Chapter 38 Reaching a common level
Maria was still standing at her spot and stared to the boy in front of the window like she would see a ghost. Damn, how did Billy found her so fast? She hadn´t expected that he would drive all the way to Las Cruces to look for her. She counted on an angry phone call or maybe a heavy argumentation when she came home for a holiday. But never did she think for a moment he would visit her. She thought it was over between them. He said that if she should attent to college, he didn´t want to see her ever again in his life. It was the worst fight they had so far and they both said things that were pretty hurtful to each other. Things they couldn´t take back again. If she was honest, their relationship was already finished before that. They just changed and went in different directions. Billy wanted to tingle through the world with a backpack on his shoulders and his guitar around his neck. Maria wanted to make more of her life. She wanted a career and someday a family, things everybody wished for. But she couldn´t do that with him. He was always trying to change her or make her somebody she wasn´t. Now she took ahold of her life and made her own decisions. She was sorry for the way they parted, but not for doing it. It was the best thing she ever did so far and she didn´t regret it.
" Maria. Are you still there? Hello? Say something?MARIA!!!!".
Maria startled out of her thoughts when she heard the high pitched scream of her best friend. She almost forgot her. " Sorry Liz. I´ll call you back later", she clapped her cellphone closed and put it back in her purse, before she made her way outside.
She was extremely nervous and she had to breath deeply in. Slowly she opened the door and stepped in the cold night. Billy was standing with his arms crossed over his chest in front of her and his posture appeared threatenly. His usually brown eyes were sparkling almost black and his lips were just a thin line.
" Hey Billy. What are you doing here?", alright, that was a silly question, but Maria didn´t know how to act now. Should she be friendly or pissed off or what?
Billy changed his position and let his arms hang at his sides. " I could ask you the same question. What are you doing here?".
" I told you that I wanted to go to college and I did", Maria wouldn´t back down this time. She gave in most of the time when they fought, but not now. Her life didn´t go after his mind anymore. She was old enough to make her own decisions. Period.
Billy stepped closer to her and his glare got meaner. " And you didn´t think you have to tell me that fact? I had to hear it from your father, who had extremly pleasure in telling me that I shouldn´t call anymore".
" I´m sorry about that. But you made absolutely clear what you thought about me going to college and I just wanted to avoid another argument about this topic. Besides we were mad at each other in case you forgot", Maria didn´t let herself effect from his dark vibes, which were shooting from him in waves. But she knew that she had to be careful with him. He wasn´t exactly Mr. Nice Guy and although he had never laid a hand on her, she wasn´t so sure if he would still stick to that any longer.
Billy shook his head. She was doing it again. She was trying to lay all the blame on his shoulders. " Believe me, I didn´t forget our little fight. But I thought we would cool down before we spoke to each other again. However I didn´t even had the chance to talk to you, because you left town without informing me".
Maria started to get really mad at him. Fine, she made a mistake, she knew that. But he didn´t have to rub it in all the time. Oh god, it was her first mistake and he made such a fuss about that. He in contrast made millions of mistakes and she always forgave him every single one. " I said I was sorry about that. What more do you want to hear?".
" That you´re coming home with me and you forget this college crap".
Maria stared at him shocked. Now she finally knew his reason for driving all this way here. He wanted to drag her back to Roswell and make her his little wife again. But this time he would bang his head against a brick wall. She would never do what he wanted from her again. This times were over. " You won´t ever hear that words from me. I´m staying here and if you have a problem with that then that´s your problem not mine".
Billy reacted immediately. He grasped her shoulders forcefully and pretty hurtfull with his hands. " You´re coming with me and that´s final".
Maria struggled against his hold on her. Something in his eyes scared her. He wasn´t himself right now and she feared he would do something stupid. " Let me go".
" No. Not until you agree to come with me", Billy tightened his grip on her. He didn´t care if he hurt her in the process or not. He wanted her at his side and not somewhere else, where he didn´t see what she was doing and with who.
Maria had tears in her eyes from the pain, which were shooting through her shoulders. Billy´s fingernails were digging in her flesh and it hurt. She knew that she was stronger than he was and she could put him down without using her limbs. But she was scared that she would kill him in this moment. Suddenly the tricks her teacher in her self defence class showed her popped into her head. With a swift move she kicked her knee in his crotch and he let her go instantly. After that she put her fist directly at his nose. With satisfaction she heard bones break under her hand.
" You bitch", Billy was kneeling on the ground and held both of his hands in front of his nose. Some of his blood spilled through his fingers and trailed down his mouth.
Maria smiled at him. It wasn´t healthy to piss her off and now he knew that. Maybe he remembered that the next time he tried such a stunt again. " So Billy. I have two options for you. Either you pick option A, you take part of your still existing dignity with you back to Roswell and leave me alone or you pick option B, I will kick the living shit out of you"
Billy glanced up from his position on the hard ground. " You forgot option C".
" There´s no option C", what was he talking about? And why was he smiling like a lunatic? She was under the impression he finally understood her message. But it appeared he didn´t..
Billy stood up and wiped the blood from his face with his sleave. Slowly he advanced towards her. " I think there is. The option where I will kick the living shit out of you until you beg to come home with me".
Maria stepped carefully back from him. He wouldn´t hurt or, would he? She looked into his eyes and noticed for the first time that they were hollow. There wasn´t anything in them, just this void. The only thing she could see in them was her own reflection. That was strange. " You won´t do it. You´re not man enough for that".
Before she could react, Billy´s hand shot forward and hit her right cheek with the force of a bus. Her head twirled to the left side and seconds later she felt her legs giving away under her. Without having the chance to stop it, she crashed face first onto the pavement. Shocked and disappointed she turned her body around and glanced at him. He had done it. He really had hit her? Her cheek was hurting pretty bad and she could already picture how it would look tomorrow. Great, how should she explain that to Kyle?
Suddenly a person stormed out of the restaurant and went straight to Billy. Without warning the person punched his face over and over again with his fist. " YOU BASTARD!".
Maria watched the scene with a mix of relieve and fear. She hadn´t regnorized the person at first, but now she had a pretty good view on him. Her first thought was that it had to be Kyle. But she quickly realized it was Michael, who came to her rescue.
" If I see you ever again how you lay just one finger on Maria, I will take your f head and bang it against a wall until your brain will explode from the force!", to reinforce his point Michael took Billy´s head and pushed it on the sidewalk. Near them the windows from a few cars exploded into million pieces, alarm system went crazy and parking meters shoot coins out.
Maria watched the chaos around her. What was happening here? Did her powers go out of control without her noticing it? But why didn´t she feel anything then? And why felt it so familiar to her? However her thoughts were interrupted when she turned to the fight. Billy didn´t look like he would make it any longer . " Michael, stop it! You´re killing him!".
Michael paused when he heard her voice and everything acting crazy stopped. Startled he looked at the beaten person lying at his feet and then at his blood smeared hands. What had gotten into him to go postal on someone he even didn´t know? Why did the thought of anybody hurting Maria anger him so much that he would kill someone? He didn´t know what happened with him, but it scared him that he couldn´t even remember doing anything after he saw this guy slapping her. The worst part of this was his powers, which he hadn´t under control for a few seconds. He was always so careful to keep them hidden and now he blew his cover. Slowly he turned around to Maria and looked into her eyes. He was afraid what he would see in them. Disgust, horror or even fear. But all he could detect was a little shock and surprise. Suddenly movement from the corner of his eyes drew his attention back to the hurt guy, which finally made it back on his feet, although it appeared that his legs weren´t able to carry his weight. His face looked like a painting from picasso, at least at the time when he was on drugs.
" You just signed your sentence of death. I swear that you will regret ever laying a hand on me".
Michael made a threatening step forward and lifted his fist again. " Give me one reason and I will kill you!".
Billy started to smile, which looked a little scary, because his white teeth were a stark contrast to his bloody face. " You couldn´t do it the first time and you can´t do it now".
Michael´s expression changed from angry to confused. What was this nutcase talking about? What first time? Did they meet already and he couldn´t remember it? But he wouldn´t forget such an ugly face ever. " Have we met before?".
" Yeah. Someday you will remember it. And believe me, I hope I will be there to witness it", with that Billy disappeared into the darkness.
Immediately after that Michael turned to Maria and went to her shaking form. Without thinking he embraced her tightly and pressed her at his body. She was ice cold and probably freezing. Slowly he rubbed her arms to warm her a bit. But he was sure that the weather was just partly the reason for her condition. Carefully he stepped a little back and saw into her face. " Are you alright?".
Maria´s eyes were slowly filling with tears and her lower lip started to tremble slightly. " Yes. I´m just a little upset".
Michael winced when he saw the purple area on her cheek, where she was hit. It looked really painful and it would probably hurt more tomorrow. How could a man hit a woman like that? He had done a lot of stupid things in his life, but one thing he learned from his grandfather. Never hit a woman. And he would stick to that until he died. " I´ll bring you home".
" No. You don´t have to do that", Maria didn´t want to be treated like a damsel in distress. It wasn´t like she hadn´t provoked the slap. It was her fault that she received a bruise. After all she started the fight.
Michael smiled at her. Why wasn´t he surprised that she would be stubborn about that? " I´ll go back to the other two and tell them that you´re not feeling well and after that I will drive you to your room and I don´t accept a no".
Maria tried to make her risible muscles work, but every little movement from her cheek hurt like hell. Instead she made an attempt to get the message with her eyes across to Michael. " Thank you".
" You stay here. I´ll be back in a minute", Michael squeezed her hand and then made his way inside the restaurant. Thankfully the crowd cleared a little and he was at the table within seconds. The food was already standing on it. Tess and Kyle were in a deep conversation while they ate their burgers. The instant Michael appeared at the table, they both looked up.
" Oh my god! What happened?", Tess saw the blood on his hands and stood up immediately to check her brother for any kind of injury.
Michael took the wandering hands of his sister and pushed them away. " I´m fine. Just a little incident. I´m just here to tell you that I´ll bring Maria back to the dorms. She´s not feeling too well right now".
At this Kyle jumped to his feets. " What´s going on? Did you hurt her? Where is she?".
If the situation wouldn´t be so serious Michael would have laughed. He knew this reaction too good. " Nothing. I didn´t hurt her and she´s outside".
Tess wasn´t so convinced about that. There had to be something gone wrong or her brother wouldn´t be so concerned. She hadn´t seen him like that ever. For the first time she noticed that he finally found a girl he cared for like he did for her.
" I should go to her. She probably needs me right now", Kyle was in the process to walk away. He wanted to see for himself that she was well and not lying somewhere hurt.
Michael grasped his arm and stopped him. " She wants you to finish your date. Don´t worry, I will take care of her".
Kyle looked in the eyes of his roommate. A few days ago, he wouldn´t have trusted him to take care of his sister. But now after he got to know him better, there wasn´t anyone, besides Alex he would trust more with Maria. Besides there was something in Michael´s eyes that told him that his sister was in good hands. " Alright. But if something happens, call me".
" Sure thing", Michael took his jacket, which hung over his chair, threw a few dollars on the table for their uneaten food, gave his sister a kiss on her cheek and handshaked Kyle. " Have fun. But not too much".
After that he quickly made his way out again. Thankfully Maria was still there when he stepped into the cold. She was hugging her body and shivering. At first she didn´t see him, because she was too busy observing the scenery. Michael didn´t think twice before he took his jacket and laid it over his shoulders.
Startled Maria twirled around. She hadn´t noticed that he was standing behind her. She had been deep in thoughts about the fight with Billy. She couldn´t get her head around the fact that he raised his hand against her. She knew he was the worst boyfriend, but that was low even for him.
" Are you ready to go?", Michael was a pretty worried about her. She was quiet and that wasn´t a good sign. She was always so full of live with a touch of sarcasm when they met each other in class. But this girl in front of him lacked this things. She was pale and her eyes lost the twinkle he adored so much.
Maria pulled the jacket tighter around her and instantly she smelled the scent which she always linked with Michael. It was a touch of musk and cool water from davidoff. " Yeah".
Michael laid his hand tenderly on her back and walked her to his car. He was very careful and watched every step if she would make it to their destination. Her legs didn´t appear to be stable at the moment and he didn´t want her to crash to the ground. When they finally sat in the car and where on their way back to college, Maria let her tears fall. She was crying silently and it broke Michael´s heart to see her that way. He was so used that she was strong and loud and didn´t back down from him. But now he finally saw the person she was underneath her mask she was hiding behind. He wanted so much to say something fitting. However he didn´t know what was appropiate in this moment. He was always so clumsy in such things. He hated crying girls, because he felt helpless to do anything to cheer them up. Sometimes he wished he were more sensitive or just a normal guy.
" I´m sorry".
Michael was startled for a moment when he heard Maria´s voice. It wasn´t that she spoke really loud, because it was just a whisper. It was the fact that she opened her mouth at all. Confused he faced her. " For what?".
Maria wiped the tears from her face. Now that she could think clearer, she felt ashamed for crying like a baby. She wasn´t someone who showed her feelings so openly in front of others, but maybe it was the smell of Michael´s jacket or just his presence that let her guard down for a few minutes. Now she had her emotions under control again and put her walls back up. " For behaving like a child and for getting you involved into my problems".
" You don´t have to be sorry for anything, because you didn´t involve me into anything I didn´t want. I interfered of my own free will. And you didn´t behave like a child. It´s not childish to let your feelings out. To be honest I expected that you would cry a little sooner", Michael didn´t know why she was so strange about something so usual like expressing their emotions. He saw his sister cry over silly things like a movie or even a dead animal more often. Maria on the contrary had a really good reason for her tears. But when he thought about, he didn´t even know the reason for the fight. " I know, it really isn´t my business and you can decide to tell me something or not, but I just want to know if something like that happened before?".
Maria turned her face to the right and watched out of the window to the buildings they passed. There were still people on the way. Couples, friends and even families. Slowly she sighed. " No. Billy had never raised a hand against me. Well until tonight", she made a little pause. She thought about all the time they fought and the times they were so in love that it was already scary. " I know he wasn´t the perfect boyfriend and you can ask Liz or Kyle or even Alex and they would tell you all the same. But I was young and naive when I met him. Until I knew him I was an all american girl. Cheerleader, the perfect daughter, good in school and popular. Then one day I met Billy at a party in the gymnasium. He was the exact opposite from me. He was rude, loud and he didn´t care what others thought of him. He was a musician and what was more important three years older than me. I was pretty impressed and tried the whole evening to observe him. Unfortunately I lost him in the crowd after a while. A little sad I went outside for fresh air. And there he stood. Against the wall with a smoke in his hand and a charming smile on his face".
Michael took his gaze from the front for a minute and watched her. Until now the story didn´t sound so unusual. It was a normal high school romance. Billy sounded exactly like himself in high school. He was the bad boy from his school. Every girl wanted to date him, because he seemed to be untouchable. " And what happened?".
" Billy asked if I wanted a cigarette. But I told him that I didn´t smoke. One thing lead to another and we started dating. I began to change. I skipped school, I went to parties on weekdays, I lied to my parents and more than once my father had to get me from the police station. When I think back about that now, I can´t understand why I did most of these things. Maybe it was because I was young and stupid or my way of rebelling against my parents, I don´t know. But someday I woke up and I didn´t like the person I was becoming anymore. That was the point in my life, where I started to get a grip on my life again and began to become the girl I was before. Billy was completely against my wishes and we fought more often. Then I got the acceptance letter from the university of Las Cruces. I was so happy that I could go to college and make something out of myself. Unfortunately Billy had a different oppinion about that and he threatened that if I would attent there, it would be over between us. But this time I didn´t care about him and now I´m here", Maria didn´t actually know why she told Michael everything. He probably didn´t want to know that much about her. But it felt good to tell it someone who didn´t know her or her relationship with Billy so much.
Michael had listened very intently to all the things she told him. He couldn´t understand that such guys were still excisting. Maria was such a special girl and he couldn´t get his head around the fact, that someone could treat her so bad. He was really glad to gave Billy a new look and he wasn´t sorry for beating the shit out of him. " You made the right decision. You should be relieved to be away from him. Because if he would have loved you, he would have respected your wishes. We all make crazy things when we´re in love. But there are boundaries and they shouldn´t be crossed".
Maria spun her head around surprised. She was stunned that he thought like that. She was under the impression he was the same kind of men. But she was glad, that she was wrong about that, because if she wanted or not, she liked him. " Yeah. But I have to admit I´m not faultless myself. I should have told Billy that I would go to college and not just disappear without a word. I should have given him the option to part on friendly terms".
" As far as I could understand what you told me, he took this decision out of your hands when he told you that it was over if you go to college. Your not at fault here. If someone should be blamed then it´s Billy and not you", Michael didn´t know where the words were coming from. He didn´t even know that he was capable of that. He never had a true conversation with a girl he had the hots for. Usually he charmed them until they went home with him and the next day he told them some excuses. After that he never saw them again. But with Maria it was different. He wanted to know her better, wanted to know everything about her. " And show me one person without faults. They don´t exist. Even I have my faults".
Maria acted shocked and looked at him with wide eyes. One hand flew to her breast. " No really? I wouldn´t have expected that".
" You´re really funny. You should get your own television show with that humour", inwardly Michael was pretty relieved that Maria was slowly coming out of her sadness. He liked her more when she was happy or in her case sarcastic. It wasn´t even half an hour, but he had missed her spirit.
Maria protruded her tongue and made a face at him. She was feeling a little better now and she had to thank Michael for that. She was pretty surprised what a great listener and observer he could be. Her first impression of him seemed not to be the right one. Maybe she should rethink her opinion about him. " You know what? That sounds great. I should send a video to every huge television station in america. Of course you have to be in it, too, because I´m only funny when you´re near me".
" Gee thanks. I don´t know if I should be offended or honoured right now", although Michael acted hurt, he had to chuckle at the thought of a video with them in it. They would get nothing right, that was for sure. They couldn´t be together in one classroom full of people without bickering and then they should stay in a small room with just the two of them?
Maria couldn´t contain her laughter any longer. He was so cute when he got mad. Even if it was just a show. She was tempted to pinch his cheeks, but she could control herself just in time. He shouldn´t think she found him cute or something. " I would go with honoured in your case. It´s not everyday that you get a compliment for your personality".
Thankfully Michael was saved to shoot something back, because they finally arrived at the campus. Immediately he got out of the car and waited for his date to hop out. After that they walked to the girls dorms. The whole way there, they didn´t utter a word. It was like they realised that it was nearing the end of their evening and neither of the two knew what they should do then. Michael was not sure if he should kiss her or not. On the one hand, he really wanted to do it. But on the other, he didn´t want to scare her away. Maria meanwhile had almost the same thoughts floating around in her head. Would he try to kiss her and she would let him or would he try to kiss her and she would stop him? However their thoughts were interrupted, because they came to Marias room.
" It was a nice evening", Maria was standing with her back to the door and looked up at Michael. She didn´t know how to act or how she should act in a situation like that. It wasn´t everyday that a boy played hero and defended a girl he barely knew. " And I want to thank you for what you did tonight".
Michael let his gaze wander to the floor and he shuffled nervously with his feet. He hadn´t done anything unusual. Every other man in his position would have done the same thing. " You don´t have to thank me for anything. It was nothing. I couldn´t even prevent that you got hurt", to prove his point he stretched his arm out and stroked tenderly the hurt spot on her cheek. It was slightly swollen and red. He wished he could do something to ease her pain.
Maria closed her eyes and enjoyed the light caress on her skin. She sensed something she never felt before in her life. It was like this was the man she was supposed to be together, like they were meant to be, like something in her regnorized something in him. A wonderful warmth was growing inside her and spread through her body. Suddenly she noticed that Michael was pulling her face closer. She could smell his scent and feel his breath on her face. Strangly she wasn´t nervous or scared. For a few seconds she waited until she could feel his soft lips against hers. At first it was a light brush, which turned into something passionate within seconds. Michael used now his other hand to pull her body tightly against his and keep her there. Both were so lost in this sensation that they forgot everything around them. But then something really strange happened. Maria could see a picture from two little children, which were crying over something. After that followed a picture from the same kids in black clothes at a grave. An older man was standing besides them and one of his hands was on the girls shoulder. Suddenly the picture changed again and now she finally regnorized the children. It weren´t just pictures but memories from Michael. Shocked she wanted to pull back, because she felt like she would steal something from him. However something caught her eye. It was a memory in which he let something explode just with a flick of his hand. Meanwhile Michael experienced the same. He saw a boy climbing on a tree and a girl screaming at him that he shouldn´t do it. Curious Michael observed the scene. Then he watched how the boy flew in the direction of the ground. Before he could react, the boy stopped in midair. Startled he eyed the girl with her outstretched hands and finally realised who she was. It was Maria.
Simultanously Michael and Maria pulled back from each other and stared stunned at the other. After that they both said the same at the same time. " You´re like me".
TBC