Threadbare | Arrow

Chapter Seven

"When did I become so numb?

When did I lose myself?

All the words that leave my tongue

Feel like they came from someone else

I'm paralyzed. Where are my feelings?

I no longer feel things I know I should"

NF - 'Paralyzed'

.                            .                             .

"Lance says Michael's back in prison," Thea said casually without looking up from the small tube of primer she was studying. "He says that it's unlikely he'll get parole again, so the next time he'll be out is when his sentence is up."

Cali sniffed delicately at the sample tub of Mermaiden cream, humming in appreciation. It was expensive, of course, but money had no real weight to it these days - her savings account was flush with cash, and she had no reservations about spending it as she pleased.

Mermaiden smelled pretty. She needed some new skin cream - she'd left hers at the safe house. It was rather logical actually.

"That's nice," she said absently, in a belated response to whatever it was Thea was trying to tell her.

Thea sighed sharply and set the small tube back down, frowning at the Mermaiden cream that Cali kept in her hands as she wandered the shelves. "You're gonna drop all your money on that?"

"It's just money, Thea, and it'll hardly take all of it," Cali dismissed, utterly disinterested. "I told you that this trip was to replenish the things I needed given that I've moved into your home." Hm, this nail polish was a wonderful shade of burnt orange. It would look nice in Autumn when the brown of her hair started to darken in the weaker sunlight.

Building up an appearance was meticulous these days. People tended to ask annoying questions and hover around you like particularly irritating mosquitos if you dressed wrong, or looked particularly unkempt on any given day. If you dressed up sharply and kept some colour in your palette, people tended to leave you alone.

Thea, it seemed, didn't care if Cali's appearance was put-together or not, opting instead to press closer and stare at Cali's cheek as if waiting for Cali's attention to drift back to her. "You know, Oliver told me about this whole 'careless bitch' routine. I thought he was exaggerating, but you really are being fucking horrible, aren't you?"

Cali held up a different bottle of nail polish - this one a soft, baby yellow - and screwed up her nose. She looked terrible in pastel colours. "It's rude to call people names, Thea," she said, putting the yellow polish back and instead selecting a nice royal purple.

Thea scowled, huffing. "If this is some act to protect your feelings, you can drop it now. The 'mean cow' mask doesn't fit you. It's bad enough that you've come back out into the public without a guard - Blood made enough of a stir that you could literally get attacked on the street."

"Is it so strange to think that I might simply not care?" Cali checked the items she had in her hand and nodded to herself. That would do for today. She shifted around the small tables scattered about the place, meandering towards the counter.

Thea followed her like a lost puppy, her static-y energy buzzing around them both like a persistent fly. "Have you even noticed the guy that's been watching you from the corner of his eye ever since you walked in here?" She demanded in a sharp whisper. "God, would you just wake up? Michael is in prison, you don't need to be hiding yourself away from us anymore. Let us help you!"