Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2003 10:59 am
Part 11 — Blurry
I rolled over and shut the alarm off. It had been going for almost fifteen minutes. I was surprised that no one came in to get me up. I looked up at the ceiling remembering the last two days. Pure bliss.
<center>Everything's so blurry
and everyone's so fake
and everybody's so empty
and everything is so messed up
pre-occupied without you
I cannot live at all
My whole world surrounds you
I stumble then I crawl</center>
I rolled over to my left side and dialed Kyle’s number. I needed a few things and thought that maybe he could pull a few strings for me. “Hello?” Great, the sheriff, I mean Jim.
“Hi, this is Liz. Is Kyle up yet?” No small talk just give me your son. I have things to do and people to see.
“Hi, Liz. How are things?” The man is slowly going crazy if he prefers to make small talk with his son’s ex-girlfriend.
“Not bad. I really need to talk to Kyle.”
“Oh, yeah. Hang on a minute.” I hear him put the phone down on the desk. “Kyle. Telephone.” A pause. “It’s Liz.” Another pause. The telephone ruffles like it is being picked up again. I hope its Kyle. “He’ll be with you in a minute.” Nope.
“Thanks.” I didn’t offer anymore information. What he didn’t know was better for him and for me. I didn’t want him talking me out of things.
The phone was silent between the two of us and then, “Hey Liz. What’s up?”
“Hey Kyle. I was wondering if you can meet me at the library when it opens.”
“Sure. Let me get ready and I will come by and pick you up.”
“Great. I was up kind of late last night and I really don’t feel like walking anywhere. I’ll get ready and be downstairs in a half hour.”
“Ok. See you then.”
“Bye.” I hung up the phone. That was easy, but what did I expect? I hadn’t even asked him the hard stuff yet. I walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. I waited for the water to turn warm while holding my hand under the water I turned the hot water on more. I needed a really hot shower to make me wake up.
<center>You could be my someone
you could be my sea
you know that I’ll protect you
from all of the obscene
I wonder what you’re doing
imagine where you are
there's oceans in between us
but that's not very far</center>
I’m downstairs in record time, sitting at the counter mom insisted that I eat something. She places a western omelet in front of me. Ooh yummy… “Are you feeling okay?” She asks. Oh, God. Here it goes again. The last time she asked me if I were feeling okay was when Max and I were hot and heavy looking for the orb.
“Yes, mother. I’m fine.” I flash her a sympathetic smile.
“Are you getting enough sleep?” Ut oh. I hope she didn’t know that I was out all night last night. I thought I had looked at myself in the mirror to ensure that I didn’t look too pale or too dark under the eyes.
“Yeah, last night I slept like a baby. No problems sleeping.” Should I attempt to ask her why the sudden interest in my appearances? Why not? “Why?”
“Oh, no reason. Can’t a mother baby her only child before it’s too late? It seems like you have been really busy this summer and I don’t know anything that is going on. Your dad said that he caught you and Max making out in the alley the other night. What’s that all about?”
“Mom!” I can’t believe she came right out and asked that. That is definitely none of her business. “I can’t believe you.” I said it jokingly. “Well… I would have to say that that is true.” I was getting excited about the conversation. Since Maria hasn’t been around for me to talk to, this was probably going to be the only way for me to vent. “I know we had a rough time last year and I know that there is so many things that could go wrong between us, but this time it’s for real. I can’t believe it. I think Max and I are finally going to be able to have a normal relationship.” I was hoping that she could see my enthusiasm in my facial expressions. I looked at her and studied what was going around in her eyes.
“Really?” That didn’t sound promising. “Do you think that you guys are at the stage of making out already? So soon?”
“Mom I’m not a little kid anymore. Max and I are both reasonable adults. We won’t move to the next stage in our relationship until we are both ready.” That last statement seemed to work miracles with her. She seemed to relax a little.
“Well, I knew that’s what you would say so I had a long talk with your dad and told him that we were being too hard on you. I’m… we’re really glad that you are finally acting normal. It isn’t that we don’t love you it’s that we were really worried about you. You practically closed yourself off from everyone including Maria after Alex’s death. Your father and I agree to lift your grounding as long as you continue to let us know where you are at and if you think you will be running late. All we ask is that you be considerate of our feelings and I think that we will get along better.” Wow… Ok, who stole my mom? I demand one of you to tell me where she is… This is absolutely incredible.
“Really?” She shook her head up and down. I had to go hug her. I stood up on the stool and reached over the counter and embraced my mom with a huge hug. “Thanks mom. It means a lot to me. I won’t let you down. I promise.”
“You better go hug your dad too… I think he’s taking you growing up harder than I am.” She let go and before I could pull away she added, “I love you.”
“I love you too mom.” I hopped off the counter and went running to my dad. I realized now that he had been paying real close attention to me and mom’s conversation.
I ran and jumped into his open arms. “Thanks dad. You won’t regret it. I promise.”
“I hope not Lizzie. I hope not.” That was it. He gave me a peck on my cheek and then we separated. He continued to tally the register receipts and I went back to the counter. Kyle should be getting here any minute now. I better tell mom what my plans were for today. I didn’t want to get off on the wrong foot so soon out of the pen.
“Hey mom. Kyle’s on his way to pick me up. We’re going to the library and then he’s going to take Max and me to Hondo so Max can buy a new car that we saw yesterday. We should be back by ten tonight. Okay?” Please say ok.
“Okay. Just remember if you are going to be any later than ten let us know. Make sure your cell phone is charged so if you guys run into any trouble you will be able to call someone for help. And what ever you do BE CAREFUL.” Gotta love it… I was in hog heaven. The jail sentence has been lifted. All those in favor say YEAH!!!
I put my omelet plate in the dirty dish cart and as I was heading out I saw Kyle’s red mustang pull into a parking space out front. “I’m leaving. See you later.”
“Okay… remember be careful.” Mom hollered again.
“I will.” I waved to dad and ran out the front door.
<center>Can you take it all away
can you take it all away
when ya shoved it in my face
explain again to me</center>
I jogged to Kyle’s car… That reminds me… I needed to start jogging regularly. I opened up the passenger side door and hopped in. “Hey Kyle. Thanks for picking me up.”
“No problem. What’s with the beaming smile?”
“Mom and dad lifted my grounding… You are now looking at a free girl. A free girl that, thanks to you, is now dating Max Evans.”
“No way… You guys are dating again? So soon?” What? What was I missing? I had no idea so I decided I better ask.
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Ummm, Nothing.”
“Come on Kyle. Spill it already. Surely you can’t complain too much you’re the one that’s responsible for it. If you would have just come with me to get my belly ring I wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“Oh, yeah. Blame it on me. That sounds logical. That was two nights ago. What could have happened in a time span of two nights?” He looked over at me. It must have been something on my face. “No way. You didn’t? Did you? Look, you can’t blame that on me… All I did was tell Evans that there was no reason for him and you to be miserable. That I was sure that you guys could be friends and I sent him on his merry way. That’s it… You can’t blame any sexual activities on me. No way.”
“Wow! Down boy. Max and I haven’t had sex… No way… We have too much to get through before we go and do a silly thing like that. I’m just saying that because of you, Max and I have made up and are talking again. Since it is because of you and I can’t get a hold of anyone else I was wondering if you would drop us off in Hondo so Max can buy a new car. That way we don’t have to drive separately.”
“I see just use me… When are you guys going to get it through your thick heads that I’m not here to be at your beck and call? You’re lucky” he continued pointing a finger at me, “that I even talk to you. You know I could say the same exact thing about you. You’re the one that got me mixed up in all this alien crap… I was happy when I was just a jock that didn’t know anything but noooooooo. You have to drag my sorry butt into all this mess, not to mention that I had the evil alien bitch staying in my room. You are one to talk.”
“Ok Kyle. I get it. I owe you one. Whatever you want just holler and I will be there for you.” I smiled. He was just a hoot.
“I know. That’s always been one thing that I can count on out of the bunch of y’ll. You’re a constant Liz and I appreciate your friendship.”
“Thanks Kyle.”
“So are we still heading to the library or do you want me to go straight to Max’s and pick your lover boy up?”
“No… I need to do something at the library and I need to see if you’ve seen anything in Tess’ things while you were packing them up.”
“Okay… To the library then.” He took a few more turns and we were at the library in no time. Things were definitely looking up.
<center>Can you take it all away</center>
<center>can you take it all away
when ya shoved it my face</center>
We walked into the library and I headed to the section that I always did. “It’s over here. We need to get an inside entrance into the Maclaine mansion. Any suggestion?” I showed him the news article of the open house. Invitation only.
After reading it he spoke up. “It should be easy. You and Max go in tux and gown and when they ask for your invitation act like you are looking for it and then have Max do one of his alien magician acts and change a regular piece of paper into the invitation. Of course you have to know who will be on the invite list so the invitation will match. But other than that it should be a piece of cake.” Sure it sounded easy enough.
“Yeah, right. How are we going to get the registration list? We don’t have any connections.”
“Oh, grasshopper…” Funny. I smiled. “I’ll call them on Monday and inquire about it myself. You’ll be amazed what a security guard can find out for the star that he is guarding…“
“What?” I wasn’t following him.
“And you’re going to be valedictorian of the senior class? Let me explain.” He turned his head from side to side so that he could pop his neck… Rough night? Maybe… “I’ll call and see if I can find out what company the security for the event is coming from.”
“You can find out?” I was amazed. When had Kyle gotten so many connections? I let him continue.
“Yeah, dad has all of them in his office. All I have to do is call them. Piece of cake… A walk in the park. Another drop in the bucket.”
“Ok synonym man.” We were both laughing.
“So, I’ll get you guys in, how are you going to get the key?” I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I actually thought that it would take us longer to get Max and I in.
“I haven’t thought that part out yet. I don’t even know what kind of security there is going to be.” Kyle was holding his hand up to stop me from talking. So I did. I waited for him to start whatever it was that needed me to be quiet for.
“Let me take care of it.” That’s all he said. “Is there anything else that you wanted to show me?” I shook my head no. We had pretty much taken care of everything that I could think of.
“Can you drop me off at the storage facility that has Tess’ things?” I might as well see if I can find out if she knew why there was a second key.
“Yeah.” He took a few copies of the Maclaine Mansion layout as I waited. When he was done we left the library. Time: ten thirty… Cool.
<center>Everyone is changing
there's no one left that's real
to make up your ending
and let me know just how you feel
cause I am lost without you
I cannot live at all
my whole world surrounds you
I stumble then I crawl</center>
“Bye Kyle. Thanks for helping me.” I waved as he pulled away. I was glad that we were finished at the library as soon as we were because the heat was slowly starting to creep up. I took the combination out of my pocket that Kyle had given me and when the lock unlocked I took a big cleansing breath.
Tess, who was my archrival from day one. Now, she was gone and she was still causing havoc on the ones left behind. It just wasn’t fair. I bent down and pulled up on the orange garage door. The heat hit me like a ton of bricks. I just stood there for about ten minutes not doing or thinking about anything.
“Come on. If you can’t do it then no one can do it. Keep focus. Remember what she did to Alex. To everyone and what she might be doing right now to Max’s son.” There is nothing wrong with talking to myself since there was no one here to take my mind off of the inevitable.
I took a step in and started at the front. Boxes and boxes of clothes. Why on earth would Kyle keep them? I stood at the first box and then finally ripped into it… I’m lucky I was wearing a halter-top that tied around the neck… because if I had to open all of these boxes in anything heavier I would absolutely die. Then they could chalk one more human up dead because of Tess. I dug into my bag and found a pony tail holder and in an instant my hair was on the top of my head in no time.
I pulled everything out of the box. Nothing but clothes. I threw them back in and set it outside the storage facility. When I was done I would call Good Will and have them come pick everything up… Surely someone somewhere would love to get some new clothes.
<center>You could be my someone
you could be my sea
you know that I will save you
from all of the unclean
I wonder what you’re doing
I wonder where you are
There's oceans in between us
but that's not very far</center>
I had ten boxes stacked up outside the storage facility door when my cell phone rang. “Hello?”
“Hi.” A deep sexy voice rang out that was music to my ears. “Are you still at the library? I can be there in ten minutes if you are.”
“Nope. I’m done with the library for today. I’m actually a little ahead of schedule than I thought I would be.” I looked at my watch it was one thirty-five. “Are you just now getting up?”
“Yeah, if someone wouldn’t have kept me out all night I probably would have gotten up before noon. How long have you been up?”
“Since nine. I didn’t want to waste the whole day sleeping… I will catch up on that tonight. That’s if someone doesn’t keep me up all night.” I was smiling and I started to feel like a dork. I felt like a little kid with a crush on the new kid in school.
“So where are you? I need to see that beautiful face.” How sweet…
I didn’t really want to tell him, but I knew that I had too. “I’m going through Tess’ things. You want to come help me? I’m getting tired lifting all of these boxes…”
“Why did you go by yourself? You should have called me I would have gone with you.”
“It’s not a problem Max. I’ve only gone through the boxes marked clothes and I pulled them out so when Good Will comes by they can pick them up. There’s no use keeping them…” I paused. What if he wanted them? I hadn’t thought about that. Who was I to say that we didn’t need to keep her clothes? I stiffened my posture and trudge forward with what I was going to say. “You didn’t want them did you?”
“God no, Liz. Why would I want them? If you are satisfied that there isn’t any clues in any of them then there is no need to keep them. It was a good decision.” I sighed. Thank you for answering the right way. When was I going to get over this insecurity that I had because of Tess? Hopefully pretty damn quick. I hated the way it makes me feel and I had sworn to myself that I wouldn’t go back to that. Ever.
<center>Nobody told me what you thought
nobody told me what to say
everyone showed you where to turn
told you where to runaway
nobody told you where to hide
nobody told you what to say
everyone showed you where to turn
showed you where to runaway</center>
“Liz? Are you still there?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. I was just thinking.”
“What about?” I could hear it in his voice he thought I was thinking about him. How could I tell him that I was thinking about the way that Tess use to make me feel and just being here in this hot storage room was taking me back to that place in time.
“Well… not exactly. I was actually thinking that you wanted to keep her stuff and even now when she is gone I’m still worrying whether or not you should be with me.” There I said it. We swore to each other to tell the truth and to keep nothing from each other. If Max Evans couldn’t deal with what I had said then tough. Deal with it.
“Liz.” He paused. Evidently thinking about what I had said. “Don’t go through another box. I’m on my way.” Click… He hung up… Great. He didn’t want me going through her things without him being here. My mind began throwing out questions.
Is he afraid that I might find something personal that only the two of them shared?
Is he afraid that I might throw something away that was important?
Did he want me out of here so he could do it all by himself?
Question, after question ran through my mind before I knew it I was ripping box after box open and flinging her crap all over. Looking back if I had a chance to, I would say that I had to have looked like a mad woman by the time that Max had shown up.
“Liz! Liz! What are you doing? Liz.” He grabbed me by wrapping his strong arms around me and turned me into his chest. I was sobbing like a little child. How did this happen? Tears were flowing from my eyes like the waters fall at Niagara Falls. I was pathetic. How could this happen? “Shhh, babe. It’s okay… She’s gone… We can do this as long as we are together. We will make sure that we get through this… I promise you…” My sobs grew louder and the tears were heavier but Max didn’t move. He rubbed my back and just held me tight.
A few moments later I pulled back and wiped away my tears. So much for being strong. I finally had the nerve to look into his eyes. They were filled with just as much sadness that was in my heart. “She hurt us all and we all didn’t make it out alive. I can’t help but think that we won’t be ready for her when she returns.”
“We will be. Who knows, the way that you are working on getting information we might be able to surprise her as well as Khivar on our home planet. Don’t give up just yet. Everything has a way of working out. Especially now that we have found each other.” He grasped my chin so that I couldn’t look away. “I love you Liz and nothing’s not going to happen to us as long as we are together.”
“You’re being naïve Max. We’re teenagers and half of us don’t even have any super human abilities. How do you expect to beat a whole alien nation with just a handful of us? Think about it. I have.”
“You’re right. A handful of us isn’t going to help but if we can get in contact with my people we might stand a chance. All I’m asking is that you hang in there. Do you have any idea how much I depend on you? If you crumble I won’t be able to make it. I know this is a lot to put on your shoulders but I need you, Liz. Please.”
<center>Explain again to me
you take it all
you take it all away...
explain again to me
you take it all away
explain again to me
take it all away
explain again
Blurry by Puddle of Mudd</center>
A sense of belonging came over me as well as an unbelievable urge to kiss Max. He must have felt it too because in one smooth motion we were both being pulled to each other and the kiss that followed was absolutely amazing.
~*~FLASH~*~
I couldn’t believe it. Our first vision since our reunion. It went by so fast that when Max tried to pull away I grabbed on as if my life depended on it.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I rolled over and shut the alarm off. It had been going for almost fifteen minutes. I was surprised that no one came in to get me up. I looked up at the ceiling remembering the last two days. Pure bliss.
<center>Everything's so blurry
and everyone's so fake
and everybody's so empty
and everything is so messed up
pre-occupied without you
I cannot live at all
My whole world surrounds you
I stumble then I crawl</center>
I rolled over to my left side and dialed Kyle’s number. I needed a few things and thought that maybe he could pull a few strings for me. “Hello?” Great, the sheriff, I mean Jim.
“Hi, this is Liz. Is Kyle up yet?” No small talk just give me your son. I have things to do and people to see.
“Hi, Liz. How are things?” The man is slowly going crazy if he prefers to make small talk with his son’s ex-girlfriend.
“Not bad. I really need to talk to Kyle.”
“Oh, yeah. Hang on a minute.” I hear him put the phone down on the desk. “Kyle. Telephone.” A pause. “It’s Liz.” Another pause. The telephone ruffles like it is being picked up again. I hope its Kyle. “He’ll be with you in a minute.” Nope.
“Thanks.” I didn’t offer anymore information. What he didn’t know was better for him and for me. I didn’t want him talking me out of things.
The phone was silent between the two of us and then, “Hey Liz. What’s up?”
“Hey Kyle. I was wondering if you can meet me at the library when it opens.”
“Sure. Let me get ready and I will come by and pick you up.”
“Great. I was up kind of late last night and I really don’t feel like walking anywhere. I’ll get ready and be downstairs in a half hour.”
“Ok. See you then.”
“Bye.” I hung up the phone. That was easy, but what did I expect? I hadn’t even asked him the hard stuff yet. I walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. I waited for the water to turn warm while holding my hand under the water I turned the hot water on more. I needed a really hot shower to make me wake up.
<center>You could be my someone
you could be my sea
you know that I’ll protect you
from all of the obscene
I wonder what you’re doing
imagine where you are
there's oceans in between us
but that's not very far</center>
I’m downstairs in record time, sitting at the counter mom insisted that I eat something. She places a western omelet in front of me. Ooh yummy… “Are you feeling okay?” She asks. Oh, God. Here it goes again. The last time she asked me if I were feeling okay was when Max and I were hot and heavy looking for the orb.
“Yes, mother. I’m fine.” I flash her a sympathetic smile.
“Are you getting enough sleep?” Ut oh. I hope she didn’t know that I was out all night last night. I thought I had looked at myself in the mirror to ensure that I didn’t look too pale or too dark under the eyes.
“Yeah, last night I slept like a baby. No problems sleeping.” Should I attempt to ask her why the sudden interest in my appearances? Why not? “Why?”
“Oh, no reason. Can’t a mother baby her only child before it’s too late? It seems like you have been really busy this summer and I don’t know anything that is going on. Your dad said that he caught you and Max making out in the alley the other night. What’s that all about?”
“Mom!” I can’t believe she came right out and asked that. That is definitely none of her business. “I can’t believe you.” I said it jokingly. “Well… I would have to say that that is true.” I was getting excited about the conversation. Since Maria hasn’t been around for me to talk to, this was probably going to be the only way for me to vent. “I know we had a rough time last year and I know that there is so many things that could go wrong between us, but this time it’s for real. I can’t believe it. I think Max and I are finally going to be able to have a normal relationship.” I was hoping that she could see my enthusiasm in my facial expressions. I looked at her and studied what was going around in her eyes.
“Really?” That didn’t sound promising. “Do you think that you guys are at the stage of making out already? So soon?”
“Mom I’m not a little kid anymore. Max and I are both reasonable adults. We won’t move to the next stage in our relationship until we are both ready.” That last statement seemed to work miracles with her. She seemed to relax a little.
“Well, I knew that’s what you would say so I had a long talk with your dad and told him that we were being too hard on you. I’m… we’re really glad that you are finally acting normal. It isn’t that we don’t love you it’s that we were really worried about you. You practically closed yourself off from everyone including Maria after Alex’s death. Your father and I agree to lift your grounding as long as you continue to let us know where you are at and if you think you will be running late. All we ask is that you be considerate of our feelings and I think that we will get along better.” Wow… Ok, who stole my mom? I demand one of you to tell me where she is… This is absolutely incredible.
“Really?” She shook her head up and down. I had to go hug her. I stood up on the stool and reached over the counter and embraced my mom with a huge hug. “Thanks mom. It means a lot to me. I won’t let you down. I promise.”
“You better go hug your dad too… I think he’s taking you growing up harder than I am.” She let go and before I could pull away she added, “I love you.”
“I love you too mom.” I hopped off the counter and went running to my dad. I realized now that he had been paying real close attention to me and mom’s conversation.
I ran and jumped into his open arms. “Thanks dad. You won’t regret it. I promise.”
“I hope not Lizzie. I hope not.” That was it. He gave me a peck on my cheek and then we separated. He continued to tally the register receipts and I went back to the counter. Kyle should be getting here any minute now. I better tell mom what my plans were for today. I didn’t want to get off on the wrong foot so soon out of the pen.
“Hey mom. Kyle’s on his way to pick me up. We’re going to the library and then he’s going to take Max and me to Hondo so Max can buy a new car that we saw yesterday. We should be back by ten tonight. Okay?” Please say ok.
“Okay. Just remember if you are going to be any later than ten let us know. Make sure your cell phone is charged so if you guys run into any trouble you will be able to call someone for help. And what ever you do BE CAREFUL.” Gotta love it… I was in hog heaven. The jail sentence has been lifted. All those in favor say YEAH!!!
I put my omelet plate in the dirty dish cart and as I was heading out I saw Kyle’s red mustang pull into a parking space out front. “I’m leaving. See you later.”
“Okay… remember be careful.” Mom hollered again.
“I will.” I waved to dad and ran out the front door.
<center>Can you take it all away
can you take it all away
when ya shoved it in my face
explain again to me</center>
I jogged to Kyle’s car… That reminds me… I needed to start jogging regularly. I opened up the passenger side door and hopped in. “Hey Kyle. Thanks for picking me up.”
“No problem. What’s with the beaming smile?”
“Mom and dad lifted my grounding… You are now looking at a free girl. A free girl that, thanks to you, is now dating Max Evans.”
“No way… You guys are dating again? So soon?” What? What was I missing? I had no idea so I decided I better ask.
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Ummm, Nothing.”
“Come on Kyle. Spill it already. Surely you can’t complain too much you’re the one that’s responsible for it. If you would have just come with me to get my belly ring I wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“Oh, yeah. Blame it on me. That sounds logical. That was two nights ago. What could have happened in a time span of two nights?” He looked over at me. It must have been something on my face. “No way. You didn’t? Did you? Look, you can’t blame that on me… All I did was tell Evans that there was no reason for him and you to be miserable. That I was sure that you guys could be friends and I sent him on his merry way. That’s it… You can’t blame any sexual activities on me. No way.”
“Wow! Down boy. Max and I haven’t had sex… No way… We have too much to get through before we go and do a silly thing like that. I’m just saying that because of you, Max and I have made up and are talking again. Since it is because of you and I can’t get a hold of anyone else I was wondering if you would drop us off in Hondo so Max can buy a new car. That way we don’t have to drive separately.”
“I see just use me… When are you guys going to get it through your thick heads that I’m not here to be at your beck and call? You’re lucky” he continued pointing a finger at me, “that I even talk to you. You know I could say the same exact thing about you. You’re the one that got me mixed up in all this alien crap… I was happy when I was just a jock that didn’t know anything but noooooooo. You have to drag my sorry butt into all this mess, not to mention that I had the evil alien bitch staying in my room. You are one to talk.”
“Ok Kyle. I get it. I owe you one. Whatever you want just holler and I will be there for you.” I smiled. He was just a hoot.
“I know. That’s always been one thing that I can count on out of the bunch of y’ll. You’re a constant Liz and I appreciate your friendship.”
“Thanks Kyle.”
“So are we still heading to the library or do you want me to go straight to Max’s and pick your lover boy up?”
“No… I need to do something at the library and I need to see if you’ve seen anything in Tess’ things while you were packing them up.”
“Okay… To the library then.” He took a few more turns and we were at the library in no time. Things were definitely looking up.
<center>Can you take it all away</center>
<center>can you take it all away
when ya shoved it my face</center>
We walked into the library and I headed to the section that I always did. “It’s over here. We need to get an inside entrance into the Maclaine mansion. Any suggestion?” I showed him the news article of the open house. Invitation only.
After reading it he spoke up. “It should be easy. You and Max go in tux and gown and when they ask for your invitation act like you are looking for it and then have Max do one of his alien magician acts and change a regular piece of paper into the invitation. Of course you have to know who will be on the invite list so the invitation will match. But other than that it should be a piece of cake.” Sure it sounded easy enough.
“Yeah, right. How are we going to get the registration list? We don’t have any connections.”
“Oh, grasshopper…” Funny. I smiled. “I’ll call them on Monday and inquire about it myself. You’ll be amazed what a security guard can find out for the star that he is guarding…“
“What?” I wasn’t following him.
“And you’re going to be valedictorian of the senior class? Let me explain.” He turned his head from side to side so that he could pop his neck… Rough night? Maybe… “I’ll call and see if I can find out what company the security for the event is coming from.”
“You can find out?” I was amazed. When had Kyle gotten so many connections? I let him continue.
“Yeah, dad has all of them in his office. All I have to do is call them. Piece of cake… A walk in the park. Another drop in the bucket.”
“Ok synonym man.” We were both laughing.
“So, I’ll get you guys in, how are you going to get the key?” I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I actually thought that it would take us longer to get Max and I in.
“I haven’t thought that part out yet. I don’t even know what kind of security there is going to be.” Kyle was holding his hand up to stop me from talking. So I did. I waited for him to start whatever it was that needed me to be quiet for.
“Let me take care of it.” That’s all he said. “Is there anything else that you wanted to show me?” I shook my head no. We had pretty much taken care of everything that I could think of.
“Can you drop me off at the storage facility that has Tess’ things?” I might as well see if I can find out if she knew why there was a second key.
“Yeah.” He took a few copies of the Maclaine Mansion layout as I waited. When he was done we left the library. Time: ten thirty… Cool.
<center>Everyone is changing
there's no one left that's real
to make up your ending
and let me know just how you feel
cause I am lost without you
I cannot live at all
my whole world surrounds you
I stumble then I crawl</center>
“Bye Kyle. Thanks for helping me.” I waved as he pulled away. I was glad that we were finished at the library as soon as we were because the heat was slowly starting to creep up. I took the combination out of my pocket that Kyle had given me and when the lock unlocked I took a big cleansing breath.
Tess, who was my archrival from day one. Now, she was gone and she was still causing havoc on the ones left behind. It just wasn’t fair. I bent down and pulled up on the orange garage door. The heat hit me like a ton of bricks. I just stood there for about ten minutes not doing or thinking about anything.
“Come on. If you can’t do it then no one can do it. Keep focus. Remember what she did to Alex. To everyone and what she might be doing right now to Max’s son.” There is nothing wrong with talking to myself since there was no one here to take my mind off of the inevitable.
I took a step in and started at the front. Boxes and boxes of clothes. Why on earth would Kyle keep them? I stood at the first box and then finally ripped into it… I’m lucky I was wearing a halter-top that tied around the neck… because if I had to open all of these boxes in anything heavier I would absolutely die. Then they could chalk one more human up dead because of Tess. I dug into my bag and found a pony tail holder and in an instant my hair was on the top of my head in no time.
I pulled everything out of the box. Nothing but clothes. I threw them back in and set it outside the storage facility. When I was done I would call Good Will and have them come pick everything up… Surely someone somewhere would love to get some new clothes.
<center>You could be my someone
you could be my sea
you know that I will save you
from all of the unclean
I wonder what you’re doing
I wonder where you are
There's oceans in between us
but that's not very far</center>
I had ten boxes stacked up outside the storage facility door when my cell phone rang. “Hello?”
“Hi.” A deep sexy voice rang out that was music to my ears. “Are you still at the library? I can be there in ten minutes if you are.”
“Nope. I’m done with the library for today. I’m actually a little ahead of schedule than I thought I would be.” I looked at my watch it was one thirty-five. “Are you just now getting up?”
“Yeah, if someone wouldn’t have kept me out all night I probably would have gotten up before noon. How long have you been up?”
“Since nine. I didn’t want to waste the whole day sleeping… I will catch up on that tonight. That’s if someone doesn’t keep me up all night.” I was smiling and I started to feel like a dork. I felt like a little kid with a crush on the new kid in school.
“So where are you? I need to see that beautiful face.” How sweet…
I didn’t really want to tell him, but I knew that I had too. “I’m going through Tess’ things. You want to come help me? I’m getting tired lifting all of these boxes…”
“Why did you go by yourself? You should have called me I would have gone with you.”
“It’s not a problem Max. I’ve only gone through the boxes marked clothes and I pulled them out so when Good Will comes by they can pick them up. There’s no use keeping them…” I paused. What if he wanted them? I hadn’t thought about that. Who was I to say that we didn’t need to keep her clothes? I stiffened my posture and trudge forward with what I was going to say. “You didn’t want them did you?”
“God no, Liz. Why would I want them? If you are satisfied that there isn’t any clues in any of them then there is no need to keep them. It was a good decision.” I sighed. Thank you for answering the right way. When was I going to get over this insecurity that I had because of Tess? Hopefully pretty damn quick. I hated the way it makes me feel and I had sworn to myself that I wouldn’t go back to that. Ever.
<center>Nobody told me what you thought
nobody told me what to say
everyone showed you where to turn
told you where to runaway
nobody told you where to hide
nobody told you what to say
everyone showed you where to turn
showed you where to runaway</center>
“Liz? Are you still there?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. I was just thinking.”
“What about?” I could hear it in his voice he thought I was thinking about him. How could I tell him that I was thinking about the way that Tess use to make me feel and just being here in this hot storage room was taking me back to that place in time.
“Well… not exactly. I was actually thinking that you wanted to keep her stuff and even now when she is gone I’m still worrying whether or not you should be with me.” There I said it. We swore to each other to tell the truth and to keep nothing from each other. If Max Evans couldn’t deal with what I had said then tough. Deal with it.
“Liz.” He paused. Evidently thinking about what I had said. “Don’t go through another box. I’m on my way.” Click… He hung up… Great. He didn’t want me going through her things without him being here. My mind began throwing out questions.
Is he afraid that I might find something personal that only the two of them shared?
Is he afraid that I might throw something away that was important?
Did he want me out of here so he could do it all by himself?
Question, after question ran through my mind before I knew it I was ripping box after box open and flinging her crap all over. Looking back if I had a chance to, I would say that I had to have looked like a mad woman by the time that Max had shown up.
“Liz! Liz! What are you doing? Liz.” He grabbed me by wrapping his strong arms around me and turned me into his chest. I was sobbing like a little child. How did this happen? Tears were flowing from my eyes like the waters fall at Niagara Falls. I was pathetic. How could this happen? “Shhh, babe. It’s okay… She’s gone… We can do this as long as we are together. We will make sure that we get through this… I promise you…” My sobs grew louder and the tears were heavier but Max didn’t move. He rubbed my back and just held me tight.
A few moments later I pulled back and wiped away my tears. So much for being strong. I finally had the nerve to look into his eyes. They were filled with just as much sadness that was in my heart. “She hurt us all and we all didn’t make it out alive. I can’t help but think that we won’t be ready for her when she returns.”
“We will be. Who knows, the way that you are working on getting information we might be able to surprise her as well as Khivar on our home planet. Don’t give up just yet. Everything has a way of working out. Especially now that we have found each other.” He grasped my chin so that I couldn’t look away. “I love you Liz and nothing’s not going to happen to us as long as we are together.”
“You’re being naïve Max. We’re teenagers and half of us don’t even have any super human abilities. How do you expect to beat a whole alien nation with just a handful of us? Think about it. I have.”
“You’re right. A handful of us isn’t going to help but if we can get in contact with my people we might stand a chance. All I’m asking is that you hang in there. Do you have any idea how much I depend on you? If you crumble I won’t be able to make it. I know this is a lot to put on your shoulders but I need you, Liz. Please.”
<center>Explain again to me
you take it all
you take it all away...
explain again to me
you take it all away
explain again to me
take it all away
explain again
Blurry by Puddle of Mudd</center>
A sense of belonging came over me as well as an unbelievable urge to kiss Max. He must have felt it too because in one smooth motion we were both being pulled to each other and the kiss that followed was absolutely amazing.
~*~FLASH~*~
I couldn’t believe it. Our first vision since our reunion. It went by so fast that when Max tried to pull away I grabbed on as if my life depended on it.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~