Part 8

Liz walked into the biology lab, and stopped in her tracks when she saw that Max had already situated himself at their lab table. He hadn’t seen her yet, and she stood there by the door, watching as he was consuming himself with setting up for their project for the day. He looked to be completely focused with checking their equipment and lighting up the flame. Liz couldn’t help but smile at his brow, which was furrowed in concentration.

She felt a small ping in her stomach thinking about the night before. She knew this had to be her Max...a fake one would never be in class with her, and she couldn’t help feeling a little guilty, as if she had cheated on him, by sleeping beside the fake the night before. And what’s worse was that she had enjoyed it. It felt right. She couldn’t even tell that it wasn’t him. She felt low, unfaithful, as if her love wasn’t enough.

At that moment, Max’s eyes lifted from his work, and met hers, and he smiled, watching as she studied him from across the room. For a moment it was as if no one else existed except for the two of them.

Liz took a deep breath, and began to make her way towards him. She ached all over, fearing his reaction when she finally would be able to talk to him, but she knew, in her heart that she needed to be honest with him. Liz loved him with all her heart, and she owed him that much.

When she reached the table, Max took her hand, and helped her slide her backpack to the floor. As she took her stool, Max leaned forward and brought his lips to her hand, lightly kissing the ring nestled on her finger. Slowly his eyes traveled upward, meeting hers.

"Hi." He whispered against her hand, his lips turning up in the slightest half-smile.

"Hi." Liz replied nervously. At least she knew for sure that it was him. Nasedo wouldn’t have recognized the ring. "Listen, Max. I need to talk to you after class. It’s really important."

"Is everything okay?" Max searched her eyes with worry.

"We’ll talk after class. Just promise me you won’t leave my side until after we’ve talked. I need to know that it’s you for sure."

Max stared at her in confusion. "What?"

"Just promise me Max!" Liz begged frantically.

"I swear to you, Liz, I won’t leave your side. From now, through our talk, or however long you want me here."

"Thank you." Liz whispered passionately.

"Now how about this lab?" Max smiled. "We’ve got to do something to pass the time until after class."

The moment the bell rang, Max took Liz by the hand, and led her straight out to the jeep. It was lunchtime, and some upperclassmen were leaving to go home, so it was easy for the two of them to slip away without being noticed.

The silence was almost unbearable for Max as he drove them out towards the desert. He turned his head just slightly and studied Liz. She was sitting there beside him, slouched down in the passenger seat, as close to the door as possible. She seemed to have an uncanny interest in her hands as well. Max frowned. Come to think of it, he couldn’t remember her holding his eye for more than a few seconds since before class.

What was going on with her? Max was getting really worried. She wasn’t acting like herself. Was she beginning to have second thoughts? He knew that it was a really big, risky step to pledge himself to her, the way that he did, with a diamond ring and all, but she seemed really happy about it the other night. Had something changed since then? He couldn’t bear to think about the possibility that it may have been too much for her.

He watched as she stared out the window, her jaw clenched, and her cheeks pale. There was definitely something wrong. She looked…scared.

Max couldn’t stand to see her this way. He had to do something to help. He didn’t know what he could do, but he could at least try!

Liz jumped as she felt one of Max’s hands slide under hers, and hold it firmly. She had been so lost in thought that it had surprised her. She looked up and met his eyes, and he slightly smiled, squeezing her hand at the same time.

Liz felt a slight relief sweep over her as she reveled in Max’s presence for a moment. He was there with her, and he would protect her from anything that he could. In a few minutes they would reach their destination, and then she would tell him everything.

But there was still that little voice in the back of Liz’s head that reminded her that she had betrayed him. And that was unforgivable.

They finally reached the lake outside of town, and Max pulled the jeep to a stop. They just sat there for a moment, staring out at the sparkling blue water.

"What’s going on, Liz?" Max ventured cautiously. "Are you okay?"

There was another moment of silence before Liz responded. "Max…something’s going on, and it’s not very easy to explain, so just, give me a second to try and explain."

Max nodded. "Go on."

"Okay, last night, you were out with your family, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay… Around seven o clock last night…oh God, please don’t think I’m crazy, because this really happened. Last night, you showed up at my house, and took me out for dinner."

"WHAT? It wasn’t me, Liz."

"Yeah, I know that now, but last night I didn’t. Whoever it was told me that you finished early with your dad, and wanted to still get some time with me, so you…he…took me out for dinner, and then…" Liz trailed off. She didn’t want to say it, but she knew she had to. Tears began streaming down her face.

"Then what, Liz?" Max leaned over towards her and gently wiped away her tears. "What happened Liz?"

"Then he spent the night." Liz whispered, her voice breaking from the pain she was feeling.

Max stared at her in shock, her words processing in his brain. "What?" He whispered back.

"I thought he was you, Max. God, he looked exactly like you. He acted exactly like you. He took me to the restaurant where we had our first date. There was no way that I could tell the difference. I never even suspected anything until you asked me what I did last night. I suppose it must have been Nasedo. Who else could have possibly made themselves look like you?"

Max sat back in his seat, numb from the shock of it all. "He spent the night." Max mumbled, still barely believing what he was hearing.

"We didn’t do anything, Max. Just slept."

"Thank God."

"Please forgive me?" Liz begged through her tears. "Please? I’m so sorry, Max. So sorry."

Max sat there silently for a moment. God…Liz slept with someone else. How could she not know it wasn’t him? He ached inside… How could she?

He turned and looked at her, watching the tears streak down her face, her eyes filled with the agony of knowing what she had done to him. It tore Max up inside to see the pain in her eyes.

"God, I wish I could take it back." Liz cried.

Max couldn’t take the pain in her eyes anymore. He slid over and pulled her up against him, and she buried her face in his shoulder, sobs racking through her body.

"I’m so sorry." She gasped through each agonizing breath.

"Shhh…" Max slowly stoked her hair, and gently pressed his lips to the top of her head. "It’s okay, honey. We’ll get through this together. I promise." Max whispered soothing words to her, as her buried his face in her hair, pulling her as close as humanly possible.

"Thank you Max." Liz breathed as she pulled away, slowly pulling herself back together, as she wiped her bloodshot eyes, and straightened her clothes.

"Why do you think he’s doing this?" Liz wondered aloud. "I mean, why would Nasedo focus on me? Why not you guys? And if there’s a reason for me, then why is he taking me out, having fun with me, being all romantic. It just doesn’t make any sense, Max! And to be honest with you, it’s scaring me Max. I need to know that you’re you, not someone else. It scares me to know that the next time you pick me up for school, it may not be you at all."

"I know, Liz. It scares me too, to think that something could happen to you. No. I won’t let anything happen to you, Liz. If I have to, I’ll stay with you every moment, morning ‘till night, keeping you safe. I won’t let him get to you, Liz."

"You can’t be with me all of the time."

"I can try, though."

"Thank you Max." Liz leaned over and rested her head on Max’s shoulder, and he slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. They sat there for a long time, just holding each other and soaking in each other’s presence, as they watched the sun go down. Finally, as the stars began to light up in the sky, Max turned the jeep back on, and they headed back to town.