Chapter 4

Driving from Metropolis, I was struck by the differences between Roswell and Smallville. While Roswell was practically a desert, Smallville was the opposite made up of lush fields and lots of green trees. You could almost imagine lying on the grass in summer and soaking up the sun, watching kids playing in the fields, doing handsprings… Not that the same wasn't possible in Roswell, but the mental picture was so much better with Smallville as a backdrop.

"So Liz, why didn't your mom and dad come up with you?" Aunt Nell queried.

I shifted in my seat, not quite sure how I was made to sit in the middle, between Aunt Nell and Lana. The pick-up seat was definitely uncomfortable, and I'm sure I could feel what seemed to be a spring digging into my backside.

"Oh, they wanted to. Mom said that she missed you a lot and this would have been the perfect reason to spend some time here, but unfortunately they couldn't leave the Crashdown unattended." Shrugging my shoulders, I explained, "We get very busy during the holidays, especially with the tourists coming to see the crash site, hoping to find some aliens."

"Huh!"

I looked at Lana, wondering about the exclamation and the look on her face. Studying her expression, I tried to gain some sort of understanding or insight, but I was interrupted by Aunt Nell.

"Oh yeah, that town was crazy when I was last there. I believe it was some sort of fair, with a crash or something. Hundreds of people dressed in crazy costumes, celebrating."

"Yes, the Crash Festival." That certainly brought back some memories. The epic tale that began with Max saving my life, and ended with the ties almost completely broken between all of us, or rather between me and everyone else.

I never understood before that moment how the celebration of that one event by ignorant people was so traumatising for the aliens. Isabel's face, more than the others, reflected the most pain and her hands gripped the fence tightly, as if to hold her upright.

In retrospect, I can see now that the one most affected was Michael, who didn't have anyone to talk to, who had no family and that the crashing just signified the breaking of all ties that he might have had with some family on a far off planet called Antar.
So he did what was ingrained in his DNA – the General of the Antarian Army – he fought hard to keep his only family, Max and Isabel, safe from any threat, which just happened to include me.

That was where the journal-napping came in and I'm sure that to date, none of our friends figured out that the job as cook in the Crashdown was a perfect opportunity for him to keep his eye on us, the humans. But, who could blame him, he was loyal to only Max and Isabel.

To a degree, that same loyalty was present in Isabel, but I only really ever witnessed that when I 'slept' with Kyle. That night, Max was so completely out of it, that she did what she always does – she dream-walked him. The next morning I was faced with all three aliens; Isabel looked at me with hate-filled eyes, Michael's eyes were dismissive and Tess looked at me with triumph and pity, which I think was the worse to bear.

Isabel began ranting that I was a 'bitch' and that it was my fault that they were under investigation from the FBI and that it was due to me that their enemies now knew where to find them… Completely unfair, we all knew it, but at the time, I was so upset about the Future Max visit and the repercussions of what I had had to do, that I stood there and accepted every word. I mean, the hurtful words were not as bad, as the pain I was already experiencing.

On top of that, Michael's quiet staring was completely unnerving, grating on my nerves, while the Ice Queen was having a full go at me, in an attempt to punish me for what I had put her brother through.

As for Tess, the look of triumph was spot on… that's when the relationship between her and Max changed. She was there and I wasn't which was what I was aiming for, right? Future Max should be so proud – we accomplished what we set out to do… Tess became Max's support, she comforted and held and soothed, and I'm guessing that those gestures brought back memories and feelings that Max had never realised could be possible… because with me out of the way, there was no reason to fight anymore.

Anyway, before I knew it, I wasn't seeing Maria anymore because she was spending all of her time with Michael, and by default the aliens… Isabel wasn't giving me the time of day, and would leave the room should I even dare to enter it... and Tess and Max were in a steady relationship, and could barely keep their hands off each other.

At that low point in my life, the only person who really had time for me was Alex. Even though he still acted like a puppy, following Isabel around hoping for a scrap of attention, he always managed to find a time to be with me. We became so much closer, connecting over movies, ice-cream and the occasional picnic in the park. He was the sun in my otherwise dark existence… So, when the news came that he had been killed, I refused to believe that my sun had gone. I blamed everyone when clearly it was no-one's fault. And then Tess got pregnant… Talk about being knocked on your ass when you least expected it…

Coming back to the present, I realised that Aunt Nell was still talking about her visit to Roswell.

"…and Liz, you were so tiny, sleeping peacefully on top of that huge teddy bear." She turned to me and laughed. "Your dad insisted on getting you that one… I think he must have spent over 100 dollars – he just kept on missing the pins, but he was determined that his little girl was going to have the big one. Do you still have it?"

"Lexis. Yes, I named it after my best friend. He hated that, because I said that it was a girl teddy bear, and he said that he was a boy, so the bear shouldn't have his name… For a long time, he refused to come anywhere near his namesake."

"That's right, the dark-haired boy. I remember him… how is he doing."

Amazing, after all this time, it still felt like a punch in the gut to face that Alex was gone. My throat closed up and I was hardly able to get the words out of my mouth. "He uh… di… died in a car crash…" I closed my eyes refusing to cry anymore, but my eyes were burning. I bit my lip really hard… I would not cry, not now. Unaware that I was clenching my fists, I barely heard the response; only felt the desperate urge to hold it together.

"Oh, I'm so sorry honey. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

After that, the remainder of the trip was completed in silence.

***

Waking up the next morning, my eyes felt gritty… I guess that's to be expected when you cry yourself to sleep. When we arrived at the house yesterday, I remember being shown to my bedroom to unpack, then refusing any dinner and holing up in my room for the rest of the night.

I sat up and looking around, I noticed that there seemed to be no colour scheme, and the furniture was mismatched, as if all the extra pieces laying around were put together to create this room. Studying my surroundings a bit more, I decided that it was actually quite charming, and if I wasn't mistaken… Yes, that was an en suite bathroom on the left side of my bedroom next to the single window. Bonus... no sharing!
A dresser, big closet and a little study area in the corner completed the picture.

Getting out from under the blanket, I drew the curtains and felt the sun warm on my face. There was a garden full of roses and a huge tree in the backyard. All that was needed was a tyre swing or a tree-house… Apparently growing up above a café, with no yard to talk about created a somewhat deprived inner child.

Opening my bags, I reached for a T-shirt and a pair of jeans; I would unpack later. First, a shower and then I needed to apologise to Aunt Nell for my behaviour last night. While brushing my teeth, I heard voices and assumed that Aunt Nell and Lana were awake.

Hold on, that was very definitely a male voice…

A gentle knocking interrupted my musing, and a head popped in.

"Morning Lana."

"Oh Liz, you're awake… Morning." Her smile faltered. "How did you sleep?"

I'm assuming that they must have heard the sobbing last night… Great, probably think I'm going to be a complete drag for the whole year.
"I slept very well, thanks. The bed is very comfortable."

"Good. So, are you ready for breakfast?"

"Yep, I'm starved." I approached the door and we both turned to walk to the kitchen.

Then I heard the male voice again…
"Mom asked me come by early, she said that you wanted extra pies today."

"That's wonderful. Your mom's pies are becoming very popular." That was Aunt Nell's voice. "She also mentioned something about making me some muffins, but I'll talk to her about that."

Turning the corner, I saw Aunt Nell talking to someone with dark hair.

"Oh, there you are Liz. Are you hungry, I made breakfast and Lana…"

I didn't hear the rest, because mystery man turned around and I was once again confronted with McDreamy, dressed in blue jeans and a blue T-shirt… What a lovely sight to be greeted with in the morning.

"Liz." I looked at Lana, who had gone to stand next to McDreamy. Hold the phone, did she just place her arm around his waist… Wait a minute, he put his arm around her shoulders.

"This is my boyfriend, Clark."

Dammit!