Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter, I hope you'll like it. Here I tried to explain what brought about the situation Liz and Alex were. the next part will be about Liz meeting Max. I wrote a long part, I hope that you won't be bored, and I'm waiting for your fbs to tell me if I can continue or I better stop it.
but, first, let's thank the readers and lurkers who gave a chance to that fic to exist. I hope that you'll forgive my faults if you find them, I'm doing my best with English, but that's not easy!
Michelle17- well I hope that that part will answer some of your questions. For the meeting?? You'll have to wait the next part.
francesca - thank you! and I hope you'll read that part and the next to find the answer at your question.
dreamsatnight - OK... I hope you'll like this part too.
PSW2001- yes you're right and when you'll read that part, you'll see how difficult it will be for Liz to see Max again..
begonia9508- You're completely right. that's why I was interested by the subject. how adult can use their children for the shemes oblivious of the pain they could bring.
LegalAlien- Oh yeah? thank you! and yeah, it's a sad story with angst and emotion. I'm glad that you like it and I hope that I'll deserve your interest.
L-J-L 76- I'll try to answer your questions : Liz won't see a lawyer. will she see Max? yeah but in the next part. Where is Tess? you'll find out here. that's all. I can't reply to your other questions if I don't want to give away the plot.
Erina - I know, Max like Alex is the victim here.
L-J-L 76- Lizza, did you forget that you've already left a fb? Thank you! I can answer to one of your questions: Michael and Maria will be in that story, Isabel? No. And Alex? I gave that name to Max's daughter, so no Alex won't be there, at least the Alex we all know.
I just want to say that RL is hard for me lately but I'll do my best to update my fics. the next I'll post will certainly be "An Impossible love".
for the moment, here is the new part, hope you'll enjoy it!
Chapter 2
Liz Parker couldn't sleep that night, her little baby was sick because of the lies her mother had compelled her to do.
Tess Parker Evans.... The ghost coming from the past but so beautiful and attractive woman and Max Evans.... the talented and ambitious pedestrian, the man with that mysterious look that Liz hated since 4 years.
How many sleepless nights, since the trial, did she spend cursing herself again and again? The remorse to have trusted that man, to have introduced him to her little sister was eating her alive, but that was nothing compared to the desperation she felt when she found out that the man she trusted so much was a perverse able to abuse his own little daughter.
Liz was working at the Roswell hospital when she met that young surgeon pedestrian. Max had, clumsyly, spilt her coffee cup since she was resting in the room reserved to the staff. He had offered another one and they began to talk together.
Apparently, nothing could have reunited them. Liz had been raised in a wheathy family since Max grew up in a ranch of the Sierra Nevada. Whilst she received money from her family to pay her studies, Max had to work every summer to pay them. With his champion of rodeo's body and his tanned face, Max looked like a western movies star.
Liz couldn't get enough to stared at his golden eyes when they were sparkling each time he was talking about his job, the children he was healing. His only worry was to sooth their pain. At least, that was what Liz believed then...
Liz felt helpless and desperate. Despite all the certificates and all her experience, she didn't know what to do to help her little girl.....NO! Alex needed her and she was going to do the best to soothe her fears. She had to find out what really happened between Max and Tess but first she had to take care of Alex.
All of sudden, Liz realized that she had to ask the judge to reopen Max's file.... because he was suffering too... with shame, desperation and injustice....
She remembered his tortured and painful look, that day....so long ago but now it seems to her that the events happened yesterday.
5 years ago......
Alexandra was an adorable 5 years little girl and Max was a talented surgeon who owned parts in a famous clinic in SantaFe and Tess was going out with snobish persons or having an important place in the Roswell high society.
Since the begining, their marriage didn't work but they adored their little girl, so did Liz. That was just after her parents's divorce that Alex began to be perturbed. She was getting furious with her friends and sometimes she was even violent with them. Tess called Liz to help her with her daughter.
"You're a psychiatrist Liz, you know what's going on in a child's head. I can't handle that problem with Alex." Tess had said one day.
And Liz had talked with her niece over and over again and she had used all her experience and love to make the little girl finally confess what was eating alive for a long time.
Her father was hurting her, she had said looking away. He was touching her in a wrong way and she didn't like what he was doing to her....
Terrified, Liz had no choice than admit that she was facing an sexual abuse case!!!
When she had talked to Tess, she didn't defend her husband, like lots of wives were usually doing. She charged him and told her that Alex was telling the truth..
"You don't know Max, Lizzy. He hid his real nature.... That man is....out of control and....a psychopath.." she said.
One night, Liz decided to confront Max. She remembered the thunderstorm out of the little room they were. "How could you commit such a horrible act Max?" she had questionned him with disgust.
Max turned pale and his golden eyes darkened. "I haven't done anything to my daughter Liz, I swear it. That's Tess.... I mean she has schemed that plan to get Alex's guard. You have to believe me Liz. You more than anyone, you know me Liz. Please believe me!" he had pleaded.
Usually, Liz knew that Tess could be a liar, when they were younger, she was always lying to get what she wanted from their parents, friends or anyone else.
On the other hand, Max adored the children. He was giving his life to them, to soothe their pain. Liz saw how he was sacrificing a lot to take care of his little patients. She had seen so many times how he behaved around Alex, he adored his little daughter.... Would he adore her till abusing her?.... Liz couldn't believe it...
And yet....Alex was too young to play a comedy. To invent that story like a teen would be able to do it to get a revenge on a teacher....And after some long hours of reflection, Liz chose to believe her niece rather than her father, because a 5 years old little girl couldn't lie since a father was able to do it to defend himself.
After that, everything went fast. She took Tess to complaint and she had supported Tess and Alex during all the tests and statements in front of the attorney.
Then, there was the trial and Liz stayed with her sister and niece, they needed her and she made her best to support them. Alex gave an evidence against her father. The little girl told to the court all the bad things her father was doing to her. And the most she was talking, the most Max's face was whitening. He was like absent... far from the nightmare he was living.
Whilst Tess, gorgeous in her lace dress, confirmed what her little daughter just said with tears in her eyes. And when she saw all the members of the jury's look, she knew that she won. They believed the mother and her daughter. Max understood too.
Present time.
How was he surviving? What did he feel? What does he do now that he has been sentenced for sexual abuse on his daughter? They never proved that he was sick and they never found any proof of rape on Alex. But the jury was composed by 7women and 5 men who were convinced that Max had abused his daughter. He had been sentenced after less than 3 hours of discussion.
Liz walked toward the window *I'm going to change that sentence, I promise you Alex* she murmured, but that was Max's face that appeared suddenly in her mind. His dark and tormented look when he stared at her.
She had sent to jail the only man she ever loved, for the worst crime... for the worst mistake.
A few hours later, Liz was sitting at Maria's office. She needed her to help her with Alex and she knew that Maria would give her the best advice concerning Max Evans's case.
Maria was psychiatrist for children too and everyone loved her. She was kind and always smiling and she was Liz's best friend since years. Liz knew that she would find a way to help her niece but she was not sure that Maria would understand her about Max.
"That's the reason I called you" Liz said one hour after she told her all the story about Alex and Max.
"Did you talk to her teacher?" Maria asked
"She called me a few weeks ago."
Maria looked at her "I think that the program she saw at the tv brought her to reflect about the lie she did years ago and she feels guilty." she stated.
"I agree with you." she said anxious. "You see my sister was selfish but I would never imagine that she could use her own daughter."
"I don't think that Alex understands really what happened to her father and I'm pretty sure that she thinks he is in jail by her fault." Maria said
"In a way, that's the case. I mean she lied and he has been sentenced." Liz replied
"Actually, your little daughter is punishing herself for what she did to her father 5 years ago. Maybe, she thinks that her mother died because of her."
Liz nodded "She thinks that Max hates her now. That's logical since she hates herself for that lie." She groaned "7 years of experience and I didn't see anything" she said frustrated.
"That's normal Liz, you're Alex's mother now."
"I can't stop thinking of Max. All these years locked in a cage since he was innocent. And no one believed him...." She looked at her friend. "That's my fault Maria, I should have believed him. I'm unforgivable."
"Liz...Liz! You did what was the best for your niece. No one could condemn you because of your love for Alex, no one could blame you."
"I do." Liz cried.
"Liz, the judge, the jury... every person who was there at the trial could be accused to be blind, it was not only you. All the people were responsible too. They all thought about Dr Max Evans's behavior around his daughter and they were scared of letting a criminal free."
"He was not a criminal!" Liz yelled.
"He could be. Stop worrying Liz, that's not good for you or even for Alex. And suppose that you had done the opposite. Today, you would blame yourself because a criminal could have harassed your little niece. Do you prefer that?"
Liz stood up and walked toward the window "I knew that Max and Tess's marriage didn't work out very well. Max was working all day long and Tess was bored. She had asked for the divorce to scare him, but he accepted it, relieved to get rid of her. He forgot that Tess wouldn't let her daughter with him. You know what? I should have seen Tess's shemes but I was blind." Liz whispered the last words.
"Stop blaming yourself, ok? What do you want to do now? That's the most important." Maria retorted.
"I have to talk to the prosecutor. James Valenti is a severe man who wants to punish all the criminals. He's ambitious but I hope that he will be honest." Liz said
"Ok, do what you have to do and in the meantime I'll take care of your little daughter. I'll see what's wrong with her. You can count on me." Maria said with a smile. "Liz, do you know where Max is for the moment?" she asked.
Liz turned around toward her "I've been told that he was helping the nurses at the hospital in jail but I wonder what he's doing after all those years."
"What kind of man he was? A fighter?"
"I don't know. When I met him he was very physical.... I think that helps in jail."
"And emotionally? What kind?"
"A lonely man. He didn't talk easily."
"But you were friends, weren't you?"
"Yeah.. we were friends."
Their friendship lasted 5 months...5 wonderful months.
" Did you sleep together?"
Maria questionned her softly, but Liz felt her heart racing. "No...We never shared a kiss."
Ten years ago, nobody could believe that they weren't a couple. Maria thought the same thing.
"I'm certain that you were in love with him." Maria said softly.
Liz was too exhausted to tempt to deny it. "Yeah... I was in love with him"
"Did he return the feelings?"
"No.. Hmm.. I don't know. He never said it to me, but.."
"What?"
"Max was different. I mean, the other doctors were flirting with the students but Max was a doctor first of all. I respected him for that."she said sitting on the couch.
"Max was interested in you?"
"I think so." Liz admitted. "He used to say that I had the sense of humour." Liz said with a little smile.
"YOU? G-d that man was really blinded by love if he said that." Maria burst out laughing.
But Liz's smile disappeared. "He trusted me. He was always talking about his dreams. I had the feeling that we had shared something... special. I hoped that, someday, he would end to confess his love for me, to kiss me and finally to propose." Liz's face was pink by the emotion.
"What happened?" Maria inquired
"I introduced him to my little sister. At the first sight Tess had decided that she would have him. She was like this. All along her life, she had only to blink to get everything that she wanted." she said sadly thinking about her and her sister.
Liz was a plain girl with her brown hair and eyes since Tess was fabulous with her blond hair and blue eyes. Liz needed years of therapy to heal from the jealousy she was feeling for her sister. She knew now that Tess's beauty would have gone and there was nothing interesting left.
"Tess was beautiful. I only met her once and I remember her as a sexy and classy woman." Maria said
Liz smiled and nodded. "Tess was very classy."
"And then, Tess got who she wanted?" Maria continued.
"Yeah she got Max. She had told me but I didn't want to believe her. Until their wedding's day.... I was the maid of honor."
"You accepted that??" Maria asked shocked.
"A Parker has to be charming, polite and smiling. But when the newlyweds disappeared I went to puke in the restroom." Liz explained
"I understand your reaction." Maria said supporting.
"I cried for a month and then I decided to forget that man. 8 months later, I finished college and I opened my office. Alex was born the same month.
A gleam of understanding blazed in Maria's eyes. "I see."
"YEAH!! My sister used the oldest trick of the world to get married. She was pregnant."
"To create a child, you have to be two." Maria stated.
"Exactly. Max didn't resist to Tess's charms." she said sternly. "That was what hurt me the most."
Liz breathed deeply, she was trembling. If Maria didn't need to know that to help Alex, she would have let her memories in the bottom of her heart.
"I'm going to do my best to help you with Alex." she said
"That won't be simple. Your little girl is suffering. To sooth her guilt and confusion, we'll have to convince her that her father doesn't hate her. For that, we'll need Max's help."
"I agree."
"Since he has no right to contact his daughter, we're going to ask to the court the permission to read the letter he'll have to write to her."
"And that letter? I mean what will he have to write in that letter?"
"That he doesn't hate her. That he forgives her for what happened 5 years ago. Something like that... Do you know where is Max?"
*In hell!!* a little voice murmured in Liz's mind....
TBC...IF YOU WANT IT........................................................................
the way he looks into her eyes.....