Trigger warning: Spousal abuse in First POV

Parvati Rashad, 18

District 6 Female

I was given three rules.

The first, was pretty girls are meant to be seen and not heard. I am not to confront him in public or private, I am not to speak unless spoken too, and if I do get talked to, answer with as little words as possible to answer the question.

The second was do not leave the house unmade. No one is allowed to see me without makeup, especially him. I am also not allowed to have too much makeup on. My hair is to either be curled in waves or a messy braid. Nothing else is allowed.

The third, I am to do what he says when he says it.

These three rules were given to me by my husband to be.

He is a deceptive man. His curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes would leave you to believe that he is an angel from above. His perfect smile with his strangely white teeth would leave you awestruck and wonder how a man could get so lucky genetically. I too was fooled by all of these things when we first met.

But Silas is a different man than what he appears. It's easy to look at someone and think you know everything about them. They look like they're made of gold, and you want so desperately to believe it.

My fairytale was written from the beginning. Since I was a little girl, I knew my marriage would be nothing more than a tool to help my families business in District 6. That is how all unions are in this District, at least for the rich an powerful. My only wish was that I would get to be with a man I could learn to love.

However, that was not in my cards.

"Parvati," calls my fiance from the bottom of the stairs. "Hurry up, Babe! We are going to be late," he says with a tone that for anyone else would be cheerful. I, however, know to pack some extra make up in my bag to cover the bruising on my arms where he grabs me when he's upset. Silas is a built man, and the more he grabs me, the harder it gets to cover the bruises.

I rush out of the room and resist the urge to cry as I walk down the stairs. He gives me a quick look that lets me know that I am going to get in trouble when we are alone in the car, and then quickly turns it into a smile.

"You look pretty," he says with a deceitful smile.

"Thank you," I say with a smile of equal deception. "You look very handsome yourself; I'm a lucky woman."

I've learned that it is best to allow him the illusion that I desire him. I'm thankful that the culture that I grew up in, because we don't allow premarital sex. With my mother and I being so close, she would surely notice the signs of me not being pure anymore. He's been very respectful of that, so far.

"Let's hurry. The dinner is starting," he says rushing me out the door. "Bye, Mr. And Mrs. Rashad! I hope you have a great evening. I'll have her home soon,"

"Thank you, Silas," says dad. Completely oblivious that the man he is giving his daughter to is an abusive one. "You can keep her out as long as you want. After all, in a few short months, you're going to be her husband. No more asking dad for permission then, eh?" he asks with a laugh. "Enjoy your evening!"

Silas closes the door, and I wince as I feel his hand press on the back of my arm. I'm glad I brought a shaw. There was no way that I was going to be able to get makeup all the way back on that part of my arm. "You were late. I told you exactly 6:30," he says squeezing harder.

Tears well up in my eyes as he opens the door for me and smiles back to my parents watching through the window. Utterly oblivious to the situation. "I'm sorry," I manage to get out in between deep breaths from the pain. "Please let go; my makeup will ruin if I cry,"

"You're pathetic, Parvati," he says slamming the car door in my face. He quickly runs to the other side, giving my parents one last million dollar smile and wave, and then opens his side of the door. "I had to make an impression tonight, you selfish bitch. This was so important to me! I told you over and over again! I will not have this in a marriage. You do as I say when I say it. If you don't, then I will make sure your father's business will self-destruct,"

The Reaping Party is a favorite tradition for the rich and powerful here in District 6. All the rich kids get together and basically brag about the fact that none of us will ever have to worry about getting reaped. Last year the tributes were from the lowest of the lows. Their neighborhood was a disaster when the girl made it to the top 6 and got a family interview.

She died three days later in 4th place.

"Remember to smile and talk me up," he says as we turn into the parking lot of the party. He inspects his teeth one more time in the mirror before he looks over at me. "And put some more lipgloss on or something. Your lips look disgusting. I didn't realize I was marrying a pig,"

I bite my tongue and resist the urge to say something along the lines of him being a monster. The only thing my loud mouth will get me is a black eye, and I don't have the things to cover that right now.

"Sorry, Silas," I say pulling out the red lipstick and applying it to my lip. I move my lips around and look at him after it is applied. "Is this okay?"

"Much better," he says getting out of the car. "I'm meeting Olivia after the party tonight," he says nonchalantly like every fiance is allowed to have a side girl. "Since you're not giving it up I have to get it from somewhere. You'll need to find your way home. Tell your father it was a business emergency or something." He closes the door and walks out of the car towards the party.

Bayron Tunks, 18

District 6 Male

Rules are made with loopholes.

Let's think about this because rules are something people place in society to hold it together, but some of the regulations are unjustifiable. For example: don't steal, well, what if you have a medicine that you desperately need. The price of the medicine is humongous, and there's no way that you could afford it.

So you take it, you don't get caught, you live, and everything works out in the end. That's not justifiable? There's no way you wouldn't tell me you wouldn't use everything in your power to get ahold of your salvation?

Rules have loopholes because of this reason. It's almost as if life knew that sometimes it isn't fair. It provides us for a way to overcome the very thing that tries to drag us down. I had to pull the contract that life gave me out and give it a real inspection. I have had to fight tooth and nail, and you know what I'd do it again.

I did something that most people would consider awful. It was mercy though. I had to take care of a situation so I could make life better and I couldn't think about the consequences. That was the loophole I was forced to do.

People like me never had it easy; my mother was a drug addict. She tore into the morphing a little too hard, and because of that, we struggled. Any extra money? Morphling. Any holiday or special day? Morphling. Family recipe? Morphling.

That was my life.

The District went through a rough time. Everything was going through withdrawals. We had food shortages, clothing shortages, anything you see on the daily and take for granted, we had nothing of it.

Worst of all? Morphling.

Do you want to know how to spot an addict in this District? Watch how they walk. Are they grabbing their arms? Are they itching? All signs were those of the addicts when shit hit the fan. One night my mother was screaming. We thought the world was going to end, and we were honestly surprised that the Peacekeepers weren't called on us. My sister came and tried to help her, but my mom, in her hallucinogenic haze, stabbed her in the chest.

We buried my sister that night, and a few days later, due to guilt, we buried my mother. My brother and I were left to fend for ourselves in our District. We had so many bills that we weren't ready for. So many things that you take for granted as a kid. We weren't ready for the responsibility that we had to take on.

My brother grew very ill, and I watched him deteriorate from the boy that was once so lively and happy, to a mere shell of a person that stood before me. So I did the only thing I knew to do, and I mercy killed him.

There was no chance he was getting better. There was no chance that he was able to succeed in life. He was losing function in everything. He had to be taken care of. So I did what I would want someone to do for me if I was in that situation, and I suffocated him in his sleep.

I'm a monster according to 99% of the population, but to that 1%, I make sense. I did what was best for my little brother. We couldn't afford the medicine, he was suffering bad, and he had no shot at saving himself without the medication.

I miss my family like crazy. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about any of them and wonder what life would be like now if all of them were here. I like to picture a life where my mom beat her addiction, where my sister didn't tragically die, and where my younger brother could afford essential medication and live.

I think about it all the time, but that wasn't what was in the cards for my family or me. Some people just get dealt a shitty hand, and unfortunately for me, I'm meant to play that hand alone. Maybe one day I'll get blessed enough to have some sort of family again, but until then, everything is how it is until things aren't anymore.

Yes, life gives us loopholes to rules. Sometimes you just have to be man enough to actually use it.

Wow, two updates in one day? Who am I? Not Caleb surely.

I want to thank everyone for getting my past 100 reviews. I hadn't noticed until someone reviewed and told me about it. But thank you for submitting and trusting me with your characters. I hope I do you proud!

Thanks to Love of my life (you know her as betttyy) for Parvati. Thank you theblabla245 for Bayron!

Halfway through the reapings in 3 weeks! Blessed.

Keep it classy,

Caleb