* * 6 * *


{The following months turned into a year and my anger and jealousy towards Liz never diminished. For those first few days I tried to avoid Max as much as I could. He made it so hard for me by always calling, showing up at the Crashdown, or ambushing me at the house. I managed to get my class schedules changed completely but then he had Alex hack into the system and have his schedule switched the same as mine. Still I maintained my mission to avoid him. He was making it so hard for me. I couldn't hold out any longer.}

Three weeks had passed since the revelation from Liz. Maria still didn't know what to do. She was sitting on her bed staring at Shay, the birthday bear that Max had bought for her. She looked up when she heard a light tapping at her window. She gave an agonized sigh when she saw that it was Max at the window. She shook her head first, to deny him entrance into her room. Then she changed her mind and motioned for him to come in.

Max entered and walked slowly over to the bed and sat down next to her. "Maria, you've been avoiding me for awhile now. Want to tell me why?"

"No not really." She turned away from him. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"Why? Did something happen?" he asked confusedly. "Did I do something wrong?" She sighed. "No it's not you. You didn't do anything. I've just been thinking and..." She trailed off. She wasn't ready to continue with the lie she thought of to tell him.

"What? Maria what is it? Tell me?" He forced her to turn back and face him. He tried to pull her into his arms but she resisted.

"Max I'm not in love with you." She cried. "I still love Michael. I tried to accept you in his place but I realized that I shouldn't use you like that."

"What? Are you trying to tell me you're still in love with Michael." He pulled back in anger. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Maria, that's just not possible. Not after what we shared."

"It's true Max. I don't mean to hurt you but it's true. I'm still in love with Michael. He will always be my first and only love."

"God. Stop saying that Maria. Please. Not after giving me your innocence. Where were your thoughts of Michael then? Hunh? You tell me that." He stood up and began to pace. "I can't believe you're doing this Maria. Why?"

Maria was crying heavily now. "I don't mean to do this to you Max but that's how I feel. My only explanation is that I got caught up in the moment. I should have told you from the beginning that I still loved him. I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Maria was on the verge of giving in and telling Max the complete truth but then she heard Liz's voice coming from downstairs and she knew she had to hold out until Max left. Maria had plans of leaving as soon as she ended things Max. Her bags were already packed in her closet. She made plans to transfer schools. She was going to stay with an aunt of hers that lived in Florida. Her mom didn't want her to go but Maria made up some excuse about wanting to see her cousins and needing to get away from Michael.

She wasn't going to tell anyone she was leaving or where she was going. She decided to let Amy break the news to them.

"I really can't believe you would do this to me. You know how I was after Liz. Now you're doing the same thing. I didn't realize you could be so cruel Maria. God I wish I had never laid eyes on you. Damn, I don't ever want to see you again. You got that?" He turned and went out through the window.

Maria wanted to continue to just lay on her bed and cry but she knew she had to go downstairs to talk to Liz. After that chore was completed she ran back upstairs and started pulling her suitcases out of the closet. She gathered up Shay and set everything downstairs. Her mom came out of the back room.

"Do you have everything packed Sweetie?" Asked Amy.

"Yeah I have everything." Together they loaded her things into the car. Maria took one last look at her house before getting in the car and never looking back.

Her aunt Maggie was there to greet her as soon as she got off the plane. "Maria, you look so pretty. You've gotten even more beautiful since I saw you last."

"Thank you aunt Maggie. I've been working out." She said with a smile.

"Let's get your luggage and we'll be off. You're going to love it here. Jacksonville is a beautifully city. Don't think you're going to be lonely here. It won't take you long to make friends in our neighborhood."

Maria really did enjoy staying in Jacksonville. She met a lot of really great new friends. But no guy in that city could compare to Max. She didn't forget about her other friends in Roswell. Through emails and brief phone conversations she managed to stay in touch with Isabel, Alex, and Tess. She ignored any calls she received from Liz and she never tried to call her herself. Max didn't contact her at all. For that she was hurt but she understood how he was feeling.

She had been in Florida for two months when she realized that she was pregnant. She took a pregnancy test and it came up positive. When it did she broke down and cried. She was pregnant with Max's child and he hated her guts. She didn't know what to do. She knew her first step had to be to make a trip with a doctor. Then she quickly struck that idea down. Her baby would be half alien and something suspicious was sure to happen during her pregnancy. The only person she could think of going to was Isabel. Spring break was coming up, Maria decided to invite Isabel and Tess to Florida to spend time with her.

She picked up her phone and called Isabel. "Hello?"

"Isabel, it's me Maria."

"Hey girl. How are you?"

"Okay I guess. Everything is going smoothly down here." She paused. "I was wondering if you and Tess had any major plans for spring break."

"No not really. Alex parents are taking him on a cruise so I have no man to associate with. I don't want to spend spring break watching Liz chase Max. I'm pretty sure Tess doesn't either. Let me call her and we can have a three way. Hold on."

A few seconds later she came back on the line. The phone rung twice before Tess picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hey Tess. It's me Isabel. Maria is on the other end. She wants to know what our plans are for spring break. I'm free. How about you?"

"Spring break? Well I'm definitely free. Florida is the best place to enjoy spring break."

"So y'all don't mind coming to spend time with me? Good. I really need you guys right about now anyway." Maria stated.

"Why? What's wrong?" They both asked at the same time.

"Nothing I want to go into over the phone. I'll tell you two all about it when you get here."

"Okay well we'll take the first flight out of here on Friday night. We'll call you once we make our reservations." Said Isabel.

"Okay well I'll talk to you two then. Good bye and thanks." She waited for their response before hanging up the phone.