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The characters of The Hunger Games Trilogy do not belong to me.
Tides
Chapter Three: Katniss
Upper East Side, Manhattan
"I want to make sure that you've gone over the settlement contract," Johanna, her lawyer and best friend, said to her. "Do you understand exactly what you are getting in the divorce?"
Katniss turned to her and nodded, "Of course. I've known for months."
Johanna gave her a half-hearted smile before looking down at the settlement papers once more.
The two women sat together at the long meeting table; the judge—a man resembling her father-in-law—at the head of it. Beetee Latier, the Snow family lawyer, sat across from the two women, his pen tapping indicating that he was getting impatient waiting for his own client, her ex-husband.
"I'm so sorry, Katniss," Beetee told her quietly. "I told Cato what time this was and everything—"
"It's okay," she replied understandingly. "We all know that legal proceedings like this aren't things that he usually attends."
Katniss often worked with Beetee since she was Chairwoman for the Snow Foundation; she assisted him in distributing the foundation's earnings. Her husband was not the kind of person who liked to sit in a boardroom. He believed that she had the family's best interests at heart, and would make the best decisions, so he left it all to her.
"But, Katniss," Beetee responded. "This is your divorce. This is important. After this, you are no longer Katniss Everdeen-Snow."
"Doesn't matter." She took a quick breath and gave him a miserable smile. "Because, I will always be Katniss Everdeen."
The knock on the door caught their attention. When it opened, Katniss was surprised to find that it was her father-in-law, Coriolanus, entering the room. He gave her a nod as he shook the judge's hand, then Beetee's.
Sitting down, her father-in-law looked to her and Johanna. "I apologize for the wait. There was traffic in Midtown—"
Reaching into his pocket of his suit jacket, he produced an envelope and handed it to Beetee.
"The signed divorce agreement from Cato, and the contract giving Katniss all rights to Everdeen Couture as well as all designs that she created for the fashion line during their marriage. The ownership rights and deeds are also in the envelope." He met her eyes and sighed. "I have paid for this year's property tax—"
"You didn't have to," Katniss suddenly interrupted.
"It is what you deserve, my girl," her father-in-law replied affectionately.
"Katniss," Johanna said as she moved the opened folder in front of her. "You'll need to sign where I've put the arrow stickers."
Katniss took the pen that her friend held out and began to sign. It was only three pages, but as she stared down at her signature on the last page—the sudden realization of what had just taken place hit her.
Her marriage was over.
Everything that she had gone through with Cato—the vows, the laughter, the arguments, the tears—was all for naught in just three signatures.
Katniss wished that it was that easy.
"Excuse me," she said shakily, before escaping out the door.
When Katniss emerged from the ladies' room, she found Coriolanus waiting for her on a nearby bench.
Walking over, she sat next to him and gave him a trembling smile. "So, where is Cato this time? The Bahamas? Venezuela?"
"I got a phone call from him early this morning while he was on a plane to Rio." The man shook his head before turning to her, his gentle eyes filled with regret. "I'm sorry, Katniss. This was never your fault—I was just not that good of a father to begin with."
"Cor." It was her nickname for him as she had gotten into the habit of never referring to him as her father-in-law during board meetings. "You have been nothing but a supportive father to both of us. I can't thank you enough for your kindness and patience, while I learned how to be a part of this family as well as a part of the business."
Katniss looked to him, not bothering to hide the tears in her eyes.
"I was just stupid to think this marriage meant something to him. I was too caught up in his smile and his charm—the way he was able to be so carefree. Because, I've always wanted to be that way. But, you know what? I can't be—it has never been in me to not care," Katniss told him as her eyes drifted to her lap.
Cor lifted her drooping chin, his thin lips curving into a sad smile behind his soft-white beard.
"Have heart, my dear," he said to her. "Your life is just beginning." Her now ex-father-in-law handed her a silk Gucci handkerchief and she accepted it gratefully to wipe the corners of her eyes. "Just remember to try to keep me in it, okay?"
Katniss nodded before her forehead fell brokenly against his shoulder.
"Here." Johanna held a glass of scotch out to Katniss. "You need this."
Walking over to the large window overlooking Central Park East, Johanna let out a low whistle at the gorgeous view of full-blown autumn in New York. The clink of her stilettos echoed in the large living room. "And, you get to keep this?" She looked over at Katniss with a sly grin. "I've seen people come out of their marriage with much less, and some of them were married longer than you."
"Did they ever lose what I did?" Katniss asked from where she sat.
Johanna joined her on the structured sofa, removing her navy blazer as she did. The crisp white living room was pristine; the only indication of disarray being Katniss' Chanel flats tossed beside the sofa.
Her friend shook her head, her chocolate bob moving against her sharp chin.
"You were a special case," Johanna replied and she put an arm around Katniss' slumped shoulders. "Did I ever say how sorry I was that I wasn't there that day?"
"You had no clue. And, neither did I," Katniss said, quickly gulping down the scotch. The feeling of alcohol coating her insides gave her some reprieve from the ache in her chest. "None of us did—until the accident." She put the now empty cup down on the clear glass coffee table. "Tell me what to do, Johanna."
Johanna laughed at her friend's request. "You're joking, right?"
Katniss shook her head. "I don't know where to go from here," she replied somberly. "And it scares me that I don't care as much as I should about what the hell happens to me."
"Oh, Katniss…" Johanna slapped her hands against her lap. "Put your head here." Katniss tilted her head in confusion. "You stopped paying me once you signed the papers and walked out of that private court room. I'm going to be talking to you in the best friend capacity now."
Katniss sighed before putting her head on Johanna's lap. "You know I can see up your nose, right?"
Johanna flicked her forehead. "How old are you?"
"Okay, okay…" Her hands went up in surrender and she smiled up at her friend. "Oh, wise one—advise me."
"Close your eyes," Johanna instructed. Katniss did what her best friend asked. "Now, tell me. Why did you fall in love with Cato?"
"Because he was so carefree and fun—I wasn't," she admitted truthfully. "I wanted to be that way, though."
"Oh, come on," Johanna said from above her closed eyes. "There must have been a time when you were carefree and fun—when you felt open to all of life's possibilities. Go back there."
Katniss opened her eyes and looked up at Johanna's umber pair. "Why?"
"Because maybe, once you go back, you'll realize that you really didn't need Cato," her friend advised her. "That person that you wanted to be was in there all along—she just needed you to find her."
"Can I ask you something else?" Katniss said and Johanna nodded. "When does the hurt stop?"
"It doesn't." Johanna reached to wipe the tear that rolled down her cheek. "It is the human condition to feel pain, but it is how we deal with it that puts us apart from each other. Time will show you just how strong you are, Katniss. I promise you that."
That night, Katniss wandered her lonely penthouse. It had been her first home with Cato.
She could still remember him carrying her over the threshold, excited to show her the huge space that they would make into their home. She had hoped that the reason for such space was because he wanted to fill it with children.
Cato preferred to fill it with people.
People who loved to drink and dance; people who wore tight dresses and loved to press against her husband; people who loved to rifle through their personal photographs and send them to Page Six of The New York Post.
She was able to ignore most of the photos.
However, it was a photo of him with his arm around one of her friends, Glimmer, which she was unable to ignore.
The photo had been taken on their third wedding anniversary. She had spent the evening waiting for him at home, dressed and ready to go to their favorite restaurant—a small French bistro that reminded them of their first meeting in Paris.
By the time Cato arrived, she was in bed—the tears on her pillow long dried away as she felt him shift into their bed. He whispered champagne-laced apologies into her ears, over and over, until she let his lips descend onto hers.
In the morning, cold-harsh reality hit her as she opened her paper and saw the photo. Cato and Glimmer looked comfortable together sitting closely in the trendy club, like they had done this before with one another.
The glass was broken. Finally, Katniss had seen her marriage for what it really was—a joke. A crafty way to distract the press from the unseemly behavior of the heir to the Snow fortune.
At that point, Katniss had been heavily involved in the Snow Corporation. She was Chairwoman of their foundation, Head of the International Division, and owner of Everdeen Couture, which was funded and therefore affiliated with the Snow name.
Her husband's publicist, Clove, was a crafty bitch.
Katniss knew that the woman always held a torch for her husband—so much that she was willing to tolerate his marriage to Katniss and accepted his affairs. She had even participated in a few of them with Cato.
The photos—featuring her husband, Clove, and Glimmer—were the ones that had her escaping the city and back to her hometown.
The positive part of her marriage was the experience Katniss had gained learning from her father-in-law. Cor had taken her under his wing. It had been reluctant at first—her father-in-law had expected his son to grow up now that he was properly married; Katniss was expected to watch from the sidelines.
However, whenever she showed up to a function or a meeting that Cor was running, Katniss proved to be a formidable partner. She was smart, knew how to carry an intelligent conversation, and understood a good amount of business having studied the economics of the fashion industry in Paris.
Her father-in-law started inviting her to board meetings, thus beginning her education on how to run an empire.
Maybe their friendship had somehow caused the divide between Cato and her father-in-law to widen. She would never know now—nor did she care to acknowledge her ex-husband's pettiness. It was useless to wonder.
Instead, Katniss sat back down on her couch staring out onto the lights of Manhattan. She used to feel excited to see the life teeming around the sleepless city.
Now, she felt lonely and isolated in the penthouse. She had spent months decorating it and making it a proper home for herself and Cato.
Despite this, as she sat looking around, the penthouse felt emptier.
"There must have been a time when you were carefree and fun—when you felt open to all of life's possibilities. Go back there."
Johanna's words resurfaced in her mind and Katniss laid back on her couch, closing her eyes, as she tried to imagine the place that her friend was describing to her.
It was only a matter of seconds when her eyes snapped open.
She knew where to go.
Three Days Later…
"You're back."
Katniss turned to find Prim standing next to her, wrapped up in a navy coat. She smiled at the young girl, who stared curiously as they stood on the sidewalk.
"You're not wearing gloves. It's freezing," Katniss said to her as she pulled the pair off her hands and handed them to Prim. "Here, take these."
"So, what are you doing here?" Prim asked as Katniss' eyes wandered back to the house in front of them. The young girl slipped the gloves onto her small hands. "I heard someone bought it."
Katniss nodded in acknowledgment. "I know."
"So, do you know our new neighbors?" Prim pulled on the gloves so that the tips hit the tops of her fingers. "Are they crazy New York friends of yours?"
"Actually, there is no 'they'." Katniss turned to her, a grin on her face. "There's only a 'she'."
Prim let out a laugh as she realized what Katniss was telling her. "You're kidding!"
Katniss shook her head, a chuckle escaping her own mouth, as she pulled the keys from the pocket of her fur-collared coat.
"Nope," Katniss told her as she put an arm around the girl's shoulders. "Took your advice and got a good price for it—your crazy New York neighbor is me."
Away we go…
Small town life is about to get a little more interesting.
As always, greetings, reviews, and comments are welcomed on Tumblr, FF, and AO3!
Next—Chapter Four: Peeta (and the subsequent reaction to finding out that his new neighbor is his former crush)
Till then, JLaLa