Author: X_tremeroswellian
Email: [email protected]
Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue. Broke. Already owe money on college loans. Would be broker. Would suck.
Rating: R for language, content and violence.
Author's Notes: This is the sequel to my fic, "Matters of Trust." I would read that one first, otherwise this story will be confusing.
Spoilers: Up through "Blood Brothers" of the show, book 5 of the Roswell High series by Melindas Metz, and my fic "Matters of Trust."
Feedback is very motivational :)
Ghosts (Part 15)
Maria woke up and glanced down at Michael, who was sound asleep. Beside him Isabel was also sleeping. Alex was leaning forward, his hand on Liz's shoulder. Liz looked more relaxed than she had in a few weeks.
And, Maria thought, noticing Liz and Max's joined hands, maybe they're back on track, too.
She smiled and noticed Max glancing at her in the rearview mirror. She met his eyes and smiled at him. He grinned back at her.
Maria felt her excitement start to build and she had a difficult time keeping still. She couldn't wait to see her mother again. It had seemed so long since she'd gone home to Roswell during fall break in Mid-October.
She looked out at the familiar desert surroundings along 285 South, and her eyes lit up when she saw the sign that read, "Roswell, 15 Miles."
Maria couldn't wait.
She practically jumped out of the jeep before Max had put it in park position. She hurried around to the passenger side and hugged Liz. "If you need anything tonight, you call me, okay?"
Liz nodded. "I will. Tell your mom I said hi."
Maria smiled and ran up to her driveway, ringing the doorbell several times. She could have used her key, but didn't feel like digging around for it in her purse.
A moment later the door opened, and Amy DeLuca's eyes widened in surprise. "Maria!"
"Mom!" Maria threw her arms around her mother and the two embraced for a long moment.
Michael smiled from his seat, watching the reunion. He waved to them as Max put the jeep in reverse and they pulled out of the driveway.
They dropped off Alex next. He climbed out of the jeep after giving Isabel a kiss. Then he reached down and hugged Liz. "I'll see you later," he said, kissing her forehead.
Liz smiled at him nervously. "Okay."
He picked up on her growing anxiety. "It'll be okay," Alex added, dropping his voice so only she could hear him. He gave her a reassuring grin and his famous double thumbs up before turning to go to his house.
Max glanced at Liz. "You ready?"
She took a deep breath. "Ready as I'll ever be."
Max squeezed her hand and headed for the Crashdown Cafe.
"You want us to come with you?" Isabel asked softly, leaning up between the two front seats and glancing at Liz.
Liz smiled briefly and shook her head. "I need to go by myself. But thanks."
Isabel nodded and moved away as Michael leaned forward. "If you need anything--"
"--Call. I will," she promised, meeting his eyes. Then she turned to Max, who was watching her carefully. "Thanks," Liz whispered as she leaned into his open arms and hugged him tightly.
"I love you," Max said quietly.
"I love you, too," she whispered back as she pressed her face into his shoulder. He was warm, safe, alive. He made her feel alive, too. She didn't want to leave the safety of his embrace.
Liz forced herself to pull away from him and climbed out of the jeep. She glanced up at the cafe. It didn't look any different than it had over the summer. She had a feeling however, that once she went inside, everything was going to be different.
Liz made her way up the back stairs slowly, part of her wanting to go up and see her parents, and the other part wanting to turn around and run all the way to Max and Isabel's house.
She paused on the steps halfway up, gripped onto the rail and closed her eyes. In her mind, she imagined that Max was with her, and for a moment she could almost feel him standing next to her, holding her hand.
It gave her the strength to finish her climb up to her parents' apartment. She twisted the doorknob and pushed open the door. Then she took a deep breath and stepped inside.
She watched as her mother dusted the china cabinet, picking up each dish and wiping it off several times before reaching for a new one, her back to Liz.
Liz's gaze moved to the kitchen table where her father sat, also faced away from her. A cup of coffee set in front of hm and he was holding onto it tightly, his head hanging down.
"Mom? Dad?"
Nancy turned to her and Liz could tell she'd been crying. "Hi honey." Liz walked over to her and her mother gave her a quick, akward hug before turning back to her chore. It stung a little, but Liz reminded herself that she and her mother had never been close.
Liz turned her attention to her father. His eyes were bloodshot, and had dark circles under them. His hair looked a bit more gray than the last time she'd seen him. "Dad?" she said softly, standing beside him.
Jeff Parker managed to smile at her and held his arms out. Liz hugged him, remembering a long time ago when she would crawl onto his lap, believing that he could keep her safe from all the scary things in the world.
"I can't believe he's gone, Lizzie. He was my best friend in the world and now he's gone."
Liz squeezed her eyes shut as pain seared her heart. She had to remind herself that no matter what her uncle had done to her, her dad didn't know about it, and he had been close to Charlie. But it didn't make it hurt any less.
She forced herself to open her eyes. Her dad wasn't crying. He'd never cried in front of her. But right now he was the closest she'd ever seen him to it.
And since she had no idea what to say, Liz remained silent as she sat down at the table next to him and watched her mother keep herself busy with the cleaning.
Liz stood in the doorway of her old bedroom and took a deep breath. This room had been hers since she was a kid. It had held all of the secrets she'd kept during her lifetime--good and bad.
She flipped the light on, stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Everything looked the same as it did the last time she'd been there. Her bed was made neatly and her stuffed bear Pookie sat on it, smiling.
Her mirror stood by her window, still slightly tilted as two of her scraves and her black velvet hat hung on the top of it.
Her bookshelf still held all of the books on astronomy and biology she had bought back in junior high and high school when she had been certain that she was going to be a scientist after college.
On top of her dresser in a white vase were the roses that Max had given to her on prom night their senior year. She'd had them professionally dried so she could keep them forever. Next to the boquet was her high school diploma, and a framed picture of her with Max, Isabel, Alex, Maria and Michael in their caps and gowns after graduation.
Hanging in a frame on the wall behind her dresser was the drawing Michael had done of her and Max and given to her for Christmas two years ago.
The only thing different was her.
She had changed, was still changing.
What scared her was she didn't know what was causing the change. It was something dark, something sinister, that much she knew for sure.
But she didn't know if she could fight it.
Even with all of her friends with her, she wasn't sure if she had the strength.