When Stars Fall

Chapter 7

I was making no progress whatsoever. I hadn't obtained any new information on Ace over the past two weeks. The idea that he was so close, yet so far, drove me insane.

Whenever I would express my frustration to my family over the phone, they would assure me that I had nothing to worry about, and remind me that completing their own tasks had taken much longer than a few weeks. This failed to reassure me, however, and I remained determined to work as quickly as I could. I wanted to prove my worth, and the only way to do that was by fulfilling my task in the most efficient way possible.

At least I had Olivia to keep me company. Sometimes it was hard to believe that she and Ace were siblings. Olivia was lively and spirited, whereas Ace was reserved and cold. It made it all the much easier to pretend that I wasn't planning to murder my newfound friend's brother.

But despite the fun that I was having with Olivia, I knew that she was just a distraction. She kept me very busy, and gave me little to no information on her brother. At the rate things were going, it would be more practical to distance myself, and focus more on other things. But Olivia knew a lot more about Ace than I did, and I was convinced that if I grew close enough to her, she would provide me with the information I needed. So, I ignored the temptation of spying on Ace, and instead spent time with Olivia, believing that she would yield more significant results.

A week after I had arrived, I had begun working with the doctors at the hospital. At first it was difficult to fit in, but soon, I was working almost as efficiently as everyone else. There were no suspicions that I wasn't who I claimed to be.

"Samantha!" Olivia's voice shook me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I replied, turning to face her. "What's up?"

Olivia waved her fork in the air. "Did you not hear what I just said? You don't have work today, so what do you want to do?"

I yawned. "I don't know." Suddenly I was struck with an idea so grand I had no idea why I hadn't thought of it before.

"Hey, Olivia, can we visit the library?" I requested. "I'm in the mood to read, and I didn't bring any books with me." A brief look of panic flashed across Olivia's face, but she quickly covered it up with a smile.

"Sure! I'll take you there once we're finished." I turned my gaze back to my plate of scrambled eggs, wondering what that was all about. Was there something in the library I wasn't supposed to see?

I suppressed a grin. This idea was even better than I thought it was.

* * * * *

Olivia had stuck to me like glue ever since I'd met her. The only times she wasn't with me were when I was working. She even escorted me to the hospital, even though I now had a map, and could find it myself.

Olivia had pointed out the library as we had passed it, but we had never ventured inside. So with a nervous smile, Olivia gestured to the door beside her, and turned the doorknob.

The library was much smaller than I thought it would be. For a pack this large, I expected a much larger library.

"You guys don't read much, do you?" I joked as I stepped inside.

"You could say that," Olivia replied. "We're just usually preoccupied with other things." She waved at the row of bookshelves and took a seat on a nearby armchair.

"Feel free to take a look. Let me know if there's anything you like."

I nodded, and headed over to the bookshelves to browse. Olivia's eyes followed my every movement, making me even more certain that there was something in her that I wasn't meant to lay eyes on. I proceeded down the line of bookshelves, browsing through the books until I reached the last shelf. As soon as I stooped down to take a look, Olivia jumped up from her seat, her expression frantic.