x.spanish.eyes.x… my email address is … send away lol … glad you like Max and Liz's hotness lol
sometimestheycallmejackie… thanks, this actually made me laugh though, because many would disagree with you… I'm usually the worst updater in the world lol you're just lucky I finished the story before even thinking about having it posted here lol … glad you like it, though ;-)
Well, here goes the next chapter… and with it, more answers!
He knew when she would wake up before she even really stirred, the way she seemed to become more agitated in her sleep being a dead give away.
She couldn't have been asleep more than an hour, but he was pretty much sure that she had needed the rest. He would have probably tried to get some himself actually, if he hadn't been so riled up.
Right now, he wouldn't even be able to close his eyes if he were paid for it. His mind was flooded with memories of her, of her scent, of her touch, of what they had done and how many times they had done it. It still all felt so incredible that he had a hard time telling himself that it had all truly happened.
When they had been younger, before they started to drift apart, their lovemaking had sometimes been pretty wild, but tonight had been something else altogether, even for them. Once they had started, they had simply gone at it like animals and had only stopped once they had barely been able to move anymore. He actually couldn't even remember how and when they had managed to reach the bed, but he was surely not going to complain.
They had talked some afterwards, nothing much though, just some trivial conversation, but when Liz had slowly started drifting away, Max hadn't had the heart to force her to stay awake, no matter how much he had wanted to prolong the moment. He had let her be, and had just been looking at her ever since, propped on one elbow, relishing in every soft sound that passed her lips, every slow raise of her chest, every little move she could make.
No matter how many times he told himself this was true, he just couldn't believe that he was really here with her, in this room, in their bed, spent after hours of lovemaking, and that was most certainly why he just couldn't bring himself to try and find some sleep as well. He was just too afraid that if he just as much as closed his eyes for a second, he would open them to the sight of her gone and would find himself alone, brought back to reality in the worst possible way, and he just couldn't stand the thought of that happening.
Like it had a mind of its own, one of his hands moved to stroke her face, brushing away the few silky strands that obstructed his view, the contact soft, but he couldn't help smiling nonetheless when Liz turned into his touch.
Her eyes remained closed a few more seconds, but he knew that she was aware of her surroundings now, and he waited with barely contained excitation for her to turn that pretty face of hers up to him and look at him again.
She didn't do so right away, but Max couldn't mind then as she just moved closer to him instead, much to his pleasure. Yet that didn't stop him from holding his breath when he finally saw her eyelids flutter open.
It didn't take her long then to realize where she was apparently and his heart beat a little bit faster when her gaze collided with his.
"Hi!" she smiled softly, albeit almost shyly, and he immediately felt his insides turning to mush all over again.
No matter how many times he could have seen her woken up near him in the past, or how many he hopefully would in the future, the sight of Liz just opening her eyes was one of the most beautiful he had been given to see.
"Hey." he answered just as quietly, moving forward to peck her lips almost right away.
He had been dying to do just that for a while now, and was all too glad that he didn't have to stop himself any longer.
"I drifted off, huh?" Liz mumbled, burrowing into his warmth, obviously a little embarrassed that she hadn't been able to stay awake when she was almost sure that he hadn't gotten any sleep himself. It hadn't lasted long though apparently, if she judged by the numbers on the alarm beside them.
"It's okay… I guess I just tired you out, huh?" Max whispered back quite smugly, but the way he kissed the crown of her head as he did showed nothing but affection.
"You could say that, yeah." Liz conceded with a little chuckle, not even wanting to remember how many times they had actually done it before they had managed to stop touching each other. They had probably set a new Guinness record. "What about you?"
"Couldn't sleep… besides, I didn't want to miss out on you snoring softly." he said all too casually and smiling, hiding the real reason behind his unwillingness to go to sleep.
"You… I don't snore… you jerk…" Liz retorted, feigning hurt as she playfully swatted his arm and then pinched his side for good measure, immensely pleased when Max gave an all too girlish yelp.
"Yes, you do!… but I like it… in fact it's the cutest thing ever!" Max grabbed for her hand before she could do more damage to his sensitive flesh, and used it to pull her up to him, stopping only when Liz was completely stretched on top of him.
"I'm sure it can't be!" Liz denied in a soft whisper, acutely aware of every inch of naked skin burning her own.
She then nibbled at her bottom lip, and Max truly felt like ravishing her again.
"Stop doing that… it drives me crazy!" he growled huskily before he could stop himself, wondering once more how she could have such effect on him when barely doing anything at all.
"Doing what?" Liz inquired innocently, tucking her hair behind her ear, another one of those seemingly insignificant things that made Max go wild.
"Doing that!" he groaned, cupping the back of her head and bringing her even closer to him so that he could nibble at her lip himself.
The next thing Liz knew, he was slowly stroking her tongue with his own and she found herself falling all over again. Unfortunately, just when things were really starting to get good, he stopped and placed a sweet lingering kiss on her lips that nearly made her growl in frustration.
Briefly, she closed her eyes, knowing that she probably shouldn't have let herself get carried away so easily in the first place, and when she opened them again, she couldn't miss the obvious and satisfied smile Max couldn't apparently hide. He just so knew what he was doing to her.
"So, that's all you've been doing all this time… watching me sleep?" she queried as indifferently as she could, though she was literally burning inside with the need to taste more of him.
"Pretty much… yeah!" Max answered vaguely as she settled higher on him, her head resting just above his shoulder now.
"Pretty much?" she parroted, trembling slightly when she felt his breath stir near her ear, the feeling only intensifying when he sighed heavily at her question.
"Go away with me…" he murmured almost out of the blue, nuzzling her neck tenderly while one of his hands distractedly caressed her hip.
"What?" Liz asked, her head lifting from its position so she could see his face again.
"I was thinking and… we should go away for a while… you, me and Jay… we could go anywhere… it doesn't even have to be far… you two just choose and I'll take care of everything!" he said all too seriously and Liz blinked before she actually even considered it.
Of course going away with him sounded tempting, there was no denying that, but she so knew it was not a possibility, too many things stopped them from having that freedom.
"Max… we can't… what about Janelle… what about school?" she protested, thinking that he wasn't seeing all the facts and not thinking clearly, or he would realize himself that they couldn't do just that.
"What about that?… she's five years old, how much can she miss?… besides, school is almost over…" Max argued right away, not seeing what the problem with that could be.
"Then what about me?… I mean I can't just leave like that…" Liz pointed out in return, even if she knew that they could probably work that out since she already hadn't gone to work today, and Jim had told her to let him know if she needed more days.
But still, she couldn't really do it, could she?
"Of course you can… Liz, you've never missed a day in all the years you've worked there… or hardly… I'm sure Jim wouldn't mind if you suddenly took a leave of absence for personal reasons." Max retorted, having already thought about that since that had seemed to be the major obstacle on their way.
He had thought about it long and hard while she was sleeping in fact. He just wanted her to say yes now, and for them to go away from everything and anyone they knew, so that they could really find each other again, talk about everything, and work things out between them, without interruption or interference. He didn't think that that was too much to ask, or was it?
"And what about you then?… I know for a fact that you can't just up and go!" Liz reminded him then, but the argument was brought up way more weakly than the precedents had been.
The idea of leaving with him, even if it were just to go to the next city did indeed look appealing and she would actually give everything she had to see it happening, but she didn't see how he would be able to work his way around of that, even if he seemed to have thought all the rest through.
"Already taken care of… when they… when I thought… I mean… I've already told Serena I wouldn't be coming for a week… " Max started before correcting himself, not willing to give much details and relive the moment he had received that fateful call. "She should have informed Tess and Alex right away… so I'm all yours in the meantime!" he told her, unaware of how much turmoil his words were going to cause.
If nothing else could have woken Liz up from the perfect and fantasy-like world she had been living in for the past few hours, his last sentence definitely did the trick.
He had just needed to utter her name and it had all come back to her, crashing her hopes and shattering her heart: the hurt, the fear, that feeling that she was literally suffocating, ripped apart from the inside out, every time she thought of them.
Where Max had been expecting to hear an answer so, a confirmation that she wanted to do this as much as he could, he got none. At least none of those he had been waiting for.
The way she physically tensed on top of him was the first clue that something wasn't right and before he could react, or understand what was happening, she bolted up right, scurrying apparently as far away from him as she could, and the only thing he could do during the few first seconds was stare at her, blinking and mouth agape, completely stunned by her reaction.
Not long afterwards, she tore the sheet from the bed, wrapped it around her shaking form and stumbled to her feet, her movements frantic as she obviously searched for something.
His heart constricted painfully in his chest, dread like he had rarely ever felt it washing over him, and he nearly choked on his own saliva as he desperately tried to swallow past the huge lump forming in his throat.
"Liz?" he called her name and winced at realizing just how broken his own voice sounded to him.
By now he was up, too, though how he managed to bring himself to even stand with the way he could feel himself trembling as well was a pure miracle, and was searching for anything he could put on before going to her. He didn't know how he knew it but something told him that, whatever she would say, having this conversation with her now wasn't something he would want to do naked. He was almost relieved so when he found a clean pair of his boxers and hurriedly pulled them on.
"Liz?… what is it? Did I… did I say s-something wrong?" he queried fearfully when he was done, his apprehension only growing when he noticed how much she had paled and saw her start pacing suddenly after she had put on one of his shirts.
The last thing he was ready for was to contemplate that fact of course, but maybe he had assumed too much and this didn't change anything for her. Maybe it had just happened in the spur of the moment, nothing else and she was trying to find ways to make him understand it wouldn't work after all and that this, being with him, wasn't what she wanted. His heart rebelled at the idea of course, and yet he couldn't help the panic that assailed him the more he looked at her.
"Baby, please… talk to me!" he found himself pleading with her when she didn't stop, but then sucked in a breath when she turned around, feeling himself tear up as well at her obvious distress.
"I c-can't… I can't do this, Max… you… god, you talk like… like it doesn't matter or… like it's not even… important anymore… but what about after this week, huh?… I just… I can't go through this again… I-I can't share you with her… don't ask me to, Max, please!" Liz stammered, her voice cracking every other word, not quite believing that he didn't understand how much it hurt to hear him talk so casually about the woman who had very nearly destroyed her life.
Tears rolled down her cheeks, but she didn't make any effort to brush them away, the pain in her heart being almost paralyzing at this point. Why had she let herself believe that everything would be alright now, that anything had changed at all just because they had spent a night of incredible passion in each other's arms?
Was that it? Would one week be all she got? A week when she would be the only one who mattered, when he would have eyes only for her, when he would whisper the words she had only dreamt to hear again for the last past months. A single week where he would be all hers. And then what? He would go back to Tess, to seeing her every day, and what would that mean for her, for them? She would always wonder if she didn't get this out, and she knew she just couldn't do it anymore.
"Liz?… What?… what are you talking about, sweetheart?… share me with… what? … I don't… Liz?" Max replied, stuttering himself, utterly confused and having no idea what she could be talking about. In fact, he was sure that part of what she had just said had clearly not registered correctly because it just didn't make any sense to him.
Here he was thinking, fearing that this was about Kyle, when it obviously was not and he couldn't help but wonder what the heck was going on now.
"I-I thought I could… do li-like nothing happened… I wish I could… but… I-I just got you back… I can't… god, I-I can't… l-lose you again!" Liz kept ranting, unconsciously sidestepping Max when he tried to come closer to her, and even if he was sure that her intention had not been to hurt him by being suddenly so distant, it didn't mean that he wasn't.
Yet even with that, Max refused to make the same mistake he had made so many times before, when he had let her close up and pull away from him, and he swore that whatever it was that had her reacting so emotionally all of a sudden, so irrationally, he would go to the bottom of it, and they would go through this, together.
"Liz… no one's gonna lose anyone here, okay?…" he stated as firmly as he could, as he gently grabbed for her arm and pulled her close to him, conscious that he was probably trying to convince himself as much as her. "Now please, talk to me, because I swear I absolutely don't understand what you're saying!… and… baby, you're really scaring me!" he pursued more softly as she met his eyes, his thumbs drawing small circles over her upper arms, even if that was certainly not what was going to help her calm down. Or him.
He could feel how his heart raced wildly in his chest the more he had to see her cry and he didn't know how much longer he could stand this.
At that instant, Liz herself briefly stared at him, that deep frown marring his forehead, and she wanted nothing more than to listen to him and let his voice soothe all of her insecurities away, but they had gone on like this for too long now, and it was time it ended. One way or another.
"I know we… I know we never really… t-talked about it… but… and I-I know what she… what sh-she means to you… but please, Max… for me and Jay… please, M-Max… " Liz sobbed before she could stop herself, hating how desperate she was sounding, but not really caring anymore at that moment.
After tonight, more than ever in fact, she knew that she couldn't live without him. She was also convinced that he wanted to be with her as well, she couldn't imagine that he wouldn't with everything that had happened between them, or with every heartfelt word he had whispered to her, but she wouldn't, she couldn't let Tess Harding keep overshadowing their relationship indefinitely, if there was any other way. He had to make a choice and she prayed with all her might that he would choose his family.
"Shh… shh… okay… come here, sweetheart…" Max coaxed her quietly and drew her to him, thinking that he had either lost many brain cells in the last few hours, or he had missed something really important in this conversation. "Liz, I love you, you know that, right?" he whispered as he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her down on his lap, relieved when she went willingly and didn't fight him.
"B-But you love… her, t-too!" Liz hiccupped brokenly, despite the comfort that being in his arms brought her.
In all honestly, there was little doubt in her mind that Max truly meant everything that he had told her tonight, or that he indeed loved her, but that didn't mean that he couldn't love Tess as well. That he couldn't still want her even now, just because he had been with her again. He wouldn't be the first man in love with two women and certainly not the last, going from one to the other and unable to choose, she had gotten proof of that tonight as well, hadn't she?
"But who, Liz?" Max asked finally, getting really frustrated by now.
What the hell was wrong with her, and how could she think that he loved anyone else but her, or that she had to share him with anyone. The only other girl in his life was Janelle, and they had never had to compete for his affection.
"T-Tess!" Liz choked out at last, just uttering the name being enough to make her stomach churn and feel the urgent need to spill her guts.
"Tess?!" Max parroted dumbfounded, looking at her like she had grown a second head, and then, he couldn't help himself. He just burst into laughter at the ridiculousness of her statement.
"This is not funny!" Liz cried out as she sprung off of him, his reaction hurting maybe even more than if he had just admitted aloud that she was right.
She knew for sure that she wasn't making these things up and seeing him… making fun of her was really the last straw. At least if he was honest they could work with that, they could go past this, somehow, some way, she had already forgiven him anyway, so why couldn't he at least meet her midway?
"Baby, if you think that I love Tess… excuse me, but it is definitely funny!" Max rejoined, still somewhat amused, until he noticed the way she was glaring at him and realized that she was evidently not finding any humor in the situation herself.
Sitting up so, he took the few steps that separated them now and reached out for her, trying to ignore the fact that she seemed almost reluctant to let him touch her.
"Look at me!" he commanded gently before he cradled her face and tenderly kissed her tears away, ending up with a few brushes of his lips against hers when she momentarily stopped crying. "Okay, now just tell me who the hell told you or made you think that I could love Tess! … I mean… she's my secretary, and well I guess… uh, a good friend, too… but believe me there is absolutely nothing romantic between us… not on my part at least… so I'd really like to know who's the idiot who convinced you otherwise!" he went on when he was positive that she would listen to him, and that even when he still couldn't get what could have prompted such a reaction.
If it weren't because he could see how serious she apparently was about this, how affected mostly, he wouldn't even be humoring her, but if being reassured was all she needed, he was ready to do just that for the rest of the night if he had to. Anything to chase away the pain swirling in her eyes and not see her cry any longer.
And still, even with all his good intentions and all, he was far from being prepared for what came out of her mouth next.
"You!" of all the things she could have said, that was certainly the very last one he had been expecting to hear and it definitely showed by the way his jaw dropped in reaction.
Okay, what the fuck was this? Was it a joke? Because clearly it couldn't be anything else.
"Wh-What?… me… what??" he sputtered like an idiot, feeling like she had just hit him with a mass, not surprisingly caught between the urgent need to laugh himself silly, or just maybe shake her and ask her if she had lost her freaking mind. It was only the way she was looking at him in fact that stopped him from doing either, because there was no way he could think that she didn't honestly believe what she said.
A friend? How could he pretend that Tess was just a friend after all they had been through, after what she knew, and why was he denying it now when she had given him an opportunity to do so months ago and he hadn't judged that necessary?
"Uh, okay… honey, look I… obviously I-I've said or… or done something that made you think that… and therefore, even if I swear that I don't know what it could have been, I'm sorry… I truly am… but you really got it all wrong, Liz!" Max declared sincerely, though he briefly wondered nonetheless if he wasn't truly the one with a problem.
For the life of him he couldn't figure out what had brought Liz to be so convinced that he could have any feelings for Tess, but obviously he had some serious issues of communication. After all, Tess herself had apparently believed more or less the same or else she wouldn't have tried anything with him, and so he had to wonder what kind of signals, vibes, or whatever he was involuntarily sending off to have people around him believe something that he knew in his heart was absolutely not true.
That Tess could think so was bad enough in and of itself, but if Liz started as well, now that took the cake.
"Did I?" Liz queried emotionally, apparently not convinced despite his declaration and Max couldn't help looking at her incredulously, hurt beyond belief that she could question his words.
"Of course you did!" he returned indignantly, clearly offended now, but that didn't stop him from following her when she left the room and marched to their walk-in wardrobe. "Liz, what… what are you doing now?" he questioned shakily, suddenly afraid to see her get a suitcase out, throw all his things in this time and ask him to leave for good. The last time he had been here was still too fresh in his mind, and he felt his heart lodge in his throat when his fear was confirmed and he saw her open a drawer and start throwing some of his remaining clothes on the floor. "No… no, god… don't do this, Liz, please… please, baby!"
His hands shook furiously as he did his best to stop her, seeing all his world collapsing in front of him again, but then he froze when she pushed some papers into his chest, the move so sudden that he barely had time to catch them before they fell to the floor.
"Now you're going to tell me that I'm still imagining things, huh?" Liz asked acidly, her chin quivering nonetheless despite her obvious effort to stay strong and not break down again.
Following her back into their room the second she moved, all Max did at first was to look between Liz's distraught face and the sheets in his hands, then back to her again, not seeing what could be the link between her, Tess and this now, until he realized that if he wanted to understand what all this crazy mess was about, he should better take a look at those documents, whatever they were.
His eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets however, when he started going through what Liz had just given him and the more he read, the sicker he felt.
...From: … … …don't even know how I do it… … … … … … … … … …
… … … … …can only think about you… … … … … … … … … … … … …love you… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …think it was possible to love so much again. … … … … … end to my loveless marriage… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … I just should tell her… … … … … … … … … … … … … …keeping me with her is my daughter… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … very soon, you and I… … … … … … … … …our nights together… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …making love to you… … … … … … … … … … … … … …the day our baby will grow inside of you… … … … … … … …a part of you and me… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …From: night… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …being with you… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …holding you close… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …nothing else matters when I'm with you… … … … … … … … make all your dreams come true… … … … … … … … … and you'll finally be my wife… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …I just can't wait… … … … … … … … … … … … Max.
…
Love,
Max.
…
Yours forever,
Max.
…
Always,
Max.
…
Max.
Pages and pages of tender declarations, words of love and passion, promises and vows meant to someone he was obviously supposed to be close to and intimate with.
Pages and pages of blatant lies.
"Where the hell did you get this from?" Max cried out when he just couldn't stomach anymore, the picture becoming clearer and clearer the more he read.
God, it just couldn't be. He couldn't fathom that anyone could have given this to Liz. He just couldn't. She wouldn't have dared.
"Tess thought I should know about you and her, since you were obviously too much of a coward to tell me yourself… and she so amiably stopped by on her way to work one morning to give them to me." Liz revealed, seeing as Max's mouth opened and closed repeatedly, like a fish out of the water, as she confirmed his suspicions.
But then anger took over and she saw the dangerous gleam in his eyes, the sight so unusual that she reflexively took a step back. She knew he would never hurt her of course, but he definitely looked like he could hit something and she didn't really feel like being on his way.
"O-Okay… let me get this straight… Tess… Harding, my secretary… ex-secretary once I get my hands on her, believe me… came to you and gave you this?" he hissed through clenched teeth, his fisted hand trembling at his side as he obviously tried to keep some semblance of control. If he didn't, he just knew that he would explode and break something in rage. That… bitch.
"When?" he inquired after Liz nodded, the way he breathed out the word so calmly when she knew he was anything but being almost scary, and Liz wondered if it had really been wise to do this now when Janelle was in the house.
Max truly looked ready to blow a gasket and the last thing they needed was to have her see him in such a state. She didn't remember having ever seen him so angry before in fact, not even this morning when he had been less than happy with her, and a part of her couldn't help wondering why he was really exploding now. Was it because Tess had betrayed him and gone behind his back when he had obviously wanted to wait some more himself then, or was it because he realized that she had known for a while now? She didn't know yet what would be worse, but she guessed in any case, she wouldn't have to wait long to find out.
"Does it really matter now?… I know, that's all that should… " she began almost reluctantly, only to be brutally interrupted mid-sentence.
"DAMMIT, LIZ, WHEN?!" Max yelled before he could stop himself, but then couldn't help regretting it when he saw Liz start, a frightened expression on her face, the sight making him reach out for her immediately.
Scaring her was the last thing he wanted, but he needed to have all the facts, he needed to know everything, and once he did… god, once he did, he didn't even want to think about what he would do, but Tess Harding should have better left the state, or she might have to pay it with her life.
"I'm sorry… I… I didn't mean… god, Liz, just tell me when, please!" he demanded more gently, fingers threading through her hair near her temple while his thumb massaged it unconsciously.
"When you were in San Diego!" Liz whispered, voice so low that Max only just heard her.
She was barely with him anymore at that instant, the memory still so fresh in her mind that she felt as if she was transported months back.
The world was spinning around her, and she felt herself falling slowly. Her back connected with the piece of furniture behind her, but she didn't feel anything at all, even when the contact should have made her yelp in pain.
It can't be. It can't be. It just can't be, she kept repeating the same short sentence to herself, over and over again, but it just didn't help in any way.
The few minutes that had passed since Tess Harding had finally closed her damned mouth seemed like hours already, but she just didn't know what to say or just what to think.
This had been such a beautiful morning so far. Yes, she had not really talked to Max since he had left for another one of his business trips, and they hadn't actually said a word to each other about what had happened between them the morning before, Max having already left before they had any opportunity to, but nothing could have wiped the smile off her face for all that.
Nothing, until she had opened her door to find Max's secretary standing there, all blonde and faked. She had never really liked Tess in fact, even if she had never really been able to say why, but she was about to discover that she indeed had good reasons to not to.
At first she hadn't understood what she could be doing there when she had to know that Max was away, but when she had started to talk, she had instantly wished she had never asked.
She hadn't even bother with ceremony, she had just blurted it all out, Liz barely able to utter a strangled 'what?', or 'no' here and there, while she destroyed all her dreams and illusions. All her happiness.
"
Max and I are together now, we love each other." the words echoed through her head over and over again.The rest was all a blur, the details about how long, the reminder of how strained their own relationship was now, the cutting remarks about how Max wanted out of their now loveless and meaningless marriage, at least on his part… it all barely registered yet, but she couldn't forget those few words.
"
Max and I are together now!""We love each other. "
Max was cheating on her. Her heart refused to believe it, refused to acknowledge that Max could have done such a thing to her, even when she had seen the signs that tended to prove that something was very wrong with him lately, but the more Tess talked, the less she managed to convince herself. "Y-You're lying!" she forced the words out of her mouth at last, fighting against the irrepressible urge she felt to retch and that left a sour taste in her throat. "Am I?" Tess said, raising a mocking eyebrow at her, and it took all Liz had inside to not just smack her head into the door. "Why do you think he pulls so many hours at the office?…why do you think he doesn't touch you anymore, huh? … how long has it been… weeks, months?… c'mon, the proofs are just in front of you… you can't be that clueless… or stupid!…" she taunted viciously before Liz could even react, and she could only look at her with glistening wide eyes. Obviously Tess didn't know that it had only been yesterday that Max had been making love to her again, but she couldn't even rejoice over the fact. It just hurt too much to realize that Tess was apparently not making all this up contrary to what she had still wanted to believe, for she wouldn't know that she and Max had not been intimate for a while now if he hadn't told her himself. She just couldn't hope that it had only been a lucky guess. It had hurt tremendously to see him be so distant with her for the last month and a half now, and as much as she had wanted to think that he was just exhausted from work and had probably too much in his mind, now she knew better and it very nearly killed her. "But if you want more… here you have it…" Tess was still talking, but Liz barely heard her, so caught up in her grief. Until she searched her bag for something and presented her some folded papers. She looked at the extended hand in front of her, wondering if she really wanted to know more, wanting nothing more but tell Tess to just go to hell with her stories in fact, but when the other woman lifted a defiant eyebrow, she knew she just couldn't give her the pleasure of falling apart right now. She wanted to be so strong. She so wanted to pretend that all of this wasn't affecting her at all, but all her good resolve went right through the window with the first look at the papers she now had in hands. Her vision blurred with each line she read, each word like a new slap in the face, confirming with Max's own words all that Tess had been saying so far, and only when she felt bile rise in her throat again did she stop torturing herself. "What do you want?… Why are you… doing this?" she asked at last, cursing herself when her voice cracked half way through her questions. "I love Max, but I'm tired of waiting till he decides to grow a pair and talk to you…" Tess retorted confidently, making her understand the obvious, that Max apparently wanted to leave her, but was just not man enough to assume his choice and tell her himself. Yet it wasn't that that hurt the most. "So I'm doing what I have to… for me and my baby!" The words cut right through her, and she felt her legs wobble under her. Her breath left her in a whoosh and she brought a hand to her heart, sure that it would burst out of her chest in the next second and that she would have to pick up its shattered, bleeding pieces. "Y-You're… pregnant?" she croaked out heartbreakingly, unable to hide her pain and stop the flow of tears now, no matter how much she hated herself for showing Tess how much what she was telling her was ripping her apart. It just couldn't be true. "Not yet… but we're working on it." Tess enounced smugly but where Liz should have found relief, she didn't feel any. They were working on it. They were sleeping together and were working on it. And soon Tess Harding would have what she couldn't herself. God, it couldn't be true. "I-I don't b-believe you!… M-Max would never do that!" she replied almost right away, not feeling an ounce of the confidence she was trying to display, and consequently cursing herself once more for appearing so weak. Max, the Max she thought she knew would never do that to her. Not knowing how it would devastate her, not knowing how much she wanted a baby herself, and not when he had told her so adamantly that he was not ready for another child. But did she really know him at all now? a voice in her head pondered. Hadn't she thought not so long ago about how much he had changed, about how different he was with her now? So would it be so impossible that that Max could break her heart that way and not care about it. "Max would do just that because that's what he wants! … do you really think that if he wanted to save your marriage he wouldn't have tried to already… he may still care for you, after all you two have a past together… but I'm the one he wants now… and I'm the one who's gonna give him that other child… because believe me, he This was like her worst nightmare coming true, and god, she had not even seen it coming. Nothing, no nothing at all could have prepared her for this, and she knew that nothing would ever be the same now. Max was in love with someone else. Max wanted to leave her, he wanted a baby with Tess, how was she supposed to go through this? And Janelle, what would they say to her? "Now do us all a favor… do what he can't…" Tess finished with a small smile that Liz wished she could just slap from her lips. Do us all a favor? The last thing Liz was feeling like doing was any favor to that whore. "I won't… I-I won't let you have my husband…" she gulped audibly but threw back just as venomously as she could herself, even if it didn't seem to affect Tess at all. "Oh, hun'… I already have him… he hasn't been yours in a very long time… you just refused to see it… Now you know!" Tess chuckled mockingly, grinning like the cat that ate the canary now, and Liz instantly felt rage boiling her insides. "Get out!" she hissed, having heard enough, and moving to fling the door open, all but forcing herself to not reach out to her and throw her out herself. "Aww… sensitive much, are we? … Max always says that's your greatest weakness… I guess he was right!" Tess answered tauntingly, not making any effort to move though, knowing that it would certainly help aggravate Liz even more. "Get the hell out of my house… She just wanted her out and as far away as she could, or else she wouldn't be held responsible for her actions and Max would have to defend her for attempting murder first before he had any opportunity to leave her and start a new life with his tramp on the side. "It was a pleasure talking to you… Ms. Parker!" Tess eventually strutted to the entrance, inflicting one final jab that was just the last straw for Liz and had her slamming the door to her back before she could control herself. Her hand rested against the wooden material a few insignificant seconds before she slowly slid to the floor, and then the only thing that could still be heard through the house was the sound of the heart wrenching cries that tore from her very soul.
"Be more precise, sweetie, because I've been there a few times, so it could have been any of them!" Max's soft voice pulled her out of her thoughts, and she couldn't miss his concerned expression as he saw her blink back tears as she was forced to remember once more.
"In October!" she informed him, seeing something shift in his gaze not long after he heard her.
"In Oct-…? Wait a minute… we split in October!" he said, eyes going wild as what it meant registered in his mind.
"What?" Liz asked, wondering for a second if he was telling her that he and Tess had broken up back then or what. It couldn't be, could it?
"You and I… I mean that's when you said you thought it would be best if we took a step back!" he reminded her, like she could have really forgotten about that.
She hardly could, considering that it had certainly been the hardest decision she had had to take.
"Yes." she confirmed simply, cringing nonetheless as Max let go of her and started to pace in front of her.
"Oh, for heaven's sake… Liz, please, don't tell me this is why you asked me to leave!… God, no!" he all but exploded almost right away, the expression on his face caught somewhere between extreme pain and total disbelief, yet before she could say a thing he already knew the answer.
It had all been for nothing. Months and months of misery away from her and all for nothing. God, how could he have been so stupid? That conversation so long ago, it had been about Tess as well, Tess, not Kyle, he realized with sudden clarity. She had thought he was with Tess. No, correction, Tess had done her very best to make her think that he was with her… and he had let her do this to them. He had walked right along, doing probably exactly what she had been expecting of him… fucking nothing.
"Why?… why are you doing this?" he asked wincing when his own voice reached his ears.
This was it, he thought, it had truly not taken her long to figure out what she wanted,
who she wanted finally. Funny that he just had needed to make love to her for her to come to a decision. He had wondered before how long she would last before she regretted it, well, he hadn't had to wait much to eventually know. Yet no matter how much he thought he had prepared himself for that during these three shorts days he had been away, he just couldn't believe how much it hurt to hear her say the words nonetheless.When she had said that she couldn't take this anymore, he had still foolishly hoped that she was talking about anything but them, but she had quickly crushed that hope to dust.
"This… us… like this… I-I think… I think we should… part for a while… take a step back… I-I think we both need it… I…"
A step back meant nothing at all to him at this point. Taking a step back was something you did when you just needed some time to know what you wanted, but you still had the intention to work things out somehow, even if it weren't in a near future. What she was doing was choosing the easy way out to not have to tell him that they were over and that she wanted to be with someone else.
But he wouldn't let her get away with this just like that, if she wanted him to leave she would have to tell him why clearly.
"You know why Max, don't you?" Liz all but spat out and he just looked at her with a mix of aversion and incredulity.
"Why don't you tell me?… instead of serving me this bullshit, huh?" he threw back, getting angrier the longer he stood there and looked at her.
"What do you want me to say, Max?… you
fucking know the answer… why don't you tell me why?!" Liz fired, standing up from the bed and walking anxiously to the window, like she was trying to put even more distance between them and he knew that she wouldn't tell him what he wanted her to.She turned her back to him then, and if he could see her trembling, for once the sight didn't move him like it used to, or made him want to go to her. This wasn't the woman he loved, she couldn't be. He didn't even think he knew her anymore.
"So that's it?" he choked out, hating that she could hurt him so much, but hating even more that he could still somehow hope, pray even, that she would turn around and tell him that she hadn't meant a word of what she had been telling him ever since he had entered their bedroom, that she was just confused right now but that they would somehow find a way to go through this.
He didn't find any compassion in her tone when she turned around however, she just glared at him like just the sight of him unnerved her now.
"Oh, because this kind of things is supposed to come with a good explanation, huh? Well, I don't have any I guess… oh, no, wait… what about you were working so much… spending all your time at your office… it was bound to happen, right?" she returned sardonically, and he winced at the amount of hatred he could discern in her words.
How dare she? Shouldn't he be the one being mad here? The one throwing the hateful stares? Wasn't she the one deceiving him? And yet she acted like she had the right to be angry at him, like it was all his fault. Yeah, he had been working his ass off almost every day, and yes, he had probably not been with her as much as he could have wanted, or she could have, but was that justification enough for what she had done? Not for him!
"Yeah, right!" he scoffed out, more disgusted by the sight of her now than he had ever been, or had ever thought possible.
He turned around then, entering their walk-in wardrobe and grabbing a few essential things he would need, and then couldn't get out of there fast enough.
When he left the room, he could have sworn that he heard soft crying, but he didn't walk back, sure that he had probably only been imagining the whole thing. Liz had no reason to cry for him now.
He nearly keeled over now as he realized that she hadn't been talking about the fact that she had turned to someone else because he had been working too much and she had felt neglected like he had assumed. She had been talking about him and about what she thought was true at the time, that being always at the office had inevitably led him to fall into Tess' arms.
"And what exactly was I supposed to do? Greet her in our bed and tell her, 'no problem, Tessie, I don't mind, come here, we can share my husband!' ?" Liz flung back incredulously, getting angry herself by now.
"Talk to me!… God, you should have just talked to me… I would have cleared that out immediately and we wouldn't have had to go through this!" he shot back like that was the most logical thing, and yet, he was guilty of the same thing, wasn't he?
He just couldn't believe this. How in the world could they have reached this point? And how could Tess have done such a thing?… he couldn't even wrap his mind over that one yet!
How many times had he confide in her? How many times had he talked to her about his feelings, the fool he was? He had opened up to her, and she had used everything against him, that backstabbing bitch. All this time, she had done her best to keep them apart, after having broken whatever was left of their marriage once he had learned about Kyle first, and he hadn't seen a fucking thing.
Oh, she had played her part well, so perfectly in fact that she deserved an Oscar for her performance. He remembered so clearly how many times she had come to him when it was evident that he was feeling down and told him that she was there for him if he wanted to talk to her about whatever it was that was bothering him, that she would listen and help if she could, and he had believed in her sincerity.
How humiliating it had been that first time to admit that he had caught Liz with another man, but she had let him talk, she had let him cry and let it all out, and had offered comfort and support when he thought that he would find none. There had been no physical contact of any kind then, but the words had been enough to relieve him some.
After that it had been so easy to trust her, he considered her a friend already, but she wasn't close enough to him, or to Liz, to pass judgment or take sides like any other of their friends could have, and that was what he had needed at that time. Not even Michael had known the whole truth back then, he hadn't found it in him to admit that he had failed, and that his wife wasn't satisfied with the life he provided, but she had, and it had all been faked.
He realized now just how naïve he had been. How many times had he heard her blame Liz for everything and tell him that she didn't deserve him anyway, and that if she wasn't able to see how lucky she was to have him, then he was better off without her. He should have known better then, and see past the sweet innocent smiles she delivered with the words. Maybe then he would have understood what her agenda had been all along, and she wouldn't have been able to do what she had.
He had to hand it to her for her imagination and patience however, because if he had wanted to make anyone believe he was having an affair, making up quite explicit emails was probably one of the most convincing ways, at least if you didn't look too much into the details. But considering how Liz had probably been when she had been told that he was cheating on her and shown that shit, she had certainly not been in any mind frame to pay much attention.
Not that he could blame her. The evidence had been right before his eyes all this time and he hadn't been able to tell himself what a conniving bitch Tess Harding truly was. Before the beginning of the week, he hadn't even suspected that she could be interested in any way. And even then, when he had rejected her, she had managed to play it off so easily that he had thought that it was only a one time occurrence, a lapse of judgment, without much consequences as long as she understood that there would never be any way they could be anything else but friends.
It was little wonder then if Liz had let herself be fooled, moreover considering their relationship back then. If he couldn't even see himself how manipulative Tess could be when he worked with her and mixed with her on a daily basis, how was she supposed to do so herself?
"What would it have changed?… the facts were pretty clear!" Liz countered right away, not seeing what difference it would have made at that moment.
She had chosen the coward way out, maybe, but she wouldn't have borne to hear him finally say out loud what had already broken her heart when read. All in all she had done the best she could with the hand she had been dealt, and it wasn't as if he had put up much of a fight when she had suggested he left. Didn't that speak for itself?
She had wished with all her might that he would tell her that this was absolutely not what he wanted, wished for him to show her that Tess was lying, that she was wrong and that he was ready to fight for her, for them, but he had just turned around and left, what was she supposed to think?
The only thing that she still needed an answer to was the question that had burned her mind all of these months, even when she did her best to avoid thinking about it
"How… how c-could you do that, Max?" he heard her ask brokenly and as he witnessed her start to cry anew, some of his anger instantly deflated.
"I didn't do anything, Liz!… I swear!" he was quick to negate, taking her in his arms briefly before pulling slightly away again and going to pick up the sheets of paper he had dropped on the bed minutes before.
"Liz… baby… look at this!" he told her, pointing at the first line on several of those damned emails that had possibly ruined his life and their relationship. "This is not even my email address!… and besides, why would I send her emails when she's my secretary?… I mean… I see her almost every frigging day!" he continued, hoping that she would see how ridiculous all of this was if you really thought about it.
Of course, given that Liz had probably only emailed him twice in all the years he had been working with Alex, it wasn't surprising that she wouldn't have noticed the subtlety, but still, the point remained that Max had never written anything so personal to Tess, or to anyone else for that matter. That supposed email address was strictly reserved for business anyway, so if he had had to, even for her, he would have certainly not used it either.
For the first time maybe, Liz really looked at the written address then and she couldn't help but frown first as she recognized clearly the familiar reference to "Alex Whitman and Max Evans Associates", until a closer look made her finally gasp.
How could she have missed that before? MaxEvans, not MaxEvans. The difference was almost not visible on paper if you weren't focusing on that, and honestly she hadn't been, too hurt by the content of the emails to pay attention before, but that little point, or rather lack of, changed everything. God, Tess had probably just created a new one, as similar as possible, and she hadn't seen a thing.
"I never wrote this, Liz… never!" Max still swore, his grip almost painful as he cupped her face in his hands, but he needed her to listen to him and trust him now more than ever. "God, baby, didn't you know even back then just how much I love you?… I couldn't have been with anyone else… not then, not ever… no matter what could happen between us… I mean, I can't even look at another woman… you're everything to me, Liz! YOU… you, baby, no one else!" he declared fervently, tears blurring his vision as well as he saw her take in everything he was saying.
"But… but she said… " she stuttered nonetheless, her heart believing him, but her mind refusing to admit yet that she had let Tess Harding play her without suspecting a thing. She couldn't believe either that anyone could be so cruel and be ready to go to such lengths to destroy her family just to get what they wanted.
"She lied… whatever she said, she lied… the fuc-… god, I'm gonna kill her!" he growled through gritted teeth, hoping that Tess would stay clear of him for as long as she could, or he would truly murder her.
"So you n-never…" Liz choked out, her voice breaking as she realized what all this meant.
"Never, ever!" Max answered and even if she didn't finish her sentence, she didn't need to.
It was clearly written all over her face the second she understood that he had never laid a finger on Tess, that he had never loved her, or been intimate in any way with her.
And as much as Max was literally seething with rage inside, the instant he noticed the expression of horror that crossed Liz's face, he knew that his anger would have to be controlled and his murdering plans to wait. Because right then, Liz needed him more than ever and he had no intention to let her down this time.
He wasn't expecting such a breakdown however, and his heart shattered into pieces at her despair.
"O-Oh… oh, m-my god… what… what have I done?… M-Max… oh, god!… no, no… god!… no!" she cried, stumbling away from him with agonizing sobs, but Max gently grabbed her by the wrist before she could go too far.
"Shhh… shhh… sweetie… it's alright… shh… it's gonna be okay!" he soothed tenderly, holding her tighter when she tried to pull free. There was no way he was going to let her go away from him now, not in this state.
"No… n-no… what ha-have I-I done?… what have I-I…" she repeated on and on, doubling over almost in pain, and forcing Max to pull her as close to his body as he could.
"Liz… Liz… baby, look at me… look at me… it's gonna be okay, alright! It's okay, Liz!" he cajoled, one arm firmly wrapped around her waist as her body was racked with tremors, while his other hand caressed her face and tried to stop the flow of tears.
"She knew things… she said… she s-said… you wanted a … a b-baby with… with her… and that was… why… why you refused me!… how could sh-she have known a-about that?" she wailed, shaking her head as if she was trying to make sense of all this mess, and yet refused to let herself truly believe that it had all been for nothing.
"I'm so sorry, baby… so sorry… I… I-I trusted her… I mean… we talked about it… and yes, I told her you wanted me to think about it… but god, I never thought… I can't believe she did that… I-I can't believe I didn't see anything!" Max grunted in pain himself, but at least he was partially relieved when he drew her into the safe confines of his arms and this time she stopped fighting him.
Her own arms wrapped around him, holding him like her very own life depended on it, and Max was very well aware that it was probably only because they were clinging to each other that she hadn't already collapsed to the floor.
God, what the hell had he done? he groaned inwardly. All of this was only his own fault. By trusting her, he had given Tess all the ammunitions she needed to destroy them. She knew exactly what to use to hurt Liz in the worst way possible and make sure that she would doubt him, doubt his faithfulness.
He shuddered as he thought about what could have happened if that woman hadn't gotten in that accident. He had been determined to talk to Liz even before that, but what if he hadn't been able to get through her then? What if he hadn't learned what he had tonight? Max wasn't convinced that they would have gotten to this point, that they would have made love, if they hadn't been both so emotional.
Maybe Liz would have been impermeable to his arguments then, maybe she would have not wanted to listen to him and she would have still kept for her what had happened with Tess, and he wouldn't have known. He would have been left just as in the dark as he had been for the last months.
He couldn't even imagine what would have happened if they hadn't been able to talk to each other and had gotten divorced all for the wrong reasons, all because of some stupid lies.
So much made sense now, her attitude that day she had asked him to leave, her words, this morning. That was what she had meant when he had exploded and asked her when she had become such a bitch. 'Maybe when I realized you have to be one to catch your own husband's interest', she had been referring to Tess and he hadn't understood a thing.
At that instant, pain squeezed his heart at the thought of all he had almost lost, his wife, his daughter, his life, all because he had been too blind and too trusting. All because he had seen Tess as a friend, an ally, when all the time she had truly been the enemy. Working against him, against what he really wanted, without caring about anything but her own needs and desire.
"She s-said… you wanted a b-baby with her…" he heard Liz reiterate and could clearly see just how much it had devastated her to think that he could have wanted that with any other woman.
Even if he probably didn't know the half of it yet, it had to have ripped her heart apart to imagine that he could have considered that with Tess, when he seemed so hell bent to wait with her, and his throat clogged with renewed tears as he imagined the agony she had endured.
"Liz… I swear you're the only woman I've ever made love to… you're the only one I've ever had a baby with… and I don't plan to change those facts… you'll always be the only one, sweetheart… you're the one, Liz… the only one!" Max vowed, holding her like he was afraid that despite all his sincere words, he would lose her nonetheless if he didn't.
"M-Max…"Liz whimpered still, pain slicing her own heart and making it more and more difficult for her to breathe properly.
"Shh… it's gonna be alright, sweetie… I swear it's gonna be alright now… I've got you…" Max whispered softly, cradling her against him before he picked her up and moved to the bed again. "Calm down, baby… and breathe, okay?" he coaxed her gently once they were settled down, all along stroking her back lovingly while she still seemed to fight to gulp for air.
"Yeah… that's it… see, it's okay…" he murmured when he noticed her breathing evening out and though she had yet to stop crying, he guessed that it was at least a good start.
"I'm s-sorry, M-Max… I'm so… s-sorry…" Liz sobbed achingly, wishing she could crawl inside of him and forget how much it hurt.
"Hey, no… shh, it's okay… it wasn't your fault, sweetness… you didn't know… shh… don't cry…" Max kissed her temple and reassured her softly, not minding in the least that she was almost cutting his air supply with the way she held on to him.
"God, I love you so damn much, Liz!" he breathed out hoarsely minutes afterwards when she released him, fingers tucking her disheveled hair away, lips caressing her wet cheeks where the evidence of her crying was still visible.
"I-I love you, too!" Liz reciprocated, the words barely audible though as his mouth closed over hers, his tongue eagerly demanding entrance and mating with hers when she granted it.
And to think that they could have missed, that they could have lost, all this, just because he had let Tess Harding enter their lives.
"W-What?" Liz whispered out when they parted seconds afterwards and Max took a few minutes to just drink her in, eyes roaming lovingly over her face while his fingers trailed over its soft contours.
"Just… I… even crying, you're still the most beautiful woman I've ever seen!" he murmured, a edge of wonder in his voice, like he was once more struck with how lucky he was to have her.
"I'm not!" Liz denied shyly, ducking her head in reaction. No matter how many times she could hear him say the same thing, she just couldn't get used to it.
"Yes, you are… and so much more!" Max insisted tenderly, seeking her lips soon after again and pouring all his love in that kiss.
How they ended up lying on the bed with Liz's body molding into Max's they didn't know, but none of them seemed to mind the change of position. Quite the opposite. For long minutes, they just laid there, kissing, caressing exposed skins, enjoying their closeness again, until Liz was suddenly struck with a thought and she pulled away from Max, sitting up until she was straddling his abdomen.
"Wait a minute… I-I … I j-just don't understand… I mean… if you didn't know… I-I…… if you didn't understand why I wanted you to leave… why did you tell me you did?… and why did you leave?" she pondered out loud, realizing that considering what he had told her now, considering the fact that he had never had anything to do with Tess, at least not in a romantic way, none of his reactions of the last few months made sense anymore. "Max?"
He heard her call his name in question when he sit up as well but took too long to answer, and as she looked at him quizzically, he couldn't help but cringe and gulp audibly.
This was the moment of truth, he thought, panic and fear gnawing at his insides again. During those moments were he had been there comforting her, he had let himself forget that Tess hadn't been their only problem. That there had been so much more that still stopped them from being together, like before. His relationship with Tess had been a complete fabrication, a huge misunderstanding, but what had happened between Kyle and Liz was real, too real.
He had heard them, seen their closeness, and now he would finally know if Kyle was more important to her than him, than their marriage, or what had happened between them tonight. And as much as part of him wanted to be kept in the dark some more, if only to not suffer even more than what he already had, he knew he couldn't. He had done so for so long, and hadn't gained anything for all that in the end. If there was still a chance for them to let go of the past and save their relationship, it was now… or never.
"B-Because of Kyle." He expelled eventually after having let out a long suffering sigh first, but he obstinately refused to look at her as he did.
With his eyes cast down, he felt more than he saw Liz tensing up again, and his heart immediately dropped down to his stomach. His breath caught in his throat and he willed his body to stop trembling but he knew it was no use.
"Kyle?… what the hell does Kyle have to do with this?" Liz queried astounded, her voice raising involuntarily as she wondered how Kyle Valenti could have played any part in their relationship, or how he could have led Max to leave their house if that wasn't what he wanted.
"I-I know, Liz…" Max said softly, admitting that much being probably one of the hardest things he had had to do. There wasn't any way they could ignore that factor now, even if the 'Tess issue' had been apparently solved, he couldn't pretend anymore, or bury his head in the sand any longer.
"You know?" Liz parroted, still as much in the dark as she had been a few seconds ago.
"But it… it doesn't matter anymore… r-right?" he had meant it like an affirmation, but instead the words came out as a question, tainted with all the insecurities he still felt, showing just how scared he was of whatever answer she would give to that. Yes, she had said she loved him, too, only a couple of minutes ago, but would that be enough now? "It doesn't… I mean… "
"What doesn't, Max?" Liz asked as gently as she could considering how agitated he seemed to grow suddenly. She didn't understand the first thing about his reaction, but some gut instinct told her that once she would, she would wish she hadn't known.
"Y-You know… I saw you with him… and well… I-I mean… I heard you… and it all became pretty clear to me… and I-I understand… I mean, really I do, Liz… considering how I was with you… but… " he rushed out, knowing that if he didn't he wouldn't be able to say half of what he wanted to tell her, but he was cut short when Liz leapt off of him for the second time this night as realization dawned on her.
"Oh. Lord… you've got to be fucking kidding me!" she all but shrieked when she understood what he was telling her and what he wasn't, her whole body shaking all over as the horrendous truth of it all crashed down on her. All these months, all this time wasted and all for no reason, except their own stupidity. "This is not happening… I just know that this is. so. not. happening!"
"Liz?" Max called her softly, confusion written all over his features as he saw her pacing frantically in front of her again. He had expected her to look surprised that he knew, guilty maybe, but certainly not… so angry.
"So you saw me with Kyle, huh? … and we were what?… kissing?… going at it hot and heavy?" she stopped suddenly and all but spat out, much to Max's astonishment.
God, this had to be some kind of cosmic joke. It couldn't be any other way. She didn't want to believe that they could have ruined their life so much and all for nothing.
"No… NO!" Max cried out the second he heard her, not needing some mental images of Liz and… god, he had already too much of them as it was. "I-I heard… I mean I heard him telling you that it was time to tell m-me… that you couldn't keep your relationship a secret to me any longer and… " he tried to explain, all the while keeping his eyes on Liz who had resumed her pacing.
"And you just thought that we were what? Together?… that I was cheating on you?… " she questioned angrily, wincing herself as she uttered those last words, hating in fact that she had to just say them, and yet one look at his expression was all she needed to know that that was exactly what he had been thinking. "I can't believe this!… god, no wonder Tess managed to do what she did… with the little faith we have in each other!" she fumed, raking trembling fingers through her hair like she just meant to pull it off all at once.
"Liz?" Max breathed her name once more, standing up finally when he heard the frustrated cry that tore from her lips.
All the pieces of the puzzle were finally falling together, and she didn't know anymore if she should laugh now, or just collapse and cry until she would have no tears left. Tess had not just decided one day that she wanted Max and that she would do all it took to have him, she had worked with what had been given to her.
Max, thinking that she was having an affair with Kyle, had probably confided in Tess, like he had obviously done with so many other things, and Tess, whether she had believed it or not, had come to her with all her lies, knowing that whatever her reaction would be, Max would most likely not protest much since he was already so angry with her and they were barely talking at all back then.
If Max had trusted her, she knew certainly more about her than what she could even imagine, and she just fed in her own insecurities, hitting just were it hurt, and the craziest of all things was that she had let her do that. She had been stupid enough to not look deeper, beyond the surface and what was presented to her, to not question Max's behavior when that was the first thing she should have done, and all had gone to hell from there on. And he had apparently done the same. God, they truly deserved each other.
Catching the expression of pure anguish on Max's face now, she drew in a sharp intake of breath and willed herself to calm down, wanting to explain to Max what he obviously still didn't understand.
"When did you hear us?… I mean Kyle and I?" she demanded more softly, even if she already more or less had an idea.
"I-I don't remember exactly, maybe a… maybe a month or so before I moved… I-I don't know… I… " he stammered, trying to bury the memory in his mind, having long decided that he didn't want to associate that particular event with the day he had saved her life, the day that had changed his life.
"In my classroom?" she continued as he confirmed what she had suspected.
It would have been hard for her to forget that day considering the following events. She remembered all too well how he had reacted the morning after, when she had finally realized that she couldn't go on like that, and decided to take Kyle advice and talk to him, only to have him lash out at her, spewing things that she had not understood back then with the elements she had.
Max had seemed furious, hurt, he hadn't even slept in their bed that night, and she hadn't had any clue as to why. Now she did however, now she understood why he had seemed so disgusted when she had told him that she needed him, why he had said that he couldn't even look at her, why he had looked so angry and acted so strangely that last time they had made love, and she couldn't deny her part of responsibility. If she had talked to him sooner, if only she hadn't been so scared, they wouldn't have had to endure all this.
"Yeah!" Max confirmed, though she would have most likely not heard him, hadn't he been standing so close to her.
"Max… whatever you think you heard… it was definitely not what it looked like!… we weren't talking about us because there is no us!… and there never was!" Liz declared, seeing exactly why he could have thought so given what she recalled of that particular conversation she had had with Kyle, and knowing that Max probably needed to hear the truth out loud as much as she had needed it earlier.
"You don't mean…" Max croaked out, afraid to let his mind acknowledge the reality.
As much as he wanted to think that Liz had never strayed from their vows like he had believed, the truth was just so ludicrous that he wasn't sure it wouldn't be better to act like he hadn't heard a thing, to keep pretending that it had all really happened and just tell her that he had already found it in him to forgive her and forget.
"That's exactly what I mean!" Liz stated thickly, dispelling any doubt he could still have had.
Of course many things still didn't add up, like her behavior the couple of months before he had seen her with Kyle, or like what was the true nature of their relationship and what that conversation meant if they had not been talking about them as a couple. Things that he just couldn't figure out yet, but if Liz assured him that there was absolutely nothing between them, he could only trust her and believe her. Besides, given her agitation now, he couldn't think that she would be lying to him.
"Oh, fucking shit!" he growled, feeling suddenly nauseous and taking a few steps back.
He winced slightly then when his hip connected a little too violently with Liz's dressing table, but the physical blow couldn't compare with what he was feeling inside. His eyes remained trained on Liz however, and he felt chills coursing up his spine when he heard her give a forced nervous laugh, the sound like nothing he had ever heard before.
"This just has to be some bad joke… some kind of really bad, weird… twisted nightmare and I-I just know that I'm going to wake up soon because I really don't think I can see the end…" she cried out and Max noticed immediately just how close to losing it again she was. "What's gonna happen next, huh?… aliens are going to invade the freaking Earth and… and ask us to give up our daughter because she's the destined mate of some … King of another planet… and then… then what?… we're going to discover that she's not even our biological daughter and that she's only the bi-product of some… some alien and human mixed DNA cocktail that was implanted in me without my knowledge?… god, e-even that couldn't be more…stupid… and c-crazy… and so totally surreal than this!" she started rambling completely incoherently, her hands flaring wildly around her, and Max would have certainly laughed if the situation hadn't been so dramatic.
"Could be best for her… considering her parents are obviously both first class idiots… at least that would ensure she wouldn't have inherited any of our genes." He mumbled before he could stop himself, his knuckles turning white though, as he gripped the edge of the furniture and tried to regulate his breathing before he would pass out himself.
"It's not funny, Max!" Liz snapped heatedly, staring at him like that was the last thing in the world he should have thought about saying.
"Well excuse me if I deal with this my own way, love!" he retorted right away, his tone matching hers, before he lowered his voice again and sighed heavily. This was not her fault after all, he shouldn't take it out on her. "God… would you rather see me losing it and bawling like a baby, Liz?… because believe me, I'm not far from it and if I just as much as look at this seriously… let's just say that it's not going to be a pretty sight!" he pursued croakily when she looked at him, and her gaze softened some, obviously noticing that this was affecting him just as much. He was just trying to not let her see how it killed him inside.
Max knew though that if he started to think too much about all that had happened, he wouldn't be able to hold it together much longer. It was already hard enough as it was, considering that he couldn't very well ignore the fact that they wouldn't have found themselves in this situation if he hadn't assumed the wrong thing to begin with, or if he had just gone and talked to her instead of hiding behind his fears and anger.
Of course it didn't change the fact that he would have probably never left her, even thinking that she was being unfaithful, but at least it would have spared him the heartache, as well as to her.
"It's just that… I just wish we hadn't… j-jumped to conclusions like this! God, Max, what did we do?" all her own irritation seemed to suddenly deflate at his words and her face contorted in pain, making Max ache with her.
"Shh… I know… believe me, I know!" in two quick strides he was by her again, gathering her to him and comforting her as best as he could in his own state.
"Max… we just lost so much time… we just…" Liz whined brokenly, her eyes welling up with tears again, even when she knew that if she just started, she would probably not stop any time soon.
"We'll make up for it, I promise!" Max stated as convincingly as he could, swearing inwardly that there wouldn't be a time from then on when he would doubt her again, or let her forget that she was the only woman who truly mattered to him. And that she would always be.
She was the center of his universe, the love of his life, and he would do his best to remind her of that fact every day of the rest of their existence.
"And Janelle… she shouldn't have had to go thro-…" Liz went on nonetheless, only to be cut off by Max again.
"For her, too, baby." he insisted, pulling away and pressing a tender kiss to her lips to silence her. "I promise you everything will be alright!" he repeated as he wrapped her in his arms again, and then kept whispering sweet words of love into her ear until he felt her stop trembling.
"You thought I was with Kyle… that's why… that's why you said I-I was the one spread-" Liz moaned out of the blue, her voice so hoarse that there wouldn't have been any way for Max to miss just how much those few words thrown in the heat of the moment had hurt her.
"Shh… shh… I'm sorry… god, I'm so sorry… I didn't mean it, okay… I swear I didn't… " Max cradled her face gently so she would meet his eyes and know how sincere he was, but it didn't stop him from cursing himself once more as he remembered just how mean he had been this morning. "It's just… hearing you say you wanted to leave me… it hurt so much, Liz… and I just lost it… I know you're not like that… god, I know that… but when I saw you with him that day… it just broke my heart and… and this morning…"
"Why didn't you leave?" Liz cut him off mid-sentence this time, the way he looked at her not leaving any doubt that he meant what he was telling her now, but she needed to know why he had stayed with her then if he truly thought she was seeing someone else.
"What?" Max uttered, stroking her cheekbones absently.
"If you thought I was with Kyle… why didn't you leave me?" Liz elaborated some more, lifting troubled eyes up to him now and making him go weak in the knees.
Taking her by the hand, Max moved to the bed once more and let her step between his legs once he had sat down. His thumbs just drew small circles over the back of her hands for a while, like he was trying to draw strength from the contact, and then, after having inhaled sharply, he took the plunge, knowing that he couldn't give her anything but the truth.
"Because I couldn't really blame you for something I knew I was mostly responsible for, I guess… and because no matter what… I'll rather be with you… even under such circumstances… than be without you!" the words were whispered so low that Liz had to strain her ear to understand everything, but what was evident was the pain still behind them.
She wanted to tell him how sorry she was herself that she hadn't hold on more to their love then, that she hadn't given him a chance to explain himself and instead had asked him to leave the second she had doubted him, but whatever she was going to say was lost in the moment when glistening amber pools met her own tearful ones again.
"God, I know I have still so much to make up for to you… I know that and I will… and I'm not just talking about these last few months… but for the last couple of years… I know I-I wasn't there for you… but I'll slow down… I swear to you that I will… I… I'll spend less time in the office, I promise… and no more business trips… not if I can do otherwise… I'll talk to Alex about that and…" Max started to make plans, promises that he hoped she knew he intended to keep, but she interrupted him once more, her voice soft but definitely skeptical.
"Max… you know that's not possible…" as much as she wanted to believe him and hold him on to that, she knew well that he didn't really have much choice in the matter. He went where the business called him, and that meant many trips that took him away from her. She had hoped at first that it would only be temporary, but she had long understood that it went with the job and having his own firm, and that unless he quitted, she would just have to get used to it, and that no matter how much she actually hated it.
"I'll make it possible… I'll find a way… I just want to be with you and Janelle… and I'll do my best to be home early every night… even if I have to bring some work here… but at least I'll be with you…" Max didn't let her answer deter him, promising himself that whatever it took, he wouldn't let anything come between them ever again, and certainly not his job.
"Max…" Liz protested weakly once more, but Max pulled her to him before she could say much more, helping her so that she was now straddling his lap.
"I will find a way, baby… trust me!" he said decisively, brushing his lips over hers until any thought of fighting him on that left her mind.
Moments afterwards they were both lying on the bed again, enjoying the sudden silence, Liz resting her head on his hard chest and caressing his side leisurely.
"Max? if… if you…" she started hesitantly after a while, wondering why she was imposing this on herself, why she wanted to know more about the woman she now hated more than she had ever thought possible, but she just had to ask.
"If I what?… tell me!" Max encouraged her gently, his fingers dancing at the nape of her neck and making Liz feel so relaxed that it was a wonder she was still able to think at all.
"If you're not… if you're not… with Tess… what is she doing at Isabel's?" she blurted out at last, but her eyes stayed fixed on Max's chest, like that was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world.
"How do you…? Did you talk to her?" Max was immediately on alert again, all but forcing Liz to look up at him.
After what he had learned tonight, the last thing he wanted was for her to talk to Tess, or even less to come anywhere near her. God, if he just heard that Tess had done anything to upset or hurt Liz again, he didn't care what time it was, he would go and hunt her down.
"Yeah… I-I couldn't join you on your cell, so I called and she answered and I-I thought…" Liz admitted, biting her bottom lip as she wondered if he was going to throw a fit again, or what. He didn't really looked calm to her right now.
Yet that was the last thing she still wanted him to clear out, even if now considering what she knew, she was convinced that the explanation would be a long way off from anything she could have conjured up in her mind ever since she had made that call.
"I wasn't there… there's been a flood in her apartment or something… at least that's what she told me… I'm not sure about anything anymore… but anyway… I told her that she could stay in the apartment until her problem was solved… but in the end, I decided to stay at Michael's in the meantime… but you don't have to worry about her… she's supposed to leave for a three weeks vacation tomorrow anyway… and when she comes back, she's in for a big surprise!" Max explained, his voice raising a few notches by the end of his speech.
Tess was just lucky that she wouldn't have to show up Monday morning if he had to go to work himself, because two days would certainly not be enough time for him to calm down. He wasn't even sure that three weeks would help her.
For now, he kept quiet about what had happened that had led him to take that decision and made him stay away from her however, because in the state Liz was, he didn't think that she would take very well the fact that he had given Tess any opportunity to make a pass on him, or even less that he had been stupid enough to not see it coming.
He would tell her everything though, as soon as he would be sure that they could talk about it without the conversation causing her any pain whatsoever, not even the slightest.
"What are you going to do?" Liz couldn't help asking, even if Tess's fate at this point was the last of her worries, as long as Max got rid of her and that as fast as possible.
"What I have to… make her pay… but that'll have to wait… I think we really have a bigger problem right now!" Max told her vaguely before rolling them over so he was on top now.
"We do?" Liz questioned, quite surprised, though she could tell by the way he was staring at her that whatever he was going to say wasn't something that would hurt as much as everything else had already. Well, hopefully.
"Yeah… baby, somewhere along the way we apparently just stopped talking to each other… and trusting each other… I mean… a few years ago we would have never let this happen… never… and now we're really going to have to work on that, because I don't want anything… and I really mean anything… coming between us ever again! I couldn't stand it… it-it would just kill me… I couldn't feel like I… like I'm losing you again… I b-barely survived the first time… I just… couldn't… " his voice was quivering by the time he finished, his whole body was trembling slightly again, but he knew that this had to be said. He just couldn't imagine them going through something like that again just because they weren't able to communicate, and he wasn't sure they would find each other again, or just get out of it unscathed if they did. "Do you think you could do that with me, baby?"
There was so much heartache in his tone, and at the same time so much insecurity that a huge lump formed in Liz's throat and she wasn't able to do much more but nod mutely. All this time she had thought he had been happy with the one he really wanted to be now, when in reality he had just been as miserable as she had been herself. If not more in fact, at least she didn't have any clear image of him and Tess wrapped in a tight embrace, whether it was a friendly one or not. She didn't even want to think about how many times that picture of Kyle and her had come back to haunt him then.
"So if we have any doubts… however insignificant they are… we should just tell the other… and really talk about it! No more secrets… no more lies, or… or pent-up feelings, or whatsoever… okay?" he went on when she acquiesced, wanting to establish some new ground rules right away before they tried to solve anything else.
They had spent too much time before bottling up everything inside, what they really thought, what they felt, what they wanted, if they wished to make it work this time around, they needed to be always honest with each other, to trust each other and most of all talk to each other.
"Yes." Liz whispered, sealing their promise with a few soft kisses that said so much more then than any words could have.
When they parted, they held on to each other, relishing in the contact as much as in the loving words they exchanged, until Max acknowledged that if they wanted to be honest, they should as well start right now. And there was something he really wanted to understand.
"Baby, do you want to talk about it? … I mean, can you tell me what Kyle and you were talking about that day?" he queried quietly, but he instantly felt her tense in his embrace, and almost immediately regretted having asked. "It's okay, you don't have to if you don't want!" he was quick to add, not wanting to push her, even if he was truly dying to know.
As long as he was sure that she wasn't intimately involved with Kyle, he guessed that he could wait, a least some more, until she would be willing to talk about what had really been going on that day.
"It's not that… it's just… I don't want to hurt you!… I-I… I d-don't want you to hate me!" Liz answered tremulously, wanting more than anything to tell him everything but now was probably not the right moment. Not after the night they had both already had.
"Liz, I love you… don't you ever forget that again, okay?… I've been in love with you my whole life, and it won't ever change, no matter what!" Max whispered back tenderly, the emotions in his words matching the look of pure love he was giving her.
And she knew. She knew everything he was saying was true, but that didn't stop her from being scared, or being afraid of what his reaction would be. She remembered all too well how much it had hurt her, how much it still hurt sometimes even months later, she wasn't sure he was ready to go through the same pain right then, or even less if she was ready herself to walk down that road with him again now.
"I know… it's just… Max, can we talk about this later… I don't think I could…" she expelled at last, shuddering just at the thought of what that conversation would do to both of them. She hated even more that she wasn't able to give him the answers he wanted right away, but she truly thought that it was for the best.
"Sure… whenever you're ready, love." Max conceded easily, the last thing he needed being for her to feel like he wanted to corner her, or control her already, the very first day that they were back together.
Now that he thought of it, he remembered clearly having heard her say more or less the same thing to Kyle that day, that he would hate her if he knew, but he couldn't see what she could have done that would have made him feel that way about her. Even when he thought she was with Kyle, he couldn't, so she was probably exaggerating some and flipping for nothing. Whatever it was, he was sure now that it couldn't be that terrible, so for the time being he would leave it at that and let her come to him when she would be ready.
Deciding that they would have enough time to really discuss everything anyway, he lay down again, resting his head over her bosom, and for a very long time, he just stayed there, contented for the first time in a very long while, savoring the feel of her fingers running slowly through his hair.
There couldn't be anything in the world that could feel better than this. Being with Liz. So close that he could hear her heartbeat thudding in his ear. His arm wrapped tightly around her. His body nestled between her thighs. Intimate, even if not yet one completely.
No, nothing could top this… except maybe…
"Liz?" her name spilled from his lips in a breathy murmur that barely cut through the comfortable silence surrounding them.
"Yes?" Liz answered just as softly, but not stopping in her ministrations until he propped himself on his elbows and regarded her with his heart in his eyes.
"Can I come back home, baby? … F-For good, I mean!" he demanded in a trembling whisper, and Liz just about broke down again.
God, he looked so much like the little boy she remembered then, shy, insecure and almost lost, though she couldn't recall having ever seen him look so vulnerable at the same time before, like his whole life depended solely on her answer.
"No, you can't… " she breathed out thickly, the tears shimmering in her eyes mirrored in his, even if she managed a small smile when she caught the expression on his face at her negative words. " You have to… because I don't think I would be able to live another single day without you!"
The smile she received herself in return could have probably lit up the whole house -or just maybe made him look like a complete demented fool- but she wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world at that instant, and just knowing that she was the cause of such breathtaking sight left her feeling all giddy inside.
"Thank you!" he panted hoarsely, seeking her lips almost immediately afterwards and truly feeling like his heart would just burst out from the sheer joy he felt then.
"M-Max…" Liz moaned out when she felt his tongue trail down her neck seconds later, as at the same time one of his hands crept under his shirt.
"I love you!" Max came back to nibble at her bottom lip, tugging gently on it and bringing forth a low needy groan from her mouth. "Let me show you how much!"
At that instant, those few words became the only thing that mattered to both of them as they got lost in the feel of each other again, and Liz was all too ready to let him worship her body and make her remember how much he did love her, even if it hadn't been so long yet now that he had proved that to her.
Still, there was no way she would have protested when very slowly Max unbuttoned the shirt that was clearly on his way, his lips constantly searching for more skin to taste, and it was definitely not long before she was helping him out of his boxers and letting him slide back home. Where he belonged.
It couldn't have been more than a couple of hours later when Liz opened her eyes again, yet she felt so invigorated that it felt like she had been asleep for days. She didn't think that she had ever felt better in fact.
Leisurely, she stretched out, rolling slightly onto her side and instantly seeking for Max's warmth, when the only thing she felt was the empty space where he should have been and she instantly froze.
It started slow, a small disturbing feeling in the pit of her stomach, but spreading so fast that Liz was suddenly finding it very hard to even just take in her next breath.
Tears pooled in her eyes before she could control or stop herself and the next second, she bolted up right, gulping desperately for air, even if her efforts didn't seem to help in any way at that instant.
Her trembling fingers reached for the lamp at her bedside as at the same time her other hand clamped over her mouth in a futile attempt to stifle her sob, but even with that the small whimper could be heard through the heavy silence oppressing her.
"No… no, no, no…" she cried, throwing the sheet off her body and scrambling to her feet, the task being made all the more difficult since her legs seemed to have suddenly turned to jelly.
Her steps were unsteady as she all but ran to the bathroom, praying with all her might that she would find him there, and in her haste to reach her goal, she didn't even paid attention to the small details that could have reassured her right away. Like the fact that the sheets were warm where Max had still been lying minutes ago, or the fact that she was naked under the shirt she was wearing when she shouldn't have been if she had really just been imagining the whole night, or simply that the water was running audibly when she approached the bathroom door.
Her hand was shaking fearfully when she reached for the doorknob, her heart pounding in her ears, but before her fingers even connected with it, the door flew open and with a sharp cry, she all but threw herself into Max's arms.
"Oh, god… Max…" she sobbed, her own arms winding around his waist and nearly squeezing the life out of him.
"Oh… wow… wow there…" Max chuckled, even as he stumbled backwards with the force of the sudden contact.
Not that he minded the closeness of course, but the last thing he had been expecting when coming out, was to find Liz there and obviously eager to attach herself to him again. At least if he judged by the fact that it had only been a couple of minutes since he had left her sleeping there, called into the bathroom by an urgent need, and had barely had time to wash his hands and open the door when she had come barreling into him.
It wasn't until he felt the wetness on his naked chest however, that he realized something was really off.
"Liz?… what?… what is it?" he questioned immediately, the second he understood that she wasn't exactly just happy to see him like he had first assumed, but was actually upset and crying once more. "What's wrong, baby?"
"Nothing!" she mumbled, voice muffled by his broad chest as she clung to him for dear life. It was nothing at all now that he was there, now that she could touch him, feel him.
"Something obviously!… you're crying!" Max pulled away and framed her face, looking at her for any clue of what could explain what had her so worked up again.
"It-It's stupid!" Liz shook her head, feeling foolish now.
It was indeed ridiculous to have reacted so violently, she realized that now that her fear had been appeased. It had just happened too often before, and the feeling of emptiness she had felt at realizing that he wasn't by her side had been so overwhelming that she hadn't been able to think clearly.
"Tell me, love!" Max insisted, bracketing her hips and lifting her up until he had her settled down on the bathroom countertop. He then stepped between her legs and gently brushed her hair off her face so he could really see all of her, the gesture so tender that he nearly brought Liz to tears again, and she knew she couldn't not tell him.
"It's just that I woke up… and you weren't there… and I just thought… I-I thought it was all a dream again… and…" she tried to explain, but the words came out with difficulties, no matter how hard she tried to calm her racing heart.
"Oh, sweetie… didn't you listen to anything I told you before?… I'm here, and I've absolutely no intention to leave ever again or go anywhere… not without you!" Max reminded her softly, thinking that if she didn't get it yet, he would just have to work harder until she would feel completely secure again.
"I know, it's just that… for a second… " she started again, but Max didn't need to hear more to know what she meant.
"Shh… I understand, don't worry!" he cut her off, fingers pressing lightly on her lips, knowing exactly just how surreal it all still felt. He had had to resist the urge to pinch himself when he had woken up as well, so he couldn't really blame her. "Now, could you do something for me?"
"What?" Liz asked, turning her big doe eyes up to him and making his heart skip an unexpected beat.
"I think you're crying too much here, honey… and I just can't stand to see you cry… do you think you could work on that?… For me?" he almost pleaded, his thumbs tracing her cheekbones, talking to her like he would talk to Janelle if he had to convince her to do something really important for him.
"Only if you help me!" she replied, closing her eyes when he rested his forehead against hers and his hands went and settled on her waist. How could anyone resist this man?
"I will! Don't worry, if it depends only on me, you won't ever cry again!" Max all but promised before pulling her for a sweet kiss.
And then another. And another hungrier, until the only thing they could think about was how much they had indeed to make up for. And at that instant none of them could see why they shouldn't start right now. No matter how late it was, and even knowing that they would probably regret the lack of sleep when their sweet little daughter would come and wake them up with the larks.
"Mom, yeah, hi… no, no… everything's okay… I'm fine… I-I'm sorry… I know… it's just…" Max stammered into the phone, cut almost every time by his mother's rushed out questions.
If he had thought that this conversation was going to go smoothly, he had highly been mistaken, obviously. He loved his mother dearly, but maybe calling her almost first thing in the morning when he was barely awake -and moreover with the night activities- had not been the most clever thing to do.
Getting back to bed and to Liz again felt suddenly even more tempting than it had been a few minutes ago when he had come down only to find the living room a complete mess. Their clothes were scattered about everywhere, the clear reminder of what had happened between Liz and him, and even if the sight had made him smile fondly, he had known then that he had some serious cleaning up to do before Janelle woke up and started wondering what exactly they had been doing there.
He had actually been on his way to do just that when he had picked up his jacket and remembered that his parents had called yesterday and he had not answered. A quick check at his missed calls had even shown that they had tried several times again this morning, and he had immediately decided to call them back, wanting to reassure them, only to face the inquisition his mother had obviously decided to put him through.
"Where were you, Max?… you got us worried sick… we tried to call you I don't know how many times…" he heard his mother fire quite disapprovingly and he couldn't help but feel bad for having scared them.
Considering the message he had left them, and that so late, it was little wonder if his over-protective mother had panicked some. He could be 28 years old and be a father himself, he was still his mama's boy.
"I know, mom… and I didn't mean to worry you…" Max apologized right away, but his mother was obviously in a roll and barely let him talk at all.
"What happened, Max?… we've got your message and you sounded so… I don't know… tired and… and scared…" she pressed on, remembering how hollow his voice had sounded, and how terrified it had left her feeling, even if she had done her best to convince herself that he was alright.
"It's a long story, mom… too long probably to go over it on the phone… I-I just… I just wanted to let you know that everything was alright now!" Max replied, sighing wearily and knowing that he would certainly have some explaining to do later, and just thinking about that conversation was enough to make him shudder involuntarily again.
He didn't want to think back about how lost he had felt when he had thought he was about to lose the two most important people in his life, but he knew that his parents would probably want to hear the whole truth.
"Now?" Diane queried almost apprehensively, sensing that apparently whatever had happened was still affecting her son some.
"Yeah… I-I know you probably want to know everything… and I'll… stop by later if you want and we'll talk… I just… I kind of have some things to do right now… I…" Max told her, bending down to pick up Liz's clothes now, a stupid grin tugging at his lips as he reached for her panties.
"Where are you now, Max?" she asked then, wondering what her son could have to do so early in the morning, but most of all, who he was doing it with.
"Home." Max answered before he could think about it, and only when he noticed the suspicion in his mother's voice, did he realize that it was most likely not the thing to say.
"Home?… Max, I called you there not half an hour ago and you didn't answer… in fact, I was quite surprised to recognize the voice of your secretary when she did take the call the second time… it looked like I was waking her up!" Diane informed him not so pleasantly, making Max cringe even if she couldn't see it. "Is there anything I should know about that, Maxwell?"
It was the use of his full name that did it, and he knew he would be in deep trouble if he didn't clear things out and fast.
"No… I-I… no… mom, it's not what you think… I wasn't there…" Max replied hastily, not wanting his mother to have the wrong idea.
The last thing he wanted to discuss with her however was Tess and her manipulative nature, or just how easily she had fooled him all this time. Not so early at least, he didn't even want to just think about her now, so he hoped that his mother would content herself with the little he was ready to divulge right now.
"Yet you just said you were home, Max… are you lying to your mother now?" she returned indignantly almost right away.
The last thing she wanted was to tell Max how to live his life of course, but she would lie if she said she would approve if he indeed told her that he was having an affair with his secretary. Not that she could say that she had anything against the woman, but there was just something about Tess Harding that rubbed her off the wrong way. She was just too… sweet to be honest.
"No, of course not, mom, I… I'm just… I meant… not that home…" Max winced even before she answered, knowing that this had probably not come out right and that it wouldn't take her long to figure out what that meant.
"Home, but not that home… what does that… wait a minute… you don't mean…" she started confused, before stopping mid-sentence, almost afraid to hope.
She had always liked Liz, from the very first time she had seen her there at the hospital so many years ago, scared and devastated because of what had happened to Max, and she knew all too well that her son was still crazily in love with his wife, even if he tried to act like he didn't sometimes. She had never really understood why things had turned out the way they had in fact, the only thing she knew was what Max had been willing to reveal, which wasn't much. She knew that Max was definitely working too much and that it had impacted severely on their relationship over the years, but despite how useless it had seemed at times, she had never really lost hope for those two. They had just lost sight of what was really important somewhere along the way, but maybe now they had managed to work things out finally.
"I… yeah… like I said… I'm home…" Max repeated awkwardly, not seeing very well what else he could tell her.
"Is something wrong, Max?… Are Janelle and Liz okay?… Nothing happened to them, right?" she couldn't help but ask as an afterthought when she remembered that whatever Max had wanted to tell them yesterday night, it had been important.
"No, no, mom… they're fine... I just… I…" he was quick to reassure her, and then just blurted out the truth. Or as much of the truth as he could, considering that this was his mother he was talking to. "I… spent the night."
If Diane could have seen him then, she would have certainly laughed at the sight of him blushing like a little boy the second the words were out, but she was just too exited at the news to pay much attention to his sudden embarrassment.
"You… oh, my… " she shrieked the instant she understood what he meant, probably as thrilled at the news as Max could be himself. "Oh, Max… are you two back together?… Tell me you finally talked to the girl!"
"Yes, mom… and yes… I did… we did… talk… everything's fine!" Max confirmed, pleased to see that his mother obviously approved.
Not that he had ever had any doubt that she would, it would have been hard to, considering how many times she had tried to make him open up to her and given him advice, even when he sometimes didn't want to hear it.
"Oh, Max… I'm so happy for you, honey… you so have to stop by the house with her… and Janelle of course… it would be so good to see you three together again!" Diane demanded almost right away, not even recalling when the last time was that she had seen Max and Liz in the same room at the same time.
"Sure, mom… I'll talk to Liz about it… but now I should really just… " he tried to tell her that he was going to have to hang up now if he wanted to finish everything he had planned to do before Liz woke up, but before he had any opportunity to do so, he heard her yell, the sound nearly leaving him deaf.
"Phillip… Phillip, come here… talk to your son… he finally came back to his senses and got his woman back!… I need to go and clean up a little before they come!" the words carried through the house and over the line and he couldn't help rolling his eyes. Leave it to his mother to alert the whole neighborhood about what was happening in his life, and work herself in a frenzy just because he was bringing Liz home again. You would think she had never been there before with the way she reacted.
And now his father would have his turn as well, he thought, as he heard him picking up the phone and ask his mother what had her so overjoyed suddenly.
"Max? Hey… what's up, son?" Phillip greeted, smiling into the phone as he saw his wife run around like she was suddenly about to receive the Queen of England.
"Nothing much… I just was telling mom about… about Liz and I… I… we worked things out… and I guess… she just got a little carried away…" Max tried to play it off at that moment, but he was pretty much sure that he would got a similar reaction from him.
"You did?… that's fantastic… and it was about damn time, too!" he heard his father exclaim, and he truly prayed that he wouldn't have to answer to as many questions as he had to with his mother. "No wonder we couldn't join you… I guess you made up for lost time, huh?" he said teasingly then, understanding better why Max hadn't been able to take their calls.
"Dad, please…" Max blushed to the roots of his hair once more, even if what his father had said was nothing but the truth. That didn't mean that he was ready to talk to him about what he and Liz had done or not, or to admit that he had indeed been quite busy when they had called him and that was why he hadn't answered.
"Hey… not that I could blame you… I mean I know how you two were… I remember that time I cau-" Phillip started much to Max's mortification, and he certainly couldn't have been quick enough to stop him.
"I would rather not… thanks, dad!" he growled, not wanting to have to remember how humiliating that particular memory had been.
Being caught by your father when you were making love to your girlfriend, even if you were already twenty, wasn't exactly something any boy wanted to see happening, and even less be reminded of. Their only luck had been that they had been partially covered, at least where it counted, and that his father had been kind enough to beat a discreet retreat before they realized that he had seen them. But that didn't mean that they hadn't heard about it later. It had taken Liz months actually to be able to stay in the same room as Phillip and look at him in the eyes without blushing furiously after she had known.
"Look, I'm just gonna hang up now… I have to take care of the breakfast before Liz and Jay wake up." Max said when he heard his father chuckle into the phone at his embarrassment, and he just knew that he should better cut the conversation short, or this was going to turn ugly very soon.
"Oh, so whipped, so soon again… some things never change!" Phillip joked and this time Max could even hear his mother laugh as well in the background, obviously having heard her husband's comment.
"Yeah, you're one to talk, aren't you?" Max threw back, finding that rich coming from him when his dear mother had him completely wrapped around her finger. "By the way… where were you yesterday night? I tried to call you I don't know how many times… and there was no way to join you!" he reminded him, even if at that moment he didn't really care about that anymore, other than for the fact that it helped him turn the tables on him.
"I wish I had something interesting to say about that… but the Jeffersons were having a reception, and your mother insisted to drag me there… was a last minute thing apparently though." Phillip almost immediately sobered up, remembering how awfully boring that reception had been, even if Diane had seemed to have fun herself.
"So whipped as well… and for so long! "Max snorted before he could stop himself, his dad's answer only confirming what he had already been thinking. "Anyway, tell mom that I will call her as soon as I've talked to Liz!"
"Okay, son… we'll talk some more later." Phillip replied, as eager as Diane had been to see them all together again.
"Sure, bye, dad!" Max said, ready to hang up at last, when his father stopped him once more.
"Bye… and Max… don't screw things up this time!" he warned, even if Max could hear that there wasn't any real reprimand behind the words.
"I won't, don't worry." he assured, before he finally put the phone back down into its cradle with a small smile.
Man, if this was what he had to go through on the phone, he could only imagine what his father would want to talk about some more later, like he had said. But well, today he was happy for the first time in what seemed like ages and there was probably nothing that could ruin that, so it didn't really mattered.
It didn't even take him that long to tidy up the living room after all, and after having gotten back upstairs to drop their clothes into the linen basket, and checked that Liz was still peacefully asleep, he made his way into the kitchen and started looking for everything he would need.
A little more than half an hour later, he was pretty proud of himself and all he had managed to accomplish, but he wasn't finished yet when he heard the first sign of life in the house.
The sound of the television carried over to the kitchen, soon followed by footfalls coming his way and he couldn't stop his heart from skipping a beat, knowing that soon his little girl would pass that door.
"Daddy?…" Janelle padded into the room not long after what he had predicted, but what she found there was apparently something she had not been expecting, if her face was any indication. She had known he was somewhere there since she had seen his jacket thrown over the living room couch and then heard him move around the kitchen, but that didn't mean that she wasn't stunned by the sight of him standing there in an old tee-shirt and some sweatpants. "What you doing?"
"Well, good morning to you, too, sunshine!" Max greeted her, a smile on his face as he noticed how surprised she was to actually see him there.
"Good morning!" she said back as he lifted her up in his arms the second she joined him and peppered her face with little kisses. "What you doing?" she repeated nonetheless once he stopped, not really used to see her father in the kitchen, at least not so early in the morning, and definitely not lately.
"Making you the breakfast of your life!" Max answered good naturally, as he held her high on his hip, and at the same time reached for the salt.
"Smell good!" she told him as she rested her head on his shoulder while Max continued to work on the eggs he was scrambling. "You staying?" she then couldn't help but add, somewhat fearing his answer. It had been way too long since he had had breakfast with them, so she wouldn't be surprised if he had to leave before he had any opportunity to eat it with them.
"Would you like that?" Max questioned instead of responding directly, and smiled brightly when he saw her nod eagerly in answer. "What does this sound like then? How about having me here every day when you get up and every night to get you to bed? … just like before?" he pursued then, almost sure of what would be her reaction to that. It was only a morning ago that she had voiced her desire to see them be a family again, and he was pleased beyond belief to be able to give her that now.
"Really?" she wondered out loud, biting her lip, like she was afraid to really hope.
"Yes, really, sweetheart!" Max confirmed, feeling something tug at his heart nevertheless as he realized how insecure she still was. Nothing could have wiped the smile off his face though, when what he said registered in her mind and her face literally lit up.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Janelle exclaimed immediately, bouncing in his arms elatedly, this being the best news she had heard in a long time.
"Glad to see you like the idea so much!" Max chuckled as he nearly dropped her in her excitation, and then whispered conspiratorially : "Don't go and tell anyone, but I like it, too!"
"So it worked!" Janelle pondered, remembering that he had told her everything would be alright the night before and had obviously succeeded.
"Didn't I tell you I'd make it work?" Max queried, not the least offended by the slight trace of wonder he still could detect in her voice.
"Yeah!" she conceded immediately, not admitting that at least a small part of her had not been so sure that he would be able to keep that promise, no matter how much she had wanted him to. It was complicated after all, he had said so himself. "Daddy?"
"Uh?" he answered absentmindedly, pouring the eggs in a small dish after having turned off the burner, and covering them so they wouldn't get cold while he took care of the rest.
" 'This' is the bestest day of my life!" she revealed with the largest smile he had seen on her lips in a very long time.
"Bestest than the Disneyland Day?" he wrapped his arms completely around her and teased playfully as he remembered their conversation of the previous morning.
"Yes!" she nodded right away, sure that nothing could top this one. Her daddy was coming back home, her mommy wouldn't be so sad anymore, what could be more wonderful than that?
"Well… you know what?… it's one of mine, too, sweetheart!" Max concurred, hugging her tightly a brief seconds, until he spotted Liz in the entrance, a pair of his boxers and one of his shirts on, watching them with a small trembling smile on her lips.
"Hi" he mouthed softly, seeing as she made no effort to interrupt them. He didn't miss her misty eyes though as she answered just as quietly, and his breath immediately caught in his throat.
"Look who's here!" he whispered to his daughter, pointing to the door, and frowning when all she did was wave at her mother.
"Hey? Don't you have anything else to tell her?" he asked gently, not wanting her to think he was scolding her or anything, but still. He thought she would be more thrilled to see her mother, she usually was.
"I've already see her!" Janelle said for all answer, tightening her grip around his neck, and Max understood that they had obviously had their moment together before she had joined him in the kitchen. Apparently this was daddy time.
"Well… I haven't… Can I go and say hello?" he questioned playfully as he lay her on the kitchen counter top, knowing that he for one, wouldn't be able to content himself with just a wave and a soft hello.
"Yes!" she giggled, thinking that her father was being way too silly today, but he could be silly everyday from now on if he wanted, if that meant that he would stay with them and she would get to see him every morning just like he had said, and she would honestly be more than fine with it.
"Hey, you!" Max breathed out as he reached Liz, kissing her softly before pulling her into his warm embrace.
"Hey, yourself!" she replied, immediately burying her face in his hard chest and relishing in the feeling of being in his arms again. She knew they had only been asleep a few hours, but she had missed him all the same and it felt good to be there, so close to him again. Oh, how she loved this man.
Unconsciously, she tightened her grip on him, holding him so strongly that he was afraid she would suffocate him. He didn't mind however, enjoying the feeling as much as she did, until he heard her sniffle slightly and tried to pull away. Only she hugged him tight and had obviously no intention to let him go just yet.
"Don't cry, baby… no more tears, remember!" he whispered to her and caressed her back soothingly, only slightly relieved when he felt her nod against his chest.
"Feels so good having you here!" she murmured once she was calmed down, her fingers threading through the hair at the nape of his neck and making Max acutely aware of how much he wanted her.
"God, yes!" he concurred right away, nuzzling her neck tenderly and losing himself once more in the feel of her.
It wasn't long before he was nipping at her skin gently and the only thing that stopped him from forgetting about the rest of the world, was Liz's soft voice reaching his ears.
"Max?"
"Uh?" he answered, distracted and concentrating more on licking a trail up her throat than on the fact that there was apparently something important she wanted to tell him.
"Your daughter!" she pointed out to me, sure that he had obviously forgotten about her, or he wouldn't be getting so carried away with her there now.
"What about her?" was all he said, reaching her ear now and taking her earlobe between his lips, the feeling making Liz all but forget about any idea of stopping him. At least momentarily.
"She's here… she's… uh… looking at us!" she stuttered, closing her eyes briefly, her head spinning with the things he did to her.
It took a few more seconds to clear his clouded mind, but when Liz nudged him slightly, he knew he had to control himself and stop before this got out of hands.
"Well love… your alien daughter is a fun spoiler!" he joked after having taken a deep needed breath, but it was still reluctantly that he let go of her at last.
"Must have inherited it from her father!" Liz threw back teasingly but not before having kissed his lips lightly, just enough to let him know that they would get back to this later… if they had any opportunity of course.
"Wait until I get my hands on him then!" Max retorted, still referring to that crazy story Liz had blurted out yesterday when she had been so upset. He still thought it was funny that she could have come up with such a thing, even if he should probably not let her know that, considering how she had reacted then.
As soon as the words were out, he noticed her look and couldn't help but smile all too innocently, following her as she reached for their daughter and then lowered her into a chair.
Liz herself was ready to take a seat at the table as well when Max stopped her, handing her the plate with the eggs, before he deposited the dish with the pancakes down on it as well. She looked at him quizzically then when he made a tsking sound when she tried again, and gasped when he sat just where she had intended to. She didn't understand what he meant to do in fact, until he pulled her to him.
"Come here!" Max just said once he was settled, and before she could even answer or protest, Liz found herself on his lap, one of his arms around her waist, holding her tightly to him.
It was all too new yet, even if considering that they had been married for over six years now it could sound ridiculous, but he needed to feel her close to him, and he couldn't let her get anywhere too far away from him just yet. He needed to touch her, to keep some kind of contact with her, however insignificant that contact could be.
Liz surely didn't mind at all, needing that as much as he did, but obviously someone wasn't sharing her parents' enthusiasm.
"What?" Max chuckled, seeing as Janelle raised an eyebrow at them before frowning and crossing her arms over her chest.
"Why mommy's not sitting on a chair?" he heard his daughter ask instantly when she saw she got their attention, and he almost laughed out loud at her way of voicing her obvious disagreement and jealousy.
"Uh… because your daddy is more cozy!" Liz answered when she saw that Max wasn't going to be of any help here, even if this was actually his fault if they had to answer to her in the first place.
"I want that, too!" Janelle pouted, her bottom lip trembling for good measure, knowing by experience that at least her daddy couldn't resist when she did that. And now was no different apparently.
"Okay… but why don't you let your mother stay a little while first and then you two will trade places, okay?" Max tried to negotiate, not wanting to let go of Liz just yet, but not strong enough to deny his daughter anything when she turned that cute little face up to him.
He would give her an arm if she asked him to and without the slightest hesitation, he loved her that much, but even that couldn't be enough apparently when Liz decided to wiggle on his lap as they started eating. Then he just knew that there would be no way he could let Janelle sit on his lap after that. At least not any time soon.