Page 17 of Neptune

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CASSIE

T he next morning, I wake up to the sound of birds chirping. I get up from my bed and open the curtain to enjoy the beautiful view of the garden—I can see the swimming pool too from where I'm standing.

Gosh, this house is wonderful—if only the owner was as amazing as it is.

I step out of my room, still in my pajamas. It's a wonder that Ms. Langston didn't wake me up to have breakfast together with Luke or Aiden.

I want to see the boy again to make up for what happened yesterday—I should have cared about his feelings more.

When I arrive at the dining table, I see my breakfast already prepared, but Luke and Aiden are nowhere to be found.

"They went earlier because Aiden has an early extracurricular activity in his school today." Ms. Langston appears from the kitchen with a smile on her face, startling me.

I glance at the clock on the wall and wonder whether I woke up that late, then I realize that it has been a long time since I had the privilege to get enough sleep that I might have gotten carried away.

It's amazing that I don't have to wake up in panic due to the hectic schedules of my tour, performances or practice.

Sighing, I settle at the table before eating the pancakes and omelets that Ms. Langston has prepared for me.

"Does Luke always send Aiden to school before he goes to work?" I ask.

"Every single day," Ms. Langston says. "When he's not on a business trip."

Well, that's surprising. I thought that a busy businessman like him would barely have enough time to have that kind of routine, since there might always be something urgent from the office.

My phone buzzes on the table, and I look at it, only to find a text from Luke.

Luke : If you're going to catch up with your friends today, don't mention Aiden.

Luke : He's not very fond of being exposed.

Luke : This applies to your team too.

That's too bad. Meeting Aiden is the only wonderful thing about my newly married life that I can't wait to share with the people close to me, but I note Luke's warning in my head.

Even though I trust my team, word can travel fast around the people in my industry. And the next thing I know people will search Luke's nephew on the internet, wondering about the boy who's living with us.

After finishing my yummy breakfast, I thank Ms. Langston and decide to go to the music room to try the piano. When I’m almost there, I'm surprised to find that courier staff are placing packages into the room with the help of the house security guards.

My eyes widen as I see my old guitar, books and music folders scattered. "What's happening?" I ask one of the staff members.

"Good morning, Mrs. Klein. We're from CPI Logistics," he introduces himself. "You have a package from LA, sent by Mrs. Morgan Castillo. We were asked to deliver these items to your new house. "

My mouth drops open as I look around again at my old stuff. So, Morgan has sent away all my belongings that were still in her house—she doesn't want to see anything related to me anymore. My heart sinks at the thought of that.

"Mrs. Klein, where do you want to put these?" a maid asks me, gesturing with the books in her hands, but I'm still dumbfounded, still trying to compose myself. "Should I put them inside the shelves?" she offers in a soft tone.

After a few seconds, I nod. "Yeah," I rasp. "Just put them there."

I never thought that I would feel so crushed, as if Morgan has just slapped me in the face by letting me know that she's throwing away all my stuff from her house, just like that.

Yes, I did leave some of my belongings at her house—most of them are things I owned when I was a teenager. Years ago, she didn’t let me bring all of them to my house in LA, and I thought that she kept them because they were memorable, just like a mother would keep her child’s first drawing.

Now, I feel stupid.

Now, I know that she doesn’t want to look at or be reminded of the first lyrics I wrote, the first melody I composed or the music notes I drafted when I was in high school, which are all in these scattered books and sheets.

I bite my lower lip, feeling agitated, my fists clenched tight on my sides.