Episode 2.06:
Attraction
A puff of steam emerged from the espresso machine as Cassie placed the mug of milk underneath. The chatter of patrons at the Java Brew, clinking of dishes being washed behind her, and soft poppy music coming from the speakers blended together with the pallid light streaming through the windows. The room had an upbeat, focused atmosphere that was perfect for an after-school perk-up to power through homework before calling it quits and enjoying Friday night.
That's exactly what Adam, Faye, and Melissa were currently working on. Cassie organized their drinks on her serving tray, then walked over to where they were sitting near the window.
"Latte with skim milk," Cassie said, handing Faye her drink. "Soy caramel macchiato," she handed Melissa the cup, then grabbed the dark blue one she had poured Adam's in. "And drip."
"Thanks, Cassie," Melissa smiled.
"Sure. How's the Chem homework going?"
"I still think Mrs. MacArthur should have just given us all A's after last week," Faye scoffed, rolling her eyes and sipping the foam at the top of her latte.
"It's not bad," Melissa cut in.
"When is your break?" Adam asked. "Do you want to work on it with us?"
"Not for another half hour," Cassie said a little too dejectedly. She looked up at the chilly, gray day outside. She was closing tonight and it would be dark, and probably raining, by the time she left. Unlike the rest of her friends, she had no plans for Friday night, and would most likely spend it in front of the television stuffing her face with junk food. "I probably won't get started on it until I'm home tonight."
"Well, take it easy," Adam said, eyeing her arm. It was out of the sling already—and she knew he suspected dark magic had something to do with that—and her bruises and scrapes had all healed, save for a small pink patch on her cheekbone where the fresh skin was settling in. All in all, she was tired and sore still, but looked tremendously better than she had the previous week.
"I will," she said, giving him a forced smile. "Good luck, guys." With that, she walked back to the counter and started on the next drink order.
Melissa took the last swig of her macchiato, victoriously closing the cover of her lab booklet.
"Done!" she announced, grinning.
"Are you kidding me?" Faye moaned, looking up. "How are you done already?"
"I've had a lot of extra time to kill lately," Melissa said, shrugging and slinking slightly downward in her seat. "Troy kind of hasn't really called me back since I bailed on him last week."
"At all?" Faye asked, a perfectly plucked eyebrow arching upward slightly.
"Well, he texted me on Wednesday apologizing and saying he's been really busy with schoolwork and helping his aunt get their house ready for winter—"
"Lame!" Faye cut in.
"Anyways, we haven't talked since last weekend, and he hasn't texted since Wednesday night. So, now it's Friday and I have nothing to do. Especially now that this Chem homework is done."
"Well, I am also a social outcast," Adam said with a mock smile of triumph. "Do you want to watch a movie with me or something?"
"Sure," Melissa sighed. "Can you get us drinks? It'll be a regular pity party."
"Well, while you losers are enjoying that, Jake has decided he'll be coming over for dinner." Faye's voice was wavering between excitement and agony, the limbo asking for their reactions before she could settle on her own.
"How do you think that will go?" Adam asked. "Your mom never really liked Jake."
"I think the word you're looking for is 'hated,'" Melissa said tautly.
"Yeah, well, he's decided he wants to go all boy-next-door now, so we'll see." Faye brought her mug to her lips even though she had finished her latte several minutes ago. "Maybe my mom won't even recognize him!" She stared into the abyss of the empty cup.
"Good luck," Melissa said genuinely.
"Yeah, I hope it goes well for you two. Finally bringing the boyfriend home, huh?" Adam jokingly elbowed Faye. The gesture made her laugh slightly and took some of the worry out of her posture, but she was still gripping her coffee cup tightly enough that there was white at the base of her red-painted fingernails.
"I should get going." She finally released the cup. "I'll talk to you guys later. Have fun with your movie or whatever." Her regular air of disinterest had returned for the last sentence, a good sign for her confidence for the evening. She slung her bag over her shoulder, and headed for the exit.
"Are you ready to go too?" Melissa asked, shivering slightly as the cold air rushed in from outside.
"I guess so," Adam said, eyes glancing behind the counter for a moment, where Cassie was cleaning dishes.
"Do you want to say good-bye?" Melissa asked hesitantly, her eyes quickly moving between Adam and Cassie.
"Yes—no." Adam looked back down at the table, his jaw tensing slightly. "Let's just go."
Melissa slowly slid her lab book into her bookbag, eyes not leaving Adam, who was too busy staring at Cassie to notice Melissa staring at him.
"I'm going to go say bye to Cassie before we go," she announced, standing up. "Want to meet me at your car or come with?"
"I'll just come with you," Adam muttered, as if he truly didn't realize Melissa was going for his sake, not hers.
The two walked up to the counter. Cassie turned around from the sink, her blond hair falling slightly in her eyes.
"Yeah?" she called over her shoulder.
"We're just taking off for the night and wanted to say good night," Melissa said with a smile.
Cassie took her arms out of the soapy water and dried them on a dishtowel as she walked over to them.
"Oh, yeah?" she asked, an awkward smile on her face. "Together? I mean, are you still not done with that Chem homework? Should I plan on an all-nighter?" She laughed slightly, but Melissa could tell there was a certain tension in her question.
"No, it's not that bad," Melissa started.
"Says the Chem genius," Adam cut in with a grin. Cassie's smile became slightly lopsided at the comment.
"Whatever," Melissa laughed, rolling her eyes. "It's seriously not that bad. An hour and a half, tops, counting in lots of distractions. Anyways, we're just going to be watching movies and stuff if you want to come join us later."
"Oh, that's okay," Cassie said. "I'm going to be closing, so I won't be home until 11. Thanks, though."
"Okay, have a good night," Melissa said with a wave. Adam gave her a smile before they turned around.
Melissa glanced back at Cassie through the glass doors once they stepped into the chilly night, and noticed that she was still standing at the counter where they had left her.
Jake pulled out of his grandfather's driveway, slightly irritated that the house still showed no sign of entrance by anyone other than him. At first he had been telling himself his grandpa was off doing something important for the Circle and that he would show up soon with news and information on how to stop the Balcoins. Instead, he was now beginning to wonder if his grandfather was just a paranoid coward who jumped town at the first sign of his conspiracies coming true.
Accelerating slightly harder than he should have, Jake tried to compose himself, thinking instead about his dinner with Faye and Dawn that night. This was the first time he would be socializing with Dawn—ever. Even when he and Faye had dated his Senior year of high school, he never came over for a meal, and Faye had been more interested in using him to piss Dawn off than having them get to know each other.
But Jake had practically begged Faye to arrange this dinner, and now it was his chance to show Dawn that he cared about her daughter, and that he wasn't the same stupid 18-year-old who had broken Faye's heart. He was different now; he had a level head on his shoulders and a steady job…and he thought he might be falling in love with Faye.
This was his chance to make the impression he needed if Dawn was going to allow Faye to continue seeing Jake, and he wasn't planning on screwing it up.
His reminiscing brought him to the Chamberlains' quicker than the expected. As he parked on the side of the road he took in a deep breath, looking down at his blue button-up shirt and black slacks. He stepped out of the car. His feet felt heavier than usual as he walked to the front door. The wind was making his ears numb as heat rose to his face. It took an enormous amount of effort to press his thumb against the doorbell. All of a sudden, Jake realized it was all due to actually caring for once—the epiphany hit him like a ton of bricks and he laughed under his breath as he heard footsteps approaching the door.
"Jake." Dawn had answered the door. Her red lips were pulled back into a cautious smile. Clearly she needed convincing.
"Mrs. Chamberlain," Jake smiled. "You look lovely."
Dawn smiled, taking a step backward. "Come in, I just finished up dinner."
"It smells amazing in here," Jake said genuinely. His aunt spent barely any time in Chance Harbor since Nick's death, and Jake's lack of domestic skills meant that he only ate a homemade meal once a month when Aunt Marianne was home—the rest of the month was pizza or something previously frozen.
"Thank you," Dawn said, leading him into the kitchen. "Honey glazed salmon, garlic mashed potatoes, and kale. I hope that's alright with you."
"It sounds amazing," Jake smiled, his mouth watering slightly. He took a seat at the table across from Dawn.
"Jake!" Faye called, scampering into the kitchen. Jake grinned when he saw her. She was wearing a low-cut turquoise top and a short black skirt, and she was positively beaming. She looked amazing, but he made himself look at the green salad on the table instead.
"Your mom has made the most delicious-smelling dinner. I hope you're hungry!" he exclaimed as he rubbed his stomach. He internally cringed at this, but he felt it was better than the alternative considering Dawn had obviously also noticed Faye's revealing wardrobe.
"I see you've changed since you got home," Dawn observed tartly, pouring herself a glass of wine.
"Well, it is an important dinner," Faye said, grinning as she sat down next to Jake. "I wanted to look my best!" Dawn pulled back her lips at this—Jake couldn't think of it as smiling—and then put her napkin in her lap.
"Let's dig in," she said, reaching for the salad she had prepared. "Tell me, Jake, how was work today?"
"Fine. Great, actually." Jake could feel his heart rate accelerate slightly—Dawn seemed to be acting semi-normally. Was that a good or bad sign?
Adam reclined slightly as his eyes wandered from the TV screen yet again. He and Melissa were in the basement of the Boathouse, watching the horror movie marathon that was playing in anticipation of Halloween, which was only a week and a half away. He wasn't really focusing on the frightened, fleeing teenagers on the screen though, and found his mind continually wandering back to his fight with Diana, then to Cassie…
"So spill already," Melissa finally demanded, lowering the volume on the television.
"What?" Adam asked, confused and slightly startled by the intrusion to his thoughts.
"You've been Mr. Moody all night—worse than usual," Melissa quipped. "What's on your mind?"
Adam sighed, looking down at his hands. What was the harm in spilling his guts to Melissa? They had been especially close since last spring; she had even rejected him and still managed to have a friendship with him. But there was still an underlying nervousness he couldn't shake. He decided to try out the easier of the impossible problems first.
"I guess I just keep thinking about my fight with Diana last week."
"So apologize!" Melissa exclaimed, rolling her eyes and tossing some popcorn in her mouth.
"We haven't talked since then. It's been a week."
"Well, you're the one who needs to say something to her—it was kind of your fault."
Adam opened his mouth to protest, but a careful arching of Melissa's brows quieted him.
"What am I supposed to say? 'Hey, Diana, sorry for accusing you of almost-maybe-on-purpose murdering our friend. That was a real asshole thing for me to do, especially since you left me because of her. I hope we can still be friends though?'"
"That sounds pretty good to me," Melissa said, shrugging. Adam's jaw dropped and she threw her hands up in retaliation.
"Yeah, like she's going to be fine with that," Adam scoffed.
"Look," Melissa said, voice more serious now. She leaned forward slightly, her eyes becoming as equally tender as her voice. "You two have been friends since you were little, and you had a great relationship for over three years. She'll listen to you. You just have to admit you need to apologize."
Adam's first instinct was to argue with Melissa about the quality of his and Diana's relationship, but he realized it was merely more defense to try to avoid the real problem.
"Call her now," Melissa urged softly.
Adam sighed and took his phone out of his pocket, staring at it contemplatively. After what felt like a long time, he called Diana, gritting his teeth together slightly.
"Hello?" Her voice answered nervously on the other end.
"Diana, it's Adam."
"Yeah…I know."
"Yeah, sorry…" Adam felt his throat tighten slightly; why the hell did he agree to do this again? "Look, I really need to apologize to you about last week. What I did was way out of line. I had no right to say those things to you, and I didn't mean what I said."
There was silence. Was she still angry?
"I regret it," Adam continued, his voice cracking slightly. "And if I could take it back, I would, but I know I can't. I hope you'll let me make it up to you." A pause. "Our relationship is too important to me. I want to put my pride away and apologize to you in person."
"And how do you propose doing that?" Diana asked. Adam recognized the hint of a snappy playfulness, and realized his apology was working. She was at least talking to him again.
"Could I take you out to lunch tomorrow?"
"Some place other than the Boathouse?" Diana laughed, albeit uneasily. Adam grinned in return.
"You got it. How about Howard's?"
"That sounds…good. I'll meet you there."
"I can pick you up—"
"I know," Diana interrupted. "But I'll meet you there, okay? At one?"
"At one," Adam agreed. "Thank you, Diana."
"Sure…good night."
Before he could reply, she had hung up.
"Well?" Melissa asked, expectantly. "Better than you expected, right?"
"Yes, Dr. Melissa," Adam said in a slight-sarcastic tone. "Good advice, as always, love doctor." He smiled and tossed a pillow at her playfully.
"So now let's get to what's really bothering you," Melissa said in a serious tone as she caught the pillow. "Cassie."
"What do you mean? I just called Diana to apologize for that—"
"I'm talking about the torch you're still carrying for her," Melissa said, biting each of her words with caution as they left her lips.
The two stared at each other for several minute in silence, the screaming and screeching of the movie playing in the background.
"What are you talking about?" Adam finally asked, his mind panicking.
"Adam," Melissa whispered. "I know. I can tell. What happened after you drank that potion?"
Adam looked down at his hands and realized he had been wringing them together since Melissa brought up the topic. They were red and raw, and there was a scratch where a hangnail had caught the skin. Finally, he looked back up at Melissa.
"I still have feelings for her."
Adam began to wring his hands again, staring at the angry, dry skin. He waited for Melissa to say something, but the only sounds were the chainsaw buzzing from the television. He wished they could just turn it off.
"I know," Melissa sighed after what felt like forever. Adam snapped his head up.
"You know? How do you know?"
"The way you've been looking at her," Melissa sighed, tilting her head knowingly. "That's the way I looked at Nick when he had a crush on Faye."
Adam was silent again. He hadn't considered Melissa might understand what he was going through.
"So what happened with the potion?" Melissa asked after Adam's silent hand-wringing started up again.
"I don't know," Adam said. He looked up and locked his eyes with Melissa's. "It worked, for a while. I honestly couldn't remember why I loved her, and so much of our relationship felt like…like a story I'd heard, not something I'd actually lived myself. But then…right around the time her grandmother died. All my feelings came rushing back then."
"Do you think you're confusing your romantic feelings for Cassie with sympathy for her?" Melissa asked cautiously. "No matter where you stand romantically, you two have a special relationship."
"I don't think I'm confused about it," Adam snapped, wishing his voice hadn't come across so brusquely. "I don't know what happened—but it doesn't matter. She doesn't love me anymore." He dragged his thumbnail across the back of his hand, cutting it up slightly. The angry skin began to sting.
"She's been through…so much," Melissa said softly, looking to the ground.
"I know, it's…it's fine. It'll be fine." Adam moved his fist up to his mouth, pressing his knuckles against his lips. Now he wished he could crank up the volume on the television and forget he had said anything at all. Why had he said anything? He tried to concentrate on the motiveless serial killer chasing after the teenagers.
"But Diana!" he finally burst out, turning to face Melissa again.
"What about Diana?" Melissa asked tepidly.
"I…" Adam pressed his front teeth against his knuckle. "I have feelings for her too," he muttered through his hand. The words spilled out quickly and awkwardly, and he couldn't make himself look at Melissa as he said them. Instead, he stared at the high window. Raindrops were illuminated dimly in yellow from the lights outside, and slipped frantically down the glass.
"You're unbelievable."
Melissa's voice was harsher than he had expected. When he turned to look at her, her mouth was slightly open and her eyebrows had shot straight up her forehead.
"You know what, never mind," Adam spat out, looking around for the remote to try to turn up the volume.
"No!" Melissa exclaimed. "Are you telling me that having your love for Cassie restored, a love that was cursed and you had to sacrifice in order to save Jake's life, isn't good enough for you? Instead, you have to go and get a crush on the girl you nearly cheated on—"
"I never would have cheated on Diana!" Adam roared. Melissa pressed her lips together, and Adam was too ashamed to say anything more. He knew, deep down, in some twisted part of him, that that probably would have happened if she hadn't left him when she did, and if Cassie hadn't been interested in Jake at the same time he wanted her.
"Look, I'm sorry," Melissa sighed. "I know you can't really help the way you feel…do you really have feelings for Diana again though?" The last part of her sentence came out higher-pitched, as if pleading him to change his mind despite the fact she knew he couldn't.
"I don't know if 'again' is the right word," Adam mumbled. "I feel like I've always still had feelings for her. They just came back a lot harder once I didn't love Cassie anymore." He slumped down in his seat. "And now I don't know how to feel, or what to do."
"Diana has a boyfriend," Melissa said softly. "There isn't anything you can do."
Adam shoved his knuckles against his front teeth again. Of course he knew she had a boyfriend. A stupid, Australian boyfriend, who she didn't even seem that interested in.
"I know that," he finally managed to make himself say. "I already told you, I can't help how I feel." He paused. "But I think that since she knows my feelings for Cassie went away after I drank the potion, I might still have a chance with her. For things to be like they used to."
"Let me get this straight," Melissa said in a flat tone. "You want to win back your ex-girlfriend of three years based on the lie that your feelings for the girl you left her for have been magically erased."
"Yes," Adam replied in monotone.
"Adam," Melissa scoffed, shaking her head. "Look," she said, tone more serious. She leaned forward in her chair. "Look, I'm your friend. I care about you. But you have a jealous streak, and a possessive streak." Adam squirmed uncomfortably and opened his mouth to object, but Melissa didn't let him. "You really hurt Diana, and you and Cassie are cursed and can't be together without threatening our lives."
Adam looked back to the window, waiting for Melissa to say something else. He was waiting for her to add "but" and offer some solution, but she remained silent. He realized she was right—there was nothing he could do. Diana was with someone new, and couldn't be expected to take him back after the hell he put her through with Cassie. And even if by some miracle the potion had lost its effect on Cassie, they couldn't do anything without starting the whole process over again—this time, without knowledge of the potion they would need to save someone's life.
Adam heavily sighed. It was a tired, aggressive sigh. He turned to face Melissa, who was looking at him with stern but sympathetic eyes.
"Please don't tell anyone," Adam croaked, the vulnerability coming through his voice.
"Your secret's safe with me," Melissa said. "As is your other one…which I hope you're taking care of." She didn't face him for the second part of her sentence; instead, her eyes were transfixed on the bloodbath on the television. Adam felt heat rise to his cheeks. How could he be betraying Melissa when all she had done this past month was try to help him fix his problems?
"Thank you," he croaked again. He smiled at her—a pained, but grateful smile.
Cassie put the last of the mugs in its place, sighing with exhaustion as she looked at their glossy, clean finishes.
"Good work," Ben said, smiling. "We make such a good team!"
"Yeah, all right," Cassie scoffed, pushing her hair out of her face. Ben's unbridled enthusiasm had either started to temper out now that the semester was underway, or Cassie's gloom-and-doom attitude was acquiring a taste for it. She preferred the first option.
"So, how shall we celebrate?" Ben asked, pulling out a deformed poppyseed muffin from the reject dish they kept behind the counter. "With a pastry?"
"I hate muffins after working here," Cassie said truthfully, thinking back to all of the muffins, scones, and cookies she had eaten in the depths of her depression that summer when she was incapable of cooking for herself or asking someone else for help—even if that help was just having a pizza guy show up.
"Speak those words never again!" Ben exclaimed, chomping on the muffin. "Anyways," he continued through a full mouth. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah, will you go get Christine?" Cassie asked, referring to their night manager, who was currently working on next week's schedule in her office.
Cassie waited impatiently as Ben and Christine re-emerged and then locked up the store for the night. She waved goodbye as she walked in the opposite direction for her car.
Once she was inside, Cassie stared at the raindrops sliding down the windshield, thinking about the plan she had been concocting in her head for a few days now.
She had been looking through her Book of Shadows, trying to figure out what they needed to do. It seemed painfully obvious to her that what they needed to protect themselves was to bind the Circle. But lately, she had been wondering if those were the leadership instincts from her Blake heritage, or dark impulses from her Blackwell ancestry. Either way, there was nothing she could do with the Circle, so now she was having to look for ways to draw out her half-siblings and try to control them. She thought the best option might be an Attraction Spell—one she would need Diana for, though. If they could attract their siblings using their common Blackwell blood, they could try to reason with them and convince them to be on their side.
She had tried to call Diana last night, but was too afraid of being hung up on, so she cancelled the call almost immediately. Today, she had tried to text Diana about it, but felt utterly ridiculous doing so. And now, sitting her in her car, she decided that the best way to do this was going to be in person.
Taking a deep breath, Cassie turned up the radio to try to calm her nerves and started driving out to Diana's.
The roads were slick and dark in the rain, and the music on the Top 10 was horrible. Cassie flipped through the stations until she found smooth jazz—something she wouldn't normally listen to, but it was better than the songs on her regular station. She realized she was about to turn onto Diana's street before she expected it, realizing that she had wasted all her time for mentally rehearsing her pitch trying to find something new on the radio.
Cassie parked and took another deep breath before hurrying out of the car, her black rain jacket zipped up to her chin. She hurried up to the front door and knocked. She realized, then, that it was late—11:15. Diana and Kate may have been in bed already. Why did she—
"Cassie," Kate said, opening the door slightly. She was wearing a pale yellow robe over light blue pajamas. She rubbed her eyes slightly, as if she were thoroughly surprised to see Cassie in front of her. "Are you all right, dear?"
"Yes," Cassie breathed out, realizing Kate's expression meant she thought Cassie was in trouble. "Yes, I'm fine." She flashed a big smile to try to convince her. It seemed to calm her slightly.
"I wasn't expecting to see you until tomorrow for our lunch," Kate said. "But please, come in. It looks like it's raining again."
Cassie stepped into the Meade entryway, breathing in the soft cinnamon scent filling the house. She felt pangs in her abdomen as she remembered the way her house used to even smell like a home when her grandmother or mother had still been alive. Now her house smelled cold and in need of a good dusting—never like food or candles or fresh laundry.
"I baked some cinnamon raisin bread to bring you tomorrow," Kate said with a knowing smile, as if Cassie's near-drooling over home-cooked food was painfully obvious. "Would you like some now?"
"I think I'll wait til tomorrow," Cassie said. "I always get awful stomachaches when I eat before bed." She put her hand over her stomach and Kate nodded sympathetically, which made Cassie feel worse for the lie than she had expected to—she had always been able to eat as much of whatever she wanted before bed without any sort of stomach discomfort. It was her mom who used to stay up all night with indigestion if she ate too close to bedtime. Cassie used to joke that she would be that way when she was older too, but Amelia had laughed and said she had always been that way since she was little. Thinking about it now made Cassie wish she had taken more after her mother.
"Cassie?"
Kate's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she realized she had been staring at the carpet while Kate had asked her something.
"I'm so sorry," Cassie laughed breathily, shaking her head. "Clearly I'm tired from work and need to go to bed. I just wanted to run up and talk to Diana really quick—about a school project! I left something with her that I need tomorrow and she told me I could come get it after work."
Kate instantly smiled. She was enthused by the idea that Cassie and Diana were friends again, a nod toward normalcy Cassie knew she must have desperately wanted. At the same time, Cassie felt oddly numb to the second lie she had told Kate in the past five minutes, and wondered when it had become so easy for her to lie to peoples' faces. When she was a little kid she was the worst liar—she instantly turned red and started fussing with her hair.
"Go right up then, honey," Kate smiled. "I'm just finishing a great mystery book—otherwise I'd have been in bed hours ago! Diana's still up though." Kate smiled before walking back to the living room.
Cassie took a final deep breath, then trotted up the stairs, hoping the lively steps would tip off Diana that it wasn't Kate coming up for bed.
Diana's door was cracked open, and Cassie stared at the soft light spilling into the dark hallway. She set her face to a look of confidence, and knocked.
"Diana?" she asked.
There was ruffling as Diana got out of bed and came to the door. She looked honestly shocked to see Cassie standing there. She was wearing her pajamas, violet shorts and a white tank top with scalloped lace around the edges. Her hair was loose and messy, as if she had been sleeping, and her eye make-up was smudged. She still looked stunning though—Cassie had always been jealous that Diana rolled out of bed looking beautiful, whereas she looked like a puffy-eyed zombie for the first hour of the day.
"Cassie?" Diana said. The statement was clearly question, not greeting.
"Hey," Cassie said awkwardly. "Mind if I come in?"
"I guess," Diana said, taking a step back and opening the door. "What is this about?"
Diana walked back to her bed and sat cross-legged on the end of it. Cassie sat on the edge next to her, staring at the photos on Diana's dresser. One was of Diana and Cassie last year, laughing and hugging after winning a three-legged race at the Thanksgiving Charity Fun Run. Another was of Diana and Adam during their sophomore year of high school, sitting in one of the booths at the Boathouse. The third was in a silver frame, and was a picture of Diana when she was eleven, on vacation in Hawaii with her dad. They were on the beach, Diana with a smear of sunscreen across her nose; she was making a funny face that had been the result of getting sunscreen in her mouth. Cassie had seen the picture enough times to know the scene by heart—but it was currently face-down on the dresser. Diana's meticulous nature and hobby of tidying up told Cassie it wasn't on accident.
"Diana," Cassie sighed, looking away from the picture of the two of them in their hideously neon orange tee-shirts. Despite everything they had been going through back then, they were still best friends. She shifted her position to look at Diana's face. "I'm sorry, for everything that this year has been."
Diana looked away from Cassie's blue eyes and focused instead on some loose threads on the throw blanket she was sitting on.
Cassie continued, "I want us to be safe. I want us to go back to the way things were. And we can't do that while our half-siblings are out there—"
"God, Cassie," Diana moaned, angrily plucking out one of the threads and throwing her head back. She stood up and started pacing toward the bathroom. "If this is all you want to talk about, you know you need to leave."
"Diana, wait," Cassie said, standing up and walking toward the taller girl. "I know, I know. Just hear me out—we controlled demons together last week." She locked eyes with Diana, letting the impact of that sink in. "Something none of us, not even my grandmother, could do last year. We have incredible power together. And we can use that for good."
"How, Cassie?" Diana exclaimed, throwing her hands up and breaking the uncomfortable eye contact Cassie had been maintaining. "How? I don't want to contact our siblings—"
"We could do an Attraction Spell! Use our Balcoin blood to draw them here. We are more powerful than they are—we controlled their demons! We can make sure they back off the rest of the Circle!" Cassie was sputtering now, desperately pleading.
"No, Cassie," Diana said firmly. "You need to leave."
"But—"
"I said no!" Diana repeated. "Just go, alright?"
With that, Diana stomped into her bathroom. Cassie heard the shower start. She sighed, dejectedly letting herself out of Diana's bedroom, sneaking past Kate in order to hurry back to her car.
Diana stood in front of her bedroom window, staring at the wet, dark night. It was almost midnight now—Cassie had left quite a while ago, and Kate had said good night about fifteen minutes earlier. Diana could hear her snoring softly from her bedroom. Cassie's arrival must have given her the first peace of mind she'd had in ages. Diana couldn't remember the last time Kate had a good night's sleep.
Quietly, Diana crept across her room and opened her closet, pulling down the box of her mother's things she liked to keep in her room—some jewelry, clothing, a scrapbook…and, recently, her Book of Shadows.
One thing Cassie had said kept resonating with her: We controlled demons together. She knew Cassie had been referring to the black orbs that had flooded through the school and the dog that had been attacking them. But what Diana immediately thought of was the half dozen demons crawling around in her father's skull.
Could she control them? Could she release them and contain them? Could she handle what had happened with Heather Barnes now that she had dark magic? And what would happen if she did use her dark magic?
She flipped open the Book of Shadows to the passage on oogalas markings. If she was going to find out anything about demons and dark magic, it would be here. Her fingers traced the bony humanoid shape of a possessed witch, its sharp angles and hollow eyes frightening her. The handwriting next to the figure was ancient and scrawling, barely legible to Diana's twenty-first century eyes. The passage was discussing dark magic witches destroying their enemies with the demons under their control…Shuddering, Diana slammed the book closed and shoved it back into the box, pushing it deep into the closet. She leapt onto her bed, pulling the blanket up around her and trying to let her mind escape the image.
She wasn't dark.
How could she be sure?
And if she was, maybe it didn't matter that her father didn't deserve to be brought back.
Jake parked along the street, sighing with content. It was 12:30, much, much later than he had expected to leave. But everything had gone…oddly well. After Dawn's second glass of wine she had warmed up to Jake and started asking him about work and how he liked that. Jake told her about being able to save up substantially and how he planned on moving out of his aunt's soon. Dawn asked what his plans were for next year, and he told her he'd keep working, a long-term plan that seemed to earn a vote of confidence from Dawn. They sat around the dinner table chatting until about 8:30, and then Dawn joined him and Faye for a double-feature before he said goodbye for the night.
A satisfied smile on his face, Jake slid out of his truck and started sauntering toward the back door. Right before be opened it, something bright in his peripheral vision caught his attention.
It was Cassie's hair. Even though the rain had stopped, everything was still damp, and she was sitting on the wet porch in her jeans and black rain jacket, chin cupped in her hands and staring into space.
"You're going to get sick like that," Jake called over his shoulder. When Cassie failed to react, he started walking toward her house, a look of concern now covering his smile.
"Hey, what is it?" he asked as he saw the confused mixture of weariness and frustration on her face.
"Nothing," Cassie sighed, putting her hands on her knees. "Just…thinking."
"At almost one in the morning? On your porch? On your soaking wet porch?" Jake asked. Cassie merely shrugged. "What happened?" he tried again.
"I was talking to Diana," Cassie said. She scooted over slightly, as if making room for Jake. He looked at the wet wood and remained standing. "I wish we were still friends," Cassie continued. "It's like whenever I try to get closer she pushes me further away."
"I think she's afraid of the power she knows is inside of her. The power she's seen in you."
Cassie looked up at him and smiled a sad, weary smile. He knew that she counted on him for honest replies—not Faye's sarcasm, or Melissa's newfound cautious optimism, or Adam's blunt insistence on the outcome he idealized or was working on. Jake told it like it was, and he knew Cassie needed some of that in her life.
"I don't feel very powerful lately," she sighed. "I can't even convince the Circle to bind together."
"Yeah…I think Faye's just a little selfish with her power," Jake sighed, leaning against the railing. "She'll come around eventually. They all will."
Jake looked down at his shoes then, thinking about Faye's selfishness. He could tell power had been on her mind lately—she would muse about it absently when she was tired, or complain about it passively when she was bored.
"It's too bad Faye's not the one I had to convince," Cassie said, laughing one of those utterly-exhausted, cynical laughs usually reserved for people much older—or much more naïve—than Cassie.
Jake continued looking at his shoes. His lack of response cued Cassie to look up. She assessed him oddly, squinting her eyes as if she were reading his mind. He quickly wondered if that was something she could do with dark magic.
"Is Faye doing all right?" Cassie asked, perching her elbows on her knees. "Is she still enjoying solo magic?"
"You know Faye," Jake laughed. "She always wants more power. It's like diamonds or flowers for other girls—if I could give her power, that's how I'd really woo her."
Cassie laughed at this, putting Jake slightly at ease. Her measuring stare had caught him off guard slightly.
"We actually had dinner tonight with her mom," Jake continued.
"Yeah?" Cassie smiled.
"Yeah, and it went really well, I think."
"Good," Cassie beamed, giving him a little round of applause. "I'm happy for you two."
"Thanks."
"Well," Cassie sighed, standing up. She patted the back of her pants, and only now seemed to become aware of how soaked through they had become. "I'm going to go change into something dry and go to bed. It's a bit late after a six-hour shift."
"Good night, Cassie," Jake said, walking backward down the porch steps and turning for home. He heard the front door of the Blake house close behind him, and he headed into his own home, feeling oddly pleasant.
Faye stumbled down the staircase, blurry-eyed and groggy. She had gone to bed at one, which wasn't unusual for her, but the sounds of her mother moving around the house at seven had seemed unusually loud, and she hadn't been able to roll back into a comfortable sleep for the past half hour.
"Morning," Dawn said as she poured a cup of coffee for herself. "I wasn't expecting to see you up for another few hours."
Faye tugged on her mint green tee shirt and collapsed into a chair. She pulled her pajama pant-clad legs up to her chest.
"Yeah," she mumbled, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. She figured she wouldn't be functional, at least, for another few hours.
"So I think last night went superbly," Dawn smiled, sipping her coffee.
"Yeah? Thanks for monitoring our movie session, by the way," Faye mumbled. "Lest we hold hands or otherwise break my vow of chastity."
"I was just enjoying our time together," Dawn said through another smile. "That's great about Jake's job going so well. Although it's a shame that you'll have to go your separate ways at the end of the summer." She remained smiling for the entire statement.
"What are you talking about?" Faye mumbled. She moved her hands away from her face and looked at her mom suspiciously. No wonder she was in such a good mood—did she still hate Jake?
"Well, you'll be going off to college—" Dawn started briskly before being interrupted by Faye.
"Probably."
"What do you mean probably?" Dawn asked through gritted teeth, setting her mug on the counter roughly. Coffee sloshed over the rim. "You will definitely be going to college, Faye. Your grandparents have had a college fund set up for you since you were born, you've already started the application process for your schools, I've pushed you to take the classes that will get you a good education—"
"Exactly, you've pushed me," Faye said, crossing her arms. "You want it, not me. What if I want to take a year off, travel through Europe?"
"That's why study abroad exists!" Dawn said, trying to keep her tone down.
Faye stared at the plaid pattern on her pajama pants. She knew she was going to college—she knew she wanted it, too. Right now that's not what it was about, though. Why was her mom being so hostile to Jake? He had changed so much. Why couldn't she just see how much her approval would have meant to him? And why did she just now realize that Jake wasn't exactly the college-type?
"Well, even if I do go, that doesn't mean we have to break up," Faye said, her voice dropping its defensive edge. "Ever heard of long distance?"
"Honey, long distance never works," Dawn said through a cynical laugh, resuming her coffee sipping. "It's what sappy 18-year-olds do to try to get engagement rings or get laid."
Faye bit her tongue so her mother wouldn't get the satisfaction of laughter. "Well, maybe we won't have to do long distance then…" Faye trailed off, unsure of where she was going with this. She was too tired to deal with this. Normally, a small part of her actually liked the fact that her mom levelled with her like an adult—didn't buy into the lie of long distance relationships, didn't romanticize high school sweethearts, and didn't try to pretend that her daughter should want any of that. Not that she'd ever let her mom know she liked that part of her. But now, she needed her mom to believe in it, to believe in her and Jake…to actually act like she could possibly like Jake one day.
"Honey, there aren't any colleges in Chance Harbor." Dawn gave a sympathetic smile, as if Faye didn't already know this.
"Well, college is still a long way off," Faye said, exasperated, standing up and marching into the living room. "For now, I'm going to prepare by rotting my brain with television."
Cassie paced between the kitchen and dining room, tossing her phone from hand to hand. She had Faye's number ready to go on her phone—she just had to decide whether or not she wanted to do this.
Last night when she and Jake had been talking, she realized that maybe she didn't need Diana for the Attraction Spell—at least, maybe not yet. And Jake was right—power was the way to Faye's heart, whether for romance or friendship. If there was any way of them getting some power back, Faye would help her.
Pressing her lips together, Cassie swallowed her hesitation and hit "send" on her screen. The phone rang a few times, and she became nervous that maybe Faye wouldn't pick up.
"Hello?" Faye's voice was low, as if she were trying not to be heard.
"Faye? Can you talk?"
"Yeah, I just…let me go up to my room."
There was the sound of shuffling, and then the quick footprints of Faye sprinting up the staircase. Cassie heard a door slam, and then Faye's regular voice returned.
"That was weird," Cassie said jokingly. "Don't want Jake to know we're chatting?"
"Yeah, something like that," Faye mumbled. "So what's up?"
"I was wondering…if you wanted to do some magic with me."
"Okay, are you actually trying to hit on me, Cassie? Because that's cool, and I totally get it, but—"
"Faye," Cassie said, rolling her eyes. "I'm serious. I want to do this spell that could get us some answers about the Balcoins, make them back off. And maybe if they left, our magic would be stronger, or we could even bind our Circle—or figure out if we could have a bound Circle with individual magic."
There was a pause on the other end. Cassie started pacing again, waiting for an answer. The pause went on too long.
"Faye, are you still there?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm thinking. What kind of spell?"
"Just an Attraction Spell. Basic stuff. I just want to—"
"You want to bring them here?" Faye interrupted. "Why? I don't think you can handle them."
"Look, I know we haven't really been able to so far, but I really think that if we could just…are you really lecturing me about this?"
"No, I'll do the spell with you," Faye said matter-of-factly. "If you think you can get me better magic, then I'm going to hold you to that."
"Really?" Cassie asked disbelievingly. She hadn't expected it to be so easy to convince Faye.
"Sure," Faye replied. "When do you want to do it?"
"Today," Cassie said firmly.
"All right. I'll come over this afternoon."
Cassie exhaled, feeling relief instantly flood her body. "Great."
"I have to go now, though. See you later!" Faye hung up on Cassie, leaving her standing in a happy surprise in the middle of the dining room.
Cassie put her phone down on the table and stared into space for a moment before an enormous smile blossomed across her face. She knew it was probably wrong—but she was excited to be that much closer to meeting her siblings.
Diana stepped through the door of Howard's Sandwich Shop, feeling the cold afternoon air wrapping around her as the smells of freshly baked bread met her. She started unbuttoning her black pea coat, instantly comforted by the smell of baked goods.
"Diana," Adam's voice greeted her. She turned and saw him sitting at a table already. "You look great."
"Thanks," Diana said, smoothing the dark blue floral dress she was wearing over her black tights. She took a seat across from Adam, helping herself to one of the two waters that were already on the table.
"Thank you for having lunch with me," Adam blubbered immediately, stirring the ice around in his cup.
"Let's just see how this goes," Diana said with a feigned look of distrust on her face. Adam smiled in relief.
Diana took a deep breath as a waiter arrived to take their order. She could feel her heart rate accelerating slightly—why did she agree to do this? Her body was already preparing to fight before anything had happened. There was no way the two of them could get through this lunch in a civilized fashion…despite how badly she ached to be close to him again.
"And for you?" the waiter asked, turning to Diana.
"A turkey club and green tea, please."
"Fries or salad?"
"Salad, please. With the balsamic vinaigrette."
The waiter nodded and left them alone. Diana irrationally wanted to wave him back, ask him to join the two of them for lunch, for him to be a mediator for their tension and insanity.
"How is Grant?" Adam asked, leaning forward slightly.
"Great, great," Diana said, impulsively leaning back in her chair. "He left on the boat a little while ago and they're a little delayed and won't be back for another few days. But we had a really great dinner before he left. He's great."
Diana started drinking her water, wondering why she told Adam about the dinner. Did she want him to think she and Grant were in love? Did she want him to think they were just casual?
"That's great," Adam repeated. Diana felt the word "great" fall awkwardly, its excess use making it sound clunky and made-up.
The waiter arrived then with Diana's tea and Adam's coffee, providing a needed but artificial relief in their conversation.
"How about you? How are those college essays going? I'm sure you're already done with those applications," Adam laughed, pouring cream into his coffee.
"Yeah, well, I'm working on it," Diana said. "I feel like no matter how many times I start them, they just don't come out the way I want. We'll see. I'm sure it will be fine." Diana looked down into the clear green in her mug, wishing she could have answered in characteristic Diana fashion and say she had done early admissions at all of her colleges. But right now, all the confusion and depression she was experiencing left her unsure even of where she wanted to apply, and meant there was a constant to-do list that never got shorter. "How about you?" she asked, forcing herself to snap her head back up to face Adam.
"Just applying in-state, and to a couple places in Oregon," Adam said, nodding at his own comment. "Probably won't end up being able to go too far from the Boathouse, though." He took a sip of his coffee. "If I had my way, I'd probably just stay and take over the place, let my dad retire for the most part. But he thinks it's more important than I go to college than I do, so…"
Adam trailed off, and Diana thought of the plans they had started their sophomore year of high school. They would go to a small, private school together—Adam had really wanted to leave his dad and Chance Harbor back then—and move in together after experiencing the dorms for a year or two. She had had her imaginary life so planned out back then—and she had felt confident in her 16-year-old ability to construct good plans for future Diana and Adam. Now she just felt lost.
Their small talk continued until their food arrived. Diana was instantly grateful. Chewing would give her a good excuse not to have to talk. She took too-large bites of her turkey club, and ended up nodding to most of what Adam said as he picked at his tuna melt. When she had run out of salad and sandwich, she asked for a refill on her tea, anxiously waiting for it to be returned. Adam was laughing at his story about one of his recent customers at the Boathouse, and Diana felt a pang of guilt course through her body. Why was she being so awkward? Adam was apologizing to her, trying to make up for the way he had treated her. And all she could think about was bolting through the door. She needed to work on this too if they were going to stay friends.
"That's funny," Diana laughed, not quite sure what she was laughing at. She was grateful for the look on Adam's face, though, and the smile that stayed there as he looked at her. Diana felt a tinge of warmth color her cheeks, and she quickly looked back down into her tea.
"Well, are we ready to go?" Adam asked as they saw the waiter approaching. He dropped the bill down on the table; Adam quickly reached for it.
"Oh, I'll pay for my own," Diana said, preemptively taking her wallet out of her purse.
"Really, I got it," Adam said with a smile, slipping some bills into the booklet. "How would this be a proper apology lunch if I made you pay?"
Diana smiled, returning her wallet to her purse. "Well, thank you. It was delicious. And fun. I needed this."
Adam stood up, telling the waiter to keep the change as he came to collect the bill. The two exited back into the blustery late October day.
"Can I walk you to your car?" Adam asked.
"Actually, my grandma dropped me off on her way to bring lunch to Cassie." She hesitated for a moment before asking, "Do you think you could give me a ride home?"
"Absolutely!" Adam chirped. "I'm parked in the lot around back. You don't mind walking there?"
"Nope!" Diana said, hugging her pea coat around her body. "Let's go."
The two of them started down the street, chatting about the decorations that had been put up for Halloween. Adam's face became slightly flushed as the wind whipped past them. Diana had always loved it when he got that ruddy tinge, always either from being outside on a cold day or sailing. As they rounded the corner, she felt a course of adrenaline rush through her body as she saw Grant duck into a shed by the docks.
"Are you okay?" Adam asked, turning to see where Diana had frozen in place.
"Yeah," she said, trying to shake off the feeling. Clearly it wasn't Grant—he was out on a ship on its way back from Canada. And even if it was, why was she overcome by—guilt? Guilt over what?
Looking at Adam's patient, concerned face instantly told her what.
"I just rolled my ankle a little," Diana said, lifting her left foot and shaking it out slightly. "It hurt for a second, but it's fine now."
"Do you want me to get the car and bring it to you?" Adam asked, still concerned.
"No, no," Diana said, catching up to him. "Let's just get out of this cold!"
She deliberately kept her back to the shed she had seen the Grant lookalike enter, trying to keep her mind clear in the cold fall air.
"All right," Faye said, buckling her seatbelt. "Let's do this!"
Cassie nodded, turning to face Faye. They had just left the craft store, of all places, where they had purchased the twine necessary for the Attraction Spell. Faye had asked if regular string would work, but Cassie didn't want to deviate from what her Book of Shadows called for.
"Okay," Cassie agreed, nodding her head. This was really happening—Faye was helping her, and she would be able to talk to the Balcoins…this was really happening.
"So what are you going to do once they show up?" Faye asked, looking down at her nails as Cassie started to drive off. "Or have you thought through that far? You never really were one for a plan…"
"I'm going to talk to them," Cassie sighed. "I want to know whether or not they knew our father, if they knew what he was trying to use them for—I want to try to save their Circle before something happens to them that's equally terrible as what happened to our parents."
"Wait, you're trying to save them?" Faye asked, snapping her head up. "As in, the people who have been routinely trying to murder us this past month?"
"We don't know why they're doing what they're doing!" Cassie exclaimed. "They could be just as misled and lied to as we were."
"All right," Faye mumbled skeptically, turning to face out the window. "Hey, is that Grant?"
Cassie turned to the docks they were driving by and saw a flash of blond hair on a tall, male body bobbing behind some crates that were being loaded into the shed behind him.
"Maybe his boat got back in," Cassie said. "Was he out again?"
"Don't know, don't care," Faye said, turning back to her nails. "So, let's get to the important part. You're going to figure out how to get me more power once you talk to this litter of siblings of yours, right?"
"Yes, Faye," Cassie sighed, uncomfortable both with the number of illegitimate children John Blackwell had fathered, as well as the idea of bargaining for more power for Faye. The girl had been anxious but trying to hide it since her power disappeared last week when they were trapped in the school. Cassie knew it was wrong to try to use that anxiety to her advantage, but she had to do this.
"Good," Faye continued. "Because that's really the only reason I'm doing this, you know."
"How did dinner go last night?" Cassie asked, wanting to change the subject. "Jake told me it went really well, that your mom really warmed up to him."
"Oh, yeah," Faye replied. "Really good. I think she's finally coming around."
"That's awesome!" Cassie congratulated her. There were a few minutes of awkward silence as the car drove through the cold day. Cassie eventually brought up their Graphic Design class, and they chatted about that until they arrived back at the Blake house.
"Ready?" Faye asked, unbuckling herself.
"Yes," Cassie responded. The two girls hurried out of the cold and upstairs to Cassie's room.
Grabbing the bag of candles she had put aside earlier that morning, Cassie arranged the four red and one white candles, arranging them on the floor to look just like the picture from the Book. She grabbed the bowl for water next, hurrying into her bathroom and filling it at the sink. When she came back out, Faye was placing the compass in its spot.
"Ready for the twine," Faye announced, putting her hands on her hips. Cassie carefully put the two pieces on the floor, then looked up at Faye.
"Ready?" she asked.
Faye nodded.
The two girls sat on either side of the arrangement on the floor. Cassie reached forward and grasped Faye's hands, then closed her eyes and concentrated.
She imagined Parker's face as it had been at the Homecoming dance. She imagined his dark blue eyes, his tall, wiry frame, and the blond hair that was nearly the same color as hers, despite the fact that she got hers from her mother. Next, she imagined the honey-like voice of her sister and how it had tried to reach out to her. She imagined the pale blue eyes, the dark hair falling around her face, the intensity of the gaze she had barely managed to see. Next, she thought of her own energy and tried to find Diana's, somewhere, out there. She thought she might connect to it because of their bond, but this felt weaker and more distant than the images of her half-siblings.
After about ten minutes of this concentration, there was a very faint sound that came from the items on the floor. Cassie looked down to see that the flames had gone out.
"Does that mean it worked?" Faye asked.
"I don't know," Cassie said in a quiet voice, feeling somewhat dazed from her meditation. "I haven't ever done this one all the way through before. I guess so?"
The two girls stared at the self-extinguished candles. The compass was lazily pointing north, and the twine sat innocuously on the floor.
"Well…I guess I'm going to go now…" Faye said, standing up. "My mom wanted me home today to finish up my college essays."
"All right," Cassie said, getting to her feet as well. "Come on, I'll drive you."
As she closed the bedroom door behind her, Cassie looked at the items on the floor and wondered whether or not she should feel something if she was that much closer to being reunited with her own family—her only family.
Cassie sat upstairs, looking at the Attraction Spell materials on her floor. Hours had gone by, and nothing was happening. She had finished up her Chem homework, eaten dinner, started on her reading for English, and was now sitting, once again, looking at the objects. The pale light from outside was streaming through the windows; the sunset had been washed away by the clouds and it was now raining lightly. The depressed lighting seemed to fit the mood for the evening, yet somehow Cassie couldn't dismiss the sense of hopefulness she felt about all of this—like something was really going to come of it.
Pushing her hair out of her face, Cassie stood up and curled up under her blankets, pulling her laptop out and beginning to pointlessly browse the internet. She considered finishing her English homework, but was so tired she wondered if it wouldn't be a better idea to go to bed now and finish it up tomorrow. She yawned and took it as a vote from her body for the second option. She managed to crawl out of bed long enough to put some pajamas on, and then scurried back under the covers.
Rain was coming down in torrents, flooding Chance Harbor in its angry, ice-cold sheets. The ocean was sloshing onto the docks and spraying up past the rocks, dark gray and heaving with restless energy. The boats in the harbor rocked back and forth like tiny toys, the wind tossing them from side to side. The raindrops were so plump and quick they were almost like bullets falling from the sky.
Inside her home, Cassie slept peacefully, her face buried in her pillows and her body warm and snug under the comforters. Her room was engulfed in darkness, but it seemed heavy and warm in comparison to the rainstorm outside. Suddenly, the darkness was momentarily disturbed by the four red candles lighting themselves, burning rapidly for several moments before flickering out just as quickly as they had sparked to life.