The next day Liz waited until she thought Isabel would be awake as well as her parents before she headed to her house. It was Saturday so they didn't have to worry about school and she really wanted to confirm that she was doing okay. She borrowed her mom's car and left. It was around noon that Liz appeared at the Evans' front door and rang the bell. After a few moments the door opened but instead of it being one of the elder Evans or Isabel, Liz found herself face to face with Max.
Her breathed hitched when she saw him and felt a little bit of fear spark within her. She knew that at some point she was going to have to face him but she hadn’t expected it to be so soon. He looked startled as he asked. "Liz? What are you doing here? I thought you were in Sweden."
"You thought wrong." Liz stated simply. She noticed that he appeared to be very tired and pale. She didn't want to know nor did she care what had kept him up. It felt bizarre to be standing there in front of him now, but she wasn't backing down. She would not let the memories of her past make her fear him. And the influence he used to have over her as well as the love she had held for him in this life was now cold. Knowing that he held a part of the man who killed her inside of him had helped it along. She wondered what his fate would be.
She knew now where her mind as well as her heart was. She knew both sides of the war and she had chosen her side. And again it was Khivar's. Not because of how she felt about him but because what he stood for. He was more qualified to be king, his concerns were for the people despite what some of them thought. Zan had tried to do too much too soon and didn't care how it had affected the general populace. He was too spoiled and wanted what was best for him, and wouldn’t accept anyone who went against him. He proved that so long ago in the most violent of ways. It was his pride that had led to her demise as well as Ardeth's. He had ended two lives of people who just wanted to be with the ones they loved. She pushed back all those thoughts and memories and saw Max was staring at her angrily.
"Evidently. So why aren't you in Sweden?" Max asked. He was doing his best not to show how uncomfortable he was talking to her. The dream from the night before was still fresh in his mind.
"It’s none of your business." Liz said truthfully trying not to show how uneasy she felt. She opened up her block on her ability to read emotions and felt his surprise as well as the anger he still felt towards her for not bowing to his will.
"So then why did you come by here? To tell me that you weren't searching anymore?" Max asked in a spiteful voice. Quieter but similar to the way he had talked to her the last time she'd seen him.
"No. Just because I didn't go to Sweden doesn't mean that there's nothing to do here." Liz answered.
"I was just on my way out." Max said uncomfortably. "Tess is waiting for me to take her to the mall to get Kyle a late birthday present."
"Well you shouldn't keep her waiting." Liz said sarcastically. It made her sick that Tess was still pretending to care about any of them. Like buying Kyle a present. She didn't care about anything but herself and probably Max. She hoped that Tess was feeling guilty about mindwarping Kyle. If she didn't now, she will soon.
"So is that why you're here? Because you heard about Tess and I?" Max asked.
"No." Liz stated plainly. "You and Tess’s relationship is the farthest thing from my mind. You may not realize it Max but not everyone cares what’s going on in your life. And as to why I'm here it's to see Isabel. Is she in her room?"
"Uh, yes." Max said surprised at Liz's reactions to their conversation and the fact that she was there to see Isabel. Liz never came by to see Isabel, they weren't even friends. Liz nodded and she pushed past him into the house as she walked by Max couldn't help but ask, "Liz, are you okay? You're acting weird."
She turned around to look at him at his statement, "Why do you care? We're not friends anymore remember? What little friendship was between us ended before I left. And you know what? I'm glad."
Without another word, she spun back around and headed up to Isabel's room. Max stared dumfounded at her until she was up the stairs and out of sight. He stayed glued to his spot. He couldn't help but remember his memories or dreams and think of Enola. The two women were very similar in their independence. He was sure that was why he had seen Liz's face in his dreams. He cleared his head before going out to the jeep and left, after all why should he stay in a house that had two women in there that were pissed at him.
Liz could feel him leave the house and was glad for it. She really didn't feel like arguing or even talking to him. She concentrated on the feelings of grief and despair that was coming from Isabel's room. When she approached she knocked lightly. She heard Isabel's muffled voice through the door, "Go away Max. I'm still not in the mood to talk to you."
"It's not Max, it's Liz." She said back, "Can I come in?"
Isabel said yes and Liz opened the door and entered. She saw Isabel sitting on her bed. She didn't look good, her eyes were puffy, her hair thoroughly rumple and her clothes disheveled. It was the worst she had ever seen Isabel look. She gave her a small smile as she asked, "You and Max aren't on the best of terms right now, huh?"
"No, not exactly." Isabel answered. "I'm surprised to see you here."
"I wanted to check up on you. I hope you don't mind." Liz stated. "Max let me in."
"No, I don't mind. You just surprised me is all. I thought you were mad at all of us because we didn't have the same opinion at Alex's funeral." Isabel said.
"But you did Isabel. I saw it in your eyes that day. Although you were upset that I was blaming you guys, a part of you that something was suspicious about Alex's death. I'm right, aren't I?" Liz asked.
"Yes, but the thought of Alex being killed because of us was too much and I didn't want to admit it. That's why I went against you and yelled." Isabel confessed. Inside of her she had known that Liz spoke the truth that day, that they were the reason that Alex was killed. That's why she had approached the subject to Max, who of course hadn't listened to anyone else and only paid attention to his own opinion.
"So how are you?" Liz asked. She knew she had been right about Isabel. She hoped that reviving the friendship they had once had was not a lost cause.
"I'm coping same as you and Maria. I keep expecting him to walk through the door or call at any minute. And then I realized that it's not going to happen and my heart breaks again like I just found out." Isabel said with a cracking in her voice. She cleared her throat as she looked at Liz and added, "I know you probably think that I have no right to be so depressed and stuff because I treated him like crap for so long."
"Isabel, I don't think that. You have every right to mourn Alex." Liz said. "Everyone has the right to mourn the ones they love when they're gone."
"You're a lot more forgiving than I would be." Isabel added. "If the situations were reversed I would probably yell that you didn't give a crap about him."
Liz thought about her words carefully, and the best way to explain how she felt. "I'm forgiving because Alex was. He wouldn't have continued to be friends with you, taken you to prom, or started a relationship with you if he didn't let you off for the past. He might wear his heart on his sleeve but he wasn't stupid or gullible."
"No, he wasn't." Isabel said. "You know I think this is the longest conversation we've had. Even when we were on our way to Marathon."
"It's nice." Liz said smiling.
"Yeah it is."
"This doesn't have to be a one time thing. If you ever want to talk, or just have some company, just call me or come to the Crashdown. But don't bring Max when you do." Liz stated.
"You two are still at war?" Isabel asked.
"Let's just say that what Max and I had, our friendship and more is over. We're not the same people we used to be." Liz stated.
"I'm sorry, Liz."
"Something's just never were supposed to be." Liz said with conviction. "Will you do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Don't let your sadness overrun you." Liz answered. "We both know that things can change in a heart beat and you might find something that makes you happy."
"I don't know if I can but I'll try."
PART 17
Liz and Isabel got off to a good start on being friends. They hung out in Isabel's room for the rest of the day. After Isabel told her about how Max had been acting, Liz got her talking about other things than Alex and she could see Isabel's mood lightening significantly. Without having the tension between them because of Max, they were at ease. Liz could also see that Isabel had changed since the whole thing had started, Alex had really opened her up and brought out the nice person that Liz remembered in Vilandra. They had been there a couple of hours when Liz felt Max return along with Tess. It was all she could to stop herself from going downstairs and confronting Tess but she collected herself and focused on Isabel.
The afternoon turned to evening and Liz knew she should be getting home but she didn't want to leave Isabel there miserable. "Isabel, would you want to come back to the Crashdown with me? You can stay with me if you want, get away from Max for a little while."
Isabel smiled slightly and said, "I would like that a lot. Thank you."
Isabel packed a small bag before writing a note to her parents about where she would be. She knew that they wouldn't object to her going. They had been very understanding through everything and would be glad she was out of her room. After she was done, her and Liz headed downstairs.
As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Liz ran right into Tess. She used the collision to her advantage and quickly accessed Tess's memories. They were painful for her to see but she knew that enduring them would give her what she needed to start working on her plan for Tess. Once they parted Liz smiled as she said, "Sorry Tess, I didn't see you there."
"Yeah, whatever." Tess said before adding smugly. "I was too busy trying to get back to Max, I was just getting him something to drink from the kitchen."
"I'm glad he has a little maid to get that for him, after all it's quite a walk from here to the kitchen. Wouldn't want him to strain himself." Liz said sarcastically.
Isabel held back a snicker as Tess stomped back into Max's room. Liz definitely didn't seem to be the pushover that her and Michael had tried to treat her like. She looked at Liz and said, "Come on Liz, you promised me a milkshake and I'm ready to collect it."
"Actually, I need to use your bathroom before we leave." Liz said thinking it was a perfect opportunity to start her plan. "If you want to go, go. I'll be right out."
"I'll wait for you out in the car." Isabel called out to her as she hurried into the bathroom. She shut the door, and went to work. She concentrated on the feelings she was getting from Tess and focused on replaying the memories to her. This was the first time she had used these powers since she had been recreated but it was like second nature. She could have done it in the hall but it might have made Tess suspicious.
Tess lazily flipped through her magazine as Max finished whatever homework he had to do on his computer. They had already finished her shopping and had come back to relax. She glanced up to see if he was almost done but when she did, what she saw chilled her.
Instead of Max's figure sitting at the desk punching away at the keyboard, it was Alex. He looked just like he had whenever she had checked on his progress at Las Cruses. Everything was as she remembered it, from the size of the computer to the clothes he usually wore to the destiny book lying next to him on the desk. She couldn't believe what she was seeing and sat up suddenly. As she did, the image didn't waver.
Tess shut her eyes and tried to block out the image. When she opened them again, Max was back and Alex was gone. It had only lasted a few seconds but it felt a lot longer. She looked around making sure that everything was back to normal and saw Max staring at her. "Tess, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."
"No," Tess said quickly although that was indeed what she had seen. "It's nothing, just felt dizzy for a moment but I think I just sat up too quickly."
Max noticed her odd answer but didn't push her to tell him more. It wasn't something completely unusual. He had noticed that sometimes she acted strangely but he had just chalked it up to never letting her human side out. He turned back to the homework he had been working on.
Tess took a deep breath and tried to keep herself calm so Max wouldn't look at her strangely again. What had just happened? Why had she suddenly seen something that had happened months ago? It wasn't Alex's ghost or anything like that. Tess didn't even believe in that sort of thing whether she was an alien or not, she didn't believe in ghosts. So what was it? Was something inside her trying to remind her of what she had done to him? To try and tell her to confess to what she had done, even if by accident. Between what just happened and the dream she had last night, she was confused. It couldn't be her conscience, could it?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Liz felt Tess's emotions spike to surprise then shock and finally a mixture of panic and fear. There were some other things also combined with it but that was mostly what she felt. Once she felt it, she shut down the illusion. She didn't want it to go on for too long, this way Tess would think it was something from her memories other than an illusion that someone else was making her see. And Liz didn't want her to know that yet.
She left the bathroom then and headed out to Isabel. They drove back to the Crashdown and after gathering some food and shakes, headed up to Liz's apartment. They decided to watch some TV and turned on a prime time show. As they munched on some snacks, Liz couldn't help but noticed how relaxed Isabel seemed to be. She couldn't remember her ever being like that in the last few years. She felt bad when she asked, "Isabel, if you could have Alex back, would you want him?"
"What?" Isabel asked in shock. "Of course I would want him back."
"No, I mean. Would you be with him?" Liz asked.
"Yes." Isabel answered. "I realized too late how much I love him and I wouldn't want to waste anymore time. I would do anything to have him back. Anything."
Liz smiled, Isabel had told her exactly what she wanted to hear. If and when they told her the truth, Liz was pretty sure that she would be on their side. Especially after what she had told her about Max forbidding her from going to college. "I've been wanting to ask you something else."
"What?"
"Why haven't you tried to remember your past life?" Liz inquired. "I mean I know Max has been remembering and working with Tess by why haven't you. I would think you would want to know."
"You mean after what Whitacker and Nicholas told me?" Isabel said.
"Yeah."
"I'd be lying if I said that I never thought about it. But it scares me. I mean, I was this horrible person who betrayed her family. I don't know if I want to remember that." Isabel stated.
"But what if you weren't as horrible as you thought?" Liz asked causing Isabel to look at her strangely. She held up her hand and said, "Hear me out. There are many degrees of betrayal. Max thinks that I betrayed all of you by searching for the truth about Alex. And we're not friends now because of that. But other people wouldn't see that as a betrayal or at least a minor one. And he probably feels the same way about your decision to leave Roswell. You going against what he wants but that doesn't mean that you are evil. You just have differences of opinion. So what if Vilandra's betrayal was something similar? Just a difference of opinion? That doesn't make you evil. That makes you an individual."
Isabel just stared at her for a few minutes before saying, "You have this way of putting something into such logical terms that a person can't argue with your reasoning."
"But you see my point?"
"Yes, I see your point."
"I'm not trying to pressure you or anything." Liz assured. "Just wanted to find out what you thought about it all. I mean it would drive me nuts not knowing. I don't know how you three handled it all those years not knowing practically anything about who or what you were."
"We didn't have much of a choice. We didn't have anyone to ask." Isabel stated. Liz nodded and the girls went back to watching TV. Except for comments on what they were watching they didn't talk much more. It was late when they finally turned off the TV and crashed for the night.
PART 18
The next day Liz and Isabel overslept and didn't get up until late. Liz had woken in the middle of the night when she had heard Isabel's voice. At first she had thought that she was awake but had quickly realized that she was talking in her sleep. And from what she was saying, it seemed that Kat had been working up some memories.
Isabel had to get home so that left Liz on her own. The café was busy so she decided to help her parents out by waiting on the customers at the counter. Doing the work felt good, she didn't have to think about anything other then serving customers.
The lunch crowd had just left and Liz was talking idly to Kyle who had came in for lunch. They were chatting about Isabel when the bell over the door chimed. Kyle was the first to look over and said, "Buddha help me."
"What?" Liz asked not looking at the door as she wiped down the counter.
"The most beautiful girl just walked through the door." Kyle answered sounding like he wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying. His attention was too much on the beautiful blonde that had just walked in.
Liz looked up at the door to the girl Kyle was gawking at. She smiled as she hurried around the counter; "She's a little old for you Kyle."
"What?" He asked confused as he watched Liz hurry towards the girl and called out, "KAT!"
Kat heard Liz's call and smiled back as she rushed forward. The two hugged and when they pulled back Liz said, "What are you doing here?"
"Thought I'd come by for some food." Kat answered simply as she looked around the café.
"No, silly. I mean in Roswell." Liz lowered her voice as she said, "I thought Khivar instructed for you to stay there."
Kat rolled her eyes. "And you think I listened?"
"Good point." Liz stated. "How about some lunch?"
Kat nodded thinking some lunch sounded good. Liz led her to the counter and Kat took the seat next to a very good-looking human boy. He appeared to have been watching the two of them as they talked and Kat figured he was one of her friends. But she wasn't sure; she hadn't looked at the surveillance photos that Khivar's people had taken.
Kyle managed to break away his gaze from the good-looking girl's blue gray eyes and looked at Liz. As subtlety as possible he motioned to Liz to introduce him.
Liz tried not to smirk at Kyle obviousness as she said, "Kat, let me introduce you to a good friend of mine, Kyle Valenti. Kyle this is another good friend of mine, Kat..."
"Whitman." Kat spoke up as she stuck out her hand. "I'm a relative of Alex's."
"Kyle." He said again as he shook her hand.
"Nice to meet you. Is there anything on you would suggest I have for lunch?" Kat asked.
"Me." Kyle said before realizing what he was saying. He then quickly tried to fix his mistake and stuttered out, "I mean um...any of the burgers are good. And the pie. The pie is good."
"Thanks." Kat said giving him her biggest smile. "They must be good if they're as sweet as you."
Kyle reddened some at her compliment but smiled back at her. "So you said that you're a relative of Alex's?"
"Yeah," Kat answered not offering any additional information. She recognized Kyle's name from Alex and knew that he was aware of the aliens. But she didn't know how she would explain that she was Alex's sister from Antar.
"I'm sorry." Kyle said offering his condolences.
"Thanks." Kat said before giving Liz her order. Liz had been watching the whole scene with interest and couldn't wait to talk to Kat later by herself. The food didn't take long and Liz watched Kat and Kyle chat while she waited on her other customers, yep, she was definitely going to have to have a chat with Kat later.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
An hour later, the café's business had died enough that Liz didn't need to help. So she led Kat away from Kyle and up to her room.
Seeing her reaction and overhearing bits and pieces of their conversation, Liz couldn't help but take a jab at her friend. "Sorry if I'm torturing you by dragging you away from Kyle."
She couldn't believe it when Kat actually blushed. "He's nice, I haven't gotten out of the compound a lot so it's nice to be able to talk to someone."
"I bet. And I bet because of that you haven't had a lot of contact with humans." Liz said.
"No, not a great deal." Kat said. "I didn't know that you could just click with someone like I did with him, he was just so friendly and nice."
"Well Kyle is a great guy and a good friend. He's really stuck by me in hard times. And as you could tell, he's got a wicked sense of humor." Liz explained feeling vaguely like a matchmaker but not caring about it. "I feeling kind of bad for him though, he didn't ask to be in this whole alien mess and he's right in the middle of it. Khivar would probably like him since he's not Max's biggest supporter. Of course I think some of that is stemmed from the fact that when I first became friends with Max I was dating Kyle and lying to him all the time."
"That's right, Kyle was the one you were dating." Kat stated when Liz looked at her questionably. "The reports we got about you and Alex were very thorough, we kind of knew everything going on in your lives."
"As if living in a small town wasn't bad enough." Liz grumbled as they entered her room. "Yes, Kyle and I dated but it wasn't anything serious, and we make much better friends. So in case you try to become whatever with him for the time we're still on Earth, don't let me get in your way. Just know that since you're both my good friends, I don't want to be stuck in the middle if it turns ugly."
"I understand. But speaking of being in the middle of two people. What's going with you and Khivar?" Kat asked as they entered her room.
"I told him that I wanted to get something's settled before we got back together." Liz explained. "I don't think he actually agreed with me, but settled for it."
Kat snorted then as she said, "And that's going to last a total of five seconds." She saw Liz glaring at her and she added, "Oh, come on. You two could practically never stay apart let alone keep your hands off of each other, do you honestly think that this little understanding is going to last?"
"Yes, no, I don't know." Liz stated honestly. She had felt so torn since she had gotten her memories back. Her heart and her head were pulling her in two different directions. It seemed strange to be having this conversation, she could remember having a similar one at the beginning of the fall with Maria about Max.
Kat smiled, "Okay, okay. I'll drop the subject now before your face permanently changes to that shade of red. So how's the whole plan against the evil she bitch that must be destroyed?"
"Not bad, I ran into her yesterday when I was visiting Isabel. I got into her head and replayed a memory of Alex when she was mindwarping him. It got the desired effect according to the emotions I felt from her. What about you? Did you dream manipulate her?"
"Yep, and I must say this about her dreams. Euhh." Kat said making a disgusted face. "When I came in she was having this really disgusting about her and Zan.... Max. But Alex and I broke that up and messed up things. I think she was sufficiently freaked out by the time I was done."
"Good, if we keep this up hopefully she won't last much longer." Liz said.
Kat looked at Liz's clock and said, "I should be going. I'm staying at Alex's parents house to help with my cover so I better head on over. Alex gave me a whole list of his stuff he wants me to bring back and I guess I better get started on gathering that stuff together."
"Why don't I go with you? I've got nothing else to do here." Liz said. "I could show you more of Roswell, and while we sort you and I can catch up more?"
"Sure, I could always use another hand. I'll just drop you off later." Kat agreed. Liz left a note as to where she was before the two friends set out for the night.
PART 19
Later that night after a long night of sorting and packing, Kat dropped Liz back off at the café. She went upstairs and after a long bath, tried to get some sleep. But it would not come to her. She tossed and turned restlessly in her bed. She just couldn't get to sleep. Talking to Kat earlier had brought Khivar back to the front of her thoughts, not that he was ever far away, and she couldn't seem to relax. She knew Kat's words had hit home, but she was too stubborn to admit she had never had any willpower where he was concerned.
She knew why she couldn't relax though. Her mind and her heart were battling again. And this time her heart wouldn't give up. Deciding there was only one thing to do if she was going to get decent nights rest, she pulled on a sweatshirt, slipped on some shoes and padded down the hall to her parents' bedroom
I'm finding my way back to sanity again
Though I don't really know what I'm going to do when I get there
Take a breath and hold on tight Spin around one more time
And gracefully fall back to the arms of Grace
I am hanging on every word you say
And even if you don't want to speak tonight
That's alright, alright with me
'Cause I want nothing more than to sit Outside heaven's door and listen to you breathing
Is where I want to be
Liz told her parents where she was going, if they were surprised, they didn't show it. She hurried down to their car and jumped inside. She drove out of town and when she hit the highway, she swung the car in the direction she needed to go. The roads were quiet; she only passed an occasional semi as she drove. The only noise was the music coming from the radio. In front of her, the bright stars led the way.
I'm looking past the shadows
Of my mind into the truth and I'm trying to identify
The voices in my head God which one's you?
Let me feel one more time
What it feels like to feel alive
And break these calluses off of me
One more time
It didn't take much time before she reached the compound. As she went inside, no one stopped her but a few did look at her strangely. She couldn't blame them, she was only wearing a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt. They probably weren't expecting her to show up in the middle of the night, dressed as she was. She didn't know where Khivar's quarters were so she headed for where she knew Alex's were. When she reached that corridor she saw a pair of guards at the opposite end and took that to be his room so she headed straight for them like she knew for sure he was inside.
"Is he inside?" Liz asked as she reached the guards on Khivar's door.
"Yes, ma'am." The guard to her right answered.
"Thank you." Liz said as she walked past them, swung the door opened and went inside. She of course had never been in Khivar's quarters before and found herself inside a good size living room. There was only a small lamp on but it was enough to guide her to another door, one she was sure would lead into Khivar's bedroom. She opened up her powers slightly, allowing her to feel him on the other side. She felt him there and his emotions told her that he was sleeping peacefully. She paused with her hand on the doorknob, took a deep breath and pushed the door open. The room was completely dark but the little bit of light that spilled in from the door allowed her to see his sleeping form. She walked forward to where she was only a foot away from the bed as she watched him.
His dark blonde hair was mussed and fell just over his face to remind her of when they were kids back on Antar. During the time he had been asleep, the blankets had fallen down around his waist and Liz was able to see that he slept in Earth clothes while here. She felt herself blush remembering that whenever they had slept together, he hadn't worn anything let alone the wifebeater and boxers he was wearing now. It had probably been smarter to wear clothes when he was sleeping so that if they were attacked suddenly he'd be prepared.
He must have felt her eyes on him because he started to stir. His eyes cracked open just a little and focused on her. His face twisted in bewilderment, "Enola?"
Hearing him speak her name, not that it mattered to her which one he called her, triggered her to move forward and she dropped down next to him on the bed, "I need to feel your arms around me, can you just hold me?"
He nodded as he slid over a little to make room. She kicked off her shoes, shed her sweatshirt and lay down. He was lying on his back and she curled up on his chest. She felt the internal struggle that had been raging inside almost instantly soothed. She hadn't felt this content for a long time, this was where she wanted to be.
'Cause I am hanging on every word you say
And even if you don't want to speak tonight
That's alright, alright with me
'Cause I want nothing more than to sit
Outside your door and listen to you breathing
Is where I want to be
Khivar was so shocked to find her in his arms and so pleased with it; he just laid there content. This was the closest she had been to him since she had found out the truth, even closer than when they had almost kissed. And he wasn't going to take a moment of it for granted he had waited so long for this moment. He didn't even realize what he was doing as the hand on the arm that was wrapped around her came up and started absently stroking her hair.
I don't want a thing from you
Bet you're tired of me waiting
For the scraps to fall
Off your table to the ground I just want to be here now
'Cause I am hanging on every word you say
And even if you don't want to speak tonight
That's alright, alright with me
When she felt his hand playing with her hair, Liz couldn't hold in a sigh of contentment. She rotated slightly so she was facing him and propped her hand under her chin to watch him. He smiled a small smile at her but said nothing. She wondered what he was thinking, he'd been sound asleep and then she had suddenly appeared at his bedside wanting to climb in next to him. The Khivar she remembered would not mind at all, understanding her motives. But he might have changed too much for her to do that. Grief and loss did funny things to people.
'Cause I want nothing more than to sit Outside heaven's door and listen to you breathing
Is where I want to be I am hanging on every word you say
And even if you don't want to speak tonight
That's alright, alright with me
'Cause I want nothing more than to sit Outside heaven's door and listen to you breathing
Is where I want to be
Finally gaining the nerve to speak, she said, "You must think I'm insane. First I give you that whole speech the other day about staying apart then I appear in the dead of night and get into bed with you."
"Right now, why you are here is the farthest thing from my mind. I'm just 'on cloud nine' to use an Earth term." Khivar said, the slight smile on his face grew bigger. "But just so you know, I don't think you're insane."
"I'm glad about that, wouldn't want you to think I'm certifiable." Liz said.
"But now that you brought it up, why did you suddenly decide to visit?"
"That sounds vaguely like a complaint." Liz teased.
"No, you can come at any time you want or never leave." Khivar said. He noticed the ease between them while they talked and he was glad for it, he had missed her more than she would ever know.
"I know." She brushed her hair behind her right ear before she said, "Back to why I came. I was talking to your sister earlier and in the bluntness that is Kat, she pointed out to me that the little arrangement we had wasn't going to work. I think her exact words were 'You two could practically never stay apart let alone keep your hands off of each other, do you honestly think that this little understanding is going to last?'"
"That sounds like my sister. What did you say back to her?"
"Uh, I kind of changed the subject." Liz said as she bit her lip. "But I didn't stop thinking about it the rest of the night, even when we were going through Alex's stuff. So when I tried to sleep later, I couldn't. I just felt this pull to come back here. I borrowed my parents' car and drove here. You know the rest."
"Remind me to thank Kat later." Khivar joked. "And to think I was trying to keep her from going to Roswell."
"Now you know to always listen to her."
"She's never steered me wrong before, she's part of what led me to you." He said softly as his eyes caught her gaze. The small amount of light that was still creeping in from the door that Liz had forgotten to close made his eyes look darker than usual. They appeared to be a warm gray and stared at her with so much love it was almost overwhelming. But it wasn't suffocating, it was quite the opposite. To know that he still loved her now after everything as much as he ever had made her heart swell. She realized that she was falling for him, again. Before she realized what she was doing or listened to what her brain was telling her, Liz pushed up off of his chest and leaned forward to kiss him.
PART 20
Kyle had found that going for a long run every night seemed to help him unwind before he'd take a shower and go to bed. Plus it helped him to keep in shape something that he wanted to make sure he did whether it was for various sports or running from evil aliens.
He would also use the time to probe his own thoughts and stuff that had been going on around him. And there was plenty of that to keep his thoughts going for a whole run. First the whole thing with him realizing that he wasn't attracted to Tess while they had been at Prom, then Alex's death and the aftermath not to mention his new found friendship with Isabel and the new development of Tess and Max. Yep, he had plenty of things to consider.
He felt a faint beginning of a cramp in his calf and stopped to massage it. It was especially late so the streets were deserted so it was no big deal for him to sit down on the sidewalk to rub his sore leg. As he did he looked around to see exactly where he was. It was then he realized he was a few blocks from home, and that Alex's house was only two doors down from the corner he was perched on.
As he sat there, he noticed a SUV coming in his direction before it passed him and turned into Alex's driveway. The driver door opened and he watched as Kat got out. She was looking directly at him curiously and asked, "Kyle, what are you doing here? Studying the streets?"
Kyle suddenly felt embarrassed at how he must look standing outside of the house she was staying at, very stalkerish. "No, I was out for a run when I cramped, I mean my leg got a cramp in it. So I stopped to work it out, I just noticed where exactly I was when you pulled up."
"So you usually run around Roswell without knowing where you are?" Kat teased him although she could tell from his expression that he thought she was serious.
"No. I usually just set my watch for a half an hour and when it goes off I set out for home. I've always lived in Roswell so I know every nook and cranny of it and don't get lost."
"Kyle, it's okay. I was just joking." Kat said.
"Oh, right." He said feeling even more embarrassed, if that was possible. "I think I'll just pull my foot out of my mouth and head for home. Night."
He had just turned to go but Kat's voice halted him, "Actually, would you like to keep me company for a little while? I just dropped Liz off at home but don't feel like going to bed and no one else is home."
Kyle felt like jumping up and down at her question. Of course he'd like to keep her company. It was either run home and go to bed or stay in the company of a beautiful girl. Did she think he was insane? He turned to look at her, "I'm up for it but are sure? I mean I've been running for a while and I'm a mess."
"If it doesn't bug you then it doesn't bug me. We could sit back by the pool, even take a swim if you want to." Kat said smiling thinking that he looked good sweaty or not. She wondered how he would look... Kat stopped herself before she finished that thought. She didn't know what was up with him, there was just something about when she was around him that made her feel different. Better than she had felt for a long time.
Kat decided to not go through the house so the two walked silently towards the side gate. There was only one light on in the back until Kat flipped on the others. More lights including a few in the pool softly illuminated the porch. She motioned Kyle over to a nearby bench.
"I've never been back here at night, actually I've only been here once." Kyle said thinking about Alex's funeral a few days before. It definitely looked better now.
"Alex told me he loves sitting out here at night." Kat said thinking about the talks she had had with her brother in the days after he had come to the compound. The two of them would talk for hours; most times Khivar joined them too. It was nice, like when they were young before the boys went to the academy.
"I bet he did. It's beautiful." Kyle commented.
Kat realized that she had spoke of Alex in the present tense. She was going to have to watch herself from now on. "So do you want to got for that swim?"
"Uh...sure." Kyle said shrugging. He was wearing a pair of jogging short that would work for swim trunks in a pinch so he slid off his shoes and socks before shrugging off his tank top. He didn't think to look over at Kat, instead he just took off for the pool and dove in.
When he came back up to the surface he blinked the water out of his eyes and searched for Kat. When his eyes found her, he was glad he was already in the cool water. Because instead of going inside to retrieve a swimsuit, Kat had just shed her jeans and sandals and was about to slip into the water in only her white tanktop and underwear.
Kat saw his expression when she got in and realized she was probably being bolder than most other human girls he had known. But she had never been a modest kind of girl. Not slutty or trying to use her body to gain attention like Ava had so often done, she just thought that nakedness was a natural state. She was about to slip back out when she saw that his gorgeous blue eyes had become very dark with what she hoped was desire. Because that was what she was feeling.
Kyle tried to advert his eyes but it was hard. She looked so beautiful. He finally snapped his attention away from her and decided to try and talk. That is if he could get his mouth to work. "So is Kat short for Katherine?"
"No, Katrin." She answered. "It was my grandmother's name."
Kyle nodded, "I have my father and grandfather's name as my middle name."
The two continued to chat idly as they leisurely swam around the pool. Kyle noticed that the longer they swam, the closer they got to each other until they were right next to each other reclining against one of the walls. He watched her floating relaxed, her face holding an expression that was tranquil. It enhanced her beauty more and before he realized what he was doing, he leaned in and kissed her.
He expected her to push him away or at least stop him but found himself pleasantly when she kissed him back. Her lips were soft and he could taste the faintest trace of the chlorine but mostly just the taste of her. He had kissed many girls before but kissing her felt different. It was the best kiss he had ever had.
Kat's mind was whirling by the feel of Kyle's lips on hers. It had been years since she had been kissed and she realized how much she missed it. But she wouldn't want to be kissing just anyone; she was glad that it was Kyle whose lips kissing her. Although she couldn't help but wonder if all humans were this good at kissing.
They finally broke apart when they heard someone clearing their throat. They looked up to see Alex's dad standing above them on the patio. "Kyle, nice to see you."
"Hello Mr. Whitman." Kyle said feeling very uncomfortable.
Kat could see that Charles was trying to keep the smile off of his face as he said, "It's late, I think your dad will be looking for you. You may want to head for home."
"Right." Kyle said before hefting himself out of the pool. Alex's dad nodded to Kat before heading inside.
Kat got out of the pool too and Kyle tried to avoid looking at her, her wet top clung to her like a second skin and kept pulling his eyes back to her. He dressed quickly and stood up. "I'm sorry about that."
"Don't be, I liked the kiss a lot."
"No, I mean getting caught in the somewhat compromising position." Kyle explained then realized what she had said. She had liked the kiss. "I know you probably aren't going to be in town long, but I was wondering if you might want to go out with me sometime? Maybe tomorrow."
"I'd love to." Kat agreed. She found some paper and a pen and Kyle wrote down his cell phone number for her to call him. With a smile on his face, Kyle headed for home.
After Kyle left the yard Kat went inside and saw Charles standing in the kitchen. She didn't know him very well since he had been born on Earth but they had talked some whenever he and his wife came to the base to visit Alex. She had made sure that they knew how grateful she was for them taking care of him for so long. He had been so nice to let her stay there but now she felt bad about being caught, "Sorry about out there."
"Don't worry about it. I told you to act like the house is your own." He said brushing off her apology. "Just be careful, I don't think Alex would appreciate it if I told him that I let his sister be seduced by Kyle."
"I don't know what happened but I'll be careful." Kat said as she went to change out of her clothes. She had one thing left to do before she went to bed, make a little visit to Tess.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kyle hadn't realized how right Mr. Whitman had been about how late it was until he reached his house and saw all of the lights out. He crept as silently as possible inside and took a quick shower. He knew he smelled like chlorine and his dad would ask questions if he smelled it in the morning.
He pulled on a clean pair of shorts and headed down the hall towards the living room. As he passed Tess's room, his old one, he heard something strange. He stopped rubbing the towel over his head and leaned closer to the crack between the door and its frame. He heard a faint whimper and knew it had came from Tess.
He pushed the door open to check on her when he saw that she was still asleep. She appeared to be dreaming about something, something that wasn't pleasant. When the whimpers grew in volume, he thought he even heard her say something and she began to thrash Kyle knew he had to wake her up. He moved to shake her gently. "Tess...Tess."
Her reaction surprised him. Her hand came up and he felt himself being thrown backwards. At the same time he heard her say, "NO! You're dead!"
Kyle's head finally cleared from the ringing inside of it in time to see that she had finally woke up and staring at him wide eyed. "Kyle? What are you doing in here? And why are you are the floor?"
"You threw me here when I tried to wake you from your nightmare." Kyle said still stunned by what happened. "What were you dreaming about? You were yelling in your sleep."
"What did I yell?" Tess asked panicked.
"You said, 'You're dead'. What was that all about?"
"Um, I was dreaming about when Whitacker took me." Tess lied as quickly as she could. She ran her hand through her hair and noticed it was wet from sweat. She also noticed that her hand was also shaking. She couldn't believe that the dream had traumatized her so badly but it had seemed so real. It was as if Alex had been right in front of her, talking to her. But that couldn't be, it wasn't possible. He was dead. She knew that her mind knew that, she was after all the one who had killed him. So why was all of this happening to her?
She noticed that Kyle was staring at her and knew that she needed to get him out of the room before he got more curious, "Um, I think I'm going to try and go back to sleep."
"Okay, I'll be out in living room if you need me." Kyle said uneasily. He knew that Tess had lied to him about her dream. But why? Was she embarrassed? He didn't think so. In the time that she had lived there, Kyle had found out that not much embarrassed Tess. She wasn't modest or reserved. So what was it? What was up with Tess?
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