Sixteen and pregnant
part five
Maria
I knew my best friend like the back of a book I knew something was up she is acting way to weird and max is acting even weirder. Something is up. But I don't have time to figure it out right now. How am I going to tell Max about Ava being in Roswell? It's been bothering me for a while now. I didn't tell Liz about the Tess incident but I'm sure she will find out soon enough because Tess is bound to pop her ugly face up and mention it. It's going to kill me keeping things from my two best friends. But what am I suppose to do? Michael kept telling me not worry about it and let it alone. "So are you going to tell me what happened?" I turned around and found my pregnant best friend standing there with her arms crossed in front of her, tapping her foot like a little child waiting for an answer from mommy and daddy.
"What are you talking about?" I tried to play it cool.
"Don't try to brush it off, Maria. The whole school is talking. What happened?" she demanded.
"Well, you know Tess ran her mouth as usual. End of discussion," I said, not wanting to talk about it anymore. I knew Liz wasn't going to give up on this but I didn't want to discuss it further.
Liz waddled along next to me down the hall. "I will get all the details, Maria. And who is this girl I hear your cousin is ranting and raving about?" Oh no. How did she know about this?
"Just some chick he met on the bus. I could care less," I said, trying to brush it off.
"He told me that your mom offered her a job at the shop," Liz said. Oh dear god, why did my mother have to go and do that? Now this just made things more and more complicated.
"Yeah, I need to get to class. I will see you at lunch." I rushed down the hall. God, if I didn't look like I was hiding something earlier, I do now. What am I going to do?
Liz
I know something is up with Maria But I don't have time to figure that out right now. I keep thinking about max and I can't believe that I actually almost threw up on him after he...I was suddenly pulled out of my thoughts by a piece of paper landing on my desk. I look over and see max looking at me and trying not to be obvious that he just tossed me a note. I look up to make sure that our English teacher is engrossed with whatever work is on his desk. I then quickly unfolded the note. Did I do something wrong?
Wrong? No, he did everything right. I looked over at him and smiled and then quickly responded a reply.
No not at all. Im sorry I almost threw up on you. How embarrassing.
I tossed the note back to him and he quickly read it and started to quickly write a reply. What is he writing a novel or something? I act like I'm working on my assignment. Max slowly gets up and walks past my desk and nonchalantly places the note on my desk and then goes over to the sharpener to sharpen his pencil. I quickly opened the note and read.
Don't be embarrassed and I forgive you it's not your fault. I meant everything I said I want you to know that. I can't stand sitting here not being able to talk to you I want to reach over and play with that strand of hair that hangs in front of your face. I want to lean over and kiss you and hold you. I can't stop thinking about that kiss. I know Maria thinks there is something up with us and I'm surprised she hasn't harassed us for info. I want this to work, Liz. I will make it work. I've never felt like this about anyone not even with Ava. Rumor has it Kyle may be back in town and if I have to deal with him then so be it. I'm not letting anything come between us.
My heart skipped a beat and I looked over and smiled at Max as he sat back down at his desk. How do I reply back to this? I can't believe max is willing to do this. Tears start to form in my eyes I look down at the paper.
Maria
I watched Ava move boxes around and stack them. So far I hadn't said one word to her. I can't believe my mother gave her a job. She stopped stacking the last box and looked over at me. "If you have a problem with me, just say it," she said, looking at me.
"No problem," I said as I took the box from her and started to rip it open. I pulled the contents out and laid them on the counter. More alien bobble heads just what this town needs.
"Look, I'm here to find my daughter and that's it. I'm grateful your mom gave me a job."
I smiled a fake smile at her. "Any leads yet?" I asked her. I needed some info and I sure as hell not going to tell her I know max. She looked at me and gave me a half smile.
"No, not yet," she said. She went into the back of the store and disappeared. I heard the chimes of the doorbell ringing and looked up to see max and Liz coming threw the door. Oh shit!
"Max! Liz! Um, what are you doing here?" I asked.
"We came to see you," Liz said with a smile. Oh, this is just freaking lovely! I am hoping that Ava stays disappeared in the far back corner of the store and doesn't come out.
"Yeah, we thought we would see what's up since you've kind of been avoiding us and have been acting really weird," Max said. I glanced around nervously praying to god Ava stays hidden because I don't know how I am going to explain to the both of them that I knew she was here.
"Avoiding you? Yeah, right," I said as I fiddled with the bobble heads on the counter.
"Maria," Liz said as she grabbed my hand to keep me from fiddling with the stupid bobble heads.
"I'm not avoiding you. I just…have a lot going on right now, that's all." What a crock of bull that is.
Liz just nodded her head and looked at me and said, "Right, I believe that one." What am I going to do? I have to find some kind of excuse or something to get myself out of the hole and to get them out of here before they find out about ava.
"Hey, let me finish up here and see if my lovely mother will let me go and we can hang out or something?" I said. I turned and saw Ava bounding out from the back of the store.
"Maria, I can't find…" She looked up and caught eyes with max. Damn it! Shit! Shit, shit! "Max," she said, standing there, eyes locked with his. Max looked from me to Ava confused and then stepped back turned and walked out. "Max!" Ava said, running after him.
Liz stood there stunned looking at me confused. "Mind telling me what the hell is going on?" she demanded. No, not really. Shit! I looked at the ugly bobble heads and the next thing I knew I was throwing them off the counter and onto the floor. My mother came out from the back and looked around confused.
"Maria, what is going on?" she asked as she picked up the alien bobble heads.
"That's what I would like to know," Liz said as she turned around, walked out and left. Damn it!
"Liz, wait!" I yelled as I ran after her.
Max
I sat at one of the tables that sat outside the CrashDown Café that had been abandoned.
The doors to the Crashdown are now locked and closed. I miss the smell of fried food coming from the café. But, right now I can't even think about food as I look up into the eyes of the one person I thought I would never see again. "What are you doing here?" I asked her softly.
"I want to see Madison," she said flat out. She wants to see Madison? After everything that has happened, she wants to see Madison? What has changed?
"Why the hell should I let you see Madison? You made it clear you didn't want to be a mother. What makes you think I will let you see her? She doesn't even know you. You walked out on us." I don't want to deal with her right now, not when Liz is in the picture. I don't want Ava coming between what I have with Liz. I look up and see tears rolling down Ava's cheeks. I'm not going to let her get to me. She has broken my heart and the only one who can fix my heart is Liz.
"I've changed. I've realized I want to be there for my daughter. I miss her so much," she said through her tears.
"You miss her? If you even remotely gave a damn, you would have stuck through it and have been a mom this whole time! I loved you, Ava. I loved you more than anything and you walked away from both of us. Things have changed now and I can't let you back into my life or Madison's life. It hurts too much," I said. The tears were really rolling down her face now. I don't know what else to say or do. She broke my heart and I won't let her back into our lives and screw everything up that is great right now.
"Max, please just give me a chance," she sobbed.
Liz
Isabel bounced Madison on her knee and she giggled with delight. She was trying to keep her mind off of what was going on and I think its working. Max has been in his room all night and hasn't really told any of us what was said between him and Ava. And I haven't seen Ava at all. I half expected her to be on the doorstep, begging to see Madison. "He refuses to come down," Mrs. Evans said as she entered the living room.
"He can't just lock himself up and try to forget his problems. What are we going to do?" Isabel asked. I felt like an outsider looking in. I'm not part of this equation. I really don't want to be in the middle of all of this. I have a feeling once Ava finds out how close I am to Max and Madison…she might have a problem with that. I don't want any problems. I looked down and touched my huge, swollen belly.
"Maybe you can talk to him, Liz," Mrs. Evans said.
"I can try," I said as I wobbled to the stairs to head to his room. I reached the door and knocked softly. "Max." I said that through the door. The door opened and Max stood there, looking at me. "Can we talk?" I asked softly. He nodded and let me in his room. He closed the door behind me and leaned against it just looking at me. "Max, you can't just sit up here in your room and hide from your problems." As I spoke, Max walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it, placing his hands on his face.
"What if she decides she wants to take Madison from me? What do I do then? I don't know how to fix this whole situation. She wants me to give her a second chance." I sat down next to him and leaned into him, laying my head on his shoulder.
"I think you're scared she might come between us," I said softly. He turned his head toward me and lifted my head off his shoulder, looking me straight in the eyes.
"Nothing will come between us, I promise you that." He softly kissed my lips. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me and kissed him back. The kiss started to get heated. His hands were finding their way under my shirt and slowly he was lifting it up. I pulled back and sighed softly. "Sorry," Max whispered against my lips.
"We better go downstairs," I said softly. I didn't want to let him go, and there is no sign that he was going to let me go any time soon. He kissed me softly again and stood up, taking my hand and helping me up. As we headed downstairs, we heard a commotion in the living room. We headed to the living room to find Isabel at the front door, holding Madison and she was arguing with Ava at the front door. Max went over to Isabel and took Madison from her.
"You better leave right now or we are calling the cops," Isabel demanded. Max stepped between them Ava looked up over the both of them and locked eyes with me. Her face was utter shock and horror. She then looked down and then looked back up at max.
"Isabel," Max said sternly. Isabel held her hands up and backed off. Max then turned to me and handed me Madison. "Can you take her upstairs?" I nodded at his soft question and went upstairs with Madison.
Ava
Who is this really pregnant girl and why the hell is Max giving Madison to her!? Did Max move on? Is the child she is carrying his? Max looked at me and closed the door behind him and stood there. "I just wanted to see Madison. It hasn't even been a year and you already knocked up someone else," I said. My heart is sinking because I know that max has moved on and now I know I may not get my second chance. Max just stood there and laughed. What is so funny?
"Liz is none of your damn business. You lost the right to know anything that goes on once you walked away from us. We're not together and it's none of your business who I'm with," he said.
Tears were threatening to flow once again. I held them back. I don't want to cry anymore. "Fine, but I have every right to see my daughter and I'm not going to let someone else be her mother," I said. I could see the anger filling up in Max's face. I don't care. I'm Madison's mother. I know I made a mistake and I know I walked out on her and Max but I'm here and I'm willing to do anything to get her back.
"You lost your right to be her mother! Leave now!" Max yelled. He turned, opened the door and slammed it. I jumped from the sound of the door slamming.
Max
My mind is running wild with thoughts so I know I won't be sleeping tonight. I've been up and down checking on Madison every five minutes and just trying to keep my mind off things. I was finally stopped by Liz coming down the hall the tenth time I had checked on Madison. "She is safe and sound," Liz said softly. I stopped just outside my bedroom door.
"I know," I said. She walked over to me and took my hand, pulling me into my bedroom. "What are you doing?" I asked her.
"Taking your mind off things and the little bun in the oven has been kicking me all night. Maybe your presence can settle her down." She went over to the bed and adjusted the pillows and crawled in the bed.
"If my mom catches us…" I started to say but she stopped me from saying another word and patted the other side of the bed.
"We're just going to sleep. That's all, nothing more," she said with an innocent, playful smile. I smiled and crawled into the other side of the bed. She snuggled up next to me, her pregnant belly pressing right up against me. I pulled her close and she wrapped her arms around me as I placed my hand on her stomach and felt the little bun in the oven move and settle down. "It worked."
"Amazing," I said as I rubbed her stomach in circular motion.
"That feels so good." I leaned in and brushed a kiss onto her lips.
"Sleep," I said as I watched her eyelids slowly close.
Liz
I got up bright and early because the little bun in the oven decided to push on my bladder. I did my business in the bathroom and decided to go back to my room so Mrs. Evans doesn't catch me sleeping in Max's room. I walked into my room and realization hit me. I'm not ready to have this baby. I don't have anything set up in my room yet. The crib is still sitting in its box leaning against the wall. I'm going to need some help with this, but I don't want to wake Max up, so I went downstairs and grabbed the phone.
I know I haven't talked to Maria since the whole finding out about Ava situation, but I told her to come over and in minutes she was pulling up in the driveway. We talked everything over and I told her I wasn't mad at her, but she should have said something to Max about Ava. Eventually we moved inside and sat in my room, taking out all of the baby stuff to go through it all. Looking at all the baby things the Evans' have gotten me suddenly hit me. How am I going to support this baby? I can't have the Evans' support me for the rest of my life. I suddenly realized I have a lot of decisions to make, but I know one hundred percent that I can't give this child up. I have grown too attached to it and Max is willing to be its father. And if I take her away from him, it would hurt him. Now that I think about it, what would Kyle think about all of this? Kyle. He is a whole other situation that I have to deal with. "Okay, what are you thinking?" Maria asked me as she hung up a cute little onesie on a hanger.
"I just realized that I'm eventually going to have to deal with Kyle and his dad," I said.
"He is a loser. He has made it clear that he doesn't want to be in this child's life. Forget about him, Liz," Maria said.
"You're right. But, what if he decides he wants to be a part of the baby's life? And what if he finds out about the whole Max situation?" I said.
"He is in boarding school, miles and miles away," Maria said.
Kyle
It's so nice not being in that stupid boarding school that my dad shipped me off to. It's nice being back at home, where I don't have to worry about a roommate. I threw my bags onto the bed and started unpacking. Once I'd stepped off the bus and got into the house, my dad started in on the rules. Right after he gave me all the rules, I asked him about Liz, but he wouldn't give me any information or details, all he said was that she never cashed the check that he gave her. I've been trying to call her, but her cell phone is out of service. I need to see her, and at least talk to her. She has what, how many more months until the baby comes? God, I don't even know. I'm such an idiot for treating her the way I did. There was a knock at my bedroom door, and I looked up to see my dad standing in the doorway. "You have a visitor," he said."
"Who is it?" I asked. He stepped aside and I saw Tess' smiling face. What the hell does she want? And how the hell did she find out I was back in town?
"No girls in your room. Go downstairs," my dad said, as he motioned for us to go downstairs. Under my dad's watchful eye, I sat across from Tess on the living room couch.
"Boy, do I have some info for you," she said with a smile. I just wanted to know how Liz was doing and how the hell Tess knew I was back in town. I didn't like the look Tess was giving. Something told me I wouldn't like any information she was going to give me and could I trust Tess? She could be telling a load of bull for all I know. "It's about your soon to be born baby's mama," she went on to say. She started talking and telling me everything and I listened intently. With every word she was saying, I knew I needed proof that what she was saying was true. And if it is true, I'm definitely going to need to talk to Liz now.