Chapter 2
Mending Hearts
They were at the Crashdown now. The evening still lingered in the air. Max sat next to Liz in a booth gently squeezing her hand.
Michael was standing by the bar holding Maria as tightly as he could. Isabel and Kyle took a seat in front of Max and Liz and
stared at them for many moments. Liz rested her head on Max's shoulder and reveled in the scent of him. She never thought
she'd ever be this close to him again. She was so close that she could hear his heart beating and feel his shivers of delight as she
ran her fingers over his chest. Max looked down at the girl he held in his hands. She was the most beautiful creature he had
ever seen and she loved him. Max Evans was loved by this perfect being. Max felt complete but something still irked him. Why
did he feel guilt for what he did to Tess? Did he still love her? No, but he still cared for her. How was that possible? Max
noticed the look of discomfort on Isabel's face and pulled away from Liz.
"What is it Izzy?" He asked her in a voice full of compassion. Isabel looked at him with tears in her eyes.
"Well it seems that you and Liz have made up...and Michael and Maria have never been closer. I..." Isabel didn't have to finish.
Max slipped around the booth to her side and pulled her into a tight hug. "I can't believe she could be so cold. I can't believe
that he spent his final moment begging for his life from that heartless beast."
Isabel's sobs were now coming in huffs. She loved Alex with all of her heart and soul. Even though she didn't say it, Max knew
she had always loved him and now regretted not expressing it to him more fully. She was crying now more than she had cried at
the funeral. She had tried to be strong and failed miserably. Now that she had realized the truth, what Alex had been put
through, the torture he endured for Tess' pleasure, she broke down and feared she'd never stop crying. She was finally crying
for him. Alex was gone and she was finally allowing herself to feel it. The loss of her friend. The loss of her love.
Max smoothed Isabel's hair as her sobs subsided and turned into small outbursts. Liz watched her with a caring eye. Max saw
the feeling behind Liz' eyes and smiled to himself. She was so loving, so caring. How could he have ever doubted her? Max
didn't know. His judgment had somehow been clouded. Lately he hadn't been himself. He realized that now. He looked down
at Isabel. She was perfectly silent. Her eyes were closed and pressed against his wet shirt. She was still.
He wrapped his arm around her and held her to him. His sister. He had lately taken that word for granted. He hadn't treated
her like a sister. He hadn't tried as hard to protect and comfort her when Alex died. He had spent all his time with Tess. It
made him physically sick but he held it inside so that he wouldn't disturb Isabel's rest. She felt so tiny, like a child. Isabel had
always been so strong, but now the barriers had been broken down. He was seeing the real Isabel. The one people rarely get
to see. He was seeing the scared, frail Isabel.
Kyle was sitting next to the two of them unsure of what to do. Isabel had taken this hard. Kyle thought back to the real
happenings of the night. It made him visibly ill to think about it. He had helped her. In a way he had killed Alex. He had helped
her carry the body. He had helped her cover it up. He had helped her destroy the lives of all his friends. He had killed his best
friend. He thought back to all those times he and Alex had gotten into sticky situations. Alex always came out smiling. He made
him laugh even when they feared there was no hope. Alex was his friend...his best friend, and he had killed him. He had
murdered Alex. Kyle felt tears form in his eyes. He put his head down on the table and began to sob uncontrollably. Liz was
the first to notice. She reached over the table and stroked his hair. Kyle kept shaking and crying.
"Kyle..." Liz said in a soft, low voice, "it's not your fault." She said that as if she knew exactly what he was thinking and she did.
She knew that Kyle must be blaming himself now but it wasn't his fault. "You didn't do anything," she said sweetly.
"I...helped her. I...helped...her cover it up," he said with racking cries.
"But you didn't kill him," she said stroking his face as he looked up at her. She wiped a tear from his cheek as it glided down his
guilt-ridden face.
"I might as well have," he said pulling his face from her silky palm. "I had just as much to do with everyone's grief as she did."
"She mindwarped you, Kyle. She controlled you," Maria said with a sniff. She was still wrapped in Michael's strong arms. "Liz'
right. It's not your fault. You didn't do anything. You have to believe that," she said with another sniff. Tears started to roll down
her cheeks and Michael took that as his cue. He pulled her head close to his chest and rubbed up and down her back as she
continued to cry over the loss of her friend once more.
Everyone was crying. Liz looked around. She wasn't crying though. She was stunned to silence. She couldn't cry. She had
cried too much over Alex's death already. Crying wouldn't help. Crying wouldn't bring him back. Crying would only bring back
the memories. The memories of Alex. The memories of his death.
Max shifted carefully under his sister. She was asleep. His arm was beginning to fall asleep but he didn't get up. Isabel hadn't
slept since that night. The night that Alex had died. Everything had gotten so complicated after that. Alex had been so modest
and shy. He would never know the impact his death had on everyone. He touched everyone's life in some special way. He was
special. Max almost broke down then and there. He refused to though. He pushed Alex out of his mind as hard as it was. Kyle
wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and looked at the teary group surrounding him. He looked at the shell-shocked Liz.
She hadn't said anything in a while. She just stared down at the table.
She finally got the strength to look up. Her eyes scanned the crew and then went to Max. He looked down at his sister lovingly
not noticing the gaze she held upon him. He kissed her forehead and stroked her hair. He looked up to see Liz' eyes on him. He
smiled at her. It was his first true smile since he had seen her with Kyle. He remembered climbing her balcony and smiling all the
way up. He was so happy. That all changed when he looked in her room. They were together in bed. Max felt his stomach
plummet. He felt dead inside. His eyes went cold with rage. His Liz had left him. His Liz had betrayed him. It was the one thing
he never thought she'd do. It was the one thing she said she'd never do. But it never happened, Max reminded himself.
Why had she lied to him? Why was it so important? Max didn't ask. It didn't seem like the right time. He'd ask her later in
private. Right now he had to focus on what to do next. Liz' voice sounded from across the booth.
"So, what happens now?" she asked unsure of how to break the silence. It was deafening.
"I don't know," came Max's sullen voice. "I just don't know." Liz' eyes went back to the table. Maria pulled away from
Michael's grasp and collected herself.
"Well we have to do something. Tess killed Alex. We can't just let her get away with that," Maria said trying to keep calm.
"I know, Maria," Max's deep eyes kept at Liz' head as she looked down and fiddled with her fingers. "Somehow we'll find a
way. I...I just think we're not seeing the whole picture for some reason." Maria lost it.
"You don't think she killed him?" Maria's voice echoed through the diner. "How much more proof do you need? You have a
witness, not to mention a confession from her own devious lips. Do you still love her? Is that it? She really does have you
wrapped around her finger doesn't she?"
"I didn't say that, Maria. I have no doubt that she killed Alex but I still think something feels off. I don't know how to describe
it. After what she told me...I don't know how I could have had feelings for her..."
"What did she tell you?" Michael asked stepping up and wrapping his arms around Maria's shoulders. Max couldn't look him in
the eyes.
"Max?" Liz whispered, concerned.
"She...she told me that Kivar...that the skins weren't her enemies. She...Nasedo made a deal with them 40 years ago and she
was going to go through with it." Max could barely go on. His voice went to a whisper.
"What was the deal?" Liz asked him as she reached over the tabled to rub his trembling hand. Everyone was now focused on
Max's lips as the words formed.
"It was all planned," he explained. "It was all a plan for her to get pregnant and go home. She was to return with my child and
deliver the three of us to Kivar."
"What would happen to us?" Michael called from the back of the diner. Max didn't reply. That said it all. He didn't need to hear
anymore to know what would happen to them. No doubt they would be killed with Tess responsible for it all. One of their
own. Someone they had trusted.
"I can't believe this!" Michael called. "I can't believe that we could have been killed!"
"You wouldn't have been killed. You chose to stay. Isabel and I would have been killed," Max said in a sad tone.
"Max, don't," Liz said in a voice no louder than a whisper.
"Don't what?"
"Don't blame yourself," she told him. "Tess...she had some kind of force over you. She tricked you. It's not your fault."
"I should have never trusted her. I should have never allowed her into the group. If she wouldn't have gotten so close, none of
this would have happened. Alex would still be alive. We'd still be..." his voice trailed off. "I let my judgment become clouded.
What kind of ruler could I possably be?"
"Max, it's all in the past now. We have to move on. You have to forget," Liz said sweetly.
"I can never forget. Things can never go back to the way they used to be. I betrayed you all."
"Stop it Max," Michael's tightening voice sounded. "We'll get through this together. We'll figure out something. We'll save your
son." Liz once again looked down. Max was right. Things could never go back. Their lives were forever changed just like that
day in the Crashdown.
"Max, what did you do about your parents? Did you tell them?" Liz asked wanting to get rid of the thoughts circling her head.
"Tell them what?"
"Well, you knew you were leaving. What did you tell them?" Max's eyes lit up with a realization that caught him off guard.
"Oh no!" he said sitting up straight. This movement jarred Isabel making her open her eyes and stretch. Max looked down at
Isabel who was now almost fully awake. "Iz, we have to go."
"Go? Go where?" she said in a sleepy voice.
"We left the tape for them." Isabel's eyes were filled with the same light as Max's. "We have to get it before they see it?" Max
stood up abruptly followed by Isabel.
"Max? What are you talking about?" Liz' quiet voice rang in his ears.
"We left a tape for them telling them that we were leaving. If they see it..." Liz nodded her head in understanding. Max made his
way to the door. Michael involved himself once more in Maria's embrace.
"Max!" he called before the siblings reached the door. "What do we do about the jeep?"
"Crap!" Max's head was swimming. "We'll have to fix it later. Right now we have to get home and swipe that tape. Maria, can
we borrow the Jetta?" Maria looked at his weary eyes and tossed him the keys.
"Call me later and tell me how everything went," Michael told him. Max's brown eyes smiled with a warmness they had lately
lacked.
"Sure thing...brother." With that, Max turned and exited the doors of the Crashdown as the chimes echoed behind him.
Max made his way out of the doors of The Crashdown and hopped in the Jetta. Isabel got in on the other side. In a way he
was happy because he got to stay. In a way he was sad. So many things to be sad about he just couldn't pick one.
"Max?" Isabel's soft voice called, "I'm glad that we didn't have to leave them."
"I know, Iz. I didn't want to either. Looks like we have a little more time here."
"Yeah, a little more time," Isabel whispered into the cool breeze whipping at her hair. "A little more time."
Mending Hearts
They were at the Crashdown now. The evening still lingered in the air. Max sat next to Liz in a booth gently squeezing her hand.
Michael was standing by the bar holding Maria as tightly as he could. Isabel and Kyle took a seat in front of Max and Liz and
stared at them for many moments. Liz rested her head on Max's shoulder and reveled in the scent of him. She never thought
she'd ever be this close to him again. She was so close that she could hear his heart beating and feel his shivers of delight as she
ran her fingers over his chest. Max looked down at the girl he held in his hands. She was the most beautiful creature he had
ever seen and she loved him. Max Evans was loved by this perfect being. Max felt complete but something still irked him. Why
did he feel guilt for what he did to Tess? Did he still love her? No, but he still cared for her. How was that possible? Max
noticed the look of discomfort on Isabel's face and pulled away from Liz.
"What is it Izzy?" He asked her in a voice full of compassion. Isabel looked at him with tears in her eyes.
"Well it seems that you and Liz have made up...and Michael and Maria have never been closer. I..." Isabel didn't have to finish.
Max slipped around the booth to her side and pulled her into a tight hug. "I can't believe she could be so cold. I can't believe
that he spent his final moment begging for his life from that heartless beast."
Isabel's sobs were now coming in huffs. She loved Alex with all of her heart and soul. Even though she didn't say it, Max knew
she had always loved him and now regretted not expressing it to him more fully. She was crying now more than she had cried at
the funeral. She had tried to be strong and failed miserably. Now that she had realized the truth, what Alex had been put
through, the torture he endured for Tess' pleasure, she broke down and feared she'd never stop crying. She was finally crying
for him. Alex was gone and she was finally allowing herself to feel it. The loss of her friend. The loss of her love.
Max smoothed Isabel's hair as her sobs subsided and turned into small outbursts. Liz watched her with a caring eye. Max saw
the feeling behind Liz' eyes and smiled to himself. She was so loving, so caring. How could he have ever doubted her? Max
didn't know. His judgment had somehow been clouded. Lately he hadn't been himself. He realized that now. He looked down
at Isabel. She was perfectly silent. Her eyes were closed and pressed against his wet shirt. She was still.
He wrapped his arm around her and held her to him. His sister. He had lately taken that word for granted. He hadn't treated
her like a sister. He hadn't tried as hard to protect and comfort her when Alex died. He had spent all his time with Tess. It
made him physically sick but he held it inside so that he wouldn't disturb Isabel's rest. She felt so tiny, like a child. Isabel had
always been so strong, but now the barriers had been broken down. He was seeing the real Isabel. The one people rarely get
to see. He was seeing the scared, frail Isabel.
Kyle was sitting next to the two of them unsure of what to do. Isabel had taken this hard. Kyle thought back to the real
happenings of the night. It made him visibly ill to think about it. He had helped her. In a way he had killed Alex. He had helped
her carry the body. He had helped her cover it up. He had helped her destroy the lives of all his friends. He had killed his best
friend. He thought back to all those times he and Alex had gotten into sticky situations. Alex always came out smiling. He made
him laugh even when they feared there was no hope. Alex was his friend...his best friend, and he had killed him. He had
murdered Alex. Kyle felt tears form in his eyes. He put his head down on the table and began to sob uncontrollably. Liz was
the first to notice. She reached over the table and stroked his hair. Kyle kept shaking and crying.
"Kyle..." Liz said in a soft, low voice, "it's not your fault." She said that as if she knew exactly what he was thinking and she did.
She knew that Kyle must be blaming himself now but it wasn't his fault. "You didn't do anything," she said sweetly.
"I...helped her. I...helped...her cover it up," he said with racking cries.
"But you didn't kill him," she said stroking his face as he looked up at her. She wiped a tear from his cheek as it glided down his
guilt-ridden face.
"I might as well have," he said pulling his face from her silky palm. "I had just as much to do with everyone's grief as she did."
"She mindwarped you, Kyle. She controlled you," Maria said with a sniff. She was still wrapped in Michael's strong arms. "Liz'
right. It's not your fault. You didn't do anything. You have to believe that," she said with another sniff. Tears started to roll down
her cheeks and Michael took that as his cue. He pulled her head close to his chest and rubbed up and down her back as she
continued to cry over the loss of her friend once more.
Everyone was crying. Liz looked around. She wasn't crying though. She was stunned to silence. She couldn't cry. She had
cried too much over Alex's death already. Crying wouldn't help. Crying wouldn't bring him back. Crying would only bring back
the memories. The memories of Alex. The memories of his death.
Max shifted carefully under his sister. She was asleep. His arm was beginning to fall asleep but he didn't get up. Isabel hadn't
slept since that night. The night that Alex had died. Everything had gotten so complicated after that. Alex had been so modest
and shy. He would never know the impact his death had on everyone. He touched everyone's life in some special way. He was
special. Max almost broke down then and there. He refused to though. He pushed Alex out of his mind as hard as it was. Kyle
wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and looked at the teary group surrounding him. He looked at the shell-shocked Liz.
She hadn't said anything in a while. She just stared down at the table.
She finally got the strength to look up. Her eyes scanned the crew and then went to Max. He looked down at his sister lovingly
not noticing the gaze she held upon him. He kissed her forehead and stroked her hair. He looked up to see Liz' eyes on him. He
smiled at her. It was his first true smile since he had seen her with Kyle. He remembered climbing her balcony and smiling all the
way up. He was so happy. That all changed when he looked in her room. They were together in bed. Max felt his stomach
plummet. He felt dead inside. His eyes went cold with rage. His Liz had left him. His Liz had betrayed him. It was the one thing
he never thought she'd do. It was the one thing she said she'd never do. But it never happened, Max reminded himself.
Why had she lied to him? Why was it so important? Max didn't ask. It didn't seem like the right time. He'd ask her later in
private. Right now he had to focus on what to do next. Liz' voice sounded from across the booth.
"So, what happens now?" she asked unsure of how to break the silence. It was deafening.
"I don't know," came Max's sullen voice. "I just don't know." Liz' eyes went back to the table. Maria pulled away from
Michael's grasp and collected herself.
"Well we have to do something. Tess killed Alex. We can't just let her get away with that," Maria said trying to keep calm.
"I know, Maria," Max's deep eyes kept at Liz' head as she looked down and fiddled with her fingers. "Somehow we'll find a
way. I...I just think we're not seeing the whole picture for some reason." Maria lost it.
"You don't think she killed him?" Maria's voice echoed through the diner. "How much more proof do you need? You have a
witness, not to mention a confession from her own devious lips. Do you still love her? Is that it? She really does have you
wrapped around her finger doesn't she?"
"I didn't say that, Maria. I have no doubt that she killed Alex but I still think something feels off. I don't know how to describe
it. After what she told me...I don't know how I could have had feelings for her..."
"What did she tell you?" Michael asked stepping up and wrapping his arms around Maria's shoulders. Max couldn't look him in
the eyes.
"Max?" Liz whispered, concerned.
"She...she told me that Kivar...that the skins weren't her enemies. She...Nasedo made a deal with them 40 years ago and she
was going to go through with it." Max could barely go on. His voice went to a whisper.
"What was the deal?" Liz asked him as she reached over the tabled to rub his trembling hand. Everyone was now focused on
Max's lips as the words formed.
"It was all planned," he explained. "It was all a plan for her to get pregnant and go home. She was to return with my child and
deliver the three of us to Kivar."
"What would happen to us?" Michael called from the back of the diner. Max didn't reply. That said it all. He didn't need to hear
anymore to know what would happen to them. No doubt they would be killed with Tess responsible for it all. One of their
own. Someone they had trusted.
"I can't believe this!" Michael called. "I can't believe that we could have been killed!"
"You wouldn't have been killed. You chose to stay. Isabel and I would have been killed," Max said in a sad tone.
"Max, don't," Liz said in a voice no louder than a whisper.
"Don't what?"
"Don't blame yourself," she told him. "Tess...she had some kind of force over you. She tricked you. It's not your fault."
"I should have never trusted her. I should have never allowed her into the group. If she wouldn't have gotten so close, none of
this would have happened. Alex would still be alive. We'd still be..." his voice trailed off. "I let my judgment become clouded.
What kind of ruler could I possably be?"
"Max, it's all in the past now. We have to move on. You have to forget," Liz said sweetly.
"I can never forget. Things can never go back to the way they used to be. I betrayed you all."
"Stop it Max," Michael's tightening voice sounded. "We'll get through this together. We'll figure out something. We'll save your
son." Liz once again looked down. Max was right. Things could never go back. Their lives were forever changed just like that
day in the Crashdown.
"Max, what did you do about your parents? Did you tell them?" Liz asked wanting to get rid of the thoughts circling her head.
"Tell them what?"
"Well, you knew you were leaving. What did you tell them?" Max's eyes lit up with a realization that caught him off guard.
"Oh no!" he said sitting up straight. This movement jarred Isabel making her open her eyes and stretch. Max looked down at
Isabel who was now almost fully awake. "Iz, we have to go."
"Go? Go where?" she said in a sleepy voice.
"We left the tape for them." Isabel's eyes were filled with the same light as Max's. "We have to get it before they see it?" Max
stood up abruptly followed by Isabel.
"Max? What are you talking about?" Liz' quiet voice rang in his ears.
"We left a tape for them telling them that we were leaving. If they see it..." Liz nodded her head in understanding. Max made his
way to the door. Michael involved himself once more in Maria's embrace.
"Max!" he called before the siblings reached the door. "What do we do about the jeep?"
"Crap!" Max's head was swimming. "We'll have to fix it later. Right now we have to get home and swipe that tape. Maria, can
we borrow the Jetta?" Maria looked at his weary eyes and tossed him the keys.
"Call me later and tell me how everything went," Michael told him. Max's brown eyes smiled with a warmness they had lately
lacked.
"Sure thing...brother." With that, Max turned and exited the doors of the Crashdown as the chimes echoed behind him.
Max made his way out of the doors of The Crashdown and hopped in the Jetta. Isabel got in on the other side. In a way he
was happy because he got to stay. In a way he was sad. So many things to be sad about he just couldn't pick one.
"Max?" Isabel's soft voice called, "I'm glad that we didn't have to leave them."
"I know, Iz. I didn't want to either. Looks like we have a little more time here."
"Yeah, a little more time," Isabel whispered into the cool breeze whipping at her hair. "A little more time."