A Fresh Start (Book 6 Arrow/SPN Series)

Fly By Night

"Written in 2015 or 2016) (If you haven't read "Darkened Warriors, Lost Spirits", you may want to. I am using Running Coyote again in this story)

I managed to make it four weeks before I got restless and started combing the papers and the webs for jobs. Sam and I cleaned Oliver's house to the point where I'd even started to get OCD about dust. The first week Team Arrow +1 had left us pretty much alone, which worked for us. We fished, watched TV and movies in that crazy ass media room, made as many huge meals as we could. About day five Sam had started to clean, which I couldn't really blame him for since Oliver hasn't been charging us. I tried to weasel out of it, more to irritate Sam then out of a real sense of laziness but Sam rather forcefully shoved a roll of paper towels and wood cleaner into my hands on the night of day five and told me "Start cleaning." Maybe it was the fact that he was standing less than two feet away from the pile of beer bottles that he'd had gathered together while cleaning the entire living room that made me decide to help. He wouldn't actually hit me with a bottle but why risk it, so I rolled up my sleeves and started polishing the wood furniture that hehadn't gotten to yet.

Week two Oliver and Dig dropped by a few times and Felicity visited for dinner four nights that week but it was Roy we saw the most of, which was kind of odd. At first he just seemed to want the company, not really asking questions. He talked about sports, random current events you know, small talk.

It was the beginning of week three that he started being a bit more bold. "Um, would you guys be okay answering some questions?" He asked in the early evening about midway through week three.

"Kind of surprised you waited this long," I answered. "Usually most people who've seen what you did and still want to talk to us usually ask questions. The ones that don't want to talk are usually running as fast as they can to the next state. What's on your mind?"

Roy tugged a bit nervously at his black t-shirt and looked down, "Oliver hinted and so did Sam that you guys have been doing, well, this, for a long time. What got you into all this? I'm guessing it's nothing good so if you don't want to get into it that's fine."

I looked at Sam who shrugged but gave me a quick nod. I knew what that meant,"My turn huh?" 

"Might be good for you," he answered.

"Not sure why but all right. It's not like we don't have time to kill. Get comfy kid, it's a long story."

Roy leaned back on the couch, kicked his shoes off, pulled his legs up and focused entirely on me.

There was no hesitation in Roy's gaze or bearing, he wasn't asking idly as a way to pass the time. There was something driving the question, "You really want all the details?"

"Yeah, well whatever you want to say anyway."

"All right then," I figured that the hard, straight back chair I'd been sitting in wasn't going to work for a conversation that was liable to last for several hours and relocated to the dark brown, microsuede recliner across from Roy. Sam stayed seated on the end of the love seat that was perpendicular to the couch Roy was on. I settled in and started talking. "I know you've seen a little of the weird, freaky side of things but trust me, that was nothing to what started all of this so try to keep an open mind and hold your questions till the end."

"Sure," Roy replied.

"Right, so I was about four when all of this happened," I started going through all the crap kind of surprised at how different it felt now. Usually when I think about all of this that good ol' guilt and gut wrenching fear I felt that night would feel so real, like I was living it again. This time, not so much. Did all the crap with the Mark finally get me past all that? If so, talk about irony. The thing that was using all that shit to destroy me may have ended up fixing me. Never saw that coming. I worked my way through us being kids, the training and then skipped to Dad disappearing and going to get Sam from college. By that point Roy was about bursting at the seams with skepticism and questions. "Start with the questions. I'm parched from talking, Sam can take over for a bit while I hydrate."