“Liz!” she heard a voice from below. Liz closed her journal and stood up, she walked to the ledge of her roof and saw Max standing on the street looking up at her. “Can I come up?” he asked. “Yea” she said softly as she smiled. Liz picked up her journal and placed it on her chair and placed the blanket over it, then quickly turned around as Max climbed off the ladder and stood before her. “Hey” he said nervously. “Hey” she said back with a smile. “Uh, I was just passing by and thought I’d say ‘Hi’” he explained. Liz looked at him, as if he was to continue what he was saying. “Hi” he said looking into her eyes, inching closer to her. “Hi” she whispered back, keeping her eyes on his lips.

Their lips met once again, and Liz began to shake. Max held her in his arms, holding her, keeping her warm. The kiss was warm, soft, and gentle. They didn’t want to stop, but they eventually pulled away. They looked into each other’s eyes, Liz still wrapped in Max’s arms smiled. “Wow” she said. “There’s something I have to tell you.” he said nervously. Liz pulled away from his hold and looked at him with a worried expression. “I don’t know how to say this but, I think you should know about it.” he continued.“What is it?” asked Liz, scared.

“You know how I feel about you, and since we last kissed, my feelings have grown stronger. But there was a time where they weren’t as strong as they are now, and I became confused.” he continued. Liz walked over to the ledge of the roof and sat on it while Max sat down next to her. “At that point in time, I met someone. And I started to have these feeling for her. But they weren’t as strong as the ones I had for you. And then I found out we had more in common, which only brought us closer, a little too close actually. When we were together, it felt so right. But deep down inside, I knew it wasn’t, because it’s only right when I’m with you. And I want what we have, to develop into something more. But I couldn’t go on without telling you the truth.” he confessed.

Liz looked at him with a blank expression. “I don’t know what to say” she said. “I mean, I appreciate your honesty, but…” “I hope this doesn’t insert any conflict in our relationship.” he said. “I’m not even sure what kind of relationship we have, Max. I mean, now I’m confused.” she said. “Something more than just friends. At least, that’s what I want. Is it what you want?” he asked unsure. “Yea, I want that too.” she said softly with a smile, leaning in closer to him until their lips met, and they began to kiss.

Isabel sat at her regular booth at the Crashdown Café, reading the menu. Josh walked in the café and spotted Isabel sitting by herself, he walked in her direction. “Mind if I join you?” he asked her. She looked up to find Josh standing there. “Oh, I was just leaving.” She said as she tried to get up. Just then a waitress walked up to the two tens and said, “Are you ready to order now?” Isabel sat back in the booth as Josh sat in it across from her. “I’ll just have some fries and a cherry cola.” she told the waitress as she handed her menu to her. “I’ll have the Will Smith Burger and the Tommi Lee Jones Shake to go with it.” Josh told the waitress, who quickly left after taking their orders.

“So, what’s going on?” he asked her. “Nothing.” she replied. “Come on, Isabel, you’ve barely spoken to me since our last date.” he told her. “I’ve been busy.” She said, looking around, trying to avoid eye contact with him. “You could at least look at me when you’re lying to my face.” he said as her eyes turned in his direction and met with his. She could feel the intensity from his eyes as he watched her. “What do you want, Josh?” she asked. “I want to know what going on with you? Why you’re pushing me away.” he said angry. “Look Josh, you don’t understand. I never get too close to people.” “Why?” he asked. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt.” she confessed. “Well, you’re a little late.” he said sadly.

“Look, Josh, try and understand. It has nothing to do with you-“ “Yea, right. You say you don’t want to get too close to anyone so no one will get hurt, but did you ever stop to realize that pushing them away once they’ve gotten to know, could hurt them even more?” he asked. Isabel started to tremble and her eyes began to water as he went on, “Don’t you have any feelings for me? Because I have feelings for you, and I can’t hide them and pretend they don’t exist. I’m not like that. I can just become a part of someone’s life and then leave when I feel like it. I thought you weren’t like that Isabel.” he said as he got up and stood in front of her. “Josh, wait” she said and grabbed his hand. She didn’t know what to say next, she just looked at him, ashamed and embarrassed with herself. He looked down at her and said “Cancel my order for me, will you?” “Josh…” she tried to begin. He looked into her eyes, and then said “Good Bye, Isabel.” as he left, and broke free of her grasp.

Isabel couldn’t watch him leave, she felt horrible, and literally sick. She wanted to cry, she couldn’t believe what was happening. For the first time, someone actually got to her; someone actually cared enough about her to make her feel this way about what she has been doing. And the part that hurt the most was, she cared about him too. She couldn’t hide her feelings anymore.

Her waitress walked by her booth, and she called for her. “Excuse me, miss? I’m not feeling so good, I think I’m going to go home, could you please cancel our orders?” she asked. “Sure, I hope you feel better.” the waitress said as she headed back for the kitchen. Isabel stood up and grabbed her jacket.

She began to walk towards the exit when her car keys dropped out of her jacket pocket. A man sitting at the counter bent down, picked them up, and held them out for her. “Here you go” he said. Isabel didn’t know why, but for some reason, there was something very familiar about this stranger. She had never seen him before, but she felt as if she knew him. Isabel took the keys from his hand, and suddenly, she received a shock, a series of flashes. She saw the night of the landing in 1947 and then she saw a dark figure standing by a wall in the cave where River Dog had taken Max.