She had been having this dream every single night since Max had died, over a month ago. Every night’s was a little different, but the end result was always the same. In some way, she, the girl he loved, had loved, with all his heart was responsible for his inevitable death. Whether in the dream world or reality, he had lavished her endlessly with his ever-growing love. And what had she given him in return? Pain. Hurt. Suffering. Death.

Yes, no matter which world she was in, she was to blame for Max’s death. Oh, if only she hadn’t had to be the oh-so-noble best friend, and insisted that Michael and Maria make up. If only she had been selfish for once and gone out with Max like they had initially planned. If only Max had gone against his caring nature, and tried a little harder to convince her to stick with their original plans. If only that moving van hadn’t been there at that fatal instant. If only, if only, if only. When it came right down to it, there was one “if only” that would have prevented everything. If only he had let me die that day, instead of sacrificing his own life in return for mine.

Liz buried her head in the pillow, sobbing. “It should have been me that people are mourning for, not Max, Michael, and Isabel. They didn’t deserve all this. They had no control over it. It was my own fault that I got shot. I was too stupid to duck when everyone else did. Oh no, I stood there like an idiot, practically shouting ‘Hey, I’m an easy target! Shoot me!’ Max! Why did it have to be you? WHY?”

She had done nothing but cause him pain ever since the day he stepped off the school bus in the third grade. The minute he laid eyes on her, his fate was doomed. Years of longing for something he couldn’t have. Years of watching her talk, laugh, and later flirt with other guys, all the while feeling yet another knife being slashed into his tender heart.

Who knows what kinds of trouble she would bring other people? She was wiser now. Max had taught her more in a few years than one could hope to learn in a lifetime. Most importantly, he had shown her, proved to her, that she did nothing but cause people to suffer. It may seem like she loved them, and she had indeed loved Max with every fiber of her being, but in the end, they would fall into the hands of tragedy because of her.

Well, she would make sure that it didn’t happen again. Three people, be they aliens or not, were already dead as a result of Max’s everlasting love for her. She couldn’t let the same thing happen to other loved ones. Her parents. Maria. Alex. Even Kyle.

She can stop it from happening again. It was too late for Max, Michael, and Isabel. But it wasn’t too late for the rest of them. They could still be saved from her evil clutches.

Slowly, she got out of bed and padded to the bathroom. Spotting what she had been looking for, she snatched it up and examined it, turning it over in her palm. It was sharp enough, she decided.