You Found Me: An Arrow Fanfic

Chapter 12

A/N: Australian Slang:

Bail out: depart

Maccas: McDonald's

Three months had passed since Slade's departure and life had moved on. Laurel had her work which she still loved it as much as ever and she had her friends; the Queen's and the Merlyn's seemed to have adopted her as a lonely stray, but still she couldn't forget him. Slade Wilson was the last thing she thought about at night and the first thing on her mind when she woke up the next day.

Some days were better than others. There were times when she could go for stretches, completely productive, going about the daily necessities that filled her life and then there were other days when the sight of his favourite Chinese takeout reduced her to tears.

She missed him. Every moment of every day felt empty without him. He hadn't called and she hadn't attempted to make contact either. She knew that Oliver had spoken to him a few times because Felicity had attempted to talk to her about it but she hadn't wanted to listen. There was no way she'd ever be able to truly move on if she was constantly reminded of him.

Contrary to that resolution was the fact that she still hadn't changed anything in the guest bedroom. It was still exactly as he'd left it. Sometimes when she was feeling particularly low, she'd climb under the covers in the hopes of being closer to him. Initially she'd been able to smell him on the pillows but now, even that was gone. All she had left were memories and while she had no regrets, sometimes the pain of remembering was almost too much to bear.

It was a warm Saturday afternoon and Laurel, Felicity and Thea were sitting at the pool at the Queen mansion, bathing their feet in the cool, crystal clear water. Robbie, already crawling, was rolling around from back to front, amusing himself with the myriad of stuffed toys surrounding him. All three women were watching him closely.

Laurel, comfortable in demin cut-offs and a casual white shirt, lifted her hair off her shoulders and tied it back into a haphazard ponytail.

"Thanks for inviting me over, ladies. This beats the admin I was planning on doing today," she said as she swirled her feet in the water. It was a beautiful day and with her two entertaining companions at her side, she should have been happy. She was anything but.

She felt Thea's gaze on her. "You do a pretty good job pretending to be happy," she replied, though not unkindly.

"Thea!" Felicity exclaimed, although Laurel could tell by the look the two women exchanged, that Felicity had probably been thinking the same thing.

"What?" Thea asked as she took a sip of her fizzy drink. "Look at her," she pointed at Laurel. "She's been moping about for weeks!" She stared at her. "No offense or anything, but you need to do something about your predicament. You cannot let that hunk of a man just disappear from your life."

Laurel had never known anyone who was more forthright than Thea Merlyn. She thought about pretending that everything was okay, and then realised that she didn't have the energy to lie.

She sighed. "There's nothing to be done. I live here. He lives there. There is no common ground."

Thea rolled her eyes. "Oh please. There is always a solution to every problem."

As she spoke, Thea swatted a fly away and Laurel watched as the beautiful pear shaped diamond on her wedding finger glinted in the sunlight. It wasn't the diamond itself that affected her as much as what it symbolised – love, commitment and a sense of belonging – none of which she had.

Felicity pushed a blonde bang behind her ear. "Thea, it's not as simple as you make it sound. The man is practically on the other side of the world. Long distance relationships?" She wagged a finger at her sister-in-law. "Never works out."