Author: X_tremeroswellian
Email: [email protected]
Disclaimer: I am not Melinda Metz or Jason Katims, therefore they are not mine. Don't sue please. I'm too tired to deal with being sued right now, and I have another mass media paper due next week, plus four paintings by the end of the month, so I don't have the time or energy to be sued.
Rating: R for language, violence, content
Spoilers: Up through "Blood Brothers" of the show, the first five books of Roswell High, and my previous story, "Matters of Trust," plus some minor things like for my "Before I Knew You" series, and possibly a few really minor mentions of incidents from "Roswell Elementary" which belongs to the talented Kara and Emily of Roswell Underground.
Author's Note: This story is a sequal to my fic, "Matters of Trust." I would highly suggest reading that one before reading this one, because you will probably be rather confused if you don't.
Dedication: To Ash, Keri, Linda, Mel, Sarah, and all of you other wonderful people who emailed me and told me how badly you wanted to read the next chapter of this story! :) Thanks for all the feedback guys, it is appreciated.
Ghosts (Part 10)
Before Liz had a chance to respond to Max's question, her telephone rang. She turned around and picked it up as Max waited. "Hello?"
There was no answer.
"Hello?" she said again. She listened carefully. She could hear breathing on the other end of the line, but whoever it was remained silent. Liz sighed and clicked the phone off, turning to face Max again.
He studied her. "Everything okay?"
"Wrong number," she told him, shaking her head. There was a moment of silence, and then Liz looked at him. "Max, why did you come back early?" she asked curiously. Not that she minded, she just thought he wanted to spend time with his family.
Max hesitated. Then he smiled at her. "I can't stand being away from you." She smiled back. Then she hugged him again. He brought one hand up to rest against the back of her head, holding her close to him and breathing in the scent of her hair. If anything had happened to her while he was gone...Max shuddered at the thought and held her a bit tighter.
"So, why did you decide to be a computer major?" Maria asked Alex as she dumped the rest of her clothes out of the dryer and into her laundry basket.
Alex shrugged as he leaned foward against the washing machine. "I guess because I'm good at it."
"Yeah, but, I mean, do you like it?" she asked, glancing at him briefly.
He frowned. "I don't know. It's all right. I feel like I pretty much know how to do all the stuff we've done in my classes so far. Why?"
Maria sighed. "Just wondering." She was about to say something else when she felt a presence behind her. She whirled around, a big smile on her face as she saw Michael and Isabel standing there, waiting to be noticed. Michael grinned at her as she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. "You're back early!"
Alex hadn't turned around. He had been dreading this moment since the previous night when the bruise on his jaw had started becoming visible. He didn't want to know what Isabel, Michael, and especially Max's reactions would be when they found out what had happened.
"Alex?" Isabel said, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. This wasn't like him. Usually he was thrilled to see her, and vice versa. She walked up behind him and touched his shoulder. He paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and turned to face her. Isabel's eyes widened. "Oh, my God, Alex! What happened?"
He met her eyes for a second, then looked past her to Maria and Michael, meeting Maria's eyes for a second, too, and noting that she had the same nervous look in her expression. Michael's eyes narrowed as he saw the black and blue mark on his friend's face. He turned his attention back to Isabel, whose face reflected worry and concern. "I'm okay, Iz," he said quickly.
Michael glanced from Alex to Maria. "Okay. What the hell happened while we were gone?"
Maria swallowed nervously. "Um...."
"You guys know Alan Freedman, right?" Alex said finally.
"Yeah," Isabel said slowly.
"He was sort of...harassing us last night, and he grabbed Liz, and when I went to pull him away from her, he turned and punched me in the jaw and then Maria pulled out her can of pepper spray and threatened him with it."
Isabel and Michael stared at him in silence for a long moment. Maria could see the anger growing on Michael's face, and she grabbed his arm. "Michael, promise me you're not going to do anything!" she pleaded.
Isabel counted silently to ten to try and get a lid on her temper. She had mellowed out in high school and had stopped portraying herself to be the bitter popular girl that everyone thought she was. In fact, she rarely lost her temper at all, and had become about as laid back as Alex. But like Alex, when it came to her friends, Isabel was a force to be reckoned with.
"Iz, it's okay," Alex said quickly, recognizing the look in her eyes. "Really."
She reached out and touched his jaw, healing the bruise. "Okay," she agreed. She turned to Michael, who looked as angry as she felt, but was trying to stay calm for Maria's sake. Their eyes met.
"Um, I hate to say this, guys, but I'm not so sure that Liz is planning on telling Max what happened..." Alex's voice trailed off.
Isabel nodded quickly. "If she doesn't tell him, we can't either. If he knew that Alan had touched Liz in anyway--"
"He'd kill him," Michael finished, nodding. He didn't like keeping things from Max, but when it came to his best friend protecting Liz, Michael knew that Max would do anything. And it wasn't going to be neccessary, because Michael would take care of Freedman himself. No one threatened his family and got by with it.