Chapter 2
Liz pulled into the parking lot, braking suddenly. She got out of the
car and rushed into the Crashdown.
"Hey Liz wh-"
"Mom, we gotta talk." Liz said, stomping upstairs. She resisted the
idea of slamming her door at this time, but decided she'd do it later.
A few minutes later Nancy Parker walked into Liz's room. "What's
wrong? You've got Maria all worried."
"I'm adopted, aren't I?" Liz asked quickly before she lost her nerve.
"How did you find out? Did someone say something to you?" Nancy asked,
worried. She didn't want anyone taking Liz away from her.
"Let's just say I had a nice conversation with my real parents. Why
didn't you tell me I was adopted? Were you ever going to tell me? I
had the right to know." Liz ranted.
"All I was told was to give you that box the day after your birthday.
I don't know what was in it because I never looked." Nancy explained
calmly.
Liz sat down. "But..........How could you and dad lie to me everyday
about this. Pretending I was your daughter, and everything, why?"
Nancy sat down at Liz's desk. "We didn't lie, you just never asked.
Your father and I found out a few years ago that we couldn't have
children, so when we found you, we adopted you." She answered. She's
expected this eventually and she'd been prepared for it.
"F........Found me?" She asked. "Where.......Where did you find me?"
"Jeff and I were on our way home from a business seminar and you were
just walking in the road. From the looks of it, you were coming from
the desert." Nancy answered.
Liz's eyes widened. "The desert?" She choked out.
Nancy noticed Liz's odd expression. "Is everything ok?" She asked.
Liz looked at her, she nodded softly. "Yeah....I just.....Uh...Did you
ever find out who left me out there?" She asked, although she already
knew the answer.
"No. I just found you there. A few days after the adoption was
complete, I found a box in the attic with a note written in Jeff's
handwriting. It said not to open it and to give it to you the day
after you turned 17, which I did." Nancy answered, wondering why Liz
was freaked out about it.
Liz saw her mother's eyes. "I.......uh.......am just amazed that
anyone would leave their child in the middle of the dessert."
"Yes. I suppose it was a little odd, but that's where we found you.
I'll leave you to think about all this." Nancy said, taking her exit.
Liz sighed and put her head in her hands. She couldn't take this,
tears came to her eyes.
Maria walked up the steps to Liz's room, she saw her crying. "Liz?"
She said. She sat down next to her.
Liz looked up when Maria walked into the room, not unable to hide her
tears. "Oh, hey." She said as Maria sat next to her. "What are you
doing up here?"
"I was worried about you. What's wrong, chica?" She asked, putting a
comforting arm around Liz's shoulders.
Liz thought about it for a second. If she couldn't tell Maria, who
could she tell. "I'm adopted and by all appearances I'm an alien as
well." Liz answered her.
Maria's eyes widened. "What?" She whispered in shock. She stood up
and shut Liz's door, making sure no one else could hear.
"I know. Mom gave me this box and told me to go to the desert, where
no one would bother me. I went through it and I find this nice little
green stone, like the blue ones that 'they' have. So, doing the same
thing that they did, it floated. It actually floated. Then these people
surrounded by this blue light are sort of projected and they tell me
I'm from Antar and a whole bunch of other crap." Liz paused, looking
up to see how Maria was taking this.
"Whoa." Maria said, taking a moment to take this all in. "That's..
Whoa." She looked at her. "Are you ok with all of this?" She asked.
"Does it look like I'm ok? And that isn't even the worst part of it."
"What do you mean?" She asked, sitting down next to her. "What, you
weren't like a skin-bad guy type of thing, where you?"
"No. Worse." She paused, this time not letting Maria say anything. "I
have a sister, named Ava. Isn't it just great?" She said, the last
sentence laced with sarcasm.
"Ava?!" She said. "Tess?! Holy shit, if that's not a Jerry Springer
episode waiting to happen."
"I know. And apparently I was killed on Antar and according to my
parents, James and Miranda, the only person with the answers is Tess."
Liz said, her head falling into her hands again.
"Dang." She breathed out. "Wait.......So, she knew you're an alien
and that you're her sister and she didn't tell you? That little skank
ass bitch!"
"Unfortunately from the way they were speaking, she doesn't know.
Something about shared memories and gaps." Liz said, vaguely. Of
course, to her it was vague.
"Oh." Maria said, retreating any thoughts she had of beating any
information out of Tess. "Are you going to talk to her?" She asked.
"I have to. Then there's the whole part of me hating her and that
doesn't make it any easier. She'll probably think of it as some way to
get Max back. And did I mention that I saw them in the desert? They
interrupted me and I dropped the stone." Liz replied. She was so not
looking forward to the conversation that her and Tess would have to
have.
"Oh honey don't worry, we all hate her." She tried to make a joke.
"Think of it this way, the sooner you talk to that man stealing wench,
the sooner you get some answers."
Liz couldn't help but smile. "But what if they find out something
terrible and then they hate me because of it?" Liz asked, concern
fading her smile.
"Wouldn't it be better to know?" Maria said.
"Yeah I guess. Will you go with me when I talk to them?" Liz asked
hopefully. She needed some kind of support.
"Absolutely." Maria said. "If you need me, I am so there for ya
babe."
"Good. Now if I can just convince myself to tell them, we'll be fine."
Liz considered the little thought that popped into her head. "You're
ok with all this, aren't you? I mean, me being an alien is a big deal."
Liz asked uncertainly.
"Well, it is a big deal, but I'm ok with it. Hello, my boyfriend...
I mean ex boyfriend.....is an alien....I think I can handle my best
friend being one too."
Liz sighed, glad that Maria felt that way. She just couldn't deal with
losing her best friend over something that neither of them had any
control over. "Good. What do you think Alex'll think about this?"
"Probably the same. Remember, his ex is an alien too." She smiled
softly.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean he won't react differently." Liz said,
knowing full well that he'd take them news as well as Maria did.
"He didn't freak out when he first found out about the others, like I
did, right?" She smiled.
Liz smiled as well. "Right. I guess he should be there too. Of course,
there's always how they're going to react. It's going to be a very
weird experience." Liz commented, standing up.
"And what, our lives are just normal as can be already?" Maria
laughed.
"Let's go downstairs. I have to figure out how I'm gonna tell them."
Liz said, walking to the door, but waiting for Maria.
Maria followed. "Hey, how about 'hey guys, guess what, we've all got
something in common.'" Maria giggled.
Liz smiled. That would be a nice way to put it, the basics in one
sentence. "Yeah, like that wouldn't cause them to feel weird about the
conversation." She commented, walking into the Crashdown.
Of course it was just her luck that Max, Isabel, Michael and Tess
were sitting in their regular booth and the new girl, Jessica, was
serving them.
Maria looked at Liz. "You gonna go talk to them now?"
Liz looked over at Maria. "I don't know. Should I?" She asked, turning
back to their booth.
Max looked up and saw Liz. He wanted to go up and ask her about the
dessert, and make sure she didn't try to walk away, but he just sat
there.
"If you think it's the right time, yea." Maria said.
Isabel followed her brothers gaze and saw that he was looking at Liz.
"Think we should go talk to her?" She asked.
Tess nodded. "Yeah. She was acting weird earlier."
Max looked at them. "I guess." He said standing up.
Maria looked at Liz. "Well, ready or not here they come."
Liz pulled into the parking lot, braking suddenly. She got out of the
car and rushed into the Crashdown.
"Hey Liz wh-"
"Mom, we gotta talk." Liz said, stomping upstairs. She resisted the
idea of slamming her door at this time, but decided she'd do it later.
A few minutes later Nancy Parker walked into Liz's room. "What's
wrong? You've got Maria all worried."
"I'm adopted, aren't I?" Liz asked quickly before she lost her nerve.
"How did you find out? Did someone say something to you?" Nancy asked,
worried. She didn't want anyone taking Liz away from her.
"Let's just say I had a nice conversation with my real parents. Why
didn't you tell me I was adopted? Were you ever going to tell me? I
had the right to know." Liz ranted.
"All I was told was to give you that box the day after your birthday.
I don't know what was in it because I never looked." Nancy explained
calmly.
Liz sat down. "But..........How could you and dad lie to me everyday
about this. Pretending I was your daughter, and everything, why?"
Nancy sat down at Liz's desk. "We didn't lie, you just never asked.
Your father and I found out a few years ago that we couldn't have
children, so when we found you, we adopted you." She answered. She's
expected this eventually and she'd been prepared for it.
"F........Found me?" She asked. "Where.......Where did you find me?"
"Jeff and I were on our way home from a business seminar and you were
just walking in the road. From the looks of it, you were coming from
the desert." Nancy answered.
Liz's eyes widened. "The desert?" She choked out.
Nancy noticed Liz's odd expression. "Is everything ok?" She asked.
Liz looked at her, she nodded softly. "Yeah....I just.....Uh...Did you
ever find out who left me out there?" She asked, although she already
knew the answer.
"No. I just found you there. A few days after the adoption was
complete, I found a box in the attic with a note written in Jeff's
handwriting. It said not to open it and to give it to you the day
after you turned 17, which I did." Nancy answered, wondering why Liz
was freaked out about it.
Liz saw her mother's eyes. "I.......uh.......am just amazed that
anyone would leave their child in the middle of the dessert."
"Yes. I suppose it was a little odd, but that's where we found you.
I'll leave you to think about all this." Nancy said, taking her exit.
Liz sighed and put her head in her hands. She couldn't take this,
tears came to her eyes.
Maria walked up the steps to Liz's room, she saw her crying. "Liz?"
She said. She sat down next to her.
Liz looked up when Maria walked into the room, not unable to hide her
tears. "Oh, hey." She said as Maria sat next to her. "What are you
doing up here?"
"I was worried about you. What's wrong, chica?" She asked, putting a
comforting arm around Liz's shoulders.
Liz thought about it for a second. If she couldn't tell Maria, who
could she tell. "I'm adopted and by all appearances I'm an alien as
well." Liz answered her.
Maria's eyes widened. "What?" She whispered in shock. She stood up
and shut Liz's door, making sure no one else could hear.
"I know. Mom gave me this box and told me to go to the desert, where
no one would bother me. I went through it and I find this nice little
green stone, like the blue ones that 'they' have. So, doing the same
thing that they did, it floated. It actually floated. Then these people
surrounded by this blue light are sort of projected and they tell me
I'm from Antar and a whole bunch of other crap." Liz paused, looking
up to see how Maria was taking this.
"Whoa." Maria said, taking a moment to take this all in. "That's..
Whoa." She looked at her. "Are you ok with all of this?" She asked.
"Does it look like I'm ok? And that isn't even the worst part of it."
"What do you mean?" She asked, sitting down next to her. "What, you
weren't like a skin-bad guy type of thing, where you?"
"No. Worse." She paused, this time not letting Maria say anything. "I
have a sister, named Ava. Isn't it just great?" She said, the last
sentence laced with sarcasm.
"Ava?!" She said. "Tess?! Holy shit, if that's not a Jerry Springer
episode waiting to happen."
"I know. And apparently I was killed on Antar and according to my
parents, James and Miranda, the only person with the answers is Tess."
Liz said, her head falling into her hands again.
"Dang." She breathed out. "Wait.......So, she knew you're an alien
and that you're her sister and she didn't tell you? That little skank
ass bitch!"
"Unfortunately from the way they were speaking, she doesn't know.
Something about shared memories and gaps." Liz said, vaguely. Of
course, to her it was vague.
"Oh." Maria said, retreating any thoughts she had of beating any
information out of Tess. "Are you going to talk to her?" She asked.
"I have to. Then there's the whole part of me hating her and that
doesn't make it any easier. She'll probably think of it as some way to
get Max back. And did I mention that I saw them in the desert? They
interrupted me and I dropped the stone." Liz replied. She was so not
looking forward to the conversation that her and Tess would have to
have.
"Oh honey don't worry, we all hate her." She tried to make a joke.
"Think of it this way, the sooner you talk to that man stealing wench,
the sooner you get some answers."
Liz couldn't help but smile. "But what if they find out something
terrible and then they hate me because of it?" Liz asked, concern
fading her smile.
"Wouldn't it be better to know?" Maria said.
"Yeah I guess. Will you go with me when I talk to them?" Liz asked
hopefully. She needed some kind of support.
"Absolutely." Maria said. "If you need me, I am so there for ya
babe."
"Good. Now if I can just convince myself to tell them, we'll be fine."
Liz considered the little thought that popped into her head. "You're
ok with all this, aren't you? I mean, me being an alien is a big deal."
Liz asked uncertainly.
"Well, it is a big deal, but I'm ok with it. Hello, my boyfriend...
I mean ex boyfriend.....is an alien....I think I can handle my best
friend being one too."
Liz sighed, glad that Maria felt that way. She just couldn't deal with
losing her best friend over something that neither of them had any
control over. "Good. What do you think Alex'll think about this?"
"Probably the same. Remember, his ex is an alien too." She smiled
softly.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean he won't react differently." Liz said,
knowing full well that he'd take them news as well as Maria did.
"He didn't freak out when he first found out about the others, like I
did, right?" She smiled.
Liz smiled as well. "Right. I guess he should be there too. Of course,
there's always how they're going to react. It's going to be a very
weird experience." Liz commented, standing up.
"And what, our lives are just normal as can be already?" Maria
laughed.
"Let's go downstairs. I have to figure out how I'm gonna tell them."
Liz said, walking to the door, but waiting for Maria.
Maria followed. "Hey, how about 'hey guys, guess what, we've all got
something in common.'" Maria giggled.
Liz smiled. That would be a nice way to put it, the basics in one
sentence. "Yeah, like that wouldn't cause them to feel weird about the
conversation." She commented, walking into the Crashdown.
Of course it was just her luck that Max, Isabel, Michael and Tess
were sitting in their regular booth and the new girl, Jessica, was
serving them.
Maria looked at Liz. "You gonna go talk to them now?"
Liz looked over at Maria. "I don't know. Should I?" She asked, turning
back to their booth.
Max looked up and saw Liz. He wanted to go up and ask her about the
dessert, and make sure she didn't try to walk away, but he just sat
there.
"If you think it's the right time, yea." Maria said.
Isabel followed her brothers gaze and saw that he was looking at Liz.
"Think we should go talk to her?" She asked.
Tess nodded. "Yeah. She was acting weird earlier."
Max looked at them. "I guess." He said standing up.
Maria looked at Liz. "Well, ready or not here they come."