Chapter 5
February 17, 2005
The bell above the door singles the entry of a customer. Maria stands from the booth not noticing or caring who was at the door. "'Scuse me did you not see the sign on the…" It finally registers who is now standing inside. "What are you doing back here?" Maria hisses.
Dressed in tight black leather pants, a deep 'V' neck purple velvet top, black biker thick low-heeled boots, and her hair pulled into a loose pony-tail was Elizabeth Parker standing there with a young child on her hip looking a lot different than when she left. Her physical appearance didn't change much however she exuded this aura of confidence.
"Why do you think Maria? My parents were just killed where else would I be?" Liz growls back at her once best friend.
Alex rises of his stool and gently pushes Maria aside and brings into his embrace with Lucas squeezed between them. "How are you holding up?" He whispers into her. Lucas doesn't really feel much regarding the death of his grandparents, he never met them.
"Pain comes in waves, when I'm by myself it's harder but if Spike or this little guy are near me it makes it bearable." Liz grants him a half smile and kisses Alex on the cheek. "I got the flowers you sent to the hotel, they were beautiful, don't know how long their going to last though considering none of us are great gardeners, we're not even mediocre gardeners, we just suck." Liz chuckles lightly.
"Don't worry about it, if it will make you feel better every time they wither I'll send more." While he was talking Serena waddled her way towards the trio. Without saying a word she hugs Liz tight whispering words of love and support. She too lost her parents and knows she's going to need all the support she can get.
"Have you decided yet about what you're going to do?" Alex takes Lucas's travel bag, setting it in the booth next to them as Serena questions their friend.
Liz shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know, I mean this was my parents second child, they would want me to take it over and make it my own. On the other hand I have a life in LA a good one, I just don't know yet." She sighs out.
"We'll help you any way we can." Alex places a kiss on her temple; the three adults finally notice the deafening silence of the restaurant.
Max has an expression of pure fury, although for what reason she has no idea. Isn't her that should be furious with him, since his father killed her parents and here he is sitting in her parent's Café? She can honestly say that if he makes the mistake of speaking down to her or lecturing her about her choices she's going to beat his ass down and enjoy every second of it.
Isabel and Michael seem… torn, which doesn't make much sense to Liz considering they were two of the aliens she had the least harmony with. Maria was just glaring at her and Lucas, that automatically put her in the 'might kick your ass' category. She doesn't care if Maria glares at her but Lucas didn't do anything to warrant that look.
Next were Kyle and Tess who both had welcoming yet nervous expressions. They were smiling at her and that made her a little weary. In her experience when someone who you weren't on good terms with grins at you it's best to be on the alert. Great she's beginning to sound like Giles, he's Buffy's Watcher, technically her ex-Watcher, but it depended on whom you asked.
Lucas senses the tension between the group of people and his mother and just wants to hide somewhere. Staring at the group shyly he knows immediately which on is his father. Nervous he buries his face in his mother's neck and breathes in the scent of strawberry, lingering cigarette smoke, and baby wipes. It smells like home, his family, Mom doesn't smoke but Dad does and the baby wipes were part of his own smell because he was messy and Mom uses the wipes to clean his hands.
Kyle stares at the little boy huddling in Liz's arms, he looks exactly like he did when he was child, the resemblance was uncanny. When the child calls Liz 'mommy' he knows he's his son, he looks the right age for when he and Liz were together. But when the boy questions Liz when his daddy would get there he began to wonder.
"Daddy will be here tonight honey. He won't miss singing you your lullaby." Liz assures him.
"It's not a lullaby, it's a song, lullaby's are for baby's." Lucas yawns into his mother's shoulder, tired from the long car ride from LA.
"Come on honey, I'll take you upstairs and you can take a nap ok?" She whispers lifting the travel bag back onto her shoulder.
"I'm not sleepy." Again he yawns his little eyelids fighting to stay up.
"I know you're not sweetie, but how about we go up to mommy's old room and you can just lay there for a little while, not take a nap just relax?"
"K." Lucas murmurs.
Liz begins to walk into the backroom but Maria stands in front of the swinging door. "No, you are not going upstairs, not till we sort this out. You can put your bastard s…" Immediately her sentence is cut off by Liz raising her up by her neck, the child, now asleep in her arms wasn't disturbed in the least.
"You," Liz seethes through clenched teeth, "never speak about my son like that again. If I so much as hear a whisper of you or anybody else saying something negative or derogatory about my son or to my son I'll rip out your vocal cords by way of your fat fucking ass. Understood, Ria?" Her threat never raised above a whisper but it was no less frightening, if anything whispering made it worse.
Alex ran up to the irate Liz. "Lizzie, let her go, she can't breathe." For a moment he thinks Liz won't let Maria go, but slowly the pissed off mother eases the terrified blonde onto the ground and lowers her hand from her now bruised throat.
Without stopping to explain she brushes past a cowering Maria and climbs the stairs. Standing at the door of her parent's apartment, now hers, she prepares herself for the emotional tirade that is going to happen when she enters the old family dwelling.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Calming her nerves, well hiding them was more like it. She hid the emotions behind a mental wall the size of Mount Everest; she unlocks the door and steps inside.
TBC