Lifetime Guarantee ➪ Josh Dylan

twenty six

"I actually got the part!" The ecstatic girl cheers into her phone.

"No bloody way," Alexa's voice quietly exclaims through the speaker.

"Oh my god, that's amazing, Cassie!" Lily says, her voice sounding a little louder.

"I've worked months for this and I'm so happy," Cas gleams.

"You deserve it, sweetie. You're amazing. We're so excited to watch you perform within the next year," says Jess.

"How's the press tour going," she asks, twirling her hair as she speaks.

"Amazing," Lily responds. "It's crazy getting to see all these new places."

"How's everyone doing besides you three?" Silence creeps its way through the phone.

"I mean, Hugh is great!" Jess chimes through. Cassie purses her lips at her friend's response.

"No need to get into it. I have to go anyway," she gets up off her bed and looks in the mirror. "When are you guys landing in London?"

"Tomorrow. Early afternoon, I believe," Lily declares.

"Alright. Love you guys. Can't wait to see you." She makes a kissy sound in the phone before hanging up and shoving it into her purse. Turning back to get a good look at her outfit, she poses multiple times in her tight black dress and smiling at her makeup look. She winks at herself before grabbing her bag. As she's leaving the apartment, her phone begins to chime. Startled, she struggles to snatch the loud device. A familiar blonde boy's name flashes onto the screen, a selfie of them together as his contact photo. She feels sickly as her stomach fills with those same old butterflies she got when they first met, when they would flirted, when they hugged, when they kissed-,

She quickly declines the call and exhales heavily, shaking her head and exiting her place to go through with her evening plans.

Cassie meets her new friends outside of the club, hugging and chatting with each of them. She had never been to a rooftop bar before, but her new actor and actress friends were eager to drag her along. They travel twelve stories up in an elevator and are greeted by an ivy-covered brick palace. As the night goes on, shots go down and cocktails are made, and Cas thinks to herself that life cannot get any better: She lives in her own penthouse apartment, she's apart of a brand new musical on West End, and her friends are loving, caring, and supportive of her. It's been a couple months since she left Vis Island suddenly, but maybe finding herself was for the better. Now and then, she can't help but admit that she thinks about the boy she left behind, but clearly something in their love wasn't true since he never decided to chase after her.

It had started pouring in London, and Cas was forced to go home as the bar was closing for weather safety. After saying goodbye to her friends, she hops into a taxi and heads back to her flat. She stumbles back into the apartment, tired and sloppy, but still having the time of her life in her mind. Plopping down on the sofa, she checks her phone for the first time in hours. Some snapchats, text messages — the usual — but also over six missed calls. Her eyesight too blurry to focus on her phone, she grumbles and tosses it on the coffee table, leaning back and kicking off her heels. Thunder roars outside her window and the lightening causes her lights to flicker a bit. Cassie stares at her ceiling for a few minutes, growing more upset as each second passes by. Depression starts to kick in as the euphoria of the alcohol settles down. I haven't had sex in months, she thinks to herself, rubbing her face aggressively as thoughts of being alone forever infiltrate her mind. Leaping off the couch, she scurries into her kitchen and grabs a glass of water, chugging every last drop. She leans on the counter and falls back into thought. Am I too ugly? Why don't I attract boys like my friends do? Goddamn I want some bloody pizza. The inebriated girl fills up her glass once again, pressing the rim to her lips. As she goes for a gulp, a heavy but fast-paced banging occurs at her door. Utterly frightened, her body jerks at the alarming sound causing her to drop the glass and have it shattered against the kitchen tiles. Too impaired to comprehend the situation, she begins to cry, anger and confusion shooting through her veins as she tiptoes to dodge the glass around her feet.

"What the fffuck do you want," Cassie shouts as she stumbles to the door, tears rolling down her bright red cheeks. Although she struggles with the handle, she finally yanks her flat's door open, being greeted with a handsome man with sopping wet blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. The girl's jaw drops and she feels weak in the knees. Never in a million years did she ever think this movie-like sequence would happen to her.

"Hey Cassie. Can we talk?"