Something was bothering Liz, Max noticed. Normally during their lab time they worked like a well-oiled machine, splitting the work, attacking it from two sides and meeting in the middle. But today, she kept drifting off from the subject at hand, getting lost in her own thoughts. It had happened last week too, but he was apprehensive to ask her if something was wrong. Ever since he told her they needed space to find their balance things had been strained between them.

“Um, Liz?” Max started hesitantly. She may not want to talk to him about whatever was bothering her, but he couldn’t help himself from trying anyway.

She turned her head to look at him and his breath caught. For a brief moment he lost himself in the dark shimmering waves of her hair as it swung lightly from her face to rest on a shoulder. He remembered how it felt beneath his fingers, soft and supple, like fine silk. Max wondered if he’d ever have the chance to touch it again.

The sound of Liz’s voice brought him crashing back to reality. The reality he had chosen apart from Liz.

“What, Max?” Liz spoke absentmindedly, almost automatically. She hadn’t noticed his momentary sojourn into the past.

Max looked at her intently. He could see in her eyes that she was somewhere else. Somewhere far away from the lab and from him. But he took courage in the fact that she answered him and went on. “Liz, is there something wrong? You don’t seem yourself, and it concerns me.”

She sighed, and her attention returned to the task in front of her. “Max, no.” Her voice was stern. “Nothing is wrong with me. Now, can we just get back to our assignment?” He recognized the finality of her tone of voice: Leave me alone, I don’t want to talk to you. He closed his eyes briefly to try and mask the pain her cold words had inflicted. Then he started to work again.

A few moments later the classroom door opened and Kyle Valenti walked in. He approached Ms. Hardy and handed her a note. She read it and then called to Liz.

“Liz Parker, you are needed in the Principal’s office.” She handed the paper back to Kyle and went back to helping some other students with their work.

Max looked up when he heard Ms. Hardy call Liz’s name. His eyes froze when he saw Kyle there waiting at the front of the class for Liz. What was going on? For the past few weeks he and the others had seen Liz hanging around Kyle more and more often. None of them understood it, much less able to surmise the reasons behind her behavior. Max didn’t believe that Liz was petty enough to try to get back at him for halting their relationship by going back to Kyle. Nevertheless, everyone was getting more than a little concerned. Maria and Alex had already tried to talk to Liz about it, but she brushed their questions off saying it was school stuff. Still, Max didn’t doubt Liz. His faith in her to keep their secret was a firm as ever. Yet, something was setting alarms off in his head. He could feel that something was deeply troubling Liz, and he desperately wanted to find out what it was. All he could do now was watch incredulously as Liz was obviously more than a little anxious to gather her things and leave with Kyle. She walked out of the classroom without saying a word.

Liz knew there could only be one reason why she was being pulled out of class, especially since Kyle had been the one sent to get her. Something had happened. Something related to their work at the TeenLine. Once outside the classroom, she turned to Kyle, panic visible in her eyes. “What’s going on? Has something happened?”

Kyle looked at Liz sadly. He couldn’t tell her. He couldn’t bear to break this kind of news to her. “Come on. We’ve got to get to the Principal’s office. You’ll find out everything there.”

Liz protested. “KYLE, what is going on?!”

Kyle just looked at her, sympathy and compassion overflowing from his eyes. He took her hand and started to walk. “Let’s go.”

With each step closer to Principal Martin’s office, Liz’s stomach began to turn and her chest felt constricted. She had an overwhelming sense of dread. She feared whatever was going to happen, and dared not allow herself to consider her worst suspicions. Finally, they were in front of Principal Martin’s office, and as she walked through the door and saw the grim face waiting within she had the immediate impulse to flee.

“Hello, Liz. I’m sorry we had to pull you out of class, but there is something we need to talk to about.” As he spoke, Liz saw that Principal Martin was sitting at his desk visibly distressed. As Principal of West Roswell High, he enjoyed his job and cared deeply for his students, but it was situations like this which tore him up inside.

Liz looked to the side of the office to see who was the “we” Principal Martin referred to. She had seen a figure in the corner of her eye when she walked in, but she had only taken in Principal Martin. Now she turned to see Sheriff Valenti standing off to the side, holding his hat in front of him. The Sheriff stepped forward and spoke to her. He got straight to the point.

“Liz, you have been manning the phones for the TeenLine the past couple of weeks with Kyle and some other students, right?” Liz nodded. Was it really what she feared? She felt her face flush with emotion. The Sheriff continued. “And during that time, you had received some calls from one girl in particular who you were trying to help.”

“Yes.” Liz whispered. She had just talked to Laura two nights ago. She had been so despondent, had sound so defeated. Liz had repeatedly urged Laura to come in to see her, or at least approach someone else about what had been going on in her life, but Liz had hung up the phone doubtful that she would actually take any action. For the past two days she had been going over their conversations in her head, trying to think of how she could have been more convincing, more helpful to the girl on the other side of the phone. Liz’s eyes began to burn with tears of frustration and fear.

Principal Martin spoke again. “Liz, this morning, Mr. Frank found his daughter, Sarah, dead from an apparent suicide. An overdose of his prescription pain pills mixed with vodka.”

Liz could no longer contain her tears or the sob that escaped her lips. Her free hand, trembling with emotion, moved to cover her mouth. She had tried so hard to recognize the voice on the other side of the phone, but it had always eluded her. Now, the recognition hit her like a brick. She had known Sarah. They had been in English class together last year. She was a key player in the Girl’s Varsity Soccer Team. They had passed each other numerous times in the hallways. She was a pretty, petite girl. She always had a smile on her face. Yet, no one had known the turmoil hidden within the girl behind that smile. No one had known but Liz, and she had failed to help this poor girl.

Kyle, his hand still holding on to Liz’s, squeezed tightly and led her to a chair. He knelt and put his arm around her, trying to lend whatever comfort he could while he watched the strong girl he had always cared about break down. A thought came unbidden to his mind: How long had it been since she had let him touch her, much less put his arms around her? It had been so long ago, even before their breakup. However, Liz seemed oblivious to him, and she moved to wrap her arms around herself as if the room had suddenly become very cold. Kyle shrugged off his jacket and put it around her shoulders.

He had known about Liz’s frequent caller. After all of the seemingly trivial calls over whether someone should break up with their boyfriend or girlfriend, Liz had immediately recognized the difference in the quiet voice who called in desperate need of help. She had confided in him about it since he also helped answer phones at the TeenLine. TeenLine policy forbid any talk regarding the calls they received outside of the center in order to prevent any casual gossip at the school inadvertently reaching the caller’s ears. The TeenLine would have no credibility with the students if it couldn’t maintain their trust.

Quietly, Liz asked, “Why isn’t Mrs. Brown here?”

“Mrs. Brown called in sick today, Liz.” Mr. Martin answered. “She doesn’t know what has happened yet.”

Liz nodded. Her brain was spinning. She was still trying to absorb the enormity of it all.

Sheriff Valenti spoke again. “Liz, Kyle had mentioned your caller to me before. She was having troubles at home, wasn’t she?”

“Yes. Her mom had left her dad because of his drinking problem. She didn’t understand why her mother didn’t take her with her. She felt so abandoned, so lost. And then, when her father had his friends over and they all got drunk...” Liz, her head down with her dark hair hiding her tears, paused to take a breath and wipe her face with her hand. “One of her father’s friends was making unwanted advances on her. Actually, I think it went farther than that, but she never said so. She had tried to tell her father, but he didn’t believe her. I guess it was a longtime family friend. Someone they trusted. In fact, Laura..." Liz paused, shutting her eyes briefly and then corrected herself, "I mean, Sarah referred to him as her uncle. Recently, she mentioned that he had even started showing up at her house when her father was away at work.” Liz looked up suddenly, looking intently at the Sheriff. “How did you know my caller was Sarah?”

Sheriff Valenti brought one of his hands from behind his hat. In it was plain white envelope. It had been partially hidden behind his hat. “She left two letters behind. One of them was addressed to you.” He reached across the space between them and handed the envelope to her. With shaking hands, Liz pulled the paper out from the envelope. It had already been opened, but she assumed it was standard procedure when the Sheriff was faced with this kind of situation. She looked at the delicate handwriting and read:

“Dear Liz,

Thank you for all of your help these past few weeks. And I do mean that. You did help me. You were my only friend, the only one who knew of my problems. Your voice was so strong, so determined to help me face my fears, to face Uncle John.

I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be strong like you. I just can’t face the shame and guilt of this any longer. And I don’t think it will matter that much. Who will miss a small insignificant person like me? So, I don’t want you to feel bad about this, okay? It isn’t your fault. It isn’t anybody’s fault. It just doesn’t matter any more.

Take care,

Sarah”

—————

Alex was completely oblivious to Mr. Schiller’s lecture on the Louisiana Purchase. If there was a pop quiz tomorrow he’d fail. But he didn’t care. Early on in the semester, he made an amazing discovery. Especially since it made history infinitely more endurable. While to the casual observer his seat primarily faced a window looking out onto the student parking lot, Alex knew that if turned in his seat just slightly, he had the perfect vantage point of the field. The exact piece of field that the cheerleaders used for practice during the very same hour he was stuck listening to Mr. Schiller drone on about U.S. History. He had never so staunchly believed in the power of prayer until now.

He watched transfixed as the cheerleading squad practiced their routine again and again. There was only one cheerleader that he was interested in watching. She was a goddess. In Alex’s eyes, Isabel Evans was Aphrodite herself. Even in sweats, she took his breath away. His eyes followed her every movement. He watched as she moved away from the group of girls to take a drink from her water bottle. And as she tilted her head back to take a drink, he admired the graceful line of her throat and how the sun hit her hair and turned it into shimmering strands of gold.

Alex shook his head slightly to focus his attention back to the classroom where he was sitting. He had to get control over himself before he started to drool all over his desk. Besides, he should at least try to get something out of today’s history lecture. He already knew he was going to have trouble passing this class. He should have at least enough restraint to keep from flunking. Yet, maybe he could let himself take just one more glance at the object of his affection.

He turned his eyes back to the field and noticed a change in Isabel’s demeanor immediately. Something was wrong. Her mouth was open in complete disbelief. Alex watched as her shock faded into a visible scowl. He traced her gaze and realized she was glaring at something in the student parking lot. He shifted in his seat to get a better view and was shocked himself.

There was his best friend, Liz Parker, in the student parking lot with Kyle Valenti. Kyle’s arm was around Liz, holding her close. Alex blinked hard and looked again. It was no mistake. Even though they were walking away from where he was, Alex had no trouble recognizing the two of them. He had seen them together several times before when they were a couple. But they weren’t dating any more, and Kyle had been extremely bitter about the breakup. Recently, that seemed to change though. Alex had seen them talking together in the hall last week, but when he asked Liz about it, she had told him it was just stuff about school. Yet, here the two of them were, walking together to Kyle’s red Camaro. He looked closer. Was Liz wearing Kyle’s letterman jacket? It was only when Kyle opened the passenger door of the car and Liz turned to get in that Alex was finally given a clear view of her face. She was crying. Liz looked absolutely devastated, her face red and puffy. Immediately, Alex was extremely worried. The problem was, he didn’t know whether to be more concerned over the fact that Liz was crying, or that she was getting in to Kyle Valenti’s car and leaving campus with him. Then, another realization hit him. Isabel was watching them too. In his surprise he had completely forgotten about her.

“This is not good.” With a start, Alex realized he had unintentionally spoken out loud.

“Excuse me, Mr. Whitman?” Mr. Schiller asked. “Did you care to add some personal insight to the lecture today?”

“No, Mr. Schiller. Sorry.” Alex slumped down in his seat. What the hell was going on? He had to find Maria as soon as possible. Maybe she would know what was going on. If she didn’t, they could all be in big trouble. He remembered the look he had seen on Isabel’s face. Alex had to act fast. Or else he feared the precarious trust he and his best friends had established with the ‘Czechoslovakians’ could be permanently lost.

—————

That afternoon, Alex walked beside Maria as they approached Liz Parker’s front door. He had told Maria what he and Isabel had seen, and they were both concerned. Neither of them had any idea what was going on with Liz. The fact that Kyle Valenti did know hurt their feelings more than a little. However, he and Maria both realized there was more at stake than just their feelings.

Alex’s step faltered as he considered what they were planning to do. Were they really about to knock on Liz’s door in order to confront her? That didn’t seem right to him—their coming to confront Liz. He had seen how upset she was. He had seen her tear-stained cheeks. What he wanted to do was offer his friend some comfort with whatever was bothering her. But then he remembered how he had seen Kyle comforting Liz, and how it was the fact that it was Kyle that made this situation so difficult now.

All of them, including himself, knew about Isabel’s intense fear of Sheriff Valenti. They also knew that her fear of the Sheriff spawned a latent distrust and general loathing of his son, Kyle. So, when Alex realized that Isabel had also seen Liz leave with Kyle—well, neither he or Maria could predict what she would think or do.

Alex, his face grim, made himself focus again on why he and Maria had come: They had to find out what was wrong with Liz, and they had to head off a potentially explosive situation from developing with Max, Isabel and Michael. He turned toward the friend standing next to him and saw her give a firm nod, her expression serious. He reached his arm out and knocked.

—————

As soon as she had finished dreamwalking, Isabel went to her brother’s room.

“Max.”

Max was sitting at his desk studying. He barely took his eyes from his book as he answered his sister. “What, Iz?”

“Max”, Isabel repeated, this time with more urgency in her voice. It got her brother’s attention. He turned and looked at her, and he saw her eyes. He saw a mixture of emotions swimming there: grief, worry and concern. “Max, call Michael and have him come over. We need to talk.”

“What’s going on, Iz?” There was an edge to Max’s voice. He stood up from his desk and walked up to her, his eyes filled with alarm.

“Just get him over here. I’ll tell you then.”

—————

Maria and Alex followed Mrs. Parker into the living room and they all sat down. The two teens on the couch, Mrs. Parker in a large chair. None of them attempted to exchange the familiar pleasantries. It seemed understood that it wasn’t the time or place for them. The words would have just fallen flat, their meaning empty and lifeless.

“You’re concerned about Liz, aren’t you?” Mrs. Parker started. She saw the serious nods of her daughter’s best friends and continued, her face sad. “Well, so am I. This has hit her rather hard. I’ve tried to tell her that she did what she could, but it doesn’t matter what I say right now. She’s too lost in her own guilt to hear me.”

“Um, Mrs. Parker?” Maria was the first to speak, her voice subdued. She had to know what was going on. Obviously, Mrs. Parker already thought they did. “What exactly is going on with Liz?”

“You don’t know?” Mrs. Parker was amazed. Her hand instinctively moved to massage her aching head. Why didn’t Liz tell Maria and Alex? They were her best friends after all. Suddenly, the answer came to her and the worried creases on her forehead cleared. She remembered that Liz had told her about the TeenLine Policy. “Of course she wouldn’t have told you. I understand now.”

Alex’s patience was dangerously close to snapping. What did everyone seem to know but them? “Would you please mind telling us, Mrs. Parker?”

Mrs. Parker looked at the teen and saw the anxiety in his features. She smiled at the young man she had watched grow up with her daughter and thought of how handsome he was growing up to be.

“Yes, Alex.” Liz’s mother sighed. “If it’s any consolation, I just found out most of this from Mr. Martin today. He called the house to let me know he was sending Liz home early and to tell me what was going on. Anyway,” Mrs. Parker made a fluttering gesture with her hand as if to shoo away all the extraneous thoughts in her mind. “Liz has been volunteering with the TeenLine these past few weeks.”

“Right, she changed her entire schedule around for it.” Maria interjected. She couldn’t help herself. The tension of not knowing was gnawing at her, and the vial of cedar oil she had been smelling the past few hours was not helping at all.

Alex glared at Maria for interrupting Mrs. Parker’s explanation.

“Yes.” Mrs. Parker resumed. “And during the past couple of weeks while she was answering the phones there, she developed a relationship with a caller. A girl. A girl with some serious problems. Apparently, Liz had been trying unsuccessfully to get the girl to meet with her and get some help.”

“What was wrong with her?” Maria questioned, and was immediately answered with another glare from Alex.

Alex snapped at Maria, “Can you please just let her talk?” He turned his attention back to Liz’s mother. “Sorry, Mrs. Parker.”

Mrs. Parker could understand the teens’ frustration. If the Principal hadn’t called her, she doubted she would have been able to get the full story from Liz. Her daughter had walked in the house crying and had gone straight into her room, closing the door behind her. “The girl was being molested by a friend of her family. At least that is what Liz told Mr. Martin and the Sheriff today in his office.”

This time Alex had to ask, “The sheriff? Why was he there?”

“I presume because they are looking into investigating the father. Probably for child endangerment or something of that nature. The point is, the girl Liz was helping was found dead this morning. She had committed suicide.”

“Oh my God.” Maria gasped. She had never even imagined something as serious as this. Poor Liz. Her heart filled with emotion over what her friend must be going through.

Alex was looking down at his hand, his fingers entwined with one another. Something still wasn’t making sense to him. “But what about Kyle? Why did he bring her home instead of one of us?”

Leaning across the space between them, Mrs. Parker put one of each of her hands on the hands of the teens sitting in front of her. “I’m sure she would have asked one of you, but Kyle was already there. From what Mr. Martin said, Kyle also volunteers at the Center and he was trying to help Liz with this girl. And so, I assume, they brought Kyle in at the same time as Liz to tell them the news together.”

“Can I see her?” Maria was grief stricken for her friend. She had thought...she had thought so many different things about her friend. None of them were even close to the truth. And none of them said much of her faith in her friend either.

“I’m sorry, Maria, but you can’t. She finally fell asleep about an hour ago. She was completely exhausted from all that happened today.” Tears started to form in Mrs. Parker’s eyes. Her poor baby. If something had ever happened to Liz like that girl, heaven knows what she’d do.

Alex saw the emotion well up in Mrs. Parker’s eyes, and he stood up from the couch. “I’m sure this day has been trying on you too, Mrs. Parker. We shouldn’t stay any longer. We just wanted to make sure Liz was okay. She had been acting a little out of sorts lately and we didn’t understand why. Thanks for filling us in.” He reached down and put his hand on Maria’s shoulder. Maria looked up, his touch bringing her out of her own thoughts, and understood that it was time to go.

“Uh, yeah. Thanks, Mrs. Parker.” Maria added as she stood up from the couch. “Can I call Liz later?”

“You can try, honey,” Mrs. Parker said, rising from her seat. “But I doubt she’ll take it, even if she does wake up. But I do appreciate the both of you coming over to check on Liz. You both really are her best friends. You know that, don’t you?”

Maria and Alex silently nodded, their thoughts racing ahead elsewhere while their feet automatically propelled them forward. As Mrs. Parker silently saw them out, Alex already knew what they had to do next to accomplish the second part of their goal. Once they had gotten seated in Maria’s red Jetta, Alex turned to his friend. “You know where we have to go now.”

Maria nodded. She started the engine, released the parking break and they were off.

**************************

As soon as Michael had finished climbing in through the window, Max turned to Isabel. “Okay. He’s here. What is going on?”

Isabel, who was sitting on Max’s bed, looked at Michael knowingly.

“You did it?” Michael asked. Isabel nodded in reply.

“Did what?” Max’s voice was like ice. Carefully enunciating every syllable, he asked again, “What did you do Isabel?”

“Listen, Max.” Isabel’s voice was stubborn, undaunted. During the time it had taken Michael to get to the house she had regained control of her feelings. Besides, she was used to these routine debates with her brother. Just because he chose to be the moral conscience for all three of them didn’t mean she had to listen. “During cheer practice, I saw Liz leaving school early today. She was upset. Really upset. I could see that she was crying.” Isabel saw her brother’s anger being replaced by concern. “The thing was,” she continued, “she was with Kyle Valenti. He was trying to comfort her or something. And then, I saw them drive off together.”

“And you didn’t tell me this until now?” Max’s voice was simultaneously confused and concerned over what he heard his sister telling him. The same question kept repeating in his mind: What had happened at the Principal’s office that made Liz so upset? And why did she leave school with Kyle?

“Max,” Michael spoke up, “It’s no secret how you feel about Liz. Of course Isabel didn’t want to tell you she saw Liz with Kyle.”

“So the next logical step would be to tell you, huh?” Max stared accusingly at Michael and then at his sister, his eyes demanding further explanation.

“Max, it wasn’t like that.” Isabel protested.

“Come on, Max. Get off it.” Michael said. "It’s not like you haven’t kept something from us before.”

“I think you better just tell me what is going on here.” Max was becoming increasingly annoyed with the situation.

“Max, you gotta understand. I wasn’t just going to watch Liz take off with Kyle Valenti and not do anything about it. Especially since his father is enemy number one.” Isabel crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn’t going to let him make her feel bad. She had every right to look into the situation.

“Isabel, just get to the part where you tell me what you did.” Max was tired of going round and round over this. Granted, he was taken back by Isabel’s revelation that Liz left the school with Kyle, but now his concern with what Isabel had done, something she probably shouldn’t have done, was overshadowing his other concerns.

“I dreamwalked.” Isabel paused before clarifying further. “Into Liz’s dreams. I took the chance that she’d fall sleep after crying. God knows, the way she looked she had been crying a lot.”

Max was furious. “Iz, we agreed you weren’t going to do that anymore. It is a total invasion of someone’s privacy. Of Liz’s privacy!”

The bored monotone of Michael’s voice was in direct contrast to Max’s outrage. “So what did you see?” His attitude was careless, flippant.

As Isabel considered just how she was going to word what she said next, she felt a pang of guilt. She had gotten so caught up in defending herself against Max’s anger she had forgotten the gravity of what she saw in Liz’s dream. She looked down at her hands, her hair swinging forward as she slowly began to speak again. “I found out that we don’t need to worry about Kyle.”

“See, Iz. You shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions. Especially about Liz. You know we can trust her. She’s proven that we can.” Max was ready for this entire conversation to be over. If only he could get the image of a crying Liz being comforted by Kyle Valenti out of his mind. His mind raced through the possibilities of why and how—and then, his own memories of the last time he saw Liz cry were there, replaying in his mind. It was on her roof, the night he told her that they shouldn’t be together. God, the memory of it still tore through him like he was there, saying it all over again, causing her to cry all over again. Then, just as suddenly, a different time when he had seen Liz cry came to mind. The night her grandmother had died. He recalled how the tears left trails down her crimson cheeks. How she had been walking to the Crashdown and then unexpectedly turned and wrapped her arms around him. Nothing had felt so perfect in his life up till that moment. Until the next perfect moment came when he first kissed her. But he had ruined that, and now it was possible that she was with Kyle Valenti.

Isabel’s voice brought him back to his room, to the two others in it with him. “But I also saw something else in there.” She paused, took a breath and went on. “I think Liz might be in trouble.”

Max’s eyes froze on his sister’s. “What kind of trouble?”

“I think someone may be harassing Liz.” Isabel voice was hesitant, unsure.

“You mean about harassing her about us?” Michael inquired.

“Michael! It’s not always about us, okay? For once, it is not about where we came from or why we’re here!”

“Then what do you mean by saying you think someone is harassing her?” Michael was put out by Isabel’s outburst, but at least now he was intrigued by where this was going.

“I don’t know exactly. It was all fuzzy in there, in her head, in her dream. Everything was shrouded, and no one had any faces.” Isabel's voice was beginning to lose some of its confidence, her words coming at a more rapid pace. “And there was just this total claustrophobic atmosphere, like she was trapped. I felt her fear, and it was different from any kind of fear I’ve ever felt. I didn’t understand why until...” Isabel’s voice faded off.

“Until what?” Max urged her on.

“Until this person, this guy came. The stench of alcohol on him was absolutely nauseating, and he kept...he kept...bugging her. He wouldn’t leave her alone.”

“Exactly what are you saying, Iz?” Michael asked.

“I think someone is harassing Liz...sexually.” There she said it. She had dreaded it, and she could barely believe it herself, but for the fact that she was in Liz’s dream. She had seen it, and felt it, and it was horrible.

Michael’s casual attitude was gone. He couldn’t believe his ears. Was it possible? Was it possible that Iz was saying Liz’s perfect existence was actually not so perfect? It couldn’t be. He had read her diary. Her entire diary, and it was just filled with the philosophical ramblings of an emotional teenage girl. Then he thought again. It had been months since he had actually read it though.

He must have heard Isabel wrong, Max thought. She couldn’t have just said what he thought she did. Liz? Someone was pushing himself on Liz? But she was so strong. Why would she let—how could someone get away with doing that to her?

“Max, relax.” Michael saw his friend’s hands curling into tight fists. “It was just a dream, remember? Not reality.”

Isabel protested, “Michael, I know what I saw in there.”

“Isabel,” Michael retorted, “It was only a dream. You said so yourself. No one had any faces and everything was fuzzy. Anyway, half of the time people’s dreams are just fantasies. The mind sorting through the events of the day in its own haphazard way.”

“If that’s the case,” Max interjected, “Then what exactly is going on with Liz to make her dream something as horrible as Izzy just described to us?”

Just then they were interrupted, startled from their conversation, by the sound of the front door bell ringing. Michael, still relatively close to the window from which he had climbed in, moved the curtains aside and looked out. “Red Jetta.” He said simply.

—————

Alex and Maria were sitting next to each other on the couch in the Evan’s living room. Max, Isabel and Michael were sitting in two chairs and the floor, respectively. All of their faces were grim. Each one knew why they were all there together, even though neither of the two groups had spoken and it wasn’t planned.

Max broke the silence. “What is going on?”

Alex answered the question. “I saw Liz leaving with Kyle during school today. She was crying.” Looking directly at Isabel, he continued. “I know you saw it too, Isabel.”

Confusion clouded Isabel’s face. “How?”

Gesturing casually with one hand like it was no big deal, Maria explained to Alex’s complete chagrin. “Oh, he watches you during cheer practice from his U.S. History class.”

Alex could feel his face flush, including his ears, and wished he had a big enough cork for Maria’s mouth. He heard Michael snort and saw Isabel’s mouth curve into a small smile.

Max was too concerned about Liz to care. He questioned them again, “Is Liz okay?”

“Well, yes and no.” Uncharacteristically, Maria didn’t expound further. She was uncomfortable with this entire situation. It didn’t really have anything to do with them except that Kyle Valenti got all of their alien alarms going off. She turned to Alex. “I feel like we’re about to expose someone’s dirty laundry, except we don’t even know who’s laundry it is.”

“I know, Maria.” Alex answered her. He took her hand in his and squeezed. “But we’ve all got to be able to help Liz through this.”

“Through what?! What are you guys talking about?” Michael said, exasperated with the entire situation. Why couldn’t they get to the point? He realized that if what Isabel thought of Liz’s dream was true, it would certainly be hard for her two best friends to share with anyone, but this waiting was seriously trying his patience. He nervously ran his hand through his hair.

Maria prompted the friend sitting next to her. “You tell them, Alex.”

Alex began to speak, informing the other three about the events in Liz’s life during the past few weeks: The TeenLine, the girl caller, and her recent suicide. Occasionally, he paused to let Maria fill in additional details. When they were done, everyone was silent, each reviewing what had been said and imagining all that Liz must be going through.

—————

Liz was sitting on the couch in the back room of the Crashdown, taking a break. She hadn’t gone to school today. She couldn’t. She didn’t want to hear the other students gossiping about Sarah. They’d all know by now. It was probably in the morning paper. Fortunately, her parents had understood when she didn’t emerge from her bedroom that morning. That’s why they were so surprised to see her getting ready for work that afternoon.

Getting up off the couch, Liz walked into the rest room to look in the mirror. Her eyes were still red-rimmed, with dark circles underneath. She had cried so much yesterday, and had barely slept the night before. The only rest she had gotten was the fitful nap she had taken after getting home from school. Even then, her dreams were filled with disturbing thoughts of Sarah Frank and what she must have gone through. Liz reached in her apron for her compact and applied some more powder, trying to hide the shadows under her eyes. She was exhausted, but her mind wouldn’t stop going over what she could have done better to help Sarah.

Work had seemed like the perfect solution. While the customers were different, the routine was always the same. Liz had hoped that would help distract her thoughts from their current train of thought. It did for awhile. Until she had heard some customers talking about the girl who had committed suicide. Roswell was too small a town for people not to gossip about Sarah. She should have known better, Liz thought.

She returned a few stray hairs back to their place and smoothed them down with her hands. Only a couple more hours to go. Then she’d be done and she could escape under the covers of her bed once more. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep at first, but hoped the exhaustion of the day would finally take over. She washed her hands, then stepped out of the bathroom and back out to the main part of the cafe. It was time for the next wave of customers to come in, those looking for a late dinner.

As Liz scanned the cafe for new customers in her section, Maria approached her. “Hey, Liz, you holding up okay?”

Liz just nodded. She didn’t really want to talk right now. Her eyes stopped at a booth toward the front which had been empty before. Max was sitting there with Michael and Isabel. He was looking at her, and their eyes met. He knew. She could see from the sympathy in his eyes. She turned her head to break away from his gaze. The last thing in the world that Liz wanted was for anyone to feel sorry for her.

The front door of the cafe opened and she watched as two men walked in. The shorter one was leaning on the other, obviously too inebriated to walk on his own. Awkwardly, they moved toward an empty table in her section. Someone had too much fun during happy hour, she thought, as she walked toward them with two menus.

Max sighed as Liz turned her gaze away from him. She looked so tired and worn. He, Michael and Isabel had listened in silence as Maria and Alex told them what had happened. He had been immensely relieved to discover that what Isabel had seen in her dream wasn’t actually happening to Liz. Still, Max knew he couldn’t possibly imagine what Liz was feeling, or how hard it must be on her. He wished he could talk to her, let her know that he was here for her, whenever she needed a listening ear or a warm shoulder to cry on. His eyes went to her figure again. She was waiting on the two men who just walked in. Stumbled in was more like it, he thought to himself. It was apparent that one of the men was trying to sober up his friend.

As Liz moved on to another table, Max’s eyes wandered to look at who else was in the cafe tonight. His eyes stopped as another pair of eyes met his. It was Kyle Valenti. Kyle had already been here when he walked in with Michael and Isabel. He was eating dinner with a group of his buddies from the basketball team. Kyle considered Max coldly, but Max noticed it didn’t go any farther than that. Max supposed Kyle’s usual anger had been subdued a little by what was going on with Liz. After all, the guy did get to comfort her and take her home yesterday. A pang of jealousy went through Max with that thought, and he saw Kyle turn away as Liz approached his table.

“How was the pie? Good?” Liz asked the table of high school jocks. She tried to avoid Kyle’s searching gaze. Her question was rewarded with praise from his friends.

“It was great.”

“Yeah, awesome.”

“So, if there isn’t anything else I can get you, I’ll just set your check down here.” Liz tore a piece of paper from her order pad and left it on the corner of the table. She started to walk off to kitchen to pick up an order but Kyle stood up and followed her.

“Liz.” Kyle called after her. She turned around and faced him. “When do you get off? Maybe I can swing back by and we can talk.”

She smiled sadly at him. “Thanks, Kyle, but no. I didn’t get any sleep last night and I am pretty worn out. I’m going straight to bed when I get off.” She turned back and walked to the kitchen window.

Kyle walked back to his table of friends. “Hey, you guys ready to go?” Two of his buddies got up to leave, but the last one was still finishing up his dinner.

“I just gotta finish my fries, man.”

“Fine.” Kyle’s voice was impatient. “Give me some money so the rest of us can take care of the bill. We’ll wait for you outside.” The jock handed Kyle a few wadded up dollar bills that he pulled from his pocket and then went back to eating his french fries. The rest of the guys went to the register where Maria rang up their check.

“How is she doing?” Kyle asked the blonde waitress.

“She’s holding up, but overall, I don’t think she’s doing too good. She’s barely spoken five words to me all day. The customers are getting more than that.” Maria shook her head as she took the cash Kyle held out to her. The register drawer opened and she started to get his change. “Kyle, just how long had Liz been answering calls from Sarah?” Maria had been wondering that since she found out what was going on from Mrs. Parker. Her curiosity increased after reading the article in the paper and with hearing the talk at school. Kyle seemed to be the only one who would really know.

“A little over a month. In fact, I think I remember Liz saying she had first talked to Laura,” Kyle interrupted himself to explain, “Laura was the name Sarah gave Liz when she called. Anyway, Liz said that it was only her second night volunteering at the TeenLine when she first talked to her.”

As Maria handed Kyle his change, she smiled at him. “Thanks for the info.”

“Sure. Hey, if she needs anything, let her know I’m here for her.” With that, Kyle walked out of the Crashdown with his friends.

Isabel watched as Maria smiled at Kyle and handed him his change. She noted how sad the smile looked. The fact of the matter was, they were all upset over what had happened. Isabel had known Sarah as well. They shared math class together. Isabel had never really bothered to get to know the girl since they didn’t share the same social status, but she remembered how Sarah always seemed to be smiling. A wave of guilt spread through her as she thought of how alone that poor girl must have felt to do what she did. She should have acted friendlier, kinder to the soft-spoken girl. Now, all she could do was try and help Liz in whatever way she could. She knew Max was probably already agonizing over how he could help.

Isabel looked away from the register and searched the cafe for Liz. There she was, bringing a pitcher of water over to those two men. God, Isabel thought, isn’t there a law against public drunkenness?

Liz sat the pitcher of water down on the table and pulled two silverware settings from her apron. Just a few more hours. The thought kept repeating in her head. She just had to get through this shift so she could crawl into the dark warmth of her bed. As she finished laying out the second setting she froze, her body stiffening. Someone’s hand was on her rear.

Across the room, Isabel grabbed Max’s hand. “Max!” She whispered frantically. “Look!” She pointed over to where Liz was standing. Max’s eyes opened wide as he saw the drunk guy’s hand resting on Liz’s rear.

Liz was incensed. In a second all of the despair she had been feeling had turned into pure rage. “Get your filthy hand off of me,” She said, her voice loud enough that everyone in the Crashdown heard.

The drunken man’s friend yelled at him. “Christ, Sam! Get your hand off of the girl. You are going to get yourself arrested, you damn fool. She’s not even of age.” But Sam just smiled, and gave Liz a little squeeze.

Liz’s hand came flying through the air and slapped the man squarely across the face. She stepped away, removing his hand from her body. She addressed the drunk man’s friend. “Forget your food. Just get your friend and get out.”

The man was apologetic. “I’m so sorry, Miss. Yes, of course we’ll leave. Come on, Sam. What a mess you’ve made out of this one.”

However, Sam was still smiling stupidly at Liz, rubbing his cheek where she had slapped him. He reached out for her, saying as he did, “That’s okay, hon. I like my women feisty.”

Liz saw the man reach out for her. Before he got a chance to touch her again she grabbed the pitcher of water from off the table and threw it’s contents all over him. Then, she turned and walked away.

Maria couldn’t believe her eyes when she first turned at the sound of her friend’s enraged voice. Now, she wanted to cheer and jump up and down to congratulate her friend for what she did to that disgusting drunk. Serves him right, she thought. But when she saw Liz walking toward her, Maria saw tears streaming down her best friend’s face. Maria’s excitement faded and died, and soon anger welled up in her toward all men. Men like the drunk who just accosted her friend, and men like the one who abused Sarah.

“Maria?” Liz said, her voice hoarse with emotion. “Will you please help me out and mop up the mess I just made?”

“Sure, Liz.” Maria didn’t know what else to say. So much was going on in her friend’s life that she didn’t know what words would help ease the pain. She watched Liz walk through the swinging doors leading to the back room of the Crashdown and heard the door to the back alley slam shut. Abruptly, her attention was diverted by the sound of someone’s chair screeching as they forcefully shoved it back. Maria’s eyes narrowed as she watched the last of Kyle’s friends bolt out the front door of the cafe, almost knocking down the drunk and his friend, the friend desperately trying to maneuver Sam without getting himself wet. She made a hissing noise, partly because of the drunk and partly at the noise, and then started toward the back room to get the mop and bucket.

Max had finally gotten Michael’s attention once Liz had left the room. Before, his friend had been just as spellbound by what was going on at the table across from them. “Michael, move it so I can get outta here.” As Michael slid out of the booth to let Max out, Isabel grabbed Max’s hand.

“Max,” Isabel said. “That guy just ran out to get Kyle, so whatever you’re going to do, do it quick.” Max nodded at his sister and started to run toward the back of the Crashdown.

—————

Max was running after Liz, past the tables, past the swinging doors to the back of the cafe. All he could think about was comforting her. Holding her in his arms once again. But the was stopped short by Maria. She was standing in front of him, one hand on her hip, a mop in the other and a bucket at her side.

Maria knew what had to be said. She wished to God that she could be the one to go out and comfort her friend, but at the same time, she recognized it may not be what her friend needed right now. It certainly didn’t help that they were the only two waitresses on the floor tonight either. However, if Max was going to rush out and try to help her friend, no matter how noble his intentions were, she was going to make sure that he didn’t do more damage in the long run.

“Stop, Max. Stop and think of what you’re doing.” Her eyes challenged him. “That is my best friend out there, and right now she is in a world of pain. If you go out there and play the hero for fifteen minutes of feeling good about yourself—you’re just as bad as the jerk she just doused in there.” Maria gestured with her head out past the swinging doors back into the cafe. “If you go and comfort her, Max, be sure you'll still want to two days from now. She can’t handle you leaving her again, not on top of everything else.” Maria reached down and grabbed the bucket’s pull handle. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some water to mop up before someone slips and breaks their neck.” With that, she left Max alone in the back room.

Max felt as if he had been slapped in the face by the force of Maria’s words. She was right, and he knew it. He couldn’t play games with Liz’s heart. He had to decide if he was ready to be with her, and if he wasn’t, he had to walk away. He hesitated. Every gut instinct told him to run out to Liz, but his ingrained habit of always remaining in control held him back. He didn’t know how to control his feelings for Liz. They were too powerful, overwhelming even.

Max stood there in the back room of the Crashdown, immobilized by the quandary before him. It took only seconds, but within those few seconds, fate decided for him. Someone rushed by him, pushing him aside roughly. He stumbled from the force of the blow, and as he regained his balance, he saw who it was. He watched helplessly, dumbfounded by his own inaction, as Kyle dashed out the back door of the Crashdown and into the alley to comfort Liz. To hold her in his arms and wipe away her tears, as Max desperately wanted to do himself.

Stunned by the rapidity of everything that just happened, Max remained standing in the back room of the Crashdown. He wondered if this was to be his destined lot in life: To be alone, watching those around him experience all the wonders and heartaches of life. Of being human. That was the catch, wasn’t it?

Max’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the back door of the Crashdown forcefully swinging open.

Liz stormed in, wiping tears from her face. When she had run outside before, she hadn’t been crying because of what had happened. She had been waiting on tables long enough that she had learned how to deal with male customers coming on to her. Instead, she had been crying out of frustration and grief. In those few moments, she’d had a small glimpse into what things might have been like for Sarah Frank. The shock from being taken advantage of while being completely off guard. The humiliation and degradation of having someone’s unwanted hands on you. Except she didn’t feel humiliated. She had felt anger, and had reacted by lashing back. The circumstances of the past few days had definitely triggered a harsher reaction than what she normally would have done. Seconds after she had finished pouring the pitcher of water on the inebriated man, the grief hit her. The grief over the fact that Sarah wasn’t able to defend herself as she had just done. And that was what made her break down and run out to the back alley crying. Except now the tears were fueled by anger as well.

“Kyle, I just want to be left alone!” Liz said heatedly. Neither she or Kyle had noticed Max was in the room with them. They were too involved with the conversation which had begun outside.

“Liz, just let me help you.” Kyle’s arms were outstretched toward Liz, attempting to overcome her refusal, his face pleading with her to let him help.

“No.” Her voice was harsh. “You just don’t get it. I’m fine, okay? I am absolutely fine. It was Sarah who needed help and she didn’t get it. I wasn’t able to help her. She needed comforting, she needed someone to take care of her. I don’t. Just leave me alone to deal with this in my own way.”

“But, Liz,” Kyle protested, “You’re wrong. You did try to help and you aren’t responsible for the choice she made. You can’t blame yourself for her death.”

Liz put her hand out to stop Kyle. “Don’t. I don’t want to hear it. Just leave, okay. I just want you to leave.” She turned to leave and noticed Max standing there. She didn’t seem shocked to see him, but her eyes didn’t welcome him either. Without a flicker of hesitation she said, “Max, that goes for you too. Please, just leave, both of you.” Then, she turned and walked into the employee rest room and locked the door behind her.

Kyle turned to Max, glaring at him. “What are you looking at, Evans?” He said, his tone acidic. Then, he stomped back out into the main area of the cafe.

Max exhaled. Had he been holding his breath this whole time? It seemed like an eternity. Yet, he noticed wryly, he was relieved. Relieved that Maria had stopped him from going out to Liz when he certainly would have gotten the same response Kyle did. More than that, he was relieved to see that Kyle wasn’t able to comfort Liz. His heart had stopped when he saw Kyle walk out that door instead of him. He had been so afraid that Kyle was going to erase whatever connection he and Liz had. Now that the moment had passed, some clarity was returning to his thoughts and he realized that wasn’t possible. What he and Liz had was enduring. It would be a part of him as long as he breathed, no matter where he was. Circumstances might be keeping them apart now, but he wouldn’t let it stay that way forever. He just prayed that given some time, Liz would let him use the bond they shared to help her get through this ordeal, to help her heal.

Max sighed and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. He better get going. Isabel and Michael were waiting for him. They were probably anxious to leave. Even though that was the last thing he wanted, he was going to honor Liz’s request. Because that was all he could do for now.

The End

Back to Area 51 (Section I)