Part 3

The warmth of the water washed the weeks stress away. Hours in the studio singing, arguing, singing, and stressing over her songs was slowly wearing her down. It was a lot harder than she had imagined it would be. As long as she could remember she had always loved to sing, thus becoming a rock star was a dream come true. But to compromise her soul was something she never imagined would happen. She tried to fight them, but every one of her songs they touched turned into crap. She left Roswell in hopes of finding herself in her music, but she was just as lost here as she was in Roswell. This move was supposed to change her life, make it better, bigger, but she felt more alone and small in New York than she did in Roswell.

Billy was one of the good things about New York. They had spent a day together, talking and just hanging out. He was a friend and that was what she was looking for, but he wanted more, more than she could give him. She realized that Billy understood her music, but he never understood her, he only understood who she was at the age of 14. She felt that she had grown, had passed the awkward pubescent girl that he used to know. She had matured so much since then and there was a side of her that he would never comprehend. The side that she tried to leave behind in Roswell, which constantly haunted her.

She lowered herself deeper into the tub, enveloping herself in the bubbles as her body released the stress. The water was getting colder and the bubbles slowly disappeared as she finally felt the tension on her shoulders dissolve. She would have liked to stay longer, but she had to get ready for tonight.

Wrapping the towel around her wet hair she looked in the mirror and noticed how much skinnier and paler she looked. She missed the strong New Mexico sun that gave her a nice golden glow. Looking at the clock next to the bed she hurried up and got ready before Rath came.

She chuckled at the thought at who was taking her out. Of all the people, she never expected to become friends with him. They looked so much a like, but yet they were so different. She had her suspicions at first, but he always kept his distance, giving her space and privacy, never intruding on what she was doing. He made his presence known, but it seemed like he was just watching out for her, making sure she was safe. Although the studio paid for Taxi service, he still waited outside to make sure she got into the hotel safely. So after a week of stalking, she called him out and he told her that he didn’t want anything, except to make sure she was ok. She didn’t take the taxi anymore after that day. Rath would walk her home; they didn’t do much talking during that time until she invited him to eat dinner with her one day. Their first dinner together was an eye opening experience. She took him to a nice restaurant, just to see his reaction. He stood out like a sore thumb, but he was a really great sport about the whole thing, unlike him. Rath was playful and child-like and was just plane fun. He was like a kid in a candy store, in awe and ready to try every single favor. And for being such a wonderful ‘friend’ Maria felt it was due time she paid up, so tonight Rath was going to take her clubbing, on his turf. He promised her that she would have a “fucked up” time.

*

1612. The paper said 1612. He read the scrap piece of paper a few more times, but the numbers never changed. Shoving the paper back into his pocket, he then hit the button to the 16th floor. Maybe he should have grabbed something before he came, his stomach felt a little uneasy, but eating might have made it worse.

The elevator doors opened on the 10th floor. A smartly dressed elderly man and a skanky dressed younger woman were holding hands and were about to enter the elevator, but stopped mid-step when they saw him standing there. The man quickly looked away and started to walk in the direction he was looking at, dragging the redhead behind him. Glancing to the right he looked at his reflection in the mirrored elevator, he didn’t understand what their problem was. He had a few days of stubble and he looked dirty, but it’s been a few days without a shower. He never understood why people where so put off by him. At time he was glad because it made walking in crowds easier, people would moved away as he approached, like a menacing force no one wants to deal with.

The ding of the elevator signaled that he had reached the 16th floor. He slowly stepped out of the elevator and turned right when the door slid open. The destination wasn’t that far away, but the walk seemed to last forever. Each step seemed as if hours had passed. Without looking to see if he got the right door, he started to raise his fist to knock on the door. His hand hesitated only for a moment before the sound of the door rattling under his fist echoed in the empty hallway.

*

Maria stopped combing her wet hair when she thought she heard knocking at the door. Listening very carefully, she heard the distinct sound of knocking over the sounds of radio. She grabbed the plush hotel rob as she exited the bathroom and started to put it on. Quickly glancing at the radio alarm clock, Maria read the bright green numbers, 6:12. Usually she would be waiting for Rath, but this time, he was early. Maybe he was trying to make a good impression since he was going to take her to some weird place. She lowered the volume of the radio to a slight hum and pulled on the knot to make sure that her rope was tied tight so that Rath couldn’t get a sneak peek.

“Hey! You’re early Rath-” Maria greeted her guest. Her mouth dropped as all color drained from her face. Her expression quickly turned from one of surprise to angry. Maria slammed the door on Rath’s face with a loud boom that echoed down the hallway.

*

The boom of the door caught him by surprise. That wasn’t the welcome he expected. He came here for a reason, he had a purpose, but somehow it seemed to have disappeared. He figured she would be surprised, shocked, happy, but he didn’t expect anger, definitely not that. Then it hit him; he started to knock on the door hard, pounding on it, realizing what she called him.

*

Maria nervously paced back and forth. Folding, unfolding and folding again, she was so upset her arms couldn’t stay still. She couldn’t believe that Rath would do that. She trusted him. Of course she had her doubts about him, but she learned to trust him. She couldn't believe Rath pretended to be him yet again, knowing that she knew about the incident a year ago. He even promised her he would never do that again; never turn himself into HIM ever again. Her head jerked up when the door rattled again.

“Go away Rath! GO A-WAY!” Maria screamed at the door.

“Maria open up!” boomed the voice behind the door.

She started to pace again. She couldn’t believe her ears, Rath even sounded like Michael. The way Michael would say her name when he was being stern. Maria shook her head; she was going delusional. It had to be, since she was hearing things. The knocking from the door broke her train of thought. She covered her ears, and shook her head, denying what she was hearing, but the knocking was too loud to ignore. Taking a deep long breath she marched towards the door and swung it open.

*

He didn’t know what happened until he felt the stinging heat on the left side of his face. His head turned back to her. Her eyes were wide and angry. Her hands were fisted and her breathing ragged. She looked on fire and he felt the urge to grab her and take her then and there. He opened his mouth to speak, not really knowing what to say, but was interrupted by her.

"Rath, this is not funny,” she screamed. “How dare you take on Michael's face and pretend to be him again?" She was ready to slam the door in his face again, but he put his hand out and held it open. She narrowed her eyes at him and abruptly turned around and walked away. He caught her arm and jerked her back to make her look at him, willing her to look into his eyes.

“Maria- it’s me,” he whispered softly.

At first she wouldn’t look at him. She kept on avoiding his eyes, until he used his free hand and cupped her chin and forced her to look at him. Confusion took over her face, not really understanding or believing what she was seeing. She furrowed her brows in question, but his eyes held all the answers. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a big hug. Slowly his arms surround her, first holding her gently as if she was going to break, then hugging her tighter, not letting her go. They both stayed that way for a long time, forgetting the world around them.

“Why are you here Michael?”

“To look for you-”

Maria quickly broke away and looked up at him. His face took a look of pain as if she put it there. Seeing him like that, she looked away, unable to face him just yet. They stood like that for a long time; emotions poured out in waves, enabling them to verbally say anything to each other.

Finally Michael broke the long silence, “Maria. I…”

Maria looked up. Michael could almost see the fear in her eyes before she broke away from his arms and spoke, “-you must be tired. Ahmm… go, go take a shower.” Maria instinctively pushed him in the direction of the bathroom and took his jacket and backpack from him.

“Maria, I’m gonna need my…” Michael stammered as he pointed to his backpack.

Looking down, Maria noticed she was holding his things. Blinking, she didn’t even realize that she had taken it from him. Maria quickly made her way over to Michael and gave him his backpack and quickly walked away.

Michael opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself when he saw how off she was. He knew she would be surprised to see him, so he decided to take her up on the shower while she could collect herself.

She finally started to compose herself when she heard the shower running. There was so much going on in her head that she had no idea what to do, what to say, or where to start. Taking a deep breath she tried to control her emotions, calming down. She was so nervous that she could hear her heart beating in her ears.

Maria finally realized she had his jacket and was twisting the life out of it. Walking towards her bed she made herself sit on the edge of it and closed her eyes to clear her mind. It took her some time before she opened her eyes. She then caught herself hugging his jacket as if it was he. She could still feel Michael’s warmth radiating from it. Maria slowly lifted the jacket to her nose and took a deep breath. She missed him.

Lying down, Maria took the jacket and covered herself, enveloping him around her. Although it wasn’t cold, she had a need to have him around her. She didn’t understand why he was here. She never thought he would come, not after what she said. It was an excuse. What she had said to him before she left was all an excuse. It was more than just a night together; it was more than just feeling good. She came over to tell him because she was happy; she only wanted to tell him about her good news because he would understand, and he did. It turned into something more than she anticipated. It was so much more than a good time. It was… Maria quickly sat up, letting the jacket pool on the floor, when she heard him calling for her.

"Maria I need a towel- oh found one,” Michael called out from the bathroom.

Her moment of clarity disappeared when she heard his voice. Michael has always had that ability on her, to make her loose her mind with the way he said her name, or with a touch. But at the same time, he made everything right again. She never felt more at home in the two weeks she's been here, than she did when she realized Michael was at her doorstep. She finally got up when her stomach started to act up again, butterflies. She crouched down to pick up his jacket and noticed something underneath it.

*

The steam bellowed out of the shower stall as Michael opened the door. He really needed that. His muscles had been so tense from the long hours on his bike and the hot water helped relaxing it. He had forgotten where he was when he habitually asked her for the towels. Maria had a tendency to use all of the clean towels when she showered at his place.

Michael took the towel off the counter and started to dry himself off. He then used the used towel to wipe away some of the fog off of the mirror. He ran his fingers through his wet hair. He hair was long and unrulely; Maria hadn’t trimmed it in a very long time.

Looking at himself in the cloudy mirror, his reflection showed a worn and tired person that he didn’t recognize with the stubble on his face. He looked like Rath, no wonder she had mistaken him. Michael chuckled at the irony of the whole situation. If it weren’t for Rath he would have never found her. He rode into New York without a clue as to where she was. Out of the blue Rath found him, as if Rath knew he was coming. Rath shoved a piece of paper into his hand and said, “She’s safe and waiting for you.” Then he walked away without looking back. Michael opened the piece of paper and it had a hotel name and a room number. He didn’t know if he should trust Rath or not, but it wouldn’t hurt if he gave it a try. He never thought Rath would actually help him, but there he was standing in her bathroom. Michael rubbed his face with the palm of his hand. Letting out a loud sigh, Michael wondered what he was going to do when he left the sanctuary of the bathroom.

Something caught his eyes in the mirror when he looked down. There was something dark and familiar on the counter, hidden under the stack white plush hotel towels. Moving the towels aside, Michael picked up a leather-embroidered book, his sketchbook that had been missing for over a year. He’d always known she had it, but never thought she would have brought it with her to New York. Michael started to thumb through the pages, pages filled with his drawings of her. He'd indented to give the sketchbook to her one-day, but never got the chance to. As he flipped through the pages he started to notice writings between the once empty pages that he didn’t use. He skimmed the pages that she filled with her handwriting and couldn’t believe his eyes. They were poems, songs, and thoughts about him. Michael finally reached a page that had bleeding of ink. His fingers traced the strain made by tears. Closing the book, Michael reached for the towel before the left the bathroom.

*

Maria looked up when she heard the bathroom door open. Her fingers covered her lips to suppress a gasp when she saw what he was holding in his hands. A single tear escaped and ran down her cheek.

Michael slowly walked towards her, holding the book out, ready to ask her about it, but then noticed her holding something in her hand. The picture and lyrics he intended to give her. He finally noticed that her eyes were pooled with tears, ready to burst, as he kneeled down in front of her. Michael reached for the pictures and lyrics and took them before he laid the book on the floor and pushed it towards her. Maria looked up as tears escaped and stained her cheeks. Michael held back, fighting his subconscious to wipe away her pain. She lightly ran her fingers on the embroidered book and nodded her head, giving him the answer to what he wanted to know. Michael took the picture and lyrics and placed it on top of the book and slid it to the side.

He took Maria's hand and slow stood up, dragging her up with him. Maria kept her eyes fixed on the floor, unable to look at him. Tears ran down her face, overwhelmed, unable to understand all the emotions that flood through her body.

Michael cupped her chin and gently turned it so he could see her face. He couldn’t breath when he looked into her eyes, shimmering under emotional tears. His thumb gently wiped away the ones that escaped. He bent down and gently placed a kiss on her forehead. They both held onto each other close and tight, her face buried in his chest, his arms around her small frame, gently rocking as the radio played…