Part Seven
Two hours later, they were still no closer to discovering what had been going through Alex's mind in the months before his death.
What they had determined though, was that Alex had been absolutely certain that Liz was up to something and that she knew more about the aliens than she was letting on.
But what obviously didn't add up was that Liz truly had no idea what he thought she had done.
Even if she was a good enough liar to convince Max that she had no other knowledge of Michael, Isabel or him, other than what they'd found out together, when in reality she did, there was no way she could possibly lie to herself.
She had no memory or knowledge of being or knowing anything other than what it was to be human. All she knew was her life spent growing up in Roswell.
In fact, Liz Parker had not even believed that aliens existed until she met Max Evans and discovered his amazing secret.
There must have been some kind of a mix up, maybe someone had got to Alex and had messed with his mind, convincing him that she was a traitor and was working against him and humanity in favour of an alien race.
But who would do that? And for what reason?
To create a rift between the group in an attempt to get rid of her, perhaps?
But that didn't make any sense. Why would anyone target her, an innocent human, whose only real ties to extraterrestrial life were her all-encompassing feelings for one?
Why not go after the Royal Four directly?
However, there was a nagging thought in the back of her mind that just wouldn't go away.
Tess.
She had the ability to mindwarp, to make people see things that weren't real. And if Liz was completely honest with herself, she knew that Tess probably still considered her a threat when it came to Max, despite the fact that she'd backed away from him, leaving the coast clear for Tess to make her move.
She shook her head. What was she thinking?
Sure, Tess might have a jealous streak when it came to Max, but she'd never really been mean or vindictive.
In fact, over the last few months she'd seemed to settle in well with the Valenti's and life in Roswell. She'd helped them out on so many occasions now and after those first few awkward weeks when she'd first arrived in Roswell, she'd never given any of them a reason to be suspicious of her.
Liz thought back bitterly to that night when Future Max had come to her and told her that he and Tess were meant to be together; that she had to make his younger self fall out of love with her so that he would turn to Tess and, along with Michael and Isabel, the four of them would then become a complete unit with the strength to defeat their enemies.
Suddenly, thoughts of Future Max and what she'd given up for him engulfed her and she became completely oblivious to her surroundings and the fact that Max was sitting right across from her on the bed. As her mind ran through the events of the few short days that a 31-year-old Max Evans had been in her life, she suddenly realised something.
Alex's death really was her fault.
But not in the way that the printed file in front of her implied.
With a cold feeling of dread, Liz realised the awful ramifications that her decision to help the battle-weary, older Max Evans change the future had caused.
Her brain was stuck on one simple phrase of speech. It was whirling around and around in her mind, not giving her a second's peace.
"We had a great wedding. You called Maria, Michael, Isabel, and Alex, and had them meet us halfway."
Alex.
Alex had been at their wedding. When they were nineteen.
In that timeline he had still been alive.
If she hadn't made Max believe she had slept with Kyle and therefore changed the future then he would be alive now.
At that awful thought, Liz closed her eyes in silent despair, her hand coming up to her mouth to muffle the strangled sound that suddenly erupted from her throat.
This was all her fault.
The sudden, unexpected noise that broke the somewhat comfortable silence that had settled over the room caused Max to look up sharply. He had been staring once again at the file, deep in thought. He just couldn't fathom how Alex might have gotten it into his head that Liz was working against him, against them all. Where could he have got the notion that she was a traitor?
He hated to admit that his first thought was that Tess was somehow involved.
Although she had been accepted into their tight-knit group and they had been gradually forging a tentative relationship, he still wasn't certain that he completely trusted her.
He had to admit that she had given them no real reason to be wary of her motives, there was something about the way that kiss happened at Prom and her sudden appearance at his window last night, when she gave no indication that she knew her appearance was ill-timed and inappropriate, which made him feel a little uncomfortable around her, although he had been careful not to show it.
He was just beginning to feel frustrated with himself for not being able to come up with any ideas that would help them, when the muffled sound from Liz reminded him that he was actually not alone in the bedroom.
When he looked up and saw her sitting cross-legged in front of him with her eyes closed, brow furrowed and right hand covering her mouth, he immediately forgot about his search and sat up straight, gazing at her in concern.
"Liz? What's wrong?" he asked worriedly, it wasn't like her to just break down like this, especially in the presence of others.
There was barely a response from her, just a slight shake of her head and another stifled sob.
Max leaned forward towards her. "Liz?" He reached over and placed a comforting hand on her knee.
She opened her eyes slightly and he saw the tears glistening in them, threatening to spill down her face.
"Oh God," she whispered from beneath her hand, not really seeing him. "It's all my fault."
Max was confused, she couldn't honestly think that she did have something to do with Alex's death? He knew there was no way she had done anything wrong. He had seen into her soul, remember?
"What's all your fault, Liz?"
This time his voice seemed to snap her out of it and she gave him a fearful glance, realising that she'd spoken aloud. He was not meant to hear that.
She removed her hand, placing it in her lap and tried to compose herself. "Nothing, I…I didn't…" She didn't get any further because the tears finally fell and she couldn't do anything to stop them.
"Liz," Max started. "Look, I know something's wrong. Please, just tell me what it is," he asked softly, his eyes pleading with hers.
"Surely you can't think that any of this is true?" he questioned, gesturing to the pieces of paper strewn about the bed
"No, but – " Max cut her off.
"I know…we both know, that you were not involved in Alex's death in any way."
At his fierce declaration, her bottom lip began to tremble once again. What was she going to do?
While it was true that she had not been directly involved in Alex's recent demise, she did hold some of the blame. But how could she tell Max that without revealing the truth about Future Max and she and Kyle the night of the Gomez concert?
She could see Max's concerned and worried expression as she studied her face carefully and it was then that she knew she had to tell him.
But, maybe she would be able to bend the truth slightly and not divulge to him everything that she'd done.
She was suddenly plagued with doubts. What if he could tell that she wasn't being completely honest with him? Would he believe her story no questions asked, or would he see through it and force her to tell him the whole truth?
There was only one way to find out.
She lifted her chin boldly and looked straight into his soft, pleading eyes.
She took a deep breath, "Max, there's something I need to tell you."
TBC…
