Epilogue
Tess stuffed more of her clothes into the bag on the bed. She was leaving. She didn't belong here. She had never belonged here.
When Max and Liz had finally showed up three hours ago, she had learned too much to feel comfortable in Roswell ever again. Naesado had played her - used her - for his own personal gain the whole time he had raised her. He had made her interject herself into a closely knit group of friends, made her spread lies - lies she herself had been naive enough to believe - and had clearly not told any of them half of what he knew.
Alex was already decoding the Destiny Book but she'd seen enough in the first two paragraphs to understand why Naesado didn't want anyone but him decoding it. Evidently, he had planned on altering the text before showing it to them.
The pictures they had seen hadn't meant what they had thought either. The book did indeed say her and Max were bethroned. It said the same about Michael and Isabel. It referred to them by their real names - Zan, Ava, Rath and Vilondra - but it confirmed what they already knew.
They had been killed, cloned and sent to Earth with a powerful artifact - the Granolith. It said they would receive flashes of their past during certain times of the year and of things that could have been. That explained why Michael and Isabel had thought she had been pregnant the spring before; maybe she had been pregnant at the time of their deaths or could have been if things had been different. There were still too many questions.
It also told them a lot they didn't know. The book made it clear they now had their own lives and were not to repeat the past. It didn't forbid them from hooking up with their former mates but only if they were truly in love.
They were free here.
They would know the translation progressed. She didn't want to know any more. She knew all she needed to. Max had never loved her and there was nothing keeping him from being with Liz. She had seen it in the way he looked at her when they had walked through the door: He was never again leaving her.
They still didn't know she had been mind-warping Alex to find the exact thing that had been under their noses the entire time. She wasn't going to tell them either.
So far, there had been no ill effects from it. No need to give them more reason to hate her.
Maria had already added enough fuel to that fire for the day with her tale of how Liz had surrendered everything to alter history. They hadn't told Liz about Maria's slip but she had seen the way Michael and Isabel had looked at Liz when she had returned. Their admiration of her shone in their eyes.
They hadn't been able to meet Tess's eyes. They blamed her for the entire situation - even if it wasn't her fault.
"Tess?", came a voice from behind her.
"Hi, Kyle.", she said quietly without turning around.
"Where are you going?", he asked, taking a seat on the bed.
"Anywhere but here.", she said, not meeting his eyes.
Kyle nodded. "I see."
Tess brought more stuff from the closet and stuffed it in her bag. "I can't stay, Kyle. I've caused enough trouble. After all my talk about being able to tap into my alien side, about being more intelligent because of that, I was deceived by a simple lie. I never once thought it could all be a lie, never once questioned what I was being told."
"That only proves your human like the b-"
"I don't want to be human!", Tess screamed, exasperated. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I've been told all my life how weak humans are, how stupid they are. I don't want to be weak like that, Kyle. I can't stand it!"
Kyle took her by the arm and, gently, made her sit down beside him. He turned to look her in the eyes. "Listen to me for a second. I want - I need - you to stay. I'm tired of it just being dad and me all the time. It's nice having you around and I would like that to continue."
"But they-"
"They will get over it.", he told her. "Trust me. I made their life difficult for a year. Things are good now though. If it hurts to be around them for a while, then stay locked in the house for a few weeks. Or you can just tag along with me. I'd like that."
She nodded. "I'd like that too."
"Hey,", he asked. "You wouldn't know anything about job hunting, would you?"
I left a lot of things unanswered on purpose. Is Alex going be all right? What else did the book say? Is Max ever going to learn about Future Max? Are Max and Liz going to live happily ever after?
These are questions you'll have to wait to have answered. I'm immediately starting on Book 2 of the Roswell Chronicles but I don't know when you'll start seeing it. This story was easy to write. There were major questions - and still is - to be answered and knew how it would unfold in my head.
The next one will take a little more plotting will have a lot more of the other characters in it. Max & Liz took top priority. I should be ready to post again by Sunday or Monday. Stay tuned.
Tess stuffed more of her clothes into the bag on the bed. She was leaving. She didn't belong here. She had never belonged here.
When Max and Liz had finally showed up three hours ago, she had learned too much to feel comfortable in Roswell ever again. Naesado had played her - used her - for his own personal gain the whole time he had raised her. He had made her interject herself into a closely knit group of friends, made her spread lies - lies she herself had been naive enough to believe - and had clearly not told any of them half of what he knew.
Alex was already decoding the Destiny Book but she'd seen enough in the first two paragraphs to understand why Naesado didn't want anyone but him decoding it. Evidently, he had planned on altering the text before showing it to them.
The pictures they had seen hadn't meant what they had thought either. The book did indeed say her and Max were bethroned. It said the same about Michael and Isabel. It referred to them by their real names - Zan, Ava, Rath and Vilondra - but it confirmed what they already knew.
They had been killed, cloned and sent to Earth with a powerful artifact - the Granolith. It said they would receive flashes of their past during certain times of the year and of things that could have been. That explained why Michael and Isabel had thought she had been pregnant the spring before; maybe she had been pregnant at the time of their deaths or could have been if things had been different. There were still too many questions.
It also told them a lot they didn't know. The book made it clear they now had their own lives and were not to repeat the past. It didn't forbid them from hooking up with their former mates but only if they were truly in love.
They were free here.
They would know the translation progressed. She didn't want to know any more. She knew all she needed to. Max had never loved her and there was nothing keeping him from being with Liz. She had seen it in the way he looked at her when they had walked through the door: He was never again leaving her.
They still didn't know she had been mind-warping Alex to find the exact thing that had been under their noses the entire time. She wasn't going to tell them either.
So far, there had been no ill effects from it. No need to give them more reason to hate her.
Maria had already added enough fuel to that fire for the day with her tale of how Liz had surrendered everything to alter history. They hadn't told Liz about Maria's slip but she had seen the way Michael and Isabel had looked at Liz when she had returned. Their admiration of her shone in their eyes.
They hadn't been able to meet Tess's eyes. They blamed her for the entire situation - even if it wasn't her fault.
"Tess?", came a voice from behind her.
"Hi, Kyle.", she said quietly without turning around.
"Where are you going?", he asked, taking a seat on the bed.
"Anywhere but here.", she said, not meeting his eyes.
Kyle nodded. "I see."
Tess brought more stuff from the closet and stuffed it in her bag. "I can't stay, Kyle. I've caused enough trouble. After all my talk about being able to tap into my alien side, about being more intelligent because of that, I was deceived by a simple lie. I never once thought it could all be a lie, never once questioned what I was being told."
"That only proves your human like the b-"
"I don't want to be human!", Tess screamed, exasperated. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I've been told all my life how weak humans are, how stupid they are. I don't want to be weak like that, Kyle. I can't stand it!"
Kyle took her by the arm and, gently, made her sit down beside him. He turned to look her in the eyes. "Listen to me for a second. I want - I need - you to stay. I'm tired of it just being dad and me all the time. It's nice having you around and I would like that to continue."
"But they-"
"They will get over it.", he told her. "Trust me. I made their life difficult for a year. Things are good now though. If it hurts to be around them for a while, then stay locked in the house for a few weeks. Or you can just tag along with me. I'd like that."
She nodded. "I'd like that too."
"Hey,", he asked. "You wouldn't know anything about job hunting, would you?"
I left a lot of things unanswered on purpose. Is Alex going be all right? What else did the book say? Is Max ever going to learn about Future Max? Are Max and Liz going to live happily ever after?
These are questions you'll have to wait to have answered. I'm immediately starting on Book 2 of the Roswell Chronicles but I don't know when you'll start seeing it. This story was easy to write. There were major questions - and still is - to be answered and knew how it would unfold in my head.
The next one will take a little more plotting will have a lot more of the other characters in it. Max & Liz took top priority. I should be ready to post again by Sunday or Monday. Stay tuned.