Samuel's POV
"Let's go." Nick nudges Charlie's side and motions for him to follow. The two of them, Hugo, and I are all still clustered around Hugo's bench at the edge of the small park.
"Right, the café." Charlie nods. "We're leaving so you can fail to flirt with Olivia."
"What'd you mean fail?" Nick splutters. "You wait and see. One day you'll meet a girl, and then I'm going to laugh my head off as you'll fail to impress her."
"She'll be the one chasing me and not the other way around," Charlie smirks and waves goodbye to Hugo. "See you around."
Hugo nods in return and then lies back onto the bench, closing his eyes. While Nick and Charlie make their way back to the sidewalk and up the street in the direction of the café, I remain beside the third human. I'm not sure why, but for some reason, I can't move.
As I'm looking at the lying boy, the surrounding park disappears, and I find myself standing at the seaside. The bay in front of me is roaring with giant waves, while the sky above hurries to match the color of the rocks beneath. I'm not alone, though. Beside me stand a younger Lucien and an older Hugo, and while the former is standing with his back straight, the latter is wringing his hands and glancing at the shore behind us.
"You are too much of a meater to do it," Lucien smirks.
"Blazes I am," I hiss.
Despite the tremble in my hands, I pull the shirt and the boots off my body. The water is freezing cold, but I don't allow it to stop me. I march deeper into the sea, and when I can't touch the ground anymore, I begin to wave my arms in wide circles, swimming further into the raging sea.
It takes me no longer than ten minutes to reach a big rock peaking above the sea level. I slap my open palm against it and let out a loud whoop. The second I open my mouth a wave crashes into me, flooding my mouth and sinking me into the dark depth beneath me.
It's only for a moment, yet when I reach the surface again I feel like my lungs are about to explode. I try to take in a deep breath, but the water pushing down my throat prevents me from doing so. I cough and cough until the water is finally out, and I can breathe again.
As I swim back, the waves make each stroke feel like I'm being pushed away from the shore instead of toward it. The moment I'm out of the water I sink onto my knees and laugh my heart out. I did it.
"Your turn." I grin up at Lucien and Hugo as they shuffle to my side. "Scared?"
Both guys turn to the dark sky and the unruly sea, but while Lucien remains expressionless, Hugo returns to wringing his hands. It's obvious he doesn't want to risk going into the sea, but no matter how close of a call I had, I refuse to allow either of them to back down.
"Do it." I stand and glare at Hugo. "Do it or tell her that I am better than you." Without mentioning her name we both know who I'm talking about.
Hugo narrows his eyes, and then a second later throws off his boots and shirt. "Move out of my way."
With a mocking bow, I turn to the side and watch him as he marches down the empty shore. Without stopping, he walks into the rocky sea and doesn't stop, not even when the water rises up to his shoulders. He ignores the waves that lift the water higher and higher and keeps going forward until all that is left is his floating head.
"Let us go," Lucien says, but I continue to keep my eyes focused on the older Hugo. "Come on. Let us leave him here."
I turn to him and am about to ask why he isn't going into the sea when a bright bolt of lightning illuminates the dark sky. It is followed by an earth-shattering boom a few seconds later, telling me that the storm is almost upon us.
By the time the thunder quiets down, Lucien is already halfway off the shore, never glancing back.
"Lucien!" I shout, but the heavy wind carries my voice to the sea instead of up the shore.
The sky suddenly opens up, adding to my already soaked state and obscuring my already terrible vision. I snap my head back to the sea and have just enough time to catch the top of Hugo's head before a giant wave pushes him out of my sight.
Because of whose son Hugo is and because of who I am, I know that the moment somebody discovers me here I will be blamed for anything that happens to him. With Lucien at my side, maybe I could have escaped with my head untouched, but on my own...
Without another thought, I grab my soaked boots and shirt and rush up the shore. I need to get home before anyone notices I'm missing.
Halfway up the shore, I hear someone call my name. I stop and turn around. Even deeper into the sea than the rock he was supposed to reach, I spot Hugo's barely visible head. And despite the wind and the rain, I hear him.
"Help!" he screams.
As soon as the shout reaches my ears, he goes back under, leaving me staring at nothing but a stormy sea. I know it's too late. If I go out there right now, there's no way I'm coming back alive. And I'm not ready for this to be the end...
I snap my head away from the sea and without another backward glance rush up the shore. It's too late, I keep telling myself.
The storm suddenly vanishes, and I'm back at the foot of Hugo's bench. The moment my eyes land on his motionless figure my legs give in, and I sink onto the grass.
"I'm... I'm the reason you're dead," I whisper. It doesn't matter that this Hugo is still alive or that he doesn't know I exist. I still feel like I'm back at the shore, about to leave my friend to die. "I dared you to... And then I... I... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for daring you to go into that water and then leaving you there."
A silent minute ticks by before I find the will to stand again. Hugo doesn't have his eyes closed anymore as he is instead gazing up at the clear blue sky, completely oblivious to me and my apology.
With one last look at the human I betrayed in my past life, I close my eyes and think of Nick. In an instant I find myself standing in the middle of the café, where my sudden appearance almost causes Olivia to drop the tray she's carrying. Luckily she manages to catch her balance before the coffee and the pastries go spilling to the ground. While she finishes carrying the tray to one of the tables, I sit on my usual stool, which happens to be right beside the one Nick is already occupying.
"Where have you been?" Olivia rushes to the other end of the counter and shoots me a wide smile. "It's been a day and a half since I last saw you."
"What?" Nick asks before I can open my mouth.
Olivia points at the earbud stuffed into her ear but lowers her eyes to the counter in front of her. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes," I assure her despite the bitter taste lingering inside my mouth. "Where's Charlie?"
Olivia nods at the other end of the café, where Charlie is sitting at one of the tables. He isn't alone, though. On the chair beside him sits a guy around my age, with his arms folded behind his head and his legs stretched wide forward. While I have never interacted with him, I recognize him as Charlie's Guardian. I can't remember his name, but I'm sure it begins with the letter V.
My attention is pulled away from him when Olivia yelps and slumps to the ground. She crouches into a small ball and hides as far underneath the counter as possible.
"What are you doing?" Nick and I ask her at the same time.
"Pretend I'm not here," Olivia orders, but I'm not sure to which one of us.
Right then the annoying bell goes off and the Head Guardian enters the café. Her heels snap against the ground as she makes her way to us, but while she skips over Nick, her eyes stop on me. A moment later, she turns to Ramona, who right then rounds the counter and stops a step away from Olivia's crouched figure.
"I am looking for a young girl who works here," the Head Guardian says. She scans the inside of the café, and I follow her gaze. Nothing has changed, except for Charlie's Guardian, who is now nowhere to be found. Then again, he probably just switched to one of his other charges.
"I'm afraid she's not working today," Ramona says.
I fight my instincts to keep my face as an emotionless mask and not grin at the old hag. She's not such a bad person after all.
The Head Guardian purses her lips into a tight line and flickers her eyes to Nick. Yet again I find myself grateful for his presence because I'm sure he's the only reason the Head Guardian doesn't accuse Ramona of lying.
"Then tell her that I will be back. Soon." The Head Guardian shoots me what I interpret as a warning glance and then stomps back out of the café.
"You can come out now," Ramona says once the door closes behind the Head Guardian.
Olivia slowly raises back up and shoots Ramona a grateful smile. "Thank you."
"Who's she?" Nick asks.
"She's someone you should hope never to get better acquainted with," Ramona says and then turns back to Olivia. "Mark my words. She's going to be back, and it's going to be when you least expect it."
"We know," I say, ignoring the fact that only Olivia can hear me. "I know we both have to face the Head Guardian... but I need more time. I'm not ready for Olivia to lose her memories and her ability to see me... I need more time."
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- E