Finished stories that feature the characters from the show, but there are no aliens. All fics completed on the main AU without Aliens board will eventually be moved here.
Nitka 22 was also kind enough to make a banner for me. Thank you!
Title: Down To You
Author: Alysia
Category: Alternate Universe without aliens
Couple(s): M/L, K/T, A/I. There is mention of M/T, but only as something in the past.
Summery: When Liz Parker was younger, she had a massive crush on her older sister’s boyfriend, Max Evans. No matter how close the Parker and Evans family were, Max never looked to her as anything other then his sister’s best friend or his girlfriend’s baby sister. When Tess Parker and Max graduated, they broke up to go to separate colleges. Years later, Max is back and his interest is in Liz.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters familiar to Roswell. As far as I know this my idea and if it is similar to another story out there, I apologize, I had no intention.
Author’s Note: Uh, fair warning...Tess is not a nice person in this story, so this is your warning if you don’t like the creative license I’ve taken with the character. Also, Michael and Maria are not in the story. Sorry!
Prologue
“Morning sunshine,” Liz Parker greeted as she stepped into the kitchen, where her room mate and best friend Isabel Evans sat.
At the sing-song tone of her friend’s voice, Isabel grumbled and shot the petite brunette a withering glare. There was no denying that she was a grump in the morning, but add the massive hang over she had...and she was unbearable. “Whatever.”
At Isabel’s attitude, Liz just giggled. She’d been best friends with the statuesque blonde for years, no amount of grumbling from Isabel could scare her. Pouring a cup of water for her and handing her two pain relievers, she stepped over to Isabel. “Here, drink this.”
After doing as she was told, Isabel watched her friend skip around the kitchen. “You make me sick,” she told her. “How is it that you can drink just as much as me, but never wake up the next morning sick as a dog?” It was the one thing she never understood. Over the years, the two had been out drinking before, but Liz never once woke up sick.
Fixing herself a bowl of cereal, Liz joined her friend. “I don’t know. I’ve never had hang overs. I’ve had the occasional headaches, but even they go away rather easily.”
Ignoring the cereal only inches from her, Isabel strained to look somewhere else for fear that the sight would make her sick all over again. “So...you’re pretty happy today...” she edged wanting to know why...although she already had an idea.
“I suppose I am. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping...what’s not to like?” Liz asked, trying to play down her feelings.
At Liz’s cheery response, one of Isabel’s perfectly arched eyebrows rose in silent question. “Uh, yeah...because the shining sun and noisy birds have always brought you to a near orgasm,” she dead panned.
At the call, Liz’s face turned into an interesting shade of pink. “Izzy...”
“Your good mood wouldn’t have anything to do with the expected arrival of a certain brother of mine would it?” Isabel asked, having enough of Liz’s dodges.
At the mention of Max Evans, a mental picture developed and she bit her bottom lip. “Don’t be ridiculous Isabel,” she denied. “Why should I care that he’s visiting?”
“I don’t know...maybe it has something to do with the major crush you had on him?” Isabel asked, although her voice held more of a point then anything.
Scoffing at the accusation, Liz shook her head in denial. “Uh...that was years ago. I’m not the same awkward teenager that I was back then. I’ve since moved on,” Liz denied. So what if she’d had a crush on the older Evans sibling? That was years ago. She liked to think that she had moved on from that. Besides, despite how much she felt for him, Max had never once thought of her out of the context of being his ‘younger sister’s best friend’ or his ‘girlfriend’s baby sister’.
Isabel smiled sincerely at Liz. “I really hope so,” she replied. She knew that seven years had passed since Liz had seen Max or spoken to him and she knew that people could change...Isabel just didn’t want her friend to get her hopes up.
Liz took the opportunity of a break in their conversation to change topics. “What time does his plane come in?”
“Five. Liz, I uh...sort of told my mom that we would go over early and prepare dinner,” Isabel explained. She had completely forgotten to mention it earlier on in the week.
Liz rolled her eyes at Isabel. She was used to Isabel doing things such as that. It wasn’t the first time she had offered Liz’s services before telling her about it. “Fine. So...we’ll go over at around four.” Isabel nodded. “You should get some more sleep,” Liz advised.
As Isabel made her way back in the direction of the bedrooms, Liz pushed her forgotten cereal away. Despite what she had told her room mate, she couldn’t deny the jump in her heart when she heard about Max’s return. Since hearing the news she had gone over her unexpected anxious feelings. She just wanted to see the man one more time... that was it. After the barbeque that day she was almost sure that her feelings would go back to how they were before.
In all honesty, she didn’t want to be affected by Max’s return. It made her feel all the things she felt when she was fourteen, and she hated feeling that way...even more so now that she was a grown woman. She hated that she was nothing more then ‘squirt’ or ‘teeny’ to him, while he had been so much more to her. She was determined to conquer this feeling. It wasn’t as though she was saving herself for him, but the minute that Dianne Evans had shared her son’s news, all the feelings that Liz once thought were gone were back at full force.
Last edited by LysCat on Mon Oct 30, 2006 10:20 pm, edited 7 times in total.
Walter: "I used this to extract information from a corpse once. You can do that if they've been dead up to six hours."
Peter: "Yeah, cause after six hours they're REALLY dead."
By the late morning, Isabel had recovered from the night before. She and Liz had decided to head to the Evans’ residence earlier then they originally intended. They took the chance to lay out and tan and take a short dip before they began dinner. Fall was beginning to settle in, but the climate around them was still warm. Both decided to take advantage of that fact, because by the time Halloween came around, it would more then likely cool down.
Once Dianne and Phillip Evans left to pick up Max, Isabel had put on an old cd and turned the volume up. Hours later the two young women danced around the kitchen to old songs while they took care of everything that needed to be done.
“You know what would be good with this?” Isabel asks after the song finishes. “Guacamole dip. I’ll run to the store and get some avocados...”
At Isabel’s departure, Liz turned down the music and continued on. The Evans’ were due to return any time and she was sure they wouldn’t enjoy the loud music. Minutes later, she smiled when the garage door sounded. Taking a deep breath, she smoothed out the sarong over her bathing suit bottoms. She couldn’t wait to see Max. Slowly her smile slipped from her face when only Mr. And Mrs. Evans walked into the kitchen, but she made sure to put it in place once again. “Where’s Max?”
“Oh, he was hot after his plane ride...we stopped to let him out in the driveway. He took the back way into the pool,” Dianne explained with a wave of her hand. “Wow, everything looks wonderful. You girls did a good job.”
Liz smiled and blushed. “It was nothing really. Isabel ran to the store to get something. Everything’s almost done. I have deviled eggs and I’m boiling the corn in my recipe...chips and dip are set...”
Dianne nodded. “When will your parents be here dear?”
“In a few minutes,” I offer with a shrug. She spoke to them half an hour earlier. They said they’d be there in twenty, they were ten minutes late.
“Will Tess be with them?” She asks after a minute.
Ah, yes...she’s mentioned. Liz had been wondering when her older and much prettier sister would be brought up. Back before Max had left Roswell, he and Tess were quite a heavy couple. They dated all through high school and at one time even looked into go to the same college. Everyone had been so sure that they would get married...until something happened and Max left the following day after graduation. Even years later, no one but Max and Tess knew that had happened. The Evans and Parkers had tried to get answers out of both, but nothing was offered.
“I don’t think so,” Liz replied after her thoughts. “She and Kyle are still out of town...I believe.” Liz wasn’t too sure. She and Tess had never been close. Back when they were younger, Tess had been rather mean to her, often playing pranks on her. When Liz was a teenager, Tess would tease her and then insult her over her innocent crush on Max. Liz had never really forgiven her sister for that.
“That’s good,” Dianne replied. Her son had returned periodically through the years, every time he and Tess ran into one another, everything became awkward around them.
Refusing to show her anxiety over seeing Max, Liz forced herself to stay in the kitchen and finish preparing the food.
“So where is he?” Isabel demanded as soon as she entered the kitchen. Liz smirked at her.
“Your brother and father are out back,” Dianne answered.
Tossing Liz the bag of avocados, mother and daughter made their way to the back yard. As Liz concentrated on making the guacamole dip, she couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled forth at Isabel’s scream and then the distinct sound of a large splash.
It wasn’t until Dianne finally kicked her out of the kitchen that Liz made her way out back. Placing the large bowl of chips down along with the guacamole, Liz took a seat around the table out back and looked at the scene before her.
Max and Isabel were wrestling in the pool. Max, most definitely dominating the situation. Liz took the opportunity to gaze at him, looking for all changes since his departure. There were current pictures up of him around the house, but Liz hadn’t seen him since he left Roswell after graduation. Whenever he returned home for school holidays, Liz was always away and vice versa. She nibbled on her bottom lip. He was without argument a fine man. His body had only filled out more since he was eighteen, his muscles more prominent. He still had the same expressive eyes and playful smile that she always found so endearing.
Deciding not to interrupt the siblings, Liz grabbed a drink from the cooler a few away. Sitting back down, she pushed her sun glasses down from their position on her head and she leaned settled into the cushioned chair, her eyes closing.
Liz hadn’t been so sure how long she stayed in her position before a felt a shadow stand in her sun. Liz opened her eyes only to find a very wet and oh so attractive Max standing before her.
“You must be one of Isabel’s friends,” Max said as he leaned down to grab a chip. “Max Evans,” he introduced holding out his hand.
Liz brought her hand up to shake it. “Yeah...I know who you are.”
At her words, Max raised his eye brows in question. It had taken a few minutes, but when he’d seen the small woman sitting on his parent’s patio, his interest was heightened. Who was the shapely woman who’s skin looked to have been kissed by the sun? After Isabel finally managed to get away from him and lay out, he made his way to the tempting young woman. The sweet voice that greeted him made him pause. Her voice was vaguely familiar, he just...couldn’t place it. “Do I know you?”
“I would think so,” Liz replied, pushing her glasses up so Max could finally see her eyes.
“Teeny!?” Max exclaimed. His eyes widened as he looked at the grown woman. He couldn’t believe it! Back when she was still fourteen, she was nothing more then a straight board. “Wow, you’ve...” Max trailed off as his eyes once again traveled the length of her body. “Grown,” he finished lamely.
Sitting forward, Liz pulled herself up stand in front of him, smirking a little at the way his eyes continued to venture downwards. “So I have...” she allowed. “Surely such changes have made allowances so that you will finally refer to me by my name?” She asked. Being called that name when she was younger...as much as she hated it, she understood it. Years later, hearing the name once again falling from Max’s lips was a blow to her.
Max smiled at her words. “Not a chance,” he denied. “To me, you’ll always be ‘Teeny’.”
Liz’s smile dimmed at his words, but she forced it back on before Max noticed anything. “Really? Because uh...” she took the chance to look down at her body, “I’m really not that tiny anymore.” When she chanced a look up, she noticed that his eyes had followed her own gaze down her body, a triumphant smirk graced her features.
“No, I guess you’re not,” he allowed, his voice having taken on a tone that Liz had never once heard from him before.
“Well,” Liz said as she cleared her throat, “this heat is really getting to me.” Moving her hands to the knot on her sarong, Liz began untying it. “I think I’ll go for a swim.” As she tossed her sarong down, Liz smiled back up at him. “Would you like to join me?” Max didn’t say anything, but the negative shake of his head was enough. “Okay, then maybe another time.” She felt her eyes upon him after her departure, she made sure that her hips were swaying a little more forceful then usual.
Stepping into the cool water, she swam over to where Isabel was perched. “You are so bad girl...don’t think I didn’t see the flirting,” Isabel said as she looked down at her friend.
“There was no flirting,” Liz denied easily. “I just wanted to make sure that he saw me as the woman I am now and not some stuttering teenager,” Liz explained. That really had been her only intention towards Max.
Isabel smirked at her friend’s pinkened cheeks. “Well, I think you made your point,” she replied. She’d seen the way that her brother’s eyes followed Liz when she walked away from him. “Just promise me, that it stops here,” Isabel coaxed. The last thing Liz needed was to be involved with her brother. Not only was he Tess’ ex-boyfriend, she didn’t know the way that Max had changed over the years.
“Don’t worry Isabel, I won’t.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“So Max, how long do you plan on staying?” Jeff Parker asked as everyone sat down for dinner. He and Nancy had been pleased to see him. While they were still unclear about what had taken place between Max and their older daughter, they had been given the impression that Tess had been at fault.
“Actually, I’ve been toying with the idea about moving back to Roswell,” he answered after a pause. As expected his mother and sister jumped up and ran to him.
“Oh that’s wonderful Max,” Dianne replied. “I’ve missed you so much while you were away.”
When their mother pulled away, Isabel hugged him. “Really?”
Max nodded in answer. “Yeah.”
“And your business partner is...okay with this?” Phillip asked referring to his son’s friend. The two had met in college and after graduating decided that they would go into business together. While he was excited at the prospect of Max returning home, he wanted to make sure that everything would work out.
Max nodded. “Alex has...we’ve decided that we needed to get away from city life. I’ll be returning to Boston to gather my things, but the next time I return, Alex will be with me.”
At the mention of someone else, Liz grew confused. “Who’s Alex?” She asked in a whispered tone to Isabel.
“Max’s old friend from college. They went into business together,” she answered just as softly as everyone around them continued to talk. “I’ve met him once, he seems nice enough...”
Through the rest of dinner, Liz kept to herself, not wanting to interrupt the adults from their conversation. Once everyone finished eating, Liz grabbed their plates to take them inside. She knew that they were anxious to spend some time with Max, and she knew that the Evans’ probably wouldn’t get to cleaning until later that night. Once inside the kitchen, she began cleaning up.
“You know you don’t have to do that,” Max voiced a few minutes later. He’d waited for Liz to return to the table out back, but when she didn’t, he grew curious. “My mom and sister would have gotten around to it.”
Liz shrugged her shoulders, not bother to turn around. “They wanted to spend some time with you, besides...I don’t mind.” The next thing she knew, Max was sitting on the freshly cleaned counter space right next to the sink. “You know...the fact that you’re in here kind of null and voids my reason for cleaning...”
“So then stop,” Max replied with a shrug of his shoulders. Liz ignored his words and continued cleaning. “So...seeing you today was a shock...”
Liz paused in her actions. She looked up to her companion. “Oh?”
“I never expected you to be...so...grown up,” he confessed.
Liz smirked at his words. “It’s been known to happen before,” she replied.
Max rolled his eyes at her. “I know that, but you used to be this...little girl who would follow me around wherever I went. You were like a little sister to me...”
“And now?” Liz asked, wondering why he trailed off.
With a flush on his face, Max scratched behind his ear. “Uh, I’m definitely not thinking about you in a brotherly way,” he confessed. He really didn’t understand it. Years ago, Liz had been nothing more then a little girl. He knew that she had a crush on him, and he was humbled over the way she felt for him. Never once did he think that when she grew up he would be aroused by the sight of her.
Turning off the water, Liz turned to Max as she stepped closer. Everything else be damned, she wanted to know exactly what he thought. “Oh? And what way are you thinking about me now?”
Hearing the saucy tone in her voice, Max smirked down at Liz. “Are you flirting with me?”
Liz paused the inquiry. Never before had she been so forward with a guy. She hoped that she wasn’t being very strong. “Just an honest question...”
Max nodded at her. “I think that I want to spend some more time with you,” he finally answered, rather vaguely. Oh he wanted to spend more time with her alright.
Liz’s cheeks flamed at his pointed words. She bit her bottom lip, trying not to smile at the mental picture that entered her thoughts. “Such open words...what happened to the shy guy that I once knew?” Seeing the way that his mood seemed to lesson, Liz regretted asking the question.
“I just grew up. I had more practice talking to girls...” he trailed off, still trying to keep things light.
At the mention of other girls, Liz frowned. “Just how many other girls are you talking about?”
With one brow arched, Max smirked. “Jealous?”
Liz laughed off the accusation. “Not in the least. And your answer is...?”
“A few,” was all that was offered.
“Meaning?”
“What do you think Liz? I went to college away from home, away from any influence of my family or friends. Of course there were women.”
Why was he being so vague about answering? Unless there were just so many over the years...at the thought, a disgust settled over Liz. “You didn’t turn into a male slut did you?”
“Male slut?”
“You know...a guy who just goes off and has sex with meaningless women...” she hoped not. She didn’t understand how people could live their like that, she always felt that sex was supposed to mean something. It was always a shame when such a precious act was cheapened.
Max frowned over at Liz. What was she trying to say? “Well...” he ran a hand through his hair.
At his reaction, Liz smiled sadly. No wonder why Isabel warned her against Max, he had changed over the years. She was expecting to find him more mature...maybe a little different, but this? Before he left Roswell, he never would have acted like that.
“So...you want to go out sometime?” Max asked after a pregnant pause.
Liz shook her head. “I don’t think so.” He was just...not what she had always dreamed he would be. He had seemingly embodied traits that she found oh so unattractive.
Walter: "I used this to extract information from a corpse once. You can do that if they've been dead up to six hours."
Peter: "Yeah, cause after six hours they're REALLY dead."
Isabel relished in having her brother back in Roswell. He’d already returned to Boston to pack up the rest of his things and then arrived back with Alex just days earlier. She’d been a little worried over Liz’s behavior and the possibility that she would chase after Max. It wasn’t as though she thought that Liz wasn’t good enough, she just didn’t want her friend to get hurt.
It was her father’s birthday that day and the families had decided to have a barbeque at the park. Currently, most of the men were playing football as a partner from her father’s firm manned the grill. “So...I see that you’re over my brother...” Isabel trailed off as she and Liz watched the game.
Letting out a snort, Liz shook her head. “I keep telling you that I have been over him.” In the time since she had last seen Max, she had finally gotten him off her mind. She had come to terms with his changed personality, but she still felt as though she had lost a chance with that really great side of him.
“Yeah...sure.”
“Isabel...” Liz warned, not wanting to put up with the blonde’s observations.
Seeing that Liz was out of patience, Isabel held her hands up in surrender. “I’m just wondering where this...feeling came from.”
Liz smiled sadly. “I just...he’s so different. I mean, from how he used to be. I don’t know,” her gaze focused on Max, “the way he is when it comes to sex, it’s like Tess broke him.” Again, she felt as though a side of Max was taken away from her before she even had the chance to get to know him better.
“Liz...”
“No, it’s fine. It took me a while, but you don’t have to worry about me going after your brother.”
Isabel cast a glance out at the park where the boys were playing. She frowned when her brother’s gaze wandered over to Liz.
“I’m going to go help get the food ready,” Liz excused after a pause.
“Max seems to have taken an interest in Liz...” at the familiar sound of her mother’s voice, Isabel turned to find her mother and Nancy not far from them.
“Nooo!” Nancy denied vehemently. “Max and Liz? He never paid her any mind. Besides, they would never do that to Tess.”
Isabel watched as Dianne nodded her head along with Nancy. “I’m sure you’re right. It must just be the shock of change.”
“What else could it be? Liz was always a late bloomer. He never had a chance to see how she changed. Maybe when he sees Tess he’ll forget all about Liz?”
Isabel rolled her eyes. Their parents better not be plotting to get Max and Tess back together! Isabel still wasn’t sure what had taken place between her brother and his ex-girlfriend all those years ago, but she was sure that Tess was the cause of their break up.
“Nancy, are you planning on a reunion between the two of them?” Dianne inquired.
“Wishful thinking,” the red head amended.
“Tess and the sheriff’s boy not working out?”
“Oh, no...they are,” Mrs. Parker replied. “I just think that Tess can do better then Kyle Valenti. I mean it’s been years. Maybe Max and Tess can put the past behind them and begin again?”
Isabel took the liberty of approaching her mother and Nancy. “I wouldn’t count on it Mrs. Parker,” she denied. “What’s done is done...no length of time can change it.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“And she finally makes and appearance...” Liz trailed off with a roll of her eyes. When her announcement caught the attention of the others that she was sitting with, they all followed her line of sight.
“Making her grand entrance as usual,” Isabel tailed on as she cast a quick glance at her brother. She wasn’t sure to be concerned or happy about the blank expression he wore.
“Who?” Alex asked.
“That’s my sister Tess,” Liz answered as she too looked to Max. She hoped that this wouldn’t ruin his day. She watched as her parents and the Evans’ greeted Tess with hugs. A frown marred her face as Tess turned in their direction. “Here we go.”
“Hi Liz. You look...pretty, today.”
Liz rolled her eyes at her sister’s pathetic attempt of civility. “Tess...” She looked behind her sister to Kyle and offered him a sincere smile. She liked Kyle. He was a good guy, and was obviously in love with her sister. She wouldn’t hold any hard feelings against him for that one down fall. “Hi Kyle.”
“Hey Liz...” Kyle leaned over and hugged her briefly. Liz responded, all the while watching the interaction between Tess and Max.
“Max...you’re back.”
“Yup.”
Tess stepped forward and hugged him. Off to the side, Liz stiffened. Just who did her sister think she was? Did Max really want her hanging on him? And...did she just...she did! She pressed herself more firmly against him...and in front of Kyle? “So...have you two eaten yet?” Liz asked, breaking the moment between Max and Tess.
Kyle shook his head. “No, I’m starving.”
Liz pointed him in the direction of the table over flowing with food. “Tess? Will you be eating as well?”
Pulling back from Max, Tess just shrugged her shoulders. “I might just have a salad,” she said pointedly, staring at Liz’s very full plate. “You aren’t really going to eat that, are you?”
“Yeah...I am,” Liz answered with a forced smile. “Who knows...I might even top it off with cake and ice cream...”
“You really should start watching what you eat Liz,” Tess warned. “One day it’s all going to catch up to you...and we wouldn’t want that to happen now would we?”
Before Liz could open her mouth to answer, someone broke in. “I think that Liz looks beautiful.” Both Parker sisters looked to Max in surprise. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a woman who has an appetite. It’s nice change to those who stick to salad and water.”
Tess simply arched her eyebrows before walking away in a huff.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“I thought you said that I didn’t have to worry about you going after my brother?” Isabel asked into the phone.
On the other side of the receiver, Liz rolled her eyes as she looked to her companion in the driver seat next to her. “You don’t. I didn’t go after him.”
“Yet you guys are going on a date?”
“It’s not a date Isabel. We’re carving pumpkins...hardly date worthy,” Liz scoffed. She didn’t even want to do this with Max, but he had practically begged her to come along. In the end, she didn’t have the heart to say no.
“Liizzz,” Isabel whined. “You know what a dog my brother is.”
Up until that point, Max was doing his best to ignore the phone conversation, but having heard his sister’s last statement, he couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Hey!”
“Tell him to get over it, that’s exactly what he is,” Isabel retorted in a softer voice.
“Isabel said that’s exactly what you are so get over it,” Liz relayed. “Isabel, I don’t need a lecture on this. I’m a big girl, I can handle myself.” With that last comment, Liz hung up the phone just as they pulled up to the pumpkin patch.
“So...what qualities are you looking for?” Max asked as they emerged from the car. Liz moved to the cashier’s make shift desk and grabbed a red wagon. At his question, she paused in her movement.
“Uh...what?”
Max rolled his eyes. “In a pumpkin....what qualities are you looking for in a pumpkin?” Although he couldn’t deny his interest in her wanting to know her qualities in a partner.
“Oh. Uh, big...round...” She turned around from him when she realized what she said and how it sounded.
Behind her, Max smirked. As far as he was concerned, he fit those qualities. “Big and round huh? Anything else?” He teased.
Liz blushed as she concentrated on the pumpkins with keen interest. Clearing her throat she looked to her companion. “So...any significant relationships in college?” She only agreed to let Max accompany her under the guise of friendship...and friends talked about those sorts of things right?
“A few I guess,” Max shared as he pointed out a pumpkin for her final inspection. “You?”
“Ooh, that’s a good one,” she voiced as Max moved to place it in the wagon. “Two.” Liz moved down that row not deeming any satisfactory. She moved to the next row over. “Names?”
“Courtney, Laurie, Krystal, Amber and Sylvia.”
“Hey,” Liz pointed to another pumpkin. “What do you think?”
“Pretty good,” Max nodded.
Liz placed it in the wagon as she continued to look through the rows.
Across the way from her, Max waited for her to offer up names. When no other words came forth, he crossed his arms over his chest and cleared his throat.
“What?” Liz asked as she cast him a glance.
“Your guys...did they have names?” He wondered.
“‘Course they had names,” she replied as she moved further on down the row. She found another pumpkin, she went to move t in the wagon, but noticed that Max was still in his former position, the wagon right beside him. “What?”
Grudgingly, Max moved towards her. “We had this nice little sharing thing going on and then you just stopped,” he pointed out. “What were their names?”
Liz placed the pumpkin on top of the other two before she turned to Max. “Fine, I’ll tell you...but you have to promise not to laugh.”
“Scout’s honor,” he offered.
“Fine. The first one was Nicholas Snodgrass and then there was Billy Heflemburger.” Liz looked to Max and narrowed her eyes immediately when she saw the corners of his lips quivering. “What?”
“Nothing...I’m just wondering where you met these guys? Was it by any chance at a support group for people with terribly bad names?”
“Yeah...laugh it up Evans. You know, Chinese people would find your name weird,” Liz defended weakly.
Max finally let out the chuckle that had been building. “Yeah, because that’s the same...”
“I thought you said you weren’t going to laugh...scout’s honor...remember?”
Max shrugged his shoulders. “Sorry, I was never a scout. Besides, it’s just too damn funny.” At her uninterested look, Max sobered up some what. “How many pumpkins are we looking at here?”
Thinking about it for a moment, Liz pursed her lips together. “I think four or five should be good.”
Max nodded as he turned back to the pumpkin patch. Walking along, he found a very nice sized one. It was larger then the other ones surrounding it and was very round. Picking it up, he grunted at the heavy weight.
“Max? Maybe you should get another wagon...” Liz voiced, worried that he would strain himself.
“No,” he grunted. “I’m good. Let’s go.”
“Are you sure?” Liz asked, worried about the strain.
Max nodded. “Yeah, why don’t you walk ahead of me?”
Liz denied the offer. “No. I think I’ll walk behind you...you know...take delight in your pain...”
Walter: "I used this to extract information from a corpse once. You can do that if they've been dead up to six hours."
Peter: "Yeah, cause after six hours they're REALLY dead."
Before opening her door, Liz made a mental check list as she went over her home in her head. She hoped that she hadn’t left anything out. A small mess was one thing, but she hadn’t anticipated someone returning home with her, let alone Max. Hoping for the final time that she put away all her under garments, she let him in, closing the door behind her.
As Max stepped in, he took in the decorations. “Nice place,” he muttered. It was a far cry from the way he decorated his place. Noticing a china closet, he smirked. He would put money on it that Isabel was behind most, if not all of the decoration.
Liz shrugged. “We like it,” she offered easily enough. Isabel had always been very creative when it came to home decor. She was just thankful that her room mate had never gone overboard. “I think we should do this in the kitchen...you know, minimizes the clean up factor. Your sister would kill me if I smashed pumpkin guts in the carpet.”
Following her into the kitchen, his eyebrows shot up at the sight of various kits and excess news paper. As they settled down at the table across from one another, he made sure to gather her attention before waggling his eyebrows. “So...are you always so prepared?”
At the inquiry, Liz threw her head back and laughed. He just didn’t give up! “How come I’m getting the feeling that you aren’t just talking about jack-o-lanterns?”
“Just an observation...” Max brushed off.
Picking up the playful banter, Liz smirked at him. “Are you ready to get your hands on something big and round?” When Max only nodded in answer, she placed a pumpkin in front of him before grabbing one for herself.
“Oh...oh, you were talking about pumpkins...” he played off easily enough. “Too bad.”
Laughing once again, Liz just shook her head. “Will you stop it?”
“Stop what?”
“Making those comments. I’m trying to keep things at a PG level and you’re trying to blow that all to hell,” she answered.
“There’s nothing wrong with a little NC-17,” Max replied quickly.
Snorting, Liz shook her head in denial. “There is when this isn’t a date,” she reminded him.
Seeing that he wasn’t getting anywhere with his current behavior, Max nodded and decided to tone it down a bit. “Okay, I’ll stop.”
As Liz concentrated down on the various designs, she said a thanks. Though part of her were let down at the fact that he let things go so easily. “Here...I think the face should be easy enough for you,” she observed, tossing the packet at him.
“The face?” Max asked, making a face at the packet before him. “Uh...I think I could handle something a little more difficult then this.”
“Oh...are you sure about that? I mean...there’s nothing wrong with being a little out of practice,” she goaded.
Tossing the carving kit back with the others, he met her gaze defiantly. “Hey! I used to be able to carve a pretty mean pumpkin. Sure, I haven’t done it in a while, but I’m sure I can handle it.” Picking out a slightly more difficult pattern, he showed it to her. “It’s like riding a bicycle...you never forget how to.”
Burrowing her brows at the analogy, she shook her head. “I thought that was sex?”
“Sex...carving pumpkins...same thing.”
Liz laughed once again. “Yeah, because I always compare those two.”
“The point is, whatever you can do...I can do better. I bet you that my pumpkin will out shine your puny one.”
“Bet?” If he wanted to bet with her, then that was fine with her. “I hope you’re prepared to lose...better find something to sooth your bruised ego.”
Max rolled his eyes. “So...it’s a deal right?”
Offering her hand over to seal the deal, she waited for him to shake it. What she hadn’t planned on was his thumb stroking her skin just the tiniest bit. “What do we get if we win?”
Oh, he had an idea, he just hoped that she wouldn’t shoot it right down. “Uh, we go on a date.”
At the mention of the word ‘date’, Liz’s lips twitched in amusement. “O...kay?”
“If I win, which I will, I get to pick what we do.”
He was awfully sure of himself. “And if I win?”
“You get to pick our date...”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Casting a glance at Max over her pumpkin, Liz smiled. He was so cute. His tongue was sticking out as he concentrated on carving out his shape. A companionable silence at settled between them minutes earlier. Turning back to her pumpkin, she did a once over of her nearly completed jack-o-lantern.
Liz narrowed her eyes at the bragging tone of his voice. At Max’s question, a triumphant smile took place on her face. “Done.” She watched in satisfaction as his smile slid off his face.
“All ready?”
Liz shrugged. “I just have more practice then you. There’s nothing wrong in needing a little more time. Besides, it’s not like we set a time limit here or anything.”
“Well, let me see it.”
“No. You’ll just see how to improve yours. I think I’ll wait,” she denied. Turning her attention back to her creation, she missed the playful glare of his stare as he scooped up small handful of pumpkin guts before tossing it in her direction. The last thing she expected was a glob of sticky and slimy goo to land on her shoulder. Crying out indignantly, she immediately looked up at her kitchen mate. Seeing the terrible way he tried to conceal his mirth, her eyes narrowed. Grabbing her own handful, she chucked it at him, completely missing his frame.
As the handful slapped against the wall behind him and then fell unceremoniously to the floor, Max took delight. He was sure that when he started it, he wouldn’t have to worry about her retaliating. Teeny always did have a sucky aim.
“Well, I can see your aim hasn’t improved.”
Taking advantage when he became distracted, she launched another handful at him, hitting him square in his face. Liz laughed in delight.
Max recovered quickly, rounding on her he stalking in her direction. “Ooh, I will so be getting you back.”
“Hey! You started this,” Liz reminded him as she held another hand full for protection.
“But I didn’t get you in the face!”
Liz rolled her eyes at his whining. “Yeah, because my hair is a better alternative,” she mocked. As another load of guts was thrown in her direction, Liz dodged it. As it landing against the wall of the hallway, she turned back to him with wide eyes. “Isabel’s gonna kill you...” she trailed off as she moved further into the kitchen to avoid making messes anywhere else in the apartment.
“She’ll get over it,” he brushed off as he advanced on Liz.
Walking backwards, she stopped as she hit the counter. “Max...come on,” she pleaded. “Enough’s enough. We should really stop.”
Smirking down at her, Max towered above her. “Look who’s at my mercy,” he taunted as he rubbed his gooey hands down her arms.
Liz shuddered at the combination of the cool sensation mixed with his touch. “Max...”
“You are so beautiful,” he breathed out, not bothering to remove his hands from her.
A small blush tainted her cheeks at the seriousness of his words. Her heart began to pound as she felt butterflies in her stomach. “Even when I’m covered in all this goo?”
Forgetting theat his hands were still slimy, he cupped her cheeks. “Specially when you’re covered in goo,” he clarified.
He was going to kiss her, of that much she was sure. She’d been fighting against her attraction, fighting her feelings, but she couldn’t do it anymore. More importantly, she didn’t want to.
Leaning forward, Max made his intentions clear. He muzzled his face against the crook of her neck, giving Liz plenty of time to pull away if she wanted to.
Closing her eyes at the sensations he was evoking, Liz moved her head to the side to allow him more access. “This is going to be a problem isn’t it?”
At her question, some of the fog cleared away from his thoughts. “Is this bad?” He asked, looking to her brown orbs for any sign that she was uncomfortable.
“No...well, what about everyone else?” As much as she wanted to say ‘screw ‘em’, she knew that they couldn’t. Max had a past with Tess, and she was almost positive that this new development would cause trouble.
“Do you not want this?” Once the words were uttered, he wished that he could take them back. He didn’t want anything to mess things up. He wasn’t sure what this would turn into to, but he knew it was a beginning.
Not want to do this? It was as if he spoke in a foreign language. She couldn’t remember ever wanting anything so much as she did him. She just couldn’t place everyone else behind them. Despite how indifferent she felt towards Tess, she felt as though she was betraying her sister. “I don’t know...”
As if sensing the cause of her inner turmoil, Max shook his head. “Forget about everyone else,” he soothed. “This is just about the two of us. Do you want to start something up or not?”
With minimal movement, she nodded her acknowledgment. “Yes.”
Closing his eyes in relief, Max nodded. “Then we’ll worry about everyone else later,” he promised leaning down to capture her lips.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After trading a few long, deep kisses, the couple went about picking up the leftovers from their pumpkin fight. Once they were finished, the winner of the makeshift carving contest was determined. Liz won, victoriously after her not so subtle ‘what the hell is that?’ comment when face to face with Max’s jack-o-lantern.
“Hmmm, this is nice,” Liz breathed out in a contented sigh as she closed her eyes. Once the two finished in the kitchen, they moved to the couch where they traded off between cuddling and kissing.
Looking down at the woman plastered against his side, a once familiar feeling tugged at his chest before he pulled her closer against him. “Yeah. It is.”
Opening her eyes, Liz stared at his profile. She was glad that she had thrown caution to the wind and just gone for it with him. Aside from her first preconceived notions about him after their brief conversation at his house that first night, she was looking forward to getting to know the person he had become.
“What are you thinking about?” Max asked.
Nibbling on her bottom lip, Liz tried to come up with an explanation. Hoping that she wouldn’t muck up her words and offend him.
Seeing her actions, Max sighed wearily. He was going to like this was he? “Well, this can’t be good. You’re biting your lip and you only do that when you’re nervous or worried,” he observed. It was an action that she had been doing since early teen hood. Thinking back on it, he never even realized that he understood or noticed the trait.
“It’s not too bad...at least, I don’t think it is,” Liz placated, trying to alleviate his growing worry. “It’s just...does this seem weird to you?”
“What? This development?” He asked for clarification. Honestly, there was a feeling of rightness to their situation that had been missing from his life for so long.
“No, not the development. I mean you were like this with my sister at one point...and if things go well with us, you’ll have been with the both of us intimately...”
“I’m not in love with Tess,” Max replied quickly, not exactly seeing the point she was trying to make. Was Liz worried that this was some bad attempt to replace the blonde? There were still things between himself and Tess that Liz needed to know, but he wasn’t about to open up right then and there. No, he’d tell her eventually, but not right now.
“I know you aren’t. I would have never agreed to this if I for one second thought you were,” she shared. “It’s just, are we inviting like this...Greek tragedy into our lives?”
At her honest question, Max’s eyes widened as laughter bubbled forth in his chest. That was what she was concerned over?
Her own lips twitched upon seeing his amusement at the situation, but she couldn’t let the idea go. “I’m serious Max.”
“Neither of us is blind, how could it be a tragedy?” He asked after calming down.
Liz leaned further back in the couch. “Say what you will, but our parents are not going to take this well. Call me crazy, but I don’t think they would actually mind if you and Tess were to find yourselves back together. And what about Tess? Have you even thought about how she’s gonna react?” Liz almost shuddered at the thought.
“Fuck Tess.” It was the truest feeling he had about this. He didn’t care how she reacted to their relationship. He stopped caring about her feelings long ago. “As for our parents, there may be an awkward period of adjustment, but in the end...it’ll all work out.”
She wanted to believe his words, she truly did. She just didn’t think it would be as easy as Max made it sound. “All the same, I think we should keep things quiet for now.”
“If that’s what you want...” Max would gladly agree to any demand so long as she stayed where she was.
*AN: Don't forget to stop by and see the banner that Zanity made for me!
Last edited by LysCat on Fri Oct 27, 2006 11:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Walter: "I used this to extract information from a corpse once. You can do that if they've been dead up to six hours."
Peter: "Yeah, cause after six hours they're REALLY dead."
Looking over the fancy restaurant, Liz’s eyes continued to stray towards the door, hoping for Max’s appearance. Her nerves were shot and the only thing that would calm her down was Max. Apparently her mother was more insistent on getting Max and Tess back together, this time Tess had joined her way of thinking.
Thinking back to the brief moment she shared with her sister in the bathroom, it was enough to make her worry.
You can’t really be serious on joining mom on this,” Liz observed as she stared at her sister’s reflection in the mirror.
Tess continued to primp herself. “Why not?”
Liz made a face at her sister. “Why not?” She asked back. “What about that little thing called Kyle?”
At the mention of her boyfriend, Tess simply shrugged. “Kyle’s okay. We have a lot in common and we get on together, but Max...don’t you realize how rich he’s going to be?”
“So you’d be willing to dump your boyfriend, the one that would do just about anything for you just because your ex is back in town and now has money?” Liz asked, her level of disgust for her sister rising. She paused when her sister tossed her a ‘duh’ look. “And what if Max won’t take you back?” Surely Tess wasn’t was oblivious as most people thought she was?
“Max not take me back?” Tess asked, as though it was an odd idea. “Max was in love with me for years. He’ll take me back. We had something special, it doesn’t just die.”
“And...if he’s moved on?”
Tess finally looked at Liz. “Uh, as far as I know, the only woman he’s spent time with is you, and it’s not exactly as if that matters. Though, if he has moved on, then that won’t matter either. I always get what I want.”
It wasn’t as though she feared that Max would actually fall for Tess, she just knew that her sister would try very hard to get what she wanted.
“Hey, you okay?” At Isabel’s inquiry, Liz tried to offer a smile, wishing now more then ever that she had decided to tell Isabel about Max.
Liz shrugged, not feeling up for a performance. “My sister has decided to join forces with my mother.” She knew that she wouldn’t need to say anymore then that for Isabel to understand.
At the news, Isabel’s eyes widened before they narrowed, settling across upon Tess. “How dare she? She better not touch my brother.”
Silently, Liz had similar ideas. “I need a drink,” Liz added. “Call me when your brother gets here.” Taking a seat at the bar, Liz ordered a drink as she moved to get more comfortable. She was no where near anxious enough to return back to the others.
Where did her mother and sister get off thinking that they could manipulate the people around them? Tess specially, she should know that Max wasn’t anywhere near forgiveness when it came to her. Aside from that, she had a perfectly wonderful man in Kyle. Liz never understood how her sister managed to land two perfect men. Max and Kyle were both polite and caring, and everything good wrapped up into one person. She’d successfully managed to ruin Max, Liz just hoped that if Tess were going to go for this that Kyle would get out unscathed. So lost in her thoughts was she, she didn’t notice the minutes that passed.
“Getting drunk over here?”
At Max’s deep voice, Liz swivelled around in her seat, an instant smile kissing her lips. “Not drunk, it’s just a crutch,” she excused.
Stepping in closer, Max leaned down and captured her lips. He smiled against her lips when he felt her melt against him. He would never tire of kissing her.
Forcing herself to pull away, Liz winked at him before she noticed Alex standing a few feet away. “Oh...Alex...”
“I told him about us,” Max offered up. “I couldn’t hold it in, I needed to tell someone.”
“Uh...my sister’s after you,” she mentioned after a pregnant pause.
Max’s only response was a nod.
“And you’re okay with this?”
“No, but Isabel called me and warned me. I came directly over here once I arrived.” Leaning down, he stared into her doe brown eyes. “You know that there’s nothing to worry about...right?”
“I know, it’s just...unnerving is all. I mean you know how Tess can be...” Liz trailed off. “Maybe we should tell them?”
Her offer was a surprise to him. In the last week, he had tried various times to talk her into opening up, but he was never successful in his attempt. “Are you sure you want to?”
“No. I mean this wasn’t how I planned on telling everyone, but...at least it would stop things...right?”
Max couldn’t deny the fact that he was eager over the prospect of opening up. He wanted everyone to know about them, but he could wait however long she needed. “Whatever you want to do Liz...”
Mulling over the decision for a moment, Liz just shrugged. She didn’t know. “How about we play it by ear?”
“Okay.” Looking over his shoulder in the direction of the restaurant, he looked for their families. “We should probably head over...”
“Probably.” Taking baby steps, Liz moved closer to Alex when Max offered to take care of her tab. The two practical strangers exchanged an easy conversation until Max arrived. As she felt her boyfriend’s body flush against her back, Liz pushed against him. “Hmmm, is that a ray gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” She purred, feeling a certain part of his anatomy swell to life.
“Can you blame me?” Max asked back, not at all embarrassed that she knew just how he felt. “You look absolutely gorgeous tonight.”
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” she replied. As they emerged into the main room of the restaurant, the three stopped. “This is going to be a long night isn’t it?”
“Max! There you are!” Tess exclaimed across the room.
Grudgingly, Max and Liz separated. Rolling his eyes in Tess direction, Max nodded his head. “Yeah, it is,” he answered, referring to her question.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As far as she was concerned, dinner was a complete disaster. As soon as they approached the table, Max was whisked off by her mother and Tess. He was now conveniently sitting between the two. Conversations weren’t lacking around the table. Jeff and Phillip spoke of business while Tess tried to keep Max’s attention focused on her. Liz would have gone out of her mind if Alex and Isabel weren’t there to keep her company.
Across the table, Max’s features showed just how miserable he was by Tess’ incessant conversation. Their eyes met every so often and Liz could only smile sadly at him. He’d tried a few times to join in the conversation she was having with Isabel and Alex, but it wouldn’t last long before Tess demanded his attention once again. He’d even tried to start a conversation with Liz, but whenever she would begin speaking, Tess would only interrupt her and turn the conversation around on her.
It was that last attempt that had finally worn on Liz’s last nerve. Grabbing her cloth napkin, she brought it up to her mouth in the guise of wiping it. “Apparently, I’m not allowed to talk tonight,” she grumbled.
Alex and Isabel, after hearing the comment both collapsed in a fit of delightful laughter.
“So, Max...Tessa and I were talking earlier,” Nancy began slowly. Suddenly, all around the table, all conversation stopped. “Wouldn’t it be a wonderful idea for the two of you to go on a date? Catch up?”
With a ‘deer-caught-in headlights’ look, Max swiftly noticed that everyone around the table was waiting on his response. He wanted nothing more then to tell them about Liz in that moment, but he promised her he would go along with whatever she decided. Wisely, he avoided looking in her direction, afraid that he might crack. “Uh...I’m sorry Tess, but aren’t you dating Kyle?”
At the mention of Kyle, Tess used her hand as if brushing the thought away. “Yes, but we never really declared that we were exclusive or anything,” she wove, trying to find a way to answer the question without sounding too horrible.
Inwardly, Max rolled his eyes at her pathetic attempt. How she would be willing to jeopardize her relationship all for a slim chance...he would never understand her. “I’m sorry Nancy, but I’m dating someone at the moment.”
“Oh. I’m sorry Max,” Nancy apologized sincerely. “I had no idea that you were seeing anyone. If I had, I would have never suggested...”
Max nodded at her. He knew Nancy was only trying to help.
Dianne, on the other hand, was not so easy to appease. “What do you mean you’re dating someone? How long? How come you haven’t told me? How come I wasn’t aware that there was at least someone you were interested in?” When Max went away for school, she missed out on all that stuff. Back at home, Tess was really his first girlfriend, and they had been together for years. She missed being his confidant.
“It’s a recent development mom. We didn’t want to say anything until we were sure that this was going to work out,” he answered with an indifferent shrug.
“So she’s in Roswell then?” Phillip broke in, curious about the young woman who seemed to have captured his son’s interest. Unlike his wife, Phillip knew exactly what Max had been up to when he was gone. He knew about the numerous women his son had casually dated. He honestly didn’t think that Max was quite over that stage yet, but he was glad to learn that he was. Something told him that this one was special compared to the others.
With the group’s focus still on Max, Liz was able to slip away out of her chair unnoticed. Even as she hesitantly walked around the table to join Max, no one really paid attention.
“Well,” Dianne smiled. “I think this is wonderful Max.” She had become so worried for her son after his relationship with Tess. She had been told bits and pieces over the years about her son’s dating habits, but she also learned that there wasn’t really anything worth mentioning. “May we ask about her identity?”
Helplessly, Max looked across the table for Liz. He frowned when he found her seat vacant. “Oh...uh, you know mom...” he trailed off unsurely. A second later, a pair of small hands closed in around his shoulders and kneaded the muscles there. Max instantly relaxed against them.
“Actually, it’s me,” Liz offered in a timid voice. She was afraid to look at anyone else for fear of a bad reaction to their news. Instead, she kept her gaze steady with Max’s and smiled a bit. “I’m sorry, I should have said something sooner,” she apologized, knowing it wasn’t right that he had been put on the spot like that.
Pushing his chair away, Max mad a move to stand up next to her. “Don’t worry about it,” he brushed aside. He wouldn’t hold any grudges. Around them, the occupants of the table were still quiet. “Would you like to dance with me?”
Aware that seven pairs of eyes were watching the interaction, Liz lost all capability to speak. Instead, she could only nod her head. Lacing their fingers together, the two moved to the dance floor.
Back at the table, Isabel was the first to recover from the shock. “What....how...they’ve been...when...” she trailed off. How had this development managed to escape her notice? She and Liz always told each other everything, how could she have not been told?
“They didn’t want to say anything,” Alex offered quietly, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself. With Max and Liz away from the table, if the others knew that he was aware of things, all questions would be directed at him.
Isabel looked at him with wide eyes. “My brother told you but not me?”
Alex held his hands up in defense. “I had nothing to do with the decision.”
“Oh my...I had no idea,” Nancy said as she looked at her youngest daughter and Max, swaying together on the dance floor. “I mean, there was never...”
Her comment prompted the rest of the parents to share their shock as well. As they each threw out thoughts, no one noticed the evil glare that the older Parker girl sported as she stared out over the dance floor.
Among the sea of dancing couples, a laughing brunette delighted in the feeling of Max’s arms around her. Closing her eyes, she leaned against his shoulder. “Did we really just do that?”
“You mean, tell our parents about our relationship and then run off to dance before any questions began?” he teased. A peaceful quiet settled down around them, both content to let the music wash over them as they held onto one another. The song ended much too soon for the young couple as they headed back towards the table.
Walter: "I used this to extract information from a corpse once. You can do that if they've been dead up to six hours."
Peter: "Yeah, cause after six hours they're REALLY dead."
Okay, before I post...I just wanted to reitterate what I saaid before my first post. Tess is not a nice person in this story. Her character is about to become a whole lot worse. So...if you don't like it, can't say I didn't warn you...
Chapter 5
“Did you see the look on my mother’s face when we returned to the table?” Liz asked laughing.
Once they went back to their parents, the two answered a round of questions before bidding goodnight. Once they departed from the restaurant, they returned to her house before deciding to take a little walk in the park that was nearby.
Max chuckled along with her. “Yeah, she looked astonished,” he added. He didn’t understand why she would react that way to Liz. He’d been close to the Parker family for years, so he’d known facts a little more intimately. He had seen first hand the way that the Parkers treated their daughters. It wasn’t blatant, but it was obvious that they preferred Tess over Liz. It was obvious that they considered their older daughter the beauty and acted as though Liz was just the left overs. It was true that Tess could outshine Liz any day. With her vibrant blue eyes and curly blonde hair, Tess had an exotic look that enraptured many...at one time, him included. Liz though, she held a classic beauty that hard to come by these days.
Back when she was still ‘Teeny’, Max could remember many times, the nights she fell into tears over it. It wasn’t as though the Parkers pitted their daughters against one another, no, Tess did that all on her own. Liz had been miserable, and Max always went out of his way to include her just a little more. When Tess had been working, he would pick Liz up for the afternoon and take her out, let her get away from the pressures at home.
Suddenly, the laughter between them grew strained. Liz had long since gotten over her parents flawed way of thinking. She didn’t let her parents or Tess get to her anymore...for the most part. Although it did sting at the audacious look in her mother’s face once Liz and Max came out. Was she really so ugly that she should have never been able to score someone as handsome as max?
“I’m just glad it’s over,” she confessed, not wanting to dwell on things any longer.
Moving closer, Max brought her body closer to his and placed an arm around her. “Me too. Now I’m free to be with you and I don’t have to worry about anyone finding out.” He made a move to stop them in their footsteps. “And I can do this...” he added before leaning down to take her lips in a passionate kiss.
When the couple pulled away from each other, they walked the rest of the way back to Liz’s apartment in silence. If the two had paid attention, they would have noticed the familiar black car parked across the street, the owner set to cause trouble. The young couple was so wrapped up in each other they didn’t though. “So...you want to come in?” Liz asked after a moment.
Sticking his hands in his pocket, Max pulled out his keys. “I wish I could,” he answered, meaning every word. “I can’t though. Alex and I were in the middle of...we had to stop for dinner. I just want to finish it so that it won’t be hanging over my head.”
Liz nodded. “Okay...” She leaned up and kissed him on the lips. “Any chance you’ll finish it early enough to head back on over?”
“I hope so,” he laughed. He wasn’t sure how long it would take. “Uh, but don’t get your hopes up incase...I’ll call you.” Leaning down, Max took her lips once more before moving back to his car.
“You better!” Liz called out as he backed out of the driveway. Once he was clear from her sight, she headed to her front door. She wasn’t looking forward to spending her evening alone. She was shocked that Isabel had decided to pass up the chance to interrogate her just to go to a late movie with a ‘friend’.
Sticking her key in the lock, Liz let out a squeal of shock when she saw movement from the corner of her eyes. Looking in the direction, her hand flew to her heart. “You scared the shit out of me Tess! What are you doing here?”
Seemingly unconcerned with Liz’s reaction to her presence, Tess rolled her eyes. “You are so over dramatic. Didn’t you even notice my car parked across the street?”
“Does this look like the face of someone expecting you?” Liz shot back. Letting out a sigh, her shoulders slumped down. She should have known this evening had gone too well. “What are you doing here Tess?”
“We need to talk.”
Liz nodded at her sister. She knew that Tess was too quiet that night once Max and she returned back to the table. Although Liz ignored her as much as possible that night. She didn’t want anything to ruin the semi-good evening. Opening the door, she motioned for Tess join her.
Once inside, she tossed her things down on the counter and looked to her sister. “What’s this about?”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Tess demanded.
Of anything that could have popped out of her sister’s mouth, Liz was unprepared for that one. “I beg your pardon?”
“How could you do this to me?”
At the phrase, Liz raised her eyebrows. “How could I do this to you? Do what?”
“Go after Max!” Tess threw her hands in the air as a sign of frustration. “I’m your sister. He was mine first. You don’t go after sister’s boyfriends!”
“First of all Tess, Max is your ex-boyfriend, you two broke up years ago. Remember? As for not stealing boyfriends or whatever, maybe you should look in the mirror when you say that seeing as you stole Nicholas away from me and then only decided to go out with Kyle because you knew I was interested in him.” She was not going to be blamed for something she didn’t do. “Max is not interested in you anymore...get over it!”
“Have you fucked him yet?”
At the crude question, Liz was actually taken back. “Excuse me? Tell me how that is any of your business. Oh, right...it’s not.”
“How does it feel to know that I had him first? I mean we’ve always been compared to one another all our lives. You think Max is any different? You don’t think that he’ll be thinking about the differences between us as he thrusts inside you?” If this was how Liz wanted it, then Tess had no problem hitting where it really hurt.
Liz looked away, her sister’s words getting to her. She knew that Max wouldn’t do anything like that, but there was still that ridiculous fear that while with her, he would think back to Tess and take in the differences. It was part of the reason why she had wanted to take things slow with him.
Aha! Tess smiled triumphantly when she noticed the affect she was having on Liz. “I mean have you really thought this over? Max has been with the both of us. I was his first, we learned this together. Have you thought about that? How does it feel to know that while he’s inside you, he’s already been there with me, making me fall to pieces?”
Liz shook her head. “This isn’t going to work Tess. I know what you’re trying to do.”
“No, I think the correct statement would be, ‘you don’t know what Max is trying to do.’” Roughly, she grabbed Liz by her upper arms and turned her in the direction of the wall mirror a few feet away from them. “Look at me...and then look at you. All Max is, is leftovers. You got nothing more then my sloppy seconds. You think that Max really likes you for you? Ha! He’s just settling.” Tess completely ignored the way that Max turned away from her offer that night. “He knows that he will never have me back, you’re just runner up...just like what you’ve been your entire life.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Liz really had looked beautiful that night. As he drove in the direction of his apartment complex, Max couldn’t get his mind off Liz. Her offer had been more then appealing. Since their union a week earlier, they had only made out a few times, a little heavy petting was as far as that had gone. With her offer that night, he was more then curious to see what she had in mind.
“What am I doing?” he asked himself. “I can work anytime...”
With that point, Max made a u-turn at the quickest convenience and headed back to Liz’s. He didn’t care what they did, so long as they were together. Pressing his foot harder onto the gas peddle, the car sped forward. When in actuality, there were only a few minutes to pass since he pulled away from her house...it now felt like an eternity.
As soon as he pulled into a close parking spot, he acted on auto pilot. Activating his emergency break, Max practically ran to the door. Taking a moment to calm down so he wouldn’t appear overly eager, a frown marred his face as he caught the tail end of a conversation through the cracked door.
“-You’re just runner up...just like you’ve been your entire life.”
Upon hearing those words, Max stalked into the house uninvited. The sight that greeted him upset him more then he wanted to think about. A gloating Tess stood gleaming like the cheshire cat from Alice In Wonderland as Liz wore the most defeated expression he had ever seen on her. “What the hell are you doing here Tess?” He demanded as he stalked towards Liz, checking to see if she was hurt physically.
“And here he is now,” Tess clucked. “Liz and I were just having a conversation...weren’t we dear sister? Lover, I have a question for you. When you’re with Liz, do you do that tongue thing? You know...the one that drove me wild?”
“Shut up!”
“How cute,” Tess mocked. “‘Wittow ‘Wizzie’s boyfriend came to protect her.” Looking up at Max, she smirked. “So, since the two of you are an item now, I suppose you told her everything?”
Max narrowed his eyes at her. She wouldn’t dare to stoop that low....would she?
Not at all convinced by Max’s reaction, Tess continued on. “Liz is aware just how important we are to each other...doesn’t she? Does she know the bond that we’ll always share?”
As her sister’s attention focused on Max, Liz looked from one person to the other. Tess almost seemed delighted, from the hard look on Max’s face, Liz knew she was missing something. “Max?” She waited for him to look at her. “What does she mean?”
Tess’ eyes widened in pure joy. A mask of sarcastic concern crossed her face. “You mean you didn’t tell Lizzie just how much we loved each other?”
“Tell me what?” Liz asked.
Max shook his head. “It’s nothing, we’ll talk about it another time,” he answered in a hard voice. This conversation was not an easy one, and he certainly didn’t want to have it in front of Tess.
“Nothing?” Tess pretended to be wounded. “You consider being engaged meaning nothing.” As Liz gasped, Tess looked back over. “He didn’t tell you did he? I’m sorry that you had to find out this way Liz, but we were. Max proposed to me our senior year over winter break. That promise ring I showed off to everyone, it was actually meant as an engagement ring. It was all Max could afford at the time.” Tess smiled dreamily as though the memory was washing over her. “Do you remember that night we made love Max, after you proposed? It was just...I think it was the best time we ever had.”
Max was engaged to Tess? Liz shook her head, how could she not have known? She knew things hadn’t worked out for them, but she never imagined...how could they have gone from being engaged to breaking it off and not speaking for years? How could Max not have told her this little bit of information? She had to hear it from Tess of all people!
“You know,” Tess continued. “I think that was the night that-”
“Shut up Tess! Don’t you think you’ve said enough?!” Max roared. This was all something he planned on telling Liz, just not right away. Things were still so new between them, and he knew that despite what she said, Liz felt inferior to Tess. He wanted to make sure that he helped her get over that feeling before telling her.
“I don’t think I like the fact that my sister has no idea the kind of guy she’s involved with...” Tess replied, putting up the concerned sister act. “I mean really Max, you should have told her this. I mean the engagement, and then the baby...do you realize that a relationship won’t last when it’s based on lies.”
“That’s not what I was doing!” Max cried out. “I planned on telling her everything! Just not...yet.” Max turned desperately to look at Liz. “I...Liz? I was going to say something, I just wanted to wait a while.” He moved to grab her hand to spin her towards him, but she stepped away. The slight action spoke volumes and a part of Max broke. How could Tess still manage to ruin things when they weren’t even together?
“Baby?” Liz asked in a small voice. In the background, Tess disappeared as Liz focused on Max. “She was pregnant? You created a baby with her?”
Max nodded in shame. Shame, over his irresponsible behavior, for not saying anything sooner.
“And you didn’t think to tell me?” Liz asked. It wasn’t as though she demanded to know every little thing, she knew that it would come in time. Finding out that her boyfriend had once been engaged to her sister and had gotten her pregnant though, she deserved to know that up front.
“I wasn’t going to hide it from you forever,” Max denied. “I was just afraid that if I told you, you would have changed your mind.”
Tears stung Liz’s eyes. Max had a point, she probably would have if she had known... She knew that when she agreed to go out with Max, things were going to be weird when they considered all the outside things, but to find out things were so much more intense then what she thought...
“How pathetic!” Tess exclaimed. She’d seen the way that her sister was beginning to crack when seeing Max’s pathetic attempts. She was not about to let things end right there. “Don’t tell me you believe his bull shit Liz! He had no problem keeping this from you Liz. Do you really think that he would have told you if I hadn’t brought this up?”
“Shut up Tess!” Liz ordered, all the while trying to force herself not to listen to her sister’s point.
Ignoring the demand, Tess continued talking. “You know, if things had worked out differently, Max and I would have been married. We would have been deliriously happy with our baby. There would be no room for you in his life.”
Liz looked from her sister to Max, her sister’s words biting at her conscious. She was right, of that much, Liz was sure. Max would have never moved on. He and Tess would still be together. Back then, he didn’t even know that she existed, and if they had stayed together through those years, what were the chances that Max would have finally noticed her?
“No!” Max exclaimed. “Liz, don’t listen to her! She’s just saying this to try and cause problems.”
Tess shook her head. “You know I’m right Liz. You would mean absolutely nothing to him.”
Liz shook her head. “I...I need to think.” Without another word, the petite brunette ran in the direction of her room.
As the sound of a door slamming shut reverberated through the house, Tess smirked over at Max. “That went well.”
Advancing on Tess, Max moved to stand directly in front of her. “You bitch!” He wanted nothing more then to beat the shit out of her. Never before had he hated her so much, not even when she aborted their child. “How could I have ever loved someone like you?”
“Well, you did,” Tess argued. “You don’t want me back...then fine, but did you really think that I would let you be? I am not about to sit back and let my sister have what should rightfully be mine.”
Max shook his head, unable to believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. “Get out!”
Tess looked from him to the direction of the bedroom where she could hear her sister’s cries coming from. She had done her job. “Gladly,” the small blonde concluded, satisfied that she had successfully ruined whatever it was that her sister was looking to start with Max.
Walter: "I used this to extract information from a corpse once. You can do that if they've been dead up to six hours."
Peter: "Yeah, cause after six hours they're REALLY dead."
“Tonight was fun...or after we left the restaurant it was,” Isabel told Alex as they came to stop outside her apartment.
Alex nodded as he threw the car in park. “Yeah...” Looking over to Isabel he smiled uncomfortably. “We should...you know...do this again some time...”
Finding Alex’s nervousness endearing, Isabel couldn’t deny her laughter. “Are you nervous?”
“No!” The response was quick and false. “Maybe.”
Isabel nodded. “Why?”
Why? Did she have no idea how he felt? Did she not know how his heart would pound or that his hands would sweat whenever she was near? “I...like you.”
Isabel giggled. “I know. I kind’a like you too.” She still didn’t understand why he was acting the way he was though. “I just don’t know why you’re so nervous. I mean we’ve already slept with each other...”
At the mention of their night together, Alex blushed. “But that doesn’t count.”
At his choice of words, Isabel raised one eyebrow. “Excuse me?” She asked. Did he really just say that?
As the words filtered in his own mind, Alex jumped to explain. “It’s just we were both drunk out of minds that night. We didn’t know what we were doing,” he clarified. He had never been so depressed as he was that morning, when he woke up next to the naked goddess and had no memory as to how they had gotten that way.
Isabel smirked at him, enjoying the affect she had on him. “Speaking of which, did you ever...tell Max about us?”
“Do you really think that Max would let me live if he knew?” Alex snorted. “‘Hey Max, can you take a look at his program? By the way, I got your sister drunk and then slept with her that time that she came to visit you when we were still in Boston. You don’t mind do you?’ Isabel, he would rearrange my face.”
Giggling at his mockery, Isabel shrugged her shoulders. “Yeah, I guess when you put it like that, it does sound rather ridiculous.”
“Yeah. I kind of like my face the way it is right now...smooth, flawless...”
Isabel looked back to her apartment building. She’d noticed her brother’s car parked a few spots over and she sighed. She supposed it was something she would have to get used to. “I can’t believe my brother and Liz were together and didn’t tell me.”
“Liz wanted to keep it under wraps for a while...” Alex offered, trying to help the situation.
“How could she hide this from me? It’s not like I would have reacted badly,” she denied. Sure, she wasn’t thrilled with their union, but it had more to do with her brother then anything.
“So...then she knows that we slept together?” Alex asked, already knowing the answer.
“Well, no...but that’s different. Max is my brother,” she argued. “You know how Max is...” He had turned into a dog.
Alex nodded along with her point. “He can be very persuasive...”
“And Liz is just...” Isabel sighed. “She acts tough, but things get to her very easily. Did you know that she had a crush on Max when we were growing up? Max was with Tess at the time. Don’t either of them realize the pain they are setting themselves up for?”
“To be fair, Max seems to genuinely like Liz. In the years that I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him act like this where a woman was concerned.” A smile broke out over his face as he thought back to the night Max confessed to him about Liz. His friend had acted almost goofy.
“I want to believe you Alex,” she replied. “But you didn’t grow up with us. You don’t understand how Max and Tess were...how Tess was to Liz. I just think that Liz took too big of a bite.”
“I’m sure that everything will work out,” Alex brushed off. He didn’t think it would be an easy situation at first, but if Max’s feelings were as serious as he seemed to be then Alex knew they would work out. “You just have to have a little more faith in people.”
Leaning over, Isabel kissed Alex’s cheek. “I’ll call you,” she promised as she moved away and out of the car.
“I’ll be waiting,” he retorted.
With one last saucy look to Alex, Isabel headed towards her apartment. Inwardly, she braced herself for a chance of walking in on something a sister shouldn’t or didn’t want to see.
Closing the door behind her, her smile dipped into one of astonishment as she heard her brother pleading for Liz.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Flattening his hand out, Max slapped it against Liz’s door a few times. “Please Liz, open the door!”
It had been an hour and a half since Tess had done her damage. In which time, Max had been sitting in of his girlfriend’s bedroom door trying to coax her into talking to him.
“Go away Max!” Liz called out once against, wanting to be left alone. That night had been a slap in the face for her. She just needed time to deal with all that had been revealed before she went on to work it out with Max.
Leaning his head against the door, Max’s eyes involuntarily closed. “I can’t do that Liz. Please! I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner. Please, will you talk to me?”
“Why can’t you just leave?”
Max shook his head negatively until he realized that she couldn’t see the gesture. “I’m not leaving until we talk.”
“I don’t want to talk!” Didn’t he get that?
“I can wait.” He knew that if he left her alone, she would let Tess’ hurtful words surround her and suck the life out of their beginning. Max wouldn’t allow that to happen. Tess had done enough damage to the both of them, he wouldn’t let her get away with this too. “I know I fucked up. I should have told you, but I chickened out.” Once again he lay his head against the door. “I used to be in love with Tess. I proposed to her when we were in high school and then I got her pregnant. I...was irresponsible, but it happened. I can’t change it, no matter how much either of us wishes it weren’t true.” His hopes perked up when the sound of Liz’s sobs stopped.
“Are you kidding me?” Did he not know how hurt she felt over this? The last thing she wanted to hear out of his mouth was anything to do with the engagement or baby. “I’m crying here!”
Max opened his mouth to say something else, but the sound of approaching footsteps stopped him.
“In the dog house already Max?” Isabel asked smirking. Upon the various possible scenes that she could have walked in on, Max sitting on the floor outside Liz’s room was not one of them.
Turning around, Max shook his head. “Isabel...”
Seeing the haunted look in her brother’s eyes, Isabel’s smirk slipped off her face. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen that look cross his face. As the unmistakable sound of a sob filtered out through the crack of Liz’s door, her alarm grew. “This is exactly why I didn’t want Liz getting involved with you!” She hissed in a whisper, sure that Max was the one at fault. It only made sense...right? He seemed relatively okay while her best friend was in tears. “What did you do?”
Defeated, Max shook his head. “I didn’t...” Max knew that wasn’t true. While he hadn’t directly done something to Liz, she was still crying over something he’d done. “Tess was here earlier.”
At the mention of Tess, Isabel’s concern grew. She, above everyone else knew just how Liz felt where her older sister was concerned. “What did the little bitch say?”
Max moved to his feet. “She told Liz about...us, our relationship,” Max replied stiffly.
“And she did it before you could?” Isabel asked, knowing that was exactly what happened. “Max...”
He was already beating himself up over the situation, he didn’t need for Isabel to start in as well. “I know Isabel, I know.”
Isabel pursed her lips. “How bad is it?”
“Pretty bad,” he allowed, not wanting to get into it with his sister. “Please talk to her,” he pleaded. If Liz didn’t want to talk with him, he would deal with it, but she just sounded so miserable through the door. Nothing he said or did could calm her down and he was getting worried. “I just want her to talk with someone.”
Isabel nodded as she placed a hand on his arm. “You should probably go...” She wasn’t sure how long she would be with Liz, she still had no idea what had taken place earlier. There was a chance that Liz wouldn’t be up for any company.
Max shook his head negatively. “I can’t leave her. I’ll be on the couch.”
Nodding once again, she waited until her brother moved down the hall before she knocked on Liz’s door. “Liz? Sweetie? Can I come in?” She waited patiently for the door to unlock. Slowly, the door opened and Isabel’s heart broke for her friend. Liz was a mess. Her face was wet, her eyes and nose red from the irritation.
Closing the bedroom door behind her, she pulled Liz into her embrace. “What did that hussy say?” Isabel demanded once Liz was securely in her arms.
Liz’s tears that had gradually receded, came back to full force. “Oh. I was so stupid to get involved with him. I don’t know what I was thinking...”
Letting her friend cry a moment longer, Isabel then pulled away and lead Liz over to her bed. “Why don’t you tell me what was said?”
“He got her pregnant...they were going to get married,” Liz confessed through a sob.
“What?” Isabel’s brows were furrowed in confusion as she strained to work out what was said through Liz’s sob. Had she really said ‘pregnant’ and ‘married’? She had to have it wrong.
“She was pregnant...in high school. They were going to get married...” Liz reiterated once she forced herself to calm down.
At the revelation, Isabel gasped and covered her mouth. “Nooo.” How could Max and Tess have managed to keep that a secret? Surely she or Liz would have learned about it from their parents had they known. “They were? Really?”
For the next fifteen minutes, Liz told Isabel everything that happened during her conversation with Tess. By the time she finished, she was reduced to tears once again.
Silently, Isabel offered what comfort she could. Her eyes narrowed in pure hatred as she thought of Tess Parker. How she hated that bitch. She was nothing more then a miserable witch who had nothing better to do then hurt her sister. For years, Isabel had seen firsthand how Tess treated Liz. The blonde was nicer to stray animals then her own flesh and blood. Tess never wasted time in rubbing their parent’s preferences in Liz’s face. She latched onto Liz’s insecurities and sucked the life out her. She should have known that Tess wouldn’t leave Max and Liz be. Thinking back on it, Tess hadn’t made one peep about them when they were at the restaurant.
Her brother had gotten Tess pregnant? He always seemed so responsible when it came to sex. How could he not have told someone about it? She also wondered what happened to the child. Tess had gone off to college, she had never gained any weight. Did she lose the baby? What if she had taken care of it in a different way? Was that why her brother had changed so drastically?
The engagement, that one wasn’t as big of a shock to her, though she wouldn’t admit it to Liz. Max and Tess had been very close at one time. It was a common thought that they would one day end up getting married. She just didn’t understand why neither never said anything. None of the parents would have objected to an engagement so long as they settled on a long one.
So...her brother proposed to Tess in school? They were pregnant for a little while, they found out after the engagement? There was no baby to speak of...was the baby the reason why things ended between them? She needed to talk to Max, maybe he could shed a little more light on the situation?
“Is Max still here?” Liz asked after a few minutes of silence. Now that her feelings were a little more calm, a feeling of guilt settled in because of her decision to run away instead of hash it out with Max.
“He’s on the couch...” Isabel trailed off. “Liz, you should lay down and try to relax...”
Liz didn’t argue with the idea, but as she moved back onto her bed and settled against her pillows, she knew that she wouldn’t get any sleep. At least not anytime soon. Her body was growing tired from the spent energy, but her mind was still awake and alert.
Pulling the covers over Liz’s body, Isabel tried to smile. She couldn’t remember the last time when Liz was so upset over something that Tess had done. She’d been hurt when she walked up on Nicholas and Tess having sex in his car just one day after Liz had given him her virginity. She cried and screamed over her sister, but thinking back on it, it was nothing compared to how tearful she was in this moment.
“I’m going to be out there...” Isabel pointed in the direction of the living room. She didn’t want to tell Liz that she was going to speak to Max, though she knew Liz would piece it together eventually. “If you need me, call me.”
Liz nodded. “Isabel?”
“Hmmm?”
“Would you tell Max that I’m sorry?” She was sorry for hiding from him, for the pain she knew he must be feeling as well.
“Of course.” Walking out of the bedroom, she pulled the door close against the frame, leaving a crack open.
When she emerged in the living room, Max was on his feet. “How is she?” He asked.
“Tearful. She’s sorry,” Isabel shared.
Max plopped down the couch behind him. “So...I guess you know huh?”
Isabel shook her head, unable to grasp everything. “Engaged? A baby? Max? How could you two even get away with this without anyone finding out?”
Walter: "I used this to extract information from a corpse once. You can do that if they've been dead up to six hours."
Peter: "Yeah, cause after six hours they're REALLY dead."
“How did this happen Max?” Isabel asked once again. All trace of blame was void from her inquiry.
Max sighed. “I...it all just spiraled out of control,” he confessed. “You remember what Tess and I were like. From the first moment that we got together it was...magic.” And he really had felt that way about her once upon a time. If someone had asked him eight years ago what he thought his life would be like in ten years’ time, he would have answered ‘married to Tess and a proud father’. “She had managed to enchant me, and I was so happy. I mean I thought that I had found the one. Realistically, I knew that didn’t happen very often...plus we were so young, but...I was sure that she was it for me.”
Isabel didn’t anything, she just pursed her lips as Max went back through the motions.
“I was so sure that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. When I bought that engagement ring, it never crossed my mind that she would be hesitant about it. I thought that she was in the same place as me.” At least that was how Tess acted towards him. “I asked her over winter break over our senior year. Christmas Eve, I took her out, waited until it was just the two us and then I asked her.” He could still remember how beautiful she looked in that moment. Her blue eyes were even more vibrant and full of life. She’d simply nodded her acceptance. The second after he slid it on her finger, she threw herself into his arms. Their lovemaking that night was unforgettable. Even now when he wanted to forget it, he couldn’t...and he resented her all the more for it.
“I remember that next morning. Liz and I...we knew that something big had happened. Tess was glowing and you were more dopey then usual.”
Max nodded. “We knew that we were too young to be married, we didn’t even want to be right away. We just thought that everyone would freak out if they knew the truth...so we said that it was a promise ring,” he acknowledged. “I was more then happy to enter college with such a big commitment, because again, I thought that Tess was it for me.”
“So...I take it, this was the high light of everything, before things took a turn?” Isabel asked. She didn’t know if she could stand listening to her brother talk about Tess in such a yak filled way.
“I don’t know what happened after, but she started pulling away from me.” At first, Max had thought it was just his imagination, but it hadn’t been. “She began picking up extra shifts at her job, she’d blow me off to spend more time with her friends. Finally, I cornered her one day...asked her what was going on. She said that we were moving too fast for her. By that time though, it was too late. When the Parkers had gone on vacation that year for spring break, Tess had stayed in town.”
Isabel remembered. She had just thought it was because Tess wanted to spend more ‘alone time’ with her brother.
“She came to me that first morning in tears, telling me that she was pregnant.” At this point, Max’s voice had taken on a wistful tone. “I can’t remember ever being so excited and scared at the same time. I knew we were too young, but you know...I always wanted kids. I wanted that child so much. I would have passed up on my scholarship to stay here and start part time classes at community college and spent the rest of the time working.”
“And Tess?”
“She was already freaking before we got pregnant. She didn’t want that child. She didn’t want to be a mother.” Their opinions had gotten them into more then one argument. “We were arguing constantly and she asked me to leave her alone for a few days so she could think. It must have been...four days later when I saw her again for the first time. She had told me that she’d miscarried the baby.”
Isabel frowned. She hated Tess, but the idea of any woman having to go through that, she couldn’t help but feel bad for Tess. It wasn’t until her brother’s part of the statement that she noticed his voice had taken on an edge. She wondered what it was all about, but decided to wait before calling him on it.
“After that...we just kept growing further apart. I was grieving for this child, feeling guilty because I had thought that somehow I was at fault. That because I kept trying to push Tess into something she didn’t want to do, that the stress became too much for her body,” he’d gone through such a self loathing feeling at the time. “And Tess was distant...I thought it was because she was grieving too and we just didn’t connect on that level.”
“Was it that?” The younger Evans sibling asked evenly.
Max shrugged his shoulders. “It was just....everything. The loss of the baby, school, college, the engagement. There were rumors going around school that when I was working that Tess found herself other ways of keeping herself entertained. I tried to ignore it,” he sneered. “There was no way that my Tess would have done that. It wasn’t until we had gone to a party that I finally saw for myself. Someone had propositioned her and from her response, I knew that they’d already been together. I was at a loss for what to do. I thought that it was just a phase that she was going through. I cheapened myself, allowing her to continue doing what she did because I was holding onto something that had been slowly suffocating.”
Thinking back to the time, Isabel could vaguely remember a change in her brother’s relationship. Though she didn’t really much care beyond the fact that he was hurting. She’d strongly disliked Tess and thought that her brother would have been better off without her.
“And then once we had sent off our acceptance letters, I knew that things were pretty much over.” He could still feel the horror that he’d felt at that moment when Tess told him that she’d changed her mind at the last minute and decided to head off somewhere else. “I...was resigned to the fact that we were going to break up before we headed off to separate colleges. I was hurting, but I just wanted to spend as much with her as I could until then.”
“So...then how did you...end up going from that to pissed off enough to leave early?”
“They offered a summer course. It was something that I had been mulling over. I was so close to turning it down, but then...everything happened and I knew that I would be leaving for college sooner then everyone else. After graduation we had gone over the Parker’s for a little intimate get together...remember?”
“Yes.”
“Tess and I were in her room saying out private goodbyes. Her father wanted her for something...I can’t remember what. While she was gone, her cell phone had started ringing so I answered it...and that was it. I knew that Tess had duped me and I was done. I no longer wanted anything to do with her.”
“Who was it on the phone?”
“The women’s center. When they asked for her...I grew concerned, you know? Wondering if it had something to do with the baby.” When Tess told him about the miscarriage, he was in a state of shock. He didn’t bother asking her where she had gone or what they did. “When I mentioned that I was her fiancé the woman on the phone got a lot more talkative.”
A feeling of dread knotted in her stomach. “What happened Max?”
“She asked me if I knew when Tess would be in for therapy. I couldn’t even fathom what she was talking about. Tess had never mentioned that she was in therapy. When I inquired after it, she had told me that the center offered some free counseling for those who had abortions.”
Tess had an abortion? One that she kept silent from her brother? “How could she do that to you?”
“That was the same thing I kept wondering...still do...sometimes. She knew that I wanted the baby. She knew that I would have done what we needed to, to get by. She knew that I didn’t agree with her on the matter. But to...have an abortion and then tell me she had a miscarriage? How does someone do that?” After that conversation, Max was so defeated. He was done being angry with Tess for her selfishness, he just felt...raw.
“Oh Max...why didn’t you ever tell anyone?” She asked as she leaned in and hugged him. He looked so worn and ragged.
“It’s not really something I want to relive everyday. It’s hard to talk about...hell, it’s hard to even think about.” Whenever he did, it always took a toll on him both physically and mentally.
“I’m so sorry,” Isabel apologized in a soft tone. “That must have been horrible for you to go through.”
Trying to play it off, Max shrugged his shoulders. He always felt a large sense of remorse and guilt whenever he thought his child. It was for that reason that he shied away from thinking about it. It was the reason why in all the years since then that he stayed on the casual side of things. He hadn’t been willing to get into another relationship.
“I suddenly understand your decision to...keep things on the surface,” Isabel added. “I’m sorry that I called you a dog all those times.”
Max offered her a small, but sincere smile. “You had no idea Isabel. All of a sudden I just changed, and you were at a loss.”
“But I knew that something was off. You were never the one for casual anything. I just grew so disappointed in you, at the way you treated women...and sex.”
Max knew exactly how his sister felt about his activities. All their lives, he’d been her older brother and he always strived to be someone that she was proud to know and love, someone she could look up to. After his first one night stand, Max just stopped looking at Isabel. Sex had most definitely become something he enjoyed. “That worked fine,” he allowed. At first he’d felt a little awkward over everything, but then he’d grown accustomed to it. He liked sex without strings attached. He liked those casual relationships where the girl was looking for the same thing as him. “The last thing I expected to find was my want for intimacy,” he confessed. “I certainly wasn’t looking for it, and Liz...she took me by complete surprise.”
Isabel snorted. “Yeah, because having sex with an endless stream of women must have been very unfulfilling.”
“It can be,” Max replied in a soft voice. “Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the sex...but after a certain amount of time it can get lonely. I knew there was something missing in my life...I didn’t even realize what it was until I saw Liz at the house that day.” Max didn’t even know what it was about the small brunette, but she’d gotten under his skin. In all the years that he was away, he’d never once felt anything remotely similar to what he felt for Liz upon five minutes of their first meeting in seven years.
“What about Liz?” Isabel asked. She knew her brother had been through so much, and she didn’t want to brush it aside, but she needed to know that he wasn’t going to make a mistake with her friend.
“I really like Liz,” Max confessed in a gentle tone. She was so interesting to be around. He loved her independence, her sureness. “I...it’s been so long since someone’s come along and made me want to want something more then just sex, you know?” In a lot of ways, he felt as if it was all new to him. He was excited about what it meant, but he was cautious as well. “I don’t love her, but I want to, and I think that I very well just might fall in love with her if things continue going strong with her.” He cared about Liz very much, he always had. Even though everything between them was still so new and unsure, Max could picture losing his heart to her, she was exactly what he wanted. “I’ve just spent so much time closed off, love seems like such a foreign emotion to me now. We didn’t start this under the most ideal circumstances, and there are so many things to consider...”
“You two will have some difficulty ahead,” Isabel finished.
“If Liz agrees that she still wants to do this,” Max added, not sure how things would work out between them. “If we did manage to stay together, that would be pretty cool.”
At his words, Isabel smiled before getting back to her point. “Max, I don’t want to bring you down or anything, but Tess isn’t going to just leave it at that. She’s not going to be happy if you two manage to work through this, and she’ll just try something else.”
“Then let her,” he argued in a calm voice. Max didn’t care what Tess did, he wasn’t about to let her ruin things for him again.
What Max was saying was admirable. “No Max, you don’t understand how much she hates Liz. She’s gone out of her way to make pain for Liz. I really don’t think that Liz can go through this again and again.”
“I’m not saying we won’t have things to work through,” he denied. “I just think that..maybe Liz and I could heal each other...”
Leaning over, Isabel patted her brother’s hand. She hoped for his sake, and Liz’s, that they could find some peace from all this.
“I’m sorry Max.”
At Liz’s unexpected presence, both siblings jumped in shock.
“Liz!” Max exclaimed as he eagerly jumped up and approached her. Forcing himself not to touch her, he tried to smile encouragingly. “How are you?”
“I’m...” hurt, confused, angry, hopeful. No words came out, what could she say? In the last few hours she had experience so many emotions, she was still trying to calm the turbulence of them all. “Tonight really sucked.”
“Yeah...Tess certainly managed to create her trouble,” he agreed.
Looking from one person to the other, Isabel clapped her hands together as she stood up from the couch. “Well, you two have some things to discuss. I’ll just be in my room.”
Max and Liz waited for Isabel to close her bedroom door behind her before either spoke another word. “So...”
“Yeah,” Liz nodded, the uncomfortable silence of the room getting to her as well.
Max cleared his throat. “I shouldn’t have held that back from you,” he began. Seeing that Liz was about to object, he held a hand up to silence her. “No, I need to say this. I mean, this was really important and I should have said something before anyone else had a chance to tell you.”
Liz waited a moment to make sure he was finished talking before she answered. “You had a point earlier though,” she mentioned. “If you had told me about the seriousness of your relationship with Tess, I probably wouldn’t have agreed to give this thing a try.” She already had so many demons to face where her sister was concerned. She was working through it day by day, but it was still difficult for her. “I don’t believe that you would have hid this from me. I know you would have told me everything eventually. It’s obvious by the length of time that’s gone by that this is still something that hurts you deeply.”
“So you’re not mad?” He ventured carefully.
Moving past Max, she took a seat on the couch and waited for him to join her before she spoke again. “Not at you. At first I was,” she confessed. “For not saying anything sooner, but after listening to your conversation with Isabel...” pausing briefly, she brought her eyes up to Max to see if he was upset by her eavesdropping. “I realized that Tess screwed you ever as well and it wasn’t fair to hold you responsible for something you had no control over. Tess would have done anything to get to us, if it wasn’t this...she would have just tried to figure out another way.” Oh yes, her sister was evil. It was that reason why she tried not to take things her sister said or did to heart, but there were just some things that she had no control over. “I’m angry at her for turning things around and making it seem like something else had happened instead of what had really taken place.”
His feeling of relief was short lived however. Max was glad that Liz was able to look past Tess’ words and inclinations, but it didn’t make his past with her any less of a reality. “And what about...the actuality of it all? How do you feel about that?”
Liz smiled sadly as she turned her gaze to him. “I can’t say it doesn’t hurt,” she acknowledged in a pained voice. Realistically, she knew it made no sense. Max had a life before they got together, just like she did. As much as she reminded herself about that, it didn’t make it hurt any less. She would have felt that same way if he had shared all that with a woman that wasn’t Tess. The fact that it was her sister though, that was just an added bite. “I think that it just hurts more because it’s Tess you know? It’s just two more things that she has over me...” Sometimes it seemed as though she would never get out of her role of being Tess’ shadow.
Sensing the direction that Liz’s mind turned to, Max took the liberty of framing her face in his hands. “You have never been in Tess’ shadow,” he denied vehemently. Upon seeing the way her face twisted into a look of audacity, he amended his statement. “At least not to me,” he promised. “ She doesn’t have anything over you, we just...haven’t gotten there yet,” he added boldly, hoping that his words wouldn’t offend her.
After Max’s last statement, a blush tainted her cheeks as a heat settled in the pit of her stomach. Pulling away, she looked anywhere, but at him. There was a tone to his voice that nagged at her. It was more then just an observation. It was a vow.
“I wasn’t too forward was I?”
For the first time since Tess’ arrival at her home, Liz gave him a sincere smile as she pulled her hair behind her ear. “Nooo,” she denied unevenly. “When we decided to go for this, I knew that we would have a few things to work through, I guess we can just pile this onto the list...” Life didn’t always work out the way people expected it to. Max may have once loved Tess enough to propose, but they weren’t married. Tess had thrown away her chance at love with Max by throwing his offer in his face and callously getting rid of their baby. Who knows? Liz asked herself as they settled into a peaceful silence. Max just may get that marriage and children, just not with the woman he once thought it would be with...
Seeing the slight smile on Liz’s face, a small one broke out on his own. Leaning over, he kissed her temple, wondering what was going on through her mind. “So we’re okay?” He asked, making sure that everything would work out.
Looking over at him, Liz nodded. Sliding over, she leaned against his chest and rest against him. “We will be...”
The End
I know, I know. I haven't taken care of Tess yet. Don't worry, she will be taken care of in the epilogue.
Walter: "I used this to extract information from a corpse once. You can do that if they've been dead up to six hours."
Peter: "Yeah, cause after six hours they're REALLY dead."
Nibbling on her bottom lip, Liz stared down at Max. Between the combination of the unhindered look of passion on Max’s face, and the lingering feeling of her orgasm, Liz’s stomach fluttered. She would never get tired of seeing that look on his face whenever they were in one of these moments.
“That was...” Liz trailed off, all words escaped her at that moment.
From her hip, Max waggled his eyebrows playfully. “You enjoy that?” He asked teasingly, knowing that she had. In the last month, the two had gotten to know the other’s body rather intimately. He knew what Liz liked, how she liked it...and he loved watching her come apart because of something he’d done.
“You know I did,” she replied as she ran a hand through his hair. “Has anyone told you that you have magic fingers and that your mouth is just as good?”
Max smiled at his girlfriend. He’d had a few compliments in the past, but he was always more concerned with what she thought. Back then, the sexual gratification had been about him and him alone. This was something new for him. “I aim to please,” he announced as he shimmied up her body and settled flush against her body as he kissed her long and hard.
Liz pulled away as she felt his member against her thigh, swollen with life. “You’re ready to go again?” She asked, surprised.
Max shrugged sheepishly. He was in a constant state of arousal when she was around. Was it possible to become addicted to someone else? “I’m always ready to go,” he answered.
Liz’s face flushed as she tried to word her next statement. It was something she’d been feeling for a few days, she just wasn’t sure how to word it. “I...I’m ready too,” shared softly. While she and Max had spent their time getting to know one another better, she still felt embarrassed when she spoke of sex.
“Meaning?” Max asked, feeling hopeful. His heart began to pound at the scenario that he was seeing in his mind. They had yet to take that final step, and Max was more then ready and willing to go there.
Turning into his body, she smiled sensuously. “Meaning that I’m ready to share the rest of my body with you...” she answered as she brazenly ran her hand over his body, resting on his back side as she pulled him more firmly against her.
Between the feel of her hand pulling him closer to her hot little body and the temptation of her words, Max’s body was extra sensitive. “Are you sure?” He asked, helplessly. “Because I’ve enjoyed what we’ve been doing so far...” Max just didn’t want her to think that he needed this. Seriously, he stared into her brown orbs. “We don’t have to do this if you aren’t ready...”
It was the same thing he had been saying whenever they found themselves naked in bed. Liz appreciated him for it, but she always ended up feeling guilty. No, she knew it was time, there was a rightness to it that she hadn’t felt before. “I want to...”
Closing his eyes, Max reigned in his arousal. There was a hesitancy in her voice that he didn’t like. “But....?” He trailed off, continuing the sentence for her. “If you aren’t ready, that’s okay Liz.”
“I am ready,” she denied before he continued further. “I’m just nervous,” Liz shared. “I’ve only done this...a few times, and I’m afraid that I’ll let you down.” She knew that he had a lot of partners in the past, he had more experience. She had only been with two men before, and even then, they had both been relatively new to the experience as well.
Upon her confession, a relief filtered through every crevice of his body. He would never have pressured her for anything, but he had to admit that it was getting more difficult to pull away from her. He let out a chuckle and leaned down to kiss her. “Is that all you were worried about?” He asked. “Don’t you know that you could never let me down?” he had thought that they were working on things, that she knew how he felt about her.
Liz looked away from him, feeling embarrassed for feelings such a way. It wasn’t anything that Max had said or done, it was just her own insecurities. “I would just...hate to disappoint you Max,” she replied.
“Hey,” he called softly as he cupped her chin and raised her face so they were looking directly at each other. “Even the most skilled of lovers can...start off on a bumpy road,” he offered. “Like when we started...our...we didn’t know much about the other. Look at us now though, I think we’re pretty damn good together. The sex will be like that too,” he predicted. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m worried too...that I won’t make this good for you.” In the past he had been after one thing and one thing only, his release. Coupled from the worry of pleasing her, and the emotions involved this time around, he wasn’t sure he would be able to perform ‘up to par’.
“You?” Liz asked. “Nervous?” Really? She never would have guessed. Max always seemed so sure of himself.
Max nodded in reply. “I haven’t felt this way for someone in a long time, and even now it’s so much more then it was then,” he shared. “I’ve never wanted so much as I do you, in this moment.”
With a refreshed confidence, Liz moved forward and kissed him. Max always knew what to say to make her feel better. As they traded long, languid kisses, the maneuvered around so that he laid over her body.
Four minutes later:
Breathing hard, Max rolled off of her body. “I...I don’t...I am so sorry Liz,” he apologized jerkily, still not able to look at her. Everything was going so well, he had settled a pace, delighting in the feel of her body enveloping him, her moans spurred him on...and then he lost it. Blushing, he looked over at her for the first time and laughed uncomfortably. “I feel like a virgin again,” he said, poking fun at himself. It had been years since then, but he couldn’t remember a time since then that he had finished so early.
Liz tried to hold back her smile. She could see that he was having a difficult time coming to terms with his ‘eagerness’. She felt bad for him, but she also relished in the fact that he had been so affected by their experience. “Suddenly, I’m not feeling so nervous anymore,” she teased.
Looking back to her, he growled at her playful remark. Pouncing on her, he kissed her. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
“Did he?” Maria Guerin asked, completely entranced with the story that her friend was telling her.
Thinking back to that night, Liz nodded eagerly as a blush tainted her cheeks. That night was just...she couldn’t remember a more memorable first night for them. “Again and again,” she allowed.
“What the hell was she thinking?” Liz ranted as Max let her into his apartment. Walking further into the living room she threw her coat onto the arm of his couch. “I mean seriously! How desperate does one person have to be?” She plopped onto his couch, crossing her arms across her chest she pouted. It was New Year’s Eve. The night was supposed to be a special one, was it? No. Of course not!
It had started out well enough. Max and Liz decided to meet up with Isabel and Alex at a party to celebrate the year’s closing. After a nice, romantic dinner, they headed to town where the party was. They mingled, talked with a few people, but had been separated when Liz left to find the rest room. There had, of course, been a line for the women’s rest room. By the time Liz returned to Max close to fifteen minutes later, her very intoxicated sister was throwing herself at him.
“Liz...” Max trailed off, not wanting her night ruined by it. Christmas was a difficult enough time for them. Christmas Day, the two had gone to the Parker’s for presents and while Nancy and Jeff were otherwise engaged, Tess would make nasty remarks or mention the night that Max had proposed to her years earlier. It had served to ruin their day fairly officially, while no mean words were exchanged, it became an awkward and tense.
Shaking her head, Liz straightened up. “No! This is bullshit Max! She tried to ruin our Thanksgiving,” she would have had she not had to leave to celebrate it with Kyle and the sheriff. “She managed to make our first Christmas together a tense one and she’s succeeded in ruining New Year’s.”
“She hasn’t ruined the night,” he denied as he sat down beside her. Looking at the clock on his wall, he pointed it out. “We have another forty-five minutes before midnight...and we’re both together...and...alone,” he coaxed as he trailed open mouthed kisses from her ear down her neck.
Throwing her head back, she allowed him better access. “I like the way you think,” she moaned as she pulled away from him. “I’m sorry that I almost ruined your night.”
“You didn’t,” he argued quickly.
Letting her fingers play with the buttons on his shirt, she nodded. “I’m just getting tired of this,” she sighed. “My sister is way out of line and whenever she says anything around my parents, it’s like she gets a pardon,” she ranted. “And I guess I was a little jealous,” she confessed. “I don’t like it when girls come onto you.” As she talked, she began unbuttoning his shirt, deliberately trailing her hands down his chest. “See, this body...is mine,” Liz told him as she leaned over and nipped one of his nipples.
In automatic response, Max’s cupped the back of her head as his eyes closed involuntarily. “For as long as you want me,” he vowed. “I assume that this means that your body is mine...”
Pulling away from her attentions, she smiled at him. “For as long as you want me,” she answered breathlessly.
“I love you Liz.”
Shocked, Liz stopped moving. It wasn’t that she was shocked that Max would actually love her, while it was the first time the words had been uttered between them, the feeling was always there. She was just surprised that he’d uttered the words.
“I love you too.”
“Aww, you two are so sweet together,” Maria replied, envious of their romance. She loved Michael with all her heart, and while she would never trade him in for anything, she wished he was more romantic.
“It’s not like that with you and Michael?” Liz asked. While it was true that Michael was no where near romantic, she could tell that he loved Maria very much.
Maria shrugged. “Your own sister really did that?” she inquired, wanting to change the subject. “I can’t believe that someone could be so evil...and to do what she did, trying to come in between the two of you. Where is she now?”
“This is just so unbelievable,” Liz voiced as she sat with Max in the waiting room of the hospital. Rubbing her tired eyes, she let out a weary sigh and looked over at her parents. A frown pulled at her lips as she took in their haggard appearance.
“She’s lucky she lived,” Max replied softly. “People have been dying from erotic asphyxiation for hundred of years.” He shook his head in thought of Tess. How had she managed to change so much? Never before had she ever gone so far as...at least one thing was certain, Tess’ once, good impression was now tarnished. He knew it was an awful thing to feel, but he was happy for it. Happy that Jeff and Nancy had some sort of insight as to the kind of person Tess was.
So far anything that Tess had done was deemed ‘excusable’. After Max and Liz had spoken that night months ago, Tess became furious. Her vengeance came back full force and she tried for two months to break the couple up. Only towards the end of that time, did she finally break out of her shell and say what she really wanted to. Of course the Parkers excused it as Tess feeling jealous, but it was enough for Kyle. Having had enough of playing second fiddle to his girlfriend, he ended things with her. From then on, Tess’ ‘jealousy’ had spurred onto a deep hatred, blaming the young couple for Kyle’s break up with her.
“Thank you for coming with me,” she thanked as she leaned over and placed her head against his shoulder.
Moving his arm, he held her closer against his body as he kissed her. “Where else would I be?”
Liz smiled sadly. She couldn’t believe that her sister had managed to ruin their night. Max had been planning that night for weeks. Both dressed up for a night of dancing, only to be interrupted by a phone call from the Parkers. “I’m sorry about our night.”
“Hey, there’ll be other ones,” he denied softly.
“I’m going to tell my parents that we’re leaving.” Since the doctor had already told them that Tess would be all right, Liz was anxious to get home.
Max nodded to her as Liz moved to her feet. Closing his eyes, he placed his hand in his pocket and felt around for the engagement ring. He’d been carrying it around with him for weeks, trying to find the perfect time to ask her. None of them seemed appropriate, and then he came up with idea of dinner and dancing. Before he could say anything though they had been interrupted.
Stepping up to her mother, Liz tried to smile. Nancy hugged her daughter to her body. “Thank goodness I have you,” Nancy replied. “I have never worried about you. I never had to, I always knew that...you’d be okay.”
Liz hugged her mother back and frowned. She had no idea that was how her mother felt.
Pulling away, Nancy cleared her throat. “I blame that Valenti boy for this!”
Liz rolled her eyes at her mother. Apparently, her moment was over. “That Valenti boy has a name, mom. And he sure as hell didn’t have anything to with this,” she argued. “Kyle loved Tess, you knew that, she knew that...it just wasn’t enough for her.”
“Ever since he broke up with her, she’s been in a downward spiral,” Nancy replied indignantly.
Well, that much of her mother’s statement was true. Ever since Kyle ended things with her, Tess spent her nights with various men. Liz shook her head negatively. “Mom, you can’t blame Kyle for Tess’ decisions.”
“Oh, yes I can.”
Liz rolled her eyes heavenward. Why did her mother not understand this? No one was at fault but Tess. Didn’t her mother know that blaming someone else for one’s decisions just didn’t make any sense? It would be like blaming your pencil for mis-spelled words.
Letting out a sigh, Liz knew to let it drop. There was no way that she and her mother were going to see eye to eye. “I just can’t believe that Tess would do something like this. Your sister has...”
Liz held her hand up. She didn’t want to listen to her mother make excuses and defend Tess once again. “Max and I are heading out. Tess is okay, and there’s really...no point for us to hang around anymore.” She didn’t need to listen to Tess’ accusations.
Smiling at Liz, Nancy nodded. “Of course dear.” Hugging her once again, she smiled over at Max. “You and Max go home. Thank you for coming.”
Since Isabel and Alex had decided to start something up a month earlier, Max avoided Liz’s place most of the time. He’d once had the unfortunate chance of overhearing his sister and Alex in his sister’s room. Since then, he always checked ahead with Liz to find out where his sister was. Not wanting another awkward situation. The two opted to spend more of their time over at Max’s, so much so, that Liz had her own drawers and a part of the closet was reserved for her.
As they made their way into Max’s apartment, he immediately began shedding his clothes for a shower. “Are you sure you don’t want to join me?” He called out of his bathroom, through the noise of the water.
Liz smirked. “I’m sure!” Deciding to shed out of her dress, she tossed on an old shirt of Max’s. It didn’t matter how old it was, it still dwarfed her slight frame. Leaning over, she began picking up the clothes and tossing them into the hamper. As she grabbed for the jacket he’d warn that night, something tumbled out of the pocket. Frowning, Liz leaned over to pick up the item.
Once it registered that she was holding a ring box, the clothes slipped from her arms, completely forgotten. Dropping onto the bed behind her, she opened it up and gasped at the ring. Max was planning on proposing? She knew they had been getting closer, but she never let her mind wander in the direction of marriage. She and Max had come a long way since Tess’ truth was told, still, she never broached the subject with him, afraid that it would scare him. So focused on the ring was she, she never heard the water stop, she didn’t hear Max open the shower. It wasn’t until he was standing in the room at the door that separated the master bedroom and the shower that she came out of her trance.
“Found it huh?” He asked, his heart pounding. What if she didn’t like it? What if she turned him down?
Looking up with wide eyes, Liz nodded. “What is this?” Was it an engagement ring, like she thought? Or was her mind running away from her?
Max smiled tightly and changed into clothes before answering. Hesitantly, he moved to the bed. “I’ve had that thing with me for weeks. I...was trying to find a perfect time to ask you...but either the moment didn’t feel right, or I was interrupted.” At his words, Liz’s head shot up.
“You want to marry me?” She asked, unable to grasp the concept.
Max smiled at her words. “Of course I want to marry you,” he replied. “I want to marry you...make babies with you...spend the rest of my life with you,” he confessed in a gentle voice. “I’ve long since known that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.”
With tears shining in her eyes, Liz nibbled on her bottom lip.
“I guess the surprise is ruined now...” Max sighed dejectedly as he softly grabbed the box from her. Moving away, he leaned back against the headboard, his legs stretched out.
“It’s not ruined,” Liz denied as she turned to face him. He was obviously upset that she’d found the ring though.
“I just wanted to wait for that perfect moment, you know Liz? You deserve that,” he argued as he thought back to the first time he told her that he loved her.
Liz’s heart melted for him. “You could ask me now...” she said as crawled up his body and sat on his lap.
“But...it’s not what I had in mind, and I had this whole...speech prepared...” he denied. He wanted to do this right for her.
“I think it’s perfect,” she denied. “Just you and me...no interruptions. I don’t need a fancy speech,” she coaxed. There was no way that she was letting Max put the moment off for a minute longer.
Leaning over, he captured her lips. “Marry me?” He asked softly, against her lips.
Smiling, she drew him into a longer kiss. “Yes.”
“Sooo...her true character was revealed?” Maria asked hopefully as the story came to a close.
“Kind of. She moved to New York. She married this rich old man, I’ll leave it up to you as to the reason why. She took care of him for a year before he died.”
Maria narrowed her eyes. “Don’t tell me that she got all his money after he kicked the bucket.”
“Actually, it was all left to his children...and since none of them liked her...they turned her out of the house. I guess she had been carrying on an affair with her husband’s son. When the old man died, she was outed as well. None of her friends would help her out either.”
“And since then...” Maria urged.
“About a year ago my parents received a phone call. Apparently, Tess got drunk one night, and when I say drunk, I mean drunk. She passed out. While in her...alcohol induced coma, she somehow got a bloody nose. She ended up drowning in her own blood.”
It took a moment for the words to settle in before Maria reacted. How does someone drown in their own blood? “How....odd...”
Liz nodded along with the words, odd it was. She always felt guilty that she didn’t feel more remorse for her sister’s untimely death. “Alex and Isabel...”
Maria snorted as she nodded. “Are almost as bad as you and Max are,” she interrupted, thinking about the married couple.
Liz giggled. Everyone would always tease her and Max for being so affectionate with each other in public. Even now, years after the beginning of their relationship they were just as bad.
Looking around the house, Maria noticed that it was void of the activity that usually plagued it when she visited. “Where are Max and the twins?”
“The other night he promised the boys that he’d take them to the park if they behaved when we visited the folks...” Liz answered, smiling as she thought of their four year old twin boys.
“How did that go?” Maria asked, knowing that the relationship Liz shared with her parents was a strange one. “Well, with the boys and then Isabel and Alex’s daughter, most of the attention was on them.”
The sound of a cell phone broke the conversation. Maria rolled her eyes at the familiar tone of her husband’s ring. “That’s Michael...summoning me. I better go.”
Liz nodded. “What are the two of you up to tonight?”
“We...have a date. Since mom has Ethan for the night, Michael and I made plans for dinner and a movie.”
Michael not romantic...yeah right. Liz rolled her eyes. He was plenty sweet when it came to Maria.
“You and Max?”
Liz shrugged. “The usual.” They’d have dinner, do the usual family thing and then once the boys went to bed, she’d tell him the news that she learned from the doctor that day when she went for a check up. Laying a hand against her still flat belly, she grinned brightly. Hopefully it was the little girl they so desperately wanted.
The End
Walter: "I used this to extract information from a corpse once. You can do that if they've been dead up to six hours."
Peter: "Yeah, cause after six hours they're REALLY dead."
