Hi - Thanks for reading. Here is the new part. This is a transition part...be back on Saturday. - Tanya
Chapter 18
Three Weeks Later
He was nervous, he was sweating and he was on the cusp of changing his mind. He had been holding off telling her ever since he decided to come clean. It had been weeks. Max knew he had to tell her, but it didn’t make it any easier.
Things were going well between them. He had of course put behind him what Liz had told him, that she loved him. He knew that going down that road with her was a bad idea especially since he had been keeping a big secret from her.
Max stood up from his position on his couch, he began pacing. Liz was expected to be at his place in under an hour. A part of him had always thought that she would just remember on her own and that would make it easier to explain to her. It had been years; she had not remembered anything about that night.
Max and Serena could never figure out why Liz not only forgot the night of the accident but also the day of the wedding. It wasn’t something the doctors could give an answer to, but he often wondered if she too wanted to forget due to the way it ended with them.
****
“Max!” he jumped slightly at the sound of her voice. She entered his living room and he turned from his position by the balcony window.
He smiled, she was wearing her work uniform, a pink dress with a black apron. He shook his head, why didn’t she just use the education she had.
She told him once after her accident she just couldn’t find what felt right to her, and that one day it would.
Whatever that meant.
“Is everything okay?” she asked as she came to stand before him. He looked down at her, her hair was loose today, and had grown past her shoulders.
“Yeah, everything is okay. I just needed to talk to you and it’s important. And I’m…slightly terrified to tell you.” Her eyes scrunched together in confusion.
“Max…”
“Liz, just have a seat. I need to get this out as quick as I can.” She continued to look at him in confusion, but nodded and took a seat on the chair in the corner of the room.
He rung his hands together, then ran them up and through his hair. Max took a deep breath and finally let out the truth.
“I lied to you…well not lied. I kept the truth from you and…I’m sorry Liz…I should have told you and…”
“Wait, what are you talking about? Truth about what?” she asked cutting off his rambling.
Max stopped and took a shaky breath. He came to stand before her looking down into her beautiful face. Her beautiful trusting face. He was a terrible person, he thought.
“The night of the accident Liz, I know you don’t remember but that’s not all you don’t remember,” he paused when she started to interrupt but he lowered to his haunches in front of her, “please let me finish.”
She said nothing.
“That’s not all you don’t remember. The night…ah…the day Serena and Jared got married you were so happy. We danced, we laughed, we…Liz…you and I…we slept together that night.”
“What? I…I don’t understand. We never slept together Max.”
He gripped her hands tightly, willing her to understand.
“We did. We did Liz, and it was beautiful and perfect and…it destroyed us. I told myself it was for the better that since you didn’t remember it was better if you never did. If I never told you. I was wrong. You deserve to know.”
Max proceeded to tell her everything that happened that night, and everything that happened after.
“I thought I was pregnant? And I didn’t tell you? I…I told you I wouldn’t have told you?” she asked confused and with tears in her eyes.
She shook her head, “I would never not tell you Max. I…that’s not me. That’s not what I would do.”
“I know Liz. But I’m telling you the truth.”
Liz stood; she didn’t understand. It didn’t make sense. Max and her had sex? They slept together? She didn’t even remember it.
“Why did you not tell me?” Max stood and faced her. “I…Liz we were in such a bad place and I had you back. I almost lost you. Lost you in a way
that I don’t think I would have been able to breathe without you.”
“I don’t know what to say, Max. I feel like you’re talking about a different person. I don’t remember any of this. I don’t know what to think.”
“Liz, I’m sorry. So sorry but I had to tell you. I know it was wrong and I hope you can forgive me. I hope you can just understand where I was coming from. Why I did it.”
“Max, I need time…does Serena know?” Max hesitated; he could clearly see how upset she was but he couldn’t keep anything else from her.
“She knows and so does Jared. I asked them not to tell you, Serena wasn’t happy about it but she did it.”
Liz looked up to him, “so you all thought it was a great idea to keep parts of my life away from me? I need to go Max. I need to think.” He reached out to her, but she shook her head backing away.
“Please…” she said and turned on her heel and ran.
“Fuck!” he said slamming his head against the arm of the couch.
Now it began, he would go about losing Liz all over again. How in the hell was he going to fix it this time around, when he failed so supremely the first time?
TBC…