The Rebel

Liz's eyes snapped open, and she saw Max kneeling on the floor next to her. 'What are you doing here?' he repeated.

She sat up, Adam's air mattress squeaking under her. He'd insisted that she take it while he slept on the floor. She glanced across the room. He wasn't there now.

'What are you doing here?' Max asked again.

What was wrong with him? He was like a talking doll that someone had stepped on so many times it could say only one thing. 'If you'd called me last night the way you were supposed to, you'd know,' Liz snapped.

An expression that was part hurt and part guilt flashed across Max's face. 'I was going to, but then the consciousness-'

'The consciousness,' Liz cut him off. 'Of course, the consciousness.'

Max stood up and took a step away from her. 'I actually came by because I need to talk to Michael,' he said, pulling a painfully obvious subject change.

'Michael and Trevor never made it back last night,' Liz told him. She felt a little pang as she realized she'd been so caught up in her own garbage, she'd almost forgotten about them. 'I heard about what happened,' she added, her voice softening.

'Yeah, so it wasn't just because of the consciousness that I didn't call,' Max said, leaping on the excuse in what Liz considered pure weasel fashion. 'After Alex came and told me that he thought Trevor could be dangerous, things kind of got out of control.'

Liz nodded. 'I get that,' she said. She stood up. She was tired of talking to Max with him towering over her. 'And if last night was a one-time thing, it would be no big deal-even though I really needed you.'

'Why? What happened?' he asked. His eyes flicked up and down her. 'Whoa. Your aura is really in chaos.'

Is it just Max looking at me right now? Or is it all the beings? Liz wondered, a prickling, tickling sensation running from the top of her neck all the way down her spine.

'There was a time when you would have noticed that the first second you saw me,' she told Max. She pulled down on the hem of Adam's T-shirt, which she'd been using as a nightgown. Suddenly it felt too short.

'Liz, cut me a break,' Max shot back, his voice taking on a steely edge. 'There's a guy who could be a killer wandering around loose. And not just a guy-Michael's brother.'

'No, that's way too easy. You know that's not what's really going on between us,' Liz insisted. She snagged the Star Wars comforter off the air mattress and wrapped it tightly around her waist.

'I'd like to hear what you think is going on between us,' Max said, his voice faintly patronizing. In another second he's going to be asking me if I'm PMS-ing, Liz thought.

'God, Max, I can't even kiss you anymore without you drifting away to the consciousness,' she burst out. 'Do you know how disgusting that feels? To be kissing someone and then feel their lips get all loose and dead?'

As opposed to Adam's lips, so eager, so warm. Liz shoved that thought away.

'Disgusting,' Max repeated. In a flash he had her face cupped between his hands. His eyes bored into hers, then shifted down to her lips.

He's going to try to kiss me, Liz thought with a spurt of panic.

'Yeah, completely disgusting,' Liz answered. She reached out and put her fingers on his lips, gently but firmly. 'Because it wasn't you.'

Max pulled her hand away and backed up. 'Disgusting,' he repeated again. 'So, what are you really saying? Are you saying you don't want to be with me?'

'I want to be with you, Max. But you're not you anymore,' Liz cried.

Max's brilliant blue eyes got a blank, shuttered look. 'So you're breaking up with me?'

Liz felt that ripping, tearing sensation again, just the way she had last night with her parents.

Is there going to be anything left of me? she thought.

But she couldn't pretend that things were the same between her and Max. She couldn't pretend he was still the one she'd fallen in love with, the one she'd loved heart, and soul, and body.

That Max was gone.

'Are you breaking up with me?' Max repeated, voice dead.

How could he expect her to speak? How with this gaping, raw wound inside her?

Liz nodded. And Max turned and walked away.

***

'So you broke up with Max?' Adam asked. It had taken him all the way through one-and-a-half daytime talk shows to get up the guts to say it.

'Yeah,' Liz answered. It wasn't a happy yeah, a now-I'm-free-to-spend-all-day-making-out-with-you-Adam yeah. It was just kind of tired and sad.

Adam was worried about her. Her eyes were all puffy; her lips turned down a tiny bit at the corners, and her aura hadn't cleared up any.

'Is that why you decided not to go to school? Too hard to be around him right now?' Adam hated the thought that Liz could care so much about Max, even in a twisted, negative way.

But basically, that was what drew him to Liz. She was so intense about everything. He wanted to make up for every moment he'd lost in the compound, and Liz was a person who did things full out.

'No. Well, I guess it's a side benefit,' Liz answered. 'I was afraid my father would show up at school, and I don't want to see him.' Her aura's deep purple web darkened until it was almost black.

He wanted to do something to make her feel better. But what? Almost as soon as he asked himself the question, an idea popped into his head.

Adam turned his attention to a large section of the floor almost in the middle of the living room. There was no furniture in it. He and Michael were supposed to get some eventually.

'Do you like to trampoline?' he asked Liz.

'Huh?' She looked over at him with a distracted expression.

'Never mind. Just wait,' Adam said, smiling to himself. He concentrated on the molecules of wood in the section of the floor and used his power to push them farther apart. 'Okay, now watch.' Adam stood up and walked over to the section of floor he'd modified. His feet sank into it up to his ankles. He shot a look at Liz, then he started to bounce, going so high, his head brushed against the ceiling. Maybe I should temporarily make us a hole up there so we can go even higher, he thought.

But when he looked at Liz again, he knew that wouldn't be necessary. She had this very polite smile on her face. All he'd done was give her the extra burden of trying not to hurt his feelings.

The mole boy again proves that he has failed to grasp the basics of normal social interaction, Adam thought.

He pushed the molecules of the floor back into place, then went over and sat down next to Liz. Not too close. He knew enough to know that touching wouldn't be welcome right now.

'I wish I knew what you were feeling,' Adam said. 'I never had a fight with my dad. I mean, I never had a dad, just Sheriff Valenti. So it's not like I can give you some great advice.'

'That's okay,' Liz answered. She started twisting her hair into a knot. He'd noticed that she did that almost every time she felt uncomfortable.

'I never told anyone this, but after I killed the Sheriff-' Adam began.

'You didn't kill him,' Liz interrupted. 'You can't think that way. Elsevan DuPris had control over you.'

'Yeah, well, after my body killed the sheriff and I found out what I-it-had done, I totally broke down crying the first time I was alone,' he admitted.

He glanced at Liz. She had her serious, intent look going. He wasn't sure if this was helping her or not, but it was the only father experience he could share with her.

'I should have hated him, right?' Adam asked. 'And I did hate him, too-when I found out the truth. When I found out that there was a whole world he'd locked me away from while he had me do his little experiments. But…' Adam paused, not sure how to explain the rest, even to himself.

'But what?' Liz prompted.

'But he used to read me storybooks. And he… he was nice to me. And as far as I knew, he was my dad. I felt like I belonged to him. Even when I found out how evil he really was, I guess I didn't want him dead. It's almost