Max sat in the park, staring off into the night. It was so peaceful there at that time. He loved to come out there and just sit and think. Let his mind sort through everything that had happened in the last few months.
"I thought I'd find you here."
"Hey, Maria."
Maria sat down next to him, looking out at the park. "Tough night?"
"I guess. Where's Michael?"
Maria shrugged. "He's in non-communicating mode tonight. I haven't seen him. What about Liz?"
"You should know the answer to that better then I do. We're not exactly close now."
Maria looked over at her friend. "Max, have you tried talking to her? The two of you need to work this out."
"How do I talk to her, Maria? How do I look at her without seeing her in bed with Kyle? I don't even know why she did it."
"That's why you need to talk to her, Max. Find out what happened. I can't believe that after everything you and Liz have been through together, she just suddenly decided she wanted to sleep with Kyle. Something must've happened."
Max shook his head. "Doesn't matter anymore, Maria. It's over. Liz has made it perfectly clear that we're just friends. I have to respect that."
Maria reached over and punched his shoulder. "No, you don't. You need to talk to her."
Max looked at Maria then back to the park. A part of him wanted to do exactly what Maria suggested, but he couldn't. The sight of Kyle and Liz together in bed was still too fresh in his mind. Besides, ever since the trip to New York with Lonnie and Rath, his mind had been processing everything he'd found out about their world. So many things had happened and he hadn't had a chance to talk to Michael and Isabelle about them yet.
"Max?"
Max turned. "I can't, Maria. Not right now. Things happened in New York. Things that I need to figure out first."
"About Tess?" Max shook his head. "No, not her exactly. But things about our world, about who we were on that world. Meeting up with Ava, Rath, and Lonnie have given us some answers, but also a lot of new questions. We're not hidden anymore, Maria. There are others out there that know where we are. And at this point, I'm not sure which of those people we can trust. Or which are out to kill us. Figuring that out has to take priority over what's going on with Liz. For all of our sakes'.""What do you mean?"
"If our enemies track us to Roswell, we're not the only ones in danger. Liz, Alec, our parents, you......all of you could be in danger. You could be used to hurt us. The safety of all of us has to come first. I won't sit back and watch the people I care about die."
Maria reached for Max's hand. She knew how hard it was for him to let go of Liz. "Anything I can do to help?"
Max squeezed Maria's hand and smiled at her. "Just be my friend."
"I am, Max. Always."
"Thanks, Maria."
Maria smiled, then kissed him on the cheek. "Night, Max. Take care of yourself, ok."
"I will. See you tomorrow."
Max watched as Maria walked away, then looked up at the stars. He had so many questions about the life he'd lived up there. Questions about who and what he was, and where he belonged. And once he found the answers to those questions, he'd know where he was meant to be.........and who he was meant to be with.
Max took a deep breath, then got up and headed home.
