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CHAPTER 9

Bliss

The Visitor was annoyed Bliss felt his irritation like a blister It was afternoon, as far as she could tell The days slipped by one after the other so easily that it was hard to figure out what time it was, but Bliss tried to keep track as best she could When he was quiet, it was night, and when she could sense his awareness, it was day

Usually she would get a glimpse of the outside world when he woke up Like yesterday , with the white shutters Then the blinds would shut again Only when he let his guard doas Bliss able to get a quick ie of the outside world

Like now, for the Visitor had been taken by surprise

One h the house, and the next they were srotesque and pitiful Ugly

What was this? What was she looking at? Then she realized she was seeing the world through his eyes Only when she pushed herself a little harder did she see that they were just ae suit and sunglasses was ushering a fah the foyer They looked like the typical Haator shirt with a white tennis sweater over his shoulders, Mom in lavender seersucker, the kids, two boys, in miniature versions of Dad’s outfit

"Oh, hello I’m sorry We were told the owners wouldn’t be here for the showing," the lady in the business suit said with a fake smile "But since you’re here, do you know if your father’s contractor is still available to complete the renovation?"

Then it all went black and the ih Bliss had been able to hear the question Bobi Anne had been in thebefore she died The Hamptons house was supposed to be completed by now, but when they returned from South America, Forsyth had ordered the construction ceased The entire back half of the house was round covered in plaster dust, sawdust, and plastic

The senator had returned to New York only to discover that he had been cleaned out in the latest financial upheaval Some kind of Ponzi scheme, Bliss understood; a total scam She wasn’t sure, except that whatever it was, it had been enough to get Forsyth out of Conclave duties for a while She couldn’t quite tell what had happened, since it was around this tian to take over co they were bankrupt

Forsyth was trying to get a loan froh His salary as a US senator was trifling The Llewellyns, like many Blue Blood families, lived on investment returns

And apparently those investone

Which was probably the reason why there was a real estate agent at the house with her clients Forsyth was selling the house The thought didn’t make Bliss very sad They didn’t spend so much time in the Hamptons that she would miss it She had been much more despondent when they had left their home in Texas She still missed that house sometimes: the way her two-level attic bedroom rested under the leaves of an oldtree, afternoons spent reading on the porch swing, the old antique mirrors in the bathrooms that made everyone look a little bit one awhile, she thought, alone in the darkness How long, she wasn’t certain It was hard to judge time when you weren’t in the physical world anyht that there was soht be truly alone this tiod knohat Usually she sensed his presence, but there had been times in the past when she was quite convinced she was completely alone That it was only her inside her body, and the other had gone

Could it be? Was she truly alone? Bliss felt an excite The Visitor was gone, she could feel it She was sure She knehat she had to do But she didn’t know if she still could Open the blinds Open your eyes Open them! Open! But where were they?

Dise of the word It was like floating without an anchor She had to get grounded again, to feel her way around until, yes’there it is, a crack of light, ined it?, but if she could just force it open ¨C there!, just a little more

Bliss opened her eyes slowly She’d done it! She looked around It was a to be able to see the world on her terlasses She was in the library

A small cozy nook surrounded by walls of books Her stepood hoazines Forsyth liked to stay in his den with his large-screen television The library had become the sisters’ territory

Bliss remembered how she and Jordan would sit at theseat, looking out at the pool and the ocean while they read Bliss saw an old su stack on a shelf next to the Victorian rolltop desk The Brothers Karaht she heard a noise Whether it was from inside or out, she did not know Close the blinds Close your eyes, she thought frantically Close them before he co She was still alone

She waited for a long ti She really was alone She had to take advantage of this Bliss had had a plan ever since she’d noticed his prolonged absences She had to do so more than just look around Dare she?

Her body felt sluggish and heavy So heavy This was going to be impossible What if he came back?

What then? She had to try, she told herself She had to do so She couldn’t just live like an invalid, in li else I’m still Bliss Llewellyn, aren’t I?

I’ve won tennis tournaments and run marathons I can do this

Move your hand Move your hand

Can’t Too heavy Where is my hand? I have a hand? What is a hand? There I can feel lass, or subician on the Today shoho had attempted to live underwater for several days How immobilized and swollen he had looked

She was no ician, but there was no reason to remain trapped underneath her own fear either Move it Move Your Hand Oh God It weighs three thousand pounds I can’t do it I can’t, I can’t But I have to

Do it!

She remembered how hard it had been to learn the four-base pyra It required acute coordination and the skill of a trapeze artist Bliss was the only cheerleader on the team who could do it She remembered how scared she had been the first time If she didn’t connect with the base’s hands on the way up, she would fall; if she missed the back spotter on the extension, she would fall; if she didn’t balance correctly on her left foot, she would fall

But she would connect with the base, hit herbent back above her head, and hold the pose until she was throard in a triple-somersault pop-flick to land on her feet

Too bad Duchesne didn’t have a squad Bliss had tried to start one, but no one was interested Snobs! They didn’t knohat they were a out on the field, po, the roar from the stands, the jealousy and the admiration On Fridays, cheerleaders were allowed to wear their unifor a crown The scorpion

She’d nailed it

If I could do that, I can do this, she told herself

Move Your Hand! She could feel her bangs in her face The Visitor had not bothered with haircuts, or manicures either Bliss was annoyed All that work to look cute gone down the drain Her hair ild and unta about it

There Urrrgh! Her hand jerked away, s But she’d done it Her hand aardly brushed her hair, moved it away from her eyes

So

I can do it

I can take control ofto be difficult and painful and slow, but I can do it I’ame yet

Now all she had to do was learn hoalk again

The Conduit