“Max, what are you doing here? It’s getting late and it’s cold,” she said, attempting to sound annoyed.

“I was thinking, and I decided I should come talk to you. Can I come up?” he asked pleadingly.

She nodded and walked away from the ladder. She checked her window and made sure her parents weren’t around. They weren’t.

“So, what’s up?” she asked turning around just as Max was stepping onto the roof.

“I was talking to Kyle and Maria today. This afternoon Kyle came up to me, and he was a jerk. But then he said I should talk to you. I didn’t think about it too much at first, but I called Maria and she told me some things,” Max paused.

Liz was panicking. Kyle and Maria both had a tendency to let things slip. “What exactly did Maria tell you?” Liz asked, sounding a little more serious then she wanted to.

Max noticed, “Why? You seem worried.”

“Worried? I’m not worried,” she said, not sounding convincing.

“Yes, you are. So, now I’m very sure there’s something you aren’t telling me. I mean between Kyle’s cryptic talk, and Maria saying she couldn’t tell me details...She told me that you have this idea that me and Tess should be together. Now, I don’t buy that, and I don’t see why you do either. She said that’s why you and Kyle...” he trailed off. He couldn’t bring himself to say that words.

Liz was mad now. “Maria told you Kyle and I slept together because I wanted you to be with Tess?” she shouted.

“Well, she didn’t say that exactly,” Max answered.

“Well what exactly did she say?” Liz asked, still upset.

“She said that you always do what is best for me, and she said that you thought Tess and I should be together,” Max explained.

“Oh, ok. So you just assumed I slept with Kyle to try to get you with Tess. My God, I can’t believe you think I’m some kind of slut or something!” Liz said, shouting again.

Max started shouting too, “Don’t put words in my mouth! You know I don’t think that.”

“That’s what you’re implying,” Liz countered.

“Yeah, well Liz, what am I supposed to think? It’s like you, Kyle, and Maria are all conspiring against me and it’s not fair! It’s not fair...” Max said softly. He slumped down onto the lawn chair, hiding his face, and his tears, with his hands.

“You think that’s not fair? Well life’s not fair! Ok? You of all people should know that!” she yelled.

Max didn’t respond. She realized he was crying. “Ok, you have no right to come here and start accusing me of anything. I didn’t to anything wrong! Ok, maybe the whole thing with Kyle wasn’t the most right thing to do, but it was my choice. I’m sorry you got hurt Max, really I am. But I warned you. I told you we couldn’t be together anymore,” Liz said softening her voice. She didn’t want to upset Max too much more.

He looked up, with tears in his eyes. “Then why did you do it? Please, just tell me that much.”

“Max, we’ve been over this,” Liz said, not wanting to answer. She hated lying to him.

“Liz, I can’t stand lying. I think there’s more to it than what you said before,” Max said, calmly.

“Max...I just can’t tell,” she said, equally calm.

That was it for Max. He shot up, arms flailing, saying, “What do you mean you can’t tell me?” His hand had knocked her journal off the chair. They both looked at it, and he practically dove for it. “Maybe the answer’s in here,” he said picking up the book.

Liz was truly scared now. It was her turn to cry. “Max please, why can’t you just let this be?” she asked with tears streaming down her face.

Her tears calmed Max slightly. He walked toward her a few steps. “Because I love you Liz. And I know you love me, and I just don’t understand what could have possessed you to betray me like that.”

Liz was still sobbing. “Max it’s so complicated...You just can’t know.” She walked up and put her arms around his neck and sobbed into his chest. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry Max. I never wanted this to happen.”

Max was stunned. He never expected this, but he found a new approach. He dropped the book back on the chair and put his arms around Liz and just held her for a minute. He knew she was sincere, and he hated to see her cry. “I know,” he whispered in her ear. “I know you love me, and despite want you said, I think you did this for me.” Liz was tired of lying. He knew it. He continued, “I know you think you can’t tell me everything. I can accept that if you give me one good reason. Can you just tell why all this secrecy is so important?”

Liz suddenly got a cold smile. In fact, she got cold all over. Max felt it too, and he got nervous. She pulled away from him, and took a few steps back. “The end of the world,” she replied.

Max was totally baffled now. “What, you and me being together causes the end of the world?” Max asked sarcastically. Liz’s face remained very serious. She nodded. Max knew she was being 100 percent truthful. “And how do you know that?” he asked, still not totally believing.

Liz replied, “That’s the part that I can’t tell you. You’ll just have to trust me.”

Max hated this. The catch was, he knew he could trust her. She knew about the granolith, and, besides this, which now seemed to be for him, she had always been the most trust-worthy of anyone. Suddenly a thought hit him, just as Liz was about to disappear through the window.

“Liz! Does this also have something to do with what you knew about the granolith?” he called.

She paused, half-in and half-out of the window. She slightly smiled, if she wasn’t careful he’d figure it out on his own, and she thought to herself *If he learned on his own...maybe that wouldn’t be so bad. Wait, yes, but this won’t tell him anything. * She nodded. She added, “You can trust me Max. I would tell you, but I just can’t. You know you can trust me, and I promise, I’ll never betray you. I want the best for you.” He smiled, and then she did too. “Good night Max,” she said as she finished crawling into her window.

“Goodnight!” he called, and she shut the window. Inside, Liz was happy. She knew Max believed her. He trusted her fully again. She was just afraid that he would keep digging. If he found out the real reason they were apart, he would be Max. He’d think he could fix it, make sure things didn’t go wrong.