Long Live Love

The End of the Beginning

"Now this is not the end. It's not even the beginning of the end.
But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

-Winston Churchill

Clocks seem to just know that death is in the air. Katie sat on the edge of her bed, and the clock that hung on the wall seemed to tic louder and louder with every passing second. It's why the sudden knock at the door caused her to jump. She glanced up toward her door as it opened, and soon her father appeared. He wore a sad smile now whenever he looked at her. She figured it was his way of trying to hide the sadness he truly felt. It was a terrible attempt at a disguise which she saw right through.

"The car's here sweetie." he said, his voice taking on more of a loud whisper. Katie turned silently looking back to the clock, watching as second after second just ticked away and never come back. "We should go." Katie sighed, silently standing to her feet before grabbing her jacket and slipping it on before walking toward the door, not uttering a word to her father as she passed him.

Thea held on to Katie's hand tight for the majority of the day, and Katie wouldn't even think of letting it go. Katie did however find herself zoning out through the funeral, always looking up, searching for the person who was supposed to be there. Oliver was noticeably absent for most of the day. She called, left messages, she texted and he actually responded, but nothing more than an "I'm fine" before ignoring her all together. As his girlfriend she wanted to find him, comfort him, but a part of her was upset that he couldn't get past this, like she did. He was supposed to be strong, able to snap back just as she did after her father's death. She soon stopped such thoughts, because they became less about what was wrong with him, and more about how actually damaged she was.

At the reception, Thea finally released Katie's hand, but remained close to her side as person after person hugged and gave their condolences. When the last person had walked off, she leaned over to Katie.

"Now I know why you hid at your father's reception." Thea whispered and Katie smirked looking over to her.

"I told you, when you're ready for this to be over, I will end it." Katie whispered back and Thea looked over to her with a smile.

"Thanks." Katie simply nodded and Thea shook her head. "No, for everything. For being here for me, for helping me with all of this. Oliver—"

"He's taking this really hard." Katie said and Thea nodded.

"Yeah, but this was his mother's funeral." Thea replied with a shake of her head. "I think I'm going to go up to my room for a while." Katie nodded, placing a kiss to Thea's head before watching the girl walk off. Katie turned back to the crowd, searching out for John and Felicity. She spotted them across the room, but staring wide eyed at something. When she followed their gaze, she finally saw what had caught their attention.

"Isabel?" Katie whispered when the woman suddenly met Katie's gaze and had the audacity to smirk. For some reason in that moment, Katie didn't care about the room full of witnesses, she was going to go over and snap that woman's neck. She began stalking toward her, when John suddenly stepped in front of her. She turned a glare to him and he just sighed.

"I know, but this is definitely not the time." John replied and Katie shook her head before looking around the man to see the woman chatting with a couple of the guests.

"Why isn't she dead?" Katie asked and John looked over to the woman as well and just shook his head.

"No idea, but I'm guessing we've been really underestimating Slade's abilities." John replied turning back to Katie. "Oliver should know about this." Katie quirked a brow before turning to the man. "Nobody's heard from him in days, and like most people we're figuring that you have."