A/N: Hey, It's Brighton. Still trying to get into the routine of actually doing crap for school, swim practice and online life. Sorry if you're on the edge of your seat waiting for this chapter. (Probably not ;)) Anyways, I'm on tumblr. .com Look me up. I'll be talking about writing, fav things and my thoughts on life in general. My blog is called the other everdeen girl. I am changing my penname to that today, so I hope you guys can find me afterwards.
I do not own any of The Hunger Games, despite my dearest wishes
"Boo."
Finnick whips back the curtain of my bed and I am startled out of my nap. It takes me a minute to be aware of my surroundings. Then I turn and glare at him.
"You're an idiot. Didn't anyone tell you to never wake a sleeping victor?" He laughs and sits down at my feet.
"Like you would lash out at me. Anyways got you water from the cafeteria. It's all they would let me bring. I hate the food regulations; no one really cares except them." He sets the glass down. I stare at it for a bit but then turn back to him. "What? Aren't you going to drink it?"
"I'm not thirsty."
He stops smiling and looks serious. "Jo, I talked to your head doctor. He says you're still malnourished and he knows you're not eating enough. You can't live off of IV fluids forever."
"The food sucks here, and they just started letting me leave here. They still think I'm to 'delicate' to move out of my own bed. Me. Delicate. I almost laughed."
"Well will you at least drink? You do need water, you know."
"I'm a grown woman. You don't have to take me through the process step by step. It's a fucking glass of water, not rocket science. Shouldn't you go see Annie?" I pick up the glass to satisfy him, despite my racing heart.
"I did. That's the reason I came to talk to you. I proposed." I drop the glass on my legs and the cold water runs all down my lap.
The Peacekeeper splashes ice cold water on me from the tank. I'm still hooked to a live automobile battery and feel more and more pain course through me. The voltage isn't high enough to kill me, but just enough to make me wish I was dead.
"It hurts, doesn't it?" The peacekeeper croons, mocking me. I look up at him and aim a kick at his crotch. I miss.
This only makes him angrier, so he picks me up by my arm and tosses me into the tank.
"Jo!" Finnick's voice pulls me out of my memories.
"Hm?"
"I said I proposed to Annie. What do you think?"
"That's amazing, Finnick! Congrats!" I really am happy for him, I am. "When's the date?"
"I don't know yet. I kinda want us to have a traditional district four ceremony, but Coin would never let us have one. All we get to do probably is sign a paper and get assigned to a compartment. She already was discharged to live with me so..."
"Did you give her a ring?"
"No, I didn't have one. But I gave her this fishing knife, my father gave to me. The hilt is old driftwood with pearls for decoration. It's been in my family for generations, even before Hunger Games. And all of the owners' initials are carved into it as well."
"That sounds beautiful."
"I have to ask, what was yours like?" I knew he would bring up Ivan as soon as the conversation started. My marriage was short lived, a month or so, and juvenile.
"We signed a certificate, he moved in with me and that was that. No rings, no ceremony. Nothing. I don't even count it as being married; we were too young." I roll my eyes, but I hate thinking about Ivan.
I did love him, but we were drifting apart after Snow started prostituting me. I didn't want to tell him, but he knew something was wrong. Two days before he was killed, we were talking about an annulment, trying to resolve our issues. We didn't get a chance.
Finnick sits in silence, taking a cue to shut up. Finally, he gets up, says goodbye and goes back to his compartment. I just sit there, for a little while, until I hear a moan from the bed next to me.
Katniss got out of surgery a couple of hours after she was brought here. She did have a ruptured spleen and some bruised ribs. The only reason I know this is that the nurses talk way too loud.
I rip the curtain back from her side and look down at her small form. She looks up at me and sarcastically smiles.
"I'm alive."
"No kidding, brainless." To enjoy the time where she can't fight back, I sit down at the foot of her bed with extra gusto and smirk at. Her wincing in pain. "Still a Little sore?"
A craving for morphling hits and they didn't give me any today. I look over at her arm and detach the drip from her socket and plug it into my own arm. Instantly, a sense of calm runs over me and I can't help but a sigh of relief. I look over at Katniss and figure she needs an explanation.
"They started cutting back my supply a few days ago. Afraid I was going to turn into one of those freaks from Six. Didn't think you'd mind.
"Maybe they were onto something in Six. Drug yourself out and paint flowers on your body. Not such a bad life. Seemed happier than the rest of us, anyway.
"They've got this head doctor who comes around every day. Supposed to be helping me recover. Complete idiot. At least 20 times a session he reminds me I'm totally safe." I look down at her and she smiles sadly. You never tell a victor we're safe. We never are. "How 'bout you Mockingjay, you feel totally safe?"
"Yeah. Right up until I got shot." I almost laugh. She really has been dead to the world since she got here.
"Please. That bullet didn't touch you. Cinna saw to that." Katniss furrows her brow, trying to figure out what's wrong with her.
"Broken ribs?"
"Not even. Bruised pretty good. The impact ruptured your spleen. They couldn't repair it." I wave it off. "Don't worry, you didn't need it. But they would find you one if you did. Because it's everybody's job to keep you alive. "There's a tad of sarcasm in my voice, but I don't care. We both knew this wasn't going to be a cozy little reunion.
"Is that why you hate me?"
Yes. "Partly. Jealousy is certainly involved. I also think you're a little hard to swallow. With your tacky romantic drama and your defender of the helpless act. Only it isn't an act, which makes you more unbearable. Feel free to take this personally." It's kind of a hollow victory, to say this all to her. We've both suffered, but I seem to have gotten the worst of it.
"You should have been the Mockingjay."
"No one likes me."
"They trusted you, though. And they're afraid of you." As they should be.
"Here, maybe. In the Capitol, you're the one they're scared of now." I turn and see her cousin appear next to our little area. He seems to be the not-afraid-of-anything type. I love it. "Your cousin's not afraid of me."
I get up to leave, but not before I give him a little hip bump just for kicks. "Are you, gorgeous?" I wink and get the hell out of there.
The doctors have just now let me leave the hospital for social visits. I still have to be there, but I gladly take the freedom. The hospital is so depressing; it keeps on reminding me why I'm there.
As I walk down the hall to go see Finnick and Annie, something stops me in my tracks. Hawthorne, the soldier who rescued me, was the one I just walked past and passively flirted with. A part of me says I should thank him somehow, but I'm not the sentimental type.
Maybe someday.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Please R&R and check out tumblr!
