The Divide Page 0,26

lot of that happening today."

Cassie bit her lip but said nothing.

Scarlett shifted uncomfortably and said, "Maybe I should get going."

"No," Diana said. "I should." She stepped past them toward the mall 's entrance. "I'll talk to you later, Cassie."

"That girl really does not like me," Scarlett said, once Diana was out of earshot.

Cassie wasn't sure how to begin defending Diana's behavior. It's not like Scarlett could possibly understand. "It has nothing to do with you," Cassie said. "Believe me. But I'm still sorry."

Scarlett shrugged it off. "I'll let you make it up to me by joining me for dinner."

Cassie was torn. She knew the right thing to do was to separate from Scarlett and immediately go do damage control with Diana, but she'd been having such a good time, and breaking off from Scarlett now would only hurt her feelings.

"How about burgers from Buffalo House?" Scarlett asked. "I'm buying."

"I really shouldn't." Cassie felt for the bag of herbs in her tote and looked at her watch. But a bacon cheeseburger sounded like bliss right now. A girl had to eat, right?

"Okay," Cassie said at last. "If you come with me to run this errand first. It's just a quick favor for a friend. Then we can go for burgers."

Scarlett beamed. "Perfect," she said.

Of course, the Circle would not approve of Cassie bringing Scarlett along, but she was careful. And Scarlett didn't ask any questions, even when Cassie insisted she stay in the car while she ran into the abandoned lighthouse with a paper sack under her arm. And since Melanie and Laurel hadn't arrived yet, all she had to do was drop the bag onto the table and go. It took less than a minute to get in and out. And then she and Scarlett were free to race over to Buffalo House for burgers.

Later that night, Adam came over to Cassie's for a cozy night of popcorn and a movie. Her mom was upstairs, allowing them their privacy in the den, where they lounged on the soft-backed couch. Cassie sunk down into the cushion with her head resting on Adam's shoulder, breathing him in. She could get drunk off the smell of him.

They weren't really watching the movie, or at least Cassie wasn't. She had her eyes closed and was focused on Adam's gentle caresses, how he slid his soft fingers up the inside of her arm, starting at the wrist, moving to the elbow, and back down again. She could have done that all night; the movie was just noise in the background. But then Adam looked down to see if she was awake.

"You're sleeping," he said.

Cassie opened her eyes. "I'm not sleeping, just enjoying." Adam got a serious look in his eye, and Cassie was sure he was about to lean in to kiss her. This was how their movie watching usually turned out. But this time, instead of kissing her, he clicked the movie off and sat upright.

"There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about," he said.

Cassie also sat up straight and pulled her knees into her chest. She couldn't imagine what was about to come out of his mouth. A million possibilities, one worse than the next, raced through her mind.

"Diana said she saw you out shopping this afternoon," Adam said. "With Scarlett."

Cassie stiffened. "Oh."

"She thinks your friendship with Scarlett is getting too close."

"Well, thank you for telling me what Diana thinks," Cassie said.

The remark made Adam raise his voice, which was something he never did in Cassie's presence. "I don't think I should have to tell you that you're putting yourself at risk by spending so much time with an Outsider," he said. "You're putting all of us at risk."

"Is that even how you really feel, or is that how Diana feels?"

Adam jerked back as if Cassie had taken a swing at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Why are you siding with Diana on this? You've always been the one to jump to the defense of Outsiders."

"Cassie, what's going on with you? Come here." Adam tried to reach for her, but she pulled away.

Cassie knew she was overreacting - this was Adam, the guy who stayed up all night on her front porch just to protect her. And Adam and Diana had been friends their whole lives; of course Diana went to him for advice. But she still didn't want him to touch her.

"I'm not siding with anyone," Adam said. "These aren't normal circumstances. You know that."

But all Cassie could hear right