Hey guys here's chapter 6! I'm sooo sorry I couldn't update until now, but this week I've been so busy with homework and stuff, and when I did have free time I was reading Insurgent (second book in Divergent series – it just came out omg so good), so I didn't have time to write. This chapter's all in Clove's perspective, so it's a bit different… Here it is now though and I hope you like it!

Chapter 6

CLOVE

As we reach my street, I subconsciously tense up, and then curse myself. I'm not allowed to be afraid of my father. Not in front of Cato. I'm strong. He can't hurt me. Cato notices, and recognizes my discomfort. "Shit Clove, do you want to stay at mine again tonight? If you don't want to face him you don't have to." He says, trying to comfort me even when I know that I must go in there. "No. It's going to have to happen at some point. I'm not scared of him." I say, my eyes staring straight ahead as my expression hardens. "I can face him." I glance at Cato, and I see his expression mirroring my own. But as I look into his eyes, I see something else.

We reach the front door, and I take a deep breath. I reach into my pant pocket, grasping the cold metal handle to calm me. I leave the knife in my pocket, but keep my hand there, to pull it out if necessary. "See you later." I tell Cato, and his eyes show the same emotion as before, which I decide is worry.

My fingers clutch the knife as I open the front door. I give Cato one last look before closing the door and entering my cruel fate. That's when the yelling begins. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? YOU DON'T JUST RUN AWAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT GIRL! ARE YOU A…COWARD? IS THAT WHAT YOU ARE? RUNNING AWAY FROM YOUR FEARS? I GUESS YOU'RE NOT CUT OUT FOR THE HUNGER GAMES. IF YOU'RE JUST GOING TO RUN AWAY FROM EVERYTHING!" I stare straight ahead, not even flinching at his words. He hits me, hard, against the side of my face, and I stumble from the impact. My face burns, but I know better than to acknowledge the pain. As he advances again, I smell the strong alcohol on his breath, that's always there these days. "WHAT? NOT GOING TO FIGHT BACK? COWARD!" He yells again, anger flashing across his face as he spits the words at me. "I. Am. Not. A. Coward." I reply through clenched teeth, knowing that any second I will break and the knife will be flung out of my pocket. "YOU'RE NOT? THEN WHY DON'T YOU DO ANYTHING WHEN I DO THIS?" He yells, shoving me into the wall. My head throbs, having not fully recovered from yesterday, and my arm kills. I don't crumple to the floor though, knowing that it will leave me vulnerable, so I stand straight, anticipating the next blow.

But before he hits me again, the front door bursts open to reveal Cato, his eyes flashing with anger, his face tight. My father pauses in shock, the alcohol slowing down his movements. Cato runs at him, landing a blow on his cheek. My dad stumbles backwards, as Cato advances. He hits him again, and my dad spits blood onto the floor. Cato hits blow after blow, until my father is crumpled on the ground, blood and bruises covering his skin.

Cato turns to me, the anger in his eyes replaced by a sad, worried look. He wraps his arms around me, and that's when I realize that I've been shaking this whole time. "Don't worry Clover, it's ok. He can't hurt you, I'm here now." He says, his arms tightening. I relax into his arms, and bury my face into his chest, feeling safer. I could have defended myself, I think, could have used my knife. But he would have just stricken me harder. "I'm weak." I say against Cato's chest, closing my eyes because I can't look at him right now. He lets go of me, and tilts my head up to look at him. "You're not Clove. You're the strongest person I know." He says, and I open my eyes, searching his for a trace of a lie. "It's not safe for you here. Stay with me for a couple of days until we sort this out, ok?" He says, his eyes begging me. I nod, knowing I have to.

I grab some clothes then we leave, walking in the dark once more. His arm is around me protectively, and this time I allow it, feeling safer underneath his strong muscles. "I'll never let anything hurt you Clove." He breathes, pain flickering across his face. "I know." I respond as we reach his house.

He pulls me in through the front door, and up into his room. He grabs the first aid kit and immediately begins tending to my wounds. I then see the cuts on his hands and the one above his lip where I guess my dad got a blow in. I reach my hand up to touch it, and he looks down at me, amused. My fingers brush against his lips and he smiles. "Clove, I'm fine. You're the injured one…" He says, but I let my fingers linger there for a bit before dropping my hand. He touches the back of my head and I resist the urge to groan in pain. He notices me flinch, and sees the pain in my eyes. Sadness creeps into his eyes, replacing the humor that was there before, as he softly bandages my wounds.

Cato tucks me into his bed, and then grabs a blanket and a pillow, putting them on the floor. "What are you doing?" I ask, not wanting him to leave my side. "You're sleeping right here." I pat the bed beside me, hoping he'll agree. "You sure?" He asks, a faint smile appearing on his lips. "Yep. Now get in before I kick you."

As soon as Cato lies down, I curl into his side and relax against his chest as his strong arms wrap around me. I fall asleep in a matter of minutes, listening to his slow breathing and feeling the pounding of his heart, trying not to think about the events of today.

The next morning, we go to training and work hard. I immediately go to the knives section, needing to burn off some energy. I picture the target as my father as the cold metal flings from my hand, the blade going right through its heart. Cato goes to the swords, stabbing the dummies with fierce accuracy.

A few days go by like that, with us training hard then going back to Cato's house for the night, until the training for the Tribute Competition begins. The competition begins in a couple days, and District 2 is going insane. All the 14 to 18 year olds competing are training like crazy, hoping to get to win the spot of volunteering for the Hunger Games. I know that I'll win, being the best female in the district. The only person who could ever beat me is Cato. The 12 and 13 year olds don't compete, because they're so young that they'll be too easy targets in the Games.

I walk to training with Cato, and today we decide to train together, knowing that we both work harder when someone's encouraging us. We first go to the spears station, which I'm decent at throwing because really it's just like throwing a giant knife. I grab one of the metal sticks, and hold it up at my shoulder. I advance at the target, letting my arm extend as I release it. It flies towards the target, landing in the dummy's shoulder. I curse, knowing I'll need to do better than that. I glance at Cato right as his spear pierces the dummy's head.

"Nice one." I say, pulling my own spear out of the dummy. I try again, this time focusing hard on the dummy's heart, aiming my spear at it. I release, and it sinks just right of the heart. "You too." Cato says, and I realize that he was watching me. A blush appears on my cheeks as he turns back to the target.

After spears, we go through the other stations, where I excel in identifying plants and knife throwing, and he excels in sword fighting and hand on hand combat. We train harder than ever, knowing that this year, the volunteer spots are ours. I'm going into the Games this year. I have to make my district proud, and maybe then, my father will stop abusing us. My brother doesn't deserve to be beaten any more than I do, and I can move out of that awful house and into a Victor's house when I win.

Hope you liked it! Please please review, I'll try to put more up soon! The next chapter will be the tribute competition, so it'll be intense. Thanks so much for all the reviews I got, keep sending them! Thanks xx