RedJewel2662 – The answer to your question is still up to debate. I even don´t know if she´s expecting or not. You just have to wait and see.
Chapter 55 A second chance
Michael was still lying in his bed and wondered what he did wrong. Where did he make a mistake, so that Maria thought she had to escape him? Had he been too fast for her? So many questions plaguing his mind and no answers. He had been having enough time already, because he was resting in his big comfortable king size bed since yesterday when they arrived at home. Tess immediately sent him in his room to lay down and get better, although he told her a hundred times that he was fine. One perk of being different than others, as an alien hybrid the healing was faster than with any human. Well, actually there was another perk, but it was more in the sexual departement. Now a day had been gone and a new was starting and still no sign for him that would tell what he could do to make everything alright again. He had stared at the black painted walls and his staind vs. Metallica posters the whole time the day before. But nothing had helped him in any way. It just made him more depressed the more he thought about it. A few times he had been close to call her and ask her what she was thinking to just break up with him. Unfortunately his sister had prevented him from embarrissing himself. She had told him that he should have patience and everything would work out. In return he grilled her about information. He was sure that she knew something and was only too loyal to sell her roommate. All threatening didn´t help, the offered money and not even his begging. Tess was strangly quiet about this topic, a strange contrast to her chatty nature. But he couldn´t be mad at her, at least not anymore. She had been a great sister, sitting with him all day and trying to distract him from his pain, emotionally and physically. She told him about the small accident from Kyle in her room, when he kissed the floor unvoluntarily and begged her not to kill him. That earned her a small smile, but it soon disappeared again. There wasn´t anything that could cheer him up for a while and maybe he would never be happy as long as he lived. Suddenly he was thrown out of his dark thoughts when the door to his room opened with a loud bang. A middle aged hispanic woman with black hair and a bulky body waddled through his space towards the big window besides his bed. Forcefully she took the thick dark red curtain with both hands and pushed the two sides apart. Broad daylight was shining in the room and made it look a little brighter.
" Good morning, Michael. Come on. Rise and shine sweety".
Michael groaned angrily and put his with dark blue velvet covered pillow over his face. He didn´t want anybody in his room and bothering him. What did he have to do to get left alone in this freaking house? " Go away, Juanita. I want to be alone".
The housemaid lifted a eyebrow in his direction. Did he think this number would work with her? She survived his puberty, his first hangover and his angry state when his parents died. She would manage a break up, even if it was hard to see him suffering so bad. He had never been one to fall in love with girls, he just thought they were good for one thing and when they fullfilled their use he threw them away without caring for their feelings. Now it was actually justified when someone did the same to him. " Oh no, don´t give me that garbage again, chico! You will stop moping around immediately or I´m forced to use radical measures".
" And what do you wanna do?", Michael wasn´t that terrified of her. She could be stern and she had her own way of punishing him with her dark looks thrown his way everytime they crossed path. But all in all she was a good soul and she loved him to pieces. She couldn´t scare him. Not really.
Juanita smiled evily and if the boy hiding under his bedding would have looked he would have seen it coming already. But alas he did not. " I´m cleaning your whole room", she waited a beat to lull him in a false sense of security. " In the nude".
That got a reaction from Michael, who instantly threw the pillow aside and jumped out of his bed, not caring if his injury was healed already or not. Just the thought of her unclothed body was making him shaking of fear. It wasn´t as much her appearance that was bothering him, it was rather the fact that he saw her as part of his family and there were things he didn´t need to see. " I´m up. I´m up. No need to bring out the big guns".
" Ha. See I told your sister I would get your ass out of bed", she eyed him closer and saw the dark rings under his eyes. He hadn´t obviously gotten enough sleep. That was not the boy who exclaimed that he would never be depressed over a girl. Poor thing. " How are you feeling?".
Michael wanted to reply like someone sucked all life out of his body, burned his heart right in his chest and then on top of that tried to cut it out with a spoon. But he refrained from doing that. He didn´t want pity and he didn´t want anybody knowing how much it pained him to be thrown away from a girl. Thankfully he was sure that she just meant his broken ribs. " I´m feeling much better".
Juanita saw something that surprised her, because she had been so sure she would never see something like that again in her life. His eyes were open like a book and she could read every emotion reflecting there. She saw a lot of pain, a small amount of anger and a tiny part of love. Usually he was so guarded about his feelings and kept them to himself most of the time. This time however he did not and finally she understood what Tess tried to tell her about him and this girl being meant to be, that their love was special. It had to be when Michael mourned the loss of her so deeply. Slowly she stepped closer to him and laid her hand on his belly. " I´m not talking about your injuries", carefully her hand wandered up to his chest. " I´m talking about your heart".
" It will get better", he was a sure of it. He just had to wait until the pain disappeared and his life seemed to continue again. Now all he had to do was to find a way to convince Maria that he wouldn´t give her up without putting up a fight. He was a soldier and he didn´t know the meaning of retreat.
Juanita pinched his cheek with a smile. " You´re a good boy and some day this girl will know that, too. And before you know it she will either call or stand in front of your door and beg you to take her back".
Michael was sure that this wouldn´t happen. Maria wasn´t the kind of girl who would beg for something and she thought she was protecting him with staying away. As long as Nicolai and Khivar were still a threat nothing would change her mind. " Yeah maybe".
" Don´t give up yet", Juanita loved this children like it would be her own and every pain they felt was like someone had hurt her. He and Tess had been trough so much in her life and still they were still standing. Nothing could get them down so easily, because they were special and they had people who cared about them. " Now go down in the kitchen and eat something. Your sister and your grandfather are already waiting for you".
Michael was surprised and it showed on his face. When did that happen? His grandfather wasn´t expected until Sunday and today was only Friday. " Grandpa is here?".
Juanita was already in the process to clear away the pants, shirts and sweater litter on the floor. The boy had so much to learn about the proper handling of his clothes. He was in the possession of a hamper. But no he just loved the throw everything just down. Someday he would find a woman who would teach him to be tidier. " Yeah, he came last night. He had been extremly angry that nobody called him to tell him about the accident. As soon as he saw the news he was on the way to the airport for a flight back. He cancelled all his meetings for the next week".
" Strange", Michael shrugged his shoulders. Everybody was acting a little odd the last few days or it just was looking like that for him. Maybe he was stuck in the twilight zone and didn´t know it? It could be possible, how else was the behaviour to explain? " Well, I´m off to face the dragon. Wish me luck".
Juanita shook her head after the retreating back of the boy. He was always complaining about the lack of love they got from their grandfather. But he never mentioned that he hadn´t been an exactly easy person to be around. Charles Dupree loved the children just like he would be their father. It had been hard for him when his daughter and his son in law died in that aweful car crash and he was responsible for two orphans which just lost their parents. He did what he could and it was more than most of the grandparents would have done. A few times his lawyers suggested that he should give the kids away and look for a better family, who could care for them. But he fought vehemently against it and fired his lawyers. He wouldn´t give up his flesh and blood, not now and not ever. And he stuck to his promise until today. One day Michael would see the same she saw all this years. A wonderful man taking care of his grandchildren.
Kitchen
Tess and Charles were already sitting at the expensive kitchen table made from light marble. The whole room was made from it. Except for the cooking utensiles and the equipment, which was chromed. The space was huge and two big windows were throwing in a lot of light and made everything look bigger. Fresh flowers were on the table and everything was at its place, like in every room in this house. Michael was surprised when he spotted them both in a nice conversation while they ate their breakfast. Tess had a plate of fruit in front of her and his grandfather was biting pieces off of his bagel. Both turned to him startled when they heard him going to the fridge and getting a carton of orange juice out of it.
" Well, Juanita finally get you out of your bed. I´m impressed", Tess hadn´t counted on it. Her brother was pretty stubborn in some things and she had been sure that he would have fought her in this matter. Besides he could be playing the wounded card, but like it appeared he didn´t do that.
Michael took a glass out of the cabinet above the stove and poured it full of his juice. Then he leant against the counter with his back and stared at the two people watching him like a hawk. " Yeah. She threatened to clean my room in the nude and quite frankly that´s a sight I don´t need to see".
Tess tried to hide her snigger behind her hand. Unfortunately she didn´t make it when she saw the angry glare thrown her way from her brother. Straightening her expression she made an attempt to look less amused, although she pictured his face when he saw their maid in her naked state. " I would pay money to witness this".
" Funny. I´ll remember this the next time Juanita does the same to you", Michael hated to be the joke of his sister. Especially when he wasn´t in the mood for it. Besides she should be more careful, he was injured and pretty sensitive right now.
Charles watched the sibling banter between his grandchildren and he was relieved that they both had made it out alive from the building. It was a wonder that they weren´t hurt more, which he of course was thankful for. " I´m glad the incident hasn´t destroyed your biting charme".
Michael faced his grandfather with a mix between anger and disdain. How dare him making a sarcastic comment about him! " What would you know about that? You don´t even know me".
" Don´t start this topic again. How long do you want to be angry with me about that?", Charles was so sick to be the attention of his grandsons anger. It was neither his fault that his parents died nor that he wanted to offer the two the best possible life, the reason why he worked so hard.
Michael was tempted to say as long as he lived. But he swallowed his reply when he saw the pleading look from his sister. Instead he bit back his temper and decided to go to a place where he could let his dark feelings out. His painting room. " Forget it. I´m buzzing off", seconds later he was gone.
Charles sighed while he looked after his grandson. He didn´t know what he did wrong with him and how he could fix it. Maybe he shouldn´t have tried to buy his love and instead tried to be more there for him. But now it was too late and the damage already unrepairable. " He´s such a hothead!".
" Cut him some slack. His girlfriend broke up with him and he´s really hurting right now", Tess hated to sit on the fence everytime this two clashed together. She could understand both sides and said that often. Unfortunately nobody listened to her.
Charles let his glance wander to the door where Michael went out moments ago. No wonder he had been more irritated than usual. Maybe they should finally talk from man to man and get a few things out of the way. At least for his granddaughters sake.
Painting room
Michael had traded his sleeping wear, containing grey boxershort and a grey t-shirt, for something more comfortable. Now his body was covered in a blue overall, which spotted color dabs at some places, with nothing underneath. His feets were naked and made noises when he stepped back on the expensive parquet flooring to eye his picture from another angle. On the table behind him was a small CD player, from which Metallica blared loudly through the room. The blinds were almost down and just let some light pass, enough to see the surroundings but not to get dazzled. Angrily he slapped his brush against the canvass in sync with the beat of the music while he let his frustration out. He wasn´t normally someone, who was big with expressing himself. But with the painting it was different. There he could show his emotions openly without making himself too vulnerable in the process.
" You know you could be a little more nicer to gramps".
Michael startled when he heard the voice of his sister. He was always so absorbed with painting that he didn´t notice anything around him. But this time he registered the angry tone in her voice. Slowly he dropped his brush on the old workbench where now his brushes, colors and his other utensils were. After that he took a rag, which was as colorful as a rainbow and wiped his hands on it before turning around. Annoyed he glanced at his sibling standing in the door frame and the glare she threw towards him. " Tell me a good reason why".
Tess rolled her eyes at her brother while stepping into the room. Impressed she scanned the space around her. The last time she had been in here it was the free time room of her father, where he worked with wood on weekends. A few things were still here, like the cradle he began to build but never finished, two with strange symbols decorated candle bearer and the baseball bat he made before he died. Michael hadn´t been having the guts to throw him away, because it was a reminder. Although he never used the bat, it was his most treasured possession after his autograph from James Hetfield and his car. Now the room looked more like a studio from a poor artist and strangly she liked the vibe of it. " Because he is our family and he loves us"
" Oh please. You believe the shit he tells you?", Michael threw the rag away and went to the table to stop the music. Now that his flow had been broken, he could listen to the things his sister had to tell him. At least as long as she didn´t try to make him apologize to their grandfather.
Tess groaned while she lifted her hands like she wanted to strangle him. Bloody hell, he could be so infuriating sometimes. He was like a child trapped in a grown up body. Someday he would go to far and not get the chance to fix it again. And then he regretted his behaviour, but it would be to late. " Don´t let your anger at Maria out on grandpa. He doesn´t deserve it".
Michael whirled around furiously and immediately pain was shooting through his side. The broken ribs were not fully healed yet and a wrong move did still hurt. Thankfully not as bad as the day before, but still noticable. " This has nothing to do with Maria!".
" Really? You´re not mad at her for breaking up with you? Or sad? You don´t feel anything?", Tess knew that her brother was suffering from the loss of Maria, but he tried to bury it in his inside until he had the gut to deal with it. Unfortunately then it was usual too late. However she wouldn´t watch him throw away his chance of true love this time. She would force him to face his feelings dead on. " Then it´s probably better that she broke up with you, because she feels more for you than you for her".
Michael was on the brink to explode and he was dangerously close to lose control over his powers. The cups with his old paintbrushes were shaking and the ground under their feets grumbled a little. He knew that it would make him feel better to release the energy humming quietly under his skin. " Don´t talk about things you have no idea about. You can´t imagine how I´m feeling right now. But analyzing everything won´t solve my problem".
Tess stepped towards him, afraid something could explode and hit her. She made such a mistake before and now she had a nice scar at her hairline from a piece of a puck her brother had destroyed with his powers. " Keeping everything bottled up won´t solve anything too".
" Yeah heard that sentence before somewhere, but it didn´t work then and it won´t work now", Marianna had been having the same fight with him about that just before everything went down. The only difference was that he had mourned the death of his family then and now it was the death of the relationship with the only woman he could ever love.
Tess saw the swirling emotions in her brothers gaze and it hurt her to see him like that. Was it so bad that she wanted to help? Carefully she laid her right hand on his cheek. " I´m just worried about you. I want to be there for you. But I can´t do that when you won´t let me in".
Michael pulled her closer towards him and wrapped his arms around her. Putting his chin on her head, he swallowed a sob. He was aware of the fact that his sister just wanted to help him. But it was something he wanted to deal with alone. " Don´t worry about me. I will get through this stage and before you know it I will be the same pain in the ass brother again"
" Promise me that", Tess retracted a little away from him and glanced in his eyes. She just wanted to have an assurance, because she had the thought that their group was slowly falling apart at the moment. " Give me your word that you won´t break from the pain".
Michael chuckled at the choice of words from her. Grinning slightly he bent down and kissed his sisters forehead. As much as it hurt him to admit it, she had managed to get him a little out of his funk. " Now you make me sound like sissy Max. But I promise I won´t break".
Tess laughed about the obvious dig at their friend. Too bad that he wasn´t here to hear it, she would love to see his indignant face. Remembering to tell him about the insult the next time she would met him again, she pushed her brother softly away from her. " Good to know, because the next conversation would have been coming from Kyle, who by the way sends his greetings and his support".
" You talked to him?", Michael tried to keep the exitement out of his voice. He didn´t want to sound too eager to know if she had news from Maria.
Tess turned around and made an attempt to appear like she would eye the many paintings lining at the side wall. Finding one she thought was a little nicer than the rest she kneeled in front of it and regarded it with more interest. " Yeah. Told me to give you a slap on the shoulder from him. And he said you shouldn´t be down in the mouth. Maria would come to her sense someday".
Michael observed the body language of his sister and wondered what she was trying to hide from him. There was more than she told him and he worried. Was something wrong with Maria? Was she hurt? Did Nicolai appear again? " Why do I have the feeling your leaving something out?".
" Because your paranoid maybe?", Tess still stared at the picture. It wasn´t visible what it should display, but the emotions were clear. The colors were mostly dark and sometimes a little red was mixed in the shambles. There was so much anger, fear and death. Must have been just after their parents died, because the feelings were rough and hard.
Michael leant his back against the workbench and crossed his arms over his chest. He wouldn´t play this I don´t know what you´re talking about game with her. " Or maybe you´re trying to protect me from more pain?".
Tess pried her eyes away from the painting and turned to him. He was wearing his don´t bullshit face and she knew that he wouldn´t believe her clueless act. Damn him and his damn sixths sense. " It´s just Maria. Kyle is pretty worried about her. He said she didn´t look so healthy the last two days".
" What is wrong with her? We don´t get sick", that was a fact. He and his sister were never ill and never had to go to any doctors. Well, only when they hurt themself or something. But never because they had a cold or the flu or such things.
Tess shrugged with her shoulders. Kyle thought it was stress mixed with the pain of breaking up with Michael. But he wasn´t sure and he didn´t want to worry his parents, the reason why he didn´t say anything to them. " He´s not sure. Just told me that she was quiet and her skin color was alarming".
Michael was tempted to call Maria and ask her straight what was going on with her. But he was sure that he was the last one she would tell if anything was wrong with her. He cursed his empath powers for not reaching as far as Roswell, then he would feel how she was. " Did you talk to her?".
" No. She was still sleeping when I talked to Kyle today and this afternoon she has a date with Lindsey. They are going in the mall and spent time together", Tess hoped that her friend would take her advice serious and rest enough. She didn´t want to be the one to tell her brother that something happened with the woman he loved.
Michael wondered if Maria was in this condition because she was suffered just like him. Or maybe the last few days had finally caught up with her. It was probably the blending of both things. She was after all only human, alien powers aside. She just needed a little break and she would soon be on her feet again. " Yeah well, she´s tough, she will survive it".
Tess was stunned about that sentence. He appeared like he didn´t care about Maria at all. But then she remembered who was standing in front of her. It was just his defence mechanism jumping in action. Great, now he was doing it with her already. " All right. Then that´s my cue to leave you alone. See you at dinner", whirling around she walked out of the room. With a flick of her wrist the door behind her snapped close with a loud bang.
That evening
Michael had escaped the odd vibes in the dining room as soon as he had scarfed his food down. It had been creepy how much attention his grandfather paid to him tonight. He expected it already from his cousin Laurie, but she just smiled at him and talked about her day at the office. She wanted to draw the conversation in another direction and away from him and he was thankful for that. Finally he knew why he liked her so much. She always had been a special person in his life, something close to another sister. Maybe because she was looking a little like Tess with her blonde hair and her friendly expression. She was always someone who smiled at you, even if she had a bad day herself. But she could also be really stern or even pretty angry, which she proved on more than one occasion with him. She often scolded or punished him when he went out of line, what was very much on a daily basis back then. However she was after Tess the only person from his family he really cared about and who understood him. Which was the reason why she left with his sister the moment he disappeared down the hall towards the play room. She knew that he needed this time for himself and that he wasn´t someone needing so much people around him. Relieved he slipped into the room and closed the door tightly behind him. Smiling he looked around and was glad to be back home. He missed this chamber more than anything. It was the dream for every boy no matter the age. Every corner was decorated with games, small and big or something different. There were a pokerautomat, a big tv with the new PS2, a pinball machine, a dartboard and a huge billiard table. Posters of Metallica, Staind and Nirvana were gracing the walls. Immediately he made his way to the small hi-fi system and put on the radio on KFMA, his favourite station. It always played classic rock and sometimes even something new. Then he took a cue from the holder on the wall and prepared everything to play. Most times when he came here, he would go for the playstation and punch a few monsters out of the way. But today he was in the mood for a little pool. There he could think about a few things and finally plan something to win Maria back. He had already sent her a few dozen of white roses and a big pink fluffy bunny with I love you written on his belly. And he would continue with attacking her with gifts and people dancing and singing in front of her window day and night until she begged him to stop with it. Then he would really start with his plan and annoy her more. Even if he had to sing himself somehing and embaress his family. Damn his was slowly turning into a sap. Next thing he knew he would begin to cry at commercials. Shaking his head he wondered why men changed as soon as they loved a woman. They made the strangest things to get the attention of them and after that it got stranger to keep them. Suddenly he stopped pushing the balls around and listened to the radio host introcuing a new song from a relative fresh band called Lifehouse. Michael didn´t know what possessed him, but he dropped his cue on the table, walked to the system and pushed the volume up a notch or two. Then he listened to the lyrics.
Find me here,
speak to me
I want to feel you, I need to hear you
You are the
light that's leading me to the place
Where I find peace again
Yeah he could relate to that feeling. He had felt the same when he was with Maria. She was like the light that showed him the way. Before her there wasn´t a girl worth keeping around. She was the first woman he could picture himself married and living with their twins in some small house in some suburb.
You are the
strength that keeps me walking
You are the hope that keeps me
trusting
You are the light to my soul
You are my purpose
You're
everything
Did the guy knew Maria or maybe himself? As corny as it sounded it was exactly the way he thought about her. She was everything for him and his purpose.
And how can I
stand here with you
And not be moved by you
Would you tell me
how could it be any better than this
Great he wasn´t the only man trapped in the web of love. The guy singing this seemed to really know what happened when you were so deeply in love with someone you couldn´t imagine a life without them in it anymore.
You calm the
storms and you give me rest
You hold me in your hands
You won't
let me fall
You still my heart, and you take my breath away
Would
you take me in take me deeper now
Either it was a freaking coincidence or someone was trying to give him some kinda sign here. The lyrics of this song were matching his feelings to a T. Maria really had been having the talent to calm him, which was not much different than calming a storm. He missed her. There he admitted it, even if it was just to himself.
And how can I
stand here with you
And not be moved by you
Would you tell me
how could it be any better than this
And how can I stand here with
you
And not be moved by you
Would you tell me how could it be
any better than this
Okay if he was already honest with himself, he should also confess that he really was angry with Maria for breaking his heart and just leaving him back bleeding on the floor. It really hurt and it still did. He never had felt so strongly about someone not his family. He already saw the perfect engagement ring for her and had it put aside for him. He just wanted to wait for another month or two to buy it. Now he could forget his plans of marrying or at least delay it.
Cause you're all I want,
You're all I
need
You're everything.. everything
You're all I want
You're
all I need
You're everything.. everything
You're all I
want
You're all I need
You're everything.. everything
You're
all I want
You're all I need
Everything.. everything
Angrily he took the cue again and started punching him at the wall repeatedly. Tears were slowly making a way down his cheeks. He cursed himself for becoming such a pansy who cried because of a stupid song. He heard and felt the wood splinter under his hands and he welcomed it. It would at least distract him from the pain for a while. How could Maria do that to him?
And how can I
stand here with you
And not be moved by you
Would you tell me
how could it be any better than this
And how can I stand here with
you
And not be moved by you
Would you tell me how could it be
any better any better than this
And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you
Would you tell me how could it be any
better than this
Spent he dropped to the ground and hid his face behind his hands. He felt a little better after giving in on his darker emotions. But his heart was still bleeding. And he wished his phone would finally ring, where Maria told him that she made a mistake. That she missed him so much that she was on her way to him. Or that she didn´t mean what she said to him and everything was alright.
" Did it help?".
Michael jerked slightly surprised when he heard that voice. Quickly wiping the wet streaks from his face he turned to the person standing in the door frame. Since when did his grandfather come to this room? And how long had he been here? " What are you doing here?".
Charles left his place and walked to the small chair in front of the huge TV. Sitting down he watched his grandson. Finally he let everything out. " I thought we should talk. You know from man to man".
" I think you can spare me that conversation. Carlos already talked to me about sex and birth control", Michael jumped to his feet and busied himself with cleaning the mess he had made when he destroyed the cue. He winced when he saw the dent he punched into the wall. He had to fix that with his powers. But after his grandfather was gone.
Charles shook his head smiling. The boy had still so much to learn about a few things and he was glad that they were still things he could teach him. Even if he missed the sex talk. " A relationship isn´t just about sex. There are so many factors that have to meet before two people get involved".
Michael felt slightly uncomfortable discussing this with his grandfather. What did he even know about relationship these days. The times had changed and it wasn´t like twenty or even ten years ago, when the parents forced their children to marry the son or the daughter of a friend. Now it was much more complexer. " I´m fully aware of that, thank you. But that´s not my problem at the moment".
" I know, your sister told me everything about this special girl in your life and that she broke up with you. Do you wanna talk about it?", Charles had been having a similiar conversation with his daughter after her first loved dumped her. He had wished his wife had been present that day, but unfortunately she had died when Cindy had been 10 years old. And so it was up to him to comfort his angel in this hard time.
Michael cleared the splinters away and was close to clean the whole room, just to avoid talking to his grandfather. It was pure torture. Like he would tell him anything. " Nothing to talk about".
Charles stood up from his spot and walked to his grandson. Carefully he stopped his busy hands from being all over the place and looked in his face. The boy was hurting inside. " You love this girl very much, don´t you? And now she left and you feel like she ripped your still beating heart our of your chest and stomped on it".
" How do you know?", for the first time Michael didn´t reply something snippy or even sarcastic. For the first time he felt like his grandfather understood him. Figures, they started to bond over women and the loss of them.
Charles laughed about the surprised expression of his grandson. Was he looking so old already that he couldn´t remember his first heartbreak? It had been a long time when he felt love , but not long enough to not remember it. " You´re not the first man being dumped or left from a woman", his mind wandered to a time when he thought he would die from the pain of losing his wife. He had loved her more than half of his life and someday she was gone, just like that. " When your grandmother died I felt really bad. There was this aching hole where my heart was supposed to be and I started drinking to forget. Everybody was telling me how sorry they were about my loss, but I didn´t listen, because they couldn´t possibly understand my pain or how I felt. I didn´t just lose my wife, I lost my life and my best friend. More than once I held the old winchester from my father in my hands and thought about ending my own life".
Michael was shocked to hear that. His grandfather never spoke about the death of his grandmother. It was a off limit topic in this mansion. He never knew how bad it really was. But it was good to know that he wasn´t the only one suffering because of a woman. " How did you manage to survive it?".
" I had your mother to think about. One day I looked at her and I saw Karen staring back at me and I finally realized that I would always have a part of her with me. Besides she was so young I couldn´t take away her only parent", he could still see the face of Cindy as she glanced up at him with her sad eyes and asking him if she would loose him, too. It broke his heart to hear that sentence. She had been so small and she already knew that he had been in a bad situation. That was the kick in the butt he needed to wake up.
Michael hopped on the pool table and stared unbelieving at his grandfather. How come he didn´t know this man in front of him? It was like he slowly transfered in this different person. The strangest thing was, that he wanted to get to know him better. " Do you still miss grandma?".
Charles leant against the table besides him and sighed loud. " Everyday. Just as I miss your mother. Every morning I look out of the window and wonder if they´re at a better place, if they knew how much I loved them and if they´re happy".
" I wonder the same sometimes", Michael didn´t talk about the death of his parents much. Actually he never talked about it. Everybody assumed that if he wanted he would talk or share his feelings. But with time they stopped expecting him to tell them what was going on inside him. He never really got over their death. Still today he was depressed about it and at some days he was angry with them for leaving him.
Charles put a hand on the shoulder of his grandson and squeezed it. He would have prefered a warm hug, but he was afraid of the boys reaction. " She will come back to you, I´m sure. If she´s the one, then not everything is lost yet".
Michael was touched about the things his grandfather told him. He finally saw that the older man was really a human and not just a monster he lived with. He asked himself why they never had such a conversation before. It helped him a little, at least he didn´t feel so aweful anymore. " I hope so, because I can´t lose her. She means the world to me".
" Then why are you still sitting here and mope around. Get your ass in gear and sweep this girl off of her feet, Dupree style", Charles gave his grandson a nudge. If he believed Tess the girl was as heartbroken as Michael. " If you need the jet call Ed. Champagne is in the fridge and I think we have strawberries lying around somewhere. Ask Juanita".
Michael slid from the table and was just in the process to walk out the door when he turned around and embraced his grandfather wholeheartly. " Thank you", then he dashed quickly out of the room and almost fell on his face when he collided with his sister who was on her way to the kitchen to get a little snack.
Tess stuck her head into the play room and stared perplexed at her grandfather, who was smiling after his grandson. " What happened here?".
" Nothing. We just reached a common ground".
The same time in Roswell
Maria was on her way to her bedroom, because she was really tired. No wonder after she had spent most of her afternoon shopping with her baby sis and then they played basketball with Kyle and their parents. It had been great. Finally they did something as a family again. They had tried to talk Sean in joining them, but he said it was too exhausting and he would just watch. All in all it had been a really great day, even if she noticed that she gained a little weight. Her blue jeans were tighter than she remembered them and she just fit in them after she was lying on her bed and fought with the damn zipper. Okay, she used her powers to make the material slightly wider. Now she thought about not eating so much anymore. She thought about the food she ate the last two days and was shocked about the amount she had stuffed in her body. Her mother already asked her if she was pregnant, of course jokingly. But that got her thinking if she was indeed expecting a little E.T. Shaking her head she told herself that it wasn´t possible. Firstly they used protection and secondly it would be too soon. Opening the door to her room she startled when she saw someone sitting on her bed. Someone not part of her family. Instantly she drew up her hand and was prepared to shoot before asking questions.
" What are you doing here?".
Rath jumped to his feet surprised and turned around to her. He mimicked her stance while he tried to get out what he wanted to say. " We have to talk".
TBC