I Have an Invisible Stalker (Guardians #1)

Chapter 10

Olivia's POV

The sixth time Samuel appears at my side, I'm not surprised anymore. Instead, I ignore his sudden appearance and continue to hop down the side of the small park.

"Why are you back here?" he asks.

It's been three days since my first visit to the accident site, which means that Samuel has completed another full circle with his charges. And yet I still don't remember a single detail about the cursed night; even after the hour I have spent at the intersection.

"Isn't it obvious?" I keep my eyes on the dull gray asphalt to make sure I don't stick my crutches into a hole and end up falling onto my butt. "I was bored, so I came here to see if today my memories would be more inclined to cooperate."

"Were they?"

"No. I still don't remember a single thing." I glance at him to find him focused on the street in front of us. "Aren't you going to ask why I was bored? Probably not, but I'll still tell you. You see, both you and Eliza haven't been around these past three days, so I haven't had anyone to address my unanswered questions to. Like for instance, how do I distinguish Guardians from humans? I mean, is there a special feature I need to look for?"

No matter how many seconds I wait for his answer Samuel refuses to turn toward me. In fact, with the way he has his lips pursed into a tight frown and his eyes focused straight forward, I get the feeling that he's not even listening to me.

This is why I move the crutches forward into an unusually wide step and use them for support to move forward. Then when I'm the tiniest step in front of Samuel, I swipe the left crutch to my side and position it directly underneath Samuel's feet. Just like during our second interaction in front of my house, he falls flat onto his face.

"The crutches are an amazing weapon, don't you agree?" I smile at him but hop a safe step back just in case.

Samuel lifts himself onto his elbows and glares up at me. "What was that for?"

The fall caused his thick front hair to move to the side, which provides me with a rare glimpse of his pale forehead. Once again the old thumb-sized scar on the left side of his forehead immediately catches my attention.

"What happened?" I point at his forehead. "Who was angry enough to smack you over your head?"

"None of your business." Samuel swiftly arrays his hair, so they once again cover his entire forehead, and then raises into a standing position. "Why trip me?"

"Because you were being an ass. I asked you a question, yet you weren't listening to me."

"I heard you." He narrows his caramel eyes at me. "There's just no point in you knowing more about Guardians."

"I disagree. I believe there's a reason why I'm able to see you. And the only way to find out what the reason is, is for me to learn more about your kind."

"That makes no sense."

"Yes, it—" I turn back in the direction we were headed before when I catch sight of a woman pulling a young boy against her hip.

While the boy doesn't even glance in my direction, the woman is looking at me with wide eyes. The protective way in which she wraps her arm around the boy's shoulders and makes sure they are as far away from me as the sidewalk allows, makes me guess that she thinks I'm talking to myself.

I wait for the flush of embarrassment to heat my cheeks, but nothing of the sort happens. This is why, without sparing another thought to the woman, I turn back to Samuel. "It makes perfect sense. You're just too stubborn to see it."