The Divide Page 0,45

to seeing him walking his three Pomeranians around town. A few times, she'd bent down to pet one of the dogs, but she never engaged in much conversation with the old man. He was who answered the door when they arrived, the dogs yapping and jumping around his feet.

Cassie introduced herself and Adam while the man ordered his dogs to be quiet. Once inside, she stuttered a bit before saying, "Sorry to bother you, but my sister, Scarlett, is a guest here. We were wondering if she's here." It was the first time Cassie had ever said those words, my sister. It felt exhilarating to say it, but it also felt foreign, as if she were telling a lie.

The man nodded and rubbed at the silver scruff on his chin. "Yes, yes, Scarlett with the crazy hair," he said.

"So she's here?" Cassie was momentarily relieved.

"No," he replied. "She hasn't been here since yesterday." Adam noticed the panic in Cassie's eyes and pressed for more information. "Are you sure? She never came home last night, not even to sleep?"

"No, she didn't," the man said, straightening his posture.

"But that's really not your business. A girl has a right to her privacy." His eyes ricocheted between Adam and Cassie, and then he raised his white eyebrows. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I can't give out information on my guests to two strangers, kids or not."

"Of course," Adam said. "We understand. Thank you for your help." He left a phone number so they could be reached in case Scarlett returned, or if he heard anything of her whereabouts.

Back in the car, Cassie turned to him. "Now I'm really worried sick. What should we do?"

Adam focused on his driving. "I think we should give it a little more time," he said calmly. "We don't know that she's in trouble. She could just be out and about."

"Out and about?" Cassie was exasperated. "If she was just out and about, then she would have shown up at the coffee shop when she was supposed to, or at least answered her phone."

"Cassie." Adam chose his words carefully. "Try to remember that we don't know all that much about Scarlett.

She could be off visiting friends and forgot to call you."

"So you think she'd just stand up her new sister?"

"That's not what I'm saying."

"You think she's some kind of flake," Cassie said. "Just because she's not as uptight as all of you."

"All of you?" Adam gripped the steering wheel tightly and brought the car to a halting stop. "You mean us, the Circle?

Why do you keep insisting on separating yourself from us? I don't understand it, Cassie."

Cassie was feeling too much all at once to make sense of it. But here they were again, having the same fight they seemed to keep having. She was tired of Adam always trying to reason her out of her true feelings.

"I'm not separating myself," she said. "But I don't know what more you need to fully accept Scarlett. She's my sister, Adam."

"I know," he said, continuing along Crowhaven Road to Cassie's house. "I didn't mean anything by suggesting she might not be in trouble. Do you see how quickly you jumped to that conclusion?"

Cassie didn't want to admit it, but she did see that. She was silent until they reached her house. "I guess I'm just shaken up," she said finally.

"Let's just give it the night," Adam said. "If you still don't hear from her, I promise we'll get the group to look for her in the morning."

"Okay." Cassie reached over and gave Adam a kiss on the cheek, but she didn't invite him into her house.

That night Cassie had a dream. One minute she was on a beach, tanning beneath the summer sun with the sound of the ocean and seagulls filling her ears, and the next minute she heard a scream. It was a bloodcurdling scream for help, much like Melanie's scream the night Constance was killed at the festival. In the dream, Cassie opened her eyes and found she was no longer on a sunny beach but in a field or a meadow, at night. And the sky overhead had turned murky, like a poll uted body of water.

The scream for help came louder. Cassie thought it was coming from a shadowy house in the distance. It was unmistakably Scarlett's voice, but Cassie couldn't get to it.

In fact, she couldn't move at all.

Scarlett! Cassie yelled out, still within the dream. I can hear