Tess would have never believed it was possible, Max threatening to hurt her. That alone wouldn't have wavered her from loving Max or believing that he would some day realize that he loved her. However, the pure hatred she saw in his eyes as he looked at her was more than she could stand.

*I don't understand, how did this happen. How can Max hate me, he's supposed to love me. To love me, not Liz. All of my life I've been told how we were meant to be together, my whole entire miserable life. What was it for, what has it all been for? Moving from place to place, never staying in one place long enough to have any bonds or make friends. What was it for, to live the rest of my life the same way, alone, always alone? I can't believe I've based all of my hope, my dreams on finding Max, on us being together. On finding Michael and Isabel, trusting that they would accept me for whom I am, because I'm like them. How could he, how could Nesado and that stupid book tell me we were meant to be together, when it was a lie. It had to be a lie, because he doesn't love me. He hates me, but why? Why does he hate me so much, when all I wanted was to love him the way I was told it was supposed to be? Did they lie to me in order to torture me for some horrible mistake I made in my previous life? Or was it just to see how much it would take to break me? If so, then they have their answer now. Not even I can live without some hope for the future. Max and I meant to be together, what a load of. . . .*

Tess continued to curse her life, her heritage, and everything she has ever known or believed in. She is truly alone for the first time in her life. In the past, when things got to be to much for her to handle, she could always turn to the pictures of Max, Michael and Isabel in the book. They were her friends, her life line. Her dreams of a better life and future to come. Now she doesn't even have that. The simple knowledge that Max was out there somewhere, waiting for her to find him, was the only thing that gave her enough hope to get her through the many days of emptiness and misery. Now she's found them and been rejected, truly rejected all of her hopes and dreams have been shattered. Max's words of hatred, and the look of fury and disgust in his eyes had accomplished to rip a lifetime of dreams and hopes to shreds in mere seconds.

Tess drove down the road not carrying where she is going, she just needs to get far away. Away from everything that would remind her of the wasted life she has lead dreaming of Max and the happiness she thought he would bring to her life. The tears are coming so fast now, she can't see the road clearly forcing her to pull to the side of the road. She buries her face in her hands as the tremors rake through her body.

What is she to do now, she questions as her tears subside, she no longer has a purpose? Her whole life has evolved around finding Max, and it's become apparent clear Liz has stolen the place in his heart that was meant to be hers. Everything she has done to regain her proper place has only served to push him further from her to the point he now hates her with every fiber of his being. She is no longer needed, and definitely not wanted.

Tess is startled by someone knocking on her side window. She looks out to see who it is. Recognizing the person, she rolls down her window. "Sheriff?"

Seeing how swollen and red Tess's eyes are and her tear stained cheeks he asks, "Tess are you okay. Is everything okay?"

"It's nothing, really, I'm just feeling sorry for myself. That's all Sheriff."

He stands up straight and looks around thinking about what he should do or say. "Maybe you should go on home. It's not safe out here at night by yourself."

Mumbling more to herself than him, Tess responds. "What's the difference between here and my house, I'm still alone?"

He was able to decipher enough of what she said to realize sending her home wasn't going to be much better, especially in her distraught condition. It had reminded him with Nesado being gone, she was left alone at her house. "For the night, why don't you stay at my house. We'll put you up in the spare, and if you want to talk, I'll be there. Or if you'd be more comfortable, I'm sure Kyle would be willing to listen."

Tess agreed, but only because she didn't want to be alone. After assuring Sheriff Valenti that she was okay to drive, she followed him to his home.

***

Max tossed and turned in his bed for an hour before finally giving up on trying to sleep. Images of Liz, as she looked up at him with passion in her eyes, swarms his thoughts wreaking havoc on his body. Causing him to crave her tender scorching touch, the feeling of her hot sleek body pressed tightly up against him, the sweet smell of her hair, and the taste of her soft succulent lips even more than normal. These images were met with equally conflicting images of her distort face, with tearful eyes as she explained her vision to them tonight.

He climbed out of bed after deciding to try studying for a while in an attempt to brush the images away. He pulls out his notes to study for one of the tests he and Liz was supposed to have been studying for earlier. He must have read the same sentence over and over again getting nothing from it, before finally throwing in the towel. He couldn't concentrate to save his life, his mind continued to roam, returning to his thoughts of her and the way she looked and felt as her explored and touched her unclothed breast for the first time. He shakes the image from his mind, chastising himself for his thoughts.

*I have to keep things more casual, under control. I won't let Liz put herself through this, not when these visions are causing her so much pain. I know she wants to help us get the answers but not like this. The look in her eyes when she told us about the vision. I could tell it was killing her. Her heart must have felt like it had been ripped out of her, and with hers went mine.* Max stands to his feet and begins pacing the floor. *That's what I'll do, I'll simply slow things down for a while, at least until this pull between us comes to a mild roar. It only makes since that the increased pull between us is connected to these vision somehow.* Max runs his hands through his hair in frustration. No matter how long he tells himself this, his body is telling him something else. * I have to be strong, not for me but for Liz. I have to get these thoughts out of my mind. Somehow stop these images from pounding through my head. All I can think about is running over to Liz's and being with her. To kiss her, to hold her, who am I kidding I want her in ever why that statement implies. All of her, to feel what it's like to be buried deep inside of her.* He picks up the keys to the jeep, then sets them back down. *No, I can't do this. I have to think of Liz right now, not me and definitely not about these urges.*

Liz is sitting out on her balcony, also unable to sleep. Her body hasn't stopped humming since Max wrapped her into his arms after they successfully calmed him down, preventing him from harming Tess after she told them all of the things she saw and felt. She is so confused by her need to be with Max and the conflicting images she keeps seeing when they are together.

*Why is this happening to me, to us? We love each other so much and yet I feel as if someone is telling me that it's not to be. If it's not meant to be, why are we having such a hard time staying away from each other? It just doesn't make any sense. I have to figure this out, but how? *

Liz heads into her room, and changes back into her street clothes. As she pulls her night shirt off, she looks into her mirror at her reflection in the moon light. She flips on the light switch and moves closer to the mirror to double check if what she thought she saw was really there. She has a glowing mark her right breast. Her decision is final, she has to go see Max.

Max lays back down on his bed, after turning his radio on loud enough to drowned out his thoughts, but not loud enough to wake up his parents. He puts his hands behind his head, and stares up at the ceiling hoping that sleep will over come him. He stands firm to his conviction to stay way from Liz tonight hoping that tomorrow things will be back to normal. The impulse to go to Liz is continuing to plague him, but he refuses to give in. He reminds himself over and over again of the pained look in her eyes.

*~*~*

Tess follows the sheriff down the hall in his house to a spare room. She enters after he told her to go on in that he would be right back. The room is simply decorated with only a twin bed, dresser, and a couple of western landscape pictures hanging on two of the walls, and blinds in the window but no curtains.

She sits on the bed. "Here you can wear this tonight." Jim Valenti hands her a large T-shirt as he steps into the room. "It's not much, but it's comfortable. The bathroom is across the hall, but I'd advise you to call out before going in. With Kyle already asleep, he doesn't know you are here, and with it just being us guys, sometime he doesn't shut the door. If you catch my meaning. I'll see you in the morning, but if you change your mind, and what to talk. I'll be up for a little while yet."

"Thank you Sheriff, I'll be fine."

Tess watches as Jim closes the door behind him, and then she kicks of her shoes and lays back on the bed.

~*~*~

Liz is relieved when she finally arrives at the Evans's, she felt uncomfortable being out this late at night alone. She approaches Max's window as quietly as possible not wanting to wake his parents. She knocks on his window but he doesn't stir. She wonders if he is sleeping or if he just can't hear her over his radio that she can hear softly coming from his room.

Max lays still staring up at the ceiling when he fells Liz. At first he thought it was his imagination or his urge to go to her becoming more insistent. He looks over to the window and sees her standing outside. He quickly moves to the window opening it for her. He offers her his hand to help her in. At first contact he knows it was a mistake and groans as the need he has been able to suppress hits him full force.

Liz steps through his window, once both feet are firmly planted on the ground she looks up into his eyes. They are dark with passion, and she realizes that he has been feeling just as strongly as she has. "Max, I have to show you something, but first we have to talk."

Max releases her hand and steps back allowing her to move into the room. "Max, I admit that these visions are scary and confusing. But they aren't going to go away. We have to face whatever they are trying to reveal to us. I can't concentrate on anything." She looks down at the ground embarrassed by the thoughts and images she has been seeing.

Seeing that she looks uncomfortable, Max puts the pieces together and fills in what she does seem to be able to say. "Images of us, together."

Liz shakes her head. "We have to see this out Max. Wherever it takes us."

"I won't lose you over this. I don't care where these visions could lead us to, I don't want to risk it." He moves back from her as to say he won't cooperate. Liz starts to unbutton her shirt.

He quickly moves to her side to stop her actions. "What are you doing? We can't, don't you understand, I won't do that to you. I won't use you like that."

"I know you would never hurt me intentionally. I have to show you something, okay?"

Max takes a deep breath and nods. He watches her slowly unbutton the top three buttons of her shirt. She slides her shirt and bra strap to the side revealing the glowing hickey on her breast.

Max looks at it. He is afraid to touch it knowing that the last time he healed the glowing hickey on her neck she saw a vision. "Max, please you have to heal it, I can't go around with glowing hickeys I do have to change out for P.E. tomorrow."

He takes her hand and leads her to his bed. Once they are both sitting, he brings his hand to hover over her. With a shaky voice he asks, "Are you sure?