Michael was back in the lonely apartment, staring at the TV screen, not really comprehending what was on. His mind was on much more important matters.
As Maria he had watched her helplessly, not being able to say a thing even when she demanded to know why he was there. As she stood there, her hands on her hips, glaring down at him, he was speechless.
He had just made a promise, a huge one, that he wouldn't tell her the biggest secret of all time. One that concerned her, and that she probably had the right to know.
How do you keep the secret from someone that they are half alien?
But Amy had extracted the promise from him, and he would keep his word. Unless it became necessary for her to know. Necessary even by Mrs.DeLuca's standards. As far as Michael was concerned, it was necessary to tell Maria right now.
Amy had literally shoved him out the door, not wanting him to show any signs of looking guilty. He trusted whatever excuse she would give Maria.
Now, he had to come up with a way of telling her she was the only one he could be with, without breaking that promise. And that wouldn't be easy, not by a long shot.
'Find her Michael, and be happy. You don't have to be alone anymore.'
There was a way to put pressure on a relationship. What was he supposed to tell her? That she was his only chance for a real relationship? That any other woman would either be killed, or mentally damaged? That the only woman in this universe he could be with was like a sister. She was his only chance for a family of sorts, any type of non-platonic relationship.
Now there's a building block to start a relationship. Michael sighed, running his hands through his hair. He made a promise, that she could keep her normal identity for as long as possible, and he wouldn't break that. No matter how mad he knew she would be when she ultimately found out he had known all along and kept it from her.
At least now he knew the visions were real. That was his mother he was seeing, his real mother. God, he didn't even know if she would come to him again. These weren't daydreams, they were real.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Glancing at his watch, he realized it was late, later than he had thought. Who was here now?
Imagine the shock he got when he opened the door and found Maria.
*******************
"What are you doing here?" he asked as she elbowed her way past him into the apartment.
"I'm here too talk to you," she snapped, whirling around, her hands on her hips.
"About what?" he inquired cautiously as he shut the door and locked it.
"I'm sorry," she said in a non-apologetic voice, raising her hand. "When you said we couldn't be together, I didn't think it would involve you paying secretive visits to my mother."
"Didn't she explain that to you?" Michael said evasively, walking around her to the kitchen where he poured himself a glass of water.
Maria shrugged, "Oh yeah, she explained it. She said you were asking her to keep me away from you."
Michael was taken aback, his hand pausing as he brought the glass of water to his mouth. He started to deny it, trying to tell her he would never be such an asshole, "Maria, I di....,". But, then he remembered that he had to go along with whatever stupid thing Amy had said so he could keep his promise, and he shut his mouth.
Maria stared expectantly at him for a few moments, but when he didn't say anything, her face got set and hard. "I see," she said coldly. "You can't even fucking deny it!"
"Maria....." he began, but she held up her hand, cutting him off.
"I never would have thought..." she choked out, having trouble speaking. "You broke my heart Michael, when you walked away from me for good. But, somewhere deep down I believed we'd have a chance, but I guess I was wrong. Heck, at first I even believed mom was making this up just because she wanted you to stay away from me, but obviously I was wrong huh."
Her voice shook as she continued, "I see where we stand now. It's really over. You know Michael, you didn't need to say all that stuff about loving me, to make me feel better, or whatever the point of it was."
"Maria," he said more forcefully, trying to cut in, make her believe that he wanted her, wanted them to be together, "I want..."
She interrupted again, "I don't give a damn what you want Michael. But, I think I can give it to you anyway."
She stalked over to the door, pausing in the open doorway, she turned back, "Don't worry about asking my mother to keep me away from you, I won't even try and come within 20 feet."
Michael watched helplessly as she slammed the door behind her. He wanted to run after her, but there was nothing he could say. Amy had taken care of that for him. In wanting a normal human existence for her daughter, she had wrecked his chance at some semblance of happiness.
He heard her car start and the street and screech away. She wasn't coming back.
He doubted Amy would consider the fact that she now hated him a necessary reason to tell her the truth.
Why had he agreed to keep the secret in the first place?
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