Wishing Star

Chapter 15

A soft knock on her door had her sitting up in bed, confused and disoriented. Looking around, she noticed the low light coming in through the window. She glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table and gasped at the time.

"Ah, hell," she whispered. She had slept all day. Her panic increased, thinking she had left Clark and Caelum to deal with Liam. Max threw her covers back and rushed to the door, barely opening it to see through the crack, just in case it was Liam.

Seeing Caelum on the other side, she let out a sigh of relief as he pushed his way into the bedroom. As he shut the door behind him, he took in her hair and face and ran a hand down his mouth to cover his amusement.

"Have a good nap?" Caelum asked, his shoulders shaking as he tried to hold back his laughter.

Hands on her hips, Max stomped to the bathroom, Caelum following close behind her. Ignoring his amused grin, she tried to flatten her hair in the mirror. Her curls had grown in size while she slept, and she was pretty sure she currently shared a striking resemblance to Medusa.

"Where's Liam," she asked, hoping he had decided to leave when she didn't show her face all day. Looking at Caelum's angry expression, she knew that wasn't the case.

"After you came up here, he sat out on the porch on his laptop for a while. When we told him we don't provide lunch, he went to the store and came back with several bags of groceries. He chose the room right beside yours, and he's been in there ever since."

She groaned. "He bought groceries? So that means he's not planning on leaving any time soon."

Caelum's face was solemn as he nodded. "Seems that way. Clark called our lawyer, but he didn't seem to think we had much of a case unless Liam's made an actual threat against you."

She sighed as her shoulders drooped. "That's what I was afraid of." Perking up a little, she thought of her plan. If Caelum would go along with it.

Nerves suddenly took over as she thought about what she wanted to say. "I might have a plan," she said hesitantly.

His eyebrows rose to his hairline. "Oh yeah? You feel like sharing with the class?"

She huffed and shut the light off in the bathroom, deciding to just throw her hair up in a bun. There really was no hope for it.

"So, I was thinking..." she hesitated, not wanting to freak him out.

He made a hand gesture, telling her to get on with it.

"What if you and I pretended to date," she blurted out, wringing her hands together.

Caelum blinked at her in surprise. Before he could say anything, she held up her hand. "Never mind, it was a stupid idea."

He grabbed her hand from where it was suspended between them. "Now, hold on a minute. You want us to pretend to date. And this would help how?"

She sighed as she pulled her hand from his. "Liam is an extremely jealous person. Anytime he and I would go out together, he'd act like a moron if a guy flirted with me, trying to show his dominance. Touching me, kissing me, you get the picture."

He nodded slowly. "So you're saying, if you and I act like a couple in front of him, it's going to make him so jealous he leaves you alone?"

She hesitated before shaking her head. "Not necessarily. I think that, yes, he will be jealous. But a part of him truly thinks I'm still in love with him. He really thinks he can win me back. If he sees that I'm in a relationship with you," she continued, using quotations with her fingers, "then maybe he will finally realize that I don't want to be with him anymore?"