Part Four

I am in shock. Max got Tess pregnant. I mean I knew he was probably sleeping with her, but it never really sunk in until he said those words.

"She's pregnant."

After he tells me that, he stands up and practically runs down the steps of the bleachers. I can do nothing but stare open-mouthed at his retreating back, frozen in my seat. My first instinct is to go after him, but I have no idea what I would even say when I caught up with him. So, I just stay there, glued to my seat and force myself to sit through the entire show, when really, it's the last place I want to be.

There is no sign of Max when I reach the park entrance after the show. I try calling his cell, but it's switched off so I assume that he left earlier and just hail a taxi for myself.

I don't see him immediately when I return to our room, but on closer inspection, I find him in the bathroom. He's sitting on the lid of the toilet, elbows on his knees his face in his hands.

I lean against the doorframe. "Max?" I whisper. "Are you okay?"

He lifts his head and I see the red-rimmed eyes and dry tear-tracks on his cheeks.

"Oh, hun," I cry and run forward to take him into my arms. "It's alright," I rub his back comfortingly. "We'll get you through this, okay? You don't have to worry; I'm here for you. I'll help you, with anything you need," I swear.

"It's not mine, Liz," he mumbles against my shoulder and I freeze at his words.

"What?" I pull back to look at him, releasing him from my arms.

"It's what I've been upset about. She's two months pregnant and it's not mine. She was cheating on me and she got pregnant."

I frown, "And she just called you up and told you this? What a bitch!"

He shakes his head, "No, not exactly. She told me that I was going to be a father and that she was counting on me to show her my support."

"Okay…" Something's not quite right here. "So, what makes you think she was cheating on you?"

He wipes his hand across his face and breathes in deeply. "Because I never slept with her, Liz."

Huh. Can't say I saw that one coming. "Max, if you didn't sleep with her, how exactly can she say that you're the father of her child?"

Max closes his eyes and I notice a flush of what I can only assume to be embarrassment appear on his cheeks. "She kind of thinks we did. Have sex, that is," he admits.

Okay, so this picture is just getting stranger by the second. How can a girl think she's had sex, when the guy (who is someone I would trust with my life) swears that they didn't do anything? How does that work, exactly?

I voice that last part out loud.

"The thing is, it was this night a couple of months back. We went to this party and Tess got really drunk," he says.

"The one at Tom's house," I recall. I had been there with Kyle that night and I noticed how much Tess was drinking. I remember feeling sorry for Max; that he had to spend the whole night looking out for her instead of enjoying the party.

He nods, "Yeah. Anyway, Tess was really out of it, so I took her home, put her to bed. But, she begged me to stay with her. She tried to…you know… with me, but she was drunk and I just…I didn't want to…it wasn't the right time…" He stumbles over his words as he speaks. "So…I stayed with her, I pulled off my shirt and jeans and slept in her bed. When she woke up the next morning, I guess she just assumed we'd…done it," he tells me. "We broke up a couple of weeks later and I've hardly spoken to her since."

I don't say anything; just rub his arm in comfort.

"And then she just calls my cell, right in the middle of our vacation and expects me to pay child support and help raise the baby! It's not even my child. She betrayed me!" he exclaims angrily. "And on top of all that, she calls me again this morning," I tilt my head in surprise. Why I didn't know about that? Max sees my expression and explains, "You were in the shower." Oh.

"I just can't believe she had the nerve to call me again! After I told her exactly where she could stick it the first time," he cries angrily. "Can you believe she tried to explain her way out of it? Tried to convince me that the baby was somehow mine? I mean, I think I'd know if I'd decided to give…to sleep with my own girlfriend!"

"Hey, Max, calm down," I pull him to me once again. "It's okay. It'll be okay," I reassure him, rubbing his back.

The nerve of that bitch! If I ever see her again, she is going down! No one uses my best friend like that. No one.

Day 12 – Friday 4th July 2002

We're still here in San Diego. We had originally planned to move on by now, but Max has been having a tough time this week and he hasn't really been up to travelling anywhere else, so we stayed here and took in more of the sights. We've decided to leave tomorrow and since today is Independence Day, tonight we're going to go back to Sea World for their celebrations and firework display.

I'm trying to help Max through this thing with Tess the best I can, but he's having a hard time getting past what she's done. He's been pretty miserable this week, although today he woke up a little cheerier than usual. I think he's finally coming to terms with it and is realising that Tess cheating on him wasn't his fault.

It's a gorgeous day today and right now, Max and I are sitting on the beach, although he's just staring out at the ocean while I'm writing this. I feel really bad for him; he's supposed to be enjoying this one last summer of freedom and now Tess has ruined that for him.

Well, I m just going to have to do everything in my power to make sure he enjoys the rest of this trip.

We spend the rest of the day at the beach, just relaxing and chatting. After a lot of convincing, I even persuaded Max to go in the sea with me, despite his protest that it was way too cold. And you know what? He was right. It was fucking freezing! My reaction to the temperature got a laugh out of him, though, so my idea can't have been all bad. Unfortunately, I still haven't found my new bikini, so I was forced to wear a T-shirt and shorts again, which stuck to me uncomfortably after our foray into the ocean.

We have fun at the fireworks, too. It seems that Max is returning to his old self and for that, I'm glad. Maybe I can make him forget about all this.

In the morning, we head up to LA. Although it's only about ninety-five miles from San Diego, Max refuses to let me drive, insisting that he'd much rather be tired from driving than have to put up with me getting us lost again. After about twenty minutes of arguing with him about it, he finally persuades me to let him drive by bribing me with chocolate.

Anyone who knows me will know that I never turn down an offer of chocolate, especially the European stuff. My aunt (the one in Florida) visited the UK and continental Europe a couple of years back and brought back all this gorgeous chocolate, I fell in love with Cadbury's Dairy Milk and Galaxy and don't even get me started on the Belgian pralines!

Anyway, we're going to spend a few days exploring LA, visiting Universal studios and doing the Hollywood Tour (my idea) – Mann's Chinese Theater, the Walk of Fame, Sunset Blvd, the Farmer's Market, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica – all in the space of a few hours! Who knows? Maybe we'll get to see some celebrities or something!

Day 13 – Saturday 5th July 2002

LA is so cool! I can't believe I'm actually here, in the entertainment capital of…well, the world, I guess! And right now, Max is reading this over my shoulder and rolling his eyes at me – yeah, Max, I know you're there!

Okay, he's gone now. It's a good thing I was only writing about this holiday and not anything that he could use to embarrass me later!

So, anyway, we made it to our hotel by midday today and we're just gonna stay here and relax for the rest of the day, maybe check out some shops for gifts – I promised Maria I'd buy her something 'LA' and tacky!

Okay, go to go now, Max is gesturing frantically at me to get a move on so we can check out the outdoor pool. He's even all ready to go, with his swim shorts on and a towel in hand. Me? I'm still in my normal clothes and I think my bikini must be buried somewhere deep in the bottom of my suitcase!

I put down the pen I've been using and tell Max that I'm nowhere near ready yet so he should just go ahead and I'll meet him by the pool in a few minutes.

He lets out an annoyed huff, but turns to leave anyway, calling out a sarcastic, "Well, if you hadn't decided to spend the last twenty minutes writing in that thing, then maybe you would've been ready by now!" before he shuts the door behind him.

I just roll my eyes at the closed door and get off the bed, going in search of the missing blue bikini.

I eventually find it hidden in a pair of shoes. Whoever came up with the idea that rolling up your underwear and stuffing it in your shoes to save space when packing was seriously deranged. I've been looking for this bikini for weeks, ever since we left Roswell.

I get changed quickly, because I imagine Max is probably tapping his foot and checking his watch every five seconds, wondering where I am.

Wrapping my towel round my body and picking up my sunglasses, a book and my CD player, I make my way down to the pool. I find Max lying on one on the sun beds at the edge. His sunglasses are covering his eyes, which I assume are closed. The pool is pretty busy, but I can see that he's saved the chair next to him for me – his towel has been placed haphazardly on the side of it.

"Okay, I'm here now," I say, setting the sunglasses, book and CD player on the floor. Max's head jerks up at the noise; he's obviously surprised that I made it down here so fast. I turn around to remove my towel so I can place it on the sun lounger and lie on it.

"So, anything interesting happen out here while you were waiting for me?" I ask, but there's no response.

"Max?" I query and turn to face him. He still hasn't said anything yet, but he's just kind of looking at me. At least, I think he's looking in my direction. It's hard to tell when he's wearing those sunglasses. Maybe he's just spotted a cute girl across the way or something and is now trying to get her attention.

"I, um…hey Liz, you made it," he gives me a small smile and then stands up. "I'm just…gonna go for a swim, cool off…it's really hot out here, you know?"

I frown in confusion as he abruptly turns and heads for the pool. He dives smoothly into the deep end and begins a length of fast front crawl (well, as fast as you can go in a pool full of kids). I can do nothing but shrug at his strange actions, taking a seat as I grab my sunglasses and CD player and start on my book.

That boy is so weird sometimes.

Day 16 – Tuesday 9th July 2002

Wow, we've had a busy couple of days! On Sunday, we did the Hollywood tour. It was really cool seeing all the places from the movies and TV shows. The tour bus drove us past Angelica Houston's house and Tom Hank's 'entertainment' home in Bel Air. We finished up on Venice Beach where they filmed Baywatch. I had to laugh when Max suddenly became very interested in the surroundings when the tour guide informed us of that little fact!

Yesterday, we visited Universal Studios. It was really interesting seeing all of the sets props used for the movies on the backlot tour and the rides were great too, especially the Jurassic Park and Back to the Future ones!

But, guess where we're heading to now?

Disneyland!!

Okay, I know, it's kind of immature to be visiting Disneyland when we're on a post-high school, pre-college road trip, but I've always loved the place and although I can't get Max to admit it, I know he's excited about going too. After all, he was the one who, when we were ten, suggested that after we graduated high school, when we had jobs and were enormously rich, we should go and live in Disneyland – right there in Sleeping Beauty's Castle!

I can't wait to –

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!"

The jeep jerks slightly and my pen slips as Max slams on the brakes. He's glaring angrily at the car in front of us that just pulled out unexpectedly and almost crashed into us.

"Bastard," I hear him mutter under his breath and I raise an eyebrow at him. He's normally a pretty laidback driver; he never gets road rage.

I don't know what's gotten into him the last couple of days. I thought he was getting better after last week; but since the weekend, he's been unusually snippy and sarcastic towards me. I mean, he's okay most of the time, like when we're out sightseeing and doing stuff, but in the evenings he's been kind of closing himself off. He'll just sit on his bed, his eyes glued to the TV, eating take-out. I want to help him, ask him what's wrong, but every time I try, he just dismisses my concerns as nothing and brushes it off.

I turn to watch the passing scenery. "No need to get angry, Evans," I mutter quietly, but he hears me anyway.

"What was that?" he asks sharply.

"Nothing," I say quickly; I know that tone of voice and the last thing I want to do right now is argue with him.

"No, you just said something about my driving. What was it?"

I sigh and gesture to the car ahead of us, "I said, no need to get angry."

"What, so I'm just supposed to be like you, all happy and perky all the time? I can't have a bad day once in a while?" he questions stiffly.

"No, Max. That's not what I meant," I tell him, apologetically. "And is that what you think? That I'm always cheerful and carefree? I have problems too, you know, just like everyone else."

"Yeah, I suppose you must. After all, you spend so much time writing your thoughts and feelings down in that journal that you must have dozens of issues needing to be resolved," he retorts snidely.

Ouch.

I try to muffle the sharp gasp that escapes my mouth at his harsh words, in a desperate attempt to show him that I am unaffected by what he just said, but I'm unsuccessful. It really hurt. Is that what he really thinks of me? That all I do is write down problem after problem in my diary and then just go around pretending I'm happy and that nothing is ever wrong in my life? God!

I feel the sting of tears in my eyes and quickly turn to face away from him again. I don't want him to know that he's made me cry.

Usually this would be the point in our argument when Max (or I, if it was my fault) would say sorry and we'd just go back to normal. However, no apology comes and I don't say anything because, well, he's the one in the bad mood, not me.

The journey continues on in silence and I force myself to keep my head turned and not look at him. When we finally pull up at our hotel, my neck is stiff from being in the same position for so long. A quick glance towards Max in the driver's seat shows that he's obviously driven the whole way with his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel – his knuckles are almost white.

Given the frosty atmosphere currently between us, all I want to do right now is go to sleep and pretend this day never happened. Unfortunately, it's barely six and I'm starving, so going to bed now would be pretty pointless. But, I do have to get out of the car and away from this enclosed space, so, speaking the first words between us in almost an hour, I volunteer to go check us in. Max doesn't reply, but I see him give an almost imperceptible nod, which I take as an 'okay' and I get out of the car.

Ten minutes later, I return to find Max still sitting in the same position, his arms cross over his chest. I brace myself as I approach the vehicle; from the mood he's in, I know he's not going to like what I have to tell him. It seems there was a mix-up with our booking and the only room they have available has only one bed. Granted, it's a double, but it's still just one; which means we're going to have to share for the next four nights. Now, sharing a bed with Max is not something I've never done before, but it has been almost seven years since our last same-bed sleepover and I don't think the idea is gonna go over too well right now.

However, when I tell him what's happened, his reaction is not exactly what I'd expected. Well, it's more of a non-reaction really. He just sits there in total silence as I tell him and then, without a word to me, he simply opens his door and gets out, grabbing his bag from the back as he does so. Then he stands next to the jeep, waiting impatiently for me to join him. I sigh, gather my stuff and make my way to our assigned room. Max still says nothing; he just sets his jaw and follows behind me.

The minute we've entered the room and have put our bags down, Max announces that he's going for a walk and stalks out, leaving me staring after him in dismay. Maybe I should have said something after all, you know, to bury the hatchet or something.

The embarrassingly loud rumbling of my stomach (it's a good thing I'm alone in this room) brings me out of my thoughts. I really don't feel up to finding someplace to eat, so I grab my purse and make my way down to the motel reception, where I saw a couple of vending machines earlier. They only seem to stock junk food (God, I'll need to go on a diet when we get back home), but I buy a couple of Cokes and enough potato chips and cookies for the both of us, in case Max doesn't get anything to eat while he's out.

I wolf down the food as soon as I get back to the room and then start sorting through my suitcase. I've been getting really bad at being tidy with my clothes when we move between cities and now everything's a mess. However, when that's done (well, somewhat anyway), I find myself at a loss. For lack of any other ideas, I decide to take a shower. Maybe it'll help me relax.

Max arrives back to the room while I'm still in the bathroom, which startles me when I walk back into the bedroom, with one towel wrapped around my body and another positioned turban-style on the top of my head; I didn't hear him come in.

"Hey," I greet him quietly. He's standing by the bed, eyeing the mess of clothes spewing out of the suitcase disdainfully.

"Hey," he replies, so softly that I can barely hear him; but at least he said something, which is a start. Then he turns to me, his expression vague and raises an eyebrow. Not in a teasing way, though. No, this is more of an annoyed 'what the hell have you been doing in here?' look.

I'm really not in the mood for this, so I brush him off.

"Look, just lay off, okay?" I sigh, as I walk past him and start searching for something comfortable to sleep in. "I thought maybe you'd be in a better mood by the time you got back, but I guess not, huh?" I look up from what I'm doing to find him watching me again. Uh oh, that twitch in his jaw has appeared – the one he gets when he's angry. He lets out a frustrated huff.

"If you're finished in the bathroom, I'm gonna take a shower," he states gruffly and swings his bag onto the tiny amount of space left at the edge of the bed. He unzips it and reaches in, immediately pulling out everything he needs. Bastard. How is he always so organised?

He stalks into the bathroom, practically slamming the door behind him. Okay, so maybe I feel a tiny bit guilty now. I really don't think I helped anything by talking to him like that.

I'm sitting up in the bed (the right side, of course) and reading my book, when he finally emerges from the shower. He's clad in a slightly damp t-shirt and boxers, his hair still a little wet. Glancing over at him, I notice how the shirt is clinging to him somewhat, his nicely muscled arms and chest showing through the thin material. However, I can't help but smother a giggle at the sight of his hair; it's sticking up in all directions.

He just glares at me in irritation when he hears me and then pulls back the covers on his side of the bed, slipping underneath them quickly. Without another glance in my direction, he turns over, facing away from me and then settles down to sleep. Concerned, I fix my gaze on the back of his dark head and frown. I can't believe we're arguing; well, not arguing really, it's more a case of not talking than arguing. In all the years that we've been friends, neither of us has ever given the other the silent treatment and it hurts that it's happening now.

I hope that tomorrow we can work this out; I'd hate for us to be angry at each other in the so-called 'happiest place on Earth'.

With a sigh, I close my book and turn out the light, settling under the covers myself. I take care to leave a safe distance between Max and I and roll over to face the window.

As I try to relax enough to fall asleep, the only thought running through my mind is that I'm going to have a long night ahead of me.

TBC…