Straight Shot ➳ Oliver Queen

11. Resurrection

C H A P T E R    E L E V E N

RESURRECTION

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The door to Oliver's room was open just a crack and I quietly pushed it open with the palm of my hand. I did a brief evaluation: Oliver was asleep in his bed, laying on his side, his hands tucked under the pillow. Luckily, he seemed to be sleeping peacefully, unlike the night I had found him drenched in rainwater and trembling in front of the window.

I stealthily tiptoed towards the side of the bed opposite of where he was sleeping. I remained quiet until I over dramatically leaped onto the bed and began jumping up and down, causing a small earthquake in the mattress. The undulating ripples awoke Oliver, but instead of grumbling in a sleepy state or burying his head deeper in the pillow like he used to when I came over in the morning and Moira asked me to wake him up for school, he shot up, instinctively grabbing my leg and yanking me down so my back was on the mattress, my head at the foot of the bed. He swiftly and skillfully tumbled forward so he hovered over me, pinning me to the bed. He had an oddly serious expression as he panted.

I raised an eyebrow, catching my breath. "Woah. I didn't know you took ninja lessons on the island." I teased and Oliver's expression lightened as if he hadn't realized until now that it was just me.

"Karter?" He mumbled.

"Woah... what's going on in here?" Tommy's voice from the doorway startled me. Oliver quickly pushed himself off from over me and swung his legs over the edge of the bed so he was sitting up. I sat up as well, seated on my knees on the foot of the bed.

"I thought today called for a dramatic wake-up call. It's not every day you get raised from the dead!" I explained, sending Oliver a smile. Oliver still seemed taken aback, catching his breath.

"Oh, good. You two are awake." Moira commented, appearing behind Tommy. She was dressed in a smart, dream colored suit that was specially tailored for her. The color complemented her skin tone and blonde hair, which was already meticulously styled. "Oliver, honey, are you okay?" She worried, noticing Oliver's demeanor.

Luckily, Oliver chuckled, looking over his shoulder at me. "Yeah. Just startled by my wake up call." He joked and I let out a guilty giggle.

Moira shook her head. "Oh, you two. Oliver's back home for barely a week and you're already up to your old shenanigans." She said before turning and leaving down the hall. I glanced towards Tommy, who had remained silent. His lips were pressed into a thin line and his eyes carried an unamused expression.

"Come on, Tommy. We should let Oliver get ready." I quickly reasoned and pushed myself off the bed. I joined Tommy by the door and followed him out into the hall.

"I'm glad you and Oliver are reconnecting." Tommy commented crossly, but there was an unauthentic tone to his voice. I didn't respond, thinking it better not to push.

"Good morning, Tommy," I said instead, standing on my toes to be tall enough to kiss him on the cheek.

"Thea needs a ride to school. You should get ready to go to the courthouse." Tommy responded bluntly and headed down the stairs while I stood in the middle of the hallway, watching his descent.

I shoved through the tension and returned to the guest room, swinging open the lid of my suitcase and digging through the small amount of clean clothes left. I found a long sleeve, dark purple skater dress and a pair of sheer black tights. I quickly changed into the clothes and then pulled my hair up into a messy bun, shorter pieces of hair falling forward to frame my face. I slipped in a pair of dangly, gold earrings shaped like feathers and applied a thin coat of mascara and a neutral colored lipstick. After throwing on my black combat boots, I left the guest room and headed down towards the living room.