Chapter Twenty-Four

When they passed through the door Liz pulled her arm away from him.  "What the hell do you think your doing?"  She demanded.

"What the hell do you think your doing?"  He demanded, his chest heaving from the anger inside him.  "Move…now!"  He said pointing to the stairs that lead to her apartment.  "We're going to have this out and I for one don't want anyone else around while we do it."

She hesitated for a moment before she started toward the stairs.  She definitely didn't want her parents to over hear what ever he had to say to her.

As she closed her bedroom door and leaned against it, she watched him pacing in front of her.  "Say your peace, Max.   I have to get back to work."

He suddenly stopped and looked at her.  His anger emulating from him so strongly that she took a deep breath.  Running his hands through the air she watched as a blue glow filled the room.

"What the hell was that?"  She demanded staring around her room as the light radiated around them.

"We're going to have this out now and I have no intentions of anyone interfering."  He made himself answer.

"So what was that?"  She yelled, turning and grabbing the door handle she tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge.  "You locked my door!  You have no right."  She screamed at him.

"I not only locked it, Liz.  I've made sure no one hears what's going on in here…no one."  He felt his anger running through him fighting for control, but he fought against it afraid of what he would do if he gave into it.  "This is between you and me and I plan on keeping it that way."

"Who the hell do you think you are?"  Liz demanded as she frowned at him.  "You have no right."  'This is my house, damn it.  The only rights he has here is the rights I give him.'  The words echoed in her head.

"Do you have any idea what you looked like down there?"  He demanded capturing her eyes with his.

'Do you have any idea what you look like in that get up…with all that trash on your face?'  Mike's words ricocheted in her head.  She forcefully shook her head trying to dislodge his voice from her mind.  "Leave me alone."  She moaned covering her ears.  "Please leave me alone."  She begged tears filling her eyes.

The sight of her covering her ears, blocking him out caused the anger in him to suddenly seize control of him.  He had to make her see what she was doing before something happen to her, something that he couldn't prevent.  Rushing her he dragged her to her bed, pinning her to it.  His hands roamed her body hurtful with ever movement it made.

"No…no…"  She begged as she fought him, her tears running down her face.

Blinded by the negative emotion controlling him he took her mouth forcefully, crushing hers beneath his.

"Stop…please…stop…"  She cried trying to push him away from her.

Max released her, his heart beating wildly inside him as he was finally able to damp down some of the rage consuming him.  "If I was anyone of those men down there do you think I would have stopped?"  He demanded moving away from her as he took deep breaths trying to control the anger inside him. "Do you think what you want means anything to them?" He cried, his body heaving as he tried to hold back the emotions rushing through him.

She curled up on her bed, her body trembling as she cried into her pillow.

"Oh God…Liz."  He moaned as realization of what he'd done hit him forcefully.  He reached out to touch her, but she flinched away from him.  Pulling his hand away he stood and looked down at her.

"Just leave me alone, Max."  She cried.  "Why don't you just leave me alone?"  She demanded her anger igniting suddenly inside her as she jumped to her feet.  "I hate you…I hate you."  She screamed as she closed her eyes an image of Mike staring back at her.

"You hate me?"  He roared pacing as he ran his hands through his hair.  "How dare you say that to me?"  He had to force the words through the lump that suddenly sprung into his throat threatening to choke him.  "Why are you doing this to me?"  He demanded.  "Why? How could you flirt with Tommy right in front of me in front of the whole class?  Are you trying to make me look like a fool?"  He roared, his anger igniting so quickly that he shook his head trying to hold it under control.   "Do you have any idea what that did to me? Do you?"  He snarled, his face reflecting the pain surging inside him.  "Make me understand…Liz…make me understand what I did wrong because I'm lost here."  He closed his eyes for a moment.  "I'm lost.  I love you so much.  More then anyone else, but your striking out at me, your treating everyone else normal, but me…what did I do?"

"I wasn't flirting…"

"Ohhhhhhh…don't you dare try and say that you weren't.  I was there Liz remember…I saw you, damn it.  You did it right in front of me…right in front of me."

Taking a deep breath his ran his hand through his hair turning away from her.  "Please…just tell me what I did to make you want to hurt me?"  He begged fighting against his tears.

"You have no control over me, never again."  She cried her body shaking.  'I'm not a child any longer…I'm not a child any longer.'  She kept repeating in her head as she closed her eyes tightly.

"When have I ever tried to control you…Liz…when?"  He demanded his heart racing as he turned back to look at her.

"Just leave me alone."  She murmured turning away from him her eyes closed tightly. 'No!' She silently screamed in her head.  'No!'  She didn't want to feel anything.  She was okay as long as she didn't have to feel anything.

"I've left you alone, Liz.  I left you alone when that bastard first got here and you started acting weird, I left you alone when you reassured me nothing was wrong even though everything in me knew differently, I left you alone when you asked me to let you fight your own battles.  When have I not left you alone when you asked me to even though I didn't want to?  Damn it…answer me."  He yelled when she wouldn't response to him.

"Get out…get out."  She demanded, the image of Mike's angry face flashing in her mind.  "Just get out of my room…out of my life."  She yelled picking up the lamp by the side of her bed and throwing it at him.  Max's hand shot up sending the lamp shooting across the room.  It slammed against the wall shattering into tiny pieces.

They stood there staring at each other, their bodies heaving from the emotions racing through them, tears coursing down both their faces.  He knew this…God he knew this.  He just had to calm down and think.  It was there if he could only grab on to it.  He's read so many books in the past few months that all the information seem to blend into none sense in his mind.  But he knew this…Isabel…in his room…demanding to know what they could do…could do to help her…transference's.

"Oh God…"  He cried closing his eyes as he shook his head. 

"Just get out."  He heard her yell again.

"I love you…Liz."  He said into the silences that settled after her angry command.   "I love you…so much…that I can't think straight." He admitted his tears clouding his eyes.

"Max…" She murmured, shaking her head forcing the image of Mike away.  She was so confused.  For the past few weeks she felt as if she was in a daze.  She couldn't

remember half the things she'd said or done.  She remembered not wanting to feel anything.  To find a way to escape from the pain and anger which held her in it's grasp.

She remembered feeling so lost and helpless and then nothing. Nothing until Max held her to her bed and….and…  'Oh…God.'  She silently cried closing her eyes as she shook her head.  'What's happening to me?'

"No…"  He said holding up his hand to stop her.  "I love you so much that it scare's me sometimes, but I can't help it.  I do…I've always loved you.  I know now why your doing this, but it doesn't' stop me from feeling the pain you've inflicted on me…Liz.  God…Liz…I'm only human."  He laughed, the humorless sound racing around them.  "At least human where it counts."

"Max…you don't understand, this has nothing to do…" She cried opening her eyes and looking at him.

"Nothing to do with me?"  He made himself finish her sentence as he walked to stand in front of her.  "Please don't say that, because everything that affects you affects me.  Don't you understand that by now? Your pain is my pain.  Even when I was forced to watch at the side lines, because I had no right to love you…I always felt your pain."  He said bring his hand up to caress her face his heart racing inside him.

"Please…Max…please I just need to be alone."  She cried covering the hand on her cheek.  "I need to figure this out on my own."

Closing his eyes he shook his head before he looked down at her again.  "Please don't ask me to let you go through this alone…Liz, because I can't.  I…can't live through another day what I've been living through for the past few weeks.  Please don't ask that of me."  He begged pulling her into his arms.  "I can't…I can't."

She pulled him tighter into her, her heart breaking as her tears ran down her face.   'Your not him…your not him…'  She screamed in her head.  "Oh…God…I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry.  I never meant…I'm so sorry, Max."   She cried as she held him. 'Your not him…your not him…'  The words echoed inside her.

He cupped her face within his hands staring down at her behind the tears pooling inside his eyes.  Pulling her face up to his he captured her mouth softly running his lips over hers, his heart racing inside him when felt her lips move under his.  When she opened her mouth he deepen the kiss, filling his senses with the taste of her.  Pulling away he looked down at his love.  From the tear-swollen eyes to her red bruised mouth.  "You are the most beautiful thing I've every seen."  He said, his heart slamming against his chest forcefully as he saw her love for him shining back at him through her eyes.

Taking his face into her hands she stared back at him.  "Where quit a pare, you know."  She said.  "The king without a throne and the sad abused girl, both fighting to find their way."

"Liz…I'll never see you as that.  You know that don't you?"  He asked touching one of her hand on his face.

"It doesn't matter what you think of me…Max."  She made herself admit.  "It's what I think of myself."

"As much as I hate to admit it I know."  He said pulling her once again into his arms.  Staring over her shoulders he took a deep breath.  "We're going to get past this…Liz.  We're going to get past this.  Together there's nothing we can't overcome.  As long as we're together…as long as we're together."

"As long as we're together."  She echoed her tears racing down her face.  "Oh…God…"  She cried as she allowed herself to feel anything for the first time in weeks. Her pain, her anger, her love for him hitting her so hard that she couldn't stop herself from clinging to him as if he was her life line to reality.

TBC