Chapter 56 Twisting of the events
Maria kept her former lover in her sight and still held her hand protectively in front of her while she stepped back into the hall to look if someone was coming or where her siblings were staying. Straining her ears she heard her parents down in the living room watching a quiz show together and trying to guess the answers. Kyle and Sean were teaching Lindsey how to cheat at poker and noticing that she already knew everything. For a moment Maria let her glance waver from Rath and looked at both sides to be sure before getting back into her room and closing the door tightly behind her. She even used her powers to make the walls sound proof, just in case it would get a little rough.
" You wanna talk, then let´s talk. You get 5 minutes to convince me not to kill you".
Rath dropped his arm and his fighting stance, the expression on his face relaxed and a smile appeared on it. Slowly he walked to her desk and sat on it like he would live here. " You can stop threatening me. I´m not here to hurt you".
Maria shook her head at him and glared in his direction. " I´m rather safe than sorry, so I think I´ll stick to be cautious".
" If I would have wanted to harm you I would have done it already in the warehouse or today when I watched you shopping with your sister in the mall", he knew that he choose the hardest way in this game. He would rather kiss a man than to gave her proof about his honesty. Damn, he really forgot how stubborn the girl could be.
Maria´s complete aura changed immediately and her eyes got darker. She forced him on his knees with her power and made it that he couldn´t stand up from his position. Then she walked towards him and grasped his hair to pull his head up. " I thought we had a deal. I would think about your stupid offer and you would keep away from my family".
Rath was surprised about the amount of power she was emitting. She didn´t even try hard and yet he had problems fighting against the restrain keeping him prisoner. Woah, since the last time he saw her, she was stronger than before. No wonder Nicolai was after her. They both could be lethal to this planet. " That´s not the reason I´m here. I´m here to warn you about the deal. Don´t accept it and don´t trust your half brother. He´s playing his own game, behind his fathers back and he´s planning to take over the throne himself".
" Why should I believe you? Give me one freaking reason to trust you", she only trusted her family and her friends, who weren´t present at the moment. And only them. She wouldn´t make a mistake and trust the wrong people, just to notice afterwards that it was a set up. How stupid did they think she was?
Rath felt like she wanted to rip his scalp from his skull. A little more and she would be new owner of a new wig, complete with skin and blood. He wasn´t a wussy or hurt easily, but the grip she had on him was really starting to pain him. " I´m still the person you know, or Marianna knew at least. Somewhere deep inside you is the woman I love and I just want to save her".
Maria slightly loosened the hold on him, the sincerity in his voice threw her for a moment. Instantly her mind flashed to a place Marianna had felt the most comfortable. Rath´s bedroom with his arms around her body and possessively holding her close. The love in his glance was so honest and wonderful that it touched her deeply. Shaking her head she remembered that she wasn´t the same person and they weren´t on Antar. This was earth and she was the woman of another, a man she loved so much that she would give her own life to spare him. " That had been another life on another planet. I´m not Marianna anymore".
" I know that. But there is still a small part of her in you and it calls to me through our bond. Give me time and I will prove myself to you", Rath was desperate to get through to her. He didn´t want that anything would happen to her because she didn´t trust him. He hadn´t gone through the shit Nicolai put on him to lose her after all.
Maria pondered her options at the moment. She was torn between listening to her instinct who said she should believe him and her mind who told her that it would be wrong to trust him. In the end she released the grip on his hair and held back her powers. But she didn´t drop her guard completely. " All right, for now I won´t kill you. But as soon as I notice that you´re trying to trick me, I won´t hesitate to change you into a woman without using any powers, got it?"
Rath stood up from his place on the ground and faced her with a strange twinkle in his eyes. Slowly he grinned at her while his glance wandered over her clothed body. " Do you know how sexy you are when you show your darker side?".
" Don´t change the topic here", despite her feeling that she should be careful in his presence, she blushed at the comment. Nervously she rubbed her face and tried to get her heating cheeks under control, which was not so easy. The way he regarded her had been arousing and she felt really bad for that. Not even 48 hours ago she broke up with her boyfriend and now she was charmed from another man. " You´re obviously not here to talk to me about my sex appeal. What brought you into my room at this time of night?".
Rath stepped closer to her and the gleam in his eyes was anything but innocent. The hunger in there was intoxicating and at the same time flattering. The spell was just broken when he wriggled his eye brows seductively. " I was hoping for a little candy, but unfortunately I seem to have lost my irresistable charm".
Maria started laughing at that. " You haven´t lost your charm. You´re just with the wrong girl".
" Damn. Too bad", Rath walked around the room and eyed the interior with interest. It was like he always imagined her bedroom. A little girly, but not too much and a good portion of the dark side. He saw a picture of her with a badly groomed boy somewhere outside. Besides it was a photograph with her in a cheerleader uniform and her brother in his football dress, side by side and smiling at the camera. He was so glad to see that this life had been better for her. " You love your family, don´t you?".
Marias heart starting beater faster and she lost her color for a moment. She should have known not to trust him. Bastard had her distracted. Prepared to blast him out of her window, she focused on her powers. This time the blast would be deadly. " Why? You´re planning to kill them?".
Rath heard the edge in her voice and felt the energy crackling in the air. Immediately his head snapped in her direction and he witnessed her eyes turning a darker shade of green. For a moment she changed her appearance and he was shocked to see Marianna standing in front of him. But it was over before he could react and then it was just only Maria again. " No, I´m not. But Nicolai won´t hesistate to do that. Hence the reason for me to come visit you. Get your family as far away from here as you can".
" Is he planning something? Do you know anything?", Maria was already mulling over how she should convince her parents to leave the house for a few days, even weeks. Her father would demand to know why they had to go and after the conversation last night, he wouldn´t let himself fob off with lies.
Rath shook his head disappointed. He wasn´t in on every plan from Khivar, because they weren´t so sure to trust him with everything. A good plan for them, but not so much for him. But he would keep his eyes and ears open from now on. " Nicolai knows that you won´t accept his offer and I´m not so sure if he´s sticking to his plan anymore. He´s not exactly the most faithful person".
Maria snorted scornful in agreement. He really wasn´t someone you would count on. The things he said were usually not the things he meant. He was as reliable as Kaa in the jungle book and so dangerous like Shirkan. Not a good mix. " You´re telling me. How long do I have?".
" I don´t know. Probably less than you think, so I suggest you send them away. This evening or tomorrow at the latest", the sooner the better. If he could he would tell her she should go with her family. But she was part of this war going on and she wouldn´t abandon her friends or the people depending on her.
Maria felt her stomach doing flip flops. Tiredly she let herself slump on her bed and hid her face in her hands. Breathing deeply in she tried to quell her sick feeling and prevent to make her carpet dirty with the repeat of her food, backwards. " I´m not ready. Everything is going too fast. I don´t know which direction to go most days".
Rath immediately sat beside her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Softly he pulled her tightly at his body and stroked her head tenderly. " You´re stronger than you think. And you´re not alone. You have your friends and I´m sure they´re instantly ready to come here when you call them".
" You sound like Larek", finally Maria noticed why the two boys had been friend in their past life, apart from the same taste in women. A small smile appeared on her face. Strange, Rath felt still exactly like she remembered it. Just his scent was a tiny bit different.
Rath laughed when he thought back to his old friend. Too bad that they had no contact at the moment, they had probably so much to tell each other. Maybe when everything was over he could visit him in his UFO-Center and they could talk. " It could be worse. I could sound like Zan when he dreamily told us everything about his relationship with Ava".
Maria´s mind flashed back at the time in the castle. How much fun they had to tease the future king or like they called him Prince boring. Rath, Larek and Marianna. Sometimes Vilandra was with them and made strange noises at her brother. " Oh god no.I wouldn´t wish that on my worst enemy", she thought about her half brother. " Oh wait maybe I do".
" Do you feel better now?", he kissed her head, which was lying on his shoulder and a caught a whiff of her scent. It was a mix between strawberry and cinnamon. For a second he closed his eyes to saviour the moment and memorize it under things he missed and would never get back again.
Maria raised her face and smiled at him. It was pretty odd that she was sitting here on her bed with her lover from her past life, who she had passed as the enemy minutes ago and felt so calm. She believed just Michael was giving her this feeling, but now she wondered if it wasn´t about them at all. " Yes. My little freak out is over".
Rath looked in her beautiful green eyes and it was like time stood still. He could see his reflection of him in there and he remembered why this was the second best part on Marianna, of course after her great ass. Her eyes were always so open and showed how she really felt. Unfortunately the love they had shared was now directed at a man not him. Gloomily he jumped to his feet before he made a mistake. " I have to go now. I don´t want someone to get suspicious about my whereabouts. Be careful".
" Will do. Just promise me the same, well except you should play against me. Then I wish you alien herpes", she stood up from the bed and followed him to her window, from where he had been obviously coming , because it was open and she knew that she closed it this afternoon. Sadly she witnessed him swinging his leg over her windowsill. " Rath wait", she saw him glancing at her funny. No wonder, she startled herself with the cry. But there was something she had to do. Slowly she stepped closer to him and cupped his face in her hands. " Thank you", then she kissed him briefly on his irresistable lips.
Absolutely stunned Rath needed a few seconds to realize what just happened and had to cling to the window to not fall down. Woah, he almost lost his boxers and she didn´t even kiss him that long. The other dude should be glad that she didn´t have any romantic interest in him or else he would have competition right now. Scratching his eyebrow he grinned at her before he climbed down the exterior wall and disappeared in the darkness.
Maria shook her head while she watched him vanish into the night and closed the window. She put her hand over the lock and melted it, so that nobody could come in anymore. Maybe she should check every lock in his house. But what would it be of use? If Nicolai would want in this house he would come in either way. If she made it alien proved or not. Suddenly her glance landed on her telephone on her desk. She should warn the others and tell them to bring their family out of harms way. Even if her half brother laid all his hate on her, he wouldn´t hesistate to punish her with the death of an innocent. With a strongly beating heart she took a seat on her comfy chair and dailed the number lying besides the phone. A number she already tried to call a few times since she was home, but never had the guts to do it. After a few rings a familiar male voice sounded at the other end.
" Hey Michael, it´s me Maria. I know I´m the last person you want to talk to, but this is not a social call...Really? That´s kinda sweet...Stop. I´ve got news and you won´t like it...No, I´m not ill. I had a visit tonight from Rath...Yeah it was really him, believe me...It´s not the first time I saw him okay...I know I should have told you that, but with everything going on...What? How can you say that. He´s not the reason why I broke up with you...Oh your so damn annoying...Okay, could you hold your bickering back for a moment and listen to me...Thank you. Now get your family away from your home. Suggest a vacation or tell them the truth, I don´t care. Just take care of getting them out of harms way...Rath told me some bad things. I will tell you everything when your here...What do you mean? Of course you´re needed here, you and Tess...You know what, I don´t care. Do what you want. Bye".
Maria almost destroyed her phone when she banged the receiver back on the base. Arrrgghh, the boy was so damn infuriating that she wondered why she hadn´t killed him already. Angrily she stormed to her door to get out of her room, but unfortunately she forgot that she welded the lock on it. Removing the mess she made her way downstairs and tried to keep her mood. Maybe then she would find finally the guts to tell her family the truth about herself. However as soon as she stood in the doorframe to the living room, her anger disappeared and fear was making an appearance again. Swallowing hard she waited until her parents noticed her presence. " Mom. Dad. We have to talk. Now".
Dupree Mansion
Michael was just in the process to pack a few things in his backpack. Before he had made a little trip in the kitchen and got the bottle of cristal out of the fridge and found a box of strawberries sitting on the counter together with a can of spray cream. Smiling slightly he reminded himself to thank Juanita later. After he took care of the sustenance need he made his way to the garden outside and picked a few from the exotic flowers Tess loved so much. Loaded with everything he needed he stormed back into the mansion and towards his room. He couldn´t just plan a trip without any clothes and so he pulled something out of his closet, not caring what it was and stuffed in his bag. Ten minutes later he was ready and already on the way out the door when he heard his phone ringing. Immediately he stopped and stared at it, mulling over if he should pick up or not. But something in his inside told him to take this call, it could be important. Dropping his bag on his bed he lifted the receiver at his ear.
" Hello...Oh hey. I was just on my way to visit you. I wanted to surprise you...Yeah. I finally got around to do something about us...What is it? Are you sick?...Are you´re sure it was him? I mean it could be a shapeshifter?...When? Wait, it was when you disappeared the day of the explosion, wasn´t it?Why didn´t you say anything?...Finally I know the reason why you broke up with me. It wasn´t because you were afraid I could be in danger. It was because of Rath... Oh really? Is that the truth?...Me annoying? Who started this fight this time? It wasn´t me...Fine, I´m listening...Why? Are they in trouble?...Wait, when I´m in Roswell? You need me with you?...Well, I just want to be sure that I´m not intruding you and Rath"
Confused Michael looked at the receiver in his hand after Maria just hung up the phone and all he heard was the busy tone in the line. What did he say wrong? He just told her what he thought and she went all bitchy on him. Damn women and their mood swings. He would never understand them and he was glad that he wasn´t the only one with that problem. Rolling his eyes he put the phone back on its place and was on his way to his sisters bedroom when he collided with her outside in the hall.
" Just the person I wanted to see".
Tess stared at him with a surprised expression. She just wanted to give him back his cellphone, because she used it. She lost hers somewhere in her room and hadn´t been having the nerve to look for it. But now she was a little startled about his highly nervous state. " Yeah, why? No matter what you got told I didn´t do it".
Michael wrinkled his forehead. What was she yapping about now? He quickly glanced back in his room, but he couldn´t notice that anything was gone or broken. Irritated he faced her again. " I´m sure. But it´s not the reason why I wanted to see you. You have to pack your things together. We´re going to Roswell".
" And can I know the reason or do I have to guess?", Tess hoped it was nothing wrong with Maria or Kyle. But her boyfriend would have told her if something would have happened when they phoned with each other an hour ago. Except it happened just now.
Michael knew that he couldn´t beat around the bush anymore. The time was up now and his sister should know the truth. But how can you tell someone that they should prepare themself for a war gently? Maybe there wasn´t a way to do that, maybe the best way was to be honest. " Maria just called", he lifted his arm to take the wind out of her sails. She was smiling like a lunatic. Like everything was alright again. " She thinks it´s time to expect a battle. Our time is running out".
Tess was shocked for a few seconds and she had to hold her hand in front of her mouth to keep her from making a scared sound. But then she regained her composure and remembered everything she learned from Nolak again. It wasn´t like they hadn´t known about this situation, they had been sent here for this and still it was hitting her like a ton of bricks. " Okay. Give me five minutes to pack and we can go", while she sifted through her wardrobe to know what she had to take with her, she remembered their grandfather, who had taken a vacation to be there for his grandchildren. " Oh shit. Gramps! What should we tell him?".
" Don´t worry about that. I will think of something while you get your things", he thought about what Maria said to him. Should he really tell his grandfather about him and his sister? Straight come out with the truth he had kept for 18 years now? He wished his parents were here, they would tell him that nothing was too bad to be told and he would always drive better with honesty. " We´ll meet at the Dodge later. Now go".
Tess turned around without a word and made her way towards her bedroom, hoping that it wouldn´t be the last time that she was in it. For someone who was prepared for a war, she felt really scared and nervous. When she opened the door to her area a wave of sorrow was washing over her. Sadly she eyed her room in which she had lived all her life and tried to mesmerize everything. From her pink covered princess bed over her dawsons creek and buffy posters on the walls and the big dressing table with her many beauty products. Smelling the unmistakable scent of her parfum mixed with the patchouli she had as potpourri in a bowl on her night stand besides the bed. Sighing loudly she walked to her electric wardrobe where she pulled her old gym bag out and started packing comfortable clothes in it.
Meanwhile Michael finally found his grandfather. He was sitting in the kitchen with a small glass of whisky in his right hand and reading a newspaper. " Grandpa. Do you have a minute for me?".
Charles looked up from reading an article about the new developement on the wall street. " I thought you were already on your way to win the heart back of your girl".
" Something came up", Michael felt a little jittery and his stomach was in knots. With sweaty hands he took the seat besides his grandfather and tried to find a place he could start. It wasn´t easy to tell your family that you weren´t so normal like they thought. " Did you notice at one point in our lives that Tess and I were different than any other child our age?".
Charles dropped the newspaper on the counter and stared surprised at his grandson. He found the question a tad bit strange, especially after the nice conversation they had half an hour ago. " Why you´re asking me that? Of course you weren´t like anybody else. You´re both Duprees".
Michael shook his head while his fingers played fidgety with a cloth napkin which had been lying in front of him. " I didn´t mean it in that way. I mean did you see me or Tess do things that were out of the ordinary?".
" What is going on?", Charles had seen his grandson letting his little toy tank explode just with using his hand when he was four or five years old. But until now he thought it was a trick of light or his imagination. Yet thinking back, his daughter had always reacted strange everytime he had been with his grandchildren. Sometimes even his son in law was acting weirder than usual. " What are you trying to tell me?".
Michael stopped shredding the expensive napkin and faced the older man with a determination that had been more Rath´s trait. Breathing deeply he remembered that this conversation would be deciding about life or death. " Tess and I, we´re hybrids. What I mean is, that we´ve got powers from outer space, but we´re actually human".
Charles didn´t know for a moment if he should be mad at him or laugh about the joke. Because the boy couldn´t be serious about the things tumbling out of his mouth. Suspiciously he looked around to find the camera for this hoax. Unfortunately he didn´t see any. " Are you on drugs? Or drunk?".
" I´m telling you the truth. For once I´m honest with you and you accuse me of being high", angrily Michael jumped to his feets and paced the length of the kitchen. He should have known that he would regret doing what his heart had told him. Everytime he thought he was doing the right thing, he got kicked in the ass.
Charles cringed a little back when he saw his glass in front of him starting shaking and almost spilling the expensive Whisky in it. Carefully he turned to his grandson stomping from one end to the other furiously and mumbling something to himself. " How did you think I would react? I mean it´s pretty unbelievable. You don´t hear something like that everyday".
Michael paused in his strides and glared at his grandfather. " I thought you would know me. That I could tell you anything without being afraid that you would send me away. That I meant enough to you that you would believe me".
" Okay, you´ve got my attention. Show me something. Prove that it´s true what you tell me", Charles wasn´t so sure what he should think about the statement. But he would listen to his grandson, as much as he could without freaking out. Aliens? Yeah right.
Michael pondered how he could convince his grandfather from his sincerity. Letting something explode was too dangerous in a closed room. Reading his feelings and telling him them was not proof for anything. Maybe he should change something, like he did with the silver rose he made for Maria. But he couldn´t do that everytime he wanted. Then he remembered something he hadn´t done at least not in this life. Rath was good in that, something he had learned from Ava. Slowly he walked towards his grandfather and stopped in front of the older man. " Do you trust me?".
Charles was tempted to ask who did he think he was, because he was starting to get angry himself. However he recalled that it wasn´t a someboby standing before him, but his grandson. Someone he loved like his own child. " Yes. I trust you".
" All right. Close your eyes and clear your mind", Michael put his hands on either side of his grandfathers head and concentrated on entering his thoughts. After a few minutes both men started breathing in sync and immediately a connection was formed. Now they could see in each others minds and find things they wouldn´t expect.
Flash Michael – Charles crying in his room after the funeral of his daughter. Being heartbroken over her loss. Angry at Adam for killing himself and the only person from his family.
Flash Charles – Michael destroying the barbie doll of his sister with a flick of his wrist. Tess in return glared at him and his pants dropped on the ground.
Flash Michael – Charles watching his grandchildren playing outside with a tennis ball they were throwing at each other. Glad that they were finally getting over the death of their parents.
Flash Charles – Michael shooting his arm out and let a trash can explode in million pieces. Anger at his parents for leaving him alone. Destroying everything standing in his sight with a rage that was almost tangible.
The other flashes that followed were a little faster and barely regnorizable. But the gist was clear. Charles sat back with wide open eyes and an expression of pure shock. He couldn´t believe what just happened to him. " Why hadn´t you said something sooner? Or trusted me enough to be honest?".
Michael took a seat on the chair again. His feet were feeling a little bit weak after the power he had to use and the things he saw in his grandfathers head. Oh shit, he judged him wrong all this years. " It wasn´t something you mentioned so casual during dinner".
" True. But why tell me now? What made you do it?", Charles had seen a few pictures disturbing him. It had been a war, at least something with many dead bodies and much much blood. He almost smelled the iron and felt the fear. It had been scary.
Michael hoped that he did the right thing with bringing his grandfather into this danger. But what choice did he have to begin with? Lying would be bad, especially if something should really happen to him or Tess. So the older man knew why and wouldn´t always wonder about their deaths. " I can´t tell you the whole story, because that would take too long. But the main things is, our enemy from this other planet followed us here and he was behind the attack of the library. Now I got a call from Maria and she told me to get my family out of harms way immediately. And that´s what I´m trying to tell you since I started this conversation".
Charles had seen in a few flashes that he was telling the truth with that. He was terrified that his family would be in the way and got hurt in the process. So in order to keep the good relationship with his grandson, he bit back his usual comment and decided to listen to the younger boy for once. " Okay. I think I will do a small vacation in our bungalow in Florida. I´ll take along Bobby, Meredith and Laurie".
" Thank you. That really means a lot to me", Michael was relieved about the ending of this conversation and happy that his grandfather didn´t think different about him now that he knew the truth.
Charles smiled at him, finally understanding his grandson better and getting to know the reason why he had been different than other children. Now he accepted that he and his sister had been really special. " I will arrange everything now. We´ll leave tomorrow at the latest".
Michael felt like a load had taken off of his mind. Now he could breathe easier, knowing his family wasn´t a target anymore. Although his uncle and his aunt could do with a nice bullet in their heads. He didn´t like them and their snobbish way. " Tess and I are going to Roswell. We´ll leave as soon as she has packed her bag".
As if by hearing her name called the small blonde stormed towards them with a backpack on her shoulders and a gym bag in her hand, Michaels gym bag. " I´m ready to go. I got your things, too".
" Okay. That means we have to say goodbye now", Michael turned to his grandfather and he regretted being so angry at him all this years. It was like he wasted so much time with hating him, that he never took the time to get to know him better. And it had been really stupig he knew that now. So without making too much fuss, he embraced the older man. " Be careful".
Charles squeezed his grandson wholeheartely. He would have never thought to see the day when they would finally get along. Miracles could really happen. Who would have thought. " You, too. Take care of your sister and come back alive".
Michael released his grandfather and grinned at him, in the same way his father had always done. He was looking more and more like Adam every day. " You got it", then he took the bags from his sister and walked away.
" I will miss you. We´ll see each other soon", Tess hoped she wasn´t lying in that matter. With tears in her eyes she threw her arms around her grandfather and pressed him tightly at herself. She was so scared of never seeing them again or never hear his many funny stories.
Charles stroked her hair tenderly and he had to fight back tears on his own. It was hard to see his children go without really knowing in how many danger they were or if he could help. But he would trust Michael with that. He just wondered if he wouldn´t regret it someday. " Be careful. Don´t do anything stupid and look after your brother. You know how much trouble he could get into".
Tess laughed about the true statement while she let go of her grandfather. " Don´t worry. I will do that", with a quick kiss on his cheek she followed after her brother.
Same time at the Evans house
Isabel was sitting on her bed, held in white and red covers and talked to Alex on the phone. While her eyes laid on the shelf opposite her, where all her cheerleading and other trophies were standing, she glanced every once in a while towards her big Johnny Depp, in his 21 Jump street style, poster glued to her decently red painted wall. Besides it were hanging her pom poms and the medalls she got with her team. The window over her bed was decorated with crystals and plants. At the right wall was a door leading to the bathroom she shared with her brother, who was standing just there at the moment with an angry expression on his face.
" How long do you plan to speak to Alex. Some people want to call someone, too", Max wished he would have blessed with a less chatty sister. She occupied the telephone almost all day long and he didn´t got the chance to talk to Liz.
Isabel glared at him while she put her hand on the mouthpiece. " Don´t get your boxer in a twist. You get the chance to pant in the receiver with Liz soon enough".
Max was two seconds away to strangle his sister or wait until she was asleep to chop off her hair and paint her face in all different colors he could find. Like usually he wished his parents would have gotten another boy instead of a girl, that would make his life a little better. But now he was cursed with Ms. Hogging the phone and the bathroom for hours. " I´m not panting. You know sometimes you can be a real bitch".
" Alex honey I´m calling you tomorrow again. I have a bone to pick with my soon to be dead brother. Sleep tight and I love you", Isabel put the phone calmly back on her nightstand just besides the many glossy magazines. Then she stood up from her bed and her eyes were coldly looking at her brother. Finally he knew why she got the nickname Ice Queen, she could freeze everything with her glance. " What is wrong with you? You know how much I hate to be called bitch. Just because you´re horny doesn´t give you the right to insult me".
Max felt bad for hurting his sister. The b-word just slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it and now he regretted it. Okay sometimes he could be a real klutz and a first a class jerk, although he wasn´t as bad as Michael in that departement. " I´m sorry Iz. I didn´t mean it", as an afterthought he add. " And I´m not horny".
Isabel raised a perfect shaped eyebrow and her eyes got that –are you kidding me- expression. Maybe it was a remnant from her life as princess, because how else was the behaviour to explain? " Oh please, the lust is practically dripping out from your ears already. All you think about is seeing Liz and getting it on with her".
" Now who´s starts to get insulting? I´m not as hormon driven as Kyle or Michael and although I´ll miss my girlfriend, I can bear to not get it on with her for a while", Max noticed the heat rising in his cheeks and in his ears. Damn, that was the most unpleasant conversation he ever had, except for the sex talk with his parents.
Isabel broke out in laughter at that. She loved to embarasse her brother until he looked like a tomato. Besides payback was a bitch, literally. " Relax, bro. My you really got it bad with Liz. I hope she knows how lucky she is. I mean after Kyle you have to be a gift from heaven to her".
That made Max stop in his tracks and lose his breathe for a moment. What was his sister talking about? No that couldn´t be, he had to misheard her, because it sounded like his girlfriend lied to him. No, Liz wouldn´t do that to him, she was honest and nice. " What? Kyle was with my girlfriend?".
" Didn´t she tell you that?", upps, bad bad Izzy. She should keep her mouth shut from now on. Although it wasn´t her fault that her roommate didn´t tell her brother everything, she should keep things for herself in the next time. All she got was trouble she didn´t need.
Max was just in the process to ask if his sister knew more about the relationship between Liz and the boy he thought was a friend, when the phone rang. Immediately he stormed towards it and lifted the receiver at his ear, hoping it was his girlfriend. She could explain him the whole situation better. " Evans".
" Max? It´s me Kyle. Man I tried calling you a few times and it always had been busy".
Max was a little disappointed because it wasn´t Liz like he thought. But it was a close second. " Just the bastard I wanted to hear. When did you have a relationship with my girlfriend?".
" What? That had been three years ago. Didn´t Liz tell you about us?".
" Obviously not or I wouldn´t ask. But that leaves another question. Why did she keep that hidden from me?", Max was sure that it wasn´t about remaining feelings for Kyle or else he would have felt it during their first time. But what other explanation was there?
" I don´t know what´s going on in Liz´s mind. But I´m not calling for fun or to get yelled at from King Dingeling alright. We have a code red, very red".
Max exchanged a confused and slightly alarmed glance with his sister, who stepped closer to him to listen in on what Kyle had to say. It didn´t sound too good at the moment. " Code red? What are you talking about? Are you drunk?".
" Maria didn´t tell me everything, but I got the gist of it and it sounded pretty bad. She´s just telling my parents the whole truth about her. She gave me the order to call you and tell you to get your parents away. Send them to relatives or on vacation. But they have to be gone from your house, preferable today if it´s possible. It doesn´t matter how you do it, just that you do it and then come to Roswell".
Isabel took the receiver from her speechless brother and held it against her ear. She was more calm in a crisis, especially when it came to battles. " What happened? Did Maria get a threat from Mini Me again?".
" I don´t know, but she was pretty worried and I think close to lose her food right on the carpet in front of our parents".
" Then we´re on our way back. Just give us until tomorrow. Tell Maria she shouldn´t do anything stupid until the scooby gang is with her", if anything Isabel trusted the other girls instincts. They both were gifted with a pretty good nose for trouble and if one was sure that danger was lurking in the horizont the other called the troops.
" All right. I´ll give the message to her. Be careful and we´re waiting at the home base".
Isabel shook her head while she hang up the phone. Kyle was enjoying this too much. He probably thought he was in Apocalypse now or some other romanticized war movie. But the reality was more cruel and rough. She had been present the last time everything fell apart. She didn´t want to do it again. " Get a few clothes, money and what you need. We´re making a trip to Roswell. Maria needs our help".
Max watched his sister from the side and he admired her cool thinking. He was a mess just imagining telling his parents the truth about themself, something they had never considered, all right maybe a few times. But they had dismissed the idea as not possible. And now it looked like it wasn´t so impossible like they thought. " What about Mom and Dad?".
" I am for being honest with them. But that´s a decision we both have to agree on", Isabel would be disappointed if they lied to their parents. It wasn´t like they hadn´t done that. But this time it felt different. Like they were going away, not knowing if they would come back or not without telling their parents the reason why. It had been something she never really coped with.
Max saw the hopeful expression on his sisters face. It wasn´t a secret that she wanted to tell their parents everything from the beginning. But he had been to scared to do that. He was afraid that they would have sent them away, because they were freaks. And yet, it didn´t matter anymore anyway. " Alright Iz, I´m with you on that".
Isabel´s smile would have made Las Vegas competition. With a loud cry she embraced her brother and gave him a kiss on his cheek before shooing him out. She had packing to do and so much clothes to pick from. That could take a while.
" Great. I should call Kyle back and tell him he should expect us in a few years, because Isabel can´t decide on her wardrobe", Max walked straight to his closet, pulled his backpack out and eyed the shirts on his hanger. Then he took the first clothes falling in his arms and stuffed them in his bag. After that came the essentails like underwear, socks and toiletries. He managed to pack his things in less than ten minutes. Maybe he should see after his sister and help her. He chuckled slightly about the act a girl put on because of her outfit. But his amused expression was soon replaced with surprise when he saw that she was almost ready to go. " Whoa! I stepped into the twilight zone".
Isabel turned around to her brother and rolled her eyes. Wasn´t she allowed to change her mind and do something unexpected? She could be fast if she wanted. " Don´t look so shocked. I just need my beauty case and we´re ready to put everything in the jeep", that said she pushed passed him and disappeared in the bathroom for a few seconds before taking her small suitcase and walking towards the door.
Max was impressed about how quick everything took place. But now they had to face their most feared challenge. With a nervous stomach he followed his sister out of the room and down the hall in the direction of the kitchen. He stopped besides Isabel, who was standing in front of their parents. They seemed to have talked about something while drinking a cup of coffee.
" Where are you going this late", their father asked a little confused. Did they told him about a trip they wanted to make and he forgot it? He glanced at his wife, who seemed to be as surprised as him. All right, that wasn´t it.
Isabel obviously choose to be the spokesman in this conversation. " Mom, Dad. We have to tell you something about us. Max and I are not exactly human".
Valenti estate
Maria was standing in the hall outside her bedroom and watched her parents and her sister disappearing behind their doors and preparing them to leave tonight. She had pleaded with Kyle he should go with everyone else, but he refused. He said he couldn´t bear the thought of letting her down and he trained for this situation, too. After a while she gave up because she knew it wouldn´t help anything if they discussed this matter to death. The only fight she won this evening was that she could convince her father that he was doing something useful. Namely keeping an eye on her mother and Lindsey. And he agreed to visit his brother in Chigaco, which was a relieve for her. Now she didn´t have to worry about them. After her family had reacted so surprisingly good about her confession, that was the only thing sitting heavily on her stomach. All right, Sean had made a funny comment about antennas and he made the klingon greetings with his fingers, but she warned him to not make her bad or she would kill him with her death ray eyes. Kyle had laughed about the joke, but he was the only one, because the rest was shockingly staring at her. So she told them it was just something to light the mood and she noticed her parents relaxing. Her father even threatened her to not do something like that again or he would spank her green butt, alien powers or not to which her mother agreed with a small chuckle. Lindsey found the news pretty cool, because she thought her sister was a superhero like Spiderwoman or Supergirl. Maria didn´t correct her, besides it was better than getting called a monster or freak. As long as her mother didn´t design her a spandex suit or something weird it wasn´t so bad.
" Hey! Are you with us or sending a message to your mothership?".
Maria was tempted to really try if she couldn´t get her eyes to shoot some laser blazes from them to fry her cousin. He was making her crazy with his stupid talking. Someday she would show him some her dangerous powers, then he would see what happened when you pissed off an alien. " Don´t you have to pack?".
Sean looked down at his hands, which were empty and to the ground where nothing was lying. He shook his head at her. " Nope. I´m staying with you".
" Yeah right and it´s motherday in africa. What makes you think I will let stay here?", oh no, the last thing she needed was her idiotic cousin finding his heart and trying to be a good samaritian. Or set his mind to play the hero. It was already bad enough that Kyle was with her, but two defenceless males in her life were too much.
Sean knew that it wouldn´t be so easy standing up against her wishes. She was more stubborn than any other human being he met in his life. Even more than her mother and all DeLucas together. But if he learned anything in juvie it was to stand up for the things he thought were right. And he thought this was doing the right thing. " And what do you wanna do if I stay? You just said you just wanted to keep your family alive, which leaves me out".
Maria pressed her teeth tightly together to keep herself from saying what she really thought and counted to 10 before opening her mouth again. " Strangly I think of you as part of my family and that means I want to keep you safe as well. And mesmorize that, because that was the only time I´m saying that".
" As touched as I´m about your confession, I´m not going, because I think of you as part of my family, too. I´m not budging from this spot. If you want me gone you have to use your alien mumbo jumbo on me", Sean crossed his arms over his chest and put on his subborn face. For a moment he thought he saw an amused twinkle in his cousins eyes. But soon it was replaced with an angry expression.
Maria was torn between ripping her cousin to pieces or kiss him for being so sweet. Maybe she should do the first, use her healings powers to patch him up and then give him the kiss. Why was it so hard to be mad at his big oaf. Bloody hell, she was slowly getting soft. " Okay. But if you get hurt or killed don´t blame me. I´m not responsible for any loss".
Sean grinned and was about to respond a smart ass remark when the door behind his cousin opened and Jim stepped out with Amy at his side. They both were looking not so happy. Just as they made their way to their daughter and their nephew, Kyle came out of the room besides them with Lindsey, who was sadly staring at the ground. Speechless they stood in a half circle in the middle of the hall and everybody was thinking about what would happen next.
" I think it´s time to go. I called Hanson and told him I have a family emergency. And your mother already informed Pete that we´re on our way", Jim wanted to do the farewell as painless as possible. It was hard enough to leave his children behind with so much danger lurking around. He had left his gun in his night stand just in case, although he knew they wouldn´t need it.
Amy bit her lip to stop her from crying in front of the kids. She had a really bad feeling for bailing without them. " I left a little money in the old cookie jar, in case you need it and the keys to the jetta are on the table in the corridor".
Kyle thought that they didn´t need their mothers car, because for one they had the camaro and second Sean had his beetle. So it wasn´t a problem. But she just wanted to help them in her own way and it was kinda comforting to know. " Thanks, let´s hope we don´t need it".
" Let´s go. I don´t want to take off so late", without waiting for an answer Jim moved quickly down the stairs towards the entrance door. He had to leave or he would change his mind about not staying. It was hard for him to see his children so grown up and fighting a war that wasn´t entirely their fault.
It almost broke Marias heart to see her parents and her sister going away without her. But she had to bear the pain if she wanted them to live. With Sean and Kyle at her side they trailed after the others. Lindsey had been really quiet throughout everything, she just looked down at the floor and said nothing. When they came to the door, she turned around to her older siblings with tears in her eyes.
" I don´t want to leave you. I´m afraid we come back and your dead".
Maria kneeled in front of her and wrapped her arms tightly around the younger girl, fighting back tears on her own. She didn´t want it, too. But she didn´t want to see her family getting killed either. If she knew another way out she would have took it. Unfortunately it was all she could think about. " We´re not going anywhere. Believe me, until you know we´re all together again. We´re calling each other everyday and as soon as the coast is clear here, you´re on the way home".
Kyle followed his twin and embraced his younger sister. " Besides Maria is a superhero and they don´t die so easily. They´re always winning their battles and beat the bad guys".
" I think it´s better if we bring the goodbye´s over us", Jim dropped his bag on the ground and huged his first his son. " Don´t let yourself get killed and look after your sister", then he patted the shoulders of Sean. " Don´t get in trouble" and lastly he pressed his daughter tightly at himself. " Don´t play the hero, don´t do anything stupig and if you get killed I will be very pissed at you. And keep the boys in sight".
Maria felt tears freely falling down her face and she noticed that her body shook with sobs. It was the hardest thing she had to do in either life. To send the people she loved the most away. " I will do that".
The next was Amy, who embraced everyone wholeheartly. She told her daughter that she put the lasagne from lunch in the fridge and it was stocked, so they didn´t had to be afraid of starving. To her son she said that he shouldn´t be so messy, because she wasn´t there to clean it and Sean got a lecture about staying away from lousy creatures and casinos, well bets in general. After that she took Lindseys hand and followed her husband to the jeep.
" Be careful. Drive slowly and don´t take strangers with you", Kyle screamed after his parents. When he noticed the sniffing besides him, he wrapped an arm around his sister and squeezed her shoulder in comfort.
Maria watched her mother keeping a firm grip on her sisters hand. Yeah, they were all scared. Suddenly something under the jeep attracted her attention. There was a green light blinking. Confused she strained her eyes to see clearer, but she was too far away. Shrugging the arm of her brother off, she walked slowly down the stairs and after a few meters she heard the beeping and knew immediately what this blinking thing was. In slow motion she saw her father activating the clicker for the car and she started to storm towards them. " Don´t do it! There is a bomb under the jeep!"
Seconds later a loud bang sounded around Roswell and ripped the car in pieces.
TBC