12

I had to tell someone besides Sally about my suspicions. Out of the Circle, the one most likely to listen was Melissa. She cared about Adam, and completely understood losing someone. If anyone could get through to him, it was probably her. The others were too caught up in their own drama to give me face time.

Melissa always got coffee first thing for her and her Dad, so I arranged to be in attendance on a cold, rainy Wednesday. "Hey," I said as I joined her in line. "Do you have a few minutes? I want to run something by you."

She looked outside. "My Dad is waiting."

"I promise it won't take long."

"Just let me get my coffee," Melissa said with a smile.

I waited patiently until she joined me off to one side. "So here's the thing. How much do you know about Adam's new girlfriend?"

Melissa cocked her head. "Not much. Why?"

"I don't trust her. She seems insincere."

She laughed. "Is this coming from jealousy, or is there something else going on?"

I looked around to make sure no one heard me. "I know how this will sound, but I think she's a plant."

Melissa fought not to laugh but lost the battle. "I know. Poppy, right?"

I smacked my forehead. "Umm, yeah. I meant she gives me bad vibes, and not because she's all over him."

"Why are you telling me this, Cassie?" It was an honest question.

"Because you're friends with Adam, and I'm worried about him."

"Is that the only reason?" Melissa was starting to fidget, so I let her go with one last comment.

"You're the only one who will listen. Please warn him."

She looked at me for a long beat before nodding. "I can do that."

"Thanks," I said before running out the side door and meeting Sally for my ride to school.

Adam came up to me at lunch and sat down without warning. "I appreciate that you're worried, but my love life is my business, not the Circle's."

I was so taken aback by his sharp tone that my chair nearly tipped over. "Adam, she gave me a bad feeling."

"No kidding. What else can I expect from a jealous ex?"

My eyebrows raised. "Jealous, of her?"

His fingers clenched in and out. "You can't even admit it."

I leaned in and said, "I don't give a damn about your love life."

"We both know that's not true," Adam replied with an unpleasant smile.

I stood up abruptly and my chair went skittering into the table behind me, pushed there by a burst of dark magic. "Don't flatter yourself," I hissed.

Adam looked around to see if anyone was watching. "I get that you're upset, but you need to move past this."

He was being such an unbelievable jerk that I stifled a rude response. "And you need to watch your back."

Suddenly Poppy appeared in the doorway and Adam's entire face shifted into lovesick boy. Seeing that expression on his face killed me, but it reeked of a love spell. "I'm a big boy, Cassie. I can take care of myself."

"It's your funeral, Conant," I retorted, nearly tripping over Diana as I ran out of the cafeteria. I ignored her when she called my name, and finally slammed my way into an empty science lab and bawled my eyes out.

Melissa was the one who found me cutting class, sitting inside Sally's car while studying for a math test. She knocked on the window and I rolled it down. "Hi," I said, knowing my mascara was running down my face in brown ribbons.

"I tried," she said with a shrug.

The rain was starting to drip inside, so I shoved over so she could join me. We sat there in silence for a moment, before I felt compelled to say, "Thanks for trying."

Melissa nodded. "Adam's not himself these days."

That was an understatement. "I kind of noticed after he took my head off."

"He's been on edge with all of us. We're supposed to keep outsiders at arm's length, and here's Adam dating this girl nobody knows."

"He's not the only one," I said, alluding to Diana and Grant the studmuffin.

"I get it. I mean, we can't live our lives constrained by this town and these six people."

"You're right. Which is why I'm leaving for the summer. I need a time out."

Melissa considered my words. "I think we all do."

I found myself liking this quiet girl with a sudden intensity that took me by surprise. "Thanks for trying."

She smiled and said nothing as she got out and ran back into school. My test started in a few minutes, so I followed behind her. When I got to my class, Adam was kissing Poppy just outside the door. I averted my eyes and felt my gorge rise, which jerked me in the opposite direction to the girl's bathroom, where I lost what little lunch I had ingested.