Ashling

Chapter 51

I wake up with my heart beating fast and my breathing distorted. There are sweat beads on my forehead and my cheeks feel wet from all the crying I did in the dream.

I close my eyes and try and steady my breathing. My head hurts and I just don't feel good. What kind of a dreaded dream was that? I actually felt my heart breaking into a million pieces watching her tell me she has to leave.

Cassandra.

I jolt out of my bed and quickly grab my phone. Apparently I won't be getting any more dreams of her, though I don't know what I should feel regarding it. These dreams have become a part of me. There are nights when I literally pray before going to sleep to dream of her. But there are also times when I feel freaked out over the fact that I'm dating the girl who's been coming in my dreams even before I met her. I need to talk to her, I need to hear her voice because that twisted dream was the most discomforting one I've ever had. I agree that I've had some nerve wrecking dreams before, but I've never felt so uneasy like I do now.

I press speed dial to call her but her contact isn't there. This is strange. I've had her number on speed dial since practically the moment I got it. Shaking my head, I search her name in my contacts list.

C.. C.. C... Cassandra.. What the hell?

Where is her name? Where did her contact go? Did I accidentally delete it while editing it last night? I changed her contact photo last night, but I did save it.. Didn't I?

Oh, screw this. I know her number by heart, I'll just type it in and dial. It barely begins to ring but the call is answered.

"Cass-" I begin but I'm cut off by a clipped voice of a recording.

"The number you're calling, is not listed."

What...? Pulling the phone back from my ear, I revise the number I just typed. It's without a doubt Cassandra's number. But the answer remains the same when I dial again; the number isn't listed.

What the hell? Did she change her contact number? Maybe she did. But why didn't she tell me?

I'm feeling a bit frustrated, so I decide to visit Cass first in the museum and then head off to work.

---------

"Excuse me?" I say as the receptionist of Madame Tussaud's Museum looks up at me.

"How can I help you?" She asks with a forced smile plastered on her face.

"Yes, uh.. I just wanna know if Cassandra is working today? She's a tour guide here."

Her eyes narrow for a split second before she says, "There is no tour guide here by the name of Cassandra."

"What? Cassandra Evans. She is a tour guide here, she's given me a tour a lot of times."

"Sir, there are ten tour guides here and none of them is a Cassandra." She rotates her laptop in my direction and points to the group of names of the tour guides with photos.

"See? Joanna, Mercy, Marcus, Alexandra, Jessica, Tom, Aleena, Raj, Mariana and Luke."

What the actual fuck is going on here?

"Did she get fired? Did she resign? Because she was here literally three days ago. I dropped and picked her up from here!"

Her jaw clenches in annoyance and she takes a controlled deep breath. "Sir, as I've told you before, there are ten tour guides here who've been working since over a year now. No one named Cassandra has ever worked here."

"Is this some sort of a joke?" I blurt.

"Excuse me?"

Before I even know it, I lash out at her. "You think I'm some fool that you can mess around with? I'm telling you that my girlfriend works here as a tour guide and you're telling me that no Cassandra has ever worked here! If this is your idea of a prank then it's a ridiculous one."