Olivia's POV
"It all makes sense now," I breathe out as the truth smashes down on me. I'm still standing beside Dad, facing officer Wright's desk, while being painfully aware of the trio not far behind me. "From the very beginning, Dr. Kate acted like she knew me. She knows I'm your daughter, doesn't she?"
"Yes," Dad confirms my suspicion. "She's the one who first told me about your accident. It's why I know she isn't the driver."
"Don't worry. I know it wasn't her," I reassure him and then glance at officer Wright. "I already told the police as much, but they won't listen to me."
"She told you she remembers who the driver is," Nick adds from a step behind me. "Why aren't you doing anything?"
"It's not that easy." Officer Wright slumps into his chair. "For one the license registered under the doctor's name matches the partial one Olivia gave us."
"But so must several others." Nick shakes his head.
"We also haven't found her car," officer Wright continues.
"That's because it's with me." Dad raises his hand. "I needed a car Olivia wouldn't recognize, while I followed her, so Kate lent me hers."
"Are you willing to let us search the vehicle?" Officer Wright narrows his eyes at my dad.
"If you release Kate. It's been almost twenty-four hours anyway, so either you charge or release her."
The two fathers hold each other's eyes for a moment until officer Wright finally nods. "Davis?" he says. "Release doctor Kattan."
"I'm coming with you." Dad steps forward and follows the other officer out of the room.
The moment officer Davis and my dad leave, officer Wright turns to his son. "I want to have a word in private with you Nick."
Instead of following his father's order, Nick taps me on my shoulder and waits until I turn around to face him. Wordlessly he asks me if I'll be okay on my own. While I don't have anything against Nick talking to his father, I know that the moment Nick leaves my side, so will Samuel. And after finally being reunited with him, I don't want us to part again.
"Fine." Eliza pushes out a loud sigh. "I'll stay with the cop's son, and you can leave with lover boy."
"Thank you," Samuel says aloud, while I mouth the same words.
I have only enough time to tell Nick that I'll wait outside the building before Samuel pulls me out of the room. We head through the front entrance and a little further to the side, to the spot where we were forced to part a day ago. Just like right before the Head Guardian arrived, Samuel pushes me against the wall and kisses the breath out of me. And while the location makes my skin crawl with unease, I forget about everything the moment our lips meet.
"What can we do to get you reinstated as my Guardian?" I break the kiss, but at the same time keep my hands wrapped around two fistfuls of his thin sweater, ensuring myself that he can't disappear on me.
"I don't know." Samuel sighs and leans his forehead against mine. "First we need to ensure the Head Guardian doesn't get her hands on your ability and your memories. So, the next time you see her, hide."
"Okay. But what aboutâ"
"Olivia?"
I turn my head to the side to find Dad and Dr. Kate walk through the front entrance hand-in-hand. I detach myself from the wall but wrap my hand around Samuel's before making my way over to them.
"Thank you so much, Olivia dear." Dr. Kate grasps my free hand in between hers. "I'm so happy you now know the truth, especially since I must have seemed like a very pushy doctor."
"It's okay. I'm actually the one who should be apologizing. I'm, after all, the reason you were arrested."
"That wasn't your fault," Dr. Kate disagrees.
"Still. I'm sorry for the trouble it caused you."
"Thankâ" Dr. Kate begins.
"Wait a minute." Dad interrupts her as his eyes round into two wide circles. "Did I hear right? Did you just..."
"Not you too." I roll my eyes.
I know apologizing has never come easy to me, but that doesn't require all of my loved ones to act like it's nothing short of a miracle. I have, after all, apologized before. Right?
*
Samuel's POV
I close my eyes and allow my memories of Olivia to swarm my mind. From her unexpected, but honest responses, to the way she smiles at me whenever our eyes meet. Yet when I open my eyes again, I'm still in the same gray office with Olivia nowhere in sight.
With a sigh, I throw my workaholic charge one last glance and then close my eyes again. This time I think about Nick and immediately feel a shift in the air. When I open my eyes, the dull cubicle is replaced by a familiar street and the backs of two familiar boysâNick and Charlie.
"Can't you for once be where I want you to?" I groan aloud.
The moment I speak Charlie misses a step with the crutch. His body goes plummeting toward the ground where he would land face first if it weren't for Nick. My charge grabs Charlie's elbow and steadies him before he can hurt any other part of his body.
"You okay?" Nick asks once Charlie is back on his one foot and two crutches.
"I'm fine," Charlie murmurs and glances behind him.
For a second, he looks directly at me, but then his eyes move to my left and right and I realize that him looking at me was nothing but a coincidence. I follow his gaze, trying to find what he's looking for, but there's nothing but an empty street surrounding us. I, however, dismiss his strange behavior the moment I notice where we're at.
While my steps falter, Nick and Charlie turn back forward and step off the edge of the sidewalk. They cross the intersection right at the spot where Olivia said she did on the night of the accident, and for some reason, I can't make myself follow them.
When they reach the other side of the road, Nick turns a sharp right, but Charlie stops. He glances behind his back, and for a moment I swear his eyes land on me. They move away so quickly, though, that I conclude it to be just another coincidence.
"Is there something special about this place?" Charlie asks.
"Huh?" Nick stops and turns to look at the intersection. "I think it's the place where Olivia's car accident happened."
While the two of them wordlessly glance around the intersection, I step off the sidewalk and drag my feet over to them. No matter how heavy my legs feel, I force myself to keep moving. If Olivia did it, then so can I.
"Let's go," Charlie says the moment I reach the sidewalk.
Together the three of us make our way up the street, which causes a new hope to swell inside me. As far as I know, there is only one noteworthy location within walking distance from here.
Ramona's café.
We are just about to pass the edge of the small park when Charlie stops. "Is that Hugo?"
Nick and I follow his gaze, and I realize he's right. On the same wooden bench as always lies Hugo, but I'm the only one who notices that he isn't alone. A few steps away from him is his Guardian, Isaiah, pacing up and down the grass and waving with his hands through the air like a madman.
"You're right," Nick says. "What's he doing here?"
As they make their way toward Hugo, I head in Isaiah's direction. Before I cross half the distance between us, though, Isaiah's eyes land on me. He freezes in the middle of a step. I open my mouth to greet him, but I can't let out a single syllable when he already snaps his eyes close. In an instant, he vanishes, and because I have no idea who his other charges are, there's no way I can tell where he disappeared off to.
"Damn it." I kick the grass beneath my feet and then drag my feet to the three humans instead.
"Hey, man. You alive?" Nick asks once he and Charlie stop at the foot of the bench.
"Who?" Hugo raises his hand to shield his eyes and then pries one open. "Oh, it's you guys. What's up?"
"We're headed to a café where Nick says they make the best coffee," Charlie says.
"I bet," Hugo snorts, opens his other eye, and raises into a sitting position. "Did he also tell you that the café is where Olivia works?"
"He didn't, but I figured," Charlie smirks at Nick's colored cheeks and then turns back to Hugo. "What're you doing here?"
"Enjoying my freedom," Hugo says. "Olivia's working right now, and I have at least another three hours free before the start of my shift."
The moment he mentions Olivia being at the café my ears perk, and I don't miss the way Nick's do the same. I want to hammer into his head that Olivia is mine, but at the same time, I know that his crush on Olivia is the only reason why I'm able to see her. If anything I ought to be grateful.
No matter how hard I try to deny it, though, I know that Olivia isn't just another charge to me anymore. She has come to mean more to me. So much more that I'm starting to question if I still want to leave.
***
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- E