Olivia's POV
By the time Anya finishes her second step away from us, I've made my decision. I grab the crutches sprawled beside Charlie and swing one forward, right underneath Anya's feet. Just like with Samuel so long ago, her feet knock against the aluminum, causing her to lose her balance. She lands sprawled over the ground.
My entire body, especially my crushed foot, is still screaming in pain, but I grit my teeth and crawl onto my feet. Then I use Charlie's other crutch to stagger over to Anya. I straddle her lower back before she can get up and press the flat circle of the crutch's bottom into the meeting point of her neck and back.
"You're not going anywhere." With my free hand, I fish my phone out of the pocket of my jeans and throw it to Nick, who is now halfway back to his feet. "Call your father and tell him there's been an accident."
"You can't do this!" Anya screeches, wiggling to shake me off.
"Don't force me to pull on your hair or knock your head onto the road." I press the crutch deeper into her back. "I've experienced both and neither one is pretty."
Anya stops trying to get up, but at the same time, she twists her head as far to the side as she can. "You can call whoever you want, but we both know you don't have any proof. Not to mention that you're the one who just jumped in front of my car."
"I'll deal with the consequences of my actions, but so will you." I press the crutch another inch further into her skin.
"I have the proof that she's the driver!" Lucien shouts.
"What?" I snap my head in his direction.
A few steps away from us Samuel still has his fist raised in the air, while Eliza struggles to hold him back. Lucien, on the other hand, is slowly backing away from them.
"Don't believe him," Samuel says. "There's no way he'll betray his own charge."
"I already did." Lucien stops moving and points in the direction of Anya's car. "Who else do you think crashed the car?"
I glance from the car that has its hood smashed into the streetlamp back to Lucien's earnest expression. Can I really trust someone who has been out for Samuel this entire time?
"Do you see what kind of bad influence you are?"
I snap my head in the direction the sudden voice came from and find the Head Guardian standing a few steps away from the crashed car. With narrowed eyes she surveils the scene going on in front of her and then turns back to me.
"You really thought I would not find you, little human? Allowing you to keep your ability might be one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made. Just look at these three. They used to be model Guardians, yet now they are interfering with human lives and breaking our most sacred rules."
While Eliza lets go of Samuel and Samuel lowers his fist, I remain frozen in my spot. This can't be happening.
Not right now.
"Who the hell is that?" Anya's question reminds me that I'm still pinning her to the ground.
As if the arrival of the Head Guardian isn't enough, I realize that while Anya might not be able to see the three Guardians, she is able to see and hear the Head Guardian. Before I can decide on what to do, however, Eliza appears beside me. She grabs a fistful of Anya's hair, pulls it back, and then slams her head into the asphalt below her. Anya is instantly knocked outâjust like I was when she did the same to me on that bus stop.
"You're welcome." Eliza winks at me and then stands back up.
"Did you justâ" The Head Guardian gapes at Eliza.
Before she can finish, Nick stops on my other side and glares at the red-haired woman. "I don't know who you are, but this has nothing to do with you."
"On the contrary." The Head Guardian barely spares Nick a glance. Instead, she travels with her eyes between Lucien, Samuel, Eliza, and I. "Everything that is happening right now is connected to me, but do not worry. I will make sure everything goes back to the way it was. And I am starting withâ"
Before she can continue, a cry of pain causes all of us to snap our heads to Charlie. The boy is crutching his head again, causing Nick to immediately rush to his side. Just before Nick reaches him, though, Charlie sends me a wink and then softly nudges his head at the Head Guardian and at Nick. His message is clear. He'll keep Nick occupied while I take care of the Head Guardian.
"As I was saying," the Head Guardian continues. "I am starting with you, Samuel Yang. You are the one who began this entire mess."
"Samuel wasn't the one who saved me," I blurt out before anyone else can respond.
"Then who?" The Head Guardian turns her pale eyes to me. "Who saved you?"
I open my mouth to tell her Isaiah's name, but someone beats me to it.
"It was me," Lucien says.
I blink at him, not believing my ears. There is no way the Guardian who promised to make Samuel suffer and described me as collateral damage would do something like this. Yet no matter how many seconds pass, Lucien continues to face the Head Guardian; never blinking under her intimidating scowl.
"What are you doing?" Samuel turns to the guy who killed him in his past human life.
"I'm the one who saved her," Lucien continues, never looking at Samuel. "I was there when my charge ran her over. And when she refused to help, I stepped in."
"Youâ" I'm about to deny his claim when he shoots me a scowl dark enough to force my mouth shut. Then he turns to Samuel and I swear I see his eyes soften.
"I remember now. Not everything, but enough to know that you were right. I'm the one who killed you. So, let me take the blame for this."
"You do know I can hear you?" The Head Guardian rolls her eyes at them.
"We know." Lucien waves her off and turns back to Samuel and then to me. "I'm sorry. To both of you. I know my apology isn't enough, but I hope I can show you my sincerity by taking the blame for Olivia's ability."
I turn to Samuel and wait for his response. If Lucien is willing to take the blame for my ability, then who are we to stop him; let alone drag Isaiah into this entire mess.
Samuel observes his fellow Guardian for a silent moment and then nods. "Okay."
"Good." Lucien turns to the Head Guardian. "I'm the one taking the blame for Olivia being able to see us."
"This is not how our rules work." The Head Guardian raises her hands to her temples and begins to massage them. "I do not need to punish just anyone. I need to punish the one responsible for the young human being able to see us."
"Then what about this?" Lucien turns his green eyes to me. "The evidence I told you aboutâthe one which proves that Anya was the driverâit was the memory card inside the dash camera of the car Anya sold to Weston."
"What?" I ask, but as soon as the word leaves my mouth I remember the small rectangular device from Anya's new car. It is immediately followed by Anya's comment about having a dash camera in every one of her cars.
"Anya stole the memory card when she was trying to buy the car back from Weston. I switched the memory card before she could destroy it, though. The real card containing the footage of the first accident is inside the dash camera of the car right there." He points at Anya's crashed car and then smirks at the Head Guardian. "Is this enough meddling for you to reconsider punishing me instead of Samuel? Or do I have to do something even more drastic?"
"You do understand that a punishment means your time as a Guardian will be prolonged?" the Head Guardian asks.
"Of course." Lucien waves her threat off and then turns back to me. "What are you waiting for? Get the dash camera."
"Nick." I crane my head around and look at Nick, who is still kneeling beside Charlie. "There is a dash camera in that car, which can prove that Anya was the driver from the first accident. I need you to get it."
"What?" Nick tilts his head to the side, starting to look like he did during our blind date.
"No." Anya hisses from underneath me, telling me that she is coming back around. "She's... obviously insane. She and the other woman... They're insane."
Too late do I realize that while I had been a part of a full conversation, Anya and maybe even Nick heard only the Head Guardian's and my responses. And there is no way I can explain to either of them how I know about the dash camera, let alone how it contains the memory card from the car involved in the first accident.
"You heard Olivia." Charlie grabs Nick's hand and uses it to pull himself up to his feet. He still doesn't look steady, especially with his leg still wrapped in a cast, but at least he's well enough to stand. "Let's find that camera, so we can once and for all get rid of that woman."
As Charlie shoots me a quick wink, I let out a shaky breath. For the first time since my eyes landed on him standing on the same spot as I did on the night of the accident, I allow my body to relax.
With Charlie's help, I just might find a way to explain this entire mess.
***
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- E