The Great Divide

29. Voice of Reason

I hadn't seen James since the stakeout. It had only been two days, but had somehow felt much longer. I was used to running into him either in the hallways or media room on a daily basis, and his absence started to prick at my skin. I found I was constantly on the lookout for him, my eyes scanning my surroundings for his scowling mouth and angular eyes, and when they came up empty, I felt deflated.

I needed something else to obsess over.

Waltzing down the main hallway – eyes peeled – I found someone whom I hadn't been looking for but was, nonetheless, happy to see. Liv was situated against the edge of the hallway, her back to me, and was speaking with a deeply complected man with cropped black hair and a brilliant smile.

Stitching on a smile, I beelined towards them and prepared myself to finally meet the guy who had so easily stolen Liv's heart and – Liv giggled emphatically – her normal laugh.

"You must be Isaac," I said upon arrival, coming to a stop beside Liv.

Isaac shifted his eyes on me, smiled, and then said, "Yeah, I am." He glanced to Liv. "That must make you Margaret."

"The one and only," I said.

Rolling her eyes, Liv shifted towards me. "We were just talking about you, actually."

"I didn't know I incited so much giggling."

A gentle nudge to my side later, Liv continued, "Isaac made a joke." She blushed. "But, before that, we were talking about the broadcast you and James put out."

The mention of James simultaneously filled my chest with heat and made my skin crawl.

"I thought it was a great story," Isaac said, his voice wholesome and filling.

"Oh – um – thanks. Can't say that was the popular opinion."

Isaac brought a hand and ran it through his short, spiraled hair. It made me think of James.

Dammit all to hell.

"I think people were just shocked, is all," Isaac continued. "We were all expecting the story on the stadium – it threw everyone for a loop."

I forced a dry laugh. "That's one way of putting it. I don't think I've experienced so many death glares in all my years – and that's saying a lot."

Isaac chuckled into his fist. "Yeah, like I said, you threw some people off. I actually told my parents about the broadcast and they were both surprised – they had no idea anything like that was happening."

Because I thrived on bitterness, I said with a grimace, "What side of the city are you from, Isaac?"

Liv's sharp glare penetrated my skin. "Maggie," she hissed.

"No, it's alright," Isaac said. "My parents brought that up too. Riverport's so divided; it's like one half is clueless about the other. They said we needed to do something so everyone's on the same page. They thought it was brave you broadcasted that story."

"Your parents said that?" My voice was brash and edgy. I didn't believe what he had said.

He nodded.

For whatever reason, I was irritated. It was ridiculous Isaac's parents said they wanted the city to come together. Like that would ever happen. They were just another couple from the west side with no worries whatsoever, and a little drama on the east side gave them something to talk about.