Anti-Maid

LIAM

I awoke in a state of confusion.

The fabric underneath me felt like the leather of my couch, but the wall in front of me looked nothing like my apartment.

I shot up to a seated position and immediately regretted it.

~Ugh.~

It felt like all the blood in my body rushed to my head.

When my vision focused again, I looked around.

By some miracle, I had made it home alive the night before.

~But my apartment is destroyed.~

My pristine white living room wall had been painted with a series of shapes and colors that burned brightly into my retinas.

There was only one person who could have been responsible for this.

“FREYA!” I screamed out at the top of my lungs, and in an instant she appeared in front of me with a smug smile on her face.

“You ruined my wall!”

“That really depends on your definition of ~ruin~,” she said. “Personally, I think I improved it.”

~Like hell you did.~

It looked like one of Luce’s demon children had been let loose in my apartment with a box of crayons.

“This is destruction of private property.” I spun to face her. “I could have you arrested for this.”

“Some people call it ~art~.”

“Art? This looks like punishment to me.”

“Ouch,” she said, and for a second she looked genuinely hurt.

Unlike most women I met, Freya never seemed to care what I thought about anything.

~Maybe she cares more than she lets on…~

I turned back toward my wall and realized that I hadn’t actually taken the mural in.

Maybe the shock of it—and the vibrancy of the colors—had made me judge it too harshly.

“Do you want me to paint over it?” she asked just as the image was starting to grow on me. Freya’s painting was actually really…good.

“Yes,” I said, unwilling to sacrifice my pride. “But first, go get groceries,” I said. “I’m starving.”

“Hangovers will do that to you.”

“How bad was I last night?” I immediately regretted asking that question.

~I don’t know if I want to hear the answer…~

“It wasn’t too pretty,” she said. “By the way, who’s Jenna?”

I couldn’t stop my face from falling at the sound of the name.

I was so stunned by her question that I almost lost my footing. “How do you know about Jenna?”

“You were saying her name in your sleep. I heard it a couple times while I was painting.”

“Don’t ask me about her, Freya,” I said harshly. “Just go to the grocery store. I don’t care what you get.”

I needed her to leave me alone to shower away the sweat and grime from the night before.

FREYA

Liam reached into his back pocket and fished out a black metal credit card.

He handed it to me, and I felt its heavy weight in my hand.

“What is this?” I asked, handing it back toward him.

“It’s a credit card, Freya. People generally use them to buy things,” he answered tiredly.

“I mean, why are you giving it to me?”

“Am I going to need to explain the concept of money to you?”

“I understand money,” I spat back. “I just don’t understand why you are giving me ~yours~.”

“I assume you don’t have any based on your show at your brother’s place the other night. Besides, you’re buying groceries for me, so you should use ~my~ money,” he reasoned, running his hand through his messy blond hair.

When I didn’t pocket the card, he continued.

“Why does everything need to be an argument with you?” He sighed, his shoulders slumping.

“I don’t argue about everything,” I grumbled, rubbing my arm self-consciously. He seemed like he was genuinely feeling miserable, and here I was, giving him a hard time.

I almost felt guilty.

“Just take it,” he said.

“Fine,” I sighed.

“And you’re taking the car,” he said, pulling out his phone and sending off a text. “My driver, Martin, will meet you out front in ten. With Daryl too.”

“Who’s Daryl?” I asked him.

“Security.”

“Jesus,” I said with a sigh. “I’m just going to buy food. I think I’ll survive.”

“I know ~you’ll~ make it back in one piece. My credit card on the other hand…” he said with a smug smirk before disappearing into his bedroom.

***

I had been reluctant to take Liam’s card, but as I walked through the aisles of the grocery store, it started burning a hole in my pocket.

My only restriction was how much my cart could carry.

After years of buying Top Ramen, this was a thrill unlike any other.

I must have been there for hours.

Whatever I wanted, I got. I didn’t even bother to look at the price of a single box, can, or package.

When I finally made it to the cash register, I wore a satisfied smile waiting for my turn.

I was finally confident that I would not have to perform the apologetic dance—my regular routine each time my card got declined.

That I wouldn’t have to dig through the bottom of my tattered purse for loose change.

But as I loaded my groceries onto the conveyor belt, I saw something that instantly wilted my mood.

A magazine with Liam on the cover, with his arm slung around the waist of a woman.

I wasn’t usually up to date with celebrity gossip, but I knew exactly who she was.

After all, she was practically a household name for continuing to bridge the gap between country and pop music.

~Jazelle Ericson.~

The headline read: “America’s Favorite Couple!”

And then underneath…“The Timeline of Jaz-Am.”

~Is Liam really dating Jazelle Ericson?~

“Are you going to pay for that?” I heard the cashier say and I looked up to find him eyeing me impatiently.

“Oh, sorry,” I muttered and put the magazine on top of my pile of food.

“Debit or credit?” he asked me.

“Credit,” I said.

As he swiped the heavy black card, I got none of the satisfaction that I was anticipating.

Instead, I only had my mind on that magazine.

When I left the grocery store with several bags, Martin took them out of my hands and loaded them into the trunk, while Daryl held the car door open for me.

Daryl and Martin were both large, albeit kind-faced men in their forties, and their attention and care made me feel like royalty.

When we were en route back to Liam’s apartment, I lifted the partition between them and me and pulled the tabloid out of my purse where I had stashed it.

I ripped it open to the headline story and began reading.

~Country Pop Princess Jazelle Ericson and Rock Icon Liam Henderson were first spotted getting handsy three months ago at the trendy nightclub Vermillion Room.~

~Then they were caught locking lips outside the studio while recording their hit single “Binary Boyfriend,” featured in this summer’s blockbuster flick “AI Love You.”~

~Looks like things are still going strong with the hot couple. They attended the premiere on Friday, arm in arm, appearing as smitten as ever.~

I flipped the magazine shut.

~Why haven’t I seen Jazelle around Liam’s apartment?~

~And what will she think of me sleeping down the hall from her boyfriend?~

I was sure she wouldn’t be thrilled.

I crammed the trashy tabloid back into my bag, resolving to steer clear from Jazelle Ericson as much as I possibly could.

But when I returned to Liam’s apartment, it was like the magazine cover had come to life.

There, standing in his living room, was none other than Jazelle Ericson, wearing a tight-fitting dress that left little to the imagination.

Next to her was another striking woman with a flurry of long raven hair and legs that seemed to go on forever.

They were both staring at Liam intently.

Angrily.

As the thought passed through my mind, one of the grocery bags slipped out of my hands.

Suddenly, all the eyes in the room were on me.

My face went as red as the apples that were now spilling out onto the floor.

Liam stood.

“Hey” was all he said, but his tone warned me to run far, far away.

“So…” Jazelle said sardonically. “Did you go out and get yourself another fangirl, Liam?”

“Leave,” he said to me. It didn’t sound like a command, as much as a desperate plea to try to save me from this situation.

“Everybody, please, just calm down,” the other woman said. Then she turned to me. “I’m Lucinda, sweetie. Liam’s publicist.”

But Jazelle clearly wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries.

“Is she the reason you’re breaking up with me?” Jazelle shrieked.

“I’m not ~breaking up~ with you,” Liam said with an eye roll, “because we were never ~together~. The deal was that we would pretend to do this until the movie premiered. I did my part.”

“But Liam,” Lucinda interjected. “The public loves your relationship. And the European leg of your tour is coming up. It would be great for ticket sales if you could—”

“Luce. Please,” he said, his eyes flooding with anguish. “I can’t do this anymore. I just can’t.”

“We have a ~date~ tonight, Liam,” Jazelle said, her voice filling the room.

“And Jazelle Ericson does ~not~ get stood up,” she continued, “especially not for people who look like ~her~.” She threw an accusatory finger in my direction.

And then she walked toward me, until our noses were practically touching.

“So…why don’t you tell me who the hell you are and what you are doing with my boyfriend,” she demanded.

“Speak up, bitch,” she spat.

As she towered over me in six-inch heels, I felt myself quake in my beat-up sneakers.

I had a feeling she wouldn’t be happy to find out about me…but I hadn’t been expecting a reaction like ~this.~