Sorry for the long wait! Thank you all so much for your reviews! I'm so happy to hear that you want me to continue with this. Happy holidays to everyone! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

~When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul~

Everything felt so unreal. I had done it; I won the Hunger Games. I could return to Prime, Gale and my old life. I should be happy, even relieved, but I wasn't. There was a feeling in the pit of my stomach that just wouldn't go away.

"Hey sweetie," a tall blonde walked into the room and shut the door behind him. His entrance only made me feel worse.

"Cato," I mumble, not even bothering to look up at him. I was lying on my bed, flipping through some books, trying to distract myself from the reality of my situation. As soon as we got out of the arena, Haymitch warned me about my situation.

"The Capitol wanted a love story from the beginning, but when Peeta died, Cato took his place," Haymitch whispered to me when the doctors left my room.

"But why?" I asked.

"People have started becoming unhappy with the Hunger Games; the Capitol needed to show them that there's more to it than death," he leaned in even closer, "Katniss you have to play along, they'll kill you and your family if you don't."

I could hear Cato walking closer and closer to me, but I didn't move. I didn't even flinch when he came and sat in front of me on the bed.

"Come on Katniss, that's no way to treat the man you love," he said as if the whole thing was a joke. Maybe it was to him, he didn't act like he had anything to lose.

"Go away Cato," I spat at him, still flipping through the various magazines that Effie left for me. Now that I'm a victor, she thinks I should reinvent my style.

He started to place his hand on my cheek, but I slapped it away and raised my head up, glaring at him. Cato always has a way of tricking me into doing what he wants and I hate it. I can't stand to be around him, but I have to pretend when the cameras are around. I wonder what my family is thinking about me right now, being in love with the boy who killed Peeta. If only they knew that I couldn't even stand to look at him.

"There are those beautiful eyes I love so much," his voice was laced with amusement. He actually finds it entertaining to torture me because there's nothing I can do about it.

"What do you want?" I finally snap at him.

"Haymitch wants you downstairs," he said, standing up and extending a hand to me.

"What are you doing?" I glance at his hand and then up at him.

"There could be people down there other than Haymitch," his voice trailed off and I knew he was right. Haymitch and Effie are the only ones who know the real story behind this. It's been nice having them to talk to, but I really can't wait to go home and see Prim and Gale.

So we walked hand in hand through the hallways, down to the main room where Haymitch was sitting on the couch, alone. I immediately dropped Cato's hand when I saw it and walked over to Haymitch and sat down on the couch. Cato was right behind me and sat down next to me. I tried to move away from him, but he closed me in. As Haymitch started to talk, Cato wrapped an arm around my waist, his grip too tight for me to break free from.

"You two seem cozy," Haymitch mocked us when he saw me trying to break free. He got a kick out of the relationship between Cato and me.

"Is that all you wanted me here for? To mock me?" I asked him.

"There's something we need to talk about," Haymitch looked serious, "they are sending you two straight into the victory tour instead of sending you home first."

I was shocked; the Capitol was completely changing everything. I was supposed to see Prim first, before I was thrown into a train, alone with Cato.

"They don't want to break up the lovers," Haymitch continued.

"What's going to happen when it ends?" Cato asked the question I had been thinking about all along. I wasn't ready to face the reality just yet; in this case, ignorance was bliss.

"One of you is going to have to move to the other's district," he looked down at the ground, "which means you might have to leave your old life behind, Katniss."

Was he being serious? I would have to leave behind my family, my friends just so I could be with a boy I didn't even love.

"But Prim…" I mumbled.

"Don't worry, your family will go with you," Haymich said.

"But Gale…"

I could tell by the look in Haymitch's eyes that Gale coming wouldn't be possible. I couldn't leave him, he was my best friend.

"But we don't even know if that's for sure. For all we know, Cato could be going to your district," Haymitch said. Then he told us we should get some rest, since we would be leaving tomorrow.

Unfortunately, they decided that Cato and I had spent enough time apart in the games, so we should be together at every moment, even at night. I used to find comfort in the simplicity of sleep, but now Cato was everywhere. Every time I tried to talk to him about sleeping in different beds, he just shut me out, like normal.

I walked up to the rooms, deep in thought, when Cato rested his hand on my back, guiding me to the room. I wanted to shove him off, but I was too tired to fight with him. Even though I had yet to see it, I knew Cato had a terrible temper.

I climbed into bed as Cato went into the bathroom to get ready. I enjoyed the alone time; it was so rare these days. Everywhere I went, Cato had to be with me.

I was just starting to drift into my peaceful sleep, when I felt an arm wrap around my waist, pulling me into a warm body.

"Cato," I started to protest, but he cut me off.

"Just go to sleep Katniss," his voice lacked the usual cockiness, almost sweet, but I knew better. Still, I didn't protest and I fell right asleep, almost finding comfort in Cato's touch.

I woke up in the morning cuddled up next to Cato, still in his arms. Regret instantly flooded me as I realized what I had just done. I pushed myself out of his grip and sprang up from the bed.

"Katniss," Cato mumbled still half asleep and reaching around the bed for me. "Katniss, what's wrong?"

"Get away from me!" I shouted him as he rose from the bed. He kept trying to come closer to me.

"I don't understand, did I do something wrong?" he asked.

"As if you don't know," I mumbled. How could he be so stupid? Clearly I was being too subtle.

"Tell me," he commanded me.

"You killed Peeta!" I shouted at him, "And here I am sleeping in your arms! I have to be with a killer every hour of the day! That's what's wrong." Tears were filling my eyes, but I couldn't stop them from coming out. I had so much emotion built of that I never let out. I couldn't stand another day of pretending to be in love with a murderer.

"You're doing what you have to do to survive. You can't blame yourself for that," Cato was trying to calm me down.

"I'm not blaming myself," I spat at him, "I'm blaming you! You killed Peeta and then I have to pretend to be in love with you! Now to top it off, I might have to leave Gale because of you!" I didn't mean to bring Gale's name into this. He was just a friend, but I knew Cato wouldn't see it that way.

"Katniss," he stood up and walked over to me, "who's Gale?" His tone was serious and I knew I'd hit a nerve.

"He's no one," I whispered, but that wasn't enough for Cato. He gripped my shoulders and pulled me closer to him so that I was looking up into his angry eyes.

"Who is he?" He asked very slowly. Why does he care so much? It's not like we're really in love.

"He's my best friend okay?" I snap at him. I hope he'll let me go, but he just brings his face closer to mine.

"I don't want to hear his name again. You're mine Katniss. Only mine," he whispered in my ear. "Understood?"

I don't say anything, I just try to break free, but Cato is too strong. He won't try anything before the victory tour; we both need to be in top condition.

"Understood?" he repeated, except this time with more anger. I knew the only way he would calm down was if I said yes, so that's exactly what I did. I hated giving up, but in this case I knew I had to. I didn't stand a chance against Cato if his temper was triggered.

"Go get ready, we'll be leaving for the tour soon," he left the room. My prep team wasn't required for the departure since we wouldn't be seeing anyone till after we were on the train. I just put on whatever clothes I could find and I put my hair in a braid.

The train as relatively close to where we were staying. Fortunately, I didn't have to walk there with Cato, he had already left.

"You and Cato have to fix whatever fight you two had," Haymitch stopped me right before I got on the train.

"Excuse me?" I asked him.

"It's going to be a long victory tour and you two have to be on your best behavior. There can't be any doubt about your love," he warned me.

"I don't even like him!" I said, "How am I supposed to make people think I'm in love with him?"

"You'd better figure out a way or else.." he didn't have to finish that statement, I knew what would happen.

How did my life turn into this? The fate of my family rested with me putting on the best performance of my life. I couldn't even stop myself from fighting with Cato when we were together. It would have been so much easier if Peeta and I had won. Just the thought of Peeta brings tears to my eyes. I had to be strong now, and honor Peeta's memory. He sacrificed everything so I could return to my sister. I would do everything in my power to make sure his sacrifice doesn't go to waste.

Haymitch lead the way to the train and it looked similar to the won I had ridden to the Capitol. When I was on that train, I wasn't even sure I would be going home, but now I was returning home to convince people that I was in love with a killer. I would tell them the truth, then they wouldn't be able to hate me. I'm doing it all for them.

I heard the door slide open and Effie was walking in, dressed in bright clothing as always. She was talking on and on about the kinds of clothes I would wear and how great my prep team would be. At least someone was excited about the victory tour. I couldn't bring myself to crush Effie's happiness by telling her that I really didn't care about the clothing or my stylists. Sensing that I wasn't interested, Effie walked out of the room, saying she had someone or something to attend to. I didn't really know with her anymore. I still hadn't seen any sign of Cato. Maybe he was avoiding me. It was nice not being forced to be with him.

My train of thought was interrupted when I heard the door again. I was prepared to hear more about Effie's plans for my wardrobe, but the person standing there was a pleasant surprise.

"Cinna," I exclaimed running over to him to give him a hug.

"You ready to work?" he asked me and I knew he would be there along the way to help me.

"Let's get this over with," I said, with a little more hope in my voice.