It was late the next morning when she came down stairs, nearly eleven. Being Saturday, Liz didn’t have to work until two and wouldn’t have come down till then, if hunger hadn’t brought her down. She hadn’t eaten the day before and there was no way she could go a whole shift without eating at least a little.

Liz stopped at the door in the back of the Crashdown. Through the little window, she could see Max, Iz, Alex and Michael sitting at their usual booth. Maria was perched on the edge of the table opposite of them. The scene was so normal, so…other. How could it look that way? How was she going to deal with it?

She wouldn’t. Liz knew if she went out there and faced Max, she was not ready to face whatever reaction he gave her. If it was disgust and loathing, or hurt and a demand for explanations, or… whatever.

Max looked up toward the door, and said something to Maria. She stood up and started toward the back. ‘No. Not yet.’ Liz said to herself. ‘I need some time!’ She turned and ran back up the stairs to her room. But once there, she felt trapped. Maria would come up and find her. Was she ready to lie to her? She couldn’t tell her the truth. She couldn’t tell anyone.

With feverish speed she began throwing stuff into her biggest book bag. The one she used when she spent the night at Maria’s. Two minutes later found her down her ladder and far down the street. A quick stop at the bank, and her savings was added to the meager roll of tip money she had been keeping in her dresser.

There was a Greyhound bus station a block further down the street. She would buy a ticket on the first bus to anywhere.

Liz rounded the corner of the bus terminal and immediately jumped back out of sight. Sheriff Valenti was standing not three feet from the door talking to Amy. If either of them saw her, she would never get away. There was an empty bus sitting on the side of the building. She could hide in there for a few minutes.

Liz slipped up the steps and down the isle to the back. She could just see around the corner enough to see that they were still there. Would they never leave? She slid down on the back seat, curled up under the window and sighed. It would be so hard to leave. She closed her eyes hard to stop the tears from coming again, and settled down to wait.

***
Roswell:
4:00 PM: Maria came rushing into the Crashdown and looked wildly around. “No one’s back yet!” She said to Michael who was following at a more decorous pace. She shook her head. “This can’t be good.” She plopped down on a booth seat and rummaged through her purse. “Now where is my cedar?” She mumbled to herself. “Why can’t I ever find it when I need it?”

Alex and Isabelle pulled up in front, and Maria ran out. “Is she here?” “Did you find her?” Isabel and Maria asked together.

Alex got out and put one arm around each of the girls. “Now don’t worry. Max has probably already found her. You know Max and Liz. He will find her, wherever she has gone.”

Maria scrubbed at her nose with a handkerchief and sniffed. “When I get my hands on Liz, I’m goin’ to shake her till her teeth rattle! See if I don’t.”

Sheriff Valenti drove up at that moment with Liz’s dad. “Any luck kids?” He called. At their glum looks, he turned to Jeff Parker, and clapped him on the back. “Don’t worry too much. Even in a town this size, it’s not too hard for a girl to hide out for a day. Liz is a stable girl. She’ll be alright.” He turned to the Crashdown gang. “When she gets back, call me. I’ll have my deputies keep a look out until I hear from you.”