Code Black // Arrow

17 | Alive

A multitude of paramedics and police officers crowded inside of the apartment like worker bees in a hive, all assigned to do their own specific jobs. The police arrived shortly after Diggle cleared the apartment. He stepped off to the side to inform the head detective about what happened with occasional glances thrown in our direction before he waved Oliver over to explain the rest, followed by a short interaction with Chase.

A strong look of concern resided on Oliver's face each time he glimpsed back to where Laurel and I stood with our backs against the backside of the couch, frozen by our own thoughts. My peripheral vision caught the lingering looks while my eyes remained glued to the hardwood floors where the rug in the dining room ended.

Oliver's eyes barely wavered away from my figure after he witnessed my unfortunate breakdown in Chase's arms. He gazed down at me with a distraught expression as he reluctantly realized he was incapable of comforting me in the way he wanted. He glumly watched as Chase centered and calmed me down instead.

Chase refused to leave my side after the tears subsided and a numbness replaced my emotions. The feelings of defeat and disappointment overwhelmed my senses to the point of being unable to process the situation at hand.

All those years of intense training led me to ultimately fail at a similar situation to my kidnapping. Those years of becoming stronger mentally and physically were for nothing. That night and those men still held me in a chokehold with the trauma they inflicted upon me. I was weak.

Chase's large hands cupped my cheeks as he watched the change begin; a girl emotionally triggered by the events transformed into someone completely immobilized and dejected.

The panic was evident in his green eyes. He scoured the living room until he found a throw blanket and draped the thin material over my shoulders for an added layer of comfort along with his hands covered over my shaking ones. The years of him as my bodyguard showed him plenty of heart-wrenching moments in my time of healing and adapting.

This was much worse.

There was a nearly unreadable expression on his facial features as he stood next to me against the couch. The others wouldn't be able to read his body language the way I learned how to do after years of friendship and him working as my bodyguard. A part of me was certain Chase partially blamed himself for not being here to protect me when the intruders broke in.

His jaw was taut with his arms folded over his chest. His gaze continuously shifted from the chaos happening around us to my side profile every few minutes, like he expected me to break out of the mental trance I found myself in soon.

The concept of knowing all the growth I made over the years wasn't enough to free myself from the confinements of the broken girl I used to be— the girl everyone in Starling City believed I still was. She never left like I thought she had, simply hid away within the crevices of my mind.

"Where the hell is my daughter?"

A disembodied voice aggressively demanded over the bustling crowd inside the apartment. The familiar voice grabbed my attention. My head slowly raised and twisted on my neck with a glimmer of hope growing in my eyes. Everyone else in our group turned to follow the voice.

"Dad?" I breathed.

My father rushed through the entryway and pushed his way past a few other officers circled around one of the dead bodies on a stretcher. He wore a black suit as if he hadn't changed after a long day at the office. His dark eyes scanned the apartment before they spotted where I stood in the living room with Chase and Laurel on either side of me.

Relief flooded through his serious facial features.

The blanket flew off of my shoulders when I abruptly sprung away from the couch. The walls surrounding us blurred together as I threw myself into my father's arms, grateful he arrived shortly after Chase called him.