God yes. “English was one of the only classes I ever looked forward to. What about you? Were you always into music?”
Thinking back to the time we spent inside the shop when we were kids, I couldn’t remember if she talked much about it or not.
“I sang to music I liked just like anyone else, but then I sort of fell into it in college. I honestly didn’t expect things to go very far, but my friend, the one who had leukemia, always told me to pursue my dreams.” Her breath hitched at the end, but as quickly as it came, it was gone. “We went to prom together,”
she said with a smile. “Her mother begged us not to. She thought it would make her even worse. Her dad took us instead, hanging around in the parking lot so he could bring us home after one dance. That’s all she ever wanted, to wear a beautiful dress and have one dance.”
“It sounds like you gave her that and so much more.”
She offered me a curt nod, then sipped from her coffee again. “Anyway, she was the only one who knew I could sing until years after she passed away. I was in college and decided
to join the choir we had on campus just for fun. That’s how it all started. I haven’t looked back since.”
“I remember the first single you put out,” I said, trying not to gush over her even though I really wanted to. It was strange, being able to talk to her like this without even realizing who she was. Maybe it was because I still remembered the little girl I used to play with, the one I read books with, or maybe it was because I didn’t just see her as a singer or an artist but as someone who needed a break, same as me.
“It’s still one of my best,” she said with a hint of sadness in her eyes. “That one’s about her, actually.”
“Get Me Through?” I asked, continuing when she nodded a response. “I always thought it was about your mom,” I said, going over the lyrics in the back of my head.
“It wasn’t supposed to be a love song,” she said, lowering her gaze so I couldn’t see her eyes. “I wanted to write something completely different because one dance wasn’t enough. It was all we could afford, though. I also didn’t want to write a song I wouldn’t be able to sing on tour without constantly thinking about her so… I changed a lot of it.”
My heart went out to her. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It was a very long time ago.”
Ten years ago wasn’t a long time, not when it came to losing someone and having to let them go. “I’m still sorry,” I said, placing my hand on hers, “but if you’re anything like me, you probably want to drop the subject, right?”
She looked at me then with a kind smile and relief in her eyes. “Please.”
“Consider it dropped,” I said, happy to change the subject so long as it was what she wanted. Talking about the past is hard, but sometimes it’s what we need most. In that moment, I could see Cassidy needed something else, an escape from her real life. “Oh, if you ever want to avoid being jumped outside, you can always come in through the back. Just give me a call beforehand and I can unlock the door for you.”
Her eyes lit up. “God, that would be a huge help. Just being in here with all of these books…” She released a contented sigh. “I don’t know how I’m ever going to leave.”
“Wait until you see the tower,” I teased, taking my own coffee from the counter before heading back in its general direction. “The stairs are a bit narrow, but there’s a railing there if you need it.”
Knowing she was right behind me, I reached the second floor in record time, stepping aside so she could get the full experience once she reached the last step. Her face brightened as soon as she did. Pausing at the top of the steps, she held on to the railing with her free hand, taking a moment to look around the room.
Unlike the lower level of the bookstore, this one wasn’t crammed full of books and had no carpeting to speak of.
Instead, books from my own collection sat behind a pair of glass cases, each one standing on either side of the room. On the far side of the room, across from the stairs, sat a set of beige sofas, each one covered in pillows and blankets.
Like I said, no one ever went up to the tower, so it was mostly meant for my sister if she ever decided to drop by as well as myself.
Once she had her fill, Cass effortlessly glided toward one of the sofas, sitting down on the one closest to the window. The window wasn’t big and didn’t offer much of a view, but it still got some of the best sun in the afternoon.
“I can’t believe I never came up here,” she said, sitting back with her coffee. “It’s like a dream.”
“It really is,” I agreed, joining her on the sofa with a cushion of space between us. “I try to come up here at least once a day during lunch. It’s my happy place.”
“I used to have one of those,” she thought aloud, tilting her head back before closing her eyes. “It was the crawlspace. My mom hated whenever I went in there because the ceiling was only four feet off the ground and it wasn’t carpeted. Still, it was my place to hide out and just enjoy the quiet, you know?”
“I do. I had a place like it, actually, but I usually ran out as soon as I saw a spider.”
She fell into a fit of giggles, coughing once she was through. “The spiders never bothered me, but I stopped using the crawlspace once my dad installed a bunch of rat traps. I never saw any of those, either, but getting my finger snapped by one of the traps was more than enough reason for me.”
I winced at that. “Where is your dad now?”
“He bailed when I was nine.” She shrugged and left it at that. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be saying any of this as we only just met.”