Maria had finished her deliveries early and was waiting for Liz in her room. One look told Maria where her best friend had just been and whom she had seen. Only one person could ever make Liz this out of control.

Maria stood up right away and walked over to Liz, "So, I'm guessing you've spoken to Max and he told you the truth after all. Are you OK? I mean I know it's scary. Remember how I reacted at first? Oh, sorry, I guess that's the dilemma. But hey, at least they're not as dull as they used to be, you know."

Liz stared wide-eyed at her friend in disbelief. "Not dull? All those years of pretending he was so sweet and shy, and then it turns out Max Evans is a devious, cold-hearted bastard and all you can say is at least he's not dull? Maria, I know you go for the bad boy, rebellious type, but what Max Evans did went beyond that."

Liz took off her coat and threw it on the floor. "I mean, he basically sabotages my relationship with Kyle and doesn't even feel sorry about it. How could I have even imagined he was a kind and decent human being? Did you know what he was doing after the shooting, Maria, or did he have you fooled too?"

Now it was Maria's turn to be confused. She thought Max was going to start things off "normal" with Liz, and instead she comes home in a fit of tears. These aliens were more heartless than she ever imagined. "Liz, what are you talking about? What did Max actually say to you? You can talk to me, remember."

"OK. Well, ever since all this stuff happened with the concussion and the memory lapses, I got the impression that something was happening between Max and me. Something special, like we had a connection or something like that. Kyle was here earlier and he told me all about what happened including the shooting.” Liz proceeded to tell Maria about her conversation with Kyle and ended with the fiasco at Max’s house. All of the excitement was catching up with her, and she started to feel dizzy. As she started to collapse onto her bed, Liz had another memory flash but this time it was more vivid. Her grandmother was lying in a white hospital-type bed with her eyes closed, and Max was sitting next to her holding her hand. What was her grandmother doing in a hospital?

“Liz, are you OK? You looked like you were about to faint. Do you want me to get you anything?” Maria asked with concern as she started to stand, but Liz grabbed her arm and looked her square in the face. “Maria, I just had a flash of Max sitting next to my grandmother and she was in a hospital bed. Where’s my grandma?” she asked, but part of her already knew the answer. The look on Max’s face in her memory told her everything, and her gut instincts said the same thing.

Maria took one long deep breath, “Liz, Grandma Claudia came to visit a few weeks ago and when she was here, she had a stroke. A very serious stroke, one she couldn’t recover from. I’m sorry to have to tell you like this. I know she meant a lot to you.”

“No wonder I couldn’t reach her by phone. I can’t believe this is really happening. It’s like it’s not really real, you know.” Liz sat quietly for a few moments trying to let this new piece of information register in her mind.

Finally she spoke, “And I can’t believe I let Max Evans anywhere near her. He probably guessed it was another golden opportunity to play ‘the hero’ and move in on me while my defenses were down or something.”

Maria knew she shouldn’t say anything about it right now, but the words came out before she could stop them, “Actually, you told me you couldn’t have handled your grandma’s death without Max’s help. He was there with you in her final moments and really supported you.”

Liz looked at Maria in total disbelief, but Maria continued anyway, “Plus, with you and Kyle just breaking up, you were really glad to have Max as a friend. I know that sounds totally bizarre, and I don’t know why Max told you what he told you, but don’t worry. We’ll get everything straightened out and back the way it’s supposed to be.” Then Maria hugged Liz, wondering why Max would hurt her this way.

After Liz cried on Maria’s shoulder, Maria said she had to leave to take care of something. Liz went back out on her balcony and relax. She kept picturing Max sitting next to her grandma and the look on his face. He looked at her so tenderly. She began to think Max had lied to her when she confronted him at his house, but could not figure out why.

Then her reverie was interrupted. Her eyes caught on part of the wall that didn’t look quite right. It was almost as if one of the bricks were loose, which she had never noticed in the past. She stood up and went over to it and wiggled it a little. It appeared like it had been loosened on purpose, so she tried to pull the front of it off, and it worked. With trepidation she stuck her hand in the small space and was shocked at what she found! As she pulled out her journal and started flipping through the pages, she said to herself in disbelief, “This looks like my handwriting, but I don’t remember keeping a diary.” She turned to the front page and gasped in horror at the first line, written by her own hand: