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*Between Love and Hate*
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Spoilers: This is the fifth story in my series – if you haven't read any of my work before, you'd be best off going back to read and understand. The first story was Shattered Trusts and Whispered Confessions. The second is Remembering to Forget, the third is Events That Lead To Greatness. The most recent is the fourth story called the Longest Day (which was basically just a wrap up of some confusing things I had to sort out from previous works). This series is set after Hello Goodbye but does reveal spoilers from the rest of the season, as I incorporate it into the story.
Disclaimer: Ideas are mine based on the brilliant work of the Dark Angel team – so don't sue me! I wish I owned Alec, but I don't. So I have to settle for writing fiction about him.
Authors Note: Just a general shout out thanks to all the great readers who have been reviewing my work and totally keeping me motivated. If it weren't for you guys I wouldn't be writing this stuff.
Have fun and remember to review!
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CHAPTER NINETEENAlec stretched out his body in bed, yawning as he drifted out of his pleasant slumber. He felt Max shift from her position curled into him and panic coursed through his veins.
He had succumbed to his weakness, to his desire.
Again.
Springing into a sitting position, Alec tried to regulate his laboured breathing and increased heart rate. Thoughts pounded through his head like the second hand of a clock.
Why was it he couldn't say no to her?
Why was it that reason always went out the window when love was involved?
Why was it people always want what they cant have.
Nor control the way the heart chooses to feel.
Max slid up to sitting cross-legged, facing him, her tousled brown hair tangled in her eyes,
"Morning."
"Hey."
"You been up long?"
"Nah."
She fell silent, tying her hair back and gathering the sheet around her chest, before speaking again, her eyes intent on the mattress,
"Alec?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Uh-huh."
He looked over at her, his attention full,
"What's up?"
"Do you love me?"
Alec froze, his green eyes morphing into ice. He paused, not answering for some time, before looking at her again, his chin raised and voice determined,
"Yes. I do."
Max let out a sigh of relief and her eyes met his in hope as she gave him a dazed smile,
"I love you too."
That was it, everything she had wanted for so long. Alec loved her. This was her Cinderella moment.
As she leaned in to kiss him, he pulled his head away.
"What is it?"
"I love you, I do. But..."
Her voice dropped to a pained whisper, her eyes already glossy,
"But what?"
He avoided her gaze, the words spoken truthful, yet painfully forced,
"We can't be together. I can't be with you anymore. I have a city to run and I cant do my job effectively because loving gets in the way. You're all I think about. I cant live and run my life properly because I love you."
And then her fairytale moment was shattered.
Max ignored the single tear that fell from his eyes as he quickly looked away. She continued to stare at him, perplexed,
"What are you saying? That we're over? For good?"
"Yeah I am. We just need to walk away."
He slid out of bed, pulling on his pants and slipping a singlet over the top. Max watched him helplessly from his bed, tears threatening to spill, before several overflowed, rolling soundlessly down her flawlessly flushed cheeks,
"I don't think I can stop loving you."
Alec wiped away the tears from her cheeks, before spinning away, not letting her see the pools his own eyes were becoming. He answered her in a pained, choked-up whisper,
"We just don't work. Its only gonna end in tears."
He crammed his feet into his boots, turning and hovering in the doorway as Max gave a gut-wrenching sob,
"But you said you love me."
He turned to catch her gaze, his face contorted in overwhelming grief,
"I do love you. I always have. I probably always will. But sometimes, love isn't enough."
Max watched after him as he left, bursting into tears from her spot on the bed, her knees pulled into her chest.
She had lost him.
He had left her.
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Space NeedleIt was like every relationship she was a part of was doomed.
Max twisted a strand of hair absent-mindedly around her finger, as tears threatened to fall again.
She hated crying, most of the time she preferred to fight her way around bad situations. But it seemed like it was all she did since her and Alec had first got together.
Thoughts ran wild in her head as she stared over the city from the Needle.
She had lost Alec.
Maybe he had never really been hers.
But she had lost him none the less.
A tear slipped down he cheek as she shuddered his name soundlessly,
"Alec..."
There was no doubt in her mind that it was her fault he had left her. She knew it like she knew her barcode. Deep down, maybe she had known all along that it would happen.
Maybe she had wanted it.
Maybe she liked tragedy, it seemed like her life was
addicted enough to it.
*Great, I'm a pain addict. A Masochist. Great. *
She headed down to her awaiting Ninja at the bottom of the Space Needle.
It was about time she moved on from Seattle anyway.
It was time.
Before she lost any more people she loved. This city sure had a habit of that.
Max gave one last look at the only place she'd ever known as home,
"Goodbye."
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Terminal CityAlec looked up from his slumped position on the rooftop of his building, stopping even breathing to hear what his senses were prickling at. He could've sworn he heard his name. Shrugging, he relaxed again, before looking around wildly as one familiarly spoken word invaded his system, causing his spine to tingle and hair to rise,
"Goodbye..."
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The roar of Max's motorcycle drowned out any protesting thoughts she had bout leaving home, the sound dying away long after she was out of sight.
She kept her eyes unfocused on the road, the only thing staying in her mind, the faded sign with bold, dirty white type,
'You are now leaving Seattle.'
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THE ENDAuthor's Note:
One more story left in this instalment, let me know what you're thinking. Review review review review review! Hehehe.