She had acted selfishly, needlessly, recklessly.
He had no choice but to love her. Even if he left her now, he would never love another; he would always be alone.
He was damned, and she had cursed both of them with her weakness.
"I am sorry." Schuyler's eyes filled with tears. There would be no way to make this right.
"If you are sorry, you will leave him. Jack will never be yours, Schuyler. Not like I am yours."
She nodded, crying bitterly, wiping her tears and runny nose with a wet sleeve. She knew she looked as wretched as she felt.
Oliver softened. "Come on, let's get out of the rain. We're both going to catch a cold." He led Schuyler gently into the shelter of a store awning.
"You're too kind to me," Schuyler whispered.
Oliver nodded. He knew what it was like to love one who did not—or could not—love you back. But he'd had no choice. None of them did.
AUDIO RECORDINGS ARCHIVE:
Repository of History
CLASSIFIED DOCUMENT:
Altithronus Clearance Only
Transcript of Venator report filed 3/3
Venator Martin: They have called for the blood trial. All will be known. I will be discovered.
Charles Force: Yes, I heard. You must be quick. You must disappear. I will help you.
VM: But I want to know why. Why did you have me call the Silver Blood? Why?
CF: Because I had to know.
VM: Had to know what?
CF: If it was possible.
VM: What do you mean?
CF: It should not have worked, (agitated) It should never have happened—it was just a test. To see …
VM: What?
CF: No time, (whispers) I know what I must do now.
VM: But the Regis. He will want an explanation for my actions.
CF: Yes. I will take care of Lawrence. Do not worry. He, of all people, will understand why I did what I had to do. Now, listen to me. I am sending you to Corcovado….
"Sky, you look awful. What happened?" Bliss asked, finding Schuyler standing morosely at her doorway. Schuyler's eyes were red from crying, and she was blowing her nose with a tissue.
"Your maid let me in. I hope that's okay. Are your parents around?" Schuyler asked, still sniffing.
"No. They're at some campaign fund-raiser. What else is new. Come on in. Not that they'd care anyway. You know they like you," Bliss said. As soon as she said it, Bliss realized she wasn't sure if it was true. Her parents had never shown any interest in her friends. They still assumed she hung out with Mimi Force. That's how clueless they were. They'd never even met Schuyler or Oliver.
"Are you all right?" Bliss asked.
Schuyler shook her head. She followed Bliss into her bedroom and climbed onto her bed, leaning back on the pillows and closing her eyes. "Oliver hates me," she said with a strangled cry as she rubbed her eyes. "He saw…the…two of us…Jack and…"
"He knows." Bliss nodded. So that's what Mimi was telling Oliver that afternoon.
In answer, Schuyler grabbed a fluffy pillow from among the huge goose-down heap and put it behind her neck. "Yeah."
Bliss sighed. She picked up the television remote and started flipping through recorded programs. "Did you see the latest episode of The Beach?"
"No, put it on," Schuyler urged. The fabricated "reality show" about the lives of three vacuous and yet strangely fascinating blond girls from Los Angeles was their favorite.
"So how'd he find out?" Bliss asked, keeping her eyes on the screen. Then she paused the action and turned to Schuyler. "Although, I guess it doesn't matter. You know he would eventually."
"I know," Schuyler said. "I wish you wouldn't look at me that way. I know what you're thinking."
"I didn't say anything."
"You don't have to."
Bliss rubbed Schuyler's back. She was sympathetic, but Schuyler had known what she was doing when she hooked up with Jack. She'd alienated a friend, and for what—Jack Force? What did she see in him anyway?
"Look, I've got to tell you something: Mimi and I visited Dylan today," Bliss said. She repeated everything the doctor had told her.
Schuyler was astonished and confused. "So if it wasn't Dylan who killed Aggie and all those others—who was it?"
"Who knows?"
"Does anyone else know about this? That he didn't do it?"
"Other than Mimi and me? Yeah. Forsyth," Bliss said. She realized she somehow couldn't bring herself to call him "Dad" lately. "Dr. Andrews said he'd called him once the tests came in."
"But your dad didn't mention anything to you?"
"Not a word."
"Or to the Conclave?"
"Mimi said Forsyth didn't tell them about Dylan at all," Bliss said, feeling more and more embarrassed about her father's actions.
"I wonder why …"
"Maybe he did it to help me," Bliss said defensively. "He knew the Conclave would want Dylan destroyed, so he hid him from them."
"But Dylan's not a Silver Blood," Schuyler said. "And he never was. So there was no threat that he would be destroyed. They performed the test, and he passed. Hey, what's with the suitcase?" she asked, motioning to the half-packed Tumi rollers at the foot of Bliss's bed.
"Oh yeah, we're going away."
"Where?"
"Rio. Forsyth said Nan Cutler called a major Conclave meeting, told them your grandfather needed help, and now everyone's going."
"What kind of help?" Schuyler demanded.
"Hey—don't worry," Bliss said, seeing the panicked expression on her friend's face. "I'm sure he's all right."
"I haven't heard from Lawrence in a long time," Schuyler admitted. "I've been so caught up with Jack I didn't even notice. What else did Forsyth say?"
Bliss was reluctant to say, but decided Schuyler had a right to know. "I'm not one hundred percent sure, but it sounded like Lawrence was in some sort of trouble."
"What kind of trouble?"
"I wish I could tell you. All I know is this morning Forsyth told us we were going to Rio. Conclave business." She pointed the remote control in the direction of the television screen and fast-forwarded through the commercials.
The show came back on, and Bliss reached under her bed and handed Schuyler a bag of her favorite jalapeсo potato chips. "Anyway, don't worry about Ollie. He'll come around. You know he will."
"I don't know about that. I really think he hates me, Bliss. He told me it was him or Jack. That I had to choose."
"And what did you say?"
"Nothing." Schuyler blinked back fresh tears. "I can't choose. You know I can't." She tossed the empty bag and kicked at a pillow. "Everything's rotten."
Bliss kept one eye on the television and the other on her friend. She heartily agreed with Schuyler's assessment. Everything did feel rotten. Like how Forsyth had never been straight with her about Dylan. Sometimes it felt as if everyone was lying about everything.
After a few minutes of watching the main star of the show break up with her boyfriend for the nth time, Schuyler spoke. "You know, I haven't heard anything from Lawrence since he's been there, except that he wishes the weather were cooler. If he's truly in danger, don't you think he would have said something to me? Maybe sent me a message?"
"Maybe he doesn't want you to worry," Bliss said. "He's probably just doing it to protect you. If there's something wrong with Corcovado, he did say he wanted to keep you away from it," she reminded.
"I guess." Schuyler played with a tassel on her pillow. "But it feels weird, you know? I mean, Lawrence doesn't trust the Conclave with anything. Not since Plymouth," she said. "Why would he call for them now?"