The Emerald

Chapter 12 - Admissions

Roy looked up and met Oliver's eyes. He had been expecting to see anger in the older man's eyes, however that was not what he saw. He knew Oliver was mad at him and yet in Oliver's eyes he could see understanding, concern, and, what surprised him most, pride. Now he was confused.

"Roy, I won't say I'm happy about your decision, but I understand why you did it. Thank you for being concerned for the rest of us." Oliver told Roy, being sure to put the right amount of emotion in his voice. "Now, on to other matters. Care to fill us in on what happened?" Oliver moved to sit on one of the stools in the lair and Diggle moved to lean against the computer table, both men relaxing a bit more to hopefully encourage Roy to fill them in.

"Um..." Roy wasn't sure where to start, or where the sudden change of subject came from. He was also still confused as to the look in Oliver's eyes. He decided he would simply explain what happened for now and maybe Oliver would explain himself later. "I took the rooftops to about a block or so away from my house. I dropped down to street level using a fire escape and walked the rest of the way. There were at least five men on the street. They blended in, but I knew that they didn't belong in the neighborhood." Roy lifted himself to where he was sitting on the edge of the table he had previously been laying on. "When I reached the house my dad, the Dealer, was the only one inside." He paused for a moment to take a couple full breaths, trying to keep his thoughts clear.

"When I went inside he was sitting on my bed waiting for me. He simply asked me where I had been. He knew I had been here." Roy told his Teammates as he continued his explanation.

"You were nervous." Diggle stated, he could tell from the way Roy was telling them the story that he was right.

"No, not nervous exactly. More like scared to death." Roy finally admitted. "You see, growing up he had the worst temper. Think me on Mirakuru type temper. He would come home and get mad for no reason. He, um..." Roy looked away as he took another breath, swallowing hard at the admission he was about to verbalize. "When he got mad he would lash out, mostly towards my mom, at least while I was younger. He would hit her, push her around. There was always a lot of yelling. When it started they kept me out of it, but that didn't last long. I was three the first time I remember him hitting me. I had walked into the kitchen while they were arguing, asked what was wrong. He just turned around and slapped me so hard across the face that it knocked me off my feet. After that I was always included in the family arguments."

Oliver and Diggle wore matching expressions, masks, that wouldn't show the rage that each man felt at Roy's admission. They had both experienced an array of injuries, but none from family like Roy had. Their hearts broke for how Roy had been treated, but they also knew that Roy wouldn't want their sympathy.

"My dad became more abusive the older I got. He never ceased to tell me how much of a disappointment I was to him followed by a lashing from a belt, his fists, he'd even kick me once I was down on the floor. I could never fight back, he was always so much stronger than me." Roy paused for another moment. He was now avoiding Oliver and Diggle as he was afraid that he would see sympathy or worse, pity, in their eyes. That was not something he wanted from them. He was stronger now and he realized he would have to find a way to prove that to them now. Especially as he was finally telling them the truth about his past.

"I was eight the first time I tried to fight back. He was hitting my mom again and she had just come home from the hospital with a broken arm and broken ribs, again. Dad was mad because the pain meds they had her on made her less aware of what was going on around her and that always infuriated him. I stepped in and that was the first time my arm got broken. I would try and protect her but it never worked, he would always win." Roy finally looked up to his Teammates.

"That's why I was scared. He had always beaten me before and I knew that if he did again you all would be in even more danger." Roy explained. "When I walked in the house it was all I could do to keep him from seeing my hands shaking. He asked me if I was going to help him track the Arrow down and wasn't too happy when I told him no. He punched me in the jaw before I even noticed he had moved. Then he threw me across the room into the wall. That's when I decided he wasn't going to win without a fight. I did my best to remember everything you guys have taught me but it wasn't enough. He still beat me."

"Roy, the only reason you lost that fight was because he cheated." Oliver told the younger man, trying to encourage him. "If he hadn't injected you with Vertigo I'm sure you could have beat him."

"No." Roy argued with a shake of his head. "Do you remember when you told me that I have to believe that I can win the fight, if I don't then they will beat me? Well, you were right. I didn't really believe that I could beat him. Each time he hit me I remembered all the times he would hit me, or mom, as a kid. He had me beat before he even threw the first punch."

"So we work on that." Diggle said as he stood and took a couple steps towards Roy. "I don't care who he is, or what kind of training he has had, you can always beat him. You just have to rely on your training, and truly believe in yourself."

"You fought back? Used your training against the man who abused you and your mother when you were a child?" Oliver asked for clarification as he stepped closer to his Teammates.

"Yeah, I tried at least. It didn't work though." Roy said as he looked down to a spot on the floor. "You must be so disappointed in me."

"No." Oliver said, still not sure why his young protégé didn't get it. He waited until Roy looked up to him, worry clear on his face. "Proud!"

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Oliver and Diggle sat in the lair, waiting for Roy to finish changing. They were happy that Roy had finally told them about his past, admitted to his fears. They were also incredibly proud of how Roy had stood up to his dad and fought back, it didn't matter that he had been beaten this time. What mattered was that Roy was learning, growing, and becoming a better man because of it.

Diggle had been wondering for a while about Oliver's reaction to something that had been said earlier and decided that now was the time to broach the subject with his Teammate as Roy was out of earshot for the moment.

"Oliver." Diggle turned to the younger man who looked up at him questioningly. "Earlier, when Felicity was telling us about the Dealer and his dealings she mentioned a man named Fyers. I also noticed your reaction to the name. Is there something I should know?"

Oliver looked at Diggle for a full minute, trying to decide whether or not this was something that he wanted his Team to know. Finally he decided that honesty was the best course of action.

"Fyers was the man who had me first tortured on the Island - and the Dealer was there."