Title: NOW AND FOREVER.
Author: Lillie (Amber)
Rating: MATURE, for mature subject matter and bad words. ADULT later on.
Category: AU. CC. Max/Liz. Michael/Maria. Alex/Isabel. Kyle/Tess. Amy/Jim.
Disclaimer: The characters don’t belong to me. They belonged to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, UPN, etc. etc. The title comes from a song by Richard Marx.
Chapter 1
“Are you scared, Liz?” Maria DeLuca asked her best friend, breaking the tense silence in the limo.
Elizabeth Dunstan Parker gave Maria a small smile. “A little. After almost four years, I’m going home. I don’t think that I could survive living under the same roof as my parents.”
“That’s why you have us, Lizzie, girl. We’re going to keep you sane.” Alexander Whitman stated, giving his two best friends his best grin.
“I don’t know what I would do if without you guys. I’m kinda scared that I’m going to run into Max.” Liz said, her voice as soft as a whisper. There wasn’t a day that went by that she didn’t think about Max Evans. He was the first thing that she thought about every morning and the last thought she had before she went to sleep.
“Oh, Liz. It’ll be okay. I promise you.” Maria said, giving Liz’s shoulder a squeeze. Quite honestly given Liz’s history with Max, Maria didn’t think that it would be okay. Liz never forgot about her first love even after almost four years. Maria heard Liz saying his name in her sleep, night after night. Though Liz dated, Maria knew that none of them held a candle to Liz’s memory of the fourteen year old Max she’d known.
“Yeah. It’s not like Roswell’s that small of a town. Besides, we’re going to be busy getting ready for the party and with each other to even run into anyone.” Alex insisted with a grin, referring to the huge 18th birthday bash that Liz’s parents, Nancy Ward Parker and Jeffrey Parker were planning for Liz. Alex hated to see Liz so sad. She was like the sister his parents hadn’t had. Maria, too. The three of them had to take care of each other after their parents had left them in the boarding school. At least, Maria’s mother, world famous actress, Amy DeLuca visited Maria at school every two months which was more than Alex could say about Liz or his own parents.
“God, I hope so. I don’t know what I would do or say if I ever saw him. He must hate me after what I did.” Liz said, tears filling her eyes.
Alex moved to Liz’s side and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Go ahead, Liz. Let it all out.” he urged her softly.
But instead of bursting out in tears, she laughed. “I shouldn’t. Mother will get angry at me if my eyes are red. We Parkers have to be like cool, calm stones. We can’t let anything break our facades. She’s so full of shit anyway.” Liz said, rolling her eyes at the thought of her uptight, snotty mother.
“Parents usually are.” Maria said laughingly. “Hey, why don’t we get something to eat. Those peanuts on the plane didn’t exactly satisfy my appetite.” Maria said with a smile.
“Good idea. I doubt that Mother’s holding dinner for us.” Liz said quietly.
“Hey, how about there?” Alex asked, pointing out the window to the brightly lit Crashdown Café. “Driver, stop!” Alex demanded, clicking on the intercom, causing the driver to stop abruptly.
“Ms. Parker?” The driver asked, clearly confused by the sudden request.
Liz clicked on the intercom. “It’s okay, James. We’re just going to get something to eat at the restaurant.” Liz explained softly.
“But the rain? Your mother?” James questioned, fearful of the wrath of Nancy Ward Parker.
“Can kiss my ass.” Liz muttered to herself. Sometimes she just didn’t care about what her mother said or wanted; but other times, Liz couldn’t help but want to do whatever it took to make her mother love her. But Liz knew that she should know better by now. Her mother was a cold hearted bitch who never gave Liz the time of day.
“Look, I’ll go. I’ll get us something to eat. I don’t care about the rain. What do you guys want?” Alex offered gallantly, giving the girls a smile.
“Are you sure?” Liz asked, thinking about how hard the rain was coming down. Alex would get soaking wet.
“Cheeseburger, hold the mayo and onions.” Maria said, allowing her stomach to do all the talking for her. It was just rain, it wasn’t like it could hurt Alex. Besides, Alex loved to play in the rain. He’d do it all the time at school, even when afterwards he’d get a cold.
“Lizzie?”
“Oh, all right. Cheeseburger, no onions or tomatoes. And make sure you put salt and pepper and tabasco sauce on the fries. If they have shakes, get me a vanilla.” Liz said as she realized how starving she was. She clicked on the intercom. “Would you like something, James? Alex is going to go in and get something.”
“Ms. Parker. I really shouldn’t.” James insisted.
“I won’t tell, if you don’t tell.” Liz said in a sing song voice.
“If they have shakes, can you get me a strawberry?” James asked.
“Sure, man.” Alex said into the intercom. When Liz reached for her purse, Alex shook his head. “I got it, Liz. Be back soon.” he said as he flung the door open and stepped out into the pouring rain. Alex ran into the restaurant as quickly as he could without falling on his ass.
When he entered the restaurant all eyes were on him. Alex ran a hand haphazardly through his hair, not meeting anyone eye’s. What? They’d never seen a wet person before, he thought to himself. Alex walked as cool as a cat to the counter.
Alex’s breathe caught as he saw the beautiful statuesque blonde that stood watching him from behind the counter. She was dressed in a pale blue uniform, that didn’t look as it could flatter anyone, but she looked gorgeous in it. She’d probably look good in a garbage bag. She was really beautiful, he thought to himself. “Hey, can I get something to go?” he asked her. Looking at her name tag, he learned that her name was Isabel.
Isabel Evans nodded at him. “Yeah. What can I get you?” she asked warmly. She’d seen him emerge from the limo. The only people that she knew who drove in a limo were the rich people who lived in Cherry Heights, the richest section in town. She’d only known one person who lived in Cherry Heights and that was Liz Parker. Isabel had worried that the inevitable had happened. That Liz Parker had returned to town to once again wreck havoc on her brother’s life. She’d been so relieved when she’d seen this guy come out.
“Three cheeseburgers. On one hold the mayo and onions; on another, no onions or tomatoes. On the last, give me it with everything. Do the fries come with the meal or do you order them separately?” He asked, meeting her beautiful blue eyes. God, her eyes were as beautiful as the sky.
“They come with them. Anything else?” Isabel asked smiling at him. He was really cute. Not overly muscular, taller than she was, which she loved. Some guys were always so intimidated by her height. His hair was a dark brown color; that made her want to run her hands through it.
“Yeah. Three milkshakes, one vanilla, one strawberry, one chocolate.” Alex replied. When she turned around to give the order to the cook, his smile widened as his eyes wandered down. Damn, she had such a great butt, he thought to himself.
When she turned around, he quickly looked up to meet her eyes. “So, Isabel. What’s to do in this town?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.
Isabel had seen his gaze and knew he’d been looking at her butt. But she really didn’t care. “Why don’t you tell me your name first?” she said, smiling at him.
Alex held out his hand to shake her hand. “Alexander Charles Whitman. Hometown of Seattle, Washington.”
Isabel’s smile widened as she shook his hand. He had a firm handshake, she liked that. “What are you doing in Roswell?” she asked curiously.
“Oh, me and some friends just graduated so we’re just having some fun. You know, Roswell, capital of the aliens.” Alex said with a wink.
“So are your friends girls or guys?” Isabel asked coyly as she meet Alex’s eyes shyly.
“Guy friends.” Alex said automatically. Stupid, stupid Alex, he told himself. What if Isabel knew Liz? What if she was going to Liz’s party? She’d know for sure that you were lying to her.
“Isabel, do you want me to get your table?” A petite girl with curly blonde hair and pale blue eyes asked as she came up to Isabel.
Isabel turned and saw her sister Tess. She’d totally forget all about her tables. She been having fun flirting with Alex. There was just something about him that drew her to him. “Yeah. Can you?”
Tess smiled at the tall dark haired guy that Isabel was talking to. Isabel had never been one to be interested in guys. So Tess couldn’t help but feel happy that her sister was talking and flirting with someone. “Sure.” Tess said with a smile to Isabel and a nod to Alex.
“Sorry about that. That was my sister, Tess. Do you have any brothers or sisters?” Isabel asked, wanting to know everything she could about this guy. She’d never felt such an attraction to someone and she had to admit that it made her nervous that she was feeling this way.
Alex smile faded at her question. He would never have guessed that the two girls were sisters. Even though they were both blondes, they looked nothing alike. But than again, he and CJ hadn’t looked alike either. “No. No brothers or sisters for me.” he replied cooly, not meaning to sound cold. He just didn’t want to talk about his family. No need for Isabel to learn how screwed up his family was.
Isabel felt the change in his attitude. She could see it, the way that he’d gotten all tense. She really didn’t understand. Obviously, he didn’t want to talk about his family. It wasn’t like hers had always been good. Isabel forced herself not to go there. She didn’t want to think about how horrible her father had been to her and Max when they were growing up.
“Isabel, order up.”The cook shouted from the kitchen, breaking into Isabel’s thoughts.
Isabel gave Alex a smile as she turned to the window and began to put the boxes into a plastic bag and the cups into a holder for him. When she finished, she turned back around. “Here you go. That’ll be $12.95.” she said softly, not knowing what to say to him anymore. She wasn’t good with guys, they only guys that she talked to were her brothers, Max and Michael, her dad and Tess’ boyfriend, Kyle. And it wasn’t as if any of that was romantic or anything. She didn’t know how she was supposed to talk to a guy that she liked. Maybe she should get some advice from Tess. She had been with Kyle for almost three years; she must know what to do, Isabel thought to herself.
“Thanks.” Alex said, as he withdrew his wallet from his back pocket and handed her a twenty dollar bill. It wasn’t like she had known about his family, about CJ. He couldn’t blame her or anything; all she asked was a question. He gave her his best smile. “Keep the change. Say do you do take out?” he said softly, realizing that he hurt her feelings with his cold tone.
“Yeah. Here you go.” Isabel replied with a small smile. No one had ever given her such a big tip before. Did that mean he liked her or something? She grabbed a paper menu from under the bar.
When Alex went to grab the menu his hand brushed against hers. He paused. Gosh, her hand was so soft and warm, he thought to himself. “I really should get going. My friends will wonder why I’m taking so long.”
“Ok.” Isabel said as he took the menu from her hand. Isabel looked up and meet his dark beautiful eyes. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but where are you staying?”
Alex fought hard not to grin like an idiot. This gorgeous beautiful young woman wanted to know where he was staying. He’d never been interested in any of the girls at school. Most of the girls were either nymphos, or simply not interested in guys for whatever their hang up was. Alex was proud to admit that he was still a virgin. Even though Liz and Maria offered to help him out with that. Alex had politely refused their offers, he wanted to be in love the first time that he made love to someone. For all he knew Isabel could be that person. The only one for him.
Alex shrugged. “Oh, some place in Cherry Heights. I’m not sure what the address is or anything.” Alex replied with a wave of his hand. He couldn’t remember what Liz’s address was or anything.
“Really?” Isabel asked, a little shocked. Cherry Heights, the richest section in Roswell. She wondered if she knew his friends. She probably didn’t. Her family didn’t associate with rich people. Her dad was an attorney, and made good money but that didn’t give them a house in Cherry Heights. In her whole life, she’d only known two rich people. Liz Parker and Kyle Valenti. Though Kyle didn’t live in that part of town. He and his father lived on their ranch outside of Roswell. Mr. Valenti was one of the richest men in the state with his cattle company or whatever it was.
“Yeah. I hope you don’t hold it against me.” Alex said softly. “I really should go. Til we meet again, Isabel.” Alex said with a wave of his hand as he walked away from her.
Isabel sighed as she watched Alex leave. God, she had never ever felt this way before about anyone. He was perfect. He was sweet and gently. It really scared her about the way that she felt. If she actually did see him again, what would she do or say? Would she have to tell him the truth about her childhood. What if he couldn’t accept what she’d gone through? Would he see her as damaged goods?
Now And Forever (AU, M/L, CC) A/N [complete in archive]
Moderators: Anniepoo98, Rowedog, ISLANDGIRL5, Itzstacie, truelovepooh, FSU/MSW-94, Erina, Hunter, Forum Moderators
Now And Forever Ch.2
Chapter 2
“Um! That was so good. We have to go back there soon.” Maria exclaimed deliciously. It was better than some of the burgers she’d had in some of the most famous restaurants in Europe.
“That was wonderful. Good old beef. I was so sick of that crap that the school served. Who wants veal and tofu and sushi?” Liz said as she leaned further back into the leather of the seat.
“Yeah. It was good.” Alex replied, absentmindedly. His thoughts were still on Isabel. He’d never felt so instantly attracted to anyone. He wanted to know her, know the things that she liked.
“Alex. Alex! Did you meet a girl?” Liz asked lightly. If Alex did than she was really happy. In the three years that they had known each other she had never seen him get excited over a girl.
“What? NO!” Alex protested but the way he said it left both Maria and Liz unconvinced.
“Is our dear wonderful Alex finally going to get laid?” Maria asked devilishly. She knew that she shouldn’t say it, but Alex was the only guy that she knew of who hadn’t lost his virginity already. But she could understand why he’d want to wait til he found the right person. Maria wished that her first time had been with someone who she loved, someone who cared about her needs.
“I refuse to answer the question.” Alex stated, not looking at either Liz or Maria. He knew that he could tell them anything; he had before. The three of them shared their deepest darkest secrets with each other. They had done their best to heal each other’s pain. “Oh, alright. I did meet someone. She’s beautiful and she’s tall. I like that. I like her.” Alex finally admitted.
“Tall? What’s wrong with petite? You know what they say dynamite comes in small packages.” Maria said, giving him a wink.
“So you really like her? Tell us more about her?! You gave her your cell phone number?” Liz asked softly, all kidding aside. This girl must really be something special or at least had the potential to be.
“Her name is Isabel. Isn’t that a beautiful name? I didn’t give her my cell cause I forgot all about it. I kind of told her a lie. She asked if I was with guys or girls. And, um told her you were guys.” Alex said, smiling at them.
“Oy va.” Maria said, hitting her forehead with the palm of her hand. “What if Miss Isabel knows our Lizzie?”
Alex nodded. “I didn’t think about that. I shouldn’t have lied to her in the first place. I’ll tell her the truth if I see her again.”
Liz bit the inside of her cheek. Isabel. No way it could be Isabel Evans, Max’s twin sister. No, the name Isabel was pretty common in the state of New Mexico. It couldn’t possibly be her. God wouldn’t be that cruel and have the one person Alex was interested in to be Max’s sister.
“So have we decided on our next vacation after your party, Liz?” Maria asked, raising her eyebrows. The three of them had gone on vacation for the past few years. Being the children of very rich and very busy parents, they had to do something. So travel around the world they did. Even though they had money, it didn’t give them their parents love and affection. Maria was grateful for her mother, at least she knew that Amy loved her. Her mother visited her once every two months. But Liz and Alex’s parents didn’t care. The only time that Liz’s parents had ever visited her was when Liz was in the car accident last year. Maria had never meet Alex’s mother, only his father the few times that he had been in Europe on business. Alex worshiped his father.
“Maybe we should go to the Bahamas, or Hawaii, or maybe to Alaska. You know, they get like twenty hours of light in the summer time.” Liz said, running a hand through her hair. She didn’t give a damn where they would go. All she wanted to do was to get the hell out of Roswell. This city was not good for her. It held to much pain for her.
“Or we can always go back to Ibiza. That has got to be the party capital of the world. We so have to go back.” Maria insisted as she thought about the rocking city parties every day, every hour, all night long. It was so awesome. She would have preferred to go as soon as school was over, but she couldn’t have let Liz come back to Roswell on her own. Coming back to Roswell was putting Liz right there on the edge and Maria wasn’t about to let Liz fall over it.
“Hmm. Ibiza was fun. Great parties.” Alex said with a smile, remembering the parties that would start at dusk and keep on going until dawn. A part of Alex wanted to go, but another part of him knew that if he left right now, than he would never see Isabel again.
Liz bit her lip as the limo stopped. They were almost there. Almost home. They were right at the gate. Liz looked down at her outfit. A beige silk shirt and dark slacks. What would her mother say to her? Would Nancy hate her outfit or would she say that Liz had a keen fashion sense? Guessing what her mother would do was so unpredictable. After all these years, al the pain Liz still cared about what her mother thought about her.
Her mother who always criticized her, always stated that she wished she’d never had children. Liz wished that she didn’t care about what her mother thought. No matter how much she wished that Amy DeLuca was her mother and that Maria really was her sister, it didn’t change the fact that Nancy was her mother.
“What?” Liz said, realizing that Alex and Maria were talking to her. She’d totally blanked out on them thinking about her mother.
“As much as I liked Ibiza. I think that we should get fake ID’s and do some gambling in Las Vegas. Then maybe take a cruise to Alaska. I know you’ve always wanted to go there.” Maria said, grinning at Liz. Planning their vacations was always fun. The world was their oyster. They could go anywhere, do anything. They had plenty of money in their trust funds. Especially Liz. With her 18th birthday, Liz was going to get a hell of a lot of money. She’d be one of the richest people in the world.
With only three more months before they went off to college, they were going to do some serious partying. Liz’s father made her apply to Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Georgetown and Princeton. And Lizzie, being the genius that she was had been accepted into all of them. Even though Liz told Maria that Mr. Parker wanted her to go to his alma mater of Yale, she’d decided on Harvard. Alex had enrolled in MIT, which was in the same city as Harvard. Maria, herself had enrolled at Boston University to stay close to her friends. Jeez, they were eighteen; at least Maria and Alex were. In four days, Liz would be eighteen; her birthday bash that her parents were planning was supposed to be the biggest social event in Roswell this year. Maria knew that Liz didn’t give a damn about the party. She was only doing it for her parents.
“Oh. Underage gambling. I like the sound of that.” Liz said with a smile. They had done that in Monte Carlo and Monaco last year before her car accident. But Las Vegas was something new.
The limo pulled to a stop and without waiting for James to open the door, Alex jumped out the door. Liz and Maria followed him, laughing in the rain. Maria and Alex looked at Liz’s house shocked by its massive size.
It was a beautiful and huge house, made of gray stone that sort of resembled a castle. The roof looked as if it could be red, it soared in the air, forming turrets, with small bridges that assisted one in reaching portions of the high roof that would have been inaccessible otherwise.
“Whoa! Nice house, Lizzie.” Maria said as they ran up the wide stone stairs that led to the ornate double doors. Huge urns were beside the doors, holding graceful Japanese pine trees. James was running behind them trying to catch up to them to protect them from the rain with an umbrella.
Liz’s laughter ended with a stifle as the front door was opened and Nancy Ward Parker stood there watching Liz with a frown on her face. She was dressed as impeccably as always; in slim slacks and a multicolored loose tunic top.
“Henry, please show Mr. Whitman and Ms. DeLuca to their rooms.” Nancy demanded rather than asking as she turned to look at the kind looking butler.
“Sorry about the water, Mrs. Parker. It’s raining really hard out there.” Alex said softly to the stiff looking red head woman. He’d only meet Liz’s mother once. He could tell just by looking at her that she was a bitch. She would get along perfectly with his own mother. Both women didn’t care about their own children.
“It’s perfectly alright. I understand. I hope you don’t mind my borrowing my daughter for a few moments.” Nancy said to the teen. Nancy didn’t agree with Liz’s friendship with Maria. Maria was the daughter of an actress. Not really a living, Nancy thought to herself. But Alex Whitman was something different. The only living son of the second wealthiest computer magnate in the whole world, after Bill Gates. Plus Alex’s family also had old money. Nancy had hoped for some kind of romance between the two but as far as she knew nothing had happened. That was okay with Nancy, she had a back up plan.
“James, get their bags and bring them up to their rooms.” Nancy said as she closed the door behind the kids.
Liz’s eyes flashed in anger at her mother’s tone. She hadn’t even been home ten minutes and her mother was already angry about something or other. Liz wished that she hadn’t come home. She wished she was anywhere but here. But she only came because of her father. This party meant a lot to him, as well as her mother.
With a glance to Alex and Maria, Liz followed her mother down the expansive hall to her father’s private office. It was his sanctuary; he didn’t really like people to be in there, so Liz knew that he probably wasn’t home yet. A huge claret-colored rug spread from wall to wall. At the far end was an enormous stone fireplace. The windows ran from floor to ceiling along one side with stained-glass inserts along the top; the drapes were red and heavy. On the opposite side of the windows, along the wall was a huge bookshelf. A Belter table held an ornate urn and a porcelain casket box. The paintings against the thick, dark paneling were in glided frames. The furniture in the room was gothic and oversized to suit the room; a curved, overstuffed lounge, a few chairs. Her father’s desk was a huge cherry wood and behind it stood a wide, high backed chair carved like a throne and upholstered in the same red as the carpet and drapes.
Now, here comes the lecture, Liz thought to herself, rolling her eyes, preparing for her mother’s wrath.
“Where the hell were you? The plane got in almost an hour ago. It doesn’t take an hour to get home, now does it? Does it?” Nancy asked shrilly once the door was closed and the two women had their privacy.
“We were hungry and we got something to eat.” Liz stated simply, calmly meeting her mother’s angry eyes.
“I think that your lying to me, Elizabeth. Did you try to go look for him? Did you?” Nancy raged.
Liz straighten up at her mother’s question. “No. I didn’t. I didn’t go look for Max. So stop worrying.” Liz said angrily. Her mother was the same. All she was worried about was what people would think if they knew that her daughter, heiress to the Ward and Parker millions was involve with someone of questionable background.
“You are to stay away from him. After what happened last time, your father and I won’t let you destroy the family name. We sent you away to that school for a reason. Why else wouldn’t we let you come home until now? You will not bring shame to our family again.” Nancy said icily her eyes blazing.
What little self control Liz had finally snapped at her mother’s words. “Oh, thank you, Mother. For sending me to that school. At least I met people who care about what happens to me.” Liz snapped at her mother.
“You’re still angry at your father and I left after your accident, aren’t you? You and your boyfriend get drunk and you get into an accident and you expect us to stay around while you heal. It’s just like you to be selfish. It’s always about you.” Nancy berated her.
Liz sighed heavily. “Do you know how many times I wished that Amy was my mother? At least she cares about what happens to Maria, which is more than I can say about you.” Liz yelled at her mother. She hadn’t even been home half an hour and they were already arguing. Just like old times, Liz thought sarcastically.
“Oh, you wish that woman was your mother, do you? A woman who’s been married three times. A woman who’s been nude in movies. A woman who gave birth to a bastard child. No wonder you wanted her to be your mother. You have something in common with her.” Nancy said sarcastically. Her daughter could be so immature and ignorant.
Liz gritted her teeth at her mother’s words. Her mother was such a bitch. Ever since Liz was a little girl she’d known that her mother didn’t love her. Her mother didn’t love anyone but herself. She knew that her parents didn’t even love each other. From what her brother had told her, their parents marriage was an arranged one, a merger between the Ward and Parker families. With the son as the heir and the daughter as the little accident, Nancy hadn’t wanted in the first place. But here it was eighteen years later, the heir to the throne gone and the little accident was now the heiress, who stood to gains millions of dollars.
“I’m going to go upstairs to my room. So are you done or what?” Liz asked calmly, raising a brow at her mother.
Nancy scowled at Liz. “Go to your room. Tomorrow, we have a meeting with the designer of your dress. So be awake by nine o’clock.” Nancy said as she ran her fingers lightly over the desk.
Liz sighed. “Whatever.” she said as she left the room. Liz walked up the back stairs. She paused on the small landing that overlooked the gardens at the back of the house and gazed out into the dark sky. “Oh, god. I need a drink.” Liz said, shaking her head at her words.
“Um! That was so good. We have to go back there soon.” Maria exclaimed deliciously. It was better than some of the burgers she’d had in some of the most famous restaurants in Europe.
“That was wonderful. Good old beef. I was so sick of that crap that the school served. Who wants veal and tofu and sushi?” Liz said as she leaned further back into the leather of the seat.
“Yeah. It was good.” Alex replied, absentmindedly. His thoughts were still on Isabel. He’d never felt so instantly attracted to anyone. He wanted to know her, know the things that she liked.
“Alex. Alex! Did you meet a girl?” Liz asked lightly. If Alex did than she was really happy. In the three years that they had known each other she had never seen him get excited over a girl.
“What? NO!” Alex protested but the way he said it left both Maria and Liz unconvinced.
“Is our dear wonderful Alex finally going to get laid?” Maria asked devilishly. She knew that she shouldn’t say it, but Alex was the only guy that she knew of who hadn’t lost his virginity already. But she could understand why he’d want to wait til he found the right person. Maria wished that her first time had been with someone who she loved, someone who cared about her needs.
“I refuse to answer the question.” Alex stated, not looking at either Liz or Maria. He knew that he could tell them anything; he had before. The three of them shared their deepest darkest secrets with each other. They had done their best to heal each other’s pain. “Oh, alright. I did meet someone. She’s beautiful and she’s tall. I like that. I like her.” Alex finally admitted.
“Tall? What’s wrong with petite? You know what they say dynamite comes in small packages.” Maria said, giving him a wink.
“So you really like her? Tell us more about her?! You gave her your cell phone number?” Liz asked softly, all kidding aside. This girl must really be something special or at least had the potential to be.
“Her name is Isabel. Isn’t that a beautiful name? I didn’t give her my cell cause I forgot all about it. I kind of told her a lie. She asked if I was with guys or girls. And, um told her you were guys.” Alex said, smiling at them.
“Oy va.” Maria said, hitting her forehead with the palm of her hand. “What if Miss Isabel knows our Lizzie?”
Alex nodded. “I didn’t think about that. I shouldn’t have lied to her in the first place. I’ll tell her the truth if I see her again.”
Liz bit the inside of her cheek. Isabel. No way it could be Isabel Evans, Max’s twin sister. No, the name Isabel was pretty common in the state of New Mexico. It couldn’t possibly be her. God wouldn’t be that cruel and have the one person Alex was interested in to be Max’s sister.
“So have we decided on our next vacation after your party, Liz?” Maria asked, raising her eyebrows. The three of them had gone on vacation for the past few years. Being the children of very rich and very busy parents, they had to do something. So travel around the world they did. Even though they had money, it didn’t give them their parents love and affection. Maria was grateful for her mother, at least she knew that Amy loved her. Her mother visited her once every two months. But Liz and Alex’s parents didn’t care. The only time that Liz’s parents had ever visited her was when Liz was in the car accident last year. Maria had never meet Alex’s mother, only his father the few times that he had been in Europe on business. Alex worshiped his father.
“Maybe we should go to the Bahamas, or Hawaii, or maybe to Alaska. You know, they get like twenty hours of light in the summer time.” Liz said, running a hand through her hair. She didn’t give a damn where they would go. All she wanted to do was to get the hell out of Roswell. This city was not good for her. It held to much pain for her.
“Or we can always go back to Ibiza. That has got to be the party capital of the world. We so have to go back.” Maria insisted as she thought about the rocking city parties every day, every hour, all night long. It was so awesome. She would have preferred to go as soon as school was over, but she couldn’t have let Liz come back to Roswell on her own. Coming back to Roswell was putting Liz right there on the edge and Maria wasn’t about to let Liz fall over it.
“Hmm. Ibiza was fun. Great parties.” Alex said with a smile, remembering the parties that would start at dusk and keep on going until dawn. A part of Alex wanted to go, but another part of him knew that if he left right now, than he would never see Isabel again.
Liz bit her lip as the limo stopped. They were almost there. Almost home. They were right at the gate. Liz looked down at her outfit. A beige silk shirt and dark slacks. What would her mother say to her? Would Nancy hate her outfit or would she say that Liz had a keen fashion sense? Guessing what her mother would do was so unpredictable. After all these years, al the pain Liz still cared about what her mother thought about her.
Her mother who always criticized her, always stated that she wished she’d never had children. Liz wished that she didn’t care about what her mother thought. No matter how much she wished that Amy DeLuca was her mother and that Maria really was her sister, it didn’t change the fact that Nancy was her mother.
“What?” Liz said, realizing that Alex and Maria were talking to her. She’d totally blanked out on them thinking about her mother.
“As much as I liked Ibiza. I think that we should get fake ID’s and do some gambling in Las Vegas. Then maybe take a cruise to Alaska. I know you’ve always wanted to go there.” Maria said, grinning at Liz. Planning their vacations was always fun. The world was their oyster. They could go anywhere, do anything. They had plenty of money in their trust funds. Especially Liz. With her 18th birthday, Liz was going to get a hell of a lot of money. She’d be one of the richest people in the world.
With only three more months before they went off to college, they were going to do some serious partying. Liz’s father made her apply to Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Georgetown and Princeton. And Lizzie, being the genius that she was had been accepted into all of them. Even though Liz told Maria that Mr. Parker wanted her to go to his alma mater of Yale, she’d decided on Harvard. Alex had enrolled in MIT, which was in the same city as Harvard. Maria, herself had enrolled at Boston University to stay close to her friends. Jeez, they were eighteen; at least Maria and Alex were. In four days, Liz would be eighteen; her birthday bash that her parents were planning was supposed to be the biggest social event in Roswell this year. Maria knew that Liz didn’t give a damn about the party. She was only doing it for her parents.
“Oh. Underage gambling. I like the sound of that.” Liz said with a smile. They had done that in Monte Carlo and Monaco last year before her car accident. But Las Vegas was something new.
The limo pulled to a stop and without waiting for James to open the door, Alex jumped out the door. Liz and Maria followed him, laughing in the rain. Maria and Alex looked at Liz’s house shocked by its massive size.
It was a beautiful and huge house, made of gray stone that sort of resembled a castle. The roof looked as if it could be red, it soared in the air, forming turrets, with small bridges that assisted one in reaching portions of the high roof that would have been inaccessible otherwise.
“Whoa! Nice house, Lizzie.” Maria said as they ran up the wide stone stairs that led to the ornate double doors. Huge urns were beside the doors, holding graceful Japanese pine trees. James was running behind them trying to catch up to them to protect them from the rain with an umbrella.
Liz’s laughter ended with a stifle as the front door was opened and Nancy Ward Parker stood there watching Liz with a frown on her face. She was dressed as impeccably as always; in slim slacks and a multicolored loose tunic top.
“Henry, please show Mr. Whitman and Ms. DeLuca to their rooms.” Nancy demanded rather than asking as she turned to look at the kind looking butler.
“Sorry about the water, Mrs. Parker. It’s raining really hard out there.” Alex said softly to the stiff looking red head woman. He’d only meet Liz’s mother once. He could tell just by looking at her that she was a bitch. She would get along perfectly with his own mother. Both women didn’t care about their own children.
“It’s perfectly alright. I understand. I hope you don’t mind my borrowing my daughter for a few moments.” Nancy said to the teen. Nancy didn’t agree with Liz’s friendship with Maria. Maria was the daughter of an actress. Not really a living, Nancy thought to herself. But Alex Whitman was something different. The only living son of the second wealthiest computer magnate in the whole world, after Bill Gates. Plus Alex’s family also had old money. Nancy had hoped for some kind of romance between the two but as far as she knew nothing had happened. That was okay with Nancy, she had a back up plan.
“James, get their bags and bring them up to their rooms.” Nancy said as she closed the door behind the kids.
Liz’s eyes flashed in anger at her mother’s tone. She hadn’t even been home ten minutes and her mother was already angry about something or other. Liz wished that she hadn’t come home. She wished she was anywhere but here. But she only came because of her father. This party meant a lot to him, as well as her mother.
With a glance to Alex and Maria, Liz followed her mother down the expansive hall to her father’s private office. It was his sanctuary; he didn’t really like people to be in there, so Liz knew that he probably wasn’t home yet. A huge claret-colored rug spread from wall to wall. At the far end was an enormous stone fireplace. The windows ran from floor to ceiling along one side with stained-glass inserts along the top; the drapes were red and heavy. On the opposite side of the windows, along the wall was a huge bookshelf. A Belter table held an ornate urn and a porcelain casket box. The paintings against the thick, dark paneling were in glided frames. The furniture in the room was gothic and oversized to suit the room; a curved, overstuffed lounge, a few chairs. Her father’s desk was a huge cherry wood and behind it stood a wide, high backed chair carved like a throne and upholstered in the same red as the carpet and drapes.
Now, here comes the lecture, Liz thought to herself, rolling her eyes, preparing for her mother’s wrath.
“Where the hell were you? The plane got in almost an hour ago. It doesn’t take an hour to get home, now does it? Does it?” Nancy asked shrilly once the door was closed and the two women had their privacy.
“We were hungry and we got something to eat.” Liz stated simply, calmly meeting her mother’s angry eyes.
“I think that your lying to me, Elizabeth. Did you try to go look for him? Did you?” Nancy raged.
Liz straighten up at her mother’s question. “No. I didn’t. I didn’t go look for Max. So stop worrying.” Liz said angrily. Her mother was the same. All she was worried about was what people would think if they knew that her daughter, heiress to the Ward and Parker millions was involve with someone of questionable background.
“You are to stay away from him. After what happened last time, your father and I won’t let you destroy the family name. We sent you away to that school for a reason. Why else wouldn’t we let you come home until now? You will not bring shame to our family again.” Nancy said icily her eyes blazing.
What little self control Liz had finally snapped at her mother’s words. “Oh, thank you, Mother. For sending me to that school. At least I met people who care about what happens to me.” Liz snapped at her mother.
“You’re still angry at your father and I left after your accident, aren’t you? You and your boyfriend get drunk and you get into an accident and you expect us to stay around while you heal. It’s just like you to be selfish. It’s always about you.” Nancy berated her.
Liz sighed heavily. “Do you know how many times I wished that Amy was my mother? At least she cares about what happens to Maria, which is more than I can say about you.” Liz yelled at her mother. She hadn’t even been home half an hour and they were already arguing. Just like old times, Liz thought sarcastically.
“Oh, you wish that woman was your mother, do you? A woman who’s been married three times. A woman who’s been nude in movies. A woman who gave birth to a bastard child. No wonder you wanted her to be your mother. You have something in common with her.” Nancy said sarcastically. Her daughter could be so immature and ignorant.
Liz gritted her teeth at her mother’s words. Her mother was such a bitch. Ever since Liz was a little girl she’d known that her mother didn’t love her. Her mother didn’t love anyone but herself. She knew that her parents didn’t even love each other. From what her brother had told her, their parents marriage was an arranged one, a merger between the Ward and Parker families. With the son as the heir and the daughter as the little accident, Nancy hadn’t wanted in the first place. But here it was eighteen years later, the heir to the throne gone and the little accident was now the heiress, who stood to gains millions of dollars.
“I’m going to go upstairs to my room. So are you done or what?” Liz asked calmly, raising a brow at her mother.
Nancy scowled at Liz. “Go to your room. Tomorrow, we have a meeting with the designer of your dress. So be awake by nine o’clock.” Nancy said as she ran her fingers lightly over the desk.
Liz sighed. “Whatever.” she said as she left the room. Liz walked up the back stairs. She paused on the small landing that overlooked the gardens at the back of the house and gazed out into the dark sky. “Oh, god. I need a drink.” Liz said, shaking her head at her words.
Now And Forever CH.3
Chapter 3
There he was. Liz smiled at her precious sweet baby boy. He was so tiny, but according to the nurses he was actually big. Her sweet baby weighed almost ten pounds, which was why the doctors finally had to take him out of her by a C-section.
Liz laid her hand against the glass window. “I love you, baby.” She said quietly. His hair was all Max. It was the same jet black hair. Liz smiled at the thought of Max and their son looking like him. Their baby would look more and more like Max as he grew up.
Suddenly a man picked up her baby and began to walk away from the room. “No. What are you doing?” Liz screamed, as she pounded on the glass. Why was someone talking her baby away from her? Why?
Liz ran into the nursery and began to run after the faceless man who was stealing her baby. “No. Don’t take my baby. Please. Don’t. NO!” Liz screamed, as she began to run faster. Her baby. Someone was taking her baby away from her.
Liz awoke with a start. Sunlight was streaming in through the window. Oh god. She’d had that dream again. About the baby. Someone had taken her baby away from her. Someone else was raising her child as their own. Liz stifled a sob. It was her own fault, she’d allowed her parents to talk her into putting her son up for adoption. Her and Max’s perfect little boy.
Liz sighed as she rolled out of her king size bed with its four posters and an arching canopy with heavy lace. Blue and ivory, her favorite colors. Her room was exactly the same as it had been four years ago.
The two wide double doors that stood as the entrance of her room. Pale ivory sheers covered the windows; the walls were covered in a delicate ivory silk fabric, woven through subtly with faint oriental designs of green, violet and blue and the two small sofas were covered with the same fabric, the accent pillows soft blue to match the Chinese rug on the floor. Her chaise was blue satin, while the other three chairs in her bedroom matched those in the sitting room.
It was a beautiful room, her mother had it decorated when she was younger. To add to the allusion that she cared somewhat for her daughter. The family life that Nancy presented to the public had to be perfect, each and everything had to be perfect.
Liz sighed again as she walked into the huge shower in her private bathroom, that was in the same shades of blue and white as her room. Liz quickly shed her clothes and stepped under the warm water.
As Liz began to wash her body, she tried not to look down at her stomach. But she couldn’t help it. And she looked down as she gently touched the scar. It was five or six inches wide and was just above the line of her panties. It was one of the few reminders that she had of the sweet baby boy she had given birth to a little over three years ago.
Not a moment of Liz’s life went by that she didn’t regret her decision to allow her son to be adopted. Her parents had been unyielding in the decision. Her father hadn’t wanted her future to be ruined with the child. And her mother hadn’t wanted anyone to know that her fourteen year old daughter had made her a grandmother to a bastard child. Liz had known the chances of a fourteen year old unwed mother leading a normal productive life, trying to get a full education and raise a child all at the same time wasn’t promising. The chances of her son leading a normal life in a happy environment where all his needs would be meet by two loving parents diminished if he was raised by his unwed young mother.
Liz knew that it would have been selfish of her, if she’d kept her son. What kind of life would she have been able to give him? Her parents most likely would have disinherited her, and her mother would have relished tossing Liz out on the street. Would Max’s parents taken her and their son in? They had three children. Could they have taken in Liz and her son? Liz prayed and hoped that her son was happy wherever he was. He deserved to be happy. But it didn’t stop the growing emptiness inside her that nothing seemed to fill. If it wasn’t for Alex and Maria, Liz knew that she would have tried to end her life a long time ago.
Liz turned off the shower and grabbed the thick white towel to dry herself off. She knew that it was a dead subject. There was nothing at all she could do to change what had happened. Her son was being raised by someone else. He was calling someone else Mommy. She had no one to blame for that but herself.
Liz shook her head, desperately trying to stop the direction of her thoughts. Once she’d start thinking about her son, she would get depressed for hours. Liz moved through her dressing area and into her walk in closet. From past experiences with having a fitting, Liz knew that she should wear something she could be comfortable in. Liz pulled out a daffodil slip and pulled it on. Liz grabbed her short, shiny purple robe and threw it over herself. She knew her mother would freak if she went downstairs dressed only in her slip. Liz pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Better get this over with, she thought to herself as she headed out of her room and began to walk in the direction of the dining room.
Liz stopped short as she was out of her room. She stared at the closed door in front of her. Four years, three months and seventeen days since her older brother, Nick had committed suicide when he was seventeen years old. Liz’s whole life had changed with his death. She’d never felt so alone in her entire life. She’d always had her big brother; her father had always been too busy to spend any real time with her and her mother had her friends and social functions, she’d never really wanted to spend time with Liz. But Nick had always been there for her, he always played with her and would take her places despite the four year age difference.
Liz had known that something had been bothering Nick, but he never told her what it was. Their parents hadn’t known that anything was wrong, until it’d been too late to do anything for Nick. “Stop it, Liz!” she ordered herself, commanding her feet to move. This was one of the reasons that she hadn’t wanted to come home to Roswell. Staying in this house again, with the memories of her and Nick at every corner of the house. His room where he had shot himself.
Liz quickly moved down the vast hall and down the stairs, not pausing once. She stopped once she entered the dining room. Sitting at the table was her mother, dressed impeccably in a teal, two piece suit. As if sensing her presence, Nancy turned and meet Liz’s eyes.
“Good morning, Elizabeth. Chantal should be here within half an hour.” Nancy said, turning her attention back to her coffee.
Liz took a seat directly opposite of her mother. She began to fill her plate with croissants, beignets and marmalade. Liz hated the food that they had served at Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, the boarding school in Switzerland. Her parents had sent her there because it was renowned as a school for the children of affluent parents, who had problems. Her parents had decided that she was one of those children, having an illegitimate child at fourteen years old. She’d been sent there two days after the birth of her son. Liz had been reluctant to become friendly with the other students, including her roommate, Maria. But her perspective changed when three days after arriving, it had been a year since her brother’s death. Liz couldn’t stop the tears as they had flowed from her. Maria hadn’t asked her any questions. She just let Liz cry over Nick’s death and her pain in giving up her baby. In that moment, Liz had known that she could trust Maria with her life.
It had just been the two of them until a few months later, Alex showed up in the school. When Liz had heard the rumors about Alex being with his brother when he’d died made Liz’s heart go out to him. She knew what that was like. Liz had approached him and told him her plight. And the three of them had become inseparable. Liz had found people who cared about her, people who loved her.
“Elizabeth. Elizabeth!” Nancy said annoyed. Nancy had been trying to get her attention for the last few minutes. Nancy didn’t understand her daughter, not in the least bit. Nancy made no secret that she had never wanted to have a second child, she’d thought that having Nick had been enough for Jeff. But no, he had started to stray from her back to that slut Michelle he’d dated before marrying Nancy. And she knew that she had to do something, something to get her husband’s attention away from Michelle. So Nancy had conveniently become pregnant with Liz. Over the last few years, Nancy wondered if she had done the right thing getting pregnant with Liz, the child was just too much trouble. She was nothing like Nick had been. Nicholas had been a dream.
Liz broke out of her reverie and looked up to meet her mother’s annoyed eyes. “Sorry, Mother. I was just thinking about something.”
Nancy raised her eyebrow at Liz’s words. Liz better not be thinking about trying to find that little bastard that had impregnated her. Nancy knew that she could ruin his life and his families life if she had to. “You know, we should make you an appointment with a plastic surgeon. Those scars are very noticeable in the daylight. Your father should have made you an appointment long ago. We have to do something about them. Frankly, Elizabeth, just looking at them is spoiling my breakfast.” Nancy said coldly, eyeing Liz.
Liz gritted her teeth, forcing herself not to sarcastically reply to her mother’s words. “Whatever you say, Mother. It wasn’t as if I could help what happened.”
Nancy gave Liz a mirthless laugh. “You certainly could, Elizabeth. Do you know how many favors your father had to call in just to make sure that nothing would happen to you. You and Christian had been drinking and driving, he was killed. Diederich Gorman was out for blood and he wanted yours.”
Liz looked at her mother shocked. “I didn’t know that.”
“I was sure that you didn’t. I don’t want any trouble while you’re here. Your going to attend the party like a good daughter and not cause any trouble. No looking for Max Evans. If I find out that you have, I will ruin his family. Don’t think I wouldn’t. The family has had enough scandal, we don’t need the press finding out that you gave birth to a bastard when you were a child; that it’s father was some of a lower class; someone of questionable background. When the parties over, you and your friends will do whatever you have planned.” Nancy said coldly.
Liz nodded. She didn’t even know if Max and his family still lived in Roswell. But if he was, she didn’t want anything bad to happen to his family. Mrs. Evans had always been so nice to Liz. She’d always liked Max’s sisters, Isabel and Tess; but never had been close to them. Isabel had always been the shy quiet type like Max, and Tess had millions of friends and hadn’t had time to get to know Liz. But it wasn’t as if she cared about that. She’d had Max and that had been enough for her. He’d been the only bright part in her dark and gloomy world. “Fine, Mother. We won’t cause any scandal to mar the family name.”
“Good.” Nancy started. She was about to go on when she saw Maria and Alex make their way into the dining room. Ever the gracious hostess, Nancy dropped the subject as she greeted the two. “Good morning, Alex. Good morning, Maria. Did you two sleep well?”
Maria nodded. “Yeah. Slept like a log.” she said brightly. Maria knew that she and Alex had walked in on something tense between Liz and her mother. “Morning, Lizzie. So, what do we have on the agenda today?”
Liz smiled at Maria, who wearing lilac cigarette pants and a matching notched sheath top. “I’m sorry, but my mother’s dress designer is coming over to fit me for my dress. I can’t go anywhere. I’m sorry, guys. But you know what, you guys can. You can go do whatever you like. Henry can give you a car to drive around in. No sense of you guys being stuck here with nothing to do.”
Alex shook his head. “Oh, no. We couldn’t.” he insisted. He didn’t want to leave Liz alone with her mother. He knew that the two of them would probably kill each other in the hour that they’d be alone.
Nancy smiled at the boy. She liked him; it didn’t hurt that he had money, too. “Oh, really. Alex, it’s fine. Elizabeth is going to be awfully busy with Chantal. And there’s not really anything that you and Maria could do around here. James can drive you in the limo. I won’t be using it today.”
“No. No limo. We don’t need one. Honestly, just a plain old car is fine. Maria and I can find our way around Roswell. Besides, we got maps off the net before we came here.” Alex persisted.
“Don’t worry about me, you guys. Chantal and I will be busy for a long time. Go on and have some fun. What did you guys want to do?” Liz asked, smiling at her two best friends. They were the best. They didn’t want to leave her and her mother alone. But Liz wasn’t about to spoil their vacation with her problems with her mother.
“I wanted to go to a book store and buy Dr. Milton’s new book. It’s guaranteed to be a best seller. Maybe buy something for my mom. She comes in tomorrow night.” Maria said with a grin at the mention of Dr. Milton. He was one of the world’s best psychiatrists in the world. And Maria, Liz and Alex all had the privilege of knowing him. He was actually their doctor at school. One of the requirements of going to Saint Aloysius Gonzaga was that they had to meet with him as a professional counselor. After three years of seeing him, he felt more like a family friend than her psychiatrist. His books were also about the students, with their names changed of course. Couldn’t allow everyone to know their real names and all.
“Are you sure you don’t want us to stay?” Alex asked softly, meeting Liz’s eyes. Silently, he told her that if she needed them, they would stay. That he wasn’t going to allow Nancy to upset her in any way.
Liz smiled at Alex. “Really. You guys go and have fun. Buy me a copy of his book.” she said, softly.
Alex nodded at Liz. Maria smiled at her best friend. “Love you, Lizzie.” she said, as she grabbed Alex’s arm and began to walk off to the front door.
Liz watched them silently until she heard the front door open and close. It’s okay. Liz, you can do this, you can handle your mother. No matter what she says. You’re a strong, independent female, Liz told herself. Oh, hell.
There he was. Liz smiled at her precious sweet baby boy. He was so tiny, but according to the nurses he was actually big. Her sweet baby weighed almost ten pounds, which was why the doctors finally had to take him out of her by a C-section.
Liz laid her hand against the glass window. “I love you, baby.” She said quietly. His hair was all Max. It was the same jet black hair. Liz smiled at the thought of Max and their son looking like him. Their baby would look more and more like Max as he grew up.
Suddenly a man picked up her baby and began to walk away from the room. “No. What are you doing?” Liz screamed, as she pounded on the glass. Why was someone talking her baby away from her? Why?
Liz ran into the nursery and began to run after the faceless man who was stealing her baby. “No. Don’t take my baby. Please. Don’t. NO!” Liz screamed, as she began to run faster. Her baby. Someone was taking her baby away from her.
Liz awoke with a start. Sunlight was streaming in through the window. Oh god. She’d had that dream again. About the baby. Someone had taken her baby away from her. Someone else was raising her child as their own. Liz stifled a sob. It was her own fault, she’d allowed her parents to talk her into putting her son up for adoption. Her and Max’s perfect little boy.
Liz sighed as she rolled out of her king size bed with its four posters and an arching canopy with heavy lace. Blue and ivory, her favorite colors. Her room was exactly the same as it had been four years ago.
The two wide double doors that stood as the entrance of her room. Pale ivory sheers covered the windows; the walls were covered in a delicate ivory silk fabric, woven through subtly with faint oriental designs of green, violet and blue and the two small sofas were covered with the same fabric, the accent pillows soft blue to match the Chinese rug on the floor. Her chaise was blue satin, while the other three chairs in her bedroom matched those in the sitting room.
It was a beautiful room, her mother had it decorated when she was younger. To add to the allusion that she cared somewhat for her daughter. The family life that Nancy presented to the public had to be perfect, each and everything had to be perfect.
Liz sighed again as she walked into the huge shower in her private bathroom, that was in the same shades of blue and white as her room. Liz quickly shed her clothes and stepped under the warm water.
As Liz began to wash her body, she tried not to look down at her stomach. But she couldn’t help it. And she looked down as she gently touched the scar. It was five or six inches wide and was just above the line of her panties. It was one of the few reminders that she had of the sweet baby boy she had given birth to a little over three years ago.
Not a moment of Liz’s life went by that she didn’t regret her decision to allow her son to be adopted. Her parents had been unyielding in the decision. Her father hadn’t wanted her future to be ruined with the child. And her mother hadn’t wanted anyone to know that her fourteen year old daughter had made her a grandmother to a bastard child. Liz had known the chances of a fourteen year old unwed mother leading a normal productive life, trying to get a full education and raise a child all at the same time wasn’t promising. The chances of her son leading a normal life in a happy environment where all his needs would be meet by two loving parents diminished if he was raised by his unwed young mother.
Liz knew that it would have been selfish of her, if she’d kept her son. What kind of life would she have been able to give him? Her parents most likely would have disinherited her, and her mother would have relished tossing Liz out on the street. Would Max’s parents taken her and their son in? They had three children. Could they have taken in Liz and her son? Liz prayed and hoped that her son was happy wherever he was. He deserved to be happy. But it didn’t stop the growing emptiness inside her that nothing seemed to fill. If it wasn’t for Alex and Maria, Liz knew that she would have tried to end her life a long time ago.
Liz turned off the shower and grabbed the thick white towel to dry herself off. She knew that it was a dead subject. There was nothing at all she could do to change what had happened. Her son was being raised by someone else. He was calling someone else Mommy. She had no one to blame for that but herself.
Liz shook her head, desperately trying to stop the direction of her thoughts. Once she’d start thinking about her son, she would get depressed for hours. Liz moved through her dressing area and into her walk in closet. From past experiences with having a fitting, Liz knew that she should wear something she could be comfortable in. Liz pulled out a daffodil slip and pulled it on. Liz grabbed her short, shiny purple robe and threw it over herself. She knew her mother would freak if she went downstairs dressed only in her slip. Liz pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Better get this over with, she thought to herself as she headed out of her room and began to walk in the direction of the dining room.
Liz stopped short as she was out of her room. She stared at the closed door in front of her. Four years, three months and seventeen days since her older brother, Nick had committed suicide when he was seventeen years old. Liz’s whole life had changed with his death. She’d never felt so alone in her entire life. She’d always had her big brother; her father had always been too busy to spend any real time with her and her mother had her friends and social functions, she’d never really wanted to spend time with Liz. But Nick had always been there for her, he always played with her and would take her places despite the four year age difference.
Liz had known that something had been bothering Nick, but he never told her what it was. Their parents hadn’t known that anything was wrong, until it’d been too late to do anything for Nick. “Stop it, Liz!” she ordered herself, commanding her feet to move. This was one of the reasons that she hadn’t wanted to come home to Roswell. Staying in this house again, with the memories of her and Nick at every corner of the house. His room where he had shot himself.
Liz quickly moved down the vast hall and down the stairs, not pausing once. She stopped once she entered the dining room. Sitting at the table was her mother, dressed impeccably in a teal, two piece suit. As if sensing her presence, Nancy turned and meet Liz’s eyes.
“Good morning, Elizabeth. Chantal should be here within half an hour.” Nancy said, turning her attention back to her coffee.
Liz took a seat directly opposite of her mother. She began to fill her plate with croissants, beignets and marmalade. Liz hated the food that they had served at Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, the boarding school in Switzerland. Her parents had sent her there because it was renowned as a school for the children of affluent parents, who had problems. Her parents had decided that she was one of those children, having an illegitimate child at fourteen years old. She’d been sent there two days after the birth of her son. Liz had been reluctant to become friendly with the other students, including her roommate, Maria. But her perspective changed when three days after arriving, it had been a year since her brother’s death. Liz couldn’t stop the tears as they had flowed from her. Maria hadn’t asked her any questions. She just let Liz cry over Nick’s death and her pain in giving up her baby. In that moment, Liz had known that she could trust Maria with her life.
It had just been the two of them until a few months later, Alex showed up in the school. When Liz had heard the rumors about Alex being with his brother when he’d died made Liz’s heart go out to him. She knew what that was like. Liz had approached him and told him her plight. And the three of them had become inseparable. Liz had found people who cared about her, people who loved her.
“Elizabeth. Elizabeth!” Nancy said annoyed. Nancy had been trying to get her attention for the last few minutes. Nancy didn’t understand her daughter, not in the least bit. Nancy made no secret that she had never wanted to have a second child, she’d thought that having Nick had been enough for Jeff. But no, he had started to stray from her back to that slut Michelle he’d dated before marrying Nancy. And she knew that she had to do something, something to get her husband’s attention away from Michelle. So Nancy had conveniently become pregnant with Liz. Over the last few years, Nancy wondered if she had done the right thing getting pregnant with Liz, the child was just too much trouble. She was nothing like Nick had been. Nicholas had been a dream.
Liz broke out of her reverie and looked up to meet her mother’s annoyed eyes. “Sorry, Mother. I was just thinking about something.”
Nancy raised her eyebrow at Liz’s words. Liz better not be thinking about trying to find that little bastard that had impregnated her. Nancy knew that she could ruin his life and his families life if she had to. “You know, we should make you an appointment with a plastic surgeon. Those scars are very noticeable in the daylight. Your father should have made you an appointment long ago. We have to do something about them. Frankly, Elizabeth, just looking at them is spoiling my breakfast.” Nancy said coldly, eyeing Liz.
Liz gritted her teeth, forcing herself not to sarcastically reply to her mother’s words. “Whatever you say, Mother. It wasn’t as if I could help what happened.”
Nancy gave Liz a mirthless laugh. “You certainly could, Elizabeth. Do you know how many favors your father had to call in just to make sure that nothing would happen to you. You and Christian had been drinking and driving, he was killed. Diederich Gorman was out for blood and he wanted yours.”
Liz looked at her mother shocked. “I didn’t know that.”
“I was sure that you didn’t. I don’t want any trouble while you’re here. Your going to attend the party like a good daughter and not cause any trouble. No looking for Max Evans. If I find out that you have, I will ruin his family. Don’t think I wouldn’t. The family has had enough scandal, we don’t need the press finding out that you gave birth to a bastard when you were a child; that it’s father was some of a lower class; someone of questionable background. When the parties over, you and your friends will do whatever you have planned.” Nancy said coldly.
Liz nodded. She didn’t even know if Max and his family still lived in Roswell. But if he was, she didn’t want anything bad to happen to his family. Mrs. Evans had always been so nice to Liz. She’d always liked Max’s sisters, Isabel and Tess; but never had been close to them. Isabel had always been the shy quiet type like Max, and Tess had millions of friends and hadn’t had time to get to know Liz. But it wasn’t as if she cared about that. She’d had Max and that had been enough for her. He’d been the only bright part in her dark and gloomy world. “Fine, Mother. We won’t cause any scandal to mar the family name.”
“Good.” Nancy started. She was about to go on when she saw Maria and Alex make their way into the dining room. Ever the gracious hostess, Nancy dropped the subject as she greeted the two. “Good morning, Alex. Good morning, Maria. Did you two sleep well?”
Maria nodded. “Yeah. Slept like a log.” she said brightly. Maria knew that she and Alex had walked in on something tense between Liz and her mother. “Morning, Lizzie. So, what do we have on the agenda today?”
Liz smiled at Maria, who wearing lilac cigarette pants and a matching notched sheath top. “I’m sorry, but my mother’s dress designer is coming over to fit me for my dress. I can’t go anywhere. I’m sorry, guys. But you know what, you guys can. You can go do whatever you like. Henry can give you a car to drive around in. No sense of you guys being stuck here with nothing to do.”
Alex shook his head. “Oh, no. We couldn’t.” he insisted. He didn’t want to leave Liz alone with her mother. He knew that the two of them would probably kill each other in the hour that they’d be alone.
Nancy smiled at the boy. She liked him; it didn’t hurt that he had money, too. “Oh, really. Alex, it’s fine. Elizabeth is going to be awfully busy with Chantal. And there’s not really anything that you and Maria could do around here. James can drive you in the limo. I won’t be using it today.”
“No. No limo. We don’t need one. Honestly, just a plain old car is fine. Maria and I can find our way around Roswell. Besides, we got maps off the net before we came here.” Alex persisted.
“Don’t worry about me, you guys. Chantal and I will be busy for a long time. Go on and have some fun. What did you guys want to do?” Liz asked, smiling at her two best friends. They were the best. They didn’t want to leave her and her mother alone. But Liz wasn’t about to spoil their vacation with her problems with her mother.
“I wanted to go to a book store and buy Dr. Milton’s new book. It’s guaranteed to be a best seller. Maybe buy something for my mom. She comes in tomorrow night.” Maria said with a grin at the mention of Dr. Milton. He was one of the world’s best psychiatrists in the world. And Maria, Liz and Alex all had the privilege of knowing him. He was actually their doctor at school. One of the requirements of going to Saint Aloysius Gonzaga was that they had to meet with him as a professional counselor. After three years of seeing him, he felt more like a family friend than her psychiatrist. His books were also about the students, with their names changed of course. Couldn’t allow everyone to know their real names and all.
“Are you sure you don’t want us to stay?” Alex asked softly, meeting Liz’s eyes. Silently, he told her that if she needed them, they would stay. That he wasn’t going to allow Nancy to upset her in any way.
Liz smiled at Alex. “Really. You guys go and have fun. Buy me a copy of his book.” she said, softly.
Alex nodded at Liz. Maria smiled at her best friend. “Love you, Lizzie.” she said, as she grabbed Alex’s arm and began to walk off to the front door.
Liz watched them silently until she heard the front door open and close. It’s okay. Liz, you can do this, you can handle your mother. No matter what she says. You’re a strong, independent female, Liz told herself. Oh, hell.
Now And Forever Ch.4
Chapter 4
“Do you think that we should have left Liz alone with her mother?” Maria asked, breaking the silence in the car. She and Alex were seated side by side in the back seat of the black Lincoln Town Car. Maria was having second thoughts about leaving Liz alone.
Alex sighed heavily. He hadn’t wanted to leave Liz either. But he knew that even though they would always try to be there for each other, they might not be able to be there. He knew that Liz could handle her mother, even though she didn’t want to. Alex was mostly worried about if Liz started drinking again. She’d been sober for ten months. Ever since the accident. “She said she’d be fine. Besides, as much as we try, we might not always be there for each other.”
Maria nodded sadly as the car pulled up to a bookstore called Buy the Book. What an original name, she thought to herself. Maria opened the door, without waiting for James to open the door. She hated when people did that. It wasn’t like she couldn’t open the door for herself. Maria grew up having people open the door for her, but she’d never get used to it. Sometimes she wished that she could have been an ordinary girl with ordinary parents. But Maria knew that she never would be.
Maria and Alex walked arm in arm into the bookstore, which looked as if it was dead. Maria felt Alex tugging her to the mystery section.
Maria shook her head at him. “Nah. You go. I’m gonna go look for Milton’s book. I wanna see what improvements ‘Mary’ has made.” she said, smiling at him. In his book, Mary was her name. Like Lisa was Liz and Alan was Alex. Hmm, last we saw Mary; she was having sex various young men in order to cope with having been molested and finally raped by her stepfather at the tender age of twelve. Maria resented that description of her. That’s not what she was like. Maria could count on one hand who many boys she had slept with. But the part about the drugs and booze was correct and being caught by the housekeeper having sex with her boyfriend was also true.
Maria sighed as she thought about it. That was a lifetime ago; she wasn’t that same scarred little girl whose step daddy had used her for his own pleasure. She didn’t use sex as a way to cope with what happened to her. She enjoyed it. Just like she’d enjoyed smoking and drinking.
Maria hadn’t been anything like Liz when it came to booze. Liz could drink just about anyone under the table. Liz really had a serious problem with alcohol; one that Liz hadn’t even recognized until the car accident ten months ago. Maria had been scared for her best friend’s life. Liz nearly died in that accident, like Christian had. That was what scared Maria the most; she’d nearly lost Liz.
Maria grinned as she saw Milton’s book sitting proudly with the other psychology books. Maria grabbed two books and flipped one open, looking for the name Mary. Maria’s smile widened as she skimmed the pages. Mary was no longer having sex with her various young men, stopped using drugs and drinking booze; still got upset when the abuser was mentioned. Dated informally, and was preparing to go off to college.
Maria flipped through the pages, quickly finding Liz’s. Last we saw, Lisa, she was using booze and in a meaningless relationship trying to cope with a painful past and her depression. Her older brother committing suicide, with Lisa finding him afterwards; and the pain of giving up her child for adoption. Now a year later, while Lisa still struggled with her depression, she gave up drinking after surviving a near fatal car accident that took the life of her boyfriend. Hmm, that was pretty much correct, Maria thought to herself with a sigh. Liz still struggled with the agony of giving her baby up.
Maria thumbed through the book until she found Alex’s. Alan suffered from a classic case of survivor’s guilt. While sailing with his older brother, a sudden storm approached and the two clung to their boat trying to ride it out. When the storm cleared, Alan, the brother who couldn’t swim survived, while CJ, the brother who could swim drowned. Six weeks after CJ’s death, Alan had attempted suicide by swallowing a bottle of Valium. Luckily, he’d been found in time and rushed to the hospital. After nearly three years since his brother’s death, Alex still suffered from the guilt about surviving while CJ hadn’t. It didn’t really help that Alex’s mother blamed him for CJ’s death.
Maria started walking towards the mystery aisle where Alex was, leafing through the book, recognizing people from school. There was Courtney Haines, Ava Casteel, Brad Winslow, Paulie Newman. Maria stepped around the corner and bumped into what she immediately thought of as a brick wall. The books they’d both been carrying tumbled to the ground.
“I’m sorry.” she sad, bending down to pick up the books. “I wasn’t paying any attention.”
Michael Guerin didn’t say anything, but bent over to pick up his books.
Maria picked up the Curious George book. “Here, this is yours.” she said softly as she handed him the book. She looked up and meet his dark brown eyes. Maria unconsciously licked her lips as she looked him over. Hmm, he was very cute. Even from his crouched position, Maria could tell that he was tall, at least six feet tall; he had spiky brown hair and those sexy dark brown eyes. Hmm, she didn’t know that they grew them like this in Roswell.
Maria smiled seductively at him. “Hi. I’m Maria DeLuca. What’s your name?” she asked. Hmm, if she was going to be in Roswell for awhile, it wouldn’t hurt for her to have some fun. He looked like the type who wouldn’t want to get seriously involved, exactly what she was looking for. Just some sex with someone who didn’t want a commitment or have to talk about their personal shit. She’d tried that before with Billy and it hadn’t gotten her anywhere.
Michael looked up and smiled at her. Damn, she was really beautiful, he thought to himself. She was petite, with shoulder length sun kissed blonde hair and wide, emerald green eyes and these pouty ruby red lips. Michael fought the urge to lean and kiss those lips. If he tried that, she’d probably slap him in the face. “Thanks for the help.” he said, motioning to the books. “There for my nephew. He loves Curious George and Poppleton the Pig. I’m Michael Guerin.” he said, as they both stood up.
Maria smiled warmly at the thought of him buying books for his nephew. “You must really love him.” she said. Maria didn’t have much experience with children. She remembered her baby sister, Jordana. Maria had loved her sister, but she’d been alive one day and the next day she was gone. It was no use thinking about Jordana, she was gone. She’d been dead for eleven years.
“Yeah. I’ve never seen you before. Are you new to our fair city of Roswell?” Michael asked, smoothly changing the subject. There was just something about her that made him want to get to know her. She was gorgeous and sexy.
Maria nodded. “Yeah. My friends and I are staying for awhile. What’s fun to do around here?” she asked curiously.
“Well, there are various clubs in town. A few for the underagers, but most of the clubs are for the over eighteen crowd. Other than that and the movie theaters, there’s not much to do in Roswell.” Michael admitted. Roswell wasn’t a huge city, but it wasn’t one of the smallest in New Mexico either.
Maria decided to be take the initiative. “I’d like to see you again. Do you have a girlfriend?” she inquired, thinking how much she’d like to run her hands through that spiky hair of his. She really liked his hair. He didn’t have that gelled back look that was had been the fad at school.
For a moment, Michael didn’t know what to say. Usually he was the pursuer when he meet a girl that he liked. He hadn’t been known as the high school’s Don Juan for nothing. Michael dated just about every girl in the school. Michael didn’t want to be tied down to any one girl. He’d seen how bad relationships could turn out.
“No girlfriend who’d be hunting you down. I’d like to see you too. Wanna give me your number?” Michael finally said, grinning at her. He had to admit that he liked her aggressiveness. She’d probably be a tiger in bed, he thought to himself, suppressing his smile from widening. Michael grabbed a pen from a display nearby.
Maria opened up Dr. Milton’s book and handed it to him. “I’m gonna buy it anyway.”
Michael quickly jotted down his number on the title page of her book. Michael quickly scanned her book. Dr. Milton. Hmm, wasn’t that the guy that his mom liked to read? Michael couldn’t be too sure. If it wasn’t action, it wasn’t good to him. Michael handed her book back to her. “So, you gonna give me your number?” he asked.
Maria grinned at him. Hell, yeah. She definitely wanted to see him again. Maria tore a piece out of her book and scribbled her cell number on it. “Call me anytime. Me and my friends were thinking about going to a club tonight. Maybe we can get together.” Maria said, licking her lips as she handed him the paper.
Michael felt a rush of desire go through him at her licking her lips. God damn, she was beautiful. What he wouldn’t give to sleep with her. “I’ll keep that in mind. If your going to go anywhere, go to the Blue Moon. It’s a rocking club.” As much as Michael wanted to stay and flirt with this beautiful girl, he knew that he had a lot of things to do today. “I gotta get going. Call me.” he said, lightly touching her arm.
Maria watched him silently as he walked to the counter to pay for his books. “You bet your ass I will. And what a nice ass that is.” she said to herself as she saw Alex wave to her. Maria smiled at him. Maybe coming to Roswell was going to be a good thing for them. After all, Alex had meet Isabel, and Maria, herself had meet Michael. All they needed now was for Liz to meet someone. Someone that wasn’t Max Evans.
“Do you think that we should have left Liz alone with her mother?” Maria asked, breaking the silence in the car. She and Alex were seated side by side in the back seat of the black Lincoln Town Car. Maria was having second thoughts about leaving Liz alone.
Alex sighed heavily. He hadn’t wanted to leave Liz either. But he knew that even though they would always try to be there for each other, they might not be able to be there. He knew that Liz could handle her mother, even though she didn’t want to. Alex was mostly worried about if Liz started drinking again. She’d been sober for ten months. Ever since the accident. “She said she’d be fine. Besides, as much as we try, we might not always be there for each other.”
Maria nodded sadly as the car pulled up to a bookstore called Buy the Book. What an original name, she thought to herself. Maria opened the door, without waiting for James to open the door. She hated when people did that. It wasn’t like she couldn’t open the door for herself. Maria grew up having people open the door for her, but she’d never get used to it. Sometimes she wished that she could have been an ordinary girl with ordinary parents. But Maria knew that she never would be.
Maria and Alex walked arm in arm into the bookstore, which looked as if it was dead. Maria felt Alex tugging her to the mystery section.
Maria shook her head at him. “Nah. You go. I’m gonna go look for Milton’s book. I wanna see what improvements ‘Mary’ has made.” she said, smiling at him. In his book, Mary was her name. Like Lisa was Liz and Alan was Alex. Hmm, last we saw Mary; she was having sex various young men in order to cope with having been molested and finally raped by her stepfather at the tender age of twelve. Maria resented that description of her. That’s not what she was like. Maria could count on one hand who many boys she had slept with. But the part about the drugs and booze was correct and being caught by the housekeeper having sex with her boyfriend was also true.
Maria sighed as she thought about it. That was a lifetime ago; she wasn’t that same scarred little girl whose step daddy had used her for his own pleasure. She didn’t use sex as a way to cope with what happened to her. She enjoyed it. Just like she’d enjoyed smoking and drinking.
Maria hadn’t been anything like Liz when it came to booze. Liz could drink just about anyone under the table. Liz really had a serious problem with alcohol; one that Liz hadn’t even recognized until the car accident ten months ago. Maria had been scared for her best friend’s life. Liz nearly died in that accident, like Christian had. That was what scared Maria the most; she’d nearly lost Liz.
Maria grinned as she saw Milton’s book sitting proudly with the other psychology books. Maria grabbed two books and flipped one open, looking for the name Mary. Maria’s smile widened as she skimmed the pages. Mary was no longer having sex with her various young men, stopped using drugs and drinking booze; still got upset when the abuser was mentioned. Dated informally, and was preparing to go off to college.
Maria flipped through the pages, quickly finding Liz’s. Last we saw, Lisa, she was using booze and in a meaningless relationship trying to cope with a painful past and her depression. Her older brother committing suicide, with Lisa finding him afterwards; and the pain of giving up her child for adoption. Now a year later, while Lisa still struggled with her depression, she gave up drinking after surviving a near fatal car accident that took the life of her boyfriend. Hmm, that was pretty much correct, Maria thought to herself with a sigh. Liz still struggled with the agony of giving her baby up.
Maria thumbed through the book until she found Alex’s. Alan suffered from a classic case of survivor’s guilt. While sailing with his older brother, a sudden storm approached and the two clung to their boat trying to ride it out. When the storm cleared, Alan, the brother who couldn’t swim survived, while CJ, the brother who could swim drowned. Six weeks after CJ’s death, Alan had attempted suicide by swallowing a bottle of Valium. Luckily, he’d been found in time and rushed to the hospital. After nearly three years since his brother’s death, Alex still suffered from the guilt about surviving while CJ hadn’t. It didn’t really help that Alex’s mother blamed him for CJ’s death.
Maria started walking towards the mystery aisle where Alex was, leafing through the book, recognizing people from school. There was Courtney Haines, Ava Casteel, Brad Winslow, Paulie Newman. Maria stepped around the corner and bumped into what she immediately thought of as a brick wall. The books they’d both been carrying tumbled to the ground.
“I’m sorry.” she sad, bending down to pick up the books. “I wasn’t paying any attention.”
Michael Guerin didn’t say anything, but bent over to pick up his books.
Maria picked up the Curious George book. “Here, this is yours.” she said softly as she handed him the book. She looked up and meet his dark brown eyes. Maria unconsciously licked her lips as she looked him over. Hmm, he was very cute. Even from his crouched position, Maria could tell that he was tall, at least six feet tall; he had spiky brown hair and those sexy dark brown eyes. Hmm, she didn’t know that they grew them like this in Roswell.
Maria smiled seductively at him. “Hi. I’m Maria DeLuca. What’s your name?” she asked. Hmm, if she was going to be in Roswell for awhile, it wouldn’t hurt for her to have some fun. He looked like the type who wouldn’t want to get seriously involved, exactly what she was looking for. Just some sex with someone who didn’t want a commitment or have to talk about their personal shit. She’d tried that before with Billy and it hadn’t gotten her anywhere.
Michael looked up and smiled at her. Damn, she was really beautiful, he thought to himself. She was petite, with shoulder length sun kissed blonde hair and wide, emerald green eyes and these pouty ruby red lips. Michael fought the urge to lean and kiss those lips. If he tried that, she’d probably slap him in the face. “Thanks for the help.” he said, motioning to the books. “There for my nephew. He loves Curious George and Poppleton the Pig. I’m Michael Guerin.” he said, as they both stood up.
Maria smiled warmly at the thought of him buying books for his nephew. “You must really love him.” she said. Maria didn’t have much experience with children. She remembered her baby sister, Jordana. Maria had loved her sister, but she’d been alive one day and the next day she was gone. It was no use thinking about Jordana, she was gone. She’d been dead for eleven years.
“Yeah. I’ve never seen you before. Are you new to our fair city of Roswell?” Michael asked, smoothly changing the subject. There was just something about her that made him want to get to know her. She was gorgeous and sexy.
Maria nodded. “Yeah. My friends and I are staying for awhile. What’s fun to do around here?” she asked curiously.
“Well, there are various clubs in town. A few for the underagers, but most of the clubs are for the over eighteen crowd. Other than that and the movie theaters, there’s not much to do in Roswell.” Michael admitted. Roswell wasn’t a huge city, but it wasn’t one of the smallest in New Mexico either.
Maria decided to be take the initiative. “I’d like to see you again. Do you have a girlfriend?” she inquired, thinking how much she’d like to run her hands through that spiky hair of his. She really liked his hair. He didn’t have that gelled back look that was had been the fad at school.
For a moment, Michael didn’t know what to say. Usually he was the pursuer when he meet a girl that he liked. He hadn’t been known as the high school’s Don Juan for nothing. Michael dated just about every girl in the school. Michael didn’t want to be tied down to any one girl. He’d seen how bad relationships could turn out.
“No girlfriend who’d be hunting you down. I’d like to see you too. Wanna give me your number?” Michael finally said, grinning at her. He had to admit that he liked her aggressiveness. She’d probably be a tiger in bed, he thought to himself, suppressing his smile from widening. Michael grabbed a pen from a display nearby.
Maria opened up Dr. Milton’s book and handed it to him. “I’m gonna buy it anyway.”
Michael quickly jotted down his number on the title page of her book. Michael quickly scanned her book. Dr. Milton. Hmm, wasn’t that the guy that his mom liked to read? Michael couldn’t be too sure. If it wasn’t action, it wasn’t good to him. Michael handed her book back to her. “So, you gonna give me your number?” he asked.
Maria grinned at him. Hell, yeah. She definitely wanted to see him again. Maria tore a piece out of her book and scribbled her cell number on it. “Call me anytime. Me and my friends were thinking about going to a club tonight. Maybe we can get together.” Maria said, licking her lips as she handed him the paper.
Michael felt a rush of desire go through him at her licking her lips. God damn, she was beautiful. What he wouldn’t give to sleep with her. “I’ll keep that in mind. If your going to go anywhere, go to the Blue Moon. It’s a rocking club.” As much as Michael wanted to stay and flirt with this beautiful girl, he knew that he had a lot of things to do today. “I gotta get going. Call me.” he said, lightly touching her arm.
Maria watched him silently as he walked to the counter to pay for his books. “You bet your ass I will. And what a nice ass that is.” she said to herself as she saw Alex wave to her. Maria smiled at him. Maybe coming to Roswell was going to be a good thing for them. After all, Alex had meet Isabel, and Maria, herself had meet Michael. All they needed now was for Liz to meet someone. Someone that wasn’t Max Evans.
Now And Forever Ch.5
Disclaimer: Seperate Ways (World's Apart) belongs to Journey.
Chapter 5
“Someday love will find you. Break those chains that bind you. One night will remind you; how we touched and went our separate ways. If he ever hurts you; true love won’t desert you. You know I still love. Though we touched and went our separate ways.” Tess Evans sang softly to herself as she wiped down the counter.
She loved working at the Crashdown. She’d been working here for three years ever since her mother had bought it. It was a family thing, her mom was in charge of the restaurant, while Tess and her sister, Isabel both worked as waitresses. Max hadn’t wanted to work here. He preferred to work at the UFO Center across the street.
Tess sighed. It was so dead today; it was actually kind of surprising. Usually they were busy by now since school had just ended. Tess, Isabel and Max had graduated from high school barely five days ago. They were going to go out into the real world. Go to college. That scared Tess, but she knew that she would have Kyle and that was enough for her.
After three years of being with Kyle, Tess was still surprised by the amount of love that she had for him. She loved him so much. Tess knew that one day she would probably marry him. At least she hoped she would. She knew Kyle was a little apprehensive about all of that since his mother had walked out on him and his father when he was seven years old. Michelle Valenti was a bitch, who didn’t deserve to have Kyle as a son.
Tess heard the front door open and smiled when she saw that it was Kyle. He was carrying a box in his arms. Tess’ heart swelled with love. He was always doing that sort of thing. Buying her things; things that she wouldn’t even ask for. “Kyle, you don’t need to keep buying me things.” Tess said softly, as he laid the box down on the counter. Tess looked down at the box and recognized the little emblem from Roswell’s most expensive dress shop, Simone’s.
Kyle Valenti smiled at his girlfriend. He loved her so much. He knew what he was about to ask her might be hard for her to accept. But he knew that he had to give it a try. “Open it.” he said, motioning towards the box.
Tess eyed him suspiciously. Why was he giving her a dress from Simone’s? Did he want to go out to an expensive restaurant or something, she wondered to herself. Tess pulled off the top and gasped softly.
“Kyle, it’s beautiful. But why?” Tess asked as she pulled out the dress. It was an ice blue, A-lined dress and a matching thigh length overcoat. It was gorgeous and must have cost Kyle a fortune. She didn’t mind him buying her things, as long as they weren’t too expensive; she saw no real point of him wasting his money on her.
Kyle bit his lip before he started. “I know what I’m about to ask is going to be hard on you. But I was invited to Liz’s party, and I want you to go with me.” he said softly.
Tess’s eyes widened for a second and then they narrowed as she took in what he was asking her. She couldn’t believe him! He was asking her to go to Liz’s party, after what she had done to Max. “I can’t believe that you are asking me to go to Liz’s party. You know what she did to Max. I— I— uh.” Tess said, dropping the clothes back into the box.
“Tess, look. I know that you don’t like Liz for what happened with Max. But that wasn’t her fault, just like it wasn’t his. You blame her for getting pregnant, and you know, she didn’t do it alone. Max was a willing partner in all of that.” Kyle stated, hoping that he’d get her to change her mind. Tess hadn’t known Liz the way he had. She’d been his friend, before Max had come to town. He’d known her ever since he was a child. She’d been there for him when his mother had left.
Tess felt her anger threatening to explode. She knew that Kyle didn’t understand her plight. He was still thinking of Liz as his friend, but Tess knew her as the young woman who had gotten pregnant with her brother’s child and had abandoned their son. “But she ruined Max’s life. Did you really think that Max was going to allow for his son to be raised by perfect strangers? No, he wouldn’t allow that to happen. And because he decided to keep Jake, what kind of future will he have? Huh? He’s going to be a single father trying to raise his son all alone. And Ms. Liz what is she doing? She’s going on with her life, like nothing ever happened. She’s off in Europe, going to parties, dating, having a grand time, while Max is raising their son. She’s a total bitch and I refuse to be anywhere near her.”
Kyle shook his head sadly at Tess. “You don’t know how any of it affected her. You don’t know her parents. Trust me, when I say that they wouldn’t have let her keep Jake if she wanted to. You know, Tess, you and Liz have something in common.”
Tess scoffed at that. Like she had anything in common with rich bitch Parker. “I don’t think so, Kyle. I know that you were close to her a long time ago. But it’s been years since you’ve seen her.”
Kyle nodded. “Yeah, it’s been years since I have seen Liz. You know why she stopped talking to me back in the 8th grade? You don’t. I don’t think she ever told Max about what happened. No one likes to talk about it; so you don’t know. I wasn’t the only Liz stopped talking to. She stopped talking to all of her friends: Pam, Vicky, Leanna. Everyone. She totally withdrew from everyone because her brother killed himself.” Kyle admitted, he’d known that the Evans family had never known about Nick Parker’s suicide or that Liz had been the one to find him.
Tess’ mouth dropped open in shock. What? Liz Parker had a brother that killed himself? “You’re lying.” Tess said, shaking her head at his words.
Kyle shook his head. “No. Nick was the older brother you’d want to have. He always took Liz and me out to do things, despite that he was four years older than us. He was a great guy. But that February before you moved to town, Nick shot himself at home. Liz was there at the time, she found his body. She was thirteen years old at the time, Tessie. Afterwards, she withdrew from all of us, including me. She was always sad, she wouldn’t talk to anyone. Until Max came along.”
“I don’t know what it was about Max, that made Liz feel better. But he did. She looked happier with him. They just fit together; it was like they were supposed to be together at that moment in time. I think he helped heal her.” Kyle said softly, thinking back to what happened long ago. He’d envied Max at the time, Kyle always had a crush on Liz. In fact, she was the first girl that he had ever kissed when they were little. “You know, what it’s like to have your brother die, Tess? You went through the same thing.”
Tess gritted her teeth as her memories came rushing back to her. To before she had been adopted by Diane and Phillip Evans, when she’d had her big brother, Andy. It had been so long. So long.
***************
Five year old Tessie Hillard sat quietly in front of the television, watching her favorite TV show, Full House. Tessie laughed to herself as she watched young Stephanie accidentally cut off a lock of her Uncle Jesse’s hair. Just than Tessie’s eight year old brother, Andy picked up a toy car and began zooming it around the living room floor, making loud car noises. “Andy, be quiet.” Tessie cried.
“No!” he said, sticking his tongue out at her. “If you’re not going to let me see Miami Vice, than I’m gonna make a lot of noise.” he stuck his tongue out at her again.
Tessie frowned at him. “I’m gonna tell Daddy.” Tessie said, standing up, but just than she heard shouts coming from the kitchen where her parents were. Tessie put her hands over her ears. She hated it when her parents started fighting and saying mean things to each other. It scared her.
Andy scowled. “They’re fighting again.”
“Elliot Newman is my friend. Nothing more, Tommy. What are you doing? What are you doing?” Lauren Hillard exclaimed frightfully.
“Defending my manhood; something I should have done long ago.” Tom Hillard said calmly.
“Don’t, Tommy.” Lauren’s voice rose in fright. “Please Don’t. . . DON’T. . . No. . . NO!”
There was a loud, terrifying explosion. Tessie cowered on the floor, still covering her ears. She knew that something bad had happened. Something was wrong. Andy leaped up and began to walk to the kitchen.
Tessie took her hands off from her ears and looked at her brother. “Don’t go, Andy. Don’t leave me.” she whimpered, scared for her brother.
Andy shook his head at her. “I gotta go. I gotta go see.” he said running into the kitchen.
Tessie stayed on the floor in a fetal position. She heard her father yell something and then the sound of another loud explosion. Tessie threw her hands back over her ears as she began to cry. Mommy. Andy. Were they okay?
Suddenly her father was in the room. He had a wild look in his eyes. “Come on, pumpkin.” he said, as he pulled Tessie into his arms. Tessie saw that her Daddy’s eyes were red and scary looking; but she loved her father more than anything, so she didn’t argue with him. “Daddy, where are we going? Where’s Mommy and Andy?” she asked softly.
“Away.” he mumbled, carrying her through the kitchen.
Sprawled on the kitchen floor was Lauren Hillard, a thin spiral of smoking snaking out of the gaping hole in her chest; slumped by the door was Andy. The whole room was splashed in blood. “Daddy. Daddy! Mommy and Andy are hurt. They’re bleeding. They’re bleeding!”
***************
Tess shook her head, stopping her memories. She hated to remember how her mother and brother had died. What her father had done to them. Tess felt tears well up in her eyes. “I’m not going to her party. You can just take someone else with you. I hope that I never see her face again.” Tess said, walking into the break room.
“Good going, Valenti. Make her remember what happened to her family. You stupid fucking idiot.” Kyle berated himself. He hadn’t known that she would react as strongly as she had. He’d thought that if she’d known what happened to Liz, that she might feel sympathetic of Liz. Obviously, he had been wrong.
Chapter 5
“Someday love will find you. Break those chains that bind you. One night will remind you; how we touched and went our separate ways. If he ever hurts you; true love won’t desert you. You know I still love. Though we touched and went our separate ways.” Tess Evans sang softly to herself as she wiped down the counter.
She loved working at the Crashdown. She’d been working here for three years ever since her mother had bought it. It was a family thing, her mom was in charge of the restaurant, while Tess and her sister, Isabel both worked as waitresses. Max hadn’t wanted to work here. He preferred to work at the UFO Center across the street.
Tess sighed. It was so dead today; it was actually kind of surprising. Usually they were busy by now since school had just ended. Tess, Isabel and Max had graduated from high school barely five days ago. They were going to go out into the real world. Go to college. That scared Tess, but she knew that she would have Kyle and that was enough for her.
After three years of being with Kyle, Tess was still surprised by the amount of love that she had for him. She loved him so much. Tess knew that one day she would probably marry him. At least she hoped she would. She knew Kyle was a little apprehensive about all of that since his mother had walked out on him and his father when he was seven years old. Michelle Valenti was a bitch, who didn’t deserve to have Kyle as a son.
Tess heard the front door open and smiled when she saw that it was Kyle. He was carrying a box in his arms. Tess’ heart swelled with love. He was always doing that sort of thing. Buying her things; things that she wouldn’t even ask for. “Kyle, you don’t need to keep buying me things.” Tess said softly, as he laid the box down on the counter. Tess looked down at the box and recognized the little emblem from Roswell’s most expensive dress shop, Simone’s.
Kyle Valenti smiled at his girlfriend. He loved her so much. He knew what he was about to ask her might be hard for her to accept. But he knew that he had to give it a try. “Open it.” he said, motioning towards the box.
Tess eyed him suspiciously. Why was he giving her a dress from Simone’s? Did he want to go out to an expensive restaurant or something, she wondered to herself. Tess pulled off the top and gasped softly.
“Kyle, it’s beautiful. But why?” Tess asked as she pulled out the dress. It was an ice blue, A-lined dress and a matching thigh length overcoat. It was gorgeous and must have cost Kyle a fortune. She didn’t mind him buying her things, as long as they weren’t too expensive; she saw no real point of him wasting his money on her.
Kyle bit his lip before he started. “I know what I’m about to ask is going to be hard on you. But I was invited to Liz’s party, and I want you to go with me.” he said softly.
Tess’s eyes widened for a second and then they narrowed as she took in what he was asking her. She couldn’t believe him! He was asking her to go to Liz’s party, after what she had done to Max. “I can’t believe that you are asking me to go to Liz’s party. You know what she did to Max. I— I— uh.” Tess said, dropping the clothes back into the box.
“Tess, look. I know that you don’t like Liz for what happened with Max. But that wasn’t her fault, just like it wasn’t his. You blame her for getting pregnant, and you know, she didn’t do it alone. Max was a willing partner in all of that.” Kyle stated, hoping that he’d get her to change her mind. Tess hadn’t known Liz the way he had. She’d been his friend, before Max had come to town. He’d known her ever since he was a child. She’d been there for him when his mother had left.
Tess felt her anger threatening to explode. She knew that Kyle didn’t understand her plight. He was still thinking of Liz as his friend, but Tess knew her as the young woman who had gotten pregnant with her brother’s child and had abandoned their son. “But she ruined Max’s life. Did you really think that Max was going to allow for his son to be raised by perfect strangers? No, he wouldn’t allow that to happen. And because he decided to keep Jake, what kind of future will he have? Huh? He’s going to be a single father trying to raise his son all alone. And Ms. Liz what is she doing? She’s going on with her life, like nothing ever happened. She’s off in Europe, going to parties, dating, having a grand time, while Max is raising their son. She’s a total bitch and I refuse to be anywhere near her.”
Kyle shook his head sadly at Tess. “You don’t know how any of it affected her. You don’t know her parents. Trust me, when I say that they wouldn’t have let her keep Jake if she wanted to. You know, Tess, you and Liz have something in common.”
Tess scoffed at that. Like she had anything in common with rich bitch Parker. “I don’t think so, Kyle. I know that you were close to her a long time ago. But it’s been years since you’ve seen her.”
Kyle nodded. “Yeah, it’s been years since I have seen Liz. You know why she stopped talking to me back in the 8th grade? You don’t. I don’t think she ever told Max about what happened. No one likes to talk about it; so you don’t know. I wasn’t the only Liz stopped talking to. She stopped talking to all of her friends: Pam, Vicky, Leanna. Everyone. She totally withdrew from everyone because her brother killed himself.” Kyle admitted, he’d known that the Evans family had never known about Nick Parker’s suicide or that Liz had been the one to find him.
Tess’ mouth dropped open in shock. What? Liz Parker had a brother that killed himself? “You’re lying.” Tess said, shaking her head at his words.
Kyle shook his head. “No. Nick was the older brother you’d want to have. He always took Liz and me out to do things, despite that he was four years older than us. He was a great guy. But that February before you moved to town, Nick shot himself at home. Liz was there at the time, she found his body. She was thirteen years old at the time, Tessie. Afterwards, she withdrew from all of us, including me. She was always sad, she wouldn’t talk to anyone. Until Max came along.”
“I don’t know what it was about Max, that made Liz feel better. But he did. She looked happier with him. They just fit together; it was like they were supposed to be together at that moment in time. I think he helped heal her.” Kyle said softly, thinking back to what happened long ago. He’d envied Max at the time, Kyle always had a crush on Liz. In fact, she was the first girl that he had ever kissed when they were little. “You know, what it’s like to have your brother die, Tess? You went through the same thing.”
Tess gritted her teeth as her memories came rushing back to her. To before she had been adopted by Diane and Phillip Evans, when she’d had her big brother, Andy. It had been so long. So long.
***************
Five year old Tessie Hillard sat quietly in front of the television, watching her favorite TV show, Full House. Tessie laughed to herself as she watched young Stephanie accidentally cut off a lock of her Uncle Jesse’s hair. Just than Tessie’s eight year old brother, Andy picked up a toy car and began zooming it around the living room floor, making loud car noises. “Andy, be quiet.” Tessie cried.
“No!” he said, sticking his tongue out at her. “If you’re not going to let me see Miami Vice, than I’m gonna make a lot of noise.” he stuck his tongue out at her again.
Tessie frowned at him. “I’m gonna tell Daddy.” Tessie said, standing up, but just than she heard shouts coming from the kitchen where her parents were. Tessie put her hands over her ears. She hated it when her parents started fighting and saying mean things to each other. It scared her.
Andy scowled. “They’re fighting again.”
“Elliot Newman is my friend. Nothing more, Tommy. What are you doing? What are you doing?” Lauren Hillard exclaimed frightfully.
“Defending my manhood; something I should have done long ago.” Tom Hillard said calmly.
“Don’t, Tommy.” Lauren’s voice rose in fright. “Please Don’t. . . DON’T. . . No. . . NO!”
There was a loud, terrifying explosion. Tessie cowered on the floor, still covering her ears. She knew that something bad had happened. Something was wrong. Andy leaped up and began to walk to the kitchen.
Tessie took her hands off from her ears and looked at her brother. “Don’t go, Andy. Don’t leave me.” she whimpered, scared for her brother.
Andy shook his head at her. “I gotta go. I gotta go see.” he said running into the kitchen.
Tessie stayed on the floor in a fetal position. She heard her father yell something and then the sound of another loud explosion. Tessie threw her hands back over her ears as she began to cry. Mommy. Andy. Were they okay?
Suddenly her father was in the room. He had a wild look in his eyes. “Come on, pumpkin.” he said, as he pulled Tessie into his arms. Tessie saw that her Daddy’s eyes were red and scary looking; but she loved her father more than anything, so she didn’t argue with him. “Daddy, where are we going? Where’s Mommy and Andy?” she asked softly.
“Away.” he mumbled, carrying her through the kitchen.
Sprawled on the kitchen floor was Lauren Hillard, a thin spiral of smoking snaking out of the gaping hole in her chest; slumped by the door was Andy. The whole room was splashed in blood. “Daddy. Daddy! Mommy and Andy are hurt. They’re bleeding. They’re bleeding!”
***************
Tess shook her head, stopping her memories. She hated to remember how her mother and brother had died. What her father had done to them. Tess felt tears well up in her eyes. “I’m not going to her party. You can just take someone else with you. I hope that I never see her face again.” Tess said, walking into the break room.
“Good going, Valenti. Make her remember what happened to her family. You stupid fucking idiot.” Kyle berated himself. He hadn’t known that she would react as strongly as she had. He’d thought that if she’d known what happened to Liz, that she might feel sympathetic of Liz. Obviously, he had been wrong.
Now And Forever Ch.6
Chapter 6
Max Evans frowned as he walked into the Crashdown. Tess was walking around with a frown on her face. After nine years of growing up with her, he’d known that she didn’t frown a lot. She didn’t like to think about the bad things in life, and only frowned when something was really bothering her. Did she and Kyle have a fight, he wondered to himself. Tessie and Kyle didn’t fight very often; they’d been West Roswell’s All American couple.
Blonde cheerleader Tess and quarterback of the football team Kyle. Max envied what his sister had with Kyle. They didn’t have anything standing in the way of them being together. Their parents adored Kyle and Mr. Valenti thought Tess was a good influence on his son.
Max took his usual back booth and waited for his sister. Tess immediately came over to him, with a fake smile plastered on her face. “Hey, little brother. What can I get for you?”
Max smiled at her. She was not fooling him for one minute. “I’ll have a Sigourney Weaver burger, with Chili Orbit rings and a root beer.”
Tess jotted it down on her pad. She didn’t know if she should tell Max what she knew. That Liz was indeed coming back to town. She’d heard rumors about it, but Kyle had confirmed it for her. Tess wasn’t about to let Liz come anywhere Max and Jake. Max was doing his best to raise Jake, and Tess didn’t want Liz to come try to ruin it for her brother. Tess didn’t say anything to him, she walked over to the cook and handed him the paper. Tess walked back to her brother and sat down across from him. Since it was really dead, it wouldn’t matter if she sat down for awhile.
Max looked over his sister and wondered what was wrong with her. She was usually so talkative, something big must be bugging her. “What’s wrong, Tessie? Did you and Kyle have a fight or something?” he asked, softly gently touching her hand.
Tess meet her brother’s eyes. She knew that he had to know. That if they ever did run into Liz, that he wouldn’t tell her anything about Jake. Liz didn’t deserve to know about their son. Especially with Max finally getting custody of Jake after all these years. Their parents had thought that it was best if it appeared as though the Evans were raising him, instead of Max; since he’d been so young at the time. So legally Jake was their son, not Max’s. Max and their parents had talked about and they had decided long ago after Max graduated from high school, he was legally take responsibility for Jake. Now, since they had graduated, Tess didn’t want anything to get in the way of Max claiming Jake as his son. “Kyle asked me something.” she said simply.
Max’s eyes widened at her words. Was she saying that Kyle had proposed to her? He knew that Tess loved Kyle, but marriage. Were they ready for such a huge responsibility like that? “Did Kyle ask you to marry him or something?” Max asked.
Tess shook her head. “No, he didn’t ask me to marry him. As much as I love Kyle, I don’t think that we’re really ready for marriage. That’s a huge step in a relationship.” Tess said, shaking her head. Tess decided that it was best if Max did know that Liz was in town, she didn’t want him to be surprised if he ran into her on the street or anything. “Max, Liz is in town. I heard rumors that she was coming back. And Kyle confirmed it for me.”
Max was stunned into silence. Liz was back in town! The mother of his son was in town. The girl that he had been convinced was the love of his life was back in town. She wasn’t so far away from him anymore. She was in the same town as him and their son. “I— why is she back in town?” Max asked, quietly.
“Her parents are having a party for her 18th birthday. Only the rich, upper class have been invited to it. Kyle got his invitation and he asked me to go with him.” Tess paused for a moment, staring at her brother. He looked so shocked and a little scared by the news. “I’m not going! I told him that there was no way in hell I was going to be in the same room with her. After everything she did to you. I’m not going!” Tess declared.
Max didn’t know how he should feel about what she was telling him. He knew that she was just being loyal to him and Jake. Even though Max would never understand why Liz had given Jake up, he didn’t want Tess to blame Liz. Everything had gotten so messed up between him and Liz. One moment everything had been beautiful and perfect between them and the next thing he knew, Liz was telling him that she was pregnant. And then later on that night, the Parkers had angrily talked to his own parents, and Max could feel that they were disappointed in him so badly. That day at school had been the last time that he had ever seen Liz Parker.
“Tessie, I know that you’re angry at her for whatever reason you have. But really, everything that happened wasn’t her fault. I’m to blame, too. We thought that we were so mature, but we didn’t think about what could happen. I’m to blame as much as Liz is.” Max finally said.
Tess shook her head. “Kyle still thinks of her as the girl who’d been his childhood friend, and he refuses to see Liz for who she really is. She’s selfish. She gave up Jake. She went on with her life like nothing ever happened. Like she hadn’t had him. I will never ever forgive her for abandoning Jake. He deserves to have a mother, and he won’t.”
Max didn’t know how to respond to Tess’s words. She was right though, his son wouldn’t have a mother. Max seldom dated because he had always been so busy with trying to be a good father to Jake and working at the UFO Center. Frankly, Max could never imagine being in love with anyone other than Liz. She had been everything to him. He’d loved her so much that it hurt.
“Hey, guys.” Isabel said, walking out of the break room. She wasn’t surprised about seeing Max. He usually came to have lunch. Isabel frowned as she saw that Tess looked angry. Something must be bothering her. They were all pretty close, and Isabel knew when something was wrong with her sister. “What’s wrong, Tessie?” she asked, approaching the table.
Tess glanced over at Isabel and then looked back over to Max. “Do you want to tell her Max or should I tell her?” Tess asked her brother, softly.
Warning bells went off in Isabel’s head. What was going on? Had something happened to Jake or their parents? “What is? What happened? Is it Mom and Dad?” Isabel asked, worriedly.
Max bit his lip. He didn’t know how he was going to tell Isabel about Liz. Isabel would probably react the same way that Tess had reacted.
Tess saw that Max was struggling with what to say, so she decided to tell Isabel herself. “Liz is back in town, Isabel. She’s having her 18th birthday party;. Kyle was invited and he asked me to go with him. Can you believe him? If she comes anywhere near us, I will kick her ass.” Tess told Isabel angrily. Her brother and her nephew’s future was at stake here.
Isabel’s mouth fell open with the news. Liz Parker was back in town. Isabel knew that it was bound to happen one day, but she really hadn’t expected it to happen this soon. Isabel hadn’t seen Liz in four years, but Liz had definitely left her mark on the Evans family. Max would never be the same emotionally and he was trying to raise Jake all on his own. As for Jake, every time Isabel looked at him, she was staring into the dark eyes of Liz Parker. Jake’s eyes even had the same sadness that Liz’s had held. “I— what are you going to do, Max?” Isabel said, after she finally found her voice.
Max shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel. I don’t know. All I know is that I can’t let anything stand in the way of my getting Jake, legally. I— Jake knows what Liz looks like. If we ever ran into her on the streets, he’d know in a second that she was his mother.” Max said, softly. He was so confused about what he was supposed to do. If Liz did find out that he had Jake, could he really try to stop her from seeing him? Jake was her son as much as his.
Tess shook her head at his words. “You should never have shown him Liz’s picture. He loves the thought of having a mother. He doesn’t deserve to have one that is a self centered bitch.”
Max turned to his sister. “Tess, I’ve told you before. Don’t talk about Liz that way. I don’t care if you feel that way about Liz. But I don’t want to hear you bad mouthing her. It’s not going to change the fact that Liz is Jake’s mother. Nothing you say can change any of that. So shut up!” he said roughly, not caring if he hurt his sister’s feelings.
Max tuned his sister out. After three years of her bitching about Liz, he should be used to it. Sometimes he did agree with some of the stuff she said, while other times, he thought Tess was full of shit. He understood that Liz had been young, hell he had been young, too. They had just been kids. He knew that Liz’s mother didn’t like him, but he hadn’t cared about Mrs. Parker, because all that had mattered to him was Liz. In his heart, he knew that her parents wouldn’t have let her keep Jake, but sometimes he wondered if she had come to that decision on her own. If the allure of being just a normal kid, not a mother made her put him up for adoption.
Max could remember that last day he had seen her like it had been yesterday. It was permanently etched into his brain. He could still remember the shock in finding out that she was pregnant. He’d been stupid, thinking that everything would be alright. That he and Liz would raise their son together.
Max meet Liz at the Eraser Room. She had left him a note in his locker to meet here there. Max was a little surprised, he’d heard stories about what went on in there. Stories about people making out, having sex, all sorts of weird things. Max had never had the courage to ask Liz to meet him there. And suddenly, here she was asking him to meet her there.
Max opened the door slowly, glancing around making sure that no one was watching him. Max walked into the room and saw Liz sitting on one of the desks that was in the room. She didn’t even look up when he entered the room.
“Hey, Lizzie. Are you okay?” he asked softly, as he looked over her stiff posture. He figured out a long time ago, she only did that when something was bugging her.
Liz turned to him slowly, her brown eyes full of tears. She shook her head.
Max walked towards her until he held her in his arms. “What’s wrong? Is it your mom?” he asked. Sometimes she wouldn’t tell him what was bothering her. She’d just get all quiet and he could never get more than five words out of her.
Liz looked up from his chest where she had buried her head. Her bottom lip quivered for a moment. “Max, I’m pregnant. I think I’m about four months. Ever since that first time.” she said quietly, meeting his eyes.
For a moment, Max was speechless. But then it dawned on him. A baby. It was a part of both him and Liz. He looked down and meet her eyes. “Don’t worry, Liz. This is great. Now we can get married.”
Liz started laughing. “Max, we’re fourteen years old. Do you honestly think that our parents would allow for us to get married? We’re too young. We can’t!” Liz declared, shaking her head.
Max was troubled by her answers. He rubbed his forehead with one hand. “What are you going to do?” he asked, softly. He understood that they were young, but his parents knew that he loved Liz. Now they were going to have a baby.
Liz stepped away from his arms. “Do I have a choice? I have to go home and tell my parents. They’re not stupid. My mother’s already starting wondering why I haven’t had my period in months. Of course, she doesn’t know that we’ve been making love. If she did, she’d go crazy. She still thinks that I’m a little girl. I have to tell them. I have to!” Liz said, softly, even though she didn’t want to tell them at all.
“Do you want me to go with you?” Max asked. He really did want to be with her when she told them. After all, it was something big; it was their baby that they were talking about. The small life that they had created together. Max had the urge to protect Liz and their baby from her mother’s wrath. From what Liz had told him about her mother, she would respond badly to the news.
Liz shook her head. “No. That probably wouldn’t be a good idea. Mom would go insane. She doesn’t like you, remember. I gotta go, Max. I’m late for class.” Liz said softly. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and leaned up to kiss his mouth.
Max leaned down and kissed her mouth, his lips parting hers. They stayed locked together for moments, until Liz reluctantly drew away from him.
She edged towards the door. “I love you, Max Evans. Now and forever.” she said, softly before she ran out of the door leaving him there. Promising to himself, that one day he was going to make her, Elizabeth Parker his wife. Maybe not today, but one day.
Max Evans frowned as he walked into the Crashdown. Tess was walking around with a frown on her face. After nine years of growing up with her, he’d known that she didn’t frown a lot. She didn’t like to think about the bad things in life, and only frowned when something was really bothering her. Did she and Kyle have a fight, he wondered to himself. Tessie and Kyle didn’t fight very often; they’d been West Roswell’s All American couple.
Blonde cheerleader Tess and quarterback of the football team Kyle. Max envied what his sister had with Kyle. They didn’t have anything standing in the way of them being together. Their parents adored Kyle and Mr. Valenti thought Tess was a good influence on his son.
Max took his usual back booth and waited for his sister. Tess immediately came over to him, with a fake smile plastered on her face. “Hey, little brother. What can I get for you?”
Max smiled at her. She was not fooling him for one minute. “I’ll have a Sigourney Weaver burger, with Chili Orbit rings and a root beer.”
Tess jotted it down on her pad. She didn’t know if she should tell Max what she knew. That Liz was indeed coming back to town. She’d heard rumors about it, but Kyle had confirmed it for her. Tess wasn’t about to let Liz come anywhere Max and Jake. Max was doing his best to raise Jake, and Tess didn’t want Liz to come try to ruin it for her brother. Tess didn’t say anything to him, she walked over to the cook and handed him the paper. Tess walked back to her brother and sat down across from him. Since it was really dead, it wouldn’t matter if she sat down for awhile.
Max looked over his sister and wondered what was wrong with her. She was usually so talkative, something big must be bugging her. “What’s wrong, Tessie? Did you and Kyle have a fight or something?” he asked, softly gently touching her hand.
Tess meet her brother’s eyes. She knew that he had to know. That if they ever did run into Liz, that he wouldn’t tell her anything about Jake. Liz didn’t deserve to know about their son. Especially with Max finally getting custody of Jake after all these years. Their parents had thought that it was best if it appeared as though the Evans were raising him, instead of Max; since he’d been so young at the time. So legally Jake was their son, not Max’s. Max and their parents had talked about and they had decided long ago after Max graduated from high school, he was legally take responsibility for Jake. Now, since they had graduated, Tess didn’t want anything to get in the way of Max claiming Jake as his son. “Kyle asked me something.” she said simply.
Max’s eyes widened at her words. Was she saying that Kyle had proposed to her? He knew that Tess loved Kyle, but marriage. Were they ready for such a huge responsibility like that? “Did Kyle ask you to marry him or something?” Max asked.
Tess shook her head. “No, he didn’t ask me to marry him. As much as I love Kyle, I don’t think that we’re really ready for marriage. That’s a huge step in a relationship.” Tess said, shaking her head. Tess decided that it was best if Max did know that Liz was in town, she didn’t want him to be surprised if he ran into her on the street or anything. “Max, Liz is in town. I heard rumors that she was coming back. And Kyle confirmed it for me.”
Max was stunned into silence. Liz was back in town! The mother of his son was in town. The girl that he had been convinced was the love of his life was back in town. She wasn’t so far away from him anymore. She was in the same town as him and their son. “I— why is she back in town?” Max asked, quietly.
“Her parents are having a party for her 18th birthday. Only the rich, upper class have been invited to it. Kyle got his invitation and he asked me to go with him.” Tess paused for a moment, staring at her brother. He looked so shocked and a little scared by the news. “I’m not going! I told him that there was no way in hell I was going to be in the same room with her. After everything she did to you. I’m not going!” Tess declared.
Max didn’t know how he should feel about what she was telling him. He knew that she was just being loyal to him and Jake. Even though Max would never understand why Liz had given Jake up, he didn’t want Tess to blame Liz. Everything had gotten so messed up between him and Liz. One moment everything had been beautiful and perfect between them and the next thing he knew, Liz was telling him that she was pregnant. And then later on that night, the Parkers had angrily talked to his own parents, and Max could feel that they were disappointed in him so badly. That day at school had been the last time that he had ever seen Liz Parker.
“Tessie, I know that you’re angry at her for whatever reason you have. But really, everything that happened wasn’t her fault. I’m to blame, too. We thought that we were so mature, but we didn’t think about what could happen. I’m to blame as much as Liz is.” Max finally said.
Tess shook her head. “Kyle still thinks of her as the girl who’d been his childhood friend, and he refuses to see Liz for who she really is. She’s selfish. She gave up Jake. She went on with her life like nothing ever happened. Like she hadn’t had him. I will never ever forgive her for abandoning Jake. He deserves to have a mother, and he won’t.”
Max didn’t know how to respond to Tess’s words. She was right though, his son wouldn’t have a mother. Max seldom dated because he had always been so busy with trying to be a good father to Jake and working at the UFO Center. Frankly, Max could never imagine being in love with anyone other than Liz. She had been everything to him. He’d loved her so much that it hurt.
“Hey, guys.” Isabel said, walking out of the break room. She wasn’t surprised about seeing Max. He usually came to have lunch. Isabel frowned as she saw that Tess looked angry. Something must be bothering her. They were all pretty close, and Isabel knew when something was wrong with her sister. “What’s wrong, Tessie?” she asked, approaching the table.
Tess glanced over at Isabel and then looked back over to Max. “Do you want to tell her Max or should I tell her?” Tess asked her brother, softly.
Warning bells went off in Isabel’s head. What was going on? Had something happened to Jake or their parents? “What is? What happened? Is it Mom and Dad?” Isabel asked, worriedly.
Max bit his lip. He didn’t know how he was going to tell Isabel about Liz. Isabel would probably react the same way that Tess had reacted.
Tess saw that Max was struggling with what to say, so she decided to tell Isabel herself. “Liz is back in town, Isabel. She’s having her 18th birthday party;. Kyle was invited and he asked me to go with him. Can you believe him? If she comes anywhere near us, I will kick her ass.” Tess told Isabel angrily. Her brother and her nephew’s future was at stake here.
Isabel’s mouth fell open with the news. Liz Parker was back in town. Isabel knew that it was bound to happen one day, but she really hadn’t expected it to happen this soon. Isabel hadn’t seen Liz in four years, but Liz had definitely left her mark on the Evans family. Max would never be the same emotionally and he was trying to raise Jake all on his own. As for Jake, every time Isabel looked at him, she was staring into the dark eyes of Liz Parker. Jake’s eyes even had the same sadness that Liz’s had held. “I— what are you going to do, Max?” Isabel said, after she finally found her voice.
Max shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel. I don’t know. All I know is that I can’t let anything stand in the way of my getting Jake, legally. I— Jake knows what Liz looks like. If we ever ran into her on the streets, he’d know in a second that she was his mother.” Max said, softly. He was so confused about what he was supposed to do. If Liz did find out that he had Jake, could he really try to stop her from seeing him? Jake was her son as much as his.
Tess shook her head at his words. “You should never have shown him Liz’s picture. He loves the thought of having a mother. He doesn’t deserve to have one that is a self centered bitch.”
Max turned to his sister. “Tess, I’ve told you before. Don’t talk about Liz that way. I don’t care if you feel that way about Liz. But I don’t want to hear you bad mouthing her. It’s not going to change the fact that Liz is Jake’s mother. Nothing you say can change any of that. So shut up!” he said roughly, not caring if he hurt his sister’s feelings.
Max tuned his sister out. After three years of her bitching about Liz, he should be used to it. Sometimes he did agree with some of the stuff she said, while other times, he thought Tess was full of shit. He understood that Liz had been young, hell he had been young, too. They had just been kids. He knew that Liz’s mother didn’t like him, but he hadn’t cared about Mrs. Parker, because all that had mattered to him was Liz. In his heart, he knew that her parents wouldn’t have let her keep Jake, but sometimes he wondered if she had come to that decision on her own. If the allure of being just a normal kid, not a mother made her put him up for adoption.
Max could remember that last day he had seen her like it had been yesterday. It was permanently etched into his brain. He could still remember the shock in finding out that she was pregnant. He’d been stupid, thinking that everything would be alright. That he and Liz would raise their son together.
Max meet Liz at the Eraser Room. She had left him a note in his locker to meet here there. Max was a little surprised, he’d heard stories about what went on in there. Stories about people making out, having sex, all sorts of weird things. Max had never had the courage to ask Liz to meet him there. And suddenly, here she was asking him to meet her there.
Max opened the door slowly, glancing around making sure that no one was watching him. Max walked into the room and saw Liz sitting on one of the desks that was in the room. She didn’t even look up when he entered the room.
“Hey, Lizzie. Are you okay?” he asked softly, as he looked over her stiff posture. He figured out a long time ago, she only did that when something was bugging her.
Liz turned to him slowly, her brown eyes full of tears. She shook her head.
Max walked towards her until he held her in his arms. “What’s wrong? Is it your mom?” he asked. Sometimes she wouldn’t tell him what was bothering her. She’d just get all quiet and he could never get more than five words out of her.
Liz looked up from his chest where she had buried her head. Her bottom lip quivered for a moment. “Max, I’m pregnant. I think I’m about four months. Ever since that first time.” she said quietly, meeting his eyes.
For a moment, Max was speechless. But then it dawned on him. A baby. It was a part of both him and Liz. He looked down and meet her eyes. “Don’t worry, Liz. This is great. Now we can get married.”
Liz started laughing. “Max, we’re fourteen years old. Do you honestly think that our parents would allow for us to get married? We’re too young. We can’t!” Liz declared, shaking her head.
Max was troubled by her answers. He rubbed his forehead with one hand. “What are you going to do?” he asked, softly. He understood that they were young, but his parents knew that he loved Liz. Now they were going to have a baby.
Liz stepped away from his arms. “Do I have a choice? I have to go home and tell my parents. They’re not stupid. My mother’s already starting wondering why I haven’t had my period in months. Of course, she doesn’t know that we’ve been making love. If she did, she’d go crazy. She still thinks that I’m a little girl. I have to tell them. I have to!” Liz said, softly, even though she didn’t want to tell them at all.
“Do you want me to go with you?” Max asked. He really did want to be with her when she told them. After all, it was something big; it was their baby that they were talking about. The small life that they had created together. Max had the urge to protect Liz and their baby from her mother’s wrath. From what Liz had told him about her mother, she would respond badly to the news.
Liz shook her head. “No. That probably wouldn’t be a good idea. Mom would go insane. She doesn’t like you, remember. I gotta go, Max. I’m late for class.” Liz said softly. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and leaned up to kiss his mouth.
Max leaned down and kissed her mouth, his lips parting hers. They stayed locked together for moments, until Liz reluctantly drew away from him.
She edged towards the door. “I love you, Max Evans. Now and forever.” she said, softly before she ran out of the door leaving him there. Promising to himself, that one day he was going to make her, Elizabeth Parker his wife. Maybe not today, but one day.
Now And Forever CH.7
Chapter 7
Dear Max,
Hi seems like such a trivial thing to say to you after everything we shared. Granted, that was several years ago, but I never forgot any of it. This is the 437th letter that I have written to you that you’ll probably never receive.
I’ve been home for not even a full day, and I already want to leave. Being in this house brings back all of my memories of Nick. He was such a great older brother and I miss him more than anything. Almost as much as I miss our baby.
I never even got to see him. The nurse wouldn’t let me. But she told me that he had jet black hair. I knew it was like yours. I do have a picture of him though. I carry that picture around with me everywhere. He looks so much like you and that thought alone makes me so happy. Our son’s going to look like you. He probably already does.
Not a day of my life goes by that I don’t think of our son. Despite my fantasies of keeping him and us being a family, I know it won’t come true. I don’t deserve our son after I abandoned him.
I hope that you can forgive me one day for all of the pain that I ever caused you.
Love Always,
Liz
Liz sighed as she signed the letter. She’d been doing this for years. Writing Max letters that he would never read. It actually felt great to write these letters to him. To get her feelings out on paper, of what was happening in her life, or when the pain of giving up their son caught up with her.
Now, all she needed was an envelope to put it in. Maybe she should buy stock in an envelope company, with all of the money that she spent on them, Liz thought wryly to herself. Liz opened her father’s desk drawer. She wasn’t supposed to go through his stuff. He had this rule, ‘I don’t go through your stuff, you don’t go through mine.’ But Liz could never help it.
Hmm, there wasn’t any in there, maybe he kept them in the bottom drawer, she thought to herself. Liz opened up the drawer and something caught her eye.
Wrapped up in a fine sapphire colored stationary were letters. More than one. Maybe about six. Looking over the letter, there was no return address on it. All of them were addressed to her father. Liz frowned, wondering who could have written to her father. Liz’s curiosity got the best of her and soon she was carefully opening up one of the letters.
Liz gasped as she quickly skimmed over the letter. OH MY GOD! NO! It couldn’t possibly be true. It couldn’t. But here it was in black and white. How could her father not have told her?
Her father had an affair with someone. He had a son with someone. She had a brother out there. A brother that she hadn’t known existed. Liz slammed her hand on the desk. She had a brother. A brother that could be dead for all she knew. But he could be alive. She had a brother!
Liz smiled to herself. Now, all she had to do was find him. His mother’s name was Michelle, no last name written; neither was her brother’s name. This Michelle woman just wrote our son. Could her brother be in Roswell? Was he older than her or younger? The letters looked faded, but she couldn’t be sure.
Liz heard the front door slam. Was that Alex and Maria? Where they back already? It was nearly four o’clock in the afternoon. Liz put the letter back into the envelope and placed them back into the drawer. Hopefully, her father wouldn’t notice it open. If he did, than she was just going to come clean to him. This was something big. She had a brother and if her brother was alive, then she was going to do everything in her power to find him. There was no way she was going to lose another one of her brothers.
Liz left her father’s study, rubbing her forehead. The day hadn’t been a total nightmare. She hadn’t seen Chantal, her mother’s designer in years and it had been good seeing her again. Chantal was nice. Liz had to admit that she liked the dress that she was going to wear to the party. Chantal had said that Liz was going to be a modern Audrey Hepburn.
Liz closed the door to her father’s study and ran straight into her mother, who she had been trying to avoid. “So sorry, Mother. I didn’t see you.” Liz said, giving Nancy a fake smile, suppressing her urge of rolling her eyes at her mother.
Nancy cocked an eyebrow at Liz. “Yes, well I was looking for you. I arranged for you to have dinner with Brad Wentworth. He’s coming to pick you up at 7:00 o’clock.” Nancy informed her daughter. Brad Wentworth was a part of her plan. His family was a close second as the richest in Roswell. He had also been Nick’s friend and knew Liz, though they hadn’t seen each other in years. Brad Wentworth seemed like perfect husband material.
“Brad!” Liz exclaimed. She had known Brad Wentworth since she was a little girl. He had been Nick’s best friend; he had sat right beside her at Nick’s funeral. He had given her, her first drink right after the funeral. What the hell was her mother thinking? Arranging for her to have dinner with him? “You made me ditch Alex and Maria earlier, so I could get fitted for my dress, and now you want me to ditch them so I can have dinner with Brad? I don’t think so! I’m not about to ditch them again.” Liz stated. She didn’t care what her mother was going to tell her. She wasn’t going to.
Nancy took a step closer to Liz. “Oh, yes you are. Brad is going out of his way to make you feel at home in Roswell. You are going!” Nancy declared, not caring about what Liz was whining about. Nothing and no one would change her plans.
Liz gritted her teeth. “Can you give me Brad’s number so I can call him?” she said after a while. She was just going to have to call Brad herself and tell him about her friends. She was not going to ditch them!
Nancy handed Liz the phone number, not really caring what Liz would do with the number. Liz was such a problem child. She couldn’t do anything right. “You better not cancel dinner with him. You understand!”
“I understand, Mother. I need to ask him where we’re going.” Liz said, as she walked away from her mother. Bitch, Liz thought to herself. No wonder her father had an affair. Liz walked into the massive living room. Alex and Maria were sitting on the couch, with several bags on the floor.
Liz smiled at them. “Hey, guys. Did you guys have fun?” she asked, taking a seat besides them. Maybe she should just call Brad and tell him to forget about going out. All Liz wanted to do was go to bed and pull the covers over her head. Her mother was driving her insane.
Maria grinned. “Oh, yeah. I meet the cutest guy. His name is Michael. He’s just yummy.” Maria said, thinking about Michael.
Liz was truly happy that her friend had found someone; though Liz knew that it wouldn’t be a long relationship. Maria didn’t like serious, commitment relationships. The one and only time that she had tried it with Billy, he’d freaked when Maria told him what that son of a bitch stepfather did to her. “My mother decided to arranged for me to go out to dinner with an old friend of my brothers, Brad Wentworth. I was thinking that we all could go out, maybe go out to a club. I’m not going to ditch you tonight. “
Alex threw his arm around Liz’s shoulder. “Ah, Lizzie. You are the best. We can go to a club, maybe I’ll run into my beautiful Isabel. Maria can call this Michael fellow. We can have some fun, and forget about our problems for a few hours. Just have lots and lots of fun.”
“That is a spectacular idea, Liz. Get something to eat, than go clubbing. Michael told me that if we were going to go to any clubs, we should go to the Blue Moon.” Maria injected happily. Maria wanted her friend to be happy, and she knew that Liz wouldn’t be happy here in Roswell. As soon as the party was over, they were getting the hell out of dodge. Liz would no longer be under her parent’s thumb. Liz would be a millionaire, and Maria knew that Liz would probably tell her mother to stick it where the sun don’t shine. Maria wanted to see that happen.
Liz nodded her head. “So, that’s fine with you guys. I’ll call Brad and tell him, that it’s all of us or none of us.” At Alex and Maria’s nods, she stood up and walked to the telephone on the glass counter against the wall. Picking up the phone, she quickly punched in the number.
“Hello?” A masculine voice asked.
“Hi, this is Liz Parker. Can I speak to Brad?” Liz asked softly. She hadn’t seen Brad in a long time. She’d liked him a lot, he had been Nick’s best friend. But Liz reminded herself that Brad was the one that had given her first drink. She couldn’t go down that road again. She couldn’t start drinking again. It had almost killed her and she wasn’t going to let that happen.
“Hey, Liz. It’s Brad. How are you? Your mom asked me to help you get back in the groove of things in good old Roswell. How does dinner at Anton’s sound?” Brad asked, softly.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. My mother forgot to mention to you that my two very best friends, Alex and Maria came home with me. I don’t feel right leaving them all night. So, I was hoping that the four of us could go get something to eat and than go to a club. Maria mentioned a club called Blue Moon.” Liz explained to Brad.
“I totally understand. My mom’s the same way. Yeah, we can go get something to eat at Barney’s Burger Barn and than swing over to Blue Moon. You know, it’s an 18 older club. You’re still 17, right? I can get you in anyway, don’t worry about it.” Brad assured her.
Liz gave a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Brad. You wanna pick us up at 8:00?” she asked.
“8:00's fine. Tell Alex and Maria I’m looking forward to meeting them. I’ll see you, later.” Brad said, hanging up the phone.
Liz turned around and gave Alex and Maria the thumbs-up. “Everything’s fine. He’s going to pick us up at 8:00, we’re going to get burgers and go to Blue Moon. Make sure you bring your ID’s. It’s 18 and older club. But Brad says he’ll get me in. Hmm, what are we going to wear?” she wondered. Dancing usually helped her when she was frustrated over something. She wouldn’t listen to anything but the music. She’d immerse herself in it, she’d forget all of her problems. Forget about her mother. Forget about her unknown brother out there. Forget all about Max Evans, and their son. Forget all about her disastrous relationship with Christian Gorman. Forget everything.
“I don’t know.” Maria said, waving her hands in the air. First, she was going to call Michael. Maybe if things went okay with him, she wouldn’t be coming home with Liz and Alex. Maria walked over to the telephone, holding Milton’s book. She quickly dialed his number and waited anxiously.
“Yeah, what da ya want?” A voice answered.
Maria rolled her eyes at his words. Men, she thought. “Is this that sexy man I meet at the bookstore earlier. The one with the great ass?” Maria asked, running her fingers lightly over the table.
Michael sat up from his position from the couch at his apartment. He hadn’t expected her to phone him so soon. “Hey, Maria. I’d recognize your voice anywhere.” He said, laying on the charm.
Maria grinned. “We’re going to go to the club after all, Blue Moon. How ‘bout you meet me there. Say about 10:00?” she said, softly, licking her lips.
“That’s great. I’ll meet you. Will your friends miss you if you don’t go home with them?” Michael asked.
“No, they wouldn’t. I’ll wear my favorite lingerie for you, Michael. See you tonight, baby.” Maria, said hanging the phone up.
“Maria DeLuca, you are one bad girl.” Alex said, laughingly. He could only guess how this Michael guy reacted to the what she had said.
Maria grabbed her friends by their arms, and began dragging them out of the room. “Come on, guys. We need to find what we’re going to wear. Alex, you’re going to be wearing some leather pants. Girls are always so horny for guys in leather.” she said, leading them upstairs.
Dear Max,
Hi seems like such a trivial thing to say to you after everything we shared. Granted, that was several years ago, but I never forgot any of it. This is the 437th letter that I have written to you that you’ll probably never receive.
I’ve been home for not even a full day, and I already want to leave. Being in this house brings back all of my memories of Nick. He was such a great older brother and I miss him more than anything. Almost as much as I miss our baby.
I never even got to see him. The nurse wouldn’t let me. But she told me that he had jet black hair. I knew it was like yours. I do have a picture of him though. I carry that picture around with me everywhere. He looks so much like you and that thought alone makes me so happy. Our son’s going to look like you. He probably already does.
Not a day of my life goes by that I don’t think of our son. Despite my fantasies of keeping him and us being a family, I know it won’t come true. I don’t deserve our son after I abandoned him.
I hope that you can forgive me one day for all of the pain that I ever caused you.
Love Always,
Liz
Liz sighed as she signed the letter. She’d been doing this for years. Writing Max letters that he would never read. It actually felt great to write these letters to him. To get her feelings out on paper, of what was happening in her life, or when the pain of giving up their son caught up with her.
Now, all she needed was an envelope to put it in. Maybe she should buy stock in an envelope company, with all of the money that she spent on them, Liz thought wryly to herself. Liz opened her father’s desk drawer. She wasn’t supposed to go through his stuff. He had this rule, ‘I don’t go through your stuff, you don’t go through mine.’ But Liz could never help it.
Hmm, there wasn’t any in there, maybe he kept them in the bottom drawer, she thought to herself. Liz opened up the drawer and something caught her eye.
Wrapped up in a fine sapphire colored stationary were letters. More than one. Maybe about six. Looking over the letter, there was no return address on it. All of them were addressed to her father. Liz frowned, wondering who could have written to her father. Liz’s curiosity got the best of her and soon she was carefully opening up one of the letters.
Liz gasped as she quickly skimmed over the letter. OH MY GOD! NO! It couldn’t possibly be true. It couldn’t. But here it was in black and white. How could her father not have told her?
Her father had an affair with someone. He had a son with someone. She had a brother out there. A brother that she hadn’t known existed. Liz slammed her hand on the desk. She had a brother. A brother that could be dead for all she knew. But he could be alive. She had a brother!
Liz smiled to herself. Now, all she had to do was find him. His mother’s name was Michelle, no last name written; neither was her brother’s name. This Michelle woman just wrote our son. Could her brother be in Roswell? Was he older than her or younger? The letters looked faded, but she couldn’t be sure.
Liz heard the front door slam. Was that Alex and Maria? Where they back already? It was nearly four o’clock in the afternoon. Liz put the letter back into the envelope and placed them back into the drawer. Hopefully, her father wouldn’t notice it open. If he did, than she was just going to come clean to him. This was something big. She had a brother and if her brother was alive, then she was going to do everything in her power to find him. There was no way she was going to lose another one of her brothers.
Liz left her father’s study, rubbing her forehead. The day hadn’t been a total nightmare. She hadn’t seen Chantal, her mother’s designer in years and it had been good seeing her again. Chantal was nice. Liz had to admit that she liked the dress that she was going to wear to the party. Chantal had said that Liz was going to be a modern Audrey Hepburn.
Liz closed the door to her father’s study and ran straight into her mother, who she had been trying to avoid. “So sorry, Mother. I didn’t see you.” Liz said, giving Nancy a fake smile, suppressing her urge of rolling her eyes at her mother.
Nancy cocked an eyebrow at Liz. “Yes, well I was looking for you. I arranged for you to have dinner with Brad Wentworth. He’s coming to pick you up at 7:00 o’clock.” Nancy informed her daughter. Brad Wentworth was a part of her plan. His family was a close second as the richest in Roswell. He had also been Nick’s friend and knew Liz, though they hadn’t seen each other in years. Brad Wentworth seemed like perfect husband material.
“Brad!” Liz exclaimed. She had known Brad Wentworth since she was a little girl. He had been Nick’s best friend; he had sat right beside her at Nick’s funeral. He had given her, her first drink right after the funeral. What the hell was her mother thinking? Arranging for her to have dinner with him? “You made me ditch Alex and Maria earlier, so I could get fitted for my dress, and now you want me to ditch them so I can have dinner with Brad? I don’t think so! I’m not about to ditch them again.” Liz stated. She didn’t care what her mother was going to tell her. She wasn’t going to.
Nancy took a step closer to Liz. “Oh, yes you are. Brad is going out of his way to make you feel at home in Roswell. You are going!” Nancy declared, not caring about what Liz was whining about. Nothing and no one would change her plans.
Liz gritted her teeth. “Can you give me Brad’s number so I can call him?” she said after a while. She was just going to have to call Brad herself and tell him about her friends. She was not going to ditch them!
Nancy handed Liz the phone number, not really caring what Liz would do with the number. Liz was such a problem child. She couldn’t do anything right. “You better not cancel dinner with him. You understand!”
“I understand, Mother. I need to ask him where we’re going.” Liz said, as she walked away from her mother. Bitch, Liz thought to herself. No wonder her father had an affair. Liz walked into the massive living room. Alex and Maria were sitting on the couch, with several bags on the floor.
Liz smiled at them. “Hey, guys. Did you guys have fun?” she asked, taking a seat besides them. Maybe she should just call Brad and tell him to forget about going out. All Liz wanted to do was go to bed and pull the covers over her head. Her mother was driving her insane.
Maria grinned. “Oh, yeah. I meet the cutest guy. His name is Michael. He’s just yummy.” Maria said, thinking about Michael.
Liz was truly happy that her friend had found someone; though Liz knew that it wouldn’t be a long relationship. Maria didn’t like serious, commitment relationships. The one and only time that she had tried it with Billy, he’d freaked when Maria told him what that son of a bitch stepfather did to her. “My mother decided to arranged for me to go out to dinner with an old friend of my brothers, Brad Wentworth. I was thinking that we all could go out, maybe go out to a club. I’m not going to ditch you tonight. “
Alex threw his arm around Liz’s shoulder. “Ah, Lizzie. You are the best. We can go to a club, maybe I’ll run into my beautiful Isabel. Maria can call this Michael fellow. We can have some fun, and forget about our problems for a few hours. Just have lots and lots of fun.”
“That is a spectacular idea, Liz. Get something to eat, than go clubbing. Michael told me that if we were going to go to any clubs, we should go to the Blue Moon.” Maria injected happily. Maria wanted her friend to be happy, and she knew that Liz wouldn’t be happy here in Roswell. As soon as the party was over, they were getting the hell out of dodge. Liz would no longer be under her parent’s thumb. Liz would be a millionaire, and Maria knew that Liz would probably tell her mother to stick it where the sun don’t shine. Maria wanted to see that happen.
Liz nodded her head. “So, that’s fine with you guys. I’ll call Brad and tell him, that it’s all of us or none of us.” At Alex and Maria’s nods, she stood up and walked to the telephone on the glass counter against the wall. Picking up the phone, she quickly punched in the number.
“Hello?” A masculine voice asked.
“Hi, this is Liz Parker. Can I speak to Brad?” Liz asked softly. She hadn’t seen Brad in a long time. She’d liked him a lot, he had been Nick’s best friend. But Liz reminded herself that Brad was the one that had given her first drink. She couldn’t go down that road again. She couldn’t start drinking again. It had almost killed her and she wasn’t going to let that happen.
“Hey, Liz. It’s Brad. How are you? Your mom asked me to help you get back in the groove of things in good old Roswell. How does dinner at Anton’s sound?” Brad asked, softly.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. My mother forgot to mention to you that my two very best friends, Alex and Maria came home with me. I don’t feel right leaving them all night. So, I was hoping that the four of us could go get something to eat and than go to a club. Maria mentioned a club called Blue Moon.” Liz explained to Brad.
“I totally understand. My mom’s the same way. Yeah, we can go get something to eat at Barney’s Burger Barn and than swing over to Blue Moon. You know, it’s an 18 older club. You’re still 17, right? I can get you in anyway, don’t worry about it.” Brad assured her.
Liz gave a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Brad. You wanna pick us up at 8:00?” she asked.
“8:00's fine. Tell Alex and Maria I’m looking forward to meeting them. I’ll see you, later.” Brad said, hanging up the phone.
Liz turned around and gave Alex and Maria the thumbs-up. “Everything’s fine. He’s going to pick us up at 8:00, we’re going to get burgers and go to Blue Moon. Make sure you bring your ID’s. It’s 18 and older club. But Brad says he’ll get me in. Hmm, what are we going to wear?” she wondered. Dancing usually helped her when she was frustrated over something. She wouldn’t listen to anything but the music. She’d immerse herself in it, she’d forget all of her problems. Forget about her mother. Forget about her unknown brother out there. Forget all about Max Evans, and their son. Forget all about her disastrous relationship with Christian Gorman. Forget everything.
“I don’t know.” Maria said, waving her hands in the air. First, she was going to call Michael. Maybe if things went okay with him, she wouldn’t be coming home with Liz and Alex. Maria walked over to the telephone, holding Milton’s book. She quickly dialed his number and waited anxiously.
“Yeah, what da ya want?” A voice answered.
Maria rolled her eyes at his words. Men, she thought. “Is this that sexy man I meet at the bookstore earlier. The one with the great ass?” Maria asked, running her fingers lightly over the table.
Michael sat up from his position from the couch at his apartment. He hadn’t expected her to phone him so soon. “Hey, Maria. I’d recognize your voice anywhere.” He said, laying on the charm.
Maria grinned. “We’re going to go to the club after all, Blue Moon. How ‘bout you meet me there. Say about 10:00?” she said, softly, licking her lips.
“That’s great. I’ll meet you. Will your friends miss you if you don’t go home with them?” Michael asked.
“No, they wouldn’t. I’ll wear my favorite lingerie for you, Michael. See you tonight, baby.” Maria, said hanging the phone up.
“Maria DeLuca, you are one bad girl.” Alex said, laughingly. He could only guess how this Michael guy reacted to the what she had said.
Maria grabbed her friends by their arms, and began dragging them out of the room. “Come on, guys. We need to find what we’re going to wear. Alex, you’re going to be wearing some leather pants. Girls are always so horny for guys in leather.” she said, leading them upstairs.
Now And Forever CH.8
Chapter 8
“No, Michael. I’m not going. I have to go to work tomorrow. I can’t go to some club so you can get laid.” Max protested. Some times Max just didn’t understand his brother. Michael had became the Evans foster child shortly after Max had turned fifteen. Jake had been about three months old when Michael came to live with them. Michael didn’t like to talk about his past, but from what Max knew it had been bad.
“Come on, Maxwell. Live a little. You’re going to get custody in what a week? You need to have some fun before you go. It’s just a club. You can dance with some strange girl without telling her your life story. She’ll never have to know that you’re a teen father to a growing three year old.” Michael persisted, hoping that his brother would change his mind. Max needed to have more fun in his life. Max dated so seldom that it freaked Michael out. He knew that some of the kids at school had thought that Max was gay or something.
“I think, Michael’s right, Max. You do need to have some fun. You’re boring. You don’t do anything. But work and take care of Jake. You know, Mom and Dad love to watch Jake. He’s their grandson.” Tess injected, standing at the doorway with Isabel. She wanted her brother to have some fun in his life. She knew that when he legally got Jake, things were going to be different, harder.
“No. Come on, guys. I’m just going to stay home and read Jake a book. Watch a little TV, listen to music. That’s all. I don’t want to go out to any club.” Max insisted, shaking his head. Tess was right, he was boring. He didn’t do anything other than work, go to school and take care of Jake. Now, that he had finished high school, he was going to finally get his son. He could finally tell the whole world that he was Jake’s father. After three years of only the family knowing, everyone was going to know.
“Max. I actually think that Tess and Michael have a point. It actually does seem like a good idea to me.” Isabel started. She actually did want to go to the club with them. She wasn’t really the party type, but for some odd reason she felt compelled to go. “I won’t go if you don’t go, Max.” she said, quietly.
Max bit his lip. It wasn’t very often that Isabel went out. The three of them had been worried about her. Max wondered if it had anything to do with that Alex guy she had meet. Isabel had always been a shy child growing up. Max understood why his twin sister was that way. It was the same reason that he had been. Max had long ago realized just how much damage their father had done to them when they were children; Isabel especially. Max would do just about anything for his sisters. “Alright. I’ll go. Anything for my big sisters.” Max said with a smile.
Isabel threw her arms around her brother. “Thanks so much, Max. You don’t know what this means to me.” she said, softly. Isabel was doing what Tess and Michael had always urged her to do. She was testing her wings. She was a teenager, she wanted to have some fun. She hoped that she would see Alex again. He had stirred up so many emotions inside of her that it kind of scared her.
Tess grabbed Isabel’s arm and lead her back to their room, so they could find something nice to wear. Tess wanted to have some fun and not think about Liz Parker’s return to Roswell. Or Kyle being an idiot and asking her to go to Liz’s party. She wanted to have fun with her brothers and sisters; though Michael would be off having fun with that girl he meet, Tess though shaking her head. Michael was such a Don Juan; that had been his nickname in high school.
“Thanks, Maxwell. You’re gonna like Maria. She’s something else.” Michael said, thinking back to meeting her. Mmm, he wondered if her lips would be as soft as he thought. Michael shook his head. It wasn’t like him to get this way about a girl.
Max nodded his head. “Sure. Remember to be careful, Michael.” Max said, meeting his brother’s eyes. He loved his brother, and he didn’t want Michael to have to go through the same thing he had. Not for one second did Max regret Jake. But Max was not an idiot, it had been hard for him going to high school, trying to raise his son and work at the same time. Sometimes Max just wanted to forget all about going to college, but Max knew that he wouldn’t get anywhere without going to school and getting a degree.
Michael nodded at his brother’s words. He had seen how Max had struggled to juggle everything together. Michael didn’t think that he could have handled trying to raise a child on his own. Jake was a great kid, but Michael had no wishes of becoming a father himself. He knew that he wasn’t ready for such a huge responsibility like that. “Don’t worry, little brother. I always do. Besides, I think she’s from the city. So I would think she’s got her own stash of condoms.”
Michael could tell that Max was getting lost in his own little world. Liz land, Michael called it. Michael wished that he had meet the girl that had captured his brother’s heart. Of course, he’d seen pictures, the pictures that Max had given Jake so he could see what his mommy looked like. Michael saw something in Liz’s eyes that he understood. There was a sadness in them. Michael knew that feeling well.
Max laid down on his bed. Liz’s birthday was coming up soon, in a matter of days. She’d barely turned fourteen when they first made love. Max didn’t have a recent pictures of her, but he could imagine what she looked like. She probably got taller, and her hair would probably still be the same, long. He’d loved her long hair, he would bury his face in it. Her eyes would be the same, that beautiful chocolate brown color that he had loved. But would they still have the same sadness in them that she had before?
While he had loved her more than life itself, there were things that she never told him. He’d never known why her eyes held that sadness. Liz had told him some things about her mother, and Max hadn’t liked what he’d heard, but he had gotten the feeling that there was something more to the sadness inside of her. Max had never had the guts to tell her about his own father. It had hurt to think about it, and Isabel didn’t want anyone to know about what had happened.
“Daddy, I’m ready for my story.” Three year old Jake Evans said as he walked into the room, a smile on his face. Jake’s jet black hair was still damp from his bath and he was already dressed for bed.
Max jumped off of the bed and walked over to his small son. He loved Jake more than words. Jake was the best part of him and Liz.
“Hi, Uncle Mikey.” Jake cried in delight. “I didn’t know you were here.”
Michael smiled at his nephew. “Hey, little man. Did ya see the books I bought ya at the store. Gotta ya Poppleton and Curious George.”
Jake’s smile widened at the thought of the books. “Thanks, Uncle Mikey.” he said, giving Michael a hug.
Max smiled to himself. “You ready to read some of those books, Cowboy?” Max asked, his son calling him by the nickname Max had given him. Max had started calling him that because for Jake’s very first Halloween they had dressed him up as a little cowboy. He’d been eight months old at the time. “Come on, Cowboy.” Max said, holding out his hand.
Jake grabbed his father’s hand and they walked next door to Jake’s room. Jake jumped into his bed.
Max combed Jake’s damp hair neatly to one side, smiling at the adorable picture his son made. He smelled like baby shampoo and soap. His small body was warm and rosy from his bath. Max pulled the covers up close to his chin, his heart warming with love and pride as he looked down at his son.
He was a beautiful child, bright, curious and lovable. Jake was Max’s most prized possession, and although he often worried over him, Jake was his constant source of happiness.
“I love you, Daddy.”
Max’s heart constricted at Jake’s words. He looked into his little boy’s face, into his young eyes filled with innocent trust.
“I love you, too.”
“Do you think Mommy loves me?” Jake asked in a small voice.
Max bit the inside of his cheek, than he smiled. “Yes, I think that she loves you very much.” Pulling up a chair, he began to read one of the new books Michael had bought Jake. Before he’d turned to page three, Jake was asleep.
Max watched him sleep for a few minutes, then rose and wandered back into his room. Michael was still sitting at the chair at Max’s desk.
“Is the squirt asleep?” Michael asked, looking over at his brother. Michael had already picked out Max’s clothes for his brother. He knew that Max wouldn’t know what to wear to go to a club. The last time Max had actually been to one was when Michael had dragged him to a rave more than a year ago. “Come on man. Get dressed already.”
“Alright. Alright. Man, sometimes your just as bad as Isabel and Tess.” Max replied, giving Michael a mischievous grin. Max hated parties; he was only doing this for them. He wouldn’t have any fun at this stupid club; he’d probably just be hanging with Isabel. Tess would be off dancing with some guy, trying to forget all about her fight with Kyle earlier. And Michael would be off with that Maria he’d talked about.
But since Isabel seemed like she really wanted to go, than he was fine with that. Maybe Michael was right. He could have some fun. Dance with a girl and not have to tell her his life story, she’d never have to know that he was a teenage father. He wouldn’t have to think about Liz’s reappearance in Roswell. Maybe Michael was right for once.
“No, Michael. I’m not going. I have to go to work tomorrow. I can’t go to some club so you can get laid.” Max protested. Some times Max just didn’t understand his brother. Michael had became the Evans foster child shortly after Max had turned fifteen. Jake had been about three months old when Michael came to live with them. Michael didn’t like to talk about his past, but from what Max knew it had been bad.
“Come on, Maxwell. Live a little. You’re going to get custody in what a week? You need to have some fun before you go. It’s just a club. You can dance with some strange girl without telling her your life story. She’ll never have to know that you’re a teen father to a growing three year old.” Michael persisted, hoping that his brother would change his mind. Max needed to have more fun in his life. Max dated so seldom that it freaked Michael out. He knew that some of the kids at school had thought that Max was gay or something.
“I think, Michael’s right, Max. You do need to have some fun. You’re boring. You don’t do anything. But work and take care of Jake. You know, Mom and Dad love to watch Jake. He’s their grandson.” Tess injected, standing at the doorway with Isabel. She wanted her brother to have some fun in his life. She knew that when he legally got Jake, things were going to be different, harder.
“No. Come on, guys. I’m just going to stay home and read Jake a book. Watch a little TV, listen to music. That’s all. I don’t want to go out to any club.” Max insisted, shaking his head. Tess was right, he was boring. He didn’t do anything other than work, go to school and take care of Jake. Now, that he had finished high school, he was going to finally get his son. He could finally tell the whole world that he was Jake’s father. After three years of only the family knowing, everyone was going to know.
“Max. I actually think that Tess and Michael have a point. It actually does seem like a good idea to me.” Isabel started. She actually did want to go to the club with them. She wasn’t really the party type, but for some odd reason she felt compelled to go. “I won’t go if you don’t go, Max.” she said, quietly.
Max bit his lip. It wasn’t very often that Isabel went out. The three of them had been worried about her. Max wondered if it had anything to do with that Alex guy she had meet. Isabel had always been a shy child growing up. Max understood why his twin sister was that way. It was the same reason that he had been. Max had long ago realized just how much damage their father had done to them when they were children; Isabel especially. Max would do just about anything for his sisters. “Alright. I’ll go. Anything for my big sisters.” Max said with a smile.
Isabel threw her arms around her brother. “Thanks so much, Max. You don’t know what this means to me.” she said, softly. Isabel was doing what Tess and Michael had always urged her to do. She was testing her wings. She was a teenager, she wanted to have some fun. She hoped that she would see Alex again. He had stirred up so many emotions inside of her that it kind of scared her.
Tess grabbed Isabel’s arm and lead her back to their room, so they could find something nice to wear. Tess wanted to have some fun and not think about Liz Parker’s return to Roswell. Or Kyle being an idiot and asking her to go to Liz’s party. She wanted to have fun with her brothers and sisters; though Michael would be off having fun with that girl he meet, Tess though shaking her head. Michael was such a Don Juan; that had been his nickname in high school.
“Thanks, Maxwell. You’re gonna like Maria. She’s something else.” Michael said, thinking back to meeting her. Mmm, he wondered if her lips would be as soft as he thought. Michael shook his head. It wasn’t like him to get this way about a girl.
Max nodded his head. “Sure. Remember to be careful, Michael.” Max said, meeting his brother’s eyes. He loved his brother, and he didn’t want Michael to have to go through the same thing he had. Not for one second did Max regret Jake. But Max was not an idiot, it had been hard for him going to high school, trying to raise his son and work at the same time. Sometimes Max just wanted to forget all about going to college, but Max knew that he wouldn’t get anywhere without going to school and getting a degree.
Michael nodded at his brother’s words. He had seen how Max had struggled to juggle everything together. Michael didn’t think that he could have handled trying to raise a child on his own. Jake was a great kid, but Michael had no wishes of becoming a father himself. He knew that he wasn’t ready for such a huge responsibility like that. “Don’t worry, little brother. I always do. Besides, I think she’s from the city. So I would think she’s got her own stash of condoms.”
Michael could tell that Max was getting lost in his own little world. Liz land, Michael called it. Michael wished that he had meet the girl that had captured his brother’s heart. Of course, he’d seen pictures, the pictures that Max had given Jake so he could see what his mommy looked like. Michael saw something in Liz’s eyes that he understood. There was a sadness in them. Michael knew that feeling well.
Max laid down on his bed. Liz’s birthday was coming up soon, in a matter of days. She’d barely turned fourteen when they first made love. Max didn’t have a recent pictures of her, but he could imagine what she looked like. She probably got taller, and her hair would probably still be the same, long. He’d loved her long hair, he would bury his face in it. Her eyes would be the same, that beautiful chocolate brown color that he had loved. But would they still have the same sadness in them that she had before?
While he had loved her more than life itself, there were things that she never told him. He’d never known why her eyes held that sadness. Liz had told him some things about her mother, and Max hadn’t liked what he’d heard, but he had gotten the feeling that there was something more to the sadness inside of her. Max had never had the guts to tell her about his own father. It had hurt to think about it, and Isabel didn’t want anyone to know about what had happened.
“Daddy, I’m ready for my story.” Three year old Jake Evans said as he walked into the room, a smile on his face. Jake’s jet black hair was still damp from his bath and he was already dressed for bed.
Max jumped off of the bed and walked over to his small son. He loved Jake more than words. Jake was the best part of him and Liz.
“Hi, Uncle Mikey.” Jake cried in delight. “I didn’t know you were here.”
Michael smiled at his nephew. “Hey, little man. Did ya see the books I bought ya at the store. Gotta ya Poppleton and Curious George.”
Jake’s smile widened at the thought of the books. “Thanks, Uncle Mikey.” he said, giving Michael a hug.
Max smiled to himself. “You ready to read some of those books, Cowboy?” Max asked, his son calling him by the nickname Max had given him. Max had started calling him that because for Jake’s very first Halloween they had dressed him up as a little cowboy. He’d been eight months old at the time. “Come on, Cowboy.” Max said, holding out his hand.
Jake grabbed his father’s hand and they walked next door to Jake’s room. Jake jumped into his bed.
Max combed Jake’s damp hair neatly to one side, smiling at the adorable picture his son made. He smelled like baby shampoo and soap. His small body was warm and rosy from his bath. Max pulled the covers up close to his chin, his heart warming with love and pride as he looked down at his son.
He was a beautiful child, bright, curious and lovable. Jake was Max’s most prized possession, and although he often worried over him, Jake was his constant source of happiness.
“I love you, Daddy.”
Max’s heart constricted at Jake’s words. He looked into his little boy’s face, into his young eyes filled with innocent trust.
“I love you, too.”
“Do you think Mommy loves me?” Jake asked in a small voice.
Max bit the inside of his cheek, than he smiled. “Yes, I think that she loves you very much.” Pulling up a chair, he began to read one of the new books Michael had bought Jake. Before he’d turned to page three, Jake was asleep.
Max watched him sleep for a few minutes, then rose and wandered back into his room. Michael was still sitting at the chair at Max’s desk.
“Is the squirt asleep?” Michael asked, looking over at his brother. Michael had already picked out Max’s clothes for his brother. He knew that Max wouldn’t know what to wear to go to a club. The last time Max had actually been to one was when Michael had dragged him to a rave more than a year ago. “Come on man. Get dressed already.”
“Alright. Alright. Man, sometimes your just as bad as Isabel and Tess.” Max replied, giving Michael a mischievous grin. Max hated parties; he was only doing this for them. He wouldn’t have any fun at this stupid club; he’d probably just be hanging with Isabel. Tess would be off dancing with some guy, trying to forget all about her fight with Kyle earlier. And Michael would be off with that Maria he’d talked about.
But since Isabel seemed like she really wanted to go, than he was fine with that. Maybe Michael was right. He could have some fun. Dance with a girl and not have to tell her his life story, she’d never have to know that he was a teenage father. He wouldn’t have to think about Liz’s reappearance in Roswell. Maybe Michael was right for once.
Now And Forever CH.9
Chapter 9
“So, Liz thought that Jesse and I would be perfect together. Soul mates, she said. So I said sure, I’d like to meet him. We met for drinks. He kept staring at my breasts, instead of my face. Then I noticed that his fly was down. Well, he made a quick stop in the restroom, so I figured that he was going to solve the little problem. He comes back ten minutes later, his fly is still down. And I could see his dick through the opening of his boxers. That was too much. I just had to leave. I’d seen way too much of him.” Maria finished with a roll of her eyes, trying to talk over the loud music. Maria was having a great time. She felt ultra sexy in her black rubber bandeau top and a miniskirt with cutout hips. She couldn’t wait until Michael came.
The four of them laughed over Maria’s words. Liz had to admit that she was actually having fun with Brad. He’d picked the three of them up at five minutes before eight. Her mother had dragged her away from them so she could bitch about Liz’s outfit. Liz hadn’t thought that her outfit was trashy, like her mother said. She was wearing a beige nylon camisole and a black stretch lamé side slit skirt; just right for clubbing. Liz had told her mother that she hadn’t canceled so why should it matter to her mother. Than she’d just left her mother there, seething in her anger. Liz hadn’t cared. When she turned eighteen, she’d tell her mother to fuck off. She’d no longer be under her parents control, she’d have millions of dollars in the bank.
“Hey, he seemed like a nice guy when I meet him. I should’ve realized that they hadn’t called him the Italian stallion for nothing.” Liz said laughingly, thinking back to her first meeting of Jesse Rivera. Hmm, he had been looking at her breasts when she’d talk to him. Liz couldn’t remember why she had thought Jesse could be the guy for Maria.
Maria cocked an eyebrow at Liz. “Maybe I should have taken him for a ride.”
Alex groaned. “Eww. I so don’t need to hear that.” he declared, throwing a napkin at his friend. Alex looked over Brad Wentworth, he was older than they were. He was twenty two according to Liz. He seemed like a clean cut guy, brown hair, brown eyes. He seemed like an ideal guy for Liz. He’d made her laugh and smile. That was something that not that many people could do. Yes, Brad Wentworth seemed like a pretty decent guy.
A song ended and the deejay started another. The new beat was quicker, louder and vibrated through them.
“We gotta jump to this music.” Maria declared, jumping up from the table. She pulled Alex along with her and they started moving to the beat.
“You look great, Liz.” Brad said, meeting her eyes. “Your mother said that you were self conscious about your scars. They don’t look all that bad to me.”
Liz let out a throaty laugh. “I’m not self conscious about them. She is. She doesn’t seem to understand that one gets scars when they fly out of the windshield of a car. I tend to think of them as my war wounds.” Liz said, smiling at him. It’d been good to see him. Being here, talking to him, laughing with them made her feel close to her brother. Brad had been her brother’s best friend.
“Do you want to dance, Liz?” Brad asked, smiling at her. She was really beautiful, he hadn’t been lying to her when he said that her scars didn’t look bad. He could barely tell that they were there, except for the ones near her left eye and on her throat.
“I’d love to.” Liz said, standing up. They stood at the edge of the dance floor. The pulse of the music beat through her. Her feet found the rhythm and she started to dance. She lifted her hands. She liked the heat and sweat of dancing. It made her forget about everything rotten in her life.
********************
Michael, Max, Isabel and Tess walked into the large interior that had once been a ballroom. The pulses of the music made the floor vibrate as machines on both sides of the stage released mist into the room. The vapors caught the light show. Blue and red lasers pierced the air in time to the punk-rock beat.
As they walked around the crowded dance floor, guys turned and stared at Isabel and Tess. Max narrowed his eyes. He didn’t like them looking at his sisters that way. The music stopped and the deejay hopped back and forth on the stage.
“Raise the roof!” he shouted into a microphone. “Throw your hands up and raise the roof!”
Kids around them stopped dancing and lifted their hands to the ceiling in time to his beat. He built the energy up and then let industrial music pump against the wall. The music took over and everyone started dancing. Max tried to keep up with Michael, who was trying to get through the dancers. Max pushed past a couple who had gotten in his way.
Oh, shit, Max thought to himself. Michael, Isabel and Tess weren’t in front of him anymore. Max scanned around him, but couldn’t find them. Damn it, Max, you should have stayed home, he thought to himself as he continued walking toward the edge of the dance floor.
********************
A sultry smile crossed Maria’s lips as she caught sight of Michael coming towards her and Alex. He wasn’t bagged out like some of the other guys. He was wearing a black T-shirt, under a black leather jacket and black jeans. His hair had that spiky look that she liked.
Maria squeezed Alex’s arm. “He’s here, Alex.”
Michael cleared his throat as he stood next to the dancing couple. He gave Alex a smile. “Hope you don’t mind me cutting in.” he said, watching Maria.
Alex cocked an eyebrow at Maria. “No problem. See ya.” he said walking away from her.
“Let’s dance.” Maria said, licking her lips, desire evident in her face. She held her hands over her head. Her hips moved sinuous and slow. Michael placed his hands on her waist. She looked shyly into his eyes, then her hands twined the back of his neck.
“You look beautiful.” he said, as his fingers began to stroke her bare back. “I’m glad you called me.” He nestled his lips against the curve of her neck. His soft breath tickling her bare skin. His lips moved up her neck to her cheek, searching for her lips.
Adrenaline shot through her and her heart began pumping like crazy. Maria couldn’t deny her response to this guy even if she wanted to. She wanted him now. “Why don’t we go somewhere more private?” she said into his ear before he could kiss her.
********************
Isabel had managed to keep up with her sister as they walked through the crowd of dancers. But than Tess had ditched her so she could dance with some blonde haired guy. Isabel stayed at the edge of the dance floor, scanning the area for Max and Michael. They’d been right behind her, where’d they go, she wondered.
Just than a boy walked over to Isabel. She was instantly afraid of him. He appeared to be like any boy her age, but there was something creepy about the way he looked at her.
“You’re Isabel, right?” he said. “I’m Tim.” His eyes held frank sexual suggestion and kept returning to her breasts. He brushed an uninvited hand down her arm. His skin felt dry and thin like lizard skin. He stared at her as if there was something Isabel had that he wanted desperately.
She stepped away from him and bumped into another boy, tall with white-blonde hair and black roots. He smiled at her, lips curved in a crooked sort of way. His nose hoops shimmered. The strobe light made his thin face look haunted. He put his arm around her waist, fingers digging into her side.
She slapped away his unwanted fingers.
He laughed roughly. “Don’t you like me touching you?” He touched her again, his hand dangerously bold.
“Hey! She’s with me!” A voice declared.
Isabel looked up to see Alex. She looked at him grateful and surprised. She had been wondering how she was going to get out of this since she was all alone. Max and Michael were nowhere in sight and Tess was too busy dancing with that guy.
Tim sized up Alex. “Screw you, man. She wants to party with me.”
Alex narrowed his eyes at the guy. “She’s with me. Don’t fuck with me.” he said dangerously, as he drew Isabel to his side and onto the dance floor. “Are you okay?” he asked, as he curled his arms around Isabel. He had left Maria with that Michael guy and had wandered back over to where Liz and Brad should have been. But they weren’t there. Alex had finally seen them dancing. He’d been happy to see Liz smiling and having fun, than he had seen Isabel being harassed by that blonde punk and Alex had stepped forward.
Isabel sighed. “I’m fine. I was with my brothers and sister, and I lost my brothers in the crowd. Tessie is dancing with some guy. I didn’t know what I was going to do about those guys.” she replied. She had never been this close to a guy before. She hadn’t known that it would feel this good.
A couple bumped into them and Isabel fell hard against his body. Alex’s arms tightened around and kept her there. The music became more frenzied and the kids around them began to dance more wildly, but Alex and Isabel stood motionless, holding each other. With his hands, he cupped her face, sending a shiver through her. Then he closed his eyes and he kissed her, his lips soft on hers.
Her lips parted as if they had kissed him before and than his tongue brushed lazily across her lips.
Too many dangerous emotions swirled around her. She felt disgust with herself for wanting him so desperately. She tried to stop the aching need that spread through her body. But it all felt so right. It felt so right to be in his arms.
***********************
Liz laughed as she and Brad dragged themselves away from the dance floor. She had to admit that she was having a lot of fun. But than again, dancing had always done that for her. “Do you know what time it is?” Liz asked, over the music.
Brad held out his arm for her, showing her the time. 10:25. Brad and Liz stood against the wall, watching as the people danced. Brad wanted to kiss her so badly. He pressed his body next to hers, his hand curling tightly around her waist. She felt his breath on her lips. “I’m going to kiss you, Liz.” he said.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked. She didn’t want an answer; she wanted him to kiss her. His lips were inches away from hers. She boldly put her arms around his neck.
He smiled and looked down at her, taking his time and making her anxious with anticipation. Then he pressed his lips to hers. A jolt of pleasure rushed throughout her body. His hands traced up her back.
“That was nice.” she said softly, as he drew away from her. It had been ten months since any man had kissed her. This was Brad, her brother’s best friend. The guy who had helped change her life by giving her that first shot of vodka after Nick’s funeral. “I gotta find Maria and Alex.” she said, moving away from him, scanning the dance floor.
Had Maria meet up with Michael after all, and where the hell was Alex? Liz gasped as she saw the young man staring at her. Not more than five feet away stood Max Evans.
“So, Liz thought that Jesse and I would be perfect together. Soul mates, she said. So I said sure, I’d like to meet him. We met for drinks. He kept staring at my breasts, instead of my face. Then I noticed that his fly was down. Well, he made a quick stop in the restroom, so I figured that he was going to solve the little problem. He comes back ten minutes later, his fly is still down. And I could see his dick through the opening of his boxers. That was too much. I just had to leave. I’d seen way too much of him.” Maria finished with a roll of her eyes, trying to talk over the loud music. Maria was having a great time. She felt ultra sexy in her black rubber bandeau top and a miniskirt with cutout hips. She couldn’t wait until Michael came.
The four of them laughed over Maria’s words. Liz had to admit that she was actually having fun with Brad. He’d picked the three of them up at five minutes before eight. Her mother had dragged her away from them so she could bitch about Liz’s outfit. Liz hadn’t thought that her outfit was trashy, like her mother said. She was wearing a beige nylon camisole and a black stretch lamé side slit skirt; just right for clubbing. Liz had told her mother that she hadn’t canceled so why should it matter to her mother. Than she’d just left her mother there, seething in her anger. Liz hadn’t cared. When she turned eighteen, she’d tell her mother to fuck off. She’d no longer be under her parents control, she’d have millions of dollars in the bank.
“Hey, he seemed like a nice guy when I meet him. I should’ve realized that they hadn’t called him the Italian stallion for nothing.” Liz said laughingly, thinking back to her first meeting of Jesse Rivera. Hmm, he had been looking at her breasts when she’d talk to him. Liz couldn’t remember why she had thought Jesse could be the guy for Maria.
Maria cocked an eyebrow at Liz. “Maybe I should have taken him for a ride.”
Alex groaned. “Eww. I so don’t need to hear that.” he declared, throwing a napkin at his friend. Alex looked over Brad Wentworth, he was older than they were. He was twenty two according to Liz. He seemed like a clean cut guy, brown hair, brown eyes. He seemed like an ideal guy for Liz. He’d made her laugh and smile. That was something that not that many people could do. Yes, Brad Wentworth seemed like a pretty decent guy.
A song ended and the deejay started another. The new beat was quicker, louder and vibrated through them.
“We gotta jump to this music.” Maria declared, jumping up from the table. She pulled Alex along with her and they started moving to the beat.
“You look great, Liz.” Brad said, meeting her eyes. “Your mother said that you were self conscious about your scars. They don’t look all that bad to me.”
Liz let out a throaty laugh. “I’m not self conscious about them. She is. She doesn’t seem to understand that one gets scars when they fly out of the windshield of a car. I tend to think of them as my war wounds.” Liz said, smiling at him. It’d been good to see him. Being here, talking to him, laughing with them made her feel close to her brother. Brad had been her brother’s best friend.
“Do you want to dance, Liz?” Brad asked, smiling at her. She was really beautiful, he hadn’t been lying to her when he said that her scars didn’t look bad. He could barely tell that they were there, except for the ones near her left eye and on her throat.
“I’d love to.” Liz said, standing up. They stood at the edge of the dance floor. The pulse of the music beat through her. Her feet found the rhythm and she started to dance. She lifted her hands. She liked the heat and sweat of dancing. It made her forget about everything rotten in her life.
********************
Michael, Max, Isabel and Tess walked into the large interior that had once been a ballroom. The pulses of the music made the floor vibrate as machines on both sides of the stage released mist into the room. The vapors caught the light show. Blue and red lasers pierced the air in time to the punk-rock beat.
As they walked around the crowded dance floor, guys turned and stared at Isabel and Tess. Max narrowed his eyes. He didn’t like them looking at his sisters that way. The music stopped and the deejay hopped back and forth on the stage.
“Raise the roof!” he shouted into a microphone. “Throw your hands up and raise the roof!”
Kids around them stopped dancing and lifted their hands to the ceiling in time to his beat. He built the energy up and then let industrial music pump against the wall. The music took over and everyone started dancing. Max tried to keep up with Michael, who was trying to get through the dancers. Max pushed past a couple who had gotten in his way.
Oh, shit, Max thought to himself. Michael, Isabel and Tess weren’t in front of him anymore. Max scanned around him, but couldn’t find them. Damn it, Max, you should have stayed home, he thought to himself as he continued walking toward the edge of the dance floor.
********************
A sultry smile crossed Maria’s lips as she caught sight of Michael coming towards her and Alex. He wasn’t bagged out like some of the other guys. He was wearing a black T-shirt, under a black leather jacket and black jeans. His hair had that spiky look that she liked.
Maria squeezed Alex’s arm. “He’s here, Alex.”
Michael cleared his throat as he stood next to the dancing couple. He gave Alex a smile. “Hope you don’t mind me cutting in.” he said, watching Maria.
Alex cocked an eyebrow at Maria. “No problem. See ya.” he said walking away from her.
“Let’s dance.” Maria said, licking her lips, desire evident in her face. She held her hands over her head. Her hips moved sinuous and slow. Michael placed his hands on her waist. She looked shyly into his eyes, then her hands twined the back of his neck.
“You look beautiful.” he said, as his fingers began to stroke her bare back. “I’m glad you called me.” He nestled his lips against the curve of her neck. His soft breath tickling her bare skin. His lips moved up her neck to her cheek, searching for her lips.
Adrenaline shot through her and her heart began pumping like crazy. Maria couldn’t deny her response to this guy even if she wanted to. She wanted him now. “Why don’t we go somewhere more private?” she said into his ear before he could kiss her.
********************
Isabel had managed to keep up with her sister as they walked through the crowd of dancers. But than Tess had ditched her so she could dance with some blonde haired guy. Isabel stayed at the edge of the dance floor, scanning the area for Max and Michael. They’d been right behind her, where’d they go, she wondered.
Just than a boy walked over to Isabel. She was instantly afraid of him. He appeared to be like any boy her age, but there was something creepy about the way he looked at her.
“You’re Isabel, right?” he said. “I’m Tim.” His eyes held frank sexual suggestion and kept returning to her breasts. He brushed an uninvited hand down her arm. His skin felt dry and thin like lizard skin. He stared at her as if there was something Isabel had that he wanted desperately.
She stepped away from him and bumped into another boy, tall with white-blonde hair and black roots. He smiled at her, lips curved in a crooked sort of way. His nose hoops shimmered. The strobe light made his thin face look haunted. He put his arm around her waist, fingers digging into her side.
She slapped away his unwanted fingers.
He laughed roughly. “Don’t you like me touching you?” He touched her again, his hand dangerously bold.
“Hey! She’s with me!” A voice declared.
Isabel looked up to see Alex. She looked at him grateful and surprised. She had been wondering how she was going to get out of this since she was all alone. Max and Michael were nowhere in sight and Tess was too busy dancing with that guy.
Tim sized up Alex. “Screw you, man. She wants to party with me.”
Alex narrowed his eyes at the guy. “She’s with me. Don’t fuck with me.” he said dangerously, as he drew Isabel to his side and onto the dance floor. “Are you okay?” he asked, as he curled his arms around Isabel. He had left Maria with that Michael guy and had wandered back over to where Liz and Brad should have been. But they weren’t there. Alex had finally seen them dancing. He’d been happy to see Liz smiling and having fun, than he had seen Isabel being harassed by that blonde punk and Alex had stepped forward.
Isabel sighed. “I’m fine. I was with my brothers and sister, and I lost my brothers in the crowd. Tessie is dancing with some guy. I didn’t know what I was going to do about those guys.” she replied. She had never been this close to a guy before. She hadn’t known that it would feel this good.
A couple bumped into them and Isabel fell hard against his body. Alex’s arms tightened around and kept her there. The music became more frenzied and the kids around them began to dance more wildly, but Alex and Isabel stood motionless, holding each other. With his hands, he cupped her face, sending a shiver through her. Then he closed his eyes and he kissed her, his lips soft on hers.
Her lips parted as if they had kissed him before and than his tongue brushed lazily across her lips.
Too many dangerous emotions swirled around her. She felt disgust with herself for wanting him so desperately. She tried to stop the aching need that spread through her body. But it all felt so right. It felt so right to be in his arms.
***********************
Liz laughed as she and Brad dragged themselves away from the dance floor. She had to admit that she was having a lot of fun. But than again, dancing had always done that for her. “Do you know what time it is?” Liz asked, over the music.
Brad held out his arm for her, showing her the time. 10:25. Brad and Liz stood against the wall, watching as the people danced. Brad wanted to kiss her so badly. He pressed his body next to hers, his hand curling tightly around her waist. She felt his breath on her lips. “I’m going to kiss you, Liz.” he said.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked. She didn’t want an answer; she wanted him to kiss her. His lips were inches away from hers. She boldly put her arms around his neck.
He smiled and looked down at her, taking his time and making her anxious with anticipation. Then he pressed his lips to hers. A jolt of pleasure rushed throughout her body. His hands traced up her back.
“That was nice.” she said softly, as he drew away from her. It had been ten months since any man had kissed her. This was Brad, her brother’s best friend. The guy who had helped change her life by giving her that first shot of vodka after Nick’s funeral. “I gotta find Maria and Alex.” she said, moving away from him, scanning the dance floor.
Had Maria meet up with Michael after all, and where the hell was Alex? Liz gasped as she saw the young man staring at her. Not more than five feet away stood Max Evans.
Now And Forever CH.10
Rating: NC-17.
Chapter 10
Michael pressed her back against the wall, and with his hand closed around both of her wrists, he raised her arms over her head and held them there. Using his thighs to keep her lower body in place, he used his free hand to slowly stroke her body.
He murmured hoarsely, the words indistinguishable but the sound alone was enough to make the muscles of her abdomen clench. His hands slipped to her top and he eased it down to reveal her breasts.
“Beautiful.” he whispered as he lowered his head to her already hard nipples. His tongue licked over them again and again— long, slow strokes followed by quick, swirling tastes. Her back arched, her hands sliding into his hair to hold him more firmly.
Just when Maria thought she couldn’t bear it anymore, he took a nipple fully into his mouth, sucking vigorously. The sensation pierced throughout her body. Maria cried out softly, her hips grinding into his.
Michael’s hand trailed down under her skirt. There was only the thin covering of her panties beneath her skirt. He stroked her through it again and again, as he continued to suckle first one breast and then the other.
“Michael.” Maria whispered helplessly. “I need you now.”
Michael hesitated only long enough to look deeply into her eyes. This small pixie stirred up emotions inside of him that he hadn’t known existed. Yes, he hadn’t known her for a long time, but that didn’t stop him from needing her, wanting her at this moment. Michael let go of her, so he could put on the condom, watching out of his eye as Maria quickly lowered her underwear. Michael suppressed a groan when he saw that she’d been wearing a thong under her skirt. When he was finished, he took her back in his arms. He gave a low guttural cry and raised both her legs, lifting them over his hips.
Her shoulders and upper back were pressed against the wall, her buttocks held in place against him by a rock-hard arm. “I need you too.” he said harshly and thrust into her.
Time stopped for them. There was nothing but the two of them locked together in the primal ritual. Michael chanted her name, arching against her, licking and sucking her nipples. His thrusts steadily deeper and wilder, hammering into her.
Maria met him fully. Her hands clawed at his back through his shirt. Her hips writhed. She arched her body, pressing herself more fully into his body. She threw her head back as she began to climax. As she breathed broken phrases and wild promises, Michael plunged deeply one last time, and with a shout found his own release.
********************
“You know him?” Brad asked from next to her.
Liz nodded. Her heart was racing and her pulse was drumming so hard that she felt faint. She took a breath, smothering the gasp that clawed at her throat. “Max?” It came out a breathless whisper.
Max couldn’t speak. He knew he was staring but he couldn’t seem to help himself. A longing swept over him. Hard and powerful, it crashed throughout his body, the need in him was like an undertow threatening to pull him down. But on its heels burned a rage so hot, the longing evaporated into mist and blew away. His hands tightened into fists at his sides. How dare she come back? The depth of feeling startled him. He forced himself to take a deep breath, then released it slowly. It had been over for years, he reminded himself. His body relaxed; the fists uncurled. He felt nothing. He had to feeling nothing, or else he would be overwhelmed by his emotions.
Emotions flickered across Max’s face. They passed so quickly that Liz didn’t have time to label them. No doubt he was as stunned as she was.
The last time she’d seen Max, he’d been fourteen, he’d been a little cuddly and baby faced. But there was nothing cuddly or baby faced about the Max who stood before her. He was a man, with broad shoulders and a solid chest. His jeans molded thighs that were thick and muscular. Liz felt a rush of desire go through her. This was Max, her Max.
He looked wonderful, damn it. Healthy, strong. His skin was vibrant and tanned, his jet black hair gleamed in the flickering lights. And his face— that she had loved so much— from what she could see, time added a few lines.
It occurred to Liz that she was staring, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. What did you say to the guy who’d been not only your first love, but your first lover? What did you say to someone who’d accidentally gotten you pregnant at fourteen? What could you say when you’d just up and vanished out of his life? Hi, how are you? didn’t seem quite right to her.
Liz’s attention was yanked away from Max, when she saw Alex appear by his side with a tall pretty blonde. Liz stifled another gasp. Alex’s Isabel was also Max’s sister Isabel.
“Max?” Isabel said, touching her brother’s shoulder. Max didn’t answer her, he continued to stare straight ahead. Isabel followed his gaze and bit her lip. Liz Parker was standing near the wall with some guy.
Alex yanked his head to look at the tall dark haired guy Isabel was speaking to. Max? Liz’s Max? Alex’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the guy, than he looked over to Liz. Yes, it was indeed Max Evans. The father of Liz’s son. Oh, shit. Poor Liz. Alex looked to Isabel, and gave her a sad smile. It was apparent to him that she knew Max. “I’m sorry, Isabel. I lied to you.”
Isabel looked over to Alex and frowned at his words. “What are you talking about, Alex?” she asked confused. She didn’t know what he was talking about. What did he mean he lied to her?
“I said I came here with guys. I lied. I came with Liz and Maria. They’re my friends. My best friends.” Alex informed her, meeting her eyes.
Isabel’s mouth fell open. “You lied to me. Why? I thought you were different but your not? Are you? You’re just like everyone else aren’t you? Aren’t you?” Isabel asked, angrily. She couldn’t believe it! He was friends with Liz! He’d lied to her that’s what Isabel couldn’t handle. The lie. Oh god poor Max. And Jake. Isabel had to get out of there. With one last look at Alex, Isabel took off through the crowd of dancers.
Max had been watching his sister and this Alex guy out of the corner of this eye. What had he done to her? Max forgot all about Liz and turned his attention to Alex. “What the hell did you do to my sister?” he asked dangerously.
Alex didn’t back down. He had finally come face to face with Max Evans. “I didn’t do anything to your sister. You stay away from Liz!” Alex declared, going into over protective mode of the girl he’d always thought as his sister. He’d seen the after effects of her relationship with Max, and he knew that she wasn’t over all of it.
Max glanced back over to Liz and the guy. He couldn’t help but feel jealousy surge through his body. That guy shouldn’t be anywhere near Liz. She was his! She was the mother of his son. Jake! Max wasn’t about to lose his son. He didn’t think that he could survive if he lost his son. “Don’t worry. I will.” he said, taking one last look at Liz and walking away, searching for his sister.
Watching him leave, Liz took in unsteady breaths. Of course, she shouldn’t have been surprised by his reaction. After giving up their son for adoption, he’d hate her. Liz understood. She hated herself for giving her baby away. But knowing that Max hated her was just too much for her. She loved him as much as she had back than. Liz had always known that it wasn’t a case of puppy love, but something stronger. Something more.
“So what did I miss?” Brad asked sardonically. It was very apparent to him that he had missed out on something. Liz had known that guy, but Brad was positive that he had never met him before.
“Where’s Maria?” Alex asked as he walked over to Liz and gave her a reassuring hug. He wanted her to know that everything was okay. That she had handled seeing Max wonderfully.
********************
Maria and Michael stealthy made their way out of the small closet. If people saw them than they’d probably know what Maria and Michael had been doing in the closet, Maria thought to herself. She remembered seeing condom wrappers on the floor in the closet and assumed that people used it as the sex room.
Maria smiled as she saw that the coast was clear and no one had seen them. She turned to Michael and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him towards her. Michael was just about to kiss her when he felt someone stumble into him.
Michael muttered a curse, turning around. “Isabel.” he said, as he watched his sister run out the door of the club. What the hell had happened to Isabel? Why was she freaking? Did one of the guys try to get a little friendly with her, he wondered. “Is—“
Maria watched as the statuesque blonde ran out of the door of the club. Isabel? That couldn’t be Alex’s Isabel? Could it? How the hell did Michael know Isabel? The next thing Maria saw was a petite blonde running after the tall blonde.
“Tess?” Michael said, but she ignored him as she followed Isabel. Now, Michael’s mind was jumping in circles. What the hell had happened to Isabel. As Michael saw Max running after the two girls, he grabbed his arm. “What the fuck is going on?” he asked his brother.
Maria gave a stifled gasp as she realized that the guy Michael was talking to was Liz’s Max. Maria couldn’t believe it. She was face to face with the jerk who had gotten Liz pregnant.
“Is is upset. That Alex guy did something to her. I know he did.” Max said angrily, not even realizing that Maria was there. He shouldn’t have come, he shouldn’t have come to this damn club. He’d seen Liz with her new boyfriend. Maybe Tess had been right all along, that Liz was going on her merry way, not caring about their son.
Maria shook her head adamantly. “Alex wouldn’t do anything to hurt anyone. I know him, you don’t!” Maria declared, making her presence known to Max Evans.
Both Max and Michael turned to look at Maria. Michael realized that Maria knew the Alex guy Isabel had been raving about.
Max narrowed his eyes at her. “So you’re the Maria he was talking about. Liz’s friend, Maria?” he said accusingly.
Maria held her head up high. She didn’t care what the hell he was going to say. “Yeah. I am. You don’t know anything about me, Liz or Alex. So keep your fucking opinions to yourself. Stupid jerk. See you around, Michael.” Maria said, stalking off to find her friends.
Chapter 10
Michael pressed her back against the wall, and with his hand closed around both of her wrists, he raised her arms over her head and held them there. Using his thighs to keep her lower body in place, he used his free hand to slowly stroke her body.
He murmured hoarsely, the words indistinguishable but the sound alone was enough to make the muscles of her abdomen clench. His hands slipped to her top and he eased it down to reveal her breasts.
“Beautiful.” he whispered as he lowered his head to her already hard nipples. His tongue licked over them again and again— long, slow strokes followed by quick, swirling tastes. Her back arched, her hands sliding into his hair to hold him more firmly.
Just when Maria thought she couldn’t bear it anymore, he took a nipple fully into his mouth, sucking vigorously. The sensation pierced throughout her body. Maria cried out softly, her hips grinding into his.
Michael’s hand trailed down under her skirt. There was only the thin covering of her panties beneath her skirt. He stroked her through it again and again, as he continued to suckle first one breast and then the other.
“Michael.” Maria whispered helplessly. “I need you now.”
Michael hesitated only long enough to look deeply into her eyes. This small pixie stirred up emotions inside of him that he hadn’t known existed. Yes, he hadn’t known her for a long time, but that didn’t stop him from needing her, wanting her at this moment. Michael let go of her, so he could put on the condom, watching out of his eye as Maria quickly lowered her underwear. Michael suppressed a groan when he saw that she’d been wearing a thong under her skirt. When he was finished, he took her back in his arms. He gave a low guttural cry and raised both her legs, lifting them over his hips.
Her shoulders and upper back were pressed against the wall, her buttocks held in place against him by a rock-hard arm. “I need you too.” he said harshly and thrust into her.
Time stopped for them. There was nothing but the two of them locked together in the primal ritual. Michael chanted her name, arching against her, licking and sucking her nipples. His thrusts steadily deeper and wilder, hammering into her.
Maria met him fully. Her hands clawed at his back through his shirt. Her hips writhed. She arched her body, pressing herself more fully into his body. She threw her head back as she began to climax. As she breathed broken phrases and wild promises, Michael plunged deeply one last time, and with a shout found his own release.
********************
“You know him?” Brad asked from next to her.
Liz nodded. Her heart was racing and her pulse was drumming so hard that she felt faint. She took a breath, smothering the gasp that clawed at her throat. “Max?” It came out a breathless whisper.
Max couldn’t speak. He knew he was staring but he couldn’t seem to help himself. A longing swept over him. Hard and powerful, it crashed throughout his body, the need in him was like an undertow threatening to pull him down. But on its heels burned a rage so hot, the longing evaporated into mist and blew away. His hands tightened into fists at his sides. How dare she come back? The depth of feeling startled him. He forced himself to take a deep breath, then released it slowly. It had been over for years, he reminded himself. His body relaxed; the fists uncurled. He felt nothing. He had to feeling nothing, or else he would be overwhelmed by his emotions.
Emotions flickered across Max’s face. They passed so quickly that Liz didn’t have time to label them. No doubt he was as stunned as she was.
The last time she’d seen Max, he’d been fourteen, he’d been a little cuddly and baby faced. But there was nothing cuddly or baby faced about the Max who stood before her. He was a man, with broad shoulders and a solid chest. His jeans molded thighs that were thick and muscular. Liz felt a rush of desire go through her. This was Max, her Max.
He looked wonderful, damn it. Healthy, strong. His skin was vibrant and tanned, his jet black hair gleamed in the flickering lights. And his face— that she had loved so much— from what she could see, time added a few lines.
It occurred to Liz that she was staring, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. What did you say to the guy who’d been not only your first love, but your first lover? What did you say to someone who’d accidentally gotten you pregnant at fourteen? What could you say when you’d just up and vanished out of his life? Hi, how are you? didn’t seem quite right to her.
Liz’s attention was yanked away from Max, when she saw Alex appear by his side with a tall pretty blonde. Liz stifled another gasp. Alex’s Isabel was also Max’s sister Isabel.
“Max?” Isabel said, touching her brother’s shoulder. Max didn’t answer her, he continued to stare straight ahead. Isabel followed his gaze and bit her lip. Liz Parker was standing near the wall with some guy.
Alex yanked his head to look at the tall dark haired guy Isabel was speaking to. Max? Liz’s Max? Alex’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the guy, than he looked over to Liz. Yes, it was indeed Max Evans. The father of Liz’s son. Oh, shit. Poor Liz. Alex looked to Isabel, and gave her a sad smile. It was apparent to him that she knew Max. “I’m sorry, Isabel. I lied to you.”
Isabel looked over to Alex and frowned at his words. “What are you talking about, Alex?” she asked confused. She didn’t know what he was talking about. What did he mean he lied to her?
“I said I came here with guys. I lied. I came with Liz and Maria. They’re my friends. My best friends.” Alex informed her, meeting her eyes.
Isabel’s mouth fell open. “You lied to me. Why? I thought you were different but your not? Are you? You’re just like everyone else aren’t you? Aren’t you?” Isabel asked, angrily. She couldn’t believe it! He was friends with Liz! He’d lied to her that’s what Isabel couldn’t handle. The lie. Oh god poor Max. And Jake. Isabel had to get out of there. With one last look at Alex, Isabel took off through the crowd of dancers.
Max had been watching his sister and this Alex guy out of the corner of this eye. What had he done to her? Max forgot all about Liz and turned his attention to Alex. “What the hell did you do to my sister?” he asked dangerously.
Alex didn’t back down. He had finally come face to face with Max Evans. “I didn’t do anything to your sister. You stay away from Liz!” Alex declared, going into over protective mode of the girl he’d always thought as his sister. He’d seen the after effects of her relationship with Max, and he knew that she wasn’t over all of it.
Max glanced back over to Liz and the guy. He couldn’t help but feel jealousy surge through his body. That guy shouldn’t be anywhere near Liz. She was his! She was the mother of his son. Jake! Max wasn’t about to lose his son. He didn’t think that he could survive if he lost his son. “Don’t worry. I will.” he said, taking one last look at Liz and walking away, searching for his sister.
Watching him leave, Liz took in unsteady breaths. Of course, she shouldn’t have been surprised by his reaction. After giving up their son for adoption, he’d hate her. Liz understood. She hated herself for giving her baby away. But knowing that Max hated her was just too much for her. She loved him as much as she had back than. Liz had always known that it wasn’t a case of puppy love, but something stronger. Something more.
“So what did I miss?” Brad asked sardonically. It was very apparent to him that he had missed out on something. Liz had known that guy, but Brad was positive that he had never met him before.
“Where’s Maria?” Alex asked as he walked over to Liz and gave her a reassuring hug. He wanted her to know that everything was okay. That she had handled seeing Max wonderfully.
********************
Maria and Michael stealthy made their way out of the small closet. If people saw them than they’d probably know what Maria and Michael had been doing in the closet, Maria thought to herself. She remembered seeing condom wrappers on the floor in the closet and assumed that people used it as the sex room.
Maria smiled as she saw that the coast was clear and no one had seen them. She turned to Michael and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him towards her. Michael was just about to kiss her when he felt someone stumble into him.
Michael muttered a curse, turning around. “Isabel.” he said, as he watched his sister run out the door of the club. What the hell had happened to Isabel? Why was she freaking? Did one of the guys try to get a little friendly with her, he wondered. “Is—“
Maria watched as the statuesque blonde ran out of the door of the club. Isabel? That couldn’t be Alex’s Isabel? Could it? How the hell did Michael know Isabel? The next thing Maria saw was a petite blonde running after the tall blonde.
“Tess?” Michael said, but she ignored him as she followed Isabel. Now, Michael’s mind was jumping in circles. What the hell had happened to Isabel. As Michael saw Max running after the two girls, he grabbed his arm. “What the fuck is going on?” he asked his brother.
Maria gave a stifled gasp as she realized that the guy Michael was talking to was Liz’s Max. Maria couldn’t believe it. She was face to face with the jerk who had gotten Liz pregnant.
“Is is upset. That Alex guy did something to her. I know he did.” Max said angrily, not even realizing that Maria was there. He shouldn’t have come, he shouldn’t have come to this damn club. He’d seen Liz with her new boyfriend. Maybe Tess had been right all along, that Liz was going on her merry way, not caring about their son.
Maria shook her head adamantly. “Alex wouldn’t do anything to hurt anyone. I know him, you don’t!” Maria declared, making her presence known to Max Evans.
Both Max and Michael turned to look at Maria. Michael realized that Maria knew the Alex guy Isabel had been raving about.
Max narrowed his eyes at her. “So you’re the Maria he was talking about. Liz’s friend, Maria?” he said accusingly.
Maria held her head up high. She didn’t care what the hell he was going to say. “Yeah. I am. You don’t know anything about me, Liz or Alex. So keep your fucking opinions to yourself. Stupid jerk. See you around, Michael.” Maria said, stalking off to find her friends.