It took a moment of stunned silence as they watched her fleeting
escape before they could get their feet to move. Once it passed, everyone
but Maria bolted for the vehicles to catch up with Liz. Max leapt into the
driver's side of the jeep and tried to start the engine, but the engine
wouldn't completely turn over. It made the usual sounds of a car starting,
but just at the moment of climax, it seemed to sputter and die, just like
everything else in his life.
"Why are you even trying? She wants to leave Roswell and she will. You should know by now that she'll slip out of your grasp." Maria looked like she was possessed, like she was taken over by some higher entity, her body just a vessel for carrying its ethereal message.
Max tried the engine again to no avail and his frown deepened. "She stayed in my grasp before."
"Only because that was where she wanted to be. Don't you remember what she said? She told you she'd never follow you because you were the leader, but because she supported your choices. It's exactly like that. She's not going to slip through your grasp if she wants to be in your grasp."
Max tried the engine a final time with no luck, then got out of the jeep and crawled under it to search for whatever was causing the malfunction. He so did not have time for this. "So what, she doesn't want to be within my grasp anymore?" His eyes searched frantically until he found what he was looking for. He had to keep busy, had to keep his mind in the 3rd person's perspective. He was only an observer; the question wasn't really his; he would be able to deal with the answer to it.
"So it seems, but not for the reason you're implying." Max stood up and finally looked Maria in the face. "When will you learn? She's still trying to protect all of us."
Michael jogged over to Max, who turned his voice to his second. "She cut the gas tube. I fixed it, but most of the gas is now on the pavement. There should be enough to get us to a station though."
"I fixed Maria's car. Let's go guys; we don't have time to waste. We have to intercept her before she gets away."
Maria nodded in agreement. "She'll stop home to grab her stuff before she leaves town."
"Are you sure?" Max's voice conveyed a shred of hope.
"Why do you think she cut the gas? To buy herself some time. Trust me, if anyone knows what she'll do, it'd be me."
Max grabbed Kyle by the ear and dragged him to the jeep as Maria got in the Jetta. They peeled away in search of the nearest gas station, praying they would make it in time to stop her. "What the hell was that for?" Kyle asked, rubbing his ear. Max shot him an accusatory glance and he sighed. "Okay, fine, so I know the reason. But stop giving me that stink- eye look. We didn't do anything. Her rules were very specific."
"Rules? What kind of rules?"
"The usual: undergarments stay on, no tongue when 'fake kissing'. It was all staged man. She knew when you were going to be there, down to the very minute."
Max was dumbfounded. "That's impossible, how could she have possibly known that? I didn't know that! It was a spur of the moment decision to try and get her to reconcile. She had been so adamant about refusing me but-" he started, "I had thought that maybe this time would be different."
"I don't know what to tell you. I open up my door, she's asking for a favor, and the next thing I know my Buddha ass is in her bed waiting for you to 'discover' us. Like I said before, I figured that you must've done something to piss her off but you didn't, did you?" Max shook his head. "Well then why the hell-"
Isabel asked incredulously from the back seat. "This is about Tess, Max. It's always been about Tess. You cheated on Liz by kissing Tess in the middle of the street. Liz saw, and then she finds out that you have this whole other destiny with her so she runs away for the summer, hoping to somehow get over you. It doesn't work too well – she's back and trying to keep you from mauling her in the middle of the street and trying to stop loving you at the same time. Her solution – 'make him fall out of love with me.' If you hate her because she broke your trust, you'll have 'fixed' everything for both of you. She knows how horrible it feels to be cheated on, so she also knows that it would be the only way to push you away from her and do what she thinks you were meant to do. Inhale. End quote." Isabel sucked in a breath and sat back against the seat, rubbing her temples. "Duh."
Kyle stared at her in awe, and then turned his stunned gaze to Max. "She's good." Max pulled his gaze from the road to glance at Kyle, his face just as perplexed.
Isabel forced out a tight smile and said, "You have no idea." She looked forward, and noticed something Max had not. "Max, what is that?" She pointed to a slip of paper pinned between the windshield and the wipers. Max saw a gas station ahead and pulled over. Isabel began filling the tank, Kyle went to prepare another station for Maria's Jetta, and Max peeled the paper off the front of his window. He unfolded it and time began to slow down as he made a mental note of the crinkling sound it made as it yielded to the strength of his hands.
'Don't hate me for doing this. I love you more than you will ever know. – Liz'
Max hadn't noticed he'd been crying until he saw his tears leaving wet spots on the goodbye note. When Maria had told him that Liz was running away, he hadn't believed her – not deep down in his gut. Liz's words made him realize the truth of her words: he was about to lose the most important thing in his life. The thought sent him into a panic. Liz was the glue that held the group together, that held him together. And he refused to give that up. Totally and utterly refused. She was what gave him meaning in life; she made him whole. What else could he do? His jaw hardened as he got back into the jeep, not bothering a glance at his passenger's faces in the passenger seats, started the engine, and slammed his foot on the gas.
"Why are you even trying? She wants to leave Roswell and she will. You should know by now that she'll slip out of your grasp." Maria looked like she was possessed, like she was taken over by some higher entity, her body just a vessel for carrying its ethereal message.
Max tried the engine again to no avail and his frown deepened. "She stayed in my grasp before."
"Only because that was where she wanted to be. Don't you remember what she said? She told you she'd never follow you because you were the leader, but because she supported your choices. It's exactly like that. She's not going to slip through your grasp if she wants to be in your grasp."
Max tried the engine a final time with no luck, then got out of the jeep and crawled under it to search for whatever was causing the malfunction. He so did not have time for this. "So what, she doesn't want to be within my grasp anymore?" His eyes searched frantically until he found what he was looking for. He had to keep busy, had to keep his mind in the 3rd person's perspective. He was only an observer; the question wasn't really his; he would be able to deal with the answer to it.
"So it seems, but not for the reason you're implying." Max stood up and finally looked Maria in the face. "When will you learn? She's still trying to protect all of us."
Michael jogged over to Max, who turned his voice to his second. "She cut the gas tube. I fixed it, but most of the gas is now on the pavement. There should be enough to get us to a station though."
"I fixed Maria's car. Let's go guys; we don't have time to waste. We have to intercept her before she gets away."
Maria nodded in agreement. "She'll stop home to grab her stuff before she leaves town."
"Are you sure?" Max's voice conveyed a shred of hope.
"Why do you think she cut the gas? To buy herself some time. Trust me, if anyone knows what she'll do, it'd be me."
Max grabbed Kyle by the ear and dragged him to the jeep as Maria got in the Jetta. They peeled away in search of the nearest gas station, praying they would make it in time to stop her. "What the hell was that for?" Kyle asked, rubbing his ear. Max shot him an accusatory glance and he sighed. "Okay, fine, so I know the reason. But stop giving me that stink- eye look. We didn't do anything. Her rules were very specific."
"Rules? What kind of rules?"
"The usual: undergarments stay on, no tongue when 'fake kissing'. It was all staged man. She knew when you were going to be there, down to the very minute."
Max was dumbfounded. "That's impossible, how could she have possibly known that? I didn't know that! It was a spur of the moment decision to try and get her to reconcile. She had been so adamant about refusing me but-" he started, "I had thought that maybe this time would be different."
"I don't know what to tell you. I open up my door, she's asking for a favor, and the next thing I know my Buddha ass is in her bed waiting for you to 'discover' us. Like I said before, I figured that you must've done something to piss her off but you didn't, did you?" Max shook his head. "Well then why the hell-"
Isabel asked incredulously from the back seat. "This is about Tess, Max. It's always been about Tess. You cheated on Liz by kissing Tess in the middle of the street. Liz saw, and then she finds out that you have this whole other destiny with her so she runs away for the summer, hoping to somehow get over you. It doesn't work too well – she's back and trying to keep you from mauling her in the middle of the street and trying to stop loving you at the same time. Her solution – 'make him fall out of love with me.' If you hate her because she broke your trust, you'll have 'fixed' everything for both of you. She knows how horrible it feels to be cheated on, so she also knows that it would be the only way to push you away from her and do what she thinks you were meant to do. Inhale. End quote." Isabel sucked in a breath and sat back against the seat, rubbing her temples. "Duh."
Kyle stared at her in awe, and then turned his stunned gaze to Max. "She's good." Max pulled his gaze from the road to glance at Kyle, his face just as perplexed.
Isabel forced out a tight smile and said, "You have no idea." She looked forward, and noticed something Max had not. "Max, what is that?" She pointed to a slip of paper pinned between the windshield and the wipers. Max saw a gas station ahead and pulled over. Isabel began filling the tank, Kyle went to prepare another station for Maria's Jetta, and Max peeled the paper off the front of his window. He unfolded it and time began to slow down as he made a mental note of the crinkling sound it made as it yielded to the strength of his hands.
'Don't hate me for doing this. I love you more than you will ever know. – Liz'
Max hadn't noticed he'd been crying until he saw his tears leaving wet spots on the goodbye note. When Maria had told him that Liz was running away, he hadn't believed her – not deep down in his gut. Liz's words made him realize the truth of her words: he was about to lose the most important thing in his life. The thought sent him into a panic. Liz was the glue that held the group together, that held him together. And he refused to give that up. Totally and utterly refused. She was what gave him meaning in life; she made him whole. What else could he do? His jaw hardened as he got back into the jeep, not bothering a glance at his passenger's faces in the passenger seats, started the engine, and slammed his foot on the gas.
