and so it ends...
It was a familiar scene. Or perhaps it’s that all waiting rooms look alike. And the fear and tension are indelibly imbued into the atmosphere. The stillness makes you crazy, but all you can do is stand up and walk around a bit and then sit back down.
*****
Michael sat in a seat near the door, his head cradled in his hands. He felt as if he’d failed her. He’d failed Elizabeth. He’d hurt her. And now he’d lost her.
*****
Alex was in a state. It was his baby sister again. Why her and not him? How many awful things would happen to his family? He and Liz were all that was left, well and Michael. They were a family of sorts. And he’d failed to protect them. But how could he have possibly known that this would happen? And on Liz’s birthday. On the night of her senior prom.
*****
Maria held onto Alex. She was frightened. How could someone have done those awful things? Why would anyone want to hurt the Parkers anymore than they had already been hurt?
*****
Kyle and Isabel rushed over as soon as they heard. They sat quietly. Supportively. Kyle wanted to get in his car and find the bastard that had hurt Liz. He wanted to pound the bastard into the ground. Isabel was afraid the bastard was her brother.
*****
Liz came to suddenly. Everything was bright and white and smelled of hospital. An elderly man in a white coat was writing something down on a clipboard, and merely smiled and nodded and said, “hello,” when he noticed she was awake.
Her throat felt scratchy and dry, so she coughed a little before replying. Then she asked, “What’s going on?”
“How do you feel?” asked the doctor.
“Can I have some water please?” Liz asked in the scratchy voice.
“Yes, of course, dear. But tell me how are you feeling?”
Liz took a long sip of water. She frowned for a second before saying, “Well my head hurts, and for some reason, everything seems to have rings around it.”
“Haloes?”
“If you want to call them that. Are Alex and Michael here?”
“Well, there is quite a gathering in the waiting room, and I will let your friends through as soon as we’ve finished up here.”
“Ok.” Liz bit her lip. She really needed to talk to Michael. And Alex. And Isabel. There was something nagging at her
“What is your name?”
“Liz, um, Elizabeth Claudia Parker.”
“How old are you?”
“I turned eighteen today.”
“Happy Birthday. Where are you?”
“In the hospital in Roswell, New Mexico.”
“Where do you go to school?”
“I’m about to graduate from Wells High School.”
“Just a few more questions and this will be over, it’s painless my dear,” the doctor chided gently at Liz’s increasing agitation at being asked a barrage of innocuous questions. “Now, who are your parents?”
“Nancy and Jeff—“ Liz stopped speaking mid-sentence. Her face frozen in an expression of terror as she saw the events replay in her memory. A piercing scream rang off in the distance.
*****
She’d had a horrific argument with Max. They hadn’t been getting along, and he had been increasingly violent. That night she’d not only found absolute proof that he was cheating on her, she’d found his stash of steroids. He’d been so furious he’d slammed her against a wall.
It had hurt her head. When he’d stopped shaking her, she’d grabbed her cell phone and called her parents, asking them to pick her up on their way back home. She’d barely managed to finish the conversation when Max had grabbed her wrist, she had wrenched it when she pulled away. She ran out of the Evans’s house and into her parents’ waiting car.
She’d urged her dad to hurry home. She’d ducked into the back seat quickly so they wouldn’t notice her trembling, or the bruises just beginning to form on her wrist and face.
Then the car swerved unexpectedly, the driver in the other lane was heading straight for them, there was nowhere to turn, the cars collided, metal against metal. Screeching against the pavement, glass shattering to tiny little bits as she was flung from the car, hitting the hard ground with the wrist she’d already hurt.
She’d woken up in the hospital. Her wounds patched up. At least the physical ones. She’d erased her memories of that night. She hadn’t wanted to remember again. It was too horrible to remember. Her parents were dead. And it was all her fault.
*****
There were tears running down her cheeks as she finished telling her story. Huge racking sobs coursed through her small frame. She sat alone, untouchable on her hospital bed.
They all heard it. They’d rushed in when she screamed. She didn’t know she’d screamed, that the sound of her voice, the keening cry of pain had terrified Michael and Alex. They’d rushed in. And had listened transfixed. Horrified.
*****
Isabel couldn’t believe what her brother had done, but she remembered his behavior that same evening, the unmistakable violence raging in him. She excused herself from the room and called her parents. Setting in motion the road to Max’s recovery.
The steroids had rendered him unrecognizable. They had detached reason from his heart, added only so much anger, so much raging pain. He was abjectly sorry. Contrite. He lost his way so easily. He never set things back on the right track for his football career. Barely managing to get his life together enough to become a high school guidance counselor. His favorite proverb was ‘Just say No’.
He’d honestly never meant to hurt Liz. He paid for all the damages, helped fix Liz’s balcony with his own hands. He begged Liz’s forgiveness. And she gave it. After taking some time to heal. She realized that he’d always be her first love, but she’d already moved on to her second and last.
Isabel continued to date Kyle. Until one day he proposed, and they eloped to Vegas and won twenty-thousand dollars in a daring move at the casino. Their incredible luck continued when Kyle was drafted by the L.A. Raiders for a four-year deal at 5.6 million a year. Isabel abandoned practicality and decided she had big enough breasts to become a star. And she did (have big enough breasts) become a star. She filmed several cheesy movies and had starred on a parody show about teenage aliens.
*****
Alex continued to run the Crashdown after he graduated college. On the side he worked on his software projects. One day he made the big time, he’d patented a code that resulted necessary for some program or other to do fancy stuff on a computer and sold it for 160 million. He kept the Crashdown, only sprucing up the place a little bit, and continued his software projects on the side. And traveled the world with Maria at his side.
Maria had moved in with him as soon as the summer started. She began attending night classes while helping out at the Crashdown during the day. But when Alex made all the money she decided she’d stop pretending she wanted a career. She was his wife in every sense of the word, except they’d never gotten around to the whole marriage bit. She was happy, he took her to every place she ever wanted to go, and bought her anything she craved. It was a lucrative arrangement.
*****
Liz and Michael. They had a slow going of it. Michael went off to Stanford’s Medical School, having realized that saving peoples lives was what he was made to do in this world. Liz had gone off to college as well, having been accepted into pre-law at Harvard. She knew that setting the world to rights was what she was made to do in this world.
But they talked every night. And because Liz remembered who she was, they rediscovered themselves. Liz told Michael about how she hated olives and capers in her food. Michael said he hated pickles in tuna. Liz loved every female folk singer in the world, Michael loved Metallica, although he admitted an appreciation for Ani Di Franco. Liz thought rainbow Skittles were gross, Michael pointed out that all Skittles were rainbows, but that he too found them gross. He did however love peanut butter M&Ms. Liz thought that might be bizarre, but he pointed out that they were better than plain Reese's Pieces, a point which Liz conceded. Michael said that what he missed most about living at the Crashdown was that he was so far from her room. Liz said she also missed him, because now she couldn’t fake nightmares and have him run in with no shirt on. He asked her if they had all been faked. She said that the scary ones hadn’t been. He let it go after that, because he’d had to admit that he enjoyed running into her room with no shirt on, climbing into her bed, and snuggling. Liz said that she missed snuggling too. Then the conversation got really mushy and slightly steamy what wih phone sex being their only outlet.
It felt as if it had taken forever for them to reach a point in their lives where they could be together. But they did. Eventually. They were both really successful. They lived in a nice apartment in San Fransico, and visited Kyle and Isabel often. They got married, had kids, and were deliriously happy. And it was absolutely wonderful. They rode off into the sunset together so to speak. Lived happily ever after. You know, all the fluffy, lovely, warm, snuggly, smutty (oops that one slipped in there), kind of things that happen to soul mates in the end.
Part 14
It was a familiar scene. Or perhaps it’s that all waiting rooms look alike. And the fear and tension are indelibly imbued into the atmosphere. The stillness makes you crazy, but all you can do is stand up and walk around a bit and then sit back down.
*****
Michael sat in a seat near the door, his head cradled in his hands. He felt as if he’d failed her. He’d failed Elizabeth. He’d hurt her. And now he’d lost her.
*****
Alex was in a state. It was his baby sister again. Why her and not him? How many awful things would happen to his family? He and Liz were all that was left, well and Michael. They were a family of sorts. And he’d failed to protect them. But how could he have possibly known that this would happen? And on Liz’s birthday. On the night of her senior prom.
*****
Maria held onto Alex. She was frightened. How could someone have done those awful things? Why would anyone want to hurt the Parkers anymore than they had already been hurt?
*****
Kyle and Isabel rushed over as soon as they heard. They sat quietly. Supportively. Kyle wanted to get in his car and find the bastard that had hurt Liz. He wanted to pound the bastard into the ground. Isabel was afraid the bastard was her brother.
*****
Liz came to suddenly. Everything was bright and white and smelled of hospital. An elderly man in a white coat was writing something down on a clipboard, and merely smiled and nodded and said, “hello,” when he noticed she was awake.
Her throat felt scratchy and dry, so she coughed a little before replying. Then she asked, “What’s going on?”
“How do you feel?” asked the doctor.
“Can I have some water please?” Liz asked in the scratchy voice.
“Yes, of course, dear. But tell me how are you feeling?”
Liz took a long sip of water. She frowned for a second before saying, “Well my head hurts, and for some reason, everything seems to have rings around it.”
“Haloes?”
“If you want to call them that. Are Alex and Michael here?”
“Well, there is quite a gathering in the waiting room, and I will let your friends through as soon as we’ve finished up here.”
“Ok.” Liz bit her lip. She really needed to talk to Michael. And Alex. And Isabel. There was something nagging at her
“What is your name?”
“Liz, um, Elizabeth Claudia Parker.”
“How old are you?”
“I turned eighteen today.”
“Happy Birthday. Where are you?”
“In the hospital in Roswell, New Mexico.”
“Where do you go to school?”
“I’m about to graduate from Wells High School.”
“Just a few more questions and this will be over, it’s painless my dear,” the doctor chided gently at Liz’s increasing agitation at being asked a barrage of innocuous questions. “Now, who are your parents?”
“Nancy and Jeff—“ Liz stopped speaking mid-sentence. Her face frozen in an expression of terror as she saw the events replay in her memory. A piercing scream rang off in the distance.
*****
She’d had a horrific argument with Max. They hadn’t been getting along, and he had been increasingly violent. That night she’d not only found absolute proof that he was cheating on her, she’d found his stash of steroids. He’d been so furious he’d slammed her against a wall.
It had hurt her head. When he’d stopped shaking her, she’d grabbed her cell phone and called her parents, asking them to pick her up on their way back home. She’d barely managed to finish the conversation when Max had grabbed her wrist, she had wrenched it when she pulled away. She ran out of the Evans’s house and into her parents’ waiting car.
She’d urged her dad to hurry home. She’d ducked into the back seat quickly so they wouldn’t notice her trembling, or the bruises just beginning to form on her wrist and face.
Then the car swerved unexpectedly, the driver in the other lane was heading straight for them, there was nowhere to turn, the cars collided, metal against metal. Screeching against the pavement, glass shattering to tiny little bits as she was flung from the car, hitting the hard ground with the wrist she’d already hurt.
She’d woken up in the hospital. Her wounds patched up. At least the physical ones. She’d erased her memories of that night. She hadn’t wanted to remember again. It was too horrible to remember. Her parents were dead. And it was all her fault.
*****
There were tears running down her cheeks as she finished telling her story. Huge racking sobs coursed through her small frame. She sat alone, untouchable on her hospital bed.
They all heard it. They’d rushed in when she screamed. She didn’t know she’d screamed, that the sound of her voice, the keening cry of pain had terrified Michael and Alex. They’d rushed in. And had listened transfixed. Horrified.
*****
Isabel couldn’t believe what her brother had done, but she remembered his behavior that same evening, the unmistakable violence raging in him. She excused herself from the room and called her parents. Setting in motion the road to Max’s recovery.
The steroids had rendered him unrecognizable. They had detached reason from his heart, added only so much anger, so much raging pain. He was abjectly sorry. Contrite. He lost his way so easily. He never set things back on the right track for his football career. Barely managing to get his life together enough to become a high school guidance counselor. His favorite proverb was ‘Just say No’.
He’d honestly never meant to hurt Liz. He paid for all the damages, helped fix Liz’s balcony with his own hands. He begged Liz’s forgiveness. And she gave it. After taking some time to heal. She realized that he’d always be her first love, but she’d already moved on to her second and last.
Isabel continued to date Kyle. Until one day he proposed, and they eloped to Vegas and won twenty-thousand dollars in a daring move at the casino. Their incredible luck continued when Kyle was drafted by the L.A. Raiders for a four-year deal at 5.6 million a year. Isabel abandoned practicality and decided she had big enough breasts to become a star. And she did (have big enough breasts) become a star. She filmed several cheesy movies and had starred on a parody show about teenage aliens.
*****
Alex continued to run the Crashdown after he graduated college. On the side he worked on his software projects. One day he made the big time, he’d patented a code that resulted necessary for some program or other to do fancy stuff on a computer and sold it for 160 million. He kept the Crashdown, only sprucing up the place a little bit, and continued his software projects on the side. And traveled the world with Maria at his side.
Maria had moved in with him as soon as the summer started. She began attending night classes while helping out at the Crashdown during the day. But when Alex made all the money she decided she’d stop pretending she wanted a career. She was his wife in every sense of the word, except they’d never gotten around to the whole marriage bit. She was happy, he took her to every place she ever wanted to go, and bought her anything she craved. It was a lucrative arrangement.
*****
Liz and Michael. They had a slow going of it. Michael went off to Stanford’s Medical School, having realized that saving peoples lives was what he was made to do in this world. Liz had gone off to college as well, having been accepted into pre-law at Harvard. She knew that setting the world to rights was what she was made to do in this world.
But they talked every night. And because Liz remembered who she was, they rediscovered themselves. Liz told Michael about how she hated olives and capers in her food. Michael said he hated pickles in tuna. Liz loved every female folk singer in the world, Michael loved Metallica, although he admitted an appreciation for Ani Di Franco. Liz thought rainbow Skittles were gross, Michael pointed out that all Skittles were rainbows, but that he too found them gross. He did however love peanut butter M&Ms. Liz thought that might be bizarre, but he pointed out that they were better than plain Reese's Pieces, a point which Liz conceded. Michael said that what he missed most about living at the Crashdown was that he was so far from her room. Liz said she also missed him, because now she couldn’t fake nightmares and have him run in with no shirt on. He asked her if they had all been faked. She said that the scary ones hadn’t been. He let it go after that, because he’d had to admit that he enjoyed running into her room with no shirt on, climbing into her bed, and snuggling. Liz said that she missed snuggling too. Then the conversation got really mushy and slightly steamy what wih phone sex being their only outlet.
It felt as if it had taken forever for them to reach a point in their lives where they could be together. But they did. Eventually. They were both really successful. They lived in a nice apartment in San Fransico, and visited Kyle and Isabel often. They got married, had kids, and were deliriously happy. And it was absolutely wonderful. They rode off into the sunset together so to speak. Lived happily ever after. You know, all the fluffy, lovely, warm, snuggly, smutty (oops that one slipped in there), kind of things that happen to soul mates in the end.
The End
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