Chapter Four:

She sighed as she turned the lock on her locker.  Never in her life had she loved this place more then she did at this moment.  In the past few days this has suddenly become her haven, her breather from Mike.  'What the hell did I do to make him hate me?'  She wondered for the hundredth time. 

Closing her eyes against the pain in her head that seem to be crushing her brains she leaned on the locker her eyes tightly closed.

"Hey."  Maria said stopping beside her.  Liz turned her head to face her, but she couldn't relinquish the support of the locker.  "What's up with the natural look?  I mean your beautiful with or without make-up, but in today's day and age a girl needs a little something."  She looked her up and down.  "Baggy cloths?"  She asked a frown on her face.  "Okay when did you surrender to the sloppy look?"

"Its just cloths, Maria."  Liz said, pulling away from the locker she walked away.

Maria watched her retreating back, her mouth held open in shock.  "Liz…Liz…where are you going?"  She yelled after her, but Liz keep going as if she didn't hear her, but Maria knew she did by the way she squared her shoulders.

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"What?"  She shouted jumping off the bed.  "For how long?"  She took a deep breath trying to calm the uneasiness that strung inside her.

"It's only for the weekend.  We'll be back on Monday."  Her mother reassured her a worried frown on her face.  Usually Liz never gave it another thought when she and Jeff had to leave for the weekend.  She watched Liz intently as Liz paced in front of her.  "Are you okay? Liz do you have something to tell me?"

"No…no…I'm fine…I'm just so tired…you know with school, work…Max."

"Max!  Are you to having problems?" 

"No…not exactly…its just…mom I don't want to talk about Max okay."  She said turning away.

"Liz you know you can talk to me about anything right?" 

"Yea…mom.  I know.  It's nothing okay…I'm fine…I'm just tired."

Diana sighed as she rubbed her hand over her face.  "Okay…then I'll let you get ready for your shift."  Getting to her feet she made her way to the door.

"Mom."

"Yes?"  She turned to look at Liz.

"Is it all right if I wear my own cloths today?"

"Why?"  She asked frowning at the unusually request.

"I just don't feel like wearing that uniform today.  Please mom."

"Okay…I don't see why not at least just this once."  She turned away took a step then stopped, turning back to Liz she watched her daughter for a few seconds.  She wasn't stupid.  She could see something was wrong.  But even though she wanted to protect her from ever-conceivable evil this world projects she knew she couldn't. "Are you sure your okay?" She asked again.

"I'm fine okay.  Don't worry about me, I'm not a little girl anymore."

Without another word Diana walked out leaving Liz to get dress for work.

'Oh God."  Liz screamed in her head once her door was tightly closed, her body trembling.  'Its only two days…its only two days.'  She tried to reassure her self.

He scan the room for her, but she was nowhere in sight.  Everything in him wanted to go search her out, but he wouldn't.  He was going to sit right here and wait. 

"Hey."  Maria said sitting down next to Michael.

"Your off today, lucky you."  Max said tearing his eyes from the back of the diner. 

"Yea, well I won't feel so lucky come Monday and I have the next full week without a date off."

"Have you spoken to Liz lately?"  He asked trying to make the question sound nonchalant.  He knew he failed completely when Maria's head snapped toward him her brows held tightly in a frown. 

"What did you do to her this time?"  She demanded leaning across the table towards him.

Max's eyes shoot wiped at the question.  "Me?  Why would you think that I did something to her?  Did she say any thing to you?"  He demanded returning her angry stare.

As if the air was suddenly let out of her sail Maria fall back in her seat.  "If its not you then I don't know what the hell going on with her."

"Haven't you tried to get it out of her.  I mean come on Maria she had to have said something?" 

"No.  I can't think of any thing."  She said holding her hands over her face in frustration.   "We haven't really spoken in the past few days.  She keeps blowing me off. I mean like this morning at school.  I made a comment about her cloths and she just walked away. I mean no see you later or anything.  She just walked away."

Squaring her shoulders Liz took a deep breath as she watched her parents drive away.  'Only two days.'  She reminded her self.  Pulling the back door of the diner open she came to an abrupt stop.  He hadn't seen her yet so she took the time to watch him closely.  The whole staff seemed to like him.  Even Maria seemed to like him and he seemed to like them.  What was it about her that he found so offenses that it brought out the mean disgusting person she'd learn at an early age to fear?

As if sensing her scrutiny his head shot toward hers the smile on his face, disappeared as soon as his eyes hit hers.   Walking slowly she grabbed her order book from the table by the sofa and headed through the swinging door. 

Michael watched her approach them intently.  Somehow Liz's behavior in the last few days felt familiar to him, but how can that be he wondered as he searched her face.  His breath caught in his chest at the sheltered look he encounter.

"Hi guys what can I get you?"  She said opening her order book.

"Laundry day?"  Maria asked staring at her cloths.  "don't tell me you forgot to wash the lovely uniform were so blessed with?"  They both hated the uniform her father was determine to make them wear.  Liz couldn't keep a smile from her face.  "Yea…I just I did."

Taking her hand Max got her attention.  "Are you all right?"  He asked capturing her eyes with his. 

Squeezing his hand she smiled down at him.  "I'm fine."  Pulling her hand up for a quick kiss Max smiled back.

"Elizabeth!" 

She snatched her hand away so quickly that Max didn't realize it until he felt his hand hit the table.  He heard the sharp breath she took as she turned to the back of the diner.  "I have to go."  She said turning to walk away.

Max grabbed her hand pulling her to a stop.  "What's the matter, Liz?"  He demanded turning to stare at the man frowning at them from the back of the room.  "Who the yell is he and why do he think he can speak to you like that?"

She couldn't bring herself to look at him.  "I'll be right back."  She said before walking away.

"Who the hell is that?"  Max demanded as he watched Liz disappear through the door.

"That would be uncle Mike."  Maria said. "His usually a really nice guy. Isn't he, Michael?" 

"Yea,  I guess he is."  Michael said staring to the back of the diner.

"I don't care if he's her uncle or not he can't talk to her like that."  Max said getting to his feet as he started in the direction of the back door.

Michael grabbed him pulling him to face him.  "Don't."  He said holding on tightly when Max tried to pull away.  "Your going to sit down, Maxwell.  Your going to sit down and leave it alone."

"The hell I am."  Max murmured glazing down at him. Liz needs him now.  He can feel it in every fiber of his being and he wasn't going to just sit in that chair and pretend that everything was okay.  To hell with waiting for her to ask for his help.  They were talking about Liz for God sakes.  She may never ask for help no matter how much she needs it.

"If you want to help her Max, you will sit down."

"What are you talking about Michael?"  Maria demanded staring from one to the other.

Sighing loudly Max sat down again.  He didn't want to, but something in the way Michael was looking at him, something in his voice made him comply.

"Okay  I'm sitting Michael.  Now you tell me exactly how this is going to help Liz because right now I can't see how sitting pretending everything is okay is going to help her."  He demanded.  He felt so helpless.  He's felt helpless his whole life.  Helpless because he couldn't give Isabel and Michael the answers they also seemed to expect him to have regarding their alien status, but this, this feeling of helplessness is something he just couldn't seem to bare.  Liz is hurting and he didn't know how to help her.

The uneasiness swirling inside him was replaced long ago with a terrify panic at he couldn't seem to shake.

"Not here."  Michael said so nonchalant that Max wanted to beat the hell out of him.  "I'm calling an emergency meet tonight at my place.  Maria call Valanti and tell him to bring kyle with him."

"Okay."  She said frowning.  "Is someone going to tell me what's going on here, because I feel like I'm the only one who's not getting it."

"Max."  Michael said demanding his attention.  "Are we on the same page here?"  He asked when Max looked up at him.

"Yea."  Max said frowning across at Michael.  "We're on the same page.  God help him if he hurt her."  His voice was laced with the anger running inside him. 

TBC