Edge of a Broken Heart (M/L, mature) ch3-6 10/28[WIP]

[Skittles1983]

Thanks to Angel Eyes for the beautiful banner!


Author: Amy

Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB & UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.

Couple: Max/Liz

Rating: Mature

Alternate Universe, No Aliens


This story is in response to a challenge by Lillie

Here's the challenge:
I'm watching this movie called Girl. But it's not really the plot that I think would be a good story. More of like, what the future could have been, I guess.

When Liz Parker was 18, she was a straight A student, a good girl. But she decided that she wanted to be something else, she wanted to rebel and she got herself into the music scene. She meet Max Evans who was a rising singer in a band. The two of them fell in love with one another, but Max's dreams were going to take him away from her, she knew it. But Liz still wasn't prepared when it happened. Liz poured her heart out to Max, she wanted to go with him. She wanted to be more than his girlfriend, but Max told her that she couldn't. He left for tour and broke her heart.

Liz moved on with her life, went with her plans like they were supposed to be. Went to the school she was supposed to go to, dated the men that she was supposed to, but she never forgot about Max Evans, who had turned into one of the biggest names in the music.

And a chance meeting ten years later, brings the two of them back together. Will their love be stronger the second time around or would his music once again get in between them?

Okay, so here's what I've written so far. Please let me know what you think! ~Amy


Prologue

June 2001

Liz Parker looked at the man sleeping peacefully on her stomach. She ran her fingers gently through his hair. She heard him sigh as he snuggled deeper into her body. She smiled and leaned back into the pillows. Closing her eyes, she thought that this was what true happiness was all about. All of her dreams were coming true. Liz’s life had changed when she met the man who’s breath was currently tickling her stomach.

Liz Parker had always been a straight A student, your typical good girl. However, last summer just before her senior year of high school she had started hanging out at a local music club. She had a slight crush on the lead singer of a rising local band, Glory Fades. Max Evans was two years older than Liz but that didn’t matter to her. He was absolutely gorgeous and he had the perfect voice. She spent every Friday night at the club and fell for the bad boy image and sex appeal that Max Evans exuded. Towards the end of the summer she bumped into an old friend, Maria DeLuca. Maria had graduated a few years before Liz, but they had been friends in high school. They got together several times one week and when Liz went to the music club on Friday she followed Maria into the backstage area.

Liz was shocked to find herself amongst Glory Fades. She was even more shocked to realize that Michael Guerin, bass player of the band, was Maria’s boyfriend. She was quickly introduced to Max Evans, Alex Whitman, the drummer, and Kyle Valenti, the electric guitar player. Liz formed friendships with all of them. She and Max started hanging out and by October of 2000 they were head over heels in love. Liz had graduated in May and was supposed to attend UCLA in the fall.

Max was the antithesis of who Liz’s parents wanted her to date, but once they got to know him they genuinely liked him. He was kind, caring, and funny, he just had a hard edge to him.

Liz ran her hands through Max’s hair again and smiled as he mumbled incoherently into her bare skin. She settled her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck. Liz fell more and more in love with Max as every day went by. And, Max felt the same way. Every day that they were together made their love more apparent to everyone around them.

However, over the past few months the band had gained popularity and signed a record deal. They were leaving on tour in two weeks. Liz planned on going with Max. She hadn’t told him yet, but she wanted to postpone college, so that she could be with him. Liz knew that Max’s career could take him away from her, but she could deal with it, as long as she knew he was coming back to her at the end of each tour.

Liz’s thoughts were broken when her lover began to wake up.

Chapter 1

Two Weeks Later: The Night before the tour begins

Liz paced nervously around Max’s apartment. She had cooked dinner and set up candles and flowers all around his apartment. She jumped as she heard the door open and smiled when she saw Max’s eyes widen in shock.

“Surprise.” she whispered.

Max smiled at her and Liz melted.

“It’s beautiful Angel.” He said.

Liz gave him a smile and motioned for him to join her in the kitchen. They ate dinner in a comfortable silence. Then they went into the living room sat on the couch enjoying Liz’s romantic setting.

After a while, Liz pulled away and started the speech she had planned, “Max, we’ve put off talking about tomorrow for long enough. For the past two weeks, I’ve let you change the subject and distract me, but we need to talk about us. I’m so proud of you and the guys. You are finally getting the recognition you deserve. Max, I want to be there for you every step of the way. I love you so much. I’ve thought about it a lot and I’d like to put school on hold for a while, and go with you.” Liz paused and got down on one knee, “Max Evans, will you marry me?”

Liz looked up to see tears in Max’s eyes.

“Liz, my angel, my beautiful angel,” Max whispered, “I would love nothing more than to marry you. But, I can’t. Liz, you can’t put your life on hold for me. I’ve been avoiding this conversation for as long as possible, but that was a mistake. You need to go to UCLA, date the men you’re supposed to date, and let go. You and I…we have a love that is rare, but you deserve better.”

“Max, no. Don’t say that. I need you. You need me. Max, you said it yourself, our love is rare. How can you tell me to date other people.” Liz cried.

“Oh angel, please don’t cry.” Max sighed as he wiped her tears then pulled her into a hug. He pulled away and kissed her gently. Before either one could control themselves their passion got away from them. For the rest of the night they showed each other their love for one another.

Liz awoke to the sun streaming down on her. She knew he was gone before she even fully woke up. She sat up and wrapped the sheet around her body as she got out of bed. She noticed that all of Max’s bags were gone. She slowly made her way out to the kitchen. She found a white rose on the table with a note. Her hands shook slightly as she smelled the flower. She picked up the note and sat down at the table, not sure if her legs would hold her up. She read the note and her heart broke. Liz’s tears were silent at first, but grew into gut-wrenching sobs that shook her entire body. The note in her hands fluttered to the floor.

Angel,

Keep last night in your memory forever. I love you, remember that too. I will always love you. I know you won’t understand or want to but Liz you need to let go. I can’t ask you to wait for me. You need to make a life for yourself, a life without me. I love you Liz, more than you know.

All of my love,

Max

[Skittles1983]

Hello Everyone,
Thanks for all the great feedback. I have a co-author now. So, thanks to Heather for all of her help with writing and feedback. I hope everyone enjoys the next part! Let us know what you think! Thanks!


Chapter 2

Late August 2001

It was late in their set, so that even within a short amount of time the screaming coming from the crowd in front of Max were now numbing to his ears. The house lights were down and single spot light beamed down on him as a red shadow cast light on the rest of the band members.

Max, Michael, Alex, and Kyle had been on the road for roughly two months now, and as spontaneous and alive each gig was, it had become monotonous for Max. He knew of a time when music was his outlet for finding the words he could not reach otherwise.

With the final note of Glory Fades current hit, Max’s high brought him to his low. The smile barely lingering on his face wasn’t a scheduled move. Max took a moment to gather the crowd’s attention, as he allowed the fleeting memory of a melody to begin as he began strumming the strings of his guitar.

It was time to let music heal him once again and finally let go of the heartache he had been carrying around with him for the past three months.

***

Liz could hear the crowd screaming. The excitement she heard for the band reminded her of the stories and struggles she had been a witness too. It seemed so long ago. As Liz sat in Max’s dressing room waiting for him with wonder, a sigh escaped her lips.

All the planning and preparation Liz had gone through to get here, was the only motivation she had in a long time. She had made a bet with herself. She had made herself believe that she had one more chance before she will have made the commitment for the next four years of her life; either with Max or without.

She had left her roommate Lyris at UCLA without any warning. Liz knew the less Lyris knew the less Lyris would have to lie. She knew her parents’ tight grasp would not reach her while she was away at college. Liz had planned everything by the book, even up to the very last day before classes, when Liz’s mom had called her on her dorm phone to say goodnight. As she woke up the morning of the first day of classes, before most students were even up, even if they stayed up all night, Liz was boarding a flight to Flagstaff, Arizona.

She had decided, after spending an entire summer miserable, that she needed to try omen more time to convince Max that they could make their relationship work.

She could hear the crowd’s screams get louder and then she heard Max’s voice. She had missed him so much and the sound of his voice sent chills throughout her body.

“Hello Everyone,” his voice reverberated throughout the building, “thanks for coming tonight,” he paused as the screams grew deafening, “I’ve been writing a lot lately and well here is a sample of an unreleased cut.” Once again the screams grew and Liz laughed, despite her situation.

She heard him continue, “So, the new song is called ‘Run’. I wrote it a month ago and it’s very personal to me. I hope you like it.”

Liz heard the chords of the guitar start and she closed her eyes as she listened to his beautiful voice.

I’ll sing it one last time for you
Then we really have to go
You’ve been the only thing that’s right
In all I’ve done

The words brought tears to her eyes. She knew how personal this song was to him because she felt the feelings to his words. The words reminded her of how Max opened up to her about his past and women. Liz smiled at the memory, and with the memory of his sweet kiss that lightly lingers on her right temple those similar words he had said, ‘You’ve been the only thing that’s right Angel, in all I’ve done’. Deep down, she had hoped he still felt that way.

And I can barely look at you
But every single time I do
I know we’ll make it anywhere
Away from here

Liz’s breath caught in her throat at more familiar words. She had been doing the dishes after dinner one night and Max had stopped her with a kiss. Then, she asked him something that had been on her mind for a while. She asked him what would happen to them if he went away on tour. Liz knew that she wanted to go with, but she wanted to see what he would say. He had pulled her to him for a passionate kiss and then whispered in her ear, ‘We can do whatever we want, anywhere we want. Every time I look at you, I know we’ll make it’.

Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I’ll be right beside you dear

Liz couldn’t stop the tears as they fell from her closed eyes. A strangled sob escaped her lips and sounded throughout the room. She didn’t really know who she was without him. She knew who she used to be, the perfect girl who always did everything ‘right’. Then, a trivial argument with her parents led her to be defiant and go to the local music club and she had fallen for Max. She knew who she was with him she was a lover, a friend, a confident girl, who still got the best grades but she also lived. She was alive with him.

Louder, louder
And we’ll run for our lives
I can hardly speak I understand
Why you can’t raise your voice to say

Could she be that girl without him? Or, was she still the boring, perfect Liz Parker? Could she go back to being that girl?

To think I might not see those eyes
Makes it so hard not to cry
And as we say our long goodbye
I nearly do

Liz had spent the first week after Max’s departure curled up in a ball with his pillow in her bed. Her parents had started to worry about her and only when they threatened to call an ambulance for her did she get up and shower. She had barely existed these past two months. She was a shell.

Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I’ll be right beside you dear

She desperately missed Max. She missed waking up to find him staring at her. At first it made her uncomfortable, but he told her that she looked like an angel in her sleep and he would call her his beautiful angel. After a while, she got used to it and now she didn’t know what to do without hearing those words every day.

Louder, louder
And we’ll run for our lives
I can hardly speak I understand
Why you can’t raise your voice to say

Liz sniffled and stood up. She made her way over to the sink in the corner of the room. She washed her face and then looked at her reflection. She needed to convince Max to take her with him, or at least agree to a long distance relationship. She could handle it as long as she knew he would be coming back to her. He had too.

Slower, slower
We don’t have time for that
All I want is to find an easier way
To get out of our little heads

Liz thought about all of their future planning. Late at night, after their love-making, when the sweat was still drying off of their bodies they would talk about what they were going to be doing once Max made it big. They had plans to travel the world. Liz loved quiet moments like that, and that was what kept her going now.

Have heart my dear
We’re bound to be afraid
Even if it’s just for a few days
Making up for all this mess

Liz sighed once again. She was starting to get nervous and scared. She wasn’t sure what she would do if he rejected her.

Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I’ll be right beside you dear

Max’s voice echoed throughout the arena once again, “We’re going to take a quick break and then we’ll be back.”

The crowds roar drowned out everything else and Liz felt her heart race. She held her breath and waited for the door to open. A few seconds later the door burst open and Max strolled in with a blonde woman and they were both laughing. Liz felt her heart break. She wondered how he could laugh and have fun when she was broken and dying. Liz’s eyes caught the blonde woman’s eyes. The woman stopped and Liz saw Max follow the path of her eyes and then her eyes collided with his beautiful amber eyes. Liz watched Max’s mouth fall open in shock and she heard him breathe out her name. She felt as if time stopped.

[Skittles1983]

AN: Hello! I'm updating this story with several chapters. These chapters are just to let you know what happens in the time span between Max and Liz not seeing each other for almost ten years. I'll be back soon with more....maybe Wednesday or Thursday. Thanks for your patience and all the wonderful feedback! Let me know what you think of the new chapters. ~Amy


Chapter 3


The blonde woman slowly backed out of the room. The tension between the reunited lovers could be cut with a knife. Neither one spoke for a moment, each noting the changes in their lover.

“Liz…” Max started.

“Don’t Max, just don’t. I see now why you didn’t want me to come.” Liz said, as she started to walk by him.

A firm grip on her arm stopped her, “Liz, she’s my assistant. It’s not what you think. She knows all about you and who you are, what you are to me.” his voice was low, she could feel his breathe the side of her cheek.

Liz was silent for a moment, “Max, I’m dying without you.” Liz’s voice was soft, almost a whisper but Max heard her. He knew that he didn’t want to hurt her, but she was just not understanding where he was coming from.

He released her arm and stepped back from her, “Liz, you think this is easy on me? To know that I hurt us both? But, Liz you are not making this any easier on us. Go back to college, find the right guy, live your life and leave me to mine. Who knows, maybe that includes screwing a different girl every other night like I used to, but I don’t need to worry about you while I’m gone. I don’t want to have to think about what you’re doing, who you are with, if you are happy, if you’re thinking of me, missing me. I want to enjoy this tour and little by little I have been. I don’t want to have to worry about if I’m enough for you, if I’m not there for you are you going to grow tired of this?” Max knew he was contradicting himself, but he wasn’t sure what to say or do. He sighed as he ran his hand threw his hair. He finally looked up and his amber eyes met her beautiful chocolate ones.

Her eyes were filled with tears. They fell silently and Max couldn’t take it, he reached for her but she stepped back out of his grasp.

She didn’t break the eye contact, she didn’t brush away her tears, “Fine. Then don’t think about me, don’t miss me, fuck a different girl every night.” She turned and walked away.

Max sighed as he rubbed his temples. The door opened and Max’s head shot up.

He was met with blue eyes, “Max, we’re on in five.”

Hours Later

Liz looked out of the window from her seat on the plane. The black night sky matched her mood. A flash of lightening lit the sky up and Liz vowed to move on from Max Evans, even if it killed her.

Max watched the scenery from his seat on the bus flash by. He sighed as he pictured Liz’s face, the broken look in her eyes. He was going to get Liz Parker out of his system, if it was the last thing he did.

Chapter 4

June 2002

Liz looked around at the various boxes that were spread throughout her room. She plopped down in her desk chair, exhausted from packing. She heard the door open and a moment later her roommates voice filled the room.

“Lizzie, are you done packing yet?” Lyris laughed as she saw the boxes, “Okay, I guess that’s a dumb question.”

Liz looked over at her roommate, who had become best friend in the past school year, “Of course I’m not done packing. I don’t want to go back home. I just…” Liz paused, not really sure what she wanted.

Lyris looked at Liz sympathetically and put her hand on her shoulder, “Look, why don’t you come home with me. My parents love having you over, and I’m sure my Dad will gave you a job for the summer in his office. C’mon, what do you say? Come keep me company, so I don’t lead a boring existence for the summer.”

Liz laughed, “Okay, okay. I’m just going to call my parents and say it’s a great job opportunity and will look great on my resume.”

Lyris laughed, “Good, I’ll call my parents too.” she clapped her hands happily and then pulled out her cell phone to make her call.

Liz knew her parents would be disappointed that she wasn’t coming home, she hadn’t really been home at all this past year except for an occasional weekend. She spend the holidays with Lyris and Lyris’ family. But, she knew that they would be more accepting of the idea if they knew she had a job lined up. She decided to put off calling them for a little while by packing more. Liz stood up and started to empty out her desk drawers. She picked up a photo album and stopped. She had placed this album in the bottom drawer, buried underneath everything to forget the memories it contained. She sighed and put the album in a box before her urge to open it grew stronger. She didn’t want to dwell in the past. She had let go of that part of her life when she had walked off the plane after seeing Max all those months ago.

************************************************

Max looked around at the groupies surrounding him and his band mates. He smiled at a petite red-head and then proceeded to make his way over to her as he decided that she was the one he was going to have for the night. This had become his routine, every city, every other night, a different girl. At first he had started to sleep with different girls to erase the memory of Liz, but now it had just become a part of who he was. He knew the media loved it, he was the bad boy and the female fans ate it up. When he was next to the red-head he flashed her his million dollar smile.

He leaned in to her, “Hey.”

She giggled and looked up at him as she plastered herself to the front of him, “Hi there.”

He didn’t even bother with small talk anymore, he just grabbed her hand and led her to an empty room. As he expertly removed her clothing, he thought briefly of Liz but pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on the red-head that wanted his attention. He wanted to live in the moment, not in the past or future.

Chapter 5

August 2003

Liz brushed her hands on her pants as she stood back to admire her newly decorated apartment. She and Lyris had decided that for their junior year of college they would rent one of the off campus apartments. They found a cute two bedroom, two bathroom apartment two block over from their campus and immediately took it.

Lyris walked into the room and Liz turned to her. She took her glass of water from Lyris and smiled.

“So,” Lyris started, “What time is Jake coming by?”

Liz shrugged, “I don’t know. I told him that we would be around unpacking, so he just said he would stop by at some point.”

Lyris nodded, “That’s cool. Everything’s going okay with you two?”

“Yup, perfect. My parents loved him when they met him. What’s not to like?” Liz said.
Lyris watched Liz closely, but chose not to comment. She knew that Liz could care less about dating, she was so focused on her studies.

A knock at the door startled both girls. They laughed at each other and then Liz went and opened the door. She pulled open the door and was greeted by the sight of Jake and two dozen roses.

She smiled at him, “Hi Jake.”

He smiled back, “Hi Liz.”

Jake leaned down kissed her. He pulled back and then walked into the apartment when Liz stepped back from the door. He handed Liz a bouquet of white roses and then handed a bouquet of yellow roses to Lyris. She smiled as she thanked him and then took the roses into the kitchen, while Liz gave him a tour of the apartment.

“C’mon,” Liz said as she grabbed his hand, “I’ll show you the rest of the place.”

He just smiled at her as he allowed her to lead him throughout the spacious apartment.

************************************************

Max watched the scenery fly by out of the bus window. Life was still great for Max. He was still the resident bad-boy of the music industry but he didn’t sleep with a different girl every other night anymore. He had started to date the women he slept with, so now he had a different girl on his arm every other month. He didn’t have any desire to get more involved with them.

Max had also taken a more creative interest in the band. They had released three albums in the past two years and were in such high demand world wide. Max had started writing a lot more, so most of the songs on their albums came from him and Michael working together. Max looked over his shoulder as he thought of Michael and sure enough, there in the back of the bus was Michael and Maria cuddled up together. He admired their relationship. They had so much trust and faith in one another and they had managed to stay together throughout everything. Maria visited the guys often and Max knew that he could have had that with Liz. He still thought of her often, and he was haunted with regret at how things had ended between them. He pulled out his notebook and started to write down the words that just came to him.


Don't hold my hand like that
You'll hurt your knees
I kissed your mouth and back
But that's all I need
Don't build your world around volcanoes melt you down

What I am to you is not real
What I am to you you do not need
What I am to you is not what you mean to me
You give me miles and miles of mountains
And I'll ask for the sea

Don't throw yourself like that
In front of me
I kissed your mouth your back
Is that all you need?
Don't drag my love around volcanoes melt me down


What I am to you is not real
What I am to you you do not need
What I am to you is not what you mean to me
You give me miles and miles of mountains
And I'll ask for the sea
Is just what I'm going through
This is nothing new
No no just another phase of finding what I really need
Is what makes me bleed
And like a true disease she's still too young to treat
Like a distant tree
Volcanoes melt me down
She's still too young
I kissed your mouth
You do not need me

**Lyrics are from “Volcano” by Damien Rice**

Chapter 6

December 2004

The minute Liz stepped into her old room, she felt as if coming home was a mistake. Her parents had convinced her to spend Christmas with them. It was her senior year, so she didn’t know when she’d get the chance to be home for Christmas again. She definitely did not plan on moving home after she graduated. She and Lyris were planning on moving to New York City when they graduated.

Liz plopped her bags down on the floor then headed downstairs.

Her mother smiled at her as she walked into the kitchen, “Hello Darling. How’s Jake doing?”

Liz rolled her eyes, “Mother, Jake and I broke up a while ago. I’m seeing Trent now. And, he’s great.”

“Oh,” her mother frowned, “why didn’t you tell me?”

Liz shrugged, “It wasn’t a big deal. Anyhow, I’m going to go out for a little while, I have to finish some last minute shopping. I’ll be back for dinner.”

A half hour later, Liz pulled up outside of her favorite coffee shop. She made her way inside, ordered her coffee to go, and went to walk out. As she walked out, she heard someone shriek her name. She looked up just in time to see Maria heading straight for her. Liz couldn’t help but smile at her old friend. The two hugged for a minute and then pulled away from each other.

“Wow, it’s so great to see you!” Maria exclaimed.

Before Liz could respond she saw Michael making his way over towards them with two trays of coffee in his hands. Her eyes widened slightly and she started to panic, but Maria seemed to read her thoughts.

“Liz, he’s not here. Don’t worry.“ Maria said.

Liz nodded and smiled gratefully at her, “Thanks. And, it’s great to see you too.” She smiled at Michael as he reached them.

He smiled back, “Hi Liz, it’s great to see you.”

“You too.” she said.

The three stood for a moment, none of them knew what to say. Liz was happy to see her old friends, but it was hard to see them.

She broke the silence first, “Well, my parents are expecting me. I don’t want to be late. It was really great to see the both of you. Have a great Christmas!” Liz said as she hugged Maria once more and then started to back away.

“You too.” Michael and Maria chorused and then exchanged glances as Liz practically ran out of the coffee shop.

**************************************

Max looked around his childhood room. Not a thing had changed since he had moved out into his own apartment years ago. His parents had been begging him to come home for Christmas and he had finally given in. He wasn’t quite sure what had brought him home, but he just felt like he needed to be at home this year.

He heard voices downstairs and sighed as he made his way down the stairs. He walked in the kitchen to find Michael and Maria sitting at the table with his parents, his sister, and Alex.

“We brought your favorite coffee from that cute place downtown.” Maria said and smiled.

“Thanks.” Max took the Styrofoam cup of coffee she offered.

“You would not believe who we ran into at that place.” Michael started, but a swift kick in the shin from Maria stopped his sentence.

“Who?” Max asked, oblivious to Maria’s action.

“Oh, um, just someone from high school. You wouldn’t even remember him.” Maria answered.

“Okay.” Max said slowly, although he knew that there was something going on. He knew Michael wanted to say more. Max took a sip of his coffee and shrugged it off, thinking that the person couldn’t be that important.