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Chapter 3
Max walked towards the Evans' jeep in a very upset state. He couldn't believe that Maria didn't want to tell the truth about Hayley. Most of all, he couldn't believe that Liz didn't want to tell him about Hayley. He drove home wondering when he would recover from this heartbreak.
Maria watched Max walked off angrily. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to tell him everything. She hated seeing Max get angry. Hell, she hated seeing any of her friends getting angry but it was different for her and Michael. She sighed when she thought about Liz. She knew that Liz still loved Max and that Max still loved Liz, but Liz didn't want to go through another emotional rollercoaster, and especially not now because of Hayley. Maria sank into the chair as the memories of what happened after Graduation flooded her mind.
Liz came crying to Maria right after she broke it off with Max. "Girlfriend, what happened?" Maria asked as she tried to comfort Liz. Liz sobbed non-stop and told Maria everything that happened. Maria let Liz stay over, hoping that she would get over it. Maria knew that no matter how hard Max tried to get close to Liz again, Liz just stayed away.
Liz enrolled in Northwestern and was due to start the next semester which was a month away. Till then, she promised Maria she'd work with Maria at the Crashdown. Then came the bombshell that Liz never expected. Two weeks after she broke up with Max, she found out she was 3 months pregnant, with his child. Once again, Liz came crying to Maria, not knowing what to do. She stayed over at Maria's place the night she found out, the two of them discussing what to do. Liz didn't believe in abortions and neither did Maria but Liz didn't know how she was going to raise a child all by herself. Maria convinced her to have a talk with her parents which Liz agreed.
Liz's parents were upset that their daughter was pregnant but in the end, they offered her support. There was nothing else they could do. Liz told Maria that she wanted to stay away from Max. "Are you sure that's what you want?" Maria asked Liz. Liz started crying and that's when Maria found out that she still loved Max so much. "Why don't you tell him about the baby then?" Maria asked. "I don't want him to get back with me just because of the baby. I don't want to risk that. I don't even know if he still loves me and I'm not ready for that whole emotional rollercoaster again, I have to take of a baby for goodness sake!" Liz said, although Maria knew that deep inside of her, she knew that Max felt the same.
No amount of persuasion could get Liz to agree to tell Max. She simply refused no matter what. The only other person she willingly let in on this 'secret' was Alex because she trusted Alex. To stay away from Max, Liz rented a single room at Northwestern's student hostel. She and Maria planned to meet up every weekend as Maria willingly volunteered to drive down. She didn't want her now-pregnant best friend to have to travel up and down. So Liz moved into the hostel and met up with Maria every weekend where there were times when Alex or her parents would come along.
Maria always updated her about Max and in return, she'd let Maria talk to her belly cos Maria insisted that babies could hear voices outside the womb. Maria knew that behind the happy front that Liz always put up, she really wanted Max so badly. Liz made Maria promise that no matter what happened, Maria was not allowed to say anything about the baby. Being the best friend that she always was, Maria agreed.
On a special weekend, one month before Liz was due; Maria, Alex & the Parkers planned a special treat for Liz. Maria knew that Liz always went for her check-ups every 4th Friday and that was a 4th Friday so the 4 of them went into Liz's room (thanks to the extra key that Liz had entrusted Maria with) and decorated the whole room with pink stuff: pink streamers, pink balloons, pink presents and a huge pink cake. The look of surprise on Liz's face was an expression Maria would always remember. Liz couldn't believe that the 4 of them would throw her a surprise baby shower like that. They all had fun that night, staying late into the night to talk. Lucky for Liz, the baby was due in the middle of the holidays. The university hostel still allowed students to stay there, as long as they paid rent.
2 weeks after the little baby shower they had for Liz, Maria received a mid-day call from Liz. "Maria, you gotta come down here now," Liz said over the phone. Liz went into labor 2 weeks early. "I'll be there as fast as I can," Maria said, trying not to be overcome with the excitement of going to see the birth of her goddaughter. Some hours later, Liz gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and named her Hayley Miranda Evans-Parker. Hayley was a beautiful baby who looked like a replica of Liz except for the fact that she had Max's eyes.
The Parkers made Liz stay in Roswell for 2 weeks until she got used to having Hayley around. They knew she didn't want to see Max and they understood her situation. Liz couldn't believe she had such understanding parents. The Parkers absolutely adored Hayley and so did her godmother Maria and new Uncle Alex. After 2 weeks, Liz moved back into the Northwestern hostel and drove back every weekend to see her parents, Alex and Maria.
Maria started tearing, knowing that Liz got into the accident on one of her usual weekend trips back. 'Why do you still want to keep Max in the dark, Liz?' That was the one question that Maria wanted answered that instant.
TBC… please review! Thanks!