Secret Among Friends - 14/8/05 Mature/Adult COMPLETE

[Bubblegal]

Thanks to Everyone who reviewed!

cocopucks:

Emz80m:

Michelle17:

Maxsgurl: Max has taught Tammy how to defend herself, he may be over protective but he knows she can look after herself.

orphyfets:

anonymousarfan:

roswellrox:

RASaero611

Enjoy this chapter, you are going to get all the answers.


Chapter 31

~~~~Liz~~~~


I was sitting outside of the courtroom, staring at the door with trepidation, I was going to walk through that door and see my parents for the first time after they had attacked me.
“You okay?” Max asked, he was sitting next to me, holding my hand; I looked at him and gave him a small smile before looking at the door once more.
“Just a little nervous.” I admitted and he nodded.
“I will be right here when you come out.” He whispered and I nodded.
“I know.” I whispered; we all stood up when Mr. Wilson walked near us.
“Are you ready?” he asked and I took a deep breath.
“As ready as I could ever be.” I told him and he nodded before looking at everyone else.
“I think it would be best if you didn’t sit the trial.” He told them and they nodded, mom and dad had explained to them that it might be upsetting and they might have a couple of outbursts so they were to sit outside till I was finished.

We entered the courtroom, he led me over to one of the table that was sitting in front of the judge table, my parents were sitting at the other one with…I stopped in my tracks when I saw James Mastodon sitting next to them, he was defending them!

The court guard stood up.
“All Rise.” He stated, we all rose up, the judge came out and settled down on his seat.
“You may seat.” He told us and we all sat down. “This is the case of Parker against Parker on the account of Child Abuse?” he asked.
“Yes it is your honour.” Mr. Wilson stated and he nodded.
“You may proceed.” He stated and Mr. Wilson nodded.
“I would like to call Dr. Jameson to the Witness Stand.”

Dr. Jameson, the doctor who over seen my care at the hospital made his way over to the stand and the court guard came over to him.
“Do you promise to tell the truth, nothing but the whole truth?” he asked as he held out the bible and Dr. Jameson placed his hand on the bible and the other on his hand.
“Yes, I swear to tell the truth, nothing but the whole truth.” He stated before sitting down.
“Dr. Jameson, could you please state your full name for the record?” Mr. Wilson asked.
“I’m Doctor Alan Jameson, I work at the Roswell memorial.” Informed and Mr. Wilson nodded.
“You were the doctor who looked after Liz when she was admitted to the hospital?” he asked.
“Yes, that is correct.” He told him.
“Could you please tell us what state Liz Parker was in?” Mr. Wilson asked.
“She had a few broken ribs, a lot of internal damage, a few of them were quite life threatening but we had managed to save her in time. She had sprained her ankle and wrist, her ankle from trying to get away from parents as there was a hand print bruise on her ankle, her wrist when she fell and reached out to prevent her fall. Her face was barely unrecognisable, she had cuts and bruises all over her body and face. The typical signs of abused victims.” Dr. Jameson told them.
“Did you think she would have died?” Mr. Wilson asked and Dr. Jameson nodded.
“Yes, there was a few touch and go when we thought we lost her but she was a fighter and brought herself back. If she hadn’t come in that time, I have no doubt that the old internal bruises would have eventually killed her.” He informed.

I sat there, stunned, I would have died because of my internal bruises, I tried to wrap my mind around it but it was practically impossible!
“I have no more questions.” Mr. Wilson stated.
“I also have no questions.” Mr. Mastodon stated and the judge nodded.
“You may step down.” He told Dr. Jameson and he nodded as he moved away from the witness stand.
“Your honour, I call Elizabeth Parker to the stand.” Mr. Wilson stated; I gulped slightly as I made my way over the stand.

The court guard walked over to me with the bible.
“Do you swear to tell the truth, nothing but the whole truth?” he asked, I placed my hand on the bible and the other over my hand.
“I swear.” I stated and he moved away as I sat down.
“Could you please state your full name for the record?” Mr. Wilson asked.
“Elizabeth Claudia Parker.” I informed them.
“Miss Parker, could you please tell the jury why you parents attacked you?” Mr. Wilson asked and I took a deep breath.
“They attacked me because they blamed me for the death of Rosa, my sister.” I told them.
“Why did they blame you?” he asked.
“Because Rosa and I had an argument the day she died, they believed that I drove her over the edge and killed her.”
“What made you believe that you were responsible for the death of Rosa Parker?” he asked.
“The day after the funeral, they told me that Rosa had left a letter stating that she couldn’t live anymore because I hated her.” I told him.
“Did you hate Rosa?” he asked and I shook my head.
“No, I loved my sister, I didn’t want her to go out that night of her death because I had a bad feeling and we had an argument about it which caused her to storm off.” I explained.
“I had received information that you have problems taking medicines, is it due to your sister taking drugs?” he asked and I sighed, I knew that I was going to have to answer this.
“No, it was on the night of my sister’s funeral, my mom and dad was drunk that when they saw me, they went nuts. My dad held me down while my mom shovelled medicine down into my throat, forcing me to take them. I threw them back up and was beaten up because of it.” I explained; I could see Mrs. Evans covering her mouth in shock while Mr. Evans was furious.
“What happened after that?” Mr. Wilson asked and I sighed.
“Once I woke up back from being out, I left the house and collapsed in the middle of the street, crying. That was when Max Evans found me and brought me in the house. Mrs. Evans tried to give me medicine for the cold that I was bound to have but I threw it back up, no one knew of the incident.”
“No further questions your honour.” Mr. Wilson stated as he moved over to his seat.

Mr. Mastodon stood up with an oily smirk and made his way over to me.
“That night you went into hospital, why did you parents attack you?” Mr. Mastodon asked.
“They found out that I was pregnant.” I told him and there were gasps over the courtroom, I refused to look at anyone in case I saw horror or pity.
“And you know who the father was?” He asked and I glared at him.
“The father was Max Evans.” I replied; he only took up the job of defending my parents because Max beated up his son, how pathetic could a man get?
“I was under the impression that Mr. Evans didn’t know who the father was.” He replied with a smirk and I sighed.
“As my parents assaulted me, no one really knew just how far they had went, Max thought my dad may have sexually abused me, which I corrected and told him that he was my first and only, that my parents never went that far at all on any occasion.” I told him.
“Why would you parents think you were the reason for Rosa’s death?” he asked.
“Because we had an argument.” I told him, getting a bit tired of telling everyone why my parents thought I was the reason for Rosa’s death.
“It wasn’t do with the fact that you were flirting with her boyfriend?” he asked. “That maybe you had a jealously fit and drove Rosa to her death?” He asked and I looked at him, confused.
“Boyfriend?” I asked and he looked at me.
“Oh come on, are you telling me that you never knew that Rosa had a boyfriend?” he asked and I shook my head.
“I had no idea that Rosa had a boyfriend, she never really brought any friends home let alone a boy and we weren’t that close as I was eight years old when she died.” I told him and he blanched slightly.
“Is there any evidence saying that Liz was flirting with the boyfriend in question?” The judge asked and he shook his head.
“No…” he started and the judge nodded.
“Fine, then I find it irrelevant, please strike it off and jury; please forget you heard that.” The judges stated before settling in his seat once more.
“Why did you not tell anyone?” He asked.
“I was eight years old when my parents started beating me up, after a while it was programmed into me that I was the reason why Rosa died. I tried to tell my friends countless of times but my fear always won out in the end.” I explained.
“Your fear for what? That they would know that you were lying?” he demanded and I looked at him with a cold glare.
“That they would turn away from me, that they would agree with my parents, that I was the blame for Rosa’s death and I couldn’t handle it.” I told him.
“No further questions your honour.” He muttered as he stalked back to his table and Judge nodded.
“Okay, you may step down from the witness stand.” He told me and I nodded as I walked back over to the table. “Court, you may state your statements.” He informed and Mr. Mastodon stood up.
“Jury, I urge you to think about this whole scene play we just had here today, we have a mentally unstable person who is blaming her parents for beating her up. Can we really trust her word on this? She lost a baby, one that she never informed the ‘father’ on, so how do we know she wasn’t lying about who the father is? How do we know that she isn’t lying about everything else?” he stated. “There is no evidence of the beatings except pictures that the hospital gave us, how do we know that she didn’t get someone to beat her up so she just point the blame at her parents? The two people who went through hell cause their elderly daughter had left them a note saying that their younger daughter had driven her to her death. These two people have never been on the wrong side of the law and all of a sudden, the daughter is crying abuse. I urge you people to think long and hard about this and prove that my clients are the one…not guilty.” He stated before smiling. “Thank you.”

Mr. Wilson stood up.
“Jury, just because two people doesn’t seem to have done anything wrong doesn’t mean that they are not guilty, this young girl was abused from the age 8, all because of some letter that doesn’t seem to exist, the police and forensic have checked that house upside down, even their offices and such and have found no such thing. Don’t you think, of an allegation like that, you would keep the evidence? Well, we found none. This young girl lost her sister and in a way, her parents at the same time, they no longer loved her and beated her up. They put her in hospital because she was pregnant! What kind of parents would do that to their own child? Jury, I urge you to look at the evidence carefully and dub the clients guilty of abusing their own daughter for what they thought the death of their eldest daughter.” He tipped his head slightly. “Thank you.” He informed them before moving back to his seat.

The judge sat up in his seat.
“Jury, you may retire and let the court guard know when you are ready to give the verdict.” He informed them before and the court guard stood up.
“All rise.” He stated, we all rose as the jury and judge left the room.

Finally, I was going to get to see Max.

~~~~Max~~~~


I was pacing the hallway, I needed to see Liz but I had to wait, soon the door opened and my parents stepped through, I hurried over to them and I could see that my mother’s eyes were red from crying.
“Mom?” I asked.
“I want to kill them.” She sobbed out.
“What happened?” I demanded and dad sighed.
“The whole Medicine thing?” my dad stated and we all nodded, we knew that Liz had been having problems with taking medicine. “Her parents forced medicine into her mouth, they forced her to swallow it. Max, that day you found her, she would have died if you hadn’t.” my dad explained and I felt like a sledge hammer slam into my chest.
“They wanted to kill her.” Tammy whispered and mom nodded and she shook her head in disgust.
“And the reason why she wouldn’t tell us…” mom started and shook her head. “I can’t believe she would think that we would side with her parents.”
“She was scared.” I whispered.

The door opened once more and Liz stepped out, I hurried over to her and enveloped her in my arms, holding her close to my body. I could feel her shivering in my arms.
“It’s okay, let it go.” I whispered and she did, she sobbed into my chest as all the memories ran through her brain once more.

I stroked back her hair as she clung to me, I saw James step outside of the courtroom, he was talking to Jeff and Nancy and nodding at something they were saying and it hit me.
“He is defending them?” Tammy hissed out, everyone turned and saw James standing there; he looked over at us before gulping in fear.
“Oh, he is going down.” Isabel hissed out as she made her way over to him but dad grabbed her and held her back.
“Not now Isabel, this is a court.” Dad hissed and she looked at him.
“Dad, that bastard is defending the people who put Liz through hell, how can he do this?” she demanded.
“Payback.” A small husky voice spoke up, we all looked down at Liz, who was still cuddling into me. “He’s doing this because Max beated up his son and fired him from representing me.” Liz explained and I shook my head. The guy never fails to disgust me.
“What is going on?” Tess demanded as Mr. Wilson came out.
“The Jury has retired to make the verdict.” Mr. Wilson explained and everyone nodded when the court guard came out.
“Court 156 please come back in again.” He informed and Liz looked up at me, startled.
“That’s our case.” She whispered and Maria gasped.
“They can’t have come to a conclusion that quick!” Maria whispered; Mr. Wilson shrugged as he motioned for Liz to go in, she nodded before looking at me once more.
“It’ll be okay, I’ll be right out here.” I whispered and she smiled slightly as I kissed her gently on the lips before letting her go.

I watched as she entered the room once more and I hoped to god that everything was going to be alright.

~~~~Liz~~~~


We all made our way back to our seats, the court guard stood up once more.
“All rise.” He stated, we all rose as the Judge came out and settled himself back on his seat.
“You may seat.” He informed and we all sat down once more. He turned to the jury. “You have come to a conclusion?” he asked and the leader of the jury stood up.
“Yes we have.” She informed him and he nodded.
“You may proceed.” The jury informed and she picked up a piece of paper and opened it.
“We find the defendant, under the Child abuse law…Guilty. We find the defendant of mandatory 1, with the attempt to kill the victim…guilty.” she stated, I felt a huge wave of relief swimming through my body but a tiny hint of guilt, I had sent my parents down. The judge nodded as he turned back to the front.
“Mr and Mrs Parker, will you please stand?” He stated and they both rose with Mr. Mastodon. “The court has found you guilty under the law of child abuse, you are to spend at least 10 years for the abusing of Elizabeth Claudia Parker. You have been found guilty of mandatory 1; you are to spend no less than 30 years in prison. Overall, that will be 40 years in prisons with no hint of parole, guards, please remove them from the court.” He informed as he banged the gravel.

Everything after that was a rush, I saw my parents being cuffed and led away; I saw Mr and Mrs. Evans hugging me tightly to them, ensuring that I was okay before leading me out of the courtroom and over to where everyone else was.
“Well?” Max asked as he jumped up.
“Guilty on both offence. They have been sent down 40 years with no parole.” Mr. Evans informed them, they all cheered as Max took me into his arms.

He leaned down and whispered into my ear.
“It’s over.” He whispered and I broke down, it was over. I didn’t have to live in fear that my parents were going to turn on me and beat up me. I didn’t have to live in fear that my friends were going to turn me away cause they agreed with my parents.

I was finally free to live my life.

TBC

Okay, I think I covered every question you guys had but if you feel that there is something missing or I missed out on a question, let me know and I will do my best to answer them.
Catch you later!

[Bubblegal]

Thanks to Everyone who reviewed!

DreamerAZ04:

Maxsgurl: Yes, there will be a sequel

Michelle17:

RASaero611:

urpersonaloddball:

pandas2001: Tammy may have witness the bruises but she didn't witness the actual abuse, she only had Liz's word or lack of that she was been abused by her parents

adn the Parkers couldn't really go on because Liz basically answered their questions plus they didn't want to go on stand.

anonymousarfan:

roswellrox:

orphyfets:

rosbuffyangelfanatl:

Eliz:

Brook:

Thanks to everyone who reviewed this story, your reviews kept me going and i'm sad to say that this is the last chapter of this story so enjoy it everyone!


Chapter 32

~~~~Max~~~~


I paced my bedroom; I was wondering how the hell I was going to do this. I plunged my hands into my pocket and fingered the object that was in my pocket.

I looked up when the door opened and I saw Liz standing there. She had changed a lot since the trial, mom and dad sent her to counselling so she could get the help she needed to get past everything she had been through, the counsellor told us that meeting up with her parents in court gave her the finally step she needed to make closer and come to term, she was getting stronger each day.
“Are you okay?” she asked and I nodded.
“Yeah, I’m fine, is everyone else ready?” I asked, Liz and I were dressed in our graduation gowns, because Tess, Liz and Tammy were in a lot of higher with us, the school saw it fit for them to graduate with us, which we were happy about.
“Yeah, they’re ready, mom is looking for the camera though.” She explained as she walked over to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Are you sure you are okay?” she asked. “You have been pacing in your room for ages.” She explained and I smiled down at her.
“I’m okay, just a little nervous I guess.” I admitted and she looked at me weirdly.
“Max, you have been practically waiting for this day for your life.” She told me and I laughed as I leaned down to kiss her, she was totally right on the mark, just wrong about the reason why I was nervous.
“Come on Max, Liz!” mom shouted and we broke away. I laughed slightly.
“Better get to the school before she has a heart attack.” I told her and she laughed as she led me out of the room, toward where everyone else was waiting in their graduation gowns.
“Okay everyone, lets get this show on the road and finally begin a new chapter to our life.” I told them and they all cheered as we headed out to the transports.

I linked my fingers with Liz’s and looked down at her with a smile, I was most definitely going to start a new chapter in my life and she is going to being the main part of it.

~~~~Liz~~~~


Max has been acting funny for the last couple of days, it not that he is pulling away from me, it’s like he trying to tell me something but just can’t find the words for.

I sighed from where I was sitting, I looked up into the sky and smiled slightly, it was a bright sunny day with no clouds in sight. Maybe Max was right, maybe this is the time for me to close the chapter to my life and move on with him and my friends.
“I like to introduce you to Elizabeth Claudia Parker, the valedictorian.” The principal introduced.

Everyone cheered as I rolled my eyes as I stood up to the podium and took a deep breath before launching into my speech.
“For a lot of us, we have been through a lot over the last couple of years, we found love in people, friendships and things we could never have imagine. What didn’t kill us made us stronger. We may think that it has come to an end here but it hasn’t, our lives are still going on no matter what. We have set on the path of our destiny and it is up to you to find out where it leads. No matter how hard the time seems; you must remember that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. My grandma told me that if it was complicated, it’s probably isn’t meant to be, so go out there and live your life to the full. Don’t hold back because you are scared because you could be missing out on something amazing. Today is the day where we close this chapter of our lives and move onto a new chapter, one that will have more stories that we can tell our children and grandchildren. Good luck everyone and Congratulation, you are the Class of 2004!” I shouted, everyone cheered as they threw their hats into the air.

I hopped down from the stage and Max hugged me as hard as he could.
“Great speech.” He whispered before kissing me and I grinned as Tammy came barrelling up and hugging me.
“Great speech girl! I knew you had it in you!” she exclaimed I smiled as I hugged her back.
“If it wasn’t for you over the years, I wouldn’t have made it here Tammy, thanks for being there for me.” I told her and she smiled.
“No problem girl, you know I have your back any time.” She informed me and I laughed as I hugged her tighter.
“Let me have my shot!” Maria exclaimed and I laughed as Tammy pulled away and Maria hugged me tight as well, soon everyone else wanted to have his or her shot.
“Told you that you would make a great valedictorian.” Jake stated and I laughed as I punched him on the shoulder.
“Watch it.” I told him before hugging him then settling back into Max’s side.
“Kids, you were great!” Mom stated as she barrelled up to us and gave us all a hug.
“Thanks.” We all stated.
“Come on then, we are having a barbecue at our house.” She informed and we all shared a smile as we followed her to the cars.

~~~~Max~~~~


This is it, this is the moment I have been waiting for, we entered the house and I turned to Liz.
“I need to speak to you for a min.” I told her and she nodded as I led her into the bedroom.
“Do you want to tell me what has gotten you all worked up, graduation is over and I’m surprise you are still nervous.” She told me and I nodded before gulping slightly, I got on one of my knee and looked at her, she looked down at me, confused. “Max?” she asked and I smiled nervously.
“I’ve been in love with you since we first met each other, although I didn’t know it at the time.” I told her and she giggled. “I wanted to know, if you would do me the honour of becoming my wife?” I asked and she gasped as I pulled out a small velvet box and flipped it open, showing her the white gold diamond ring that I had bought.
“Oh Max.” she breathed before turning to me with teary eyes. “Yes!” she whispered and I blinked.
“What?” I asked, not sure if I heard her properly and she smiled.
“Yes I will marry you!” she told me before lunging at me, she wrapped her arms around my neck and giving me a kiss.

I laughed as I spun her around in delight; we were going to get married! We hurried outside, where everyone was waiting for us and they looked up when they saw us coming out.
“What are you two so happy about?” Tammy asked.
“We’re getting married!” Liz exclaimed; everyone stared at us in a stunned shock before looking at each other then looking at us.
“Are you serious?” Tammy asked and Liz nodded, Tammy let a squeal of delight as she hugged Liz before hugging me and looking at the ring.

That was the start off for everyone else, they started cheering and squealing as they either hugged us or slapped me on the back. Maria lifted Liz’s hand and looked at the ring.
“Damn Maxie, you just went all out.” Maria stated, the ring with a diamond in the middle and a mixture of coloured crystals surrounding the main diamond, set on white gold ring.

We turned to my parents.
“Mom, dad, are you okay with this?” I asked and they nodded.
“We’re fine with it, in fact, we wondering if you would like to get married abroad.” Mom asked and we all looked at her.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“We have booked tickets for the whole summer, for all of us. We thought that Liz could do with the break and for all of you to get over the ordeal and if you like, you can get married abroad.” She informed us.

I looked at her, gob smacked before looking at Liz, she seemed equally stunned as well as she looked at me.
“Do you want to get married abroad?” I asked and she thought about it and nodded.
“I only wanted our friends and family to be there for the wedding and as we will all be together on holiday, it’s perfect.” She whispered and I nodded as I took her into my arms.
“Yes, we want it.” I told my mother and she beamed.
“Great.” she informed and I smiled down at Liz.

Now we can have a break and just worry about our wedding.

The End.

Relax people, there will be a sequel so Maxgurl, I will need to borrow Max again lol.

I don’t know when I will have it up so look out for it!

Okay, here are the songs I used, as they do not belong to me:

C 2: ‘Fumbling Toward Ecstasy’ by Sarah Mclachlan – inspiration: Sexual Healing.

C 4: ‘In The Air’ By Majandra (Maria) – inspiration: Blind Date.
‘Download It!’ By Clea – inspiration: How Liz feels.

C11:‘I Shall Believe’ Sheryl Crow – inspiration: The End Of The World

C16:‘Rock DJ’ Robbie Williams – Inspiration: Alex.

C23:‘Big Yellow Taxi’ Counting Crows feat Vanessa Carlton – Inspiration: For the later chapters.
‘Haven’t Turned Around’ Gomez – Inspiration: Heat Wave.

C27:‘I’ll Stand By You’ Girl Aloud – inspiration: the song was fitting to Max’s thoughts and feelings.