Olivia's POV
"I can't do this anymore!" I slam the tray onto the counter and ignore the clutter caused by the empty cups. Instead, I grip the edge of the counter and lean forward.
"What?" Nick and Samuel snap their eyes up to me at the same time.
"You tired?" Samuel adds.
At the same moment, Nick asks, "Do you need a break?"
Both guys are sitting on the stools across the counter from me, and while Samuel is perched on his usual seat, Nick is unknowingly sitting right beside him.
"It's not that." I let go of the counter and press my index and middle finger against my temples. "I'm talking about the back and forth my thoughts are doing inside my brain. It's hurting my head."
"What're you thinking about?" Nick asks.
"Still about your father?" Samuel adds before I can answer Nick's question.
"Yes." I close my eyes and continue to massage my temples. "I'm still debating if I should tell Mom about Dad." Despite it being almost twenty-four hours since I discovered that Dad was the person stalking me, I still haven't decided if I should tell Mom about it.
"You'd consider not telling her?" Nick asks.
"Of course. She and Dad have finally come to a truce of some sort, and I don't want things to get bad again."
"Why'd they get a divorce?"
"Dad had an affair, but that's not important right now." I open my eyes and drop my arms back to my sides. "What I want to know, is why you told me to control my impulsive nature. If you guys hadn't told me to do that, I would have already followed my gut and done something about this mess."
"You guys?" Nick glances at his left and right and then back at me. "Who else told you to stop acting impulsively?"
"Almost everyone I know."
"Oh." Nick smirks but then hides the half-smile behind his hand. "I think you should tell your mom the truth. She deserves to know what's going on."
"Don't listen to him." Samuel narrows his eyes at Nick and then turns back to me. "Your mother doesn't even know that someone's been stalking you. Why cause her more worries?"
"How is that supposed to help me?" I groan. "You both said the same thing I've been going back and forth with for the past twenty-four hours."
I grab an empty tray and round the counter to one of the newly deserted tables before either Samuel or Nick can respond. Right when I set the last empty cup onto the now filled tray, the front bell rings and a familiar figure enters the café. My every muscle tightens at the sight of Anya's short bob, yet no matter how many seconds past no one else enters the café behind her. This finally allows my every nerve to settle down.
"You're alone today." I'm unable to stop the smile that stretches my lips at the realization that Lucien isn't with her.
"Aren't I always alone?" Anya furrows her perfectly shaped eyebrows.
"Not always." I stiffen the shudder threatening to overtake my body and make my way back to the counter.
While I head around to the employees' side, Anya takes the seat on Nick's left sideâthe opposite side from where Samuel is sitting.
"Mom tells me you've been promoted." I stop at the other end of the counter. "Congratulations."
"Not yet actually." Anya sends me a tight-mouthed smile. "I'm up for the promotion, but those lazy idiots are taking forever to finalize it. Until they do, I have to keep tiptoeing around them, which is why I have to go back to work in a few minutes."
"Then I guess you're here for some coffee to go. What can I get you?"
"Hazelnut Latte with soy milk." Anya pulls out her phone and starts typing something, while I busy myself with preparing her order.
A moment later, Ramona makes her way to my side of the counter and leans against the wooden cupboards a step away from me. "Isn't your shift already over?"
"It is, but I don't mind staying until Hugo shows up."
"He's late again, isn't he?" Ramona shakes her head. "That good-for-nothing grandson. I bet he's sleeping on that bench again."
"You know about the bench?" I thought Ramona had no idea how much time Hugo spends sleeping or at least pretending to be asleep on the edge of the small park.
"Of course I do." Ramona snorts. "I also know he's going there because his parents keep fighting at home."
"Oh." I press the start button on the coffee machine. "I thought he was there to kill time, and not to escape a bad situation."
"He refuses to talk about it." Ramona purses her lips but then relaxes them a moment later. "Now, how has counting to three been working for you?"
"It's really hard." I sigh.
"Of course it is. What did you expect?"
"Don't believe her. She's selling herself short." Nick steps into our conversation. "She's made real progress since she stopped trying to trigger her memories by hurting herself. Now we know that the driver was a woman, as well as part of the car's license plate."
"A woman?" Ramona glances from Nick to me. "Do you know what she looks like?"
"No." I shake my head. "I don't even know what her real voice sounds like. The voice in my memory is too hazy to recognize, and I'm sure she lowered her voice when she attacked me at the bus stop."
"Don't worry," Nick says. "The cops will soon track her down."
"He's just saying that because his father's in charge of the case," Samuel huffs.
I'm spared from commenting on either of their statements as I finish preparing Anya's order. I cover the plastic cup with a see-through top and hand the coffee to Anya.
"Everything okay?" I ask her when she doesn't glance at the coffee and instead continues to stare at her phone.
"What? Yes." Absentmindedly she pulls out some money from her wallet and sets it onto the counter. "Keep the change."
Before I can thank her, she grabs the coffee and without a backward glance hurries out of the café.
"What's her problem?" Nick asks.
"It's probably her job. I've never seen anyone as dedicated to her work as she is. You should hear how many of our conversations during her dinners with me and Mom revolve around her work."
Ten minutes later, Hugo finally arrives for his shift. I untie my apron and head over into the changing room to gather my belongings.
"Will you be okay going home on your own?" Ramona asks me once I return to the counter.
"Don't worry." Nick jumps off his stool. "I'll make sure nothing happens to her."
"No one asked you." Samuel brushes his shoulder against Nick's as he moves off his stool and positions himself next to me. "Olivia already has me."
"Bye Ramona." I wave at the old woman and then follow Nick to the front door. Despite the Guardians and the humans present inside the café, I can't stop myself from glancing at Samuel and whispering, "You're the one who said I should accept Nick's offer of help."
Samuel answers with a huff but then remains quiet while the three of us make our way toward the bus stop. I feel beyond awkward walking in between Nick and Samuel, especially because only one of them knows about the other one, but I somehow manage to keep my mouth shut.
"There's no need for you to wait here with me." I turn to Nick once we stop at the bus stop.
"Okay." Nick's shoulder slump for the smallest fraction. "I'll see you tomorrow then."
"I have tomorrow off," I remind him.
With the corner of my eye, I catch the bus heading toward us, but before I can take a step closer to the road, Nick grabs my upper arm. He pulls me into his warm chest and wraps me into a tight hug.
"I'll have to wait until Wednesday then," he whispers and yet again pecks my cheek.
"Iâ" I open my mouth to respond, but he already lets go of me.
Right then Samuel grabs my hand and tugs me in the direction of the bus's wide-open front door. I have no other option but to stumble behind him straight onto the bus.
"He's starting to get on my nerves," Samuel mutters as he waits for me to pay the bus fare.
"And you're still the one who insisted that I need his help as well as yours," I remind him while telling myself that my heart is pounding only because of the surprise. It has nothing to do with the way Nick hugged me or with the way Samuel is standing close enough for me to feel the heat radiating off his body.
I turn to move down the rest of the bus when a familiar voice calls my name.
"Olivia?"
***
Please, remember to vote and comment if you like the chapter.
Much love
- E