New York City
New York was vastly changing. It always was.
The three of us touched down at the JFK airport during heavy rainfall and took a private car to the hotel, once again thanks to Copley. I haven't even had the opportunity to call him and thank for him all he did to help with our mission to Bern. Maybe there was something else behind his good deeds for us, and I didn't know about it just yet. But either way, I was grateful for him, and I felt like a long talk with him was in order.
Being here in the main city was both chaotic and nostalgic at the same time. The brand new skyscrapers and buildings all around us to make us look like ants. The streets always packed with cars and taxis, people yelling at each other in both profanities and flipped fingers. It was astonishing to see this, and when we were arriving at the hotel I couldn't help but look all around us in the care and seeing the small world of New York turning and turning.
"No matter how many times we've come here, New York is almost the same," Nicky said casually as he was also looking out the window on his side of the car.
"Same energy and same people," Joe hummed in agreement. I was about to say something else when I saw a fistfight break out on the corner in front of a pawn shop. As we were passing by, I couldn't help but stare at the way they were fighting, which showed me that they were drunk.
"Same drunken debauchery as well," I muttered as I looked over at the other two, "They don't even know how to fight out here,"
Joe snorted a chuckle out as Nicky grinned, and as I was looking back out the window, I could feel those sensational butterflies coming back over me knowing that I was going to see Oliver within minutes. But this was insane, this was beyond insane, that I would feel something like this in meeting a brand new Immortal. He must be going through so much, feeling so many things, and questioning a lot of factors about his new life. Who was I to be feeling all kinds of sensations? I had no right, but it was naturally coming through me.
I was nervous beyond words.
Nicky reached over to take my hand in his hand briefly to get my attention, having me finally look away from the window and back at him. He was giving me a kind smile, almost sensing that I was indeed nervous and scared for meeting Oliver.
"You're nervous," he stated. I gave him a small smile. Damn Nicky for reading me like a book.
"How can you tell?" I had to ask.
"You think I don't notice, after being around you for several centuries?" He asked me, almost sounding coy about it as Joe rolled his eyes from the other side of Nicky.
"Be nice to her, Nicolo," Joe reminded him as I groaned and looked ahead now.
"I'll be fine. This is just…..Damnit I don't even know what this is," I muttered as I was seeing the hotel within sight, which gave us another minute or so before we would arrive.
"This is us meeting a new immortal for the very first time," Nicky reminded me carefully since he could tell I was going to have an awkward round of anxiety about to creep through, "That's all we're doing. And I have a feeling he wants to meet you first because maybe, from what he saw in the dreams, you can help him transition and get comfortable in all of this,"
"What if he doesn't like me?" I uttered out, and I couldn't even stop myself before I said it. I sounded so naive and young, like a teenager, and yet it was haunting my mind. There was always that thought in the back of my mind, the mental image of Oliver being repulsed by me or seeing me in such a negative light. Of course, I've had people say remarks about me in the past that were not pleasant, and even downright cruel, the best example was The Wolf back in Bern. I've handled them all with a thick skin and a clear head.
But with Oliver, although I never met him properly, I felt like I already had a wall up and was anticipating the worst when I should be the best. Why was this bothering me all of a sudden and making me both want to pass out and vomit at the same time?
"I think he would be a mad man for not liking you," Nicky reassured me, squeezing my hand was on resting on my thigh and I finally looked back over at him, seeing him give me one of his intense yet gentle long stares that he was famous for. Maybe he knew too, maybe he knew deep down what I was feeling and was scared of at the same time.
"Give him some time to get used to all of this," Joe added in agreement, pausing for a moment, "Besides, if he's rude to you in any way, we'll put him in his place,"
"What does that mean?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow. Nicky gave Joe a look and cleared his throat, almost silently telling him to be quiet. However, Joe just gave me his infamous smirk.
"It means we'll have talks with him if it's necessary," Joe replied with a shrug.
"Will we?" Nicky asked, half amused and half embarrassed in how both Joe and Nicky were now thinking about this.
"If we have to," Joe reminded him with a smooth smile on his face, "Remember when we talked to that merchant that tried to woo her over in Spain? HIs sultry words and grabby hands?" Nicky groaned from the memory, and I just gave Joe almost a death glare.
"You didn't talk to him," I corrected him, "I grabbed his hand and almost broke it when he tried to use advances on me," Nicky squinted even harder, rubbing his temple with his fingers.
"But still, we did put him in his place," Joe reminded me, in which I was giving Nicky a small look, hoping that he would help with the conversation that was unfolding. Nicky just sighed and gave Joe a knowing look now and Joe just sighed.
"I'll play nice, I always do," Joe reassured me, then leaning over to give Nicky a sweet kiss on the cheek as I released Nicky's hand. We were right outside the hotel, the car coming to a stop and I took one more moment in the car, getting my own brain back into the right frame of mind. This was it, do or die, this was going to be a brand new factor for me to get used to.
"Of course they would be in a suite," Joe said as we walked out of the elevator on the 6th floor. I had to snort from the sarcasm in his voice as Nicky just smirked to pat his shoulder. Going into the hotel itself was a bit of an out of body experience, mainly because we looked dreary from the rain and, to put it plainly, poor.
It was a ritzy hotel.
Even the staff were giving us odd looks as we were approaching the elevators that would take us to the floor Nile told us to go to. This place was screaming old money, and I remembered seeing this place being built around the same time we were here last a group in the 1920s. It was odd, at first seeing the place as a skeleton and now seeing it in all its' glory all these years later. But even as it was then as it is now, we felt a bit out of place.
As we were ascending the floors in the elevator, in comparison to when we did this before in Bern, this time I was a bit more nervous than before. Back then, it was like any other mission in which we were covered in blood and grim, mapping out a game plan.
Now, being in an elevator in one of the wealthiest hotels in New York City, I was even more paranoid. There was no mission, no guns or weapons to cling to make me feel somewhat grounded, Not even a bad guy or group to kill that can make me feel somewhat at ease. No, just going to meet another Immortal who has been haunting my dreams and making my insides feel like a metaled cauldron of fire.
Fucking great.
All three of us walked out and down the hallway, Nicky and joe leading the way down the massively decorated hall and towards the end. I was trying to et my head in one good headspace. I knew he was going to be just fine with Nile and Andy there, and even though both girls were pretty much on the opposite spectrum when it came to communication and social interaction, they could handle this. I had within them, mostly with Nee, but with them both together.
Joe knocked on the door, the three of us hearing nothing for a moment before the door opened and we were met with the face of Andy. She looked relieved to see me, a bit rested for cure but relieved.
"Thank fuck," She said as she moved to the side and all three of us filed in. We all gave her a questioning look as we were in the front hallway of the suite, which was apparently the most expensive suite in the entire hotel. Andy, like us, looked out of place in the suite that was tainted in white and gold trimmings. Of course, Andy was in her usual black attire, almost a bit slumped over and looked delirious at this point.
"What's wrong, boss?" Nicky asked as we were following her down the small hallway, seeing that she was leading us over to where the living room was.
"It's nothing too bad but….it's been a long ass time since I had to be around someone like him," Andy explained, in which Joe looked at her with a questioning tone.
"I'm not following," Joe admitted to her as I too seemed a bit confused by it.
"He's asking so many questions," Andy said as she rubbed her temple with her fingers, "Niles and I just fought it out, but he just wants to talk,"
"Talking's not bad," Nicky reasoned, but I could hear very faintly two other voices over in the living room. I was trying to listen to the conversation in front of me, but those tow voices were having em walk away and down the hallway carefully and quietly. I knew one of them was Nile, her soothing but deep voice could carry anywhere and I could instantly zone in on. But the other one was just as deep, deep and soothing.
"It is bad when he's trying to wrap his head around all of this and is rapidly asking questions every 6 seconds," Andy kept talking to both Joe and Nicky as I was walking down the hallway a bit more, the second conversation that was happening was a bit louder and clearer now. But as much as I wanted to walk instantly into the room, I stay right at the very end of the hallway and out of sight, just wanting to hear what they were talking about.
"So…you've only been an Immortal for a few months?"
I finally heard his voice, and it made me feel very frozen in my spot. He was English, the accent was strong and it cut through the room. It was a lower tone, but it also sounded optimistic and rich at the same time. Light like a feather, but soothing and rich like a cup of coffee. The way he spoke was but care-free and yet intrigued.
"Yeah, as crazy as it sounds." Nile sounded light and casual talking to him, and it made my heart feel a bit warm in how she was talking to him with kindness and casualness in her voice.
"This happens frequently then, people becoming Immortal, or whatever this is?"
"Not really. To be honest, this was some kind of fluke. The man who became an Immortal before I did was back in 1812. His name is Sebastian, or who we would later call Booker. He fought with Napoleon,"
"Really?! That had to have been a mind trip," I heard Nile chuckle from the comment.
"Yeah, he's something else that guy. Maybe one day you'll meet him,"
"He's not with you guys?" He sounded so surprised as he asked this, so genuine. Nile cleared her throat awkwardly, and it made me feel a bit sad because of how it seemed Nile mason good graces with Booker.
"Not at the moment. But later one down the road, who knows. Right?"
He laughed from the joke, and that laugh almost sounded infectious. I then felt like it was a good time to walk into the room and introduced myself to him when he then mentioned something.
"Those dreams I've had, before all of this happened….is that a normal thing?"
I was frozen in my spot, my eyes going big as I was thinking back to those dreams I was having of him, I was thinking that same thing at one time, but now this was way too much and too new for him. He was barely an Immortal, only for about a few days, and now he was going through all of this all at one time would have made anyone frustrated. But not him, it sounded like he was willing to try and hammer this out.
"No," Nile resounded softly, "But I'm still figuring this whole Immortal life thing out myself, so I'm open to new things," Nile was mostly being true about and being kind as well. I knew she was still navigating all of this and was trying to keep up, and she brought a new modern sense into our group. We were all old souls, so maybe with both Nile and Oliver with us, it could bridge that gap.
I finally found my feet moving for me and I walked into the living room of the suite. I saw the massive windows looking down into the bustling city below, the two loveseats that were facing each other with a tranquil coffee table in the middle. A piano was in the corner of the room a fireplace against the white bricked wall and a small bar nestled in the wall next to me. I could tell the tall vodka bottle that was on the surface of the bar was half full.
Damnit Andy.
Nile was sitting with him on one of the loveseats, not seeing me just yet as they looked to be in a deep conversation, almost like they were long lost friends. The shade of light brown in her hair was lighter in the light of the room, lightness of his skin showed in comparison to the dark t-shirt he was wearing. He was hunched over slightly, his elbows resting on his thighs as his hands were clasped together. I could tell by his posture alone that he was still trying to absorb all of this. Nile was more calm about it, watching him carefully and her face seemed relaxed.
"There's so much I want to know about this…this whole life. I'm still a bit confused though," he admitted, sounding a bit sad about it.
"I know, I'm still confused by it too," Nile said to him in agreement, "But you're not alone with all of this now, you know. I thought I was going to be, and I was out in the Middle East in Afghanistan while in the Marines. These people, they're more than willing to help you get through it,"
"How can you be sure?" he asked, sounding more realistic about all of this. Nile paused, having me see how she was thinking about it long and hard.
"I trust them," She replied, "Trust is a hard thing to come by, and it's a different kind of trust that I learned to deal with with the Marines. But the trust is there with these guys, I trust them with everything," I smiled from hearing that come from Nile.
She was more than willing to dive into this life, and I knew her start with us was rough. She trying to hold onto the old life she knew as the new life was making it worse, and being pulled into the Merrick situation made her really become acquainted with the group.
Nile finally saw me, the grin that she had with him was growing now that she knew I was there. I gave her an awkward smile back as she patted his folded hands that were there in front of her.
"She's here," She said to him, he instantly shot up from sitting on the couch. Once he turned around and locked eyes with me, it all slowed down.
It was one thing to see him clearly in my mind, and now I was seeing him in the flesh and there in front of me. He was barely a few icons taller than me in height, his hair was short but pushed over to the side very slightly with shades of brown mixed in together. He had muscles, a good built on his along his arms and stomach that was seen with the thin cotton shirt he was sporting. The tattoos I saw were now more visible, colors along his arms, and mixed in with the fan freckles he had that showed pictures and illustrations.
His face was almost chiseled in how it was shaped. He had an angular face, but it was filled out in a way that it did fit him, with a precise jawline and thin lips. He had a mustache, barely one that was more stubble, and it matched his hair color as there was stubble along his jawline and mouth. His stance was almost stiff from just watching me and seeing me physically there.
But now all I could see was his eyes.
The seafoam color was bright in the room from the light. They reminded me of the sea, specifically, the seas of Nassau. I don't know why it was like that for me, but maybe it was because Nassau was one of those places that reminded me of a good time in this life, a sacred time, a time that I had ultimate peace. So just staring at him, it brought me peace.
"Hello," I said to him, infamy finding my voice to him. I tried to sound as natural as possible, yet inside I wanted to scream. His face lit up, a smile was etched on his face like he was revived to ear me say hello to him. He wiped his palms on his jeans as he walked over to stand in front of me with a good amount of space there.
"Hi," He replied back, almost stuttering from it as I smiled softly back at him. Niles got up from her spot, sensing that we were going to have a long talk just the both of us alone as she walked over to pat him on the shoulder,
"I'll leave you two to talk," She said to him, "She's the nice one, I promise." She gave me a wink as she walked out of the room without a second thought, leaving both Oliver and me alone there in the living room. I was standing still, feeling more at peace now that I was seeing him in the flesh, but there was something in how he was standing and looking at me, he seemed a bit flustered.
"I hope Andy and Nile have been nice to you," I said politely, seeing him give a nervous chuckle as he nodded his head, rubbing the back of his neck about in nervousness.
"No, they're great," he said in a stammer, "Nile's great, and that Andy woman…she's….a bit more…" He trailed off, having me lightly laugh in how it seemed he as afraid to say something about Andy.
'"Intense?" I asked in a suggestion, He finally broke into a light laugh and nodded his head.
"Yeah, exactly," He replied, "It's a bit jawing talking with her,"
"I've been around her long enough to know that Andy is intense," I explained to him calmly, "She's like that with everyone around her, not just you."
"It's just….it's just a lot in drink in," He admitted to me, almost sounding trained about it as I nodded my head.
"That's understandable," I agreed with him, but he then looked at me dead in the eyes, shifting a bit on his feet and was thinking about something. He then gestured to the loveseat next to him, "Would you like to sit down, and talk?"
I was a bit flustered in his gesture, being polite with me as I nodded. I walked over, Oliver not moving until I was seated on one side, he then swiftly sat down on the other side as I faced him. I wanted to know what was on his mind, what he was feeling and how he was digesting all of this that was unfolding in front of him.
"This all must be a lot for you," I said to him, trying to sound kind about it but also realistic.
"It is….but from talking to Nile for a bit last night and today….I don't know, I felt more at ease with it," He explained, seeing him give him almost a shocked look at he went on, "Not all the way at ease, but somewhat, you know? It's a lot to wrap my head around,"
"It is," I said to him, "And…don't take this the wrong way, but when Nile called me…she told me how you died," I saw the pause on his face when I said it, and it felt like he was still trying to figure it out himself. I felt bad then, making thinking that I overstepped.
"It happened very fast," He stated, looking tense in his neck and in how he was sitting, "I had no idea that I was being followed….all this time. I didn't even know who they were and why they killed me…" he trailed off, almost confused with this own phrasing and in how it was all happening. I watched his face, seeing that he was replaying it in his head. It almost had him look and feel a bit more remorseful.
My hand was suddenly reaching over to place it on top of his hand, not squeezing it or holding it. Silly resting it on top of his hand and I felt a sense of compassion that I wanted to push onto him.
"This is all new to you, and it's a lot to drink in and try to digest for only a few days. Give it some time and it'll work out for the best," I reassured him, seeing him watch me and his bright eyes were trying to watch me intently, so I smiled at him, "What happened t you was wrong, brutally wrong. But being an Immortal is not too bad with us being there for you,"
He nodded his head, showing he was listening and looking down at his feet, a smaller chuckle was on his lips as his face looked a bit lighter
"You know, it's crazy to think about, and I might feel crazy when I say this," he paused, then looking over at me with such sincerity in his eyes that it made me almost lose my breath. Just in his eyes alone, I saw kindness, "But when I was dreaming of you….in my head…I felt safe,"
I said nothing, but everything inside of me was almost bursting at the seams from how he was telling me this. It seems impossible in how he was feeling the same things I was when it came to dreaming of each other, even when we were far away from each other. I never gave it too much thought to what he was experiencing on his end, but now I was finally seeing it first hand.
"It was confusing at first, just seeing your face," he explained some more, "The one thing I remember seeing for the very first time was your hair,"
"My hair?" I asked, almost a cit confused. he grinned, almost bashfully as he pointed to my hair that was down and over my shoulder.
"Your red hair," he said, "My grandmother almost had the same shade when I was younger. It reminds me of her, and…please don't take this the wrong way….but I think your hair is beautiful,"
I was at a loss for words, and I tried not to show it, but that small hits of shyness were coming over me and making me feel as though I could almost levitate off of the couch. I had to remind myself that I just met this man, and we barely had any time to talk together, so this threw for a loop. I didn't realize I moved my hand away from his and placed it back in my lap, which got his attention. He almost sensed it, clearing his throat.
"That was a bit bold, I'm sorry," he said to me, seemed a bit bummed out about it. I shook my head, not wanting this to be worse for him.
"No it's fine," I reassured him, seeing him watch me almost in earnest to see what else I would say, clearing my throat slightly, "No one's ever said that about my hair before," Maybe I was acting so naive about this and taking it more to heart than I should, but I could see how he was finally smiling at me in a way that made me smile back as I tilted my head, "I don't think we even properly met each other just yet,"
He chuckled sitting up a bit and nodding his head once, "I think you're right," he agreed as he then rolled his shoulders and it made me smile in how he was holding his hand out to me, "Hello,"
I shook his head gently, feeling how gentle he was shaking my hand and how his hand almost engulfed my entire hand from sheer size.
"Hello," I said back.
"I'm Oliver Jackson," He said to me, his English accent was proper and professional, "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"And I am Eleanor Clermont," I introduced myself. We both were grinning at each other we heard some movement behind us. We both retreated our hands as the rest of our group walked into the room, watching both of us on the loveseat. They all looked a bit amused, even Andy who was seeing how both of us were facing each other. I could tell in how Joe and Nicky were giving me looks of amusement. But they were kind none the less as Nile was beaming for ear to ear.
We both got up from our spots, Nicky was giving us some reassuring smile.
"We figured we should go get something to eat," he explained to us, "How about pizza?"
The place was nearly deserted at this time of day and we were tucked in the corner at a rather long table for all of us to sit at together. Nile, Oliver and I were one side as Andy, Nicky and Joe were on the other side of the table, two large cheese pizzas were sitting in the middle, all of us were eating together in comfortable silence.
Oliver was in the middle of Nile and I, feeling a bit lost in the shuffle himself as I saw Nicky and Joe watch him with kind stares. They introduced themselves to him at the hotel before we all walked over to get food, and I could tell they were going to want to digest with Oliver a bit more. I only hoped they weren't too harsh with him, but in comparison to how Andy was apparently handling him, this could be a cakewalk.
"So," Joe said to Oliver as he wiped his mouth with his napkin, "You were visiting here from England?"
"Yes," Oliver replied, sitting up a bit too straight now. Maybe he felt like he was being interrogated, and I have Joe a quick look. Joe saw it and he held his hands out in defense.
"We're just getting to know you, I swear," he reminded Oliver with his kind smile. Oliver smiled back, no longer stiff but easing back a bit too, "I'm not as bad as Andy over here."
"When she found me after I died, she made me fight her in an airplane just to prove I was, in fact, a Marine," Nile explained to him, Andy rolling her eyes as Oliver looked over at her in surprise.
"I'm a friendly person," She said, trying to be reasonable as we were all saying both. She caught on, seeing that we weren't going to agree with her on that thought. She just snorted and got up from the table, "I'll get us some beers,"
When she was walking away, Oliver watcher her briefly before he looked back ahead and folded his hands on the table. Maybe he felt like he was between a rock and a hard place
"How bad did she interrogate you?" Nicky asked him, Oliver almost looking embarrassed to answer as Nicky merely chuckled, "It's alright to answer. I don't mind hearing,"
"It was bad," Nile said next to Oliver, though Oliver still looking conflicted about, "Mine was worse than his, though. It's just a lot to take in," I felt a twinge of sadness for him. He might have had a soft heart, and to go against a stern and stone-like heart like Andy, it might have made him feel another way.
"She means well," Joe said kindly to him since he could read it all over Oliver's face and in how he sat, "She's been around longer than most civilizations that you've ever learned about in school," Oliver was understanding all of this now as he let his arms and hands rest on the table in front of him. That was when Joe and Nicky noticed his tattoos, as did I. There were small signs of him being in the military, which sparked some interest in our group.
"You're in the military?" Nicky asked, seeing some of the tattoos along his elbow. Oliver looked down, seeing what he was talking about.
"I was, yes. Royal Air Force," He answered back, sounding a bit lighter. All of our eyes lit up from the news, and it wasn't as tense anymore.
"For how long?" Nile asked him, clearly interested, Oliver easing up a bit and not feeling like he was under fire, "No offense, but you're around the same age as me I'm guessing,"
"Only 5 years or so, I went right after I left school when I was 18," Oliver explained, "My dad was in the Royal Air Force when he was a youngster, as well as my Granddad,"
"My dad was a Marine like me," Nile said to him, "I served in Afghanistan," Oliver nodded his head at her in acknowledgment.
"I trained to be a pilot, and I was top of my class. But I only helped with some very small missions here and there, nothing too big," He explained, "I was released from service about two years ago, though."
"What happened?" I asked, seeing him give me a soft stare.
"I got injured in combat," he explained, but he wasn't sore about it, "We were called to help in a counter-attack over in South Africa and I got caught in a dogfight with an enemy pilot. Before I knew it I was shot down, thankfully surviving with only several broken bones and a bad case of PTSD. My ribs were fractured and they had to do an emergency operation on me just to save some of my organs from failing."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Nile said to him softly, though Oliver shrugged.
"I healed after a few months and survived, but they sent me home and I had to get back on my feet. Ever since then I would go to support and recovery groups to….I don't know….get back to civilized life," He explained. I could tell that he didn't mind talking about it, but it was also heavy on his mind at the same time. I could tell how the rest of us were looking at each other as Oliver was almost lost in himself with all that was happening to him now. We all had a sense of compassion for him. Maybe he felt lost with us already, thinking that he only knew what it meant to be in war and barely survive it. I had to think of something, so I leaned over to him a bit as I pointed to Joe and Nicky.
"Nicky and Joe served in the Crusades," I explained to him, seeing him look from me over to both Joe and Nicky across from them, "That's how they first died and became Immortal. And they met each other at the same time too,"
"And they killed each other, in their words, many times," Nile hummed in agreement before she took a drink from her water. Oliver looked at the two of them in shock as they were just chuckling.
"Did you really?" he asked them both in utter fascination.
"It's a good story that we both will love to tell you," Nicky reassured him as he then pointed over to me with his crossed arms, "Eleanor over here fought alongside Joan of Arc,"
I was about to regret bringing up this new subject of conversation since it felt like it was going to be awkward very quickly. But Oliver looked over at me with utter amazement.
"You're kidding," He breathed out, in which I slowly smiled as I shifted a bit in my seat next to him. It's been a while since someone took a liking to my story. I just grinned at him and nodded my head at Andy returned with 5 beers in her hands, placing them in the middle as she sat back next to Joe.
"What are we talking about?" She asked, amused as she took a long drink from her bottle.
"Oh you know, our usual conversations of the battles ya'll have been in since you're older than dirt," Nile said to her nonchalantly, Andy giving her a look before he looked at Oliver. Oliver was giving her some kind of look in the hope she would say something about her. She just grinned, holding her beer with one hand and the other reaching over to grab another slice of pizza.
"We'll be here for days with all the shit I went through, kid." She reassured him, "But what do you wanna hear first?"
"I say, tell him about the battle out in Mongolia where you slaughtered all of those men with just your axe and a handful of pellets," Joe urged her as he took a drink from his beer. Nicky and I chuckled as Nile looked at her in somewhat shock.
"I don't even know that story!" Nile said to her, almost sounding hurt at Andy just gave her a look while I took my drink.
"And for good reason, since I think you can't handle the story or stomach it," Andy commented back to her. Once again, a round of laughter was heard at the table as she then looked over at Oliver. I could tell she was thinking hard in her spot. I could tell she was slowly caving into it as she sighed and looked at Oliver right in the eye.
"I was traveling out in the Mongolia wilderness, and I heard there was going to be an uprising amongst the villagers there in retaliation to the rogues that traveled through…"
As Andy was telling Oliver one of her famous war stories, we were getting comfortable in our seats. All five of us sat there for a while, swapping stories with Oliver and telling him what he needed to hear just to get by for the day.
I remember how it felt the first time: that loneliness and not understanding what was going to happen for the rest of this life. It was a bitter time, and I knew it was worse for Andy and Quynh when she was around. Booker had his brand of loneliness because of his family that was left behind, and for him, it was worst because he couldn't outrun it.
Oliver had a leg up from me, as did Nile. I wandered on my own for fifty years until Nicky and Joe found me. So it showed that things were changing in this new world and how fast we could find each other now. Nile and Oliver lucked out, and who knows when more Immortals would come.
Watching Oliver and seeing how he was listening to Andy with curiosity and wonder, I had a feeling this was going to be different. He wasn't sold completely in this new life, but there was something inside him that was already trying to welcome it. And maybe for me, finally seeing him in front of me instead of in my head was enough for me to look forward to facing the future, whatever that entailed. I was still trying to get my mental strength back and build that all that I lost from what happened, but this was a small sliver of hope for me.
It was the start of a new adventure.