Chapter 10: Unexpected
Oliver was adjusting his tie on Monday morning when Diggle strode into his room without knocking, a full twenty minutes before he was scheduled to pick Oliver up to go to Queen Consolidated for the day.
Oliver started to say something, but the look on Digg's face stopped him. "What's happened?" he asked.
Digg shook his head. "Not here. In the car."
Oliver was surprised when Digg opened the front passenger door for him, but didn't argue. As soon as Diggle was behind the wheel, Oliver turned toward him expectantly.
Digg glanced at Oliver, and pulled away from the mansion.
"Come on Digg," Oliver said.
Digg took a deep breath. "Felicity calls me to check in."
Oliver pursed his lips. Perhaps they were planning an intervention. His mind shifted back to that excruciating phone call five days ago. He never should have taken the call. She had been on his mind more than usual because of it.
"Stay out of it, Diggle." He said, for lack of a better response.
"No, Oliver. You don't understand."
Oliver was getting ready to tell his friend to stay out of his business, but then he looked at him and saw the worry lines over his brow. He saw the way Diggle was squeezing the wheel so hard that the skin on his knuckles was paling. Oliver's heart stopped, and he waited for Diggle to continue.
"She calls on Sundays to check in. She didn't call yesterday."
"Maybe she got busy," Oliver reasoned. His thumb found the pin under his collar on its own accord. Hope. "Maybe she finally decided to move on."
"No, Oliver. Something's wrong. She didn't return my messages."
An uneasy feeling started in the pit of Oliver's stomach. Impossible. He had sent her away to keep her safe. She was safe as long as she was away from him.
"Drive faster," Oliver commanded.
Digg nodded and floored it.
Xxx
They made the 45 minute drive in just under half an hour. Oliver's brain had started thinking of scenarios explaining Felicity's failure to check in. She ran over her phone with her car. She fell down and hurt herself . . . Okay, bad idea. Better to think of something else. So he focused on the moments she had managed to make him smile. He laid his head back, eyes closed, and played each on in his head. He willed Digg's gut to be wrong. She was fine. She was safe. Maybe she was sick, and she would look at them in confusion when they stormed in to her apartment.
"You matter." How was he going to walk away from her once he knew she was okay? He wasn't sure he had the strength to do it again. Their phone conversation had steadily been eating away at his resolve. He remembered her yelling at him for making her decisions for her, and then the sadness in her voice as she asked him to let her come back. After all that he had done, all that he was, she still wanted to come back. She had almost made it sound as if she wanted to come back for him.
Out of the blue, he remembered a random conversation with Diggle from a lifetime ago. He thought it was after the whole Helena disaster, but he couldn't be sure. "You know Oliver, I'm no expert at this, but I don't think love is about changing or saving a person, I think it's about finding the person who's already the right fit. One day you will." He fingered the pin again. Hope. Felicity, who seemed willing to do anything he asked of her and more. She was the only woman in his life who saw him with all of his flaws and still wanted to be in his life. She knew what he was, and didn't call him a murderer, as Tommy had when he had learned his identity. Instead, she had once told Detective Lance that she would call him a hero. He swore to himself that if she was safe when they arrived in Capitol City, he would ask her what she wanted.
When they finally pulled up to her apartment, Oliver was out of the car before it fully stopped. He took the stairs two at a time. He heard Digg pounding along to catch up with him. He knew her apartment number by heart, even though he had never visited it. When he reached her floor, he took a steadying breath. She was fine. It was all fine. He looked to see that Digg was with him, then headed toward her apartment at the end of the hall.
"Shit," Diggle said, drawing his gun. The door was slightly ajar.
Oliver's heart dropped out of his body.
He stepped to the door. Took a calming breath to sharpen his senses, then pressed the door open.
A quick glance around the foyer showed nothing out of the ordinary. A wall separated the main area of the apartment into two sections—a kitchen and dining area to the left and a living area to the right. Oliver nodded for Digg to go right as he went left.
The kitchen was pristine. Nothing looked out of place. From over the bar-style counter, Oliver could see Diggle freeze. "Oh no . . . "he said. Diggle was staring at something on the other side of the couch.
Oliver jumped over the counter. He braced himself, certain that he was about to see Felicity's broken body laying on the floor. He was by Digg in a second.
There was no blood; no Felicity. The living room looked as pristine as the kitchen had. For a brief moment, he failed to see what had inspired the look of abject horror on Diggle's face. Then he followed Digg's gaze, and saw the single black arrow sticking out of the table.
AN: Soooo, this chapter was where this story was always headed. It just took a long time getting here. Anybody hate me yet? 'Cause I sort of hated myself after I wrote this. Poor Oliver!