The Dead Boy's Guide To Second Chances

28. the angel in the attic

FIVE MONTHS AND THIRTY DAYS AFTER THE DEATH OF OLIVER SALLOW

"Congrats on finishing your first case!"

Steadying himself on the desk in front of him, Oliver blinks, trying to catch his breath. He feels a little bit like he used to when he was alive and forgot to take his iron supplement—that woozy sensation of his body trying to tell him something is wrong.

He supposes being non-consensually zapped from one end of England to the other without warning could do that to a person. One moment he's sitting in the windowsill in Blissby School's library, the next he's back in Dover, standing at the reception desk in the foyer.

With great effort, he manages to stop the world from blurring. His voice comes out sounding as righteously indignant as he feels. "What the fuck?"

The guy behind the reception smiles at him. Oliver's seen him around a few times—he's another one of the mentors next to Dana. "Sorry, I know it's a bit of a shock the first time it happens. But congrats! You did it!"

"Did... did what?"

"Your first case," he patiently repeats. That customer-service smile never wavers. "You finished it! Are you ready to meet your next assignee?"

"Wait." All at once, awareness returns to Oliver, and with it an icy feeling of panic. "My case isn't finished. There has to be a mistake."

"Oh, but it is! It's Case 4839, right? Finn O'Connell." The boy types something on the old-fashioned monster of a computer on his desk. "The intervention has met its goal when Finn O'Connell feels like he can be unapologetically himself; when he learns to accept help; when he's truly, properly happy," he reads. "That's what you wrote, isn't it?"

Oliver feels like his legs are going to give out. The operation's infernal guideline pops into his mind again. L is for Leave. Once the goal of the intervention is met, contact should cease to allow for a return to normal life.

"But... we weren't finished yet," he says.

"According to Susan, you are." The boy adjusts his glasses. "Susan can sense the instant that an intervention has met its goal. I'm sorry it came as such a surprise—I know what it's like to get attached."

I really don't think you do, Oliver hysterically thinks and then This can't be happening.

"Listen, it's—I need to at least say goodbye," he says. There's a real sound of desperation in his voice now. He would be embarrassed about it if it weren't all he was feeling. "I'm going back."

The mentor says nothing. His expression is slightly pitying as Oliver thinks about Finn with all the bloody intention he can muster and still finds himself rooted to the same spot.

"Oliver," the boy gently says. "It's all right. I'm sure you'll get along just fine with your next case as well. Speaking of which, it would be great if you could have a look at her file either today or—"

"I'm not taking another case," Oliver cuts him off.

"What?"

"I'm not taking another case," Oliver repeats. He has to press each word through his teeth. "I need to see Finn O'Connell."

Now there's the slightest hint of exasperation on the mentor's face. "That's not how this works. Operation HALO is not about fostering co-dependency. It's about giving our assignees the tools to return to normal life without—"

"Stop reciting the fucking handbook! If Operation HALO wasn't about co-dependency, then they shouldn't have sent me to guide my ex-boyfriend! What the fuck did you think was going to ha—"