Until Tomorrow
If Sara chose not to wait for me, I couldn't blame her. It was the third time that I had asked her to meet me by the fence, and I knew that if she had bothered to show up at all, she was probably expecting this to be the third time that I stood her up, leaving her alone with only the soft buzz of the electric current for company as dusk descended over District 12.
I was sorry. Really, I was.
And even though I wasn't good at apologizing, I think that Sara understood. She always understood those things. Like that day last spring when she introduced me to her father, who laughed out loud when I froze up so badly at the dinner table that I couldn't keep up a conversation. I bolted to vomit in the restroom, and when I returned to the dining room, Sara's family had left and she was quietly clearing the table. She just smiled at me and shook her head as she handed me a stack of plates to wash.
So when I made out her figure standing patiently beside the fence, her soft auburn hair blowing in the wind, I wasn't surprised. I kicked myself for not remembering flowers, but there would be enough of those in the woods to tuck into her hair. I jogged the last few meters softly through the thick grass, and she watched me approaching, her eyes gentle and forgiving.
"I never doubted that you would come," she told me, her voice floating like music in the breeze.
"You came," I said bluntly, and felt myself turning red. Sara affirmed this when she reached out to touch my face with her thin Seam fingers. My left ear tingled as she stroked along my scraggly, unshaven skin.
"Of course I came, Haymitch. Ready to slip away?"
"Yes," I said gratefully, glad that Sara could read my mind as always. We walked along the fence until we reached the torn bit, where a scrawny Seam kid could slip beneath without being zapped by the electric current. Sara slid gracefully beneath the wire and waited for me on the other side. Even just two feet out of District 12, I could taste freedom.
Sara could, too. She took off at a run, flying through the grass and toward the trees. I sprinted after to catch her, but she was quick-footed and better at navigating the loose branches and roots than I was. Tired of teasing me, she finally slowed and caught herself by swinging casually around a tree.
"You're fast," I chastised her gently. "So fast."
Sara wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling her body up against mine.
"But not too fast, Haymitch," she said happily. "It seems that you've managed to catch me."
I slipped one arm around her face and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear with my free hand.
"I think I'm the one who's been caught," I replied. Without thinking, I leaned down and kissed her.
Soft, warm, slow.
"Haymitch," she whispered after we pulled away to breathe.
"Sara..." I began, searching for the words to apologize. Or explain. Or something.
"Don't say anything. Don't be sorry, Haymitch. I understand. And I want this, too."
"You... you want this? What is this, Sara?" I asked, disbelieving.
"This," she said, rising up on her tip-toes to kiss me again.
"Sara..." I began again, pulling back and removing her arms from my neck. "We can't. Oh God, Sara. I want to. But we can't."
"We can't what, Haymitch?" she asked, fear creeping into her eyes. She stepped back and hugged herself, her body shivering slightly in the evening air.
"The Reaping is tomorrow. It just feels wrong."
"But we won't be chosen."
"But we could be! Don't you see, Sara? It would kill me... to be with you, and then to leave you... the District 12 kids never come back."
"You won't leave me, Haymitch," she said. She stepped boldly toward me and grabbed my shoulders. "You listen to me, Haymitch Abernathy. The Capitol is not going to take you away tomorrow morning. And even if it does, even if it leaves us star-crossed, you will come back to me. You're strong and brave and true."
I shook my head. "You give me too much credit, Sara. I'm hardly those things. And what if they pull your name?" I asked, looking down at her starved eyes.
"They won't. You've got your name in there way more times than me. I have three slips, that's all."
"Sara..."
"Say it, Haymitch. It's better said."
"I can't say it, Sara. I'll say it tomorrow. When we're safe and together and sure."
"When I can wait for you a fourth time by that stupid fence, waiting for you to admit that you- "
"No, Sara. It's just wrong. You know how I feel. But I can't- "
"I love you," she said, staring hard at me. "I love you, Haymitch Abernathy."
"Sara... I can't."
She smiled sadly and took my hand. "I know. Tomorrow?"
"I'll try. Tomorrow," I said confidently. She kissed my cheek once more, and together we walked slowly out of the woods, treasuring every step as though this might be our last hour together.
Thanks for reading! Not sure whether this is worth continuing, so please let me know what you think. I will update Gale's Amaranth soon, to be sure!
Peace,
Red