaction to Max’s drive through the storm. Although, if Michael was correct, Max really did it this time.

“Yeah, there’s a doctor working on his eyes, why?”

“Oh nothing really, she’s going to be embarrassed about this and then the shit’s really going to hit the fan. I wouldn’t want to be Max when he’s alone and out of the woods! Maybe she’ll calm down by then.” Isabelle said flatly.


“What do you mean…your Mom’s the sweetest person I’ve ever met Isabelle. I’ve known her for twenty three years, she’s not going to do anything bad.” Michael said in a low voice.

“Oh no? Just wait. She won’t do anything but you better hope you’re in the next county when she cuts loose on him because it ain’t gonna be pretty Michael.” Isabelle said with a resigned tone…when mom dresses you down you feel lower than a slug in summer with salt in the water.

“Well, let me just say this, if what I just witnessed is going to get worse I agree. I think maybe another state would be best.” Maria took all of this in and suddenly her admiration for the senior Mrs. Evans just peaked out at over the top of the scale. She was very impressed at what she was hearing.

*
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"Age is just a state of mind"...I think that's mine? I could be wrong! I'm old, so sue me.
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mary mary
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Re: You've Got To Hold On AU/M.L. ch.9 Teen 10/13/09

Post by mary mary »

Eve, Natalie and Ken...thank you so much! :D


*~*~*

Chapter: 9

Liz overheard Jon speaking to one of the nurses and knew she should recognize the voice but she couldn’t place where she had heard it before and when Jon looked over at her he noticed she was watching him through sleepy eyes. He smiled as he walked over to her bedside and pulled his thermometer from its’ case and asked her to open. She looked at him quizzically and did as she was asked. When he had finished taking her temperature she asked through a groggy sounding voice…

“What’s going on. I know I should know you but I can’t seem to put it all together?”

Jon smiled and took her hand, “Do you remember the accident Mr. Evans was in earlier today and the tornado that almost killed the both of you?”

“Oh.” Was her only reply…and then she seemed to register what Jon had said.

“Do you know how Max is doing?” she asked.

“Yes, the last I checked he was having his eyes washed and his mother was reading him a riot act due to his immature actions. As for the results of his MRI and Cat Scan, they aren’t back yet. They are still trying to figure out what caused him to lose consciousness. Aren’t you concerned about your own welfare?” Jon asked with a smile.

“Not really, apparently I’m alive and I am sure you will fill me in on anything else I need to know. Is there a chance that I can see Max?”

Jon looked at the young woman laying in the bed, hooked up to all of these monitors and saw the look of someone who truly cared more about others than she did herself. He made a call from the nurses station to the emergency room and asked if Mr. Evans had been moved yet and they informed him that he was still there. Jon’s next question was regarded as bizarre until Doctor MacIntyre walked past on his way to Liz’s room and stopped immediately to hear what the young male nurse was asking. He nodded to Jon to hand him the phone and as he spoke to the nurse at the ER station he informed her that he needed to speak to the attending physician there. When the ER doctor got on the phone Doctor MacIntyre explained the situation to him and told him that Mr. Evans mother insisted on a private suite with two beds for Mr. Evans and Miss Parker. Doctor MacIntyre explained that the two patients seemed to do much better when they were together so they moved Liz to a suite on the second floor and they would move Mr. Evans in with her when it was decided exactly what his condition was. Mrs. Evans had made it perfectly clear to all concerned that no expense should be spared in the care of these two young people and giving Liz Parker a private suite was no problem. So it was arranged and soon Liz was on her way to her room. She had no idea what was happening but she definitely wanted to see Max and make sure he was alright.

“Where are we going Jon?” She asked the male nurse as he wheeled her gurney down the hallway to the elevator.

“I think you’ll like where I’m taking you Miss Parker, it’s going to help your recuperation tremendously. We are doing something very unusual for you and your friend. It’s nice to have one of the wealthiest families in Texas for friends, don’t you think?” And Jon smiled down at the groggy Liz.

“I’m not sure I understand Jon, but I’ll take your word for it.” And Liz relaxed and enjoyed her ride as her eyelids grew heavy and her long eyelashes came to rest on her pale cheeks. Jon smiled as they arrived at the room on the east end of the hospital and wheeled her bed into place. There, laying in the bed next to the door was Max Evans, his eyes bandaged from all of the washing they had gone through and he waited patiently to be told what was happening. He was told that he would be in a private room so he just figured that this was more hospital personnel doing their jobs.

Soon he heard the clatter of the gurney and then voices…they were putting someone in his room with him and he was very curious to find out who.

“Who’s there?” Max asked…and then he recognized Jon’s voice from the emergency room.

“Is that you Jon? What’s going on over there?”

“Hi Mr. Evans…it’s me. We are moving Miss Parker in here with you. Both of your doctors seem to think that’s it’s in the best interest to both of you to be near each other and, after checking with your mother it seems as though everyone is in total agreement. This way you can talk to each other and not worry so much. How are you doing over there? Do you need anything?” Jon asked Max.

“Jon, do you have any idea how long I will have to wear these bandages over my eyes?”
Max asked.

“No Max, not a clue. You’ll have to wait for your doctor to tell you that. Liz is my patient for the time being until they assign another nurse. I’ll have to go back to the emergency room before too long. We are short staffed due to the weather but I’m sure someone will be in to talk to you shortly. Liz is sleeping now and I’m not sure how long she’ll be out but when she wakes up I’m sure she’ll recognize you, even with the bandages, and your family will be in shortly. We wanted to give you time to get settled in before turning them loose on you. Get some rest Mr. Evans and I’ll be in to see you later.” And Jon left Max alone with Liz. Max couldn’t have felt any worse than if he had wielded a knife into Liz’s leg himself. His mother was right. This was the stupidest thing he had ever pulled. “God” was the only thing running through his mind.

*

Down in the waiting room a very upset Isabelle Whitman was all but putting her mother through the fifth degree with all of her questions.

“What do you mean he brought her to dinner? Max brought a girl to dinner and you didn’t think to invite me? You didn’t think I would want to meet this person?”

Diane was about to give her daughter a piece of her mind when the doctor came and asked to speak to her alone. He could see the tension between the two women and he didn’t want to get into the middle of something. It was at this time that Diane agreed that Max and Liz should be put together in order to ease both of their minds. Diane was sure it would be a good idea.

After having spoken to the doctor Diane went back to sit with the rest of the group and Isabelle started in on her mother again…Diane had enough, this was it and by the time Isabelle saw the look on her mother’s face it was too late…the young woman knew she had pushed just a tad too far and then the dam broke,

“Isabelle Evans Whitman, the earth does not revolve around YOUR ass and the sooner you realize this the better off you are going to be. We do not, and I will not repeat this, do not run each others lives. I don’t interfere with yours and you definitely will not interfere with mine or your brothers. Is that CLEAR Isabelle? DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”

Diane was seeing red for the second time this evening and she didn’t like these feelings at all. She was upset and she didn’t need her daughter’s chatter, it was unwarranted and she was not going to have any more of it.

Maria was sitting there taking it all in and was seriously wishing that Isabelle had followed her own advice and kept her mouth shut.

“Yes mother.” Isabelle sounded like a small child that had been properly chastised.

“Good…and when you meet Liz you will keep your mouth shut, smile sweetly, and not give any of us cause to be embarrassed by your nosey questions. Is that clear?”

“Yes mother.”

Alex patted his wife’s hand and smiled at Diane, giving her a knowing grin. Every once in a while it was necessary to let Isabelle know who the boss really was in this family and it definitely wasn’t Isabelle. Although Diane usually kept these scenes to a more private atmosphere.

When Doctor James came out to speak with Max’s family and friends he informed them that Max and Liz were both resting comfortably and they could go in to see Max two at a time.

“Miss Parker is asleep and will probably remain that way for quite awhile. She had to have three pints of blood and 27 stitches in her leg but the prognosis is good. It was a good thing you discovered the injury when you did because it wouldn’t have been much longer before she bled to death. I am amazed that she drove here and sat in this room and never felt any pain. She had an awful gash and her clothes were soaked, she had to have been in shock not to have noticed, even now she seems to be more concerned about how Max is than how she is. She is one very strong young woman.”

Diane smiled at the doctor and thanked him for his update and advised him that she and Isabelle, Max’s sister, would be the first to go to the room to see them. Maria looked up at Michael and knew he wanted to visit his friend but Michael looked at Maria and shook his head and said,

“We’ll go in last Maria, that way I can stay with him in case he needs anything.” Maria nodded and smiled at him and sat back down and then she noticed Liz’s purse.

“God Michael, we almost left Liz’s purse here. She will probably need this. We could have gotten information from this had we thought.” And then Maria picked up the purse and fished out Liz’s wallet. She found her social security card, driver’s license and a health insurance card along with a AAA card. She looked at the health card and found that it was current and went over to the admitting clerk and showed it to her.

“If you need any health coverage information on Elizabeth Parker I think this might be what you are looking for.” And Maria handed the card over to the clerk who brought up Liz’s file on her computer screen and typed in the information and then took the card and made a copy of it for Liz’s file.

“Thank you, you have no idea what this indicates.” The clerk told Maria, “She has 100% coverage. That is practically unheard of. The only thing this insurance doesn’t cover is private phone calls. They don’t write policies like this anymore, no one can afford them.”

Maria was in as much shock as the admitting clerk…Michael came up behind Maria and caught the tail end of the conversation and couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Who would have thought that the young waitress at the diner was so much more than any of them had ever dreamed. Just who was this Elizabeth Parker anyway?

*

When Isabelle and Diane walked into Max and Liz’s room they were stunned to see Max’s eyes in bandages and Liz hooked up to so many monitors and the IV’s with her blood transfusion slowly dripping into her arm and another doing whatever IV’s do. Diane’s heart ached for the young girl and she wanted to take her into her arms and hold her close and thank her for saving her son’s life and risking her own to do it. Isabelle just stood there in shock. ‘Dear God, she’s so tiny’ she thought to herself. How could anyone so tiny be so huge in the eyes of everyone that has met her. ‘She must really be someone special’ Isabelle continued to think to herself.

“Max sweetheart, it’s Mom and Isabelle, are you awake?” Diane asked very softly…

“Hi Mom, Isabelle, yeah, I’m awake.” I’d like to know when they’re going to take the bandages off. I know my eyes are scratched from the dust and debris that was blowing around and no windshield in the truck for protection and I know they are doing the right thing but I need to know if Liz is alright. They told me they moved her in here and I can hear the monitors but I can’t see her. Is she really alright Mom?” Max was practically begging his mother to tell him.

“She’s fine honey. They stitched her up and are replacing her blood as we speak… she’s going to be fine. She’s just tired from all the turmoil. She did a very brave thing Max. She found you, crawled through the broken windshield, called 911 and sat and held your hand until the paramedics arrived. She even drove here with the chunk of glass sticking out of her leg and filled out admittance papers on you. Until Michael pointed out the blood to her she had no idea she was injured. She’s certainly one determined young woman Max. You can be very proud of her and thankful as well.” Diane told her son who only wanted to cry. He really was feeling pretty stupid right now, but his mother understood perfectly…he came for her and Liz went for him. That’s what you do when you love someone and she knew she was on the right track when it came to Max and Liz.

Isabelle couldn’t take her eyes off the young woman laying in the bed next to her brother. She didn’t know if she would have the courage or fortitude to do that for anyone, she could only look at her with an expression of awe on her face and Diane noticed it and squeezed her hand.

“I know. She doesn’t look like she’s big enough to take care of herself let alone your brother does she?” Diane smiled as she spoke and Isabelle could only stand there and nod.

“Max, Everyone is waiting out in the waiting room to come in to see you so we’re going to head on out. Alex and I are going to stay with Mom until Dad comes home, not because she needs us but because I need her, so I’ll see you tomorrow and hopefully Liz will be awake and I’ll get to meet her. Is there anything that I can do for you in the meantime?” Isabelle meant every word she said…she did need her mother right now and Max understood.

“Yeah Izzy, there’s something you can do for Liz. She’s a student at UT and her instructors need to know her situation. If you could give the administration office a call and see what needs to be done in order to ensure she doesn’t lose any of her classes that would be great. I know it will mean a lot to her too.” Max smiled as he asked his sister to do this for Liz, he knew it was important.

“Of course Max. I’ll be glad to take care of it for you…do you think that she might be interested in a tutor during her recuperation. We can arrange that for her.” Isabelle was really trying to help and Max smiled again.

“Isabelle, if you could find someone to tape the lectures for her I’m sure she’ll be able to keep up. She’s going to Harvard on a full scholastic scholarship in August so I’m sure she can handle a few weeks of tapes.” Max sounded so proud when he spoke of Liz’s accomplishments and Isabelle didn’t miss a beat.

“Max, if you think that she can handle this with tapes then I’ll go and tape the classes for her. It’s the least I can do for my brother’s savior.” And then Max had to gasp in surprise. His sister never put herself out for anyone that he knew of and to have her do this for a perfect stranger was a complete shock.

“Isabelle, if they’ll let you in then go for it.” Was all Max had to say and she said she would see them tomorrow some time. She’d like to see them keep her out. After all she was a graduate of UT why wouldn’t they let her monitor a class for a friend.

*

After Diane and Isabelle left Max they headed back to the waiting room where they found Michael, Maria and Alex waiting for them…very anxiously waiting for them.

Diane spoke first…”Liz is asleep and Max wants his eyes unbandaged of course but other than that they are fine. They still don’t know why Max passed out but they are going over X-rays and tests with a fine tooth comb before writing anything serious off. I’m pretty sure that it was the air-bag that caused him to lose consciousness but I’m not going to stop them from making sure. Isabelle is going to go over to UT tomorrow and find out what classes Liz has and will monitor them for her while she’s recuperating and other than that that’s all the news there is.”

Maria spoke next…”I have the keys to Liz’s car here and her books are in there in her backpack if you want them.”

“Yes, that would be very helpful Maria, thank you.” Isabelle was sorry she never took the time to go to the diner and meet the girls that her husband used to come home and tell her about. Apparently they are more than just waitresses she thought to herself.

Maria got up from her chair and picked up Liz’s purse and handed it to Michael who threw it over his shoulder and nodded to her.

“I’ll be in 232 if you’re interested in seeing your friend Maria.” Michael said to her.

“Thank you Michael. I’ll bring her car keys back to you and you can use it if you want to go home and rest a bit.” Maria smiled at Michael as she prepared herself to follow Isabelle to the parking lot.

When they got to Liz’s car and Maria opened it to get the books from the back seat both young women noticed the driver’s seat was full of blood and they both stood in silence and looked at it in shock. Finally it was Maria who spoke…

“Isabelle, it’s a wonder she didn’t die before she got here.”

“My God…we need to say our prayers tonight.” Isabelle said in a low voice.

“We certainly do. I’ll tell Michael that maybe he should call a cab if he wants to go home and then we need to order her a new car seat or something.” Maria offered in just as low a voice as Isabelle, they were too shocked to speak in normal tones. Neither woman wanted to even think about how lucky Liz was to be alive, it was just too scary.

Maria reached in the back seat and grabbed Liz’s backpack and handed it to Isabelle and explained that this is what she carried into the diner every night on her break and studied from. Isabelle nodded and then asked…

“What is she studying, do you know?”

Maria just shrugged her shoulders and muttered something about microbiology and Isabelle said

“Oh God…you’ve got to be kidding.” And Maria looked at Isabelle and started to giggle. “I don’t think she’s doing anything with blood and guts.”

“OH. GOD! I hope not.” And then Isabelle was almost sorry she volunteered for this project, then she had an epiphany. ‘If she is into blood and guts I will hire a tutor for her’ and she smiled and took the backpack and headed over to her husband’s car and got in. She waved to Maria as they took off and made a mental note to have her favorite mechanic come over to the hospital parking lot tomorrow and pick up Liz’s car and detail it. If it needed a new seat then give her one…she deserved it, she smiled to herself as she watched her husband drive out of the hospital parking lot. Hell, give her a new car. She was feeling pretty good about herself right now. She had an important mission to carry out and she would see to it that it was done to perfection…just like everything else she was ever in charge of. Yes, Liz Parker would be well taken care of, she would see to it.

Diane had a sneaking suspicion what was going on in her daughter’s mind and could only smile to herself. She and Max were as different as night and day but she could never say that she loved one more than the other, never, they were just different.

*
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"Age is just a state of mind"...I think that's mine? I could be wrong! I'm old, so sue me.
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mary mary
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Re: You've Got To Hold On AU/M.L. ch.9 Teen 10/13/09

Post by mary mary »

Eve:I believe you're right about the insurance...and as for those kinds of people, I think they do still exist. I have some friends like that and if I called them the first thing out of their mouths would be, do I have time to change or do you need me now? HONEST!!! Keep looking, they're out there. :)
Natalie: Here you go! :D
Jan: So glad to see you again.
Nubantu: Welcome to my story and thank you. :)
Ken: Boy, I know what you mean about hospitals, not a fun place to be or visit. :roll:
Destiny: Glad to see you taking a break from all of the school activities and are joining us...welcome back. :)

*~*~*


Chapter: 10

Up in room 232 Max was resting quietly with the bandages on his eyes, never dreaming in a million years that just maybe he wouldn’t be able to see when the bandages did come off. Doctor James peeked his head into the room and saw the young woman in the other bed still sleeping and he quietly went over to Max’s bed and whispered

“Are you awake Max?” And Max immediately raised his hand in answer…

“Yes, but I don’t think Liz is.” Doctor James smiled and answered…

“No, she’s still asleep so I’ll keep it down. Max, we are going to have to take you up to surgery in the morning and have a closer look at the damage to your eyes. We’ll put you to sleep through the procedure so you won’t feel any discomfort but we need to know that we got all of the debris removed and that there wasn’t any permanent damage. I don’t want you worrying about this but I needed you to be ready for me early and I also wanted you to be aware of what was going on. Do you understand?”

Michael had just arrived outside of Max’s door when the doctor walked in and overheard the conversation taking place and he wanted to cry for his friend. This was just too horrible to think about.

“Yeah, I think I understand fully what you’re trying to say…There’s a chance that I could be blind, right?” Max answered with a catch in his voice.

“Max, please don’t start thinking the worst before we know what we’re dealing with. There was no indication of any permanent damage when I saw you in the emergency room but I certainly don’t want to let any stone unturned. Your eyes are going to burn for a couple of days from all of the dust and debris but there could be some scratching that I missed so let’s just be cautious and explore all possibilities before we make any final decisions. Okay?”

“Sure Doctor. Thank you.” And Max all but dismissed the man before Michael poked his head in and said hi.

“Hey Michael, this is Doctor James the eye specialist that is working on me. He’s just in checking up before heading home.” Max said in a monotone voice.

“Nice to meet you Doc. Make sure you take good care of him, he’s kind of special to all of us.” Michael said a whole lot more than he wanted to say but the words just spewed forth…it beat the hell out of crying which is what he wanted to do and the doctor could read that on the young man’s face.

“It’s nice to meet you as well Michael. I’ll leave you two alone to visit. I’m sure Doctor MacIntyre will be in to see Miss Parker before going home. She’s had a pretty rough night as well.” And with that the doctor left Max and Michael alone.

Michael took a seat next to Max’s bed and reached over and squeezed his friends shoulder before saying anything else. He wanted to let Max know that he would be there for him and Max understood perfectly what his friend’s gesture meant.

“How does she look Michael? And don’t lie to me.” Max asked,

“She’s pale Max, and she has a couple of IV’s going, oxygen and a bunch of monitors but she looks okay. She seems to be breathing alright and she looks relaxed.” Michael tried to cover all bases for Max knowing he was as much concerned about Liz as he was about himself.

“Thanks Michael, I appreciate it.” Max said to his friend and about that time they heard a small voice from the other side of the room…

“I can hear you two you know, you don’t have to whisper. Hey Michael, how are you? And Max, don’t you worry about your eyes. You saw me crawl into the cab before you passed out so you’ll be fine. I know it. Other than that how are you feeling. Did your Mom and Sister get here alright?”

“I’m fine Liz.” Michael answered and then Max

“Yes, they got here just fine and I’m feeling great except for these bandages. I wish I could see what was going on around me but other than that I feel fine.”

“Did they ever find out why you passed out? I couldn’t see too much in the dark but you were hanging upside down, harnessed in by your seat belt, maybe it was because of that or the airbag that was pressed against your chest. It could be a lot of simple reasons Max…don’t worry about ‘what ifs’ okay?”

Max and Michael both chuckled at that one. Liz still hadn’t turned her head around or moved her body, she just laid there and talked. She really didn’t want to move at all, she felt numb all over.

“Okay Liz, no worrying about ‘what ifs’…how are you feeling?”

“Woozy is about the only way to describe it. It’s like I’ve had one too many glasses of wine and if I just lay still things will be alright.”

Max and Michael chuckled again…

“Have you had many experiences like that Liz?” Max asked with a grin on his face…Michael noticed it and had to chuckle to himself, leave it to Max to pump for information during a crisis.

“Only once Max. My best friend Serena and I got into her father’s wine cellar when we were about fourteen and decided to see what all the hype was about. That was a long time ago and it will never happen again, trust me.”

“You were fourteen when you had your first hangover?” Max said in disbelief,

“Yep, fourteen and stupid. Serena threw up all over her blankets and we had to wash them before her mother found out. We both were a mess and falling all over each other, I don't know how we managed to get the bed clothes into the washing machine. We were so sick and laughing so hard at each other.. it was one pitiful sight let me tell you, and then her mother fixed us this huge breakfast the next morning and all we wanted to do was throw up again but we had to eat it. You know what? I think her mother knew…she had never fixed us breakfast before, I’ll just bet she did, and she wanted us to suffer. What a dirty trick to play on your own daughter.” Liz giggled at the memory.

Max and Michael both laughed at her and Michael could see why Max liked her so much. She really was a cute one. Then Max said,

“Don’t you think that was a better way of teaching you a lesson than trying to tell you about the evils of alcohol?”

“I guess, but looking back on it I think I would have preferred a lecture to that greasy breakfast she made.”

About that time Doctor MacIntyre came in and saw that Liz was awake and was very pleased. He nodded to Michael and Max and headed to the bed by the window.

“Well, good evening Liz. How are you feeling?” The doctor asked as he checked the monitors over Liz’s head.

“Oh, just peachy.” Liz replied and the doctor laughed at the young woman.

“I’m going to check the dressings on your leg Liz, I want to make sure that everything is alright and there isn’t anything that we missed. You were pretty badly injured and we need to make sure there wasn’t any permanent damage to any nerves. I understand that you saved this young man’s life.” The doctor continued to talk as he removed the blankets from Liz’s body to check her out.

“Well, I don’t know about saving his life but I did call 911…that’s about all I did.”

Michael and Max both listened to what was being said in the next bed and both were surprised that the doctor was concerned about permanent damage. What kind of permanent damage?

“Do you work out Liz?”

“No, I do waitress work and run to classes, that’s all I have time to do.”

“Oh, what classes are you studying?” The doctor continued to talk as he worked Liz’s foot, flexing it back and forth and then asking her to wiggle her toes as he continued.

“Oh, microbiology. I graduate in May from UT with my bachelors’ and then I’ll be heading on to Harvard for my Masters and eventually my doctorate. Hopefully I will be able to finish in three years. I have saved enough that I shouldn’t have to work during my studies which will allow me to complete everything in half the time. That’s my plan anyway. We’ll see, you know you have to have a plan.” Liz said with a sigh.

To say the room full of men was impressed with this tiny little woman was an understatement and Max was so proud of her he was about to bust. Michael just squeezed his shoulder again. He knew that his friend was having mixed emotions right now. He was sure Max wanted to see her achieve all of her goals and he also knew he wanted to keep her here with him. Only time would tell how this scene would play out.

“Well Liz, everything seems to be working. I’ll be back to see you in the morning and I am sure you will be able to graduate with your class…I can’t see anything here that will be holding you back. You get a good night’s rest and don’t let these two scoundrel’s keep you up all night.” And doctor MacIntyre winked at Michael as he walked out the door.

“He seems like a nice man.” Liz said after the doctor left. Michael just had to tell her what he knew about the good doctor.

“Liz, he is the best plastic surgeon in the state. Mrs. Evans made a call when she got here and found out you needed surgery. You probably won’t even have a visible scar when he’s done with you.”

“Really, a plastic surgeon. I would have never thought of that, isn’t that amazing. Well I’ll be.” And then Max had something to say…

“Liz, my sister Isabelle is going to go to your classes and tape them and take notes. If it’s too difficult for her she’ll hire a tutor to do it for you. Oh, and if any of your classes involve labs with blood and guts she’ll definitely hire a tutor for you … she can’t deal with that stuff.”

Liz started to giggle almost uncontrollably…

“Max, there’s only one lab and it won’t do me any good for her to take notes in that class. I will have to do it myself. I need to see for my self what is going on under those lenses so tell her not to worry about that class. If she can bring me the tapes and notes from the rest I’ll make up the labs. That will be wonderful. Thank you Max but why would she do that?” Liz was wondering why a person she had never met would be so kind to her and then Max popped up with…

“Because she loves me and that makes her love you by default.” Max had no idea where that remark came from and Michael looked at him in total shock…

“Oh.” Was Liz’s only comment. Soon a nurse came in and wanted to know if anyone would like a snack. She was told that none of the occupants in this room had eaten all day and that included the visitor.

Liz was still groggy from medication and Max wasn’t feeling all that swift himself but he did want to know if he could have a sandwich. He figured he could eat that without making too much of a mess and then Michael popped up with…

“What do you have?” And they all started laughing. Then Max stated

“This is my friend Michael and if you send out for a pizza I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“Hello Michael, I’ll see what I can do for you.” And the nurse turned and left.

Michael smiled at Max even though Max couldn’t see him and then he looked over toward Liz’s bed and she was asleep again. Michael got up and went over and pulled the string on her overhead light and pulled the curtain to allow her some quiet and went back and sat by his friend.

“She’s asleep again man, she’s got a bandage from her hip all the way to her knee. She must have really had a big gash.” Michael said to Max.

“I thought you were the one that saw it?” Max asked

“I saw the blood all over her jeans and a piece of glass sticking out of the side of her leg but I had no idea how much of it was in there Max…The blood was all over the place and apparently stuck to the glass which was hidden under the slacks. She must have been bleeding the whole time she was with you in the cab. Do you remember any of it at all?”

And then Max remembered the out of body experience he thought he had and he felt Liz holding his hand…he heard her voice too..

“ Oh Max, I don’t want to care for you but I can’t help myself. Please Max, ‘you’ve got to hold on’. I don’t know how you feel about me but I really think I’m falling in love with you. I don’t want to Max, I really don’t but I can’t help it.”

“No Michael, I don’t remember any of it. I do remember the truck spinning across the road…and …It. Was. Spinning, and then it was rolling, like a ball, just rolling over and over. It was strange. Michael, I can’t believe I did something that stupid. You should have heard mom…I didn’t know she knew those words.”

“Max, I did hear her, I ran the other way.” And both men started to laugh, loud, as a matter of fact, and Liz stirred over in her bed and wanted to know what was going on.

Max nodded to Michael and Michael proceeded to tell Liz about Mrs. Evans and her tirade.

“And then she asked Max…’are you out of your fucking mind’ and Max just laid there in shock.” Michael and Max started laughing again and Liz joined in…

“Not that sweet, dignified lady…she would never say anything like that.” And they laughed even harder. The nurse came in to see what was going on and she couldn’t believe her eyes. Everyone in that room was laughing hysterically…

“You people will have to calm down, there’s other patients on this floor.” And they laughed harder, the tension was so strong that the laughter overtook them and they had no control.

“You’ll have to close the door..” Michael spit out, “Because we can’t stop.” and they all guffawed at the nurse.

She was so flabbergasted that she stormed out and pulled the door closed with her and the three young people continued to laugh…

“I’m sure that the day’s situation has a lot to do with this release of tension but my God Max, your mom!” Michael said and they laughed even harder if that was possible. Liz was laughing so hard she was moaning, her leg was starting to hurt and Michael went over to see if he could do anything for her.

“Just stop it, please!” She begged through laughter and tears and Michael screwed up his face and turned around and walked back to Max’s bed. Soon they settled down and Liz went back to sleep. The laughter relieved a lot of tension for all of them…

“God Michael, I needed that.” Max said and Michael squeezed his shoulder again. He understood what Max was saying and soon the night nurse came in with a tray for Max and a pizza for Michael… Apparently she was used to eye injuries because she adjusted Max’s bed to an upright position and placed his tray on his roll around stand. She took his hand and placed it next to his plate and explained to him that a cup with a lid on it was to his right and his sandwich was straight to his left. Max nodded and Michael started to tear up and the tears started running out of the corner of his eyes, he couldn’t stop them... God how he hoped there was no permanent injury.

“Want a piece of pizza Max?” Michael asked and Max heard the catch in his voice…it was suddenly very quiet in the room as well as dark and the tension was back once again to haunt the young men.

“Nah man, I’m still all drugged up, I think I’ll just stick to some simple stuff.” Max answered his best friend. And he ate his sandwich in silence. He knew what he was facing without going into a lot of empty conversation. Talk wasn’t necessary nor was it wanted right now and both men understood how the other felt about it, they just had to wait.

*
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"Age is just a state of mind"...I think that's mine? I could be wrong! I'm old, so sue me.
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