Chapter 17 #2
Is this what Luke meant by Cassie being bold? I’m thankful I got a bit of a warning, at least, because Cassie is. . . a lot.
“How long have you been here?” Luke asks.
“Not too long. Maybe an hour?”
An hour? This girl is so desperate that she’s willing to wait around for Luke for an hour? What if we had changed our plans and never showed up? How long would she have stuck around?
“Oh, you’ve probably already walked around then.” Luke drops his arm the tiniest bit.
“No, I was just cooking food in my van and cleaning up a bit. It was a mess since I’ve been living out of it for a while now.
” She gestures to a van that’s been decked out.
It’s a yellow mustard color with bright green trim and paintings of trees over the windows, which is funny since I haven’t seen one tree since we’ve gotten off the plane.
She left the sliding door open, revealing bright green curtains and a small counter that’s just big enough to eat at.
“That’s cool,” I say, taking a few steps forward so I can get a better look inside the bus. It looks like there’s a couch in there too, which I assume folds down into a bed.
Cassie looks at me for the first time, and an annoyed look flashes across her face so quickly that I wonder if I’m just seeing things. A second later she gives me a big smile.
“Harper, right?”
“Yup.”
No one says anything, and it’s Luke who breaks the silence. “Well, let’s go check it out.”
He drops his arm from Cassie and starts walking forward. I follow close behind until Cassie skips forward and wedges herself between me and Luke, forcing me to hang back a little.
What’s her problem?
Luke doesn’t notice, so we make our way toward the viewing area. I pull my phone out and start taking photos. There’s a grassy area leading up to the waterfall itself, and the closer we get, the more I can’t believe I’m here seeing this in person.
“Can you take my photo?” I ask Luke, handing him my phone. I take a few steps forward and let Luke tell me where to stand. I put my arms up over my head and give him a huge smile. He takes the picture and hands me my phone back.
I turn to Cassie and hold out my phone. “Can you take one of the two of us?”
She doesn’t respond, but it takes a second or two for her to take my phone. Luke comes to stand beside me. We each put an arm behind the other’s back like we’ve done a million other times we’ve posed for photos.
“Our turn!” Cassie says, handing me my phone back and passing me hers.
She’s possessive the way she grabs Luke’s hand and pulls him to her. I’m looking through the camera screen when I see Cassie stand up on her toes and kiss Luke on the cheek. A flush of surprise coats his face.
Bold indeed.
“Come on!” Cassie grabs Luke’s hand once I give her phone back. Luke gives me an apologetic look before he’s whisked away. I’m so stunned I don’t do anything.
I let a moment or two pass, trying to blink away the memory before I move to follow them.
Let Luke have fun, I tell myself. You can enjoy your trip without him.
The loud rush of water is enough to pull me back into the moment, and I take more photos as I walk. The path leads me closer to the waterfall until it bends to bring me behind it. I have no idea where Luke and Cassie went—maybe they are already behind the waterfall.
I can feel my irritation building at how I’m suddenly the third wheel to a trip I planned, but I try to push the feelings away. So what if Luke is spending time with Cassie? Let him, though he looked just as shocked as I was when she started getting touchy.
Maybe when it’s just the two of us again, we can joke about how much of a handful Cassie is. Maybe Cassie won’t be the person to help Luke get over me, but she’ll at least give us a funny story to tell.
As I walk further to go behind the waterfall, I get a light misting of water. It all feels a little magical, like walking behind a waterfall is a special treat. I pause for a moment. I’m really here. I made it to Iceland, even if the situation is a little less than ideal socially.
I follow the path farther, taking my time, trying to soak it all in. There are plenty of other people visiting the waterfall, but if I just close my eyes and listen to the rush of water, I can pretend I’m the only person in the world who knows about this place.
The path starts to turn until I’m going behind the gallons of water that feel like they’re dropping from the sky.
The pictures online that looked so perfect didn’t even do it justice.
Stepping behind a waterfall this big and watching so closely as the water freefalls—there’s nothing else like it in the world.
I’m taking photos when I hear a giggling shriek from behind me. I turn to see Cassie on the ground, her butt soaked, and Luke offering a hand to pull her up.
“You okay?” he asks.
She’s still laughing when he pulls her upwards.
“I’m good,” she finally breathes. She brushes her butt off, removing some dirt but also coating her hands in mud in the process. “Gross.”
Luke pulls his hat off, making his hair stick up in all sorts of directions, and uses the hat to brush off Cassie’s hands.
Her giggling finally stops, and she looks up at Luke.
I instantly know what she’s thinking. Her eyes go soft, and she leans forward the tiniest bit.
Luke’s back is to me, so I have no idea what he’s thinking, but Cassie, I know, wants to kiss him.
“Luke!” The words pop out of my mouth before I can think it through. Cassie’s eyes fly to me, rage radiating off her. Luke turns, his face scarlet like he’s been caught in the act. It takes me a moment to come up with an excuse. “Can you get a photo?”
“Uh, sure,” he says, stiff and awkward.
I move to stand at the edge of the path so the water is to my back and pose again, smiling, though this time it doesn’t feel as genuine. I can still see Cassie glaring at me as she stands next to Luke.
“This is so cool,” he says, handing me my phone back. He keeps his eyes on the waterfall, away from me and Cassie, and I wonder if he can notice how angry Cassie is. He fidgets a little, so I’m hoping he’s more thankful I interrupted the moment than mad about it.
“Come on, I want to show you something,” Cassie says, taking Luke’s hand and leading him away. I’m about to say something but can’t come up with anything that wouldn’t make me sound like a jealous third wheel.
Which I’m not. I just prefer my best friend to not keep ditching me.
They disappear again, following the path and stepping back out to the open area in front of the waterfall.
I stand in the cave behind the waterfall by myself, the air misty, wet, and cold.
Watching as Luke disappears, I fight the urge to yell out to him to wait. He’s made his choice.