The Girl Behind It All

chapter 4

"Can I have a medium black coffee, please? Save some room for sugar. Thanks." I looked down at my phone as it chimed.

"Oh my god! Felicity?"

I tensed. The voice echoed through my head and radiated down my spine like nails dragging down a chalk board. Samantha Barns, she works in HR for Queen Consolidated, waltzed into the coffee shop looking perfect. There was a rumor in the tech dept that her and Oliver were . . . well, you know. Whatever. He could do so much better. I plastered a smile on my face and turned around. "Samantha."

"Well," her eyes raked down my clothes, "how nice to see you. Are you . . . working out?"

I looked down at my sweats and tank top and think, no im running for Miss America. "Yes. I go to the gym-"

"Felicity, why did you leave me?" Oliver popped up behind me, placing a hand on my lower back. I shivered.

"I left you." i looked up dumbly at him.

"Yes, I told you to meet me outside the shower room. At the gym. But, you left." 

I looked down at his clothes to see him in running shorts and a t-shirt. 

"Right." I cleared my throat. "Well, you know me without my coffee."

Which, right in time was placed on the counter. I looked back at Samantha whose eyes narrowed beyond the norm. I stepped away from him and grabbed my coffee and hoped they forgot about me. I hear her talking to Oliver and him barely answer her. Could it be because I'm around? I looked back at them and lifted my cup then rushed out while Samantha had him cornered. 

I ran smack in to someone's chest and my coffee spilled all over the ground. My shoulders sagged and I wanted so bad to curse at this man. I looked up in to the amused face of John Diggle. Oliver's body guard.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Smoak, are you okay?"

"Yea. I'm fine. Thanks. Just, you know, clumsy." i let out a long strangled sigh.

"Let me buy you a new one?" he offered with a sincere smile.

I couldn't help but smile back. "No, thank you. I really should just get home." He nodded and said, "Next time then."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Another long day. I can't believe it. Seems like more and more computers are breaking these days." Jessica sighed and slumped against the elevator wall. I laughed but she was right.

"I got three personals with multi viruses. Can you believe that? It's like people are doing it on purpose." 

"I swear, these rich people think that just because they're rich they've got it like that."

I laughed. "Because they do, jess." The elevator doors opened and we went our separate ways. I unlocked my car and sat in the drivers seat, slumped over the steering wheel. Slowly, and to not hurt myself too bad, I hit my head on the headrest.

A cough scared the shit out of me. I whipped around to the Hood laying bloody across my backseat.

"Oh my god.Holy shit. What do I do? Ohmygod. Are you awake? Area you ALIVE? Why me?"

"Help," he mumbled.

"Right. A hospital." I started my car and drove like crazy out of the parking garage.

"No . . . not a hospital. Take me . . ." more coughing. When he finally told me where to take him, I did. No questions, I just did as he asked. Something in me said to just help this man. As panicked as I was, I needed to make sure he lived. 

I'm so stupid. Should I drag her into this secret like I did Diggle? It doesn't matter. She was catching on to my horrible lies regardless and sooner or later she would have figured it out. She's a smart girl. Too smart, and that is exactly why I'm laying across her backseat trying not to black out. The car stopped and she opened the door mumbling randomness to herself. Groaning, I sat up and draped my arm around her shoulders, angling my head down so she couldn't see me just yet.

My resolve cracked. I needed to have her as a part of my team, but I'm not ready to share this with her. As soon as we were in the dark warehouse, she leaned me up against a metal pole in search of something. I pulled myself up as silently as I could and disappeared in the darkness. Her cell phone flashed to the spot where I had been and I watched as her shoulders visibly sagged.

"You're welcome." she shouted, voice trembling.

I couldn't help but take a shuttering breath as a single tear dripped down my cheek.