suggestion and once again had joined in with the band. She was wrapping up a tune by the group Save Ferris. It was a band Isabel knew Alex had loved.
«Kyle, why are you telling all this to me?» Isabel asked.
«I've been having trouble sleeping," he said. «I keep replaying the memory of Alex's death. Every time I close my eyes, I see myself walking in on them. Sometimes, I see myself in Alex's place. Other times, I see things that have nothing to do with it. Strange things that I don't understand.»
«What kinds of things?»
«Everything," he replied. «And nothing, too. I can't explain it.»
«So that's why you look so tired.»
«It's not just when I'm sleeping," he continued. «This afternoon, I was working on a car when I got flashes of Alex's car hitting the truck. Isabel, I wasn't even there when the collision happened.»
But Isabel knew what he was talking about, because she had seen it too. She thought it had been normal for the imagination to make them see these things. «I think that's just our minds trying to explain things. Since we weren't witnesses, our minds are making up the scenario so we can find some kind of closure.»
«It's not closure," he said, sure of himself. «It's getting worse. Much worse.»
«How?»
«It started out as just some nightmares and daydreams," he explained. «Normal grieving stuff. But now I can't get my mind off it. No matter what I do, I just keep seeing things that I have no control over.»
«So, what can I do?» she asked, cautiously.
«Well, since the problem is dream related," Kyle began his pitch, «I was thinking maybe you could go in there and fix things.»
«Fix your dreams?» she asked for clarification, because she wasn't exactly sure what he was proposing.
Kyle sensed her reluctance. «You've manipulated dreams before. I'd just go to sleep, and you would pop into my head and remove all the images of Alex's death.»
«That's not manipulating dreams," Isabel said. «That's displacing memories. When I go into someone's dreams, it's purely harmless recreation. I'm only playing around with the dream. This is… different.»
«But, Tess-"
«Has entirely different powers than I do," she reminded him. «I can't just go in and change your thoughts.»
«Have you ever tried?» he asked, suspecting that he knew the answer.
«No.»
«Then how do you-"
«It's too dangerous," she stopped him before he continued down this track. «We have no idea what that could do to you. It's just too dangerous.»
«I'm willing to take that risk," he said. «I have nothing left to lose.»
«Alex died," she said flatly. «He died because Tess went too far with her powers. I'm not going to do the same thing.»
«But it's the only way," Kyle said.
«Have you even considered some kind of therapy?» Isabel said. «Maybe something more interactive than speaking to Buddha?»
«I would love to talk to someone about this," his agitation level was rising. «Tell me who. Tell me what therapist on Earth I can talk to and explain that I'm plagued by images in a murder I took part in because an alien messed with my mind. I would love to get normal help, but normal and Roswell don't mix.»
Isabel couldn't argue that fact. She, Max, and Michael had lived with the secret all their lives. They'd known pretty much from the start that they were different. But their friends were pulled into their crazy lives, and now everyone's concept of normal had been thrown completely upside down. Isabel couldn't help but feel that she owed Kyle, but she also knew that she couldn't risk his life. «I'm sorry," she whispered. «I can't.»
The statement hung in the air for the longest time as music continued to waft in from the other room. Kyle and Isabel just stared at each other, until finally the moment was broken by something entirely unexpected. Apparently, Maria had taken a break from performing with the band.
«Is that my dad?» Kyle asked as they listened to the impossible. «Is he… singing?»
3
«Should we go over it one more time?» Max asked as he threw an extra shirt into his overnight bag.
His sister let out an audible sigh as she replayed the story for a third time that morning. «You and Michael are going to Frazier Woods for the entire weekend to do some stupid science project on plant life native to New Mexico so that Michael can make up for all the work he missed cutting classes during the school year. Really, dear brother, this is one of the easier cover stories we've ever had to come up with. I think I can manage it.»
«I just don't want them to think something's up," Max said, zipping his bag closed. «We give them enough to worry about.»
«Mom and Dad are driving to Santa Fe first thing tomorrow morning and are staying there overnight," Isabel reminded him. «I doubt they'll even notice you're gone.»
«It's just," he tried to put his concern into words, «they already think Liz and I got too intense too fast. I don't
want them to worry about us spending the weekend together, especially since we're not really spending it alone together.»
Isabel opened the curtains in her brothers room to let in some of the morning sunlight. They were lucky that Friday was looking like it was going to be as nice as the rest of the week had been. Roswell was experiencing an unusual stretch of mild weather in the regularly hot summer.
«Oh," Max said, remembering one more thing. «Make sure Michael doesn't accidentally show up here. He knows what's going on, but sometimes with him I never know how much he's paying attention.»
«You'll have to remember all this when your own son's a teenager," Isabel chided him. «I think this is the best lesson for dealing with a problem teen. 'What to do when you think your son's lying to you.'"
«Very funny," he said, although he knew that he was making more out of his sneaking off than necessary. He knew that she was right to treat him like he was overreacting, but having to lie to his parents never got any easier. At least this time he was hiding normal teenage stuff from them instead of huge alien conspiracies. Well, minus the whole part about having a son on another planet, he thought. He also took small solace in the fact that he had known that his son would never have to hide the same secrets he did.
«Don't you have to pick up Liz?» Isabel asked, looking at her watch and making a face that implied his delayed departure was beginning to interfere with her plans for the day.
«On my way.» He threw his bag onto his shoulder and headed for the door. «What are you up to this weekend?»
«Oh, nothing special," she replied, following him through the house. «Probably just hang out with Kyle and stuff.» Of course, the «and stuff' she was referring to was Jesse. She was going to meet him for coffee that evening, but save their big plans until tomorrow. Considering that her whole family would be out of town, they would never have a better chance to spend a day together without fear of running into Max or her parents. Roswell was not a huge town to begin with, but it became even smaller when a simple dinner in a restaurant turned into a covert activity. Aside from that, however, she really did want to spend some time that day with Kyle to try to help him get over his problem without relying on alien manipulation.
«Have fun," Max said, opening the front door.
«You too," Isabel replied as she watched her brother leave. Then, she added in a mockingly stern voice, «You keep that kid in his place.»
«I will.» He cheerfully walked down the front path, actually looking forward to what lay ahead.