Unravel Me | Arrow [ COMPLETED ]

twenty six

NOTE: Short chapter this time :) 

.                    .                    .

"You're an expert at sorry, and keeping the lines blurry"

TAYLOR SWIFT - 'Dear John'

.                      .                     .

Tommy didn't show up for Thea's preliminary hearing.

Oliver knew why - didn't blame him for it, really - but there was something in the back of his mind that told him that if Tommy were here, the sick feeling in his stomach would go away. Thea was afraid, even if she couldn't stand to admit it to herself or to him, and the tight grip Moira had on his arm told him that she was the same.

Oliver settled a practiced, easy smile on his face and nodded as Thea turned around to face him one last time. So young - he forgot that she was really just a girl, angry at the world but not yet broken by it.

"Docket ending 1-10-5-6, People vs. Thea Dearden Queen. Possession of a controlled substance, driving under the influence of a controlled substance. "

Something eased in Oliver's chest. No mention of Cali's injuries adding to Thea's charge. He wondered if Tommy had anything to do with that. If he did, Oliver owed him a bottle of some kind of alcohol as a thank you.

The judge shifted. "Counsellors, I understand you've reached a plea agreement?"

"We have, Your Honour." Thea's defence attorney stood. "Given that my client is a juvenile, the people have generously agreed to probation."

Good, yes. This is what they'd briefed Oliver on.

"Juvenile?" The judge repeated. "Says right here that she's eighteen."

Okay, so this was not what they'd briefed Oliver on.

"She is eighteen now, but at the time of her arrest, she was still two days shy of her eighteenth birthday. Miss Queen has no priors."

Movement, to his left. Oliver glanced over his shoulder, and the sick feeling in his stomach lessened only slightly at the sight of Laurel.

The judge shuffled some of the papers, drawing Oliver's attention back to what really mattered. "It says that her passenger, Calissa Merlyn, sustained serious injuries from the accident and is still recovering in hospital. Why is that not on the charges, Counsellor?"

Thea glanced back at Oliver, mouth parted and eyes wild. She was panicking. To be honest, so was Oliver.

"Miss Merlyn was charged with Contributory Negligence, Your Honour. An agreement was arranged in which those charges would be dropped if the charge against my client for grievous bodily harm was dropped also." The defence attorney shifted his weight. "The point stands that Miss Queen has no priors, and is only facing two charges."

Contributory Negligence? Oliver frowned at the back of Thea's head. Cali had known Thea was high? Why hadn't she stopped her from driving? This whole thing could've been avoided if Cali had simply told Thea to stay home.

"Well-" the judge did not sound forgiving, and Oliver could feel himself tensing up again, "-just because Miss Queen's family swipes her priors under the rug doesn't mean they don't exist." A pause, to emphasise how terribly this was going. "You get your client off, and you help your boss avoid dealing with the drug that's sweeping across our city like the plague. Everybody wins except us, the people of Starling City."