Happy Monday guys :D You're amazing, you really are. Reviews are always such a pleasure to read, you really perk up my Tuesdays :)
This week, feel the fabrics of Oliver's double identity unraveling. Yes, we're close to that time.
Thanks for everyone who's stuck with the story so far, you're troopers ;)
Previously; A whole lot of emotion. Chloe was 'stood up' by Oliver. Then, she saw a repeat the same night with Green Arrow. What a bad night! It didn't get any better for either of them as the newspaper publicly flashed her worst moment for the world. Lex has a new plan, and set up security to rush in the moment Arrow steps foot into Chloe's penthouse. Dinah put aside her own wants and joined team Chollie!
Chapter Thirty-Three; Darkness Past
'You told me to stop feeling sorry for myself. These were the cards fate had dealt me, and it was best that I accept it and move on.'- Lex Luthor (Season Two, Episode Red)
Chloe had never been able to accept failure. It was probably stemmed to her lust for knowledge, her incurable curiosity and inability to let things go. So, she sat at her laptop nursing the hand she'd throw into a wall in a fit of rage and she started looking through Queen's bank accounts. It had him booking a room at Starwood Regency Hotels. Maybe she could have something sent to him there, she had a few contacts in Hong Kong… she thought. They hadn't talked in a while, but Chloe had gathered favours from around the world. First, she needed details, his room number, then she could start organising her punishment for him. He'd be dead on his feet when she finished. So, she accessed the website for the hotel and rang the desk.
But… her response did nothing to ease her curiosity. Yes, Mr Queen had a room booked, but he hadn't even checked in. He wasn't there.
Where was he? She pondered, drumming her fingers of her good hand on the table top. He must have checked in by now if he was there. So… he wasn't there.
Her next phone call was back to the assistant of Queen Industries, but she told her the same thing she'd told her before. Mr Queen was away on business and was not in the country.
If he wasn't in America… and he wasn't in Hong Kong…
Where was he?
Chloe needed to know now. In her mind, she wasn't looking for the man who rejected her, but the job that had suddenly wandered off. Where would a billionaire be without the press being all over it? They pretty much watched his door for the opportunity to get a picture of him tripping over the doormat.
She re-adjusted the icepack over her left hand and continued the search with her right. She wasn't bleeding, and nothing had been broken, but her emotions had refused to be ignored and demanded she throw them at the nearest wall. But, despite the pain, she found she could deal with physical pain better than she could emotional. Physical pain had ice-packs and drugs. Emotional pain had no cure. Chloe hacked into the flight logs of Metropolis airport where Queen kept his plane. She couldn't browse too much, if she wanted any extra information, she would need an inside man, but she could view logs. She found Queen's plane easily. It was the only private jet to leave that day. Metropolis to Hong Kong. The plane had certainly gone to Hong Kong… but had Queen?
Chloe tapped out a melody with her fingers while she stared at the screen thinking. Where was he?
Men like Queen don't just disappear.
If his plane had crashed, it would have made news.
If he'd been killed or the plane hijacked, it would have made breaking news.
If the plane was redirected, it would show up in the logs.
So… where was he?
She had to know. There was no other way. She refused to fail this job, and for that, she needed Queen. So, he was going to be found, whether he liked it or not.
Her fingers scrolled the long list of contacts on her mobile. Almost all named by code or the town where she met them. She called 'Henson'. Henson being the town where her criminal activity almost met a grizzly end.
"Adam?" she spoke to the dear friend as he answered the mobile. So 'dear friend' was a lie. He was more of an 'old' friend.
"Who is this?" An old friend who thought she was called Sarah.
"A friend from the past with a lot of information you don't want leaking out." She could almost imagine his blue eyes flying wide as he recollected the voice.
"Jesus, Sarah? You swore we were finished!" he hissed.
"I need something else."
"No, we're done." he vehemently disagreed. As much as she hated doing this, she needed it.
"We were done." she corrected.
"Not now. I have a wife, and kids." he begged, knowing she wasn't bluffing.
"And they will never find out how you earned that shiny promotion if you do this one last thing for me." she purred, her voice soft and teasing.
"Last thing. You swear?" he sighed, accepting his fate.
"Promise." This time, she swore to herself she would keep this promise. "I need you to call the control tower at Metropolis air strip. I need to know the number of passengers on a flight." Chloe could easily hack to view flights. But to hack to view additional information was a lot of work she didn't need. Not when there was an easier way.
"Why?" he asked. He never could stop at just a yes or a no.
"It's important."
"I can't just ring up and ask." He hissed.
"Of course not, otherwise I would have done it myself. Give them your badge number, say it's in relation to a pending investigating into a smuggling ring." she instructed.
"I'm homicide though." he stated. Not the brightest in the bunch.
"How did you get there Adam?" she reminded him. Chloe had stumbled across a very very bad man's hide out while snooping around the city, she'd traded it to a rookie cop in exchange for him to let her slip his fingers. He got a promotion for taking down a serial killer single handedly, she got to skip the country. They were meant to part ways forever, but you never know when you need a dirty cop willing to let a fugitive escape in exchange for information she had gathered illegally.
"But, I can't just lie to them."
"Then maybe you should have thought of that when you lied to your captain. All it takes is one phonecall to end your career." Adam letting her go, was at the time when the police department had got the closest they ever had on her. No-one had been as close. There was still fingers being pointed to pass blame for how she escaped when they were so close. If anyone found out Adam had let her go. They'd take his badge.
"I straightened myself out Sarah…"
"And this will be forever behind you, as soon as you get me the information."
"Damn it, give me the details." he relented and she passed the flight number across to him.
Chloe switched on the coffee maker, knowing it wouldn't take long. True enough, it took less than three minutes for a reply.
"What you get for me Adam?" she purred, her eyes on the brewing machine.
"Whatever flight that was, it's a private jet. Nobody other than the two pilots were aboard. It was cleared as a training session to fly to Hong Kong and then back again tomorrow."
She felt like dancing across the room screaming that she was right. Instead, she double checked.
"Names of the pilots?"
"Mark Jacobs and Henry Allot." he reeled off the paper.
That was it. Oliver was not on that flight. But, his assistant didn't know that. Where was he actually? His apartment? Hiding out for some reason? What did Oliver have to hide from?
"You'll never hear from me again." she vowed, her coat already on her arm and keys in hand.
Queen was hiding his tracks well. Not just from her… what was he doing?
Her curiosity wouldn't be sated until she knew.
Chloe sat outside Queen's apartment in her car. No lights on. It didn't mean he wasn't in but it did mean the mystery was growing. She stepped from the car, inputting the code to his elevator he had still yet to change and prepared herself for the possibility of Oliver on the other side. But, the death trap opened to an empty living room, and empty kitchen… an empty apartment. She walked the apartment silently, each step asking where he was. He wasn't away on business, but he wanted people to think he was. He wasn't at his apartment. What other properties did he have?
Lots. Holiday homes across the globe. But the closest he owned was the other apartment block in Metropolis which he was setting up for Arrow.
She didn't really want to see Arrow. And, she highly doubted he would be there. She took herself closer to his office, intending for a further snoop. He must have left a paper trail somewhere. His internet history should have a search for hotels or directions. She thanked her mind for remembering the picklock and let herself into the office, intending to start up the computer and take a look through the memory. But, the computer was already on, flashing its light to show it was hibernating. Curiously Chloe lowered herself into the chair, resuming the power to the computer. It fired up quickly, the perks of money. His background was a plain blue, nothing fancy, no naked women. The internet history though, oh Chloe would probably have to bleach her eyes after sieving through that. So instead, she started on recently accessed document from the last week.
Business, business, business and, oh, guess what, more business. The man hadn't accessed anything non-work related. So, she turned to the internet and flipped up the history tab for the last week. But… there was no cascade of porn.
No… for the last week he had a volume of different jewellery sites. She rolled her eyes, probably just buying his way into another woman's bed one item at a time. She crawled through the long list. A lot were emails, some were research into the labs Green Arrow had hit. Chloe presumed he'd finally got the nerve to check out his new business associate. And then, Chloe found a file sharing link. Chloe thought to Lex's associates, they usually sent things over private servers too, this could be Oliver sending a bid in for the pharmaceutical company. Excited, she accessed the site, only to find it password encrypted. Encrypted to a value greater than usual business communications sites. To say it made her more curious was like saying nuclear war would be slightly disadvantageous for the planet. Chloe HAD to get in. She slipped in the flashdrive she always kept in her purse and let it decode the password. She set it to work while she finished with his internet sites. There wasn't much more, more research into Green Arrow. Browsing of a few restaurants. Nothing out of the ordinary for a billionaires life style. Which left her stumped again… if there was no trail as to where he was… where was he?
At another woman's house?
At Tess's?
She felt a rage build in the bottom of her gut, but it didn't get a chance to bloom before the password was cracked.
'Justice'
His password was justice?
She opened the file, it was a transfer that had been received by five other people. The file opened and she instantly recognised it. It was the Nexus labs plans. What the hell was Oliver doing with the plans to Nexus? The original plans…
Was Arrow looking for a piggy bank for his destruction of Luthor property?
Or was Oliver closer tied to it than that?
Chloe closed the file and looked at the other five recipients. Their IP addresses were scrambled. Highly scrambled. She sighed. She couldn't crack that tonight. Not with the flashdrive. She'd need more, and not to mention she'd need a track and trace to find the origin of the IP. She leant back on the office chair. This was taking a turn for confusing very quickly. What was Oliver up to?
Chloe reset the computer, covering her tracks and drove back to the apartment. She ordered Chinese and sat with Green Arrows files spread across the floor. She'd find a link. She'd have a breakthrough. Then she could put these bastard behind her for good.
"How'd you feel?" Victor asked to Oliver through the door.
"I'm fine." Oliver answered, sat on the cot. "You can open the door."
"You could probably do with another day… I mean, you did have two shots."
"And I've battered every wall with every bit of anger I had left." Oliver droned, and sighed.
"I'm not letting you go." Victor spoke, arms crossed on the other side of the door.
"That's your choice." Oliver responded. "But get me a tv or something through."
Victor chuckled and opened the door.
"You can go." he replied. Oliver narrowed his eyes. "What? Nothing wrong with a little denial to kickstart some anger."
"You're lucky I'm not in the mood to kill you." Oliver laughed and stood from the cot, stretching out his limbs. "But, I'm thinking we should keep this room."
"You foreseeing more nights like this?" Vic questioned, but already agreeing.
"Possibly. But, what vigilante group doesn't need a holding cell." he stated, walking past Victor and into freedom again. He was met by the smell of coffee, the memory of Chloe swiftly followed. Dinah smiled at him, pushing a cup his way.
But Dinah watched shocked as Oliver declined.
"So what you going to do with your new freedom?" AC asked, looking up from the video game he was playing with Bart. "Tess changed your flight dates, so you're still away on business for a few more days."
"I need to see her." Oliver just spoke, nothing else on his mind. Everyone knew which 'her' he spoke of.
"Sure that's a good idea?" Victor asked.
"It can't get worse." Oliver answered, offering nothing more. Victor looked to Dinah, but she was silent on this matter, just drank her coffee.
"I'm not so sure man. She's probably not the happiest person in the world. Especially with the paper…"
"Then I won't see her as Oliver." he summed. Victor shook his head, but otherwise kept quiet. Which was why when Dinah was the next to speak, all heads turned, not expecting the words.
"Need a ride?" she offered, the empty mug set onto the table as she lifted the keys from her pocket.
"Sure." Oliver accepted, suspicious, but otherwise trusting. Through the last day, he felt things had changed in their relationship. Dinah was no longer a bitter ex, she'd stepped entirely out of the role, she was a friend. She was accepting. Oliver followed Dinah, both ignoring the questioning eyes.
Oliver stepped into his apartment with a heavy sigh. Dinah had said one word as she stopped by his apartment unexpectedly: 'shower', while adding a disapproving sniff. Yeah, it was a good idea. He still had dried blood under his nails. But as he walked into the apartment, he stopped, no energy left to encourage him forward. Truly, he didn't know what to do with himself.
He sat himself on the sofa heavily, his head in his hands. He'd done nothing but think while he'd been in that cell. He knew Chloe would never forgive him. He knew he could grovel for years to come and she would never be able to smile at him like she did before. She'd never kiss him with such emotion ever again. And he couldn't live with that. Not to mention to pain it would cause her to see him. It was better for both of them to leave it as the illusion of a breakup. Oliver massaged his temples with his forefingers. He didn't know if he'd make it through the week feeling like he did.
Business, his brain supplied and his fingers stopped their motions.
Business always took his mind from things. It was needy and constantly requiring work, it would help.
But as Oliver stripped the Green Arrow leathers in exchange for sweatpants and tshirt he thought of the last things he'd done at the computer below him, and he remembered something that strummed the pain once more.
His internet history was crammed with the many jewellery shops he'd browsed trying to find the perfect fit, the perfect design.
But no woman wanted a ring from the man that had stood her up.
Oliver shut down the idea of a computer as soon as it started up. He fucking missed her, she was everywhere. A simple glance to his bed had the image of her sleeping in it, her hair across his pillow, her perfume clinging to the sheets, the duvet riding just under her bare breasts.
Fuck.
He spun from it, storming to the bathroom for a shower. But, there was the shower, a taunt over the last time he'd touched her. The last time he'd ran his fingers over her smooth skin. The last time he'd tasted her. He gripped the sink, his fist tightening to a painful point.
Fuck avoiding her.
Fuck trying to be mature.
He needed to see her.
Needed.
No sooner than 5 minutes, he was speeding through the midnight roads. To see her. To check she was alright. To talk. To apologise for breaking a promise of meeting her. To hear her voice once more. To taste one more kiss.
Oliver shifted gear the bike, cutting a new noise in the air, splitting the darkness with the sole headlight. He was coming. She just had to hold on.
Chloe must have been too emotionally wiped to dream the previous night, but that night, while she let her emotions rest, the backlash of Lionel's visit came in the shape of a memory slashing her dreams.
He'd told her to dye her hair, he'd told her to dress better. He'd told her to speak like she belonged. He told, and she obeyed. She'd become Amanda Ree, socialite and dear friend to the Luthors, she'd been taken around function after function. She'd been Lionel's puppet. But this time was different.
He took her to the balcony.
"David Golinsky." he named. "His wife; Ronda, and child; Bella. She's just 5 years old, isn't she a gem?" Chloe turned to the small girl twirling in her new dress, trying to watch it fan out with the air as she turned. Her mother had put her hair into plaits with little bowed bobbles to secure the style. She was a princess. "You'll take her from her parents."
"What?" Chloe had heard some strange things from Lionel, but this was over the line.
"Mr Golinsky has been funnelling Luthorcorp funds." he explained like he was entirely justified for kidnapping. "He takes what is mine, I will only return the favour."
"She's just a child!" Chloe protested.
"And you're just an assistant." he reminded her pointedly. "If it makes you feel better, she'll be returned as soon as he agrees to give the money back."
"You won't take the child." she argued.
"Oh I will Miss Sullivan. But, either I can let one of them-" He nodded to the muscle he'd brought along. "Take her from her mother's hands and leave her crying in a room all alone." No, no child should be taken. "Or, you can take her for a 'playdate' and the child will be none the wiser about her parent's transgressions."
"I won't do it."
"Fine." But as he summoned the men into action Chloe's mind flipped yet again and she intercepted his move, approaching the child and mother like nothing more than an event organiser.
"Your daughter is lovely, what's her name?" Chloe felt like sin for every word she spoke. But Lionel called off his dogs and approached the husband alone, while she faked a pretence of showing the mother and daughter the back room of butterfly paintings.
Chloe had to lock the room as soon as they were inside and she turned to the now worried mother.
"What are you doing?" she hissed, moving between Chloe and the child. And she had those eyes, those eyes of disgust, or repulsion. All aimed at Chloe. They say a mother of any species is protective of her young, to the point of dying for them. The look in the mother's brown eyes certainly backed that.
"You'll both be free to leave. My boss needs to talk to your husband alone."
"Your boss? Well how about you tell your boss he can back the fuck off." The woman, with no shame for her actions before the child, slammed an unexpected fist into Chloe's gut. "You're a monster." Chloe curled over in pain, the last thing she wanted was a fight with another woman in front of her child. She looked back up to those eyes. Black and hating.
"I can't let you leave." Chloe spoke, trying to remember her reason why.
"You're a sick bitch. I hope you burn in hell like you deserve." But she saw the next punch coming and took the woman to the floor swiftly.
"I'll break your arm if I have to." Chloe informed her, already hating herself more than the woman could. Her daughter's scared eyes locked on the sight.
The woman didn't give her an answer, just the scowl, telling her daughter to run. But the child was frozen, not wanting to leave her mother, and that was the only thing working in her favour tonight.
Her phone vibrated and she took the arm hold with one hand to answer it.
'Let Daxton in'
Chloe stepped back from the woman to the door, but before she could reach the lock, she was wiped off her feet, a fist flying at her face, connecting with her cheek and splitting her lip in the collision. Chloe watched her run her child to the door only to be forced back in.
She didn't know his name was Daxton until he stepped in the room, a gun poised at the females, two others following him in. Chloe knew who he was. He was Lionels dirty man, the man that pulled the trigger. Her husband had refused to give the money back.
"No!" Chloe called to them. But two quick taps of the trigger had a chest shot to both of the girls. The silencer made swift work of the task. Another guard was prepared though, pulling Chloe back as she cried.
Watching the light fade from someone's eyes was an experience you couldn't ever replicate. There was pain, there was guilt, there was the helpless need to do something, something you knew you couldn't. You watched them lift begging eyes to you, asking for something to help, and you knew nothing could bring them back from death. So you had to watch the light die. If that wasn't hard enough… watching the light fade from a child was worse by miles. She'd barely lived. Barely experienced a thing. She was nothing but purity and happiness, and she looked up through dying eyes looking for a comfort none could give. She looked asking why, asking what she had done wrong… not understanding that the crime was not hers.
Chloe took the bottle of red wine from the cabinet, she didn't both with a glass, didn't bother to let it breath, just uncorked and sat in the dark taking away the memory.
Arrow let himself inside the apartment, all the lights were on, but Chloe was missing. He scouted the kitchen finding nothing more than a corkscrew on the side with a cork still attached to it. She was drinking. On a hunch, he took the steps to the roof. There she was, her hair tied, but not contained by the bobble. He felt his heart pound against his chest. He missed her, he hated to see her so lost… and it was entirely his fault.
Chloe sat, dangling her legs off the edge of the building. The night air still, but cold, harsh and unforgiving over her soft skin. She huddled closer to herself, the second lollipop of the night unravelled absently by her fingers. Her tongue told her it was watermelon. Strange, she thought she'd picked up strawberry. Shrugging, she took the lolly back to her mouth, figuring she had just seen the red again and forgot to read the label. Last time that happened she'd got rhubarb, at least this time she liked watermelon. It had been years since the nightmares started, she'd blossomed and grown but her mind had never been able to soothe the terror as she slept. Tonight was no different. A yawn escaped as her fingers took back hold on the sugar candy.
"Rough night?" She didn't need to turn around. Didn't bother. She knew who it was, the voice distorter may as well be a golden beacon of light. But something irked her hazy mind, he could interrupt her misery, but he couldn't come see her before? She didn't reply. He didn't pick up the signal she'd hoped, his footsteps coming closer. "About the other night-" he began. Her words cut through his.
"Please just leave." Chloe knew she sounded weak. She knew it was pathetic how crumbled she was. But… she had no desire for his apology, no need for his presence. This was private pain, she needed no spectator. Her tongue collected the lollipop again and she closed her eyes, trying to block out everything else.
Arrow came closer again, noting the wine to her right, the pile of lollies to her left.
"You really like those lollies huh?" he tried again.
Chloe knew, even tipsy, she knew he wouldn't go. So she settled for giving him answers. Somewhere in her mind, it made sense.
"I used to smoke." she simply spoke around the sweet. "These are the next best thing, and they'll only rot my teeth, which I'm told is better than my lungs."
"I didn't peg you for a smoker." he replied and moved closer, crouching a few metres from her, a good distance so her fists would miss, but close enough to see her clearly.
"It's a stress thing… It was a stress thing." she corrected herself, feeling the alcohol loosen her lips and stop the filter on her mind. She opened her eyes to glance back. He looked tired. "Now I have my crystallized sugar treats." She pulled a smile, but he still saw the dark circles under her eyes and the tear stains on her cheeks. The sleeve of her cardigan had a black smudge: wiped mascara?
"Are you alright?" The question knocked her back mentally and she physically turned to face him.
"Are you?" she fired back. "You do remember we work on opposite sides of the line right? Not to mention I'm not exactly happy with you." she hissed, the drunken slur coming to her 's's.
"We may have started out on different sides." he agreed. "But, now. Can you say the same?" he challenged. He was going to tell her Nexus had made him break his promise of returning to her, but she wiped under her eyes again. "Don't cry." He couldn't stand it if she cried.
"I'm not crying." she stated, showing him her lack of tears, then continued "I was, I'll admit that much. But I'm not anymore. I'm the picture of happiness." She smiled again, watching him nudge his way closer to sit on the edge of the roof a small distance away.
"Alcohol does that to me too…" he replied, nodding to the bottle she had nestled between her legs in the recent move.
"It's my winning combination." She laughed to herself. Then in a sudden gesture her hand flew out in his direction, the bottle in its grasp, her eyes still focussed on the landscape of homes, only very few lights shimmering on inside houses. "Since we're playing with a truce for tonight, I suppose I should learn to share." she suggested, wiggling the bottle, the hypnotising pull of liquor added to the scent of fruit on her breath. He took it, but not for himself, just to limit her own consumption. She'd probably forget she had it in a few seconds anyway.
"I don't drink while I'm working." he replied, catching her questioning gaze. She allowed his remark and shuffled, the lollipop back out of her mouth as she inspected the slight decrease in size.
"That's probably wise…" she accepted. Her drunken mind looked at him in the moon's light and she saw Oliver's features. Why did that man stir her sex drive still? She was meant to hate him, but here he was, twinned to Arrow and still making her want. "Do you like watermelon?" she asked out of the blue.
"I do." He grinned knowing how he could lead this. He took her hand, shuffling her closer to him. "I wouldn't mind a taste if you're willing to share…" Her eyes dropped to her candy then back to him. Sweetly, she extended across the lolly, much like a child in the playground making a new friend. He had another action in mind and slid a hand to the back of her neck, guiding her closer as he moved in for the kiss. Chloe saw it coming, and she did nothing to prevent it. Even through the alcohol haze she knew it would throw her through her Oliver related box of pain. But, she knew it would feel good, it would give her something she was familiar with. But the kiss was tender. It wasn't harsh, it wasn't demanding. It was sweet.
Chloe couldn't stand it. Arrow couldn't kiss her like this. It wasn't his style. No, that was all Oliver. Her eyes burned.
She needed to kill the pain. She swung herself back from the ledge and nudged closer, straddling him, deepening the kiss. But there was no fire, no domination. It was soft. Still! It was stirring her ache all over again. She pushed back from him, her hand thrust against the leather and ripping her lips from his. No. She couldn't take this. The burn of Queen was shredding her. Another tear slipped down and she scrambled back away from him, quiet as she hugged her knees. But his eyes were on her, she could feel it.
"We can't kiss." she spoke, he could hear the pain in her voice.
Arrow felt the pain back in his heart. He'd broken her well, he thought sickly. He wanted to hold her, he wanted her to kiss him like she loved him again.
He felt such immense guilt, it was a miracle he stopped the tears from slipping from under the shades.
But he couldn't leave her. Not like this.
So he stayed frozen, he let her calm herself again, he let her breath on her own, far from his reach.
He didn't know how long they sat in that silence, frozen in their positions, beaten by the cold air, but when she tugged at her cardigan sleeves and lifted her head to the night, he could see that composure she'd found even through a drunk mind.
"I like it here." she whispered, her eyes locked on the city. Oliver felt his breath rush out, just hearing her words again healed the ashes of his heart. "It's peaceful. Quiet." She brushed a hand to her face, carefully taking back a strand of hair. "Nothing seems important anymore when you looked over the dark city. Everyone sleeping so peacefully." She let her legs down, crossing them under her instead. "You can let your imagination free, making stories for the families with their lights on." And she managed a smile, a light breeze of laughter he could have imagined. "Like there-" and she pointed a finger high, to the top floor of the building straight opposite. "The one with the curtains open." Arrow turned to the window. "He has a night shift, and just got home. She promised she'd wait up for him and they're hopelessly in love." Arrow turned to her, a dreamy glaze over her eyes, a coy smile trying to set free. "That one, far in the distance." She started again, but Arrow didn't look, he was focussed on her, on the way her lips barely moved for her to speak. "It's a little child, terrified of the dark. He probably fell asleep hours ago, but his light still keeps him protected." She turned back, catching Arrow watching her. He turned, his hand outreached to the closest light to them.
"What about that one?" He loved to just hear her talk. Chloe shrugged after following his finger.
"He's just got a phone call to tell him his girlfriend's been run over and died." Arrow sighed. She might not be drunk, but she wasn't sober.
"You should go back to bed." he suggested. She didn't turn to him though. Just let the uncensored words tumble free.
"Why?" She reached to collect another lolly, losing track of her previous. Cherry, she read. "It will still hurt in the morning." she continued, her fingers working the wrapper. "But in the morning, I have to be composed. I have to have a happy face and do work." She lifted the lolly, inspecting the smooth spherical shape of the dark red candy. "But now. I don't have to be happy for anyone." And she slipped the candy between her lips.
Arrow noted the loose lips and aimed to take advantage.
"What about your mother, wouldn't she want you to be happy?" She scoffed a laugh.
"My mother?" She turned to him, the lolly in her hand. "You wanna hear what my mother would say about tonight?" she challenged darkly. She began without his input. "My mother would look to the skies and tell me each star was the eye of a god. She'd tell me not to be upset, or afraid, or worried, because I'm being guarded by a bunch of all these powerful gods."
"She sounds like a fascinating woman." To this, Chloe turned with an eyebrow raised.
"My mother was a loon who abandoned me." she stated and turned back to the view, watching a light turn off to her left.
"You miss her." he spoke, reading the hurt.
"Yeah." But this Chloe wasn't sad when she spoke, she was passively angry. "Because maybe if she would have stayed, I wouldn't have been in this fucking mess." She snapped, then sighed. "And if you didn't have this stupid notion of saving pathetic people, I wouldn't even be here, I wouldn't be on this roof, and I wouldn't be drinking. And, it's your fault if I get a hangover, because you couldn't just let things lie." She turned to him, her slur worsening, her hand searching for the alcohol he still had. "It's your fault Lex is even building these stupid facilities and areas and pens and whatever the fuck he calls them. If you would have just kept it in your fucking quiver, no-one would be in this mess." Chloe didn't see the way he sat rigid, nor the way his jaw set deadly. She saw the red haze of booze, the need to blame someone for her problems.
"You need to go to sleep." Chloe turned to the dark voice, darker than it had been before.
"No. I need a life without you in it." She sneered back at him.
"You're drunk." he told himself aloud.
"So what?" she challenged, a glimmer in her eye that wanted him to get angry with her. She followed his motions, but as he stood, she didn't get the pleasure of him leaving. No, he just took the lolly from her hand, throwing it to the streets and lifting her to her feet, then over his shoulder. She protested the entire way, she called him every name he never wanted to hear leave her lips and he dropped her onto her bed none too kindly.
"You're very lucky." he ground out as she bounced on the bed, trying to find her footing again. There was something deadly in his tone, something that made her spine shiver. "You're very lucky." he repeated. If he hadn't beat out his temper wrecking his fist, she would have taken the last of it tonight. Yes, she was exceptionally lucky he reigned back the hot anger telling him to silence her insults. Arrow had beaten women, sadly not all criminals were male, and not all female criminals would go willingly, some were willingly to shiv him to escape, so no, he couldn't say he'd never laid a hand on a woman. But a lady, no, he'd never hit a lady… but Chloe, she was blurring the damn line.
-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -
Chloe's getting closer. Oliver's feeling the consequences of his choices. It's all getting exciting.
It's only a matter of time before everything comes apart. I wonder how Chloe will react... (Who am I kidding?! I already know, hehehe) Would love to hear your theories.
Reviews are always welcome.
Reviewers can have the unlimited good feelings of making a writer the happiest writer on earth for the low low price of one review :D
As always, I'll see you same time, same place, next week.
Xx