Broken Ties, pt2

A/n: Thanks to every one who reviewed i really apprentice it. hopefully all you guys will provide me with some positive feed back on this too! That's not begging....is it?

Disclaimer: yeah, yeah. i still own nadda.

Chapter 1

Present day

Maria picked up her beeping alarm clock and threw it. It stopped beeping mid way, coming unplugged. "Ohh!" She heard someone say. She set up fast to see that her mother had caught the clock, and was now shaking it at her.

"Maria! i told you last night to go to bed! Now you have deal with it." Amy turned and walked halfway out the door, and turned around. "How do i look?" Here voice was soft, and calm. Maria always marveled at how fast her mom could change personalities. Amy wore a White blouse, and long, sleek classic black dress pants. Her hair was down.

"You look great mom. Go get 'em"

"Thanks Hun!"

She walked over to the bad and swiftly set the clock down and gave Maria a quick kiss on the head. "Have a great day!" She walked out, closing the door behind her. Maria smiled and glanced at the cover she had kicked off during the night. *I always do that!* She thought absently.

She walked over to her dresser where her crash down uniform was. She glanced in the mirror, More so at the drawing she had taped to it so long ago.

It was a series of pictures. One of them showed a young version of Max, and Liz. Sitting next to each other. They were doing school work, Liz was biting her tong. Max was half looking at the book in front of him, and half at Little Liz.

The next picture, was of a young Isabel, sitting at her desk, filing at her nails. Looking so much like the Ice princess she wasn't.

Next, a young Alex in his desk. his tong anchoring his top lip, writing hard. On the paper there were little puffs of smoke, and a bubble, over his head, in the bubble was a tiny picture him sitting under a tree, playing his gitare.

Then there was a picture of her, She was sitting in her desk, looking off in to space, tugging on one of her many curls. Maria ran a hand through her long hair, she had lost those curls long ago. If you looked hard enough on the paper you could tiny words on the book on her desk.

Maria sighed. Michael had drawn this picture that very day. She reached up and traced the lines with her fingers. A flash memory hit her.

+FLASH+ A little Maria walked slowly into the class room after recess. She saw a paper by Michaels desk. She picked it up and knew that Michael had drawn it. She let a tear fall, and wiped at it quickly. She carefully put the paper in a folder. +FLASH+

Michael had been taken away that day, to another home-another state. Max, and Isabel said how they could feel him sometimes, what he was feeling. But most of the time they couldn't feel him at all. They all still missed him so much-but as Alex had said, life goes on.

"It has to." She whispered.

She started changing to her uniform. Isabel had once said that she felt incomplete-like she had before they had found each other again-with out him there. And over one of her and Liz's and Isabel's girl talks admitted that she still cried her self to sleep sometimes.

And that they tried to contact him, somehow. Marie shook her head, no more Michael thoughts. She had to keep her head together. She stopped the flow of thoughts and continued getting dressed.

~`~`~`

Beep, Beep, Michael opened his eyes, and stared at his alarm clock. As he was about to reach out to shut it off, a glass bottle smashed down on top of it. As he jumped back a piece of broken glass hit him just above his left eye. His sudden movement caused him to fall down off the bed. As he lay on the floor and waited to hear the drunken man stumble out of the room, he wandered if he could wait till he passed out to leave.

He felt blood dribble down his face, and join so many other stains on the floor. Soon enough he heard a loud thump on the other side of his bed. Michael slowly inched up and looked to the other side. His 'foster father' ,Tim. laid in a heap.

He couldn't take it much longer. He had run away so many times. Michael missed his old family back home. Funny, he still thought of Roswell as home. Family? The only family he had ever had was Max and Isabel then their had been Maria, Alex, and Liz.

Michael pushed himself up the rest of the way. Going to his dresser and glanced at himself. Blood trickled down his forehead from the cut. He turned his head to the left. Many bruises still coved his face from his last escape attempt. Some from the accident, and a few from after.

It didn't hurt as much as it had. He touched the sore parts. Wincing. He had gotten a ride from some guy. And the guy-he couldn't even remember his name-had lost control of his car and ran right into a pole. Michael had later realized the guy had been drinking. They had both been ok, a few cuts and bruises. But the worst part was that Tim had to come pick him up at the police station.

Michael had been given probation for running away. Home that night was not fun either. But Michael had to admit that it wasn't as bad as living with Hank. Even though he had, had Max and the others, and would give most anything to go back there-Tim didn't hit him every second of the day. He mostly either hurled insults at him or ignored him altogether. And he didn't know which part was worse.

Michael turned away from the mirror. He wouldn't think about that now. He grabbed some fresh clothes from the closet and glanced at his torn calendar. Lee would be making a run through Gainesville-his 'home' town-in two days. Lee always let Michael ride with him. He was the only one who knew anything about Michaels home life. As he pulled the shirt over his head he tried to convince himself to wait a couple of days to leave again. And this time he wouldn't get caught. He acutely smiled as he grabbed his drawing pad and walked out of the house.

~'~'~'

"Hey Liz!" Maria said as she walked into the back room of the crash down. Liz looked up at her best friend. "Hey girl. How long are you on?" she asked, looking back down to her science book.

"Until three. and look! It's just now five after nine! Ya. that means i only have about six hours to go."

"Uh-huh." Liz nodded.

"Chicka, you are the only one i know who studies on their break. Or almost anytime during a Saturday." As she pulled her little antenna out of her bag, she turned to see Max Evens-now sitting at the bar-with a science book on the counter top, staring at it. "Or not." She shook her head and whirled around.

She grabbed Liz's book and plopped it down on the small table behind her. "Work!" Maria set the antenna down on Liz's head as she groaned. "Ok, O! Max is here!" Liz walked out the door in front of her.

"Hi max!" Max looked up and shot Liz a dazzling smile.

"Hi...Liz. Hey Maria."

"Hi....Max." Maria said in the same dreamy tone Max had used. Maria smiled as Liz gave Max a quick kiss on the cheek. Her two friends had gotten together in ninth grade.

"Work. Liz."

"Oh, oh yeah! right." With a glance at Liz as she walked off Max glanced down at his book again. /Why cant i have that?/ She asked her self. She shook off the thought and walked to the table that was waiting on her to come take their order.

~`~`~

"Yo! Michael!" Michael turned when he heard his name called. Nick Mose came running up to him. "Hey man, wassup?" Michael glared at his friend as he grabbed the paper pad way.

"Man Michael." Nick said as they started walking again. "What is this thing you have with space, and stars and junk? the next thing you know your going to say you believe in little green men!"

Michael grabbed the pad away and smiled. "Maybe i do." he suggested.

Nick looked at him sideways. "I'll never get you man."

"That's ok. Your not supposed to." This time he didn't smile.

He glanced at Nick. Nick was the first person to talk to him when he had showed up here in Gainesville about three years ago. Nick was a true friend. Not like Max and the others, because he could never tell Nick about his-other side-even though something deep inside whispered 'Why not?' only to be answered by something closer to the surface; 'because no one else can ever know.' Again he pushed it all deep down, pretending that he had never felt it at all.

What made Nick a good friend was that he understood that with out knowing that Michael could never tell him some things. Michael snapped out of his thoughts when Nick grabbed his head and turned it so he could see the bruises on the side of his face,

"Damn Michael. I told you not to run Does it still hurt?." Nick always new when Michael was getting ready to run. He always told him.

"No, and don't worry. Next time I'm waiting on Lee."

Nick nodded. "If you have to. I don't know why you even try anymore. Tim finds you every time. I don't see what's so bad that you want to run away. Nice house. Clean stuff. And Tim seems like a good guy."

Michael sighed. /seems key word here/ Yet another thing he couldn't tell Nick. Even if he did, Nick wouldn't understand, Nick had a good life. Lots of friends, He and his mom lived on the other side of town, in a semi big house. His dad had died a before he was born, and his mom had never started dating again. He shook his head.

"That nice big check doesn't hurt either." He mumbled, and Nick didn't seem to hear him.

"Where were you heading to?"

"Lee's got a run through New Mexico. Someplace about fifty miles away from Roswell. At least that's what Lee said a week ago." Nick nodded. "If you keep trying hard like you are then you'll get back their."

"I don't doubt it my friend."

"So, where were you headed off to?"

"I'm not sure. I was going to see where i ended up." Michael told him as he made a right, going to the road. "Well, i guess I'll come along for the ride-or walk, however you want to put it." Nick said as he walked in front of Michael so and turned around so he was facing him, and walking backwards.

As they neared the road Michael thought it would be good to take the 'lime light' off of him. "So, how's your mom?"

"She's good. Wants you over for dinner." He snickered. "Sure, like i could get you to settle down for dinner for a night." Michael rolled his eyes, sadly in their banter neither of them were paying attention a to the road.

When Michael stopped, it took him a moment to realize that Nick had not. A car came around the corner, at amazing speed, "Nick!" Michael shouted.

Nick looked up from the ground and at Michael. Then to the car, Which was about twenty feet away. Everything slowed down. The car slammed on his breaks. But there was no time for it to stop. Nick was to awestruck to move. This was it. Michael was about to lose his friend.

To Be Continued..

A/N: Ok, i tried to get all the typos and such out of it, but I'm typing with long nails that I'm not used to. :) So, was this just really bad. Or was it a good next part???? ^_^