Love Lost...Love Found

[b] Title[/b]: Love Lost…Love Found
[b] Author[/b]: StormyBear29
[b] E-Mail[/b]: StormyBear29@cox.net
[b] Couple[/b]: Michael and Liz
[b] Rating[/b]: NC-17…eventually
[b] Summary[/b]: For years Michael and his band of street punks have been wreaking havoc on one Liz Parker…due in part to her once secret romance with one of their own. When Max is killed…try as she might to move past the pain of losing her love…Liz finds that the leader of this gang refuses to allow this…and thus begins the nightmare of her life that has become the norm. Just when she thinks that she will never find love or happiness again…she finds it in the most unexpected of places.
[b] Dedication[/b]: This is my first attempt at a Polar fic…and I know from the beginning chapters that it doesn’t seem like it…but bare with me…it gets better. :P I am dedicating this fic to my very good friend…SpinkyMinky. She has been after me to write a Polar fic for months now. She has already told me what she would like to see in this fic. So…Spinky this one is for you. Hope you like it.

Chapter One

“Do you think that this will really work” Liz Parker asks her highly pissed off father as he fumbles with the security camera that he has been trying to install for the last two hours. “I mean…we’ve tried everything else and nothing has worked”

“Don’t you worry Lizzie…if it is the last thing that I do I am going to catch these little bast…I mean…punks in the act and send them exactly where it is they belong. Plus…it gives me some sense for security that you will be safe once I leave for the restaurateurs convention next week” The truth was that Liz didn’t think that this latest gadget of her fathers was going to put an end to the nightmare that had become her life for the last few years.

Almost from the first day that she had moved to Roswell she had been terrorized night and day by a local street gang known as “The Antarians” From the very beginning they…or more so he had pegged her as a target and her life had been a living hell ever since.

Her father and she had moved to Roswell after her mother had been killed in an automobile accident. Before her death her parents had owned a trendy little bistro in Los Angeles…where Liz worked full time as a waitress. Liz loved living in California and when she wasn’t working or going to school…she could be found worshipping the sun on California’s sandy beaches. She was a beach bunny to the fullest extent and was extremely popular with the surfer dudes. She had a perfect life with a perfect family and perfect friends…and in an instant the perfectness that was her life vanished forever.

Several days after the funeral of her beloved mother…Liz received the alarming news that she and her father were leaving California. Moving from the home and familiarity of all she had ever known to move to some small hick town in Roswell New Mexico. When she asked him why Roswell…he simply stated that it was a place where nothing bad could ever happen. Liz never quite knew what that meant…all she knew was that he life was about to take a change in direction. A direction that was going to lead her to temporary happiness and then lead her into complete and utter devastation.

At first she had blamed herself for the torture…she was the one that had started a secret relationship with one of “The Antarians” founding members…even after Maria…her best friend had warned her that she was making the biggest mistake of her life. If she would have known how true those words of warning were to become she would have taken Maria’s advice in a heartbeat. However…fate it had other ideas. Looking back on all that had transpired in the last few years…Liz finds that she no longer only blames her self for what has been happening to her and the circumstances that have lead to her hellish life. She now blames only one other person…and that person was the leader of “The Antarians”…that person was the one that brought unbearable fear and pain to her heart…that person had taken the love she felt for another trying to turn it into something cold and meaningless…that person was the one and only…Michael Guerin.

From the first day that she had met Michael she knew that he was trouble and someone to stay away from and she held every intention of staying away from him and his gang of merry thugs…that was until she had met Max. The moment that she laid eyes on Max Evans…she knew that she was in love with him. He was a Greek god in appearance…from his finely chiseled face and body to his penetrating hazel flecked eyes…eyes that bore into her very soul. She had worshipped him from afar for months before he even noticed her…and once he did…she knew that her life would never be the same again.

Max was a bad boy to the core and Liz knew that it was one of the main reason that she was attracted to him…but there was a softer side…a passionate side that others weren’t privy to. It was a side that only she had been lucky enough to witness as their secret relationship had begun to blossom. Liz knew that the relationship was doomed from the start as her and Max were different as night and day. He was a punk…as her father liked to call him…from the other side of the tracks…and she was a upper middle class spoiled rotten daddy’s girl…as Michael used to call her. None of that mattered at the time…all that mattered was that she had felt that she had met the man of her dreams. Met the one that all women waited on bated breath to breeze into their lives and love them completely without condition. She never cared what others thought of her love of Max…she knew that he was the one that she was going to spend the rest of her life with. However…She just had no idea how wrong she was…for it was made crystal clear on what had begun as any normal school day.

Worry filled her as she glanced at her watch for what felt like the millionth time as she had waited for Max to meet her in the one place that they had met daily before the start of morning classes. No one was still the wiser that these two were star-crossed lovers were together…meeting in secret whenever they could to spend precious few minutes together. Liz loved this time spent locked inside the erasure room with Max. Her and Max would arrive separately to school…only to end up coming together in the dust and darkness. Neither caring about anything else but the way that they felt as they clung desperately to each other…only to be brutally forced apart at the ringing of schoschools bell. That day seemed to be the exception as the bell blared in her ear signalling the start of a new day of learning…and with still no Max in sight.

Reluctantly she attempted to leave the room that held so many cherished memories of make out sessions and words of love expressed by Max. Opening the door…she had come face to face with a member of The Antarians…but she found that it wasn’t the one that she was expecting. “Michael” she screamed startled as she gazed into the blazing dark eyes. “I…I was just…”

“Just waiting for Max,” he growled as he pushed a terrified Liz unwillingly back into the shadows of the erasure room…slamming the door behind him. “Don’t think that I don’t know about your secret rendezvous with Max…because I know it all. Max and I are close…just like brothers and he tells me everything”

Terrified…but unwilling to allow Michael to intimidate her…Liz found her voice and began to speak. “Michael…we…we just didn’t know how everyone would react to seeing the two of us together” she said…regretting her words instantly as a look of pure unadulterated hate crossed over his face.

“Right…right…I see. So let me get this straight…you were worried about how people would react to seeing the two of you as a couple. Or…maybe it is more like you were more afraid of what people would be thinking about YOU…if they saw you together with someone from the slums of this great city of Roswell. Do I have that right Miss Parker…” he mocked Liz…shoving his face in front of her own for emphasis…so close that she felt the warmth of his breath heavy upon her already heated face. “DO I”

“No…I…I…”

“NO” he continued to mock her…placing his hands forcefully upon her shoulders knocking her roughly against the wall. “I think that I am correct. I also think that I am correct in the notion that you also are the reason that Max was arrested last night…and now rots in juvenile detention for the next eight months”

“What…No…I…detention.” Liz stammered…tears rolling from her eyes at the full extent of Michael’s words.

“Save it bitch…I don’t give a @#%$ what you have to say. Just know this…payback is a bitch…and you are so that bitch”

“Michael…No…wait” Liz cried after the retreating figure of Michael…grabbing his arm in an attempt to stop him. “Please…tell me…is he ok.”

“Don’t you ever @#%$ touch me. What the @#%$ do you care if he is ok or not…since you’re the @#%$ reason that he is there in the first place” Michael hissed as once again he slammed a distressed Liz into the flat dusty surface of the wall. “I don’t know what you game is bitch…but I will find out and you will @#%$ suffer…guaranteed” With another shove of her body into the hard wall…Michael left Liz alone with her thoughts as her tears turned into heart wrenching sob of pain.

It wasn’t until later that afternoon that she had found out the whole story behind Max’s incarceration. She could only listen half-heartedly as her best friend Maria gushed excitedly about the newest bit of news to spread through the small town of Roswell. Max had been arrested for attempted robbery of the local jewelry store. This had been his third offense in the last year and the judge…fed up with the terror that “The Antarians” placated on the small town…was determined to prosecute Max to the fullest degree of the law. Due to the fact that this was his third offense and he was just barely seventeen…he had been transferred to the juvenile detention center in Dexter to serve his time until his eightieth birthday. Liz was racked with grief as she knew why it was that Max had attempted to rob that store and what it was exactly that he was trying to steal.

It was just a few nights earlier that the two lovers had been walking the deserted streets of Roswell in the early morning hours of the day. It was a time where they could come out of the hiding of the erasure room and be free to walk out in the open…so to speak. It was that very night as they were browsing the windows of the local shops that Liz had pointed out to Max her hearts desire…a diamond encrusted heart shaped ring. It was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen and she had gushed about it for hours afterwards…never once fathoming that he would attempt to steal it to ensure her happiness.

TBC


Chapter Two

Days turned into weeks and weeks into months and she had still not heard any word from or about Max. Liz knew whom it was that she had to go to for information…and that thought alone terrified her beyond belief. On several occasions she had attempted to speak to Michael to get any news of the well being of her love…and yet with each attempt she would let her fear engulf her and she would lose her nerve and slink back into the void that had become her life without Max.

Evenings seemed to be that worst…as it was then that she and Max had spent most of their time together. Now…they were spent crying her self to sleep each night as thoughts of Max invaded her heart and soul. Days were spent in a zombie like state…floating from class to class with no real direction as to what she was doing or where she was going. Unable to eat…she looked thin and almost emancipated. She no longer cared about her appearance…and eventually the few friends that she had made her short time in Roswell diminished down to one…Maria.

Maria had been the only one to know of the love affair between Max and Liz…and had sworn a secret vow that she would take it to the grave. She knew that Liz loved Max…but she still tried like hell to make Liz see that the relationship was doomed and she should move on. However…Maria knew that Liz’s world was falling apart without Max. She also knew of her great fear of the only man that could bring some bit of happiness back into her dismal life. So she had made the decision to speak to him on Liz’s behalf. Maria was just as petrified of Michael as Liz was…but she knew that any shred of news about Max would ease some of her friend’s pain and suffering.

For twenty horrendous minutes Maria had been taunted…teased and threatened…with still no news of Max Evans. Tremors of fear swathed her as tears coursed down her face while she replayed the events of her encounter with Michael to Liz. Pissed off and fed up with Michael and his superior ways…Liz set out to find the man that had shaken up her friend so badly that it had required two large doses of her mothers tranquilizers to ease her wrangled nerves. It didn’t take a genius to find him…as he was a creature of habit and each night he and his gang could be found verbally abusing the patrons of the town’s only pool hall.

True to form “Theariaarians” were right where Liz expected to find them…but something was different…something was wrong. She felt it weighing heavily in the air as she made her way into the smoky room of the pool hall. Fear encased her as she made her way to the man that she knew could ease some of the tightness that had surrounded her heart since Max had been arrested. Taking several deep breaths…she began the trek to the table surrounded with her greatest enemies. She could feel her heart hammering wildly in her chest and she knew that if she didn’t get it over with soon…in a matter of minutes it was going to explode from her heaving chest. Minutes seemed to hang in the air for an eternity as she attempted to work her quivering legs as step by agonizing step she continued her way to where they sat. Her rapidly beating heart quickly slowed to a frozen mass as she approached the table and found “The Antarians” each in a world of their own. Something was wrong…she knew that this wasn’t right. They should have been torturing and taunting the patrons of the hall…and yet they continued to sit oblivious to all that surrounded them…including her. She knew before they uttered a word that something had in fact gone horribly wrong…and it had to do with her Max.

Taking a shuttering breath she laid her hand upon the mans shoulder that had been causing her at the time the greatest grief of her life. Little did she know that from that night on…what she thought was torture was about to get worse…so much worse.

“Michael” she croaked, jumping back startled as he flinched from her touch as if it had burned him…and yet he continued to stare at her blindly “Max…I need to know how Ms” ss” she asked frantically as Michael continued to gaze blindly upon her pleading eyes. She was so wrapped up in the intense sadness and pain that shown from them that she never heard the animalistic scream that echoed throughout the tiny hall…only felt the floor beneath her as something or someone slammed brutally into her unsuspecting body.

“YOU @#%$ BITCH…I WILL @#%$ KILL YOU” she heard a female voice scream crazed as blow after blow was administered upon her. Liz had no clue as to who or what was attacking her as she fought like hell to protect herself from the blows that they were inflicting as they continually pummelled her face and head into the hard linoleum floor. “HE’S DEAD…YOU KILLED HIM…YOU @#%$ KILLED HIM” Her would at that point began to spin wildly around her…but it wasn’t from the beating that she was receiving from the still unknown assailant…but from the words that ricocheted through her ears. He was dead…she didn’t have to ask to know who he was…for she had already known. She had known from the moment that she had entered their hangout and seen the looks on their frozen faces. He was dead…her love…her man…her Max was dead.

Unwilling to defend her self any longer…she welcomed the bashing that she had been receiving. Her world had ended the moment that those treacherous words had been uttered. She didn’t want to live in a world without Max…didn’t want to live in a world without his love. Death at that time was the only option to her…and she welcomed it with open arms. What happened next was still a blur to her. She no longer had felt the welcoming jolts of pain that plagued her emotionally racked body…only heard muffled screams of anger and pain around her. She didn’t know where it was coming from or who it was coming from and she didn’t’ care…all she wanted was the blackness to over take her and relieve her of the pain that had inhabited her…physically as well as emotionally since those devastating words were uttered.

She didn’t know how it was that she had ended up in her bed the next morning…and truth be told she didn’t care. She was to busy trying to convince herself that everything was fine as her first thoughts were that of the events from the previous night. It had to be some sort of surreal dream…and yet deep within her heart she knew that it was no dream…that in fact the first love of her life was in deed dead.


Chapter Three
Present Day


“Honey…are you sure that you don’t want to come with me. I can call your teachers and explain to them why you won’t be in school for the next week” Jeff Parkers pleads with his daughter as she helps him pack for his impending trip.

“I will be fine daddy” Liz answers sounding surer then she actually feels. “I have my mid-terms coming up and I just can’t afford to miss any classes right now. The new security camera is up and running and the new alarm will be installed tomorrow morning. Don’t worry I will be fine. I am staying with Maria tonight and then once the new system is installed I will be completely safe”

“Lizzie…I just don’t like the idea of leaving you here alone…even with the new security equipment”

“Daddy…you’re going to miss your flight if you don’t leave now. I love you daddy and I will be safe. I will call you ever night and Maria and her mother are just a phone call away if I need them” Liz says with a smile as she places a suit case in her fathers hands…pushing him out the door of his bedroom.

“Liz…I…” Jeff stammers as he pulls his only daughter into his embrace. “I want you to make sure that you lock the door behind me…and have Maria’s mother pick you tonight. I don’t want you walking alone at night…and you call me every night…without fail. I logged the sheriff’s station phone number into all the phones…just press memory one and it will ring directly to them. Don’t forget…”

“Go…Now” Liz laughs as she continues to push her father out of the Crash down and towards his car. I’ll be fine. Now…you drive safe to the airport and call me once you get there. Be careful once you get to Vegas…remember there are a lot of swindlers there and we all know what a softy you can be”

“Now who’s the parent here…you or me” He laughs as he pulls Liz into his arms once again. “I love you Lizzie”

“Love you too daddy…now get going”

Liz waves as her father pulls out of the alley and disappears down the main street of Roswell. She is unaware that she is being observed by three street punks with grins upon all their faces…all except for one that is.

“Looks like daddy dear is leaving for a little trip” Isabel pans as she continues to watch the one person that she hates more then she thought it was possible to hate anyone. In her mind she and she alone is the sole reason that her beloved brother is dead. Anger coats her as she recalls the night that they found out that Max had been murdered. They were all in shock and each was trying to deal with the news in their own way. It was that night that little Lizzie Parker had decided to enter their domain inquiring about the man that she claimed to love…it was the night that Isabel could have killed her with her bare hands…and would have…if not stopped by one of her own. She looks to Michael and finds him staring intently at the woman she longs to hurt like she has never hurt anyone before. Her anger intensifies as he continues to gape at her…never once breaking the lock that his eyes hold on her. “What @#% @#%$ is your problem Mickey” she yells as she backhands him across the head. “You ain’t taken your eyes of her the whole time…you act like you’re in love with her or something”

“You @#%$ touch me like that again…and I will break that damn hand of yours…permanently” Michael roars as he pushes Isabel’s hand away as she goes in for another slap. Jumping up from the ground from which he was squatting he turns to face Isabel and Kyle. “You better keep your women in check…or I will have to…got it. And…if you call me @#%$ Mickey again…you will so lto rto regret it”

“Michael…just chill…she didn’t mean it” Kyle says trying to relieve some of the tension that has built up around them. The tension level between Isabel and Michael had been increasing dramatically since Max’s death…and Kyle liked to think that the only reason that either was still alive was due to him and his calming ways. “Buddha tells us that…”

“Shut up Kyle” Isabel snaps walking up to where Michael now stood. “I meant every word that I said. I mean look at you…you get this puppy dog look on your face every @#%$ time you see her. It’s like your forgot that she is the reason that my brother…your best friend was murdered in cold blood…or did you forget that. Did you forget that we made a pact to torture her ass for what she did to Max…did you forget…”

“I haven’t forgotten @#%$” he screams as he grabs Isabel’s face between his hands…squeezing ir emr emphasis. I know that she is the reason that Max was killed…I relieve thaght ght every single day of my life. But you remember this…I am the leader of this gang…me…and me alone. So you better get your ass in check…or you won’t have to worry about the pact that we made…cause it will be your ass and not hers getting paid back”

“Michael…stop” Kyle yells as he pulls Isabel from the grasp that he holds on his girlfriend. “Dammit you two…I am so sick and tired of this power trip the two of you always seem to be on. I think that we have done enough to this girl…she has suffered enough at our hands. Jesus…Max died two years ago and you both seem to forget that he loved her very much. How happy do you think he is that we have made her life a living hell ever since that night. I think that it is time to move on and leave her in peace…we owe her at least that for all the @#%$ that we have done to her” Kyle can’t help but flinch at the look of pure hatred that is directed at him from the woman that he loves with all his heart and soul.

“WHAT THE @#%$ ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT” Isabel screams as she lunges for him…only to be stopped my Michael this time. “SHE @#%$ KILLED MAX…MY BABY BROTHER IS DEAD AND IT IS ALL DUE TO THAT BITCH”

“NO…ISABEL” Kyle scream back as he jumps back from the flailing arms of the now crazed Isabel. He hated it when she got like this…since Max’s death these bouts of craziness had become more frequent…and truth was he was frightened of her when she got like thut hut he continues anyway. “She isn’t the reason that Max is dead… and you both know it. A cold-blooded killer killed Max in his sleep. She had nothing to do with his death…NOTHING. Michael…please tell her…this has gone on long enough”

Michael looks deep into Kyle’s eyes and for the briefest of seconds and Kyle thinks that he has finally gotten through to him. He can see the confliction in his dark eyes…and yet just as quickly as he sees it…it vanishes without a trace. He can feel his disappointment grow as he hears the words of his best friend and leader echo through his ears.

“We are doing this…end of story. She and she alone are the only reason that Max ended up in that hole. Max would be @#%$ turning over in his grave if we didn’t get her back for him losing his life. Now…you get her crazy ass home and calm her down…I have a few things that I have to take care of before tonight. Oh…and Valenti…you better be there…if you know what’s good for you” Michael hisses as he storms off leaving Isabel and Kyle is his wake.

“You’ve gone @#%$ soft” Isabel states nastily as she pushes Kyle against the back of the wall and brutally attacks his lips with her own. He finds that as usual he is unable to put up much of a fight as her hands hungrily roam his body…ripping his tight t-shirt in an attempt to remove it. “I want you to @#%$ me…right here…right now” she growls angrily against his ear as she rubs her lower body roughly over his hardened @#%$. Without hesitation…Kyle reverses the roles as he slams her hard into the wall…helping her remove the barrier of clothes that stops him from his only destination.

There is no need for foreplay…no need to words of love and wanting for she never liked it much anyway. The only sex that Isabel liked was rough…hard…and very public. “@#%$ ME NOW” he hears her scream out in frustration as he fumbles with the zipper of her jeans. “NOW…KYLE…NOW” Successfully he lowers the zipper…then fighting with his own zipper…as her animalistic moans continue. Within seconds he removes his own jeans and thrust without hesitation into her molten core…pumping into her so fast that he quickly loses his breath…and yet he knows that he cannot stop. She is the lifeblood that flows through his veins…she is his only reason for living…and although he longed for a more loving sex life…@#%$ her any way that he could…anywhere that he could was enough for him. “I love you Isabel” he screams into the heavy heat of the day as with one finial thrust he brings them both over the edge into their much-needed orgasm.

“Right” she replies as finally catches her breath…dressing herself quickly as she pushes Kyle off her fully over heated body. “Lets go…we have to get ready for tonight”

“Um…yeah…tonight” Kyle replies disappointed as he quickly pulls on his jeans attempting to catch up with a disappearing Isabel. In the four years thhey hey had been together…Isabel had never once spoken the words that Kyle longed to hear…words that would prove to him that she did in fact love him and not just using him as a sex toy…and yet not once had she uttered these words. Kyle knew that any hot-blooded American male would kill for a relationship where there were no words of love expressed…only fantastic sut hut he isn’t most man. Praying to Buddha daily…he hopes that one-day before he dies to hear the words from her beautiful lips…and yet he knows deep within his very soul that this day may never come.


Chapter Four

Images of her face continually occupy his mind as he makes his way down Main Street…completely unaware of the pedestrians around him moving away as quickly as their feet can carry them…fear clearly upon their faces. Usually Michael enjoyed this kind of intimidation…but today she was the only thing that he could think of. For years he had blamed her for the death of Max…but lately he finds that he can’t stop thinking about her…and how much his hatred of her has diminished. He didn’t understand his changing feelings for the one that he had agonized since Max’s death…and it pissed him off to no end that Isabel on more then one occasion had called him out on it. The truth was that he no longer blamed Liz for the death of hiiendiend and her first true love…and truthfully he knows that he never really did. No…this game of torture and pain was due to his extreme jealousy at her loving Max and him loving her back.

Michael had been smitten with the raven haired beauty from the first moment he had laid eyes on her…and as much as he hated to use the word love…he knew from the moment that he had seen her that it was love at first sight. She was absolutely beautiful in his eyes…from her angelic face to her dark chocolate eyes…but what he loved most about her…and still did to this day was her striking personality. Despite the hell that he and his band of thugs had put her through and the comatose state she had suffered through right after Max’s death…her compassionate side was still able to emerge through it all.

Checking his watch…he quickens his pace for he has just mere minutes to get where it was he was going. It was the same routine that he followed each and every day for the last year…it was something that helped him get through each long and tormented day. “@#%$” he murmurs aloud as he throws himself against the brink of the wall as he hides from view in a deserted ally. “Way to go Guerin” he scolds himself as he peeks around the corner to make sure that he wasn’t seen. Releasing the breath that he didn’t even realize he was holding, he sprints across the street…not seeing the car until the horn blares loudly in his ear jerking him back into reality. “WATCH WHERE THE @#%$ YOUR GOING” he screams slamming his fists into the hood of the car…leaving a two fisted dent. Pulling his death glare from the visibly trembling passenger…he scans the area locking eyes with her. The look of pure terror causes his heart to break just a little…if it was possible for his ice-cold heart to break. He watches as she runs into the building of her intent…slamming the door behind her in fear as she does. His fist clash with the hood of the car once more as he jets the rest of the way across the street and down the now all to familiar ally.

Gingerly he climbs the rusted metal steps…leading him to the roof of the hardware store. Settling into the torn and faded lawn chair…he pulls his sketchpad from the knap sack he always carries with him. Flipping through the filled pages…he quickly finds a blank page and begins to sketch the image forever burned into his mind. He has no control of his hands as they fly over the page filling it with the black smudges from his drawing pencil. As usual the world around him disappears as his complete concentration focus on the task at hand. It was always the same each day. He would make his way to this very spot and draw to his hearts content the object of his desire. This was his alone time…time where he could get away from the pressures of being the leader of Kyle and Isabel…time to get away to clear his always muddled head. Time to focus on her…and the way that just the sight of her always made him feel.

His fingers are a blur as he brings the picture in his head to life on the canvas of his notebook. He feels a dull ache in his heart as reality comes back into view as he for the first time sees what it is that he has drawn. It was her…it was always her…but the look of pure fear so readable in her beautiful eyes was almost more then he could bear…for he knows that it was there for only one reason…because of him. He had been sketching her from afar for well over a year now…he knew every line and shape of her splendorous body…but he longed for more. He longed to run his hands over that very same body…doing things to her that he could only dream about in his wildest fantasies.

Pulling his gaze from the image of her…he focuses his attention on Liz Parker as she works with her kick boxer instructor across the street. Guilt pours over him…for he knows that it is he and “The Antarians” fault that she feels the needs to learn to defend herself.

When they had made this pact to make her life as miserable as possible…it had been the day of Max’s funeral. He…Kyle and Isabel could only sit in stunned silence as Liz made her presence known at his funeral. Could only watch as she cried tears of loss and pain for the man that he considered to be his best friend in the whole world. It pissed him off more then he though possible that she had the nerve to be there…when in truth she had every right to be there. Max loved her…as he had confided to Michael on more then one occasion…and was even planning on leaving “The Antarians” Michael was pissed when Max had told him that…so pissed that he had physically attacked Max due to it. Max had told him that he wanted to be more then some street punk from Roswell New Mexico…he wanted more out of life then bullying and doing the juvenile things thaty aly always did. He wanted all the things that life had to offer…but most important he wanted more for Liz.

At first he had been angry as hell. Angry at Max for even considering leaving “The Antarians”…angry for wanting to leave him. He was also angry at her…she was the one that was taking his best friend away…taking the only person that knew the real Michael…and the fact that he was going to lose that scared the hell out of him. Most of all he was angry at himself…because he knew that Max’s words were words of truth. He…like Max longed for more then what was his life…the difference was that Max had the guts to make that first step…he however did not. So…he allowed his angry at his life…the words that Max spoke…and the love that he felt for his forbidden angle to grow. So much so that he no longer knew…nor cared where the anger ended or began…who was to blame and who was not…all he knew was that due to his misplaced anger he had lost his best friend…even before his death…and caused her life to turn into the shambled living hell that it was to this day.

It was so easy to blame her…easy to ignore the fact that Max…like all of them was a punk who did what ever he wanted…whenever he wanted. Not once in the two years since his death had he even considered that he…Michael Guerin might have been at fault for Max’s Death. He knew what it was that Max was planning on doing that night. He knew that there was a high probability that Max would get caught…and yet he did nothing to stop him. The truth of that matter was…and it was a truth that haunted him till this very day…but the truth of that matter was…he wanted Max to get caught.

He watches as she nervously makes her way out of the kick boxing studio…watches as she runs like the wind…always looking behind her as she makes her way back to the sanctuary of her home. Once again guilt descends upon him…as he gathers his art supplies and makes his way off the dilapidated roof. He knows what he has to do…for as Kyle had stated earlier…this had gone on long enough…she had suffered long enough at their hands. It was time to end her nightmare and allow peace to enter her life. He also knew that it was time for him to be the man that Max once was and take that first step away from his old life and into what he hoped would be his new life.

Tears of fear and frustration stream down her face as she runs like she has never ran before in an attempt to reach the safety of her home before his onslaught of terror could begin again. She had seen him as a car had almost hit him earlier…and she had to admit that she had hoped that in fact the car would have hit him. Hoped like hell that it had flattened him like a pancake…and in doing so would have ended the nightmarish life at the hands of him and his gang. She knew that he hadn fon following her…he always seemed to know just where she was every moment of the day. It was getting to the point that she was absolutely petrified to leave the house…but she refused to allow them to take away anymore of her life then they already had. Reaching the security of her home…she quickly unlocks the door…locking it just as quickly behind her once she enters. Attempting to catch her failing breath…she finally allows the full capacity of her fear and pain to wash over her as she slumps against the wall and falls to the floor below.

The shrill ring of the phone forces her from her trance like state as she quickly retrieves the phone and answers it. “Hell…Hello” she stammers into the receiver…her heart beating furiously against her heaving chest. Her first instinct was to not answer it…but she knew that her father was going to call her once he arrived at the restaurateur’s convention.

“Liz…damn I am so glad that I caught you before you headed over her. I hate to do this to you…but I am going to have to cancel tonight” Maria states animatedly. “You will not believe it…but my father called. He is coming into town for only one night…and tonight would be that night. I am so sorry Liz…but this will probably be a once in a life time opportunity…and I so can not miss it” Cold fear runs through her heart and lungs as the realization of Maria’s words hit fully upon her. Maria was cancelling their sleepover…but that wasn’t the fearful part. No…the fact that she was going to have to spend the night alone in this apartment…with no security or protection frightened her to the very core. “Liz…Liz…are you there” she hears Maria scream through the receiver. “Please Liz…you have to understand…I haven’t seen my father since I was three and we have so much that we have to discuss. Tell me that you understand”

“I…I understand Maria” Liz stammers yet again. “It’s ok…I know that you have been waiting for this night for such a long time” She answers automatically as any best friend would do.

“Oh…Lizzie you’re the best. I knew that you would understand. Ok…I have to get off her and get ready. OMG…what do you wear to meet a father you haven’t seen in fourteen years” she screeches, causing Liz to hold the phone away from her ear to avoid the full impact of it. “Ok…I really have to go now…this could take hours. Love you Lizzie” and with that said and the blaring dial tone she was gone. Placing the phone on the front counter…she heads into the kitchen to make herself a quick sandwich before heading upstairs to a night filled with fear…as well as studying for her finals in advanced calculus.

Chapter Five

For what felt like the millionth time…she checked and recheck all the locks on every window and door found in her home as well as the Crash down. To sayt sht she was afraid was an understatement for she was petrified to her very soul. Each and every sound that reached her super sensitive ears caused her to jump even more out of her skin. With a final sweep of the kitchen she turns the overhead light off and begins to make her way to the apartment above. As she ventures into the break room she notices a white sheet of paper dangling from the row of lockers against the wall. Her heart begins pounding frantically in her cheo muo much so that she finds she can no longer receive enough air into her panicked lungs. Slowly she makes her way to the note…trying desperately to remember if it had been there before. Try as she might she is unable to recall as she nervously removes it with her shaking hands and opens it. A small uneasy giggle erupts from her throat as she sits on old old couch besides her and begins reading it.

Liz…
I am so sorry to do this by letter…but it was all that I could think of. I am having to tender my resignation effective immediately until future notice. My sister in Phoenix is pregnant and some complications have arisen…and since I am the only family that she has I must go to her. Please forgive me for leaving you with such short notice. I have placed a call with a temporary agency to find you a replacement…you should hear word on Monday. Again I am sorry for the short notice…but I was unable to get in touch with you or your father.
Sincerely Jose

“Just great” Liz speaks aloud to the empty room. “Now what the hell am I going to do” Crumpling the letter in her hand…she tosses it into a nearby wastepaper basket as she climbs the steps leading to her apartment. Once inside she locks and triple bolts the door…before plopping down on the couch as she tries to figure out how she is going to run a restaurant without a cook. She knew that she could handle some of the kitchen work…but she would be the first to admit that she couldn’t cook very well at all. There was always Maria…but with her father in town…she knew that it would be useless to call her for her mind would be on that and not on the task at hand. Flipping onto her stomach she closes her eyes for the briefest of moments only to have them fly open just as quickly at the sound of breaking glass in the restaurant below.


Earlier that Evening

“WHAT THE @#%$ DO YOU MEAN WE AIN’T DOING IT TONIGHT” Isabel screams crazily as in a similar scene from earlier that day Kyle holds her back from Michael as he stands his ground before her.

“I said that we are not doing it tonight. Enough is enough and I am tired of doing the same @#%$ to the same person. It’s been played out…and it is time to move on to someone else” he lies coverine ree real reason for not wanting to hit the Crash Down tonight.

“Oh…you have grown tired of doing the same @#%$ to the same person” she mimics him as she pushes her way past him brutally. “Well…I ain’t grown tired of it Mikey G…in fact thanks to you my interests have been greatly increased. You may not want to torture her skinny ass anymore…but I do…and I will. KYLE…get you ass in gear we have some terror to strike in wittle Ms. Parkers life”

Obediently Kyle follows his lover out into the cool night…purposely avoiding looking into Michael’s eyes as he does. Fraallyally Michael allows the wheels of his brain to spin as he attempts to come up with an idea to warn Liz of her upcoming visitors…and quick.

“Hold the @#%$ up” he growls nastily as he run behind a storming Isabel…spinning her around upon reaching her. “I’ve told you this once before…and I am only going to tell you this one more time before I beat the @#%$ out of you. I am the leader of this gang…ME…and I make the decisions” With a quickness he snakes his leg around Isabel’s ankle and drops her to the ground below…hovering mere inches above her face as he stares into her fear filled eyes. “I will go to the Crash Down…I will put our plan in action and…YOU and your chicken @#%$ boyfriend will come when I…call you. You got that Isabel” he snides madly as he slams her head into the pavement again and again…unable to control the madness that is rolling over him at the thought of Isabel laying one finger on Liz Parker.

“MICHAEL STOP” Kyle screams as he attempts to pull him off of Isabel’s stunned body. “YOUR GOING TO HURT HER” reality begins to set in again as the full extent of what just happened set in. “Jesus Christ will this @#%$ between you two ever stop” he continues as he helps a silent Isabel off the ground and dusts the loose pavement off her backside. “Isabel…your not the leader…Michael is. Please…you have to stop questioning his authority. He would never steer us wrong…he has never in the past…and he won’t now. Kyle looks to Michael and feels his heart squeeze a little for his friend and leader. Michael had never said word one about his feeling for Liz Parker…but tvidevidence was so clearly written on his face and seen so lucidly in his expressive eyes. It was blatantly obvious when Max was alive that even then he held feelings for Liz…but Liz only had eyes for Max. None of them really knew that Max was dating Liz until three months into their relationship when he and Michael were arguing over who it was that they were going to torture that night…and Liz’s name had been the first to come up. Kyle’s remembers the look of absolute insanity that crossed Max’s normally calm face at the mention of Liz’s name.

Flash Back

“You lay one @#%$ hand on Liz Parker and I will make sure that you never lay another hand on another living soul” Max screamed at his best friend and second in command Michael Guerin as he grabbed him by the front of his shirt…yanking him off the dilapidated couch from which he was seated. “You got me…leave her the @#%$ alone”

For the briefest of seconds Michael could only stand before his best friend in stunned silence as he tried to comprehend the words that he had just spoken. Confusion flooded him at the anger flashing off of Max’s face…and the fact that it was all due to the mere mention of one Liz Parker. He could feel his own anger begin to bubble as Max continued his rant…and with each word spoken he tightened the grip that he held on his shirt. “GET THE @#%$ OFF ME” he screamed as he pushed Max’s hands off of him…fighting to regain his balance at the releases of his shirt. “I don’t know what your problem is Maxwell…but you are acting like your in love with her or something” He could feel his anger begin to churn even more as he stared into Max’s hate filled eyes. “Tell me that you’re not in love with her”

“I need some air” Max retorted angrily as he pushed past Michael and headed for the front door of the apartment that they all shared…as t pai pairs of eyes followed his every move in stunned silence.

“No…there is no way that my little brother is in love with Mrs. @#%$ Goody Two Shoes. You need to talk to him Michael…do something” Isabel whines as she stood before him with her hands on her hips…a joint dangling from her lips. “Go talk to him…NOW”

“You know you keep smoking that @#%$ and your going to die a slow and tortuous death because this @#%$ ate away at your brain” he stated pissed as he grabbed the joint from her mouth and tossed it into a discarded beer can. “Now get the hell out of my way…and stop smoking that @#%$ in my apartment….you know that I don’t’ want drugs in my place”

“Maxwell” he called out into the night air as he slammed the front door of his apartment behind him. “Maxwell…where the hell are you”

I’m not discussing this with you Michael” he heard a voice answer loudly from the shadows of the apartment building. Following the voice he found Max sitting on the steps leading into the laundry room…beer in hand. “So…you can just go back inside and tell my sister and Kyle that you spoke to me and it is @#%$ over…OK” Michael could see that Max was agitated and this only intensified his own anger.

“NO…I don’t think that this is over Maxwell” he growled back as he stood defiantly before the man that was his best friend and sworn leader. “I think that you have some explaining to do…because if you think that you can just start dating Liz Parker…you better think again”

“For one thing…you better remember who the hell you are talking to Guerin…and for another thing I will see whom ever the @#%$ I want…whenever I want” Max countered shoving Michael aside as he climbed off the steps. “I am the @#%$ leader…not you…or Isabel…or even Kyle…Me…and I am sick and tired of putting my ass on the line for all of you…and yet I get nothing but bitching and complaining in return. I am sick of this @#%$…sick of everything”

“Oh…so that how this is going to go down. I see…you fall in love with that Bitch Liz Parker and now all of a sudden your punking out on your family” Michael screamed as he grabbed Max by the arm as he attempted to jump on his motorcycle.

“DON’T YOU EVER TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT” Max screamed like a mad man as he lunged at Michael knocking them both to the ground as a fight ensued. Michael didn’t know if he was fighting the man that he loves like a brother due to his impending departure from “The Antarians” or the fact that Max Evan’s was in love with the woman that he had loved from afar from the first time he had ever laid eyes on her.

Punches were thrown and words of insult and pain were uttered and in a matter of minutes both men were lying exhausted on the ground each grunting and gasping from the pain that the other had inflicted upon them. “You…you can’t date her Man” Michael groaned as he continues to pull much needed air into his lungs.

“I can…and I will…and either you except it or you find another best friend” Max retorted painfully as he pulled himself off the ground and once again made his way towards his bike. “I love her…and I will do anything I have to make sure that she never leaves me”

His anger quickly turned to one of sadness and deepened hurt as he watched Max speed off…already knowing where it was he is going. Into the arms of the one that he longed to be with…into the waiting arms of Liz Parker.

Kyle had witnessed the whole scene from the window of the tiny apartment. He watched as Max roared off into the darkness of the night…and he watched as Michael continued to lie on the cold ground…watched as he punched the ground with such anger and frustration that he lost count how many times his fists hit the ground…watched as he finally heaved himself off the ground and watched as he wiped quickly at his eyes. Kyle never knew for sure if Michael was wiping away tears from his fight with his best friend…or if it was because of his best friends love of the girl he loved.


Chapter Six

Kyle knows that Michael is stalling for time…and he has to admit that he is relieved that he was beginning to see the light. He knows what he has to do…he has to get Isabel’s mind off of hurting Liz…and he knows just what it was that he has to do. He hates having to revert to sex to distract her…but if it gave Michael enough time to get to the Crash Down and warn Liz then it was well worth it…and if he got to have fantastic angry sex with the love of his life…then it was all good. “Lets get the hell over there and do what we planned to do” Kyle yells at Michael in mock anger…grabbing his shirt for emphasis as he spins him around and away from the prying eyes of Isabel for he can feel the madness rolling off her body in waves with each passing minute. “Don’t @#%$ this up Michael…were not going to get another chance like tonight” his screams echo throughout the grassy knoll of the apartment complex…sending out a vibe to all that hear his words the depths of his anger at whomever it is he is screaming at…but his face…his face tells a completely different tale. “I am telling you Michael once again…don’t @#%$ screw this one up”

He knows that his deception is working as the madness that once surrounded her…is now replaced with pure unadulterated lust. He can feel her want of him…can feel her need for him and he eagerly waits for whatever it is that his love has in store for him. He doesn’t have to wait long as Isabel rips him from the hold that he held on Michael and attacks his mouth with such fury that it catches him off guard…and they both plummet to the ground below.

“I want you to @#%$ me now” he hears Isabel roar as he watches her and Kyle roll on the ground before him. Michael never did understand Isabel’s need to @#%$ Kyle in very open…very public places…and the truth is that he doesn’t have time to ponder it as he takes the opportunity that Kyle has offered to him on a silver platter and makes his way to the Crash Down…makes his way to her. He knows that he will never have a chance with the woman that he growgrown to love more and more with each passing day…but he hopes that in warning her of her impending visitors that it might hopefully relieve some of the guilt and pain that has attached itself to his barely beating heart.

His heart feels as if it may burst right out of his chest…his lungs no longer want to produce the much needed air that is required to breath…as he hides in the shadows of the alley behind the Crash Down. “Get a grip on your self Guerin” he scolds himself as he slaps his own face in an attempt to get his emotions that are spiralling crazily under some sort of con. H. He knows that the reason for this is that in just a few short minutes he will come face to face with his true love. He longs to speak the words of love and lust that inhabit his body when ever she is around…but he knows that he has to play it cool…know that she can never know that true extent of what he feels for her. He knows that it is that he has to do…and in a precious few moments too. Trying the back door of the Crash Down…he finds it locked and so with a thrust of his elbow…he as quietly as is possible shatters the window besides it.


Absolute terror surrounds Liz as the sound of shattering glass jerks her from her slumber. She is paralysed…speechless…for it is her worst nightmare come to light. She already knows who it is down stairs breaking noisily into the Crash Down…already knows what it is they are here for…as she continues to stand before the couch completely numb and rigid. WHY…she screams out silently in her head…why are they doing this to me. Tears of utter fear stream down her face as she tries to gain some semblance of rationality. Scanning the living room for the cordless phone so she can alert the police her terror intensifies at the realization that she has left the phone down stairs on the main counter of the Crash Down after her conversation with Maria. “Get a hold of yourself Parker” she mentally screams at herself as she shakes her head to clear out the fear that is consuming her. “You can take care of them…you are a kick boxing champion” she lies to trying to ready her self up for the inevitable confrontation.

The truth was that Liz had only been taking kickboxing lessons for less then a year and she was less then a champion. She had only agreed to take the classes because Maria had been so insistent that she know how to protect herself with all that was happening in her life. Plus the fact that Maria’s cute cousin Sean was the instructor and willing to teach Liz at an extremely reduced rate didn’t hurt. Liz knew that Sean had a crush on her…Maria had only told her a million and a half times…but the truth was that she may have thought he was very good looking…but he just wasn’t what Liz was looking for. Since Max she didn’t think that she would ever find another man to make her feel that he did whenever they were together. She had pretty much accepted the fact that Max was the one great love of her life and now that he was gone…there was never going to be another.

“Sean…what I wouldn’t give to have you here at this very moment” she whispers into the empty room as she focuses her breathing as he had instructed her to do when confronting her target…or in this case…her enemy. After several deep penetrating breathes she takes the first step towards her impending doom. She really doesn’t know what she is going to do once she confronts them…but she had no choice as the only working phone is downstairs where they are. With forced steps she makes her way quietly out the small apartment and down the stairs leading to the backroom of the Crash Down. Noiselessly she crosses the darkened room entering the kitchen. Cautiously she peeks through the order window and scans the dining area. Her heart is beating so loudly in her chest that she just knows that it will only be a matter of seconds before they locate her and begin whatever torture they have planned for her. With one final breath she scans the area once again…spotting the elusive phone lying on the counter not more then ten feet in front of her. She can’t stop the small chuckle that omits from her throat as she one final time inspects the dining area…finding it utterly and completely empty. Sinking to the floor…she allows her laughter to peel throughout the kitchen. “Way to scare your self Liz” she scolds herself as she continues to laugh at her blunder.

“You always talk to yourself like that” he says a bit louder then he had intended as he watches her sitting on the floor…the color draining from her face. Her mouth is agape and yet no words flow from them as he knows that his appearance has rendered her speechless yet again. Guilt and pain pour over his frozen heart once again…but he knows that he must move on for time is limited. “Look…I don’t have time to go into all the details…but I need you to get upstairs now…lock you doors and call the police and don’t come back until they arrive” Michael didn’t know what it was that Isabel was capable of…but in the last year her bouts of craziness were worsening each and every day and he wasn’t about to find out just what she was capable of when it came to Liz.


Chapter Seven

Once again the paralyzing fear that engulfed her before inhabits her body. He was here…standing before her…and it wasn’t her mind that was playing tricks on her. It was her greatest fears come to life and she was more then petrified at the outcome. So she just sits…sits and waits for what is to be. She can only stare into the depths of his dark eyes and await the outcome of what it is he might do to her. She knows that Kyle and Isabel have to be near as the three of them have been inseparable since the first time that she ever laid eyes on them. She can hear him speaking…but her fear enables her to understand the words and she would rather not hear them anyway. She had heard them all…heard every mean and dirty word that they had screamed…yelled and branded her with for the last two years…and finds that he can no longer hear another one.

She can feel him approaching as his feet tread heavy on the greasy linoleum floor…feel him as he grabs her by the arms and lifts her from that same floor until she is level with those eyes of his. She knows that she should look away…knows that she should kick…scream…run…do everything in her power to get as far away from this man as possible…but she finds that those eyes…his eyes have her transfixed. Curiosity mixed with outright fear…and yet she doesn’t even attempt to escape. His eyes they were different then anything she had ever seen before. They were softer…less hate filled…ane kne knows that here eyes are playing tricks on her…but she could swear that she saw something else…something softer…kinder…something loving.

He was transfixed…caught up in the velvety softness of her chocolate eyes and unable to pull away from the hold that they held on him. Never in the several years that he had loved her from afar had he been this close to her…not even that day in the erasure room…and he finds that it is a place that he longs to be each and every day of the rest of his life. Her scent was enticing…it entered through his nostrils and inhabited his very soul. The warmth radiating from her body was exhilarating…and he knows that if given the chance it could easily melt his solidly frozen heart into a puddle of nothingness…but he knows that this can never happen…will never happen…as he forces reality to resume play with the screeching of tires and the revving of an engine. Isabel and Kyle are here and time is now non-existent as he tightens the hold that he has on the softness that is her arms and shacks her with all that he is. “LISTEN TO ME” he growls angrily on whispered breath…as the love that he feels for her retreats and in it’s place the cold hearted man that Liz has know for the last three years returns. Releasing her grip momentarily he runs for the phone atop the counter and makes his way back towards her…dialing 911 in the process. “Take this…call 911 and let them know that you are being robbed…tell them anything…just get them here…NOW”

Her body slumps against the roughness of the food preparing table as he releases his grip on her rigid body. Confusion clouds her mind…along with the fear that dwell within her as well…as she attempts to make some sense out of what she has just seen in his eyes…and yet just as soon as she had seen it…it had disappeared. Pulling her self-upright she takes a step forward to flee the room before his return only to come face to face with him as she does. Confusion forgotten…fear wins over as she watches as his arms race forward and before she can comprehend what it is that he is trying to do…the will to survive kicks in the form of two swift kicks…one to the face and the other to the abdomen.

She watches in astonished fear as he crumples to the floor writing in total agony…and yet he utters not a word. Her wildly pumping adrenalin begins to subside as the reality of what just happens hits her full on. She had done it…she had defended herself against her enemies…and she had won. Looking victoriously at the man at her feet she can’t help the small grin of pride that has adhered itself to her face…but as quickly as it appeared it fades as the seriousness of the situation comes into view. He wasn’t moving…and she is praying that her eyes are once again playing tricks on her…for he doesn’t seem to be breathing either.

“MICHAEL” she screams as she plummets to the floor beside him shaking him uncontrollably with renewed energy. “Michael…Michael…” she wails as she continues to shake the man lying before her in hopes of some sign of life. “Michael…please”

Sensible Liz takes control as she assesses the situation and places him as gently as possible back upon the floor. Checking for a pulse she finds none. Her heart beats feverously against her chest as she try’s to lay her head quickly upon his chest in an attempt to listen to his heart…and yet before she has a chance…she feels two hands wrap tightly around her own head…feels him draw her face towards his own…feels him hurriedly place his lips upon her quivering ones…hears him utter words that both confuse her…and for some strange reason thrill her to her very core. “I’m sorry Liz…for everything…and I…I love you” Before she has a chance to respond…before she has a chance to comprehend all that has happened…his hands fall from her head as he allows the unconsciousness to envelope him.

“FREEZE” she hears someone yell in the distance as she continues to stare at the man unconscious before her…unconscious by her own hands. A flurry of activity surrounds her as she feels a pair of hands gently pull her from the floor. Unable to remove her eyes from him…she watches as they quickly examine the man that she had hurt…the man that had hurt her for the last two years…and she knows that she should feel some sort of vengeance and yet she feels nothing but complete and utter confusion.

“Miss Parker” she hears a man with a slight southern drawl speaks…pulling her from her whirling thoughts. “I will need you to come down to the station and make a formal report. It doesn’t look like he stole anything…but we can charge him with breaking and entering. It should be enough to put him away for a very long time”

“Put him away” she repeats as she stares blindly at the sheriff’s deputy standing before her. “What will happen to him now” she asks…as she absentmindedly runs her finger across her lips…her mind still wheeling from his words…and the feel and taste of his lips.

“Yes…put him away. He has been terrorizing this town for long enough…and with your statement it should be enough to send him to the Juvenal Detention Center in Dexter” he replies as he assists Liz off of the chair that she is sitting on and leads her towards the door. “Don’t you worry Miss Parker…with your testimony…Michael Guerin won’t be bothering you anytime soon”

Without resistance she allows him to lead her into the police car and sits in silence as the deputy and another officer sit in the front seat talking amongst them selves. It was all happening so fast…her nightmare was comin an an end…she hoped. There was still Kyle and Isabel to deal with…but she prayed that without Michael to lead them they would grow bored and leave her alone. She listens half-heartedly to their mindless chatter as they pull in front of the sheriff’s station…she could care less about what they have to say. All she can think about is writing her testimony and starting her life anew. She longs to forget about the pain of the past and move onto the future…a future without Michael Guerin and his hellish tortures. A lightness begins to fill her heart as she turns her attention back to the conversation at hand…and just as quickly as the lightness appears…as usual it disappears as the words of the deputy echo’s continuously through her mind.

“Lets just hope that this one meets the same fate as that other little @#%$…Max Evan’s”

Chapter Eight


“Ok Miss. Parker…we are ready for your statement” The Deputy says to Liz as he leads her numbly into a tiny room filled only with a row of chairs and a double-sided mirror. “Now we already know that Michael Guerin was the one that broke into the Crash Down…but protocol forces me to have you physically identify him as well. Indicating for her to sit…she does without question as she watches another deputy shove Michael quickly into the room on the opposite side of the mirror…handcuffing him to the table located in the middle of it. Her eyes never leave him as he without much of a fight he follows the directions that the deputy yells angrily at him.

Emotions unlike she has ever experienced before assault her thoroughly confused body. The time was now…it was all coming to an end…once and for all she would be free of Michael Guerin…and yet her confusion intensifies. She knows that she should be ecstatic…knows that this should be a time of jubilation…a chance for her to move on with her life and forget about her hellish past…except she finds none of this as she continues to stare through the dingy and smudged glass before her. He looks different to her…somehow smaller as he fumbles with a cigarette that he has bummed off the deputy. Sh