TENEBRIS ~ Young Justice

20 ~ Still Not A Babysitter

Days passed. 

I hadn't seen Oliver much, which diminished any opportunity to speak with him about what had been going on. We had run-ins around the house, mostly in the kitchen or in passing in the hallway. I mostly stayed in my old room, listening to him move about the house conducting his daily routine like I wasn't even here. I was thankful he'd left me alone, though; I still hadn't come to terms with what had happened, so trying to discuss it with someone else wasn't exactly in the cards just yet. I wouldn't know where to begin. 

Even now, while the two of us sat in the living room eating dinner, neither of us was dying to spark conversation. However, I could tell Oliver was growing concerned with my reservation. My eyes may have been on the empty plate in front of me, but I could feel his boring into the top of my head. 

"So, Adrienne," he finally muttered, breaking the silence. I hummed in response. "How've you been?" I hesitated before placing my fork on my plate. 

"Fine." 

Oliver nodded, leaning back in his armchair. "How's the Team?" 

"Fine." 

The room became swallowed in silence again, and my stomach twisted with nerves when Oliver let out a deep sigh before running a tired hand down his face. 

"I... I'm not sure if you really want to know, but Nightwing contacted me the other day," he mumbled. I swallowed thickly to curb the sudden wave of nausea that crashed into me. It was so disheartening that even the mere mention of his name made me sick. "Did you hear--?" 

"About Artemis?" I snipped, pushing away from the sofa and grabbing my dinner plate to bring it into the kitchen. Oliver let out another sigh. 

"Yeah..." he mumbled. "I'm so sorry, Adrienne." My fingers curled around the edges of the ceramic. 

"For what?" I whispered, staring aimlessly at the backsplash above the sink. Oliver didn't reply; I could picture him struggling to find the right words. "Did you about it, that she was alive? Did Red?" I waited for him to break the silence again, and slammed my plate down on the countertop when he failed to do so. "The two of you were acting so awkward when we went to the hospital. Damn it..." 

"Adrienne, I swear, I didn't think it would turn out so badly!" I could hear his footsteps approaching me from behind, and my jaw clenched. "None of us--"

"You're telling me the Justice League knew about Nightwing faking Artemis' death, and no one bothered to tell us it was all a ploy?" I whirled around to face Oliver, and a pang of irritation shot through me when he quickly took a step backwards. "Who all knew about this? Did the League tell him to do it, or was Nightwing just acting on his own?"

"Nightwing did tell Batman, but it was his call as Mission Leader," Oliver replied calmly. "We all agreed to keep quiet about this. I couldn't have told you even if I wanted to, and trust me, Adrienne, I was considering it!" 

"It's Artemis, Ollie!" I snapped, shaking my head. "It's Artemis! How could you..? I..." I pressed my lips together to keep myself from tearing up. I didn't want to be angry again; I was so tired of being angry. All I wanted were real answers, but I didn't even know who I could trust anymore. All I wanted was an explanation, other than, "Nightwing did it for the sake of the Team". I was so fucking tired of that excuse. 

It took a moment before I could look Oliver in the eye again, but we hadn't made eye contact for more than a second before he suddenly raised a hand to his ear, the expression on his face hardening.

"What's wrong?" I asked, unable to hear the information being relayed through his comm. He just shook his head, eyes aimlessly flitting across the floor.