A/N- Well, again, sorry it took awhile for this chapter. I hope everyone enjoys it. Please review! It's so much more fun when I get reviews, and feedback is really important in making this a good story. Anyway, enjoy. This isn't the last chapter, but we're getting nearer to the end. Enjoy!
Oh, and as a side note. Phi- I was ecstatic to see a review from you on the last chapter! Thank you so much, it just made my day, thank you!
"Whenever I run, instead of running into the blue I follow my heart and there in your arms is where I find the love I need. And the best is yet to come, baby you're the one I run to."
- Keith Urban, "Whenever I Run"
When I was little, my favorite thing about Roswell was how life never seemed to change. No matter what, I could always expect the same repetition of events. The same people in the cafe, the same conversations at dinner, always the same happy endings. When Max Evans healed me that day in the Crashdown, I learned that Roswell was not the safe haven I'd always imagined it to be. Life will always change, and as you grow older the world becomes so much darker, filled with sinister, evil enemies and terrible decisions.
Maria and I ran, trying to escape Roswell and our pasts. We left so quickly, we didn't even think about what we'd be leaving behind. It was a few months into our flee that I really began to think. I never mentioned it to Maria, but I know that she felt it too. Our hearts were a void, an empty, dark space filled with bad memories of Roswell and the aliens. With the death of Alex still fresh on our minds, we couldn't remember the good times. We didn't think about all the happy times the six of us had shared until months after we left them all behind.
The four of us sat in Michael living room. It was silent, but the veil of uncertainty and hostility had been lifted. The corners of Maria's mouth raised in a slight smile- a sight I hadn't seen in years. Michael's fingers entwined with hers and as I looked on them I saw Maria at 17- still so young and so confused by Michael Guerin, but loving every minute of it.
I felt Max's gaze on me, and looked over to meet his eyes. There was such a long road in front of us, but we were beginning the long-awaited trek to happiness and normalcy again. I knew the minute Max entered Michael's apartment that things would always be the same. When his gaze caught mine, my heart still fluttered lightly in my chest. Our lives were so changed, migrating in different directions. Yet I knew the strings of our past would tie us all back together again, and I knew that life was already beginning to mend us.
We heard the knock on the door and Maria's eyes met mine, smiles spreading across both our faces. We jumped up and ran over, knowing who was on the other side even before we opened it. The door flew open, and there she stood. She looked at us for a moment, her eyes darting back and forth between the two faces she hadn't seen in so long. The pains of her past were etched on her face, but none could cover the beauty that still defined her.
"Liz, Maria," the two names escaped her mouth and she smiled, pulling us both into a hug at the same time. "Oh, I missed you both so much."
She didn't question where we'd been, she didn't ask us why we'd left. If she wondered why we'd decided to come back after so long, she never showed it. The only thing she let us see was her joy, never a doubt creasing her forehead.
"Isabel," I said quietly, "we missed you too."
We walked over and sat down in a circle in the chairs and couches adorning Michael's apartment. For a brief moment, my mind flickered to a picture of Alex, and as I looked around all I could think of was that he was gone, our number was forever reduced to five. The silence in the room and the sudden shift in Isabel's eyes confirmed that I was not the only one thinking of him. Alex would never leave our minds, we'd all love him forever, but we were ready to let his memory fade into our pasts. We were ready to let go, and let our lives play out without constant worry and regret. We loved Alex, but he was ready to let us go.
--2 hours later—
The New Mexico sun shined brightly from the sky, casting our long shadows on the ground in front of us as we walked slowly down the sidewalk. I lifted my hand over my eyes to shield the sun, and in front of us I could see the large sign from my past and my heart skipped a beat.
Maria reached over and took my hand in hers, giving me a reassuring smile as we continued walking. Max had told us of our parents' ritual. Two years ago when Maria and I left, our parents began a weekly routine. They ate brunch together in the Crashdown and talked about their children- remembered the girls who'd left so suddenly without a trace. They'd tried so hard to find us at the beginning. Like the aliens, they didn't want to give up hope that they'd find us if they looked for one more day, checked out one more town for remnants of us. After months of searching, they were forced to begin the journey of acceptance. They continued to meet every Sunday, though, in remembrance of us. They'd kept on hoping, kept on wishing that one day we'd walk back through the door. I knew when we walked through the doors we would find them.
We stopped outside of the café. I looked back and saw Max, Michael, and Isabel trailing behind us, assuring us that they were and always would be behind us, supporting us. Maria and I looked at each other one last time before I reached forward and pulled open the door.
The scent of cheeseburgers and milkshakes filled my nose, and I smiled as I looked around the restaurant. Everything was the same, from the cheesy alien pictures on the wall, to the people sitting in the booths. Images from my childhood rushed back to me, and I sighed, again knowing that I was home.
I heard Maria gasp by my side, and my eyes quickly found the booth. My parents sat with Amy DeLuca in the back booth. I watched as my father laughed at something Amy said, his whole face filling up with delight. I studied my parents. Their faces looked older, weathered by the two years of our absence. Gray hairs streaked my father's once jet black hair. Amy was talking emphatically, waving her hands about, obviously immersed in her story as she laughed uncontrollably.
My father stood up, picking up her plate as she finished the story. He turned from the booth and for the first time in two years, our eyes met. With the crash of a plate and a gasp from my father, all three sets of eyes were locked on us.
Time stood still for a moment, the group of three staring at us, two girls standing awkwardly in the doorway to the place where we once belonged. Suddenly, the force of time snapped back, and my mother's arms were wrapped around me, her sobs shuddering as tears soaked into my hair. I heard Amy's voice beside me as she embraced Maria tightly, sobbing as she rattled on incoherent words and questions. They'd settled into a life of missing us, they were suddenly forced with the past and just like Max, Michael, and Isabel, they were trying to get used to this new reality.
My father hugged me tightly before pulling me back and looking into my eyes. "Liz," he said, his voice deep with emotion, "Liz, where were you?"
I looked over at Maria as Amy began to calm down and released her from the tight embrace. I smiled at my parents as I took Maria's hand. "We have a long story to tell. . ."
We sat at a large table set for eight for hours. Maria and I talked, revealing to our parents what had happened. As I looked around the table at the familiar faces, I knew that this is where we belonged. These six people were our family, and they were ready to welcome us home with open arms. Roswell will always be our home.
