Chapter 11
After spending a few hours visiting Max at the hospital Liz reluctantly left to go home. The nurses told Liz that Max needed his rest so that when the doctor saw him the next day he would be rested enough to leave. Liz realized that she rather leave now and spend more time with him tomorrow when he got back rather then spend more time now and have him spend another day in the hospital.
Max was depressed that Liz had to leave. He hated being stuck in the hospital; there was nothing to do. Max tired watching television, but all that was on was the news and horrible movies. He tried going to sleep, but all he could think about was that psycho that was after them. How could he sleep knowing that someone could be after Liz at any moment? Max felt better at least that he made Liz promise to be careful before she left. Still he couldn’t get rid of that nagging feeling.
The food was also something Max just couldn’t get used to. All he could pray was that food at college would be better then this, but somehow he doubted it was much better. He could have sworn that at one point his food was trying to move. Needless to say his appetite was gone.
His parents had visited him today, and Kelly seemed really excited to see him. She brought in her doll that Liz gave her and told Max that he could hold onto it until he got better. Max couldn’t help but smile at his little sister’s adorable innocence. Now that all his visitors are gone and it is time for him to sleep, Max kept looking at the doll.
The doll was fairly plain, but what made it so fantastic was that it was Liz’s doll. He lightly stroked the doll’s hair and thought about how Liz probably did the same thing when she was little. He let out a small quiet laugh thinking about how cute Liz must have been at the tender age of 7. Growing increasingly tired of the doll Max placed it down on the little table next to his hospital bed.
Now what was he supposed to do to keep him occupied. He looked up at the ceiling and noticed all the little dots or crooks in the foam like ceiling. He figured the best way to get tired enough to fall asleep was to count those small crooks. “1…2…3…4…5…6…” Max started counting silently in his head. As he counted higher and higher, Max started to feel his eyelids becoming heavier and heavier. Slowly Max drifted off into sleep as the sounds of the hospital slowly faded away.
A figure slipped out of the hospital changing room. He slipped out of the room wearing a doctor’s jacket, but what no one saw was the unconscious body lying in the dimly lighted room. The figure looked at the chart he had stolen and saw a room number next to a name. Max Evans room 820. The figure silently laughed to himself; tonight was the night, the night were revenge would finally be done.
He made his way down the hall and looked at the doors as he walked by. 802…803…804… the numbers slowly increased. He approached 820 and looked around to make sure no one was watching. He silently opened up the door revealing a very dark room. He could see Max lying in bed and an evil grin slowly formed. He picked up the pillow on the empty bed next to Max and slowly crept up to Max’s bed. He raised the pillow about Max’s sleeping form and pushed it down with all his strength.
Max had been dreaming about marrying Liz and their wonderful honeymoon until suddenly he awoke with a pillow shoved onto his face. He suddenly became aware of the fact that he didn’t have much oxygen. Max thrashed about, but with a broken arm he was finding it to be difficult. Pain shot through his body as he hit his attacker with his cast. The pain temporarily stopped Max in his tracks and his attacker used this opportunity. Max was starting to lose consciousness and he was trying not to accept this as the end. If he died what would happen to Liz?
Max felt around for the panic switch. He remembered the nurse mentioning that if he needed anything there was always someone on call and all he had to do was press the button. Max tried to reach it, but with the pillow over his face was making it more difficult to find the button. Max finally could feel the button and he pressed it and prayed the doctors would come in time.
The figure realized what Max did and knew that a doctor would be in here any minute. He dropped the pillow and bolted for the door slipping out quietly to not look suspicious. As he rounded the corner he could hear the stamping of feet; the doctors were running down the hall to Max’s room. The figure let out a breath. “Damn it, that was too close. Fine Max I didn’t get you tonight, but you can’t protect your whore from in here.” The figured laughed and made his way to the parking lot.
The Water's Edge-ADULT-Complete
Moderators: Anniepoo98, Rowedog, ISLANDGIRL5, Itzstacie, truelovepooh, FSU/MSW-94, Erina, Hunter, Forum Moderators
Chapter 12
Liz sat quietly in her room staring out at the ocean. She didn’t know why, but the ocean always seemed to bring her a sense of calmness and happiness whenever life threw her a curve ball. She watched the waves crash down onto the shore as the sun set, and she smiled. She walked over to her bed, and picked up her leather bound journal. She picked up the pen and started to write down her thoughts onto the blank pages. The cool air breezed into the room whipping her hair in her face. A slight chill ran down her spine, but Liz wasn’t sure if it was the air or something else that made her do so. Her fingertips rose up to her face as she gently tucked her hair behind her ear. Her teeth softly bit down on her lips as she tried to concentrate on what she was doing. Her right hand furiously moved along the paper leaving a wake of scribbled words.
Liz placed down her pen, and slowly rubbed her aching neck. She once more looked out the window, but decided the view would be more exquisite close up. She put on her flip flops, and quietly made her way to the shore.
Meanwhile at the hospital room 820 was frantic with people whispering and a police officer trying to get control of the situation. Officer O’Brien walked up to the nurse and asked her what she knew. The woman seemed confused, but she answered him anyway.
“I was going to go home, but I wanted to get changed before I left. I walked into the room and there was Dr. Peters lying on the floor. I screamed and everyone came running. The doctors said that he was alive, but someone had hit him on the head with something. That is when we all heard the call alarm being pressed. I tried to tell myself that it was just a patient wanting water or something, but when I got there no one was in the room” she explained sounding scared.
“What is so upsetting about no one in the room ma’am? I mean after seeing an unconscious doctor I wouldn’t be too upset about a faulty call button.” The officer asked, not understand what all the fuss was about.
“Sir, if it was that simple I wouldn’t be the wreck that I am. Officer there was a boy by the name of Max Evans in that room. Now I may just be a nurse, but the way the bed sheets were it looks as if there was a struggle; now the boy is missing. I just hope that boy is alright because lord knows that psycho will try and kill him. Oh my god, that girl is in trouble!” The nurse realized in fear.
“What psycho; what are you talking about ma’am? Are you sure you know what you are talking about? I would know if there was an attempted murderer out on the streets after two of our teens. Now I remember hearing about those two, but from what the police reports say is that the girl did not watch where she was going, but luckily her boyfriend save her.” The officer replied in frustration.
“Officer no offense, but did you talk to the witnesses; did you talk to Max Evans or Liz Parker? Sir that was no accident, I don’t know what the police report says, but my sister was there that day, and she knows that was no accident.” The nurse replied honestly.
Officer O’Brien was shocked by the revelation. He thanked the nurse and ran to his police car, and all but raced down to the station. Upon arriving there he ran over to the file drawer and looked up the case. He opened it up and saw the address of Liz Parker. “How could the officer not look into this further?” O’Brien thought to himself. Dread washed over his features. He scrambled through the paper and looked for the name of the officer who worked on the case. Anderson. O’Brien grabbed his keys, and prayed he wasn’t too late.
Liz sat quietly in her room staring out at the ocean. She didn’t know why, but the ocean always seemed to bring her a sense of calmness and happiness whenever life threw her a curve ball. She watched the waves crash down onto the shore as the sun set, and she smiled. She walked over to her bed, and picked up her leather bound journal. She picked up the pen and started to write down her thoughts onto the blank pages. The cool air breezed into the room whipping her hair in her face. A slight chill ran down her spine, but Liz wasn’t sure if it was the air or something else that made her do so. Her fingertips rose up to her face as she gently tucked her hair behind her ear. Her teeth softly bit down on her lips as she tried to concentrate on what she was doing. Her right hand furiously moved along the paper leaving a wake of scribbled words.
Liz placed down her pen, and slowly rubbed her aching neck. She once more looked out the window, but decided the view would be more exquisite close up. She put on her flip flops, and quietly made her way to the shore.
Meanwhile at the hospital room 820 was frantic with people whispering and a police officer trying to get control of the situation. Officer O’Brien walked up to the nurse and asked her what she knew. The woman seemed confused, but she answered him anyway.
“I was going to go home, but I wanted to get changed before I left. I walked into the room and there was Dr. Peters lying on the floor. I screamed and everyone came running. The doctors said that he was alive, but someone had hit him on the head with something. That is when we all heard the call alarm being pressed. I tried to tell myself that it was just a patient wanting water or something, but when I got there no one was in the room” she explained sounding scared.
“What is so upsetting about no one in the room ma’am? I mean after seeing an unconscious doctor I wouldn’t be too upset about a faulty call button.” The officer asked, not understand what all the fuss was about.
“Sir, if it was that simple I wouldn’t be the wreck that I am. Officer there was a boy by the name of Max Evans in that room. Now I may just be a nurse, but the way the bed sheets were it looks as if there was a struggle; now the boy is missing. I just hope that boy is alright because lord knows that psycho will try and kill him. Oh my god, that girl is in trouble!” The nurse realized in fear.
“What psycho; what are you talking about ma’am? Are you sure you know what you are talking about? I would know if there was an attempted murderer out on the streets after two of our teens. Now I remember hearing about those two, but from what the police reports say is that the girl did not watch where she was going, but luckily her boyfriend save her.” The officer replied in frustration.
“Officer no offense, but did you talk to the witnesses; did you talk to Max Evans or Liz Parker? Sir that was no accident, I don’t know what the police report says, but my sister was there that day, and she knows that was no accident.” The nurse replied honestly.
Officer O’Brien was shocked by the revelation. He thanked the nurse and ran to his police car, and all but raced down to the station. Upon arriving there he ran over to the file drawer and looked up the case. He opened it up and saw the address of Liz Parker. “How could the officer not look into this further?” O’Brien thought to himself. Dread washed over his features. He scrambled through the paper and looked for the name of the officer who worked on the case. Anderson. O’Brien grabbed his keys, and prayed he wasn’t too late.
Chapter 13
Her feet quietly made little snapping noises as the shoe slapped her heal. Now walking upon the sand the flip flops didn’t make their noise anymore; the sand muffled the sound. Her slender arms wrapped around themselves trying to shield itself from the cool wind off the water. The stars weren’t as visible as they were the previous night; the clouds were quickly rolling in shielding the stars from showing their beauty. The moonlight shone through the clouds and cast a glow upon the water and its rocks. Deciding that tonight she wouldn’t just sit and watch the water Liz thought she’d take a walk along the water’s edge and see where it took her.
His feet pounded the pavement, and his legs swished back and forth. Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead and he could feel his body tiring. He had been running for a while now desperately trying to get to her in time. He could have waited at the hospital, but they would ask questions and make sure he was alright. He was fine. By the time those people got around to thinking about Liz she’d be dead. He just prayed his legs could get him there fast enough.
The figure slowly got of his car and made his way into the house. He walked in and grabbed the gun that he knew was on the table. He loaded it and he looked at himself in the mirror and a slow evil grin spread through his face. A man approached him from behind and looked at the figure through the mirror. Without turning around the figure looked at the man behind him and turned towards the door and walked out. Before the door shut the man yelled “don’t screw this up!” The door slammed shut and Anderson slumped down on his couch and picked up the remote.
Bending down to pick up a small stone, Liz gently through it at the water watching it skip several times before sinking in the dark water. She couldn’t hear the sound of someone approaching her from behind her; she couldn’t hear the sound of a gun being reached for; she couldn’t hear her fate that was ready to face her. What Liz did hear was a low murmur of her name being called behind her. She twisted her body around to see who had snuck upon her, and when she did she sucked in a breath.
“You know Liz you always did look more beautiful with the glow of the moonlight in your eyes. It’s too bad that you turned out to be the little whore you are; you and I would have been great together. Evans did always timing; well not anymore anyways.” The figure laughed sinisterly. “If I hadn’t been so damn far away it would be me with you not him! I should have just taken care of him then, but I was too weak to do it then. Not until I had to watch you and him month after month making those dreamy looks at one another and holding hands down the hall did I finally get the strength.”
“What are you going to do to me?” Liz asked softly and full of fear. The figure walked around her in circles like a predator ready to pounce on his prey. He watched her bite her lip; he knew that she only did that when she was concentrating. He saw how she tried to show no fear, but her hands that were at her hips were visibly shaking. He also could see her eyes darting around to see if anyone would come to save her. A laugh erupted from him because finally he’d get his way, and no one would stop him. The laugh caused Liz to do those three things even more he noted.
He noticed how beautiful she was tonight. Her slender shoulders exposed due to the tank top that she wore. The tank top also showed a hint of something else he wanted to see, but the moonlight didn’t allow much of a view. Her top had ridden up a little and he could see a small line of her bare stomach. He let out a slight groan as he could feel his body reacting to hers. His eyes fell to the curve of her hips. Licking his lips he looked down her legs and he could feel his body getting tense. Thinking to himself, “Maybe I can play with her before I get rid of her,” he started slowly walked closer to her.
“Well you see Liz I was just planning on killing you; if I can’t have you no one can, but now looking at you I think I might just play with you first.” He said with an evil smile. Liz instinctively wrapped her arms around herself in a poor attempt to shield herself from his prying eyes. She noticed that it wasn’t stopping him from advancing on her. Liz felt frozen and didn’t know what to do. She could run, but she had seen the gun he was carrying so she decided against that option. He ran a hand down her shoulder and attempted to grab her chest, but she slapped his hand away and spat in his face.
Wiping the spit out off his face his eyes narrowed in anger, and seemed to be plotting what he would do with her. “So not only are you a whore, but a bitch too!” He said glaring at her. Liz’s tough act wavered for a moment when she saw the evil look in his eyes, but she quickly recovered it. It, however, didn’t go unnoticed by him. She had looked so innocent and beautiful that night, but now she was Max’s girl and had an attitude on her.
“God, it’s so freaking cold! Whose bright idea was it to have this damn thing on a beach?” he thought to himself. He wrapped his arms around his body and silently cursed that he had gone. He quickly took it back because he knew why he was going; he had watched Liz Parker for long enough and tonight he was going to make a move. He made his way through the crowds looking for her. He stopped and looked around at the girls, but he couldn’t seem to find her.
He felt a hand clamp down onto his shoulder, startling him. He turned to see one of his football teammates Steve with a smile on his face. “How are you doing Corey? I hope you aren’t freezing your butt off too much. These damn people don’t realize how cold it is in November, but then again I guess they’d have to have more than half a brain in those bimbo heads to realize that,” Steve said laughing. Corey laughed softly and nodded his head.
It was then he saw Liz walk off from the crowd and sit down by herself. He shooed Steve away and had started to walk over to her when he saw Max Evans walk towards her and sit down. Corey’s heart dropped as he saw how she smiled around him. He stood in that spot long after most everyone had left. When the people around him left he hid where the pair couldn’t see him and he watched as Max gave her his jacket, and watched painfully as Max kissed Liz. Anger surged through his body as he saw the girl of his dreams happily kissing another guy. How dare they!
Corey had gone home that night planning how to ‘take care of’ Liz and Max. He had waited long enough, and now he was finally going to get his revenge. He didn’t care about having his way with her anymore; he was so angry at the memory that he decided it was the time. He pulled out his gun and aimed it at Liz’s heart; he thought it was only fitting that she broke his heart so he’d break hers.
Liz’s eyes filled with tears as she knew she wasn’t going to get out of this situation. “Corey please!” she begged. Corey shook his head and he softly replied back to her, “I’m sorry Liz, we could have been great together. Too bad you are too much of a whore.” He said as he cocked the gun. “Goodbye Liz.”
Her feet quietly made little snapping noises as the shoe slapped her heal. Now walking upon the sand the flip flops didn’t make their noise anymore; the sand muffled the sound. Her slender arms wrapped around themselves trying to shield itself from the cool wind off the water. The stars weren’t as visible as they were the previous night; the clouds were quickly rolling in shielding the stars from showing their beauty. The moonlight shone through the clouds and cast a glow upon the water and its rocks. Deciding that tonight she wouldn’t just sit and watch the water Liz thought she’d take a walk along the water’s edge and see where it took her.
His feet pounded the pavement, and his legs swished back and forth. Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead and he could feel his body tiring. He had been running for a while now desperately trying to get to her in time. He could have waited at the hospital, but they would ask questions and make sure he was alright. He was fine. By the time those people got around to thinking about Liz she’d be dead. He just prayed his legs could get him there fast enough.
The figure slowly got of his car and made his way into the house. He walked in and grabbed the gun that he knew was on the table. He loaded it and he looked at himself in the mirror and a slow evil grin spread through his face. A man approached him from behind and looked at the figure through the mirror. Without turning around the figure looked at the man behind him and turned towards the door and walked out. Before the door shut the man yelled “don’t screw this up!” The door slammed shut and Anderson slumped down on his couch and picked up the remote.
Bending down to pick up a small stone, Liz gently through it at the water watching it skip several times before sinking in the dark water. She couldn’t hear the sound of someone approaching her from behind her; she couldn’t hear the sound of a gun being reached for; she couldn’t hear her fate that was ready to face her. What Liz did hear was a low murmur of her name being called behind her. She twisted her body around to see who had snuck upon her, and when she did she sucked in a breath.
“You know Liz you always did look more beautiful with the glow of the moonlight in your eyes. It’s too bad that you turned out to be the little whore you are; you and I would have been great together. Evans did always timing; well not anymore anyways.” The figure laughed sinisterly. “If I hadn’t been so damn far away it would be me with you not him! I should have just taken care of him then, but I was too weak to do it then. Not until I had to watch you and him month after month making those dreamy looks at one another and holding hands down the hall did I finally get the strength.”
“What are you going to do to me?” Liz asked softly and full of fear. The figure walked around her in circles like a predator ready to pounce on his prey. He watched her bite her lip; he knew that she only did that when she was concentrating. He saw how she tried to show no fear, but her hands that were at her hips were visibly shaking. He also could see her eyes darting around to see if anyone would come to save her. A laugh erupted from him because finally he’d get his way, and no one would stop him. The laugh caused Liz to do those three things even more he noted.
He noticed how beautiful she was tonight. Her slender shoulders exposed due to the tank top that she wore. The tank top also showed a hint of something else he wanted to see, but the moonlight didn’t allow much of a view. Her top had ridden up a little and he could see a small line of her bare stomach. He let out a slight groan as he could feel his body reacting to hers. His eyes fell to the curve of her hips. Licking his lips he looked down her legs and he could feel his body getting tense. Thinking to himself, “Maybe I can play with her before I get rid of her,” he started slowly walked closer to her.
“Well you see Liz I was just planning on killing you; if I can’t have you no one can, but now looking at you I think I might just play with you first.” He said with an evil smile. Liz instinctively wrapped her arms around herself in a poor attempt to shield herself from his prying eyes. She noticed that it wasn’t stopping him from advancing on her. Liz felt frozen and didn’t know what to do. She could run, but she had seen the gun he was carrying so she decided against that option. He ran a hand down her shoulder and attempted to grab her chest, but she slapped his hand away and spat in his face.
Wiping the spit out off his face his eyes narrowed in anger, and seemed to be plotting what he would do with her. “So not only are you a whore, but a bitch too!” He said glaring at her. Liz’s tough act wavered for a moment when she saw the evil look in his eyes, but she quickly recovered it. It, however, didn’t go unnoticed by him. She had looked so innocent and beautiful that night, but now she was Max’s girl and had an attitude on her.
“God, it’s so freaking cold! Whose bright idea was it to have this damn thing on a beach?” he thought to himself. He wrapped his arms around his body and silently cursed that he had gone. He quickly took it back because he knew why he was going; he had watched Liz Parker for long enough and tonight he was going to make a move. He made his way through the crowds looking for her. He stopped and looked around at the girls, but he couldn’t seem to find her.
He felt a hand clamp down onto his shoulder, startling him. He turned to see one of his football teammates Steve with a smile on his face. “How are you doing Corey? I hope you aren’t freezing your butt off too much. These damn people don’t realize how cold it is in November, but then again I guess they’d have to have more than half a brain in those bimbo heads to realize that,” Steve said laughing. Corey laughed softly and nodded his head.
It was then he saw Liz walk off from the crowd and sit down by herself. He shooed Steve away and had started to walk over to her when he saw Max Evans walk towards her and sit down. Corey’s heart dropped as he saw how she smiled around him. He stood in that spot long after most everyone had left. When the people around him left he hid where the pair couldn’t see him and he watched as Max gave her his jacket, and watched painfully as Max kissed Liz. Anger surged through his body as he saw the girl of his dreams happily kissing another guy. How dare they!
Corey had gone home that night planning how to ‘take care of’ Liz and Max. He had waited long enough, and now he was finally going to get his revenge. He didn’t care about having his way with her anymore; he was so angry at the memory that he decided it was the time. He pulled out his gun and aimed it at Liz’s heart; he thought it was only fitting that she broke his heart so he’d break hers.
Liz’s eyes filled with tears as she knew she wasn’t going to get out of this situation. “Corey please!” she begged. Corey shook his head and he softly replied back to her, “I’m sorry Liz, we could have been great together. Too bad you are too much of a whore.” He said as he cocked the gun. “Goodbye Liz.”
Chapter 14
His feet flying at an amazing rate, but he couldn’t help but think that it wasn’t fast enough. His breath was becoming heavy and he noticed that he was out of breath, but he wouldn’t stop until he had Liz safely in his arms. Max’s broken arm swung back and forth as he ran. He tried to ignore the pain that shot through him as his arm would occasionally hit his body. All the pain god could put him through would be worth it if he could get to Liz in time. All that mattered was Liz.
His car raced towards the Parker home, but O’Brien was nervous. The Evans boy luckily had a lead on him even if it was by foot, but he didn’t know if Max would be able to save Liz or himself. Max didn’t know that this whole plot was more than it seemed; he barely understood it himself. His fingers strummed on the steering wheel as his nervousness rose. He glanced down at the address to check it one more time. He watched the houses he passed and he read the numbers….2000….2100….2200… he slowed down his car as he was nearing the home. 2318. That’s her home. He looked around and didn’t see the car he was hoping wouldn’t be there. He walked up to the door and rang the bell, but after a moment he started pounding on the door.
After a minute he heard the door lock being turned. O’Brien had his gun in his hand ready in case something happened. The door slowly opened to see what appeared to be Liz’s parents in their bathrobes. They both shared matching scared faces. Liz’s mother clutched her bathrobe closer to her chest and looked O’Brien straight in the eyes. “Why are you here officer?” She asked quietly.
O’Brien could see her fear and he paused for a moment, not sure how to tell them. “Max Evans was attacked at the hospital a short while ago; he was almost suffocated to death it seems, but he pressed the help button. When the nurses arrived they found that he had left. From what I gather the guy tried to kill Max, but when Max hit the button he bolted. Max probably realized Liz is in danger and decided to take action to his own hands.” O’Brien explained. The parents both gasped hearing about what happened to Max.
“Sir, why are you here? Do you believe my baby girl is in danger?” Mr. Parker spoke up. O’Brien simply nodded and looked past them into the home. “Well I assure you officer that our daughter is safe in her bed.” The officer looked at them trying to figure out if they were positive.
“Well with all respect Mr. Parker, I’d like to make sure of that. I’d also like to speak to her personally.” O’Brien said as he looked at Mr. Parker. Mr. Parker glared at him, but his fear over the safety for his daughter he opened the door wider and waved O’Brien to go ahead. O’Brien followed the parents to the door of Liz’s room. Mr. Parker knocked on the door and called to Liz. Receiving no answer Mr. Parker opened the door to see that Liz was not there. Mrs. Parker’s hand went straight to her heart as she gasped.
O’Brien realized this was a bad; very bad. He quickly turned towards the parents and asked them, “Do you know where your daughter would be?” They shook their heads, but then Mrs. Parker looked thoughtful. She looked to O’Brien and walked to the window. She pointed to the beach and explained that her daughter loved the ocean. O’Brien wasted no time and he bolted out of the Parker home.
Max was nearing her home, but remembering how she loves to go to the beach at night he headed for the beach. He just prayed his instinct was right. He ran and he got to the top of the hill at the edge of the road and the beach. That’s when he saw Corey pulling out a gun. He watched in horror as he pointed it at her heart. He ran as fast as humanly possible towards them. Corey was so caught up in what he was doing he didn’t seem to hear Max approaching him. As Max was a few feet away he watched as he cocked the gun and was about to pull the trigger. Max didn’t think, but did what his whole heart screamed him to do. He ran full force at Corey and knocked him to ground. Before either of the men hit the ground a gun shot was heard going off.
The gun was thrown across the sand into the darkness. Max looked up to see Liz standing in shock with tears running down her face. He quickly scanned her body and saw that there were no bullet wounds. He let out a quiet sigh in relief. Corey struggled beneath him, but Max tried to do his best to keep him down.
Corey took his free arm and punched his broken arm. Max yelped and couldn’t help but release his holding on Corey. Corey used this opportunity to roll out from under him and stand up. Corey kicked Matt hard in the stomach. Max groaned as the wind was literally kicked out of him. He clutched his broken arm and struggled to breathe.
Liz watched as Corey kicked Max in the gut. She ran and tried to push him down, but her small frame didn’t permit that. She started hitting him and tried to punch him, but he grabbed her hand and slapped her across the face. He shoved her hard and she fell back and her head slammed down on a rock. Liz’s eyes fluttered shut and blood slowly trickled down her head. Max watched helplessly as he tried to regain normal breathing. He looked around in the darkness for the gun, but he couldn’t see it.
Max watched as Corey bent down and picked up a large rock in his hand. Corey turned towards Max and an evil grin spread across his face. “She was supposed to be mine you know. If you hadn’t gone and screwed things up that night of the party I would have made her mine. She was beautiful a goddess even, but now you’ve reduced her to a whore. Now I have to get rid of you both.” Corey said as he held up the rock into the air. Max yelled back to Corey that she would never have been his, but stopped his words as he saw him ready to strike him with the rock.
Max tried to move to get out of the way, but he felt pain shooting through his leg. It was then that he noticed the blood trickling down his leg. A bullet hole was in his bloodied pants. That’s where that stray bullet went. He had been so fearful that Liz had been shot that he hadn’t noticed that he had been. The pain in his arm, gut, and leg was too great to move. He watched as Corey held the rock above his head as he started to slam it down. “This is it; I love you Liz. I am sorry I couldn’t protect you” Max thought to himself as the rock neared his face. “Rot in hell Max” Corey yelled out as he brought the rock down.
His feet flying at an amazing rate, but he couldn’t help but think that it wasn’t fast enough. His breath was becoming heavy and he noticed that he was out of breath, but he wouldn’t stop until he had Liz safely in his arms. Max’s broken arm swung back and forth as he ran. He tried to ignore the pain that shot through him as his arm would occasionally hit his body. All the pain god could put him through would be worth it if he could get to Liz in time. All that mattered was Liz.
His car raced towards the Parker home, but O’Brien was nervous. The Evans boy luckily had a lead on him even if it was by foot, but he didn’t know if Max would be able to save Liz or himself. Max didn’t know that this whole plot was more than it seemed; he barely understood it himself. His fingers strummed on the steering wheel as his nervousness rose. He glanced down at the address to check it one more time. He watched the houses he passed and he read the numbers….2000….2100….2200… he slowed down his car as he was nearing the home. 2318. That’s her home. He looked around and didn’t see the car he was hoping wouldn’t be there. He walked up to the door and rang the bell, but after a moment he started pounding on the door.
After a minute he heard the door lock being turned. O’Brien had his gun in his hand ready in case something happened. The door slowly opened to see what appeared to be Liz’s parents in their bathrobes. They both shared matching scared faces. Liz’s mother clutched her bathrobe closer to her chest and looked O’Brien straight in the eyes. “Why are you here officer?” She asked quietly.
O’Brien could see her fear and he paused for a moment, not sure how to tell them. “Max Evans was attacked at the hospital a short while ago; he was almost suffocated to death it seems, but he pressed the help button. When the nurses arrived they found that he had left. From what I gather the guy tried to kill Max, but when Max hit the button he bolted. Max probably realized Liz is in danger and decided to take action to his own hands.” O’Brien explained. The parents both gasped hearing about what happened to Max.
“Sir, why are you here? Do you believe my baby girl is in danger?” Mr. Parker spoke up. O’Brien simply nodded and looked past them into the home. “Well I assure you officer that our daughter is safe in her bed.” The officer looked at them trying to figure out if they were positive.
“Well with all respect Mr. Parker, I’d like to make sure of that. I’d also like to speak to her personally.” O’Brien said as he looked at Mr. Parker. Mr. Parker glared at him, but his fear over the safety for his daughter he opened the door wider and waved O’Brien to go ahead. O’Brien followed the parents to the door of Liz’s room. Mr. Parker knocked on the door and called to Liz. Receiving no answer Mr. Parker opened the door to see that Liz was not there. Mrs. Parker’s hand went straight to her heart as she gasped.
O’Brien realized this was a bad; very bad. He quickly turned towards the parents and asked them, “Do you know where your daughter would be?” They shook their heads, but then Mrs. Parker looked thoughtful. She looked to O’Brien and walked to the window. She pointed to the beach and explained that her daughter loved the ocean. O’Brien wasted no time and he bolted out of the Parker home.
Max was nearing her home, but remembering how she loves to go to the beach at night he headed for the beach. He just prayed his instinct was right. He ran and he got to the top of the hill at the edge of the road and the beach. That’s when he saw Corey pulling out a gun. He watched in horror as he pointed it at her heart. He ran as fast as humanly possible towards them. Corey was so caught up in what he was doing he didn’t seem to hear Max approaching him. As Max was a few feet away he watched as he cocked the gun and was about to pull the trigger. Max didn’t think, but did what his whole heart screamed him to do. He ran full force at Corey and knocked him to ground. Before either of the men hit the ground a gun shot was heard going off.
The gun was thrown across the sand into the darkness. Max looked up to see Liz standing in shock with tears running down her face. He quickly scanned her body and saw that there were no bullet wounds. He let out a quiet sigh in relief. Corey struggled beneath him, but Max tried to do his best to keep him down.
Corey took his free arm and punched his broken arm. Max yelped and couldn’t help but release his holding on Corey. Corey used this opportunity to roll out from under him and stand up. Corey kicked Matt hard in the stomach. Max groaned as the wind was literally kicked out of him. He clutched his broken arm and struggled to breathe.
Liz watched as Corey kicked Max in the gut. She ran and tried to push him down, but her small frame didn’t permit that. She started hitting him and tried to punch him, but he grabbed her hand and slapped her across the face. He shoved her hard and she fell back and her head slammed down on a rock. Liz’s eyes fluttered shut and blood slowly trickled down her head. Max watched helplessly as he tried to regain normal breathing. He looked around in the darkness for the gun, but he couldn’t see it.
Max watched as Corey bent down and picked up a large rock in his hand. Corey turned towards Max and an evil grin spread across his face. “She was supposed to be mine you know. If you hadn’t gone and screwed things up that night of the party I would have made her mine. She was beautiful a goddess even, but now you’ve reduced her to a whore. Now I have to get rid of you both.” Corey said as he held up the rock into the air. Max yelled back to Corey that she would never have been his, but stopped his words as he saw him ready to strike him with the rock.
Max tried to move to get out of the way, but he felt pain shooting through his leg. It was then that he noticed the blood trickling down his leg. A bullet hole was in his bloodied pants. That’s where that stray bullet went. He had been so fearful that Liz had been shot that he hadn’t noticed that he had been. The pain in his arm, gut, and leg was too great to move. He watched as Corey held the rock above his head as he started to slam it down. “This is it; I love you Liz. I am sorry I couldn’t protect you” Max thought to himself as the rock neared his face. “Rot in hell Max” Corey yelled out as he brought the rock down.
Chapter 15
Thump, thump, thump. O’Brien’s feet pounded on the pavement running with fierce intensity. He had a dreadful feeling that he was not going to make it in time. His eyes scanned the beach line looking for the teens, but all he could see was the water crashing upon the shore. Slowly thee dark figures appeared in the distance. O’Brien saw what looked like Liz Parker being thrown to the ground and Max Evans lying on the beach. He watched in horror as the other figure raised a rock in the air. O’Brien reached for his gun and raised it towards his target.
A shot rang out in the cool night air. The water slowly crashed down on the shore a few times before any other sounds were made. The stars above them watched down at the scene. People came running out of their homes after hearing the sound of a gun. A father instructed his wife to call 911 as he went to check out what happened. The Parkers held each other hoping their daughter was alright. They wanted to go find their girl, but their fear of what they might find kept them in place.
A groan was then heard and a thump of a rock. Max looked up at Corey who was about to bash him with the rock, but now had dropped the rock and had a pained expression. Corey then backed off Max and held his bleeding shoulder. Max let go of the breath he had been holding. Who had shot Corey? He looked around, but he didn’t see anyone. He looked towards his girlfriend and there he saw something he thought he’d never see. Liz’s hand was shaking, but even in the dark night you could see the glint of the gun in her hand.
Corey cursed and held his aching shoulder. Damn that bitch! He wanted to try something, but he knew there was no point; his shoulder was badly wounded and no matter what he could try to do Liz could easily shoot him again. He inwardly laughed at little Liz Parker shooting him again, but when he looked at her and saw despite her obvious fear that she would undoubtedly shoot again if he tried anything.
Max wanted to run to her, but when he moved pain shot through his body with an intensity that if he had been standing he would have fallen to his knees. He looked at Liz and smiled at her trying to calm her down and show how he proud he was of her. She saved his life. He watched as Liz’s shaky eyes met his and she gave him a half smile.
O’Brien was shocked that when he had raised his gun to the attacker’s form that he was not the one to deliver the shot. He had hesitated when he saw how close the attacker was to Max’s body; he couldn’t risk shooting Max. He let out a breath that the attacker had been stopped, but he could see that Liz was shaking and wouldn’t be able to continue to hold that gun much longer. He kept running towards the group.
O’Brien rushed to Corey and immediately placed hand cuffs on him. He looked towards Liz and nodded for her to drop the weapon. She dropped the gun onto the sand. The changing wind blew her hair into her face, but anyone could still see the tears streaming down her beautiful face. Blood slowly trickled down the side of her face, but she didn’t seem to register the blood; all she could think of was that she and Max had almost died and that she shot someone!
Seeing Corey’s hands get put into the cuffs, Max limped his way to Liz’s side. Slowly he put his hand on the side of her face and gently lifted her head so her eyes would meet his. He lightly brushed the hair out of her face. Despite her injuries and her tears she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He looked into her trembling eyes that threatened to spill massive amounts of tears at any moment. “Liz” he whispered. He gave her a small quick kiss on her lips and pulled her into a hug. He winced as his arm hit her back, but he didn’t care anymore; it was finally over and Liz was safe.
Sirens blared and men and women slowly crept out of their homes. The Parkers finally made their way down to the beach. The Evans’ were on their way after receiving a call. Policemen were filing out reports and the E.M.T.’s had finished checking the couple out. Corey was un-hand cuffed so that he could be put on a stretcher and placed in an ambulance. A police officer escorted him there and would stay close the entire time making sure he wasn’t going anywhere. They tried to insist that Max go to the hospital to get the bullet out and Liz get her head checked out, but they shook their head and told them they’d go after their parents arrived; they needed some time alone before getting separated at the hospital. Max didn’t care how bad his leg hurt, he needed to be near Liz for a little while longer.
Wrapped up in a blanket the couple looked out at the water crashing down on the shore. The flashing blue lights were reflecting on the sand creating dancing figures on the sandy shore. Their parents had already talked to them, but now they were talking to the police. Max placed his good arm around Liz and kissed her temple. No words were spoken, but instead they just held each other.
O’Brien was getting some slaps on the back in congratulations. Mrs. Parker had given him a huge hug, making him blush, and Mr. Parker shook his hand. He had started filing a report when he could feel something nagging him. It was then that it dawned on him. Corey wasn’t the only one he was after. He dropped his pen and bolted to his car.
Thump, thump, thump. O’Brien’s feet pounded on the pavement running with fierce intensity. He had a dreadful feeling that he was not going to make it in time. His eyes scanned the beach line looking for the teens, but all he could see was the water crashing upon the shore. Slowly thee dark figures appeared in the distance. O’Brien saw what looked like Liz Parker being thrown to the ground and Max Evans lying on the beach. He watched in horror as the other figure raised a rock in the air. O’Brien reached for his gun and raised it towards his target.
A shot rang out in the cool night air. The water slowly crashed down on the shore a few times before any other sounds were made. The stars above them watched down at the scene. People came running out of their homes after hearing the sound of a gun. A father instructed his wife to call 911 as he went to check out what happened. The Parkers held each other hoping their daughter was alright. They wanted to go find their girl, but their fear of what they might find kept them in place.
A groan was then heard and a thump of a rock. Max looked up at Corey who was about to bash him with the rock, but now had dropped the rock and had a pained expression. Corey then backed off Max and held his bleeding shoulder. Max let go of the breath he had been holding. Who had shot Corey? He looked around, but he didn’t see anyone. He looked towards his girlfriend and there he saw something he thought he’d never see. Liz’s hand was shaking, but even in the dark night you could see the glint of the gun in her hand.
Corey cursed and held his aching shoulder. Damn that bitch! He wanted to try something, but he knew there was no point; his shoulder was badly wounded and no matter what he could try to do Liz could easily shoot him again. He inwardly laughed at little Liz Parker shooting him again, but when he looked at her and saw despite her obvious fear that she would undoubtedly shoot again if he tried anything.
Max wanted to run to her, but when he moved pain shot through his body with an intensity that if he had been standing he would have fallen to his knees. He looked at Liz and smiled at her trying to calm her down and show how he proud he was of her. She saved his life. He watched as Liz’s shaky eyes met his and she gave him a half smile.
O’Brien was shocked that when he had raised his gun to the attacker’s form that he was not the one to deliver the shot. He had hesitated when he saw how close the attacker was to Max’s body; he couldn’t risk shooting Max. He let out a breath that the attacker had been stopped, but he could see that Liz was shaking and wouldn’t be able to continue to hold that gun much longer. He kept running towards the group.
O’Brien rushed to Corey and immediately placed hand cuffs on him. He looked towards Liz and nodded for her to drop the weapon. She dropped the gun onto the sand. The changing wind blew her hair into her face, but anyone could still see the tears streaming down her beautiful face. Blood slowly trickled down the side of her face, but she didn’t seem to register the blood; all she could think of was that she and Max had almost died and that she shot someone!
Seeing Corey’s hands get put into the cuffs, Max limped his way to Liz’s side. Slowly he put his hand on the side of her face and gently lifted her head so her eyes would meet his. He lightly brushed the hair out of her face. Despite her injuries and her tears she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He looked into her trembling eyes that threatened to spill massive amounts of tears at any moment. “Liz” he whispered. He gave her a small quick kiss on her lips and pulled her into a hug. He winced as his arm hit her back, but he didn’t care anymore; it was finally over and Liz was safe.
Sirens blared and men and women slowly crept out of their homes. The Parkers finally made their way down to the beach. The Evans’ were on their way after receiving a call. Policemen were filing out reports and the E.M.T.’s had finished checking the couple out. Corey was un-hand cuffed so that he could be put on a stretcher and placed in an ambulance. A police officer escorted him there and would stay close the entire time making sure he wasn’t going anywhere. They tried to insist that Max go to the hospital to get the bullet out and Liz get her head checked out, but they shook their head and told them they’d go after their parents arrived; they needed some time alone before getting separated at the hospital. Max didn’t care how bad his leg hurt, he needed to be near Liz for a little while longer.
Wrapped up in a blanket the couple looked out at the water crashing down on the shore. The flashing blue lights were reflecting on the sand creating dancing figures on the sandy shore. Their parents had already talked to them, but now they were talking to the police. Max placed his good arm around Liz and kissed her temple. No words were spoken, but instead they just held each other.
O’Brien was getting some slaps on the back in congratulations. Mrs. Parker had given him a huge hug, making him blush, and Mr. Parker shook his hand. He had started filing a report when he could feel something nagging him. It was then that it dawned on him. Corey wasn’t the only one he was after. He dropped his pen and bolted to his car.
Chapter 16
“Doctor Collins to room 213, Doctor Collins to room 213” the sound of the loud speaker echoed down the quiet white halls. Pacing up and down the hall she was starting to burn a hole in the tiles. Getting agitated with her pacing, Adam yelled at Maria to sit down. She whipped her head towards Adam and noticed his annoyed look. Not wanting to start anything she sat down without a fight.
“They are fine Maria! They don’t have any critical wounds, so stop burning a hole in the ground and sit down and relax!” Adam said with frustration. He saw that she was going to say something, but he just glared at her and grabbed a magazine. He opened up a page and peeked over the paper to see Maria slowly open her mouth only to close it. He bit his lip in attempts not to laugh at her. Maria had always been known to be a blabber mouth, and this may be the very first time anyone has gotten her to shut up.
When his best friend had started dating Liz Parker he was happy for his friend, but when he realized that their relationship would cause him to spend time with blabber mouth Maria he was starting to see the downside. He had to admit that they did get along great and could probably be very good friends, but Adam didn’t think that anyone would be able to tame the untamed Maria.
Maria was normally bubbly and optimistic, but the whole thing was bothering her. She almost lost her two closest friends tonight. To make matters worse she was stuck with leave-me-alone Adam. He always seemed to push her away no matter how she acted. She didn’t even care anymore, but she needed someone to hug her and tell her everything was going to be okay. She glanced over at Adam, who was still reading a magazine, and she sighed. She wasn’t going to get comfort from him anytime soon.
Adam heard her sigh so he glanced over at her. She held her head in her hands and looked like she was on the edge of breaking down. Her hair had spilled in her face. “Great, now I feel bad for yelling at her to sit down” Adam thought. He put down the magazine and placed a hand on her back and gently rubbed it soothingly. She turned her head towards him and he could see the tears gathering in her eyes. Suddenly Adam felt a fluttering in his stomach. He reached over to her and pulled her into a tight hug. He could hear her soft crying on his shoulder and his heart broke a little.
“I think I hit my head harder then I thought because there is no way I’m seeing Adam and Maria hugging.” Maria pulled out of the embrace and looked at the voice. A huge smile spread across her face and she ran towards her friend. Liz had come out into the hallway only to see such what her head wouldn’t believe.
Liz, while hugging Maria, glanced over at Adam sitting in the chair and she smirked at him. She watched as he squirmed in his chair at her smirk. Liz always thought they would make a great couple. Another smile spread over Liz’s face, but she was going to keep this to herself.
“Liz, girl, you scared the shit out of me! Don’t you ever almost get killed again or else I’ll kill you!” Maria yelled at Liz. Liz giggled at Maria’s comment since it made no logical sense.
“Hello Adam. The doctor told me that Max should be coming out of surgery soon. Poor Max, he has a broken arm and a bullet hole in his leg.” Liz started off the last sentence as a joke to lighten the mood, but when she thought about it she got teary eyed. Maria pulled Liz back into another hug.
Liz’s parents were walking back from the hospital cafeteria when they saw Liz hugging Maria. They rushed over to their daughter’s side and pulled her into a big hug. Liz started coughing, causing her parents to pull back in surprise. They started looking her up and down checking to see what caused her coughing. Liz giggled softly and answered their questioning looks, “next time you two hug me, can you not hug so hard? I do need to breathe you know.”
Meanwhile in his car, Officer O’Brien was racing in his car hoping he could find Officer Anderson before anything bad happened. He thought back to earlier that day and he realized the connection in the hospital when he was talking to the nurse. A few weeks ago Officer Anderson had brought his son, Corey, into the station. O’Brien had noticed how Corey took particular attention to the guns everyone was carrying. When Anderson asked him to go get take out food from the Oceanside Café Corey seemed excited.
When Corey came back carrying food for his father and himself, O’Brien noticed he had a scowl on his face. If he hadn’t been paying close attention he would have surely missed what Corey to his father, but O’Brien had always been observant. He barely made out Corey say, “Max was there. I can’t take this.” He saw Anderson look around the room suspiciously to check if anyone had heard, but O’Brien quickly looked down at the file in his hand. He kept his eyes down, but he heard Anderson tell his son, “Shush, people can hear you. Be patient.”
O’Brien had thought it was strange at the time because he wasn’t sure what that meant, but now everything made sense. He just hoped that Anderson hadn’t heard yet about what happened to his son, because if he did O’Brien had no doubt that Anderson would do something bad.
“Doctor Collins to room 213, Doctor Collins to room 213” the sound of the loud speaker echoed down the quiet white halls. Pacing up and down the hall she was starting to burn a hole in the tiles. Getting agitated with her pacing, Adam yelled at Maria to sit down. She whipped her head towards Adam and noticed his annoyed look. Not wanting to start anything she sat down without a fight.
“They are fine Maria! They don’t have any critical wounds, so stop burning a hole in the ground and sit down and relax!” Adam said with frustration. He saw that she was going to say something, but he just glared at her and grabbed a magazine. He opened up a page and peeked over the paper to see Maria slowly open her mouth only to close it. He bit his lip in attempts not to laugh at her. Maria had always been known to be a blabber mouth, and this may be the very first time anyone has gotten her to shut up.
When his best friend had started dating Liz Parker he was happy for his friend, but when he realized that their relationship would cause him to spend time with blabber mouth Maria he was starting to see the downside. He had to admit that they did get along great and could probably be very good friends, but Adam didn’t think that anyone would be able to tame the untamed Maria.
Maria was normally bubbly and optimistic, but the whole thing was bothering her. She almost lost her two closest friends tonight. To make matters worse she was stuck with leave-me-alone Adam. He always seemed to push her away no matter how she acted. She didn’t even care anymore, but she needed someone to hug her and tell her everything was going to be okay. She glanced over at Adam, who was still reading a magazine, and she sighed. She wasn’t going to get comfort from him anytime soon.
Adam heard her sigh so he glanced over at her. She held her head in her hands and looked like she was on the edge of breaking down. Her hair had spilled in her face. “Great, now I feel bad for yelling at her to sit down” Adam thought. He put down the magazine and placed a hand on her back and gently rubbed it soothingly. She turned her head towards him and he could see the tears gathering in her eyes. Suddenly Adam felt a fluttering in his stomach. He reached over to her and pulled her into a tight hug. He could hear her soft crying on his shoulder and his heart broke a little.
“I think I hit my head harder then I thought because there is no way I’m seeing Adam and Maria hugging.” Maria pulled out of the embrace and looked at the voice. A huge smile spread across her face and she ran towards her friend. Liz had come out into the hallway only to see such what her head wouldn’t believe.
Liz, while hugging Maria, glanced over at Adam sitting in the chair and she smirked at him. She watched as he squirmed in his chair at her smirk. Liz always thought they would make a great couple. Another smile spread over Liz’s face, but she was going to keep this to herself.
“Liz, girl, you scared the shit out of me! Don’t you ever almost get killed again or else I’ll kill you!” Maria yelled at Liz. Liz giggled at Maria’s comment since it made no logical sense.
“Hello Adam. The doctor told me that Max should be coming out of surgery soon. Poor Max, he has a broken arm and a bullet hole in his leg.” Liz started off the last sentence as a joke to lighten the mood, but when she thought about it she got teary eyed. Maria pulled Liz back into another hug.
Liz’s parents were walking back from the hospital cafeteria when they saw Liz hugging Maria. They rushed over to their daughter’s side and pulled her into a big hug. Liz started coughing, causing her parents to pull back in surprise. They started looking her up and down checking to see what caused her coughing. Liz giggled softly and answered their questioning looks, “next time you two hug me, can you not hug so hard? I do need to breathe you know.”
Meanwhile in his car, Officer O’Brien was racing in his car hoping he could find Officer Anderson before anything bad happened. He thought back to earlier that day and he realized the connection in the hospital when he was talking to the nurse. A few weeks ago Officer Anderson had brought his son, Corey, into the station. O’Brien had noticed how Corey took particular attention to the guns everyone was carrying. When Anderson asked him to go get take out food from the Oceanside Café Corey seemed excited.
When Corey came back carrying food for his father and himself, O’Brien noticed he had a scowl on his face. If he hadn’t been paying close attention he would have surely missed what Corey to his father, but O’Brien had always been observant. He barely made out Corey say, “Max was there. I can’t take this.” He saw Anderson look around the room suspiciously to check if anyone had heard, but O’Brien quickly looked down at the file in his hand. He kept his eyes down, but he heard Anderson tell his son, “Shush, people can hear you. Be patient.”
O’Brien had thought it was strange at the time because he wasn’t sure what that meant, but now everything made sense. He just hoped that Anderson hadn’t heard yet about what happened to his son, because if he did O’Brien had no doubt that Anderson would do something bad.
Chapter 17
The Parkers, The Evans, Maria, and Adam sat patiently in the lounge of the hospital waiting for Max to come out from surgery. Mrs. Evans and Mrs. Parker were gabbing together and their husbands quietly watched the two talk.
Phillip Evans turned to Jeff Parker and informed him, “You know, I think we may need to separate them soon before they have our kid’s wedding planned out. You’d think they’d at least wait until they got engaged!”
“You really think they’ll get engaged?” Jeff said as he looked at his daughter. He noticed how worried she was, and he thought back to the events of the past few days and suddenly he felt stupid for saying that. He looked at Phillip who was making a ‘you got to be kidding me’ look. “Never mind, that was a stupid question.”
Liz started chewing on her nails. She thought being out here with everyone that she’d be comforted, but everyone was talking to each other. She could tell her mom and Mrs. Evans were planning out what her wedding dress would look like. Her father and Mr. Evans were discussing their crazy wives. She looked over at Adam and Maria and she could see them still bantering. A small smile graced her lips, but it was short lasted. The walls of the hospital seemed to be closing in on her; she couldn’t take the waiting anymore. Liz slowly rose to her feet and started walking away from everyone.
“Liz, where are you going?” Maria asked as she noticed Liz slipping away. Suddenly all the conversations stopped and everyone looked at Liz. Liz felt uncomfortable under their gaze.
“I’m just going for a walk, I need a break. I won’t be long” Liz said shrugging her shoulders. Everyone gave her a puzzled look and then looked at each other as if debating what to say to that. Maria quickly jumped up saying she’d go with her, but Liz waved her off saying she needed to be alone.
Liz walked out the doors of the hospital and placed her hands in front of her face; she had forgotten that the sun had risen. The blinding light made it hard for her to see anything. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the bright light and she started walking around.
Meanwhile everyone in the lounge was in a frenzy of conversations. A few of them wanted to go after Liz and make sure she wasn’t alone, but others protested that she just needs some time to think. Adam tried to stay out of all it, but as Max’s best friend he felt the need to protect her when Max wasn’t able to himself. Their bantering started to get louder and louder as tempers began to flare. One of the nurses shushed them and gave them an icy glare. Suddenly all them shut their mouth and hung their head in shame. No one said anything for a while.
O’Brien pulled up to the Anderson home. He had no doubt that someone from the police department had informed him his son was in the hospital, but he didn’t think he would show up there, but did that mean he was home? O’Brien knocked on the door because he had no search warrant, but he had his gun ready in case Anderson pulled anything. No one answered so O’Brien turned the knob, and to his surprise the door opened. “Why is his house unlocked?” O’Brien thought to himself.
O’Brien slowly crept through the house with his gun pointed and ready. He scanned each room, but he didn’t find anything. He heard movement coming from the bedroom. O’Brien stood outside the door and kicked the door open and pointed his gun at the target, and it was then he heard a blood curdling scream.
O’Brien looked at the maid as she was screaming and saying what sounded like swears in Spanish.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, O’Brien apologized in his best Spanish and asked her if she knew where Mr. Anderson was. The women did not look like she was going to answer so O’Brien flashed his badge. She replied that he had been here, but he answered the phone and left very quickly. O’Brien thanked her and ran back to his car.
O’Brien started the car, but he didn’t know where to go. “Think, think!” He yelled at himself. Dread washed over his body as he tried thinking like Anderson. “He’s going to try and finish the job.” O’Brien mumbled to himself. Turning on the flashing lights on his cop car, O’Brien floored it towards the hospital.
Liz walked along the grass next to the hospital. She saw a small field in the back of the hospital and so she decided to go sit under one of the trees there. She made her way over and sat down in the nice cool shade. Despite it being early morning, the temperature was already soaring. Liz leaned back on the tree and soaked up her surroundings. She slowly closed her eyes and thought about everything. It was then she felt a presence next to her. Without opening her eyes Liz mumbled, “I thought I told you guys I needed to be alone for awhile.”
“Well I’m glad you were stupid enough to go off alone; it makes my job a lot easier.” A deep voice said in a dangerous tone. Liz recognized that voice immediately and gulped. She didn’t open her eyes, fearing that if she opened them that he would be real. She racked her brain trying to figure out what to do.
“Officer Anderson, so glad to see you again,” Liz said in a sweet tone as she turned her head towards him. “What can I do for you sir?” Liz tried to play dumb even though she knew he would let his intentions clear soon, but she needed to try and stall him.
“You know full well why I am here Elizabeth. Don’t tell me that graduating at the top of your class was for nothing; don’t play dumb,” Anderson replied with venom. He glared at the girl and he could tell that she was trying to figure out what to do. He silently laughed as he could see her glancing around for someone to help.
“What do you want from me?” Liz asked in a panicked voice. She could see that he wasn’t the type to be stalled easily. He was a police officer after all. She glanced around, but she realized she was too far away from the parking lot for anyone to see her. She could scream, but she knew that if she did that he would silence her real quick, and she wasn’t sure she liked that option.
“You know what I want. Corey always had an eye for you. No matter how much I told him that there were other, prettier girls out there he wouldn’t listen. He watched you from a distance, but when he finally decided to make his move that Evans boy showed up. He refused to move on after that. He made up his mind then that if he couldn’t have you then no one would and that Max Evans would pay. Once that boy has his head set on something there is no return. He had my ability to be sneaky, but he his emotions made him sloppy.” Anderson said with anger and resentment.
“Corey needed help sir, but why are you here? What do you want from me?” Liz asked nervously. She had a feeling that Corey was just like his father; they both were insane. She looked around for something that could distract him or be used as a weapon, but she couldn’t find anything.
“Corey may be a screw up, but he is still my son. I covered up his mistake when he hit Evans and left so many witnesses. I knew what he was going to do last night, but I thought he was finally smart enough to get away with, but he got himself shot by you; a puny girl! Corey maybe going to jail, but his actions are not going to go in vain. You are going to pay girl, especially for shooting him.” Anderson finished his speech and started to look like he was about to do something.
Adam was getting impatient waiting around in the lobby. He was worried about Liz. He kept trying to tell himself that the psycho was in surgery and would have cops waiting for him when he got out. Something didn’t feel right though. He didn’t care what anyone else said, he was going to go find Liz. He told everyone he forgot something in his car, but when he was out of eye shot from them he ran. He had no idea where to look, but he had a feeling she’d want to go sit somewhere away from the busyness of the hospital. He started looking for an area that was away from the parking lot and the hospital.
O’Brien’s car sped into the hospital parking lot looking around for a spot to park. He could just park in the emergency lane, but he didn’t want to create suspicion. If Anderson was here then he didn’t want him to know he was onto him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a teenager running, obviously looking for someone by the whipping of his head. Dread filled O’Brien as he realized that it was likely that this boy was looking for Liz or Max. How many teenagers would be running around the parking lot of the hospital in this small town? Taking a chance he parked his car and raced to catch up with the teenager.
Adam slowed down his pace when he saw Liz sitting at a tree by herself. He let out a sigh, relieved that she was fine. That’s when he saw a man approach her. He could see her dread when seeing him. Adam hid himself behind a tree so that he wouldn’t be seen by whoever this creep was. He could Liz looking around for someone. He could make his presence known, but he wasn’t sure if that guy would shoot him, he could see the glint of the gun from there. “What am I going to do?”
The Parkers, The Evans, Maria, and Adam sat patiently in the lounge of the hospital waiting for Max to come out from surgery. Mrs. Evans and Mrs. Parker were gabbing together and their husbands quietly watched the two talk.
Phillip Evans turned to Jeff Parker and informed him, “You know, I think we may need to separate them soon before they have our kid’s wedding planned out. You’d think they’d at least wait until they got engaged!”
“You really think they’ll get engaged?” Jeff said as he looked at his daughter. He noticed how worried she was, and he thought back to the events of the past few days and suddenly he felt stupid for saying that. He looked at Phillip who was making a ‘you got to be kidding me’ look. “Never mind, that was a stupid question.”
Liz started chewing on her nails. She thought being out here with everyone that she’d be comforted, but everyone was talking to each other. She could tell her mom and Mrs. Evans were planning out what her wedding dress would look like. Her father and Mr. Evans were discussing their crazy wives. She looked over at Adam and Maria and she could see them still bantering. A small smile graced her lips, but it was short lasted. The walls of the hospital seemed to be closing in on her; she couldn’t take the waiting anymore. Liz slowly rose to her feet and started walking away from everyone.
“Liz, where are you going?” Maria asked as she noticed Liz slipping away. Suddenly all the conversations stopped and everyone looked at Liz. Liz felt uncomfortable under their gaze.
“I’m just going for a walk, I need a break. I won’t be long” Liz said shrugging her shoulders. Everyone gave her a puzzled look and then looked at each other as if debating what to say to that. Maria quickly jumped up saying she’d go with her, but Liz waved her off saying she needed to be alone.
Liz walked out the doors of the hospital and placed her hands in front of her face; she had forgotten that the sun had risen. The blinding light made it hard for her to see anything. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the bright light and she started walking around.
Meanwhile everyone in the lounge was in a frenzy of conversations. A few of them wanted to go after Liz and make sure she wasn’t alone, but others protested that she just needs some time to think. Adam tried to stay out of all it, but as Max’s best friend he felt the need to protect her when Max wasn’t able to himself. Their bantering started to get louder and louder as tempers began to flare. One of the nurses shushed them and gave them an icy glare. Suddenly all them shut their mouth and hung their head in shame. No one said anything for a while.
O’Brien pulled up to the Anderson home. He had no doubt that someone from the police department had informed him his son was in the hospital, but he didn’t think he would show up there, but did that mean he was home? O’Brien knocked on the door because he had no search warrant, but he had his gun ready in case Anderson pulled anything. No one answered so O’Brien turned the knob, and to his surprise the door opened. “Why is his house unlocked?” O’Brien thought to himself.
O’Brien slowly crept through the house with his gun pointed and ready. He scanned each room, but he didn’t find anything. He heard movement coming from the bedroom. O’Brien stood outside the door and kicked the door open and pointed his gun at the target, and it was then he heard a blood curdling scream.
O’Brien looked at the maid as she was screaming and saying what sounded like swears in Spanish.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, O’Brien apologized in his best Spanish and asked her if she knew where Mr. Anderson was. The women did not look like she was going to answer so O’Brien flashed his badge. She replied that he had been here, but he answered the phone and left very quickly. O’Brien thanked her and ran back to his car.
O’Brien started the car, but he didn’t know where to go. “Think, think!” He yelled at himself. Dread washed over his body as he tried thinking like Anderson. “He’s going to try and finish the job.” O’Brien mumbled to himself. Turning on the flashing lights on his cop car, O’Brien floored it towards the hospital.
Liz walked along the grass next to the hospital. She saw a small field in the back of the hospital and so she decided to go sit under one of the trees there. She made her way over and sat down in the nice cool shade. Despite it being early morning, the temperature was already soaring. Liz leaned back on the tree and soaked up her surroundings. She slowly closed her eyes and thought about everything. It was then she felt a presence next to her. Without opening her eyes Liz mumbled, “I thought I told you guys I needed to be alone for awhile.”
“Well I’m glad you were stupid enough to go off alone; it makes my job a lot easier.” A deep voice said in a dangerous tone. Liz recognized that voice immediately and gulped. She didn’t open her eyes, fearing that if she opened them that he would be real. She racked her brain trying to figure out what to do.
“Officer Anderson, so glad to see you again,” Liz said in a sweet tone as she turned her head towards him. “What can I do for you sir?” Liz tried to play dumb even though she knew he would let his intentions clear soon, but she needed to try and stall him.
“You know full well why I am here Elizabeth. Don’t tell me that graduating at the top of your class was for nothing; don’t play dumb,” Anderson replied with venom. He glared at the girl and he could tell that she was trying to figure out what to do. He silently laughed as he could see her glancing around for someone to help.
“What do you want from me?” Liz asked in a panicked voice. She could see that he wasn’t the type to be stalled easily. He was a police officer after all. She glanced around, but she realized she was too far away from the parking lot for anyone to see her. She could scream, but she knew that if she did that he would silence her real quick, and she wasn’t sure she liked that option.
“You know what I want. Corey always had an eye for you. No matter how much I told him that there were other, prettier girls out there he wouldn’t listen. He watched you from a distance, but when he finally decided to make his move that Evans boy showed up. He refused to move on after that. He made up his mind then that if he couldn’t have you then no one would and that Max Evans would pay. Once that boy has his head set on something there is no return. He had my ability to be sneaky, but he his emotions made him sloppy.” Anderson said with anger and resentment.
“Corey needed help sir, but why are you here? What do you want from me?” Liz asked nervously. She had a feeling that Corey was just like his father; they both were insane. She looked around for something that could distract him or be used as a weapon, but she couldn’t find anything.
“Corey may be a screw up, but he is still my son. I covered up his mistake when he hit Evans and left so many witnesses. I knew what he was going to do last night, but I thought he was finally smart enough to get away with, but he got himself shot by you; a puny girl! Corey maybe going to jail, but his actions are not going to go in vain. You are going to pay girl, especially for shooting him.” Anderson finished his speech and started to look like he was about to do something.
Adam was getting impatient waiting around in the lobby. He was worried about Liz. He kept trying to tell himself that the psycho was in surgery and would have cops waiting for him when he got out. Something didn’t feel right though. He didn’t care what anyone else said, he was going to go find Liz. He told everyone he forgot something in his car, but when he was out of eye shot from them he ran. He had no idea where to look, but he had a feeling she’d want to go sit somewhere away from the busyness of the hospital. He started looking for an area that was away from the parking lot and the hospital.
O’Brien’s car sped into the hospital parking lot looking around for a spot to park. He could just park in the emergency lane, but he didn’t want to create suspicion. If Anderson was here then he didn’t want him to know he was onto him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a teenager running, obviously looking for someone by the whipping of his head. Dread filled O’Brien as he realized that it was likely that this boy was looking for Liz or Max. How many teenagers would be running around the parking lot of the hospital in this small town? Taking a chance he parked his car and raced to catch up with the teenager.
Adam slowed down his pace when he saw Liz sitting at a tree by herself. He let out a sigh, relieved that she was fine. That’s when he saw a man approach her. He could see her dread when seeing him. Adam hid himself behind a tree so that he wouldn’t be seen by whoever this creep was. He could Liz looking around for someone. He could make his presence known, but he wasn’t sure if that guy would shoot him, he could see the glint of the gun from there. “What am I going to do?”
Chapter 18
O’Brien felt more confident on his decision to follow the teen when he could sense the fear coming from him. Something about the way he was running with a purpose that made O’Brien sure that he was making the right choice.
He saw the boy slow down, but could not see why he was slowing down. Slowing down himself, trying not to alert anyone, he could slowly see why the boy slowed down. He saw the boy hide behind a tree and look worriedly towards the Parker girl and Officer Anderson. O’Brien’s suspicions about Anderson were correct, and he was never more unhappy to be right.
O’Brien pulled himself behind a tree that was across from the boy. He tried to make eye contact with the boy so the boy would not make any rash decisions.
Adam felt like he was being watched, but when he looked at Liz and the man he saw that neither of them saw him. He turned his head to his left and it was then he saw a police man behind a tree pushing a finger to lips trying to tell him to be quiet. Adam nodded in agreement. The two men stared at each other for a few moments as if silently communicating what they should do.
O’Brien motioned to the boy his instructions. This whole situation was dangerous. He could shoot Anderson, but much like the night before with Anderson’s son, he could not get a clear shot. Despite Anderson’s lack of knowledge about their presence, it was almost like he knew not to let Liz get too far away from him. O’Brien sighed and realized it was Anderson’s instincts that were keeping O’Brien for getting a clear shot. It was now or never. He might have failed the two teens last night by not getting there sooner, but he wouldn’t fail her again.
Back in the lobby everyone sat around waiting for Max to get out of surgery. The group was chatting and trying to laugh despite the scary events the night before. Max emerged into the hallway in a wheel chair.
His arm had a new cast, and underneath his hospital clothes a big bruised was on his stomach where Corey had kicked him. Max had tried to insist on walking, but they told him that he had just gotten shot in the leg and to take it easy. He tried asking for crutches but the nurse laughed and pointed to his broken arm and asked him how he planned on doing that. Max blushed feeling a little silly, but he didn’t want people to fuss over him more than they already were. Max gave up because the less he fought the sooner he could see Liz. He had asked the doctors how she was, but all he got as some goofy grins and they assured him that she was fine.
Everyone was silenced when they heard Mrs. Evans gasp. They all turned their heads to Max who slowly started to smile seeing his family and friends. His parents jumped up from their seats and ran over to their son showering him with hugs and kisses from his mother. Max shrugged off his mother feeling a bit childish with all the affection. His eyes quickly scanned the room and Liz was nowhere to be seen.
Max’s eyes started to fill with tears and he looked towards his mother. “Mom, where’s Liz? I thought that she was out already. Why isn’t she here?” Mrs. Evans looked a bit sad for a moment. Max’s heart lurched with worry. Had something happened to Liz?
“I don’t think she could take sitting in the lobby anymore. She needed some time to herself so she went on a walk.” Mrs. Evans said gently. She knew how much her son wanted Liz to be there when he got out. She had hoped that Liz would be back by now, but maybe she had lost track of time.
Max’s face fell. He didn’t understand why should couldn’t wait any longer. She promised she’d be there when he got out. Something was wrong; he could feel it in every fiber of his being. He looked to see that Adam was not there. Before he went in for surgery he was told that Adam was on his way to the hospital. Max’s stomach turned in knots as he thought about why his girlfriend and best friend were missing. He knew Liz and Adam were both loyal people, so that was out of the question, but where were they?
Max looked towards Maria and her face seemed to mirror his. She felt something was wrong too. “Hey Maria, I’d like to get some air. Maybe we can go surprise Liz? Can you help wheel me?” Max said hoping that Maria would say yes. Maria caught the look in his eye and nodded quickly. The parents grumbled that he should stay there and rest, but Max held up his good hand and silenced them with that simple gesture. Maria walked behind him and pushed his chair out into the bright sunlight.
“So you feel like something is wrong too?” Maria said quietly as they exited the hospital doors. Max turned his sore body to look at Maria and he nodded. He could see that her eyes were starting to water. She was just as scared as he was. “So where to superman?” Maria joked playfully. The two teens envisioned Max the night before flying at Corey in order to save Liz, but for some reason, despite the terror of that night, the two started laughing.
Max laughed, but when his laughter started to deepen, his sore stomach ached with a great intensity and stopped immediately. Maria stopped laughing and looked empathy. Max thought for a moment. “When my mom was in the hospital having Kelly I needed time to think. I was so nervous about becoming a big brother and if my parents would love me less, so I escaped my aunt’s gaze and went to the back of the hospital and found this field with these beautiful trees. I sat under that tree until my aunt rushed out of the hospital and found me. I bet that’s where Liz is.” Max said looking at Maria.
Liz looked up at Anderson and she could see he was nervous. Why would he be nervous? It dawned on her that this would be the first time Anderson ever killed an innocent person. She could use this.
She held our hands gesturing to him that she wasn’t going to try and pull anything. Liz slowly rose to her feet. Anderson reached for his gun; he didn’t trust this girl. He narrowed his eyes at her. What was she up to?
“I am not sorry for shooting your son. He tried to kill me and Max, and if I hadn’t done what I did then Max would be dead. However, I think you will be sorry if you do shoot me. You may be finishing your son’s plan, but you are a man of the law. Your job is to protect the innocent, but by doing this you are protecting the guilty and killing the innocent.” Liz boldly explained.
Liz was nervous that she was going to upset him, but for a moment she could see that she was right; he didn’t want to kill her. As quickly as that emotion had come over his face, it disappeared only to be replaced by anger. His face scrunched up and became very rigid.
Anderson turned his head and looked around. He glanced over the field and the trees. He didn’t see anyone, but his police instinct was telling him that he should be more careful. He couldn’t leave Liz and the longer he knew the longer he waited the more possible witnesses there could be. Pulling out his gun, Anderson waved his gun at Liz.
“It may be against my job to kill you, but family does come first Liz.” Anderson spat out. He cocked the gun and pointed it her head. Liz looked and saw a silencer on the end of the gun. No one would hear him kill her. This was it.
O’Brien felt more confident on his decision to follow the teen when he could sense the fear coming from him. Something about the way he was running with a purpose that made O’Brien sure that he was making the right choice.
He saw the boy slow down, but could not see why he was slowing down. Slowing down himself, trying not to alert anyone, he could slowly see why the boy slowed down. He saw the boy hide behind a tree and look worriedly towards the Parker girl and Officer Anderson. O’Brien’s suspicions about Anderson were correct, and he was never more unhappy to be right.
O’Brien pulled himself behind a tree that was across from the boy. He tried to make eye contact with the boy so the boy would not make any rash decisions.
Adam felt like he was being watched, but when he looked at Liz and the man he saw that neither of them saw him. He turned his head to his left and it was then he saw a police man behind a tree pushing a finger to lips trying to tell him to be quiet. Adam nodded in agreement. The two men stared at each other for a few moments as if silently communicating what they should do.
O’Brien motioned to the boy his instructions. This whole situation was dangerous. He could shoot Anderson, but much like the night before with Anderson’s son, he could not get a clear shot. Despite Anderson’s lack of knowledge about their presence, it was almost like he knew not to let Liz get too far away from him. O’Brien sighed and realized it was Anderson’s instincts that were keeping O’Brien for getting a clear shot. It was now or never. He might have failed the two teens last night by not getting there sooner, but he wouldn’t fail her again.
Back in the lobby everyone sat around waiting for Max to get out of surgery. The group was chatting and trying to laugh despite the scary events the night before. Max emerged into the hallway in a wheel chair.
His arm had a new cast, and underneath his hospital clothes a big bruised was on his stomach where Corey had kicked him. Max had tried to insist on walking, but they told him that he had just gotten shot in the leg and to take it easy. He tried asking for crutches but the nurse laughed and pointed to his broken arm and asked him how he planned on doing that. Max blushed feeling a little silly, but he didn’t want people to fuss over him more than they already were. Max gave up because the less he fought the sooner he could see Liz. He had asked the doctors how she was, but all he got as some goofy grins and they assured him that she was fine.
Everyone was silenced when they heard Mrs. Evans gasp. They all turned their heads to Max who slowly started to smile seeing his family and friends. His parents jumped up from their seats and ran over to their son showering him with hugs and kisses from his mother. Max shrugged off his mother feeling a bit childish with all the affection. His eyes quickly scanned the room and Liz was nowhere to be seen.
Max’s eyes started to fill with tears and he looked towards his mother. “Mom, where’s Liz? I thought that she was out already. Why isn’t she here?” Mrs. Evans looked a bit sad for a moment. Max’s heart lurched with worry. Had something happened to Liz?
“I don’t think she could take sitting in the lobby anymore. She needed some time to herself so she went on a walk.” Mrs. Evans said gently. She knew how much her son wanted Liz to be there when he got out. She had hoped that Liz would be back by now, but maybe she had lost track of time.
Max’s face fell. He didn’t understand why should couldn’t wait any longer. She promised she’d be there when he got out. Something was wrong; he could feel it in every fiber of his being. He looked to see that Adam was not there. Before he went in for surgery he was told that Adam was on his way to the hospital. Max’s stomach turned in knots as he thought about why his girlfriend and best friend were missing. He knew Liz and Adam were both loyal people, so that was out of the question, but where were they?
Max looked towards Maria and her face seemed to mirror his. She felt something was wrong too. “Hey Maria, I’d like to get some air. Maybe we can go surprise Liz? Can you help wheel me?” Max said hoping that Maria would say yes. Maria caught the look in his eye and nodded quickly. The parents grumbled that he should stay there and rest, but Max held up his good hand and silenced them with that simple gesture. Maria walked behind him and pushed his chair out into the bright sunlight.
“So you feel like something is wrong too?” Maria said quietly as they exited the hospital doors. Max turned his sore body to look at Maria and he nodded. He could see that her eyes were starting to water. She was just as scared as he was. “So where to superman?” Maria joked playfully. The two teens envisioned Max the night before flying at Corey in order to save Liz, but for some reason, despite the terror of that night, the two started laughing.
Max laughed, but when his laughter started to deepen, his sore stomach ached with a great intensity and stopped immediately. Maria stopped laughing and looked empathy. Max thought for a moment. “When my mom was in the hospital having Kelly I needed time to think. I was so nervous about becoming a big brother and if my parents would love me less, so I escaped my aunt’s gaze and went to the back of the hospital and found this field with these beautiful trees. I sat under that tree until my aunt rushed out of the hospital and found me. I bet that’s where Liz is.” Max said looking at Maria.
Liz looked up at Anderson and she could see he was nervous. Why would he be nervous? It dawned on her that this would be the first time Anderson ever killed an innocent person. She could use this.
She held our hands gesturing to him that she wasn’t going to try and pull anything. Liz slowly rose to her feet. Anderson reached for his gun; he didn’t trust this girl. He narrowed his eyes at her. What was she up to?
“I am not sorry for shooting your son. He tried to kill me and Max, and if I hadn’t done what I did then Max would be dead. However, I think you will be sorry if you do shoot me. You may be finishing your son’s plan, but you are a man of the law. Your job is to protect the innocent, but by doing this you are protecting the guilty and killing the innocent.” Liz boldly explained.
Liz was nervous that she was going to upset him, but for a moment she could see that she was right; he didn’t want to kill her. As quickly as that emotion had come over his face, it disappeared only to be replaced by anger. His face scrunched up and became very rigid.
Anderson turned his head and looked around. He glanced over the field and the trees. He didn’t see anyone, but his police instinct was telling him that he should be more careful. He couldn’t leave Liz and the longer he knew the longer he waited the more possible witnesses there could be. Pulling out his gun, Anderson waved his gun at Liz.
“It may be against my job to kill you, but family does come first Liz.” Anderson spat out. He cocked the gun and pointed it her head. Liz looked and saw a silencer on the end of the gun. No one would hear him kill her. This was it.
Chapter 19
O’Brien looked over at the teen and nodded. It was now or never. Adam looked nervously over at the police officer and prayed he knew what he was doing. O’Brien stepped out from the tree and pointed his gun towards Anderson. “Your training has failed you Anderson. Any decent cop would have known not to be so obvious.” O’Brien yelled.
Anderson had his finger on the trigger when he heard a voice coming from his left. He didn’t turn towards the voice, but he quickly pulled Liz close to him and held the gun to her head. “Well O’Brien you are not the one to be talking. Any decent cop would have taken me out by now. Oh wait, that’s right; you were always a little gun shy. Something about a hostage situation and you accidentally shooting the victim made you a little scared to shoot a gun again.”
O’Brien cringed with the memory. He had tracked down a known murderer and found him about to take another victim. He shot at the murderer, but the bullet just grazed the guy and struck the victim in the shoulder. The poor girl lived, but O’Brien knew that if that bullet had hit an inch or two lower she would have been killed. He had messed up and it almost cost an innocent person’s life. Ever since that day he had been very cautious about shooting anyone. If he didn’t have a clear shot then he wasn’t going to shoot. O’Brien knew that Anderson was trying to poke at a sore spot so he could gain the upper hand, so O’Brien shook the memory out of his head and focused on saving the girl.
Max and Maria neared the field when they saw Adam hiding behind a tree and O’Brien talking to someone they couldn’t see. Why was O’Brien here? Something was wrong; very wrong. They both looked at each other then looked a little farther to see who O’Brien was speaking with. They could see Anderson with a gun pointed at Liz. They both gasped. Max looked up at Maria and softly told her to wheel them so that they’d be out of Anderson’s line of vision. If Anderson saw Max, he had no doubt he’d shoot him too.
Adam’s body was shaking with nervousness. He had to do this, but he was worried something would go wrong. He tightened his fist and prayed that the police officer knew what he was doing. He watched O’Brien talk and he saw his signal. It was now or never.
Anderson wanted to laugh at the ignorance of O’Brien. Here he was out in the open and should be dead or injured on the ground with handcuffs on his wrists, but he still had the upper hand. He let out a snort and an evil smile stretched on his face. He could take out O’Brien while he was at it. He did always annoy him anyways. So what if he was a cop; he wasn’t a very good one anyway.
His thoughts were interrupted when his head felt like he had been hit by a rock. He looked down and saw that an indeed a rock had hit him on the side of his head. He could feel the blood slowly trickling down his head. He turned his head and pointed his gun at the direction of the rock and he could see a scared teenage boy half behind a tree.
Maria had wheeled Max over behind Anderson when they saw Adam throw a rock at Anderson’s head. Maria couldn’t believe the bravery of Adam to do that. She watched in horror as the gun that had been pointed at Liz turn to Adam. She was glad that Liz wasn’t in immediate danger, but now Adam was. She could feel Max struggle to try and get out of the chair, but she held him in place. She knew he wanted to get up and save Liz and Adam, but with his bad leg and arm he was no good to anyone, except for maybe another victim for Anderson. As she started to look back to see what was going on a shot rang out and a body hit the ground.
(2 years later)…
After reading a few lines of the first page, he flipped through to a date that forever changed his life. He began reading the neatly written page. It took all of his strength not to break down at the words written.
Today I almost lost the love of my life for good. He saved my life and it nearly took his. When I looked up and saw him lying on the pavement bleeding, I nearly died right there. He didn’t move and for a moment I thought he was dead. I raced over and I could hear him breathing, but it was so faint. What broke the last part of my heart was hearing his little sister Kelly scream when she saw Max.
I was so scared waiting in the lobby of the hospital all alone with only Kelly. When I saw Max’s parents I wasn’t sure what to say to them. How could I tell them that it was my fault their son was in the hospital? How could I answer their questions about why I was running across the street, not looking where I was going?
Even now that I know he’s going to be alright, I can’t seem to calm my nerves. What if this person tries to come after me or Max again? I wish Max was here right now so I could be held by him and be reassured everything will be alright. I think I’ll take a walk on the beach before heading to bed; it’s the only thing that can calm me down.
His body shook with the powerful emotions running through his body. He wished with all his heart he could travel through time and stop her before she wrote that last line of the entry and not let her go to the beach. The chain reaction of those events changed his life forever. He wondered what his life would have if he had that power to change the past.
Thinking about the possibilities, his hand slipped down to his leg. Without even noticing he lightly rubbed the scar from the bullet he had received 2 years before. His leg had fully healed since the incident, but every once in a while his leg would ache beneath the scar and cause him to limp slightly.
Wondering what was on another page, he started to flip the pages when he heard a voice call to him. “Max! You jerk; you know you aren’t allowed to read that!” Max quickly shut the book and looked up at the doorway. Sheepishly he placed the book down away from him. He flashed his innocent look, but he knew he was in trouble.
“Oh common, it has been 3 years, aren’t I allowed to read a little?” Max pouted. A smile broke out across her features. Max inwardly grinned knowing that he had won.
“I suppose you are right. Well from what I can see you’ve already read a little, so I’ll just be taking that back now.” Liz said with a grin. She snatched the book and glared at him playfully. As she placed the book to her side her ring caught the light causing it to sparkle.
Max’s smile spread from ear to ear when he remembered giving that promise ring the Christmas after their whole ordeal. She had nearly cried when she opened the box and he whispered his promises of love. The ring made from white gold and had a small diamond in the middle in the shape of a heart. It was beautiful. Max vowed to himself when he gave her that ring that it would not be the last diamond he’d give her. Next time the diamond would be bigger and a question would come along with it.
“Oh love don’t be mad, after all it is our 3 year anniversary.” Max said as he got up and made his way to her. He gave the cutest face he could and held his arms open for her to hug him. She grinned knowing he was trying to get off the hook, but she just couldn’t stay angry with him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly.
It had been hard for the two to deal with the distance of school, but after everything that had happened they realized they could make it through anything. It proved more difficult for Max than he thought being so far away from Liz; he was always worried about someone hurting her, but he had to remind himself she was a grown capable woman. They spent most of their weekends together and talked as much as they could on the phone when they weren’t together.
“Come on, let’s go downstairs. They probably thought you fell in the toilet and got flushed.” Liz said playfully. She could tell Max had a lot on his mind and she was pretty sure she knew what it was about, but she didn’t want to ruin the day so she did her best to push her thoughts away.
“Hey, I take offense to that! It only happened once!” Max tried to say with the most serious face he could muster, but it quickly broke into a fit of laughter. The two were still laughing as they entered the living room.
“I told you guys I want whatever drug you guys are on to always be that giddy! Now where are my drugs?” Maria begged. She held out her hand like she was asking for them to place something in her hand.
Liz slapped her hand away and replied, “There are no drugs, just love.” She smiled to Max who was grinning ear to ear. Maria stuck out her bottom lip and pouted.
“Oh common, you don’t need the drugs when you have me!” Adam replied wrapping an arm around his girlfriend of almost two years.
“Are you kidding? I need drugs because of you; you drive me crazy!” Maria replied looking at Adam.
“Crazy for me you mean.” Adam said in his most suave voice as he pulled her to him and he pressed his lips to hers. She pulled away and shoved him lightly. Adam would have thought she was mad if he didn’t know her better and if he didn’t see that smile she was trying to hide. “Come here woman.” He pulled her back to his arms and before she could protest his choice of words he kissed her soundly.
A cough a few feet away broke the couple up. “And you say that we need to get a room sometimes!” Liz exclaimed. Maria and Adam had come over to wish Liz and Max a happy 3 year anniversary. Max was glad they came over, but he was praying they would leave soon so he could get onto his plans for him and Liz.
“Well guys I suggest you two do get a room or another house because me and Liz have a date to get to. I’ll see you guys next week for thanksgiving.” Liz hugged Maria and Adam bye.
As Max shook hands with Adam, Adam whispered, “You ready buddy?” And Max looked over at Liz and turned back to Adam and nodded his head. Maria grabbed Adam’s hand and pulled him out the door to her car.
Liz giggled at her friend’s antics. She looked at Max who had an expression she couldn’t quite read. “What are you thinking?” Liz asked quietly.
“You are so beautiful, but when you laugh it lights up your whole face and you are stunning.” Max answered. He wanted to tell her the full truth of his thoughts, but he couldn’t ruin his plan. She’d find out soon enough. “Come with me beauty, I have many plans for you tonight.”
The couple walked hand in hand down to the beach. It was 9 o’clock and the stars were out creating a beautiful glow on the couple’s faces. Liz thought to herself as she walked onto the beach that she couldn’t be happier. Max had treated her like a queen all day. He had made her breakfast, given her a dozen of white roses, taken her out on a picnic for lunch, and took her out to her favorite restaurant for dinner. Now it looked like they were going to her favorite activity; stargazing.
Max placed the blanket down on the cold sand. It had been an unusually warm November day, but the cold weather had quickly come back once the sun had set. Liz sat down in front of Max. He saw a shiver run down her back and he felt bad. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. Her shivering stopped immediately.
Liz looked up at the stars and was happier than she had ever been in her life. Despite all her fears of being so far from one another at school, they had made it work. They were a few months into their junior year of college and Liz couldn’t wait until they graduated. They hadn’t really talked about what they would do when they graduated, but Liz hoped they could eventually get an apartment together. She smiled thinking about how great it would be to wake up every morning next to Max.
“Liz?” Max quietly asked. Liz turned herself around so she was facing Max. He had a very serious face, so serious that she was worried something was wrong. She reached out and stroked his face trying to ease whatever was causing him to look like that.
“You know, this is where it all started. Right here in this exact spot 3 years ago I saw you by yourself and I thought to myself that I had never seen anything more beautiful in all my life. We made love for the first time right over there on our 9 month anniversary. Two years ago we both nearly lost our lives, but you know what? We proved that night that no matter what life throws us, our love will stand the test. Every important moment in our life has occurred on this beach, which is why I wanted to come here tonight.” Max tried to keep his voice as steady as he could while saying all of that, but the love and nervousness that he was feeling was causing his voice to shake a bit.
Liz could here the nervousness in his voice so she kissed him on the lips and gave him a gentle hug. Max felt the anxiety leave his body when she wrapped her arms around him. He pulled away from her and slowly stood up, ushering her to do the same. He put his hands on either side of her face and looked deeply into her eyes.
“Liz, I have loved you since the day I have met you and I will love you for the rest of my life. I want to spend every morning waking up to you and spend every night wrapped around you before I fall asleep. I know we still have a year and a half left of school, but I want to ask you something now. Liz Anne Parker, will you do me the great honor of marrying me?” Max, now knelt on one knee, pulled the beautiful ring out of his pocket and opened it for Liz to see.
Liz couldn’t believe her ears or her eyes. She had dreamed about this day since the day she had met him. Max wanted to marry her! Tears streamed down her face and she nodded her head wildly. “Yes! Of course I’ll marry you!” Liz replied and launched herself into Max’s arms. He picked her up and span her around, the two giggling with happiness. Nothing could come between them now, right?
(Across town)
A man knelt down and read the words inscribed on the marble stone. A tear came to his eye, but he bit it back refusing to cry. He fingered the dates and he stood up with anger. “I’ll get vengeance for you dad, I promise!” The man walked back in his orange jump suit, shackles now broken but still dragging against the ground. He entered the car and shoved the body out of the car and onto the grass. He shut the door and took off in the car.
(TV News Report)
“We regret to interrupt your scheduled program, but Corey Anderson has escaped when he was in route to be moved to another prison. Officer Larry Smith’s body was found lying in the cemetery near where Anderson’s father was buried. Police officers consider him armed and dangerous. Police are trying to track Anderson, but they have no leads as of yet. We will return you to your regularly scheduled program now.”
THE END
O’Brien looked over at the teen and nodded. It was now or never. Adam looked nervously over at the police officer and prayed he knew what he was doing. O’Brien stepped out from the tree and pointed his gun towards Anderson. “Your training has failed you Anderson. Any decent cop would have known not to be so obvious.” O’Brien yelled.
Anderson had his finger on the trigger when he heard a voice coming from his left. He didn’t turn towards the voice, but he quickly pulled Liz close to him and held the gun to her head. “Well O’Brien you are not the one to be talking. Any decent cop would have taken me out by now. Oh wait, that’s right; you were always a little gun shy. Something about a hostage situation and you accidentally shooting the victim made you a little scared to shoot a gun again.”
O’Brien cringed with the memory. He had tracked down a known murderer and found him about to take another victim. He shot at the murderer, but the bullet just grazed the guy and struck the victim in the shoulder. The poor girl lived, but O’Brien knew that if that bullet had hit an inch or two lower she would have been killed. He had messed up and it almost cost an innocent person’s life. Ever since that day he had been very cautious about shooting anyone. If he didn’t have a clear shot then he wasn’t going to shoot. O’Brien knew that Anderson was trying to poke at a sore spot so he could gain the upper hand, so O’Brien shook the memory out of his head and focused on saving the girl.
Max and Maria neared the field when they saw Adam hiding behind a tree and O’Brien talking to someone they couldn’t see. Why was O’Brien here? Something was wrong; very wrong. They both looked at each other then looked a little farther to see who O’Brien was speaking with. They could see Anderson with a gun pointed at Liz. They both gasped. Max looked up at Maria and softly told her to wheel them so that they’d be out of Anderson’s line of vision. If Anderson saw Max, he had no doubt he’d shoot him too.
Adam’s body was shaking with nervousness. He had to do this, but he was worried something would go wrong. He tightened his fist and prayed that the police officer knew what he was doing. He watched O’Brien talk and he saw his signal. It was now or never.
Anderson wanted to laugh at the ignorance of O’Brien. Here he was out in the open and should be dead or injured on the ground with handcuffs on his wrists, but he still had the upper hand. He let out a snort and an evil smile stretched on his face. He could take out O’Brien while he was at it. He did always annoy him anyways. So what if he was a cop; he wasn’t a very good one anyway.
His thoughts were interrupted when his head felt like he had been hit by a rock. He looked down and saw that an indeed a rock had hit him on the side of his head. He could feel the blood slowly trickling down his head. He turned his head and pointed his gun at the direction of the rock and he could see a scared teenage boy half behind a tree.
Maria had wheeled Max over behind Anderson when they saw Adam throw a rock at Anderson’s head. Maria couldn’t believe the bravery of Adam to do that. She watched in horror as the gun that had been pointed at Liz turn to Adam. She was glad that Liz wasn’t in immediate danger, but now Adam was. She could feel Max struggle to try and get out of the chair, but she held him in place. She knew he wanted to get up and save Liz and Adam, but with his bad leg and arm he was no good to anyone, except for maybe another victim for Anderson. As she started to look back to see what was going on a shot rang out and a body hit the ground.
(2 years later)…
After reading a few lines of the first page, he flipped through to a date that forever changed his life. He began reading the neatly written page. It took all of his strength not to break down at the words written.
Today I almost lost the love of my life for good. He saved my life and it nearly took his. When I looked up and saw him lying on the pavement bleeding, I nearly died right there. He didn’t move and for a moment I thought he was dead. I raced over and I could hear him breathing, but it was so faint. What broke the last part of my heart was hearing his little sister Kelly scream when she saw Max.
I was so scared waiting in the lobby of the hospital all alone with only Kelly. When I saw Max’s parents I wasn’t sure what to say to them. How could I tell them that it was my fault their son was in the hospital? How could I answer their questions about why I was running across the street, not looking where I was going?
Even now that I know he’s going to be alright, I can’t seem to calm my nerves. What if this person tries to come after me or Max again? I wish Max was here right now so I could be held by him and be reassured everything will be alright. I think I’ll take a walk on the beach before heading to bed; it’s the only thing that can calm me down.
His body shook with the powerful emotions running through his body. He wished with all his heart he could travel through time and stop her before she wrote that last line of the entry and not let her go to the beach. The chain reaction of those events changed his life forever. He wondered what his life would have if he had that power to change the past.
Thinking about the possibilities, his hand slipped down to his leg. Without even noticing he lightly rubbed the scar from the bullet he had received 2 years before. His leg had fully healed since the incident, but every once in a while his leg would ache beneath the scar and cause him to limp slightly.
Wondering what was on another page, he started to flip the pages when he heard a voice call to him. “Max! You jerk; you know you aren’t allowed to read that!” Max quickly shut the book and looked up at the doorway. Sheepishly he placed the book down away from him. He flashed his innocent look, but he knew he was in trouble.
“Oh common, it has been 3 years, aren’t I allowed to read a little?” Max pouted. A smile broke out across her features. Max inwardly grinned knowing that he had won.
“I suppose you are right. Well from what I can see you’ve already read a little, so I’ll just be taking that back now.” Liz said with a grin. She snatched the book and glared at him playfully. As she placed the book to her side her ring caught the light causing it to sparkle.
Max’s smile spread from ear to ear when he remembered giving that promise ring the Christmas after their whole ordeal. She had nearly cried when she opened the box and he whispered his promises of love. The ring made from white gold and had a small diamond in the middle in the shape of a heart. It was beautiful. Max vowed to himself when he gave her that ring that it would not be the last diamond he’d give her. Next time the diamond would be bigger and a question would come along with it.
“Oh love don’t be mad, after all it is our 3 year anniversary.” Max said as he got up and made his way to her. He gave the cutest face he could and held his arms open for her to hug him. She grinned knowing he was trying to get off the hook, but she just couldn’t stay angry with him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly.
It had been hard for the two to deal with the distance of school, but after everything that had happened they realized they could make it through anything. It proved more difficult for Max than he thought being so far away from Liz; he was always worried about someone hurting her, but he had to remind himself she was a grown capable woman. They spent most of their weekends together and talked as much as they could on the phone when they weren’t together.
“Come on, let’s go downstairs. They probably thought you fell in the toilet and got flushed.” Liz said playfully. She could tell Max had a lot on his mind and she was pretty sure she knew what it was about, but she didn’t want to ruin the day so she did her best to push her thoughts away.
“Hey, I take offense to that! It only happened once!” Max tried to say with the most serious face he could muster, but it quickly broke into a fit of laughter. The two were still laughing as they entered the living room.
“I told you guys I want whatever drug you guys are on to always be that giddy! Now where are my drugs?” Maria begged. She held out her hand like she was asking for them to place something in her hand.
Liz slapped her hand away and replied, “There are no drugs, just love.” She smiled to Max who was grinning ear to ear. Maria stuck out her bottom lip and pouted.
“Oh common, you don’t need the drugs when you have me!” Adam replied wrapping an arm around his girlfriend of almost two years.
“Are you kidding? I need drugs because of you; you drive me crazy!” Maria replied looking at Adam.
“Crazy for me you mean.” Adam said in his most suave voice as he pulled her to him and he pressed his lips to hers. She pulled away and shoved him lightly. Adam would have thought she was mad if he didn’t know her better and if he didn’t see that smile she was trying to hide. “Come here woman.” He pulled her back to his arms and before she could protest his choice of words he kissed her soundly.
A cough a few feet away broke the couple up. “And you say that we need to get a room sometimes!” Liz exclaimed. Maria and Adam had come over to wish Liz and Max a happy 3 year anniversary. Max was glad they came over, but he was praying they would leave soon so he could get onto his plans for him and Liz.
“Well guys I suggest you two do get a room or another house because me and Liz have a date to get to. I’ll see you guys next week for thanksgiving.” Liz hugged Maria and Adam bye.
As Max shook hands with Adam, Adam whispered, “You ready buddy?” And Max looked over at Liz and turned back to Adam and nodded his head. Maria grabbed Adam’s hand and pulled him out the door to her car.
Liz giggled at her friend’s antics. She looked at Max who had an expression she couldn’t quite read. “What are you thinking?” Liz asked quietly.
“You are so beautiful, but when you laugh it lights up your whole face and you are stunning.” Max answered. He wanted to tell her the full truth of his thoughts, but he couldn’t ruin his plan. She’d find out soon enough. “Come with me beauty, I have many plans for you tonight.”
The couple walked hand in hand down to the beach. It was 9 o’clock and the stars were out creating a beautiful glow on the couple’s faces. Liz thought to herself as she walked onto the beach that she couldn’t be happier. Max had treated her like a queen all day. He had made her breakfast, given her a dozen of white roses, taken her out on a picnic for lunch, and took her out to her favorite restaurant for dinner. Now it looked like they were going to her favorite activity; stargazing.
Max placed the blanket down on the cold sand. It had been an unusually warm November day, but the cold weather had quickly come back once the sun had set. Liz sat down in front of Max. He saw a shiver run down her back and he felt bad. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. Her shivering stopped immediately.
Liz looked up at the stars and was happier than she had ever been in her life. Despite all her fears of being so far from one another at school, they had made it work. They were a few months into their junior year of college and Liz couldn’t wait until they graduated. They hadn’t really talked about what they would do when they graduated, but Liz hoped they could eventually get an apartment together. She smiled thinking about how great it would be to wake up every morning next to Max.
“Liz?” Max quietly asked. Liz turned herself around so she was facing Max. He had a very serious face, so serious that she was worried something was wrong. She reached out and stroked his face trying to ease whatever was causing him to look like that.
“You know, this is where it all started. Right here in this exact spot 3 years ago I saw you by yourself and I thought to myself that I had never seen anything more beautiful in all my life. We made love for the first time right over there on our 9 month anniversary. Two years ago we both nearly lost our lives, but you know what? We proved that night that no matter what life throws us, our love will stand the test. Every important moment in our life has occurred on this beach, which is why I wanted to come here tonight.” Max tried to keep his voice as steady as he could while saying all of that, but the love and nervousness that he was feeling was causing his voice to shake a bit.
Liz could here the nervousness in his voice so she kissed him on the lips and gave him a gentle hug. Max felt the anxiety leave his body when she wrapped her arms around him. He pulled away from her and slowly stood up, ushering her to do the same. He put his hands on either side of her face and looked deeply into her eyes.
“Liz, I have loved you since the day I have met you and I will love you for the rest of my life. I want to spend every morning waking up to you and spend every night wrapped around you before I fall asleep. I know we still have a year and a half left of school, but I want to ask you something now. Liz Anne Parker, will you do me the great honor of marrying me?” Max, now knelt on one knee, pulled the beautiful ring out of his pocket and opened it for Liz to see.
Liz couldn’t believe her ears or her eyes. She had dreamed about this day since the day she had met him. Max wanted to marry her! Tears streamed down her face and she nodded her head wildly. “Yes! Of course I’ll marry you!” Liz replied and launched herself into Max’s arms. He picked her up and span her around, the two giggling with happiness. Nothing could come between them now, right?
(Across town)
A man knelt down and read the words inscribed on the marble stone. A tear came to his eye, but he bit it back refusing to cry. He fingered the dates and he stood up with anger. “I’ll get vengeance for you dad, I promise!” The man walked back in his orange jump suit, shackles now broken but still dragging against the ground. He entered the car and shoved the body out of the car and onto the grass. He shut the door and took off in the car.
(TV News Report)
“We regret to interrupt your scheduled program, but Corey Anderson has escaped when he was in route to be moved to another prison. Officer Larry Smith’s body was found lying in the cemetery near where Anderson’s father was buried. Police officers consider him armed and dangerous. Police are trying to track Anderson, but they have no leads as of yet. We will return you to your regularly scheduled program now.”
THE END