Sometime during the night, after sitting on the balcony motionless for hours, she had found her way to bed. Sleep came slowly and once Liz finally did fall asleep, she never wanted to wake up.

Somehow, she had managed to act semi-normal enough to convince her mother that she wasn't feeling well and needed to stay in bed that day. Her parents had been planning an overnight trip to Albequerque for months and it took every ounce of acting that Liz had to persuade her parents to go ahead and go, despite her not feeling good.

Maria, however, hadn't been as easy to convince. She had knagged at Liz for at least half an hour about what was really bothering her, but Liz couldn't even bring herself to say it. It was too awful.

"I'll tell you tomorrow, Maria....but today--today I just can't..." Liz had said, fighting back tears. This had worried Maria even more but after hugging Liz and telling her to call if she needed anything at all, Maria had left.

Liz had tried to sleep, but her thoughts were too loud in her own ears. Max had poured out his heart, for her. And she had not said a thing. She had acted as if she didn't feel the same way. Liz couldn't even begin to comprehend how terrible it must have felt for him, believing that the love of his life didn't feel the same way. Believing that his feelings had been unreturned.

A small gasp went out into the silent room as new tears began to fall from her eyes. "Oh God..." Liz moaned as she turned her head into the pillow, attempting to muffel the sounds of her own crying.

It was a no-win situation, and Liz knew it. There was nothing she could do. There was no hope for the situation. And there was nothing she could do to make anything better. She was being forced to choose between not breaking Max's heart or saving his life. And although Max's very existence meant everything in the world to Liz, breaking his heart was killing her.

For the rest of the day Liz tried to sleep, although quieting her thoughts enough to rest was virtually impossible. Late in the afternoon, Liz had finally fallen into a deep sleep when her mother called to check on her.

"Liz, sweetie..." her mother said, sounding relieved. Liz struggled to open one eye and looked at the alarm clock beside her. Surprisingly, it was already nearing eleven o'clock at night. The last time Liz remembered seeing before falling asleep was 5:00.

After assuring her mother countless amounts of times that she felt better and that they didn't need to come home to take care of her, Liz finally hung up the phone.

Feeling more awake than she had the entire day, she walked into the bathroom to take a shower. For several minutes she just stood there, closing her eyes and allowing the scalding hot water to fall from the showerhead onto her back. The truth of the matter was finally starting to set in.

Max could already be gone by now. She might never see him again. Ever. And he would never know the truth.

But the situation was hopeless and Liz knew it. She had exausted this subject all last night, and as far as she could see, there was no way to let Max know the truth without risking everything that he needed to do.

Unless....

Liz opened her eyes.

Unless she made him promise to go.

Liz reached behind her and turned the water off. She grabbed a towel and threw it around her haphazardly. Walking into her room, she looked at the alarm clock.

She didn't know why, but soemthing told her he was still here. And that he would be here until midnight. It was almost 11:30.

Liz dressed faster than she ever had in her entire life, throwing on the nearest clean clothes she could find, not even bothering to brush or dry her hair. She brushed her teeth and grabbed her mother's car keys from the table on her way out.