I would like to dedicate this chapter to the wonderful Bellicose Blue as it is entirely thanks to her I was inspired to update again so soon (I believe one month is quite soon if we go by my standards :P).

Belle - thank you SO much for all your lovely messages and reviews, I appreciate each and every one of them more than I can say!

Belle is also a fantastic writer so go check out her stories, you won't be sorry! :)

Guest - thank you so very much! So happy you've been enjoying both of my stories and I hope I can keep you interested moving forward. I really appreciate your wonderful review, thanks so much! Hope you like this chapter! :)

"All that you rely on and all that you can fake
will leave you in the morning...
but find you in the day.
Oh, you're in my veins, and I cannot get you out...
Oh, you're all I taste at night inside of my mouth...
Oh, you run away cause I am not what you found...
Oh, you're in my veins and I cannot get you out...
Everything will change... nothing stays the same.
Nobody here's perfect... oh, but everyone's to blame."

~ Andrew Belle "In my veins"

Chapter 11: "Contempt"

January 5, 2022
8:32p.m.

I could hardly believe the excitement I felt while standing in Cato's kitchen, cooking and waiting for him to get back from work. Today, according to him anyway, it has been exactly one year since he first approached me with that thrilling offer of his. I would have never thought that I would end up with a guy like him. Life has a million ways of surprising you. This was surely one of them.

My thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the sound of somebody unlocking the front door and I instantly perked up even more. I glanced up expecting for my eyes to meet his, smiling right back at me but instead, they were met with Finnick's. He walked into the living room, a mildly surprised look on his face, as he put his bag down.

"Hi there Princess,"

"Oh, it's you,"

"Yeah, it's me," Finn drawled. "I live here," he added, smirking. I just shook my head with a smile, dismissing his comment. "What up, Clove girl?"

"Not much, just waiting on Cato to get here."

"What'cha doing?" he asked curiously, coming closer. "You cooking?"

"Yep," I nodded. "I'm making sushi."

Finnick's eyes widened. "No way. I didn't know you were such a talented little cook, Princess."

I let out a brief laugh."Yeah well, today's our 'anniversary'," I mocked the word, drawing invisible quotation marks in the air with my fingers to which he responded with a smirk. "Cato's been talking about taking me out to dinner to this Japanese restaurant, but he's been working his ass off lately and I don't want him to spend a bunch of money so we can sit at a table for twenty minutes with overpriced sushi rolls and people everywhere around us," I explained, slicing my fresh salmon into thin pieces. "So I took some cash from my aunt and bought all these ingredients. We can have fancy Japanese food right here."

"Won't she be mad?" Finnick asked, stealing a piece of cucumber I had cut up earlier.

"I don't think she'll notice," I murmured, glancing down.

"Really? She that loaded?" he questioned me, raising his eyebrows and before I knew it, an answer to that question flew right out of my mouth;

"No, just drunk."

The mood changed instantly; I stopped what I was doing and stood there frozen, sensing Finnick's confused and uncomfortable gaze on me. It seemed like a good five minutes passed before I worked up the courage to say something again; "Sorry," I whispered. "I didn't actually mean to burden you with that-"

"Clove," he cut me off, making me look up. "It's okay. Did you think I haven't realized on my own that things aren't well at your house?"

"You have?" I choked out, a fast growing lump forming in my throat. I hated it when people would ask me questions about my family, so to find out that someone had already figured it out was very embarrassing for me, to say the least. I was almost ashamed.

"Look," he sighed, bending slightly so he could rest his elbow on the kitchen counter. "I know I may come off as arrogant and crass sometimes," he paused before smirking at me. "Ok, all the time."

I chuckled, despite myself.

"But," he said holding up a finger. "I see you, Clove. I notice things. I've known about this longer than you might think."

"Did someone... say something?"

"Clove, my point is that they didn't have to," he smiled warmly. "You didn't have to say anything. My point is," he paused almost dramatically. "I see you."

I really didn't know how to feel about his confession. It wasn't like I didn't know that he cared about me. I've known for a while. We have been quite close for months. But he was still just a guy, a quite popular one who spent half his time teasing and flirting with girls at school, including me. People don't give each other enough credit and Finnick was a perfect example.

"Thanks, Finn," I whispered, sending him a smile. "That means a lot."

"Don't thank me. You're not just Cato's girlfriend to me, Clove," he said, grabbing another cucumber piece. "You're a friend. A quite decent one," he added with a smirk and I just shook my head again, chuckling. He sure could make me laugh an awful lot.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," I confessed truthfully. Finnick was a very unexpected friend I was very happy to have around. Just like Johanna. Just like Cato was a very unexpected boyfriend. I sure was not complaining, though.

"This sushi looks fab, girl! You're too good for Cato, life ain't fair." Finnick changed the subject smoothly, winking at me and I laughed. That was when I realized we were being watched.

My eyes met Cato's as he stood in the living room with a backpack hanging loosely from his shoulder. I didn't even hear him come in.

"Hey!" I greeted him with a smile. "You're home early."

Cato's face wore a rather uneasy expression as he stared at me with furrowed eyebrows; he looked fairly confused. Finnick glanced over his shoulder at his best friend and waved his hand as a kind of greeting. "What's up, man?"

He still said nothing, just threw his backpack on the couch, clearly irritated with something. "Are you okay?" I questioned, getting slightly worried. He was acting really odd.

"I'm fine," he snapped and I frowned. What was his problem? "What are you doing here? I didn't know you were coming,"

"That's because it's a surprise, Sherlock," Finnick mocked him. "I'll leave you two alone, have a good night," he said winking at me once more before going into his room and closing the door behind him. I glanced at Cato again whose face still looked like he'd just drunk a bottle of super sour lemon juice.

"I'm sorry," I murmured stupidly, though I wasn't exactly sure what I was apologizing for. "I wanted to get all this ready before you get here."

"Clove, I-" he paused, his expression changing from somewhat angry to tired. "I'm exhausted, I had a very long day."

I stood there with my hands frozen above the cutting tray and I just stared at him, completely at a loss for words. Involuntarily, my fingers squeezed the handle of the knife I was holding and I swallowed hard, not sure what to say or how to behave. Here I was, making a surprise, fancy dinner for him and he just wanted me to leave? "Oh..."

Cato kept quiet for a little while before letting out a heavy breath and coming closer to the counter. He glanced down to my hands and instantly his eyes softened and his face relaxed. "You're making sushi?"

I licked my lips and looked down. "Yeah," I whispered. "You said you wanted to go to that Japanese restaurant downtown, so I thought I'd make some food myself and we could eat here instead," I explained, trying to stop my hands from shaking. "Thought it'd save you some money."

At this point, the atmosphere took a sharp turn straight to awkward. I looked up and saw him run a hand through his hair tiredly before he sighed;

"I'm gonna go change," he announced, avoiding looking me in the eyes. He turned around and took a few steps towards his room before stopping suddenly. Once he spun around to face me again, he looked almost contained, like his normal self again. It was a bit frightening. "Sorry," he apologized almost incomprehensibly yet sounding quite remorseful. "I just had a bad day. I didn't mean to be a jerk,"

I gave him a tight nod in response. "It's okay," I whispered. "I can leave, you should get some sleep."

"No," he refused my idea firmly. "Don't go. We can watch a movie and have dinner and you can just stay here for the night. How's that?"

I stared at him, completely lost. I knew that Cato was sort of popular for his frequent mood swings, but rarely did he act this way towards me. I didn't know how to feel about this sudden change of behavior. "Ok," I drawled, narrowing my eyes at him. "Sounds good."

For another minute, Cato looked as if he was struggling with his inner voices and whether he wanted to walk away or not. Eventually, he walked up to me and placing his large hand on my cheek he brought my lips to his for a soft kiss. I stood there, unmoving and baffled, my hands still on the counter, one of them holding the knife. He pulled away from me slightly to look me in the eyes, his own begging me to accept his silent apology. But I still just stood there, frozen. His hand fell from my face and stopped limply at his side, his face defeated and resigned. I felt a pang of guilt as he moved to walk away, so I reached for him before he could. I placed my hands on his cheeks this time, the knife still there, now by his left ear, as I went on tiptoes to be able to kiss him. He was happy to respond and we stayed like that for a minute or two, just making out before I pulled back and he realized I'd had that sharp blade of mine close to his face the entire time. He glanced at it before landing his eyes on my innocent smile. "You scare me sometimes, you know that?"

"My tiny little self?" I gasped with a hand across my chest, faking shock. "No way,"

"Yeah, it's in your eyes, feisty," he laughed. "Put that knife away or I'll scream."

I snickered and did as he asked, before turning to him for one more proper kiss. "What's there to be scared of, Cato?" I asked. "I mean, look at you. You could break me within seconds if you wanted to."

"But see, little girl," he brushed a few strands of hair away from my face. "That's the thing. I couldn't hurt you if my life depended on it."

My eyes softened instantly as every little bit of anger I may have felt moments ago evaporated. Damn this guy. He knew exactly how to get back in my good graces. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. "Really now?"

He smiled. "Really," he assured me, pecking my lips softly once more.

"Even if I were a crazy, blood-thirsty killer hunting the streets during Purge?" I questioned with a smirk, making him chuckle.

"Even then," he rasped. "I would just make a run for it, screaming my head off. You're that scary,"

I shook my head with a laugh, pushing him away from me slightly. "Just go get changed and I'll finish making these,"

"Okay," he agreed, wrapping his arm around my waist and kissing the side of my head. "I'll be right back."

I nodded, smiling up at him before letting him walk away to his room. As he disappeared, the smile on my face somewhat faded.

June 27, 2022
11:32a.m.

I gazed at my reflection in the mirror; that hollow look in my dark eyes as I tried to recognize the person in front of me. I had lost every little trace of fierceness and fervor that I used to have once upon a time. I had once again become the person back from when my dad died. When my mom had done everything possible to fail at helping me and Jakie get over that tragedy. When I could barely function. And even if I managed to forget for a while, every night I'd dream yet another reminder of what had happened to me. To us.

"Hey you," his soft voice rang in my ears like a soothing melody. I looked at his reflection coming up behind me and forced a weak smile.

"Hi," I whispered, smoothing out the blouse on my stomach.

"Are you ready?" he asked and I noticed car keys in his hand, letting me know he was all set to go. I forced another smile, even weaker than the first one.

"Not really, but it's not like I have a choice," I whispered, licking my dry lips and rubbing my tired eyelids.

"You can do it, Clove," he assured me, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I'll be there with you the entire time."

"Thank you, Gale," I muttered, turning around to face him. "Let's go."

And so we did. I got into his cousin's car and we drove. I rested my forehead against the cold window and watched as we passed all the buildings by and all those people who were just trying to go about their day. Who had nothing nearly as traumatizing to encounter. I looked away, feeling sick and put a hand on my stomach with a grimace forming on my face.

"You okay?" Gale asked, throwing me a quick, concerned glance. "Need me to pull over?"

"No," I responded quickly. "I just wish it was over already."

He put his hand over mine and nodded. "I know," he whispered. There was not much more to be said. He continued to hold my hand for the rest of the ride until we made it to our destination. I watched all the dark figures making their way to a place I was afraid I didn't have the stomach to be part of. But there was no choice. Gale and I followed the others, side by side, and with every step, I felt my stomach turning and twisting a bit more intensively. I swallowed hard to try and stop myself from puking right then and there and Gale wrapped his arm around me like he was scared I'd pass out any second now. Eventually, we joined the crowd of people standing in the middle of the cemetery and I stared at the tomb in front of us as if the inscribed words were about to change to "just kidding".

The ceremony started soon enough and I just stood there, stiff and empty like I wasn't sure what was happening. I listened to everything the priest was saying, but it didn't feel like his words had much meaning. It was just a couple of words he memorized. Something he was saying to people every other day during funerals. But Finnick was not just another person he could describe with identical words he had used hundreds of times before. He was someone special. To me.

I looked to my left and as soon as I did, I wished I hadn't. Cato was there, looking just as unhealthy and empty as I felt, standing there in a suit with desolation filling his eyes. And if he wasn't enough to make my heart drop to the very bottom of my stomach, holding his hand - there was Rue. Little, innocent Rue with tears crawling down her beautiful face. Nausea came back twice as intense as before, but the worst was yet to come. As if on cue, Rue's eyes met mine. I stared at her, torn as to whether there was anything I should do or not. I didn't expect what happened next. Her face scrunched up in pain and she looked so betrayed and disappointed that it literally almost killed me. She didn't give me the chance to react, she simply looked away leaving me with yet another hole in my heart.

It was so hard; coming to terms with her contempt. Rue loved me. She had always treated me like a part of her family. She was always over the moon whenever she'd see me. But I knew better; I knew she was a smart kid. I knew she must have noticed my absence and the state Cato was in and so she put two and two together. And just like that, I was no longer welcome in her family. I couldn't help but think to myself… that she was right to exclude me.

It seemed like Finnick's funeral had no end. Eventually, after what felt like forever, it was over. I leaned against Gale's arm and he rested his cheek on top of my head, as we both just stared at his grave. People began to leave gradually and I wanted them all to go away. I needed a minute alone with him.

I sensed, more than saw, Cato standing not too far from me. I couldn't help but glance in his direction. He was watching me with a look of pure sorrow, making my already punctured heart break into pieces. Why did I not have it in me to approach him? Tell him I was sorry? Be there for him? Those were the questions for which I had no answers at that time. Cato must have realized that I wasn't planning on leaving yet and that I wanted to stay with Finn longer so he just gently grabbed a hold of Rue's small hand and led her away from us. From all those graves. From Finnick.

That horrible, choking pain was all that filled my days ever since that horrible night. I thought maybe after the funeral, I would find a way to come to terms with the fact I had lost an amazing friend. That maybe I'd be able to accept it enough to be able to move on.

I was wrong.

March 22, 2023
02:37a.m.
Time remaining: 00:04:22:14

I woke up with a wince, as a painfilled moan slipped through my chapped lips. I realized that my body was swaying slightly and I was leaning back against something hard and cold. I reached my hand to the back of my head where it hurt and felt something wet and sticky on my fingers. I opened my eyes but at first, I could see nothing. Darkness surrounded me and it took me another minute to recognize the faces around me. How I wished that I hadn't...

I let out a tiny gasp as I pulled myself up into more of a sitting position before it finally hit me where I was and what had happened.

"Wakey wakey!"

I glared at the person in front of me, but all he did was smile at me with even more venom than his voice alone contained. I recognized him instantly, although he was no longer wearing a mask. Even if I hadn't actually recognized his voice, I would have still figured out it was him since his nose was red and swollen from Cato's punch. Jackson. The leader of the group that Cato had abandoned in order to save my life just a couple of hours ago. It looked like that decision would get us both killed. Because here we were; inside the van I thought I'd been rescued from.

"How'd you sleep?" Jackson continued to tease me from his spot next to Cato on the opposite side of the car. I glanced at him, but he wasn't looking at me. He just sat there, his head turned away from his former partner in crime, his face scrunched up like he was in pain. I looked to the side and my eyes met Gale's, then Johanna's. They were both awake and gazing at me with hopelessness. I swallowed hard and sucked in a breath as the cruel reality finally sinked in;

This was it. We were going to die tonight. All of us.

"See, Cato?" Jackson said with that sarcastic smirk still present on his wicked face, as he put his arm around Cato's shoulders like they were best friends. "Remember when I told you that chicks are never worth it? Wasn't I right?"

I expected Cato to get angry, to push that asshole away and snap something nasty right back at him. But he didn't. He just slowly turned his head to look at me with an apology in his eyes. Even though I was sure he knew there was nothing he could have done.

"How do you know his name?" Johanna asked, out of the blue, shooting daggers at Jackson. "Who the fuck are you?"

I felt a lump growing in my throat when I realized that Cato's secret, which I'd been planning to take to the grave with me, was about to be revealed.

"They don't know, eh?" Jackson laughed, apparently very amused with the entire situation. "Cato, how rude of you! Are you not gonna introduce us to your friends here? Better late than never and you don't have much time left, I'm afraid."

"Shut up," I hissed at him, desperately trying to save Cato's face. They did not need to find out. Not like that. Not when we were on our way to get slaughtered. They wouldn't understand. Not like I did.

"Ooh, check out the quiet one!" Jackson mocked me shamelessly. "Keep that up and maybe I'll understand why Cato here had foolishly decided to ditch our group to save your fierce ass,"

"What?" Johanna gasped, staring at Cato like she'd just seen a ghost. "What the hell is he on about?"

"Oh, I'll gladly tell you," Jackson continued, grinning evilly, drawing Jo's attention back to him. "You see, you clueless hostage of mine, Cato is one of us. Or was, I should say."

"I said shut your mouth!" I yelled, my eyes widening as I was shocked myself that those words had made it out without my permission. Everyone stared at me, looking quite stunned. Well, everyone but Jackson who again just laughed at me. I landed my eyes on Cato who sat there, all resigned and without a trace of hope in his gaze. He just stared at me sadly and shook his head, letting me know it was okay. Silently telling me he did not need me to stand up for him. That it didn't matter. I swallowed hard, gaping at him with tears filling my eyes.

"Okay, see now I get it," Jackson snickered, giving Cato a pat on the back. "She's a feisty one!"

Johanna glanced at me as if demanding answers but I just sent her a pleading look, hoping she would get the message. Hoping she'd realize it was not like she thought. That Cato was not a traitor or a liar.

"I think you'll be glad to know that we got a special request for the four of you," Jackson carried on running his mouth, "I surely am since this is all an auction, people. Whoever gives more, wins. And tonight we've been offered 10 grand alone for just her," Jackson said nodding his head in my direction. Everyone stared at me again, Cato's expression changing significantly. I found it so much harder to contain myself all of a sudden as I looked back in Jackson's smirking eyes.

"Someone really wants to kill you," he sang with a mischevious smile before turning around to talk to the driver. I sat there, my lips parted as I tried to remember how to breathe. What the hell did he mean? I had always known that I wasn't generally popular among certain groups of people; I had been quite an outcast before I met Cato and so I had always been a rather easy target for mocking, though I never really cared. After I had got involved with Cato and his team, it seemed to only get worse because girls would hate me for having the attention of the few good looking guys in our school. I didn't care about that either. I definitely hadn't seen this coming, though. Someone actually hated me so much they wanted to kill me?

My throat was dry as paper and no matter how hard I tried to calm my heartbeat, I could feel hot blood pumping loudly in my ears. I could also sense everyone's eyes on me, but I didn't have it in me to return their hopeless glances. I couldn't watch the pure horror painted on their faces. Because, how are you supposed to prepare yourself for something like this? I was going to die tonight. As someone's personal Purge. And they would have to sit there and watch me take my last breath before it's their turn to go. How do you get ready for that?

You can't.

September 1, 2022
12:55p.m.

I arrived at Gale's house and he opened the door for me, all sneezy and feverish, asking me what I was doing here so early. I avoided answering his question by simply pushing past him and into his apartment; all his siblings were still at school and his mom was at work as always, until very late. She was working two jobs to be able to support them.

I told Gale to lie back down and I occupied myself in the kitchen, making hot chicken noodle soup for lunch for us. I hoped it was enough to distract myself from the unfortunate encounter with Johanna in the cafeteria earlier. But it wasn't. By the time soup was done, I was still actively thinking back to what happened at school and it didn't go unnoticed by Gale.

"What's the matter?" he asked, sitting up so he could drink the soup I had given him in a mug. His nose was really red and he was pale and shaky. I covered him more tightly with the blanket and nodded my head to the mug he was holding onto for dear life.

"Eat," I said with a smile that I could only hope was credible enough. "It'll make you feel better."

He watched me for another minute before taking a careful sip from the mug. He swallowed with what seemed like great difficulty and then glanced at me again. "Clove, please don't ignore my questions. What's happened at school?"

I put my own mug away on the table, as I let out a heavy breath. I knew that sooner or later there was no getting away from it. "I tried talking to Johanna," I explained, running a tired hand through my hair. "She hates me."

"Stop," he croaked, wincing as he swallowed another hot sip of soup. "She doesn't hate you at all. You know Johanna. She just needs some time now, too. Just give her a few weeks, Clove."

"I have given her a few weeks, Gale," I reminded him referring to the last time she and I talked before today.

"I guess it wasn't enough," he told me softly, his eyes sending me a comforting look. "She'll come around."

"What if she's right?" I asked, looking down at my hands, feeling rather ashamed.

"Clove," he sighed, leaning forward and putting his unoccupied hand on mine. "People deal with loss individually. I'm sure Johanna understands that. She just needs a bit more time herself, cause she's still not done grieving. You aren't either."

I wanted to believe him so badly, but I wasn't sure if he was saying all that because he actually meant every word, or because he just wanted to help and make me feel better. I guessed it was the latter since I did believe that Johanna was right; she knew Finnick far longer than I did and she was also close with him and yet not once did she try blaming Cato or anyone else for his death. Unlike me.

I forced another smile to cover up all the other emotions my heart was stubbornly pumping through my veins. "You're my best friend," I declared genuinely. He stared at me somewhat sad for a brief moment and when I was about to ask him what was wrong, he smiled back.

"Ditto," he nodded, giving my hand a squeeze before going back to eating his soup. "It's very good, thank you."

I wasn't surprised. I was a good cook. I've spent the last few years cooking for myself and before for Jake too since my mother had at that time been incapable of getting out of bed. I flinched slightly, as my phone buzzed in my pocket suddenly and my heart began beating faster. I hastily grabbed it and looked at the screen, hoping it'd say "Johanna". My hopes were soon shattered and I almost cussed myself out for letting such thoughts cross my mind in the first place.

"Who's that?" Gale asked, watching my disappointed face with concern.

"No idea," I said, shrugging as I answered it. "Hello?... Yes, this is she."

If only I had seen it coming… but as always, I didn't. We never do. I had no idea that the next minute and a half was going to change my life from that point on. That it would have a great impact on the rest of my day. How could I?

As l listened, completely in awe, Gale's eyes began growing more and more concerned. He put his mug away on the floor and watched me anxiously, waiting for me to be done with the phone call so I could let him know what made my face resemble a stone cold statue. My shaking hand dropped my phone in my lap and I sat there, breathless and shocked until I felt Gale shaking my shoulder. I glanced at him unconsciously.

"Shit, Clove, what is it?" He almost snapped, probably close to scolding me for making him wait so long. I let out a heavy breath, staring at him with wide, teary eyes.

"It's my mom," I choked out, my heart beating wildly in my chest. "She's coming back."

September 15, 2022
4:56p.m.

I rubbed my hands together, as I waited at the bus station, feeling like it was just some kind of a wonderful dream I was about to wake up from. Because those never really last, do they? My relationship with Cato felt exactly the same. It ended just like the rest of them. Was this one going to end as well?

"Clovey!"

His voice told me a different story. I turned around, smiling from ear to ear as I saw my not so little brother anymore running from the other end of the waiting room with open arms, followed by my Aunt Ann. I choked back upcoming tears of joy as I knelt on the floor just in time to catch him in a rib-crushing hug. "Oh Jakie," I sighed, praying that I would never have to say goodbye to him ever again. "I've missed you so much, buddy."

"I missed you too," he whispered in my ear, stroking my hair and making me smile through my tears. "Where's mama?"

I froze for a split second, before reminding myself that the poor boy had no clue about the horrors he had experienced as a toddler; I was very happy he could not remember any of it. At least I hoped he didn't. "Mom's coming home tomorrow morning, bud," I told him, pulling back so I could look him in those beautiful, innocent eyes of his. "Aunt Annie is staying with us tonight and she will pick her up when it's time, okay?"

"She's not sick anymore?" he asked naively and it took everything in me not to lose my smile. I had no idea what she would be like. I hadn't seen her in years. I didn't know what to expect. Frankly, I couldn't be any more scared of our reunion than I already was.

"I hope not, Jake," I said because I just couldn't lie to him. A vague, wishful answer was all I was capable of. "I hope not."

October 15, 2022
08:50a.m.

Things started looking out for me a bit more these days and I was surprised myself that I seemed a bit happier. My mom has been with us for a few weeks now and I had Jakie back… I could not really ask for much more at this point. I had Gale and my family again. I had lost a lot of important people that I cared for dearly, but life thankfully turned around slightly and brought me a quite big dose of happiness that I could lean on and find support and comfort in. I was yet to realize that this day was going to get even better for me;

"Hey you,"

I almost felt like tapping my ear, because I couldn't have possibly heard her voice right next to me for real. Her voice that was actually speaking to me. But as I turned my head, surely there she was. Her eyes no longer shooting daggers at me like they had been for the past few weeks. I threw a glance over my shoulder to make sure it was me she was talking to before softly responding, "Hey."

She looked quite uncertain of what she wanted to say to me, which made me wonder was she actually trying to patch things up or maybe she simply needed a favor. "So," she murmured, leaning against the lockers. "I heard your brother came back from The Great White North?"

"Uh, yeah," I responded, unable to stop a shy smile from curving my lips. "He came home a few weeks ago,"

"I'm sure you must be thrilled," she commented lazily, looking somewhere to my left. "I'm guessing you're feeling much better now."

My smirk faded immediately, as the pang of guilt I still felt over my behavior crushed me like a pile of bricks. "Yeah, um," I stuttered. "I'm okay."

Johanna looked me in the eyes for a little while and I fought really hard not to look away from her piercing, intense eyes. "I'm glad," she said and I decided to just believe she was being sincere, rather than sarcastic and malicious. But this was Johanna; you never really knew.

"Are you all right?" I asked her, glancing down to my hands, afraid of her response.

"I'm Johanna Mason, aren't I?" she snickered, making me feel confident enough to look up again. "If I can't survive shit, then who can?"

I watched her curiously for a little while, before breaking into a rather tearful smile. But I had no time to feel pathetic for letting her see just how pleasantly surprised I was to have a conversation with her again, because Cato suddenly came strolling down the hallway. Involuntarily, I stared at him with that joyful smile still present on my face. For a split second, I really had high hopes he would respond positively; make eye contact and maybe send a small smile back. In the best scenario, I saw him stopping to have a little chat with us, too.

Apparently, though, I've stressed my hopes and dreams to their absolute limit, because as soon as he caught my smile, he looked away and walked past us without a word, like he had no idea who I even was. What was left of my smile melted away like ice thrown into a pot of hot water. Johanna followed my eyes and needed no further explanation. "He doesn't hate you," she told me as if she could read my darn mind. "Nor do I," she added, bumping into me with her shoulder in a playful, semi-comforting manner. "But you did fuck up, girl."

"Yeah," I whispered under my breath, not really caring if she even heard my meaningless response.

"Hey," Jo said, placing her hand on my shoulder. "You know that he cares about you. I can guarantee you he still does. He just hasn't been himself in a while, you know. I don't mean to pry, I know it's none of my business, but whatever you're thinking of doing now, if you are planning anything, I think it'd be best if you left him alone for a little while. He's really hurt."

I started feeling nauseous before she was even done talking. I knew he was hurt. I had no doubt about that. But as I reminded myself of those sad, crystal clear blue eyes of his, I realized that at some point I had started believing that there was nothing I could do now or ever to fix us. I was pretty sure there wasn't. It already seemed that the Cato I knew was long gone.

Just like Finnick.

March 22, 2023
02:57a.m.
Time remaining: 00:04:02:44

The van stopped abruptly, making me bump into Gale. I glanced up and caught his upset gaze, to say the least. He looked absolutely terrified. I didn't have to ask him why. It was as obvious as it possibly could be. He had lost every little bit of hope that I was going to make it through the night with him. At least I was still in the position to have faith that just maybe whoever had requested my death would spare him. As naive as it was, at least I had that to hope for. What did he have?

"Okay!" Jackson exclaimed, clasping his hands together. "Who's ready to party?!"

As he went to open the back door, Cato grabbed him by the front of his jacket without warning and pushed him hard against the wall. Jackson's eyes widened at the impact and I was happy to catch a glimpse of fear in his hateful eyes.

"Just keep in mind," Cato whispered through gritted teeth. "If by chance I come out of this alive and someone here gets hurt, I will find you." he threatened, his face mere inches away from Jackson's. "You can move to a different city. You can change your name. You can disguise yourself as whoever the hell you want. And I will still find you."

With that Cato let go of him harshly, his glaring eyes burning holes in Jackson's face. "But unlike your pathetic self, I won't wait for the Purge to do that. I will kill you regardless of what day of the fucking year it may be. Have fun sleeping at night from now on."

I almost shivered as I quickly realized that it didn't matter how little of a chance Cato had to survive this night. Whether Jackson liked it or not, he was intimidating and able to scare the living shit out of people with his glaring eyes and strong physical appearance. And nowadays, there was nothing worse than having someone promise you they'd kill you whether it is Purge night or just an ordinary day. Because committing murder during Purge was nothing extraordinary anymore. It had become normal and socially acceptable for most people. It was killing on ordinary days that was so cold-blooded and frightening. Anyone could kill during Purge. That was the entire point of it; that was what the New Founding Fathers wanted to prove to us so badly. Anyone is capable of killing when given a legal opportunity. It was those who were brave enough to still break the law, despite the Purge, that people really were afraid of. Because clearly, they had nothing to lose. Clearly, they could not care any less.

Jackson narrowed his eyes hatefully at Cato, but apparently he couldn't come up with any response because he simply turned and opened the door. Outside there were the others waiting already, making sure none of us would be able to escape. Jackson motioned with his head for us to get out of the van, but he didn't have the balls to push anyone out, his eyes observing Cato the entire time intensely. Gale was the first one to hop out and I followed him with Johanna and Cato.

I looked around and realized we were in the front yard of a mansion. A very expensive-looking mansion. I frowned, anxious and curious at the same time as to whose property it was. I knew I was about to find out, though. I wasn't wrong.

"Well!" a voice reached my ears and we all spun around to face our killer-to-be. "Welcome to my house!"

I wasn't typically a very easy person to shock. But this time... I might have as well been struck by lightning.

A/N: Cliffhanger because I cannot live without those. :P I hope you liked this chapter and will share your thoughts on it in the reviews. I doubt I will update within the next two/three weeks so I would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter! :) :) :)