I Have an Invisible Stalker (Guardians #1)

Chapter 21

Olivia's POV

"Did you just—" Anya's Guardian begins from where he's sitting on the left back seat of Anya's car, looking directly at me.

Before he can finish his question, I snap my eyes to the front of the car. "Hi, Anya."

My heart is trashing against my ribcage, while I pray that the Guardian will take me glancing at him as a coincidence and not as a sign that I can see him.

"Hello, Olivia." Anya meets my eyes through the rear-view mirror. "I hope you don't mind, but your mother has once again invited me to dinner."

"Not at all," I assure her and then scramble through my brain for anything that might draw my attention away from the Guardian sitting beside me. Then my eyes land on the small black rectangle underneath the rear-view mirror. "Love the dash camera. It looks high-tech."

"I guess." Anya shrugs as we begin to move forward. "It's just something every car dealer claims I need to have, so I've had it in the last few cars I've owned."

I'm barely able to hold in a snort at the last few cars part. Mom and I don't even have a single car, and here Anya is probably switching cars like I do socks.

"What were you doing at the intersection?" Mom turns around and pierces me with narrowed eyes. "You said you found a job, but that looked more like slacking off to me."

"I already finished my shift at the café. I just came here to see if something changed today."

"Changed?" Anya asks.

"Don't get me started." With a loud sigh, Mom turns back to the front. "Ever since she remembered that asshole of a driver, she's been determined to remember everything else that happened on the night of the accident."

"And I had a perfect plan for today. You see, I realized that I've been doing this all wrong. I've been standing at the edge of the sidewalk, thinking that it was enough to bring back my memories. But what I actually need to do is go onto the road."

"Don't you dare," Mom glares back at me. "I don't want you to be a nuisance to the cars driving through that intersection. And stop going back there. The cops will find the man you described, and he'll fill us in on what happened."

"As if he'll tell the truth." I snort and turn to the window beside me while ignoring the Guardian's burning gaze I still feel on me.

We spend the rest of the ride with a soft lullaby playing on the radio until Anya stops the car in our front drive. While Mom and Anya get out on each of their sides, I notice the Guardian scooting over to my side the moment I open the door. For a second I consider slamming the door in his face. Then with a sigh, I climb out and leave the door wide open for an unnecessarily long time. Only once the Guardian gets out as well do I close the door.

"Olivia."

I snap my eyes to the front of the house, where Eliza is making her over to me.

"Why is the stuck-up woman back here?" she asks.

Instead of answering her, I cough loudly and turn my eyes over to Mom and Anya, who are already making their way to the front door.

"Why are you acting as if she can hear you?" The smooth voice belongs to Anya's Guardian, who is still standing a step behind me. "Do you make it a habit to talk to your charges?"

Instead of following Mom and Anya inside the house, I crouch down and pretend to retie my shoelaces.

"Who are you?" Eliza asks.

"I'm Lucien. Now that you know me, mind telling me why you're acting like you expect your charge to answer you?"

I feel a pair of eyes penetrate the back of my head, so I shift my position and move to tie the other shoelace.