DOUBLE UPDATE! – MAKE SURE TO READ PREVIOUS CHAPTER!
Chapter One-Hundred-and-Nineteen; The Sacrifices of Love
Dan burst into the room a scant few seconds later, tears that looked suspiciously real stinging at his eyes and holding a hand up to cover his split lip.
Stephanie's very blood seethed as she saw the trickle of crimson dribble from Dan's lip. She had no great regard for Dan especially but the blood, the injury, the unnecessary violence was an all too common association with Seneca.
Didn't Haymitch still bear the bruises and cuts Seneca had had his personal guard exact on him? Didn't Stephanie herself wear a noose of bruises from Slena's hands as a result of what Seneca had done? Wasn't Fas dead with his blood on both Seneca and Stephanie's hands?
Stephanie felt a shred of sympathy filter through to her as she saw a few tears slip down Dan's face as he caught his reflection in the mirror. She imagined Dan was as much upset by the mar to his good looks as from any actual pain but the familiar warmth of humanity leaking into her was comforting. It had previously been chased by the burning hatred and self-loathing that had been rampaging through her in equal measures since she learnt of Fas's death.
"I'm sure there are some make-up and things you could use in that," Stephanie said, gesturing to Ficen's forgotten silver case.
Dan whimpered slightly but he shot Stephanie a grateful look as he bent to open the case.
Haymitch was not so patient with waiting until Dan had recovered from his minor injury.
"Well?" Haymitch prompted.
Dan spared a second to glower up at Haymitch before he resumed examining the various products packed neatly in Ficen's case.
"He says that we continue as planned," Dan dribbled out after a moment.
Dan snivelled again as the stinging realisation came to him that it hurt to speak with a bust lip; the younger Flickerman brother was clearly unused to physical pain as were most in the Capitol.
Sighing wearily Stephanie hunkered down as she rifled through Ficen's case for a tissue she could use. Dan was pretty pathetic as he was and while he was nowhere near innocent he hadn't asked to be involved in any of this. A bit like Stephanie; she hadn't volunteered to be part of the Hunger Games, she hadn't never sought Seneca's love, she hadn't asked the Gamemaker to kill Fas for her but still….she wasn't innocent, not anymore.
"Stephanie is going straight back to the penthouse," Haymitch said resolutely as he loomed above them.
Stephanie located a tissue and made to grab Dan's chin so she could clean away the blood when Dan shied away from her touch with a poorly concealed grimace. Stephanie scoffed rolling her eyes as she held out the tissue instead. Dan accepted it gingerly and Stephanie couldn't find it in herself to be much surprised by his disgust at her; whether it was the actual state of her hands or because Dan was much more aware of her being from the districts now she really couldn't care.
Stephanie frowned though as she saw her own hands and she sieved through Ficen's case once more for some of the wet wipes Ficen had used before.
Dan dabbed delicately at his lip that was bleeding only slightly now as he glared up at Haymitch balefully.
"You can tell Seneca that message yourself!" Dan shot back heatedly, "I am only telling you what Seneca said; he told me to tell you that the plan continues as was arranged. I take Stephanie up to the private box – there will be no cameras at all anymore considering the circumstances – then I leave and whatever else you lot have conjured up between you occurs," Dan finished distastefully.
Haymitch shoved a hand through his hair; his movements' jerky with anger and Stephanie abandoned her search as she stood slowly.
Stephanie gently touched Haymitch's elbow and his stormy grey eyes slid to her expectantly. Stephanie nodded discreetly to the far corner of the room as Dan had begun to indulge himself in an old habit. The Capitolite man was grumbling under his breath as he held a compact mirror he had found in the case in front of him, examining his bust lip from all angles and bemoaning the awful slight to his handsome face.
Stephanie and Haymitch slipped away unnoticed to the far corner of the room where Stephanie leaned against the wall heavily.
She wanted to feel Haymitch's arms around her waist again, to feel the comfort and warmth only his touch could give her but something stilled Stephanie's fingers before they could even brush Haymitch's blazer. That something told her that now was most certainly not the time or the place but a much bigger thing was the almost tangible wedge lodged between them that took the form of one blue-eyed Gamemaker.
Haymitch's gaze snapped to her expectantly again and Stephanie hated what she was going to say but knew it had to be.
"I want to go Haymitch," Stephanie said and realised from the look on Haymitch's face that she had used the wrong words. She should never had said 'want' she should have said 'need.'
Need to go and face the man who had made her become a murderer, that had hurt Haymitch, the man they had been fighting against since the beginning when Seneca's only goal had been to pain Haymitch by killing Stephanie in the most brutal way possible.
But by Haymitch's sobering expression Stephanie knew immediately that was not how her words had been received.
Stephanie immediately bristled at the insinuation, the doubt, the suspicion.
Haymitch suspected that she wasn't being honest, that she was cheating on him with Seneca and the thought hurt a damn tonne more than it angered her.
…
Haymitch hated the thought even occurring to him and deep down he knew Stephanie falling for someone like Seneca, Stephanie encouraging someone like Seneca even if it was for her own life – it just wasn't who Stephanie was, it wasn't the Stephanie Trindlesworth Haymitch had fallen in love with.
But Haymitch also knew that even with Stephanie's pride, stubbornness and thoughtless bravery if Seneca threatened someone Stephanie loved, Haymitch knew Stephanie would do anything to save them and it had been what Haymitch had been worried about from the start if Seneca had found out about them.
However that ship had sailed long ago and Seneca had known for a long while about he and Stephanie, Haymitch was sure of it.
And now Fas – someone linked with Stephanie and everything else was dead and Stephanie was desperate to see Seneca.
A truly horrible thought occurred to Haymitch that made him feel physically sick then; what if Seneca was threatening Stephanie using her loved ones against her? Haymitch conceded with an internal scoff that it wouldn't even have to be someone that Stephanie particularly loved; if Seneca had told Stephanie he would kill someone if Stephanie didn't do what he asked of her Haymitch imagined that Stephanie would do it because she couldn't cope with another's blood on her hands – like now with Fas.
But an even more chilling and sobering thought arose in Haymitch's mind then and he couldn't shake it? It was twisted and warped and oh so suitably Seneca-like.
What if Seneca was using him –Haymitch himself against Stephanie?
Hurting them both irrevocably. Haymitch inwardly berated himself; he should never have been so complacent and allowed himself to get involved with Stephanie; he should have known better – that everyone he loved always ended up dead. And perhaps now he had resigned Stephanie to something much worse than that. He knew Stephanie had tried to protect him before by keeping secrets from him, by trying to deal with Seneca by herself – who was to say that she wasn't trying to do so again?
The futile jealousy that had risen unbidden at Ficen's taunts, at hearing Stephanie talk about Seneca and knowing Seneca's intentions so intimately bled away completely.
There was no longer suspicion or even jealousy in Haymitch's gaze but dread.
Dread that he had somehow destroyed his one perfect thing in this Capitol; Stephanie Trindlesworth – his would-be wife.
The girl that had kissed him under the fireworks, that had her strange golden eyes, that fainted all the time, that was stubborn and prideful enough to drive him to drink and that really didn't know when it was better to keep her mouth shut. The girl that had wanted daffodils in her garden and loved her tribute partner like a brother; she had somehow against all odds managed to maintain her humanity and just plain goodness in this cesspool of a Capitol and for it all Haymitch had loved her.
Stephanie Trindlesworth had given Haymitch Abernathy hope when he believed there was none to be had; a glimpse of a future beyond the Games he had always thought impossible.
Before him now Stephanie shuffled almost nervously, her golden eyes wide with uncertainty and a hundred flashes of other fleeting emotions.
Haymitch knew Stephanie thought he suspected her of being unfaithful to him with Seneca Crane but the ill-conceived thought had already burned tortuously in his mind before he discarded it…for something much worse.
He now was convinced that Seneca was blackmailing Stephanie just as the Gamemaker did to most of those around him – to get what he wanted. And Haymitch conceded that even if the Gamemaker hadn't sunk that low yet or if Stephanie was still holding out against him it was only a matter of time.
And that left Haymitch a choice; the only way Seneca could blackmail Stephanie using him was if Stephanie continued to love Haymitch.
But if Stephanie and he weren't together anymore…Seneca couldn't use it against Stephanie. Haymitch would have saved Stephanie from Seneca; like he couldn't do for any of his other tributes, or his family before that.
But only…only if Stephanie and he no longer were together, only if Stephanie no longer loved him.
For despite what the Gamemaker had told Stephanie Haymitch was still convinced that Seneca 'loving' Stephanie was just to spite him, and if Seneca knew there was no opportunity to do that then Seneca would grow bored with Stephanie, the tribute that rebuffed him at every advance.
And for Seneca to believe that, Haymitch would have to appear not to be in love with Stephanie.
It had seemed impossible that in this place of lies and hopelessness that Haymitch had found hope, a life beyond the Games and someone to love in Stephanie Trindlesworth.
And now the impossible would have to happen again; as surely as he and Stephanie had fallen in love they would have to fall out of love.
DOUBLE UPDATE! – MAKE SURE TO READ PREVIOUS CHAPTER!
Thanks to all those that continue to read and especially girlworthfightingfor for the review!