❛ I promise it will get better ❜ 

It was hard to believe that life for Annabelle Carter could get any worse. The girl hadn't left her bed in nearly a week since the day she went to go see her parents and finally sit down and have a conversation with them to tell them she was alive. That was the day they were taken away from her when she never even got to say how much she missed them for five whole years, how they were what kept her alive on the island. 

For the days leading up to her visit to her parents, she had been memorizing a script to say to them, and she never got the chance to use it.

People had stopped by the Queen's mansion, flowers and meals in their hands. They had come to offer their condolences but no one ever made it past the foyer. Anna hadn't come out of her room in a week, not since she went to the hospital to say her final goodbyes.

The doorbell rang in the mansion again and Oliver Queen stood up from the couch in the living room to go answer it. When he made it to the door, he noticed Laurel Lance standing in the doorway and he stilled, knowing that not long ago he had shared a kiss with the woman before him and possibly ruined his relationship with Anna for good. "Hey," she said with a small smile, her hand reaching up to tuck a strand of hair away from her face. Oliver moved out of the way to allow her in and she looked up at the stairs, expecting to see Anna. "How is she?" she wondered, eyeing the living room where Tommy sat with Thea and Moira while watching the news.

Oliver leaned against the rail on the staircase and shrugged, "She hasn't let me in her room in a couple days," he replied softly. Laurel's face fell and she closed her eyes for a brief moment, "I'm sorry, Ollie. What happened between us never should have - "

"It doesn't change anything, Laurel," he said in a dismissive manner, just wanting the subject to drop so he could focus on his girlfriend. "What are you doing here?"

Laurel pursed her lips and stared at her flats, "I came to see Anna." Oliver shook his head and looked back toward her room that was at the end of the hall upstairs, "I don't think she wants to see you, Laurel. She hasn't even been eating, nevermind taking visitors."

The woman frowned, "She hasn't seen anyone?"

Oliver sighed, "She lets Tommy and my mom in. Sometimes Thea. But other than that I haven't seen her."

"The funeral is tomorrow, isn't it?"

Oliver nodded, "She'll be there, somehow," the man stressed. No one in the family knew how to get Anna to the funeral. She knew it was tomorrow, but she hadn't left her room, they didn't suspect she would be getting up to put on a dress any time soon. 

As if she could hear through walls, soft footsteps tapped lightly on the carpeted stairs and Oliver looked up to see Anna standing at the top of the staircase with a blank expression on her face. As soon as Laurel noticed she was there she offered the girl a smile to which she refused to accept and looked down instead. "Hey," Oliver said with a gentle and caring smile upon his cheeks. He walked around the rail so he was at the bottom and looked up, "Are you alright?"

"Hey, sunshine!" Tommy's voice cheered, his feet racing up the stairs to engulf his friend in a  warm hug. Oliver didn't want to overwhelm her which is exactly what Tommy was doing, but before he could say a word, Anna was staring at Tommy, "What time is the funeral?" she whispered, her voice soft and scratchy. Tommy glanced at Moira who had now entered the room and she nodded wordlessly, letting Tommy respond. "It's at eleven. A lot of people are coming but Lance promised he wouldn't let any press in," he told the girl who just simply nodded. "Come on, let's go pick out your dress," he then said, leading her back to her room where he would help her for the next day's events.

Before she could be totally whisked away, she stole a glance at Oliver who was looking at her with a slimmer of hope in his eyes. But once she left his view, the hope left, and his eyes returned to normal.

•••

Before her parents had died, Anna was preparing a new addition to their company which she would independently control on her own until the time she would actually get the Carter Provision. She wasn't ready to publish her idea, nor was she close, but with the death of her parents, the Carter Provision should have been going to her. 

Throughout the week that Anna had been hiding in her room, she had created plans and layouts and gone through record after record of the Provision's economic history. She had flipped through every page of the binders full of employment and had gotten near nowhere. No one expected her to take over the company right after their death, and neither did she to be completely honest. But with determination to live up to her parents' expectations, she didn't rest until she was ready. That meant preparing a speech to tell everyone what she planned to do with the company, and then prepare the conference in which she would unveil to the world that she was taking over.

She never let anyone into her room that week because she didn't want them to see what she was working on, not because she couldn't stand to see anyone. It just kind of worked out that way that no one wanted to disturb her and gave her the time to mourn and understand the loss she had just suffered through. Anna deserved so much, she was seen as innocent and sweet, yet bad things continued to happen to her. 

Today was the day she was actually going to reveal herself to the public for the first time since her parents actually died. Anna was nervous, to say the least. She had been to a couple funerals before, but they were for distant relatives that she didn't even know. This service was for two people who didn't even believe she was alive, two people who didn't even say hi to her after five years of endless torture.

"Ma'am," Someone spoke, their voice seeming distant and low to Annabelle as she stood in the mirror staring at herself. She reached a hand out, not paying attention to who was at her door, and instead traced a finger against the glass. She rested her hand on the reflection of her cheek and stood there frozen, just looking at herself. "This isn't me, John," the girl whispered, her hand never leaving the glass as she looked at her dull eyes. 

She heard footsteps approach behind her and in moments, Diggle appeared in the frame, too. "It looks like you, Anna," he replied, narrowing his eyes in confusion as he didn't understand her statement. She shook her head once before allowing her hand to drop to her side. "I was happy," she whispered. "I was always smiling. Oliver would take me to the carnival for my birthday each year, and I would always laugh. I am not laughing now," she said quietly. Diggle sighed, "A month or so will pass and you'll be okay. It just doesn't feel right now,  but I promise it will get better."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Anna, you've survived five years on an island with no one but yourself and that man-child outside. I've seen you genuinely laugh more than once since you've been back in Starling. You're the strongest person I know, so I'm pretty sure that you'll be okay. You'll be laughing by next week."

The woman looked down as his words filtered through her ears. She let out a small sigh before nodding, allowing a smile to form on Diggle's face. "The car is here," he told her before walking out of her room, leaving the girl to flatten out her dress that hid all of her scars so nicely.

Anna pursed her lips and finally turned out all her lights in her room before walking to the staircase where she gracefully walked down. Her mind was filled with the afternoon's events. Tommy and Moira had reassured her that there wouldn't be any press at the funeral, but she wasn't so sure.

Whatever would come, Anna was prepared. She wanted to have a future where she could smile again, one where she could go to the carnival and laugh to her heart's desire. Though today she was sad about her parents' deaths and the reminiscing on every memory she shared with the loving people - from birthday parties to dinners to father-daughter dances - she would soon be able to smile at those to rather than cry that they were over. 

Anna was alive, that was something she could appreciate. At the funeral, she would shed tears, and at the service following in the Queen Mansion she would hug and greet Lance and other friends that were all there for her. 

It was this that made Anna realize that she would never be alone, nevermind the hurts and struggles she would face. Diggle was truly right, there would be able for Anna to laugh and smile, today was just a simple bump in the long road to happiness.