I Have an Invisible Stalker (Guardians #1)

Chapter 52

Olivia's POV

Samuel's words about needing more time echo through my mind as it finally dawns on me that there's no getting out of this. It doesn't matter how either Samuel or I feel. Everything is going to end with my memories and my ability gone. I was, after all, never meant to know of his existence.

"Liv? Are you crying?" Nick asks from where he's still sitting on the stool beside Samuel.

I reach up to my eyes and discover he's right. A few stray tears are sliding down my cheeks, but before they can reach my jaw I wipe them off.

"Olivia?" This time the voice filled with concern comes from Samuel.

"I'm fine," I assure both of them and slide my index fingers underneath my eyes to catch any lingering tears. "I just realized how it's all going to end."

Samuel's eyes soften into an understanding look, while Nick continues to stare at me with furrowed eyebrows.

"What's going to end?" Nick asks.

"I can't tell, because even if I do you won't believe me."

"I'm sorry." Samuel reaches across the counter and places his hand on top of mine. "I knew from the beginning that things would end this way, and I thought you knew as well. We—"

"Don't." I pull my hand from underneath his and busy myself with wiping the nonexistent dirt off the counter.

"Olivia?" Samuel softly calls my name, but I refuse to look at him.

Instead, I focus on the rest of the café to see if there are any customers waiting to place their order. Before I make a full sweep across the café, my eyes land on Charlie. For a moment the Head Guardian's arrival and Samuel's revelation had distracted me, but now there's nothing left to demand my attention.

My rib cage presses down onto my lungs, making me feel like someone is sitting on my chest. I don't need to think too hard to know what the suffocating feeling is. It's high time I do what I have been meaning to do ever since I discovered that Charlie was the boy I saw on the night of the accident.

"Can you do me a favor?" I ask both Samuel and Nick while keeping my eyes on Charlie.

The boy is glancing from me to Nick, and I'm a little surprised to see his eyes flickering onto Samuel's back as well. Then again, to him it must be nothing but an empty chair, so I quickly push it out of my mind and turn back to the two guys sitting across the counter from me.

"I want to talk to Charlie... Alone."

"Okay." Samuel immediately nods.

Nick, on the other hand, glances at his younger brother and after a silence-filled moment turns back to me. "Okay. I'll wait here."

"Thank you." I smile at both of them and then take off my apron. My hands feel unusually sweaty as I shamble to Charlie's table and stop behind the chair across from him. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Not at all." Charlie motions to the empty chair, but I don't miss the questioning look he shoots Nick when he thinks I'm not looking.

Once I sit down, I wipe my hands into my pants and keep my eyes on the table between us. "I'm not sure you remember, but my name is—"

"You're Olivia," Charlie beats me to it. "I know. You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard your name in the past couple of weeks. You're all he thinks about."

Both of us glance at Nick, who is now turned away from us. He's facing toward the counter and talking with Ramona.

"If you say so." I turn back to the table and return to searching for a way to explain everything to Charlie, while also being mindful of his newly released condition. The last thing I want is to add more worries or stress to his young shoulders. Though, as I search through my dusty brain, I come up empty. All I can think about is that I don't know how to think my words through. I've never done it before.