chapter Thirty-Six
Schuyler
inn's dorm was actually a college house called Blackstone. It was much more lavish than Schuyler was expecting; she'd pictured bunk beds in an anonymous cinder block room, especially after seeing the art building. But Blackstone was a beautiful brick building that looked almost like a cathedral.
They entered into a student lounge, which had a fireplace and a grand piano. "This is college?" Schuyler asked. "Or Downton Abbey?"
Finn laughed. "It is here. This place is great! You should see my room."
She led them to an apartment with two bedrooms, a kitchenette, and a bathroom. "I share the kitchen and the bathroom, but the bedroom is all mine," she said. "We can decorate them however we want."
Schuyler let out a gasp when Finn turned on the lights. It wasn't because the room was a mess, even though it was. No, her surprise was because the walls were covered with paintings of someone who looked so much like her that it had to be Allegra. "Did your - our - dad do these?" she asked.
"Every last one," Finn said. "They're pretty much all I have left of him. Go ahead, take a look if you want. They're pretty great, right? Did you ever see the reviews of his show in Artforum or Art in America? He could have been something if he'd lived."
"I haven't. I'd love to see them one day," Schuyler said as she stood close enough to the paintings to see the fine brushstrokes, the swirl of the paint, to smell the...Wait a minute. That smell...it couldn't be....
"Oliver, come here," she whispered, while Finn was puttering around the little kitchen to rustle up some drinks. "I smell blood."
"Where?" he asked. "You're not telling me your sister is some kind of serial killer, are you?" he said jokingly.
"No, in the paintings!" Schuyler said. "I think Ben might have mixed his own blood in with the paint."
"Gross," Oliver said. "What is that, like a Vito Acconci fur, felt, and seed sort of thing?"
"It's not exactly common, but people have done it. You know what this means, don't you?"
Oliver gave her a curious look, but then Finn came back in the room. "Cool, right?" she said. "I always used to wonder who he was painting, but I guess that mystery's been solved. That's your mother, isn't it? You look just like her except for the dark hair."
"I think so," Schuyler said.
"What was she like?" Finn asked eagerly. "My mom always told me it was some sort of tragic love story."
"Well, I guess you could say it was tragic because he died, and after I was born, my mom was in a coma for almost all of my life," Schuyler said. "Your mom wasn't - angry? I sort of figured - "
"Mom's a true romantic," Finn said. "She was pretty crazy about my dad, but she knew the whole time that he was in love with someone else. That's why she lied and told him she wasn't pregnant anymore, so he could go and be with her and not feel guilty."
"And she told you all of this?" Schuyler was amazed. She'd spent her whole life in the dark, and here was this girl whose mother apparently kept no secrets. What a different life she must have led.
"I guess it was really important to her that I grew up with good feelings about my dad since I didn't get to know him at all. You're so lucky," Finn said suddenly.
"Lucky? How?"
"He loved your mom," Finn said simply. "Oh, he was fond of mine, sure, but it wasn't the same."
Schuyler shook her head. "No, you were the lucky one. Your mother loved him so much that she let him go because she wanted him to be happy. I bet she was always there for you, wasn't she?"
"Every moment." Finn didn't deny it.
"Decca showed me all the photos - the birthday parties..."
"Yeah, they were pretty epic."
"If your mom hadn't lied, our dad would never have left her. He would have done the right thing. He was a good guy."
"Even if he was, he's still dead," Finn said suddenly.
"Yeah." Schuyler had to agree. Then she realized - she wasn't alone in her grief - in her missing him. Finn was in the same boat. Here was someone who loved and missed him too, and who'd never known him. Her sister.
"Besides" - Finn shrugged - "Mom turned out to be right about the whole romance thing. She met this fabulous guy when I was twelve, and I'm really close to my stepdad. It's almost enough to make me believe in true love."
"Even if you haven't found it yourself?" Oliver asked with a smile.
Wait a minute - was Schuyler seeing what she thought she was seeing? Oliver Hazard-Perry, blushing? She supposed it made sense. Finn did look a little bit like her, and more important, she was awesome - confident, funny, smart. Normal. Oliver deserved someone like her.
"Not yet," Finn said, returning the smile with one of her own.
Schuyler could see where this was going, and it made her happy. But it also made her miss Jack desperately. Could it really be this easy for two people to find each other? Why couldn't it have been that easy for her and Jack? Would she ever see him again? Would they ever be together?
"Earth to Sky," Oliver said, snapping his fingers in front of her face.
"Sorry. It's all just so overwhelming."
"Tell me about it!" Finn agreed. "But I'm just so glad you found me!"
"I am too!" Schuyler said. "Tell me more about our dad, and you. Everything. I want to know everything."
They spent the rest of the afternoon talking, catching up on the things they'd missed out on, not growing up together. Schuyler edited her version heavily, just as she had with Decca. She didn't want to freak out her Red Blood relatives.
"You were a model?" Finn asked, impressed. "Was it fun?"
"Not really," Schuyler admitted. "But I did love the free clothes."
"I guess I was a bit of a jock," Finn said. "Field hockey, softball, track. I don't think I took my hair out of a ponytail until college. But like Dad, I was always drawing. And I prepped at Endicott like him. I was a Peithologian too. When I was there, I found he'd carved his name and Allegra's in the woods. It was very romantic."
"I'll carve your name anytime," Oliver murmured.
Schuyler elbowed him. "Subtlety is key," she whispered.
"What's that?" Finn asked.
"Oh, nothing," Oliver said.
"So neither of you is in school right now?" Finn asked.
"We decided to put it off for a while," Schuyler said.
"Didn't want to waste the opportunity," Oliver said. "We're traveling instead."
"Anyplace exciting?"
They looked at each other and tried not to laugh. Exciting was one way of putting it. "In the past year, I've been to London, Egypt, and Italy," Schuyler said.
"And I've been to - " Oliver paused. "I guess Europe, mostly."
Schuyler imagined he'd been tempted to explain that he'd spent quality time in the underworld, but it didn't really seem appropriate for the situation. It must have killed him that her travel sounded more exciting than his. She could barely hide her smirk.
"So you guys have no idea what you're missing, then," Finn said.
"We don't miss going to class," Oliver said.
"Oh, but the real fun starts when classes end. There's a big party tonight. Will you come? Or do you have to leave soon?"
Oliver looked at Schuyler. She'd rarely seen a pleading look in his eyes, so it took her a minute to recognize it for what it was. He'd been partying with socialites and aristocrats in London, and yet here he was, angling to go to a regular college party.
She wasn't sure what to do - they probably should get back to London and meet up with the rest of the Blue Bloods; but that would basically be admitting that the trip was, from that perspective, a wash. And then there was the whole blood painting possibility...the Blood of the Father....If she stayed, maybe she'd have a chance to check it out.
"Sure, why not?" she said.