GREAT! FUCK.
I slam the door behind me. All I want to do is get the hell out of the trailer. I can hear Hank yelling at me from inside and I pay no attention. He's pissed because his state check for me hasn't come in. He wants money to get wasted.
I take out the prepaid cell Maxwell just gave me for emergencies and text him that I'll meet him at school.
I somewhat start jogging to make it out of the trailer park earlier. I can feel Hank's eyes on me and it makes me uneasy.
"You're a puss, Michael." I say out loud to myself.
I can fight alien hunters but I can't fight Hank. Hank had the power to destroy me if he wanted to. He's seen some pretty strange things. He hates me; I can tell by the way he looks at me. He knows I'm different and will kill me without a second thought if he thought he was in danger.
I try to think about anything but Hank until I get to school. I enter the front gates and make my way into the halls.
And as soon as I see her, I smile. "Of course."
Liz smiles but narrows her eyes. "What?"
"I'm not surprised to find you here at," I check my watch, "7:30 in the morning. Do you ever go home, Liz?"
She turns around and starts walking the opposite direction, I follow.
"I had a yearbook meeting this morning." She throws over her shoulder and I catch up and fall into step by her side.
I roll my eyes. "Sure."
"What're YOU doing here this early?" She steals a glance at me.
I shrug. "Woke up early."
We walk towards the picnic tables in the quad.
As we sit I ask, "Hey do you think I can pick up a shift after work today?"
The look she gives me tells me she can't believe the words that are coming out of my mouth. "Michael, don't you ever get sick of that place? You have more hours than me and I feel like I practically live there."
Again, I just shrug.
"I'll talk to my dad," is all that she says and as she says it, my mind travels to a few months back.
I was walking out of town, literally. Hank had just had a fit from all the drinking and had taken his anger, as usual, out on me. I had bitten down on my own anger and had willed myself to control my powers. Thank God he hadn't touched my face this time. But I'd have bruises and sore ribs for a week. Black eyes were common. Those were the ones I had trouble hiding. He'd broken my ankle and my arm at least once. I had grabbed a bag full of clothes and headed out. I was determined to get out of this hick town.
With all my luck in the world, Liz had seen me and pulled over. "Hey, Guerin."
As I turned, I cussed both to myself and at her.
"Where you headed?"
"Nowhere." She was so damn nosy. I kept walking.
"Want a ride?"
What I wanted was for her to go to hell. But as I saw the endless desert, not one thing in view, I knew I had no choice. I turned and jumped in her car.
She didn't ask any questions. I ended up riding around with her for the rest of the day as she ran errands for her father. By late evening, she let me know she was heading back home. We were exiting a burger joint and heading toward the car. "Where do you want me to drop you off?"
She was challenging me. And damn her, she knew she was going to win. I wasn't going anywhere. I didn't know how to control my powers and I had no money.
She had read my expression and motioned me to the car.
I got in without a word. Maybe I'd just needed time to cool off.
"I need to find a fucking job to get out of this town!" I was talking to myself more than I was to her.
She didn't say anything to me on the way back to Roswell. She dropped me off at the trailer park and as I was getting off, she finally spoke, "Thank you, Michael. For helping me today, I mean. She looked around. "You'll make it out of here." She looked me straight in the eye. "You have that determined look on your face. I don't want you to leave. But I want you to know that even if you don't believe in yourself, I do."
She had shocked the hell out of me. I barely functioned to close the passenger door and then she was off.
I thought long and hard that night. I cursed Maxwell again. He had everything. He had Isabel, his family, a home, safety, friends, a normal life, he was confident. He had Liz.
The next morning, I refused to be anywhere around Hank. I woke early and went to The Crashdown instead.
The Crashdown had just been opened. Liz was cleaning the counters, her mother was filling the salt containers and napkins, and her father was starting the grill.
"Hey, Michael." Liz greeted. "Morning."
Her mother, Nancy Parker, smiled at me and I awkwardly went to a booth.
"What can we get you today, Michael?" Her mother asked.
"Oh, nothing. Maybe a coffee, thanks."
Mrs. Parker smiled and nodded as she walked off.
"Hey, Michael. Come back here for a moment, will you?"
Liz's father hardly ever spoke to me.
I looked around for Liz; she ducked behind the counter and was purposely avoiding me.
I walked uneasily to the back where Mr. Parker waited for me.
"Yeah--Yes?" I could have manners when I tried.
"I'm just gonna get to the point. I had a cook quit last week and I'm struggling some with the kitchen. I figured, maybe you'd like the job. You're here most of the time anyway."
I glanced toward the front of the cafe at Liz. She was making herself look busy but I could tell she was listening to see if I'd take the job. Damn her!
"Michael?" Came Mr. Parker's voice.
"Yea, sure. I can take it. Thanks." I nodded still dazed, still staring at Liz.
I saw the small smile appear on her face.
"I have conditions," he kept talking.
If I wasn't paying attention to him before I was now. What the hell? Conditions? Me? Right. I turned back to him and held his look, wanting him to go on.
"You're grades have to stay up. Liz goes by those too. School comes first. If I find out your grades are slipping, I'll take hours away. No skipping school or you're fired." He had a tone in his voice.
It was kinda pissing me off, but I did need this job. I swallowed my anger. "Anything else?"
He gave me a look and glanced at Liz quick. "Yea, no dating the boss' daughter." He threw a rag at me and exited the kitchen.
I turned to Liz and saw as she turned her bright, red face towards the front door.
I'd never thanked Liz, never thanked the Parker's either. The job at the Crashdown was the only thing keeping me sane and away from Hank.
Liz had also helped me set up a savings account. 90% of my paycheck went to the bank.
"Michael!" Liz poked her finger in my ribs hard.
"Damn, Parker! What the hell do you want?" I pushed her hand away.
She laughed. "You've been ignoring me. And everyone's here." She pointed towards the gates of the school.
Max and Isabel were coming into view with Alex, Maria, and Kyle at their side.
I got up. I did not want to deal with Maxwell and Isabel's questions and suspicions right now. They'd know something was up because I'd come to school early.
"Let me know what you're dad says about today." I walk off without another look to her or my other friends.
***
The day went by in a blur.
Liz and I were walking out of our last class.
"My dad said to forget it. He said you've worked enough and you should do more homework or something." Liz's look told me she agreed.
God, the Parkers were frustrating.
"Fine. But I'm still going to the Crash with you."
She nodded. "Knew you'd say that. Get in." She pushed her car keys and her car unlocked.
"Wanna hang out after your shift today?" I lean back and close my eyes.
"Sorry Mr. Clingy, but I have a study group after my shift."
"I'm not clingy."
***
Fuck. Now what?
After 4 hours at the Crashdown, I know I have nowhere else to go but home. And as I walk into the trailer park, I get a very uneasy feeling. Tonight is going to be bad. I could feel it.
And the only place I wanted to be was with Liz at the Crashdown.
As soon as I opened the door, Hank was screaming. A beer bottle broke next to my face against the wall. The glass bounced off and hit the side of my face. And in seconds, he was on me. Bat in hand, wailing on me. Bat, feet, hands, bottles. I bit down on my tongue and closed my eyes.
All I had to focus on to calm myself was the image of Liz, and nothing else.
After some time, it all went black and still only one image stayed on my mind. Liz.