Episode 2.4:
Loyalty
Cassie traced her finger along the rim of the pale blue mug, the steam coming off her peppermint tea curling around her index finger. The purple hues of the early evening were streaming through the kitchen window, illuminating the room in a cool, soft glow. Outside, a soft spatter of rain hit the glass, the pitter-patter lulling Cassie's exhaustion near sleep. But she was waiting for the others, and had to keep herself alert for their meeting.
She hadn't slept much at all last night. After her abduction at the Homecoming dance, Adam, Jake and Faye had dropped her off. Jake was hesitant to leave her alone that night, but at Faye's insistence that she was fine and they would be just next door all night, he finally agreed and left. Adam nervously asked if she wanted him to stay on the couch downstairs, but she assured him that the worst had already passed, and the best thing she could do now was sleep and try to get rid of the soreness that remained in her throat. Adam nodded without saying much of anything in response, but assured her that he would talk to Diana and Melissa, and the whole Circle would meet at her house tomorrow to talk about what had happened.
And now it was around 6:30, and everyone would be over soon. Adam had texted her that Diana didn't want to come over at first, but he finally convinced her. Cassie tapped the screen of her phone, almost expecting another text saying Diana had changed her mind and wouldn't be there after all. Sighing, Cassie turned her phone over and got up to check the living room window to see if anyone had arrived yet. The pale purple light illuminated the charcoal gray of her leggings and the deeply dyed black of her tunic. She crossed her arms as she looked out the window, tiredly distracted by the glint of her silver earrings reflected against the wet window.
There was a knock at the door, and Cassie turned to look in the direction of the door. Her heart fluttered as she realized it could have been her half-brother…did she want to meet him again? Talk to him? She realized at that moment that she had been absentmindedly been wondering this all day, a part of her desperately wanting to talk to him. Did he know their father? Did he love their father? Did he know she killed him? Did he know why?
Whoever was at the door knocked again, and Cassie shook her head, coming out of her daze. She gingerly walked to the door, taking a deep breath as she pulled it open, waiting and half-hoping to see Parker's wiry frame and dark blue eyes on the other side.
It was Jake and Faye.
"Oh…hey," Cassie said, hearing the disappointment was evident in her voice. Jake seemed to notice as well, but Faye was oblivious, pushing past him and into the house. She peeled off her black leather jacket, draping it over the back of a chair.
"Is anyone else here yet?" She asked, smoothing her gray sweater's sleeves toward the rings of silver bracelets around her wrists.
"No," Cassie said, closing the door behind Jake. He was still looking at her with some concern.
"How are you doing?" he asked softly. "Did you get any sleep last night?'
"Oh, yeah. Just still…a little sore from yesterday," Cassie said, drawing her hand to her throat. Jake's gaze moved up from her throat and lingered on the dark circles drooping under Cassie's normally bright eyes. She pressed her lips together and turned around, hurrying to join Faye in the living room.
"Do you want anything to drink?" Cassie asked dully, still trying to avoid Jake's hovering. "Water? Tea? Juice?"
"What about something with a little more kick?" Faye asked, cozying into the couch and crossing her legs. "It's been a long weekend, after all." She batted her eyelashes and pushed her bottom lip out in a slight pout.
"Faye," Jake said in a low voice, part warning and part exasperation. Cassie wondered if they had been fighting again. He passed Cassie to go into the kitchen. "I'll get you some water."
There was another knock at the door. Cassie walked past an annoyed Faye in order to answer it, one eyebrow creeping slightly up her forehead as she saw Adam and Diana on the other side…together.
"Oh," she said softly, "hey." In her head, she finished I didn't realize you were coming together…How long have you been together?
"Cassie, how are you doing?" Adam asked, ushering Diana out of the rain, which had intensified from its earlier trickling. Diana's waves were frizzed from the water…but still beautiful. Cassie tensed as she noticed Adam's hand on Diana's back as he moved her through the front door.
"Fine, fine," Cassie assured him, shaking her head. "Why don't you two join Faye in the living room? Jake is getting drinks if you want anything. I see Melissa's stepmom's car down the road, I'll wait here for her." Adam nodded, and passed her. Diana kept her eyes low, avoiding eye contact with Cassie.
Slightly irritated still, Cassie watched Melissa park on the side of the road and exit the car. As soon as she saw Cassie standing in the doorway, she hurried up.
"Oh my god, Cassie, are you okay?" Melissa embraced Cassie, startling her somewhat. "I can't believe it…"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Cassie assured her. "Please, come in." She closed the door behind Melissa, and joined the rest of the Circle in the living room. Jake and Faye were sitting close to each other on the couch, his arm around her shoulders. Adam had settled into a chair, and Diana was standing near the fireplace, her arms crossed over her white sweater and her eyes still staring at the floorboards.
"So what exactly happened?" Melissa asked, taking a seat next to Faye. "Did one of the Balcoins actually attack you last night?" Her hazel eyes were full of concern and confusion.
"He was at the dance. And he knew who Cassie was." Jake said in a flat tone. Melissa raised her eyebrows, and Jake nodded. "He knew she was his…sister."
Cassie's jaw tightened as she heard Jake say it. There was something in his voice. Did he resent her for it?
"And he attacked you? Even with everyone at the dance?" Melissa followed up.
"He grabbed Cassie and ran," Adam said gruffly. "It was dim, it was crowded…Honestly, we barely even noticed ourselves. He took her to the cafeteria and attacked us there."
"He used dark magic," Faye added in a low voice, turning to face Melissa. "And we weren't strong enough to stop him."
"Then how did you?" Melissa trailed off.
"Diana," Jake said firmly. Cassie noticed the gaze in the room shift to Diana, who leaned back against the wall and kept her eyes on the floor. She didn't give any sign of wanting to jump into the conversation. There was a heavy pause in the room, punctuated by the splatter of angry rain against the window. The sun had disappeared, and the purple glow had gone with it. The living room was dark now, the only light coming from within the house. It cast eerie shadows across all their faces.
"Diana accessed her…Balcoin blood," Jake said carefully, trying to measure Diana's reaction. "She was the reason we got out of there."
"Well, that's good news, isn't it?" Melissa asked. "I mean, that means we have a chance against them if they come back."
"I won't use my dark magic again," Diana said firmly, finally looking up to face the group. The darkness in the room made her deep brown eyes look empty and angry. Cassie immediately noticed the heavy circles that were etched under her eyes as well. The shadows of the lamplight emphasized the lines and puffiness, and made Diana look almost frightening. Cassie had never seen her look like that before.
"Diana, no one is criticizing you," Adam said firmly. "We're saying you're the reason we're alive. You're the reason we saved Cassie."
"No," Diana said, lowering her arms and taking a step toward the others. "Using my dark magic was even more dangerous. What if something had happened? What if I lost control? What if he had used it against us?" Her posture was tense, her hands resting on her dark blue jeans as she stared nervously at the group. Cassie couldn't tell if she was waiting to defend herself in a fight or if she was looking for reassurance.
"But he didn't," Cassie said, growing impatient with Diana. "Look, I know you don't like having this inside you, and I know you don't like me for having it either—"
"Cassie, that's not fair—"
"—but we can't understand this, we can't understand what them being here means for us, if we don't work together." Cassie looked at her urgently.
"I think we just need to leave it alone," Diana said, her voice tight in her throat. She cast her eyes back down to the floor. "I don't want to use it again." Her voice was quiet and tense.
"What if it's our only chance?" Faye cut in suddenly. "We weren't strong enough to fight him. None of us, not even Cassie with her dark magic…" She looked around the group somberly. "He could stop her magic. Control it."
"Would we be stronger as a Circle?" Jake asked cautiously.
"We weren't all there, either," Adam said suddenly, looking up and gesturing toward Melissa. "Maybe it would have been different if it were all of us."
"I doubt it," Jake said. "We barely got out of there—it wasn't close at all."
"But we don't know that," Adam said breathily, smiling oddly. "There is still the chance. We shouldn't be so quick to bind the Circle."
Cassie looked at him with confusion. He used to be her ally in this…why was he so unwilling all of a sudden to have his power connected with everyone else's?
"I agree," Diana said roughly. "I don't want to use this dark magic, but I also don't think that being in a Circle will make it any easier. The more I can avoid magic altogether, the better things will be."
"Bad things are happening," Faye said, her voice serious and dangerous. "We need to be prepared for them. And I don't like feeling helpless."
"We will figure it out as things happen," Diana stated, her voice higher than before. "I mean, do we even have any reason to believe that they'll be coming back after last night?"
"Do we have any reason not to believe that?" Jake asked. "He probably would have killed Cassie if you hadn't been there. You realize that, don't you?"
Silence filled the room again, and Cassie looked at Diana, trying to understand what she was thinking.
"If things get worse," Diana said, barely above a whisper. "If we have no other options…we will talk about this again then. But for now, I can't keep doing this. I'm not part of this Circle anymore."
With that, Diana fled across the room, opening the door and slipping out into the wet darkness outside. She left behind her a heavy wake of silence.
"Well, that went well!" Faye said, standing up and sliding her hands down her black jeans. "Now how about that drink I was talking about earlier?"
"Do you think it's safe out there for us?" Melissa asked, looking at Cassie.
Cassie stepped closer to the others, sighing and crossing her arms. "No," she said firmly. "I don't. I think everyone needs to be looking out for themselves, and I think we need to look out for each other."
"We'll figure out why they're here and what they want," Jake said, standing up and taking Faye's hand in his. "But Cassie's right. We need to be looking out for each other."
Melissa pulled her phone out of her pocket, sighing. "I'm sorry, you guys—I need to go. I didn't tell my stepmom I was taking her car, and she needs to get some things for dinner…"
"It's okay," Faye said. "We'll walk out with you." She looked up at Jake. "I should probably get home too. My mom is crazier than usual lately." Cassie noticed Faye's eyes darken, and wondered what she had meant about her mom.
As the three walked over to the door, Jake paused and looked Cassie seriously in the eyes. "Please be careful," he said in a low voice. "You know we're all here for you. Say something if you need help."
"I…I will," Cassie said, nodding. "Have a good night." The three walked through the door as Cassie held it for them. She turned to look at Adam. "You too?" she asked.
"I should go find Diana," he sighed, walking after her. "I drove her here; I don't want her walking home by herself."
"Yeah, you should go get her," Cassie agreed, nodding her head and forcing a smile.
Adam stood close to Cassie as he was about to leave. He hesitantly took her hand, looking at her intensely. "I don't want anything to happen to you," he said softly.
Cassie looked up at him, her heart pounding in her chest. "Thanks," she croaked out, her eyes stinging slightly. That familiar lump returned to her throat.
Adam released her hand and pulled up his sweatshirt hood as he ducked into the wet Sunday night. Cassie left the door open a crack to watch him slip into his car, shutting the door behind him. The headlights beamed forward, and the dark silhouette of a cat burst across the road from Cassie's yard towards Jake's.
Sighing, Cassie closed the door, pressing her back against it and feeling the cool, smooth surface against her neck. She pushed her hair back out of her face and went toward the kitchen, deciding that she would have some dinner, a bath, and then go straight to bed. It had become her ritual of loneliness and confusion.
Diana's teeth chattered slightly as her foot landed in yet another puddle on the cracked cement. She was desperately wishing for something warmer than a cotton sweater and skinny jeans right now, and almost regretted launching herself out of Cassie's house like that. But she couldn't take it anymore. She didn't know how to be around her friends anymore without thinking of themselves as a Circle. And she didn't know how to handle Cassie's judgment of Diana believing she was better than everyone else when she was still hiding her father's dark secret of killing Cassie's mother.
The sound of tires slicing through rain puddles snapped Diana out of her thoughts, and she turned around to see Adam's car pull up behind her. She squinted as the headlights landed on her.
"Get in, Diana!" Adam called through the window. "I'll drive you home."
"I can walk," Diana yelled back, turning around and taking another step directly into a puddle. She winced as she looked down at her poor, sopping wet boots.
"Please let me drive you!" Adam called back. Diana looked up at the sloshing gray sky and considered the 15 minutes more it would take to walk back to her house. Sighing, she swallowed her pride and hurried to the passenger seat of Adam's car.
"Here, warm yourself up a little," Adam said gently, pulling a Southwestern-printed blanket from the back seat.
Diana gratefully took the blanket and pulled it up to her chin. It smelled like motor oil and brine, and immediately made her think of being on the boat with Adam. Her heart fluttered a little under the lightness of the memories.
"Are you okay?" Adam asked.
Diana turned and saw the concern on his face. "I'm fine," she sighed. "Just…I'm fine." She stopped herself from saying anything more, and lowered the blanket away from her face. Sinking back into memories of happier, easier times was making her vulnerable.
"I think Cassie just wants to be close with you again," Adam said as he pulled back onto the road and took a left toward Diana's house. "She's not meaning to upset you."
"Can we not talk about this?" Diana asked tersely, turning to look out the window.
"I just think it would be good for both of you if you made up with each other," Adam continued. "You both lost a lot last year."
"Adam." Diana's voice was low and firm. "Just stop." She felt tears welling up in her eyes and clenched her throat against them.
The two of them sat in silence until Adam reached Diana's front door. Diana looked from the blanket to the warm glow of her living room and then finally to Adam. There was a mixture of concern and apology on his face.
"I'll talk to you later," Diana said quickly as she pushed the blanket off and opened the door. She could tell by the way Adam was holding his mouth that he wanted to keep talking to her, but also knew better than to keep her. It made her want to stay safely wrapped in the car and confide in him. She hated that she knew him this well still…
"Good night, Diana." Adam said simply.
"Good night." Diana closed the door behind her and hurried up the walkway to her front door. She slid inside, grateful for the rush of warm air and the aroma of the casserole that had been slow-cooking in the kitchen all day.
"Grandma Kate?" Diana called out as she struggled out of her wet shoes. She realized even her socks were wet as she peeled them off, revealing pale, cold feet. The hardwood floors felt sticky and cool against the bare bottoms of her clammy feet. Shivering again, she decided to go upstairs and change out of her wet clothes before she tried to find her Grandma.
Gingerly leaping up the stairs, Diana slid into her room and peeled off her wet jeans and sweater. She pulled her damp hair back into a pony tail, and went to her dresser, pulling out a pair of black yoga pants and a CHHS sweatshirt. Not the most fashionable, but definitely warm and inviting. Sitting on her bed and slipping on a pair of wool socks, Diana took a deep breath and fell back onto her bed, staring at the ceiling.
She turned as she heard her grandmother's voice in the quiet. It was muffled, but she could tell by the low tones that it was serious. More serious than Kate ever allowed herself to talk to Diana about anymore—everything was always "fine," and whenever she tried to approach her granddaughter about their shared pain over Charles, Diana couldn't help but push her away.
As quietly as she could, Diana tiptoed over to her desk, where the phone was still sitting from her earlier conversation with Adam—after she had ignored her cell phone after five calls and eight texts, Adam called on the landline, a tactic Diana hadn't expected, and had tricked her into defeat when Kate handed over the phone.
Softly pressing the answer button and holding her breath and she drew the phone to her ear, Diana listened in on the other end, where an unfamiliar female voice was speaking.
"—they aren't conclusive, but that's part of the problem as well. Your son's condition remains stable, but without understanding why he slipped into the coma in the first place, it's difficult to treat the coma in any way that might reverse the cause."
"Yes," Kate said, her voice weak. "I understand, Doctor."
Diana felt rage well up in her chest. Her grandmother knew exactly why her father was in that coma—she had done it to him! She told Diana it was her only way to save Charles, but how did Diana know to trust her? Was there something she could have done instead? It was the same spell Amelia had performed on Heather, but Amelia was just as young and unexperienced as they were. Her Grandma Kate had been practicing witchcraft for 60 years. She should have brought Charles to a healer of their own kind, not left him go into that nursing home.
"We will be running more diagnostic tests next week to see if we can detect some of the more subtle possibilities that may be causing the coma. These might give us some better insight, but it would be unlikely that we could develop a full treatment plan based on the results."
The doctor's voice felt cold and far away to Diana, and she slowly lowered herself to sit on the edge of her bed, staring blankly at her window as beads of rain swelled and rolled down the glass. The inky blue hue of the night sky cast a dark patch on her carpet, where the reflections of raindrops danced and quivered in the wind.
"Please keep me updated. I'll be in to visit him later this week." Kate's voice was strained and higher-pitched than usual. Hearing it, Diana realized just how much her grandmother had aged in these past few months.
"Of course. Have a good evening, Ms. Meade." With that, the doctor hung up, and Diana gently placed the phone on her comforter, still fixated on the window.
Hearing the conversation made her feel like her father was truly sick, truly lost, dying like every other human. Her heart tugged at the knowledge that it wasn't that simple though. He was a witch, he had demons in him. He was dying a horrific death, perhaps—or stuck forever in limbo? There was so much Diana didn't understand, Kate wouldn't say, and Diana was too afraid to find out about.
Her chest tightened as she admitted to herself that she wouldn't be joining Kate on the visit. She couldn't stand to see her father like that—sitting up in his bed, staring at the wall, expressionless. His skin was pale and too loose on his face. His eyes were glossy and empty. He had lost weight, and his shoulders poked uncharacteristically from the clinic pajamas he wore, making him look like he was clenching his body. The first time Diana had seen him she had to leave to cry in the bathroom for twenty minutes before she could return. She didn't know who this man was anymore. She didn't know if mourning him in spite of what he did to Amelia Blake made her just as guilty as he was.
But why would he kill her? Diana had asked herself this question a million times, staring up at her ceiling at three in the morning and trying to figure out what her father possibly had to gain by taking away Cassie's mother. She had tried to explain it as a heroic act, as if he were somehow trying to prevent John Blackwell's takeover before it happened—but she knew this was a lie, and attempting to trick herself just made her feel sick, and she would turn over in her bed, staring at the wall and feeling small in the cool silence of her bedroom.
And all this time there was a wedge driving Cassie and Diana further apart, a distance Cassie explained with Diana's resentment for dark magic and letting Blackwell gain so much control over the Circle last year. But Cassie had no idea that Diana was hiding her father's darkest secret, that she was carrying the burden alone. Cassie pleaded to be close again, for the Circle to rebind and become whole again—but how could Diana betray Cassie like that? What if Diana was just as bad as her father was? How could he have done something so evil?
Diana came back to herself when she heard Kate's footsteps moving softly along the ivory carpet in the hallway, and she quickly hit the "end call" button on the phone and shoved it under her pillow. There was a knock at the door, and Diana swallowed the knot in her throat and walked to the door.
"Hi, sweetheart," Kate said, smiling with a strained effort. Diana's eyes lingered around the lines tracing Kate's lips, the puffiness under her eyes, and the gaunt hollowness that was beginning to show around her cheeks. "I didn't hear you come in. I was on the phone."
"Oh, it's okay," Diana said with a shrug, her voice a little higher than usual. She had never been good at lying to her father, and that inability seemed to transfer over just as easily to her grandmother. "I just wanted to get some dry clothes on right away."
"Of course. Well, I'm going to start dinner. Chicken casserole all right?"
"That sounds amazing, Grandma," Diana said, finally looking down at the floor. "I'll be down soon. I'm going to try to finish up my English homework really quick."
"All right, dear," Kate said, kissing Diana's cheek before heading back down the hallway.
Diana closed her bedroom door, and then took a seat at her desk, absentmindedly thumbing through the copy of Great Expectations she was going to be leading a discussion of in class tomorrow. She stared out the window, waiting for something she couldn't name.
Faye sat in the passenger seat of Jake's car, her arms crossed across her chest and her eyes staring hard at her front door through the window.
"Faye, come on," Jake coaxed, brushing the back of his hand against her arm. "We've done this already."
"Yeah, and you keep telling me that there's nothing I have to worry about," Faye snapped, turning to look at him. Her voice dropped in tone, the brashness disappearing. "Yet you keep giving me things to worry about." The insecurity that Faye Chamberlain rarely let anyone see head-on came through in that statement.
"Cassie?" Jake asked, eyebrows rising slightly. "I'm worried about her; I'm worried about all of us. There are apparently four other Blackwells full to the brim with dark magic ready to take us down. If they get to her, they get to all of us. To you, Faye." She had looked back down at the floor, but Jake lifted her chin so they were facing each other. "This isn't me having feelings for Cassie," he said softly. "This is me trying to protect our Circle."
"Every time something happens to her," Faye said, her jaw clenched, "you act like you couldn't stand the thought of losing her. You care about her."
"Of course I care about her; she's part of our Circle," Jake replied.
"You know what I mean," Faye said tensely, moving her face to look back out the window.
"I don't know how to prove to you that it's over between us. I don't have those kinds of feelings for her anymore," Jake sighed, placing his hands back on the steering wheel. "What do you want me to do for you to prove that?"
"I don't know," Faye sighed, pushing the door open and stepping out into the rain. "I'll let you know when I figure it out," she said, slamming the door and turning quickly on her heel to dart through the rain and through the front door.
Once inside, she started to wiggle out of her wet boots, the cold from both her argument with Jake and the bitter rain numbing her skin.
"Faye?" Dawn called, walking out of the living room. She was still holding a magazine she had been reading.
"Hey, mom," Faye sighed, walking toward the staircase. "I'm going to go change out of these wet clothes—"
"Not so fast, Faye," Dawn said, crossing her arms. "We need to talk."
Faye pushed her lips together, pausing on the first step. This again? she thought, her head falling back slightly. All her mom wanted to do was fight with her lately…
"What?" Faye asked, exasperated, turning to face her mother's cold stare.
"Jennie Coleman shared some of Alyssa's photos from the Homecoming dance last night on Facebook."
"Okay…" Faye stared at her mother, trying to figure out how Mrs. Coleman or her daughter had anything to do with her.
"And guess who was in the background of a picture of Alyssa and her friends?"
"I don't know, mother," Faye said in a fake sweet voice, wishing she would just get to the point.
"Jake Armstrong."
Faye froze, her shoulders tightening as she understood her mom's dark gaze. The cold numbness started to fade from Faye's body and was replaced with a warm flush of embarrassment and nervousness.
"Well, I—" Faye stumbled, trying to figure out what to say.
"I explicitly told you that you were not to break the rules and sneak him into the dance!" Dawn yelled, her temper finally breaking through her barely contained cool exterior. "Where were you possibly confused on that?"
"Mom, he's my boyfriend!" Faye yelled back, stomping up a couple steps.
"Yes, and I wish he wasn't!" Dawn shot back.
Faye froze on the steps and then turned to look at Dawn. "What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, her voice small and hurt.
"Do you think I've forgotten what it was like the first time the two of you dated? Faye, I don't believe he's changed. I don't want to see the same thing happen to you again. He hurt you so much; do you have any idea what it was like for me as your mother as I watched you—"
"I get it, Mom!" Faye yelled, interrupting. "But you're wrong. He has changed." She paused, the two of them staring intensely at each other. "Losing Nick changed him…"
Dawn sighed, her arms dropping from her hips. She rested her forehead in her hand as she tried to figure out what to say to her daughter.
"I'll believe it when I see it," she said, voice no longer so much angry as it was exhausted. "And it doesn't seem like that's going to happen anytime soon since you hide him from me the way you do."
"I didn't think you would—"
"Faye." Dawn stopped her by holding up her hand, a move Faye was even surprised managed to silence her. "This isn't the time. You're grounded. You went behind my back and did something I explicitly told you not to do, something that hurt me both personally and professionally."
"You aren't seriously trying to ground me again, are you?" Faye asked, shocked laugher lining her words. "We tried this already." She rolled her eyes and started up the stairs again.
"Yes, and I'm serious this time." Dawn said. The graveness of her voice managed to stop Faye once more. She turned to face her mother.
"You are grounded, Faye Victoria. For the next week, the only reason you are going in or out of this house is to go to school."
"Are you freaking kidding me?" Faye exploded. The coldness and hard exterior of her mother answered that question for her though. "I can't believe this!" Faye screamed, racing up the stairs and slamming her door. The entire act made her feel like a child again, a sixth grader furiously fighting her mother on whether or not she could go to the mall with her friends without someone's mom there, or when she was going to be allowed to wear make-up to school. And here she was, seventeen, screaming at her mother about a school dance and her boyfriend. She was furious both at her mother for treating her like a child and at herself for acting like one.
Grabbing a pillow from the end of her bed, Faye threw it across the room, flinging herself onto the bed in its place, feeling tears in the corner of her eyes.
Cassie pulled the drain on the bathtub, letting the hot water begin to swirl down and disappear. Grabbing the fluffy white towel sitting on the chair next to the tub, she wrapped herself up in its enormous warmth, feeling a brief sense of relief wash over her. She closed her eyes, deeply inhaling the lavender and chamomile scent that filled the room from the bath salts. They had been a gift from Kate Meade; she regularly dropped off care packages for Cassie.
For a moment, the soft cream color of the bathroom and the sweet scent that surrounded her let her fade gently into a lull where the anxiety, stress, and depression of the past year couldn't touch her. She ached for that simplicity again. Wiping the moisture off her forehead and wrapping the towel around her body, Cassie sighed as the present caught back up to her.
She walked over to her dresser, pulling out a white lace tank top and dusty rose pink shorts, sliding them on and crawling under the covers of her bed. Ever since Kate Meade had started including college brochures in Cassie's care kits, she had wondered if this was the end of her life as it had just started—if she would ever see Diana, Adam, Faye, Melissa or Jake again, if she would stay here or go back to California or Texas or one of the other places Amelia had moved them to as she ran from a threat Cassie never knew of until her mother was gone. She wondered if it was a start to a new life, a chance to be normal again, or just a way to become more distanced to the only people who she ever really had.
Rolling onto her side and turning off the light, Cassie let the room slip into darkness, with the soft glow of the stars on her ceiling drawing her eyes upward. For the billionth time since she moved here, she thought of her mother at her age lying in bed and looking up at them. Cassie wondered what her mother dreamed of during her last year of high school—was she planning on going to college? Staying in Washington? There was so much Cassie just never knew. She sighed, realizing she never would, and drifted into sleep as the bathtub scents drifted into her bedroom and washed over her.
Cassie.
Startled, Cassie jolted upright, turning her lamp back on and looking around the room. It was still, with only the patter of rain on the windows. She rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up more rapidly. Her breathing had quickened—she knew she heard someone speak her name. Had she?
Shaking her head and scoffing at herself, Cassie thought, It has been a long weekend. You're imagining things. It was a dream. Turning her light back off, she buried her face in her soft pillow, trying to focus again on finding that lavender and chamomile scent that had lulled her into what had been such an easy sleep.
The room returned to darkness, the sound of the rain coaxing Cassie back toward relaxation. Her breathing evened again, and the weight of the comforter against her skin brought her back into a feeling of relaxation. After about ten minutes, her eyelids became heavy and she felt her body drift back into slumber.
Cassie!
"Who's there?" Cassie shouted, flinging the comforter off her body and turning on the light. She stood up, looking around the room, her heart racing and breathing quickening. No one answered. She rubbed her eyes again, feeling a dull pounding in the back of her head that was slightly distorting her vision.
The voice had been female. It was melodic, and for some reason the first thing Cassie thought of to describe it was honey. It was intriguing more than it was threatening, but shivers were still running down Cassie's spine. It felt too real to have been a dream.
"Who is there?" Cassie called again, walking to the window and ripping the curtains open. Leaves swayed on the trees outside as they were tossed around by the wind and rain. Jake's bedroom window was dark. No one was outside.
Turning back and walking to her bedroom door, Cassie carefully turned the doorknob and looked down the hallway. More dark quiet. Everything was still.
Closing the door and letting her body fall against it, Cassie's brow furrowed as she tried to decide whether or not she was hearing things in the storm that her mind was turning into voices and dreams. Cautiously, she tiptoed back into bed, drawing the covers up. Her eyes remained wide open, staring at the stars on the ceiling.
Her body tense and unmoving, Cassie lay like that for another half hour, waiting for the voice to return. Nothing did, though, and eventually the sounds of the storm pulled her into a deep, heavy sleep.
Cassie shook her head, dazed by the sudden buzzing of the bell urging her to get to class. She yanked on the lock, pulling open her locker and grabbing her Political Science textbook. Turning quickly on her heel, she almost crashed into Diana.
"Oh! Oh gosh, I'm sorry, Diana," Cassie said in a frazzled voice, taking a step backward. "I've been so spacey all morning—"
"It's okay," Diana replied, taking a step backward as well. "I've been feeling the same way."
The two stood there, Cassie trying to divert her eye contact. Diana felt so awkward and tense around her. Since when is this how they acted together? Was it because of last night?
"Do you want to head to class?" Cassie finally asked, gesturing down the hallway. "We're both going there," she said through a laugh. Her nervousness made her feel like this was the first time they were ever really talking together, not what it should be like talking to your best friend.
"Yeah," Diana said, taking a deep breath and forcing a smile. Cassie tried to smile back, and the girls walked slowly down the hall together.
"I guess it's just a spacey kind of day," Cassie said, shrugging. The heels on her brown boots felt unusually heavy.
"I just didn't sleep well last night," Diana mumbled, pushing her long hair out of her face. "Weird dreams or something."
"Yeah, same here," Cassie said, curiously. She turned and looked up at Diana. "I had weird dreams, too. I mean, I think I did, at least. I can't really remember them too clearly…" She trailed off, still feeling a bit dazed and groggy from her strange night's sleep last night.
"Maybe it was the storm," Diana said, smiling and picking up her pace slightly. As the two turned the corner, the sunlight that had returned poured through the tall windows, washing them in an almost blinding curtain of brightness.
"Yeah," Cassie said, trying to shake off the feeling. "I guess so."
The bell rang once more as the two slid through the door to their Government classroom. Cassie walked to her desk at the back of the class next to Melissa, watching as Diana slid into her desk at the front of the room in front of Adam's.
Cassie sighed as Mr. Flint stood up and began scrawling out some page numbers on the board. Maybe Diana was right, maybe it was just a weird night. But she still couldn't shake off the feeling that somehow their dreams were connected.
Mr. Flint began speaking, and Cassie turned from the window she had been gazing at and looked toward the front of the room again, wondering absentmindedly how Adam felt about sitting behind Diana.
Melissa pushed open the doors of the Boathouse, looking around the room. Usually she and Faye would head down together after school, but she had spent most of the day dealing with the nuclear fallout of Faye being grounded. Dawn had even made sure to escort Faye home after their last class let out, waiting outside of their classroom and leading Faye straight to the faculty parking lot. Finding herself suddenly abandoned and lonely, Melissa was now heading to the Boathouse as a party of one, hoping to run into one of her friends…or Troy.
She slid into a booth, enjoying the crystalline reflections of the sunshine on the ocean. She glanced around the restaurant once more, trying to find a familiar face, but no one stood out.
"Hi, Melissa," Ethan said, placing a menu on the table. "How are you?"
"Oh, hi, Mr. Conant," Melissa said, smiling. "Where's Adam? Doesn't he normally work now?"
"Yeah, he's not feeling too well," Ethan replied. "He's in his room resting. Worried he caught a bug at school. Can I get you something to drink?"
"Oh, uh, no. Actually, would it be okay if I went and talked to Adam really quick?"
"Sure," Ethan said with a shrug. "I don't see why not. I'll bring you another menu when you're back." He smiled and turned around to greet the newest group that had walked through the door.
Melissa stood up, grabbing her purse and sliding out the booth. She walked outside again, heading over to find Adam. She still had some questions about the Homecoming dance that she wanted answered.
Diana sat at the kitchen table, the white pages of her math homework bright against the wood's dark hue. She tapped her pencil against the table, trying to figure out a particularly tricky problem she had been stuck on. She reached for her calculator as a message popped up on her phone.
It was Grant.
Diana sighed, leaning back into the chair. She felt like she had been avoiding him lately, but had no idea why she would be. She had just been in such a bad mood lately, had wanted to avoid being around anyone who knew her well enough that she thought they might be able to figure her out. Today she could barely keep eye contact with Cassie, horrified the girl would somehow be able to look into her and find the secret she had been hiding since last spring.
Diana opened the text message. Grant was asking if he could take her to dinner tomorrow night. She placed the phone back down on the table and grabbed her pencil, not sure what she wanted to reply yet. Scoffing at herself, she picked up the phone and forced herself to reply "Sounds great! Pick me up at 7?".
She put the phone back down, grateful Grant hadn't called. She didn't think she could force her voice to sound happy or light under the pressure she was feeling right now.
Grant texted back, and she picked her phone back up to see his reply: "Perfect! I'll see you then. Italian sound good?"
Diana sighed, texting back "Yes!". She looked at the exclamation point and all its forced enthusiasm. She added a smiley face just for good measure before sending it off.
She tossed the phone around in her hands, wondering if she should text Cassie too, ask her if she wanted to get coffee after school one day this week. She started trying to type out the message. Every way she phrased things sounded awkward and strained, though. Frustrated, she pushed the phone away from her and tried to tackle the equation in front of her.
Faye sat on the end of her bed, glaring across the room. Her mother had stalked her down after the bell rang at the end of the day, insisting Faye get in the car. She had driven her home without a single word, told her to get in the house, and said she'd be back in an hour or two. Faye had purposefully slammed the door and stomped up the walkway, but it didn't seem to affect her mother in the slightest.
Grabbing her phone from where it was sitting, she punched in Jake's number and waited for him to pick up.
"Hey, babe," Jake said, his voice far too happy given Faye had already informed him of her captivity last night. Her mom hadn't mentioned anything about taking away her phone, but she had made sure to call after Dawn had gone to bed and thought Faye was also asleep, just in case.
"How's it like on the outside? Does freedom feel good? I've forgotten," Faye hissed, falling back on her bed and staring at the ceiling.
"C'mon, Faye," Jake coaxed. "This week will be over before you know it."
"Yeah, after I have my bread-and-water diet and the overseer breaks my spirit. You have no idea what conditions here are like." Faye pushed her palm against her forehead, pressing her lips together in anger. "Look, you have to get me out of here," she urged. "Come by tonight after my mom goes to bed and bring me to your place."
"Yeah, that sounds like the perfect way to convince your mom I've changed."
"I don't care what she thinks of you."
"Well, I do," Jake said, his voice softening. Faye's eyebrow rose up her forehead.
"Since when?"
"If this is going to be a long-term thing, I want to be in your mother's good graces."
Faye felt a slight smile creep up the corners of her mouth. There was a soft moment of silence between the two of them.
"We're a long-term thing now?" she asked, her voice playful.
"Don't you want us to be?"
She loved the sincerity in his voice.
"Well, I mean, I guess," Faye said, getting up and starting to pace across the room. "I don't usually think that far ahead, though. I like to live life in the moment." She wondered how many more times she could get him to say that if she strung him along like this.
"Well, I am thinking that far ahead."
The simple statement made her light up. "Well, I still think you should come over," she said, turning on her heel and swaying side to side. "We could have fun tonight…" She bit her lip and rolled the ball of her foot.
"I can't tonight. I have plans."
"Like work plans?" Faye asked, brightness fading.
"No, other stuff."
"Like what?" Faye asked, the warm smile pulling taut into a frown. "Cassie?"
"No, not Cassie. I…I'm going to look into a few things. I'll let you know if I find out anything."
"Jake, if you want this to be long-term then you better get used to being honest with me," Faye warned, her voice harsh.
"And you've got to get used to trusting me," Jake replied. Faye bit her bottom lip. She knew he was right. He had been totally devoted to her all summer, she knew deep down he wasn't doing anything that could hurt her.
"Let's make a deal," she said coyly. "I don't ask questions now, you tell me when you figure out whatever it is you're working on. Honesty and trust."
"You got it," Jake said, that playful, throaty tone in his voice that drove her wild.
Faye heard the sounds of a car pulling into the driveway, and quickly walked out to the hallway to look out front.
"My mom is here," she sighed. "I have to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"All right. Faye…" Jake hesitated. "Have a good night."
"You too," she said, voice slightly far away. She hung up the phone and went back into her bedroom, closing the door behind her as she heard her mother call her name.
"Adam?" Melissa called, slipping down the stairs into Adam and Ethan's houseboat. There was no reply. Melissa continued walking through the kitchen and back toward Adam's room. Everything was so quiet she wondered if he was asleep and if she should turn around and go back. He had seemed quieter than usual today at school, maybe he was coming down with something.
Adam's bedroom door was cracked open, and she could see movement coming from inside. She pushed the door slightly, saying, "Hey, your dad said you were—"
She paused, stunned. Her mouth hung open as she and Adam made eye contact. He was sitting at his desk under the window, his hands grasping the Crystal Skull.
"Oh my god," Melissa said under her breath, taking a step backwards. "You—but—Adam," she gasped, shaking her head. "How could you?"
"It's not like that," Adam said, his voice rapid. His cheeks were flushed and his green eyes were glinting with some sort of look in them she had never seen before. There was a smile stuck in the corners of his mouth that even the tension between them right now couldn't push away. He stood up and took a step toward Melissa. She stepped backward involuntarily.
"What is going on?" She demanded, looking back at the dark skull on the desk. She could feel it pulsing, almost hear a heartbeat in the room that belonged to it. It felt warm and cold to her at the same time, pulling her toward it. She imagined herself reaching into it, could almost feel the sensation of power and ecstasy coursing through her body. An enormous sensation of fear stopped her from reaching out to it though, kept her away from both it and Adam. She could feel sweat breaking out along her forehead, her pulse increasing, her breath becoming lighter and rapid. She wanted it…she wanted Adam because he was a part of it.
"I'm trying to get rid of it," Adam said, reaching out to Melissa and grabbing her wrist. His grip was warm and shot sensation all the way down her arm. She looked up at him, short of breath, feeling like she could collapse. She was somehow frozen like that, gasping for breath.
"Let's get in the fresh air," Adam said, looking the sweat along Melissa's hairline and the red color that was creeping along her face and neck. "Its power is…intense."
He led her up the stairs and back onto the boat. The cool, salty smell seemed to smack Melissa in the face, drenching the sweat in her hair. The wind lightly moving through the sails of nearby boats pushed the damp curls off her neck, and she felt like she could finally breathe again. The brightness of day had lessened into a gray, woolly sky. Its dullness somehow soothed her, made her realize how overwhelmed by every single one of her senses she had been downstairs.
"What the hell is going on?" She finally demanded, turning out of the wind and facing Adam. His cheeks were no longer flushed, his smile had disappeared. But there was still a glow in his eyes, their color unusually green.
"I'm trying to destroy it," Adam sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. His stance both blocked her from moving back down to his bedroom and also revealed the enormous exhaustion in his posture.
"Yeah, last spring," Melissa spat back. "Why the hell is it still in your bedroom?"
"It's too powerful," Adam sighed. "I know you felt it down there." He looked up, eyes locking with Melissa in an intense way that brought the color back to her cheeks. She turned around again, cooling her face in the wind.
"I've tried everything so far," Adam continued. "Nothing has been powerful enough to destroy it yet. And if I do it the wrong way…" His voice trailed off, but Melissa knew enough to fill in the blank.
"Why wouldn't you tell us?" Melissa asked, her voice soft and quiet, sounding more hurt than anything. She turned to face him, locking in on his too-green eyes.
"What would have happened if I did?" Adam asked, taking a step forward and lowering his arms. "I didn't know if its power would be too much of a temptation for Cassie and her dark magic, or even Diana since hers had just been activated." He took another step forward, his voice full of concern, his eyes still too glassy. "And you know better than anyone what Faye is like, what she may have considered doing. And Jake…well, even if we trust him, I still don't trust the people who might come looking for him and what they would do with it."
There was a moment of silence between them, Melissa looking out at the boats around them, feeling an enormous sense of pressure coming from Adam's intense gaze on her.
"And me?" She finally whispered. Her throat was sore, her voice raspy.
"I just wanted to keep it a secret so it didn't tempt anyone, bring back the danger we fought so hard against last year."
"I understand," Melissa sighed, taking a seat. She felt exhausted somehow.
There was more silence, Adam still staring at her.
"So what are you going to do with it?" She finally asked, facing Adam again.
"I'm looking through every book on witchcraft I can find," he sighed. "I'm trying to find something." His eyes moved off of her and toward the Boathouse and the people filtering in and out. She was glad to have the intensity of his stare off of her. The prickling across her skin seemed to calm.
There was more silence, and eventually Adam returned his gaze to Melissa. She nodded, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Are you going to tell anyone?" Adam asked, a sense of vulnerability coming through his voice for the first time. He took a clumsy step toward her. She thought he looked drunk for a moment.
"Do you not want me to?" Melissa asked.
"I just…I don't want Cassie to…" He shook his head, looking up. "I don't want her to use her dark magic. And I don't want Faye to get any ideas either. You know she's getting bored by her individual magic already."
"I know," Melissa said wearily, looking at the ground. Even with Cassie and Diana's dark magic, she still felt the Skull was a bigger threat to Faye. "I won't tell anyone," she said.
"Thank you," Adam exhaled, voice full of relief and gratitude. He walked over to Melissa and took her hand in his. She could still feel traces of the Skull's power reaching into her veins, warming her. She wanted to pull her hand away but couldn't.
"You're welcome," she choked out. She met his gaze. "But please…tell me when you figure out how to do it."
"Of course," Adam said, nodding.
"Look, I should get going now," Melissa said, pulling her hands away and standing up. "I'll see you tomorrow at school." The two stood staring at each other for a moment before Melissa added, "Be careful, Adam."
He nodded, and Melissa turned, walking as quickly as she could without running. She wanted to get far, far away from the Skull. It felt deadly, terrifying. But there was still a part of her that wanted it, and that desire frightened her almost as much as the power pulsing off of it did.
Jake pulled into his grandfather's driveway. The fall colors were bursting in the trees around the neighborhood, suggesting warmth awaiting him at his destination. Once he pulled into the driveway, though, it disappeared. Somehow the leaves on the trees and bushes managed to cast an enormous shadow across the driveway and lawn, leaving the house looking dark and pushed away from everything else on the street.
Jake stepped outside of the truck, feeling colder in the shadows. The evening had cooled into a damp gray, and he saw a few beads of rain gathering on the windshield of his car. Quietly walking up to the front door, Jake knocked lightly, his head cocked toward the door as he listened for anyone on the other side. Nothing moved, no one answered. As usual.
With a sigh, Jake pressed his palm against the door, hearing the many locks unlatching. With the final pop, he pushed the door open, and walked inside to the cold, empty interior.
Ever since the beginning of the summer, he had been coming out here periodically, trying to get a hold of his grandfather. The first time, he had spent the entire day and most of the night out there, finally leaving at three in the morning so he could get some sleep before work. Royce had never shown up. The same thing had happened a few more times. Royce hadn't had a phone for a very long time because of his paranoia, but even when Jake tried contacting the utilities companies they told him that Royce had automatic payments set up, and they hadn't seen or heard from him in months. Jake was surprised his grandfather would use automatic payments—he seemed much more the type to go to the companies and pay in cash—but he thanked them and refrained from divulging too much information or reporting the man missing. Something told him Royce had disappeared on his own behalf, and he would return when he was ready.
The house was just as empty as it was the last time Jake had come out at the end of August. Nothing had moved—it was as if Royce had been gone for months. Jake assumed he had been.
He slowly walked to what he had called the conspiracy wall a few months earlier. Lately, he had felt himself drawn more and more strongly toward it, wondering what else about their Circle and their future could be deciphered from it. He had pored over it these past few months, looking for clues about the Balcoin siblings, what was in store for them. So far, he couldn't figure out anything more than they already knew, what his grandfather had already told them.
Frustrated, Jake's head dropped toward the floor. There was no sign of Royce. He wouldn't be here today.
Jake reached toward the vial of white, rocky substance he had been sent by his grandfather last spring. He kept it tied around his neck most of the time now. He still couldn't figure out what it meant, what it would do, but he knew it was important, and it was the last thing his granddad had given him before disappearing. And even if he had been ostracized as a crazy, raving old man, Royce had been one of the most powerful witches in his Circle. Whatever was in that vial, it was important.
With a sigh, Jake paced back out of the house, locking it behind him. He could come back in a few weeks and see if anything was different then. He hoped they wouldn't be in any more danger by then.
Cassie sat cross-legged on her bedroom floor, surrounded by candles and spell books. She had found a trunk of them in Jane's bedroom after she passed away, and had spent the summer learning from them. Most of it couldn't be performed outside of a Circle without using her dark magic, something she tried to limit whenever possible. But this was an emergency.
She lifted the sage, dipping it into a candle's flame. The end charred, a bit falling onto the black of her jeans and disappearing into them. With a deep breath, Cassie moved the sage in the counter-clockwise motion the spell called for, the heady smoke coming up in plumes and filling her nostrils with the sweet, spicy scent.
With her left hand, Cassie moved the rose quartz into the middle of the circle of candles on the floor. It seemed to glow as she moved the sage along the circumference.
She repeated the motion three times, and then lowered the sage onto the floor above the quartz. The sage continued to smolder without burning into the floor. The quartz continued to warm and glow.
"Reveal," Cassie whispered, lowering her palm above the quartz and sage. She could feel the smoke rising up against the slight dampness of her palm, curling along the edges of her hand and working its way through the cracks between her fingers.
The rose quartz lightly buzzed and throbbed, barely enough for Cassie to notice. The sage suddenly puffed out a large cloud of smoke, which Cassie quickly leaned in to inhale. She closed her eyes, focusing on the scent and the sensation of it moving down her throat.
Her mind clear, she suddenly began to see a face forming in some distance of her mind. Closing her eyes tighter, Cassie focused on it. A pair of blue eyes emerged. At first, she thought they were her own. As they continued to form, she saw they were not—they were paler, and framed in much darker lashes. Long, dark hair fell in waves around the eyes, and the cheeks and lips began to fill in. Everything started getting blurry, and Cassie breathed deeply again, trying to focus on recovering the image.
She heard the same voice again: Cassie. Again, the sound seemed to be like honey to Cassie. Her brows lowered as she continued to focus, but now the voice was fading away and the eyes and dark hair were disappearing from her mind's eye. She continued to inhale deeply, trying to capture both. The voice weakened, eventually tapered off completely. She lost the image of the face, could barely recall it at all.
There was a hissing sound, and Cassie opened her eyes to see the sage had burned to its end. The quartz looked cloudy and cold once more.
Picking up the quartz in her hand, Cassie stared ahead of her, wondering if the face and voice she had conjured belonged to who she thought they did.
Diana sat up in her bed, rubbing her forehead. She had such a splitting headache, now for the second night in a row. She leaned forward, feeling daggers of pain moving from her temple down through her neck.
Moaning, she looked at the clock on her bedside table. 5:58. Frustrated, Diana slipped out of bed, creeping to the bathroom awkwardly as the pumping, shooting pains coming from her head continued to move into her neck. She fumbled through the medicine cabinet in her bathroom looking for the bottle of pills she knew was there, but wouldn't find her hand.
Finally, she unscrewed the lid and popped two into her mouth, drinking from the faucet to swallow them. She looked into the mirror and saw the deep bags under her dark eyes. She sighed, knowing that if she went to bed now she would only wake up a half hour later groggier and in worse pain.
Diana went downstairs instead, tugging her black sleepshirt around her as she met the cold in the house. Barefoot, she walked across the kitchen floor without a single sound, and put some water in the kettle for tea. She took a seat on a barstool along the counter, blankly staring at the stove and waiting for the water to boil. The entire time, she heard her name whispered in the back of her head as it had haunted her all night through her dreams.
Cassie arranged the mocha, green tea, and cappuccino on her serving tray, carrying them out to the table of businesspeople from the floral shop down the street who were holding an informal meeting in the Java Brew. Smiling, she distributed the drinks each person, then went back behind the counter to work on the next order.
She found the work somehow soothing today, distracting her from the image she had conjured the night before. She had spent the day trying to decide how she would tell Diana, but every possibility she played out in her head ended up with Diana chastising her for using her dark magic, and driving a wedge even further between the two of them.
Now, she was trying to decide how she could locate the girl she thought might be her sister. She figured the girl would have enrolled in Chance Harbor High School, but then Cassie thought that if her half-siblings had only returned to bind the Circle of Balcoin blood, they probably wouldn't go through the motions of setting up a normal life in Chance Harbor. Cassie wondered whether or not they even had parents with them, or if their parents were even alive. She wondered if they were together, or if they were alone—if Parker even knew about the girl she had seen in her mind last night.
"Hey, Cassie."
Adam's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she looked up from the equipment she was cleaning to see him smiling at her from behind the espresso machines.
"Hi, Adam," she said, forcing a smile. "What's up?"
"Just wanted to drop in and say hi. When is your next break?"
Cassie glanced at the clock. "Twenty five minutes," she mumbled, hoping that the length would drive Adam off. She had decided that it was probably easier to avoid Adam altogether rather than constantly wonder what he felt about her…and Diana.
"Well. I'll get a drink and stick around for you." He smiled and then turned to get in line behind the register.
Cassie sighed, returning to her cleaning.
Many lattes, teas, and smoothies later, Cassie untied her apron and went to join Adam on the overstuffed armchairs next to the window. He was drinking a black coffee with cream, a shallow and cold layer at the bottom of the mug. Knowing Adam usually gulped down his coffee, Cassie realized he had been pacing it to try to wait for her break.
"How's it going?" Cassie asked, crossing her legs. She was conflicted between her desire to kiss him and to walk away, confused at being pulled in such opposite directions.
"Just wanted to see how your day went," Adam said, smiling. He pulled the mug up to his lips and had the last gulp, his eyes never leaving Cassie's. His entire presence felt…off for some reason to her.
"It was fine," she laughed, crossing her arms and sinking into the chair. "That's not actually why you came here, was it?"
"I feel like we haven't really talked a lot about normal stuff lately," Adam shrugged.
Cassie looked at him inquisitively, trying to read what was really going on. Did something happen?
"Yeah," she said, eyebrows crooked as she judged him. "And so how are you?"
"Oh, good," he said. "Did you see Faye's freak out this morning about her mom grounding her?"
Cassie rolled her eyes and laughed a little. "Yeah, that one is going to be interesting to watch unfold."
"Seriously," Adam laughed with her. "Poor Melissa." He brought the empty mug to his mouth and tried to take a drink, apparently forgetting he had already finished the cold coffee. "Hey, by the way, have you talked to Melissa lately?" This time, his eyes remained on the mug rather than on Cassie's face.
"Not since Sunday night," Cassie said, wondering what had happened between him and Melissa. "Why?"
"Oh, just wondering," he said, putting the mug back on the table. "I just didn't know if there was a real story behind Faye's fight with Principal Chamberlain. You know how Faye can be." He laughed a little and shrugged.
"Yeah, Faye is perfect in her own eyes," Cassie agreed, raising her eyebrows at Adam's awkwardness. He laughed in agreement with her, and Cassie moved to sit up in her chair.
"Look, I'm going to run down the street and get a bite to eat really quick," she said, standing up. "I'll see you tomorrow at school."
"Oh, sorry," Adam said, standing up and rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't realize you were going to grab some food. Do you want me to bring you anything?"
"No," Cassie said, stepping away as he moved toward her. "Bye." She moved quickly out the door, fighting the range of emotions that she had to battle whenever she was around him, and hating him for the fact that it wasn't this hard for him.
Diana twirled pasta around her fork, looking up to see Grant just staring at her, smiling.
"What?" She asked with a laugh, lowering her fork. "Do I have something on my face?" She raised her fingers to her cheek.
"You are so beautiful, Diana." Grant's statement was simple but overwhelmingly sincere.
Diana pressed her lips together, feeling her cheeks color. She placed her hands in her lap, feeling the cool softness of her navy blue satin dress.
"You're sweet, Grant," she finally said, looking back up at him returning his smile. "Thank you for this dinner. It's amazing. And I'm sorry I ate all the garlic bread." The two of them laughed together, and Diana felt the ease and excitement that had attracted her to him in the first place return.
"It's all right. I'll buy you all the garlic bread you can eat if it means I get to have dinner with you."
"Well, how about tomorrow night?" Diana asked, beaming. "I would love an excuse to buy a new dress, and you know Italian is my favorite."
Grant laughed. "I wish I could," he said. "We ship out in the morning though."
Diana felt her heart drop slightly. She wondered why she had been avoiding this lately, and she wished she would have done it more often before he left again.
"For how long?" Diana asked.
"Only three weeks."
"Only?" Diana asked, tilting her head to the side, the disappointment obvious in her voice.
"I know," Grant sighed. "I figured that next summer, if this is still going on, I'd look for something that didn't require travel." His voice was hesitant and cautious, testing Diana's reaction to the suggestion of them being together still next summer.
Diana wasn't sure how to respond. Next summer was the land of unknowns to her, the beginning of college. She had no idea where she would be, other than the fact that she probably wouldn't be anywhere near Chance Harbor anymore. She couldn't imagine asking him to change jobs, let alone get a new job in an entirely new place for her. She wasn't even sure she would want him to follow her.
"Wow," she finally said. "I don't even know where I'm going to college yet," she mumbled, still staring at the pasta left on her plate. She couldn't make herself meet his eyes.
"I know, I know," Grant said rapidly, backpedaling. "I'm not making any serious plans yet. I just meant—"
"I know too," Diana interrupted, taking a deep breath and looking up at him. "And I appreciate that you would do that for me." She forced a smile, and he returned it, relief washing over his features. She could feel sweat along her palms, but forced herself to keep smiling as she returned to her meal.
"I'll take you out the first night I get back on shore so you can go ahead and get that dress," Grant said with a wink as he reached for his glass of wine. Diana laughed lightly, letting go of the tension and returning to enjoying her meal.
Cassie closed the front door behind her, taking off her Java Brew crew shirt as she walked upstairs. Kicking off her shoes and peeling off her jeans, Cassie went straight to the bathroom and let the bathtub begin to fill. She poured in more of the lavender and chamomile bath salts, enjoying the scent immediately.
Cassie soaked for a half an hour, trying her hardest not to think of anything—not her sister, not Diana, not Adam. She slipped under the water, feeling the rush of warm water across her face and enjoying hearing nothing but her own heartbeat through her submerged ears. She pushed her head back up again, pushing the long blond stands out of her face as she took in a breath.
Hungry, Cassie eventually got out the bath, putting on her pajamas even though it was only 7:00. She went downstairs and preheated the oven to warm up leftover enchiladas from last night. Pulling the tinfoil tray out of the fridge, Cassie casually thought to herself that she should learn to cook already since she would have to be feeding herself for the rest of her lonely life.
Crashing onto the couch and turning on the TV, Cassie considered that she should probably be trying to get a head start on the lab report that was due on Thursday, but she decided that she could probably figure that out tomorrow night and be fine. Right now, all she wanted was to stay curled up in that blanket and eat too many enchiladas.
Hearing the oven beep, Cassie jumped up and eagerly went to the kitchen, scooping enchiladas onto her plate and pouring herself a glass of water. She decided to eat on the couch, and finished up the rest of her movie with a brief intermission for popcorn. Everything seemed like a normal, boring night—exactly the kind she wanted.
Full, warm, and tired, Cassie drifted toward sleep on the couch. The wind outside was brushing the leaves against each other, and their dry rustle was a comforting sound. Her breathing slowed and relaxed as she listened to it. Asleep, she began tossing and turning, a sweat breaking across her forehead. She tightened her fist in her sleep as the Balcoin symbol on her palm blazed and orange streams of energy twisted and tangled as they emerged from her hands. Identical streams of silver crept in from the bottom of the window like a fog, curling with the orange and wrapping around Cassie's wrists, making their way slowly up her arms and shoulders, framing her face as she continued to toss and turn in her sleep.