DISCLAIMER: HG CHARACTERS DO NOT BELONG TO ME, BUT OC ONES DO

Chapter 163-The Last Everdeen

May 16 (Sunday)

Sienna listened to the birds as she walked with Avery in the woods near the outskirts of the meadow by the Victor's Village of District 12. Sienna was in the middle of her final rotation of her residency and had managed to get the weekend off. Once Avery had received the message from her Sister that she was free for the weekend, she quickly purchased a hovercraft ticket to District 12 and arrived late that Friday afternoon.

Avery had called Haymitch and arranged to stay at his home, for Sienna's room was small since she shared a house with five other residents near the District's hospital. Today the two Sisters had decided to take a morning walk in the woods, with Sienna brining her bow and arrows.

They were not planning on hunting, mostly using it in case they ran into a predator, for Sienna had been told shortly after arriving in 12 that occasionally, bears are seen in the woods. While Sienna's bow was back at the house in Silver Lake, she had decided to purchase a bow and arrow set shortly after arriving in District 12, for once she saw the woods surrounding the District, she was eager to explore. Always knowing this was the woods her parents met as kids and hunted in, it was surreal for her to finally see it for herself.

Avery had been in the forest countless times during her stay last fall, though she never explored deep enough into the woods to hunt, choosing to stay close to the outskirts.

Sienna was thankful that her Sister was able to make the trip to 12 to spend the weekend with her, for last weekend was extremely difficult for her.

While Sienna felt she had dealt with her Mother's death better than her young siblings had, there were still days and times of the year that were beyond difficult for her. One of those days being her Mom's birthday. Working all last weekend at the hospital helped distract, but the pain in her heart still lingered, especially since she had not heard from her Grandmother, which was unusual.

She was also hurting from the fact her Father had not contacted her last Saturday, which was even more unheard of. It was for these reasons, that she arranged to have the next weekend off and messaged her Sister.

Even though they were complete opposites, the two oldest Hawthorne siblings had maintained their close bond. Thankful that her Sister was her best friend, Sienna knew she could depend on Avery and vice versa. Once Avery had received the message from Sienna asking if she could visit, Avery did not hesitate to book her hovercraft flight after arranging to take time off from work.

Once they reach the edge of forest, they look out and see the meadow down below. They stand in silence as take in the scene around them. Now spring, the flowers have bloomed, and the meadow is shades of yellow, red, and purple.

"It's so beautiful" Avery says.

"Yeah-it is so different here than back home."

Sienna noticed right away the stark contrast between District 12 and District 2's mountains, how District 12's mountains had more of a rolling hill look, not the tall, sharp peaks that District 2 and the Capitol had, but was still beautiful, nonetheless.

"Did you come here much?" Sienna asks.

"A little, I spent most of my time in the meadow."

"I never asked you…..what exactly happened while you were here….how did Peeta and Haymitch help….with everything you were going through?"

She watches as her Sister takes a deep breath before she says, "Peeta taught me, that I needed to focus my anxiety through another outlet. For him it was art, and sometimes writing poetry. I decided to try writing. I actually have, an entire box of letters that I wrote to all of you, including one that I wrote to Cassandra."

Sienna turns and looks at Avery in surprise. "I also wrote a letter, to my unborn baby, fetus, whatever you want to call it. It just helped to….get my thoughts and feelings out. But Peeta and Haymitch spent a lot of time, talking about Mom. I learned quite a few things about her I never knew before."

"Oh?"

"About how she and Peeta helped to rebuild 12 after the war, about the kindness she showed to everyone. I also heard about-her struggles when she returned here after the war."

Sienna looks down at the grass in front of her. Sienna had been told by her Mother growing up that after her Sister was killed in the Capitol, that she had returned to District 12 in an almost catatonic state. What made the information Sienna had been told even more conflicting, was that part of her Mother's distress, was due to her Father's inadvertent actions.

"Anyway, learning more about Mom's life here, talking to the residents here who knew her, even as a young girl, and hearing how she recovered from her grief over what happened to our Aunt Prim made me realize…if she can pull out of that, I can too."

"Do you think….Dad should have been more open with us about their life here? About what happened during the war?" Sienna asks.

Avery pauses, thinking over her question then says, "I think both Mom and Dad tried to put District 12 behind them….because of what happened with Aunt Prim. Look at Grandma E, she only returned here for Mom's funeral procession. I'm surprised Mom was even able to come back here for work."

Sienna thinks about how shortly after she arrived in 12, how Haymitch had told her after having a few drinks that once her Mother officially moved out of her house in the Victor's Village when she pursued her teaching certificate that she never returned to the District until ten years later, when she became a recruiter for PES. Remembering when she was younger her Mother suddenly going away for days at a time for work trips, and how Miss Pauline their babysitter had come to the house when her Father was busy with work.

She also remembers, how sometimes when her Mother returned, that she was would not act herself for a few days after. How she sometimes acted, just a little sad.

"It's hard to imagine that there used to be more houses here" Sienna says once her thoughts return to the present.

"Or that Mom and Dad lived in very poor conditions" Avery says in response.

"Yeah" Sienna says chuckling. She then turns to Avery and says in a more serious tone, "It really hurt me-that Dad didn't call me last Saturday on Mom's birthday."

Avery gets a look of annoyance on her face and says, "He was in a funk last Saturday. He went out and got all new bedroom furniture and moved some stuff downstairs. You know what this means."

Sienna looks at Avery in contemplation, then says, "I'm more concerned about Juniper."

"Juniper's fine with it. Surprisingly. She just doesn't want Dad leaving to go to the Capitol to be with Cassandra-no more secret hotel rooms and rented apartments for them to have their sex marathons in."

Sienna displays a look of discomfort mixed with shock in response to her Sister's bluntness. "How do you know that's what was happening?"

"I heard them talk about it! At New Year's at Grandma's. I had to use the upstairs' bathroom due to so many of us being downstairs. When I reached the top, I heard them talking in one of Grandma's spare rooms, they didn't have the door fully closed, Cassandra was telling Dad that she was 'disappointed' that he wouldn't be spending the night with her at the hotel." Avery using air quotes around the word disappointed.

"And?"

Avery shrugs and says, "He told her that he wanted things to be different. That he hoped next year she would be staying at Grandma's house with the whole family. But that it was good for them as a couple to move past the secrecy now that he no longer had his apartment, and they were long past the days when they went to hotels."

Sienna gives her a Sister a hard look and says, "What else what said?"

"Cassandra then playfully told him she liked it when he fucked her senseless over and over and she didn't want to move past that. Happy now?"

"This is why you still can't accept her isn't it?"

"I swear she's addicted to sex….I just….I don't think its good for Juniper to be around someone like that."

"Yet you don't think Dad is a sex addict?"

"You didn't see her in that club that night-while I think what happened to her was terrible and I don't wish it on anyone, it was clear that she was dressed for a night on the town. She wasn't wearing underwear, I'm pretty sure she had sex with the guy who assaulted her. Again, I'm not saying she deserved to be attacked, but she wasn't broken up with Dad that long, and yet there she was….having sex with other men in public places."

"You don't know for sure exactly what happened. Maybe for her sex is some sort of coping mechanism, I mean, she is a model, extremely beautiful, maybe she uses sex for control of some sort."

"So she's controlling Dad?" Avery's anger rising.

"I mean….not in a bad way….it seems like, he was calling the shots at first. He kept this relationship hidden from us, that means, he must have told her she couldn't call him, couldn't visit him at home. He probably told her when they could see each other-could you see Mom putting up with that?"

Avery begins laughing in response, answering Sienna's question.

"Avery, I think we are going to have to….accept this. Dad clearly is looking towards the future with her."

Avery turns her head and looks out at the meadow, not meeting her Sister's eyes. She looks straight ahead as she says, "I don't think I can Sis. I want to, I really do, I know I hurt her. And I feel really bad about that-but she hurt me too. When I saw her at Grandma's house over the holiday, I saw the way she looked at me…..she wants nothing to do with me. She has never reached out to me since that day she stayed at my apartment, I was hoping after that weekend we could turn the corner and make amends, but that hasn't happened. And I can't stand seeing her getting closer and closer to Dad. He is getting caught up in her web can't you see? That's why he didn't call you last weekend on Mom's birthday! She's taking advantage of his loneliness to become the next Mrs. Hawthorne, it was my gut reaction to seeing them together last summer, and I stand by it now."

Avery then begins walking towards the Victor's Village, leaving Sienna behind without another word.


June 4 (Friday)

Gale paces back and forth in his office as he waits for Rory's call. He is at home, relieved that Juniper is at school. Last month, he had told Juniper not to be alarmed that her Grandmother had not responded to her messages when she tried to contact her the weekend of Katniss's birthday. Reminding his Daughter that her Grandmother preferred to be alone, especially during difficult times, he had not been concerned when they did not hear from her. Two weeks later, Katniss's Mom contacted all four of his children, and Juniper had mentioned that Grandma E "did not sound herself." Again, thinking most likely it was because May was a difficult month for his Mother-in-Law.

But today he received an envelope in the mail from Katniss's Mom. In the envelope was multiple photos, including a copy of various photos he had seen in the past-Katniss's parents wedding photo, a photo of Katniss and Prim, and a photo of Katniss, her Mom, and Prim when they first moved to the Victor's Village. He also sees photos of him and Katniss when they were first married, along with various photos of the kids, and four photos of Prim. All that was enclosed was a handwritten note that said, "I wanted you to have these, maybe someday you can show your Grandchildren pictures of their parents as young children. I also wanted each of my Grandchildren to have a picture of Prim. I know you wished I would have left District 4 to move closer to all of you, I always appreciated the fact that you would have arranged for me to have a job in District 2, but I am proud of what I accomplished here. Even though I no longer work, the community here gave me a new purpose, for I was lost, just as Katniss was after the war. Thank you for always being there for me. I know I never said the words to you, but I love you, you were always more than just Katniss's best friend and a Son-in-Law to me. You took care of our family, and I'll always be grateful for that. I forgave you after I got your first letter shortly after arriving in District 4, and even though it took my Daughter a long time, I'm so glad she forgave you too. I know no matter what happens, my Grandchildren will be happy, safe, taken care of and most importantly, loved, because they have you as their Father."

Alarmed by the letter, Gale immediately calls Katniss's Mom and sends multiple messages. When she does not respond, he calls Rory, and when his Brother returns his call a short while later, Rory informs Gale he can go over to her apartment to check on her, for Rory was working on a dry-docked boat today and was able to leave telling his boss he had to attend to a family emergency. While Rory heads over to the area of town where Katniss's Mom lived, he calls the apartment complex, informing them of his Brother's arrival, thankful that he is listed as an emergency contact.

He looks at the clock and sees the time is 2:22 pm. Knowing that Juniper will be home by 3:30 pm, for school ends at 3 pm and the walk home takes about a half an hour, his anxiety rises higher and higher as he waits.

A few minutes later the phone rings, he answers immediately once he sees it is Rory. He goes numb as he listens to his Brother's voice on the other end, and mumbles instructions to the stranger who came on the line before saying goodbye to his Brother.

Once he hangs up, he calmly puts his boots on and goes to the sliding glass door and heads outside to the deck, closing the door behind him. He begins heading into the woods behind the house, and before he knows it, he is running. Surprised that at his age, he still has decent speed, he runs without purpose and once his body begins to get winded, he abruptly stops, and collapses by a tree. As he sits on the ground, with his back up against the trunk of the tree, he stares straight ahead before the shock and pain consume him. He squeezes his eyes shut as he screams at the top of his lungs. Alone in the woods, he screams as loudly as he can knowing no one can hear him. He screams in agony knowing the pain his children will feel when they learn what has happened to their Grandmother, and for losing the last member of his second family. When he met the Everdeen's when he was 14, he formed vastly different relationships with all three, but each one held a special place in his heart, and now, they were now all gone. And that sense of loss overcame him in a way that was so foreign to him, that in that moment-while sitting up against the tree, he felt he couldn't breathe.