Shaking his head, Max went to his makeshift bed next to the wall. He shucked his jeans and lay down, wincing as his muscles, cramped from the long drive, adjusted to the hard floor. He pulled the sheet over his lower half—no use having her think he was insensitive enough to proposition her after her barf-fest—and tried to convince his body that going to sleep at this early hour was a good idea. He'd need to be well rested once they reached the Oracle.

A click alerted him that Bella had emerged from the bathroom. Her hair, usually scraped back severely into a long braid, hung limply around her face. Max realized he'd never seen her with her hair down, even when they had slept together. She pushed a few dark strands behind her ears and folded her arms over her chest. She wore the shirt like a suit of armor, hugged it like a security blanket.

"It has your smell," she said quietly. "I have missed it."

"That's…" He closed his eyes. If he didn't look at her, if he couldn't see how vulnerable she was, he could stay mad at her for walking out of his life. "Creepy."

No, it wasn't that she had walked out; it was that she'd done it so easily. His anger was fading now that he knew it not to be true, and that was dangerous.

Her voice was uncharacteristically small. "You always make a joke."

His throat tightened. How did she manage to make him feel like shit with a few simple words? Did she practice? "It never bothered you before."

He felt her warmth as she knelt beside him. His leg jerked when she placed her palm on his knee.

When he opened his eyes, the look on her face made him bolt upright. She was pale, paler than sicknes should have made her, and her eyes were wide and scared.

"Christ, Bella, what's wrong?" He put his hand on her arm and she reached for it, entwining her fingers with his.

"Promise me," she begged, squeezing his hand. "Promise me whatever happens, whatever comes of the time we have left together, that when I am gone, you will do what is right in my memory."

As if touched by the hand of Death himself, Max felt a chill run up his spine. "What are you talking about?"

"You know I saw through the Oracle's eyes." She dipped her head, and a tear rolled down her nose.

"We don't know anything yet." He pulled her hand down, capturing the other and bringing them both to her lap. "Some of that stuff you're seeing might not be true."