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There are a few things that Artemis Crock likes, and those things are never openly mentioned. It’s much easier to list the things she can’t stand first. That list is pretty long and detailed, each item punctuated with a particular level of hatred. Like the way the humidity is soaring, the moisture in the air latching onto endless, slick blonde hair to make it bristle in a rage around the crown of her ponytail. She hates that. It makes her look ferocious, always angry. She’s looked at her reflection against the marked up plastic panes of the bus station enough times to know this. And regardless of the number of times she runs her fingers through it to slick it back into place, it does nothing to tame it or force down the minuscule kinks popping up in her hair.
This is her life. Once a week and always the same. Pathetic.
The sun begins to billow over a towering brick building to claim eyes so cooled and grey and shaken with a doom of winter. Thin fingers shoot up immediately, the flat of her palm pushing against the warmth of the rays until they are mostly out of her eyes. Her shoulders roll forward, and her chest pushes out an exasperated breath and groan that sums up her general feelings about having to force herself awake to catch a bus that is never on time when she’s waiting on it.
Ten minutes late.
Her life is a bus stop. And it’s a number of things on top of that too, but this spot is always constant and her eyes always remain crushed in a squint to block most of the sun.
Sixteen minutes late. That’s when the hiss of a tired engine comes, tires squealing and everything rattling to a stop as the height of the bus gives her enough clearance to see the emblazoned B07 route number at its head. She pulls out her fare and drops it into the coin collector, not bothering with a hello to the driver as she moves towards the back of the bus to claim any seat that’s still open. Her body falls into it, close to the window with her knee raised, heeled boot propped up on the side bar hugging the floor.
And it’s mostly a blur after that. The stops never change and her eyes always grow heavy midway through. They’ll close briefly until someone expectantly rings for the next stop and her eyes grow wide and her heart stops just as she chokes back a wakening breath. And she’ll come down, back curving into the seat again with arms crossed like it’s going to force her to stay up for the rest of the trip.
But it’s always a blink of an eye later when her stop finally arrives. She always feels it, body rocking just as the bus hits the same deep pothole that makes her heart sink quietly.
In seconds, she’s outside and the bus is already pulling away and leaving a disgusting thick trail of smoke that slowly rises and dissipates into the sky. This is the worst part. Her boots always feel the heaviest now, mostly weighed down in shame and why is this my life, as she reaches thick black bars that gate the entrance of a prison she knows far too much about for her own liking or need.
Blackgate Prison. She plays it all off pretty well whenever she makes it to the guard up front, like she could care less about where she is. She can make it look like there’s nothing crushing her insides when the laminated visitors pass is gripped so angrily between her thumb and fingers. She doesn’t care. Not once and not ever. Not even when she’s waiting, foot tapping impatiently on linoleum floors waiting for the doors to open. And not even when she feels the lump in her throat grow heavy and harder to swallow when he points his finger towards an empty seat in front of a cubical barred by the thickest glass imaginable. She doesn’t care at all. This is all a cake walk. She’s used to this. This is routine. She can handl—
They wheel someone in, aging with grace and with the sharpest eyes she’s ever seen. And as far as she is concerned, she probably has seen it all. The scars across her knuckles and the thick dark letters spelling out Paula Crock on her name tag tell her so.
God. Okay, she cares. She cares so much that it’s really hard to pick up the phone and pull it to her ear and not choke out something unforgivable and embarrassing. Her lips press into themselves and her eyes fall to her naked wrist because looking at the woman in front of her is not something she can do right now.
“Artemis.”
“Hi, mom!” The guards would be dumb to try and pry the phone from her hands now. The pressure alone makes her knuckles scream white.
Her mother smiles softly, knowingly and relaxes into the receiver. “Thank you for coming all this way. I know seeing me like this must be hard for you. Are you alright? How’s school?”
I don’t know. “It’s fine. Everything is fine. School’s just great.”
Maybe her mother catches her lie. There’s something heavy in her eyes that makes her believe she does, something that makes her feel like she’s been roughly kicked off a ledge to meet her demise. How can you expect me to concentrate on school when you’re HERE? If you’re expecting stellar grades you’re looking at the wrong child. Artemis grabs her shoulder defensively, looking past her mother to the solid door directly behind her. Her mouth relaxes, falling slightly open in more distress than she thought she brought with her today.
“I am happy to hear that. I know I can’t exactly be there for you now, but you do know I support your schooling. I want the world for you,” she starts, shoulders rolling back in authority and pride because if her mother believed in anyone it was her, “I am proud of you, Artemis. Frightened for you, but so proud.”
And for whatever reason those words devastate her. The lump in her throat grows out of control again and she fears that she’ll just start choking on it at any moment.
“Mom? Where’d that even come from?” she throws back.
She watches her mother fold her hands over each other, looking down for the longest second before flipping her gaze back at her. “Artemis…”
“You’re kind of freaking me out now, mom. What? What is it?” Her palms feel clammy, nervous holding the neck of the phone.
Paula doesn’t answer her right away. Instead she shifts quietly forward like the shorter distance will somehow make this call much more private.
“Your Uncle Oliver stopped by to speak with me last week.” There’s something very unsettling about the way she says it, something that makes her bristle, fingers curling around the neck of the phone tighter.
“Oh, really?” But the question sounds more accusing than curious and she can see her mother already floundering for anything that would help keep the conversation cool and quiet.
“Yes,” Paula confirms with a nod of her head, “I know it’s been a while since you last saw him, but you two were really inseparable the last time I brought you to him.”
Artemis raises a brow, foot tapping impatiently. “Yeah, like when I was five. Show any kid horses and I’m sure they’d be just as thrilled to see him too.”
“Artemis…” Paula threatens.
She gives her mother a challenging look, “What? It’s true!”
“He’s your uncle. He cares about you deeply,” Paula reasons.
She tips the chair she’s sitting in back, balancing the front legs of her chair an inch or two from the floor. “And so? He’s not my keeper. I am not obligated to stroke his ego. But, honestly, why even bring him up in the first place?”
Her mother closes her eyes. “Because he’s…he’s been waiting here in the city for you.”
An awkward smile pulls at her lips suddenly. “Well you and him should know better than to waste your time. I’m not going wherever he is just to say hello.”
“You’re right, Artemis. You’re not just going there to say hello. You’re going there so he can take you back to his ranch.”
The thought of throwing up suddenly crosses her mind along with a million questions and screams that are ready to march out of her mouth in no particular order or eloquence.
“Excuse me!?” Artemis asks, neck straining, “I didn’t just hear that. You didn’t just say I was going to stay with him.”
“I—“ her mother pauses, clearing her throat in the process, “We decided that once you are done with your finals you will be staying with your uncle for the summer.”
Her fingers curl into the counter viciously, and she’s all but ready to show teeth. Instead, she seethes while standing up abruptly, chair sliding back with a screech against the dull linoleum tiles with the force of her stance. “Are you serious? You’re joking! You have to be joking! I don’t even remember who Uncle Oliver is, and you’re just dumping me off with him? Can you even do that!?”
Her mother shoots her a look that shuts her down immediately, and if she says anything, it’s lost to the storm of blood rushing to her ears.
In a heap of over exhausted limbs, Artemis falls back into her seat, the phone still plastered to the shell of her ear.
“Artemis, this is all for you. Everything I’ve ever done is always for you.” The words add years to her mother’s sunken face, dark shadows that ride from the corners of her eyes and spread out infinitely like a sleeping horizon.
“Oh, yeah? Did you go to jail for me too? Just what I always wanted…” The words are out of her mouth before she can even fathom taking any of them back. Her tongue clicks against the roof of her mouth like it will find a way to come up with words that will mend over this mistake.
She watches her mother’s eyes widen, slow and sad, with the absolute intention for collapse. “Mom…I didn’t mean—“
Paula shakes her head, eyes falling shut for the briefest of moments. She returns her gaze back to her daughter, not broken or angered, but they hold more finality than they’ve ever had. Her chest tightens.
“And that’s the reason I think, that this is the best decision for you. Your Uncle Oliver can watch over you, he can take care of you where I failed…where your father—“ the line of her jaw runs smooth with how tightly she clenches it, “We both have not been here for you. Your father has made it very clear to me that he does not plan to be around for you much longer, and I do not want you to follow down our footsteps. You need guidance, good direction. Your Uncle Oliver is a good and well-meaning man. He can keep you straight. I trust him, and you should do the same.”
Artemis pinches the bridge of her nose, a flood of thoughts rushing to her all at once with every single thing that she’d be leaving behind. “I should have had some say in this…SOMETHING!”
“Artemis, please! For my sake.” Her mother clenches the cord of the phone between her fingers, eyes pleading, “Please?”
Her head tips forward, long blonde hair slipping past her shoulder and landing in a heap on her lap. She wrestles the phone forward, bringing the speaker to her mouth as close as possible before breathing an audible sigh. “Okay, mom.”
When she doesn’t hear a response back, she looks up to see her mother dabbing at the corners of her eyes briefly with her bright orange sleeve. If she knows nothing, she at least knows how much this means to her, and that manages to quiet the turbulent storm brewing in her mind. And if leaving Gotham and her friends and her home and her life behind was one right thing she could do for her—
Artemis pushes her chair back just enough so that she can push her feet forward and cross her feet at her ankles. She said okay. Why would she say any of this was okay?
“No looking horrified and sit up straight. I didn’t teach you not to care about how you present yourself,” her mother instructs.
She knocks her feet back, jerking her spine up straight. “Okay.” She combs her fingers through the top of her hair, flattening the tiny bumps near her ponytail. “Mom?”
“Yes?” It’s the first word that sounds like I’ll miss you that comes out of her mouth without it meaning to be.
“Just the summer?”
“Just the summer.”
The temperature shoots up ten extra degrees by the time she’s finished sorting through her things. She has boxes stacked beside her door with the fresh sting of permanent marker still heavy in the air. And when she finally turns around to see the skeleton that is her room, she finally has time to be a little sad about it.
She lets her eyes drag around the room, the stains of emptied spaces making her pulse skip every now and again. And before she can decide to move, to maybe press another memory left on her wall into the palm of her hand, the doorbell buzzes.
She makes it to the door with purposeful strides that ease a few goodbyes into the creaking floorboards. The buzz of the doorbell cracks through the air again just as she throws back the door to see a startled man with bright blond hair and a pointed goatee standing heavy on her welcome mat. Artemis just raises an elegant brow, arms crossed.
“And you’re—?“
“Artemis? Is that you?” He’s got annoyingly bright blue eyes, lively, too enthusiastic for her liking.
“Unfortun—ooph!“ He throws his arms around her, knocking the rest of the word back into her throat.
The hug is strangely familiar, uncomfortable, but ridiculously familiar. He blabbers something about how tall she’s gotten since the last time he saw her, but all she can concentrate on is the deep set tone of his voice that makes her dive through her memories in wonder.
Her head rocks back like a whip when he finally decides to push her off, holding her at arm’s length to get a better look at her.
“You have me standing here shell shocked. Little Arty, grew up, huh?”
Her eye twitches just as a jolly laugh bubbles out of him, and that pretty much snaps her out of the pool of nostalgia that she was swimming through.
She brings up a hand, batting his off of her and reclaiming her space away from him. “Okay, there will be none of that from this point forward, Uncle Oliver.”
He steps forward, arms out and brow furrowed. “Rules already? I only just got here.”
“Are you really an adult?” she challenges only to be met with a sour looking face poking past his mustache.
“That would be a yes,” he confirms proudly.
She brushes past him, stopping just before the hallway starts. “Okay, adult, I have six heavy boxes waiting for you to pick up and load onto your truck. Do you think you can handle that?”
Her eyes go wide. “Whoa. That’s a horse…”
“Well, at least you can identify animals pretty well,” her uncle teases, leaning his frame into the driver side door, “That could be helpful at the ranch.”
It’s probably the sound of Oliver’s voice that gets the biggest response from the horse. She backs up as far as the trailer allows, rumpling a heavy restless breath through the open window.
“And this,” Artemis says with animated gestures towards the horse trailer clipped to the back of the truck, “This contraption is safe?”
“Well, of course it is, kiddo. That would be way too many fines and a lot of angry animal activists after my hide if it weren’t,” he assures her.
“Fair enough.” She doesn’t spare him a glance, her gaze stuck on the horse. “What’s her name?”
“Jade.”
Artemis shoots him a frazzled look, eyes wide and frantic. “Jade? You named the horse after, Jade?”
“Nope. I just picked this girl up from a state away. That’s been her name her whole life. I had nothing to do with it,” he says with a shrug before turning to toy with the adjustment of the side mirror, “Though, ironically, she’s got the same nerve. Very tough horse, a bit cold.”
“Hysterical,” Artemis drawls out sarcastically.
“No, poetic justice. Sounds nicer.”
Artemis just rolls her eyes with every intention of turning on her heel and heading to the passenger side of the car, but the horse grunts again and she’s looking past her jet black mane to stare long and hard at her coal colored eyes. There’s frustration and longing. She can pinpoint those feelings right off the bat without even trying. And she understands completely before she takes a hesitant step back.
Oliver calls after her when she doesn’t move away from the trailer fast enough. “Hey, Artemis, are you coming? We have a long trip ahead and my goal is to not have to unload Jade during any of it.”
“Y-yeah, I’m coming. Sorry!”
And it’s suddenly much hotter when she can really focus on it. Ninty-five degrees hot and humid to be exact with Oliver’s complete intention of riding it through without a single ounce of gas wasted on the air conditioning.
And as they settle in their overly warm seats, he finally asks her if she’s ready to finally go. Then she tells Oliver her first lie that summer.
“I’m good. Let’s just go.”
“A full day’s drive?”
“Yep, unfortunately the distance still hasn’t changed, kiddo,” he answers back for the twelfth time that afternoon, “Only stopping to pee and feed the horse if she’s ready.”
She sinks into her seat, raising her leg above the glove compartment, so she could prop up her foot. “Great.”
He doesn’t bother taking his eyes off the road. He just settles for a grin that she can easily identify now beneath the bush of hair surrounding his mouth (only took her three hours of what he called creepy staring to figure out the quirks).
“You can definitely choose to be miserable about this whole thing, or you can maybe tell me a little more about yourself to kill some time.”
“I don’t do familiars.” It’s flat. It’s final.
“Good to know the family trait has been passed down to the next generation. I’m sure the population is thrilled,” he jokes.
Artemis just leaves him a disgruntled noise, shifting her back to him with her face completely assaulted by the wind pouring in from the open window. It’s still hot and humid, but even if it’s curling every single one of the baby hairs surrounding the crown of her head into oblivion, at least the loud rips of air making it to her ears makes it impossible to hear anything coming from her uncle’s mouth.
It’s all the break she needs.
Oliver wants her to do a lot of things when they arrive. He wants her to meet Dinah (it’s like his top priority right after unloading the horse). He wants her wash up for supper. He wants her to get settled. He wants her to be ready to go for a tour of the land even if it’s way too dark to do so, the white fences already devoured by the night. He wants her to do this. He wants her to do that.
But all she does while he’s boasting happily in the unnecessarily large kitchen, is trudge up the stairs towards the room he briefly pointed out to her while making a mad dash to the bathroom right after they arrived. That's her room.
Artemis pushes the door open, listening to it creak much differently than her own. And it just feels wrong. Everything feels awful and wrong and she’s not home anymore and this is so not her bed.
She takes a few steps forward, approaching the bed slowly to clear some of her clothes off its surface. She holds out her arms, turning on her heels until she can feel the frame of the bed pressing into the backs of her knees. And with little effort, she’s free falling back, exploding into the mattress. Her hands automatically dig into the soft comforter, determining its newness with how much fuller and warmer it is compared to her own.
Her eyes close quickly. The thought of crying maybe occurring to her once or twice, but her sleeve beats any tears from slipping just as her arm drops straight across her eyes.
“Ughhh…”
It’s the only thing she can think of saying that will quiet the sniffle that escapes her in that moment of weakness. She lets a rattled sigh leave her, takes a deep breath and then turns onto her side.
The moon is hung up big and bright outside her window. Every once in a while the wind comes through and pushes the laced curtains back only to have them sway back and cover the sight for a second too long.
That’s when she feels the worst. That’s when she knows she’s too far to ever be home.
She doesn’t do much sleeping. The night is mostly filled with tossing and turning and groaning and falling asleep for just a second and opening her eyes and being fooled into thinking that she’s actually home in her own bed, under her own ratty sheets. But she’s pulling on the new soft one, the one that feels starchy against her skin and still has clean creases in it.
Her thoughts come undone with the light tapping on her door.
“Go, away Uncle Oliver.”
The knob turns, and she quickly gathers her comforter so that it covers everything up to her shoulders.
“WHAT THE HELL UNCLE OLIVER!? I JUST SAID GO A...way?”
She’s shocked to see that it’s another blonde, fortunately easier on the eyes aesthetically. Her arms relax, but not her guard, the heavy material dropping into her lap. “Um, who are you?”
She watches a sigh escape the older woman’s perfectly plump pink lips before a smile decides to settle its way on to her features. She gets just a little closer, but not close enough to threaten her personal space, which she is automatically grateful for.
“My name is Dinah. I’m sure, Ollie has mentioned me somehow to you,” Dinah finally responds.
Artemis just gives her a hesitant nod. “Yeah, a little.”
“That’s good to hear. Hopefully only good things…for his sake.” And somehow, her little burst of attitude draws her in, makes her feel the most comfortable. Artemis smiles by accident.
“I don’t think he’s that dumb,” Artemis offers.
“I don’t think he is either. Well, when it comes to the important things anyway,” Dinah says, hand flipping her hair behind her shoulder.
“Tell me about it…” Artemis mutters under her breath.
Dinah doesn’t hear her. Or in the very least she must pretend that she doesn’t because she’s already turning towards the door. She doesn’t leave just yet, though, choosing to lean into the door frame instead.
“I think it would be great if you joined us for breakfast. Not mandatory, no obligations. Just a simple invitation if you are starving. Ollie is much calmer now. He tends to get overly excited whenever anyone new arrives here, but he certainly means well. He…I mean, we are just happy to have you here.” And Artemis could be ready to get upset all over again with that final note, but the way Dinah presents it to her makes her feel at ease somehow.
“I-um-thanks. Maybe I’ll grab breakfast a little later…” Artemis finally decides.
Her stomach churns with the same level of enthusiasm as the smile that splits Dinah’s face. She groans inwardly and prays that Dinah doesn’t hear her wrestling stomach.
“Great.” And Artemis can tell that she actually means everything the word stands behind. “Hopefully we can get better acquainted soon.”
She’s gone. Dinah leaves with the door clicking an echo into the corner of her room. The new groan coming from her stomach meeting the sound there right after she throws the covers back over her head to maybe get a few more winks of sleep before even thinking of really waking up for the day.
Artemis pokes her head into the kitchen cautiously. Her eyes roaming over spotless countertops that catch the light of the late morning sun in a funny way. She lets her nose do more of the work from here, the scent of something gritty and oniony still hanging in the air.
She looks left and then right when she doesn’t see any obvious signs of food sitting anywhere waiting for her, and steps a bare foot onto the cool tiled floor. She stands alone in front of the island setup in the center, foot lifted directly behind her other free standing leg and scratching at an itch by her ankle with her toes.
“Hello?” she tries once.
No one comes bounding in, which is both a relief and a bit disappointing in the same breath. The only thing she hears is the slow paced ticking of a clock that she finds hanging above the back door, the arrows dictating that it was only five minutes to eleven. Her stomach groans once more, and she clutches it between her thin fingers.
“Ugh, I should have just come down when she told me to,” she frowns.
“That probably would have been a good idea,” Artemis hears above her ear.
She jumps immediately in surprise, the hair on her arms raising like she’s under mortal danger, heart ready to bounce straight out of her chest.
“OH MY GOD,” she shouts, spinning so quick she may just give herself whiplash in the process. Her eyes meet familiar blue, but it does nothing to calm her already shot nerves. “WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?” Artemis shrieks.
Dinah raises her palms flat to her. “I honestly didn’t think you would be that surprised, but now I’ll know better in the future.”
Artemis points accusingly at Dinah’s clunky heels. “I don’t even believe you for a second. I should have heard those things coming from down the road.”
“I’m a light stepper,” she admits before walking past her to the microwave.
“Right,” Artemis says, following her with just as many strides, but definitely not as graceful.
Dinah turns around right after mashing a finger over the reheat button. The microwave blares to life behind her, and half a minute of silence slowly helps recreate the very smell that had pulled her from her sleep.
“What is that?”
Dinah nods her head thoughtfully, leaning her body against the stove behind her. “Ollie made chili. If you can stomach it, you will always be in his favor.”
Artemis quirks her brow. “You make it sound like it’s lethal.”
“If I’m not minding him it could be.”
Artemis breaks the pleasantries quickly, finding it incredibly odd how quickly she grows accustomed to chatting it up with Dinah when she has only known her since she barged into her room. “And where is our gracious chef anyway?”
“On the phone. Business call with one of his best friends. Ollie might seem like one of those all fun and games types, but when he really gets himself down in the nitty gritty, he is pretty brilliant at what he does,” Dinah responds fondly.
Artemis crosses the floor, grabbing the back of a chair around the breakfast nook and plopping herself down sloppily. “Sounds boring.”
“Maybe. But if it weren’t for him, there wouldn’t be much of this ranch to enjoy. I’m sure you’ll come to appreciate what he does soon. Ollie did say you had a thing for horses.”
Artemis gives her a tired look of aggravation.“What else do you know about me? This is starting to become a little unsettling.”
“Just as much as Ollie knows, honest,” she promises, her smile brimming at each corner of her mouth. “And that’s it. Just the basics. Your name, where you’re from, your parents’ names…”
“Okay, it is official you know too much,” Artemis cuts in suddenly.
Dinah presses her lips together carefully, taking her time to answer her back. But it’s then that the microwave bings to a halt, buying her more time from Artemis’ scrutiny. So she turns around, grabs the bowl of warm chili from the inside and walks it over to her with a spoon in hand.
“Just so you know, Ollie is planning to spend some time at the stables today. He’d never force you to do anything, but I’m sure he would appreciate some additional hands.” Dinah doesn’t say another word, turning quietly in her stilettos and marching off into the parlor.
Artemis watches after her, eyes steady and waiting to see if the blonde would re-enter and try to pick up her favor again. When she doesn’t, she stares down into her bowl of steaming chili and dips her spoon into it. She shoves a spoonful into her mouth quickly, tongue swerving around the velvety texture just as something strikes her with immediate urgency. Her face goes red in an instant, the prickling sensation of being burnt from the inside out now coating the length of her throat.
She gasps loudly, the bolus of food already gone and swallowed. And within minutes she’s coughing up a fit, tears springing to her eyes from the sheer agony. “I can’t feel my tongue! What the hell did he put in this!?”
“Artemis? You came? That’s fantastic! I had a feeling you would come around,” Oliver shouts from the raised hood of his truck.
He grabs the rag settled on the side, and wipes at his hands furiously to remove any oil.
“I am just here to see the horses.” I want to see Jade.
“Of course. That’s simple enough.” He drops the hood back down, dropping the greasy rag in his hands into a bucket of dirty sudsy water.
Thankfully, he’s not as talkative as he was the night before, so most of their walk up the road is in silence minus the how’s your room and how did you like the breakfast chili this morning?
She answers those questions honestly when they do come up. Shorter than her uncle wishes for them to be, but answered nonetheless. He should be grateful! “The chili was…spicy…”
Oliver raises his chest in a puff of pride. “Thanks! Dinah always tells me to hold back on the cayenne, but it’s the thing that really adds an extra bit of oomph, don’t you think?”
Artemis just let’s her lips twitch into a ghost of a smile, failing to tell him that she thinks Dinah is probably right with the way her lips still sting a bit from the chili. She forgets when she made it a point to spare her uncle his feelings. The heat must be getting to her already. In the very least, it’s at least a dry kind of heat, the braid she weaves into her hair staying put for the most part without a stray hair popping up in a curl.
She links her hands together behind her back, stretching far behind her as she pops her chest forward. “It was different? Not exactly used to chili in the morning.”
Oliver reaches up to scratch the top of his head. “I’m afraid I am a mold breaker, guilty as charged.”
“Right, the original trend setter,” she jokes with permissive eyes.
He just laughs, with completely full and honest guffaws that pull at the creases around his lively eyes. And even if it’s for a second, it does make Artemis feel happier.
Oliver finally stops in front of the entrance to the stables, “Whelp, kiddo, we’re here. Did exactly what you asked me to do too. Any fond memories flooding back yet?”
She shakes her head hard when something fleeting filters through her brain. It’s nothing significant. Just a conversation she had with one of the horses once while combing through their knotted mane just as the last sprays of sun warmed her skin.
“I remember a lot of rules,” she snarks.
Oliver’s face sours. “A lot of rules for you because you had this horrible knack of ignoring them and getting yourself into a lot of trouble.”
“I was curious.”
“Curious enough to want to get kicked in the head by Apollo?” he smirks.
She crosses her arms, head turning to the left to avoid his gaze completely. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course you don’t.”
It takes a great deal of effort for her not to turn back and stick her tongue mockingly at him, but she remembers she’s not seven anymore and that something like that would only make him boast a win over her head.
“Yeah, I was young. What do you expect? Doubt you were any better at my age.”
He thinks on that for a moment before grinning dumbly on a few fond memories still warm on his mind. “Still not better at it now, but I’m at least happy to admit that.”
“Not surprised at all by that.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. But on to more important matters,” he says while hitching a thumb behind him after twirling to face her excitedly. “Every horse I own, well, they are all waiting to see you. And before you ask, yes, Jade is there too.”
She stares up at him with confusion. “And what exactly do you expect me to do?”
Oliver digs at his face with his hands. “I don’t know, how about try living? When you used to visit you would just run on in and do as you pleased. What happened to your enthusiasm?”
She walks at a leisurely pace ahead of him, arms raised above her head. “I don’t know. It got locked up somewhere along with my parents.”
“Artemis, that isn’t funny!” he shouts in all seriousness.
But she’s already out of ear shot, down the center of the stable eagerly listening to the clopping of restless hooves and the audacious blubber of lips. Each horse is different, unique traits that she can pick up quick and identify them with. She’ll remember in time, know their names all by heart with enough time. But right now she’s searching her out, the horse with midnight hair and coal for eyes. Jade.
Jade. Jade. Jade. Jade. JADE! Her eyes flip from horse to horse, teeth digging into her bottom lip until she reaches the very back of the stall with little breath left in her lungs.
“Jade?” It sounds weird coming from her. She huffs while leaning forward, hand stretched out slowly reaching.
“Whoa! Whoa! Miss! You can’t just…MISS! Wai—“
She whirls around, braid slapping the back of her arm as she takes in the sight of a full head of the brightest red, red hair she’s ever seen. She sucks in a shocked breath, cradling her arm against her chest as she watches the wailing boy trip over his feet. The silver pail hanging in the crook of his arm launches itself across the room, the feed inside spraying in all directions all over the floor as he collapses in a heap of limbs on the floor.
The boy lets out a low groan, but not once does she bother to offer him a hand up. She just waits for him to ease himself up into a sitting position, hand reaching for his head to rub at it gingerly.
“I don’t know who you are, but touching the horses is off limits! Mr. Queen would have my head. How did you even get in here?” he blathers.
He’s got green eyes. She’s never seen anyone with eyes like that before. It keeps her quiet, sharp, but just as curious.
Artemis peels her eyes away from him as soon as she hears running footsteps coming towards them. Oliver stops his run short right by her side, his surprised eyes scanning the room for the source of the problem. When Oliver spots the boy, he hunches over with his hand extended out to him.
“Wally, what the heck happened? I heard yelling and came right over. Did something happen to one of the horses?” he asks straight away.
“Thanks, Mr. Queen. I was getting ready to tend to Flash, but heard someone heading down the hall,” he says with eyes fully resting with accusation all over her. He bumps his thumb in her direction hastily, “Saw her trying to touch, Jade and—“
Oliver rests a hand on his shoulder to hush him up. “Guess I forgot to mention to you that we would have a new addition to the stables.”
“Jade?” Wally turns to him in confusion. “You already told me about her. A wild little spitfire of a horse.”
“No, not the horse. This young thing you shouted at,” he amends.
Wally spares her a glance too long, and out of habit she stands a little taller, more authoritative with her shoulders rolled back and a hand on her hip.
“This young thing has a name,” she informs them both. “I’m Artemis.”
She finds Oliver beaming by the red heads side. “Yes, Wally. This is my niece, Artemis. She’ll be here for the whole summer, and she’ll probably be helping you out with maintaining the horses. I guess I should have taken a minute to mention that to you. Kind of slipped my mind when I got pulled away this morning to take a call from your uncle Barry.”
Barry. That must have been the guy Dinah was talking about. Artemis nods once to everything that Oliver says in that moment, peering over at the slightly disgruntled boy running a hand through his hair and pulling at the very ends of it between his fingers. And she becomes more aware of the bursts of freckles dotting the top of his nose and cheeks. And she likes those a lot. She likes his hair and the spring that his eyes hold and how his cheeks still seem to carry a bit of baby weight on them. She’s admiring. She needs to stop that, so she looks past his shoulder to uphold the fierceness in her stance, but to also stop her mind from running as wild as his freckles.
“Your name is really Wally?” And if it’s the first thing that she can manage to say without becoming completely flustered, then she is clearly doing something right. Her smirk only widens when she can see him noticeably bristle at the claim.
His hands ball up into fists at his side, shoulders pointed as his eyes narrow themselves. “Yeah, and what’s wrong with that? Wally’s a good name.”
“Maybe during a time when those black and white movies were popular,” she challenges, effectively getting the tips of his ears to scream the same hue as his hair.
“Excuse you! Those are classics, which would put me at their same level of class. Ugh, why am I even arguing with you,” he says suddenly, swiping at the air dismissively.
And that’s when the admiration stops, and suddenly he doesn’t have as many freckles, and his hair isn’t as bright and ruby red as she thought it could be.
“I was just highly concerned over your name. I’m so sorry I managed to hurt your feelings. I’ll be sure to send them a care package to help ease their destruction,” she answers calmly.
But really that is the last straw because he’s swinging his arms out before dropping them with a force on either side of his body. “WHO ARE YOU!?”
“I’m his niece,” she says in the same breath that Oliver says, “She’s my niece.”
It doesn’t reset Wally’s mood. Instead he just rolls his shoulders forward, squatting down to swipe up the bucket he had dropped when he originally fell. “Just great.”
Oliver looks between them, a smile spreading rapidly from ear to ear. “You two are going to get along so well. I can see it.”
Wally gives him an incredulous look that pretty much sums up Artemis’ exact level of distress at his words.
“Get along? We can hardly stand each other.” And it’s the first thing he says that she decides to hold on to.
Artemis meets Kaldur later in the afternoon, and she couldn’t have been more grateful. And it wasn’t because her thoughts were shallow, mostly concentrated on how ridiculously toned he looked with tattoos lacing their way up his bare tanned arms. No. Arms couldn’t really be her thing. If they were then she’d probably start drooling over the very much always disgruntled Conner, but it looks like Megan has that department well covered already (not ridiculously obvious, but who wouldn’t be able to tell with a blush that bright that she nearly eradicated all of her freckles from her face). And for a second she feels bad for Wally who is busy trying to get attention from the girl with auburn hair and eyes not for him. But then she remembers he’s a pretty big jerk and she’s back to her normal self, a teenager with hormones.
“Artemis, if I’m not mistaken, but considering I’m usually far from mistaken, I’ll just stick to my guns.”
A startled Artemis bounces back only to be met with dark shades and the confident smile of a much younger boy with raven colored hair. “And you’re…”
“Dick. I don’t normally trust people with my ID, but I guess I can cut you some slack since you’re new around here and you had to deal with our resident garbage disposal first,” he says while thrusting his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
Weird. She finishes to herself.
Wally is over by the two too fast for her to put together that they have a relationship all their own, with a complimentary fist bump to boost.
“I take it you met this one already?” Wally questions loudly enough for her to hear on purpose.
“You know, I can still hear you?” she answers back in a melody that he just chooses to ignore.
“Yeesh, you might want to cut her some slack. She’s new,” Dick defends.
“Yeah, well I would have preferred if she was new somewhere else,” Wally answers stiffly.
Even though she can’t read his full expression through his sunglasses, Artemis can tell Dick is giving her a look that only says, “What the hell did you do to get him this riled up?”
She just gives him a well-defined shrug, and sets off in Megan’s direction. “Good suggestion Wally, I will just be new somewhere else in this barn.”
Megan flutters towards her, cheeks still rosy, teeth set in an even smile. “Actually, we call it the Cave.”
Artemis remains perplexed, and in fact decides to add permanent headache to her list of current dilemmas. “Right. Because the stacks of hay just scream cave-like conditions.”
Megan’s ears fall, her warm and welcoming eyes darting rapidly from left to right. “Um…”
Conner grunts, arms permanently crossed at his chest. “Before Megan was hired, it was just us guys…”
Kaldur moves in on the conversation with Dick and Wally trailing not too far behind.
“Yeah, this was like our little man cave. We’d just hang out here whenever there was downtime and burp a lot,” Wally continues for Conner, his voice smoothing over into something more luxurious meant for Megan.
“Gross…” Artemis deadpans when no one else does.
Wally rolls his eyes. “But then the lovely Megan came along, and we effectively cut down on the burping part. And well…we just call it the Cave now.”
“How generous of you,” Artemis exaggerates.
And Wally could have retaliated, but Kaldur has already cleared his throat to gather the attention of the teens gathered together.
“We do try to be as considerate to each other as possible,” Kaldur starts off calmly.
Wally nudges Artemis’ arm lightly, whispering behind the hand now concealing his mouth from the rest of the group. “If you can’t tell, he’s the one that put in all those rules. Kaldur! Our mighty ruler. All hail!”
Artemis pretends to ignore him, which only makes his face pull down in irritation.
“I hope that you can find comfort in this place just as the rest of us do. We all aim to be close with one another, and we hope that we can achieve that same level with you soon,” Kaldur concludes.
“Yeah, right…” Wally quips under his breath only to be met with Megan’s sharp elbow to his rib, “Ow! Hey! Fine, fine, whatever. Welcome to the Cave already.”
Artemis settles for a genuine smile instead, something that she wasn’t anticipating on using while she was down here for the summer. “Thanks.”
Artemis learns everything about the stables quickly. And where her team might fail to explain a tiny little detail to her, Oliver is usually there to coach her through it. It works out pretty nice the first couple of days. The parts of the day involving feeding, grooming and cleaning help keep her mind from wandering over to more unpleasant thoughts. So whenever there is a break in the day, she passes on the Cave and instead seeks Oliver out to find her something else to do instead because according to him there is always something to do at the ranch.
Her skin continues to warm itself into a darker shade the more she stays under the blistering hot sun. And she only ever seems to notice how hot it really is whenever Wally decided to pander off in her section of the pen she was clearing up with a rake. She just continues to pretend that he’s not actually there. And it works pretty brilliantly until he decides to open his mouth.
“You’ll finish much faster if you pull the rake in a continuous pattern around the pen.” His voice makes her stop her efforts, her sharp grey eyes meeting a more submissive pair of green ones.
“Um, uh…thanks,” she responds favorably, leaning into the butt of the rake, “Let me guess, Megan took off early for the day?”
Wally is immediately flustered, and it’s really all she needs to know about the two in general so that she doesn’t end up gagging in sympathy.
“Did she end up going with Conner?” she asks while taking his advice and beginning to pull at the very high corner of the pen.
“Yeah, maybe,” he says, kicking his foot out awkwardly at empty air.
Artemis stops to shrug her shoulders sympathetically. “They’re good together, I think. She keeps him relatively calm and all he really has to do in return is stare menacingly at anything that even looks at her the wrong way.”
She catches his smile, and she has to train her gaze somewhere else because she forgets for a half a second that he looks pretty good doing something that isn’t obnoxious to her. His ruby colored hair shining brightest under the glare of the afternoon sun, eyes as clear and as bright as his toothy grin. Get a hold of yourself.
She goes back to raking.
Some mornings before even Oliver takes his first footsteps over his land, she finds herself at the very back stall staring at Jade with apologetic eyes, like somehow a message will transfer from her thoughts directly to her sister’s, wherever she is now.
She slowly raises her palm, inching slowly towards the horse as to not startle it. She ends up biting down on her bottom lip with each calculated step closer. “Easy does it. I’m not going to hurt you…”
But regardless she ends up spooking the horse into a fit of backwards steps, and dramatic pulls of her head back and away from Artemis’ retreating hand.
“Damn…”
“It’s gonna take her some time to calm down, but she’ll get used to one of us sooner or later. Then it will be much easier,” Oliver says without even giving her a warning that he’s standing by her side.
Artemis fails to be surprised this time, instead giving her full attention to the constantly bewildered horse.
“Uncle Ollie, why did you even bother with this horse? She’s always so spooked. Even if it does take her some time to finally settle down, do you even believe that she’ll be able to ride? It seems like a waste of perfectly good money,” Artemis asks quietly, still latched on to the sight of Jade throwing her head back disapprovingly.
“All valid points, but I don’t just choose a horse because it’s got every perfect detail down for best in show. I pick them because it feels right. It might not look it, but this horse was probably abused a bit starting out. It’s easy to give something up when it’s broken, but I looked at her and knew she just needed a family.”
Artemis looks at Oliver with utter astonishment written all over her face. She just feels happy. She just feels warmer knowing that that was the reason behind it. Family. “Wow, sappy much?”
“You honestly do not want to get me started,” Oliver smirks sagely.
“And when was the last time you’ve ridden a horse?” Wally asks her for the fifteenth time that afternoon.
She gives him a stern look before she returns her intense stare back at the stirrups. “Wally, I’m going to tell you for the sixteenth time that it’s really none of your business.”
“So, when does it exactly start becoming my business? When you get thrown on to your rear again?” he jabs.
She seethes in his direction, “Go away Wallace Rudolph West.”
Apparently using his full name is the real way to agitate him, so she abuses this knowledge with great glee. Thanks, Dick.
“You are aware that I ride these guys way more often then you probably have, city princess,” he counters.
“You’ll have to refresh my memory, but what exactly is your point.” Her eyes are all over him, waiting for an intelligent response.
Wally sighs, coming to stand beside her to let the horse know that he was there too. When the horse acknowledges him, he grips the side of her saddle and hoists his leg up to place it in the stirrup. She watches him pull himself up and over the saddle effortlessly, hand stretched out to scratch the base of the horse’s neck gratefully. “It’s not easy the first couple of tries, but you really have to use the force in your thighs to pull yourself up. Don’t rely on your arms so much, you won’t be able to get the right momentum to get yourself to the top.”
Artemis blinks, surprised with the useful information he gives her. “Wow, uh, thanks…that is really nice of you...I guess.”
Wally swings his leg around the saddle, climbing his way down quietly. His eyes meet hers, focused and brimming with excited energy. “Want to give it a try now? I’ll spot you.”
“I would appreciate that…” she says while taking his previous spot beside the horse.
She stares at the stirrup intensely for a few beats, trying to get her body to obey the same pattern that Wally’s did. Okay, okay. Grab, push up with my thighs. She keeps the fluid motion playing on repeat in her head.
“Don’t worry, I’ve gotcha. I won’t let you fall,” he reminds her encouragingly.
On her deepest breath, she latches onto the saddle and drives her foot up into the stirrup with enough force to lift herself off of the ground. Her arms shake at the saddle, and when she thinks she doesn’t have enough momentum to swing her leg around, she feels Wally steady her balance on the stirrup with his strong arms. “There, there. You got it. Just quickly swing your leg over before the horse starts thinking it’s a good idea to move.”
And she does. She’s right where she belongs on top of the horse, but she feels like she is on top of the world instead. Sitting up there, feeling the life beneath her legs makes her feel more alive than ever, and it quiets her down. It eases her heart. And it’s just incredible. She did it.
Her heart is bounding at a pace that she can’t keep up with. It makes everything turn into a fuzzy glow happiness all around her. And if she looks down over the side of the horse to see an equally pleased boy gazing up at her, she may just have giggled to the point that kind of knocks the boy for a dazzling loop. And she may never be over that simple fact.
“You ride often, I assume?” They take a quiet trail together that loops around the whole ranch.
At this point, it’s only obvious that she decides to ask him to tag along with her. He seems willing enough, which is a fault all of his own. She’d be lying if she said that part didn’t thrill her, but she definitely doesn’t tell Wally that. Instead, she just calls him out on his shit whenever she sees it.
It’s much easier that way. Their relationship should be easy. It’s playful, it keeps her on her toes most days, and the best part is that they don’t have to expect something profound between them. It’s just laid back and filled with opportunities to go riding when Oliver is too busy to notice.
Wally shrugs his shoulders. “I ride when I can. Wish I could do it more, maybe in a bigger space. These beauties can go fast if you let them.”
She knows the idea of speed excites him. It’s something she figures out when she sees him paying special attention to one of the faster horses on the ranch, or as he claims the fastest. Flash is his horse as much as it is Oliver’s by property rights.
“Mr. Queen isn’t too fond of letting them run to their full capacity. Says it’s too taxing on their bodies. But I don’t believe that for a second. These guys need the run,” he tells her passionately.
“Sounds like you’re the one that needs the run more than anyone,” she jibes.
Wally laughs, and the fact that she’s the one that gets that pure, rich sound out of him makes her skin buzz a bit, her hand clutch the reins tighter. “You’re probably right. Man. It’s something I’d kill to do right now.”
“And what’s stopping you?” she dares him.
“Funny. I’m pretty sure my nice steady paycheck is the thing that keeps me in line these days,” he grins.
“Fair enough. Still sucks though. I’d love to see these guys run. I bet they go fast if you really let them go,” she says, drawing back on the reins to stop the horse in its tracks.
“You have no idea,” he starts solemnly, but changes his tone to something much lighter, more playful and in sync to what she’s used to hearing from him, “Maybe one day the Wall-man can show you.”
She snorts unattractively over the nickname he uses. “I’m holding that on you then, Wall-man.”
Oddly enough, Dinah drops an envelope addressed to her into her lap late one evening when she’s staring at the stars from her window, hanging in the sky like twinkling bulbs. Dinah doesn’t stick around for her to rip it open and squander over the handwriting that should look infinitely familiar to her. But nothing dawns on her until she’s reading over his name for the twelfth time in one sitting, really not believing that this was him and that he was actually still very much a real part of her life.
Artemis,
I’ve heard through the grapevine that you’ve been sent away. Sounds lovely on paper. You must be having the time of your life. But don’t get too comfortable, baby girl. I may just come around sometime soon to take back what’s rightfully mine. So enjoy your time with the horses for just a little while longer. Imprint this time to your memory because it will probably all be gone sooner than you think. You can’t expect to be a part of something like this forever. That’s not who you are. You’re a Crock. And that will be the life you lead for as long as you live.
Lawrence Crock
Her blood pressure shoots up infinitely now after she finds her own hands shaking profusely with the letter still clenched up between her fingers. The letter is very much real. And the words inside are pretty lethal (her father’s style just as devastating as she remembers it to be).
It just sounds incredibly unfair. There was just no leaving her alone to her own devices. No, he had to find her and make sure that she was aware of that very fact.
She skips dinner that night, faking something about an upset stomach that really doesn’t link up to the symptoms she randomly spouts out to Dinah from the door. But Dinah doesn’t question her frantic cry. Instead she leaves her to sort out her feelings.
Every day, the debt owed to that woman grows exponentially.
“Fuck!”
It’s all she hears from Jade’s stall, echoed pain. Without much thought, she’s already running towards the yelp that follows. Her trot eventually slows into a short sashe between each stall. Nothing. Nothing. And not being able to find him is the worst of it because her stomach is knotting up over it, sending her into a fit of unnecessary worry.
“Wally?” she calls out tentatively, but she hears no claim back to his name, not even when she tries again with a little more desperation.
She huffs out an irritated sigh the longer it takes her to find him. When she nears the center of the main strip between the stalls, she hears rushing water. Her steps quicken automatically, not caring that her heart is beating a million miles a minute or that her breaths have become significantly shorter between each intake and exhale. She just rounds the bend with no warning and see’s the back of Wally’s head from the large sink.
“What the hell, Wally? I know you could hear me calling out to you! Why didn’t you answer!?” she complains as she gets closer.
He whips his head back to look at her for a second before turning his attention back to the sink. Artemis approaches him, not even waiting to see if he’ll tell her why he had cursed in agony like that out of no where. Instead, she sees his bent over and the closer she gets, she realizes that he’s cradling his hand with his other and running it under cold water.
Her eyes go wide when something really red is being washed away with the water, spiraling down the drain in a swirl of crimson. “Is that blood?”
“Not a big deal. Just...I was really dumb and sliced my hand with the knife. I just wanted to give Flash an extra apple I took with me from home. Again, not a big deal,” he says through clenched teeth.
“You’re in pain,” she deadpans.
“Yeah, usually slicing your hand open with a knife will do that,” he seethes. “Can you just go. You’re not really making me feel any better at the moment. Besides, it’s not that deep.”
She wrenches his hand away from the water, pink drops dripping from the backs of his hands and from his fingertips. The cut runs from where his fingers start at the top of his palm and runs in a diagonal towards the center.
She looks him dead in the eye. “You’re an idiot.”
“You are just on the ball today,” he chides with a roll of his eyes.
“Cut it West,” she reprimands.
He wiggles his fingers in her hand. “Already did.”
Artemis groans, which only makes it harder for Wally to hold back a laugh in the confines of his chest. He just raises his good hand and covers his mouth instead.
Her eyes roll before she decides to do a more thorough examination, thumb tracing along the edges of the slice in the center of his palm. Artemis bites down on her lower lip before releasing his hand and shooting it back under running water. Without a word, she leaves him standing at the sink, running towards the first aid kit she remembers her uncle mentioning one hanging over one of the stalls close by when he provided her a more official tour of the place in her first week.
Peeling back the lid, she rummages through the mess of supplies, finding exactly what she needs before dashing back to Wally.
“Oh! You’re back! For a second there I thought I was getting some peace!” he jokes.
“Shut up and just dry your hand,” she instructs.
Wally sighs before grabbing the dry hand towel sitting by the sink. He dries his hand completely, leaving contrasting spots of fresh red blood against the creamy white exterior. She grabs at his hand again, which only makes him yelp in surprise.
“Hold still!” she demands, leaving his hand to rip open a fresh alcohol pad.
“Whoa, there!” he tries to say before she smears the pad against the open wound. It just makes him breathe harder through his now clenched teeth. “OW!”
She doesn’t pay any mind to his protests. “Keep it together you big baby. Have to make sure it’s clean…”
She leaves his hand and reaches for the gauze, laying the beginning of it between his index and middle finger. She loops around twice in the same area before beginning an alternating pattern of looking it across his palm to form a secure cross. When she’s done securing the ends, she asks him to try bending his hand to see if anything needed readjusting.
“Wow...um...thanks?” he says uncertainly.
He seems much quieter now, more thoughtful as he lets his newly dressed hand fall to his side. He licks his lips, and then presses them together like he’s mulling back and forth over something. His eyes settle on hers intensely, and the contact makes her palms feel sweaty.
“I...I should probably go…” she says slowly, watching his Adam’s apple bob back a swallow, “I have to finish feeding Jade. Yeah, that’s what I’m going to do!”
She shuffles out of their as quickly as she came, not once noticing the words that were hanging by a thread from Wally’s lips.
Artemis takes to their company a lot more than she likes to admit. She forgets when their group stopped being just a random gathering of overly excited teenagers jammed together in a barn. But that’s not really the time she likes to count because it’s way more than that now. They’re like a bunch of crazy siblings. They’re her family.
And today was one of those days when she just needed them pretty bad. It’s over 100 degrees, and the sweat dripping from her brow hasn’t really been helping her mood. So she’s the first one to suggest just lying around and doing nothing for a good hour. Nothing usually entailed listening to Dick and Wally banter back and forth over dumb topics like the new words Dick randomly comes up with. But she’s grown accustomed to wrinkling her nose at them and holding back a snort when they actually do say something pretty damn funny.
They’re in a circle, stretched out however they want to be side by side. Wally’s to her left, Megan at her right. And somewhere within that hour, Megan is sitting crossed legged with Artemis in front, fixing her braid with dexterous fingers.
“There you go, Artemis. It’s a French braid,” she finally announces when she’s done. And the act is so simple, but it leaves her feeling much closer to her and the others than she’s ever felt.
“Thanks, Megan. It’s perfect,” she returns thankfully.
Artemis falls backwards, letting the stray straws of hay scratch white lines into the skin of her bare arms. “Couldn’t ask for a better day.”
Dick smirks immediately, dropping his chin onto his propped up hand. “I could think of a way to make it better.”
“What are you even going on about, Grayson?” Wally questions for all of their sake.
“I’m so glad you decided to ask!” Dick begins mysteriously, “It so happens that the county fair is on its way. Three weeks to be exact.”
“Oh? What’s the county fair?” Artemis asks with a yawn.
“Probably the best week of the year around these parts,” Dick boasts, “It’s pretty busy here at the ranch. We get way more people visiting that’s for sure. And on the last day Mr. Queen hosts the yearly horse show. It’s a great time. But most importantly, since we normally don’t work at night, we can go to the carnival.”
Megan’s eyes light up instantly at the mention. “I’m so excited to go this year!”
“I’m pretty sure you’re excited to go every year, Megan,” Wally cuts in.
“That is true,” she responds with just as much delight. “But this year it will be even better because we have Artemis with us,” she pauses briefly, brow furrowing in thought, “That is…if you want to go, Artemis.”
All eyes turn to her, watching her steadily as she sits up with an answer weighing heavily at the back of her throat. “Why would I even miss something like that?”
Megan clasps her hands together, squealing brightly. “Oh, that’s wonderful! You’re going to love it. It’s the most magical night of the year, right Conner?”
Conner just shifts in place, making a face that is borderline uncomfortable looking. “Whatever, it’s something to do.”
Wally slings an arm around his shoulders with an accompanying grin. “Exactly! That’s the spirit, Conner. Now with a little more feeling.”
“Wally, shut up already,” Artemis strains to say from the floor, but it’s enough to get the lot of them to laugh a good bit before they all decide on a day to go to the carnival that works for all of them.
They’re all chattering without her at one point, and the cryptic letter her father leaves her is back on her mind instantly. It brings back a nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach, so she quietly slips out from the barn and without a word returns to the main house before any of them even realizes she’s gone.
“So my dad is trying to ruin everything again. You understand that, right?” she says, pausing her brush at the top of Jade’s back.
The horse remains eerily calm, no restless movements or blubbered sounds beating their way past her lips.
She returns to the smooth pattern she was going at for the past fifteen minutes, brushing in the same direction of growth and stopping every so often to rest her palm on the soft hair near her neck. Oliver has told her over and over again since the first day she’s arrived that she should rid any thought of riding this horse at all this summer. She’s proven more rebellious, too wild for a majority of the riders who have infinite amounts of experience here on the ranch. So her asking to ride Jade is completely out of the question.
She sighs over that fact, dropping the brush on to a stool she’s brought into the stall to hold her things above the straw covered ground, lit by the orange hues of a setting sun filtering in.
Conner and Megan are already gone, sailing away in an older looking truck that Megan drives efficiently. She’s probably one of the best drivers she knows, to be honest. They’d rushed in to say their goodbyes, hanging up their vests and putting away their clean tools. And with a hug from Megan and a less than approving look from Conner, they are gone, the rev of her engine the last she sees of them that afternoon.
Kaldur had stopped in maybe ten minutes before she decides to talk to Jade, telling her with his smooth tone that her uncle had agreed to allowing him to leave early today to handle an event back at home. She only smiles, accepting the remaining bits of work he has left to do without argument. It gives her more time with the horses, more time to try and figure Jade out. Of course she doesn’t mind the extra work.
She’s lost track of where Dick and Wally have wandered off to, but she was always really horrible with keeping tabs on the both of them when they were together being mischievous in god knows where. All she knows to care about is that she’s currently alone with Jade, and that she’s being oddly calm in her presence today.
Artemis comes up front, hand gently touching the top of her snout before getting closer to test the waters. When Jade doesn’t snap, she pulls back, getting a full look at her brilliantly burning eyes before shifting her gaze to a fully set saddle hanging on the wall.
“Can I,” Artemis begins in a quiet whisper that throws her heart into a melodious cycle of excited beats. “Can I ride you for a bit, Jade? Will you let me?”
Jade makes no effort to tell her no, instead she lifts a single hoof and drops it back on to the floor of the stall.
Looking over her shoulder once more, Artemis makes sure that she is indeed the only one in here. She buzzes past the infinite number of stalls, the cleaning area towards the center with all the sinks and pails, and then all the way back to Jade with the saddle clenched between her fingers.
“Looks like it’s just you and me.” Something she would never think of saying to the real sister who left her on her own. “Lets see how far we can go without getting into any trouble, shall we?”
Jade is different from most horses. Where her stubbornness and wild nature blossoms, there’s an equal amount of grace and wisdom she exhibits in the most unexpected ways. Her steps aren’t as heavy like the other horses she’s ridden with Wally. She treads lightly and roams each pasture beyond the outer fence of the ranch like she’s been there a hundred times, or that at the very least she belongs out here to do as she pleases. So, Jade mostly leads, and Artemis just lets her as the horizon attempts to mute the multitude of colors currently splattered over the canvas of the approaching evening.
Artemis tilts her head back, closing her eyes as she completely embraces the moment, the fluid motion of Jade’s step beneath her.
This was her only chance at being alone to her thoughts, as scary as they are. She needs the breather out here where no one can really tell her not to. It’s dangerous. It’s being out here with a horse she fully trusts in a walk that is growing farther and farther away from the people and places she was growing accustomed to seeing.
“I don’t need that. I don’t need them,” she finds herself saying to no one in particular, certainly not Jade.
And the thought of just leaving tempts her. It would be so much easier that way, just taking Jade and going as far away as she can. She’s happy. Happy thinking that it would be that easy especially with how far she’s already gone. A little further and she could start over if she wanted. It leaves her in a haze of happiness, lips drawn up in a comfortable smile. She wouldn’t need to think about her father chasing after her. And her mother--
“Mom…” Her hands instantly tighten around the reins.
The more she mulls over it, the more she sees her mother’s face. She sees the apology written into every laugh line she sees when she tries to force a smile on her face. She knows the hope dotted around in an earthy brown around her irises when the sun plays with them long enough for her to see. There was no way she could just leave. Not without her. Not when she’s already lost so much.
She pulls gently to signal Jade to stop, face pulled down in a frown as she tries to figure out, which way is which. Going back was her only option. It was the thing that made the most sense.
She presses her heels gently into Jade’s side, urging her to move in the right direction, but she doesn’t even budge in acknowledgment. Artemis tries again with a little more encouragement.
“Come on, girl. We have to go back.” But Jade doesn’t oblige. She goes her own way, the way they had been going in for the past hour.
“Jade! No! This way,” Artemis urges supportively, but it only makes the horse more unsettled, grumpy.
Artemis swallows thickly, grunting as she tries pulling on the reins again. “Jade! Listen to me! Please listen!”
It’s the last thing she says to Jade (again). She bucks back, the sharp movement almost jostling Artemis straight off the saddle. She rights herself, and makes a grab at the monkey handle to steady herself on top.
All she wants to do is comfort her. She wants to say, “Jade, calm down! Everything will be okay!” But the words can’t find themselves out of her lungs. She’s too busy gasping at each exaggerated motion Jade uses to throw her off her back.
Fuck. Fuck! She tries to press forward closer to her, to latch on to her by any means necessary and wait till she settles, but Jade doesn’t let her as she bucks back once more, sending Artemis tumbling to the floor.
Jade backs away, the bristle of her neigh loud and stark in the quiet of the night.
“Jade!” Artemis calls out weakly, her head throbbing from the impact it made with the ground when she fell. She tries again, but her voice is much too small and she knows that with the distant sound of her clopping hooves that she won’t hear her or the desperation she uses for her to stay.
She curls in her fingers, bits of dirt and grass nudging their way under her nails. She lets out another groan, doing her best to try and move, but her limbs refusing each pulse she tries to force into them.
She feels the ground move underneath her. It’s the worse feeling in the world, mostly because it just drives a more rhythmic pattern of pain through her skull. Her brain can barely decipher the sound of faster hooves approaching. Even if it’s coming from the wrong direction, it makes her hopeful that maybe Jade hasn’t left her. That maybe she realized what she did was wrong.
“Artemis?” It’s not.
She knows the voice well enough now that when she hears the next worried stretch of her name leave his mouth, she isn’t surprised to see him standing over her, wisps of wind swept red hair hanging over his evergreen eyes.
“Artemis!” he shouts again, “Oh, God. Oh, my God. Artemis. Artemis!”
She groans over his repetitive nature, blinking her eyes slowly.
There’s something of a nervous laugh that makes it to her ear. “Thank, God. Are you still with me? Can you feel your toes?”
She doesn’t want to move. Movement made her ache too much, but she squeezes her toes in her boots as well as the tips of her fingers before he can even ask.
“Good. You’re doing great, Artemis. Just stay with me as long as you can. Can you do that?” His hand settles over hers, thumb stroking gently over her knuckles.
She can’t say yes, but she does manage to move her fingers again weakly like an apology. Her eyes flutter shut, trying to find a way to be comfortable just as she hears Wally blabbering something quickly and panicked into his phone. And it’s enough to make her consider drifting off because the throbbing was a little too much for her to bear at the moment.
He grabs at her hand again when he’s done, and she’s so happy because, wow, is she tired of being awake now. So she says goodnight without thinking, and drifts away to the sound of his voice calling out her name.
“Artemis, what would even possess you to do something so reckless!?” Oliver snaps at her, face red and vein popping from a spot right below his hairline. It ages him, but she doesn’t tell him that.
Artemis collapses in on herself, back hunched over, eyes preoccupied by her warm fingers.
He’s standing over her in an instant, angry, worried. All over her. All of his current emotions are over her, and she’s not sure if she’s ever had anyone openly express themselves in this way about her. She lifts her head, confirming the exact amount of anger and distrust pouring out of in that very moment.
It scares her pretty bad. Someone like her shouldn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things, but he’s doing that and more.
“Are you even aware that you could have been killed? What if Jade lost it? She could have trampled you while you were unconscious! Or even worse!” All of that comes out of him, loud and jumbled.
“There’s something worse than death?” Artemis permits herself to say.
“My God, Artemis, this isn’t a joke!” Oliver shouts.
Artemis shoots herself up and out of her chair, and maybe it’s a mistake because she feels slightly lightheaded afterwards. She shakes the weariness out of her, stamping her foot down on the ground with an equal display of passion burning into the hardwood floors.
“And what exactly do you want me to do about it!?” she argues back, flattening the hair at the top of her head with her fingers. “I already did it. And wow, look at that! I’m alive!”
What happens next, takes her by complete surprise. Oliver has her in the most overwhelming embrace of her life, face smashed against his chest and just holding her there with the material of his light green dress shirt smothering the absolute life out of her.
Her eyes are wide the entire time, unbelieving as he rocks her back and forth in his arms. “You idiot. You’re an absolute idiot!”
And maybe that’s all she really wanted to hear because she’s fisting the back of his shirt, forgetting the last time she was even given the opportunity to hug anyone and for it to actually mean something.
“I’m sorry,” she finally admits.
Oliver pulls away from her, holding her out at arm’s length. “Save the apologies and the thanks for Wally really. He’s the one that found you.”
“Wally? Wally did what?” she asks quietly, reaching for her bandaged head when a sharp pain drills its way through.
“Easy does it. You should probably go to bed now, rest that head of yours. You did take a pretty nasty fall. The doctor said to keep it easy for the next couple of days,” he adds with worry.
She bats him away with reassurance. “I’m just shaken up. I’m fine.”
He sighs uncertainly. “Fine. But you tell me the second something is wrong. I don’t care what time of night it is. Dinah and I will fly you back down to the emergency room, you hear me?”
She nods slowly trying not to make her headache any worse. “Got it. But...what about Wally? Where is he?”
Oliver taps his foot impatiently. “I sent him back home. Told him I would call and update your status as soon as you came to.”
“Oh.”
“That darn kid. Absolutely brilliant, but stubborn as a bull. I was afraid he wouldn’t leave at all. Kept hovering over you protectively and everything, which made it hard to concentrate. Had to send the poor sap home before he got worse,” he tells her.
She doesn’t say much to that, just finally decides that it is a really good idea that she lay down. And when she’s tucked away in her sheets, drifting out of consciousness for the night, Wally’s lodged in her thoughts. She’s convinced that his dimpled cheeks will be the real reason for her untimely demise.
He says she’s grounded for the rest of her life. Forbidden from participating in any of the festivities coming up. And to be fair, she probably deserved it.
It’s okay though. She hears all about the first night of the carnival when she sees Megan at the stables, starry eyed and as whimsical as ever.
“It was everything I could have hoped for. Conner surprised me with tickets on the weekend. He can be so thoughtful sometimes,” she tells her with the same liveliness as someone talking about the most fantastic dream, her cheeks warming up the more she talks about it. “It was just the two of us. Makes me ridiculously excited to actually go later in the week with…”
Artemis bows her head solemnly, hearing the audible gasp of apology leave Megan’s parted lips. “Megan, it’s totally okay.”
Megan shakes her head softly. “Artemis. I am still really sorry. Here I am talking about all the fun I’m having and--” She stops right there, lightly tapping her palm against her forehead, “Wow, hello, Megan! Why would I even say something like that to you when you’re...when you’re…”
Artemis holds up her palms to stop her. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s a complete drag that I can’t hang out with you guys at the carnival this week, but it’s definitely not the end of the world.”
Megan holds her in her line of vision, almost like she’s trying to dive through her thoughts to really see how okay she is.
“Megan! I said I would be just fine. You guys will just have to have a little more fun for my sake. Please?” Artemis begs.
Megan eventually lets out a sigh of acceptance, “Okay...but don’t expect me to at least win you something in your honor when I’m there! If you can’t be at the carnival, the very least I can do is maybe bring a little bit of it back for you!”
It’s hopeful, brimming with her usual level of cheeriness and its just a little more contagious this time around because it has her smiling something dopey back. “Thanks, Megan…”
“You’re welcome, you know?”
Artemis head snaps in the direction of the unwelcomed noise. She turns off the faucet, ringing out a rag that she had been using to clean the sink up with.
“Wally!” It sounds both horrified and elated when it comes out of her.
“Should I leave?” he asks uncertainly.
She tosses the rag around the neck of the faucet and gives him her full attention. “No! No! That would be bad. Stay! Yes, stay!”
“You’re kind of freaking me out though. Did you really hit your head that hard? Normally, you just chase me aw--”
She grabs his hands in her own, thumbs smoothing over the skin of his knuckles as she licks her dry lips. “Thank you.”
Maybe she has lost it. Maybe she said something horrendously wrong that she doesn’t remember saying because he pulls his hands away immediately and turns away from her in an instant.
“What? No. I didn’t do anything. I am scum remember?” he reasons, his back still turned to her.
She tips herself forward, taking in his full demeanor, hands preferring their place shoveling through his mess of red, red hair instead. “Apparently you saved me? I just wanted to thank you, that’s all. I promise. Nothing weird.”
He clears his throat, peeking back around cautiously, cheeks flamed. “Nothing weird?”
“Yeah. This isn’t a joke or anything like that. I don’t know what would possess you to come after me like that, but I’m glad you did.”
“Oh...oh!” he squawks.
“Yeah.” She laces her fingers together, not sure of anything else to say.
“Artemis?”
Her focus returns to him, hands falling to either side of her. “Yeah?”
His hand frees itself from his hair, landing instead at the back of his neck comfortingly. “I just...this probably sounds better in my head, but...you’re pretty great for a girl.”
She looks completely lost. “What?” How did their conversation become anymore awkward?
He quickly waves his hands about in hopes of erasing whatever she thinks he said out of her head. “Wait. Let me explain. It’s just that, when I saw you down like that...it was scary.”
Her shoulders relax, face twisted with concern.
He swallows his nerves and continues. “I was pretty much going out of my mind, but all I could think of was, I have to get her help. I have to get her somewhere safe. So I just gunned it. I don’t even know how I did it. Could hardly talk when I got to Ollie. I just shoved you at him and told him to go, go do something anything to get you up.”
“Wally…”
But he stops her from saying anything else. “Look. You’re pretty darn special, okay? I don’t know what would make you think of going out there all alone, but you have me and you have four other crazy people that are just as concerned about you. We have to stick together,” he says, lips twisting into a smile she only sees for a second before he wipes at his sniffling nose.
She nods slowly, and the seriousness is draining away from his face to reveal the tip of a smirk on his face.
“No more of this crazy running off stuff. You have us. And there’s really nothing you have to prove to us. Okay?” He looks her dead in the eyes when he says it. And God does it strike her hard.
She obliges him. Head dipping forward thoughtfully. “Okay…”
His face remains lit, eyes still trained on her as lips twitch with a giddiness he’s trying to conceal. A second later, he bites down on his lower lip, turning to leave her on good terms, but she’s calling after him before he can get away.
“Wally?”
There’s a bit of worry written into his brows as he halts to turn back to her, green eyes searching for the exact thing he had done wrong. Waiting. Waiting.
“It, uh, sounded fine out loud.”
He smiles.
There are a few things she never seriously considers happening in her lifetime. That particular something is red haired, green eyed and freckled all over his cheeks and shoulders (sue her for looking, but he had his shirt off in the stalls once and her life hasn’t really been able to compute normal since). And did she mention that she was currently helping him into her room from her window with great effort? Because that was definitely a thing that was happening now.
She just thanks her lucky stars that he’s managed to fall in without alerting the entire nation that he’s here. And he’s just laying there, relaxed with his limbs sprawled out on the floor. He’s heaving with a grin plastered on his face, and that might just ruin her all over again.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she hisses loudly. “Did you forget where the carnival is? Because I can definitely say for sure that it’s not here.”
He stares up, fingers still twitching with little bursts of adrenaline, like he’d just finished running a marathon at his top speed. And he grins, which makes it even worse because his hair is disheveled and falling over his eyes and he just looks all that more attractive to her. She turns away, praying that the dim light in her room won’t betray the blush currently spreading over her cheeks like wildfire.
“Nope,” he decides to say.
Wally’s up four breaths later, and the distance that’s currently between them suddenly feels shorter and shorter. Artemis rocks herself an inch away. Not that it really helps.
“Then obviously, you’re here for something,” she cuts to the chase.
He nods in agreement. “I am. I’m here for you.”
Artemis isn’t sure if she heard that part right, and even if she did she is sure she would say the same exact thing. “What!?”
He chuckles, and she can feel it going straight up her spine. “I’m here for you. I brought you something!”
She spares him a glance as he goes rummaging through his pockets. The beginnings of a joke dance across her tongue, but it’s force back down her throat when he pulls out a miniature stuffed giraffe from his front pocket.
“Is that a mini-giraffe?” she asks, the corner of her lips twitching something awful.
He throws a hand to the back of his neck nervous, the adrenaline leaking out of him as his breath becomes a little more normal. “The carnival is super rigged this year!”
“Sure…” she says, her laugh shallow. “I will say though. It is kind of cute.”
He sticks his hand out to her, the stuffed animal sitting in his palm. “Oh shut up. This took a big chunk of my pay to get. Popped a bunch of balloons with darts. Almost gave up, but then I remembered it was for you. So, I will say it’s one of my prouder moments.”
She snorts, trying her best to keep the rest of the laugh low in her belly. She grabs the animal from his palm and sets it on her lap, looking at the seams briefly before cocking her head back up to look at him. “Wally, this isn’t like you. Why’d you even do something like this?”
He turns so that he is directly facing her, instead of at the angle he was turned to when he sat up. “All of us were kind of feeling bummed at the carnival without you. Didn’t seem fair that you couldn’t enjoy any of it. So...I came up with the idea of at least maybe bringing a little of it here to you.”
“You’re not kidding about the little part,” she says as her finger prods the side of the giraffes head.
“Ha, ha. Very funny,” he plays off with a roll of sarcasm.
She can’t help the grin that fills her face, eyes only catching the carpet beneath them for a second because his fingers find her chin to force her to look at him again.
“You should do that more often,” he says before dropping his hand.
“Maybe if I had a good enough reason to, I would,” she snarks back.
He brings a hand to his chest with the most offended look on his face. “I’m not a good enough reason to smile all the time? Babe, I am hurt.”
It’s a lot louder than it needs to be, and in a panic Artemis scrambles to cover his mouth with her fingers. He defines surprised, eyes wide and bewildered.
“If you keep talking that loud I’m sure Dinah or Oliver will come fill your world with a lot of hurt if you want.” It makes him nod his head in understanding furiously.
She releases him, and watches him settle quietly close.
“Why’d you even come here? You could have just given it to me in the morning. It would have been safer that way,” she begs an answer.
His eyes sway, smile ebbing for her. “I’m notorious for doing dumb things, but...I really didn’t want you feeling left out tonight. And...”
His fingers tiptoe their way towards hers, just grazing the tops of her nails. But she can feel it, weighed on her conscious as she decidedly pulls them away. And maybe he realizes his actions too because he rushes the same hand into his brilliantly loud red hair.
Cradling her hand against her chest she begs him for another answer. “And, what?”
“And I...and I...should be going!” And she honestly wonders if he’s just as red as her, but she can’t tell, not with his back turned to her and his hand flailing behind him in a quick and dismissive manner.
Artemis stands, following him back to the window, mentally beating herself up over her stupidity and quick tongue. He’s already swinging his legs over the windowsill when she even thinks about gathering the nerve to poke her head out the window after him. He stops his descent, green eyes looking at her curiously, waiting.
“Thank you...thank you for the giraffe.”
He offers a weak nod, bringing his next foot down. “Like I said, I wanted to. Glad you liked it.”
“Am I going to see you tomorrow? You’re helping out with the horse show, right?” she suddenly blurts out, desperate.
He looks up once more, confusion etched into his quiet face. He blinks once, and the happiness he brought with him is restored once again as he shakes his head confidently. “Yeah, definitely.”
She returns the smile, watching him reach the ground and cautiously leave the grounds.
“Good. Good,” she says with a little more feeling.
“This is bad.” Dick proclaims.
Megan is nearly in tears, but Conner’s got her steady, rubbing soothing circles into her back. It’s at that time that Wally rushes through, half sprinting with a donut just two bites from being finished sticking out from his mouth. He devours it just as he stops beside Dick, rolling up his sleeves past his elbows.
“Dude, I got your text. Why’d you call me over here? Mr. Queen will have a fit if he knows I’m not keeping the show floor attended,” Wally says quickly, eyes peering down at the gold watch strapped to his wrist.
Artemis watches a crease form at the top of Dick’s brow, sunglasses masking his narrowed eyes. He advances forward, examining the busted latch of the stall in front of them.
“Well, for starts, I can assure you that all you’ll have to worry about is Mr. Queen having a fit over this. We lost two horses,” Dick confirms, standing and waving his hand at the two adjacent empty stalls.
Wally’s eyes widen with disbelief, full and fearing. “No way. How do you lose two horses!?”
Artemis has no choice but to jab her elbow into his arm as soon as Megan clasps her hands over her mouth in shame, fresh tears brimming. She gets a significant yelp out of Wally, who turns at her sharply in annoyance.
“What the hell was that for?” he seethes.
Artemis gives him a stern look and jerks her head towards Megan before whispering back at him harshly. “None of that, West. She already feels bad enough that this happened. She doesn’t need you making her feel worse.”
He slides his nervous green eyes over to Artemis, hand reaching up to shield his mouth from the others. “Megan did this?”
But Dick hears him somehow and he shakes his head profusely. “Someone definitely did this, but I can say for sure it wasn’t Megan unless she’s learned to bust open locks like this on purpose.”
Wally raises a brow in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that someone did this with the intent of taking the horses or in the very least letting them loose. But this just doesn’t add up…”
“Who would even want to take these horses? What gain is there?” Artemis questions.
“Unfortunately, there could be a ton of reasons. Whoever did this though must have a good sense of the ranch. He or she would have had to have known where the stalls were. And on top of that, they must have already known what kind of stalls we had. The splintering in the wood is very precise, like they knew exactly the level of force they would need to break open,” Dick concludes.
“So we have a horse thief in our midst,” Artemis asks incredulously.
“Sounds about right…” he exhales.
“Where do we go from here?” Kaldur finally says, stepping forward with power. “Perhaps we should get the police involved.”
“Perhaps,” Dick starts off mischievously. “But it looks like I’ve spotted a trail of clues. If it’s the horse thief, we could potentially stop them before they get away.”
“Dick, that is dangerous. What if they mean harm?” Kaldur reasons.
“I understand, Kaldur, but by the time the police actually get here, we could lose our lead. I’m not saying to confront them. We just have to keep up with them from a safe distance. They could get away. And then what do we tell the police? They’ll never find them. Where’s the Justice in that?”
Megan shouts in equal distress, hands shaking by the sides of her face. “We have to at least try. We have to. If I had just been paying more attention when I was grooming the horses, I could have probably stopped them. I feel so awful about this.”
“Megan, this isn’t your fault. We’re gonna take care of this. Don’t you worry,” Artemis reassures before staring intently at Wally. “How long do you think it will take my uncle to notice that you are gone?”
Wally considers her question for a minute. “Half-hour. The showcase is in between stages at the moment. It will take them that long before the next round of horses are ready for show.”
“Perfect,” Artemis says while nodding thoughtfully.
Kaldur sighs, worry lacing its way to the creases in his forehead. “If this is the consensus than we must agree not to engage with the criminal. We are only gathering information for the police to apprehend them. Is that understood?”
They all nod, heads turning to Dick when the decision is made.
“Great to know all of you are on board then because it appears we have a problem…” Dick shuts his mouth, walking while examining the ground carefully beneath his feet.
“And what exactly does that mean?” Conner asks, voicing the concerns of the group.
“Looks like the trail they left splits.”
“Down!” Wally falls forward, taking Artemis along with him as they duck for cover.
“You saw them? You actually saw them?” she whispers hysterically.
“Yeah…” he replies shortly. “Oh, man. Oh, man. Dick was right. Definitely a horse thief. Both of them are with him.”
Artemis can hear her heart pounding in a fury against her eardrums, but her fear isn’t dictating her to keep cover. Something about this whole situation in general is making her feel even worse than normal, and it’s not about the horses. It’s the motive. It’s the person. It’s the why that they haven’t gotten an answer to. And all of those reasons have her shoving Wally off of her, arms tucking under her to push herself quietly off of the ground.
She peers past the brush, watching carefully as the man in front of her takes the reins of both horses and ties them securely to the tree beside him. And when he turns, searching all around for unwanted company, she sees him.
The color drains from her face immediately. She forgets how to move, forgets that she needs to move before he sees her.
Wally grabs her arm fiercely, tugging her down before he can turn in her direction. “What the hell is wrong with you? Are you trying to get us caught?”
She’s in a stupor. She’s completely wiped of any sense of movement or sound or just living in general. All she knows is blond hair and stony eyes and a scowl that can do more damage than words ever could. Dad. Her eyes narrow respectively when it all comes together for her. Of course. Only he would do something this despicable.
She stands immediately only to have Wally pulling her back down to his height, eyes wild. “Okay, you definitely have lost your mind. What the hell, Artemis?”
She shakes him off of her, remaining at his level. “It’s my dad.”
“Um...come again? What does your dad have to do with any of this?” the confusion is there in every single word that spews out of his mouth.
Artemis sighs, eyes tightly shut in contemplation. The decision to clarify her words becomes obvious as she opens her eyes again and shares a defeated look. “That guy over there...the one with the horses? Um...that’s my dad. Apparently, it looks like he stole them.”
Wally’s mouth drops open, horror meeting her straight away. “Your dad?”
“Look. I know I haven’t really talked about my past at all with you or anyone...but the whole reason I’m even here to begin with revolves around him. He’s been getting away with crimes for a good part of his life. My mom got dragged into it without knowing and now she’s serving time in prison because of him.” Her hands clenching in the dirt, most of it pushing up under her nails. “He sent me a letter saying that I was no better than him, that he would find me eventually and take me back. And of course he sent it at the worst time. I was getting used to being here, being happy. He wanted to take that away from me. So that night that I took Jade out...I really wanted to just leave…”
“That’s why…” he starts softly, realization dawning on him.
“Yeah...if you guys found out about him...I was gonna lose you all regardless. Who wants to be involved with someone like me?” she asks solemnly.
She’s shocked to feel anything let alone Wally’s hand falling on top of hers. He squeezes her fingers, and his face isn’t twisted in disgust and he hasn’t turned into a burst of speed making a break for it to distance himself from her. He’s staying. And it’s overwhelming.
“Wally?” she asks hesitantly.
“He’s not getting away,” Wally says while pulling out his cell, thumb sliding down his contacts to click on Dick’s number.
It doesn’t take him long to notice her presence. She already sees his smirk, head turning to face her like he knew she was smart enough to seek him out.
His chuckle is gruff, ugly. “So baby girl. Looks like you found me.”
She stands firm, neck long and eyes piercing. She was going to do this all on her terms. “Looks like I did.”
Lawrence grins something wicked, tilting his head to the side to relieve a nasty crack that makes her shiver. Keep it together. Just keep it together.
“Knew you would come to your senses.” He approaches her, bends forward to reach her height, finger pointed. “Like I’ve always told you. There’s no changing who you are.”
He ebs her with his finger, hard on her collar bone. And the sigh that pours out of her is genuine, exhausted, disappointed. “Yeah, Dad. Great mood lifter. We should do these family reunions more often.”
He rests his large hand on her shoulder, straightening his stature. “Well, you won’t have to worry about that. We’ll be together for some time after all, so I hope you said your goodbyes.”
She swipes at her nose, and he lets go. She sees his demeanor lose its former delight, expression much harder and colder than she remembers it ever being. Her shoulders actually shoot up in surprise when his hand shoots up, thumb hoisted in the direction of the two stolen horses.
“One for you and one for me. You ready to go, baby girl?” The question makes her bristle, teeth biting down hard on the inside of her cheek.
“Never been more ready in my entire life,” she says before thrusting her body forward without warning.
Her arms shoot out, the force of the surprise budging Lawrence back a few steps, but not making him fall. She starts running, feet going and going and never looking back. But she can hear him coming after her, hear the anger in each foot that cracks against the spine of a branch.
“Artemis, you can run, but there’s no escaping me!” he reminds her, voice still as unnaturally calm.
She gasps for breath when she nearly trips over the raised roots of a tree, but her feet remain connected with the ground, still moving her as fast as they will take her. When she passes a certain tree, she looks back to gauge her distance from him.
He’s still tracking behind, but certainly gaining on her, and it’s at that time that she throws herself in a spin to face him. “NOW!”
A net descends from the tree tops, draping over the top of her father’s head. He tries to take another step forward, but only manages to trip over the net’s length, fumbling to stay standing.
Wally comes out ready, a lasso in hand, whirling around his wrist beside her. Without a single word or command, he launches it forward, the rope falling around his arms. He pulls tightly to knock knock him off balance, and with a mighty thud, he’s incapacitated on the ground.
He’s raving mad, and even worse when Conner comes bounding in to secure the rope around his body and hands. Conner stands, eyes first reaching the treetops where Megan is safely kicking her feet from her seat on a large branch, and then seeking Wally and Artemis out.
Artemis waves, the sinking feeling in her chest not exactly alleviated by any means. She watches Conner make his way towards them, but before he is within earshot, Wally rests a hand on her shoulder thoughtfully.
“Are you going to be okay?” And he sounds just as shaken up as she is.
“Eventually…” she answers honestly to which he sighs something of relief onto the top her shoulder.
“Dick says the police should be here soon,” Conner confirms when he’s close enough.
Artemis nods solemnly, “I figured as much.”
The summer is way too short, and the kisses of sunshine don’t linger as much as she wishes they could. And she’s sore about it because all she wanted to do when she got here was leave. She’d gotten her outdated wishes. And now the weeks have become days and the days become hours.
Megan promises her a last hurrah before she leaves and enough freshly made cakes to fill everyones stomachs, including Wally’s if that’s possible. The offer is certainly sweet of her, but she still can’t get over how much it still leaves her feeling empty. No party could really fill the void that leaving these people will create.
Regardless, she makes it to the Cave after sealing up the last of her boxes, and mostly everyone is there. Megan is grinning, trying to fit the elastic band of the party hat over Conner’s head, much to his displeasure. And Dick and Kaldur are chatting it up by the table with what looks like six perfectly frosted cakes.
Each of them see her walk in, and they all eagerly gather around her to say their hellos. Artemis smiles and accepts the hug that Megan inevitable throws at her. But Artemis can’t help to notice that someone really important is missing.
"Has anyone seen Wally?" The question comes out slow and low, mostly because she's terrified of the prospect that he's purposely making a no show on her last day.
The group can’t even fathom looking her dead in the eye to answer her. She only gets a few shaking heads and the click of Dick’s annoyed tongue as he shoves his cell back into his pocket.
“The doofus has his phone off,” Dick spits out finally. “He could just be late…”
Artemis just shrugs her shoulders, the weight of disappointment sinking further and further into the pit of her stomach. “Ah, whatever. It really doesn’t matter.” It matters so much. “Guess that just means he’ll be missing my grand farewell. His loss really.”
“I’m so sorry, Artemis!” Megan offers first. “It’s not like Wally to just miss something this important.”
“Enough, my friends, we will make the best of the situation regardless,” Kaldur interjects before Dick can come up with something disastrous to say. “For Artemis.”
“That’s more like it,” Conner follows. “Besides, we’re so gonna miss you around here. We need to make the best of the time we’ve got left.”
Megan claps her hands. “Exactly! So how about we cut the cake I baked fo--!”
“WHOA! Whoa! Come on! Ease up you stupid horse!”
They collectively turn to each other in that single instant, “Wally?”
“I’m pretty sure we’ve established the fact that you hate me, but can we at least be civil about it? Yeesh!”
Artemis doesn’t wait for anyone else’s approval. She just bolts out of the barn, the fresh rays of sun unfairly bursting over her eyes as soon as she makes it outside. The wind whips her hair behind her, her hand coming up past her forehead to shield herself from the light. With eyes still squinting, she can make out his figure climbing down the side of a horse. Her eyes do a double take, growing wider when the realization hits her square in the nose.
Artemis drops her hand from her eyes, resting it quietly over her mouth. “W-Wally is that...it can’t be!”
Wally meanders over, jamming his thumbs through his belt loops before cocking his head up. “Sorry I’m late, babe. I thought you would prefer I extend an invite to your pal here. Can’t just leave without seeing her off.”
She rushes to Jade’s side immediately, running a hand along her side and checking everywhere for the smallest details of harm. “Jade? Wally, you found Jade! How?”
Wally hitches a thumb behind him in Dick’s general direction, watching the raven haired boy wave in acknowledgement. “Had the boy wonder find me a few leads. The hard part was actually getting her to behave long enough to ride her all the way down here. I don’t think she believes in punctuality if you wanted my honest opinion.”
Artemis literally launches herself at him. And he’s far from prepared to actually catch her, to make sure that they don’t just topple over in a mess of limbs on the ground. She feels him almost miss his last step back, but the ground catches it and they’re standing steady, her face completely buried in his shoulder. The perils of falling over escape her like the last days of summer, and she can feel the edges of his finger tips on her chin.
“Hey! Hey, Artemis?” he mutters quietly for only her to hear.
And much like before, her emotions get the best of her and she’s throwing her head up, lips smashing against his like it’s the most normal thing for her to do. And like hell she would gladly keep doing it if he’d let her because she likes the way he tastes and she likes the way he scoops her face into his hands like he’s holding the entire world in them. And she doesn’t care that the others can see them like this, especially when they’re pulled apart, foreheads touching, breathing hard enough to feel the other on their chin.
“Well, if it was that easy to get a kiss out of you, then I should have done this a long time ago,” he muses playfully.
She just smiles big, bright and infinite. “No kidding.”
FIN