Unbreakable - A Beautiful Lie (AU M/L ADULT) COMPLETE 5/5/17 + A/N 5/5/19

[keepsmiling7]

I don't know why Max is avoiding Liz......
Poor Mr. Parker, so sad........just the two of them now.
Hurry back, I want more!
Carolyn

[Natalie36]

oh boy a party. not good

[saori_1902]

party? Michael? ugh?
Great part!

[L-J-L 76]

So sorry for bothering you. But can you please come back and post more really? I can't wait to read what will happen at the party Michael told Liz and Maria to come too.


From:
L-J-L 76

[max and liz believer]

Roswelllostcause - Michael might just have a thing for Maria. What kind of "thing" might be hard to say Max is avoiding Liz to avoid answering her questions. Sean sure is a nuisance... Thank you for the feedback!
L-J-L 76 - Thank you And thank you for the bump!
AlysLuv - "Sean is a creep" - Yep. "Michael is being weird." - Yep. And yes, parties are not a good thing in Liz's world... Thank you for the feedback!
Carolyn (keepsmiling7) - Max is avoiding Liz to avoid answering her questions. Thank you for the feedback!
Natalie36

oh boy a party. not good

Probably not... Thank you for the feedback!
saori_1902

party? Michael? ugh?

Heh, that about sums it up Thank you for the feedback!


From EIGHTEEN:

“Bring her,” Michael practically demanded.

“She can go if she wants. I won’t.”

Michael’s features changed into the same amused ‘Now, now, little girl’-expression that Max sometimes donned. “We’ll see.”

He pushed back from the table, grabbed one fry in the movement, and said, “Andrew Young. Tomorrow. Around 8-9:ish. His parents are gone for the weekend.”

“I’m not sure why you’re telling me this,” I said darkly. No way I was going to a party on an invitation by Michael Freaking Guerin.

“Tell her,” Michael ordered, hitching his head at something behind me.

“Tell me what?”

I sighed at Maria’s voice, looking over my shoulder to confirm that it was indeed my best friend standing there. By the time I turned my head back to grace Michael with the glare of death, he was gone.

____________________________________

NINETEEN

I was trying to keep my eyes open. I was trying not to fall asleep. Fighting sleep was difficult when you were running on empty.

But as soon as I fell asleep, there they would be. The nightmares. Of my mom’s face melting, and me being burnt alive in my childhood home.

I slammed the book closed. Maybe reading a Jane Austen book was not the best method to stay awake. I usually loved them, but the old English language and the main male characters being portrayed as rude attractive boys, made my mind work too hard - made me think too much about my own life situation. Which resulted in me growing even more tired.

I reached for my iPad and started to scroll through the movies I had saved on it. Maybe action? Thriller? I scrunched my nose as movie after movie featuring ‘Romantic Comedies’ rolled by.

Definitely not.

I had just settled on ‘Inglorious Basterds’, and watched through the opening scene, when I was assaulted by a sensation akin to suction at the center of my chest.

I lost my breath as the impression of a vacuum cleaner attaching itself to my lungs befell me. Frightened, I sprung to my feet, the iPad tumbling forgotten onto my bed, and folded my hands around my throat. As if that action would somehow open up my airways.

The sensation was gone as quickly as it had erupted. A second later, I could breathe again and my body slumped tiredly back to the bed.

But the relief lasted only for a second, before my chest started heating up as if exposed to a really hot and intense sun. It wasn’t uncomfortable, didn’t even hurt, but it made me agitated and forced me back on my feet. I felt ready to fight, ready to defend myself; fueled with restless energy.

I felt strong. Invincible. Unbreakable.

It lasted for approximately one minute, before my pulse slowed down to normal and the sudden heat in my chest cooled and returned to normal.

I sank back down on my bed and stared unseeingly into the wall. I felt detached from reality and confused about everything that was going on in my life.

Was I going insane? It would be the most plausible explanation, after all.

Maybe when Max had healed me, he had drastically altered my mental status. Maybe he had messed up my neurons, messed up how my brain was wired.

Because lately I could hear Max’s voice in my head, feel his presence in my shower and now this. Whatever the hell had just happened.

My hands were trembling, as if from exertion, as I picked up my iPad, distractedly scrolled the movie backwards to the point where I had been interrupted by odd phenomenon, and laid back against my pillows to watch.

Maybe if I just detached myself from everything, I would heal. I would be me again.

In spite of my best intentions, I fell asleep.

*****

I awoke with a gasp, sitting up, the iPad tumbling to the floor and my body shaking from the abrupt yank into wakefulness.

Max’s face swam in front of my mental eye and I had a very worrying feeling that something was terribly wrong. Terribly wrong with him.

I automatically reached for my cell phone, when I realized that I didn’t have his number. Of course I didn’t have Max Evans’ number. Why would I?

The uncomfortable feeling of wrongness intensified and I had to get out of bed and pace back and forth in the small room in an attempt to calm my nerves. I felt restless and helpless. I glanced at the clock on the wall - 3.17 a.m. - and inhaled deeply, trying to calm myself.

Energy was fluttering underneath my skin, seeking escape routes. I bit my bottom lip so hard that I tasted blood while I fisted my hair and yanked. I felt like a madwoman, pacing the insides of a padded cell.

The most prominent emotion was concern. I was so worried about Max that I didn’t know what to do with myself. Finding no other option but to wear a hole in the carpet, I waited and hoped that the feeling would stop.

I must have exerted myself with all the walking in the middle of the night, because a heavy fatigue enveloped me approximately ten minutes later. The fatigue was so pronounced and sudden that my body swayed on the spot, and for a second I thought I was about to faint. Instead I fell to my knees, took three deep breaths resting on all four, before crawling back to bed.

I just about managed to bring my body into bed before sleep claimed me. In the early phase of sleep, Max’s voice seeped into my mind.

It’s okay now.

*****

“What the hell is she doing here?”

Max’s angry hiss tore through me, like the hiss of a dangerous snake. I looked over my shoulder, falling straight into Max’s thunderous eyes. He was basically glaring at me, but it was from Michael he demanded an explanation.

I tried to shake the ominous feelings - which came with Max’s reaction - but I had rarely seen Max that angry. And I was pretty certain it was my attendance at the party that was upsetting him.

This, in turn, upset me. Made me feel unwanted and unwelcome. That my mere presence at a party could elicit such a violent reaction from someone.

My eyes skimmed the living room, filled with beautiful and gorgeous people, and my thoughts echoed Max’s outburst.

Yes, what the hell was I doing here?

I had soon enough realized that the party, which Maria had deemed as a ‘good distraction from your horrible life situation’, was not your regular high school party.

This was a party for the elite.

I had never spoken a single syllable to most of the people in the room. They were as rich, stunning and smooth as Isabel, Max and Michael. But they were still not the same as my mysterious trio, even though the similarities tended to stack themselves up in my head the further into the night the party continued.

I didn’t hear Michael’s reply, because in contrast to Max’s furious remark, Michael’s reply was the more discreet and whispered one.

I was just about to turn my head and see what reaction Michael’s answer had created in Max when Sean stumbled in through the front door. It didn’t take someone with an impressive IQ to figure out that he was quite intoxicated.

I instinctively took a step back, intending to move on to another part of the house, when Maria appeared in front of me - blocking my escape route.

“Liz,” she whispered loudly, grabbing my hand and leaning in close to my face. Her eyes were wide-opened and somewhat shocked as she hissed, “This is the weirdest party I’ve ever been to.” She gestured towards the Bold and the Beautiful and added, “Who are these people?”

I squeezed her hand and countered, “Let’s go to the kitchen.”

“Sure,” she breathed, still wide-eyed and perplexed.

I pulled her along by the hand in search of the kitchen. Spotting the entrance to the modern and expensive-looking kitchen, I realized - to my relief - that the kitchen was basically deserted. Thank God.

“-focus on the color instead, your mind tweaks it-“

I pulled up short, Maria bumping into me from behind. Courtney Green, standing just around the corner of the entrance to the kitchen, abruptly interrupted what she had been saying to her friend and was staring at me and Maria with cold disapproving eyes.

The friend, whom Courtney had been talking to, mimicked the intimidating stance and I found myself apologizing with a murmured, “Sorry,” before turning around, still pulling Maria along with me.

Maybe I should add ‘paranoia’ to my list of newly acquired mental instabilities. Because I was pretty certain that people at this party were whispering about me, talking about me. I had never been much of a girl in desperate need of validation or wanting to be liked by everyone, but I had never so acutely felt like an outsider as I did in that moment.

“Party’s over,” I said to Maria, a nervous and uncomfortable flutter in my stomach. There had been warning bells from the second I stepped over the threshold to this house, but I had desperately ignored those small chimes. With every passing minute spent at this place, those chimes had transformed into extremely noticeable bongs, and they were becoming increasingly difficult to overlook.

“We just got here,” Maria protested weakly. I could tell that she was feeling it too - the wrongness - even though she couldn’t explain it and wasn’t as eager as I was to act on her feelings.

“This party sucks,” I said under my breath, dragging Maria through a corridor, heading towards the front door. “It’s just not our scene, Ria.”

“There’s my girl!” a voice boomed behind me, making me jump in the midst of reaching for the door knob.

I had time to register the look of surprised confusion on Maria’s face, before the owner of the announcement wrapped his arms around my middle, pressed my back up against his front and dug his fingers into my semi-healed burn wound.

I screamed. I failed to stop it. I was completely taken off guard and the control I normally had over the pain scattered in the blink of an eye.

“Let go of her!” Maria’s voice was frightened and confused. My scream of pain had probably frighten her more than anything, considering that it was an unusual reaction to being ‘hugged’.

The person released the grip and I stumbled forward, gasping for air.

Maria’s hands were fluttering over my bent over back as she angrily accused the person who had made me scream, like the bear-mother she was, “What did you do to her?”

“Chill,” the voice answered evenly and through the curtain of pain the voice sounded familiar. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Liz,” Maria addressed me. “What happened, hun?”

I focused on her voice and on trying to breathe. My breath was stuck every time the breath got deep enough to painfully stretch the tender skin over the wound.

“It’s nothing,” I mumbled. “It wasn’t his fault.”

He couldn’t have known. Of course, he couldn’t have known. I had a terrible wound that no one knew of. Only Max.

Speaking of Max…

“What happened?”

Relief flooded me, making my knees unsteady, as his sharp and angry voice entered my awareness.

“She-“ Maria started, but her voice was interrupted by sounds of commotion, of the legs of a chair scraping against the floor and something possibly made out of glass shattering against the floor.

“What the hell did you do?”

He sounded further away, his voice trembling with anger, and I heard the other person’s voice - Sean - defending himself sullenly.

It was Sean. It was Sean that had ‘hugged’ me. I closed my eyes and forced myself to fight the pain and straighten my body.

“You don’t want to do that, Evans,” Sean said, his voice strained.

I opened my eyes and saw Max pressing Sean up against the wall, furniture pushed aside, gripping Sean forcibly by the collar.

I struggled for another breath, feeling the pain slowly returning to ‘normal’ levels, as I took a step towards the angry guys.

“Remember our talk last night?” Sean ground out, his face turning a dark shade of red. I presumed that Max was cutting off his air supply.

“Stop,” I whispered, my voice raspy, and placed my hand on Max’s strained bicep.

He didn’t move a muscle, his jaw tight, his eyes burrowing into Sean’s head.

“He didn’t know,” I added hoarsely.

“Didn’t know what?” Maria asked, pressing her hand comfortably against my right shoulder blade, lending me her support through her touch.

“Isabel,” Max said through clenched teeth.

Maybe the trembles rushing through his body was not because of exertion, but because of restrained anger.

I scanned the room (everyone was looking, staring silently) and spotted, to my surprise, Isabel in a corner. Our gazes collided; hers emitting discomfort and uncertainty.

“Get her out of here,” Max continued, addressing his sister without taking his eyes off Sean, and I knew that he was talking about me.

“I’ll take her,” Michael said, suddenly at my side.

Max whipped his head towards him, his dark gaze briefly brushing over my worried shape, before bearing down on Michael. To my surprise, I saw Michael take a step back.

I swallowed. Apparently it was a bad thing to mess with Angry Max Evans. Even if you were Michael Guerin, the best friend.

“No,” Max said tightly. “Isabel will.”

Was it because Michael had invited me here? Was that the reason to the wedge between the good friends?

“I’m staying,” I objected, sounding braver than I felt. But I wouldn’t let Max send me off like I was being sent to my room. I was growing increasingly scared that Max was going to hurt Sean, and I needed to stick around to make sure that didn’t happen.

Max looked back at me. Really looked at me this time. “No. You’re not.”

“Let him go,” I pleaded, trying to soften him, making him see reason.

“This doesn’t concern you,” Max replied.

It didn’t? Really?

A well-manicured hand wrapped gently around my upper arm and Isabel softly said, “Come with me, Liz.”

I frowned, searching Max’s emotional eyes for an explanation. “Of course it concerns me. He didn’t know. It was an accident.”

“Please,” he said and there was a touch of the gentler Max I had gotten to know over the past few days. The Max that softly caressed my wounds away with his bare hands. “Would you please just take my word for it and leave?”

But I wouldn’t back down. He might be used to ordering people around, used to even the closest people to him taking a literal step back at his anger, but I wouldn’t be one of them.

Instead I briefly looked at Sean, at the worrying redness to his face, at the redness of his eyes and the small fights his body was making in its struggle to be released. “You’re hurting him.”

“He deserves it,” Max said and returned his attention to his victim.

But maybe my frank observation had made him consider his actions, because a second later he released his captive, Sean falling forward with a gasp before starting to cough.

“You’ll pay for this,” Sean wheezed and his eyes danced to my face, a small grin forming on his lips as he added pointedly, “And you know how.”

Before I had the chance to consider what he meant by that, Sean’s nose was bleeding from Max’s explosive punch to his face.

“Max!” I gasped and vaguely felt Isabel pull on my arm.

“See what I mean?” a female voice said in a hushed voice from the crowd.

“-shouldn’t expose himself like this,” another voice murmured.

“-sergeant will have his neck for this.”

“Shut the fuck up! Everyone!”

I jumped at Michael’s eruption and Isabel’s hand fell away from my arm. I looked around the suddenly muted crowd, feeling hostility coming towards me in waves.

Who were these people?

“We’re leaving,” Max said close to my ear as he grabbed my hand. “Now.”

I pushed back the warm feelings his action of holding my hand brought and stumbled after him. I whipped my head around to look for Maria, while trying to keep up with Max. To my relief, she was right behind us, looking frightened and stunned.

My eyes flickered to the handbag bouncing from Maria’s arm and I remembered that I had left mine on the couch in the living room.

“Wait!”

But Max ignored me. It was as if something really bad were hunting us and we needed to keep moving. All I could see, however, were beautiful people, staring after us with blank faces.

I shivered. Come to think of it; that was - in its strangeness - almost as frightening as being hunted by a big one-eyed monster ready to swallow us whole.

“What’s wrong with your friends?” Maria asked breathlessly, trying to keep balanced on her high heels.

“Max, my handbag,” I tried again, my voice just as breathless.

“Her handbag,” Maria repeated, as if she would have more luck getting through to Max.

Max’s hand closed around the doorknob to the front door and he stilled.

Closing his eyes and bending his head, he took a deep breath. With his eyes still closed, he mumbled in resignation, “Fine. Get your damn bag.” His eyes opened and he looked straight at me. I trembled. “No deviations. You come straight back.”

I saw a flicker of that comforting concern behind his anger and I nodded, my throat dry. “Of course.”

“I’ll just keep Max here company,” Maria said, attempting a smile. “Prevent him from committing murder.” She grimaced and added under her breath, “Or something.”

I mustered up a smile at my friend and with a lingering gaze into Max’s intense eyes, I left to find my bag.

It was like walking into a den of hungry lions. The conversations had not resumed since having been interrupted by the fight between Max and Sean. Except for some low background music it was eerily quiet as I scurried towards the couch.

I breathed a sigh of relief to see that my bag hadn’t moved. As I made a grab for it, Sean spoke behind me. His voice was so clear and loud in the silence of the room, that I jumped.

“I’m sorry about before,” he said, his voice probably a whisper, even though the quiet setting exaggerated its volume.

I turned towards him, seeing that his cheek was already turning blue from Max’s punch. He had wiped his nose from the blood, but there was an odd angle to his nose.

“Are you okay?” I asked quietly, surprised that I was genuinely concerned for him.

“I’ll be fine,” he brushed off and smiled at me smoothly. “Any idea what got Max’s panties in a twist?”

I matched his smile with a tentative one as I looked down unseeingly at my fingers fiddling with my bag. “No clue.”

There was a pause before he leaned in, his face close to mine, “Did I squeeze too hard? I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’ve had a little bit too much to drink, that’s all. It usually affects my control over my body.” He chuckled at this and I should’ve relaxed at his disarming manner.

But my ‘spider sense’ was still tingling.

“It was not your fault. You just took me by surprise, that’s all.” I hitched my head towards the front door. The wall between the hallway and the living room hid my view from the front door. And hid us from being seen by Max and Maria. “I should go. They’re waiting for me.”

I turned around to do just that, but Sean stopped me. “Hey, wait.”

I inhaled deeply, clutching my bag to my chest, dropping my eyes to avoid the everyone’s stares. It was extremely weird to have a conversation in front of so many quiet and staring people. People who were listening in on your conversation.

“I think I saw your phone in the kitchen.”

I frowned, “No, I don’t think so.” I hadn’t removed my phone from the bag. But on reflex, I opened my bag and looked inside. The crease between my eyes grew deeper as I searched through the content. My phone was gone.

“Um,” I mumbled, making another search through the bag, even though it was obvious it wasn’t there.

“I’ll take you,” Sean offered and I looked in the direction of the hallway.

No deviations.

Max’s voice whispered through my mind at the same time as I realized that I couldn’t leave my phone behind.


And Sean seemed to know where my phone was.

“Okay,” I agreed, saw Sean’s beaten face bloom into a smile, and pushed back the feeling of foreboding as I let Sean lead the way.


TBC...

[L-J-L 76]

Great chapter!!!! Please please please please please please please please come back and post more really really really really soon? I can't wait to read what will happen next for Max and Liz. I can't believe someone or something grabbed Liz and tried to hurt her. Wow so Liz can feel everything Max is feeling. I wonder if Max can feel what Liz is feeling. I can't believe the way Max was acting when he saw Liz and Maria at the party. It seem like a really strange party with people staring and acting strange. I don't like the way Sean is acting around Liz. I can't he grabbed Liz like that. Wow Max was quick to help Liz. I'm glad Max was there for Liz. Wow it seems Max is very protective of Liz. I'm glad Max tried to get Liz to safety. I'm glad Max was trying to get Liz way from the party. Oh great Liz had to go back for her purse. I wonder why Sean is standing so close and why he is smiling. What is Sean up to? Why is Sean taking Liz to the kitchen? What will Sean do when he get Liz to the kitchen? Will Sean try and hurt Liz? Will Liz try and fight back?Will Michael and Isabel try and save Liz? Will Max save Liz from Sean? Will Liz find out what Sean really wants? Will Liz be able to get away from Sean? Will Liz find out what Sean and Max are hiding? Will Liz find out why Max is so protective of her? Will Max, Isabel and Michael be able to get Liz out of the house? How will Max, Isabel and Michael get Liz out of the house? What will happen when Liz gets out of the house? Where will Liz and Maria go when they get out of the house? Will Liz and Maria be safe? What will happen the next day for Liz and Maria? What will happen when Liz and Maria go to school? Will Max and Liz talk finally? Will Max and Liz avoid each other? Will Max and Liz fall for each other? Will Liz find out whatever Max, Isabel and Michael hiding? What will Liz do when she finds out the truth? Will she confront Max? Will Max, Isabel and Michael be able to protect Liz and Maria? Will Max and Liz try and be friends? Will Max and Liz fall for each other? Will Max and Liz admit their feeling for each other? Will Liz find out why Max is so protective of her? What will she do when she finds out why Max is protective of her? Will Max explain why Liz can hear him in her head? Will Max's father and Sean's father be mad Max protect Liz and Maria? What will Max's father and Sean's dad do when they find out what happened at the party? Will Max and Liz get together? Does Liz's father know what is going on? So sorry for the questions I was just wondering Please please please please please please please please come back and post more really really really really soon? I can't wait to read what will happen next for Max, Liz and others.

From:
L-J-L 76

[Roswelllostcause]

Liz really needs to stay away from that creepy Sean! For some reason I got this feeling that he is going to harm her! Max really shouldn't have let Liz go back alone!

[Morning Dreamgirl]

Chapter 18 FB
I've been stalking this fic since I came across it a couple weeks back. Loving it!

I have the exact opposite feeling from Dreamon. Sean isn't royalty but he is "keeping an eye" on Liz since his father found out that she witnessed what happened at Max's party. Easy for him to do given his obvious mind control or warping powers. A bonus in that it would annoy Max at the same time.

That's obviously why Max has been "avoiding" her as well. I don't think he has, I just think he's being careful about watching over her and/or getting Izzy and Michael to help to a small degree as well. But with Sean increasing his physical stalking (since he can no longer access her mind - yay Max!) he can't really get close enough to Liz without Sean seeing him to answer any of her questions, etc. Especially since his father probably let at least one person know that Max would be staying away from Ms. Parker from here on out. What better way to keep your son out of trouble then to tell someone who could hurt him that Liz doesn't want anything to do with him and that your son will be avoiding her in the future? For Max to go against that now puts everyone in danger - Liz, himself, his father, etc.

My real question is what was it about Mrs. Parker that made her so special? Obviously something in her DNA that they hoped was passed down to Liz. Maybe a genetic defect that would allow them to mix alien DNA with human DNA? Or maybe she was a carrier of a particular gene they needed to do something else. Would she have been capable to carrying a child to term had she chosen to bond with an "outsider" instead of Jeff? Would Liz? Lastly, if she was so important it seems strange that she would have been allowed to die in a fire. It seems as though someone would have kept her safe. So that begs the question of whether the fire was intentional or whether she was just not as useful as she once was and therefore not guarded.

Anyways, feel free to post new chapters twice daily!

Looking forward to a hopeful "run in" at the party. There are questions that need to be answered after all. And a relationship that needs to start between our favorite, if not heavily burdened, couple.


A

[Morning Dreamgirl]

Chapter 19 FB

So Max was obviously aware of Sean's increased stalking. Would be interested to see what kind of throw-down they had in the middle of the night to cause such a violent reaction that it would awaken Liz. Obviously M/L are connected I'm just wondering how good Max usually is at blocking himself from her and how much of her emotions he picks up regularly.

It's a good thing Sean's father didn't step in right away between the two of them. I think Max would have come out much worse off if he had. I'm curious as to why he would step in now. At some point you would think he would let his son fight his own battles. At this point he doesn't know that Liz is an issue. Though showing up at the party probably changed that. You definitely threw me for a loop there. I had thought Michael asked on behalf of Max, not in spite of. Sort of an idiot thing to do given how unprepared Liz was and how dangerous of a situation that is for multiple people. He should have at least warned Max first.

Obviously the beating Max took beforehand didn't "straighten him up" as they might have wished it to. Just wondering exactly what punishment Liz is going to undergo now in order to get Max to obey. I'm thinking Sean doesn't quite realize the connection they have yet. Otherwise he probably wouldn't try anything while Max is still within protecting distance. Things are going to get worse before they get better at this point.

All of this would have been a lot smoother if Max had just answered her questions. Heck even taking her to the middle of the desert and answering them so she can't go screaming for help would be better than this situation. Letting her think she's going crazy as well - great plan there Maxie boy.

Anyways, looking forward to more. How does two hours sound to you? My bread will be done and out of the oven by then so I'll have a snack while reading the next chapter.


A

[Natalie36]

does she ever listen