The sky on this particular evening was especially captivating. She had been watching it for about an hour and had seen a dozen or so shooting stars. Each one seemed to reach down further and further making their way close to the earth, beckoning her to take a ride. "I would love to take a ride with you and get away from here for a while. Just swing a little lower next time," she thought as she watched the meteor and its long tail streak across the sky.

What was she going to do? Maria had called earlier that evening. Her mother needed Maria to make some deliveries for her and they couldn't wait. Her mother tends to get a little frantic. Liz understood and told Maria it was OK, because Liz was fine. Besides, she needed some time to absorb her afternoon with Kyle.

Liz was in shock about what Kyle had told her. She always figured Max's friend Michael to be the one in trouble with the law, but she never expected Max himself to be a growing criminal!

Kyle had explained everything to her, and she could see it was difficult for him to explain their split, under the present circumstances. He told her that one day some customers at the Crashdown got in a heated argument. The two men struggled over a gun, and a shot rang out.

Liz had fallen on a ketchup bottle and felt pretty shaken up. Max Evans emerged and went over to her, but he and his scary friend Michael would not let anyone else near her at first. Then the police pulled up and the two boys ran out like they had done something wrong. They even tried to deny to Kyle's dad, the sheriff, that Max and Michael were even at the Crashdown that day. Kyle did admit to Liz that she was grateful to Max for helping her that day, but that then he would not leave her alone. Soon he was trying to get Liz to lie to the sheriff about him and Michael being there. Kyle's dad didn't like Max much after that day. He just knows Max is up to no good, so he keeps watching for him to make a mistake.

Kyle really seemed afraid for Liz, while he was relaying all of the sordid details. He had noticed Liz pulling away from him, but he just figured it was some sort of stress in reaction to the shooting. He had wanted to help her get through it, but she closed herself off to him and was becoming increasingly secretive.

Max had used this vulnerable time to ingratiate himself to her and manipulate her. Soon Max was always near Liz, having hushed conversations, watching her, that sort of thing. Shortly after Liz broke up with Kyle. She could see the sincerity in his eyes as he told her the events which had slipped from her memory, and she felt so bad.

Sure, Kyle had reason to lie to her. She knew he wanted her back, but Kyle could not have made this story up in his head. And the truth of the matter was, what did she (or anybody else for that matter) really know about Max Evans?

Sure he is nice to look at and he has that "soulful" eye thing going for him, but isn't that just the packaging? Max spends all of his time with Michael Guerin, the poster child for impulsive and rebellious tendencies. Maybe Max is just like Michael, a restless guy who took advantage of a girl during a vulnerable moment.

But then why did she feel so connected to him? Liz was getting so frustrated. All day she had been having brief "visions" or "memory flashes" perhaps as a result of not being allowed to sleep all night. The doctor told her this was common and normal.

Some of these flashes scared her, but then she would see Max's face and relax. She was trying hard to remember, and it seemed that the harder she tried, the more difficult it became. The flashes just seemed so random and unconnected. Max leaning over her, seeing him in the hallway at school, Maria dressed up and with green hair, Max holding her face with both hands, Max, Michael, and Isabelle walking towards her. She didn't know why, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he wanted to protect her, not hurt her.

She never felt anxious or uneasy, only comforted.

Liz even thought she seen a flash of Max sitting next to her grandmother, but that didn't seem plausible because they had never met before. She tried calling her grandma but her line had been disconnected. Her parents were both working, so she couldn't ask them about that, but with how much Grandma traveled because of her writing, Liz was not surprised. Although she really wanted to tell Grandma about all that was happening.

With each minute that passed, she found more questions, but no answers. Kyle's account of what's been going on didn't mesh with her gut instincts and she couldn't take it anymore.