When they reached the cabin, Liz offered Max a thin smile and thanked him for walking her back. Then she turned and began to ascend the steps to the cabin but Max's voice stopped her.

"Liz, please wait."

"What Max?" she replied, keeping her shoulders straight, fighting to keep her voice even.

"Will you please reconsider. I meant what I said earlier. I love you. You're the one I want to be with and that will never change."

Liz turned to look at him and frowned, keeping her arm on the wood railing of the steps so he wouldn't see the shaking in her limbs. "You said that before Tess came to town and your feelings did change. You left me for her."

"I told you this already. I thought that I was supposed to be with her but I know now that it isn't true. I'm not happy with her. I never was. That's probably why she attacked you, because I broke up with her. I told her that you are the one I want to be with and I mean it. Please give me a second chance."

Liz broke her gaze from Max's gorgeous face and her face turned to study the ground. That was the thing about the ground. It was always there for you to look at when things got awkward, especially at times like this when she could feel her constitution wearing thin. She wanted more than anything to take him back, to try to make it work again but she didn't know if she could. Half of her brain was telling her to give him a second chance but the other half had so many questions. Could she really believe what he was saying? Could he really want to be with her? What if he found someone else and let that person come between them? Could she trust him with her heart again?

Liz walked down the steps until she reached the bottom one which was just high enough that she could stand face-to-face to him. "Max, look. I want to be with you more than anything, but I don't know. It's really hard to trust you again."

Max cautiously reached for her hand and when their skin made contact, Liz was flushed with warmth. She felt that same connection that they had always shared before. She couldn't explain it but when his hand had touched hers, she could feel what he was feeling. She could feel his remorse, his loss, and most of all, his genuine love for her.

She stared at their joined hands for a moment, holding her breath and sorting out her feelings. Then, she looked into his eyes, those beautiful soulful eyes, and all of the sudden, the tension released from her body. She knew that she would eventually give.

She let her breath out finally and smiled.

Max let his breath out as well and then cupped her face. Liz closed her eyes, the smile never leaving her face as his lips descended on hers.

*****

Alex looked at his watch and said, "Times a ticking, Isabel. Talk."

Isabel looked down at the sandy, weed-ridden beach and wondered where she should start? What Max had said to her earlier had really gotten to her. He had been right; she was sick of living a lie. She had thought it only right to follow the plans of her people, to be with Michael like they said she should but when she got right down to it, she had never really developed those kind of feelings for Michael. He was still like a brother. And Alex, he was so sweet, so giving, so generous. She felt so bad about what had happened between them before. She had to rectify that now.

Alex cleared his throat and crossed his arms over his chest. "Isabel, I said five minutes and you've already wasted three. I'm two seconds away from leaving."

Isabel's head shot up and she had to bite back the lump that had formed in her throat. What was wrong with her? She was Isabel Evans! She didn't get choked up around guys. *But he isn't just any guy, Isabel,* a voice in her head whispered.

She let out a shaky breath and forced herself to keep her eyes on his. "Alex, I'm sorry."

Alex's hands slowly dropped from his chest and down to his pockets. "About what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, his features etched with a mix of impatience and confusion.

Isabel blinked and let all her words out in a rush, otherwise, she wasn't sure she would ever get them out. "I'm sorry that I hurt you. I'm sorry that you walked in on me and Michael six months ago. I know you think I used you but you have to know it wasn't like that. I cared about you, I do care about you. I thought that I was supposed to be with Michael but I'm not sure about that anymore. I can't even be as comfortable around him anymore as I've always been with you."

"That's fascinating Isabel, really, but you only have one minute and I'm still not seeing your point."

"My point is...I want to be friends again. No, that's not what I mean. What I mean is that I want to be close again. I can't keep lying about how I feel about Michael. He is, has always been, and will always be no more than a brother to me. I've tried but it just isn't there between us. You on the other hand, you're everything I want. You're good and sweet and so caring. You're what I want." She looked at him hopefully.

Alex sighed and looked away, not speaking.

"You could make this a little easy on me Alex," Isabel whispered, feeling her throat thicken with tears.

Alex turned back to her and put his hands on his hips. "Easy? Why should I make it easy? I made it plenty easy for you to come to me a long time ago. You knew how I felt about you and you knew that I would be there for you no matter what, that I would do anything for you. But you only came to me when you were having feelings for Michael. You used me and you lied to me. And I'm sorry Isabel, but I can't forgive that." Alex turned to leave.

"But you forgave Liz and Maria when they used you for Max's blood and when they lied to you about who we were," she called after him, desperate.

Alex turned around and shook his head, a smug smirk on his face. He shrugged and said, "Yeah, but they're my friends. You're not. You've never been a real friend, Isabel."

This time, he left and she didn't stop him, because he was right. How could she argue with that?

*****

"I'm gonna do what's right," Michael replied after a long time had passed.

Maria looked up. "Huh?" It had been so long since they had actually spoken that she couldn't remember what she had last said.

"You asked me what I was going to do about it, and I said I'm gonna do what's right."

"And what's that?" Maria asked, fighting to keep the shakiness out of her voice, not daring to let out her breath as she waited for his response.

Michael leaned over and kissed her. Then, he sighed and said, "I'm gonna have to stay with Isabel."

Maria's mouth fell open. "WHAT???"

Michael smirked. "Just kidding. You, Maria. I choose you."

Maria slapped him hard across the face.

"What the fuck was that for?" Michael cried.

Maria shrugged. "For teasing me like that." Then, she wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "but you're forgiven."

"Screw that! I am gonna go back to Isabel!" he replied, lightly pushing her away. "At least she doesn't beat me up."

Maria held onto his neck tighter. "Oh, you know you love it."

Michael grinned. "Okay, you got me." Then he pulled her onto his lap and began to kiss her. And from his kisses, she's say he was making up for lost time.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here Isabel?" They heard Tess's voice say and they broke apart to see Tess standing with Isabel in the doorway and neither of them looked happy.