Just a Kid • Book 1

• Chapter 5 •

"Uncle Tommy is the only one who would drop pretty much anything to come over and talk with me if I was upset. He was the one I depended on the most. But I was upset quite a lot and I didn't want to become a nuisance to him, so I didn't always call him. Instead, I would come here." Rory motioned to Oliver's gravestone.

"For years, I didn't feel whole. Something was always missing and that something was always you. So I came here to talk to you, which made me feel closer to you."

"I would tell you about everything: how my day was going, what new story Uncle Tommy or Aunt Thea told me about you, even about Mom. But sometimes, I would be feeling so broken and grief-stricken that I would just beg. I would beg you to find your way home to me. I know it was hell for you there, but it was hell here too." Rory was now crying again as all the memories came rushing to the surface of her mind.

Oliver was crying now too, silently. He tried not too, but hearing in her own words how broken his daughter was during the last five years, he couldn't stop himself. He hated that he caused her to hurt. He felt like he failed her.

He wiped the tears off his cheeks as she finished talking and just crouched down in front of her again. "I'm here now, kiddo. And I'm so sorry you went through that, but I promise, I'm never leaving you again." He told her, looking up into her eyes. Rory moved forward and hugged her dad again, squeezing her eyes shut.

It was quiet between them for a moment before Rory spoke again. "I know you're not going to talk to me about what happened there. I'm a kid, I'm too young. More than that, I'm your kid and I know that you want to shield me from anything that might cause me pain. But. . . I hope you find someone to open up too because I know that struggling alone, well, it's hell."

~~~

After a little bit, Oliver and Rory came back inside. Oliver got ready to go as he had really listened to his daughter and wanted to go to Laurel's in hope that she could be the one he could open up to.

However, as he got ready to go, Moira walked into the room. "Laurel just called. She was hoping you could drive Rory to Merlyn's. Apparently Rory is spending the night there tonight." Moira informed them. Rory was confused as she didn't remember any plans to spend the night at Tommy's, but she wasn't complaining.

Little did she know it was because Laurel wanted her to be somewhere safe that wouldn't be an obvious place for her to be unless they actually knew her. This was because Laurel had pissed off a powerful man and now needed around the clock police protection. So, she wanted Rory as far away from her as possible, but also somewhere that wouldn't be plainly obvious just in case they went after her instead.

So, Rory quickly grabbed her stuff and then met Oliver at the car. Mr. Diggle was driving them and she was dropped off at Tommy's place as the first stop.

"I'll see you soon, Dad. I love you." Rory leaned over and kissed Oliver's cheek before starting to get out of the car. "I love you too." Oliver responded before she shut the door and waved as the car drove off again.

She was at the door to Tommy's mansion, so she just knocked on the door. It was only a couple moments before the door opened to reveal one of their maids.

"Hello, Mrs. Lambert." Rory smiled at the woman. She always made a conscious effort to get to know the help and at the very least, know all their names.

"Hello, Miss Queen. Come on in." The woman invited her inside. "Mr. Merlyn is in the backyard practicing his fencing. Young Mr. Merlyn is out right now." Mrs. Lambert told the young girl, who nodded. "Thanks."

So Rory went to backyard where, sure enough, Malcolm was practicing his fencing. When he saw her approaching, though, he stopped and turned to her, taking his fencing mask off.

"Hey, Rory. I didn't know you were coming over this evening." Malcolm greeted her. "Neither did I until less than an hour ago. But apparently I'm spending the night tonight. As long as that's okay with you." Rory responded as she stopped walking in front of him.

"Of course. You know you're always welcome here." Malcolm responded, making Rory smile. "Since Tommy's not here yet for you to hang out with, why don't you go get dressed into your fencing uniform and we can practice?" Malcolm suggested and Rory eagerly nodded.

That was one reason she loved hanging out with Malcolm; he taught her all kinds of cool stuff including fencing and even some hand-to-hand combat for self-defense, just in case she ever needed it.

Rory grinned before running inside the house to get changed. She was excited to be there and excited to learn more from Malcolm. So that's how she spent the next few hours, just hanging out with Malcolm until Tommy arrived and she switched to hanging out with him. She enjoyed her night there very much, completely unaware that while she was there, her parents were almost killed by an assassin.