Unravel Me | Arrow [ COMPLETED ]

chapter two

"I'm sorry," she said, looking up. Moira met her eyes, and her face softened. Cali fought the urge to flush. "I'm feeling rather unwell. May I also be excused?"

Moira nodded, her eyes dull with worry and age and something miserable. Walter graced Cali with a smile and Thea grabbed her hand as she stood up and moved away from the table. Cali didn't look at Tommy, but she could feel him watching her and knew that his grip on his cutlery would be tight enough to mark.

She shuffled out of the dining room, nodding at Raisa. "Where'd he go?" She asked in a low voice, holding her arms close to her torso. She felt sick, like the dinner had set her off-balance. It was so obvious that Oliver wasn't ready to be back yet, but Cali needed him to be back. She couldn't have this halfway-to-the-grave Oliver look at her and not see her.

Cali really just needed her best friend back. She'd gone long enough without him.

Raisa pointed silently upstairs. His bedroom. Oliver must have gone up there to steady himself. Cali understood - the dinner had left him off-balance as well. For a moment, she hovered at the base of the stairs, unsure of herself. If she went up there, now, she would be invading his space. She didn't know where his head was at. She didn't know what he needed.

"He needs to not be alone," Raisa murmured beside her, looking sad. "He has changed, but he is still Oliver, and he does not want to be alone."

Cali looking at her hands. They were shaking. "I don't know what to do," she confessed. "He's so far away. He's still on that island. I don't know how to reach him."

Raisa put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You are a good friend, Calissa Merlyn." She smiled warmly. "Your heart is good. Oliver will let you in, if you can allow yourself to be honest."

Honesty. Right. Cali had lost the ability to be honest over the past five years, and for some reason that scared her. She knew, she knew, that Oliver would see right through her lies in a way that Tommy hadn't been able to. Oliver looked with such intensity, it was almost like he expected to actually find something. Cali wouldn't be able to shield herself from him, but she couldn't just tell him about Michael.

Oliver could never know about Michael.

"Thank you, Raisa," Cali said, letting out a breath. "Could you tell Tommy that I'm staying with Thea tonight? There are a few things I want to discuss with her, and I'm rather tired. I would prefer not to have to travel all the way back to my apartment."

"Of course."

With that, Cali began to climb the stairs, each step more unsteady than the last. Her legs trembled. Something cold gripped the base of her spine, and her heartbeat grew uncomfortably fast. Oliver didn't scare her, of course he didn't, but she was scared anyway. She was scared that this dream would turn into a nightmare. She was scared that Oliver wouldn't recognise her anymore. She was scared that Oliver didn't want to be near her anymore.

Who knew what the goddamn island did to him.

Finally, finally, she reached the top of the stairs and easily navigated through the long hallways. It was a big house, but Cali had lived here for nearly two years after Michael. She knew each twist and turn like the back of her hand, knew whose room was where. She knew where to find Oliver. She didn't know where to find the courage to knock on his door.

It turns out she didn't have to. Her knuckles didn't even brush against the wood before the door was being wrenched open, Oliver stopping just short of her. His eyes were wide, assessing, seeking. Cali lowered her hand slowly, taking steady breaths so that she wouldn't be afraid of her friend.