Faye was clenching her jaw so tightly, Cassie feared her head might explode.
"I'll do that," Diana said. "But if you'll excuse me for right now, we were about to go cheer for our friends." She gestured toward the egg-toss competition.
Max looked a little disappointed. "Yeah, I should go find my dad," he said.
Faye made a move to follow him, but he stopped her. "I'll see you later," he said, and then disappeared into the crowd.
Adam, who'd been deathly silent till now, had a look of disgust on his face. "Well, that was weird."
"Adam," Diana scolded. "He was just trying to fit in.
That's what people do when they're new. They'll do anything to impress you."
Scarlett looked down, assuming that was a knock at her.
Cassie opened her mouth to say something, but before any words came out, Faye stormed off.
"Max wasn't working so hard to impress her," Adam said.
"Faye's been sexually harassing him since the moment he got here," Diana said, raising her voice. "He doesn't have to try for her."
Cassie wished Scarlett wasn't witnessing this strange moment of tension. It was actually embarrassing, how petty her friends must have appeared.
"Let's go," she said to Scarlett. "They'll catch up." Together they crossed the square. "Diana and Adam aren't usually like that," Cassie said. "You just happened to catch them in a weird moment."
"I get it." Scarlett smiled. "Couples get jealous; they fight." Suddenly Cassie felt sick again. "Adam's my boyfriend," she said quietly. "Not Diana's."
"Oh." Scarlett bit her lip. "That was stupid of me, I didn't realize - "
"No, it's fine. I can see why you'd think that. It's kind of complicated."
When they found the rest of the group clustered at one end of the cheering section, Cassie was relieved for the chance to change the subject. The competition was down to Chris and Doug, and a brother-sister team who couldn't be a day over eleven years old.
"They really like candy," Cassie said to Scarlett, as if that were a reasonable explanation.
"I can respect that," Scarlett said. "I really like candy, too. I once ate so many Skittles, I sneezed rainbows for three days."
It was a dumb joke, but Cassie recognized it for what it was. Scarlett was trying to lighten things up, to comfort her, and she appreciated that. Outsider or not, she liked this girl.
Just then, a scream for help came from the north side of the square, and everyone's attention shifted. All eyes searched for the source of the bloodcurdling sound, but the group recognized it immediately as Melanie's voice. They dashed toward the jewelry booth. Even Chris and Doug let their eggs fall to run and help.
When Cassie reached the booth, she pushed through the crowd to find Melanie's great-aunt Constance sprawled out on the ground. Melanie was crying out for someone to call an ambulance. A few townspeople with medical training kneeled over Constance, taking her vital signs, ordering everyone to stay back and give her some air. One of them had a hold on Melanie, who was thrashing and swinging at him before Diana and Laurel caught her by the arms and pulled her off to the side.
A woman who'd been about to purchase a necklace from Constance said, "She was fine one second, and then she got this panicked look on her face and just collapsed." Adam eyed the crowd for anyone suspicious. Cassie searched the mass of strangers' faces for her mother but couldn't find her. Maybe she'd gone for help. Or maybe the sight of Constance dropping to the ground was too much for her. In moments of crisis her mother tended to break down rather than rise up. It wouldn't have surprised Cassie if she'd gone running home.
The paramedics arrived, and Cassie had to look away while they performed CPR on Constance's unresponsive body. The group embraced Melanie while Adam hugged Cassie close. She buried her head in his shoulder.
It was impossible to know how much time passed while the paramedics worked on Constance. Cassie kept thinking it had to be a joke. Ha ha, got you, Cassie imagined Constance saying from her spot on the ground.
Constance was always trying to remind them of the fragility of life and the delicate balance of all things. Maybe this was just one more lesson. But then the paramedics stopped their pushing and pulling and pumping and gasping. There were no more mouthfuls of air to be given or received, and there was no more hope. The paramedic in charge stood up and brought their efforts to the ultimate conclusion. He declared Aunt Constance dead. Expired was the word he used, which struck Cassie as unbelievably harsh.
"Probably a brain aneurysm," he told his deputy, and then he expressed his condolences to Melanie. "We did everything we could, miss," he said.
Cassie had never seen Melanie lose it the way she did at that moment. She'd always kept herself together in the face of any hardship - especially in public. But this was just too much. She fell to her knees and wailed. So much for new beginnings, Cassie thought.
Chapter 7
"Everyone around us dies," Cassie said. "No matter what." The scene kept playing over and over in her mind - the sound of Melanie screaming and the sight of Constance on the ground. She couldn't stop shaking. Even with all the lanterns and flickering candles surrounding her, she felt cold in the lighthouse.
Laurel wanted to perform a strength-giving ceremony to help Melanie through the next few days. They'd gathered the necessary herbs and crystals, but once they were about to begin, the group found they were hardly capable of doing anything in an organized fashion. Everyone was lost in their own fog, traumatized.
Adam draped a blanket over Cassie's shoulders, but that, too, felt chilly and damp on her body. She couldn't stop shivering.
"She needs something to help her calm down," Adam said, and Diana quickly rummaged through the top drawer of the large pewter dresser they'd stocked with herbs and medicinal roots.
She retrieved a tiny glass bottle and eyedropper. "This is a valerian-root tincture," she said, holding the dropper up to Cassie's mouth. "It'll help ease your nerves. We should all take some."
Faye yanked Cassie away before the drops reached her tongue. "Don't try to sedate her from the truth, Diana." She slid her arm around Cassie's waist. "What Cassie said is correct. Everyone around us does die. And she's right to be losing her mind a little over it." Faye passed her eyes over each member of the group until settling on Diana. "But I wonder if that has to be the case anymore." Diana placed the tincture down on the table. "What are you saying?"