Stardust & Smiles ✅

Chapter 23: A Cabin, A Crisis and Confrontation

Hey everyone,
Quick little note to apologize for the lack of updates: I went on vacation and then I had writers block because I had some difficult choices about the book to make in this chapter.  That being said, I did what I had to do for the sake of the story (hopefully you're not too upset) Enjoy and be prepared...

"That's the problem. You don't think you deserve something so you ruin it."
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It's the night before the trip, and I'm definitely ready to get away, even if it means sharing a cabin with Liam.  I've been so busy thinking about Max anyway, Liam has faded to the back of my mind.  Kind of.
   
I saw Max two more times.  We went out for coffee and dinner and he kissed me both times.  I'm not sure how to feel about it, but Liam's continued radio silence hasn't really helped. 
   
I've had pretty bad writer's block ever since the poetry night.  It's like the words just don't flow anymore, too stubborn to appear on the page.  My manager's getting restless. 
Apparently the longer I wait to put out more work, the less interest there'll be.  I've been dodging his calls all day.  My hope is that the weekend away will help me get some creative inspiration going. 
   
Elaine and I have managed to finish getting everything ready early and wrangled the boys into following our instructions for preparation, not that Liam has replied to any of my texts. 
   
I'm on the floor, folding sweaters into my suitcase and listening to soft pop music and holiday tunes when Max calls. 
   
I answer on the first ring.
   
"Hey!"
   
"Hey, Lily.  What's up?"  I glance around the room, having not yet told Max that I'm going away this weekend and still not planning to.
   
"Ummm, just doing some holiday cookie baking!  What about you?  To what do I owe this lovely phone call?"
   
"You better save me some cookies!"  Max laughs, "But I was actually calling to see if you wanted to come on a little trip with me this weekend?  I was supposed to drive to Joshua Tree to go camping with my friend, but he canceled last minute.  You down?"  I gulp.
   
"Are you sure you're not just calling to get intel on the cookies?"  Laughter echoes down the line.
   
"Maybe that was more of a bonus to my evil plan."  I can hear his wink through the phone.  I clear my throat.
   
"So, I would love to, but I can't this weekend, I'm sorry." 
   
"Oh, um, no worries, another time, then."  I can hear the disappointment in his voice.  "It was probably too soon anyway."
   
"No, no, um, it's not that I just..."
   
He waits.  I sigh.
   
"I'm going on an annual family trip this weekend and I can't miss it."  His voice brightens.
   
"Oh, no worries then!  Well I'll certainly miss you, but have a great time with your family.  I'll have to meet them one of these days!"  I frown.  Do I want Max to meet my family?
   
"Uh, yeah sure.  Anyway, have fun without me!"  My tone is fake.  If Liam were here, he'd have caught it right away.  He sees right through me.  Max's voice is just as cheery as ever as he replies brightly.
   
"I'll do my best!  Call me when you're back, yeah?  I found a really cool place for us to go to..."  We say our goodbyes (maybe a little too quickly on my part) and hang up.  I sigh and turn my attention back to the pile of cozy sweaters in my suitcase. 

After a while, I look up from my neatly tucked away clothes and see that the clock is claiming it's already 10:42.  I have to get up early tomorrow to meet at Elaine's and get going.  Right as I pick up my phone to set an alarm for the morning, it rings loudly.  I answer without really looking at the number.

"Lily, good, I finally got ahold of you."  My smile drops when I realize it's my manager.  I was really hoping to avoid him as long as I could. 

"Um, hi, I was actually just going to bed..."
   
"This won't take long.  The firm just wanted to remind you that the longer you take to finish your next novel, the less interested the public will be if they can't remember your name.  You need to ride the wave of success from your writing debut and you can't do that if it takes you more than two years to finish the next book.  We're hoping that you could get us the first manuscript by the end of the month, January at the latest."  He holds his breath.  I rub my temples.