Chapter Fifty-Two.
PART IV: HOME SWEET HOME.
Returned to District 4.
I am wandering blind. Literally because at the edge of the District heading towards the street, Leila stops me and whips out a tie from her pocket and saw a need to strap it around my head covering my eyes. And soon, I am forced to put all my faith into people, the one thing over the passed two weeks I have been forcing myself to believe are the enemy. Several hands take a hold of my body keeping me steady and supported but most importantly guided as my feet wobbly unevenly against the stony ground. Within minutes, the familiar smooth pavement of District 4's streets begin to feel beneath my feet. All of a sudden. We stop and the blindfold is removed, a cloud of confetti explodes into the air making me jump as a series of loud congratulation and surprise cries. Annie Cresta flinches in a terrified manor but is reassured everything is fine by Finnick. Then I realise this is all for me, a congratulation/welcome home party where the entire district has been invited to attend. I can tell by the seer number of people, most have accepted. All except Garrett Larkin's family.
Several hundred people come to congratulate me but not many if you consider the size of this party taking place in the heart of District 4. Mayor Osbourne comes to speak to me privately telling me that my home in Victor's Village was all prepared, filled with new clothes, the latest equipment, all the luxuries for a Hunger Games victor and ready for me to move into immediately after the party was finished, or whenever I felt like ditching but not before I make sure my brother has a sturdy arm home however I doubt he will be late home tonight. Crowds aren't really his thing and Annie will soon be getting restless, so I suspect Finnick will help Michael home if I bail early.
The music pounds and the alcohol runs like water in a steam. As the night goes on, the mothers, fathers and children have melted away to go home whereas the teenagers and reckless others remain dancing, drinking before disappearing off to have unprotected sex. Like the other teenagers our age, Leila becomes increasingly more drunk causing her to become less aware of what she was saying and so, within the several hours, the filter on what she should and should not be saying is gone and she was blabbering on about the Games, my kills mainly about how much I kicked ass but the thing that got me anger was her comment about Cato and how she was jealous that she didn't get a 'ride' on him before his death. That's when I punched my best friend in the middle of a party set out in my honour.
Suddenly, a large pair of hands had gripped my shoulders before the masculine voice said "Calm down," rather loudly to be heard over the music. Two more male bodies come into the drunken crowd to remove Leila's unconscious body from the ground, anyone around will simply assume she blacked out because of the drink and I''m okay with them believing that. Turning around to discover that the large hands belonged to Louis, he had allowed his beard to grow along with his hair making him look scruffy.
"Louis!" I cry rather happily lunging into his arms which crunch around my body engulfing me into a bear-hug, when he releases me I see the others have disappeared with Leila's body. "What will they tell her family?" I ask.
Giving me a crafty wink, Louis replies, "That she drank a little too much at your coming home partly. We won't mention the sucker-punch to the face." he reassures me.
A heavy weight is removed from my chest as he drapes a arm around my shoulders, we circulate through the crowd, some people pat me on the shoulder giving me drunken congratulations which in reply I simply smile or nod but I am more interested in finding my brother and when I do, there is no surprise I find him with a group of his old school pals, many who work on the fishing boats. As Louis and I approach them, the conversation dies into an eerie silence masked by the music however that doesn't stop my brother making a scene when he turns around to see me.
"Hey!" Michael screeches, "Anastasia! How, are, yhoo?" he slurs poking me in the shoulder.
I raise my eyebrow at him before sighing and removing myself from Louis's arm and taking away the drink from Michael's hand before putting his arm around my shoulders allowing him to put all his drunken weight on me. He grumbles as I pull him away from his friends but he doesn't fight me thankfully and we make our way away from the party and towards the Victor's Village.
"Wheere are we, goin'?" Michael slurs.
"Home." I grunt trying to shift his body weight into a more comfortable position. The stone path turns into gravel as he enter the stone walled village set out for the victors of District 4, filled with large stone houses. We move around the water fountain let several feet from the entry gate. Michael uses the fountain to lean on as we pass but it doesn't help for long because soon we pass the first two houses before reaching number four in a matter of minutes.
Surprisingly the front door to Michael home is locked so I am forced to fish out the key from under the doormat. I guide Michael inside, locking the door behind us and up the stair to his bedroom where he moves shockingly quickly to the bathroom where he promptly vomits into the toilet bowl. The smell of sick before the Games would have made me sick myself but I've smelt worse now so it doesn't bother me and so I take a seat on the edge of the bath so I can sit and rub my brothers back as he violently pukes, it's a horrid neon green colour. It's rather horrid.
"That's it. Get it all up." I chuckle as I make the effort to mock Michael's voice from the Capitol whilst we where on the balcony.
Michael chuckles from inside the toilet making it echo slightly before raising his head to wipe his mouth on the fabric sleeve of his shirt. "Are you going to your new house tonight?" he asks me, his speech is still slurred but I understand.
I shake my head, truthfully I don't want to go there until the morning, it's late and no doubt Mayor Osbourne has the key and I don't want to disturb him this late. I'm in no hurry to live on my own, assume more responsibility. "No, I'm going to stay here tonight. With you." I tell him softly.
Michael's drunken face attempts to smile which makes his eyes squint like he is looking at a bright light. "Good, first night back at home should be spent in your own bed." he tells me, poking me gentle before waving his hand at me. "Go, I've got to clean up." he chuckles before pulling me lightly, urging my to stand and leave which after a moment of seeing him gather to his feet, Michael then smiles happily before raising his arms as if to say, "See? I'm fine."
Chuckling, I knock passed him deliberately as I exit the bathroom seeing how much of his balance he really has. The young man remains stood with some help from the sturdy bathroom wall. As I exit Michael's bedroom and enter the landing at the top of the stairs, I flock Michael's bedroom door from the outside so he cannot get out, eliminating all danger of him coming out and accidentally falling down the stairs during the night trying to prove his independence.
My bedroom is almost bare and it's completely unrecognisable – my clothing has been emptied from my draws and wardrobe but the items on my dresser and desk had been packed away into cardboard boxes that stood one on top of the other beside my door just inside the room. My bed is still made with the same bedsheets which have been unchanged since the day I left for the reaping.
I don't shower that night, seeing that I had washed myself in the morning on the train, it just seemed pointless. However I do have to wash my right hand because the knuckles are speckled in red blood from Leila. I strip off the beautiful clothing Dieter had picked out for me on the train and slipped into bed simply in my Capitol underwear. Automatically discomforted by the lack of silky softness the bed had to offer but I was home. Back laying in my own bed staring at the same spot of the ceiling creating odd images using the bumpy texture. Through the thick walls I can hear Michael swear at inanimate objects – no doubt his reflection in the mirror – but considering I doubt comfortable sleep will come to me tonight, I listen carefully, silently thankful that there's someone a little more messed up than I am.
A/N: What did you guys think of this chapter, punching Leila wasn't a plan but I thought it slipped in nicely. Anastasia's story, for now, is almost over. One more chapter. She is home and moving into her own home in Victor's Village, where she will spend her time as a victor in peace, eating healthily and slowly becoming a mother to her child. Will you read the next story I write continuing on with Anastasia's story? Review!
