Unravel Me | Arrow [ COMPLETED ]

chapter thirty one

"We're floating in reverse again my love

You're making a mess of things like you always do

We're running round in circles saying

hurtful words that we know aren't true"

CULLEN - 'Traipse'

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Cali didn't recognise the woman plastered to Oliver's side straight away.

She was pretty, with her dark hair tumbling about her shoulders and her lips painted a lovely, soft pink. There was something familiar about her, maybe something in the way she walked, the set of her shoulders, the way she didn't look entirely at ease as Tommy led her and Oliver into the dining room.

Cali hadn't been aware that he'd been dating anyone, actually. Not since Helena. So when the woman met her eyes with a warm and welcoming expression on her face, Cali narrowed her eyes. Her returning smile showed a little too much teeth to be casual.

"Ollie," Laurel greeted brightly, reaching out for a hug. "Hi!"

Oliver's smile was small, but genuine. "Hi." His eyes flickered over to Cali, and he nodded. "Cali, hi. I hope you and Tommy have patched things up?"

Tommy nudged her slightly and beamed. "Just in time for her to give me the best birthday present ever!" He motioned to the cabinet to Oliver's left, where a worn copy of The Great Gatsby sat innocuously. Book tabs poked out the sides, and the cover was faded, but it was a sight that was so intrinsically familiar that Cali's breath still got stuck in her throat, even now.

"That was our mom's," she explained to Oliver's date, who was looking a little lost. "Malcolm sent it away after she died, so I tracked it down and bought it back. Tommy's always loved The Great Gatsby."

The woman nodded once, something kind settling over her features, and then Oliver cleared his throat and said awkwardly, "Sorry, uh, I didn't introduce us. Cali, Laurel, this is McKenna Hall."

Laurel stepped forward. "We know each other from the courthouse," she said.

"How are you, Counsellor?" McKenna asked nicely, with a pleasant smile.

"I'm well, Detective."

There was something underlying there, Cali mused as Tommy made for the kitchen with his new bottle of alcohol, some kind of tension that might be from the courthouse but might also be related to Oliver. Because everything in this damn city revolved around Oliver, apparently.

McKenna immediately broke off to go look at some of the framed pictures, and Laurel went with her, leaving Cali with Oliver, who was looking decidedly distracted. "You alright?" Cali checked, moving closer to him so she didn't have to raise her voice and alert the other two. "Felicity and John are okay, right?"

Oliver blinked rapidly as he tried to shake off whatever strange tension was coiled around his muscles. "Yeah," he replied lightly, looping an arm around her shoulder and drawing her into a strange, one-armed side hug. "Yeah, sorry, I'm just...thinking."

"You? Thinking?" Cali gave a mock gasp. "It must be the end times."

Oliver's laugh was more of a snort, really, which was horribly endearing and made Cali's heart go all wobbly. "Yeah, yeah, you're a natural comedian."