FIC: Apology (1/1)
Author: becky rttavi@aol.com
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Period.
Pairing: None. (Max/Maria)
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Chant Down Babylon
Muse #3- A female character must say "Oh, I can't believe it's so big!"
~*~
The air was heavy with condensation preceding the forecasted rain. Max Evans licked his bottom lip and drummed his fingers on his denim-clad thighs. He was peering through the window of the Crashdown Café, like he had so many times before, but this time he wasn't looking for Liz Parker. This time he was looking for someone else. Someone he called a friend. Someone he trusted.
Someone he had tried to kill.
He watched her seemingly getting-darker-by-the-day hair bounce up and down, perched on top of her head in a high ponytail. His eyes followed her every move. The gracefulness in her walk and the way she sidestepped others so easily. The way she stopped at a table of obvious tourists and smiled as she talked to them, probably telling them some alien anecdote. Her smile was lighting up the entire room. His eyes traveled from her smile to her chin to her neck.
That's where they stopped. On her neck.
Liz's dorm room at The Wyndam Academy. The back of Maria DeLuca as her head bobbed up and down to Bob Marley. Innocent. One of the worse moments in Max Evans' memory.
Two weeks have passed since he had tried to kill Maria DeLuca with his bare hands. Two weeks since he had been engulfed by a violent man within his own body. Two weeks and he still had not apologized.
Max Evans knew it wasn't entirely his fault. Technically, it wasn't his fault at all. If he wanted to get nasty about it, he could blame it all on Michael Guerin. If Michael would have been more careful and not gotten his picture snapped during the Christmas of Miracles and if he had never taken the job at
Metachem, then none of this would have happened. Max was sure he would have never had to battle for his mind, body and soul. But he wasn't one to lay blame on someone else, not anymore.
He smiled as he watched Maria almost land a soft drink on the floor, and then admired her agility when she saved it without spilling a drop. Guilt resounded through him knowing that he had almost ended the life of Maria DeLuca.
Although he wasn't in control at the time, he was still there and he had
understood what was happening. He just couldn't stop it.
Max stepped back from the window as the condensation in the air turned into a
fine mist. With deep breaths, he walked slowly around the brick building
until he found himself at the back door of the café. With a hesitant hand, he
reached for the knob and pushed the door in. The first words he heard almost
forced him to slam the door and run away.
"Oh! I can't believe it's so big!" Maria's high-pitched squeal enveloped the backroom.
Max closed his eyes until he heard Geoff Parker's laugh follow Maria's declaration. Then he heard them both laughing. Disgust ran through him as he took a step into the building. He couldn't see either of them, at that point, he wasn't sure he wanted to. He heard the laughter and muffled words emit from around the corner and with his hands on his hips, he strode towards them.
Max stopped abruptly when he saw Maria and Mr. Parker looking at a piece of paper in Mr. Parker's hand. They both looked up at him.
"Max," Geoff ran one hand through his hair and looked at the boy with dubious eyes.
"Mr. Parker," Max stuttered the name as he usually did. "Maria."
"Max," Maria said his name slowly wondering why Max was there when he knew Liz was at the library and if it was an alien emergency.
"Uh…" Max shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Maria, I need to…Uh…Talk to you for a second."
"Sure," Maria nodded as the fear became evident on her face.
"Take your time, Maria," Geoff smiled at her. "It's not everyday one of my waitresses gets a hundred dollar tip!" With a shake of the now obvious credit card receipt in his hand and a wink, he was gone.
"A hundred dollar tip, huh?" Max asked.
"Yup," Maria smiled. "I've never gotten a tip that big from a family of tourists before. Very cool." Her eyes narrowed. "So, what's wrong?"
Max nodded towards the sofa backed up to the wall and then walked over to it, taking a seat at one end. He waited for Maria to follow and sit.
"Enough with the drama," Maria wiped her hands nervously on her uniform skirt.
"When we were in Vermont. I wasn't myself, really."
"Yeah, I know. You were the old guy."
"I was still inside, but I couldn't control everything-- anything really, that he was doing."
"What are you getting at?" Maria folded her arms over her chest.
"I tried to strangle you, Maria," Max laughed without humor. "I would have done it if Liz hadn't picked that exact moment to walk in the room."
Maria shrugged. "It's okay… I knew it wasn't Max Evans who was there. You never dress that nice."
"But still…" He looked into the eyes of a trusted friend. "But now…I just wanted to tell you I was sorry."
With a nod and a smile, Maria replied setting Max free. "Apology accepted."
the end
