BQ1
Lizza x2
dreambeliever
Eve
Carolyn
sarammlover
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Chapter eight
The next day at school Maria, after a full morning of ‘just missing’ Liz at each and every class, she pounded on the glass of the main office waiting for Alex to finish making copies advertising his first solo gig at Sundown Coffee House.
Rolling his eyes as she pleaded with praying hands for his time, he quickly stacked his flyers and turned the corner to meet her in the crowded hall.
“Alex, pleeease let me sing with you, we could be the next Simon and Garfield! I’ll even let you pick the songs, I’m an awesome singer. You need me, I can provide much needed sexy hotness to attract a huge male audience.”
Walking briskly to Civics, Alex shook his head smiling widely at her.
“First of all it’s Simon and Garfunkel, Garfield is the cartoon cat who hates Monday’s and loves Lasagna. Second, while, yes, you are a truly gifted singer, I’m leaning towards more of a smooth jazz sound, and third, while there is no discounting your so called ‘sexy hotness’, bringing a male audience isn’t exactly what I had in mind. Becka Johnson works weekend nights at the Sundown, and I’ve seen her playlist on her phone, it’s all Miles Davis and Billie Holiday.”
Grabbing his backpack as he rounded the corner she followed him into class crooning the blues.
Whispering as Mr. Leeds began writing on the board, Alex jerked her hand off the strap on his back.
“Go Maria, now, you’re going to be late for English.”
Sighing hard, frustrated, she suddenly grabbed him again pulling him backwards, remembering why she wanted to talk to him in the first place.
“Wait! Have you talked to Liz? She’s not answering my texts, and her phone’s going straight to voicemail.”
Gritting his teeth while Mr. Leeds flashed him an irritate glare, Alex shook his head.
“Same here, haven’t heard a word or seen her all morning. Now go away Maria!”
Letting him go she mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ to Mr. Leeds before taking off down the hall.
Realizing it was well past the bell, and she’d be late for English anyway, she figured she cut and search for Liz, who was supposed to be in Spanish.
Arriving at Mr. Lopez’s class she peeked in the tiny thin window on the side of the door to see Liz looking exhausted leaning on her fist as if she were to about to fall asleep.
She was also disheveled, her hair pulled up in a messy knot on top of her head, dressed in a hoodie and jeans, this was way out of character, and highly suspicious, Maria thought as she waved tireless trying to get her attention to no avail.
Giving up she decided to spend the rest of the period in the courtyard getting some sun, that was before she spotted Michael rolling a joint through the slightly opened door of the janitor’s supply closet.
“Care to share?”
Clutching his jaw, Michael kept his eyes on the rolling paper while edging his sneaker to shut the door only to have Maria jam her shoe inside it first.
“I’m thinking Principle Harris would be very interested to see what you’re up to, this would be your fourth suspension this month? Or am I off, because I know anymore and you’re facing expulsion not to mention - “
Before she could finish he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her inside locking the door behind her.
“Just stand there, don’t say a word… nothing.”
Placing a towel from the guy’s locker room underneath the door, Michael lit the joint taking a long drawn out hit before handing it over to Maria.
It had only been her second time smoking pot, the first was with her grandma Roxy, a proud hippie with a serious glaucoma problem, and at that it was only a few shallow puffs.
Not wanting to look inexperienced to Michael, especially when she needed to dig for dirt on Max and Liz, she grabbed the joint like a pro.
Sitting on an upside down bucket, Michael stared at the ground in obvious distress as his knee shook up and and down nervously.
Fishing for information, Maria tried bluffing her way into his head.
“So, what do you think about all this Liz and Max … stuff… pretty crazy huh?”
Lifting his whiskey gaze up at her she found herself backing up against the wall taking several hits off his weed.
“I freakin' knew it! I told her not to tell anyone! Who else knows that he’s staying with her? That skinny kid Alex, your boyfriend, does he know too?”
Stunned, Maria listened while Michael spilled everything, thinking she knew it all, the fight with his foster dad, Max and his fatal illness, Liz keeping him hidden above her garage.
“I’m just freaking out, I mean I guess if Jim was going to call the cops on me he would’ve done it by now. I don’t know, Max’s medication is going to run out soon and I can’t go back to that house, they’ll be expecting me to show up, and this time they’ll be ready for me. I just have to come up with a plan… there has to be - “
Rambling Michael happened to catch Maria’s face as he paced back and forth in the tiny space.
She was bone white, her bright green eyes were as big as saucers, it was clear she had no clue any of this had happened.
“You didn’t know… did you?”
Raising her eyebrows she shrugged with a goofy, adorable sideways smile.
“Weeeell… I had an idea something was up. I mean I knew that she was into him, and when she didn’t show up at the bonfire last night, and was avoiding all my texts and voice mails… I kinda figured she was with him.”
Running his fingers through his spiky hair he stepped close, towering over her, determined to be pissed but finding himself strangely unable to keep his eyes off her plump raspberry lips.
“So you figured you’d corner me in here, get high with me, play along with whatever I said until I unknowingly gave up everything?”
Twirling her finger around the string hanging from his sweatshirt, she bit her bottom lip flirting shamelessly suddenly finding him extremely hot and dangerous, two traits that Maria could never resist.
“First of all I can be trusted, I’ve been Liz’s best friend since like...forever. Second, I can keep a secret Michael, and third, Alex... is not my boyfriend.”
Michael wasn’t sure if it was his steadily climbing high, or the cute little short skirt she was wearing, but he soon found himself wanting very much to kiss her.
Suddenly his voice dropped a few octaves as he whispered close to her ear.
“Maria, if you tell anyone, I could get arrested. I beat the hell out of that guy Jim, this is serious.”
Barely hearing a word he said, caught up in the way his body felt pressed up against her, she hooked her fingers inside the belt loops of his jeans pulling him closer.
Finding herself breathless, she swallowed hard making eye contact fluttering her long brown eyelashes up towards him.
“I said... I can be trusted.”
Licking his lips unconsciously, Michael cupped her face running his thumb over her bottom lip.
“Oh yeah? You think can keep … this … a secret?”
Grazing her lips with his tongue, Maria nearly melted on the floor, needlessly to say neither of them made it too any classes for the rest of the day.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Making sure no one was around, Liz ran up the back steps leading to the room above the garage feeling horrible for leaving him alone all day.
Knocking softly, she edged the door open after setting down a large bag on the floor.
Trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness, she looked frantically around the cluttered room for him.
“Max? Max is just me… Liz… it’s okay to come out.”
Shutting the door behind her she lit a small candle holding it out before her praying that no one outside would pick up on it.
Slowly he emerged from behind a stack of boxes, grasping onto the wall as if he had no strength at all.
“Max!”
He was shaking, his face was pale, he movements halting as if he were going to pass out any minute.
“Max! What are you doing out of bed? You should be resting, here let me help you.”
Liz did her best to hide her reaction to his appearance, but her big expressive eyes said it all.
Running to him she wrapped her arm around his waist helping back into bed.
His voice was weak, hoarse, he tried to put on a brave face for her, but it was useless, there was no hiding the serious nature of his condition.
“I wasn’t sure it was you, I’ve been having crazy dreams all day, I guess I was just out of it. I’m sorry Liz, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Afraid of running out of his medication, Liz had been giving him a lower dose than he was used to and the effects were beginning to show.
“Take off your shirt, I need to check you.”
Shyly, Max lowered his gaze to the floor before lifting his black tee shirt over his head.
Immediately she took out a stethoscope that she nicked from the hospital and listened to his heart while placing her two fingers on his wrist to take his pulse.
Getting through day without her had been horrible for him, hours seemed like days while he tossed and turned stuck in dreams that were always the same, his foster parents taking him away from her, losing her forever, or for what little time he had left.
But as she sat next to him, so very close, with just the gentle glow of one small candle lighting her beautiful face, full of concern and genuine feelings for him, it all seemed to fade away.
Taking out her journal containing carefully written notes on him, she began to record his symptoms and the rate of his pulse.
He loved the little crinkle over her nose when she was concentrating, and how she chewed on her bottom lip when she wrote making sure everything was perfect.
He loved everything about her, he always had, for as long as he could remember. It was what kept him going when things became impossibly hard, whether it be with his abusive foster parents, or the long lonely nights at the hospital wondering if he would make till the morning laying there all alone.
It was always her, giving him a reason to fight, to try, when it seemed as though he couldn’t make from one minute to the next.
And now, she was here with him. It was beyond his wildest dreams, more than he could’ve ever hoped for, he truly felt if his heart should give out now it would be okay, that it would be selfish to ask for anything more.
Shaking her head, Liz sighed, tears welling in her eyes.
“I have to think of something, I need a blood pressure cuff, a hypodermic needle full of adrenaline just in case, and more of your medication. I need all of this and I need it yesterday.”
Letting out a ragged breath he reached out tenderly, tucking a stray dark curl that fell from her messy bun behind her ear.
“Liz, it’s alright. I look worse than I feel, honestly. I’ve been through more dangerous situations than this. Did you get any sleep last night? I’m so worried about you.”
Gazing at him as if he were insane, she closed her eyes for a moment taking a deep breath.
“You're worried for me? Max… how can I possibly sleep? It’s so unfair, I’ve only just found you and now… “
Realizing what she was about to say she wanted to kick herself, how incredibly cold, how deeply selfish was it for her to be thinking of feelings, of her healthy racing heart whenever she was close to him, when he was battling every day just to hear his beating.
“Stop, Liz, I know what you’re thinking and you’re wrong. To hear you say such things, to know that you feel for me, that you... care for me… it’s so much more than I had ever hoped for.”
Pulling the stethoscope away from her ears, she reached for his hand, bashful herself, overwhelmed by emotions she had never experienced before, she whispered his poem that refused to leave her.
Her voice was sweet, soft, like music floating all around him, wrapping around his weak heart filling it with life.
“No one knows what it’s like, you and me, you and I, underneath, the night sky, you and me, you and I. I get lost all the time, in my thoughts, in my mind, you come through like a light, in the dark give me sight.”
Somehow they found themselves closer, their fingers intertwined as he rasped deeply, still in disbelief that this was really happening.
“You memorized my poem.”
Nodding she traced small circles on his hand with her fingertips, afraid of the powerful urges that refused to give her any peace.
“I've had boys like me before, I’ve dated some, but no one has ever made me … feel the way you do. It’s the way you look at me, you really see me, the real me, the me that I’m afraid to even know myself.”
Her voice trembled slightly as she let go of his hand to move up towards him, while he braced his back against the headboard.
“You know I’ve always noticed you. Through the years, It’s like you were there, not in the middle of everything, but in the corner, just off to the side, watching me with these kind, soulful eyes. It made me feel safe, like nothing could hurt me, because you were there, always, writing in your notebook, deep in your thoughts that somehow I felt a part of.”
Lightly touching his chest, just over his heart, she gazed up at him, her mouth so close that their lips were but a breath apart.
She rambled on afraid of what would happen in the silence that would stretched out between them if she stopped.
“I’m going to steal your medication from the hospital tonight, I’ve been planning it all day. My ID card will get me in the locker room, I’ll swap my card with a nurse I know. She’s a mess, always late, unorganized, she leaves all her stuff there. All I have to do is make it to the supply closet without being seen… it shouldn’t be hard, I just have to - “
“Liz, no. You can’t, if you get caught - “
Drifting her other hand beside the one next to his heart, bringing her closer to him, she gasped as his body trembled in response to her touch.
"Liz, if anything were to happen to you, because of me... I just ... I couldn't ... "
His deep sultry voice drifted away, his mind distracted by the heat from her hands on his skin, and the way his body responded in turn.
The world around them began to spin, it was as if they were the only two people in the world, as if nothing else existed.
Hearing her speak again, Max moved closer, unable to hold back, nuzzling her neck, lost in her scent of lilacs and vanilla.
“I won’t get caught, I can do this. I want to do this... I-I have to.”
It was all too much, and not nearly enough, he couldn't help himself, whispering softly, causing her to gasp slightly in response to his words.
"I'm going to kiss you."
Nodding, she shivered as he smoothed his hands along her cheeks lifting her toward him.
Brushing his mouth along hers, he released the bun from her head letting her raven hair fall in messy waves down over his skin.
The sensation flushed his body, he was hot to the touch, warmed by desire, by years of longing to be with her, to know what it was like to feel her, to know her as he imagined in his poems, intimately, loving her as thoroughly as the lines that shaped the curves of her body in his mind.
“Liz, don’t go… stay with me. We’ll think of another way, tomorrow, please… just for tonight.”
Her answer came with a kiss, soft, tender, urgent as though time itself was against them, as if every second together was a stolen moment they were desperately clinging to.
Unzipping her sweatshirt she edged it off her shoulders needing to feel his skin flush with hers.
She was wearing a light purple bra, it shone along the swell of her breasts like violet petals in his eyes.
The straps fell down from her shoulders, her body curled along his side as she held herself over him afraid of hurting his badly bruised ribs.
Their kisses never ceased, they were making up for lost time, or rather the end of time that was slipping away like sand through their fingers.
Breathless she swept her lips along his neck as her hand returned to cover his rapidly beating heart, always worried, her mind never far from the reality of his dire situation.
His head had fallen back against the pillow, the fiery embers glowing in his eyes disappeared as they closed, he was lost, left falling deeper, harder in love as she continued on.
His fingers were tangled up in her silky hair holding her close as he drifted closer to the dream that played itself out in the beauty of his words, night after night, alone in his mind, always, with her, loving her, making love to her endlessly.
If you let my soul out, you let my soul out, you let my soul out… it will come right back to you.
Finally they let theirs feelings talk... and that was beautiful... You won't let him die, do you? 
