Chapter 10
Max
"Please tell me what I heard isn't true!" I hear a female voice demanded from behind me, I turned from my locker and saw Isabel storming toward me with her lackeys behind her; she had this amused/bewildered look on her face.
"About what?" I asked.
"That you got caught feeling Liz up in the science lab and then you got caught making out with her in the Eraser Room." Isabel informed, I smiled a bit as my ears turned red and I scratched the back of my head. Her mouth dropped open. "Oh god, is it true that the School called mom in?" she asked and I nodded. "Damn!" she exclaimed then giggled.
"It's not funny!" I exclaimed as she clutched her stomach and leaned on the lockers next to mine.
"Isabel!" Pam whined and I winced as it screeched in my ear.
"I'm sorry, it's just, Maxwell Alexander Evans got detention then caught in the Eraser Room with Elizabeth Claudia Parker, won't be mommy little boy anymore." Isabel mocked out then burst into laughers once more, causing me to roll my eyes.
"Ha, ha, laugh it up." I muttered.
"Maxwell!" I hear a male voice shout and I rolled my eyes.
"I'm in such demand today aren't I?" I asked as I turned around to see Michael, Alex, Kyle and Tess walking toward me.
"You do realise that Tammy is having a panic attack cause she can't stop laughing right?" Tess asked me and I sighed.
"I'm sure Johnson will calm her down," I informed and eyed them. "What did you call me for?"
"Is it true about you and Parker?" Kyle asked and I sighed as I nodded. Kyle's face breaks out into a wide grin as he smirked at me. "Well, I'd never…" he murmured, Tess shook her head as she turned to me.
"How about the Parents got called in," she asked and I nodded and she winced. "Damn, are you in trouble?" she asked and I shook my head.
"Not me, but I'm not so sure about Liz, her mom seems pretty furious." I explained, Isabel's lackeys had moved off when they saw the gang coming down and scampered before Tess could get near them, Isabel calmed down and looked at me.
"How do you mean?" She asked in concern.
"I don't know, Mrs. Parker threw Liz a glare, which caused Liz to flinch, makes me wonder what is going on. I mean; mom wasn't that furious that I was caught but it seems it was against the rules or something the way Mrs. Parker was acting." I explained and they stared at me, puzzled.
"Liz might tell you what it's about later." Kyle suggested and I shrugged.
"I'm gonna see her later in detention so I'll ask her then." I told them and they nodded and the bell rang.
"Damn, got chemistry." Kyle stated as he and Alex hurried off.
"Got Maths." Isabel and Michael stated as they hurried off. I turned to Tess.
"And we have a free period." Tess stated with a bright smile, I grinned back as I held out my arm, Tess giggled as she took it and we both headed off to the library to do some study.
We got settled at the table, ready to do some studying when Tess looked up at me. "You are really worried about Liz aren't you?" she asked and I sighed.
"Yeah," I agreed then looked at her. "Tess, I never told you this but, Tammy went to Liz's house a few years back, my phone started ringing and I could hear Tammy shouting in the background, that's when I realised that her phone must have auto dialled mine. Ever since that day, Liz and Tammy have been reserved. I asked Tammy what the secret was and she refused to tell me, that she couldn't. I asked her on the day I first kissed Liz if it was serious and she told me yes."
"What do you think is going on?" Tess asked and I shrugged.
"Does it look like she's being abused? I mean, are there any bruises on her body when you girls changes in the lockers?" I asked and she shook her head.
"Nope, I checked and there were no bruises at all." She told me.
"Could she be wearing make up to cover the bruises?" I asked and Tess shook her head.
"I had a bruised hips once so I tried covering it up with foundation and such, the make up looks darker than it usually is so it's easy to tell where the bruises are but her skin is completely flawless." She told me and I sighed as I sat back in my chair.
"We know it's something to do with her parents but she doesn't seem to be abused, maybe mentally or emotional abused?" I asked and she cocked her head slightly as she thought about it.
"Emotionally abuse is like where you tell the person they are worthless and such, that no one could ever love you and so on, she seems pretty confident, there is a chance that she is good at hiding her emotions so it could be that but I'm not sure, Mentally abuse is kinda the same thing except you are inflicting pain on their mind, making them think things they shouldn't and such." Tess stated.
"Sexually abuse?" I choked out and she shook her head vigorously.
"No way! If she was sexually abused, she wouldn't be the person she is, she would either be withdrawn from all the boys and refuse to have any contact with them, you know, like hugging, touching, in your case, Kissing or she would be all over guys. I don't think that is a case so we can just leave it out." She stated and I nodded, glad that Liz didn't fit in any of the category.
"Maybe her parents are ignoring her and it hurts her." I stated and she shrugged.
"I dunno Max, maybe we should wait till she tells us. I mean, its obvious she wants to tell you but scared what might happen." Tess stated and I nodded.
"Okay, but it just scares me, Tammy and Liz are in trouble and there's nothing I can do to help them." I explained and she nodded.
"That's who you are, you take it upon yourself to protect everyone. Let them come to you." She whispered and I nodded as we went back to our work, everything we said weighing heavily on our mind.
I arrived at detention, I saw that Liz was waiting in the room, sitting at the table and I sighed. I entered the room and she looked up before giving me a small smile as I moved over to the table next to her.
"Hey." I greeted.
"Hey, teacher should be here in a minute or so." She replied and I nodded.
"Do you wanna tell me why your mother was really angry today?" I asked and she stiffened slightly.
"She just doesn't like it when things interfere with my education, the reason I don't really sing a lot." She told me, not once looking at me.
"Liz…" I whispered as I reached over and she flinched slightly causing me to pause, puzzled. "Liz?" I asked.
"Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts for a second there that I got a bit of a fright when I saw you hand." She told me with a small smile and I nodded, not once believing it.
"Liz, do you want to tell me why Tammy was angry?" I asked and she looked at me. "She was telling your mother that you were suppose to help her study tonight, she looked like she was making excuses for you not to go home." I told her and Liz shook her head.
"Don't be silly Max, I told Tammy that I would help her tonight but I guess I just have to wait till tomorrow." She told me and I nodded.
"Alright, do you want to go out tonight? We can talk about what's happening between us?" I asked and she shook her head.
"My mom and dad might not let me out tonight, another time." She told me and I nodded.
"Sure, Michael wanted to know if you are going to the soap factory on Friday." I told her and she nodded.
"Sure, sounds like fun." She stated and the door opened, revealing the detention teacher who was supervising the detention.
"Glad to see that you've made here, here's your assignment, you may get on with it." She told us as she handed us the pieces of papers we were to work on before looking at her watch. "Just hand them in when you've finished and you can leave."
We both nodded as we started our work, I was thinking about what was going on with Liz and how I was going to help her while I had no clue to what she was thinking about.
Liz
God, he was getting to close. I sighed as I tried to concentrate on my papers but I couldn't, Max's questions were running about in my mind, he was getting close to my secret, he knew that something was up with my parents, that I'm sure of. God, what am I gonna to do distract him from finding out the truth?
I know that I should tell him but I can't, I need to protect him and my parents from each other, I deserve the beating, especially after my sister and I…let's not go there. I'm the one responsible for her death and I can't let Max find out, god I love him and I couldn't cope if I lost him as my best friend. Tammy had told me over and over again that it wasn't my fault and Max will just tell me the same thing but what if he doesn't? What if he agrees with my parents and hates me as well? I couldn't cope with that.
I ran a hand through my hair as I finished off the last question, grabbed my bag and walked over to the teacher's table and handed it in before leaving the room, without knowing that Max was right behind me. I blinked back the tears as I thought about what could happen, he would hate me if he knew the truth, I can't tell him, I just can't!
Out of nowhere, a hand settled down on my shoulder, causing me to gasp as I spin around to face the intruder, I meet the gaze of Max's concerned look.
"You all right?" he asked and I nodded.
"Yeah, was lost in my thoughts." I told him as I gave him a weak smile, he nodded and I knew that he didn't believe me. Damn him for his abilities to able to look through peoples' lies.
"Do you want a lift home?" he asked and I shook my head.
"I got a call from the Crashdown, I have to take over a shift, and everyone else is busy." I told him and he nodded.
"I can drop you off there." Max stated and I nodded as he linked my hand with his and led me out of the school.
It's weird having our hands linked but it feels so right at the same time, I sighed as he led me over to his jeep and helped me in before jogging over to his side of the jeep and set the car in motion, driving me over to the Crashdown in silence.
Max
I arrived home and made to go to my bedroom when my mother's voice stopped me.
"Max, kitchen, now." She stated, I groaned silently as I dropped my bag near the coat rack before heading into the kitchen where my mother and father was sitting at the counter with this pensive look on their faces and my gut immediately tightened. Not gonna live at all.
"Yeah mom?" I asked, she pointed to the seat across from them and I sat down.
"We want to talk about what happened today." She told me and I nodded.
"Listen, Liz and I are really sorry that we skipped classes today and we promise we won't do it again." I told them, 'we'll make sure that we go there during our study periods.' I finished in my head.
"Max, it's not that you skipped class, it's the volume between you and Liz, don't you think you are taking it really quickly?" she asked. "I mean, we didn't even know that you were dating!" she exclaimed and I winced slightly.
"We kinda started going out last night, we had our first kiss two nights before, Liz freaked out and it wasn't till last night she gave in and let us be together." I admitted and she nodded.
"You see my point don't you? You have only be together since last night and you are skipping class to make out!" she informed me and I nodded.
"Son, we're not angry with you, we think Liz is a great girl, we see her like a daughter. We just want you two to be careful, there are a lot of teenaged parents because they rushed things too far." My dad explained and I nodded.
"You don't have to worry, Liz and I are not ready for that stage and we won't be for a while." I assured them and they nodded. I felt relief go through my body but it disappeared when my mother spoke up once more.
"We still need to have a talk about sex though." She informed and I winced slightly as I kept my eyes cast downward. I was so not going to live through tonight.
Liz
I entered the house with fear rushing through my body slightly, I headed into the living room where my mother and father was waiting, I could see that my dad was slightly drunk due to the glaze covering his eyes and the glass sitting on the table.
"Where have you been?" my mother snapped.
"Sorry, I had to go into work, one of the waitress didn't turn up and I was the only one who was available at the time." I explained and she stood up, shaking her head.
"I told you to come straight home!" she snapped as she slapped me across the face. "I did not raise you to be a whore Elizabeth Parker!" she hissed out as my father stood up and made his way over to me, he grabbed my arm, making sure that he didn't leave a bruise.
"I'm sorry." I whispered but it didn't make a difference as I felt pain crash through my body as my eyes rolled up into the back of my head and I blacked out.
TBC