Hello! This is the last chapter, I've been working on this for about a year and a half. It feels a little surreal that it's actually over now. I hope you've liked it. Enjoy! : )

Chapter 21 – Going home

I didn't wake up the next morning until James woke me. He shook me lightly. As usual I had had nightmares that night. I had them every time I fell asleep. Usually they involved fires, being hunted and loss. Not really strange considering what I'd just been through.

"It's time to go home now" he said as I woke up.

"Home?"

"Home." I had my eyes closed but I smiled and he stroked my cheek. "Breakfast is ready whenever you are, okay." I nodded. Slowly I got up went into the bathroom. The girl staring back at me in the mirror was not me. The girl staring at me was pale, sickly skinny, with a hollow face and messy dull hair. Apparently all the stuff Sonna, Dee Dee and Chester put in it had worn off over the night.

I washed my face with water and then got dressed in a pair of black jeans and a black shirt.

I was only allowed to eat some porridge and a glass of orange juice, though I wanted to eat more. I was so hungry! Everyone talked happily about my winning but I just wanted them to shut up. I closed my eyes and tried to block out the sound that reminded me of the games.

Concentrating on the porridge or closing my eyes was hard since everyone except James asked what was wrong all the time. James was the only one who knew exactly what I was going through.

XXX

A few hours later it was time for me to finally go home. Before I took a shower and when I got out I saw something I never thought I'd see again. My reaping dress. Someone had displayed it on the bed with a note, along with my shoes.

I saved this for you. –James

I smiled. So far I had only smiled like two or three times since I got out of the arena. A small voice always told me I would never smile again, but I had. That was the only comfort that my life would go back to almost normal.

I ran my fingers over the soft chiffon fabric. I felt warm and comforting. Soon I would be home, soon.

I put the dress and shoes on. Since my hair was wet I decided to braid it, I brushed it but before I got the chance to start braiding some said my name.

"Ginny?" I turned my head to see Jessna standing in the doorway. "It's time to go soon. May I?" She nodded her head towards my hair. I nodded and sat back while Jessna started. Her swift fingers ran through my hair and I felt more and more getting pulled into a soft braid. I closed my eyes.

"I'm going to miss you" I whispered.

"I'm going to miss you too, honey" she answered. "But we'll see each other soon again."

"Six months…"

"Yes, but promise me something."

"What?"

"Promise me that you won't shut yourself and the world out. Don't become that depressed type that neglects everyone else and just stays in the same room for years."

"It's not that easy. I killed."

"I know. But please just try." I didn't answer. I wanted to try, but it felt wrong to promise when I knew almost for certain that I wouldn't be able to keep it. Just then she was done. I ran my fingers across the braid and realized it was a French braid. I had never been able to do one before.

A few minutes later James and I stood ready to take the ride waiting out front to the train station. My prep team wished me the best of luck and revealed some news. Apparently Sonna and Chester had gotten engaged. I didn't even know they were dating, but I hugged and congratulated them.

Flower cried. I had never seen her do that before but something inside me felt a little bit warmer, that part of me felt that she really cared about me in her own way. I hugged her goodbye too.

Jessna embraced me in a long hug. She leaned in and whispered.

"Promise?" I closed my eyes and felt that the tears were near. I didn't want to leave her. But no matter how hard everything felt, Jessna was right.

"I promise." I released myself from her and walked over to stand beside James. He put a protective arm around me.

"We will see you again in six months" he said. "You all take care of yourselves. And good luck with the wedding" he added towards Sonna and Chester who were standing with their arms around each other.

"Thank you" said Chester.

"We hope to get married soon so maybe it won't take six months until the next reunion." That would actually have been kind of nice. Maybe a wedding could get my thoughts in another place than the games. I tried to force a smile but this time I think that it looked more like something pained me.

"That would be nice, I do hope that I can attend" I said.

"Oh darling!" said Chester smiling. "You would be the guest of honor. Just imagine, a victor attending our wedding, Sonna." Sonna sighed with a dreamy look on her face.

"Alright. We need to go now" said James. "The chauffeur won't wait forever."

"But the cameras will" I whispered. James tightened his grip around my arm in a reassuring way.

And then we were off. The cameras were like insects. They followed us all the way until the train station. I tried to always maintain my charming winning smile but after a while, but jaw hurt so I just waved even though James quietly tried to instruct me to smile because the last thing I wanted was to was to get on the wrong side of the capitol. I knew that but everything felt so wrong and tough.

XXX

As soon as we were aboard the train I walked away into my assigned room, closed the door and just stood there. I had forgotten what I had in mind. I probably just stood there for quite a while.

Suddenly there was knock on the door and I opened. James stood outside.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"No…" I answered.

"Are you okay?"

"…No…"

"Come on. Sit down." He took my hand and led me over to the bed where we sat down. At the beginning it was quiet. "Talk to me" he then said.

"What is there to talk about?"

"Anything." I couldn't talk, it hurt too much. Slowly a tear ran down my face, then another, and another. Soon I cried. James embraced me as I sobbed. I couldn't talk about Alec or Eve. Two people who I loved dearly was now gone, and they were never coming back.

"They're not coming back" I choked. "I miss them so much. I did they leave me?"

"They didn't. They will always be with you. And you know something else?"

"What?"

"They're home." My heart crunched and I had to cover my mouth with my hand to not scream. "It's okay now, Ginny. They're home now. In a better place, they're free, and happy." I nodded but I cried even more.

They were in a better place but why did they have to leave me. I got the taste of love and a real friend but it was taken from me! Why? Was being happy too much to ask? Somewhere deep inside I knew it would have come to be this anyway but it didn't make it hurt less.

But as always, James was right. They were in a better place and I had to be happy for them. I would be there too one day. Maybe soon, maybe in ninety years, I didn't know.

"Try to get some sleep now. We're not there until tomorrow so you can sleep a whole day if you want to."

"Thank you" I said and took the tissue he offered me. "I probably will."

"You can order food from inside so you can stay here the whole trip, but I'll be outside if you want to talk about anything."

"Thank you" I said again. As soon as he left a buried myself under the quilts in only my underwear and fell asleep.

XXX

I stood by the window as we closed in on district five. I recognized everything I never thought I'd see again. The land, the power plant and all the people. We didn't have a very high population so most people knew each other.

One tear slipped down my face as me crossed the line into the district, but this time it was a tear of joy.

"Ready to go home?" James asked as the train stopped.

"Very ready."

The door opened and immediately a screaming crowd hit me. They waved and cheered, but my eyes fell upon a man who did nothing but smile. He had reddish brown hair and beard. His eyes were dark grey like a storm cloud and they sparkled with joy.

I threw myself in the arms of my father and hugged him as if my life depended on it. He hugged me just as tightly back and whispered in my ear.

"I knew you could do it, my sweet dear girl. Ginny. I'm so glad you are alright, I was so worried."

"I'm alright now. I'm home and I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

My father released me. Two other people watched me like my father did. They looked to be in the same age as my father. I hadn't seen them before, yet I knew exactly who they were.

You couldn't mistake the woman's red hair and the father's dark chocolate eyes. It was Alec's parents. They both embraced me in a hug at the same time. I hugged them back even though I felt guilty doing it. Seeing his parents smile at me with tears slowly running down their faces and feeling there embrace made me think even more that should have been the one killed by the bugs.

"Thank you, honey" whispered his mother. "Thank you for making our son's last days happy. We saw how much you two loved each other." Her line brought tears to my eyes but I fought to keep them in.

"If you ever need anything just tell us" whispered his father. "We may not have much, but we will always do what we can to help you."

I held their hands as they released themselves. I gave them a teary smile. My father walked up and put a hand on my shoulder. They gave me one last smile and walked away.

"Lanita and Glow are very kind people. They've come over almost every day since the game started" he said. I leaned back towards him. "Come on now. Let's go home. We can have that dinner we talked about."

We said goodbye to James and walked hand in hand home. I was home.

Wow! Now it's really over. Thank you to all who's been with me from the start and to everyone who joined on the way. Since it's the last I would really appreciate one last thought. Thank you again. I love you all! I'm thinking about writing an epilog but I'm not sure yet. We'll see soon. Goodbye for now! :D