I turned myself away, pretending to scan a box of junk.‘Hey, Samantha. Done?’ I looked over, as if I hadn’t known he was coming. I n...dded and smiled.‘You actually like that kind of stuff?’ My chest tightened, following his gaze to a stack of books by me. ‘Those mystery books aren’t that great. Don’t even know why I bought them. Did you find anything else you liked?’ I shook my head, hoping he wouldn’t notice my current verbal. Uhng..."Dorothy is suddenly very still, and Cassie hears her own heart hammering. She recoils when her mother slowly stands. All the emotion which has been roiling like a boiling pot of water has abruptly trickled to nothing. She is utterly blank to Cassie now, as if she were no more than a mannequin.Her mother turns, and Cassie's eyes widen in shock. Her mother's eyes are empty, just like Heather and Diane when Melissa had trapped their spirits in the box."What do you wish of me, Cassandra?". ”“I guess so. She made me promise that I wouldn’t try to break you up.”“Shit, how did you handle that?”“I just told her that I had no chance anyway because you would protect her interests. I told her that you had already told Marg that if she tried to come in between you and Julie that she would be asked to leave. I then went on to say that if you told Marg that then no one else stood a chance.”“Why did you say that to her?”“I told her that because it is the truth. I know that you try to hide. Lindsay pulled a heavy rubber mask over my face. It was like a gas-mask, but without any kind of provision for seeing out of it: quite the reverse in fact, as soft pads pressed against my eyes and blotted out the tiniest chink of light. It created a profound darkness.Once Lindsay connected the hose, I realise that by breathing in I sucked air out of the top of the bottle, which in turn pulled in more through the tube, which bubbled up through the liquid and rubber mixture.Even without seeing.