you know the drill...
Liz and Kyle are sitting on the rooftop at the Crashdown looking at the stars. Ostensibly it’s a science project, but really they’re stealing away as much time alone as they can without a chaperone.
“It’s Rosa’s birthday today,” Liz states quietly. Kyle nods making no comment, but he’s listening to her every word. “Every year I think it’s going to be easier. That it’s going to hurt less not having my big sister around. But it does, it hurts and I miss her so much and I’m so angry with her at the same time. I don’t know what to do. And my parent’s are freaked about high school and it’s effect on me. They can’t believe that there was nothing they could have done to save her but that’s is, in fact, the truth. Rosa was addicted to cocaine. That’s all.”
“That’s why they look at me with such suspicion?”
Liz laughed mirthlessly, “Yeah, you are a possible drug dealer, nevermind that your dad is the town sheriff!”
“It’s okay, I don’t care as long as I get to see you, be with you. I don’t care where it is. I don’t mind that they watch over us. At least they care.”
“Your dad cares, Kyle,” Liz says softly.
He nods, “Yeah. But she didn’t care enough to stay. She left my dad, fine. That sucks. But she also left me. And she’s other than that stupid letter she’s never apologized for leaving me behind.”
“Do you want her to?”
Kyle shrugs, “I should say no.” He looks up at the sky and wonders if his mom can see those same stars.
Next to him, Liz is watching him. He has a feeling she can read every emotion flitting across his face. Softly she says, “But the truth is, you do wish that.”
Kyle takes a breath. Liz sees to the heart of him. She cuts him to the bone with her perceptiveness. But it’s too much. It’s too heavy, so he teasingly says, “Maybe. But usually, I’m wishing for something else.”
This isn’t a lie. Most of the time, Kyle is wishing for more time with Liz.
I’m alone with Liz Parker. At a rest stop. In Montana. We’ve got no plan. But we do have each other. I want that to be enough. I need it to be enough.
But we’re starting from scratch here. All these memories, moments we’ve shared are in the past. And maybe they belong there.
The truth is Liz and I aren’t the same anymore. We’ve been irrevocably changed by Max Evans. He saved our lives and we owe him so much. But he’s also the guy who tore us apart. Although, we were broken before that.
“It’s okay, Kyle,” Liz says.
I look at her in confusion, “What’s okay?”
“To not be certain about this. About us.”
I’m not certain about this at all. I know I love Liz. But I don’t trust that she reciprocates those feelings. I know she’s been unhappy for a long time. But I’m not sure I believe that she knows how she feels about anything right now.
I shrug my shoulders. We need to figure out where to go from here. We have our things: clothes, fake IDs, and cash. But we need to find a shelter. And in the middle of nowhere Montana doesn’t seem like a place that’s going to have five-star accommodations.
“It doesn’t have to be five-star,” Liz says softly.
“Get out of my head, Parker.”
“Sorry.” There’s a beat and then she asks, “You weren’t saying it out loud?”
“Fuck no.”
“Oh.” Her voice is small and I know I’ve made her flinch with my brusque curse. I’m not actually upset that she read my mind. I get flashes of her thoughts too. I have to work hard to filter them out because I don’t want to invade her privacy. I know that Liz would extend me the same courtesy.
It’s just that some thoughts are louder than others.
We decide to walk toward the center of town and buy a local paper. We need to find a decent rental, but we’ll probably need jobs first. We’re walking on a cute semi-residential road when we notice a sign advertising a bed and breakfast. We stop in and ask if they have any vacancies and when we are assured that they have openings we book a room for a week.
It makes sense to split a room, but I’m definitely worried about the sleeping arrangements.
And when we walk into the room I’m even more worried.
There’s not much to the guest room. We’re lucky enough to have a place to stay, but the enormous king-sized bed dominating the room makes it clear that we’ll be sharing that tonight.
Liz doesn’t seem as perturbed by the sleeping arrangements as I am and I almost want to open the connection between us so that I could know what she’s thinking.
I’m staring at her flip through the pages of the paper when she looks over at me. A soft smile dances across her lips and she bites one with anticipation.
“It looks like the local diner is hiring, given my years of experience I’m pretty sure I can land the job.”
“What are you going to do about references?”
Liz shrugs. “I don’t know how extensive the background check will be.”
I sit down next to her and glance through the ads to see if anyone is looking for a mechanic. I’m a decent one, and figure places that might be looking, might not be scrutinizing my work experience too closely.
“We’re going to be fine,” she states quietly.
I nod, “I think so too.”
Part 7
Liz and Kyle are sitting on the rooftop at the Crashdown looking at the stars. Ostensibly it’s a science project, but really they’re stealing away as much time alone as they can without a chaperone.
“It’s Rosa’s birthday today,” Liz states quietly. Kyle nods making no comment, but he’s listening to her every word. “Every year I think it’s going to be easier. That it’s going to hurt less not having my big sister around. But it does, it hurts and I miss her so much and I’m so angry with her at the same time. I don’t know what to do. And my parent’s are freaked about high school and it’s effect on me. They can’t believe that there was nothing they could have done to save her but that’s is, in fact, the truth. Rosa was addicted to cocaine. That’s all.”
“That’s why they look at me with such suspicion?”
Liz laughed mirthlessly, “Yeah, you are a possible drug dealer, nevermind that your dad is the town sheriff!”
“It’s okay, I don’t care as long as I get to see you, be with you. I don’t care where it is. I don’t mind that they watch over us. At least they care.”
“Your dad cares, Kyle,” Liz says softly.
He nods, “Yeah. But she didn’t care enough to stay. She left my dad, fine. That sucks. But she also left me. And she’s other than that stupid letter she’s never apologized for leaving me behind.”
“Do you want her to?”
Kyle shrugs, “I should say no.” He looks up at the sky and wonders if his mom can see those same stars.
Next to him, Liz is watching him. He has a feeling she can read every emotion flitting across his face. Softly she says, “But the truth is, you do wish that.”
Kyle takes a breath. Liz sees to the heart of him. She cuts him to the bone with her perceptiveness. But it’s too much. It’s too heavy, so he teasingly says, “Maybe. But usually, I’m wishing for something else.”
This isn’t a lie. Most of the time, Kyle is wishing for more time with Liz.
I’m alone with Liz Parker. At a rest stop. In Montana. We’ve got no plan. But we do have each other. I want that to be enough. I need it to be enough.
But we’re starting from scratch here. All these memories, moments we’ve shared are in the past. And maybe they belong there.
The truth is Liz and I aren’t the same anymore. We’ve been irrevocably changed by Max Evans. He saved our lives and we owe him so much. But he’s also the guy who tore us apart. Although, we were broken before that.
“It’s okay, Kyle,” Liz says.
I look at her in confusion, “What’s okay?”
“To not be certain about this. About us.”
I’m not certain about this at all. I know I love Liz. But I don’t trust that she reciprocates those feelings. I know she’s been unhappy for a long time. But I’m not sure I believe that she knows how she feels about anything right now.
I shrug my shoulders. We need to figure out where to go from here. We have our things: clothes, fake IDs, and cash. But we need to find a shelter. And in the middle of nowhere Montana doesn’t seem like a place that’s going to have five-star accommodations.
“It doesn’t have to be five-star,” Liz says softly.
“Get out of my head, Parker.”
“Sorry.” There’s a beat and then she asks, “You weren’t saying it out loud?”
“Fuck no.”
“Oh.” Her voice is small and I know I’ve made her flinch with my brusque curse. I’m not actually upset that she read my mind. I get flashes of her thoughts too. I have to work hard to filter them out because I don’t want to invade her privacy. I know that Liz would extend me the same courtesy.
It’s just that some thoughts are louder than others.
We decide to walk toward the center of town and buy a local paper. We need to find a decent rental, but we’ll probably need jobs first. We’re walking on a cute semi-residential road when we notice a sign advertising a bed and breakfast. We stop in and ask if they have any vacancies and when we are assured that they have openings we book a room for a week.
It makes sense to split a room, but I’m definitely worried about the sleeping arrangements.
And when we walk into the room I’m even more worried.
There’s not much to the guest room. We’re lucky enough to have a place to stay, but the enormous king-sized bed dominating the room makes it clear that we’ll be sharing that tonight.
Liz doesn’t seem as perturbed by the sleeping arrangements as I am and I almost want to open the connection between us so that I could know what she’s thinking.
I’m staring at her flip through the pages of the paper when she looks over at me. A soft smile dances across her lips and she bites one with anticipation.
“It looks like the local diner is hiring, given my years of experience I’m pretty sure I can land the job.”
“What are you going to do about references?”
Liz shrugs. “I don’t know how extensive the background check will be.”
I sit down next to her and glance through the ads to see if anyone is looking for a mechanic. I’m a decent one, and figure places that might be looking, might not be scrutinizing my work experience too closely.
“We’re going to be fine,” she states quietly.
I nod, “I think so too.”
Comments
Post a Comment
Comments are moderated. No spam please. Let's keep things fun and nice and respectful.