Page 34 of Neptune

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LUKE

Seven years ago

C assie and I ended up heading to the market square. When we arrived at the place, the afternoon was almost over because we'd spent too much time trying to find a way to the ice cave earlier, only to find out that it was closed.

The market street was more packed with people than other areas in Hallstatt, but not too crowded. Cassie gasped as she caught sight of a souvenir shop selling various snow globes.

I glanced at my wristwatch and noticed that I didn't have much time left. I'd booked a flight back to New York that night.

The flight was close to midnight, but still, I couldn’t risk being late. My heart sank as I realized that I wasn’t going to be spending time with Cassie anymore.

This was silly because I shouldn't have felt so attached to a person I just met, but then, I couldn't deny the fact that I enjoyed spending time with her.

It was a wonder how her presence made the burden on my shoulders feel lighter.

However, no matter how reluctant I was to get back home, I still had to. So many responsibilities were waiting for me there. My family needed me.

Cassie arrived back at my side after checking out the souvenir shop.

"Did you find something interesting?" I asked .

"The snow globes are all wonderful," she mumbled. "But I can't decide which one to buy because I love them all. I can't just buy the entire shop."

I chuckled, flicking her forehead. "Make up your mind."

She was surprised by my gesture, her eyes wide as she stared at me, and I wondered whether some of our little interactions affected her the same way they did me.

"What?" I whispered, a small smile tugging at my lips as she still watched me with a blank face.

She blushed crimson, realizing her lack of response. It looked like she was trying to escape the suddenly intense atmosphere.

"You—" she stuttered. "You’ve still got snow on your head." She tiptoed and brushed it off my hair, and that was when I caught her hand.

She was even more startled when I held her hand and placed it on my cheek, staring into her eyes. I didn't know what had gotten into me. But before we could digest what was happening between us, a blitz and the sound of a camera clicking snapped us out of our trance.

I turned my head toward the source of the blitz, while Cassie used that moment to walk away from me and compose herself. My jaw tightened as I saw a guy with a polaroid camera snapping Cassie's picture.

Sick jerk . I knew that she was beautiful, but this stupid tourist wanting to store her images in his stupid camera irritated me—I hadn't known that I could become this triggered.

"What the hell are you doing?" I bit out, approaching him.

The guy put his camera down and looked at me in horror, as if he'd just realized what he was doing.

"Sorry, man." He gulped as he saw my menacing eyes. "I was just trying to capture the moment," he stuttered.

The closer I got to him, the more he retreated. He shoved the pictures at me like they burned his hand. I snatched them, and he walked off .

I stared at three polaroid pictures. Two were of Cassie, one a side view and the other from the back. The last one was our picture, when I’d had her hand on my cheek.

I smiled. The pictures were beautiful, and they were mine now. I suddenly didn't hate the guy anymore. Pushing the pictures into my jacket pocket, I strode toward Cassie.

She was watching a live street music performance of a band playing two acoustic guitars and a cajón.

They were performing Maroon 5's song, “She Will Be Loved .”

" I love this song." She smiled, mesmerized by the performance, her eyes twinkling. She'd completely forgotten about our awkward moment back there.

She hummed to the song, and I swore that I could hear it for the rest of my life. She sounded really good—enough to make me think that she was an amazing singer even though I hadn't even heard her sing.

"Do you like singing?" I asked.

"More like love it." Another smile touched her lips as her eyes still didn't leave the band.

I decided to dig in. I remembered her telling me that she wouldn't go to college. Perhaps, it was about this. "Do you want to be a singer?"

She paused, still focusing on the performance, oblivious of everything else. "Well, my stepmom told me to," she blurted out.

"Do you want to?" I studied her.

"I guess so," she mumbled.

I chuckled lightly, shifting my attention to the band. I didn't think she even realized that she was telling me all of this. She was too hypnotized by the music.

When the song ended, the crowd gave the band a round of applause and so did Cassie.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen," the vocalist said to the audience. "This is such a warm evening for us. Before we move on to the next one, we're gonna give you a chance to request a song. Anything you have in mind?"

Some people shouted random songs, but the vocalist just laughed, since they didn't fit the genre—he also declined a request that had been played earlier.

A brilliant idea popped up in my head. Without waiting, I shot my hand into the air. "Can I have a request?" I asked.

Cassie snapped her head toward me, raising her eyebrows, and I had to bite my smile.

I had the whole band's attention. "My beautiful friend here loves to sing. She would like to join the band for one song. I hope that's okay, since this is our last day in Hallstatt."

Cassie's mouth dropped open as she stared at me in shock. All heads were now snapped toward her.

"What the hell are you doing?" she frantically whispered at me.

I turned to her and smirked. "You said that you want to be a singer. Now, sing to your audience."

Her jaw dropped even lower.

"Of course," the band responded with a cheerful tone. "It would be our honor."

And the crowd cheered, waiting for Cassie to walk up to the band.

"Come on," I whispered in her ear. "Don't disappoint your future fans."

Cassie looked around at the audience, who seemed eager to watch her perform. She turned to me again, disbelief still skating all over her face.

"But—" She looked nervous, and I held her arms, looking into her eyes.

"You can do it." I smiled.

She swallowed hard and bit her lip. "I'm going to kill you," she whispered, making me let out a chuckle.

Shaking her head in disbelief, she finally walked up to the band, the crowd cheering for her again, and that step itself made me proud of her .

She told the band about the song she was going to perform, and they nodded in understanding. Sitting on the stool, she grabbed the mic.

"Good evening, everyone," she greeted the audience, her pretty smile forming on her lips. "I might not be as good as the band, but I hope that you'll enjoy the song." She laughed nervously. "This one is my favorite."

" Go, Cassie !" I gave her a loud supportive shout, making her blush. She might really kill me after this.

The music started as the guitarist began to play. I knew the song. It was by Mariah Carey. “Always Be My Baby . ” But the arrangement was similar to David Cook's version.

And when Cassie opened her mouth, I was blown away. Her voice was angelic, so soft. And it stirred something in my heart that I'd been trying to figure out since the moment I'd seen her for the first time.

She sang the song by heart, and I could feel the emotions in her voice that made the song even better. My chest tightened as she continued singing.

Cassie was really good. She was fucking good at singing.

The lyrics escaped from her lips, and I found myself unable to get her out of my sight again.

Time felt like it was never enough when she sang. The moment she finished her song, the audience gave her a very big round of applause—some of them even shouted about how good she was.

I clapped my hands so hard that I could feel my palms burning. Cassie thanked the audience, looking shy but incredibly happy, and I felt warmth seeping into my soul from seeing her happiness.

She tottered back toward me and, to my surprise, pulled me into a tight hug. I was stunned. She giggled, burying her face in my chest, wrapping her arms around my back.

"That felt so good," she squealed. "Thank you, Luke. Thank you." Another giggle escaped from her lips.

I wrapped her in my embrace, closing my eyes as I breathed in her hair. She pulled away, a big grin on her face as she beamed with joy. She should have known that she should never ever doubt herself because that was pure talent that she showed just now.

"Goddammit, Cassie," I whispered. "Are you the world's next superstar?"

Cassie looked at me with a lost expression and then burst into laughter. Really big laughter.

She laughed until she had tears in her eyes. "That was the funniest joke ever."

Little did she know that I was not joking about that.

I glanced at Cassie as we walked away from the market square, a happy smile still tugging at her lips. The same smile touched my lips too.

She must have felt really good after nailing her live music performance.

"Where are we going now?" she asked in a cheerful voice.

"My flight back to New York is tonight, so I don't have much time left," I said even though my heart was denying it. "I have to go back."

Cassie's face fell, and she halted for a second. When she resumed her steps, she stared down at the road, and I noticed her disappointment right away.

"I see," she said with a small voice. "I thought that we could still hang out longer. It was...fun, you know?"

I couldn't agree more. If only I could stay longer. " When are you going back to LA?"

She sighed. "I'm still going to be here for two more days."

I noted her information, but I knew that I couldn't stay for that long here. Guilt kept coming to me every time I wondered about how my family was doing back home, with them still mourning Victor's death and with the business going downhill.

I hadn't even realized that Cassie and I were walking slower than before, as if to treasure every moment.

I came to a halt, turning to her. "I'll walk you back to the motel. "

She nodded.

???

The journey back to the motel was silent, probably because both of us were still digesting the fact that we were going to part ways soon. Even though I knew that I had to hurry to catch my flight, the time that I'd spent walking her back to the motel took longer due to how slow we were walking.

When we finally reached the place, Cassie said with a tender smile on her lips, "Thanks for walking me back."

I let out a sigh and smiled before both of us went silent.

"It's been a great day," she said. "I really enjoyed it. It was really fun."

Silence fell between us again, and I knew that she was waiting for me to say more.

But I didn't.

I couldn't, and I didn't want to. What was I supposed to say? Should I ask for her number? But I knew that it wasn't in my plan. I wasn't interested in having a long-distance friendship with her, because I would definitely want more than that.

And the last thing I needed was a distraction. A relationship with a girl wasn't my priority right now.

"Take care, Luke." She smiled but couldn't hide the sadness behind it.

I ruffled her hair. "Don't starve yourself," I joked.

Cassie pouted, irritated because I'd just ruined her hair, but at the same time, her cheeks turned pink. It was amusing to watch how my little gesture affected her that much.

I turned on my heels, walking away from her even though she seemed to have more things to say. Right, just like that.

I kept walking farther from her, because I knew that if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to let her go. I didn't glance back at her at all, ignoring my heart that was beating like a drum in my chest.