All His Fault (AU,M/L,MATURE) (Complete)

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sweetbrowneyes
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All His Fault (AU,M/L,MATURE) (Complete)

Post by sweetbrowneyes »

Winner - Round 8

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Winner - Round 7

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Title: All His Fault
Author: sweetbrowneyes a.k.a Tiffany
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters. I’m just a poor high school student. Although I would really love to own Jason Behr and Colin Hanks. SEXY!!!!!!!! :wink:
Rating: MATURE
Category: M/L AU no aliens
Summary: No Tess :D Everyone is in their junior year of high school, except for Michael, who’s a year older. Alex and Michael are brothers and Liz and Maria are distant cousins. That’s all I can tell you. :twisted:
A/N: This is my first fic so if it sucks it’s totally out of my control. I blame my dog. :) Seriously though, this first part may not be easy to read so I’m just warning you in advance.





Prologue


The little boy huddled in the dark corner of his room. The moonlight shining through the open window was his only light. He held Mr. Bear closer to his chest and tightened his grip on the blanket that surrounded him. She would be home soon. And she would check my room first. He thought. He slowly got up and crept across the cold floor, the hard wood creaking as he walked by. He poked his head out the door. Seeing that the coast was clear, he padded through the living room and towards the kitchen, dragging Mr. Bear and the blanket behind him. He stopped as he heard footsteps.

“Mmmaacckkss, yoooouuu here honey?” A voice slurred in the darkness. He saw a dark figure stumble into the house. “Come on Maxie Waxie. Don’t hide from me.”

He dashed across the kitchen and into his hiding place, under the kitchen sink, which is where he always hid. He sat Mr. Bear down and spread out the blanket. This is where he would be sleeping tonight. As he did many nights before. He wished Izzy and daddy were here. They would help him. They wouldn’t let any one hurt him anymore. And they would take him away from here...from her. But they couldn’t help him; they couldn’t take him away. And that was all his fault. She made sure he understood that.

He stilled as he heard the footsteps again. They were coming closer. “S’okay Maxie, come out from you’re hiding placesh. Let’sh have sshome funnn.” She said.

He held his breath and tightly closed his eyes. He could hear her cursed words as she stumbled and bumped into the furniture. “Fuckin’ chair!! Fine Macks, If yoouu don’t wanna come out I’ll juussh have to find you!!” She roared.

His breathing grew quick and shallow. She was going to get him. She was going to find him and hurt him. Just then the door to the cabinet flung open. He stared wide-eyed as she pulled him out of his safe haven.

“Nooooooooooo!!!!” He screamed.

“Come on Macks don’t you give me a hard time! Give me a kissssssshhh.” She hissed.

He leaned forward and pressed his trembling lips against her cheek. She pulled back and slapped him across the face. The crackling sound of her rough hand meeting the smooth skin on his cheek echoed through the room.

“Noooooo. Please stop!!!!” He begged, hot tears blazing down his cheeks.

“Shut up!” She commanded. He shuddered as she tore off his clothes. “Kisssssssshhh me.”

“No no no no no no.“ He chanted. She opened his mouth and forced in her tongue. The taste of alcohol and salty tears made him gag. She guided her hands down to his belt and unbuckled it. She ripped down his pants and started working on her own clothes.

He opened his eyes wide and bit down on her tongue in his mouth. She let out a piercing scream. He took the time and ran towards his room slamming the door behind him. He ran to the closet and slid the doors closed. He curled into a ball as he tried to choke down the sobs that threatened to overtake him.

He heard her coming.. The closet door flew open.

“Now Macks, why you wanna go and run?” She said sweetly. He stood and took what he knew was coming to him. After all, he was getting what he deserved because it was all his fault.

***********

Max Evans sat up in bed gasping for air. He checked his surroundings to make sure he wasn’t still there with her. He’d had the nightmare again. He’d woken up, his clothes drenched in sweat, his sheets tangled around him. But he knew he deserved it. Because, it was all his fault.

Tbc? Want me to continue this?
Last edited by sweetbrowneyes on Thu Dec 16, 2004 7:11 pm, edited 51 times in total.
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Post by sweetbrowneyes »

Hey guys! I know I said I was gonna post this Saturday but I finished early and I was just iching to get it out. So here you go. Enjoy :D

Chapter 1

Monday

Max drove through the streets of Roswell in a daze. His bloodshot eyes glued to the road ahead. He had the worst headache known to man. He shouldn’t have drunk all those cases of whiskey, but he couldn’t help it.

Last night had been like hell. His nightmares came back to haunt him. They had never been as vivid as they were last night. He would have stayed home, but he feared that would do something to himself if he stayed in that house all day. He wanted to leave this life so badly. But he just couldn’t do that to Michael, Maria and Alex. The people who actually cared for him. His best friends who made him laugh when he needed it most. And helped him get on his feet when he first started living on his own. Max didn’t feel so lonely when he was around them. He didn’t deserve them. No, he couldn’t do that to them. That was the reason why he hadn’t told them about his problems. He didn’t want to burden them with his problems just so that he could feel better. He didn’t deserve to feel better. But maybe it was better if he left them.

Max sighed as he pulled up in the parking lot of West Roswell High. He parked his jeep in the farthest parking spot he could find and made his way to the entrance. He entered the building and headed straight to his first hour. He really wasn’t in the mood for any social interactions right now. Just like any other day.

“Max!” He heard a deep voice behind him. “Wait up!”

“Hey Michael. Alex.” He said adding a tight smile.

“Hey. Didn’t you see us when you came in?” He asked.

“No.” He lied. They continued walking down the hall.

“Max, you still having nightmares?” Michael said stopping dead in his tracks. Max had never told anyone what the nightmares were about. He just showed up at Maria’s house one night saying that he couldn’t be alone. He never would tell them what the nightmares were about.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He muttered.

“Max. You have to talk about it. You can’t just hold in all of these things that are obviously troubling you. It’s not healthy.” Alex lectured.

“You sound like Maria.” He said lamely.

“Well Maria has a point. You know that when Maria gets back you’re going to hear the same thing.” Maria left to go to Florida a week earlier for a funeral. Max knew that they right.

The bell rang and Max stepped away from them. “Look guys, I have to get to class. I’ll see you later.” With that he ran off to biology class.

Michael and Alex stared after him as he practically flew down the hallway. He always did this. He would close up every time something happened. They wished he would talk to somebody. It didn’t matter who. Max had some major demons to battle. Maybe they would never be able to figure Max out.

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

Max sat alone at the last lab table in the back of the room. Just like he always did. He stared down at the tabletop with his hands folded in his lap. Just like he always did. That was part of his problem. He was just bored with life. With himself. He wanted out. He didn’t like who he was. He was a nobody. The worst of them all is that he had no one to blame but himself.

“Okay class. We have a new student today.” Mrs. Anderson announced, breaking Max out of his self-pitying thoughts. “Everyone, this is Elizabeth.” Max looked next to Mrs. Anderson and saw the most beautiful girl in the world. She had on a light blue tank top with blue hip hugger jeans. She had long, dark brown hair that flowed like silk around her shoulders. Her hair framed a beautiful face with big brown eyes. Max had never seen anyone like her before. She was an angel. Max felt a tingling sensation in the pit of his stomach. But he just dismissed it as being fear. Fear that he would have to hide his secrets from another person.

“I would prefer Liz.” She said shyly.

“Okay Liz. You can sit next to Max. You’ll be his partner for the rest of the year.” Max sat up at this. HE was going to be HER partner. He didn’t deserve to even be in the same room with her. “Max could you raise your hand please? Yeah right back there Liz.” She said as Max raised his hand.

Liz nervously walked to the back of the classroom, ignoring all of the catcalls she heard as she walked by a group of guys. She stopped abruptly when she saw him. There in the back of the classroom sat a Greek God. He was gorgeous. He was dark and handsome and he had the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen, even if they were a little bloodshot. They were a beautiful amber color, with flecks of gold. But they looked so emotionless. So closed off. There was a heavy shadow over his eyes. She would bet that they were even more beautiful without that shadow. She instantly felt the need to protect him. She didn’t know why. He was only a junior in high school but those eyes looked so much older.

Max shifted uncomfortably under Liz‘s gaze. He couldn’t understand why she was staring at him like that. Usually people just ignored him or glared at him for being weird. But she looked at him differently, like she wanted to help him. He suddenly wanted to tell her everything. He felt like somehow she would protect him. But he knew that is was impossible.

Liz snapped back to reality. “Hi. I’m Liz Parker.” She said quietly.

“Max Evans.” He said simply lowering his eyes to the tabletop.

“So, Max. Mind if I sit down?” She gave him a shy smile.

“N-no. Go r-right ahead.” He stuttered.

“Thanks” She said as she sat down on the stool next to him. “So this is the great West Roswell High, home of the Comets. Is it really what everyone says it to be?”

“Which would be?” He asked, raising his eyes to her.

“Boring and uneventful.”

“Basically.” Liz giggled but stopped when she met his gaze. The way he was looking at her made her shiver. She stared back just as intensely as he was. She gasped as she saw a flicker of emotions, guilt, pain and....fear? It disappeared as fast it came and returned back to their original emotionless nature.

Max couldn’t help but stare at her. It was something about her that made him feel so comfortable and safe. For one split second his control over his emotions slipped. He regained it quickly, but not before he heard her gasp in surprise.

Mrs. Anderson cut their staring session short. “Okay class, open your books to page 184...”
***********

“Max!” Liz called after his retreating form. Max groaned inwardly, he‘d almost made it out unnoticed.

He reluctantly turned and walked back in the classroom. He walked up to her and stared down at her.

Suddenly she got very nervous with him looking at her like that. “Um....er....I was wondering if you could, um, show me around the school and all. I‘m kinda lost here.”

He hesitated before he spoke. “I don.....”

She abruptly cut him off when she saw him hesitate. “I mean if you don’t have any other plans or anything. It’s just that I would ask my cousin, Maria, but she’s not here, and won’t be back at school until Wednesday, so I’m kinda here on my own. You’re sort of the only person I know here.” She rambled while fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.

“You mean Maria DeLuca?”

“Yeah. Why? You don’t like her?” She asked, a frown creasing her brow.

“She’s my best friend. Oh you‘re the Liz she was talking about. Her cousin from Michigan.”

“That’s me. So can we meet up here after third hour?” She asked

“Okay.” Her eyes lit up a bit when he agreed. He didn’t understand why someone would be so happy to spend time with him. But it beats spending his lunch with Michael and Alex telling him what he should do about his problems. “Do you know where your next class is?”

“Um, yeah. It’s right down the hall. Thanks Max.” She said as she backed away.

“No problem.” He watched her turn and walk down the hall toward her class. He couldn’t help but think that Liz Parker was going be a huge part in his life. And that scared the shit out of him.

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

After Max showed Liz around the school, she felt confident that she could get around on her own. She left him to finish what was left of the lunch hour while she headed to the office. She had a glitch in her schedule and she wanted to get it fixed. She really wanted to stay with Max, but she had to get this done.

Max. He was so sweet. She couldn’t stop thinking about him and they’d barely had a real conversation. She had never felt this way before. She got this tingly feeling in the pit of her stomach when she was with him. And he could melt her with just one look. He even smiled a little while he was giving the tour. It was just a small one, but oh, was it gorgeous. Maria had told her about him before she moved down here. She smiled at the thought of him and walked into the office.

She stood at the desk and tried to get the attention of the office assistant. “Excuse me.”

The assistant held up her index finger and resumed working on the computer. Liz glanced around the counter and noticed that she was playing a game of solitaire.

“Excuse me. I just need my sch....” She was interrupted by the finger again. Put that finger up at me one more time and I’ll shove it up your....

A deep voice interrupted her thoughts. “Hey! Pam, why don’t you get off your ass and help this fine piece of work!” She whirled around and came face to face with a pair of icy blue eyes.

“Whatever.” She hissed glaring at the guy in front of Liz. “Got an extra class?” Pam said, her tone way too snobbish.

“Um, yeah. Could you change it?”

“Fine.” She sighed. She snatched the paper from Liz and rolled her eyes.

“Pam, cut the crap. If you didn’t like this job you shouldn’t have taken it.” The guy said. He turned back to Liz. “Hi. Sorry about her. She’s....evil. I’m Kyle Valenti. You must be the girl of my dreams.” He said while looking her up and down. He held out his hand for her to shake.

“I’m Liz Parker. I just moved here.” She said shyly. She took his hand and shook it gently. She could already tell that she should steer clear of him. He looked at her like she was a piece of meat. Nothing like how Max looked at her. She pulled her hand from his and stepped back. She wasn’t feeling to comfortable around him while he was staring at her like that.

“Here’s your schedule.” Pam said dryly.

“Thank you.” She turned back around and faced Kyle. “Um, see you around.”

He licked his lips and checked her out once more. “Yeah, I hope so.” He watched as Liz hurried out of the office. Fresh meat. I’m I gonna have fun with this one. He thought. He glared at Pam and strutted out of the office.

TBC? :?:
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Post by sweetbrowneyes »

Here's the new part. Enjoy! :D

Chapter 2A

Wednesday

Liz muttered angrily as she wiped down the counter at the Crashdown Cafe. Her father had forced her to take a job here until they got more employees. To her surprise, the cafe got a good amount of customers during their first three days. But why wouldn’t they? No one could miss the huge UFO and bright lights out in front. The cafe was half full now and she sighed as she counted the minutes until she was relieved of her shift.

She heard the chime of the bell ring above the door and her eyes lit up when she saw who walked in. “Hey Max!”

“Hi.” He said shyly. “Has Maria gotten back yet?” He slipped into one of the stools at the counter.

“Not yet. You’re actually pretty early. Her plane doesn’t land until 5.” She threw over her shoulder as she wiped down the pop machine.

Max glanced up at the clock and saw that is was only 4. “Oh. Michael told me 4. Well, I’ll be back later.” He backed off of the stool and headed to the door. He stopped and turned around when he heard Liz call out to him.

“I‘m about to get off in a second. If you want, we could hang out... or something.” She suggested, trying to sound as if she didn’t care whether he agreed or not.

“Um... I’m not sure if I’ll be much company.” He answered honestly. He wasn’t really big on conversation and hanging out with people he didn’t know. But for some reason, he couldn’t deny her big, brown hopeful eyes. It was something about her that pulled him to her.

“I don’t know about that.” Liz answered with a slight smile.

Max stared at her for a long minute. He couldn’t help but agree with her looking at him like that. “Okay. I’ll wait over here.” He said, gesturing to an empty booth.

“I’ll be out in a minute.” She said. He watched her hurry into the back room, his eyes burning into her back.

What the hell was he doing? He wasn’t supposed to be doing this. He knew he was getting attached. He couldn’t take hiding his secrets from another person. Especially Liz. Every time he looked into her eyes, he was a little bit closer to letting something slip. Liz had put a force on him and he’d only known her for three days.

Despite everything, he let his lips curl into a smile when she walked through the back doors a few minutes later.

She was so beautiful.

“What do you want to do?” She asked, blushing under his stare.

“How does ice cream sound?” He suggested. He got his answer when Liz’s eyes lit up like a child on Christmas day. Liz pictured a huge vanilla cone, with Max on top. His hair was ruffled, and his shirt was off......She quickly shook that thought out of her head and followed Max out of the cafe. They walked down the street in silence.

“So.....” Liz said, trying to spark up a conversation.

“So.....” He repeated.

“Tell me about yourself Max.” His shoulders seemed to tense. She saw something close to panic flash across his face then quickly disappear. She frowned slightly and waited for his answer.

“Well... there‘s really nothing to tell.” He answered casually.

“Oh.” She said.

“Um, so what made your family decide to move to Roswell out of all places?” He asked, trying to steer the subject away from him.

“My dad has been wanting to move down here ever since my mom died of cancer when I was two, so we could be closer to family. But he had to stay and take care of my grandma Claudia. Then she died last year, so he decided we would move.”

“I’m sorry about your mom and grandmother.” He said in a gentle voice.

“Me too. I don’t even remember my mom, but my grandmother was like my best friend.” She said with a sad smile.

He stared down at the ground, knowing all too well how she felt. “I don’t remember my mother either.” He immediately snapped his mouth shut after the words slipped from his lips. His eyes went wide with fear as she looked up at him with interest. Where was that damned whiskey bottle when you needed it?

“You don’t? Mind if I ask what happened?” She asked. She felt a connection with him. She’d finally found someone would could understand how she felt.

“I um, .......my mom died giving birth to me.” He explained quietly.

“Max, I’m so sorry.”

He just nodded and kept his eyes glued to the ground. “How about that ice cream now?” He said, with a slight twinkle in his eye.

She stared at him, wondering how he could change his emotions so quickly. He went from sad and regretful to happy and playful in a matter of seconds. She decided not to question him. It was obvious that he didn’t want to talk about it.

“Sounds good to me.” She said, gazing up into his amber eyes. They talked about nothing in general until they came up to the ice cream parlor. Max ordered a vanilla banana split with extra sprinkles, while Liz ordered the largest vanilla ice cream cone they had. She inwardly smiled as she thought about her earlier vision.

Max paid for their desserts and moved to a table outside of the parlor. “So how long have you known Maria?” Liz asked as she licked at her ice cream.

Max watched her for a moment before answering. “Ever since I moved here. I was 8 years old and I was being pushed around by a fifth grader and Maria came to help. She told him off and then she forced me into being her best friend. We’ve been best friends ever since.” He said with a smile. Maria had always been there for Max. They would tell each other everything. He always felt guilty because her never told her his secrets, when in turn she told him every waking moment about her life. And he meant EVERY moment.

Liz laughed at the thought of a young Maria telling off a fifth grader. Although Maria was her cousin, Liz didn’t know her that well. But from what she did know, it sounded like something that she would do. Maria would do anything for someone she cared about.

Max continued to stare at Liz as she devoured her ice cream. “How can someone so small eat that huge thing?” He voiced aloud.

“I resent that! I am not small.” She said in mock irritation.

He narrowed his eyes at her and took another bite of his banana split. “What are you then?” He said teasingly.

She sat quietly for a while. “I...I’m just not big.”

“Yeah right, shorty.”

“Shor.... I wouldn’t talk if I were you, Dumbo.” She said as she reached across the table and flicked one of his ears.

“Are you implying that I have big ears?” He questioned with a slight pout.

“Yes, I believe I am.” She said, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

“For your information, my ears are perfectly normal.” He said while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Keep telling yourself that Max. But when you’re able to flap your ears and fly away, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She laughed. She continued to eat her ice cream, but stopped when she felt something cold and wet hit her forehead. She wiped at her forehead and found a glob of vanilla ice cream mixed with sprinkles. She looked up at Max and saw him innocently finishing his ice cream.

“What?” He said simply, trying to hide his smile at the shocked look on her face.

“Oh you’re gonna get Evans!” She shouted before they jumped up from the table and ran down the street.

Before Max knew what happened, his foot got caught in a crack in the sidewalk. He fell flat on his face.

“Max, are you okay?” She ran up to him and kneeled down in front of him. She set her ice cream down and studied his foot.

“I’m fine. I just tripped.” He explained, to embarrassed to look her in the eye.

“Good.” She said before she picked up her ice cream cone and smashed it in his face. Max let out a yelp as the cold substance slid down his face and onto his shirt. She burst into laughter and wiped the ice cream off with her finger and licked it off. “Delicious.”

Max genuinely smiled for the first time in months. He felt a sense of comfort and security when he was with Liz and he’d only known her for three days. It had taken him months to feel this comfortable around Maria when he’d first moved here. He didn’t understand why he felt this pull towards her and his need to tell her everything.

Liz melted at the sight of his smile. “You should smile more often.” She told him as he wiped off the ice cream. She smiled when she saw him blush. This guy was too adorable.

“Um.....why don’t we start heading back. It’s almost 5.” He suggested shyly. She nodded and helped him up.

They made it back to the Crashdown just in time to see Michael and Alex come in. “Hey guys.” Max said as Michael and Alex walked up to the booth where Max and Liz were sitting.

“Hey Max.” Alex said “Liz. Right?” He said not really sure if that was the girl’s name.

“Yeah. You guys here for Maria?”

“Yep. Michael here is just itching to see his blond pixie. Aren’t you Michael.” Alex teased his brother.

“Shut up.” He said as he situated himself next to Max. “I have been fine here all by myself. I don’t need Maria here at every waking moment.”

“Don’t lie to the people Michael. I know you need me.” Maria said as see came up behind him. “Hey Spaceboy. Miss me?” She asked as she pulled him up for a hug.

“You know I did. They just don’t need to know that.” He whispered before leaning down and kissing her deeply.

“Okay, okay! Break it up. Michael you have to learn to share. Maria has other people to greet. You two can suck face later.” Alex commented after a few minutes of watching the couple.

“Hey Alex.” Maria moved away from a frowning Michael and into Alex’s welcoming arms.

Max got up from the booth and stood behind Maria and tapped her on the shoulder. “Hello. Remember me?”

“Max!!” She squealed as she flung herself into his arms.

“Why does he get a bigger greeting than me? I’m the boyfriend?” Michael muttered to Liz and Alex. He watched as Maria threw her arms around Max, and he gladly welcomed it.

“Stop complaining. This is just a G rated version. You know you’re gonna get the NC-17 later tonight. If you know what I mean.” Alex and Liz laughed at the huge grin Michael plastered on his face.

“You look a little tired chico. You still not getting enough sleep?” Max just looked away, knowing that his expression gave it away. “You and I are going to have a long talk later mister.” Maria said, giving him the you-better-tell-me-what’s-wrong-or-I’ll-whine look.

Liz watched Max as he talked with Maria. She watched as Max’s face flickered from the playful expression he wore before to a sad, guilty expression. There was definitely something going on.

“Hey Liz. Enjoying our small town so far?” Maria asked her cousin.

“It’s pretty different from Michigan, but Max here has been showing me the ropes and all.” She said, throwing a smile in Max’s direction. He mustered up a shy smile of his own.

“He has, has he?” Maria raised an eyebrow at Max and Liz’s exchange. Okay, she and Max definitely needed to talk.

Liz nodded, confused by Maria’s suspicious glare.

Just then Liz’s father walked up. “Hey Maria. I haven’t seen you since you were this tall.” He said, lowering his hand close to the ground.

“Hi Uncle Jeff. How have you been doing?” She asked after she was engulfed in a big bear hug.

“Fine. Did you give Margaret our condolences? We would have been there if we weren’t moving this week.”

“Yeah. She said that she understood.” She confirmed, her mood declining at the thought of her Uncle Greg dying of a heart attack. “My mom said she’ll be by later. She wanted to get home and unpack.”

He nodded, feeling guilty that he didn’t show up at the funeral.

Alex coughed loudly trying to get Maria’s attention. “Oh! Uncle Jeff, these are my friends. This is Alex and Max. And that hair ball over there is my boyfriend Michael.” She said throwing a huge grin in Michael’s direction.

There was a round of ’hello’s and ‘nice to meet you’s’ and ‘welcomes’. “Any of you kids want anything. It’s on the house” He asked after shaking the boys hands. “But for today only. Don’t get used to it.” He stated quickly when he saw the greedy look on Michael and Alex’s face.

Everyone ordered except Max, who seemed to fade into the background. He was still worried about talking with Maria later. He had to come up with something to tell her. He needed a drink, that would help him concentrate. Maybe he could just slip out when no one noticed.

He silently backed out of the small circle of friends while they were laughing at something Alex had said.

“Oh no you don’t.” Maria said, stopping him in his tracks. “You’re not going to get away from me that easily. You and I need to talk. Matter of fact, we’re going to talk right now.” She said tugging on his arm. “Guys, we’ll see you tomorrow. We have some business to take care of. Michael I’ll call you. ”

“What’s up with them?” Liz asked as she watched Maria dragging a grumbling Max out of the cafe and towards his jeep.

“Max is just having some problems.” Michael said simply. “Nothing to worry about.” He lied.

Tbc
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Post by sweetbrowneyes »

Hey guys! I had a little time over the hoilday and I got the next chapter done. Woohooo!! Thanks for all the wonderful fb. :D It makes me feel so loved. :cry: Anyway, so here's the next chapter. Enjoy

Chapter 2B

Wednesday

“Okay chico, spill. What‘s going on with you?” Maria asked as they drove towards Maria’s house.

“Nothing’s wrong as I’ve told you millions of times.”

“And every time you lie.” She said, genuinely concerned for her best friend. “Max, I know you. And you know I know you, so what’s the point in lying? Why can’t you tell me what’s wrong?”

“Because there’s nothing to tell.” He voice rising a bit.

“Max, you don’t eat, you don’t sleep. You don’t even hang out with me as much as you used to. You and I haven’t even tormented Alex in a while. Now I know there’s something wrong.”

Max cracked a small smile. “Fine. If it’ll make you feel better, we’ll sit down and devise a plan to prank Alex. Okay?”

She smiled, but it didn’t last long. “Be serious Max, what’s going on?” He didn’t answer, his eyes focused on the road. “Don’t make me whine.” She threatened.

His eyes widened at the thought of Maria whining. That was ultimate torture, next to seeing her cry. “Please. Ria, don’t whine.” He begged.

“Maa-aaaaaxxxx!! What’s wroooooonnnnnng?” She said in her best whining voice. She saw Max wince, but made no move to talk.

She sighed. She’d just have to get right to the point. “Does this has with that time you went missing for two weeks at the same time your mom left?”

Max tensed, his knuckles turnings white as he gripped the steering wheel, trying to keep control of the car. “No.” He muttered.

She got her answer. Last year, Max filed for emancipation. His mother had left him to look for Max’s dad; or so he told them and Max went missing for three weeks without telling anyone where he was. When he returned, Max refused to go into foster care and he didn’t want to burden any of his friends either. Whatever was wrong with Max, Maria was sure it had something to do with his mother. Maria had vowed a long time ago that if she ever saw Mrs. Evans again, she was going to give her a major ass kicking for hurting Max.

“Whatever it is, you need to talk to someone Max.”

“I don’t NEED to do anything!!! What the hell is wrong with everybody?!? I lose ONE night of sleep and everybody thinks I’m a fuckin nutcase! Nothing is wrong! Okay?!?” He immediately regretted the words he’d said. He knew Maria was just trying to help. And he’d lost WAY more than one night of sleep. That night he’d shown up at Maria’s house was one of the worst night’s he’d ever had. He’d been so close to hurting himself till it wasn’t even funny. He took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves.

“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.” He glanced at her and noticed she was staring out the window. “Ria?” She turned to him, her eyes glistening with tears.

“Don’t cry Ria. You know I hate it.”

She sniffled and wiped her eyes. He let out a painful sigh. “Okay there is something wrong. But I just can’t talk about it right now. The best thing you can do is just be there for me. Okay?”

She hesitated then nodded. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you like that.” She said wearily. “I just....I worry about you Max.”

“I’m sorry for worrying you. But I just need time.”

She nodded in understanding. She knew Max would talk when he was ready. But she just hoped that he didn’t do anything drastic. She had an idea of what Max would have done if he hadn’t have came to her that night, two months ago. She still remembered the way he trembled in her arms that night, his face was deathly pale and..... She shivered and blocked the memory.

“So, did you see the way Liz was looking at you. I’d say she has a thang for my chico.” She said, trying to brighten the mood.

He blushed turned his head away from her. “RIA!!”

She laughed at his reaction. “What? I’m just saying.”
*************
Thursday

Max slowly dragged his feet down the hallway toward his first hour. His backpack slung over one slumped shoulder, as he gradually made his way to biology class.

The hall was completely empty. He was late, so late. He’d over slept, which he didn’t know how he had over slept. Considering a person would have to be asleep to over sleep. It had been another night of having nightmares, alcohol being his only way of dealing. He‘d gotten so plastered last night until he couldn‘t even see straight. He wasn’t entirely sure that he wasn’t still drunk.

He quickly turned his thoughts and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other and making it to class. Then he thought of Liz. He was so confused when it came to her. It was something about her that made his stomach do flip flops. She had a way of making him forget about everything around him. He unconsciously quickened his pace towards his class.

Liz slumped in her seat, intently watching the door, wishing that Max would walk in any minute. She needed her daily fix of him. All she needed was one look, one glance. She was hooked on Max. Ever since she’d met him, he was on her mind all the time. She stared hard at the door and leaned forward in her seat.

Just then, Max walked through the door and she sighed in satisfaction.

“Why Mr. Evans! Nice of you to join us. Would you kindly explain why you’re late.” Mrs. Anderson said.

He noticed to whole class staring at him, seemingly waiting for an answer. “I over slept. Sorry.” He said simply as he walked back to his table.

“Be sure to get here on time.” Her voice was a little more than annoyed.

“Hey Max.” Liz said, giving him a brilliant smile.

“Hi.” He said shyly. He quickly took out his books and a notebooks and organized them on the table.

“So you’re a neat freak, huh?”

He nodded, putting his pencil in front of him, ready if he needed it.

“You have everything so neat and tidy. I bet your dad loves that.” She smiled, but it disappeared as she saw him tense. “You okay?” She asked turning slightly towards him.

“Um, yeah. I’m fine. Just a little tired is all. Maria kept me up all night.” He lied.

“You sure? You seem a little tense.”

“I’m okay. It’s nothing.” He answered quietly. “What are we supposed to be doing?”

“We’re supposed to look at six different things under the microscope and compare them.” She explained, motioning to the microscope and the empty slides.

“Let’s get started. We have about tem minutes.” They worked in silence for awhile. Both of them stealing glances at each other, turning away before the other could notice.

“Could you hand me the cover slip?” She asked.

“The what?” He scanned the table until he saw a small glass square. “Oh. You mean this glass cover thingy?”

“I see you know your science terms.” She laughed as she took the cover slip from him. Their hands brushed together and she lingered there for while. They held onto each other, both staring into each others eyes, until Max broke contact. “Thank you.” She ducked her head to try and hide her blush.

“Um, you wanna go first?” He asked. He handed her the toothpick and iodine. He dropped a drop of water onto the slide while she scraped on the inside of her cheek.

“Alright. Everyone start packing up. If you‘re not done you’ll have to finish Monday.” Mrs. Anderson spoke up.

“Damn!” Liz muttered. Together they packed up everything and put it away. The bell rang just as they finished packing up.

The whole time, Liz had been thinking on how to ask Max out. Max was so easy to talk to. She had fun hanging out with him the other day, even though he did throw his ice cream at her. She smiled at the memory and turned to ask him, finally working up the courage. But she found that he was gone.

Disappointed, she slowly made her way out of the classroom, but was stopped when she was nearly knocked down by a hard body.

“Watch where you......Oh hey sexy. I guess you didn’t get enough of me the last time we met.” Kyle growled, still holding onto her after he steadied her.

“Um, whatever. You can let go of me now.” She said as she pried his arms off of her. She turned and stomped off.

“Damn. I gotta get a piece of that.” He mumbled to himself. He looked after her, his eyes locked on her backside.
*************

Liz walked happily into lunch searching for Maria. She spotted her walking into the courtyard. She strolled towards her with a huge smile on her face. She’d finally gotten the courage to ask Max out. She was going to do it right after lunch.

“What’s his name?” Maria asked as Liz walked up to her. Maria didn’t know Liz that well, but she knew that smile.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Can’t a girl just be happy.” She said innocently.

“No you can’t. I repeat my question, what’s his name?”

“Max.” She answered quietly.

“Aha!! I was right. Wait! Max? As in Max Evans. ” Liz nodded shyly and stared at the ground. “My best friend, Max Evans? I knew you liked him. What did he do to make you all googlely eyed?”

“What? I am not all googlely eyed. And he did nothing.”

“Yeah, right. Don’t act like you’re not fantasizing about sucking face with him.” She teased.

Liz rolled her at her. “Where is he?” She asked.

“Right over there.” She said pointing towards the table where Max, Michael and Alex sat. “Come on. Let’s go.” She pulled Liz behind her as they made their way across the courtyard.

“Maria, tell them that the classic Looney Tunes are better than all of these new cartoons out today.” Alex whined when he saw Maria coming.

“Alex, you’re 17 years old and you’re still obsessed with cartoons.” Michael said.

“I am not obsessed!” He denied.

“Then why did you get pissed off at Max and I when we taped over your Bugs Bunny movie? Alex you wouldn’t talk to us for a month.” Maria laughed. She sat down next to Michael and kissed him on the cheek.. Liz gladly took the empty seat next to Max, who seemed oblivious to the whole conversation.

“But that was my favorite tape and you guys ruined it.” He whined.

“Most guys keep Playboy or a sports magazine under their bed. Whereas you have every subscription to Nickelodeon Magazine.”

“Hey! But do I do perverted things with MY magazines?” He said, narrowing his eyes at Michael.

“How should we know. Sponge Bob is kinda sexy.” Maria joked, wiggling her eyebrows.

“MAARRRIIIAA!!!!” Liz giggled and Alex glared at her.

“Whatever.” Maria snorted. “Michael did you bring me a salad?” She questioned, while stealing one of Max’s fries, which earned her a warning glare.

“What? No. You didn’t ask me.”

“I did. I asked you in third hour. I told you I was going to be late for lunch. Weren‘t you listening?”

“Um, not really.” He said simply. He sat up and prepared for Maria’s wrath.

“Michael!! I can’t believe you!!” She scolded. Alex snickered but stopped when Maria gave him the death glare. “Do you ever listen when I talk to you?”

“Yeah. But you were rambling so much, I just tuned you out.” He explained.

“What?!? I do not ramble!” She denied angrily.

“Uh, yeah you do.” Alex jumped in. He knew he was risking his health by siding with Michael, but he figured it wouldn’t be that bad if it was two against one. The both of them could handle Maria. Right?

“You know those people that talk really fast at the end of commercials. That’s what you sound like.” He ducked as a fry came flying right at him. Everyone burst out in laughter, except for Maria, who sat there with her mouth wide open and Max, who just sat there staring at the table top, his hands folded neatly in his lap.

Sandwiched between Liz and Alex, Max was in his own world. Liz’s heart went out to him. Even with his best friends right here, he looked so alone. It seemed she was the only one who noticed Max’s lack of participation in the conversation. Or maybe they were just used to it. She tuned back into the conversation, but her thoughts were still on Max.
**********

Max groaned as his tried, for the fifth time, to start up his jeep. He downed the last of his whiskey, then hid the empty bottle under his seat. He turned the key in the ignition, it stuttered for a second then started up.

“Victory at last!” He said in triumph. He put is foot on the brake, and just as he was about to put it in reverse, the jeep cut off. “Damn it. Evil car!!” He shouted shaking his fist in the air.

“Um, I don’t think cars can be evil Max.” Max looked up to see an amused Liz staring right at him.

“Mine is.” He replied, trying to started it up again.

“You want a ride?” She asked hopefully. She hadn’t got a chance to ask him out. He’d left as soon as lunch was over. Maybe this was her chance.

Max wanted to take her up on her offer, but he shook his head anyway. “I don’t want you to go out of your way. I’m sure I can get this thing to start up.” He gestured towards the rusted jeep. “Besides, I need to get to work.”

“It won’t be out of my way. Come on. I‘ll take you to work too.” She gave him a sweet smile.

He stared at her for a minute. He really couldn’t turn her down when she smiled at him. “Okay. Just let me call a tow truck.” He pulled out his cell phone and pressed number 4. His jeep was always breaking down, so he was forced to add the tow company to speed dial.

After a few minutes, Max hung up the phone. “They said that they’ll be here in a few minutes. Thank you for this Liz.”

“No problem. It’ll give me a chance to get to know you better.” Max cringed at the thought of her, or anyone getting to know him. Once they did they’d probably run from him in disgust.

“Where do you work?”

“UFO Center.”

“Cool right across the street from where I live.” She said as they walked to a nearby bench. “So, do you have any siblings?” She asked.

He hesitated a bit then shook his head and stared at the ground. “Can we just talk about something else?” He said so quietly that Liz barely heard him. She knew she had hit a nerve. She didn’t want to push him.

“Sure. You play any sports?” He must did something. His body was flawless. And it was tanned just right.

“Nope. What about you?”

“I’m a tennis freak. I even broke an ankle and a wrist playing.” She said blushing a little in embarrassment.

“That’s better than getting hit on the leg with a baseball bat, getting smacked in the face with a baseball, and then running into a tree trying to catch the baseball. My gym teacher made me play. I told him I was bad but he didn‘t believe me.” He confessed showing a small smile.

Liz was blown away by his smile. He had perfect white teeth, which sat happily behind luscious lips. Even though it was a small smile it was still glorious.

They were silent until the tow truck arrived five minutes later. They hopped in Liz’s dark purple Ford Focus and headed off of school grounds.

“Where do you live?” She asked as she pulled out of the parking lot.

“Murray Lane. Blue Square Apartments. You know where it’s at?”

“Yeah. That’s across town, right?” Max nodded. “You were going to drive your ‘evil car’ all the way there?”

“I was going to try.” He chuckled. “I probably would have made it.”

“How could you be so sure? You couldn’t even get it to start.”

“Hey! There’s a special bond between me and Bob. He could’ve made it.” He joked.

“Bob? You named your jeep Bob? Men!” She laughed.

“What? Bob’s a nice name. It sort of suits him. Don’t you think?”

“Whatever you say Max.” She shook her head at his silliness. “Sooooo. Max, do you have a girlfriend?”

“Um, n-no.” He glanced over at her then blushed. “Y-You have a boyfriend?”

“No.” She looked over at Max’s shocked face and giggled. “Why so surprised?”

“Um....c-cause....well, you...um,” He scratched behind his ear nervously. He turned his face to the window, to embarrassed to look at her.

“Thank you. I think.” Liz smiled to herself as she pulled into the parking lot of the small apartment complex.
“You can come up if you want. I don‘t have to be at work for another hour.” Max offered as they came to a stop in front of the small apartment complex.

“Okay.” She said as she killed the engine.

They silently walked up the sidewalk and entered the small apartment building. They walked up a flight of unsteady stairs and down a narrow hallway. The carpet was a pale green and the walls were a dirty white. The ceiling had small cracks along the corners and around the light fixtures. They came to a stop at the last door of the hallway. Max unlocked the door and stepped back so Liz could walk in, he followed close behind.

“You live here alone?” She asked glancing the incredibly small apartment. The apartment had a living room which was connected to an open area which she guessed was supposed to be the kitchen. On the left of the kitchen was a short hallway.

The apartment was so bland. There were no pictures hanging on the wall, the furniture looked dull and worn out, it was lifeless. It made her shudder to think about living in a place like this.

“Yeah. Ever since last year.” He tossed his back pack onto a nearby chair and motioned for her to sit. “You want anything to drink.”

“No thank you.” Why would he be living on his own? There was definitely something up.

“I’m gonna go change. I’ll be right out.” He said as he backed out of the room and into the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Liz got up from the couch and examined the room more closely. She walked over to a small book case. It held only a few books and one photo. She picked up the picture and studied it. It was of Max, Michael, Alex, and Maria. It looked like they were at the park. Michael sat on a blanket with his back against a tree. He was smiling down at Maria who was sitting in between his legs, returning the smile. Alex sat next to them, giving the thumbs up sign. Next there was Max. He sat next to Alex with is knees pulled up to his chest, his arms loosely around his legs. He was smiling but it didn’t reach his eyes.

Liz heard shuffling sounds coming from the other room and she quickly set the picture down and rushed back to the couch. She wasn’t sure how Max would act if he saw her snooping around his place. Just then Max came out, wearing some worn out blue jeans and a green and purple vest. Even with the vest he looked good enough to eat.

“Hi” He said shyly.

“Hey.” She replied.

“Um, you want some cake? Maria’s mom made it.” He said backing into the kitchen.

“Yeah.” She followed him into the kitchen.

“Maria sneaks a couple for me every now and again.” He grabbed two plastic plates and set them on what looked like a card table. “I’m out of plastic utensils. You have to eat with your hands.”

“No problem. Taste better that way.” Max cut them each a huge piece of the cake.

“So how do you like Roswell so far?” He asked while he grabbed a handful of cake and pushed it into his mouth. He looked like a little boy eating his birthday cake.

Liz giggled at him. “It’s okay. Any aliens around here?” She took her own handful of cake.

“Not that I know of. Although Michael’s hair looks a little like antennas sometimes.” He joked.

“I’m glad that I’m not the only one who noticed that.” She laughed. She looked up at Max and laughed even harder.

“What?” He didn’t know what she was laughing at, but he didn’t care. He loved the sound of her laughing. He loved to see her happy.

“You.....cake.....all over...” She choked out.

“What?”

Liz gave up on trying to form a coherent sentence. She scrunched her nose and pointed to it. Tears fell from her eyes as she gripped her stomach.

He mimicked her move. “What was that supposed to mean? What’s so funny?”

She composed her self a little and sat up. “You have cake smeared all over your face.” She explained in between giggles. “Especially your nose.”

“Well, what was this?” He asked. He scrunched his nose and pointed to it.

“Max everyone knows what that means. That’s the international sign for ‘there’s something on your nose.’”

“The international sign?” He shook his head and took another bite of his cake. She burst out laughing again. “This is funny to you isn’t it?”

“Very.” She choked out. She continued to laugh, but stopped abruptly when she saw Max reaching over for the whipped cream and pointing it at her.

“What are you doing?” She asked nervously as she backed out of her chair and away from Max.

“I don’t think it’s fair for you to be the only one who’s having a good laugh.” He advanced towards her with a mischievous smile.

“Max, I wasn’t really laughing at you.” She lied with a nervous laugh. “I was laughing with you.”

“Liar!” He lunged forward, grabbing her wrist. She reached next to her and grabbed her half eaten piece of cake.

“Spray me, and you die.” She threatened. She saw that he wasn’t at all threatened.

It was then she noticed how close they were standing. She let her eyes drift down to his lips. They were so....so.....kissable. All she had to do was lean up and.....

“Um.....we’d better go. I don’t want to be late for work.” Max said as he backed away from her. He obviously noticed how close they were too by the looks of his flushed cheeks.

“Yeah. Uh, let’s go.” Her voice was etched with disappointment. Together they walked out of the apartment and to the car. They hopped in and drove to the UFO Center, silent the whole way.

“Hey Liz?” He asked once she pulled to a stop in front of the Crashdown.

“Yeah?”

“Would you go out with me this weekend?” He blurted out. He bit his tongue as soon as the words came flying out of his mouth. He hadn’t meant to say that. He only wanted to say thanks. Why was he always doing this to himself? Setting himself up for rejection.

Liz eyes went wide at his question. “Yes!!!” She said a little to loudly. “I mean... that’s fine.”

He was stunned that she actually agreed. “Okay.”

“Yeah.”

“How about Saturday. Do you have to work?” He asked while fidgeting with the buttons on his vest.

“Yeah but I get off at 2:30. So we could go later around 6. I-I mean if that’s okay with you.” She said whiled wiping off nonexistent dust on the steering wheel.

“Yeah, that’s okay.”

“Good.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah.” She nodded her head. “So you’d better,” She tilted her head towards the UFO Center. “go.”

“Yeah. So I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye Max.” She sighed dreamily and watched him walk into the Center.

Tbc....

I know this chapter was long but I just couldn't help myself :wink:
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sweetbrowneyes
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Chapter 3

Saturday

Liz hummed happily as she bounced down the stairs leading to the backroom of the cafe. She was waiting for Max to pick her up for their date. She couldn’t stop the smile that graced her lips. She didn’t know why Max affected her this way. She’d been on many dates back in Michigan, but no other boy had made her feel this way. And the confusing thing about it was that she barely knew him. The boys in Michigan, she’d known for years, and still she didn’t feel as comfortable around them as she did with Max. She just hoped to God that he felt the same.

She pushed through the swinging door and stopped at the counter in front of her dad. “Hey dad.”

“Hey. You doing anything tonight?”

“Yeah. I’m hanging out with Max.” She knew better than to say that she was going on a date. Her dad would pop a gasket.

“Max? Whose Max? How old is he? What are you going to do? I hope it’s something that can be done from at least three feet away from each other. I want to meet him.” He said in a fatherly tone.

“Daaaaad.” She whined. “You know Max. He‘s one of Maria‘s friends. We‘re just going out for a little while.” She failed to mention the fact that he had his own apartment and that she had a huge crush on him.

“Well if he’s Maria’s good friend then I guess it’s okay. But if he goes so far as to lay a finger on you.....”

“Dad, it’s fine. Max is the sweetest guy and we’re just hanging out.” Though she hoped for more.

Liz adored her father to no ends, but when it came down to her getting near boys, he would flip out. He was always so over protective. When she was little she used to love it. Now it’s a totally different story.

“Alright Lizzie. I’ll back off. I’m just.....”

“...trying to look out for my baby girl.” She finished for him. “I know. I know.”

“That’s right. And don‘t you or anybody else forget it.” With that he got up and wandered into the backroom.

Liz rolled her eyes at her father’s protective ways. Out of the corner of her eye so saw someone sit next to her.

“Hey baby.” Kyle said. Liz just sighed and chose to ignore him. “Oh come now. What’s with the bad manners?”

She turned and glared at him. “What do you want Kyle?”

“You.” He laid his hand on her thigh, gently massaging her knee then her inner thigh.

“You fuckin pervert!!” She pushed him off the stool and stormed into the back room.

Kyle watched her go with a smug smile on his face. No girl had ever said no to him before. He’d get Liz Parker, no matter what he had to do.
***********

Across town, Max watched as Maria ran around his room trying to find something for him to wear. He thought she would literally explode with excitement when he told her about his date....NO not DATE. It was just a friendly get together, as he had told Maria.

“Ria, all I need is just a pair of pants and a shirt. What’s the big deal?” He said as Maria continued to throw clothes all over the room.

“You’re brilliant!! You should just go casual. Liz is already crazy about you.”

“No she’s not Ria. We’re just grabbing a bite to eat and maybe catch a movie.”

“Chico, you can really be dense sometimes. Do you not notice those looks she’s been throwing your way.” She pulled out a pair of black khakis and a blue shirt.

“I think you’re looking into this too much. She doesn’t like me like that.” His voice almost sounded disappointed.

“Why wouldn’t she. I’m telling you, Liz adores you.” She sighed when Max didn’t answer. “Don‘t you notice the girls at school ogling at you. And Liz is among the oglers. Face it Max, you’re sexy.”

Max blushed at the comment. He knew that Maria was just saying that. He really wanted to believe Maria. He liked Liz. But he could never get involved with her. That would be disastrous.

Maria moved to sit next to Max on the bed. “Max?” When he didn’t look at her, she took his face into her hands and made him look her in the eye. “Sweetie what’s wrong. You do like Liz, right?” He nodded. “Then what’s the problem?”

“I shouldn‘t have asked her out.” He answered miserably. “It was a mistake.”

“Max, where is this coming from?” She asked, still holding his face.

“It’s nothing. I need to get dressed.” He pulled her hands away and began to reach for his clothes.

“Why do you always do that?” She asked before he could leave the room.

“Do what?”

“Put yourself down like that. Why can’t you see what everyone else sees?”

Because I’m not what everyone sees, he thought. “I.....I have to go change.” He walked out of the room without another word, leaving a worried Maria behind.
************

“Hey Max!” Liz almost shouted in excitement as Max walked through the cafe doors.

“Hi.” He stared at her, and for the millionth time he tried to figure out why someone as beautiful as her would be interested in him. She wore tan capris that hugged her just right and a deep red shirt with sleeves that stopped just after her elbows.

“Uh....you.....you look great.” He managed to choke out through his embarrassment from staring at her.

Her grin grew even bigger as she bowed her head to hide her blush. “Thank you. So do you.” They stood just staring at each other, brown met amber. Max finally looked away, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“I-I guess we should get going.” He said nervously. He waited as Liz went to say goodbye to her father and then they walked to the jeep, both stealing glances at each other.

“You wanna eat first or go see a movie?“ Max asked once he helped Liz into the jeep.

“Let’s see a movie first. I’m not really that hungry right now.” He nodded and walked around to the driver’s side.

Liz watched him carefully. He seemed a little reserved tonight. But she didn’t dwell on it to much as she watched his muscles flex when he pulled himself into the jeep. She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. He turned and smiled before he started up the jeep. If it wasn’t for the risk of sliding right out of the jeep, Liz would have turned into a puddle of goop.

“So what movie do you want to see?” He asked once they were on the road.

“How about Timeline. I’ve been dying to see it.” Liz answered.

“I know me too. But I didn’t have anyone to see it with. All Maria likes to see are romance and Brad Pit films.”

She frowned. “I never thought of Maria as a romance junkie.”

“Yep, that’s her. And you do not want to go with Michael and Alex. Michael grumbles through the whole movie about how there should be more sex. And Alex goes on and on about the special effects and how fake everything is.” He chuckled at his friends’ pickiness. “Your my last hope Liz.” He joked.

“Awww, poor baby.” She cooed playfully. “Your friends have spoiled your cinema viewing pleasures.”

Seeing Liz smile and in such a good mood, made Max forget all his doubts and problems. “Thank you!! Finally, someone understands.” He said, throwing one hand in the air. They laughed as Max pulled the jeep to a stop in the parking lot. Max jogged around the jeep to help Liz out and they walked side by side to the ticket booth.

After buying their tickets, they headed towards the concession stand. “You want anything?” Max asked.

“Uh...some gummy bears and a small coke.” She reached into her purse to pull out some money, but Max stopped her.

“I’ve got it.” He ordered himself a large popcorn and a medium cherry coke. “Shall we?”

“We shall.” She giggled. They walked into the theater and spotted two empty seats right in the middle.

They sat down just as the movie started. “Popcorn?” Max offered.

She smiled and reached in for a handful. “That is so disgusting.” She whispered.

“What?” He popped some popcorn into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “It’s not that bad. I mean it could use a little butter, and it may be a little salty, but....”

“No. Not that. Look.” She pointed to a couple who sat a couple of rows in front of them. “That’s Kyle.” She whispered. “He was just in the Crashdown hitting on me and now he’s swapping spit with another girl.” She gagged and Max chuckled.

“If I were you I’d steer clear of Valenti. He’s bad news.” He whispered back.

“I already am.” A woman behind them shushed them and they turned to look at each other, before bursting out into quiet giggles. Neither of them knew what they were laughing at, but they didn’t care.

About half way through the movie, Max and Liz managed to piss off the woman behind them and several other people with their constant whispering and laughing, enough for them to move to the other side of the theater. But they didn’t notice. They were too busy throwing popcorn at the back of Kyle’s head.

Max didn’t know what had gotten into him. He would never do this. If fact he’d always criticized Maria when she threw popcorn at Pam Troy, even though she did deserve it by being bitch to them. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt like this. Like he didn’t have a care in the world. But suddenly, he remembered. It was when he was with Isabel. Before he’d screwed up his life.

He quickly turned his thoughts and tuned back in to Liz’s quiet giggles. It warmed his heart to hear her laughing. To know that he had caused it. Maybe there was something in this world besides pain and heartache.


Max and Liz walked into the cool night’s air, arm and arm.

“I can’t believe we were the only one sitting on that side of the theater.” Max laughed.

“At least after they moved we didn’t have to worry about disturbing any one.” She said with a wide grin. Max returned her smile and helped her into the jeep.

Liz felt her stomach rumble. “Where are we going to eat?”

“Senor Chows.” He said as he hopped into the jeep.
************
“What?!? You can‘t be serious!” Liz stared unbelievingly at Max. They had left Senor Chows hours ago. Liz invited Max back to the Crashdown for some hot sundaes, they’d been here ever since.

“No, I’m very serious.” He answered with full certainty.

“No. I refuse to believe that Adam Sandler is a better actor than Jim Carey. It‘s ridiculous.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Jim Carey is classic.”

“Fine. But I still say that Adam is better than Jim. Have you not seen Saturday Night Live?”

She rolled her eyes and he glanced at his watch. “It’s almost 1, I’d better get going.” He got up from the booth and walked towards the front doors.

“Yeah. I can’t believe that it's so late.” She said as she followed him towards the doors.

They were quiet as they stared at each other. “I uh, I had a great time tonight.” She suddenly felt shy around him. It was weird because the whole night she felt so comfortable around him.

“I did too.” He said quietly. His hand had a mind of it’s own as it lifted and pushed her hair from her face and unconsciously, he leaned in closer, till their lips just barely brushed together.

He pulled back abruptly, stumbling back into the door. “I-I um,.....I have.... to go.” He flung open the door and hurried out of the cafe, leaving a dazed Liz behind.

Tbc....
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sweetbrowneyes
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Post by sweetbrowneyes »

Hey guys! I'm playing hooky from school today. But I really do have a cold :cough: See. :roll: Anyway, I got a chance to finish the next chapter so thanks for the fb and enjoy! :D


Chapter 4

Sunday

Max stumbled sleepily towards the front down. “I’m coming!!” He growled as that annoying knocking persisted at the door.

He knew it was Maria, coming to drill him on last night. And to see if there would be any future dates between he and Liz. But to be honest, Max really didn’t know how to feel about Liz or the whole situation. He knew he liked her. A lot. But it wasn’t a matter of if he liked her, it was more of if he SHOULD like her.

He undid the lock on the door and flung it open to reveal a giddy Maria.

“Oh chico.” She gasped. “That hair. I’m sorry but that hair style is not really going for you.” She said as she picked at his sleep tousled hair.

“Ha, ha. Funny. Why didn‘t you just use your key like you always do?” He stepped aside, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. She moved passed him and he closed the door behind her. He moved to the couch, collapsing onto it and closing his eyes.

She shrugged her shoulders. “So?” She said, staring knowingly at him.

He opened one eye and stared up at her. “So, what?” He mumbled.

“You know what. How’d it go with Liz last night?” She lifted his legs off the couch and sat down, resting his legs on her lap.

He pulled the afghan from off the back of the couch and covered himself with it. “Do we really have to do this so early in the morning?”

“Um, sweetie. It’s 4 in the afternoon.”

“Do we have to do this so late in the afternoon?” He replied.

“Yes. Now spill.” He lazily waved her off.

Frowning, she grabbed his foot and wrapped her hand around his big toe. “Max, if you don’t start talking now, I swear this toe won’t be attached to your foot once I‘m through with it.”

Her threat barely registered to him. “Hmmmmm.” He mumbled sleepily. He turned on his side and pulled the afghan up to his chin.

Maria scowled and twisted his toe. “Ooooowwww!!!” He sprung up, jerking his foot from her grasp. “Maria!!” He sulked, rubbing his sore toe.

She kicked off her shoes and turned fully towards him, tucking her legs under her. “I want details. Don’t leave anything out.” She said, a big grin plastered on her face.

He let out a heavy sigh, knowing that he couldn’t get out of this one. “Okay. First we went to the movies to see Timeline.”

“Was Brad Pitt in that one?” He shook his head and she scrunched up her nose in disgust. “Any physical contact between you two? Hand touching, head leaning towards the other, leg rubbing against each other, sucking face?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

“No. Well, okay, maybe a little hand touching, but only because we shared the arm rest. Unlike some people.” He glared evilly at her before continuing. “Anyway. Later we when to Senor Chows and had dinner. We didn‘t stay long.”

“Was there any footsie action going on? Hmmmm?”

He rolled his eyes at her antics. “I don’t know why I put up with you.” He muttered.

“Because, I’m simply irresistible.” She said in a sweet voice, fluttering her eyelashes. “Continue.”

“No footsie, but she did kick my ass in pool. We ate and then she invited me back to the Crashdown to have dessert. See? Simple little get together between friends.”

“There wasn’t any goodnight kissing going on?”

“No.” He said a little to quickly.

“Max.” She said knowingly. “What happened?”

“What? Nothing. We ate dessert and then I left.” He scratched his eyebrow and gave her the most innocent look he could muster.

“Don’t lie.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

“I’m not!!”

“You are!!” She clamped her hand over his mouth before he could deny it. “When you lie you either scratch your eyebrow, or you won’t look at me in the eye, or you’ll start fidgeting, or.....”

“Okay!! I get it. I’m lying.” He shook his head and sighed. How did he get himself into this mess? “We did kiss .....a little but, I.....kind of ran out like a second after our lips touched.”

“What? Why? I thought you liked Liz.”

“I did. I do. But...”He wasn’t really sure himself. Maybe he was just scared of hurting Liz or getting hurt himself. Or just scared of rejection. No, he knew he was scared of rejection. Liz would be the first girl he had ever been involved with willingly, and he knew it would crush him if she turned him down.

“I’m just.....just scared I guess.”

“Scared of what?” She asked in confusion.

He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know.”

She crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised her eyebrows knowingly. “You do know Max. You just won’t tell me.”

He laid his head back against the back of the couch. “I’m scared of rejection. I’m afraid that if I went and spilled my guts to her than she would just shoot me down.” He explained miserably.

“Have you talked to Liz about this yet?”

“No. I haven’t talked to her since last night.”

“What?!?” She picked up the couch pillow and began to hit him with it. “Max what is wrong with you?” She said in between hits. He grabbed the pillow from her, hit her once with it and then threw it across the room. “You need to talk to her. I know she’s going crazy trying to figure out if she did something wrong. I doubt that Liz wouldn’t jump at the chance to be with you. As I’ve to you many times, she’s crazy about you. She even told me herself earlier this week.”

He perked up at that last comment. “She did?”

“Yes!” She laughed at his reaction. Max had it bad. “Talk to her.”

“I will.”
**************

Later that night

“Liz?” Max called from the street below. He nervously shoved his hands in his pockets as he waited.

His breath caught in his throat as she appeared over the side of her balcony. She was an angel. She glowed in the moonlight, her hair shimmering around her. God only knew how he craved to run his fingers through the silky strands of her hair.

She smiled. Her eyes lighting up and brightening his world. How he would love to gaze into her eyes forever and have her gazing right back. He clinched his fists, fighting the urge to run up the ladder and kiss her senseless.

He shook his head, trying to get rid of silly thoughts in his head. That would never happen. This.....thing he felt for her couldn’t last. It shouldn’t. It wasn’t good for either one of them.

“Max?” She called when he didn’t say anything. The cool night suddenly warmed up when she noticed the way he was staring at her. He was gorgeous. The muscles in his arm flexed slightly as he clinched his fists. Her eyes burned a trail along his arms up to his broad shoulders and his neck, to his strong jaw line. His amber eyes were clouded over, but just as beautiful. His bangs fell over his forehead, just above his eyebrows. How she longed to brush them away and bury her hands in his chocolate colored hair.

She realized he was talking and snapped back to reality. “....if I could come up and talk to you?”

“Um, sure Max.” All day long she had been trying to understand why Max had ran out on her. She had never thought that she could feel so much from just one kiss that didn’t even last for five seconds. If she thought she was addicted to Max now, she couldn’t image how it would be if they actually did start going out. Maybe there was a rehab she could go to.

She watched him as he climbed up the ladder and hopped over the side of the wall. “Hi.” He said.

“Hi.” She returned, giving him a gentle smile.

For a moment, Max forgot why he was over here in the first place.

“Um....Liz, I just wanted to....to apologize for running out like I did yesterday.”

She stepped closer to him until she was right in front of him. “I thought I did something wrong.”

“No, you didn‘t. I shouldn’t have done that. I um,....I just wanted you to know that.....that I like you. A lot.” He said shyly, staring hard at the ground. “And I wanted to know if, uh, I could see you again and maybe...” He cleared his throat, and rocked on his heels. “if you wanted to....we could become.....official.

She stared at him, not really sure if she was dreaming or not. Her heart fluttered knowing that Max liked her and would like to see her again.

“I would love that Max.” She said, smiling up at him.

He stared at her in astonishment. “Y-You would?” He stuttered in amazement.

She put her hands on his shoulders and leaned up, pressing a light kiss on his lips. “I would.” She smiled when she saw him relax, letting out a deep breath. He put his hands on her waist. “So I guess that makes us boyfriend and girlfriend?”

He nodded, still a little shocked that she hadn’t rejected him.

She turned around and sat on her lawn chair. “You wanna stay here for a while and do some stargazing with me?” She scooted over and patted the empty space next to her.

There was no way he could sit that close to her and not just.....attack her. But he couldn’t deny her. He knew he was just gearing himself up for a disaster, but for right now he did what he really wanted to do. And that was to be with Liz.

He smiled. “I’d love to.”
*********

TBC....
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Hey guys!! Thanks for the fb :D But just to let you know, enjoy this chapter because everything takes a turn for the worst after this chapter. :(

Chapter 5

Thursday

Liz floated around the cafe, taking orders from her many customers. This week could qualify as the best days of her life.

It was official. Max and Liz were a couple. And despite the glares she received from the other girls at school and the disappointed looks the guys threw her way, Liz was on cloud nine.

Max would pick her up for school, giving her a sweet good morning kiss. They walked into school hand in hand, showing the whole school that he was hers and she was his.

He walked her to every class and even offered to carry her books.

“I know it’s cheesy, but isn’t that what boyfriends are supposed to do?” He had said. He looked so adorable that Liz just could help but giving him a big kiss right in the middle of the halfway.

She smiled at the thought of how shocked Max had looked when she’d done it.

“Earth to Liz!!” A voice called out.

“Uh...oh. Hey guys.” She said to Alex and Michael. “What can I get for you today?”

“We just wanted to talk to you.” Michael said.

She glanced at her watch. “I guess I can take a small break.” She sat across from them, a little intimidated by the way Michael was looking at her.

“I can’t believe Max actually asked you out.” Alex burst out suddenly. “That’s like....amazing!!” Liz giggled at him, but stopped immediately when she saw the look on Michael’s face.

“Look, Liz. You are the first girl Max has been out with. You’re the first girl he’s been involved with. Max is like my little brother, and I want to protect him from all of the heartache I can. Don’t hurt him Liz.” He said firmly, staring her straight in the eye. “Max is a good guy and he’s going through some shit right now that he doesn’t deserve. The last thing he needs to worry about is if some girl is screwing him over, playing him for a fool.”

“I’m not...” He held up his hand, cutting her off.

“Let me finish. I’m not saying that you are. Now, I don’t know you, but from what I’ve seen you are a pretty descent girl. I’m just saying don’t hurt him. If you don’t like him or if you’re just using him for something, I would advise you to leave him alone now. Because I swear if Max gets hurt, and I find out that you were responsible, I won’t be held accountable for my actions.” He stated angrily.

“Michael!!” Alex hissed. "we're not here to threaten her!!"

“I understand Michael.” She said, no longer intimidated by his stare. “I know you want to look out for Max. So, believe me when I say that I really like him. And I would never do anything to hurt him.” She said calmly.

Michael stared at her for a minute before nodding to her and sliding out of the booth, leaving the Crashdown.

“Sorry about him Liz. He’s just very over protective.” Alex said gently.

“It’s okay. But why is he so protective of Max?”

“Well, we’re not really sure what’s going on with Max right now. But he’s in a really bad place right now. Michael was adopted when he was 5 so he understands how Max feels to not have any parents or family.” He explained.

“What happened to Max’s parents?”

Alex shrugged. “Don’t break his heart Liz. I don’t think he could take it.”

“I won’t.” She watched him get up to leave. And not for the first time she wondered why was Max alone.
************

Max walked down the darkened alleyway, leading to Liz’s balcony. He climbed up the ladder and hopped on to the balcony. He walked to the window and crouched down.

Her back was to him as she sat at her mirror, brushing her long tresses. She looked beautiful in the dim light of her room.

There eyes connected through the mirror. She smiled before getting up to open the window.

“Hey Max. What are you doing here?”

“I wanna show you something. Can you get away for a couple of hours?” He asked hopefully.

She bit her lip and glanced at the digital clock that sat on her nightstand. It was only eight. “Just let me put on my shoes.” She ran to her closet, pulling out her tennis shoes. She grabbed Max’s hand as he helped her out of the window. They climbed down the ladder and headed towards his jeep.

“Where are we going?” She asked once they were on the road.

“It’s a surprise.” He said with a sly smile.

“Oh!! A surprise?!? Tell me, tell me!” She tugged on the sleeve of his jacket, bouncing in her seat like a child.

“You really wanna know?”

“Yes.”

He opened his mouth as if he were about to tell her.

“No.” He said instead. He chuckled as she pouted next to him.

Liz turned to him in confusion when he turned off the road and headed into the desert about ten minutes later.

“You’re not kidnapping me and taking me to your secret hide out in a cave somewhere far out in the desert to torture and have your way with me are you?” She joked.

He turned to her, an impressed expression on his face. “Creative, but no.”

“Just checking.” He laughed and turned his attention back to driving. They drove for about another 20 minutes before Max pulled the jeep to a stop in front of a huge rock formation that stretched across the land. He got out and jogged around to the passenger side to help Liz out.

“Where are we?” She looked around and saw nothing but vast emptiest. She road wasn’t even in sight.

He moved to the back of the jeep and pulled out a blanket. He returned to Liz’s side, taking her hand. “Come on.”

“We’re going to climb that?” She asked in disbelief, pointing to the rock formation.

“Yeah. It’s not steep. It’s just like walking up a flight of stairs.” She nodded in understanding.

With Max leading the way, they made their way up to the top of the rock. Turns out, that the rock formation was actually a small cliff. There was a 60ft drop, leading to a river that twisted along the bank. The stars shone brightly in the clear night. And looking out, there was a good view of where the stars in the black night met the sandy earth.

“Wow.” She breathed, awed by the simple beauty of the area. “How did you find this place?”

“I used to come out here all of the time when I first started driving. I came across this place right after I got my license. I come out here to just think or to just to relax.” He threw out the blanket and they sat down, their feet almost dangling off the edge. “I’ve never brought anyone out here before. It’s sort of my special place.”

“It’s gorgeous out here.” She leaned over a placed a gentle kiss on the lips. “Thank you for sharing this with me.” She leaned against him, feeling peace and comfort overtake her as Max wrapped his warm arms around her.

“Don’t tell Maria about this place. She’d flip if she found out that I was keeping this from her.”

“I won’t.” She said, feeling a little closer to Max by knowing about something so personal to him.

They were silent for quite a while, just listening to the quiet river and the soft hiss of the wind blowing.

“Max?” Liz said suddenly. He looked down at her, waiting for her to continue. “Why do you live alone?” She asked softly.

His arms tensed around her as his body stiffened. He hadn’t thought about any of his secrets that much this week. He’d been too preoccupied with Liz to dwell on it. Sure he was still having nightmares, those never went away, but he just drank himself into oblivion and didn’t remember anything about the nightmares in the morning.

Now everything came rushing back to him. The reasons why he shouldn’t have gotten involved with Liz, the torture of reliving his faults in his nightmares every night, his fear of being alone for the rest of his life, and his fear of his friends finding out about him and rejecting him. Everything was too much for him to handle and he mentally braced himself against the full force of the affliction he knew was coming.

Liz looked up at him when he didn’t answer. “Max?”

He looked down at her, seeing the worry and compassion in her eyes. Even though his heart screamed for him to tell her, he couldn’t. She wouldn’t understand. No one would.

“I just do.” He said softly, drawing his eyes to the horizon.

She simply nodded and let it go. She placed her hand on his knee, and stroked it with her thumb. She leaned her head back and rested it onto his chest, her concern for Max seeping through every inch of her body.

TBC......
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And the drama unfolds.

Chapter 6

Saturday

“Maxwell Evans! If you laugh or utter anything that sounds even a little bit like a laugh, I will kick your ass all the way to Texas and back.” Maria roared, her silver antennas bobbing on her head as she spoke.

“I didn’t say anything.” He said innocently.

“Not yet. I can’t believe my mom made me get a job.” She whined as she plopped down across from Max.

“Ria, you act like it’s the end of the world.” He yawned and rubbed his temples.

Maria frowned, but quickly smoothed her features. “It is. Why can’t I just sponge off my mom like normal teenagers.” She stole one of Max’s fries.

“You’ll have to get a job someday, why not start now?” He said, taking a sip of his cherry coke.

“Yeah but,.....I..... be quiet Max.” Max smiled in triumph, having won the discussion. Maria tried to steal another fry, but Max caught her hand and stuck out his tongue. She gave him a funny look and snatched her hand away.

“Aren’t you supposed to be working?” He asked, stifling another yawn.

“I’m on break.” She said as a matter of fact.

“Maria, I could use some help here. I swear if Kyle checks me out one more time, I‘m gonna scream.” Liz called as she walked up to their booth. “Hi Max.”

“Hey Liz.” He pulled her into the booth, giving her a long sweet kiss.

“Oh God!” Maria exclaimed.

“Now you know how we feel when we have to sit and watch you a Michael suck face.” Liz pointed out as she pulled away from Max.

“You don’t have to watch, you could turn your head or something.” She returned.

“So could you.” Max replied.

She frowned and stole Max’s plate of fries. “Keep them. I coughed in them anyway.” He said with a sly grin.

“Eck!!” She pushed the plate away and grabbed Max’s cherry coke. Max just rolled his eyes and let her have it.

Liz turned to Max. “Are we still on for tomorrow?”

Max began to answer, but Maria cut him off. “On for what?”

“Max and I are going to do a little last minute studying for our bio quiz on Monday.” Liz explained.

“Brainiacs.” Maria muttered.

Both Max and Liz glared at her before turning back to each other. “My place or yours?”

“Yours. More privacy.” Max agreed. It had been almost a month since that night on the cliff. Max tried to distance himself from Liz after that night. But it became harder and harder as they became closer. They would talk on the phone for hours about anything and everything. On warm nights they would go out to the cliff and do some stargazing. He knew he was digging himself into a hole, but at this point, he could do nothing to stop it.

The last month wasn’t all sunshine for Max. His nightmares were getting worse and he was lucky if he got a full two hours of sleep a night. It was a miracle that he didn’t fall out during the day.

He yawned again and got up from the booth. “I’ll see you girls later. I’m gonna head home. I‘ll talk to you later Liz.” He kissed her goodbye.

“Bye Max.” They both said in unison.

“Hey guys.” Max greeted Michael and Alex as they walked into the cafe. They nodded towards him and headed over towards Liz and Maria.

“Aren’t you two supposed to be working?” Alex asked. He glanced around the crowded cafe and shook his head at the two slacking waitresses.

“On break.” They both said at the same time.

“What’s up with Maxwell? He’s been looking a little sick lately.” Michael said. He slid in next to Maria and nibbled on her neck.

“You’ve noticed too?” Maria sighed and leaned into Michael.

“He’s been falling asleep in class a lot.” Liz chimed in. “I asked him about it and he said it was nothing.”

“It’s probably those nightmares he’s been having.” Alex said. He waved over a waitress and ordered a Men In Blackberry Pie.

“Nightmares? About what?” Liz asked.

“He won’t tell us. You guys didn’t see him that night he came over. They shake him up pretty bad.” Maria commented. “But I think the nightmares might be about his mother leaving. You know how hard it was on him.”

Michael saw Lix's confused look and decided to fill her in. “A year ago, Max’s mom left him in search in Max’s dead beat dad. Max went missing for three weeks and when he came back, he refused to go into foster care and he didn’t want to stay with any of us.”

Liz heard the apprehension in his voice and frowned slightly. “Max told me that his mom died giving birth to him.”

“That’s impossible!” Alex exclaimed. The waitress brought his blackberry pie, which he just poked at with his fork. “If that’s true then who was that woman that lived with him? And why did he lie to us? It doesn’t make sense.” Alex wondered aloud.

“We won’t know what really happened because he won’t talk about it.” Maria said with growing frustration at her friend’s reluctance to talk about his problems. “All I know is that we had better do something about this before Max runs himself into the ground.”
**********

Liz laid in her lawn chair on her balcony, gazing up at the stars. She felt at ease as she stared up at the clear night sky. She sighed as she felt the cool breeze across her face. It was a little chilly and she wrapped herself tighter in her blanket. Her night was perfect. She was in her favorite chair, in her favorite pajamas, and had a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

Liz heard footsteps then some small thumping sounds. She sat up and spotted a head of dark chocolate hair over the side of the wall. A huge grin broke out on her face as Max hopped over the edge. Her night just got even better.

“Heyyyy Lish.” He slurred as he staggered over to her.

Her grin faded as she watched Max nearly trip over himself trying to get to her. “Max? Are you feeling okay?”

“Yesh. Jush a lil’ drunk. No worries.” He tried to sit down at the foot of the chair, but he missed and fell flat on his ass. He chuckled and tried again. This time just barely making onto the seat.

“You didn’t drive over here did you?” She sighed in relief when he vigorously shook his head.

He chuckled as he began to sway. “That made me dizzsy.” He said with a goofy grin. “That’s a funny word. Dizzsy. Dizzsy, dizzsy, dizzsy.....”

She silenced him with her hand to his mouth. “Max, stop it. What are you doing here drunk?”

“I wanted to she you. I love to she you. You are show beautiful Lish.” He admitted.

“Max, I need to get you home. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yesh I do. I’m jush sayin’ all the things that I wouldn’t say if I wazn’t drunk. I think you are very beautiful.” He moved his finger, gently feeling the smooth skin of her cheek. “I love you Lish. I always half. I waz jush scared to say it because I’m not shupposed to let you she the real me.”

“The real you?”

He placed his finger over her lips. “Shhhhh,.It’s a shecret. I can’t tell nobody about the real me.”

“Why?” She gasped as his hand moved to the back of her head and ran his fingers through her hair. She knew she should stop him, he didn’t know what he was doing, but it felt so good.

He leaned in a little more until his lips pressed against hers in a sweet kiss. They sat still for a few seconds, just to relish the feeling of each other. Max pulled away. Even through his drunken haze he could feel the jolt of electricity he got when he touched Liz. He moved in again, this time caressing her lips with his tongue until she parted them, granting access to her mouth.

Liz moaned as Max explored her mouth. The taste of alcohol and Max filled her senses. It drove her crazy. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. The butterflies in her stomach fluttered wildly as Max moved his hands up and down her back, leaving a tingling sensation in their wake. She whimpered when Max finally pulled away.

Max leaned forward, resting his forehead on her shoulder. She ran her fingers through his soft, thick hair. “Max you need to sober up.”

Suddenly he slumped in her arms. “Max? Max?!?” She shouted as she shook his shoulder.

“Hmm?” He shook his head against her shoulder, trying to rouse himself.

“I don’t dezerve you Lish. You dezerve a better boyfriend.” His voice was quiet, but Liz could hear all of his pain and regret loud and clear. “I’m not worth it.” He muttered before he passed out completely a few moments later, snoring softly.

Knowing it was a lost cause trying to wake him, and that there was no way of getting him through the window and into her room, Liz sat back, pulling him up so that he was fully lying on the chair, his head resting on her chest.

She stared down at Max’s sleeping form.

Max loved her. Her mind told her that it was just the alcohol talking, but her heart told her differently. And right now she was leaning heavily towards her heart. Because at that moment as she stared at Max, peacefully sleeping in her arms, she realized that she was in love with him too. She had always been, from the moment she saw him. She’ d never felt as strongly about someone before and it scared her to think that Max really didn’t feel the same. But, heart wouldn’t let her believe that for too long.

She frowned as Max started to shiver. She pulled the blanket that she was using earlier out from under Max and spread it over them both. He curled into her side, mumbling something as he settled back into sleep. She wrapped her arms protectively around him, watching over him as he slept.
*********

The little boy ran as fast as he could, clutching Mr. Bear close to his heart. His legs began to turn into jelly, his lungs burned like fire.

“Maaaxxxxx!! You can’t run from me.” She shouted as she chased him down the hall.

He ran until he came to the end of the hall. He hurried to the nearest door, but finding it locked.

He was as good as dead.

“Please, don’t hurt me! I didn’t do anything!” He begged. He backed up against the wall as far as he could.

“YOU killed her!! It’s your fault!!!” She roared. She stepped closer to him, towering over him in a threatening stance.

“No. Please, I didn’t mean to!” He cried out.

“Shut up!!!!” She snarled, slapping him across the face. He fell to the floor, his tears stinging the red hand print on his face. “I don’t even know why I keep you around boy. You’re worth shit.”

“What‘s this?” She hissed, spotting the brown bear he held to his chest.

Isabel had given it to him. “I-It‘s m-my b-bear. P-please d-don‘t t-take it.” His desperate pleas fell on deaf ears.

“You don’t deserve this!!” She snatched the bear from him, twisting it until the head snapped off. She threw back at him, her eyes burning with fury. “That’s what you did to her!! You took her away from me!! You killed her!!” She accused.

“Stop it!!! Stop it!!!” He shouted. He covered his ears with his hands and closed his eyes tight.

“I told you to shut up!” She violently took hold of his arms, jerking them away from his ears. “What the hell are you good for? You destroy everything you come in contact with.”

“No. It wasn’t my fault!!”

“You fuckin killed her!!”

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no.” He chanted. He shook his head frantically, not wanting to believe what she told him.

“It’s your fault! And because of that, no one will ever want you!!” She grabbed him around his neck with both hands, lifting off of his feet.

He unsuccessfully hit at her hands trying to get out of her grasp. His eyes went wide as he tried to draw oxygen into his lungs. His hits became weaker as the world around him got darker.

All of a sudden she let go and he collapsed to the ground, coughing violently and gasping for air. “Your worth shit boy.” Her voice was eerily calm. She smiled as she watched him trembling on the floor.

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

Sunday Morning

Max jerked awake from the depths of his nightmares, his breathing coming in quick, shallow puffs. He sat up, bracing himself against the sharp pain in his head. His hands went to his neck, where she choked him all those years ago. He could still feel her cold hands around his small neck, choking the life out of him.

He looked around at his surroundings in confusion. What the hell was he doing on Liz’s balcony?

He turned around and there she was, still sound asleep. He pried himself from her arms and moved towards the wall of the balcony. He climbed down the latter and headed home.

Max was on auto pilot. He was just going through the motions. He faintly remembered anything that happened last night. He remembered waking up from horrid nightmares and then drinking himself into oblivion. But how did he get to Liz’s place?

He knew he had made a fool out of himself. But he was a fool, thinking that he could go through life pretending to be okay. Pretending to be happy. He just couldn’t do it anymore. Quicken his pace, he ran his way home.

Ten minutes later, he staggered through his apartment door. His eyes franticly scanning the room, looking for something, anything to take this ache away.

He moved into the kitchen, spotting a knife, he leaped to the counter and brought the knife to his wrist. He began to move the knife back and forth, the jagged edge tearing his skin. He welcomed the pain as the knife cut into his vein, his blood spilling out and onto the floor.

Sliding down to the floor, Max laid his head back against the cabinet. Everything was going to be okay now. No more pretending. No more nightmares. No more rejecton. No more pain. No more fear.

He smiled, ignoring the throbbing pain in his wrist. Soon, it would be over.

TBC.....
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sweetbrowneyes
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Post by sweetbrowneyes »

Thank you than you for all of the fb. :D This part is kind of short. Sorry about that. :? But here you go. Happy Holidays!!

Chapter 7

Sunday Morning

“Liz!! Get up!! The hungry masses are waiting for you!!” Maria yelled through Liz's bedroom window.

“What?” She groaned. She sprung up when she didn’t feel Max’s weight against her. “Where’s Max?” She asked, looking franticly around the balcony as if he would appear out of no where.

“Max? At home. Where I should be this early in the morning.” She narrowed her eyes at Liz as she stretched her limbs. “What happened? Why are you so worried about Max?”

Liz adverted her eyes, not really sure where to start.

“Oh. My. God. You two did it, didn’t you?” She accused.

“Did what?”

“You two did IT!!! I know you two were moving along pretty good with your relationship, but damn!! You two are horny little.....”

“Maria!! Nothing happened. Now be quiet before my dad hears you.” She whispered fiercely. “What are you doing here anyway? Your shift isn‘t until this afternoon.” She climbed through the window and sat on her bed.

“Mom burnt breakfast again so I thought I’d eat breakfast here.” She moved to sit next to her. “Your dad is downstairs. He sent me up here to wake you for your shift. ”

“Oh.” She stood and went to her closet, pulling out her uniform. “Maria, could you go over to Max’s and see if he’s okay?”

She raised her eyebrows at Liz’s worried expression. “Why?”

“Well, he came over last night, totally drunk.”

She stood, placing her hands on her hips. “Max was drunk? What the hell is he doing drinking?”

Liz shrugged. “He told me that he loved me and that he didn‘t deserve me.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. He said he loved you?” Her arms now flying free around her, gesturing for Liz to continue.

“Yeah. After that he said that he wasn’t worth it.” She explained.

“Worth what?” She asked, completely confused now.

“I don’t know. He passed out right after that.”

Maria hurried over to the door. “I’ll see you later Liz.” She said over her shoulder.

“Call me and let me know if he’s alright.” She yelled after her. She sighed and went into the bathroom. That call couldn’t come sooner.
**********

“Kyle, there’s that Parker chick.” Sean said from where he sat across from Kyle. They watched Liz Parker walk through the doors into the cafe, grab her order pad and head to her first table. “Did you get a piece of that ass yet?”

Kyle shook his head. “She’s banging that Evans kid. But I’ll get her.” He licked his lips as he watched her moved around the cafe.

“Whatever. I don’t believe it. She’d never go for you. Not every girl wants you.” Sean remarked with a sly smirk.

“She’s just playing hard to get. She wants me.”

“You’re one cocky son of a bitch. I’ll believe it when I see it.” He stated while watching a curvy blond saunter over to the counter.

Sean loved woman, but he wasn’t as.....aggressive as Kyle. If he was rejected he’d just shrugged it off and move on, but not Kyle. He’d keep going until he either got what he wanted or he got tired of the girl he was after. And as he said, Kyle was one cocky son of a bitch who’d go to extreme levels to get what he wanted.

“I bet you fifty bucks that I’ll bang Liz Parker before spring break.” He said, finally taking his eyes off of Liz.

His eyes snapped to Kyle’s in disbelief. “Dude, that’s like two weeks away.”

“Yeah. So?” He said, cocking one eyebrow and shrugging.

“Okay.” He said slowly. It’ll be a quick way to get some money. “What about Evans?”

Kyle’s face scrunched up in disgust. “Screw Evans. She’ll forget him once she’s got some of this.” He gesturing to his.... southern region.

“Okay, but you have to have pictures as prove. And you have until Friday, the week before spring break.” He reached across the table and shook his hand.

This’ll be good he thought.
*********

Liz uncomfortably shifted from foot to foot as she waited for her costumer to order. She could feel Kyle’s eyes burning a hole into her back. It completely sickened her.

Everyone knew that she and Max were going out, but Kyle seemed to not give a shit. He continuously made passes at her whenever he got the chance. And when he wasn’t hitting on her, he was sticking his tongue down some other girl’s throat. He just completely disgusted her.

“I’ll have two Alien Blasts and a Men In Blackberry pie.” Her customer order.

“Anything to drink?” She asked, pasting a false smile on her face.

“Just a Coke and some water.”

She wrote down the order in her pad. “I’ll be right back with your order.”

“Liz!! Telephone!!” Her father called from the back room.

She threw a quick smile to her customers and headed to the back room.

“It’s Maria, she’s sounds upset.” He handed her the phone and walked out into the cafe.

“Maria?.....What?!?......I’ll be right there.”
**********

Fifteen Minutes Earlier

Maria knocked on Max’s apartment door. She tapped her foot anxiously, waiting for him to answer. She knocked harder this time, yelling Max’s name through the door and waited.

When he still didn’t answer she pulled out her keys, and found Max’s.

Max had given her, Michael and Alex a copy of his key just in case of emergencies when he first moved in. She entered the key into the hole and unlocked the door. She stepped into the apartment and into the living room.

“Max?” She called to the silent apartment. No answer.

Confused, she turned around and that’s when she saw him.

Max sat on the floor, propped up against the kitchen cabinet. His head slumped forward, his chin resting on his chest. A knife lay in his right hand, while blood oozed from his left wrist.

“Oh my God!! Max!!“ She gasped. She ran over to him, dropping everything she was holding. He was deathly pale and his blood was all over the floor. She lifted his head and patted his cheek, urging him to wake up.

“Come on Max!! Please wake up.” She begged franticly. He didn’t respond and fell sideways into her. This couldn’t be happening. Not to Max, not to her. She couldn’t lose Max now.

"Please open your eyes." She sobbed.

She put two fingers against his neck to check his pulse. “Oh God!”

TBC.......
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sweetbrowneyes
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Joined: Fri Aug 08, 2003 9:07 am
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Post by sweetbrowneyes »

Hey guys and gals!! I wasn't planning on posting this part until after Christmas, but you guys convinced me that you wanted it NOW. I don't know alot about hospitals so forgive me if I screw something up, but this is my world so here it is. Enjoy!! :D

Chapter 8

Sunday

“Where is he?” Liz demanded, tears poured out of her eyes, severely blurring her vision.

Everyone looked up as Liz burst into the room. Michael and Maria sat huddled in one of the plastic chairs and Alex chewed on his fingernail while he paced around the room. Their parents sat over to the side, worriedly watching over their children.

“Liz.” Maria cried.

“Where is he? How is he?” She asked tearfully.

“We don’t know anything yet.” Maria left Michael’s embrace and hugged Liz tight. “He’s still in the emergency room. God Liz. There was so much blood and he was so pale and cold.”

Liz held on to her as tight as she could. "He's gonna be okay. He has to be okay." She whispered mostly to herself.

After awhile Maria let go and squeezed her hand. She then walked back over to Michael, who took her into his arms again.

“Hey Liz.” Alex greeted softly. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. “He’s going to be okay.” He assured her as well as himself.

She nodded, praying that he was right.

“Max has got a lot of people who cares about him. We just have to find a way to make him see that.”

Liz nodded and turned towards the parents. “Hi Aunt Amy.”

“Hi sweetie.” Amy stood and gave her niece a hug."How are you holding up?" Liz shook her head, Amy nodded in understanding. “Where’s your dad?”

Liz sniffled. “He had to stay and watch the cafe.” She turned towards the Guerins. “Hello Mr. and Mrs. Guerin.”

“Liz, what have we told you about that?” Mrs. Guerin scolded.

“Sorry. Diane, Phillip.” She gave them a weak, tearful smile before she moved to sit in one of the plastic chairs. She leaned forward and placed her head in her hands.


Two hours later Dr. Mason emerged into the waiting room. Liz was the first one out of her seat.

“Is Max okay?” She asked anxiously.

“Max is going to be fine.” There was a round of ‘thanks Gods’ before he continued. “Max is very lucky. He lost a lot of blood and I want to keep him here for the rest of the week to make sure the transfusion went well. We found traces of alcohol in his blood and I want to make sure he doesn‘t have a bad reaction to the transfusion” He explained.

“Could you tell how much alcohol it was?” Phillip asked.

“Well it was a pretty good amount. Enough to effect the new blood we transferred into him. But the transfusion went well, so he should be okay.”

“Can we see him?” Maria asked, relieved that Max was going to be okay.

“How many are we talking about?” He asked, looking uncertainly at the young teens.

Maria glanced back at her friends and their parents. Her mother nodded and she turned back to Dr. Mason. “Just the four of us.” She said, gesturing to Liz, Michael, and Alex.

“He’s sleeping right now, but it wouldn’t do any harm in seeing him. Follow me.”

Amy grabbed Maria’s arm before she could walk away. “Maria we’re going to head home.” She said gesturing towards the Guerins. “Are you staying over night?” She knew it was no need in asking, Maria was going to stay regardless if she asked or not. She just wanted to make sure.

“Yeah. Is it alright if I missed school tomorrow? I want to stay here with Max.” She said hopefully. She wasn’t really looking forward to a day of teachers lecturing while her best friend is in the hospital for attempted suicide.

A chill ran down her spine as she thought of that. Max would be dead right now if she hadn’t have found him when she did. She shook the thought from her mind as her tears began to fall again. Max was okay now, that was all that mattered.

“That‘s fine honey. Send Max my love when he wakes up. Bye honey.” She hugged her daughter close, silently praying that Max got through whatever it was that he was going through. Max had become the son she wished she had over the years, and it hurt her to see him going through so much right now.

“Bye mom.” She managed to give a weak smile before running to catch up with the others.

Dr. Mason lead the worried teens to Max’s room. He had to admit that he had a soft heart when it came to teens and suicide. His own son had tried to commit suicide and he knew exactly how they felt. He wasn‘t lying when he said that Max was lucky. He’d seen so many suicide victims and most of them had no one to care for them. And they usually ended right back in the hospital within a few months. Hopefully Max was different.

He watched as the teens crowded around his bed.

“He‘s going to be drifting in and out of consciousness so you may not get to talk to him to much.” They all nodded. He was about to walk out of the room, but was stopped when the small brunette girl caught his arm.

“Is it okay if Maria and I stay here with him?” She asked in a small voice.

He hesitated and stared into the young girl’s big brown eyes. “Of course. I think it would do Max some good if he had someone here with him.”

“Thank you. For everything.”

“Your welcome.” With that he left the teens alone.

They all stood paralyzed, staring at Max. He was still pale and the dark circles under his eyes were even more visible. He looked so fragile. None of them knew what to do.

Liz rounded the bed and settled next to Max. She had to take a deep breath when she spotted his bandaged wrist.

“What are we gonna do? How are we gonna fix this?” Maria asked miserably. She sat on the other side of the bed, stroking Max’s hair.

Max began to stir at the movement. His brow creased in a frown as he groaned and cracked his eyes open. His vision still blurry, he looked around the room. Why was everything so white? He heard a faint beeping sound in the background and could see a few blurred figures, but he couldn’t tell what they were. He rolled his heavy head to the side and spotted a head of blond hair. “Isabel?” He slurred slowly, his eyes half closed. Was he dead?

“Max.” She said in a soft voice.

“Isabel?” He called again.

“Max. It’s me. Maria.”

“Maria?” The blond haired girl nodded. She couldn’t be Maria, she’s Isabel. “Where’s Isabel?” He slurred.

Maria looked around at the rest of her friend’s confused faces before answering in a gentle voice. “Sweetie, I don’t know who Isabel is. I’m Maria.”

He eyes drifted shut as he fell back into oblivion.

Max woke a couple of times within the next hour, but each time he was disoriented. And each time he called out for Isabel.

They all sat around the room, none of them really knowing what to say to comfort each other. They were too lost in their own thoughts.

Michael and Alex left a little before nine that night, leaving Liz and Maria worriedly watching over him.
*************

Monday

Both Liz and Maria looked up from where they were perched on Max’s bed as Michael and Alex walked in.

“Hey guys.” Liz greeted, her eyes leaving Max just long enough for her to acknowledge them.

“How is he?” Alex asked. He stood at the foot of the bed while Michael moved to Maria.

“Dr. Mason said that he was doing fine. He hasn’t woken up at all today though.” Maria answered as she leaned more into Michael, taking comfort knowing that he was here with her.

A hour and a half later Max began to stir.

“Where am I?” He said groggily, squinting his eyes at the bright light in the room.

“You’re in the hospital sweetie.” Liz said, she took his hand and stroked it with her thumb.

He shut his eyes, forbidding tears to fall. “I’m not dead, am I?” He asked with a shaky voice.

Her heart tore into a million pieces at the devastated look on his face. “No.” Was the only thing she could squeak out.

“I-I’m sorry for putting you guys through this.” He said suddenly in a raspy voice, surprising everyone in the room. He pulled his hand from Liz’s and fidgeted with the hem of his sheets. “I just......thank you for caring about me, but you don’t have to be here. I....I....”

“Max, we want to be here with you.” Liz explained, saddened that he pulled his hand away. “But, why didn’t you just come to one of us with your problems?”

Max didn’t deserve friends. He was supposed to be alone. “I couldn’t.”

“What do you mean you couldn’t?!?” Michael roared. Here Max was, laying in a hospital bed because he tried to commit suicide, and his only explanation was that he couldn’t? Michael knew that he should wait till Max was out of the hospital to talk about this, but he just couldn’t control his anger.

“Michael......” Maria hissed.

“Max, we’ve been asking you what was wrong!! You had plenty of opportunities to tell us, but you didn’t!! Instead, you stab a fucking knife in your wrist!!” The girls sat shocked by his harsh words.

“Michael!!” Alex said firmly, walking up to him and grabbing his arm. Even though Michael was older, he knew how to tame him. He glanced back at Max who was staring blindly up at the ceiling. “Let’s go. You need to cool off.” He turned towards the bed a laid a gentle hand on Max’s shoulder. He flinched, but made no other movements. “We’ll be back tomorrow Max.” He nodded to the girls and dragged a scowling Michael out of the room.

“I have to go check in with my dad.” Liz gave Max one last worried glance before leaving the room.

“Max?” Maria said softly. He remained silent, still staring up at the ceiling. “Max, you should get some rest. Liz and I are going to stay here with you, so just rest right now.” He blinked a few times, but still remained unresponsive.

“Max, talk to me. What’s wrong?” Her voice was gentle yet desperate. Max turned his head to look at her but he still said nothing. “Who’s Isabel?”

His eyes went wide as he balled his uninjured hand to keep it from shaking. “Isabel?” He said as calm as he could.

“You kept waking up, calling for her. Who is she?” She saw the anxiety in his eyes as he tried to come up with a plausible lie.

“I don’t remember. I don't know who she is.” He said weakly. It was the truth because he didn’t remember waking up and calling Isabel’s name. It was a lie, because he knew exactly who Isabel was.

Maria knew he was lying. She wanted to ask about his mother, but she let it go for now. “How are you feeling?” She asked instead.

“Like shit.” He said simply. He yawned and rubbed his eyes.

“Most people feel like that after they had a night of drinking.” She glared at him knowingly. “Liz told me how you climbed on her balcony and told her you loved her.”

“I did that?” He asked.

“Yes. What were you doing drinking?” She asked sternly, going into “mother mode”, as Max called it. “The doctor said they found a good amount of alcohol in your blood. How often do you drink?”

He turned his head away from her. “I.....I’m sorry Ria.” He said tiredly after a few minutes. “I....I’m sorry that you had to be dragged into my problems. I just......I couldn’t deal with it anymore. I....I still don’t think I can. I don’t think I ever will. I don’t deserve you guys. Michael was right. I had many opportunities to tell you, but I didn’t. And I still can’t. And I’m sorry for that. I guess I still need time.”

She sat up higher on the bed and patted her thigh. He slowly moved to his side and rested his head on her thigh, careful not to disturb his bandaged wrist or the IV they had him hooked up to him.

“Max you said that the last time and look what happened.” She said, gesturing to all of the machines he was hooked up to. “You’re going to have to tell someone. Or you’re always going to feel like you can’t deal with it. I sort of know how you feel. I felt the same way after my dad left. But after I talked about it, I felt a whole lot better.” She stopped and watched him for awhile. “I’m not saying that once you talk about what’s bothering you, the nightmares and all the pain will stop. It’s just the first step to fighting all of this. All I’m asking is for you to talk to someone. It doesn’t have to be me, or any of us. Talk to a bum on the street for God’s sake. It doesn’t matter. I just want you to be happy and I want my chico back.”

“I know. I’m just not ready.” He threw his arms around her waist, hugging her close.

“Whether you’re ready or not, I don’t think you’ll have much choice. Especially with Liz. If she’s anything like you, which is stubborn and hotheaded, she won’t stop until she gets answers. She cares about you too much to see you in pain.” She explained. “Max, we almost lost you today. I don‘t know what I would‘ve done if....” She couldn’t even say it. It still seemed surreal that he was here in her arms.

He closed his eyes. “Ria don’t cry. Please don’t cry over me.”

“Max, how could you hurt yourself like this? Tell me how to help you. What made you do this?” She said, tears leaking from her eyes.

He sighed, tightening his arms around her. “I’m just not ready to talk about it right now. It hurts too much.” He said miserably.

She nodded, knowing that she wasn’t going to get anything out of him today. “Max, I swear if you do something like this again, I’ll....”

“....kick my ass all the way to Texas and back. I know Ria.”

“No not Texas. Try Brazil. Texas isn’t far enough. Plus, there are too many laws here that protect you from my wrath. I don‘t think Brazil has as many as us.” He chuckled softly.

“I love you chico. You know that right.” He nodded, lowering his eyes. “Good, now, you need to get some sleep.

Max cringed at the thought of sleep. He was dead tired, but that was the last thing he wanted to do. “But......” He was stopped by another yawn.

“No buts mister. You haven’t seen your raccoon eyes.” She said referring to the dark circles under his eyes. She stroked his hair hoping that the movement would ease him into sleep. “Now just relax.” She whispered to him. He was out within seconds.

Liz returned a couple of minutes later. She stared at Max for awhile before making her presence known. Even as pale as he looked, he was still beautiful to her. He looked comfortable in Maria’s arms and she felt a little jealous as she watched them. She knew that they were best friends and that this wasn’t the time to feel that way, but she couldn’t help it. She shook her head and scolded herself for thinking such thoughts at this time. What mattered know is making sure Max was okay.

“Hey.” She said softly as she walked into the room. She handed Maria a cup of coffee.

Maria smiled gratefully. “Thank you.”

She walked to the end of the bed, not sure of what to do.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, noticing how uncomfortable she looked.

“Is he asleep?” Liz mouthed to Maria.

Maria nodded and pulled the sheets up higher to cover Max. “Now, what’s wrong?” She asked again.

Liz glanced at Max and then back up at Maria. Maria smiled. “Oh you have so got it bad.”

She sighed and wiped her tired eyes. “I know. I think I’m in love with him. I know I’m in love with him.” She moved to the side of the bed, slowly settling down so as not to jostle Max. “I’ve never felt this way about someone before and I’m terrified of losing him.”

“You’re not gonna lose him. I’ve never seen him as happy as he is when he’s with you. When he told you he loved you, I think he meant it. But, don’t think you’re gonna lose him, because it’s not gonna happen.” She stared down his bandaged wrist that rested on her leg. “I won‘t let it.” She said in a shaky voice.

“But, I feel like somehow this is my fault. I didn’t even see what was happening. I could have talked to him, gotten him to open up. I was too busy living in my fantasy world with my perfect boyfriend to notice how much pain he was in.” She cried.

Maria shook her head, but didn’t look up from where she stared at Max’s wrist. “It’s not your fault. Max never talked about this with anyone, so how could you have known.” She stopped as Max stirred.

The beep of the heart monitor sped up as his breathing quickened. His body tensed and he tightened his arms around her. His face scrunched up in a frown as he balled his hand into a tight fist.

They heard heavy footsteps outside of the door and suddenly the door burst open, filling the room with doctors.

“What happened?” Dr. Mason asked as he moved to the side of the bed. “You’re going to have to move out of the way.”

“He’s just having a nightmare.” Maria explained. She rubbed his back soothingly, hoping to calm him back into sleep.

She leaned down and whispered in his ear. “Relax, you‘re safe. You‘re okay sweetie.” After awhile, his breathing evened out, his heart rate going back to normal. “You‘re okay.” His body went limp as he settled back into a peaceful sleep.

“I knew I was doing the right thing by letting you two stay” Dr. Mason commented. “Call me if there are any problems.” He said before leaving the room.

Maria resumed rubbing Max’s back. “He’ll be okay, won’t he?” Liz asked, still staring worriedly at him.

Maria shook her in uncertainty. “I hope so.” Her voice broke as a fresh set of tears began to fall. “God, I hope so.”

TBC....

A/N: Have a great holiday guys!! Whether you celebrate Christams, Hanukah or whatever. Have a good time and be safe. :D And lay off the egg nog well ya :wink:
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