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The pain was unlike anything Annabelle had ever experienced, even including the dreadful horrors of Lian Yu.Oliver had rocked her to sleep the night she needed him to hold her, and it certainly wasn't an easy task. She perhaps cried for two hours before Oliver was finally able to give her medicine, and then he had to wait another hour until it started working. The entire time he was blaming himself for not seeing her slipping into destruction yet there was nothing he could do. Her sickness wasn't based on him, it was based on the past five years.
After her ordeal that night, she had stayed inside the mansion on Oliver's bed while he took care of whatever he needed to for the party he was throwing - reluctantly against everyone's wishes. So instead of wandering out to assist with the party, she had been doing what Tommy suggested to her nearly two months ago. She was claiming her right as the heir to the Carter Provision, and since the company did not technically belong to her yet, she was creating her own sublet that would function under her father's company when time came for it to conjoin, but as of now, the business would be able to stand alone.
Growing tired of sitting in Oliver's bed, Anna grunted as she slid her feet out from the covers and made contact with the floor. She took another dose of medicine hours ago, and the pain was hardly apparent, but that didn't mean she could go out and kick some guy's ass just yet. She was going to take things slow.
The woman closed the laptop and left it sitting on Oliver's bed before pulling a sweater onto her torso and making her way downstairs where everyone was working to get the house party-ready.
She wandered onto the deck where Oliver was sitting and talking with Thea, and instead of interrupting their conversation, she walked to where Diggle was standing in the grass as he watched over the workers with a stern expression on his face.
Once he saw Anna, a small smile was brought to his face and he nodded. She stood by his side and crossed her arms over her chest, just observing everything going on around her. It was Diggle who first broke the silence, however. "Out of your room, I see," he noticed, a raised eyebrow following, implying he knew what was going on with her.
She bit her lower lip and looked at her feet, "Did Oliver tell you?" she asked, her head lifting as her eyes concentrated on his. "He didn't need to," he replied, shifting his weight onto his heels as he rocked back and stared at the clouds in the sky. "It's my job to keep you safe," he added in.
"Yes, from external dangers," Anna replied, feeling slightly uncomfortable with this conversation revolving around her. "From yourself, too," Diggle shrugged. "I mean, you've already got this night gig that I can't stop, and you're pretty capable of handling yourself out there. But lying to yourself is the most dangerous thing you can do."
Anna sighed, "Maybe so."
Diggle scoffed lightly, "Maybe? Girl, you're in for one wild ride if you can't even tell yourself to stop." Anna smiled and laughed quietly to herself after seeing Diggle reveal some of his true and not-so-serious self to her. "Yes maybe. But if it means so much to you, I will try harder to take a step back."
