--
"You piece of shit." Kivar held Zan up by the throat. "I would kill you but I need you to open that door. So open it."
"Fuck you." Zan croaked. "You don't want her. She wouldn't know an Antarian if one bit her on the ass. Trust me. She's been bitten."
Isabel's head swam and ached. Her eyes swept the corridor. Flames licked up the walls from Kivar's blast. Then there was a still form at the end. "Michael!"
"You blew up the relic, you moron." Kivar growled.
"Listen. You want power? There's a little girl back that way. She's a little plain but she'll work much better than that dumb blonde."
"Ava?" Kivar laughed out loud. "Why would I want her?"
"I been makin' good on my deal with Moms. I got a bun in her oven. Find her before I do and I'll let you keep it."
"You don't want the heir to the great empire?" Kivar chuckled. "You sank pretty low before, little king, but I never thought you would go that low."
"Look. I got a new lease on life. I like this planet. I'm the man here. I don't need some brat takin' up my time."
"A race then? Like old times? First to find the bride, takes her home."
"What if I find her first? You gon leave us lone? You gon stay here?" Zan managed a laughed though that hand was squeezing him tightly.
"I suppose we'll find out if I'm an Antarian of my word."
--
Ava doubled back around when the hall she explored was void of anyone at all. She had found a room that looked like it had held someone but it was empty… save for a dead body. That old guy who asked Liz all those questions. Good for him. "Liz!" What could it hurt now? Zan had gotten started early. "Liz!"
Was she going in circles? There was Max ahead of her, doing the same she was. Running door to door and peeking inside. "Max!"
--
Isabel shook Michael to wake him but he was out cold. People were running passed them and out that door, the smoke chasing them out. "Max!"
She used her powers to blow the smoke away from Michael's nose but she knew that soon it would be futile. He had to wake up soon. "Max!"
--
Pierce shoved Liz face first into a wall. "Did I not tell you there would be repercussions for hurting me? Making deals with someone who has no power to make deals? How strong were the drugs she pumped into you?"
"I don't know. I don't even know what she was trying to do. My head is still spinning." Liz's voice wavered but the clouds still clung to her mind.
"Liz, I don't have the time to do everything I said I would do to you. This building is going up in smoke. Flames will eventually reach us, no matter where we go. I need answers and you seem to have them. I shot that man with enough drugs to level an elephant but he still managed to kill my agent and I need you to tell me how."
"I don't know. If you kill that man, you kill your soldier too." She whispered.
"Oh, I put that part of the puzzle together right away, Liz. I want to know why the alien inside him isn't affected by what the body is subjected to?"
"Maybe he's a remote control car."
"I thought about that too. How is he doing it?"
"I don't know. I didn't even know there were aliens until I got kidnapped. It's not like I'm any kind of expert. I overheard a few key conversations and I was told a great deal but that doesn't mean I have the answers to your questions. I don't have the answers to my own."
"Are they trying to take over?"
"No. They wouldn’t even know how."
"Why are they here?"
"Because Earth is a safe house… I think… I forget…" Liz pleaded and couldn't hold it together anymore. "If you're going to rape me, then do it. I can't tell you what I don't know."
Those blue eyes met hers the second her back was pressed against the wall. "I could do that and it would cost me valuable time. There are things going on around us. The building is burning down. There is an alien warrior on a rampage and I don't know where he'll stop. He killed one of my agents and I don't think he'll stop there. He's going after your friend. The tall blonde, I think her name is Isabel. Should I let him? Should we stay here and burn to death?"
"You can't do it." She taunted him through tears. "You never could. What did I do?"
"I could and I would but we have more important things to do in the here and now." Pierce's eyes never wavered. "What did you do? You know aliens."
"I had pie with an alien. I didn't know he was an alien or that there was about to be an attempt on his life. I kept him breathing until help could arrive. That's all I did. That's why I got kidnapped and tortured and it's ultimately why you took me, right? What do I have to do with anything except that I was home that night. I was home and with my best friend on a really bad night."
"I could just leave you here, locked in one of these rooms and no one would ever know what had become of you."
"You could." She calmed herself some. "How could you do it? How could you look me in the eye and lie to my face about why you became a counselor? How could you build trust only to do this? You're a sick fuck, Dr. Dave."
"Who said I lied?"
--
Max and Ava skidded to a stop beside Michael and Isabel. She rapidly explained what happened so Max could get to work. While Michael was coming to, that’s when Isabel noticed that Liz wasn’t with them. She saw the flames burning up one corridor and turned to find a second sporting the same inferno. She thought she saw movement down a third but she couldn’t be sure. Sirens began to go off and soon the base would either be put out or locked down.
Before they could make a decision, that soldier stood in front of them, murder in his eyes. “So, here it is again. The four of you against me. I’m alone today but I don’t think that will matter. I will still kill you all.”
“Kivar.” Ava whispered to Max.
“Your highness, congratulations. I may spare your life but only for a short time. The rest of you can roast in hell for all Antar will care.”
“Why me?” Ava couldn’t help but take a step back.
“Zan is good as dead. This pale imposter would do me no good. An heir would fetch quite a bit of support from my detractors.”
“Heir? What heir?”
“The one in your womb.”
“You gotta be kiddin’ me. Who told you that?” Ava saw Zan behind Kivar and realized too late that she should have played along.
“It’s the only thing worth anything anymore. No one cares about Vilandra’s affair and what she did to her king and brother. It’s all old news. It’s time for my regime. This is my day. The days of the golden reign are over. The dark age is over. I am come to power and my reign will be glorious.”
“You talk too much.” Max muttered and held his hand out.
“You think you can stop me? You couldn’t before. Your own sister killed you. I really wish it had been me.”
“Not my sister. Vilandra may have but Isabel isn’t her.”
“Carrying my child. The first heir to the throne and ahead of her beloved brother. I so wish I could have seen that child into the light of day.”
“You tricked her.” Max shook his head. “Promised her a good life and you took it.”
“Took nothing. She begged me to give her an heir to see herself to the throne. Civil war come and gone in a matter of weeks. It was magnificent. The chaos and the mayhem. Grieving and warring. Antar had never seen more excitement in all her history.”
“It ends now.” Max motioned to Michael who shot a blast at Kivar while Max shielded who he could. Zan blasted Kivar from behind at the same time. It was a struggle to keep protected but Ava seemed to be working up something special and Isabel never looked scarier in all her life. Then Max felt a hand in his free hand. Then an energy he’d never felt before passed through him. He could feel them all. Ava and Isabel and Michael. They were all inside him and when he lowered that shield, he realized what Zan had told him earlier that year was true. They were meant to work together. “It’s over, Kivar.”
Zan saw the energy glowing around the foursome at the other end of the corridor and raced backward, abandoning his efforts in search of safety. He ducked into a room and all he heard was a roar of energy and a scream he knew would haunt him for the rest of his life.
--
Liz hit her head against the wall when the explosion rocked the base. The ceiling crashed down on them both and Pierce fell on top of her. They lay there, dazed, bleeding, and fighting for consciousness amid the smoke and heat. She got tired of fighting it. She had been drugged and terrorized and this was enough.
--
Max shook his head but it was like someone had cut off his ears. Ava’s mouth moved but he couldn’t hear her words. He was empty without them inside him. Then he followed her gaze. Liz.
Smoke invaded his lungs. He had done that… had helped to do that. The corridor was scorched and a wretched body lay in the middle, burnt to a crisp. All around them fire grew and it would take too much time to put it out. Max coughed and raised the bottom of his shirt to cover his nose and mouth. Zan was working fast to turn the facility into an inferno that Satan could be proud of. He had to find Liz and get out of there.
--
Zan shoved himself to his feet and had to remember what he was doing. He couldn’t really hear but that would pass. It always did. Kivar was gone. He was sure of it. He still had one more thing that he had to do. One last thing before the day was over.
--
Ava turned a corner with Max on her heels to find Pierce struggling with an unconscious Liz. He kept dropping a key, fingers coated in blood. Max lunged forward but Ava held him back. “Let me get her, Max. We should leave him to die in here. No more blood on your hands.”
--
Zan passed a room and after he was sure it was empty, he set it on fire. He just hoped Max had found Liz already. His mind raced with everything that Kivar had said. He remembered killing Vilandra. He hadn’t known she was pregnant. He didn’t know if it would have changed anything. Maybe it would have all gone down the same way… maybe not.
--
Ava was weak but she concentrated on a mindwarp that would cloud his vision of her. “Agent Pierce.”
“I’m going… I just… have to find the key.” Pierce bumbled around.
“I’ve got it right here.” She picked it up and handed it to him. “You just need to keep that alien here.”
“The one in charge?”
“That’s the one. I’ll take the prisoner to a safe place for interrogation. Don’t worry about the fire. We’ve got it under control.”
“Good. Good job, soldier.” He unlocked the wrist cuffs and handed Liz over. “Keep her drugged like this. She’ll kick you in the balls the first she gets a chance. I have plans for her soldier… she’s not to be tampered with.”
“You’d better find that alien.” Ava took Liz and when Pierce turned to go, she let go of the mindwarp. “Liz, wake up.”
“Is she ok? Did he hurt her?” Max took Liz from Ava to look her over. "Where is this blood coming from?"
“I think it's his blood… Looks like he took care of her. He was probably countin' on using her to get to us.” Ava pushed the smoke away from their faces but the smoke was getting thicker by the minute. “We gotta get out of here. The sooner we get to clean air, the better she’ll be… the better we'll all be.”
--
Lannie gripped a wall. She could see Isabel at the other end of the hallway but smoke filled her lungs and she could barely walk. Just as she was getting herself together, her vision went blurry and Rath took Lannie out the doors. Damn Zan and his pyromania. Damn Rath. Damn them all to hell.
Falling to the ground, she watched Rath and Isabel. When had Rath cleaned himself up? Where the hell had he been while she had been in here? Then the dark covered her eyes.
--
Max shed his shirt and draped it over Liz’s face before picking her up and following Ava to the doors. They didn’t have much time. The walls were starting to sag and the ceiling was blistered. The fire was growing so fast when before it had been a steady but slow climb. “Ava! Is Zan at the door?”
“He… I ain’t seen him since we fried Kivar.”
--
Zan sobbed even as he picked Lannie up by her bra straps, yanking her onto her feet and spun her into his arms. His arm around her head, he gripped her shoulder with his free hand. Half of him wanted her to be unconscious for his next move, the other half wanted her to feel everything.
Blue eyes met his across the room filling with smoke. "Are you really going to kill your sister, Zan?" The boy didn't answer though his sobbing did get louder. "She is still your sister. She was just upset when you tried to kill her." No answer from the boy with the tear-filled eyes. "We took care of her, Zan. We can take care of you, too. Both of you. No worries about your next meal or having a roof over your head, clean clothes on your back. You'll get to be together. We'll keep the peace for you. Get you educations, teach you to be useful." Not a movement from the boy as Lannie began to regain consciousness, struggling against Zan's iron grip. "You can show us how you do it. Kill with your hands."
"Monkeys. All of you." Zan bit out as he twisted quickly, a sharp crack sang through the air.
"Zan… you can help us." Pierce didn't waver.
"To die." Zan arched an eyebrow and reached for the suit. “You ain’t gettin’ no one. Not Lannie. Not me. Not Liz. Not Max. Not one of us.”
“I’ve already got you. You can’t get out of this building without me or one of my men. We’ve got you surrounded.”
“You high or stupid? Your building is burnin’ to the ground. I win. I’m takin’ it all.”
--
Max set Liz on the ground and felt for her pulse, which he found to be weak but there. He was tired but he had to fix her. To bring her back. To make sure she was still alive. Before he could do a thing, an explosion rocked them all, sending him sprawling over Liz. His ears rang once more. He saw Ava crawling toward the raging inferno on her belly. Ava. Did he call out loud? Ava!
Arms dragged him up. Michael and Isabel. Then his hearing was back and he could hear Ava screaming over and over. “Zan!”
TBC
like'd to take a moment to thank everyone who nominated this and other of my stories. I really appreciate it. I had a list somewhere but I can't find it. You know who you are. '-)
Cocking/Caulking (Lizfic) ADULT COMPLETE 3/30/06
Moderators: Anniepoo98, Itzstacie, truelovepooh, Erina, Forum Moderators
Part 61
I'm Liz Parker and I don't know what to do. I'm torn into so many different directions.
Max pulled up to the Parkers next to Sheriff Valenti's cruiser. Liz had been quiet since awakening on the drive back. Ava had held onto her the whole way but Ava was the last person who could comfort anyone. Michael held Isabel against his body, unwilling to let go of her for even a minute. The Parkers were still in the restaurant across from the Sheriff who was explaining the protocol. They all noticed the Jeep at the same time. Mr. Parker shot out of his seat and had Liz in his arms before he really looked at her.
All Liz could do was cling to her father and beg him not to let her go.
I don't like this… agoraphobia. I want to go out into the world unafraid. I want to believe that all the bad guys are gone. I want to be able to look at my boyfriend and not have the slightest amount of fear that he could become like Lannie. I know that it isn’t even possible but the doubt is there.
Sheriff Valenti circled the table of teens. He held his hat in hand and just stared at them. "What in the hell happened today, kids?"
"Dr. Dave… Dr. White took Liz." Max forced the words out. Just saying that name made him want to vomit. To go back in there and heal that man so he could set him on fire all over again. Ava should have let him kill that man himself.
"Dr. White. Dr. David White took Liz… why would he do that?" He took a seat at the table. The kids all looked shaken and grief-stricken. "Why didn't one of you call me to tell me?"
"We couldn't be sure. We hadda follow him, see where he took her." Ava answered, tears streaming continually down her face. "She wasn't the only one he took. Zan… went lookin' for his sister and when he found her… Dr. Dave had Liz too."
"Had her?"
"Locked inside that base." Michael provided.
"Kids… I'll tell you… I have taken a lot on faith because Liz is dear to me as if she were my own daughter." Valenti cleared his throat. "I need the truth because I need to write a report and I have to find Dr. White."
"Dr. White is dead." Max locked eyes with the Sheriff. "So is everyone who was still inside that base when it blew."
"And how did it blow? Did you blow it up? Did he? Why did he take these girls? I need answers because this is not just up to me anymore. This is a repeat kidnapping. One girl was taken twice in six months and I need to know why." He looked at them each in turn. "Liz is in no condition to answer questions right now. If this has anything at all to do with what happened the first time, tell me now."
"We don't know why he took her, we just know that he took her." Max whispered, his eyes filling with more tears. "I went to pick her up because we got our signals mixed and no one was there to get her after her meeting. When I got there, she was gone. The janitor said that Dr. Dave had taken her home a while before but her dad hadn't seen her at all. He said they headed toward the highway. We followed and we lost him along the way. Zan contacted us to say he found his sister and that Liz was there too. Then we showed up to get them. The place was already on fire."
"Who set the fire?"
"I don't know." Max's eyes went to the backdoor where Mr. Parker was standing, or leaning rather, on the railing as if steeling himself to climb them to be with his daughter. "Is she going to be okay?"
"Do you have any reason that I might need to call an ambulance?" Valenti rose and rounded the table to Max. "Did she say anything to you?"
"Not a word." Max shook his head. "I'm not sure they did anything but I can't believe they took her and did nothing. I can hope and I can pray but…"
"She's fragile just now. You can tell just by looking at her." Valenti softened his voice because the boy was obviously concerned. "I am calling an EMT to come look at her because like you, I can't believe she wasn't harmed in some way. We need to be sure. Why is she wearing scrubs?"
"I don't know. She was wearing them when I found her."
"What about this other girl you said was taken?"
"Don't know. She didn't get out."
"Anyone else you know didn't get out?"
"Zan." Ava sobbed into her arms.
--
Liz leaned on her mother in the living room. She had been ordered not to change yet but she was dying in those scrubs. She kept her eyes on the bruises around her wrists from the cuffs. "It's not fair."
"No, it's not." Nancy shook her head and rocked her daughter. "Did they hurt you?"
"That's hard to say." Was that even her voice?
"Did they hurt you the… the way they hurt you before?"
"No… he said he would if I didn't do what he said but… he didn't rape me. I did what he said…"
"Liz… sweetie." Nancy stroked her hair and tried to find her daughter somewhere in the mess in her arms. "What did they do to you?"
"Wanted me to tell them about the aliens."
"Liz… it's your mother. Listen to me."
"I'm listening. I mean… I can't answer questions I don't know the answers to. It's not logical and to press after I say I don't know is… ludicrous." Liz shook her head but stood when the EMT entered the apartment. "Let's get this over with. I've had enough people poking and prodding at me to last a lifetime."
I don’t want to have these thoughts but I can't help it. I've been through an experience and maybe most people would never be put through it but most people might not hold up as well as I have.
"Give her time, Max." Liz heard her mother pleading at the door and backed into the hallway. "She's been sleeping for two days straight…"
"I just… have to see her." His voice broke. "I know she's upset and she has every right to blame me…"
"It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known." Her mother's words were tight as if she were forcing them out between clenched teeth. "We all trusted that man."
"There's just… this other thing… my… cousin Zan… he didn't… and I'm not sure she knows and I don't know how to tell her."
"I think she knows. Last time… she didn't sleep a wink for days and she thought I didn't know… this time… that's all she does. She's going back to school on Monday… she insists."
"I'll get her work, then… so she's not far behind."
"Thank you, Max." There was a lengthy pause. When Liz peered around the corner, they were hugging. "She'll be okay, Max. You'll see. Some space to deal with it all and then…"
"Yeah. Night, Mrs. Parker."
Liz shuffled back to her bed and climbed beneath the sheets and blanket her mother had piled on. She kept her eyes open this time when her mother walked in to freshen the pitcher of water by the bed. "Mom? Where's Ava been staying?"
"At the Evans." She sat on the edge of the bed. "I talked to Diane. Ava's been really upset about Zan… Do you remember what happened to him?"
"I didn't see it. I don't know what happened…" Liz shook her head. "But he didn't come back with us… They would never leave him… even if he was okay."
"I guess not." She reached over to brush a strand of hair out of her daughter's face and was relieved when she didn't flinch. "The Sheriff asked if you were ready."
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
I'm not even sure what I'm going to tell the Sheriff to put in his report. I get the impression he's been pressured to make an arrest but I can't tell him everything. I think he knows that.
Sheriff Valenti listened to the recording he had taken of Liz's statement and stared at the typewriter in front of him. "I went to self-defense the way I always do. Zan… that’s Max’s cousin… was supposed to pick me up afterward, I think. Class ended and I was the last one besides… him."
"Who's him? Please, state his name… for the record."
"Dr. David White." The girl had bitten the words out forcefully as if trying to hold something in. "My cell phone wasn't working. I asked to use his. He said it was in his car. I walked with him to the parking lot. He gave me his cell phone but it wasn't working either. He offered to drive me home. We were sitting in his car, waiting for it to warm up. We were just talking. He was getting things out of his briefcase and then… he put a cloth over my nose and mouth… I don't remember much after that."
"What happened when you woke up?"
"I was in the room with her… the girl who… was involved in…"
"What girl?"
"The FBI came to talk to me before all this and I had to tell them about her. The men who took me had a girl with them. She was in the room when I woke up after Dr. White drugged me. He… offered to let me 'deal with it' and he would turn his back. I could get it out of my system. I think he thought he was helping but I was petrified."
"Understandable."
"I don't remember much after that."
"Are you sure? You're not just protecting some of your friends? I've got reports of disturbances all evening at that base your friends say they got you from. A base that's been, reportedly, inactive for years."
"Dr. White isn't his real name, Sheriff. He said it was Agent Pierce and that the girl who had me before was an alien and he wanted to know where the others were. He threatened to rape me if I didn't tell the truth or what he wanted to hear… I was never clear on which one he really wanted from me."
"Am I to understand that the two didn't have to be connected? … Liz, I know this is hard but you have to talk to me… As much as you can remember…"
"There was… the agent who came to talk to me before. Agent Topolsky?"
"Yes. That was her name. Are you sure it was her?"
"They had drugged me because I fought with Agent Pierce. I must have kicked him in the… genitals and he had her drug me. I… vaguely remember her trying to talk to me and… he killed her. Just shot her when her face was three inches from mine… I can still feel her blood on my face…"
"What happened next?"
"He handcuffed me to him again and started dragging me around. I remember there was smoke…"
"Again? You were handcuffed to him before."
"Yes, before when I kicked him I was handcuffed to him. I don't remember too much before I woke up outside the base in Max's Jeep."
"That's the truth as far as you know it?"
"Yes… but… you can't write that in your report, can you…"
"The last time I wrote something like that in my report… about mysterious blood stains and statements from a journal of a teenage girl… Federal agents showed up in my town. Agents who are now missing or dead. If the two are related, I'm not inclined to bring more of the same to my town. Miss Parker… did he hurt you?"
"He threatened to… but I think he waited too long if he was going to. We got very close in group and I think he could still threaten me with what would make me cave but I don't think he could do it… that in no way excuses his behavior but I was handcuffed to the man for quite a long period of time. He believed in aliens. He thought they were walking among us."
"Between you and I… he wasn't wrong, was he?"
"Even if he wasn't wrong… what right did he have to force answers out of me?" There was a long silence. "Sheriff Valenti… I won't perjure myself on tape because I know you've still got it running… but that thing I said before… the last time… it's still true. Can you trust me even though I can't tell the whole story?"
"One of these days, Miss Parker… you and I are going to have a talk about the whole story. This town has a reputation of ruining the careers of men who write about space aliens in their reports in any capacity and you can be sure that I don't plan to be next but you must understand my precarious position here. I can't lie in a report that I will have to submit to a higher power."
"Dr. White was obviously obsessed with me because of the last time I was taken. He was trying to show me the light at the end of the tunnel and maybe it's because he once told me he got into that line of work because there was someone once who he couldn't reach…"
"He said that to you?"
"Yes and I can say that without lying."
"Why not any of the other women in group?"
"How should I know? Maybe it's because I'm small and he felt the need to protect me more… I was the shortest girl in class. I always had an escort to and from class. Maybe he thought I needed it more. That's conjecture though."
"Well, statements from those who love and were concerned about you the second you didn't turn up will support that hypothesis. It makes the most amount of sense. We will have another talk, though. You never saw who set the fire?"
"No. I was drugged and when I sobered up, the building was already on fire."
Valenti shut off the tape and glanced at the picture of his son on a shelf near the file cabinet. The newspapers didn't have this story and he planned to keep it that way. If those agents talked to anyone else in power, this report would send up a red flag. If he wanted to keep his job, he couldn't mention aliens though he suspected he knew they were involved and it was becoming glaringly clear who they were.
Living one moment to the next is so very hard. I want my life back. All I do now is study and sleep. I want for Zan to be alive. I want for Max not to be an alien King. I want for Ava to be okay. I want for this to be over… but however much I want that… I still love Max… he's also someone I can't really look at these days.
Liz stared at the math problem on the board and she solved it but she didn't think about it. When she was excused to the lounge following the test, she knew Max would follow soon after. She made herself comfortable in a quiet corner with a view of the front lawn. It was a pretty day but she didn't think the day cared if she thought it was pretty or an affront to her mood. Max approached slowly.
"I could blame you for so much, Max. For pulling me into this. For losing Zan… for making me lose Tony… for… being you…"
"I would understand why you'd feel that way."
"No, you wouldn't. I'm human. I… didn't ask to know this. All I did was date a guy and keep him as a friend and I ended up… kidnapped twice, raped physically and mentally and had my life threatened." Liz spoke more to the window than to him. "I would rather have dealt with Tony and his drug issues… or Kelen and his need for meaningless sex or… Paulie and his grabby hands… or he who shall remain in my drunken fog bank of memory because… I can't deal with this now. Is it over, Max? Are we sure? Zan's dead and Dr. White is dead and Lannie is dead but is Kivar dead? Will he send more alien tornadoes to possess some poor guy into hunting you down and getting the hapless person killed? It's like all I get is pain for wanting to be with a guy I could really, really love."
Before Max could attempt an answer, she pulled her journal from her backpack and opened it up. "I reread this thing and I realized that every time you got distant from me, there was something alien going on. Like… when you first started working at the UFO center. What was it? You… and when Michael was always hanging around me after we broke up… what did he learn at the Reservation?"
"Liz…" Max pleaded but she was clearly upset.
"Is it over Max?"
"I can't say one way or another because I don't know." He pleaded but dared not close the distance to pull her into his arms. "I am so sorry that happened to you… I…"
"Where were you?"
"Zan was… but… Lannie… and… I am so sorry."
"He…" Liz started to cry silently. "I thought I could trust him and he lied to me. Can I trust you? Can I, Max?"
--
Liz lay on Maria's bed and listened to Freddy regale them both with tales of intramural baseball. She offered a smile where warranted but she wasn't really listening. She flipped through her physics book and read it and maybe understood it but she wasn't really there with the waves and ripples and resonations. When Freddy left to retrieve dinner for them all, Maria plopped down on the bed. "If I dial his number for you, will you talk to him?"
"Don't know who you're talking about."
"You need Max, honey. He made you better before and he can make you better now. You're not going to group and you're not going to self-defense and you're scared to death of your own shadow."
"What's your point? I'm here now. One of my best friends died, Maria. They never even found his body and Max is going to make everything better?" She scoffed and flipped another page in her book, not even reading but letting her fingers brush the words. "Not this time."
"Liz…" Maria pleaded and held out her phone with her finger poised on talk. "Alex and I are trying our hardest but even I can see that I'm not what you need. You need Ava-Tess or whatever she's calling herself now and you need Max."
"I don't know if I can trust him."
"You said you lost your best friend. Ava lost her boyfriend. I am so sick of you being like this… victim who can't set foot outside or else boogeymen will just jump out of the shadows…" Maria pleaded. "God… You lost your best friend. Max lost his cousin. This boy he just met last year who looked just like him. How freaky is that for him? You were doing so well and now…"
"Maria, please." Liz tried to hold in the sob but the tears slipped out. "You have no idea what happened and I know you want to know."
"No, I don't. If you don't want to tell me, that is completely fine. I just need my friend back because... This is our senior year. We're not road-tripping and I highly suspect that Prom isn't going to happen the way I envisioned it for years but it's our last year of high school and… then nothing is going to be the same… ever. Are you even going to college in this rat-trap of a town?" Maria flopped down on the bed. "I know we've had this discussion before but this time I mean it. I don't know who you are anymore and it's not because you're stronger than I'm used to. It's not because I'm jealous of your other friends… it's because I look at you and I see a shell of the girl who used to be my hero."
This time it's different. The pressure to recover is different. No one wants to put any on me but they want it so much worse… I just can't help thinking how much knowing this secret has screwed up my life and I know there are things that could not be helped but… it all points in the same direction.
Ava scribbled the answers to homework at the table with Isabel. She was almost done. Mrs. Evans had gone to collect dinner and left the kids to their homework. Max had finished an hour ago. Cheating. Something he never did and Ava used to do all the time. "Should I even bother with college?"
"Yes." Max nodded, his eyes on the window.
"What for? I can't share it with Zan."
"Do you think he would have wanted you to stop?" Isabel asked softly.
"He wouldn't have said nothin'." Ava bit out, tossing her pen aside.
"You know that's not true." Liz cleared her throat from where she stood in the doorway. "He would have said for you to do what you want… that he'd be around." Ava shot out of her chair and into Liz's arms. The two clung together for a long time before Liz cleared her throat again and addressed the room. "Is this like the last time? Is he at Michael's healing up?"
"No one's seen him since we were inside." Isabel shook her head.
"But is he really gone? Wouldn't I have felt it… somehow?" Liz guided Ava to a seat. "I mean… he left me all sorts of things. Wouldn't I feel it?"
"What do you mean?" Isabel sat up, aware that Liz was way too calm.
"I mean this." Liz took a piece of paper and a pencil and started writing. After a moment, Max and Isabel looked over her shoulder and read what she scribbled… the homework assignment for physics. "I can do the whole thing by memory. I checked twice and started on the next lesson. I couldn't do that before."
"Maybe it's because Max healed you before we brought you back." Isabel whispered, her eyes on her brother. "He…"
"I was oxygen deprived, wasn't I…" Liz slumped over on the table next to Ava. "I couldn't… leave if I wanted, could I…"
"Do you want to?" Max hesitantly put his hand on her shoulder. "I'll leave you alone if that's what you want?"
"It won't work. I need you but I can't be with you and this is never going to be over."
What I want is to skip the next few weeks or months and be already in the place where I'm okay and I'm coping and I'm not worrying. I can get there but there will be time in between. Lots of it.
Sheriff Valenti swept his flashlight over the ruins of the base. The FBI denied that anyone had been in the base to begin with. They insisted that the bodies found therein must have been vagrants. Whatever had taken this base out had to be more than just a fire. An inferno would still have left something but there was almost nothing left. He pulled out his notebook and ran over the numbers. Three female bodies had been found in one section of the debris, the most heavily burned section. Ten male bodies. Wires poked out of walls, what was left of them. Despite the reports, this place had been occupied when it went up. The tracks leading out alone could confirm that. None of the soldiers were available for comment.
Sweeping the beam back to another section, Valenti noticed something… another body? Had the government sweeper teams somehow missed one? Hand on his gun, he approached only to have the body move when the beam of light hit his face. He'd know those eyes anywhere. Only one other pair like them…
TBC
Max pulled up to the Parkers next to Sheriff Valenti's cruiser. Liz had been quiet since awakening on the drive back. Ava had held onto her the whole way but Ava was the last person who could comfort anyone. Michael held Isabel against his body, unwilling to let go of her for even a minute. The Parkers were still in the restaurant across from the Sheriff who was explaining the protocol. They all noticed the Jeep at the same time. Mr. Parker shot out of his seat and had Liz in his arms before he really looked at her.
All Liz could do was cling to her father and beg him not to let her go.
I don't like this… agoraphobia. I want to go out into the world unafraid. I want to believe that all the bad guys are gone. I want to be able to look at my boyfriend and not have the slightest amount of fear that he could become like Lannie. I know that it isn’t even possible but the doubt is there.
Sheriff Valenti circled the table of teens. He held his hat in hand and just stared at them. "What in the hell happened today, kids?"
"Dr. Dave… Dr. White took Liz." Max forced the words out. Just saying that name made him want to vomit. To go back in there and heal that man so he could set him on fire all over again. Ava should have let him kill that man himself.
"Dr. White. Dr. David White took Liz… why would he do that?" He took a seat at the table. The kids all looked shaken and grief-stricken. "Why didn't one of you call me to tell me?"
"We couldn't be sure. We hadda follow him, see where he took her." Ava answered, tears streaming continually down her face. "She wasn't the only one he took. Zan… went lookin' for his sister and when he found her… Dr. Dave had Liz too."
"Had her?"
"Locked inside that base." Michael provided.
"Kids… I'll tell you… I have taken a lot on faith because Liz is dear to me as if she were my own daughter." Valenti cleared his throat. "I need the truth because I need to write a report and I have to find Dr. White."
"Dr. White is dead." Max locked eyes with the Sheriff. "So is everyone who was still inside that base when it blew."
"And how did it blow? Did you blow it up? Did he? Why did he take these girls? I need answers because this is not just up to me anymore. This is a repeat kidnapping. One girl was taken twice in six months and I need to know why." He looked at them each in turn. "Liz is in no condition to answer questions right now. If this has anything at all to do with what happened the first time, tell me now."
"We don't know why he took her, we just know that he took her." Max whispered, his eyes filling with more tears. "I went to pick her up because we got our signals mixed and no one was there to get her after her meeting. When I got there, she was gone. The janitor said that Dr. Dave had taken her home a while before but her dad hadn't seen her at all. He said they headed toward the highway. We followed and we lost him along the way. Zan contacted us to say he found his sister and that Liz was there too. Then we showed up to get them. The place was already on fire."
"Who set the fire?"
"I don't know." Max's eyes went to the backdoor where Mr. Parker was standing, or leaning rather, on the railing as if steeling himself to climb them to be with his daughter. "Is she going to be okay?"
"Do you have any reason that I might need to call an ambulance?" Valenti rose and rounded the table to Max. "Did she say anything to you?"
"Not a word." Max shook his head. "I'm not sure they did anything but I can't believe they took her and did nothing. I can hope and I can pray but…"
"She's fragile just now. You can tell just by looking at her." Valenti softened his voice because the boy was obviously concerned. "I am calling an EMT to come look at her because like you, I can't believe she wasn't harmed in some way. We need to be sure. Why is she wearing scrubs?"
"I don't know. She was wearing them when I found her."
"What about this other girl you said was taken?"
"Don't know. She didn't get out."
"Anyone else you know didn't get out?"
"Zan." Ava sobbed into her arms.
--
Liz leaned on her mother in the living room. She had been ordered not to change yet but she was dying in those scrubs. She kept her eyes on the bruises around her wrists from the cuffs. "It's not fair."
"No, it's not." Nancy shook her head and rocked her daughter. "Did they hurt you?"
"That's hard to say." Was that even her voice?
"Did they hurt you the… the way they hurt you before?"
"No… he said he would if I didn't do what he said but… he didn't rape me. I did what he said…"
"Liz… sweetie." Nancy stroked her hair and tried to find her daughter somewhere in the mess in her arms. "What did they do to you?"
"Wanted me to tell them about the aliens."
"Liz… it's your mother. Listen to me."
"I'm listening. I mean… I can't answer questions I don't know the answers to. It's not logical and to press after I say I don't know is… ludicrous." Liz shook her head but stood when the EMT entered the apartment. "Let's get this over with. I've had enough people poking and prodding at me to last a lifetime."
I don’t want to have these thoughts but I can't help it. I've been through an experience and maybe most people would never be put through it but most people might not hold up as well as I have.
"Give her time, Max." Liz heard her mother pleading at the door and backed into the hallway. "She's been sleeping for two days straight…"
"I just… have to see her." His voice broke. "I know she's upset and she has every right to blame me…"
"It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known." Her mother's words were tight as if she were forcing them out between clenched teeth. "We all trusted that man."
"There's just… this other thing… my… cousin Zan… he didn't… and I'm not sure she knows and I don't know how to tell her."
"I think she knows. Last time… she didn't sleep a wink for days and she thought I didn't know… this time… that's all she does. She's going back to school on Monday… she insists."
"I'll get her work, then… so she's not far behind."
"Thank you, Max." There was a lengthy pause. When Liz peered around the corner, they were hugging. "She'll be okay, Max. You'll see. Some space to deal with it all and then…"
"Yeah. Night, Mrs. Parker."
Liz shuffled back to her bed and climbed beneath the sheets and blanket her mother had piled on. She kept her eyes open this time when her mother walked in to freshen the pitcher of water by the bed. "Mom? Where's Ava been staying?"
"At the Evans." She sat on the edge of the bed. "I talked to Diane. Ava's been really upset about Zan… Do you remember what happened to him?"
"I didn't see it. I don't know what happened…" Liz shook her head. "But he didn't come back with us… They would never leave him… even if he was okay."
"I guess not." She reached over to brush a strand of hair out of her daughter's face and was relieved when she didn't flinch. "The Sheriff asked if you were ready."
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
I'm not even sure what I'm going to tell the Sheriff to put in his report. I get the impression he's been pressured to make an arrest but I can't tell him everything. I think he knows that.
Sheriff Valenti listened to the recording he had taken of Liz's statement and stared at the typewriter in front of him. "I went to self-defense the way I always do. Zan… that’s Max’s cousin… was supposed to pick me up afterward, I think. Class ended and I was the last one besides… him."
"Who's him? Please, state his name… for the record."
"Dr. David White." The girl had bitten the words out forcefully as if trying to hold something in. "My cell phone wasn't working. I asked to use his. He said it was in his car. I walked with him to the parking lot. He gave me his cell phone but it wasn't working either. He offered to drive me home. We were sitting in his car, waiting for it to warm up. We were just talking. He was getting things out of his briefcase and then… he put a cloth over my nose and mouth… I don't remember much after that."
"What happened when you woke up?"
"I was in the room with her… the girl who… was involved in…"
"What girl?"
"The FBI came to talk to me before all this and I had to tell them about her. The men who took me had a girl with them. She was in the room when I woke up after Dr. White drugged me. He… offered to let me 'deal with it' and he would turn his back. I could get it out of my system. I think he thought he was helping but I was petrified."
"Understandable."
"I don't remember much after that."
"Are you sure? You're not just protecting some of your friends? I've got reports of disturbances all evening at that base your friends say they got you from. A base that's been, reportedly, inactive for years."
"Dr. White isn't his real name, Sheriff. He said it was Agent Pierce and that the girl who had me before was an alien and he wanted to know where the others were. He threatened to rape me if I didn't tell the truth or what he wanted to hear… I was never clear on which one he really wanted from me."
"Am I to understand that the two didn't have to be connected? … Liz, I know this is hard but you have to talk to me… As much as you can remember…"
"There was… the agent who came to talk to me before. Agent Topolsky?"
"Yes. That was her name. Are you sure it was her?"
"They had drugged me because I fought with Agent Pierce. I must have kicked him in the… genitals and he had her drug me. I… vaguely remember her trying to talk to me and… he killed her. Just shot her when her face was three inches from mine… I can still feel her blood on my face…"
"What happened next?"
"He handcuffed me to him again and started dragging me around. I remember there was smoke…"
"Again? You were handcuffed to him before."
"Yes, before when I kicked him I was handcuffed to him. I don't remember too much before I woke up outside the base in Max's Jeep."
"That's the truth as far as you know it?"
"Yes… but… you can't write that in your report, can you…"
"The last time I wrote something like that in my report… about mysterious blood stains and statements from a journal of a teenage girl… Federal agents showed up in my town. Agents who are now missing or dead. If the two are related, I'm not inclined to bring more of the same to my town. Miss Parker… did he hurt you?"
"He threatened to… but I think he waited too long if he was going to. We got very close in group and I think he could still threaten me with what would make me cave but I don't think he could do it… that in no way excuses his behavior but I was handcuffed to the man for quite a long period of time. He believed in aliens. He thought they were walking among us."
"Between you and I… he wasn't wrong, was he?"
"Even if he wasn't wrong… what right did he have to force answers out of me?" There was a long silence. "Sheriff Valenti… I won't perjure myself on tape because I know you've still got it running… but that thing I said before… the last time… it's still true. Can you trust me even though I can't tell the whole story?"
"One of these days, Miss Parker… you and I are going to have a talk about the whole story. This town has a reputation of ruining the careers of men who write about space aliens in their reports in any capacity and you can be sure that I don't plan to be next but you must understand my precarious position here. I can't lie in a report that I will have to submit to a higher power."
"Dr. White was obviously obsessed with me because of the last time I was taken. He was trying to show me the light at the end of the tunnel and maybe it's because he once told me he got into that line of work because there was someone once who he couldn't reach…"
"He said that to you?"
"Yes and I can say that without lying."
"Why not any of the other women in group?"
"How should I know? Maybe it's because I'm small and he felt the need to protect me more… I was the shortest girl in class. I always had an escort to and from class. Maybe he thought I needed it more. That's conjecture though."
"Well, statements from those who love and were concerned about you the second you didn't turn up will support that hypothesis. It makes the most amount of sense. We will have another talk, though. You never saw who set the fire?"
"No. I was drugged and when I sobered up, the building was already on fire."
Valenti shut off the tape and glanced at the picture of his son on a shelf near the file cabinet. The newspapers didn't have this story and he planned to keep it that way. If those agents talked to anyone else in power, this report would send up a red flag. If he wanted to keep his job, he couldn't mention aliens though he suspected he knew they were involved and it was becoming glaringly clear who they were.
Living one moment to the next is so very hard. I want my life back. All I do now is study and sleep. I want for Zan to be alive. I want for Max not to be an alien King. I want for Ava to be okay. I want for this to be over… but however much I want that… I still love Max… he's also someone I can't really look at these days.
Liz stared at the math problem on the board and she solved it but she didn't think about it. When she was excused to the lounge following the test, she knew Max would follow soon after. She made herself comfortable in a quiet corner with a view of the front lawn. It was a pretty day but she didn't think the day cared if she thought it was pretty or an affront to her mood. Max approached slowly.
"I could blame you for so much, Max. For pulling me into this. For losing Zan… for making me lose Tony… for… being you…"
"I would understand why you'd feel that way."
"No, you wouldn't. I'm human. I… didn't ask to know this. All I did was date a guy and keep him as a friend and I ended up… kidnapped twice, raped physically and mentally and had my life threatened." Liz spoke more to the window than to him. "I would rather have dealt with Tony and his drug issues… or Kelen and his need for meaningless sex or… Paulie and his grabby hands… or he who shall remain in my drunken fog bank of memory because… I can't deal with this now. Is it over, Max? Are we sure? Zan's dead and Dr. White is dead and Lannie is dead but is Kivar dead? Will he send more alien tornadoes to possess some poor guy into hunting you down and getting the hapless person killed? It's like all I get is pain for wanting to be with a guy I could really, really love."
Before Max could attempt an answer, she pulled her journal from her backpack and opened it up. "I reread this thing and I realized that every time you got distant from me, there was something alien going on. Like… when you first started working at the UFO center. What was it? You… and when Michael was always hanging around me after we broke up… what did he learn at the Reservation?"
"Liz…" Max pleaded but she was clearly upset.
"Is it over Max?"
"I can't say one way or another because I don't know." He pleaded but dared not close the distance to pull her into his arms. "I am so sorry that happened to you… I…"
"Where were you?"
"Zan was… but… Lannie… and… I am so sorry."
"He…" Liz started to cry silently. "I thought I could trust him and he lied to me. Can I trust you? Can I, Max?"
--
Liz lay on Maria's bed and listened to Freddy regale them both with tales of intramural baseball. She offered a smile where warranted but she wasn't really listening. She flipped through her physics book and read it and maybe understood it but she wasn't really there with the waves and ripples and resonations. When Freddy left to retrieve dinner for them all, Maria plopped down on the bed. "If I dial his number for you, will you talk to him?"
"Don't know who you're talking about."
"You need Max, honey. He made you better before and he can make you better now. You're not going to group and you're not going to self-defense and you're scared to death of your own shadow."
"What's your point? I'm here now. One of my best friends died, Maria. They never even found his body and Max is going to make everything better?" She scoffed and flipped another page in her book, not even reading but letting her fingers brush the words. "Not this time."
"Liz…" Maria pleaded and held out her phone with her finger poised on talk. "Alex and I are trying our hardest but even I can see that I'm not what you need. You need Ava-Tess or whatever she's calling herself now and you need Max."
"I don't know if I can trust him."
"You said you lost your best friend. Ava lost her boyfriend. I am so sick of you being like this… victim who can't set foot outside or else boogeymen will just jump out of the shadows…" Maria pleaded. "God… You lost your best friend. Max lost his cousin. This boy he just met last year who looked just like him. How freaky is that for him? You were doing so well and now…"
"Maria, please." Liz tried to hold in the sob but the tears slipped out. "You have no idea what happened and I know you want to know."
"No, I don't. If you don't want to tell me, that is completely fine. I just need my friend back because... This is our senior year. We're not road-tripping and I highly suspect that Prom isn't going to happen the way I envisioned it for years but it's our last year of high school and… then nothing is going to be the same… ever. Are you even going to college in this rat-trap of a town?" Maria flopped down on the bed. "I know we've had this discussion before but this time I mean it. I don't know who you are anymore and it's not because you're stronger than I'm used to. It's not because I'm jealous of your other friends… it's because I look at you and I see a shell of the girl who used to be my hero."
This time it's different. The pressure to recover is different. No one wants to put any on me but they want it so much worse… I just can't help thinking how much knowing this secret has screwed up my life and I know there are things that could not be helped but… it all points in the same direction.
Ava scribbled the answers to homework at the table with Isabel. She was almost done. Mrs. Evans had gone to collect dinner and left the kids to their homework. Max had finished an hour ago. Cheating. Something he never did and Ava used to do all the time. "Should I even bother with college?"
"Yes." Max nodded, his eyes on the window.
"What for? I can't share it with Zan."
"Do you think he would have wanted you to stop?" Isabel asked softly.
"He wouldn't have said nothin'." Ava bit out, tossing her pen aside.
"You know that's not true." Liz cleared her throat from where she stood in the doorway. "He would have said for you to do what you want… that he'd be around." Ava shot out of her chair and into Liz's arms. The two clung together for a long time before Liz cleared her throat again and addressed the room. "Is this like the last time? Is he at Michael's healing up?"
"No one's seen him since we were inside." Isabel shook her head.
"But is he really gone? Wouldn't I have felt it… somehow?" Liz guided Ava to a seat. "I mean… he left me all sorts of things. Wouldn't I feel it?"
"What do you mean?" Isabel sat up, aware that Liz was way too calm.
"I mean this." Liz took a piece of paper and a pencil and started writing. After a moment, Max and Isabel looked over her shoulder and read what she scribbled… the homework assignment for physics. "I can do the whole thing by memory. I checked twice and started on the next lesson. I couldn't do that before."
"Maybe it's because Max healed you before we brought you back." Isabel whispered, her eyes on her brother. "He…"
"I was oxygen deprived, wasn't I…" Liz slumped over on the table next to Ava. "I couldn't… leave if I wanted, could I…"
"Do you want to?" Max hesitantly put his hand on her shoulder. "I'll leave you alone if that's what you want?"
"It won't work. I need you but I can't be with you and this is never going to be over."
What I want is to skip the next few weeks or months and be already in the place where I'm okay and I'm coping and I'm not worrying. I can get there but there will be time in between. Lots of it.
Sheriff Valenti swept his flashlight over the ruins of the base. The FBI denied that anyone had been in the base to begin with. They insisted that the bodies found therein must have been vagrants. Whatever had taken this base out had to be more than just a fire. An inferno would still have left something but there was almost nothing left. He pulled out his notebook and ran over the numbers. Three female bodies had been found in one section of the debris, the most heavily burned section. Ten male bodies. Wires poked out of walls, what was left of them. Despite the reports, this place had been occupied when it went up. The tracks leading out alone could confirm that. None of the soldiers were available for comment.
Sweeping the beam back to another section, Valenti noticed something… another body? Had the government sweeper teams somehow missed one? Hand on his gun, he approached only to have the body move when the beam of light hit his face. He'd know those eyes anywhere. Only one other pair like them…
TBC
Part 62
I'm Liz Parker and sometimes it's the person who knows nothing at all who can really show you what your life is about.
Liz walked the track slowly while she contemplated her new ability to Edgar Cayce her way through the rest of her life. Alex and Maria watched her from the stands where they were actually eating their lunches, while she couldn't find the appetite to eat at all. She heard the heavy pounding of feet behind her and was tempted to stick her foot out just because… but she didn't and the pounding slowed as it neared her. "Hey Liz."
"Hey Kyle." Liz managed a small smile but she didn't really feel like smiling.
"You looked like you could use some company." He was sweaty from the game of tag-football that had been raging on the field until just a few minutes before.
"I guess." Just a shrug that she didn't really care one way or another. "Have you seen your Dad? I called the station to talk to him this morning but they said he was out on a call."
"Yeah. I haven't seen him in a few days. He's been working real hard on a few cases." Kyle shoved his hands into his pockets. "Yours is one of them, I guess. You doing okay?"
"I don't know. Waiting to see if I wake up and find out it was all a dream… a really long and really horrific dream." Her eyes were dry even if she felt like she was still crying. She stopped to look at him. "What do you think would have happened if we had never broken up?"
"Whoa… start with the heavy stuff why don't you." Kyle pulled her to sit on a bench. "Why ask that?"
"It's just… I don't know. I feel like maybe that was the first mistake I made."
"Um. No." He shook his head. "Me… a little too attached to a girl who, now I realize, reminded me way too much of the lady who walked out on me when I was six."
"I shouldn't have broken up with you that way."
"Maybe but the break up would have happened anyway… and thanks to you, I lost my virginity at a beer blast behind a woodshed." He pumped his arm back and forth and waggled his eyebrows before making a face of disgust.
"You're giving me too much information." Liz wrinkled her nose and swatted his arm.
"What's up, Liz? Evans giving you a hard time or something? I'll kick his ass… for real this time. I'll do it myself instead of letting my bonehead friends get the idea that's what I want."
"No. He's being great. I… blame him I guess. It's not his fault. I'm rational enough to admit that but not to feel it."
"Cause Evans, he told that asshole of a doctor to come to Roswell and get obsessed with you and he told that motherfucker to chloroform you and drive you out to the middle of nowhere to threaten you by campfire… That Evans is devious."
She scoffed at the ridiculous statement. She knew that it wasn't really Max's fault. "I know it's not his fault but… he always picked me up or came with whoever and…"
"Why wasn't he there?"
"I told him not to worry about it because he'd been at my house all weekend and Zan could come get me."
"So, is it your fault now?"
Liz held her head in her hands and fought the tears because Kyle was making sense and she needed that. She let him take her in his arms. He felt good. "You sure we wouldn't have been together forever?"
"As lovely as that sounds, I don't think so. We had fun though, right? Pauley's party that one time."
"When he dove off his roof and nearly drowned in the pool?"
"Yeah, it was a riot… and he was never close to drowning. His head would have made a great flotation device."
"You're ridiculous Kyle." Liz shoved him away but couldn't help laughing.
--
Max dropped his things next to Maria and opened his mouth to ask about Liz when he heard her laugh. A little piece of him died seeing her laugh with Kyle. He grabbed his bag to leave when Alex stopped him. "Is she still not talking to you?"
"Sort of. She feels obligated to talk to me, though." Max wanted to go spend the rest of the school day in a quiet corner somewhere. "Is she doing okay?"
"No." Maria shook her head. "She needs to talk to you but she won't. I don't know what's going on."
"Don't make her do anything, Maria." He bowed his head and turned to go. "I'll be around. Don't even mention I was up here."
"Wait… did she talk to you or something?" Alex leapt to his feet. "Did she break up with you?"
"I don't know. She's upset and she should be… I just… want to make sure she's going to be okay."
"Max. She is not herself."
"She is."
--
Kyle put his arm around her. "I'll tell my dad you're looking for him, too. Maybe we'll both get lucky and see him sometime this week."
"If I see him first, I'll tell him you're looking for him." Liz promised. "It was nice talking to you again."
"Yeah. We gotta do this again… when it's less traumatic."
"Right."
All it takes is just one moment where one person really gets it. It can change your whole day. Your whole perspective, even. Just a breath of fresh air to get you through the moment and on to the next.
Ava wiped down a table and took the dish bucket from Liz to set down. Things had been awkward since the revelation that Liz was more than human these days. She just shrugged and brushed her hair out of her face. It was a blonde mess these days but she couldn't care because the only person who even cared what she looked like was gone. Grabbing a glass, Ava filled it with ice and soda to deliver to a customer. When she sat behind the register to exchange her change for bills, a shadow fell on the counter. An old woman with big brown eyes and a sheet of white hair cascading over her shoulders. "Yeah?"
"You're Ava, right? Zan's girlfriend?"
"Yeah." Ava had to stop herself from crying all over again.
"I don't know if you remember me. We met at Christmas. I'm Mrs. Montgomery. Zan comes to my house to help me out."
"Yeah, I remember." The teen nodded to her pockets, tears stinging at her eyes. How had she forgotten about Zan's old lady?
"He was coming everyday until just recently and I… I'm worried." Mrs. Montgomery's eyes shone bright. "He left all his books in my study. He didn't leave a note. He didn't say anything about going away… did he go back to New York?"
"Mrs. Montgomery." Ava cleared her throat several times but the lump stuck there. "Zan died. If he left stuff, I'll come get it."
"What are you talking about?"
"There was a… fire… and we never even found his body. I forgot to come tell you. I didn't even know he was still going over to your house and all. Whatever he left. I'll go get it… but tomorrow. I work til late tonight." She couldn't lift her eyes to the woman until she realized she wasn't going to leave.
The old woman was fighting tears. "A fire? He… He was doing so well. He would have had his GED by fall. We had an agreement for college… He's dead? How does a boy like him just die? He was so special."
"GED? College?" Ava shook her head. "Zan didn't tell me about any of that."
Of course, it would take just another moment to throw it all out of whack.
Max entered the Valenti home, warily. He had never been there. He didn't really know what he expected but it wasn't the aged wallpaper and wood paneling. Kyle just stood there with him for a moment. "Dad didn't tell me what it was about but he called to say you'd be coming over."
"Ok." Max managed a nod.
"Come on. Sit or something." Kyle motioned to the couch and blew out a breath as he sank into his regular spot. The boys sat in silence for a long time. They didn't have much in common and what they did have was a sore point. "So… I talked to Liz today."
"Yeah. I saw." Max set his jaw. He just felt helpless about the whole thing. He was there for her but she didn't want him to be there.
"Oh. I think she's doing better than she was. My dad said to keep the whole thing quiet and I didn't go tell anyone but… anyone who knows her knows that's something's up. You talked to her at all?"
"She won't talk to me."
"Oh."
"It's not like I haven't tried to talk to her, Kyle. She won't let me."
"She gets like that."
"Not with me she doesn't." It just sounded so final to hear himself say that out loud. "This could be it."
"Naw. Just… a little space. You'll see, she'll be okay in no time. I think she's mourning for… your cousin… Sorry to hear about that, man."
Max could only nod. Kyle was about to say more but the car pulling up was a welcome interruption. A few moments later, the door opened and Sheriff Valenti motioned for Max to follow him. "This might be of interest to you."
The three of them made their way out to the cruiser and in the backseat was a figure. Max felt his eyes well up. He was dirty and several days worth of stumble marred his face. Dried blood caked his hair and clothes. What really called to Max were his eyes… they were empty. "Zan?"
No reaction from the teen at all.
"He was like this when I found him. I thought about taking him to a doctor but Liz told me about his religious preferences. By all rights I should take him to the hospital but I figured you might know better what he would want done. He is 18, right?" Valenti cleared his throat to punctuate his words because Max didn't know what he knew and he didn't know what Max thought he knew and there was no way to get Kyle uninterested at this point.
"Zan. It's Max." He opened the cruiser door and waved his hand in front of Zan's unresponsive face. He was breathing and that was good. "Zan… we should go to Michael's for a few days while you rest up. We thought you died."
On that last word, Zan's eyes closed and tears slipped out from under his thick lashes, running clear trails over his dirty cheeks. Valenti cleared his throat. "I was looking around the base when I found him. I thought he was a body they missed at first but I noticed he was breathing. He's near catatonic but he took some direction from me earlier. I think he's had a hell of a shock… whatever happened out there."
“Was it Lannie?” Max asked softly and was rewarded by Zan squeezing his eyes shut tight and bowing his head in sobs. “Come on. We’ll take you to Michael’s and we’ll call Ava. She’s going to be really glad to see you’re okay. She’s been beside herself for days. Liz is going to be really… happy you’re alive.”
“Don’t be so sure about that.” Zan’s voice sounded like rusty gears grinding.
“Come on. Get in the jeep and we’ll take care of everything.”
TBC
Liz walked the track slowly while she contemplated her new ability to Edgar Cayce her way through the rest of her life. Alex and Maria watched her from the stands where they were actually eating their lunches, while she couldn't find the appetite to eat at all. She heard the heavy pounding of feet behind her and was tempted to stick her foot out just because… but she didn't and the pounding slowed as it neared her. "Hey Liz."
"Hey Kyle." Liz managed a small smile but she didn't really feel like smiling.
"You looked like you could use some company." He was sweaty from the game of tag-football that had been raging on the field until just a few minutes before.
"I guess." Just a shrug that she didn't really care one way or another. "Have you seen your Dad? I called the station to talk to him this morning but they said he was out on a call."
"Yeah. I haven't seen him in a few days. He's been working real hard on a few cases." Kyle shoved his hands into his pockets. "Yours is one of them, I guess. You doing okay?"
"I don't know. Waiting to see if I wake up and find out it was all a dream… a really long and really horrific dream." Her eyes were dry even if she felt like she was still crying. She stopped to look at him. "What do you think would have happened if we had never broken up?"
"Whoa… start with the heavy stuff why don't you." Kyle pulled her to sit on a bench. "Why ask that?"
"It's just… I don't know. I feel like maybe that was the first mistake I made."
"Um. No." He shook his head. "Me… a little too attached to a girl who, now I realize, reminded me way too much of the lady who walked out on me when I was six."
"I shouldn't have broken up with you that way."
"Maybe but the break up would have happened anyway… and thanks to you, I lost my virginity at a beer blast behind a woodshed." He pumped his arm back and forth and waggled his eyebrows before making a face of disgust.
"You're giving me too much information." Liz wrinkled her nose and swatted his arm.
"What's up, Liz? Evans giving you a hard time or something? I'll kick his ass… for real this time. I'll do it myself instead of letting my bonehead friends get the idea that's what I want."
"No. He's being great. I… blame him I guess. It's not his fault. I'm rational enough to admit that but not to feel it."
"Cause Evans, he told that asshole of a doctor to come to Roswell and get obsessed with you and he told that motherfucker to chloroform you and drive you out to the middle of nowhere to threaten you by campfire… That Evans is devious."
She scoffed at the ridiculous statement. She knew that it wasn't really Max's fault. "I know it's not his fault but… he always picked me up or came with whoever and…"
"Why wasn't he there?"
"I told him not to worry about it because he'd been at my house all weekend and Zan could come get me."
"So, is it your fault now?"
Liz held her head in her hands and fought the tears because Kyle was making sense and she needed that. She let him take her in his arms. He felt good. "You sure we wouldn't have been together forever?"
"As lovely as that sounds, I don't think so. We had fun though, right? Pauley's party that one time."
"When he dove off his roof and nearly drowned in the pool?"
"Yeah, it was a riot… and he was never close to drowning. His head would have made a great flotation device."
"You're ridiculous Kyle." Liz shoved him away but couldn't help laughing.
--
Max dropped his things next to Maria and opened his mouth to ask about Liz when he heard her laugh. A little piece of him died seeing her laugh with Kyle. He grabbed his bag to leave when Alex stopped him. "Is she still not talking to you?"
"Sort of. She feels obligated to talk to me, though." Max wanted to go spend the rest of the school day in a quiet corner somewhere. "Is she doing okay?"
"No." Maria shook her head. "She needs to talk to you but she won't. I don't know what's going on."
"Don't make her do anything, Maria." He bowed his head and turned to go. "I'll be around. Don't even mention I was up here."
"Wait… did she talk to you or something?" Alex leapt to his feet. "Did she break up with you?"
"I don't know. She's upset and she should be… I just… want to make sure she's going to be okay."
"Max. She is not herself."
"She is."
--
Kyle put his arm around her. "I'll tell my dad you're looking for him, too. Maybe we'll both get lucky and see him sometime this week."
"If I see him first, I'll tell him you're looking for him." Liz promised. "It was nice talking to you again."
"Yeah. We gotta do this again… when it's less traumatic."
"Right."
All it takes is just one moment where one person really gets it. It can change your whole day. Your whole perspective, even. Just a breath of fresh air to get you through the moment and on to the next.
Ava wiped down a table and took the dish bucket from Liz to set down. Things had been awkward since the revelation that Liz was more than human these days. She just shrugged and brushed her hair out of her face. It was a blonde mess these days but she couldn't care because the only person who even cared what she looked like was gone. Grabbing a glass, Ava filled it with ice and soda to deliver to a customer. When she sat behind the register to exchange her change for bills, a shadow fell on the counter. An old woman with big brown eyes and a sheet of white hair cascading over her shoulders. "Yeah?"
"You're Ava, right? Zan's girlfriend?"
"Yeah." Ava had to stop herself from crying all over again.
"I don't know if you remember me. We met at Christmas. I'm Mrs. Montgomery. Zan comes to my house to help me out."
"Yeah, I remember." The teen nodded to her pockets, tears stinging at her eyes. How had she forgotten about Zan's old lady?
"He was coming everyday until just recently and I… I'm worried." Mrs. Montgomery's eyes shone bright. "He left all his books in my study. He didn't leave a note. He didn't say anything about going away… did he go back to New York?"
"Mrs. Montgomery." Ava cleared her throat several times but the lump stuck there. "Zan died. If he left stuff, I'll come get it."
"What are you talking about?"
"There was a… fire… and we never even found his body. I forgot to come tell you. I didn't even know he was still going over to your house and all. Whatever he left. I'll go get it… but tomorrow. I work til late tonight." She couldn't lift her eyes to the woman until she realized she wasn't going to leave.
The old woman was fighting tears. "A fire? He… He was doing so well. He would have had his GED by fall. We had an agreement for college… He's dead? How does a boy like him just die? He was so special."
"GED? College?" Ava shook her head. "Zan didn't tell me about any of that."
Of course, it would take just another moment to throw it all out of whack.
Max entered the Valenti home, warily. He had never been there. He didn't really know what he expected but it wasn't the aged wallpaper and wood paneling. Kyle just stood there with him for a moment. "Dad didn't tell me what it was about but he called to say you'd be coming over."
"Ok." Max managed a nod.
"Come on. Sit or something." Kyle motioned to the couch and blew out a breath as he sank into his regular spot. The boys sat in silence for a long time. They didn't have much in common and what they did have was a sore point. "So… I talked to Liz today."
"Yeah. I saw." Max set his jaw. He just felt helpless about the whole thing. He was there for her but she didn't want him to be there.
"Oh. I think she's doing better than she was. My dad said to keep the whole thing quiet and I didn't go tell anyone but… anyone who knows her knows that's something's up. You talked to her at all?"
"She won't talk to me."
"Oh."
"It's not like I haven't tried to talk to her, Kyle. She won't let me."
"She gets like that."
"Not with me she doesn't." It just sounded so final to hear himself say that out loud. "This could be it."
"Naw. Just… a little space. You'll see, she'll be okay in no time. I think she's mourning for… your cousin… Sorry to hear about that, man."
Max could only nod. Kyle was about to say more but the car pulling up was a welcome interruption. A few moments later, the door opened and Sheriff Valenti motioned for Max to follow him. "This might be of interest to you."
The three of them made their way out to the cruiser and in the backseat was a figure. Max felt his eyes well up. He was dirty and several days worth of stumble marred his face. Dried blood caked his hair and clothes. What really called to Max were his eyes… they were empty. "Zan?"
No reaction from the teen at all.
"He was like this when I found him. I thought about taking him to a doctor but Liz told me about his religious preferences. By all rights I should take him to the hospital but I figured you might know better what he would want done. He is 18, right?" Valenti cleared his throat to punctuate his words because Max didn't know what he knew and he didn't know what Max thought he knew and there was no way to get Kyle uninterested at this point.
"Zan. It's Max." He opened the cruiser door and waved his hand in front of Zan's unresponsive face. He was breathing and that was good. "Zan… we should go to Michael's for a few days while you rest up. We thought you died."
On that last word, Zan's eyes closed and tears slipped out from under his thick lashes, running clear trails over his dirty cheeks. Valenti cleared his throat. "I was looking around the base when I found him. I thought he was a body they missed at first but I noticed he was breathing. He's near catatonic but he took some direction from me earlier. I think he's had a hell of a shock… whatever happened out there."
“Was it Lannie?” Max asked softly and was rewarded by Zan squeezing his eyes shut tight and bowing his head in sobs. “Come on. We’ll take you to Michael’s and we’ll call Ava. She’s going to be really glad to see you’re okay. She’s been beside herself for days. Liz is going to be really… happy you’re alive.”
“Don’t be so sure about that.” Zan’s voice sounded like rusty gears grinding.
“Come on. Get in the jeep and we’ll take care of everything.”
TBC
Part 63
Part 63
I'm Liz Parker and it's time to either let go or hide forever. I can only avoid Max for so long. I'm not even really avoiding him so much as everything alien… except Ava but she hasn't been herself and… now… I have no more excuses.
Liz didn't bother opening her books to do her report. Now that she had discovered she could do it… it just seemed a little redundant to actually read the book… though it did lack the sheer joy of cracking open a musty book and inhaling that scent. Knowing that no one had opened that book in months or years and being the first in so long… Scribbling down her words, she looked up at her father, who was sporting some more gray in his hair, as he went over his books. "Daddy."
"Jelly Bean."
"Am I stupid?"
He cracked a smile before answering. "Sounds like a stupid question."
"I'm serious." She waited until he looked up from his ledger. "Am I being stupid? Kyle says I'm being stupid… only he said it without saying it."
"Am I supposed to know what this is about?"
"Never mind." She threw down her pencil. "I am being stupid." Liz took a huge breath and let it out slowly, knowing her father wanted an explanation. "I blame Max. I shouldn't. It's not his fault but he didn't stop it and he swore he'd never let anything happen to me and it's not like he did, you know, LET something happen to me. It just… did. So, I'm being stupid."
"It sounds like you have all the pieces and some that I don't even have a clue about. I personally, would like to thank Max. When you let him come over again, I'd like to do that." Jeff set down his pencil and reached for her shaking hands. "I still don't know what happened and that kills me… but what I do know is Max Evans drove up to my home with you in his car. He brought you back to me. That's twice… and I need to thank him."
"Kyle says I'm sad."
"I am always heartened by the brave young woman I've raised. There are girls who would have gone crazy or done something desperate after all that you've been through." He rubbed her hands between his. "If you're… a little lost now… just think about how much worse it could have been. I am very surprised at how together you are."
"I have some moments that I cling to." Liz answered honestly. "I didn't just… go limp and play dead."
"I'll bet you didn't."
"I bit. I kicked and I know I got him good a few times. He's dead and I don't have to worry about him anymore." Liz lowered her eyes to her report. "I'm mad at me."
"Why?"
"I trusted him enough to let him get to me. I always wait for Max or Ava or Zan and I didn't. They were only five minutes late when I tried to call. I could have waited ten or fifteen." Liz burst into tears at voicing it aloud. "I had gotten to know him and I trusted him when he said I could use his phone and I trusted him when he said he'd give me a ride home." Her eyes fell closed as she let it all hit her. "And Zan died. I didn't kill him but… they were looking for me."
"Honey… Zan was a good boy, a little wild but a good boy from what I saw… Don't beat yourself up over it. No one saw what happened. No one blames you."
They say that words have power. Salinger wrote about a woman who read about people who pray forever and without ceasing. They let the words tumble from their lips constantly so that the words become synchronized into their very bones and into their hearts so that even when they no longer say the words, their bodies are still praying, still believing whole-heartedly in the words.
I thought it was interesting. The power of words. Of prayer.
Max sat beside the bathtub and reached over to refresh the water a little. "Is that too hot?" No answer. "Zan… do you need help?" Still no answer. "I can help with some stuff but you have to get the rest… or I could always call Ava and tell her the good news. I'm sure she'd be more than glad to help out."
"Don't call her."
"So you can speak." But all he got was silence from the slowly stewing alien. "Isabel might be willing to wash you but I wouldn't take that bet." Not even a smile. "I'm glad you're okay. We… really thought you were… We should have stuck around but… I had to get Liz home."
"She really make it out okay?"
"Yeah. We got her before the place went up. I had to… revitalize her a bit… She uh… can scan stuff now. I think it freaked her out. You know… she was wondering why she didn't feel you die. We should have known then but…" He found himself stuttering and stammering over his words. It hit him all of a sudden how he would really miss Zan if he were really and truly gone.
"I held her life in my hands. I read some. Watch some movies and the bad guy ain't a bad guy no more when he don't kill when he don't have to… I killed my sister. I could've left her there to fend for herself… but… I killed seven people inside those walls with my bare hands."
"Zan…"
"When I kilt Nicholas… I swore he was the last one."
"But then there was Mr. Harding."
"And then there was the guys in the surveillance room and then there was Lannie and then there was that fucking Pierce guy… I can't stop."
"Hey Zan…" Max cleared his throat and leaned on his knees. "Why didn't you tell anyone about the deal you made with Mrs. Montgomery?"
"Cause I ain't never gonna come through on my end."
"She told Ava you were close."
"So now people go round behind my back and talk to my people?"
"She went looking for you and she found Ava… We thought you were dead." He had to clear his throat again. "Did you think we were going to forget about you? 'Zan's dead. Oh well. Let's live life like he was never in it.'"
"Somethin' like that."
"Ava's been walking around like a zombie. She thought about dropping out."
"What for? You got like four months and then she walks across the stage…" Zan's voice was still raspy but he got loud enough for Michael to peer into the tiny bathroom. "She's nuts."
"She missed you. She didn't see any point without you."
"She hates me."
"No, she doesn't and she'd be the first to tell you if you'd ask her." Max grabbed the sponge and squeezed the water out over Zan's head. The water ran red down his body. "Whose blood?"
"Made sure that Pierce guy would never use his head ever again… not either of 'em." Zan let out a hysterical giggle and then shrugged. "I made a mess."
"Good."
"He was a sick fuck. He was negotiatin' with me the whole time. And the really sad part? He thought he was helpin' Liz. Helpin' her to find her destiny or whatever the fuck that's supposed to mean." Zan leaned forward to rest his head on his knees. The water was steamy but his body still shivered. Max poured cupful after cupful over his head and he let him until the water was filthy with soot and blood. Then they left him alone to shower off the rest. No razors. Just a bar of soap and a new sponge. Still, he stayed in the bathroom until he was clean and sitting next to a ringed bathtub.
Maybe if I tell myself that my life isn't over. That my life is still mine… maybe I'll believe it. I'll own it. I'll own my onus. One step at a time and this is my next step.
Liz stared at her body in the mirror. Even though there were no longer scars, she saw them. Invisible lines on her skin. It was a hot day and though it was tempting to hide beneath layers of clothes the way she had all winter, Liz had a mission. A purpose for which the first step was to dress for a date; a casual but romantic date. Not the way she used to, and not the way she had become accustomed but the way she wanted to dress now; a nice skirt with a nice blouse and sensible but cute shoes. Not too many clothes layered on, not too loose to hide behind, not too tight as to be desperate but pretty… the way she felt. When she emerged from her room, her parents began to protest her journey. “Mom, Dad. I’m going to Max’s… by myself. I have to. I have my phone and 35 cents for a pay phone in case that doesn’t work. I will call you when I get there and let you know how I’m doing and what time I plan to be home… because I don’t know yet.”
Nancy opened her mouth to protest but bit her tongue. “Honey, it’s cool out. Take a jacket.”
Jeff took a deep breath and reached for his wallet. “If you get stranded somewhere, call a cab.”
Liz blinked at her parents but they were only being as brave as she was pretending to be. They couldn’t keep her locked up in the house forever. “Thanks. I’ll… check in so much, you’ll wish I never begged for a cell phone.”
The march to Max’s was filled with pep-talk after pep-talk. A mantra of ‘I can do this’ and ‘don’t be stupid, Liz.’ Then when his house loomed in front of her, she wanted to turn tail and run. She was frozen to the spot. She had treated Max horribly in the last week or so. Max didn’t have to be stuck with her. He was a handsome guy and he could probably get a girl far prettier than she was, far more trusting and far less complicated.
“Is this a Native American thing?” A voice caught her by surprise. Isabel. “I read they think it’s polite to let someone see you so they can prepare for company or something but I didn’t think you practiced it.”
“You scared me.” Liz managed, clutching her chest.
“Well, you’re freaking out my mom.” The blonde leaned in the doorway. “Max isn’t here.”
“oh.”
“You look nice. Going somewhere special?”
“I… I’m just… stupid.” Liz turned to go when the jeep turned the corner and into the driveway. She was frozen only this time she couldn’t take her eyes off of Max. It seemed like he was moving in slow motion. Putting the car in park, shutting off his lights and turning the car off. Then she realized it wasn’t just her when Isabel cleared her throat loudly. “Hi Max.”
“Hi.” He slid out of the jeep slowly and waved off Isabel.
“Mom’s been looking for you… and so has Liz. I’ll go tell Mom you’re home and… you talk to Liz… or not talk… do something because you’re both driving everyone crazy.” Isabel grumbled as she shut the front door.
“You look nice.” He couldn’t stop his eyes from running over her body for a moment. “Were you headed somewhere?”
Liz blushed for a moment, meeting his eyes for just a second. “Here.”
Max nodded and shucked his jacket to lay on the concrete partition and motioned for her to sit. She looked so nice, he felt a little self-conscious in his dirty clothes. Dirty bath water, old-reconstituted blood and soot dotted his shirt and jeans. “I guess you want to talk.”
“We probably should but that’s not why I’m here. I just… needed to see you… like I used to… the first time.” She took a deep breath and looked up at him. “I don’t know if it’s this way for guys but… I… used to like to dress up a little. Find things I’d never worn for a guy before… I was coming over to ask you out… but I got here and I froze. Don’t just stand there, you’re making me nervous.”
Max gave her a small smile and sat beside her. “It’s just me.”
“It’s not just you… It’s you.”
“I’ll tell you what… I’ll go inside and change… shower, if you’ll allot me the time… and we’ll go do anything you want.” He started to rise but she pulled him back down. "Liz?”
“There’s just this one thing I have to say. Before you go inside, before we go out… any of it.” She cupped his face in her hands and gently kissed his lips. “That day… was shaping up to be one of the best in my life and then it went to hell but I was so happy before 6:15 that day. It’s all been my fault. All of it. Not being able to trust you, to let well enough alone, to let go of you when I should have… Zan… it’s all on me.”
“No.” Max told her firmly. “None of it is your fault. Let me go clean up and we’ll do something to prove you wrong.” He pulled her to her feet and into the house behind him, barely letting her grab his jacket along the way.
Liz sat with the Evans and had dessert with them while Max cleaned up. She felt the tension. The house hadn’t been the same, she was sure. Zan was gone and Ava was just barely getting through each day. Then Max reappeared, freshly showered and nicely dressed. He held his hand out to Liz. “Milady, let’s get this show on the road. Isabel, call Michael.”
“You couldn’t have given me my message right when you saw me?” She scoffed at him and rose to get the phone.
“I love you.” Max kissed her on the head as he made for the door. “Mom, Dad, I won’t be too late.”
Liz let Max guide them, her hand in his. Then she realized that he wasn’t really leading her, he was walking beside her, waiting for her to say something. “You smell good.”
“So much better now than before, I’m sure.” Max tightened his hold on her fingers. “Let’s stop at Michael’s before we go where you want. Okay?”
“Do we really want to go over now? Isabel’s calling him and all.”
“Trust me… when we get there, you’ll see why.”
“Max…” Liz sighed because there was still something missing, an obstacle between them that should be addressed. “I… I’m still a little freaked out. Am I turning into an alien?”
“I don’t think so.” His face was so earnest that she didn’t question that he believed it. “Our… powers are human, Liz. We use part of our brains that other people don’t. I mean, I’m an alien… Half of one. I have energies that allow me to tap into that unused portion of my brain at will. We left a trace of that energy in you and so… you’ve developed some slight powers… nothing that your descendants wouldn’t have developed eventually.”
“You sound very sure of that and I want to believe you.”
“I’ve had some time to ponder it, what’s happening to you.” The sentence hung in the air for a long time as Max gently steered them toward Michael’s apartment. He felt the need to fill the space with words. “Zan taught me a lot last fall. I try not to forget. You never know when that stuff could come in handy. I mean… in… back… that day… I … and everyone… We summoned up this huge power and I can only hope that it traveled as far as we think it did.”
Liz absorbed that as they covered the last block to Michael’s. She gestured to the parking lot. “Looks like she beat us here. Maybe we should go.”
“Trust me. You want to go in.” Max nudged her a little. “Just because Isabel beat us here, doesn’t mean we can’t go in. Smart money says she picked up Ava before she got here.”
“Max, what are you doing?”
“Come on.” He tugged her along, his fingers firmly gripped around hers.
“No surprises. I’ve had enough surprises to last me a lifetime.” She protested.
“Good surprise. I wanted to tell you sooner but time got away from us.” Max knocked on the door before opening it to crying girls. Isabel and Ava wiped their eyes but were crying again the second their hands left their faces.
“Max! You said a good surprise.” Liz smacked him and turned to leave.
“Wait.” Max pulled her back and maneuvered around all the extra people in the room. Liz huffed and let him steer her until Zan, sitting on Michael’s couch wrapped in blankets, was right in front of her. Tears sprung to her eyes immediately. “See, a good surprise.”
“But… everyone said.” Liz covered her mouth.
“I know.” Max looked to Michael. “How is he?”
“He hasn’t said anything to anyone since you were here last.” Michael shook his head and crossed his arms.
“Zan.” Max moved to sit next to him. “Come on. They were thinking you were dead… just… say something to them. Look at them. If you pick one, it might be good to pick the woman you love.” He joked lightly. “Come on.”
Zan’s eyes shifted but he didn’t lift them to anyone. He cleared this throat and his voice was so very gravelly but welcome. “I ain’t… (ahem)… so ready to… see people yet.”
“Max… Michael.” Isabel sobbed. “How long has he been here?”
“Since… right after school… Sheriff Valenti found him last night and it took him a long time to get him in the cruiser and he spent most of this afternoon cleaning up…” Michael rushed to explain. “We didn’t want everyone in his face, straight off.”
“What happened?” Ava managed to find her legs long enough to sit on the other side of Zan, her hands kept reaching for him but they would never land on him. Liz fumbled around with Isabel to sit on the coffee table.
Zan curled into a ball away from the girls. “Max, get ‘em outta here. I ain’t ready.”
“Okay.” Max nodded. “Let’s go.” He tapped Isabel on the knee. “Come on. Drive us back to the house so we can get the Jeep.”
“No.” Isabel shook her head. “We have to make him better.”
“He’s not hurt.” Michael pointed out. “He… has some stuff to deal with. Leave him alone.”
“Some stuff you can only heal yourself.” Liz whispered and leaned forward to kiss Zan’s head. “We’re all here when you feel yourself.”
Ava shook her head and cuddled up against Zan’s back. “I’m not goin’ nowheres.” To her credit, Zan didn’t push her away but he didn’t acknowledge her arms around him. “Never.”
“Fine.” Isabel leaned over to kiss Zan’s head and noticed he stiffened under her touch. “You’re safe, Zan.”
Once the door was shut behind the trio, the girls attacked Max. "How could you keep quiet so long?"
"Why didn't you call me the second you saw him?" Isabel hit Max across the shoulders.
"Hey!" He leapt away and put his arms up. "You didn't see him. He's improved a lot since I got him. He wouldn't talk to anyone at 3:30. What he said in there has got to be a fourth of what he's said all day. He was covered in blood and dirt and… I was trying to make sure he was physically okay."
"What happened?" Liz begged him.
"He hasn't said much. Guys… he…" Max motioned them to the car and lowered his voice. "He killed people six months after he swore to himself that he'd never take another life. He killed someone that…"
"Max." Isabel prompted.
"I let Pierce live. Ava told me to let him die in there… and Zan did what I couldn't. He killed that son of a bitch… and he killed his own sister. He needs to be alone right now. Let him. Come on… let's go home."
TBC
I'm Liz Parker and it's time to either let go or hide forever. I can only avoid Max for so long. I'm not even really avoiding him so much as everything alien… except Ava but she hasn't been herself and… now… I have no more excuses.
Liz didn't bother opening her books to do her report. Now that she had discovered she could do it… it just seemed a little redundant to actually read the book… though it did lack the sheer joy of cracking open a musty book and inhaling that scent. Knowing that no one had opened that book in months or years and being the first in so long… Scribbling down her words, she looked up at her father, who was sporting some more gray in his hair, as he went over his books. "Daddy."
"Jelly Bean."
"Am I stupid?"
He cracked a smile before answering. "Sounds like a stupid question."
"I'm serious." She waited until he looked up from his ledger. "Am I being stupid? Kyle says I'm being stupid… only he said it without saying it."
"Am I supposed to know what this is about?"
"Never mind." She threw down her pencil. "I am being stupid." Liz took a huge breath and let it out slowly, knowing her father wanted an explanation. "I blame Max. I shouldn't. It's not his fault but he didn't stop it and he swore he'd never let anything happen to me and it's not like he did, you know, LET something happen to me. It just… did. So, I'm being stupid."
"It sounds like you have all the pieces and some that I don't even have a clue about. I personally, would like to thank Max. When you let him come over again, I'd like to do that." Jeff set down his pencil and reached for her shaking hands. "I still don't know what happened and that kills me… but what I do know is Max Evans drove up to my home with you in his car. He brought you back to me. That's twice… and I need to thank him."
"Kyle says I'm sad."
"I am always heartened by the brave young woman I've raised. There are girls who would have gone crazy or done something desperate after all that you've been through." He rubbed her hands between his. "If you're… a little lost now… just think about how much worse it could have been. I am very surprised at how together you are."
"I have some moments that I cling to." Liz answered honestly. "I didn't just… go limp and play dead."
"I'll bet you didn't."
"I bit. I kicked and I know I got him good a few times. He's dead and I don't have to worry about him anymore." Liz lowered her eyes to her report. "I'm mad at me."
"Why?"
"I trusted him enough to let him get to me. I always wait for Max or Ava or Zan and I didn't. They were only five minutes late when I tried to call. I could have waited ten or fifteen." Liz burst into tears at voicing it aloud. "I had gotten to know him and I trusted him when he said I could use his phone and I trusted him when he said he'd give me a ride home." Her eyes fell closed as she let it all hit her. "And Zan died. I didn't kill him but… they were looking for me."
"Honey… Zan was a good boy, a little wild but a good boy from what I saw… Don't beat yourself up over it. No one saw what happened. No one blames you."
They say that words have power. Salinger wrote about a woman who read about people who pray forever and without ceasing. They let the words tumble from their lips constantly so that the words become synchronized into their very bones and into their hearts so that even when they no longer say the words, their bodies are still praying, still believing whole-heartedly in the words.
I thought it was interesting. The power of words. Of prayer.
Max sat beside the bathtub and reached over to refresh the water a little. "Is that too hot?" No answer. "Zan… do you need help?" Still no answer. "I can help with some stuff but you have to get the rest… or I could always call Ava and tell her the good news. I'm sure she'd be more than glad to help out."
"Don't call her."
"So you can speak." But all he got was silence from the slowly stewing alien. "Isabel might be willing to wash you but I wouldn't take that bet." Not even a smile. "I'm glad you're okay. We… really thought you were… We should have stuck around but… I had to get Liz home."
"She really make it out okay?"
"Yeah. We got her before the place went up. I had to… revitalize her a bit… She uh… can scan stuff now. I think it freaked her out. You know… she was wondering why she didn't feel you die. We should have known then but…" He found himself stuttering and stammering over his words. It hit him all of a sudden how he would really miss Zan if he were really and truly gone.
"I held her life in my hands. I read some. Watch some movies and the bad guy ain't a bad guy no more when he don't kill when he don't have to… I killed my sister. I could've left her there to fend for herself… but… I killed seven people inside those walls with my bare hands."
"Zan…"
"When I kilt Nicholas… I swore he was the last one."
"But then there was Mr. Harding."
"And then there was the guys in the surveillance room and then there was Lannie and then there was that fucking Pierce guy… I can't stop."
"Hey Zan…" Max cleared his throat and leaned on his knees. "Why didn't you tell anyone about the deal you made with Mrs. Montgomery?"
"Cause I ain't never gonna come through on my end."
"She told Ava you were close."
"So now people go round behind my back and talk to my people?"
"She went looking for you and she found Ava… We thought you were dead." He had to clear his throat again. "Did you think we were going to forget about you? 'Zan's dead. Oh well. Let's live life like he was never in it.'"
"Somethin' like that."
"Ava's been walking around like a zombie. She thought about dropping out."
"What for? You got like four months and then she walks across the stage…" Zan's voice was still raspy but he got loud enough for Michael to peer into the tiny bathroom. "She's nuts."
"She missed you. She didn't see any point without you."
"She hates me."
"No, she doesn't and she'd be the first to tell you if you'd ask her." Max grabbed the sponge and squeezed the water out over Zan's head. The water ran red down his body. "Whose blood?"
"Made sure that Pierce guy would never use his head ever again… not either of 'em." Zan let out a hysterical giggle and then shrugged. "I made a mess."
"Good."
"He was a sick fuck. He was negotiatin' with me the whole time. And the really sad part? He thought he was helpin' Liz. Helpin' her to find her destiny or whatever the fuck that's supposed to mean." Zan leaned forward to rest his head on his knees. The water was steamy but his body still shivered. Max poured cupful after cupful over his head and he let him until the water was filthy with soot and blood. Then they left him alone to shower off the rest. No razors. Just a bar of soap and a new sponge. Still, he stayed in the bathroom until he was clean and sitting next to a ringed bathtub.
Maybe if I tell myself that my life isn't over. That my life is still mine… maybe I'll believe it. I'll own it. I'll own my onus. One step at a time and this is my next step.
Liz stared at her body in the mirror. Even though there were no longer scars, she saw them. Invisible lines on her skin. It was a hot day and though it was tempting to hide beneath layers of clothes the way she had all winter, Liz had a mission. A purpose for which the first step was to dress for a date; a casual but romantic date. Not the way she used to, and not the way she had become accustomed but the way she wanted to dress now; a nice skirt with a nice blouse and sensible but cute shoes. Not too many clothes layered on, not too loose to hide behind, not too tight as to be desperate but pretty… the way she felt. When she emerged from her room, her parents began to protest her journey. “Mom, Dad. I’m going to Max’s… by myself. I have to. I have my phone and 35 cents for a pay phone in case that doesn’t work. I will call you when I get there and let you know how I’m doing and what time I plan to be home… because I don’t know yet.”
Nancy opened her mouth to protest but bit her tongue. “Honey, it’s cool out. Take a jacket.”
Jeff took a deep breath and reached for his wallet. “If you get stranded somewhere, call a cab.”
Liz blinked at her parents but they were only being as brave as she was pretending to be. They couldn’t keep her locked up in the house forever. “Thanks. I’ll… check in so much, you’ll wish I never begged for a cell phone.”
The march to Max’s was filled with pep-talk after pep-talk. A mantra of ‘I can do this’ and ‘don’t be stupid, Liz.’ Then when his house loomed in front of her, she wanted to turn tail and run. She was frozen to the spot. She had treated Max horribly in the last week or so. Max didn’t have to be stuck with her. He was a handsome guy and he could probably get a girl far prettier than she was, far more trusting and far less complicated.
“Is this a Native American thing?” A voice caught her by surprise. Isabel. “I read they think it’s polite to let someone see you so they can prepare for company or something but I didn’t think you practiced it.”
“You scared me.” Liz managed, clutching her chest.
“Well, you’re freaking out my mom.” The blonde leaned in the doorway. “Max isn’t here.”
“oh.”
“You look nice. Going somewhere special?”
“I… I’m just… stupid.” Liz turned to go when the jeep turned the corner and into the driveway. She was frozen only this time she couldn’t take her eyes off of Max. It seemed like he was moving in slow motion. Putting the car in park, shutting off his lights and turning the car off. Then she realized it wasn’t just her when Isabel cleared her throat loudly. “Hi Max.”
“Hi.” He slid out of the jeep slowly and waved off Isabel.
“Mom’s been looking for you… and so has Liz. I’ll go tell Mom you’re home and… you talk to Liz… or not talk… do something because you’re both driving everyone crazy.” Isabel grumbled as she shut the front door.
“You look nice.” He couldn’t stop his eyes from running over her body for a moment. “Were you headed somewhere?”
Liz blushed for a moment, meeting his eyes for just a second. “Here.”
Max nodded and shucked his jacket to lay on the concrete partition and motioned for her to sit. She looked so nice, he felt a little self-conscious in his dirty clothes. Dirty bath water, old-reconstituted blood and soot dotted his shirt and jeans. “I guess you want to talk.”
“We probably should but that’s not why I’m here. I just… needed to see you… like I used to… the first time.” She took a deep breath and looked up at him. “I don’t know if it’s this way for guys but… I… used to like to dress up a little. Find things I’d never worn for a guy before… I was coming over to ask you out… but I got here and I froze. Don’t just stand there, you’re making me nervous.”
Max gave her a small smile and sat beside her. “It’s just me.”
“It’s not just you… It’s you.”
“I’ll tell you what… I’ll go inside and change… shower, if you’ll allot me the time… and we’ll go do anything you want.” He started to rise but she pulled him back down. "Liz?”
“There’s just this one thing I have to say. Before you go inside, before we go out… any of it.” She cupped his face in her hands and gently kissed his lips. “That day… was shaping up to be one of the best in my life and then it went to hell but I was so happy before 6:15 that day. It’s all been my fault. All of it. Not being able to trust you, to let well enough alone, to let go of you when I should have… Zan… it’s all on me.”
“No.” Max told her firmly. “None of it is your fault. Let me go clean up and we’ll do something to prove you wrong.” He pulled her to her feet and into the house behind him, barely letting her grab his jacket along the way.
Liz sat with the Evans and had dessert with them while Max cleaned up. She felt the tension. The house hadn’t been the same, she was sure. Zan was gone and Ava was just barely getting through each day. Then Max reappeared, freshly showered and nicely dressed. He held his hand out to Liz. “Milady, let’s get this show on the road. Isabel, call Michael.”
“You couldn’t have given me my message right when you saw me?” She scoffed at him and rose to get the phone.
“I love you.” Max kissed her on the head as he made for the door. “Mom, Dad, I won’t be too late.”
Liz let Max guide them, her hand in his. Then she realized that he wasn’t really leading her, he was walking beside her, waiting for her to say something. “You smell good.”
“So much better now than before, I’m sure.” Max tightened his hold on her fingers. “Let’s stop at Michael’s before we go where you want. Okay?”
“Do we really want to go over now? Isabel’s calling him and all.”
“Trust me… when we get there, you’ll see why.”
“Max…” Liz sighed because there was still something missing, an obstacle between them that should be addressed. “I… I’m still a little freaked out. Am I turning into an alien?”
“I don’t think so.” His face was so earnest that she didn’t question that he believed it. “Our… powers are human, Liz. We use part of our brains that other people don’t. I mean, I’m an alien… Half of one. I have energies that allow me to tap into that unused portion of my brain at will. We left a trace of that energy in you and so… you’ve developed some slight powers… nothing that your descendants wouldn’t have developed eventually.”
“You sound very sure of that and I want to believe you.”
“I’ve had some time to ponder it, what’s happening to you.” The sentence hung in the air for a long time as Max gently steered them toward Michael’s apartment. He felt the need to fill the space with words. “Zan taught me a lot last fall. I try not to forget. You never know when that stuff could come in handy. I mean… in… back… that day… I … and everyone… We summoned up this huge power and I can only hope that it traveled as far as we think it did.”
Liz absorbed that as they covered the last block to Michael’s. She gestured to the parking lot. “Looks like she beat us here. Maybe we should go.”
“Trust me. You want to go in.” Max nudged her a little. “Just because Isabel beat us here, doesn’t mean we can’t go in. Smart money says she picked up Ava before she got here.”
“Max, what are you doing?”
“Come on.” He tugged her along, his fingers firmly gripped around hers.
“No surprises. I’ve had enough surprises to last me a lifetime.” She protested.
“Good surprise. I wanted to tell you sooner but time got away from us.” Max knocked on the door before opening it to crying girls. Isabel and Ava wiped their eyes but were crying again the second their hands left their faces.
“Max! You said a good surprise.” Liz smacked him and turned to leave.
“Wait.” Max pulled her back and maneuvered around all the extra people in the room. Liz huffed and let him steer her until Zan, sitting on Michael’s couch wrapped in blankets, was right in front of her. Tears sprung to her eyes immediately. “See, a good surprise.”
“But… everyone said.” Liz covered her mouth.
“I know.” Max looked to Michael. “How is he?”
“He hasn’t said anything to anyone since you were here last.” Michael shook his head and crossed his arms.
“Zan.” Max moved to sit next to him. “Come on. They were thinking you were dead… just… say something to them. Look at them. If you pick one, it might be good to pick the woman you love.” He joked lightly. “Come on.”
Zan’s eyes shifted but he didn’t lift them to anyone. He cleared this throat and his voice was so very gravelly but welcome. “I ain’t… (ahem)… so ready to… see people yet.”
“Max… Michael.” Isabel sobbed. “How long has he been here?”
“Since… right after school… Sheriff Valenti found him last night and it took him a long time to get him in the cruiser and he spent most of this afternoon cleaning up…” Michael rushed to explain. “We didn’t want everyone in his face, straight off.”
“What happened?” Ava managed to find her legs long enough to sit on the other side of Zan, her hands kept reaching for him but they would never land on him. Liz fumbled around with Isabel to sit on the coffee table.
Zan curled into a ball away from the girls. “Max, get ‘em outta here. I ain’t ready.”
“Okay.” Max nodded. “Let’s go.” He tapped Isabel on the knee. “Come on. Drive us back to the house so we can get the Jeep.”
“No.” Isabel shook her head. “We have to make him better.”
“He’s not hurt.” Michael pointed out. “He… has some stuff to deal with. Leave him alone.”
“Some stuff you can only heal yourself.” Liz whispered and leaned forward to kiss Zan’s head. “We’re all here when you feel yourself.”
Ava shook her head and cuddled up against Zan’s back. “I’m not goin’ nowheres.” To her credit, Zan didn’t push her away but he didn’t acknowledge her arms around him. “Never.”
“Fine.” Isabel leaned over to kiss Zan’s head and noticed he stiffened under her touch. “You’re safe, Zan.”
Once the door was shut behind the trio, the girls attacked Max. "How could you keep quiet so long?"
"Why didn't you call me the second you saw him?" Isabel hit Max across the shoulders.
"Hey!" He leapt away and put his arms up. "You didn't see him. He's improved a lot since I got him. He wouldn't talk to anyone at 3:30. What he said in there has got to be a fourth of what he's said all day. He was covered in blood and dirt and… I was trying to make sure he was physically okay."
"What happened?" Liz begged him.
"He hasn't said much. Guys… he…" Max motioned them to the car and lowered his voice. "He killed people six months after he swore to himself that he'd never take another life. He killed someone that…"
"Max." Isabel prompted.
"I let Pierce live. Ava told me to let him die in there… and Zan did what I couldn't. He killed that son of a bitch… and he killed his own sister. He needs to be alone right now. Let him. Come on… let's go home."
TBC
Part 64
Part 64
Excerpt from Jack London’s White Fang included in the third section of this story. No infringement intended.
I'm Liz Parker and things seem like they're normal for once. I go to school and I hang out with Max just like I used to. He's an alien and that's okay because I know him and I know that hurting people is not something he likes to do. Michael and Isabel blow my mind sometimes. They're just… trying so hard to be loved that they don't see that they are loved. They love each other. Ava has some life back in her. At least, she started brushing her hair again. She does it for Zan… but we're not even sure he sees it. He's still in Michael's apartment in the arm chair. He just sits for hours, staring at nothing, or maybe something that the rest of us can't see. He's losing so much weight because he doesn't eat even though Ava does her best. A liquid diet can't be good for him. I guess that's the only thing that isn't normal. Zan.
Ava put the cap on the air mattress and tested it out. It would hold. Then she lifted Zan's arms and pulled his shirt off, tossing it on their things next to the mattress. Gently, she pulled him up and guided him to lie down on the mattress. She laid down behind him, the way he used to do for her when they were younger. He hadn’t spoken one word all day, he had taken a little soup but his eyes were fixed on a faraway place.
“Dear God, I don’t know how to do this but… I’ll believe and spread the good word if you bring back my Zan. I need him. Maybe you don’t count us as people but… I ain’t never done nothing too wrong. Let him sleep tonight and wake up the way he was. Amen or whatever.”
Zan shut his eyes but didn’t sleep, he didn’t think he did anyway. He just needed everything to be still.
Things are still a little strange between Max and I but I’m trying to be better. My parents have stopped worrying so much about me and have returned to inviting Max to dinner at least once a week and letting us veg on the couch on Sundays together. We haven’t actually talked much, Max and I, but I have felt a whole lot better about myself in his arms. When I kiss him, it’s like a part inside me is reaching for him. Maybe it’s that piece he left behind, trying to reunite with the rest of him.
Liz sighed when Max deepened the kiss. Then she was swept away with his thoughts and memories. Breaking away, she breathed out, her eyes still closed. She started a bit when he put his hands on her face. “Liz? What happened?”
She could still see them on her eyelids. “Bigfoot was your first pet, ever. There wasn’t hardly anything left of him when you found him. Mr. Martinelli’s dog got to him.”
“Liz. Open your eyes.” Max whispered softly. When she did, those big brown eyes were brimming with tears. “That was a long time ago. Did you see that? From me?”
“Yeah. Like it had just happened. How old were you?”
“Don’t know. Ten, I think.”
“Is that how it happens for you? When you see me?”
“Yeah… and I have to tell you. Of any person I’ve ever gotten flashes from, you feel the most intensely.” He whispered, his breath caressing her cheek. “Of any person I’ve ever come into contact with, you make me feel the most, with the most intensity.”
“Really?” She smiled and leaned into his body. “Maybe that’s why we connect so well, we’re perfectly matched… and now it’s fair because now I see you, too.”
“Do you want to talk about it? Your… gifts.”
“How do we know they won’t just fade away?” Liz pulled away and reclining on his couch. “What if I wake up one day and they’re gone?”
“I supposed it could happen, but what if they don’t? What if you’ve evolved permanently?”
“It does make studying a breeze… but I liked reading and enjoying and naturally absorbing books.” Liz had to suppress a shiver when his fingers lightly brushed her knee. “The flashes or visions or whatever are… neat but a little disconcerting. Sometimes… things are supposed to stay secret.”
“You’re not the only one worried that you’re going to see something you shouldn’t or leak something you wanted to keep to yourself.”
“Like what?”
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be keeping it to myself.” He teased her lightly. “Hey, I’ve got something to ask you.”
“Then ask me.” She shifted the throw pillow under her head.
“Special day coming up in a week.” Max cleared his throat and gripped her hands to pull her into a sitting position. “You can lay back in a sec, I just want to get this out because I’ve never done this before.”
“Max?”
“Liz, will you be my Valentine?”
“Max…” She breathed and leaned forward to press her lips against his. “Of course. I’ll be yours if you’ll be mine.”
I go by and sit with Zan a little bit after school but he doesn’t talk to anyone but he must move around when Michael’s gone and no one else is there. The only proof of that is Michael’s dishes. They get washed and it’s a big mystery to Michael, who thought Isabel was washing them until she said she hadn’t done them in weeks. We haven’t said anything to Zan, we don’t want to push him away.
Zan closed his eyes and listened to Ava read from the other end of the couch. Her voice ran over him and soothed his demons. Then she stopped and he opened his eyes to find her setting the book aside and turning her head to the window. “Don’t… Stop. Please.”
Her head whipped around and those blue eyes lit up as she settled in with the book again, flicking on the lamp so she could see. “I thought you was sleepin.”
“I wanna know if he learns to be nice.”
“I read this before, wit you. Remember? Back in New York… we stole it.”
“I forget.” He closed his eyes and rolled over to face the back of the couch.
“Okay, I’ll keep readin’. Didn’t mean to leave you hangin’.” She stared at him for such a long time before she opened it back up. “You like that dog?”
“He got screwed when he was born. Only gray cub in the bunch… so he knows he ain’t like the rest of ‘em.” Zan took a deep breath. He hadn’t spoken so many words in days… weeks? What date was it? “He was doin’ okay til people made him mean. I wanna see if Weedon can fix him.”
“Okay. I’ll keep readin’.” Zan allowed her to stick her feet between his calves because they were cold. She wiggled and squirmed and then got up and returned with a blanket, then she curled up with her back against his thighs. She squirmed some more and then sighed, satisfied they were both comfortable. ““It would be a mercy to kill him,” Scott insisted. “He’s untameable.””
A tear slipped from under his lashes at that line but he was certain Ava couldn’t see. Before when she had read to him, she had sounded tired, but now she was reinvigorated but he couldn’t see why, she was the one doing all the work. In days past, she would have made him read it himself… and maybe he should.
There’s an element in the air. We’re all primed and ready for something. Never going too deep, never getting too relaxed. Maybe we’re not ready to be okay. The second that we accept that everything is fine, something horrible will happen.
“Could you chop those smaller, Max?” Nancy whispered as she passed. “Jeff will only eat them if he can’t pick them out.”
“No problem.” Max adjusted his fingers so pieces of them didn’t end up in dinner.
“Get your fingers out of that bowl.” Nancy chided Liz.
“I’m just checking the consistency. We can’t have lumps.” She smiled brightly as she began pouring the brownie batter into the baking pan. “No one wants to bite into a powdery brownie.”
“What exactly am I making?” Max rechopped his previously largely chopped onions.
“Oh, this is a recipe I learned from Jeff’s dad, who learned it from his dad, who used to serve it at Parker’s to the soldiers. He took it off the menu when it looked like the soldiers were gone for good.”
“It’s a hamburger.” Liz rolled her eyes. “Dad hates them.”
“Dad does not. He hasn’t had one in forever and today being his birthday, I decided something from his childhood would make him feel younger.”
“Or give him a heart attack.”
“It’s not just a hamburger.” Nancy ignored her daughter. “Ground meat, chopped onions, spices, egg, Worcestershire sauce and…” She pulled a beer can from the counter. “A little beer and mash it all together. Personally, I loved it when Grandma Claudia served them with gravy but Jeff prefers steak sauce. I’m going to go grill them outside.”
“And you think it’s really going to be a surprise when Dad smells that?” Liz stared up at her mother.
“Dad’s manning the stove downstairs. He can’t smell the grill going on your balcony.” Nancy shook her head at her daughter.
“I’m going to start the corn.” Liz grabbed the foil, the bag of cob corn and stomped out of the room.
“Don’t mind her. She’s just mad at me. I didn’t know she had gotten Jeff a new-used guitar and I bought him a brand-new one.”
“Mr. Parker plays guitar?”
“He used to and he was thinking about taking it up again but his guitar had the misfortune of being packed away by a window for two years. It warped pretty badly.” Nancy took Max’s onions to start her patties. “I hear, from your mother, that you make some great roasted potatoes.”
“Sure.” Max glanced around and found the bag on the table. “Isabel got Mom this subscription to Martha Stewart and some of the recipes aren’t that great, so… we’ve taken it upon ourselves to rectify some of the dinner situations. She means well but we kind of wish she’d go back to her old recipes.”
“You are such a good boy, Max.” She threw her ingredients together. “Sorry to have enlisted your help but I had wanted to get started earlier. I want Jeff to have time to enjoy his dinner tonight. He absolutely refused to take today off. Jose’s mother is sick and Angie’s baby has an ear infection, today was the only day they could see the doctor.”
“It’s not a problem. I really don’t mind.” His eyes went to Liz as she walked into the kitchen with a stack of books. “Do you have a recipe for baked literature?”
“I just got off the phone with Ava. Zan talked yesterday.” Liz carefully lined the books up next to the door. “He liked White Fang so she’s coming over to get more books to read to him. I have a whole bunch of London books.”
“Is something wrong with Zan? I thought you said he was okay? That he hadn’t been burned too badly.” Nancy cut in.
“He’s… a little… withdrawn but he’s getting better.” Max phrased it carefully. “He hasn’t really spoken to anyone since he’s been back.”
“Poor thing. Sheriff Valenti mentioned he’d been out there for almost a week.”
“Ava said she was going to sell her dad’s place and get a smaller place for the two of them. I bet if we sent over a pineapple and green pepper pizza that he’d start eating like a normal person again.” Liz bounced on her toes held out the roasting pan for Max to fill with his potatoes.
“Tried that.” Max shook his head. “But he seems to like tomato soup with salsa.”
“Ew.” Liz screwed up her face and watched Max sprinkle various things over the potatoes.
“Says the girl who eats fishsticks with mayo.”
“You eat yours with mustard.” She shot back.
Nancy shuddered. “Gross.”
Fear is not the word for what we're feeling. I'm not really afraid anymore. It's more like caution. Hitting the breaks at 75 feet instead of waiting for 50 feet. Just to be sure.
Ava sank onto the couch with Zan, who for once leaned into her when she reached for him. They sat together for a long time in silence. Michael was out with Isabel. Max was at Liz's for Mr. Parker's birthday. She ran her fingers through his hair, so soft from his bath earlier, and pressed her lips against his head. "Mr. Evans told me who to talk to about puttin' that house up for sale. Then we can go pick out a place, just you and me. We could ask Michael's landlord if there are any singles open or see if there's something closer to the college."
"You still gonna do the college thing?"
"Yeah. Are you gonna finish what you started? That old lady would be happy to see you and you could make her proud too."
"You talked to her?"
"Yeah. She told me what you been doin' all this time. I wish you would've told me. I could've helped."
"You want me livin' with you?"
"I don't wanna go live anywheres you ain't gonna be. Do you wanna go off by yourself?"
"No but I don't want to hang round with you feelin' sorry for me, either."
"I don't feel sorry for you."
"Think I could've done somethin' different so I ain't hurt so many people?"
"Don't see how. Either you hurt someone or you get hurt and… the kind of hurt we talkin' is the killin' kind. I'd rather have you here and have you kilt some asshole than some asshole that killed you hangin' round lookin' for me."
"If you don't love me, tell me."
"Then I ain't got nothin' to say… cause I love you so much, it hurts me when you hurtin'."
"You kilt the bad guy. You and Max and Isabel and Michael… ya'll ain't need me."
"I need you."
"All I did was kill my sister and that asshole."
"And that asshole needin' killin'. Liz told me he thought he was doin' right by her. Tryin' to bribe her with good schools so she could be like a spy or some shit."
"I kilt him. Blood on my hands."
"And maybe he be that last one."
"That's what I said before."
There's something comforting in knowing. There's something liberating in trusting. Having faith in someone is a lot harder than it sounds. You can know someone and trust someone but to really have faith in them is asking a lot but if they deserve it, there's nothing to hold you back but yourself.
"I'm sorry you got dragged into that whole fiasco." Liz leaned on the Jeep, preventing Max from getting in right away.
"It's okay. I had fun." He gave her an easy smile. "I didn't know your dad was such an accomplished guitarist."
"He was in a band in high school. He hasn't picked it up in a good long while. I'm really surprised he played in front of you. Usually he holes up in his room and goofs off where no one can see." She laughed to herself. "He really likes you, Max."
"Well, that actually puts me at ease. Sometimes I get a little frightened of him."
"Like, imagining he's Spiderman and crawling on the ceiling and spying on us when we're making out?" She teased innocently.
"As I was saying yesterday, some things I had planned never to share with anyone."
"Max…" The smile slipped from her face for a moment and was replaced with a slightly nervous expression. "Soon, not tonight, I want to go be with you, away from everyone and it be just us. No parents in the next room, no sibling rivalries or nosy friends calling every five minutes. Just you and me."
"Valentine's Day is a Thursday but I'm sure I could get away with staying out pretty late…" He trailed off at her guarded grimace. "What?"
"I was thinking for longer than a few hours. All day or… night or something… I mean, we don't have to… This came out all wrong. I'm sorry." Liz sighed and seated herself in the Jeep. Max just took her hands in his and brushed her knuckles lightly with his lips. She opened her mouth to speak but clamped it shut again.
"Liz, what is it?"
"I want to be with you. Be with you… but… my mind just keeps filling up with all these reasons why not and when not and how not and where not…"
"And who and what not?"
"You're not funny." She tried to hit him but he still had hold of her hands.
"Please clarify." Max schooled his face to listen.
"Don't look at me." She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, his eyes were shut. "I've been thinking about it for quite a while. I want to make love with you. Keep them closed." She warned softly. "I just… I want to make love to just you."
"Instead of the whole football team?"
"I said to be quiet. So I didn't. Anyway. Let me finish." She took a deep breath. "I just don't want to taint our… the culmination of our relationship by… doing it after prom, which we're going to together, by the way. I don't want to do it after graduation because we're going to be way too busy and I don't think I can wait until this summer."
"Are you done?"
"No. It has to be planned because I don't want it ruined by parents roaming the streets looking for us and us feeling badly afterward. We know who and what but we have to get the how and when and where… we know why, too." She cut off his smirk and comment by finishing the questions.
"Maybe I need to know why."
"Well, duh, hot alien." She finally cracked a smile. "You can open your eyes now."
"Do you think I'm hot? I think these jeans make my ass look fat." His comment was rewarded with a pinched bicep.
"I like your ass in those jeans." She pulled him closer so she could wrap her arms around his shoulders. "What do you say? Will you make love to me?"
"I think that… you're taking an entirely too serious approach to this. Falling in line with stereotypes is not a bad thing sometimes. We could do the prom thing because then I could arrange the whole thing and your parents could pretend they think you're sleeping at Maria's or whatever it is you tell your folks."
"You missed my point of avoiding prom. Think back a year, mister. I can't sleep with you on the one year anniversary of you sleeping with someone else. I'm not that well adjusted."
"You went and brought that up." Max winced and sucked in a breath. "And it can't be after graduation because that's when you… and the summer thing… okay." Blowing out a deep breath, Max fixed his eyes on her. "We're going to pretend the last 45 seconds didn't happen. I will make love to you. I will arrange the whole thing. All you have to do is be ready."
"No eraser room or janitor's closet or motor vehicles of any kind." Liz kissed his nose. "It wasn't that long ago, was it? That you forgot?"
"Last year? Yeah… it was only a year." Max hugged her close. "It's been a hell of a year. But now I can say without reservation or hesitation that I love you, Liz Parker, and I will do anything and everything in my power to make you happy."
And when you can no longer hold yourself back, it's the most amazing feeling in this world… or any other.
TBC
Excerpt from Jack London’s White Fang included in the third section of this story. No infringement intended.
I'm Liz Parker and things seem like they're normal for once. I go to school and I hang out with Max just like I used to. He's an alien and that's okay because I know him and I know that hurting people is not something he likes to do. Michael and Isabel blow my mind sometimes. They're just… trying so hard to be loved that they don't see that they are loved. They love each other. Ava has some life back in her. At least, she started brushing her hair again. She does it for Zan… but we're not even sure he sees it. He's still in Michael's apartment in the arm chair. He just sits for hours, staring at nothing, or maybe something that the rest of us can't see. He's losing so much weight because he doesn't eat even though Ava does her best. A liquid diet can't be good for him. I guess that's the only thing that isn't normal. Zan.
Ava put the cap on the air mattress and tested it out. It would hold. Then she lifted Zan's arms and pulled his shirt off, tossing it on their things next to the mattress. Gently, she pulled him up and guided him to lie down on the mattress. She laid down behind him, the way he used to do for her when they were younger. He hadn’t spoken one word all day, he had taken a little soup but his eyes were fixed on a faraway place.
“Dear God, I don’t know how to do this but… I’ll believe and spread the good word if you bring back my Zan. I need him. Maybe you don’t count us as people but… I ain’t never done nothing too wrong. Let him sleep tonight and wake up the way he was. Amen or whatever.”
Zan shut his eyes but didn’t sleep, he didn’t think he did anyway. He just needed everything to be still.
Things are still a little strange between Max and I but I’m trying to be better. My parents have stopped worrying so much about me and have returned to inviting Max to dinner at least once a week and letting us veg on the couch on Sundays together. We haven’t actually talked much, Max and I, but I have felt a whole lot better about myself in his arms. When I kiss him, it’s like a part inside me is reaching for him. Maybe it’s that piece he left behind, trying to reunite with the rest of him.
Liz sighed when Max deepened the kiss. Then she was swept away with his thoughts and memories. Breaking away, she breathed out, her eyes still closed. She started a bit when he put his hands on her face. “Liz? What happened?”
She could still see them on her eyelids. “Bigfoot was your first pet, ever. There wasn’t hardly anything left of him when you found him. Mr. Martinelli’s dog got to him.”
“Liz. Open your eyes.” Max whispered softly. When she did, those big brown eyes were brimming with tears. “That was a long time ago. Did you see that? From me?”
“Yeah. Like it had just happened. How old were you?”
“Don’t know. Ten, I think.”
“Is that how it happens for you? When you see me?”
“Yeah… and I have to tell you. Of any person I’ve ever gotten flashes from, you feel the most intensely.” He whispered, his breath caressing her cheek. “Of any person I’ve ever come into contact with, you make me feel the most, with the most intensity.”
“Really?” She smiled and leaned into his body. “Maybe that’s why we connect so well, we’re perfectly matched… and now it’s fair because now I see you, too.”
“Do you want to talk about it? Your… gifts.”
“How do we know they won’t just fade away?” Liz pulled away and reclining on his couch. “What if I wake up one day and they’re gone?”
“I supposed it could happen, but what if they don’t? What if you’ve evolved permanently?”
“It does make studying a breeze… but I liked reading and enjoying and naturally absorbing books.” Liz had to suppress a shiver when his fingers lightly brushed her knee. “The flashes or visions or whatever are… neat but a little disconcerting. Sometimes… things are supposed to stay secret.”
“You’re not the only one worried that you’re going to see something you shouldn’t or leak something you wanted to keep to yourself.”
“Like what?”
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be keeping it to myself.” He teased her lightly. “Hey, I’ve got something to ask you.”
“Then ask me.” She shifted the throw pillow under her head.
“Special day coming up in a week.” Max cleared his throat and gripped her hands to pull her into a sitting position. “You can lay back in a sec, I just want to get this out because I’ve never done this before.”
“Max?”
“Liz, will you be my Valentine?”
“Max…” She breathed and leaned forward to press her lips against his. “Of course. I’ll be yours if you’ll be mine.”
I go by and sit with Zan a little bit after school but he doesn’t talk to anyone but he must move around when Michael’s gone and no one else is there. The only proof of that is Michael’s dishes. They get washed and it’s a big mystery to Michael, who thought Isabel was washing them until she said she hadn’t done them in weeks. We haven’t said anything to Zan, we don’t want to push him away.
Zan closed his eyes and listened to Ava read from the other end of the couch. Her voice ran over him and soothed his demons. Then she stopped and he opened his eyes to find her setting the book aside and turning her head to the window. “Don’t… Stop. Please.”
Her head whipped around and those blue eyes lit up as she settled in with the book again, flicking on the lamp so she could see. “I thought you was sleepin.”
“I wanna know if he learns to be nice.”
“I read this before, wit you. Remember? Back in New York… we stole it.”
“I forget.” He closed his eyes and rolled over to face the back of the couch.
“Okay, I’ll keep readin’. Didn’t mean to leave you hangin’.” She stared at him for such a long time before she opened it back up. “You like that dog?”
“He got screwed when he was born. Only gray cub in the bunch… so he knows he ain’t like the rest of ‘em.” Zan took a deep breath. He hadn’t spoken so many words in days… weeks? What date was it? “He was doin’ okay til people made him mean. I wanna see if Weedon can fix him.”
“Okay. I’ll keep readin’.” Zan allowed her to stick her feet between his calves because they were cold. She wiggled and squirmed and then got up and returned with a blanket, then she curled up with her back against his thighs. She squirmed some more and then sighed, satisfied they were both comfortable. ““It would be a mercy to kill him,” Scott insisted. “He’s untameable.””
A tear slipped from under his lashes at that line but he was certain Ava couldn’t see. Before when she had read to him, she had sounded tired, but now she was reinvigorated but he couldn’t see why, she was the one doing all the work. In days past, she would have made him read it himself… and maybe he should.
There’s an element in the air. We’re all primed and ready for something. Never going too deep, never getting too relaxed. Maybe we’re not ready to be okay. The second that we accept that everything is fine, something horrible will happen.
“Could you chop those smaller, Max?” Nancy whispered as she passed. “Jeff will only eat them if he can’t pick them out.”
“No problem.” Max adjusted his fingers so pieces of them didn’t end up in dinner.
“Get your fingers out of that bowl.” Nancy chided Liz.
“I’m just checking the consistency. We can’t have lumps.” She smiled brightly as she began pouring the brownie batter into the baking pan. “No one wants to bite into a powdery brownie.”
“What exactly am I making?” Max rechopped his previously largely chopped onions.
“Oh, this is a recipe I learned from Jeff’s dad, who learned it from his dad, who used to serve it at Parker’s to the soldiers. He took it off the menu when it looked like the soldiers were gone for good.”
“It’s a hamburger.” Liz rolled her eyes. “Dad hates them.”
“Dad does not. He hasn’t had one in forever and today being his birthday, I decided something from his childhood would make him feel younger.”
“Or give him a heart attack.”
“It’s not just a hamburger.” Nancy ignored her daughter. “Ground meat, chopped onions, spices, egg, Worcestershire sauce and…” She pulled a beer can from the counter. “A little beer and mash it all together. Personally, I loved it when Grandma Claudia served them with gravy but Jeff prefers steak sauce. I’m going to go grill them outside.”
“And you think it’s really going to be a surprise when Dad smells that?” Liz stared up at her mother.
“Dad’s manning the stove downstairs. He can’t smell the grill going on your balcony.” Nancy shook her head at her daughter.
“I’m going to start the corn.” Liz grabbed the foil, the bag of cob corn and stomped out of the room.
“Don’t mind her. She’s just mad at me. I didn’t know she had gotten Jeff a new-used guitar and I bought him a brand-new one.”
“Mr. Parker plays guitar?”
“He used to and he was thinking about taking it up again but his guitar had the misfortune of being packed away by a window for two years. It warped pretty badly.” Nancy took Max’s onions to start her patties. “I hear, from your mother, that you make some great roasted potatoes.”
“Sure.” Max glanced around and found the bag on the table. “Isabel got Mom this subscription to Martha Stewart and some of the recipes aren’t that great, so… we’ve taken it upon ourselves to rectify some of the dinner situations. She means well but we kind of wish she’d go back to her old recipes.”
“You are such a good boy, Max.” She threw her ingredients together. “Sorry to have enlisted your help but I had wanted to get started earlier. I want Jeff to have time to enjoy his dinner tonight. He absolutely refused to take today off. Jose’s mother is sick and Angie’s baby has an ear infection, today was the only day they could see the doctor.”
“It’s not a problem. I really don’t mind.” His eyes went to Liz as she walked into the kitchen with a stack of books. “Do you have a recipe for baked literature?”
“I just got off the phone with Ava. Zan talked yesterday.” Liz carefully lined the books up next to the door. “He liked White Fang so she’s coming over to get more books to read to him. I have a whole bunch of London books.”
“Is something wrong with Zan? I thought you said he was okay? That he hadn’t been burned too badly.” Nancy cut in.
“He’s… a little… withdrawn but he’s getting better.” Max phrased it carefully. “He hasn’t really spoken to anyone since he’s been back.”
“Poor thing. Sheriff Valenti mentioned he’d been out there for almost a week.”
“Ava said she was going to sell her dad’s place and get a smaller place for the two of them. I bet if we sent over a pineapple and green pepper pizza that he’d start eating like a normal person again.” Liz bounced on her toes held out the roasting pan for Max to fill with his potatoes.
“Tried that.” Max shook his head. “But he seems to like tomato soup with salsa.”
“Ew.” Liz screwed up her face and watched Max sprinkle various things over the potatoes.
“Says the girl who eats fishsticks with mayo.”
“You eat yours with mustard.” She shot back.
Nancy shuddered. “Gross.”
Fear is not the word for what we're feeling. I'm not really afraid anymore. It's more like caution. Hitting the breaks at 75 feet instead of waiting for 50 feet. Just to be sure.
Ava sank onto the couch with Zan, who for once leaned into her when she reached for him. They sat together for a long time in silence. Michael was out with Isabel. Max was at Liz's for Mr. Parker's birthday. She ran her fingers through his hair, so soft from his bath earlier, and pressed her lips against his head. "Mr. Evans told me who to talk to about puttin' that house up for sale. Then we can go pick out a place, just you and me. We could ask Michael's landlord if there are any singles open or see if there's something closer to the college."
"You still gonna do the college thing?"
"Yeah. Are you gonna finish what you started? That old lady would be happy to see you and you could make her proud too."
"You talked to her?"
"Yeah. She told me what you been doin' all this time. I wish you would've told me. I could've helped."
"You want me livin' with you?"
"I don't wanna go live anywheres you ain't gonna be. Do you wanna go off by yourself?"
"No but I don't want to hang round with you feelin' sorry for me, either."
"I don't feel sorry for you."
"Think I could've done somethin' different so I ain't hurt so many people?"
"Don't see how. Either you hurt someone or you get hurt and… the kind of hurt we talkin' is the killin' kind. I'd rather have you here and have you kilt some asshole than some asshole that killed you hangin' round lookin' for me."
"If you don't love me, tell me."
"Then I ain't got nothin' to say… cause I love you so much, it hurts me when you hurtin'."
"You kilt the bad guy. You and Max and Isabel and Michael… ya'll ain't need me."
"I need you."
"All I did was kill my sister and that asshole."
"And that asshole needin' killin'. Liz told me he thought he was doin' right by her. Tryin' to bribe her with good schools so she could be like a spy or some shit."
"I kilt him. Blood on my hands."
"And maybe he be that last one."
"That's what I said before."
There's something comforting in knowing. There's something liberating in trusting. Having faith in someone is a lot harder than it sounds. You can know someone and trust someone but to really have faith in them is asking a lot but if they deserve it, there's nothing to hold you back but yourself.
"I'm sorry you got dragged into that whole fiasco." Liz leaned on the Jeep, preventing Max from getting in right away.
"It's okay. I had fun." He gave her an easy smile. "I didn't know your dad was such an accomplished guitarist."
"He was in a band in high school. He hasn't picked it up in a good long while. I'm really surprised he played in front of you. Usually he holes up in his room and goofs off where no one can see." She laughed to herself. "He really likes you, Max."
"Well, that actually puts me at ease. Sometimes I get a little frightened of him."
"Like, imagining he's Spiderman and crawling on the ceiling and spying on us when we're making out?" She teased innocently.
"As I was saying yesterday, some things I had planned never to share with anyone."
"Max…" The smile slipped from her face for a moment and was replaced with a slightly nervous expression. "Soon, not tonight, I want to go be with you, away from everyone and it be just us. No parents in the next room, no sibling rivalries or nosy friends calling every five minutes. Just you and me."
"Valentine's Day is a Thursday but I'm sure I could get away with staying out pretty late…" He trailed off at her guarded grimace. "What?"
"I was thinking for longer than a few hours. All day or… night or something… I mean, we don't have to… This came out all wrong. I'm sorry." Liz sighed and seated herself in the Jeep. Max just took her hands in his and brushed her knuckles lightly with his lips. She opened her mouth to speak but clamped it shut again.
"Liz, what is it?"
"I want to be with you. Be with you… but… my mind just keeps filling up with all these reasons why not and when not and how not and where not…"
"And who and what not?"
"You're not funny." She tried to hit him but he still had hold of her hands.
"Please clarify." Max schooled his face to listen.
"Don't look at me." She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, his eyes were shut. "I've been thinking about it for quite a while. I want to make love with you. Keep them closed." She warned softly. "I just… I want to make love to just you."
"Instead of the whole football team?"
"I said to be quiet. So I didn't. Anyway. Let me finish." She took a deep breath. "I just don't want to taint our… the culmination of our relationship by… doing it after prom, which we're going to together, by the way. I don't want to do it after graduation because we're going to be way too busy and I don't think I can wait until this summer."
"Are you done?"
"No. It has to be planned because I don't want it ruined by parents roaming the streets looking for us and us feeling badly afterward. We know who and what but we have to get the how and when and where… we know why, too." She cut off his smirk and comment by finishing the questions.
"Maybe I need to know why."
"Well, duh, hot alien." She finally cracked a smile. "You can open your eyes now."
"Do you think I'm hot? I think these jeans make my ass look fat." His comment was rewarded with a pinched bicep.
"I like your ass in those jeans." She pulled him closer so she could wrap her arms around his shoulders. "What do you say? Will you make love to me?"
"I think that… you're taking an entirely too serious approach to this. Falling in line with stereotypes is not a bad thing sometimes. We could do the prom thing because then I could arrange the whole thing and your parents could pretend they think you're sleeping at Maria's or whatever it is you tell your folks."
"You missed my point of avoiding prom. Think back a year, mister. I can't sleep with you on the one year anniversary of you sleeping with someone else. I'm not that well adjusted."
"You went and brought that up." Max winced and sucked in a breath. "And it can't be after graduation because that's when you… and the summer thing… okay." Blowing out a deep breath, Max fixed his eyes on her. "We're going to pretend the last 45 seconds didn't happen. I will make love to you. I will arrange the whole thing. All you have to do is be ready."
"No eraser room or janitor's closet or motor vehicles of any kind." Liz kissed his nose. "It wasn't that long ago, was it? That you forgot?"
"Last year? Yeah… it was only a year." Max hugged her close. "It's been a hell of a year. But now I can say without reservation or hesitation that I love you, Liz Parker, and I will do anything and everything in my power to make you happy."
And when you can no longer hold yourself back, it's the most amazing feeling in this world… or any other.
TBC
Part 65
I’m Liz Parker and my journal is nearly full. I don’t know whether or not that’s a good thing. I never wrote in it every day. I never wasted pages though. It’s taken me three years to get this far. I could have this book forever but someday in the future I will look back on all these pages and have no clue who this girl was.
Ava rubbed the gel on Zan’s face, foaming it up thickly, before reaching for the razor. She adjusted her position on his lap as she carefully pulled the blades down a section of his cheek. “Maybe now you ain’t gonna look like somethin’ out of a horror movie.”
It was the second day in their own apartment. Technically it was Tess Harding’s. Zan was listed as an occupant but he had his own key. Everything in the apartment came from one room or another at the Harding place. Everything else would be sold before another family occupied the house. He had gotten used to the Harding house before everything started to go to hell.
Before he knew it, she was done and telling him to open his mouth so she could put his chin stud back. She tossed her washrag in the sink with the rest of his beard and kissed his cheek softly. His hands held her to him and she noticed he wasn’t as warm as she remembered. Running her fingers through his hair, she combed it back from his face. He hadn’t worn it in spikes since he’d been back. It just hung in his face mostly, covering his eyes and she loved to see those. His lips sought hers and, instinctively, she pressed closer, shifting her hips against him. The surprise came when his hand on her hip didn’t hold her. It gently pushed her back so she was sitting on his thighs once more.
“I just wanted to kiss you.” He whispered, his eyes closed.
--
Liz gasped for air, then her body shuddered just before her hips jerked wildly against Max’s hand. She had done a repeat performance on their last covered-Jeep experience and he had reciprocated. Now they both lay in the back of the Jeep, cramped, sweaty and flying high. Max nibbled his way to her ear while she caught her breath. “You okay?”
“Hmm-mm.” She nodded and shifted so she could sit on his legs. He carefully brushed her hair out of her face.
“Do you really want to risk it?” He asked her softly. “If it’s because you think I need to… what we just did is enough for me. I don’t want you pushing yourself too far.”
“Will do, coach.” She mock-saluted him. “I’m okay and… after today… I’m especially eager to…” She slid her hands over his chest, moving closer, ducking her head to keep from bumping on the canvas top. Their lips collided in a languorous kiss, until her hands started to slide south again.
“Oh… no, no.” Max shook his head. “We’re not getting too caught up. We’ll get caught out here and I think motor vehicles were on your list of ‘don’ts’.”
“It could be my Valentine’s gift.”
“Oh… you’re incorrigible.” He chided her with a kiss but took her hands in his to keep them from wandering where they shouldn’t. “You’ll render all my meticulous planning useless.”
“Ooh… you’d better not be teasing me.”
“Never but… I’m not telling you when.” Just then his pocket started vibrating, eliciting a sharp gasp from Liz. “Sorry. Hold on.” He laughed a little as he wiggled it from its hiding place. “Hello?”
Liz sat back to wait and had to stifle a laugh when Max began rapidly righting his pants as he nodded to the phone. “Who is it?”
“My mom.” He whispered to her. “I’m listening. I won’t be out too much longer.” He nearly choked and had to clear his throat before speaking again. “I’m being a gentleman but if I wasn’t… I’d protect myself and Liz.”
“A real gentleman.” Liz winked at him.
“Mom, it’s Valentine’s Day, where’s Dad?” He cleared his throat, turning several shades of red. “I’m not having sex. Thanks for pointing that out… I’m not trying to be smart with you.” Then he narrowed his eyes. “Where’s Isabel?”
Liz just laughed and righted her clothes. She climbed into the front seat so she could check her makeup and fix her hair.
“We’re coming home now. Let me drop off Liz first… I’m coming home, soon. I promise.”
--
When Max finally entered his home, Isabel was sitting on the couch with her head bowed. Her face was bright red but she wasn’t embarrassed, she was angry. “What’s going on?”
“Tell me the truth, Max. Is this Isabel’s?” Diane waved an unopened pregnancy test in the air. Max had to look twice to make sure it was really what he thought it was.
“No, Mother, it’s not.” Isabel bit out. “I already told you.”
“Maria’s pregnancy test?” Diane tilted her head at her daughter, her tone thick with disbelief. “What is it doing in your bathroom?”
“What are you doing in my bathroom?” Isabel countered and turned to Max. “She called me home from my date with Michael for this. He cooked and it was good, what I tasted of it, because I was rudely interrupted to listen to baseless accusations.”
“It’s Maria’s, Mom.” Max finally cut in. “It’s old from… New Year’s?”
“Right.” Isabel scoffed and gestured to her brother who had just backed her up. “All our stuff got mixed together when we were cleaning out Tess’s house. I wasn’t even thinking when I tossed it down there… unless, of course, you think it’s Max’s test now.” She got to her feet and let out a breath. “Those things come in packs of two. She used her test, got her result and forgot about the other one. Tess and I cleaned out the bathrooms and we were just throwing things into boxes. I had one full of stuff I left there and it got mixed in. When I unpacked it, I was busy, I just tossed it under the sink. It doesn’t mean I had any intention of using it. It’s just there. Just like the dusty box of condoms in Max’s room. They’re there but he doesn’t use them. Can I go to my room now?”
Without waiting for an answer, Isabel stormed out of the room. Max stared at his mother, who looked a little more than just relieved. Still, tensions were running high and Max just couldn’t let it go. “You called me home for that?”
“Max, I’m sorry…”
“Liz and I only had one day off together this week. I won’t get to see her again until Monday at school because she’s got a project due tomorrow and when I’m not working this weekend, I’ve got midterms to study for.” He held back his tone, determined not to yell at his mother no matter how angry he was. “I understand that you were upset but you took it out on me and probably Dad.” He had to swallow back a lump. “Isabel’s 19, Mom. She’s sensitive about some stuff but surprisingly mature about more than you realize. If it was hers, she would have come out and said it was.” He shucked his jacket and hung it on the tree next to the door. “Liz and I had a nice time tonight, anyway. Good night.”
I think it speaks volumes that this thin little journal holds so much. It has power. It has knowledge. No matter what I end up doing with it, I’m sure it will never leave my possession just for its sensitive contents alone.
Ava traced the veins in Zan’s arm where it lay over her waist. She knew he wasn’t asleep. As much as he claimed that was all he did, she rarely caught him sleeping. “Do you wanna be here with me?”
“Yeah.” His body shifted a little, closing just a little of the distance left between them.
“Okay.”
“Do you believe in God?”
“Don’t know. I think I owe him one, though.”
“Me, too. I wasn’t gonna come outta there. I let the buildin fall down round me. I was ready for that explosion to take me out. I woke up in the woods…” He trailed off and, for the first time in Ava’s recollection, sounded utterly bewildered. “How’d I get there? If I got blown clear… how’d I survive the toss?”
“Maybe you do owe him one. I thought I lost you. I’s goin crazy, cryin all the time. Ma Evans wanted me to go see somebody.” She shifted so she could see his face in the half-light. “But I knew all I needed was you.”
The silence filled the room until Ava almost couldn’t breathe. Then Zan breathed for what seemed like the first time since they had moved in. “This the way it’s gonna be forever? You savin’ me all the time?”
“You ever stop lovin’ me, you tell me, so I can stop.”
I could very well be the first person to chronicle an experience with aliens. An honest and dependable depiction. Starman for the new millenium.
Sitting with her human friends and their counterparts, Liz felt a sense of estrangement. The stuff that Maria and Debra were discussing was important if you didn’t know there were aliens and evil government plots. “Alex is getting a limo this year. If we get enough people to go in on it, we can get a big one and have like… six couples in it. Maybe eight if we squeeze in and the dresses aren’t too girthy.”
“Cool. Chica, shopping?” Maria turned to Liz, who just stared off into space. “Aw. Gidget missing Moon-Doggy?”
“What?”
“Where’s Max?” Debra asked, waving off Maria’s roll of the eyes.
“Working.” Liz sighed. “He’s got this big mid-term thing for statistics and it’s going to take all weekend. We didn’t see each other at all yesterday in school and it looks like he won’t have time until after his exam on Monday.”
“Nerds, man.” Maria blurted out. Even Freddy gave her a look. “What? You and I comprise the only two non-nerds at this table. We have to assert ourselves or be swallowed into the nerdy abyss.” She rolled her eyes at his disbelieving face and cleared her throat. “You still have a prom dress right?”
Liz gasped. “I can’t wear that dress for prom, Maria. Mom and I discussed it and although it’s technically just a dress I never got to wear, it’s not appropriate to wear a dress planned for one person for another person. It’s uncouth.” Then she sat up straighter. “I’m going to make my own prom dress this year.”
“You can’t do that.” Maria shook her head. “It violates prom protocol.”
“It does not.” Debra and Liz protested at the same time.
“Oh my god…” Maria gasped. “I’m violating prom protocol. I’m letting the same guy who took me to junior prom take me to senior prom.” Freddy raised an eyebrow at her before rising with both their glasses to retrieve refills. “What?”
Alex whapped her with his napkin. “You jerk.”
“What?”
“Filter. Mouth. Brain. Figure it out.” He whapped her again before turning to Liz and Debra. “Ladies, I’m sure your dresses will be lovely. Freddy loves Maria and I’m sure they won’t break up before prom. We should go, though.”
Debra checked her watch and nodded. “Later guys.”
“Later.” Liz called after them and sighed heavily when they exited. Through the glass doors, she could see Max standing in front of the UFO center handing out pamphlets. He couldn’t see her though.
“Am I being a bitch today or something?” Maria asked Liz. “I’m on these new herb mixes and maybe I should up something.”
“You’re making Freddy feel bad.” Liz gestured to the poor teen who was bent over a chair at the counter chatting with a buddy from school while condensation formed on the glasses in his hand. “And I feel really strongly about not wearing that dress for Max. I bought that dress for Tony. I just can’t.”
“Okay.” Maria nodded and welcomed her boyfriend back with a hug and a kiss. “Training starts soon, right?”
“Supposed to be training already.” He shrugged.
Liz tuned out their conversation and turned her eyes back to Max, who looked absolutely miserable while people took his fliers and tossed them in the nearest trashcan. She glanced around and found the diner nearly empty. She could postpone her shift for awhile. She waved to the cook and motioned quickly with her hands. He glared at her but nodded. When he rang the bell three times, she shot up to package up the meal and check the time. It should be near perfect. Grabbing a bottle of Tabasco sauce, she raced passed Maria's table and out the front doors, hiding in a pack of people crossing the street and entering the UFO Center behind Max's back.
She found Milton resetting his slides for the afternoon show. He glanced up at her and shook his head. "I know what you want and you can't have him. He's mine until closing."
"He's been here since you opened." Liz protested. "It's bordering on sweltering out there. I'm really grateful you didn't put him in the alien costume but it's still very hot. He needs a break. Just for lunch."
"This is a very busy day, missy."
"I brought you lunch, Mr. Ross. Piping hot." She held out one of the bags. "I won't steal him. I'll even keep the time while he eats in the cool of your very prestigious establishment."
"He gets lunch plus fifteen. 45 minutes and that's it. And only because you're so polite." He took the bag and inhaled deeply.
"It's on the house, don't worry and we appreciate it." She bounded away and up the stairs to drag Max back into the cool darkness of the cellar center.
"You are awesome, I love you." Max mumbled around a mouthful of fries, which he chased down with Tabasco as he led her to a few empty seats in the theater section.
"What were you thinking? Agreeing to work all day like this when you have that project due on Monday?" Liz chided and stole some of his fries.
"I was thinking that taking Statistics would be a breeze and not as involved as it turned out to be. I was hoping I'd get some work done yesterday and I could leave the rest until tomorrow but it didn't work out that way. Don't you have to work soon?"
"It's slow. They can manage without me for half an hour." She sat back to watch him eat. "Was he not going to give you a break?"
"Nick called in sick and there hasn't been time. The morning crowd just died down."
"You looked so miserable standing out there, I had to do something."
"I'm glad you did."
"I'll bring you dinner tonight."
"Can't… Mom wants to chat during my dinner break."
"Did she seriously go off on Isabel?"
"Yeah. I think it hit her that we're graduating this year and we're not babies anymore… she gets a little…"
"Controlling?"
He shrugged as he chewed. "We… She's always tried so hard and I've never been that… receptive to her overtures, even in the beginning… especially in the beginning. We're family… but… I don't think we're as close as she wanted us to be."
"I think you're plenty close. It's not that big a deal. I think it happens in all families."
"Maybe. I was kind of… blunt with her the other night. I want to make sure she knows I'm not really mad at her."
"I'm sure she knows… we were… done anyway." She giggled when he rolled his eyes. "I'll keep. I know you're busy. Do you need help with your project?"
"You're not taking statistics." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Your help would only distract and I want an 'A' on that project."
“Where’s the soda machine?”
“Behind that wall.” He started to dig in his pockets for change but she waved him off. “I love you.”
“I know you do.” She smiled over her shoulder until he was out of sight. She popped in some coins and punched the button but nothing happened. She punched it again but nothing. Aggravated, she punched a different one and still nothing. Leaning on the machine she glared at it’s little display window blinking .65 at her. “Give it to me.” She commanded and punched the button hard enough to crack her knuckles. “Ow.”
“Need some help?” Max’s muffled voice floated from behind the wall.
“No, I’ve got it.” She growled and almost kicked the machine. She pushed the button and it felt like an electric shock. But the machine rumbled and out popped Max’s cherry cola.
“You okay?”
“Y-Yeah.” Liz bend and picked up the can to take to him. She handed it over and took a seat, rubbing her hands together.
“It’s picky. You have to punch the one you want, whack the side and punch the button again. Any button and it usually comes right out.” He nodded to his burger before popping the top to sip his drink. “Is that what you did?”
“Not exactly.”
Only the human gal in the flick is… not so human these days. The word Transmogrified comes to mind… only I don’t really think it’s funny.
TBC
Ava rubbed the gel on Zan’s face, foaming it up thickly, before reaching for the razor. She adjusted her position on his lap as she carefully pulled the blades down a section of his cheek. “Maybe now you ain’t gonna look like somethin’ out of a horror movie.”
It was the second day in their own apartment. Technically it was Tess Harding’s. Zan was listed as an occupant but he had his own key. Everything in the apartment came from one room or another at the Harding place. Everything else would be sold before another family occupied the house. He had gotten used to the Harding house before everything started to go to hell.
Before he knew it, she was done and telling him to open his mouth so she could put his chin stud back. She tossed her washrag in the sink with the rest of his beard and kissed his cheek softly. His hands held her to him and she noticed he wasn’t as warm as she remembered. Running her fingers through his hair, she combed it back from his face. He hadn’t worn it in spikes since he’d been back. It just hung in his face mostly, covering his eyes and she loved to see those. His lips sought hers and, instinctively, she pressed closer, shifting her hips against him. The surprise came when his hand on her hip didn’t hold her. It gently pushed her back so she was sitting on his thighs once more.
“I just wanted to kiss you.” He whispered, his eyes closed.
--
Liz gasped for air, then her body shuddered just before her hips jerked wildly against Max’s hand. She had done a repeat performance on their last covered-Jeep experience and he had reciprocated. Now they both lay in the back of the Jeep, cramped, sweaty and flying high. Max nibbled his way to her ear while she caught her breath. “You okay?”
“Hmm-mm.” She nodded and shifted so she could sit on his legs. He carefully brushed her hair out of her face.
“Do you really want to risk it?” He asked her softly. “If it’s because you think I need to… what we just did is enough for me. I don’t want you pushing yourself too far.”
“Will do, coach.” She mock-saluted him. “I’m okay and… after today… I’m especially eager to…” She slid her hands over his chest, moving closer, ducking her head to keep from bumping on the canvas top. Their lips collided in a languorous kiss, until her hands started to slide south again.
“Oh… no, no.” Max shook his head. “We’re not getting too caught up. We’ll get caught out here and I think motor vehicles were on your list of ‘don’ts’.”
“It could be my Valentine’s gift.”
“Oh… you’re incorrigible.” He chided her with a kiss but took her hands in his to keep them from wandering where they shouldn’t. “You’ll render all my meticulous planning useless.”
“Ooh… you’d better not be teasing me.”
“Never but… I’m not telling you when.” Just then his pocket started vibrating, eliciting a sharp gasp from Liz. “Sorry. Hold on.” He laughed a little as he wiggled it from its hiding place. “Hello?”
Liz sat back to wait and had to stifle a laugh when Max began rapidly righting his pants as he nodded to the phone. “Who is it?”
“My mom.” He whispered to her. “I’m listening. I won’t be out too much longer.” He nearly choked and had to clear his throat before speaking again. “I’m being a gentleman but if I wasn’t… I’d protect myself and Liz.”
“A real gentleman.” Liz winked at him.
“Mom, it’s Valentine’s Day, where’s Dad?” He cleared his throat, turning several shades of red. “I’m not having sex. Thanks for pointing that out… I’m not trying to be smart with you.” Then he narrowed his eyes. “Where’s Isabel?”
Liz just laughed and righted her clothes. She climbed into the front seat so she could check her makeup and fix her hair.
“We’re coming home now. Let me drop off Liz first… I’m coming home, soon. I promise.”
--
When Max finally entered his home, Isabel was sitting on the couch with her head bowed. Her face was bright red but she wasn’t embarrassed, she was angry. “What’s going on?”
“Tell me the truth, Max. Is this Isabel’s?” Diane waved an unopened pregnancy test in the air. Max had to look twice to make sure it was really what he thought it was.
“No, Mother, it’s not.” Isabel bit out. “I already told you.”
“Maria’s pregnancy test?” Diane tilted her head at her daughter, her tone thick with disbelief. “What is it doing in your bathroom?”
“What are you doing in my bathroom?” Isabel countered and turned to Max. “She called me home from my date with Michael for this. He cooked and it was good, what I tasted of it, because I was rudely interrupted to listen to baseless accusations.”
“It’s Maria’s, Mom.” Max finally cut in. “It’s old from… New Year’s?”
“Right.” Isabel scoffed and gestured to her brother who had just backed her up. “All our stuff got mixed together when we were cleaning out Tess’s house. I wasn’t even thinking when I tossed it down there… unless, of course, you think it’s Max’s test now.” She got to her feet and let out a breath. “Those things come in packs of two. She used her test, got her result and forgot about the other one. Tess and I cleaned out the bathrooms and we were just throwing things into boxes. I had one full of stuff I left there and it got mixed in. When I unpacked it, I was busy, I just tossed it under the sink. It doesn’t mean I had any intention of using it. It’s just there. Just like the dusty box of condoms in Max’s room. They’re there but he doesn’t use them. Can I go to my room now?”
Without waiting for an answer, Isabel stormed out of the room. Max stared at his mother, who looked a little more than just relieved. Still, tensions were running high and Max just couldn’t let it go. “You called me home for that?”
“Max, I’m sorry…”
“Liz and I only had one day off together this week. I won’t get to see her again until Monday at school because she’s got a project due tomorrow and when I’m not working this weekend, I’ve got midterms to study for.” He held back his tone, determined not to yell at his mother no matter how angry he was. “I understand that you were upset but you took it out on me and probably Dad.” He had to swallow back a lump. “Isabel’s 19, Mom. She’s sensitive about some stuff but surprisingly mature about more than you realize. If it was hers, she would have come out and said it was.” He shucked his jacket and hung it on the tree next to the door. “Liz and I had a nice time tonight, anyway. Good night.”
I think it speaks volumes that this thin little journal holds so much. It has power. It has knowledge. No matter what I end up doing with it, I’m sure it will never leave my possession just for its sensitive contents alone.
Ava traced the veins in Zan’s arm where it lay over her waist. She knew he wasn’t asleep. As much as he claimed that was all he did, she rarely caught him sleeping. “Do you wanna be here with me?”
“Yeah.” His body shifted a little, closing just a little of the distance left between them.
“Okay.”
“Do you believe in God?”
“Don’t know. I think I owe him one, though.”
“Me, too. I wasn’t gonna come outta there. I let the buildin fall down round me. I was ready for that explosion to take me out. I woke up in the woods…” He trailed off and, for the first time in Ava’s recollection, sounded utterly bewildered. “How’d I get there? If I got blown clear… how’d I survive the toss?”
“Maybe you do owe him one. I thought I lost you. I’s goin crazy, cryin all the time. Ma Evans wanted me to go see somebody.” She shifted so she could see his face in the half-light. “But I knew all I needed was you.”
The silence filled the room until Ava almost couldn’t breathe. Then Zan breathed for what seemed like the first time since they had moved in. “This the way it’s gonna be forever? You savin’ me all the time?”
“You ever stop lovin’ me, you tell me, so I can stop.”
I could very well be the first person to chronicle an experience with aliens. An honest and dependable depiction. Starman for the new millenium.
Sitting with her human friends and their counterparts, Liz felt a sense of estrangement. The stuff that Maria and Debra were discussing was important if you didn’t know there were aliens and evil government plots. “Alex is getting a limo this year. If we get enough people to go in on it, we can get a big one and have like… six couples in it. Maybe eight if we squeeze in and the dresses aren’t too girthy.”
“Cool. Chica, shopping?” Maria turned to Liz, who just stared off into space. “Aw. Gidget missing Moon-Doggy?”
“What?”
“Where’s Max?” Debra asked, waving off Maria’s roll of the eyes.
“Working.” Liz sighed. “He’s got this big mid-term thing for statistics and it’s going to take all weekend. We didn’t see each other at all yesterday in school and it looks like he won’t have time until after his exam on Monday.”
“Nerds, man.” Maria blurted out. Even Freddy gave her a look. “What? You and I comprise the only two non-nerds at this table. We have to assert ourselves or be swallowed into the nerdy abyss.” She rolled her eyes at his disbelieving face and cleared her throat. “You still have a prom dress right?”
Liz gasped. “I can’t wear that dress for prom, Maria. Mom and I discussed it and although it’s technically just a dress I never got to wear, it’s not appropriate to wear a dress planned for one person for another person. It’s uncouth.” Then she sat up straighter. “I’m going to make my own prom dress this year.”
“You can’t do that.” Maria shook her head. “It violates prom protocol.”
“It does not.” Debra and Liz protested at the same time.
“Oh my god…” Maria gasped. “I’m violating prom protocol. I’m letting the same guy who took me to junior prom take me to senior prom.” Freddy raised an eyebrow at her before rising with both their glasses to retrieve refills. “What?”
Alex whapped her with his napkin. “You jerk.”
“What?”
“Filter. Mouth. Brain. Figure it out.” He whapped her again before turning to Liz and Debra. “Ladies, I’m sure your dresses will be lovely. Freddy loves Maria and I’m sure they won’t break up before prom. We should go, though.”
Debra checked her watch and nodded. “Later guys.”
“Later.” Liz called after them and sighed heavily when they exited. Through the glass doors, she could see Max standing in front of the UFO center handing out pamphlets. He couldn’t see her though.
“Am I being a bitch today or something?” Maria asked Liz. “I’m on these new herb mixes and maybe I should up something.”
“You’re making Freddy feel bad.” Liz gestured to the poor teen who was bent over a chair at the counter chatting with a buddy from school while condensation formed on the glasses in his hand. “And I feel really strongly about not wearing that dress for Max. I bought that dress for Tony. I just can’t.”
“Okay.” Maria nodded and welcomed her boyfriend back with a hug and a kiss. “Training starts soon, right?”
“Supposed to be training already.” He shrugged.
Liz tuned out their conversation and turned her eyes back to Max, who looked absolutely miserable while people took his fliers and tossed them in the nearest trashcan. She glanced around and found the diner nearly empty. She could postpone her shift for awhile. She waved to the cook and motioned quickly with her hands. He glared at her but nodded. When he rang the bell three times, she shot up to package up the meal and check the time. It should be near perfect. Grabbing a bottle of Tabasco sauce, she raced passed Maria's table and out the front doors, hiding in a pack of people crossing the street and entering the UFO Center behind Max's back.
She found Milton resetting his slides for the afternoon show. He glanced up at her and shook his head. "I know what you want and you can't have him. He's mine until closing."
"He's been here since you opened." Liz protested. "It's bordering on sweltering out there. I'm really grateful you didn't put him in the alien costume but it's still very hot. He needs a break. Just for lunch."
"This is a very busy day, missy."
"I brought you lunch, Mr. Ross. Piping hot." She held out one of the bags. "I won't steal him. I'll even keep the time while he eats in the cool of your very prestigious establishment."
"He gets lunch plus fifteen. 45 minutes and that's it. And only because you're so polite." He took the bag and inhaled deeply.
"It's on the house, don't worry and we appreciate it." She bounded away and up the stairs to drag Max back into the cool darkness of the cellar center.
"You are awesome, I love you." Max mumbled around a mouthful of fries, which he chased down with Tabasco as he led her to a few empty seats in the theater section.
"What were you thinking? Agreeing to work all day like this when you have that project due on Monday?" Liz chided and stole some of his fries.
"I was thinking that taking Statistics would be a breeze and not as involved as it turned out to be. I was hoping I'd get some work done yesterday and I could leave the rest until tomorrow but it didn't work out that way. Don't you have to work soon?"
"It's slow. They can manage without me for half an hour." She sat back to watch him eat. "Was he not going to give you a break?"
"Nick called in sick and there hasn't been time. The morning crowd just died down."
"You looked so miserable standing out there, I had to do something."
"I'm glad you did."
"I'll bring you dinner tonight."
"Can't… Mom wants to chat during my dinner break."
"Did she seriously go off on Isabel?"
"Yeah. I think it hit her that we're graduating this year and we're not babies anymore… she gets a little…"
"Controlling?"
He shrugged as he chewed. "We… She's always tried so hard and I've never been that… receptive to her overtures, even in the beginning… especially in the beginning. We're family… but… I don't think we're as close as she wanted us to be."
"I think you're plenty close. It's not that big a deal. I think it happens in all families."
"Maybe. I was kind of… blunt with her the other night. I want to make sure she knows I'm not really mad at her."
"I'm sure she knows… we were… done anyway." She giggled when he rolled his eyes. "I'll keep. I know you're busy. Do you need help with your project?"
"You're not taking statistics." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Your help would only distract and I want an 'A' on that project."
“Where’s the soda machine?”
“Behind that wall.” He started to dig in his pockets for change but she waved him off. “I love you.”
“I know you do.” She smiled over her shoulder until he was out of sight. She popped in some coins and punched the button but nothing happened. She punched it again but nothing. Aggravated, she punched a different one and still nothing. Leaning on the machine she glared at it’s little display window blinking .65 at her. “Give it to me.” She commanded and punched the button hard enough to crack her knuckles. “Ow.”
“Need some help?” Max’s muffled voice floated from behind the wall.
“No, I’ve got it.” She growled and almost kicked the machine. She pushed the button and it felt like an electric shock. But the machine rumbled and out popped Max’s cherry cola.
“You okay?”
“Y-Yeah.” Liz bend and picked up the can to take to him. She handed it over and took a seat, rubbing her hands together.
“It’s picky. You have to punch the one you want, whack the side and punch the button again. Any button and it usually comes right out.” He nodded to his burger before popping the top to sip his drink. “Is that what you did?”
“Not exactly.”
Only the human gal in the flick is… not so human these days. The word Transmogrified comes to mind… only I don’t really think it’s funny.
TBC
Part 66
Part 66
I'm Liz Parker and I've thought it over. I can get used to more alien powers. The scanning thing was a shock but it turned out to be useful. It's only annoying if I scan a book I know I would enjoy if I took the time to read it and that's only my own fault for cheating. Shooting electricity from my hands hardly seems useful but it doesn't mean that it has to be a bad thing. I'm sure there are reasons for it. Spring Break is coming up and I have some time to think about it and ask questions and get used to it or at least controlling when it happens.
They set the boxes down on the kitchen counter and moved around getting paper plates and napkins. Zan stood in the doorway with his hands in his pockets while the two girls moved around each other and getting the table set up for the meal, chatting about hated regulars all the while. "You'd think he doesn't live here."
"What?" Zan picked up his head.
"I said, you'd think he doesn't live here because he's just standin' there lookin' dumb when he could be gettin' us somethin' to drink." Ava ribbed him as she began serving food onto their plates. "We have company. Be nice."
"Ava, it's just me." Liz shook her head.
"You's company, the first company we've had since we moved in." Ava ignored Liz's face and turned to Zan. "Make yourself useful and earn your meal."
Zan did as told, silently. He pulled three cups from the cabinet and set ice cubes in each. Then poured Tabasco in two before pouring soda from a bottle in the fridge. Careful to keep track of the plain soda, he set them on the table before taking a seat with them. They chatted for a bit while they ate and he picked at his. It was good but, he felt awkward and uncomfortable.
Finally, Liz turned her chair to face Zan full on. "How have you been, Zan? Better?"
"I guess." He shrugged, avoiding her eyes.
"I see you've shaved off that beard." She smiled at his smoother skin. There were a few nicks that he hadn't healed yet but he did look better than the werewolf he had been when the gang had helped to move them out of the Harding place.
"Ava did it."
"Do you feel weird without it?"
"Not really." He missed his goatee a little but it was nice to see his whole face when he looked into the mirror.
"Do you want me to leave you alone?"
Zan looked up at her and then looked at Ava but only shook his head.
Liz picked at her food for a minute before taking a breath to talk about the subject that had been bothering her for five days. "I… got the machine at the UFO center to work the other day but I didn't do it the way a human would."
"Oh yeah?" Ava barely glanced up from her plate.
"I… shocked it, I think. It was weird. I didn't try anything… I was just… so frustrated with it… and it just… happened." The idea had frightened her at first and it had taken all her strength not to beg Max not to spend his dinner with his mother and to take off work to comfort her.
"Did I do that?" Zan clasped his hands in his lap, eyes on his soda glass.
"I think Max did it. I haven't told him yet. I don't know how I feel about it."
"How is there to feel bout it?" Ava looked up. "It's just somethin' you can do."
"If I had done it because I wanted to… but I didn't… it just happened and I was lucky no one saw." Liz shook her head.
"Do you want it to go away?" Zan asked softly.
"I just want to know that I won't do something by accident that I shouldn't when I shouldn't." She looked up at him with a small smile. "I wouldn't give up scanning now. I just… electricity shooting from my hands just worries me a bit."
"It worries me too." Zan nodded to himself and put a forkful of food into his mouth. "Don't point your fingers at the lil man. I might use him again."
"Would you listen to that? I think he made a joke." Ava snorted and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "My baby's gettin' better."
"There wasn't anything wrong with him." Liz protested but gently rubbed his hand. "So, what do you say? You'll help me control this thing?"
I am getting a little frustrated with Max. He insists that he's got a plan for us but he won't tell me what it is or where or when. Spring Break is this week and then Prom is just around the corner and soon after that is Graduation. I shouldn't be in such a rush to make love to him but I'm afraid to mix some of my memories. I need to be with Max in a clear space of time.
Liz let Max press her into the seat but only for a moment before she turned the tables and became the aggressor. Their tongues tangled until she had climbed into his lap and pressed him into the seat. Max broke free for air. "You really like to be on top, don't you."
"Do I?" She sucked in air and sat back for a bit. "Not every time, right?"
His head bobbed up and down for a moment. "Pretty much."
"Does it bother you?"
Just a small shake of the head with a small smile. "No. Not really."
"Tell me the truth."
"It doesn't. I just… noticed." His hands slid up her arms and gripped her shoulders for a second. "I just didn't know if you realized. Maybe you need to be." Sitting up, he caught her lips with his. "Maybe we just go with it. I let you do all the work."
"I don't think so, buddy. We'll find something for you to do."
"Have anything in mind?"
"You're in charge of buttons and zippers." She leaned in again.
"These buttons?" He flicked open the row down her blouse. "Or these?" His hands slipped inside to find her sensitive flesh. "Liz?"
She almost missed his question because she had her attention focused on his hands on her breasts. "Um… Yeah… like that." Then she sat up. "Someone's coming."
"What?" Max furrowed his brow as she scrambled back to the passenger seat, buttoning her blouse along the way. "Liz?"
Then headlights shone through the windows before a figure with a flashlight emerged. The figure knocked on the window. When Max opened the flap, he was face to face with Sheriff Valenti. "Mr. Evans. Miss Parker. This isn't the place for romantic activity."
"Yes, sir." Max nodded and fought the urge to check his mouth for lipstick.
"I'd suggest you take it elsewhere."
"Yes, sir." Max nodded and started the Jeep. Within moments, he'd belted himself in and maneuvered the Jeep around the cruiser and onto the road. "So… how'd you know he was coming?"
"I think I saw it." She bit her lip and debated quickly to herself. "Go to Ava's… I've been working with Zan on a few things."
I'm Liz Parker and things are getting a bit easier to handle. It's been three days of training with Zan. He's a reluctant teacher but he knows that I need to control it. All the alien bits come to the surface when I'm not paying attention and I'm glad I don't have school to worry about this week while I get it under control. Max is helping now that he knows but I think he feels I blame him a little bit.
Zan tried not to shrug away from the hug. He let her murmur over him about how worried she was. He just fell into their routine. He set the water to boil while he took the trash out. He poured the tea and listened to her questions. He answered them as well as he could, his voice at half the timbre he normally used with her. He felt awkward.
"Where are you living now? Not with your cousin's family, correct?"
"Me and… I mean… Ava and I got a place together. Smaller than the house her dad left her." Zan rose to get her brush. Her hair fell over her shoulder, so he pulled it back and secured it with a barrette he had found next to the brush. "I'm going to finish what I started but… I… haven't been myself these days."
"I understand. Just bring your books and we'll get started tomorrow." She took his hand and motioned for him to sit next to her. Then she pulled him into her arms, laying his head against her breast. "I know that you're practically a grown man but sometimes it's okay to let your loved ones take care of you. You didn't have people to take care of you before but you do now." She stroked back his hair. "My children are grown and their children don't come to visit. I need someone to spoil. What do you say? Let an old woman spoil you." He didn't answer her but she knew she had hit a sore point when she felt the wet warmth seep through her blouse.
--
Ava kept look out while Liz scanned the stack of books they had collected from the home and decorating section. "So, you're really gonna make your own prom dress? I could just wave my hands."
"I want to sew it myself." Liz looked up for a moment. "When I was five, my mom made me this really hideous dress but she was so proud because she'd never made one before and… aside from it being ugly, it was good. It'd be nice to feel proud of something right now."
"I heard what you told Maria about… Sorry about that guy. How's his brother doing?"
"I haven't seen him much lately. I mean. I spoke to him for a moment in the hospital after you got me back. He seemed ok."
"They was close?"
"Yeah. Their parents are a little weird." Liz giggled a little at the memory of Tony's stories. He had laughed it off but Kelen had felt a bit stronger about how weird the Najeras were. "They kind of turned to each other for sanity. I don't really remember him so well from high school but he was a senior when I was a freshman. He says he was a dork but…"
"You thinkin' he's just hot stuff that never realized it?" Ava arched an eyebrow at the reddening face of her friend. Eventually, Liz had spilled all on her rendezvous with the illustrious Dr. Najera.
"He's a nice guy."
"He is pretty hot, though. Thinkin' of tellin' Zan I got a hurt that I need Dr. Najera to look at. Maybe he'll get his motor revvin' again." Ava groaned. She hadn't gotten any since early January and here it was mid-March.
"Give him time. I don't think he likes himself much these days."
"I'm just sayin'. Girl's got needs." Ava crossed her arms. "I mean, I do everythin' I can think of to get him goin' and nothin's workin'." She scoffed. "Started sleepin' nude, figured he'd have to react to that. Now he wakes up before I do. Gets breakfast started before I gotta go to school."
"Maybe you are getting to him and he's trying to hide it." Liz bit back a laugh.
"I'm gonna have to pull out the stops and just throw him down." The blonde mused aloud, already plotting ways to corner her man.
"I'm surprised you haven't already."
"I feel sorry for him. He's so dang quiet these days."
Liz just shook her head and gathered the books into another stack. "I'm done. Ready to go?"
"I'm ready. So… any advice?"
"My tactics aren't working so well. Max has the will power of a saint, I swear it." Liz placed the books on the desk for the librarian and led the way to the doors. "I know I gave him all sorts of rules to follow but I'm willing to break a few of them."
"He didn't fall for the 'buttons and zippers'?"
"He started to but we got interrupted." Liz sighed. "I know he hasn't changed his mind but… erg!"
"You got it bout as bad as me. Maybe he's just gettin' you all revved up so that when you finally get to it, it'll be smokin'." Ava teased lightly.
"I'm about to pop. Zan is getting scared when he teaches me. I swear."
"I heard you melted my Whalebone."
"Sorry. I'll get you another one."
"It's cool. He fixed it." They made their way to the Crashdown for their shift. "He went to see his old lady. Hopefully she snaps him out of it."
--
Helen eyed him as he washed the dishes. "Are you hurting for food?"
"No." He shook his head solemnly. He really wasn't. Ava brought him enough food from the Crashdown but he really didn't feel like eating much.
"Then you've got to eat more. You're much too thin. Much thinner than the last time I saw you." She chided him and waited for him to sit at the table with her. "I know that you're sad but you've got to take care of yourself, especially if you're going to push yourself as hard as you do."
"I know."
"Zan, you haven't done anything wrong."
"I killed my sister… for real this time and… knowin' I definitely did it…"
"I'm sorry but the way I understand it, she was going to do the same to you." She nodded to his small nod of the head. "I missed you, Zan. I really did."
"I don't do so much around here." He protested lightly.
"It's not what work you do that I missed and I think you know that."
"That's what Ava says." He ducked his head a little. A small part of him wanted to smile but he just wouldn't let that piece take control of his face, not even for a moment.
"You do a little something for my reputation as well." She winked at him as she rose to refresh her water. "I was the envy of my bridge club after Hilda Patterson saw you cleaning the leaves from the gutters and then come inside for tea. She blabbed to everyone by our next game night."
"This town is full of blabbin' mouths."
"That it is. Are you planning to stay in Roswell after you get your GED?"
"Ava likes it here. I think she applied to the college here. All her friends are stayin' here."
"Her friends." The slight woman cleared her throat.
"I guess they're my friends too." He nodded to the table. "I liked livin' with the Evans, I guess but… I couldn't get used to Mrs. Evans."
"I imagine reporting to someone would chafe against all this freedom you've had."
"I don't know if I'd call it freedom. Maybe… way back when we first came out, it was freedom. When we went to Arizona… I could come and go, I guess but there was always someone who knew where I was. Not that they cared what we was doin'. They encouraged us doin' the wrong thing."
"How long were you there?"
"A few years. Don't really remember how long. It all kind of… blurs together. I think I knew the whole time they was wrong." He lifted his eyes to her finally. "I was too afraid to lose them, I guess. They was… like a tribe or a club… more like a gang, I guess. I could belong but… they wasn't like me. They was still different. Dangerous in another way than what I was capable of."
"I think that's a good thing. A good person who is always good… doesn't know how to fight back when he's been done wrong. But I suppose… knowing what they knew, it was easier to make the decision to survive."
"Maybe." He nodded with tears in his eyes. "I wish I had made it a whole lot sooner. Maybe I could have saved her before it was too late." Sobs threatened to invade his voice but he kept talking. "I was the leader. They did what I said. They trusted me and I took them straight into enemy territory to be brainwashed because I didn't want the burden. To be responsible for bringin' them up. I was just a kid. I was just 13."
"It wasn't your fault. If whoever sent you, really cared, they would have made sure your protectors were trustworthy. You can't expect children to raise themselves." She covered his hands with hers. "What do you think would have happened if you hadn't kill any of the people you killed?"
"I'd be dead." Zan tried to recover himself. "I would be. Simple as that. No one would've been here to warn Max and his family. They would have all died." He sniffed and took the napkin for his nose when she offered it. "Lannie… I loved her but I couldn't have forgiven her or Rath for what they did to Liz."
"That's a brave girl if ever I saw one."
"She is. She forgives people for screwin' up her life. She's like a shark. Always movin' forward, no matter what." He took a deep breath. "I wish I could be like her."
--
Isabel flipped through her magazine, noting which pages to take a deeper look at later. She adjusted herself against Max's feet and wished he'd hurry up. Max counted to himself as he brought his upper-body up to his knees again and again. "So, Mom and Dad are going out of town tomorrow night."
"I know." Max breathed out and struggled not to lose count.
"Would you cover for me if I didn’t come home Thursday night?"
"Can I stop you?"
"No."
"Then what does it matter?"
"I just want to know that I'm not going to find myself grounded when they get back." She leaned back extra heavily and lowered her magazine.
"I wouldn't rat on you."
"Yes you would."
"Beside the point." Max caught his knees and peered down into his sister's face. "Take Friday night, too. I don't care. I won't rat on you. In fact, I'd just as soon have the whole house to myself Thursday and Friday and part of Saturday."
"They're coming back on Saturday."
"Sunday." Max shook his head. "Dad doesn't want to drive after dark so I suggested that we'd be obedient and they could take their time coming home."
"What are you planning?" She sat up and turned to look him over. "Here?"
"What better place?"
"Rent a hotel room like the rest of the horny teenagers in Roswell."
"Liz doesn't want a hotel room. I think she'd actually prefer her own room but her parents aren't going out of town for four days." Max resumed the remainder of his sit-ups. "I just have to get… Maria to cover for Liz."
"What about Ava?"
"Right." Max laughed. "Her parents are going to let her… stay at Ava's. A girl who… doesn't have any… parental supervision and… who lives with her boyfriend."
"How is she dealing with her latent alien powers, by the way?" Isabel tossed her magazine on his bed. He stopped his sit-ups completely and just laid there staring at the ceiling. "Well?"
"She's slow to gain control but she's working really hard. She, um… still gets that vision thing, only now she doesn't need Zan to get them. She just… gets these flashes of what's about to happen. Then she's scanning pretty readily now. Without even really thinking. When she gets frustrated, her hands start crackling."
"Crackling?"
"Electricity, it's kind of greenish and pretty visible… but she's being careful." He shrugged a little. It worried him but she seemed to be handling it very well.
"Good. Wouldn't want the FBI coming back to Roswell for any reason."
"yeah." He whispered. "It's because I healed her that night."
"At the base?"
"Yeah. Maybe I pushed myself too hard. I was so tired already and…" He sighed heavily. He had 'healed' things not needing healing because he was panicked and he needed to be sure he would be okay. Maybe it was because his mind thought those doors should be open because his were but Liz's were never intended to be opened…
"You had to save her, Max." Isabel nudged his foot with hers. "I'm sure she'd prefer a little alienness as opposed to living life as a vegetable or worse… being dead."
"Maybe."
I think things are going as well as possible with hope of getting better. I can sleep without dreaming and that's a good sign. Maybe someday soon, I'll dream again without worrying the dreams will turn into nightmares. Maybe I'll just take a cue from Ava and throw Max down. I bet I would have some nice dreams after that.
tbc
I'm Liz Parker and I've thought it over. I can get used to more alien powers. The scanning thing was a shock but it turned out to be useful. It's only annoying if I scan a book I know I would enjoy if I took the time to read it and that's only my own fault for cheating. Shooting electricity from my hands hardly seems useful but it doesn't mean that it has to be a bad thing. I'm sure there are reasons for it. Spring Break is coming up and I have some time to think about it and ask questions and get used to it or at least controlling when it happens.
They set the boxes down on the kitchen counter and moved around getting paper plates and napkins. Zan stood in the doorway with his hands in his pockets while the two girls moved around each other and getting the table set up for the meal, chatting about hated regulars all the while. "You'd think he doesn't live here."
"What?" Zan picked up his head.
"I said, you'd think he doesn't live here because he's just standin' there lookin' dumb when he could be gettin' us somethin' to drink." Ava ribbed him as she began serving food onto their plates. "We have company. Be nice."
"Ava, it's just me." Liz shook her head.
"You's company, the first company we've had since we moved in." Ava ignored Liz's face and turned to Zan. "Make yourself useful and earn your meal."
Zan did as told, silently. He pulled three cups from the cabinet and set ice cubes in each. Then poured Tabasco in two before pouring soda from a bottle in the fridge. Careful to keep track of the plain soda, he set them on the table before taking a seat with them. They chatted for a bit while they ate and he picked at his. It was good but, he felt awkward and uncomfortable.
Finally, Liz turned her chair to face Zan full on. "How have you been, Zan? Better?"
"I guess." He shrugged, avoiding her eyes.
"I see you've shaved off that beard." She smiled at his smoother skin. There were a few nicks that he hadn't healed yet but he did look better than the werewolf he had been when the gang had helped to move them out of the Harding place.
"Ava did it."
"Do you feel weird without it?"
"Not really." He missed his goatee a little but it was nice to see his whole face when he looked into the mirror.
"Do you want me to leave you alone?"
Zan looked up at her and then looked at Ava but only shook his head.
Liz picked at her food for a minute before taking a breath to talk about the subject that had been bothering her for five days. "I… got the machine at the UFO center to work the other day but I didn't do it the way a human would."
"Oh yeah?" Ava barely glanced up from her plate.
"I… shocked it, I think. It was weird. I didn't try anything… I was just… so frustrated with it… and it just… happened." The idea had frightened her at first and it had taken all her strength not to beg Max not to spend his dinner with his mother and to take off work to comfort her.
"Did I do that?" Zan clasped his hands in his lap, eyes on his soda glass.
"I think Max did it. I haven't told him yet. I don't know how I feel about it."
"How is there to feel bout it?" Ava looked up. "It's just somethin' you can do."
"If I had done it because I wanted to… but I didn't… it just happened and I was lucky no one saw." Liz shook her head.
"Do you want it to go away?" Zan asked softly.
"I just want to know that I won't do something by accident that I shouldn't when I shouldn't." She looked up at him with a small smile. "I wouldn't give up scanning now. I just… electricity shooting from my hands just worries me a bit."
"It worries me too." Zan nodded to himself and put a forkful of food into his mouth. "Don't point your fingers at the lil man. I might use him again."
"Would you listen to that? I think he made a joke." Ava snorted and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "My baby's gettin' better."
"There wasn't anything wrong with him." Liz protested but gently rubbed his hand. "So, what do you say? You'll help me control this thing?"
I am getting a little frustrated with Max. He insists that he's got a plan for us but he won't tell me what it is or where or when. Spring Break is this week and then Prom is just around the corner and soon after that is Graduation. I shouldn't be in such a rush to make love to him but I'm afraid to mix some of my memories. I need to be with Max in a clear space of time.
Liz let Max press her into the seat but only for a moment before she turned the tables and became the aggressor. Their tongues tangled until she had climbed into his lap and pressed him into the seat. Max broke free for air. "You really like to be on top, don't you."
"Do I?" She sucked in air and sat back for a bit. "Not every time, right?"
His head bobbed up and down for a moment. "Pretty much."
"Does it bother you?"
Just a small shake of the head with a small smile. "No. Not really."
"Tell me the truth."
"It doesn't. I just… noticed." His hands slid up her arms and gripped her shoulders for a second. "I just didn't know if you realized. Maybe you need to be." Sitting up, he caught her lips with his. "Maybe we just go with it. I let you do all the work."
"I don't think so, buddy. We'll find something for you to do."
"Have anything in mind?"
"You're in charge of buttons and zippers." She leaned in again.
"These buttons?" He flicked open the row down her blouse. "Or these?" His hands slipped inside to find her sensitive flesh. "Liz?"
She almost missed his question because she had her attention focused on his hands on her breasts. "Um… Yeah… like that." Then she sat up. "Someone's coming."
"What?" Max furrowed his brow as she scrambled back to the passenger seat, buttoning her blouse along the way. "Liz?"
Then headlights shone through the windows before a figure with a flashlight emerged. The figure knocked on the window. When Max opened the flap, he was face to face with Sheriff Valenti. "Mr. Evans. Miss Parker. This isn't the place for romantic activity."
"Yes, sir." Max nodded and fought the urge to check his mouth for lipstick.
"I'd suggest you take it elsewhere."
"Yes, sir." Max nodded and started the Jeep. Within moments, he'd belted himself in and maneuvered the Jeep around the cruiser and onto the road. "So… how'd you know he was coming?"
"I think I saw it." She bit her lip and debated quickly to herself. "Go to Ava's… I've been working with Zan on a few things."
I'm Liz Parker and things are getting a bit easier to handle. It's been three days of training with Zan. He's a reluctant teacher but he knows that I need to control it. All the alien bits come to the surface when I'm not paying attention and I'm glad I don't have school to worry about this week while I get it under control. Max is helping now that he knows but I think he feels I blame him a little bit.
Zan tried not to shrug away from the hug. He let her murmur over him about how worried she was. He just fell into their routine. He set the water to boil while he took the trash out. He poured the tea and listened to her questions. He answered them as well as he could, his voice at half the timbre he normally used with her. He felt awkward.
"Where are you living now? Not with your cousin's family, correct?"
"Me and… I mean… Ava and I got a place together. Smaller than the house her dad left her." Zan rose to get her brush. Her hair fell over her shoulder, so he pulled it back and secured it with a barrette he had found next to the brush. "I'm going to finish what I started but… I… haven't been myself these days."
"I understand. Just bring your books and we'll get started tomorrow." She took his hand and motioned for him to sit next to her. Then she pulled him into her arms, laying his head against her breast. "I know that you're practically a grown man but sometimes it's okay to let your loved ones take care of you. You didn't have people to take care of you before but you do now." She stroked back his hair. "My children are grown and their children don't come to visit. I need someone to spoil. What do you say? Let an old woman spoil you." He didn't answer her but she knew she had hit a sore point when she felt the wet warmth seep through her blouse.
--
Ava kept look out while Liz scanned the stack of books they had collected from the home and decorating section. "So, you're really gonna make your own prom dress? I could just wave my hands."
"I want to sew it myself." Liz looked up for a moment. "When I was five, my mom made me this really hideous dress but she was so proud because she'd never made one before and… aside from it being ugly, it was good. It'd be nice to feel proud of something right now."
"I heard what you told Maria about… Sorry about that guy. How's his brother doing?"
"I haven't seen him much lately. I mean. I spoke to him for a moment in the hospital after you got me back. He seemed ok."
"They was close?"
"Yeah. Their parents are a little weird." Liz giggled a little at the memory of Tony's stories. He had laughed it off but Kelen had felt a bit stronger about how weird the Najeras were. "They kind of turned to each other for sanity. I don't really remember him so well from high school but he was a senior when I was a freshman. He says he was a dork but…"
"You thinkin' he's just hot stuff that never realized it?" Ava arched an eyebrow at the reddening face of her friend. Eventually, Liz had spilled all on her rendezvous with the illustrious Dr. Najera.
"He's a nice guy."
"He is pretty hot, though. Thinkin' of tellin' Zan I got a hurt that I need Dr. Najera to look at. Maybe he'll get his motor revvin' again." Ava groaned. She hadn't gotten any since early January and here it was mid-March.
"Give him time. I don't think he likes himself much these days."
"I'm just sayin'. Girl's got needs." Ava crossed her arms. "I mean, I do everythin' I can think of to get him goin' and nothin's workin'." She scoffed. "Started sleepin' nude, figured he'd have to react to that. Now he wakes up before I do. Gets breakfast started before I gotta go to school."
"Maybe you are getting to him and he's trying to hide it." Liz bit back a laugh.
"I'm gonna have to pull out the stops and just throw him down." The blonde mused aloud, already plotting ways to corner her man.
"I'm surprised you haven't already."
"I feel sorry for him. He's so dang quiet these days."
Liz just shook her head and gathered the books into another stack. "I'm done. Ready to go?"
"I'm ready. So… any advice?"
"My tactics aren't working so well. Max has the will power of a saint, I swear it." Liz placed the books on the desk for the librarian and led the way to the doors. "I know I gave him all sorts of rules to follow but I'm willing to break a few of them."
"He didn't fall for the 'buttons and zippers'?"
"He started to but we got interrupted." Liz sighed. "I know he hasn't changed his mind but… erg!"
"You got it bout as bad as me. Maybe he's just gettin' you all revved up so that when you finally get to it, it'll be smokin'." Ava teased lightly.
"I'm about to pop. Zan is getting scared when he teaches me. I swear."
"I heard you melted my Whalebone."
"Sorry. I'll get you another one."
"It's cool. He fixed it." They made their way to the Crashdown for their shift. "He went to see his old lady. Hopefully she snaps him out of it."
--
Helen eyed him as he washed the dishes. "Are you hurting for food?"
"No." He shook his head solemnly. He really wasn't. Ava brought him enough food from the Crashdown but he really didn't feel like eating much.
"Then you've got to eat more. You're much too thin. Much thinner than the last time I saw you." She chided him and waited for him to sit at the table with her. "I know that you're sad but you've got to take care of yourself, especially if you're going to push yourself as hard as you do."
"I know."
"Zan, you haven't done anything wrong."
"I killed my sister… for real this time and… knowin' I definitely did it…"
"I'm sorry but the way I understand it, she was going to do the same to you." She nodded to his small nod of the head. "I missed you, Zan. I really did."
"I don't do so much around here." He protested lightly.
"It's not what work you do that I missed and I think you know that."
"That's what Ava says." He ducked his head a little. A small part of him wanted to smile but he just wouldn't let that piece take control of his face, not even for a moment.
"You do a little something for my reputation as well." She winked at him as she rose to refresh her water. "I was the envy of my bridge club after Hilda Patterson saw you cleaning the leaves from the gutters and then come inside for tea. She blabbed to everyone by our next game night."
"This town is full of blabbin' mouths."
"That it is. Are you planning to stay in Roswell after you get your GED?"
"Ava likes it here. I think she applied to the college here. All her friends are stayin' here."
"Her friends." The slight woman cleared her throat.
"I guess they're my friends too." He nodded to the table. "I liked livin' with the Evans, I guess but… I couldn't get used to Mrs. Evans."
"I imagine reporting to someone would chafe against all this freedom you've had."
"I don't know if I'd call it freedom. Maybe… way back when we first came out, it was freedom. When we went to Arizona… I could come and go, I guess but there was always someone who knew where I was. Not that they cared what we was doin'. They encouraged us doin' the wrong thing."
"How long were you there?"
"A few years. Don't really remember how long. It all kind of… blurs together. I think I knew the whole time they was wrong." He lifted his eyes to her finally. "I was too afraid to lose them, I guess. They was… like a tribe or a club… more like a gang, I guess. I could belong but… they wasn't like me. They was still different. Dangerous in another way than what I was capable of."
"I think that's a good thing. A good person who is always good… doesn't know how to fight back when he's been done wrong. But I suppose… knowing what they knew, it was easier to make the decision to survive."
"Maybe." He nodded with tears in his eyes. "I wish I had made it a whole lot sooner. Maybe I could have saved her before it was too late." Sobs threatened to invade his voice but he kept talking. "I was the leader. They did what I said. They trusted me and I took them straight into enemy territory to be brainwashed because I didn't want the burden. To be responsible for bringin' them up. I was just a kid. I was just 13."
"It wasn't your fault. If whoever sent you, really cared, they would have made sure your protectors were trustworthy. You can't expect children to raise themselves." She covered his hands with hers. "What do you think would have happened if you hadn't kill any of the people you killed?"
"I'd be dead." Zan tried to recover himself. "I would be. Simple as that. No one would've been here to warn Max and his family. They would have all died." He sniffed and took the napkin for his nose when she offered it. "Lannie… I loved her but I couldn't have forgiven her or Rath for what they did to Liz."
"That's a brave girl if ever I saw one."
"She is. She forgives people for screwin' up her life. She's like a shark. Always movin' forward, no matter what." He took a deep breath. "I wish I could be like her."
--
Isabel flipped through her magazine, noting which pages to take a deeper look at later. She adjusted herself against Max's feet and wished he'd hurry up. Max counted to himself as he brought his upper-body up to his knees again and again. "So, Mom and Dad are going out of town tomorrow night."
"I know." Max breathed out and struggled not to lose count.
"Would you cover for me if I didn’t come home Thursday night?"
"Can I stop you?"
"No."
"Then what does it matter?"
"I just want to know that I'm not going to find myself grounded when they get back." She leaned back extra heavily and lowered her magazine.
"I wouldn't rat on you."
"Yes you would."
"Beside the point." Max caught his knees and peered down into his sister's face. "Take Friday night, too. I don't care. I won't rat on you. In fact, I'd just as soon have the whole house to myself Thursday and Friday and part of Saturday."
"They're coming back on Saturday."
"Sunday." Max shook his head. "Dad doesn't want to drive after dark so I suggested that we'd be obedient and they could take their time coming home."
"What are you planning?" She sat up and turned to look him over. "Here?"
"What better place?"
"Rent a hotel room like the rest of the horny teenagers in Roswell."
"Liz doesn't want a hotel room. I think she'd actually prefer her own room but her parents aren't going out of town for four days." Max resumed the remainder of his sit-ups. "I just have to get… Maria to cover for Liz."
"What about Ava?"
"Right." Max laughed. "Her parents are going to let her… stay at Ava's. A girl who… doesn't have any… parental supervision and… who lives with her boyfriend."
"How is she dealing with her latent alien powers, by the way?" Isabel tossed her magazine on his bed. He stopped his sit-ups completely and just laid there staring at the ceiling. "Well?"
"She's slow to gain control but she's working really hard. She, um… still gets that vision thing, only now she doesn't need Zan to get them. She just… gets these flashes of what's about to happen. Then she's scanning pretty readily now. Without even really thinking. When she gets frustrated, her hands start crackling."
"Crackling?"
"Electricity, it's kind of greenish and pretty visible… but she's being careful." He shrugged a little. It worried him but she seemed to be handling it very well.
"Good. Wouldn't want the FBI coming back to Roswell for any reason."
"yeah." He whispered. "It's because I healed her that night."
"At the base?"
"Yeah. Maybe I pushed myself too hard. I was so tired already and…" He sighed heavily. He had 'healed' things not needing healing because he was panicked and he needed to be sure he would be okay. Maybe it was because his mind thought those doors should be open because his were but Liz's were never intended to be opened…
"You had to save her, Max." Isabel nudged his foot with hers. "I'm sure she'd prefer a little alienness as opposed to living life as a vegetable or worse… being dead."
"Maybe."
I think things are going as well as possible with hope of getting better. I can sleep without dreaming and that's a good sign. Maybe someday soon, I'll dream again without worrying the dreams will turn into nightmares. Maybe I'll just take a cue from Ava and throw Max down. I bet I would have some nice dreams after that.
tbc
Part 67
I'm Liz Parker and Max is the most perfect boyfriend in the universe. That's absolutely all I have to say.
Liz curled her hair in the mirror and cleared her throat to be heard on the speakerphone. "I don't know, Maria. I have a date with Max tonight."
"Whatever. Come stay the night when the date is over. I never get to see you anymore." Maria's voice crackled over the line.
"I'd still have to ask and my parents aren't exactly keen on the last-minute stuff."
"Right. That's why there was a joint camping trip that I didn't know about. How last minute was that? All I'm asking is for you to spend a little time with me, staying up late on Spring Break, talking about boys and eating junk food and watching Freddie Prinze Jr. on DVD so we can pause on his smile because bless his soul the boy can’t act but he’s got a million dollar smile."
"We're going to be out late." Liz protested. "He's got reservations at this really nice French place and then he said he's got a surprise for me."
"One night. Spend the night here. I'll let you stay out later than your mother will."
"Does she know that you're on the speakerphone?" Nancy cleared her throat from where she stood in the doorway. "You look pretty honey."
"Hi, Mrs. Parker. Tell Liz that she should go eat frog legs with Max, get her surprise and come keep me company tonight." Maria begged.
"Where's your Freddy tonight?" Liz narrowed her eyes at the phone.
"He took his mother to the doctor in Las Cruces. That's beside the point. You and I haven't spent one day together this week. We need to catch up on gossip and news and events and why Sheriff Valenti caught you and Max up at Buckley Point…"
"Maria! That's not even really what happened!" Liz turned in horror at the phone. Her mother's face a mask of intrigue.
"Please, Liz. Explain." Nancy crossed her arms.
"Oh. So you're still there, Mrs. Parker."
"Still here. Liz?"
"We were up at Buckley, talking. Just talking. The Sheriff was patrolling and he just told us to take our chat somewhere else. That's all that happened and how did you even find out about that?"
"Gag me. He thinks he's dating my mom or something."
"Maria, honey. They're dating." Nancy shook her head.
"Can't you tell them to stop?" She whined. "He's so old."
"He is not. He's just a few years older than your mother." She chided the girl and turned to her daughter. "You can go see Maria tonight. Just check in after Max takes you over there. I'll clear it with your dad."
"Thanks mom." Liz flashed her a smile as she finished off her hair. "Maria. I have to get going. I'll see you later."
"I'll be waiting up." Maria sang out before the dial tone filled the air.
Nancy hit the button and moved into the room to help Liz pull her hair up into a simple twist. "You look very pretty."
"I can't believe he's taking me to Chez Pierre. I told him that it was too expensive but he insisted."
"It is an anniversary of some sort?"
"No." Liz shook her head and thought it over. "The first time we went out was in the fall. We broke up in the spring. We got back together right before Christmas… or Thanksgiving. Somewhere in there. It's been a few months… nothing to… celebrate."
"It's good to see you smile again, Liz." Nancy took a seat on the bed to look her daughter over. "To see you acting like yourself again. I'm really glad that Max can do that for you."
"He's great, Mom." Liz nodded. "Absolutely perfect."
"Well, I'm sure he's not perfect."
"No… he's not and that makes him more perfect in my eyes."
--
Zan set his books down beside the door when he got home. It felt good to be able to take his books to and from and leave them in open spaces and not have to explain himself. He had, in his hand, the mock-exam Helen had given him earlier that day. He had done well. Not perfectly but with a few more weeks work, he could be where he wanted. Laying the mock-exam on the counter, he glanced around for his girl. Her keys were on the table and her shoes by the armchair. Then he heard the shower going.
Without even thinking, he started stripping as he made his way to the small bathroom in the bedroom. There she was, standing under the spray with her eyes closed. His body on auto-pilot, he climbed in behind her and pulled her against him. Her mouth opened in a sigh. "If this is just a dream, I'm gonna kill somebody."
"Does this feel like a dream?" His hands slid down her slick body to slip between her legs.
"If you're just teasin'. I'll kill you my fuckin' self." Ava lifted her arms to slide them behind his head. Her eyes fluttered closed when she felt his lips on her shoulders. His fingers stroked her folds, dipping inside just enough to tease. His other hand caressed her ribs before taking a breast to knead gently. "Zan…" Whatever thought she had been about to express flew out of her head when the fingers between her thighs went to work. "Za…" Her foot started to slip, forcing her harder into his hand. Then it was all gone. The shower, the slippery floor. When she came back up from her mini-explosion, they were seated in the tub, facing the spray. "Zan?"
"Needed to get the quick shot out of the way." He nuzzled her neck with his nose. "You smell so good."
"The… right." She barely nodded when she felt him limp against her backside. "Out of the way… so…"
"I had a good day and it ain't over yet."
--
Max fidgeted at the table while they waited for their tea. His eyes ran over the menu but he couldn't read it, his focus was on the beauty scanning her menu across from him. "Did I tell you how beautiful you look?"
"Thank you… and you already told me… twice." She bit her lip and lowered her eyes. "What's going on, Max?"
"What do you mean?"
"You brought me here and… it's not an anniversary. There's no special occasion. You've been acting weird all night."
"Who said it wasn't a special occasion?" Max cleared his throat and sipped his water. "All of our friends are alive and doing well. We're both here and we're happy. It seemed like a good time to take my girl to a fancy dinner just to… thank her for being in my life despite it all."
"Wow. Um… you know… I was supposed to go to Maria's tonight but I think she'd cover if I stayed out later… what?" She sat back at the smile on his face. "What?"
"Maria's already covering for us."
"What?"
"I asked Maria to call over and convince you to sleep over at her house. She's picking up your clothes as we speak and dropping them off at my house."
"You… What about your parents?"
"Out of town until Sunday."
"Why the charade? We could have gone straight to your house."
"I like to think of myself as a gentlemen and not some jerk who jumps straight into bed on a date." Max cleared his throat and reached for her hand across the table. "I just want it to be perfect for you. I told you I'd take care of everything."
"What about Isabel?" Liz slid forward in her seat.
"Isabel who? I don't know any Isabels." Max sat back as their drinks were set on the table and their orders taken. "It'll be just you and me tonight."
"My mom is gonna call Maria's."
"She'll call your cell if we need to arrange a phone call. Maria's got 3-way, right?"
"Of course she does."
“I told you, I have it all covered.”
--
Ava brushed his hair back out of his face. They had taken things slow once out of the shower and it was well worth it. For once, they hadn’t said a word the entire time. Zan was so still and quiet, she would have thought he was asleep except for his grip on her body. “So. You had a good day and you just had to share wit me?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m glad you did. I missed bein' wit you.” She carefully moved off of him. “You might think about gainin' some weight though. I think I’m gonna squash you these days.”
“You think I’m too skinny too? Mrs. M thinks so too.”
“It’s scary. I can play the what’s it called on your ribs.”
“Xylophone.” He supplied.
“See, listen to you… all smart and sexy.” She ducked her head to kiss his chest. “So… what got your motor runnin' again? Maybe we could arrange it to happen more often.”
“She gave me a practice test and I almost passed. The questions I missed, I second-guessed. If I had gone with my gut… I could’ve passed. I didn’t think I’d do that well. I felt…”
“Proud?”
“Yeah. I guess. Then I come home and you was all… lookin’ hot…” Zan rolled to face her. “I wasn’t ready before… with you prancin’ around all sexy and sleepin’ naked. I was ready today.”
"You gonna come at me regular or do I need to watch for a sign?"
"You miss bein' wit me that much?"
"Anywhere you ain't is a lonely place for me, Zan." Ava kissed him gently. "If you're not in the room, if you in the room but your mind is someplace else, if I think you don't want me this way… I get scared. I ain't always show it but it's how I feel. Like when we was hangin' wit Nicky all together. You was there and I was there but we… was empty and alone. I got scared and I ran off. Then I was scared that when you did come to be wit me that maybe that was it… that it was over for me."
"Never." Zan shook his head and held her tighter against him. "I could never."
"You could kill her though…"
"I couldn't look at her when I did it. I saw your face and… I had to remember that she wasn't you. That I could never hurt you that way."
"I know. I know now."
--
Liz sat on the Evans' couch and turned on MTV for background noise while Maria dialed the Parker phone. Max had made her stay put while he did some touching up in his room. “Hi Mom… I know it is early but Maria was right, we haven’t had a lot of girl time and Max is off tomorrow… so… I was wondering if it was okay if I didn’t come straight home in the morning. He wants to go for a picnic… Yeah, I did…. It was nice, really nice… I know, Mom… I will. Good night.”
Max just watched her for a moment while she turned off the TV and slipped out of her shoes. She listened to the phone for a moment.
"I know, Maria… I owe you… I don't? … Oh… well… I promise that I will call you on Sunday and we can have a long talk…. That's the soonest… alright. Thank you… alright. Night, Maria." She clicked off her phone and tucked it away in her purse.
“Hey there gorgeous. Tired?”
“No so tired.” Liz turned with a smile. “Did you make everything pretty?”
“I think so. Why don’t you come give me a critique? If you’re up for it. If you’re not, I can avail you of a bed in my sister’s room for the night.” Max held out his hand for her to take. After a moment, she took his hand and let him lead the way. “Before I show you, are you sure?”
“Max, I just lied to my mother and I used Maria to do it. I’m gonna owe Maria a very large debt. If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t have even come this far. I wouldn’t waste all that to sleep in Isabel’s bed.” She pulled herself close to him. "Max, what's wrong?"
"I just… it feels a little staged and I just wanted tonight to be perfect for you."
"It is."
"I just want you to understand that if you feel uncomfortable in any way… it's okay to tell me to stop. I will. I won't be mad. I just want to spend tonight with you, even if it's just to sleep next to each other." Max opened the door and let her in. He had lit candles all over the room and turned down the bed. "I just… want you to know that I love you."
"I know you do." Liz whispered and tilted her head back to catch his lips. "I love you, too… show me?"
Max snapped his fingers and the radio turned on. Soft swells of music filled the room. "Dance with me? I wanted to ask you at the restaurant but…"
"I'd love to dance with you, Max… but Max?"
"Yeah."
"Take off your shoes."
His lips turned up a little before backed away just enough to kick his shoes off and out of the way and then pulled off his socks, tossing them in the corner. He pulled her close so they could sway together, their bare feet just brushing occasionally. When he touched his lips to hers, her fingers were busy loosening his tie. His fingers crept into her hair to find the pin that held it all up. Soon her hair cascaded down her back.
Before Max ever fully realized it, they had stopped dancing and started undressing each other while their tongues battled in need. He only came up for breath when his calves hit the bed. Her skin was flushed and her lips puffy. He tossed his shirt away and let his pants fall before taking a seat to pull her dress all the way off. He scooted back on the bed and waited. Liz stepped out of the dress and unclasped her bra so that when she straddled his legs, they were on equal footing. Kissing his lips lightly and wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she leaned her forehead against his. "Max?"
"Yeah?" He swallowed a lump that had taken up residence in his throat.
"Make love to me."
Holding her body to him, he rose to turn her against the bed, to lay atop her, watching her face as he pressed his body into hers. Taking their time, they explored each other with lips and fingers. Sliding tongues against sensitive body parts, tasting salty sweat the longer they prolonged their teasing. Discovering surprisingly ticklish spots. Then discarding the last barriers in preparation for crossing that last line. They were both breathing heavily against one another when Max finally had to pull away to dig through his nightstand.
Liz didn't wait for him to come back to her, she went to him, sitting on his legs, impatient. Once he had the condom in place, she rose up on her knees to lean over and kiss his lips. Max helped her move into a comfortable position. From beneath hooded eyes, Max felt her surround him and then he felt her hands on his chest. When she moved, his heart pounded against his sternum. Guiding her into a rhythm, he kept one hand on her hip and the other took one hand in his.
Sitting up, Max tried not to disrupt their cadence but he had to kiss her. Had to taste her. Had to hold her closer. Her lips crashed down on his, taking his breath away. Had to hear all those little breaths she took and those little cries at the back of her throat. Had to touch every bit of skin from her neck to her breasts to her back to her thighs. "Max."
"Liz."
"Max… I'm…" She breathed but she couldn't find her words. "I… need… more."
His lips found all the little spots on her neck to drive her crazy. His hands slid down her body to find a faster rhythm and more of those sensitive little buttons hidden all over. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, holding tight as their hips ground together. Finally a hand slipped between their grinding bodies to find the tight little bud. A few firm strokes, followed by a few violent jerks and loud gasps, sent them collapsing back on the bed in a heaving tangle.
Max had to sweep away tangles of her hair to find her face. "You okay?" All he got was a nod. "You sure?" Her lips crashed down on his. "I'm going to take that as a yes."
"Please do." Liz finally managed to catch her tongue.
--
Isabel lay in Michael's bed, clothed for once, and snuggled deeper into his arms. "Are you sleepy?"
"Not really." He murmured into her hair.
"Do you want to watch TV?"
"Nope."
"I thought there was a game on tonight."
"They suck."
"Michael?"
"Yeah."
"Did you mean what you said to me that day in Econ?"
"What day?" He evaded lamely.
"That day, Michael." She turned her head but she still couldn’t see the expression on his face. "You said, 'Marry me.' And then you acted like it was nothing."
"I don't know what I was thinking." He sighed and rolled onto his back to stare at the ceiling.
"What are we doing? Are we just screwing until we find something better or is this it? I need to know Michael."
"I thought we already talked about this."
"But we didn't resolve it." She rolled over to look at him. "I love you, Michael. I never thought I'd feel this way about anyone. Blame it on our encoding if it makes you feel better but this intensity doesn't… I can't sleep some nights because I'm wondering if you feel the same way."
"I don't know how to make you feel better, Iz. I can only give you what I can give you. All I have is me."
"That's all I need to know. If you love me. If you want to be with me forever."
"Of course. Why do you think I needed to take some time to think? I was trying to make sure I could do this. I can be with you but I can't make promises. Did I mean it when I said it? Yeah. I did but we can't get married tonight." He rolled his eyes at her face. "Legally sure but your parents would freak."
"Michael—"
"Look. We could die tomorrow. Evil aliens could come and get us for what we did to Kivar. I can't tell you that it's going to work out. I don't know if it will. I can say that everyday when I wake up, I will be in love with you until the day you don't want me anymore. If we live long enough to get married… then so be it. If we don't… just… KNOW."
"You know that when you wake up every morning?" Isabel whispered softly.
"You're the first thing I think about. The last thing I think about every night."
"Michael, you don't have to be afraid to tell me things. If you know you feel something, tell me."
"What I'm afraid of is telling you that I love you and… then you meeting someone who can take care of you better."
"Not gonna happen. Not ever."
--
Ava sat at the table while their leftovers heated in the microwave. Zan puttered around with the garbage disposal. "I applied to the community college and I'm sure I'll get in but I… wanted to make sure you wanted to stay here before I eliminated anywheres else."
"I like it here. Max and Liz are stayin' right?"
"Yeah."
"You want to hang it wit them, then?" Zan washed his hands and caught the microwave before it went off.
"I'd like it. I don't know if I could stay on the ball witout them. At least at first." Ava took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "Yeah, I want to stay here."
"Then, we'll stay here."
"You mean that?"
"Yeah."
"We wouldn't have to stay here forever… just until maybe we know what we're doin'."
"Sounds good. I want to stay near Mrs. M. … you know…"
"You like that old lady, huh."
"She likes me." Zan grabbed two forks and sat close to her while they ate from the same container. "Hardly know any grown-ups who do. Liz's dad still looks at me like I'm gon steal his shirt off his back."
"No, he don't."
"Mr. Evans is disappointed in me."
"That's cause he don't know how close you are to gettin' your GED or nothin'. Sometimes just talkin' bout what you are doin' keeps people from thinkin' what you might be doin'." She leaned into him. "You ever think you want one of those human girls that keep lookin' at you?"
"You're crazy. I ain't seen no one lookin' at me."
"I seen 'em, Zan. They want my man."
"Then you go tell 'em that I'm yours."
--
Max kissed Liz's head where it rested on his shoulder. In turn, she kissed his chest and pulled the sheet up tighter under her arm. "You amaze me."
"What?" She picked up her head to look at him.
"One minute you can be tearing my clothes off and the next acting so shy and blushing so red."
"I do feel a little strange, Max." She blushed and ducked her head against his shoulder once more. "I've… I feel a little funny being naked with you… and I have to pee and I don't want to run naked through your parents' house."
"Do you want to get dressed?"
"No… Where's my bag? I just need to put on a shirt or my underwear or something." Liz knew her face was bright red as she reached over him to look at the floor.
Max reached down and picked up the shirt he had worn to dinner and draped it over her shoulders. "Go. The house is empty. No one is going to see you."
"I'll be right back." She kissed his lips quickly and scrambled over him to get to the door.
He waited in silence and felt himself drifting off when she opened the door, his shirt clutched around her naked body. She walked around his room and blew out the candles one by one. When the room was bathed in darkness, she returned to the bed minus his shirt. "Embarrassed to be naked in front of me?"
"Shut up." She snuggled in with him. "Let's just revel in this a little longer. This was perfect, Max. Thank you."
"Thank you."
"Seriously, Max. I thought I was going to explode waiting for tonight. You can't tell me you weren't…"
"I was but you were right. I would hate to have to leave you. I would feel guilty sneaking around in hotel rooms or out of your window with your parents' room right there."
"I love you so much that sometimes when I look at you and you look back… I'm afraid to breathe."
"Don't lose oxygen on account of me. Is it gross that sometimes when I look at you… I want to throw up? I mean… I mean… not that you make me vomit but… I still get nervous butterflies."
"I don't think it's weird."
"I don't know how I'm going to be able to keep my hands off you now."
"Then you better keep your hands on me while you can… to hold you over."
TBC
Liz curled her hair in the mirror and cleared her throat to be heard on the speakerphone. "I don't know, Maria. I have a date with Max tonight."
"Whatever. Come stay the night when the date is over. I never get to see you anymore." Maria's voice crackled over the line.
"I'd still have to ask and my parents aren't exactly keen on the last-minute stuff."
"Right. That's why there was a joint camping trip that I didn't know about. How last minute was that? All I'm asking is for you to spend a little time with me, staying up late on Spring Break, talking about boys and eating junk food and watching Freddie Prinze Jr. on DVD so we can pause on his smile because bless his soul the boy can’t act but he’s got a million dollar smile."
"We're going to be out late." Liz protested. "He's got reservations at this really nice French place and then he said he's got a surprise for me."
"One night. Spend the night here. I'll let you stay out later than your mother will."
"Does she know that you're on the speakerphone?" Nancy cleared her throat from where she stood in the doorway. "You look pretty honey."
"Hi, Mrs. Parker. Tell Liz that she should go eat frog legs with Max, get her surprise and come keep me company tonight." Maria begged.
"Where's your Freddy tonight?" Liz narrowed her eyes at the phone.
"He took his mother to the doctor in Las Cruces. That's beside the point. You and I haven't spent one day together this week. We need to catch up on gossip and news and events and why Sheriff Valenti caught you and Max up at Buckley Point…"
"Maria! That's not even really what happened!" Liz turned in horror at the phone. Her mother's face a mask of intrigue.
"Please, Liz. Explain." Nancy crossed her arms.
"Oh. So you're still there, Mrs. Parker."
"Still here. Liz?"
"We were up at Buckley, talking. Just talking. The Sheriff was patrolling and he just told us to take our chat somewhere else. That's all that happened and how did you even find out about that?"
"Gag me. He thinks he's dating my mom or something."
"Maria, honey. They're dating." Nancy shook her head.
"Can't you tell them to stop?" She whined. "He's so old."
"He is not. He's just a few years older than your mother." She chided the girl and turned to her daughter. "You can go see Maria tonight. Just check in after Max takes you over there. I'll clear it with your dad."
"Thanks mom." Liz flashed her a smile as she finished off her hair. "Maria. I have to get going. I'll see you later."
"I'll be waiting up." Maria sang out before the dial tone filled the air.
Nancy hit the button and moved into the room to help Liz pull her hair up into a simple twist. "You look very pretty."
"I can't believe he's taking me to Chez Pierre. I told him that it was too expensive but he insisted."
"It is an anniversary of some sort?"
"No." Liz shook her head and thought it over. "The first time we went out was in the fall. We broke up in the spring. We got back together right before Christmas… or Thanksgiving. Somewhere in there. It's been a few months… nothing to… celebrate."
"It's good to see you smile again, Liz." Nancy took a seat on the bed to look her daughter over. "To see you acting like yourself again. I'm really glad that Max can do that for you."
"He's great, Mom." Liz nodded. "Absolutely perfect."
"Well, I'm sure he's not perfect."
"No… he's not and that makes him more perfect in my eyes."
--
Zan set his books down beside the door when he got home. It felt good to be able to take his books to and from and leave them in open spaces and not have to explain himself. He had, in his hand, the mock-exam Helen had given him earlier that day. He had done well. Not perfectly but with a few more weeks work, he could be where he wanted. Laying the mock-exam on the counter, he glanced around for his girl. Her keys were on the table and her shoes by the armchair. Then he heard the shower going.
Without even thinking, he started stripping as he made his way to the small bathroom in the bedroom. There she was, standing under the spray with her eyes closed. His body on auto-pilot, he climbed in behind her and pulled her against him. Her mouth opened in a sigh. "If this is just a dream, I'm gonna kill somebody."
"Does this feel like a dream?" His hands slid down her slick body to slip between her legs.
"If you're just teasin'. I'll kill you my fuckin' self." Ava lifted her arms to slide them behind his head. Her eyes fluttered closed when she felt his lips on her shoulders. His fingers stroked her folds, dipping inside just enough to tease. His other hand caressed her ribs before taking a breast to knead gently. "Zan…" Whatever thought she had been about to express flew out of her head when the fingers between her thighs went to work. "Za…" Her foot started to slip, forcing her harder into his hand. Then it was all gone. The shower, the slippery floor. When she came back up from her mini-explosion, they were seated in the tub, facing the spray. "Zan?"
"Needed to get the quick shot out of the way." He nuzzled her neck with his nose. "You smell so good."
"The… right." She barely nodded when she felt him limp against her backside. "Out of the way… so…"
"I had a good day and it ain't over yet."
--
Max fidgeted at the table while they waited for their tea. His eyes ran over the menu but he couldn't read it, his focus was on the beauty scanning her menu across from him. "Did I tell you how beautiful you look?"
"Thank you… and you already told me… twice." She bit her lip and lowered her eyes. "What's going on, Max?"
"What do you mean?"
"You brought me here and… it's not an anniversary. There's no special occasion. You've been acting weird all night."
"Who said it wasn't a special occasion?" Max cleared his throat and sipped his water. "All of our friends are alive and doing well. We're both here and we're happy. It seemed like a good time to take my girl to a fancy dinner just to… thank her for being in my life despite it all."
"Wow. Um… you know… I was supposed to go to Maria's tonight but I think she'd cover if I stayed out later… what?" She sat back at the smile on his face. "What?"
"Maria's already covering for us."
"What?"
"I asked Maria to call over and convince you to sleep over at her house. She's picking up your clothes as we speak and dropping them off at my house."
"You… What about your parents?"
"Out of town until Sunday."
"Why the charade? We could have gone straight to your house."
"I like to think of myself as a gentlemen and not some jerk who jumps straight into bed on a date." Max cleared his throat and reached for her hand across the table. "I just want it to be perfect for you. I told you I'd take care of everything."
"What about Isabel?" Liz slid forward in her seat.
"Isabel who? I don't know any Isabels." Max sat back as their drinks were set on the table and their orders taken. "It'll be just you and me tonight."
"My mom is gonna call Maria's."
"She'll call your cell if we need to arrange a phone call. Maria's got 3-way, right?"
"Of course she does."
“I told you, I have it all covered.”
--
Ava brushed his hair back out of his face. They had taken things slow once out of the shower and it was well worth it. For once, they hadn’t said a word the entire time. Zan was so still and quiet, she would have thought he was asleep except for his grip on her body. “So. You had a good day and you just had to share wit me?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m glad you did. I missed bein' wit you.” She carefully moved off of him. “You might think about gainin' some weight though. I think I’m gonna squash you these days.”
“You think I’m too skinny too? Mrs. M thinks so too.”
“It’s scary. I can play the what’s it called on your ribs.”
“Xylophone.” He supplied.
“See, listen to you… all smart and sexy.” She ducked her head to kiss his chest. “So… what got your motor runnin' again? Maybe we could arrange it to happen more often.”
“She gave me a practice test and I almost passed. The questions I missed, I second-guessed. If I had gone with my gut… I could’ve passed. I didn’t think I’d do that well. I felt…”
“Proud?”
“Yeah. I guess. Then I come home and you was all… lookin’ hot…” Zan rolled to face her. “I wasn’t ready before… with you prancin’ around all sexy and sleepin’ naked. I was ready today.”
"You gonna come at me regular or do I need to watch for a sign?"
"You miss bein' wit me that much?"
"Anywhere you ain't is a lonely place for me, Zan." Ava kissed him gently. "If you're not in the room, if you in the room but your mind is someplace else, if I think you don't want me this way… I get scared. I ain't always show it but it's how I feel. Like when we was hangin' wit Nicky all together. You was there and I was there but we… was empty and alone. I got scared and I ran off. Then I was scared that when you did come to be wit me that maybe that was it… that it was over for me."
"Never." Zan shook his head and held her tighter against him. "I could never."
"You could kill her though…"
"I couldn't look at her when I did it. I saw your face and… I had to remember that she wasn't you. That I could never hurt you that way."
"I know. I know now."
--
Liz sat on the Evans' couch and turned on MTV for background noise while Maria dialed the Parker phone. Max had made her stay put while he did some touching up in his room. “Hi Mom… I know it is early but Maria was right, we haven’t had a lot of girl time and Max is off tomorrow… so… I was wondering if it was okay if I didn’t come straight home in the morning. He wants to go for a picnic… Yeah, I did…. It was nice, really nice… I know, Mom… I will. Good night.”
Max just watched her for a moment while she turned off the TV and slipped out of her shoes. She listened to the phone for a moment.
"I know, Maria… I owe you… I don't? … Oh… well… I promise that I will call you on Sunday and we can have a long talk…. That's the soonest… alright. Thank you… alright. Night, Maria." She clicked off her phone and tucked it away in her purse.
“Hey there gorgeous. Tired?”
“No so tired.” Liz turned with a smile. “Did you make everything pretty?”
“I think so. Why don’t you come give me a critique? If you’re up for it. If you’re not, I can avail you of a bed in my sister’s room for the night.” Max held out his hand for her to take. After a moment, she took his hand and let him lead the way. “Before I show you, are you sure?”
“Max, I just lied to my mother and I used Maria to do it. I’m gonna owe Maria a very large debt. If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t have even come this far. I wouldn’t waste all that to sleep in Isabel’s bed.” She pulled herself close to him. "Max, what's wrong?"
"I just… it feels a little staged and I just wanted tonight to be perfect for you."
"It is."
"I just want you to understand that if you feel uncomfortable in any way… it's okay to tell me to stop. I will. I won't be mad. I just want to spend tonight with you, even if it's just to sleep next to each other." Max opened the door and let her in. He had lit candles all over the room and turned down the bed. "I just… want you to know that I love you."
"I know you do." Liz whispered and tilted her head back to catch his lips. "I love you, too… show me?"
Max snapped his fingers and the radio turned on. Soft swells of music filled the room. "Dance with me? I wanted to ask you at the restaurant but…"
"I'd love to dance with you, Max… but Max?"
"Yeah."
"Take off your shoes."
His lips turned up a little before backed away just enough to kick his shoes off and out of the way and then pulled off his socks, tossing them in the corner. He pulled her close so they could sway together, their bare feet just brushing occasionally. When he touched his lips to hers, her fingers were busy loosening his tie. His fingers crept into her hair to find the pin that held it all up. Soon her hair cascaded down her back.
Before Max ever fully realized it, they had stopped dancing and started undressing each other while their tongues battled in need. He only came up for breath when his calves hit the bed. Her skin was flushed and her lips puffy. He tossed his shirt away and let his pants fall before taking a seat to pull her dress all the way off. He scooted back on the bed and waited. Liz stepped out of the dress and unclasped her bra so that when she straddled his legs, they were on equal footing. Kissing his lips lightly and wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she leaned her forehead against his. "Max?"
"Yeah?" He swallowed a lump that had taken up residence in his throat.
"Make love to me."
Holding her body to him, he rose to turn her against the bed, to lay atop her, watching her face as he pressed his body into hers. Taking their time, they explored each other with lips and fingers. Sliding tongues against sensitive body parts, tasting salty sweat the longer they prolonged their teasing. Discovering surprisingly ticklish spots. Then discarding the last barriers in preparation for crossing that last line. They were both breathing heavily against one another when Max finally had to pull away to dig through his nightstand.
Liz didn't wait for him to come back to her, she went to him, sitting on his legs, impatient. Once he had the condom in place, she rose up on her knees to lean over and kiss his lips. Max helped her move into a comfortable position. From beneath hooded eyes, Max felt her surround him and then he felt her hands on his chest. When she moved, his heart pounded against his sternum. Guiding her into a rhythm, he kept one hand on her hip and the other took one hand in his.
Sitting up, Max tried not to disrupt their cadence but he had to kiss her. Had to taste her. Had to hold her closer. Her lips crashed down on his, taking his breath away. Had to hear all those little breaths she took and those little cries at the back of her throat. Had to touch every bit of skin from her neck to her breasts to her back to her thighs. "Max."
"Liz."
"Max… I'm…" She breathed but she couldn't find her words. "I… need… more."
His lips found all the little spots on her neck to drive her crazy. His hands slid down her body to find a faster rhythm and more of those sensitive little buttons hidden all over. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, holding tight as their hips ground together. Finally a hand slipped between their grinding bodies to find the tight little bud. A few firm strokes, followed by a few violent jerks and loud gasps, sent them collapsing back on the bed in a heaving tangle.
Max had to sweep away tangles of her hair to find her face. "You okay?" All he got was a nod. "You sure?" Her lips crashed down on his. "I'm going to take that as a yes."
"Please do." Liz finally managed to catch her tongue.
--
Isabel lay in Michael's bed, clothed for once, and snuggled deeper into his arms. "Are you sleepy?"
"Not really." He murmured into her hair.
"Do you want to watch TV?"
"Nope."
"I thought there was a game on tonight."
"They suck."
"Michael?"
"Yeah."
"Did you mean what you said to me that day in Econ?"
"What day?" He evaded lamely.
"That day, Michael." She turned her head but she still couldn’t see the expression on his face. "You said, 'Marry me.' And then you acted like it was nothing."
"I don't know what I was thinking." He sighed and rolled onto his back to stare at the ceiling.
"What are we doing? Are we just screwing until we find something better or is this it? I need to know Michael."
"I thought we already talked about this."
"But we didn't resolve it." She rolled over to look at him. "I love you, Michael. I never thought I'd feel this way about anyone. Blame it on our encoding if it makes you feel better but this intensity doesn't… I can't sleep some nights because I'm wondering if you feel the same way."
"I don't know how to make you feel better, Iz. I can only give you what I can give you. All I have is me."
"That's all I need to know. If you love me. If you want to be with me forever."
"Of course. Why do you think I needed to take some time to think? I was trying to make sure I could do this. I can be with you but I can't make promises. Did I mean it when I said it? Yeah. I did but we can't get married tonight." He rolled his eyes at her face. "Legally sure but your parents would freak."
"Michael—"
"Look. We could die tomorrow. Evil aliens could come and get us for what we did to Kivar. I can't tell you that it's going to work out. I don't know if it will. I can say that everyday when I wake up, I will be in love with you until the day you don't want me anymore. If we live long enough to get married… then so be it. If we don't… just… KNOW."
"You know that when you wake up every morning?" Isabel whispered softly.
"You're the first thing I think about. The last thing I think about every night."
"Michael, you don't have to be afraid to tell me things. If you know you feel something, tell me."
"What I'm afraid of is telling you that I love you and… then you meeting someone who can take care of you better."
"Not gonna happen. Not ever."
--
Ava sat at the table while their leftovers heated in the microwave. Zan puttered around with the garbage disposal. "I applied to the community college and I'm sure I'll get in but I… wanted to make sure you wanted to stay here before I eliminated anywheres else."
"I like it here. Max and Liz are stayin' right?"
"Yeah."
"You want to hang it wit them, then?" Zan washed his hands and caught the microwave before it went off.
"I'd like it. I don't know if I could stay on the ball witout them. At least at first." Ava took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "Yeah, I want to stay here."
"Then, we'll stay here."
"You mean that?"
"Yeah."
"We wouldn't have to stay here forever… just until maybe we know what we're doin'."
"Sounds good. I want to stay near Mrs. M. … you know…"
"You like that old lady, huh."
"She likes me." Zan grabbed two forks and sat close to her while they ate from the same container. "Hardly know any grown-ups who do. Liz's dad still looks at me like I'm gon steal his shirt off his back."
"No, he don't."
"Mr. Evans is disappointed in me."
"That's cause he don't know how close you are to gettin' your GED or nothin'. Sometimes just talkin' bout what you are doin' keeps people from thinkin' what you might be doin'." She leaned into him. "You ever think you want one of those human girls that keep lookin' at you?"
"You're crazy. I ain't seen no one lookin' at me."
"I seen 'em, Zan. They want my man."
"Then you go tell 'em that I'm yours."
--
Max kissed Liz's head where it rested on his shoulder. In turn, she kissed his chest and pulled the sheet up tighter under her arm. "You amaze me."
"What?" She picked up her head to look at him.
"One minute you can be tearing my clothes off and the next acting so shy and blushing so red."
"I do feel a little strange, Max." She blushed and ducked her head against his shoulder once more. "I've… I feel a little funny being naked with you… and I have to pee and I don't want to run naked through your parents' house."
"Do you want to get dressed?"
"No… Where's my bag? I just need to put on a shirt or my underwear or something." Liz knew her face was bright red as she reached over him to look at the floor.
Max reached down and picked up the shirt he had worn to dinner and draped it over her shoulders. "Go. The house is empty. No one is going to see you."
"I'll be right back." She kissed his lips quickly and scrambled over him to get to the door.
He waited in silence and felt himself drifting off when she opened the door, his shirt clutched around her naked body. She walked around his room and blew out the candles one by one. When the room was bathed in darkness, she returned to the bed minus his shirt. "Embarrassed to be naked in front of me?"
"Shut up." She snuggled in with him. "Let's just revel in this a little longer. This was perfect, Max. Thank you."
"Thank you."
"Seriously, Max. I thought I was going to explode waiting for tonight. You can't tell me you weren't…"
"I was but you were right. I would hate to have to leave you. I would feel guilty sneaking around in hotel rooms or out of your window with your parents' room right there."
"I love you so much that sometimes when I look at you and you look back… I'm afraid to breathe."
"Don't lose oxygen on account of me. Is it gross that sometimes when I look at you… I want to throw up? I mean… I mean… not that you make me vomit but… I still get nervous butterflies."
"I don't think it's weird."
"I don't know how I'm going to be able to keep my hands off you now."
"Then you better keep your hands on me while you can… to hold you over."
TBC
Part 68
Part 68
Max closed his eyes against the bright morning light to catch his breath. "Are you okay?"
"I am fine." Liz breathed before she rolled in to kiss his lips.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." She kissed his lips more firmly. "I am very okay."
"You didn't mind…?" He opened his eyes to watch her face over his. "With me on…"
"I didn't even notice." She tried to keep kissing him but he kept talking.
"If you're not okay…"
"Max, stop it. I am more than okay." She nibbled at his ear.
"As much as I'd like to keep doing this all day." He ran his hands up her back. "We need to eat and you need to call your mother and tell her you're heading out for our… picnic."
"Eat? Who needs to eat?" She pouted but kept up her teasing.
"I do… you've had me trapped in this bed for ten hours." And was he ever starving.
"Trapped?" She leaned up to look him in the eye. "Lil ol' me? Trapped you?"
"Yes. You are sexy and… gorgeous and… tempting…" He kissed her lips lightly between his words. "I didn't really have any other choice."
"Well, you're not bad yourself, handsome." Her voice, combined with her fingers brushing along his stomach, made Max want to flip her over and have his way with her for the fifth time that morning but he restrained himself. "Fine. We'll get up."
"You want to shower first?"
"No, you go ahead. I just want to lie here a little longer." If she tried to move anytime soon, it would be just to fall into a limp mess.
"Okay. I'll be right back." He kissed her lips softly and slipped out of bed.
Liz rolled onto her stomach and propped her chin up on his pillow to watch him move around the room. She had to bite back a laugh when he self-consciously turned away from her to remove the condom they had just used. As goofy as that looked, she admired his backside as it rippled when he walked. She was a little sad to see it disappear into a pair of boxers. At least she could still see the cute little dimples over the waistband. She had to be content with watching his shoulder blades as he rifled through one drawer and then another. His arms flexing and relaxing with his movements.
When Max turned around, he was a little startled to find Liz watching him with the look in her eyes that she got while they were making out. Her hair was mussed and framed her face, her tongue snuck out to lick her lips. "You're gonna kill me one of these days."
"I hope you're talking about the fun way." She pulled the sheet up to tuck under her arms.
"That would be the way. I'll be ten minutes. Tops."
"Hurry. Now that you mention it, I'm a little hungry."
--
Zan took his seat on the bench to read aloud to Helen, who was dozing in her chaise. They were in the enclosed patio where the sun had warmed the furniture. He had gotten so engrossed in the reading that he never heard the doors open or close.
"Who are you?" A strong female voice demanded. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I was readin' to her." Zan didn't get up and he didn't set the book down but his voice sounded painfully self-conscious. "Who're you?"
"I'm her daughter. I belong here. Who are you?" Her brown eyes flashed and even though Zan knew he could toss the short woman over the fence, he was a little scared at her vehemence.
"Zan?" Helen slowly roused from her nap, her eyes refusing to open all the way in the bright light. "Arlene? What are you doing here?"
"Mother? What is going on? Who is this kid?"
"Arlene, calm down and have a seat." Helen sat up slowly, sleep still clinging. "Zan, this is my daughter Arlene Covington. Arlene, this is Zan."
"Mother, I got a call from the neighbor telling me that the hooligan was back. When I said I didn’t know what she was talking about, she told me that some street punk was coming in and out of your house at all hours of the day and night."
"Well, that's ridiculous." Helen finally managed to sit up. "Zan is not a street punk or a hooligan and he hardly comes and goes at all hours of the night. Zan comes everyday to help me out. He cleans the gutters, rakes the leaves, makes my tea, combs my hair and keeps me company."
"Mother." Arlene let out an exasperated sighed and sank into a chair.
"I don't have anyone but Zan to help me."
"How long?"
"Since before Christmas." Zan answered.
"Howard came and met Zan. You didn't come this Christmas." Helen cleared her throat and smoothed down her hair.
"Why is a teenager home in the middle of the day and just hanging out with an old woman?"
"I never went to school." Zan spoke up. "But Mrs. Montgomery is helpin' me get caught up. I do some chores and she helps me out."
"You're not giving him money are you?"
"I don't need handouts." Zan bit out, setting the book on the table harder than necessary and storming out the back door and into the yard where he didn't even know he was going. By the time he reached the alley gate, he had tears slipping down his face. He could barely hear Helen calling after him. His good mood was gone. Wiped clean away by Arlene's implications. He almost got home before he remembered his books were still at Helen's house and he had sworn that he wouldn't give up again. And he wouldn't. He'd just have to do it on his own. He picked his way back, wiping his eyes free of the drying salt. Before he knew it, he was standing in the Montgomery entrance hall listening in.
Helen's voice was wavering just a bit. "There was a woman I served with during my tour here in Roswell, Arlene." The lies just seemed to spill out so easily melded with the truth. "It wasn't as if we just lost track of her. One day she was just gone. Gone without a goodbye or a letter. No one ever knew what happened to her."
"Mother, really."
"Before Christmas, Sheriff Valenti contacted me. He said that he had a couple of high school students doing a paper and they wanted to speak with me."
"Homework on the holidays?"
"Arlene. Listen. I didn't raise you to be rude." Helen let out an exasperated breathe. "A boy and a girl showed up the next day. The girl was local. I was acquainted with her grandfather through your father. The boy scared me a little. So rough around the edges and oddly silent. I talked to them about my tour when I noticed them looking at that picture there of the four of us."
"Mother."
"I said quiet, Arlene Michelle. I asked them, because the boy had begun to look familiar to me, if they recognized anyone in that photo. The girl picked me out right away and the boy kept staring at that picture. I put it together. She must have gotten herself in trouble. Zan said he didn't have a last name and I believe him. He probably has no idea where he came from. He must be very resourceful to track me down. I told him about her."
"What are you saying?"
"That Zan was looking for a clue about his parents and the closest he came was his grandmother in a picture with me in 1947. He was a little disappointed I think. Maybe he thought I was her. He's had a hard life. He's been on his own since he was nine years old. He's never been to school. He spent most of his young life taking care of three other children his own age. Two of them have since died… one just recently, his sister. He's been taking it very hard. He disappeared on me for two weeks. I thought he had gotten into trouble but it wasn't him in trouble. He's a good boy. He's trying to turn himself around and I'm helping him."
"You don't owe him anything."
"Maybe I owe Yvonne for not trying harder to find out what happened to her. She could be long gone. That boy doesn't have much real family. Some tragedy must have happened to find him, his sister and two cousins all orphaned so young."
"Mom… I…"
"Enough, Arlene. You are 44 years old. You should know better than to think I can't take care of myself. I enjoy Zan's company and he spent a very long time looking for me. I'm not going to disappoint him now."
Zan slipped into the kitchen and set the water to boil while he found another cup and plate to put on their tray. He made quick work of some cucumber sandwiches and lifted the tray at the same time he always did. He worked silently as he set the cups and plates out and poured tea. Arlene sat in his usual seat so he took his seat next to Helen, who leaned forward to kiss his cheek softly. "Thank you, Zan."
--
Liz stared up into Max's sweaty face, reveling in every feeling he could make her feel. "How am I going to keep my hands off of you when this weekend goes away?" He only kissed her lips. "I have to sleep in my own bed tonight and not feel you beside me." His hips shifted a little, his body getting excited once more, and he needed to exchange his current condom for a fresh one. "We won't have much opportunity to sneak away and have this."
"Maybe not but we can find time. We should enjoy all of the time we have now." He whispered as he ran kisses down her neck.
"Now who's trapped in bed with a horny lover?" She teased and groaned when he pulled away. She watched him rifle through his nightstand and curse. "What?"
"I’m out." He got up to dispose of the old condom and look for more. "I don't suppose you know of a condom-delivery service."
"Sorry. You can't run to the store?"
"Yeah, I won't attract attention in this condition." He gestured to his very hard erection.
"So, I'll go."
"No." Max shook his head. "You're not getting out of that bed." He reached for his boxers.
"Max, you're being ridiculous. I can buy a box of condoms. Just… give me the keys to the Jeep." She grabbed his shirt before he could.
"The keys to the Jeep. My Jeep?" He crossed his arms but it was hard for him to look menacing with a tent in his boxers.
"You're obviously in no condition to drive or be seen in public. I'll be right back and you can keep me trapped in bed until my parents call for me to get home."
--
Liz grabbed a couple of bags of chips, a carton of ice cream and a bottle of Tabasco but every time she passed the aisle she needed, there was someone there. When she finally got herself to stand in front of the rack, she couldn't remember what kind of condoms they had been using. Then she found herself standing next to Kyle Valenti who was also shopping for prophylactics. As if standing absolutely still would make her invisible, she didn't move when he reached in front of her to grab a box.
"You know, Parker. I never figured you for indecisiveness." Kyle clucked his tongue and grabbed another box, comparing the backs while he stood in front of her, between her and the rack of contraceptives. "The choices are pretty obvious. Extra lube if you need it. Extra small if that's what Evans needs. Ribbed if you need a little extra something. Flavored if you need cherry with your pop. Glow in the dark if this is about game-playing."
"You're disgusting, Kyle." Liz finally blurted out.
"Do you need help, Liz?" Kyle finally asked.
Liz bit her lip for a moment. "I'm on a run, Kyle and I can't remember what we were using."
"Oh, so you left Evans high and dry somewhere? Somehow, that amuses me very much, especially since you've been skulking around this convenience store for twenty minutes. I wonder how much pain he's in, right now."
"Could you just help me? We're looking for effective protection in high volume. All I know is we used up his supply. A box of six." Liz knew she was flaming bright red and her ice cream was melting.
"Oh. No. They don't sell those here." Kyle grabbed two boxes off the rack and held them out. "Settle a bet for me. Extra small?"
"You're betting on Max's penis?" Liz hissed as quietly as possible.
"It's just a question."
Liz plucked a box from his hand and grabbed a matching box from the rack. "There's nothing small about it."
--
Ava got home late and slid onto the bed, clothes and all. She pulled Zan's book from his sleeping hands and used her powers to turn out the light. She snuggled up to him and listened to his peaceful breathing until she passed out.
--
Liz fell into her own bed and waited. Not five minutes later, her phone started to ring and she snatched it up before her parents could pick up. "I love you."
"I love you. Good Night."
"See you tomorrow."
TBC
Max closed his eyes against the bright morning light to catch his breath. "Are you okay?"
"I am fine." Liz breathed before she rolled in to kiss his lips.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." She kissed his lips more firmly. "I am very okay."
"You didn't mind…?" He opened his eyes to watch her face over his. "With me on…"
"I didn't even notice." She tried to keep kissing him but he kept talking.
"If you're not okay…"
"Max, stop it. I am more than okay." She nibbled at his ear.
"As much as I'd like to keep doing this all day." He ran his hands up her back. "We need to eat and you need to call your mother and tell her you're heading out for our… picnic."
"Eat? Who needs to eat?" She pouted but kept up her teasing.
"I do… you've had me trapped in this bed for ten hours." And was he ever starving.
"Trapped?" She leaned up to look him in the eye. "Lil ol' me? Trapped you?"
"Yes. You are sexy and… gorgeous and… tempting…" He kissed her lips lightly between his words. "I didn't really have any other choice."
"Well, you're not bad yourself, handsome." Her voice, combined with her fingers brushing along his stomach, made Max want to flip her over and have his way with her for the fifth time that morning but he restrained himself. "Fine. We'll get up."
"You want to shower first?"
"No, you go ahead. I just want to lie here a little longer." If she tried to move anytime soon, it would be just to fall into a limp mess.
"Okay. I'll be right back." He kissed her lips softly and slipped out of bed.
Liz rolled onto her stomach and propped her chin up on his pillow to watch him move around the room. She had to bite back a laugh when he self-consciously turned away from her to remove the condom they had just used. As goofy as that looked, she admired his backside as it rippled when he walked. She was a little sad to see it disappear into a pair of boxers. At least she could still see the cute little dimples over the waistband. She had to be content with watching his shoulder blades as he rifled through one drawer and then another. His arms flexing and relaxing with his movements.
When Max turned around, he was a little startled to find Liz watching him with the look in her eyes that she got while they were making out. Her hair was mussed and framed her face, her tongue snuck out to lick her lips. "You're gonna kill me one of these days."
"I hope you're talking about the fun way." She pulled the sheet up to tuck under her arms.
"That would be the way. I'll be ten minutes. Tops."
"Hurry. Now that you mention it, I'm a little hungry."
--
Zan took his seat on the bench to read aloud to Helen, who was dozing in her chaise. They were in the enclosed patio where the sun had warmed the furniture. He had gotten so engrossed in the reading that he never heard the doors open or close.
"Who are you?" A strong female voice demanded. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I was readin' to her." Zan didn't get up and he didn't set the book down but his voice sounded painfully self-conscious. "Who're you?"
"I'm her daughter. I belong here. Who are you?" Her brown eyes flashed and even though Zan knew he could toss the short woman over the fence, he was a little scared at her vehemence.
"Zan?" Helen slowly roused from her nap, her eyes refusing to open all the way in the bright light. "Arlene? What are you doing here?"
"Mother? What is going on? Who is this kid?"
"Arlene, calm down and have a seat." Helen sat up slowly, sleep still clinging. "Zan, this is my daughter Arlene Covington. Arlene, this is Zan."
"Mother, I got a call from the neighbor telling me that the hooligan was back. When I said I didn’t know what she was talking about, she told me that some street punk was coming in and out of your house at all hours of the day and night."
"Well, that's ridiculous." Helen finally managed to sit up. "Zan is not a street punk or a hooligan and he hardly comes and goes at all hours of the night. Zan comes everyday to help me out. He cleans the gutters, rakes the leaves, makes my tea, combs my hair and keeps me company."
"Mother." Arlene let out an exasperated sighed and sank into a chair.
"I don't have anyone but Zan to help me."
"How long?"
"Since before Christmas." Zan answered.
"Howard came and met Zan. You didn't come this Christmas." Helen cleared her throat and smoothed down her hair.
"Why is a teenager home in the middle of the day and just hanging out with an old woman?"
"I never went to school." Zan spoke up. "But Mrs. Montgomery is helpin' me get caught up. I do some chores and she helps me out."
"You're not giving him money are you?"
"I don't need handouts." Zan bit out, setting the book on the table harder than necessary and storming out the back door and into the yard where he didn't even know he was going. By the time he reached the alley gate, he had tears slipping down his face. He could barely hear Helen calling after him. His good mood was gone. Wiped clean away by Arlene's implications. He almost got home before he remembered his books were still at Helen's house and he had sworn that he wouldn't give up again. And he wouldn't. He'd just have to do it on his own. He picked his way back, wiping his eyes free of the drying salt. Before he knew it, he was standing in the Montgomery entrance hall listening in.
Helen's voice was wavering just a bit. "There was a woman I served with during my tour here in Roswell, Arlene." The lies just seemed to spill out so easily melded with the truth. "It wasn't as if we just lost track of her. One day she was just gone. Gone without a goodbye or a letter. No one ever knew what happened to her."
"Mother, really."
"Before Christmas, Sheriff Valenti contacted me. He said that he had a couple of high school students doing a paper and they wanted to speak with me."
"Homework on the holidays?"
"Arlene. Listen. I didn't raise you to be rude." Helen let out an exasperated breathe. "A boy and a girl showed up the next day. The girl was local. I was acquainted with her grandfather through your father. The boy scared me a little. So rough around the edges and oddly silent. I talked to them about my tour when I noticed them looking at that picture there of the four of us."
"Mother."
"I said quiet, Arlene Michelle. I asked them, because the boy had begun to look familiar to me, if they recognized anyone in that photo. The girl picked me out right away and the boy kept staring at that picture. I put it together. She must have gotten herself in trouble. Zan said he didn't have a last name and I believe him. He probably has no idea where he came from. He must be very resourceful to track me down. I told him about her."
"What are you saying?"
"That Zan was looking for a clue about his parents and the closest he came was his grandmother in a picture with me in 1947. He was a little disappointed I think. Maybe he thought I was her. He's had a hard life. He's been on his own since he was nine years old. He's never been to school. He spent most of his young life taking care of three other children his own age. Two of them have since died… one just recently, his sister. He's been taking it very hard. He disappeared on me for two weeks. I thought he had gotten into trouble but it wasn't him in trouble. He's a good boy. He's trying to turn himself around and I'm helping him."
"You don't owe him anything."
"Maybe I owe Yvonne for not trying harder to find out what happened to her. She could be long gone. That boy doesn't have much real family. Some tragedy must have happened to find him, his sister and two cousins all orphaned so young."
"Mom… I…"
"Enough, Arlene. You are 44 years old. You should know better than to think I can't take care of myself. I enjoy Zan's company and he spent a very long time looking for me. I'm not going to disappoint him now."
Zan slipped into the kitchen and set the water to boil while he found another cup and plate to put on their tray. He made quick work of some cucumber sandwiches and lifted the tray at the same time he always did. He worked silently as he set the cups and plates out and poured tea. Arlene sat in his usual seat so he took his seat next to Helen, who leaned forward to kiss his cheek softly. "Thank you, Zan."
--
Liz stared up into Max's sweaty face, reveling in every feeling he could make her feel. "How am I going to keep my hands off of you when this weekend goes away?" He only kissed her lips. "I have to sleep in my own bed tonight and not feel you beside me." His hips shifted a little, his body getting excited once more, and he needed to exchange his current condom for a fresh one. "We won't have much opportunity to sneak away and have this."
"Maybe not but we can find time. We should enjoy all of the time we have now." He whispered as he ran kisses down her neck.
"Now who's trapped in bed with a horny lover?" She teased and groaned when he pulled away. She watched him rifle through his nightstand and curse. "What?"
"I’m out." He got up to dispose of the old condom and look for more. "I don't suppose you know of a condom-delivery service."
"Sorry. You can't run to the store?"
"Yeah, I won't attract attention in this condition." He gestured to his very hard erection.
"So, I'll go."
"No." Max shook his head. "You're not getting out of that bed." He reached for his boxers.
"Max, you're being ridiculous. I can buy a box of condoms. Just… give me the keys to the Jeep." She grabbed his shirt before he could.
"The keys to the Jeep. My Jeep?" He crossed his arms but it was hard for him to look menacing with a tent in his boxers.
"You're obviously in no condition to drive or be seen in public. I'll be right back and you can keep me trapped in bed until my parents call for me to get home."
--
Liz grabbed a couple of bags of chips, a carton of ice cream and a bottle of Tabasco but every time she passed the aisle she needed, there was someone there. When she finally got herself to stand in front of the rack, she couldn't remember what kind of condoms they had been using. Then she found herself standing next to Kyle Valenti who was also shopping for prophylactics. As if standing absolutely still would make her invisible, she didn't move when he reached in front of her to grab a box.
"You know, Parker. I never figured you for indecisiveness." Kyle clucked his tongue and grabbed another box, comparing the backs while he stood in front of her, between her and the rack of contraceptives. "The choices are pretty obvious. Extra lube if you need it. Extra small if that's what Evans needs. Ribbed if you need a little extra something. Flavored if you need cherry with your pop. Glow in the dark if this is about game-playing."
"You're disgusting, Kyle." Liz finally blurted out.
"Do you need help, Liz?" Kyle finally asked.
Liz bit her lip for a moment. "I'm on a run, Kyle and I can't remember what we were using."
"Oh, so you left Evans high and dry somewhere? Somehow, that amuses me very much, especially since you've been skulking around this convenience store for twenty minutes. I wonder how much pain he's in, right now."
"Could you just help me? We're looking for effective protection in high volume. All I know is we used up his supply. A box of six." Liz knew she was flaming bright red and her ice cream was melting.
"Oh. No. They don't sell those here." Kyle grabbed two boxes off the rack and held them out. "Settle a bet for me. Extra small?"
"You're betting on Max's penis?" Liz hissed as quietly as possible.
"It's just a question."
Liz plucked a box from his hand and grabbed a matching box from the rack. "There's nothing small about it."
--
Ava got home late and slid onto the bed, clothes and all. She pulled Zan's book from his sleeping hands and used her powers to turn out the light. She snuggled up to him and listened to his peaceful breathing until she passed out.
--
Liz fell into her own bed and waited. Not five minutes later, her phone started to ring and she snatched it up before her parents could pick up. "I love you."
"I love you. Good Night."
"See you tomorrow."
TBC
Part 69
I'm in a good mood. I had a good day. I just enjoyed a delicious liver and pasta lunch, I'm having a perky merlot and I got stuff back from my betas last night while listening to some awesome tunes. So, here you go.
I'm Liz Parker and it's funny what you can learn from the least mature people as compared to the more experienced people.
Freddy kept his voice low as he regaled them with a tale. "I'm sorry you have to hear this Max, just tune me out, bro. Maria and I honestly thought that your sister's tits were fake, okay."
Max tossed his napkin down, tuning out the tale with a scoff of disgust. Liz rubbed his arm and motioned for Freddy to go on.
"We were up on the Pointe making out when we hear this moaning. Maria's curious so we go check it out. And this couple is really going at it on a motorcycle. I couldn't see what he did but her tits just came springing out and he just goes to town, sucking on those things. Then Maria, I guess paying attention, notices how um, fluid those things were and blurts out. 'Oh my God! They're real!'" Freddy paused to catch his breath while the rest of the table, sans Max, laughed. "She scares the crap out of them and they fall off the bike, toppling the thing and I see Isabel Evans get up with dirt caked on the tit that he was tonguing and she screams bloody murder at Maria, lunging for her."
"I thought she was going to kill me." Maria covered her flaming face. "Then Michael and Freddy are trying to pull her off of me and she's got my hair in her fist and she won't let go."
"Did she hurt you?" Liz asked, genuinely concerned for her friend.
"She got a couple of punches into my ribs but it's not a big deal because I popped her one in the face before they finally got her off me." Maria cleared her throat. "And then, she's getting herself together and she looks down at her blouse and she whirls around on me again, because *I* ruined her blouse. It's not my fault she was up on Buckley half-naked and moaning like a pro."
"Could you stop?" Max pleaded. The story was kind of funny but this was his sister. He didn’t need to hear these things about his sister.
She ignored him and kept talking. "I mean, who goes up to Buckley on a bike? And I thought he had an apartment anyways."
"Why do you drive to Buckley when you can make out in your parents' driveway?" Alex cleared his throat, trying not to blush.
“Shut up.” Maria glared at him.
“What were you even doing investigating, anyway?” Liz finally got out. “That’s the last thing I’d do.”
“The thing about Buckley is that it is forbidden and the goal is not to get caught. Porn-star-moaners are begging to get caught.” Maria protested. “It was distracting. I couldn’t concentrate on getting any myself because she was so very vocal about getting hers.”
“And I am officially closing the topic.” Max cut in. “None of you know what it’s like being the brother of the boobs. Okay. It’s done.”
Liz slipped her hand down on his thigh beneath the table. “Okay. We’re done.”
“Right, not everyone has a chaperone-free weekend and a place to hide.” Maria cleared her throat.
Max scooped up a piece of ice from his cup and threw it at her. “It’s free therapy.”
Liz almost snorted but quickly recovered. “Maria, keep your voice down. My parents don’t know that Max’s parents aren’t here this weekend… and they certainly don’t know that’s where I slept the other night.”
“I’m surprised. Doesn’t Mrs. Evans call constantly when you’re over there?” Alex chimed in.
“Shush. They haven’t noticed because technically we had a date the other night and a picnic yesterday. I have one more night. One more night to enjoy it, so shut up.” Liz tossed a straw at her friends.
“So, what are you doing here?”
“That is a good question. Could it be that maybe I don’t have to have my tongue shoved down Max’s throat for me to enjoy his company and the company of my friends?”
“She wore him out.” Maria flicked a fry at them.
“Hey, Liz… can I shout at you a minute?” Ava popped up in uniform, saving Liz from having to respond to that.
“Sure…” Liz got up to follow Ava into the breakroom. “What’s going on?”
“It’s more of somethin’ that’s not.” Ava’s eyes slid to Mr. Parker who was in the kitchen. She lowered her voice, “I’m late.”
“Wait, what?” Liz reached for the girl’s arm and dragged her to the couch. “Like… how late?”
“Like I was supposed to start yesterday and nothing.”
“When was…” Liz shook her head. “I thought Zan wasn’t…”
“Well… he was all for it the other night.”
“But… what?”
“Thursday night.”
“That was two days ago. You couldn’t…”
“I’m like a friggin’ clock, Liz. I’m more accurate than the atomic clock in friggin’ White Sands.”
“How… serious do you think this is?”
“It’s not the first time but still. I’m worried because Zan is on this track now and he’s stickin’ to it and I don’t want to screw anythin’ up.” Ava saw she was losing Liz. “If I am pregnant… in one month, I’m shootin’ out a kid.”
“Holy!” Liz slapped her hand over her mouth. “Do you want to go get a test or… see a doctor?”
“I’m goin’ to Max’s after my shift. Meet me there with a test. I gotta find out before Zan realizes I’m freaked.”
“Okay. I’ll meet you. Should I not tell Max?”
“I don’t care so long as Zan doen’t find out from no one but me.”
In one moment, your whole like can change. In the same moment that your life changes, so does everyone’s lives who are connected to your life. I wasn’t just kidnapped and tortured twice. My parents now have a daughter who was brutalized to the point of not being able to talk about it. My friends have to know that horrible things can happen to people they know and love and it can happen more than once.
Once upon a time, my boyfriend died and I slept with his brother. Kelen’s brother died and he took solace in his brother’s girlfriend. When his life was spinning out of control, he grabbed onto the nearest thing to steady him. I… grabbed onto Ava. What do you do when the rock you cling to, isn’t so sturdy anymore?
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
Not awkward at all. Liz stood there, rocking on her feet for a moment. “Working the clinic, today?”
“It’s a change from the routine… not that Roswell sees too many emergencies… aside from the all too frequent teenage alcohol poisoning.” Kelen marked his chart and slid it onto the rack. “I hadn’t seen you in a while.” He leaned on the counter. “My buddy at the… he says you never went back.”
“I can’t.” Liz shook her head sadly. “But I did put what I learned to good use when I needed to. It helps knowing I put him in pain for a while.”
“So… what brings you by?”
“I… needed some information. I’m supposed to get a pregnancy test for a friend.” Liz realized how lame that sounded and made a face. “She’s working right now and avoiding her boyfriend… I said I’d get one for her but… I think it’s too early to tell and she says she knows to the minute if she’s late… I’m… just… confused and uninformed.”
“Your friend could come in for a pregnancy test. It’s all confidential if she’s worried about that.”
“She’s kind of afraid of doctors and she won’t come in. I was just hoping to find out the most dependable test on the market for early pregnancy detection. Geez… I don’t think I’ve ever said that word so much in my life.”
Kelen pulled her over to some seats in the back of the waiting room of the nearly empty clinic. “Liz, is this for you?”
“No.”
“You sure? Cause I could take you back and do the test myself if you’re just worried about people finding out.”
She had to hold back a laugh. “It’s not for me. I know how it sounds but it is honestly for a friend of mine who is completely freaking out.”
“Okay, I believe you.” He sat back and Liz noticed the beads around his wrist. The shining and multi-colored beads glared at her. “Yeah, I started carrying it around with me… like…” His eyes welled up a bit. “Like if I don’t have it, he’s not with me. It’s completely stupid but-”
“It’s not stupid. You miss him.”
“I know that it’s okay to miss him and I know that it’s okay to be sad or happy or however I want to feel about Tony. I know that here.” He tapped his temple. “But here.” He rubbed his sternum. “I have the irrational need to believe that I should buck up and get over it.”
“I can relate to that.” She nodded.
“How are you doing? Okay?”
“Yeah. I think getting kidnapped the second time was just what I needed to get over getting kidnapped and raped the first time.”
“We’re in the joking phase.” He nodded but didn’t smile.
“I can’t help it. If… I don’t try to make light… I… get depressed and I stop talking to my friends and my boyfriend worries. I can’t do that to them again. Not when I’m so close to…”
“You don’t have to put it behind you, yet.” He lowered his voice. “It’s okay to be angry and sad about it.”
“That’s just it. I don’t want that. I don’t need to feel it and I’ve vowed not to. I realize that my progress is… rather exceptional, I haven’t triggered lately, but I have to keep going. I have plans for my life and living in fear doesn’t factor into them. I… won’t be able to trust strangers for a good long while but… I have to have faith in my family and friends because I know they love me. They stuck by me this year.”
“Come here.” He opened his arms and waited for her to move into them. “If I find you another group… personally… will you go?”
“I can’t make a guarantee. Dr. White really screwed me royal on that score.” Liz breathed out. “It’s okay if I make the progress, right? If it feels right?”
“Absolutely.” Sitting up he looked her over. “I think I’m more concerned about how I think you feel instead of how you do feel. Lot of people do that to you?”
“Just… everyone I know.”
“Ok.” Kelen nodded and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll email you some stuff when I get home.” Then he stood and motioned for her to follow him. “So a pregnancy test for your friend, huh… the earliest positive she could get would be seven days but… let me get you one of ours. It has a different chemical concentration.” He disappeared through the door and a few moments later appeared on the other side of the counter. “It’s pretty self-explanatory. Five minutes.”
“Pee and wait?” Liz nodded and slipped the tests into her bag. “Do I owe you?”
“They cost a couple of bucks each. I’ll cover it.” He waved her off. “Don’t be a stranger.”
“Maybe…” Liz started to go but stopped. “Maybe we start having coffee. To talk.”
“I’d like that. How’s the boyfriend going to feel about that? Don’t tell me he won’t have complaints.”
“I plan to have him so worn out that he won’t.” She smiled brightly and bounded out the door.
It’s hard to be doing so well and to have a trigger pulled and to just react to it. Max is perfect. As perfect as a human/alien hybrid can be. And I feel so sorry for him having to have a girlfriend who is less than whole.
Liz sat next to Max on the couch, slipping her hand into his. They could hear Michael and Isabel moving around in the kitchen but their attention was on each other. Liz let Max lift his arm over her head but she didn’t let go, just turned into him so she lay across his lap. In her new position, she could see Isabel cracking her gum from her perch on the counter, watching Michael move around.
Isabel propped a leg up on the counter and shook her head at her boyfriend, cracking her gum louder just to annoy him. Michael’s mouth moved but Liz couldn’t hear what he said, just saw Isabel’s reaction. That reaction was unmistakable. Her eyebrows shot up and her gaze raked him from head to toe. When he moved to pass her, Isabel reached out and pulled him to her, whispering in his ear while she explored his chest with her hands. Liz watched Michael’s face as he absorbed whatever Isabel was telling him. His eyes fluttered closed and Liz shot up off of Max and the couch. She raced down the hall to Max’s room where Ava was examining her test.
“Look at this thing.” She thrust the test into Liz’s face. “It’s supposed to turn pink if it’s positive. It’s supposed to turn blue if it’s negative… what do you see?”
Her earlier thoughts flew out of her head when she registered what Ava was showing her. “Um… Nothing.”
“Right. Right. Nothing. It’s fuckin’ blank.” Ava collapsed onto Max’s bed. “I found that leftover test of Maria’s in there. I took that one, too.”
“What happened?”
“It’s supposed to be Plus sign or Minus sign. I got a blank. What are the chances I’d get two defects from different companies?”
“Pretty slim.” Liz sat in Max’s chair and avoided his eyes when he poked his head into the room. “Kelen said the earliest and best of tests would be most effective at a week… not two days. Maybe they turned blank because there’s nothing there to register.”
“How am I going to avoid Zan for a week?” Ava groaned and rubbed her belly.
“How about you don’t and you tell Zan what’s going on?” Max told the frantic blonde but his advice and his eyes were for the brunette sitting at the desk.
“She has to come to terms with it before she can even tell Zan or else he’s going to get upset and it could be for nothing.” Liz defended her friend’s choice.
“But just… ducking out of the room every time he walks in is going to alert him to a problem. They sleep together. He’s going to know something’s up. He should know.”
“But there might not even be something to know.” Liz picked up the tests and waved them at Max. “There’s nothing on them. She can’t say ‘hey, I’m pregnant’ or ‘hey, I thought I was pregnant but I’m not’. All she has is the thought in her head that could be wrong and upsetting when he doesn’t even need to know because there’s nothing to know yet.”
“Okay. I get that you’re tryin’ to help.” Ava sat up. “But… you’re not even talkin’ to me.” She huffed and grabbed the sticks from Liz. “I’m goin’ home. I have things to think about… and wash your hands, Liz.” She disappeared from the room.
Liz picked at the hem of her skirt. Max sat down on the bed facing her. They stayed silent for ten minutes until Isabel called out that she was leaving. He cleared his throat and tried to get her to look at him without reaching over to lift her face. “What happened?” Silence. “If it’s because I reacted when you laid down… That’s just gonna happen when your next to him.”
“It wasn’t that… I didn’t notice.”
“Are you sure? Michael noticed and he wasn’t laying on my lap.”
“I…” Liz felt her eyes filling with tears. “I… I…”
Liz.” Max pleaded.
“I was watching Michael and Isabel in the kitchen. They were flirting with each other at first and then… they got more intimate.” Liz’s hand covered her knee for a moment without even realizing. “It’s just… the way they looked at each other… for a moment… it wasn’t even a second… I wasn’t looking at them…”
“Liz…” Max sagged and flopped back on the bed, unable to say anything to comfort her.
“It wasn’t you… and it wasn’t really them.” Liz explained, straightening and re-straightening her skirt. “For a half a second… it was them.”
“Does that… happen a lot?”
“It hasn’t happened in a while. A long while.”
“Why all of a sudden?”
“It’s just the way they are together sometimes. I don’t know what you looked like back then or if it has something to do with their human donors but… it’s something they have in common.” She tried to explain. “It’s a mannerism they have when they’re together.” Finally, she lifted her eyes to see how tired Max looked just laying there on the bed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin the night.”
“Nothing’s ruined.” Max shook his head but didn’t open his eyes. “I’ve still got you.”
“I’m… not… in the mood.” Liz winced as the words passed her lips. “I… it hurt to say that.”
“Hurt?” He opened his eyes and propped himself up on his elbows.
“Yeah, because… I really enjoy being with you and… you… you’re just laying there and I know what you look like under those clothes.” Her face flooded with blood, staining her cheeks a bright red. “I want to but… I’m too afraid if I try something right now… with the state of mind I’m in that…”
“I understand. Come here.” He nodded her to the other half of the bed. “I’m probably worn out anyway. We… far exceeded my expectations for this little endeavor.”
“I wouldn’t call it little. I thought I was going to have to start begging.” Liz tried to put the bad moments behind her and crawled onto the bed to lie on her stomach beside him. “I think we… got a lot done this weekend. Did I tell you that I ran into Kyle when I went to the store?”
“Today?”
“Yesterday.”
“Oh?”
“He, um… wanted to know if you needed extra small condoms. He’s fixated on your penis.”
“Kyle Valenti?” Max laughed and shook his head, not knowing where she was going with that line. “Are you sure?”
“He alluded to the extra small condoms, twice. Don’t worry. I defended your honor. I told him that what you had was anything but small.” She stiffened a little when he turned his body into hers but all he did was lay his hand on her back. “I’m just a little.”
“It’s okay. It is okay. I am not with you for sex. Sex is nice. The sex we had yesterday was really nice but what I really like is this girl right here… with her beautiful brown eyes and her long brown hair and her smile that… makes me catch my breath when she turns it on me.” Max leaned in to kiss her nose. “I am so happy just to have you here with me.”
“Why me, Max?”
“What do you mean?”
“Mind you, this was in one of my worse moods… I thought about what if I hadn’t gone to talk to you that day and what if you hadn’t said what you said… would any of that have happened to me?”
“You told me that if you hadn’t come over… you would have gotten shot and… I think I would have been forced to save your life because… Liz…from the first minute I saw you. I was taken.” He brushed her hair out of her face and stroked her back lightly, leaning on his other arm for support. “I don’t know what it was but I stepped off the school bus for the very first time and I saw you playing with Maria and I fell in love.”
“What?” Liz tilted her head at him. “But… We were in the third grade.”
“I know. It just… I saw you and I knew that you were it and… when you broke up with me… I was crushed. I didn’t fight the way you wanted me to because I didn’t know I had the option. I thought my life was over. I have spent so much time getting you back. You have a beautiful soul, Liz. I knew it when I was eight years old without even having spoken to you.”
Sometimes the thing you need is just someone who will listen, even if they don’t understand.
Ava sat on the bed and stared at her feet. Zan was trying to entice her in between the sheets with him. She had managed not to say one word to him in all the two hours she’d been home and she knew he had noticed.
“Hey, what’s goin’ on in that pink head of yours?”
“Thinkin’ bout stuff.” She shrugged. The tests were in her pocket, about two inches from where his hand was touching her hip. Laying back, she rested her head on his stomach.
“What stuff?” He stroked her hair and slid his hand over her flat belly. “You tired?”
“Zan…” Ava took a deep breath and turned her head to look at him. Slowly, she pulled them out of her pocket and showed them to him. “It ain’t nothin’ but…”
He stared and had to take them in his hand to know what they were. “There’s nothin’ on there. That’s good right?”
“Somethin’ is supposed to show up one way or the other. But nothin’s there.”
Just to get things off your chest. My journal is one thing but I know it can’t be a person who will comfort. I just take things one day at a time. Enjoying when I can and loving that I have so many people who care.
TBC
I'm Liz Parker and it's funny what you can learn from the least mature people as compared to the more experienced people.
Freddy kept his voice low as he regaled them with a tale. "I'm sorry you have to hear this Max, just tune me out, bro. Maria and I honestly thought that your sister's tits were fake, okay."
Max tossed his napkin down, tuning out the tale with a scoff of disgust. Liz rubbed his arm and motioned for Freddy to go on.
"We were up on the Pointe making out when we hear this moaning. Maria's curious so we go check it out. And this couple is really going at it on a motorcycle. I couldn't see what he did but her tits just came springing out and he just goes to town, sucking on those things. Then Maria, I guess paying attention, notices how um, fluid those things were and blurts out. 'Oh my God! They're real!'" Freddy paused to catch his breath while the rest of the table, sans Max, laughed. "She scares the crap out of them and they fall off the bike, toppling the thing and I see Isabel Evans get up with dirt caked on the tit that he was tonguing and she screams bloody murder at Maria, lunging for her."
"I thought she was going to kill me." Maria covered her flaming face. "Then Michael and Freddy are trying to pull her off of me and she's got my hair in her fist and she won't let go."
"Did she hurt you?" Liz asked, genuinely concerned for her friend.
"She got a couple of punches into my ribs but it's not a big deal because I popped her one in the face before they finally got her off me." Maria cleared her throat. "And then, she's getting herself together and she looks down at her blouse and she whirls around on me again, because *I* ruined her blouse. It's not my fault she was up on Buckley half-naked and moaning like a pro."
"Could you stop?" Max pleaded. The story was kind of funny but this was his sister. He didn’t need to hear these things about his sister.
She ignored him and kept talking. "I mean, who goes up to Buckley on a bike? And I thought he had an apartment anyways."
"Why do you drive to Buckley when you can make out in your parents' driveway?" Alex cleared his throat, trying not to blush.
“Shut up.” Maria glared at him.
“What were you even doing investigating, anyway?” Liz finally got out. “That’s the last thing I’d do.”
“The thing about Buckley is that it is forbidden and the goal is not to get caught. Porn-star-moaners are begging to get caught.” Maria protested. “It was distracting. I couldn’t concentrate on getting any myself because she was so very vocal about getting hers.”
“And I am officially closing the topic.” Max cut in. “None of you know what it’s like being the brother of the boobs. Okay. It’s done.”
Liz slipped her hand down on his thigh beneath the table. “Okay. We’re done.”
“Right, not everyone has a chaperone-free weekend and a place to hide.” Maria cleared her throat.
Max scooped up a piece of ice from his cup and threw it at her. “It’s free therapy.”
Liz almost snorted but quickly recovered. “Maria, keep your voice down. My parents don’t know that Max’s parents aren’t here this weekend… and they certainly don’t know that’s where I slept the other night.”
“I’m surprised. Doesn’t Mrs. Evans call constantly when you’re over there?” Alex chimed in.
“Shush. They haven’t noticed because technically we had a date the other night and a picnic yesterday. I have one more night. One more night to enjoy it, so shut up.” Liz tossed a straw at her friends.
“So, what are you doing here?”
“That is a good question. Could it be that maybe I don’t have to have my tongue shoved down Max’s throat for me to enjoy his company and the company of my friends?”
“She wore him out.” Maria flicked a fry at them.
“Hey, Liz… can I shout at you a minute?” Ava popped up in uniform, saving Liz from having to respond to that.
“Sure…” Liz got up to follow Ava into the breakroom. “What’s going on?”
“It’s more of somethin’ that’s not.” Ava’s eyes slid to Mr. Parker who was in the kitchen. She lowered her voice, “I’m late.”
“Wait, what?” Liz reached for the girl’s arm and dragged her to the couch. “Like… how late?”
“Like I was supposed to start yesterday and nothing.”
“When was…” Liz shook her head. “I thought Zan wasn’t…”
“Well… he was all for it the other night.”
“But… what?”
“Thursday night.”
“That was two days ago. You couldn’t…”
“I’m like a friggin’ clock, Liz. I’m more accurate than the atomic clock in friggin’ White Sands.”
“How… serious do you think this is?”
“It’s not the first time but still. I’m worried because Zan is on this track now and he’s stickin’ to it and I don’t want to screw anythin’ up.” Ava saw she was losing Liz. “If I am pregnant… in one month, I’m shootin’ out a kid.”
“Holy!” Liz slapped her hand over her mouth. “Do you want to go get a test or… see a doctor?”
“I’m goin’ to Max’s after my shift. Meet me there with a test. I gotta find out before Zan realizes I’m freaked.”
“Okay. I’ll meet you. Should I not tell Max?”
“I don’t care so long as Zan doen’t find out from no one but me.”
In one moment, your whole like can change. In the same moment that your life changes, so does everyone’s lives who are connected to your life. I wasn’t just kidnapped and tortured twice. My parents now have a daughter who was brutalized to the point of not being able to talk about it. My friends have to know that horrible things can happen to people they know and love and it can happen more than once.
Once upon a time, my boyfriend died and I slept with his brother. Kelen’s brother died and he took solace in his brother’s girlfriend. When his life was spinning out of control, he grabbed onto the nearest thing to steady him. I… grabbed onto Ava. What do you do when the rock you cling to, isn’t so sturdy anymore?
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
Not awkward at all. Liz stood there, rocking on her feet for a moment. “Working the clinic, today?”
“It’s a change from the routine… not that Roswell sees too many emergencies… aside from the all too frequent teenage alcohol poisoning.” Kelen marked his chart and slid it onto the rack. “I hadn’t seen you in a while.” He leaned on the counter. “My buddy at the… he says you never went back.”
“I can’t.” Liz shook her head sadly. “But I did put what I learned to good use when I needed to. It helps knowing I put him in pain for a while.”
“So… what brings you by?”
“I… needed some information. I’m supposed to get a pregnancy test for a friend.” Liz realized how lame that sounded and made a face. “She’s working right now and avoiding her boyfriend… I said I’d get one for her but… I think it’s too early to tell and she says she knows to the minute if she’s late… I’m… just… confused and uninformed.”
“Your friend could come in for a pregnancy test. It’s all confidential if she’s worried about that.”
“She’s kind of afraid of doctors and she won’t come in. I was just hoping to find out the most dependable test on the market for early pregnancy detection. Geez… I don’t think I’ve ever said that word so much in my life.”
Kelen pulled her over to some seats in the back of the waiting room of the nearly empty clinic. “Liz, is this for you?”
“No.”
“You sure? Cause I could take you back and do the test myself if you’re just worried about people finding out.”
She had to hold back a laugh. “It’s not for me. I know how it sounds but it is honestly for a friend of mine who is completely freaking out.”
“Okay, I believe you.” He sat back and Liz noticed the beads around his wrist. The shining and multi-colored beads glared at her. “Yeah, I started carrying it around with me… like…” His eyes welled up a bit. “Like if I don’t have it, he’s not with me. It’s completely stupid but-”
“It’s not stupid. You miss him.”
“I know that it’s okay to miss him and I know that it’s okay to be sad or happy or however I want to feel about Tony. I know that here.” He tapped his temple. “But here.” He rubbed his sternum. “I have the irrational need to believe that I should buck up and get over it.”
“I can relate to that.” She nodded.
“How are you doing? Okay?”
“Yeah. I think getting kidnapped the second time was just what I needed to get over getting kidnapped and raped the first time.”
“We’re in the joking phase.” He nodded but didn’t smile.
“I can’t help it. If… I don’t try to make light… I… get depressed and I stop talking to my friends and my boyfriend worries. I can’t do that to them again. Not when I’m so close to…”
“You don’t have to put it behind you, yet.” He lowered his voice. “It’s okay to be angry and sad about it.”
“That’s just it. I don’t want that. I don’t need to feel it and I’ve vowed not to. I realize that my progress is… rather exceptional, I haven’t triggered lately, but I have to keep going. I have plans for my life and living in fear doesn’t factor into them. I… won’t be able to trust strangers for a good long while but… I have to have faith in my family and friends because I know they love me. They stuck by me this year.”
“Come here.” He opened his arms and waited for her to move into them. “If I find you another group… personally… will you go?”
“I can’t make a guarantee. Dr. White really screwed me royal on that score.” Liz breathed out. “It’s okay if I make the progress, right? If it feels right?”
“Absolutely.” Sitting up he looked her over. “I think I’m more concerned about how I think you feel instead of how you do feel. Lot of people do that to you?”
“Just… everyone I know.”
“Ok.” Kelen nodded and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll email you some stuff when I get home.” Then he stood and motioned for her to follow him. “So a pregnancy test for your friend, huh… the earliest positive she could get would be seven days but… let me get you one of ours. It has a different chemical concentration.” He disappeared through the door and a few moments later appeared on the other side of the counter. “It’s pretty self-explanatory. Five minutes.”
“Pee and wait?” Liz nodded and slipped the tests into her bag. “Do I owe you?”
“They cost a couple of bucks each. I’ll cover it.” He waved her off. “Don’t be a stranger.”
“Maybe…” Liz started to go but stopped. “Maybe we start having coffee. To talk.”
“I’d like that. How’s the boyfriend going to feel about that? Don’t tell me he won’t have complaints.”
“I plan to have him so worn out that he won’t.” She smiled brightly and bounded out the door.
It’s hard to be doing so well and to have a trigger pulled and to just react to it. Max is perfect. As perfect as a human/alien hybrid can be. And I feel so sorry for him having to have a girlfriend who is less than whole.
Liz sat next to Max on the couch, slipping her hand into his. They could hear Michael and Isabel moving around in the kitchen but their attention was on each other. Liz let Max lift his arm over her head but she didn’t let go, just turned into him so she lay across his lap. In her new position, she could see Isabel cracking her gum from her perch on the counter, watching Michael move around.
Isabel propped a leg up on the counter and shook her head at her boyfriend, cracking her gum louder just to annoy him. Michael’s mouth moved but Liz couldn’t hear what he said, just saw Isabel’s reaction. That reaction was unmistakable. Her eyebrows shot up and her gaze raked him from head to toe. When he moved to pass her, Isabel reached out and pulled him to her, whispering in his ear while she explored his chest with her hands. Liz watched Michael’s face as he absorbed whatever Isabel was telling him. His eyes fluttered closed and Liz shot up off of Max and the couch. She raced down the hall to Max’s room where Ava was examining her test.
“Look at this thing.” She thrust the test into Liz’s face. “It’s supposed to turn pink if it’s positive. It’s supposed to turn blue if it’s negative… what do you see?”
Her earlier thoughts flew out of her head when she registered what Ava was showing her. “Um… Nothing.”
“Right. Right. Nothing. It’s fuckin’ blank.” Ava collapsed onto Max’s bed. “I found that leftover test of Maria’s in there. I took that one, too.”
“What happened?”
“It’s supposed to be Plus sign or Minus sign. I got a blank. What are the chances I’d get two defects from different companies?”
“Pretty slim.” Liz sat in Max’s chair and avoided his eyes when he poked his head into the room. “Kelen said the earliest and best of tests would be most effective at a week… not two days. Maybe they turned blank because there’s nothing there to register.”
“How am I going to avoid Zan for a week?” Ava groaned and rubbed her belly.
“How about you don’t and you tell Zan what’s going on?” Max told the frantic blonde but his advice and his eyes were for the brunette sitting at the desk.
“She has to come to terms with it before she can even tell Zan or else he’s going to get upset and it could be for nothing.” Liz defended her friend’s choice.
“But just… ducking out of the room every time he walks in is going to alert him to a problem. They sleep together. He’s going to know something’s up. He should know.”
“But there might not even be something to know.” Liz picked up the tests and waved them at Max. “There’s nothing on them. She can’t say ‘hey, I’m pregnant’ or ‘hey, I thought I was pregnant but I’m not’. All she has is the thought in her head that could be wrong and upsetting when he doesn’t even need to know because there’s nothing to know yet.”
“Okay. I get that you’re tryin’ to help.” Ava sat up. “But… you’re not even talkin’ to me.” She huffed and grabbed the sticks from Liz. “I’m goin’ home. I have things to think about… and wash your hands, Liz.” She disappeared from the room.
Liz picked at the hem of her skirt. Max sat down on the bed facing her. They stayed silent for ten minutes until Isabel called out that she was leaving. He cleared his throat and tried to get her to look at him without reaching over to lift her face. “What happened?” Silence. “If it’s because I reacted when you laid down… That’s just gonna happen when your next to him.”
“It wasn’t that… I didn’t notice.”
“Are you sure? Michael noticed and he wasn’t laying on my lap.”
“I…” Liz felt her eyes filling with tears. “I… I…”
Liz.” Max pleaded.
“I was watching Michael and Isabel in the kitchen. They were flirting with each other at first and then… they got more intimate.” Liz’s hand covered her knee for a moment without even realizing. “It’s just… the way they looked at each other… for a moment… it wasn’t even a second… I wasn’t looking at them…”
“Liz…” Max sagged and flopped back on the bed, unable to say anything to comfort her.
“It wasn’t you… and it wasn’t really them.” Liz explained, straightening and re-straightening her skirt. “For a half a second… it was them.”
“Does that… happen a lot?”
“It hasn’t happened in a while. A long while.”
“Why all of a sudden?”
“It’s just the way they are together sometimes. I don’t know what you looked like back then or if it has something to do with their human donors but… it’s something they have in common.” She tried to explain. “It’s a mannerism they have when they’re together.” Finally, she lifted her eyes to see how tired Max looked just laying there on the bed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin the night.”
“Nothing’s ruined.” Max shook his head but didn’t open his eyes. “I’ve still got you.”
“I’m… not… in the mood.” Liz winced as the words passed her lips. “I… it hurt to say that.”
“Hurt?” He opened his eyes and propped himself up on his elbows.
“Yeah, because… I really enjoy being with you and… you… you’re just laying there and I know what you look like under those clothes.” Her face flooded with blood, staining her cheeks a bright red. “I want to but… I’m too afraid if I try something right now… with the state of mind I’m in that…”
“I understand. Come here.” He nodded her to the other half of the bed. “I’m probably worn out anyway. We… far exceeded my expectations for this little endeavor.”
“I wouldn’t call it little. I thought I was going to have to start begging.” Liz tried to put the bad moments behind her and crawled onto the bed to lie on her stomach beside him. “I think we… got a lot done this weekend. Did I tell you that I ran into Kyle when I went to the store?”
“Today?”
“Yesterday.”
“Oh?”
“He, um… wanted to know if you needed extra small condoms. He’s fixated on your penis.”
“Kyle Valenti?” Max laughed and shook his head, not knowing where she was going with that line. “Are you sure?”
“He alluded to the extra small condoms, twice. Don’t worry. I defended your honor. I told him that what you had was anything but small.” She stiffened a little when he turned his body into hers but all he did was lay his hand on her back. “I’m just a little.”
“It’s okay. It is okay. I am not with you for sex. Sex is nice. The sex we had yesterday was really nice but what I really like is this girl right here… with her beautiful brown eyes and her long brown hair and her smile that… makes me catch my breath when she turns it on me.” Max leaned in to kiss her nose. “I am so happy just to have you here with me.”
“Why me, Max?”
“What do you mean?”
“Mind you, this was in one of my worse moods… I thought about what if I hadn’t gone to talk to you that day and what if you hadn’t said what you said… would any of that have happened to me?”
“You told me that if you hadn’t come over… you would have gotten shot and… I think I would have been forced to save your life because… Liz…from the first minute I saw you. I was taken.” He brushed her hair out of her face and stroked her back lightly, leaning on his other arm for support. “I don’t know what it was but I stepped off the school bus for the very first time and I saw you playing with Maria and I fell in love.”
“What?” Liz tilted her head at him. “But… We were in the third grade.”
“I know. It just… I saw you and I knew that you were it and… when you broke up with me… I was crushed. I didn’t fight the way you wanted me to because I didn’t know I had the option. I thought my life was over. I have spent so much time getting you back. You have a beautiful soul, Liz. I knew it when I was eight years old without even having spoken to you.”
Sometimes the thing you need is just someone who will listen, even if they don’t understand.
Ava sat on the bed and stared at her feet. Zan was trying to entice her in between the sheets with him. She had managed not to say one word to him in all the two hours she’d been home and she knew he had noticed.
“Hey, what’s goin’ on in that pink head of yours?”
“Thinkin’ bout stuff.” She shrugged. The tests were in her pocket, about two inches from where his hand was touching her hip. Laying back, she rested her head on his stomach.
“What stuff?” He stroked her hair and slid his hand over her flat belly. “You tired?”
“Zan…” Ava took a deep breath and turned her head to look at him. Slowly, she pulled them out of her pocket and showed them to him. “It ain’t nothin’ but…”
He stared and had to take them in his hand to know what they were. “There’s nothin’ on there. That’s good right?”
“Somethin’ is supposed to show up one way or the other. But nothin’s there.”
Just to get things off your chest. My journal is one thing but I know it can’t be a person who will comfort. I just take things one day at a time. Enjoying when I can and loving that I have so many people who care.
TBC