Ya for updates! Hope you like this chapter! I'm sorry the story is going kinda fast for the beginning but I promise it will slow down!
Cause I'll be there, in the back of your mind, from the day we met. ~Best Days Of Your Life, Kellie Pickler.
Rachel's POV:
I look back over to Kevser sleeping in his crib by my bed. I look back over to Boggs, he's been taking care of me now too. Apparently I'm some big symbol on how the Capital can be taken over. Since I'm just doing so well with my recovery. They're letting me go upstairs to eat now, since I didn't try to rip apart a picture of the mutt they showed me the other day.
"Why can't I bring him?" I ask again. Boggs sighs.
"Because he's sleeping and you're handcuffs will be on so you can only carry your tray of food."
"Fine." I give in and put my hands out towards Boggs. He loosely puts handcuffs over my wrists, and then guides me through hallways towards an elevator. Another soldier trails us, watching my every move. Boggs leads me into the elevator and I stop next to him as he presses a button to go up about twenty floors. It's strange, I've never really been anywhere else in Thirteen.
"Remember, if you feel yourself slipping, look to me. Finnick won't be there, but Haymitch will be. And some of the other victors." I nod, he's only told me about a hundred times. But I do get nervous when the door opens. Boggs takes me over to the food line where I'm given a tray with my bland breakfast on it. Boggs stands back along with my other guard as I look for a table. Then I see them. Almost all of them; Haymitch, Seier, Chaff, Seeder, Johanna, Gale, Katniss, and Delly, all sitting at a table. I grin when I see Skitt with them, good, one trustworthy face there. "You have to ask them if you can sit there too you know." Boggs whispers in my ear. I nod again and slowly make my way over, holding my tray awkwardly. I stop behind Johanna and Haymitch, the others don't notice me right away, they just look down at their food.
"Ugh, hi" I greet all of them in a nervous voice. They all know him, all of them are his friends. My mind tells me, I shrug it off, they're good people. I think. My voice makes all of their heads to snap up in my direction, then they just stare. It's Skitt who comes to the rescue.
"Rachel! It's so good to see you….out and about." He smiles, I shrug.
"Yea, so I'm not trustworthy still I guess," I glance down at my handcuffs. "So, I have to ask, can I sit here?" I ask. They all glance at each other warily.
"Of course sweetheart." Haymitch smiles, I actually manage to smile back a bit. I walk over to the empty chair that's by Skitt and Seeder. Skitt pulls it out for me and I thank him as I sit down. I put my spoon in my oatmeal and lean over so I can get it in my mouth. I look up and study the table. These people aren't how I remember them. Haymitch should be drunk, as should Chaff. But they're not. I motion with my spoon towards them.
"I always thought you two were drunks," I say, then add softly, "I guess that's not real either." I shake my head, that memory seemed clearer. I jump when Chaff starts to laugh.
"We are, there's just no alcohol here." I nod and smile, I put my spoon down and rotate the ring on my finger.
"Real, that one's real." I say aloud to myself as I look at the ring. It's become a habit now, when I find out if something is real or fake, I twist the ring around my finger. Since it's like one step closer to knowing if the ring is true itself. I look up and everyone is staring at me like I'm crazy, I guess I am. "The memory, it's real, not made up, or fake. A lot of my memories are fake." I go back to my oatmeal.
"Like what?" Delly asks. I close my eyes as my body shudders, painfully memories flood my brain. One's that I know now are fake and one's that I'm uncertain of. I feel hands on my shoulders as I drive the spoon end on the table. I take deep breaths so that they'll go away and focus on what I know.
My name is Rachel. I don't know my last name. They say it's Odair, it might be. Peeta's dead. The mutt didn't kill Peeta. The mutt may not be a mutt. He may be someone I love. I was hijacked by the Capital, I'm safe now. I'm nineteen years old.
Slowly I open my eyes. "I'm fine Boggs, I'm okay. Promise" I say softly, then hands go off of my shoulders. I look back to Delly, I pick a simple not real memory. "Like the one that the mut-, that Finnick, killed Peeta." I stop myself from saying mutt, they don't like it when I call him that. Delly's face lights up.
"That's right, he didn't" she smiles at me and I manage one back. Seeder puts a hand on my shoulder and I look over, she smiles.
"How's Kevser?" she asks. I feel my smile grow at the mention of my son. He's four months old now.
"He's great, he can crawl and he's trying to talk. It gets annoying sometimes though, one second he's next to me and the next he's crawled off somewhere else." I laugh.
"He sounds like a great kid." Seeder smiles at me.
"He is."
A few minutes later Chaff looks up at me and puts his arm around Seeder, who turns and smiles at him. "Rach, Seeder and I are getting married." He grins at me and kisses Seeder.
"Oh, that's great" I congratulate them, it really is great.
"We were wondering, if you wanted to sing a song at the wedding for us, it's in a month." Everyone at the table looks up at me hopefully. Should I? It would be fun, and I guess it's really the only thing I could give to them, to these people who I think are my friends. I nod.
"Of course."
"Oh thank you! We don't care what song you sing, you can pick whatever you'd like too." Seeder tells me, I nod and smile at them, then my head jerks up at a clang of metal. I look into the hallway outside the dining room. My eyes widen and lock on the cart being pushed down the hallway. It's full of weapons; guns, bows, arrows, knives. But that's not what my eyes lock on. They lock on a trident, a golden trident that I can barely see under the guns. But it's there, and my mind takes me over as I shut my eyes and my body begins to shake. I try to pull my hands apart and the metal cuffs dig into my skin. The whole room has gone silent, I can feel the eyes on me as I proceed to feel cuts come on my wrists from the cuffs. Hands go on my shoulders. I feel breath on my neck as I try and hold myself together.
"Come on, let's get you back." I hear Boggs, I manage to nod my head as two people help me to my feet, I still shake with terror at seeing the trident. I picture that man stabbing, killing innocent people, innocent children with it, over and over again. I raise my hands so that my fists cover my eyes, which are already closed, but I need to block out what I'm seeing. Slowly I allow my feet to go were I'm being ushered.
;;;;::::;;;;
A week later I pour over the music books I've been sent, Kevser sits in my lap, also looking over the books. Each page has a different song from the before the Dark Days. Song after song I sing to Kevser, trying to find the right one. When I first started my voice was scratchy and horrible. But now it sounds just like it used too, a part of the old me back again. Every day I go through at least five songs, everyday Gale visits me too. I'm allowed back up to eat with the others; they just make sure I don't see anything to set me off again.
Kevser reaches out and turns the page of the book for me. He points to one song, I look to see what it could be. I recognize it, we looked at it a few days ago. I liked it, but not for a wedding song.
"We decided against this one Kev remember?" I laugh at him, he narrows his eyes at me and puts his hand on it again.
"You'll find better love Just like the waves down by the shore
Strong as it ever was
Deep as the river runs
Warm as the morning sun
Please remember me
We're gonna keep on coming back for more
'Cause we don't ever wanna stop
Out in this brave new world you seek
Oh the valleys and the peaks
And I can see you on the to"
I sing a little of it too him and he smiles at me. I continue to flip through the book, trying to find the perfect one. One that will fit two victors. Of course my mind drifts to the mutt, of Finnick. I have a lot of time to think lately. With much convincing from Gale and others, I think he might actually be a person. A bad person, but a person. Not a mutt.
And I have questions; lots of questions. Questions that only he could answer. I put down the book and bring Kevser closer to me before I tell my son. "I want to talk to your daddy Kevser."
;;;;;:::::;;;;;;
-Finnick's POV:
Month's, three to be exact, have gone by. My schedule keeps me plenty busy, traveling back and forth from Four and Thirteen. I excelled under training, excelled in minor battle. Risen quickly through ranks for myself. I'm almost a Commander now, almost. Almost the Commander of my home District. But my thoughts are always of her, or our son. I see him once a week, he's growing quickly, he knows me now too. Happy to see me.
I get calls for Rachel's updated conditions today. They're never very promising. Today she got to go upstairs and spent almost an hour before she snapped. Today she got to use real silverware. We've almost convinced her you're human. She's convinced that maybe you didn't kill Peeta. They always bring me disappointment. Always bring me pain. Only some good news has come. Seeder and Chaff will be getting married in three weeks, I'll be there for that.
But every night I pray, I hope, I beg for the girl again. The girl I love to come back out. Because somewhere she's there. I just want her to come back to me.
Song in this chapter were Please Remember Me, Tim McGraw. Please review!