I woke up strapped to a tree, rope tied aggressively around my hands, feet, neck, and stomach. There was pain shooting through my bruised ribs from being punched so much by Peeta and Cherche, and there was a strong burning in my throat. I opened and closed my mouth, and my cheek screamed in agony. Gosh, I am in so much pain.
My eyes searched around for anyone that could tell me what was going on. Mostly I looked around for Cato, waiting for him to jump from behind a tree and untie me. Every time I pulled at the rope on my wrists, it felt like knives were being stabbed into them. They bit deep into my already sensitive skin harshly. I screamed out in pain and stopped pulling immediately.
"Cato?" I called out into the open forest. Falling asleep on his lap in the cave was the last think I remember, and now I was strapped here. He must be around somewhere. I got no answer from Cato, so I decided to call out for him again.
"Cato?" my voice carries through the trees. Still, I don't get an answer from him. Where on earth could he be? And why didn't I wake up while I was being trapped here?
"He's not here." Peeta emerged from the trees behind me, wielding an axe in his left hand and a machete in the next. My heart beat quickens at a dangerously rapid pace. Not hours ago, he was trying to kill me because of Cato..
Oh no. What if he killed Cato? I know Cato is strong and all that, but sometimes not even the strongest candidate can survive the Games.
"Where is he?" I ask Peeta. He smirks at me and lets out a maniacal laugh. I frown at him and pull at the rope again. Bad idea.
"He's not here!" Peeta yells, pointing the knife to my stomach. "Now shut up, and let me finish what I started!"
My eyes widen. Finish what he started?
And then I know what he means. He's going to finish me off. I shake my head at him way too fast. "Peeta, you don't have to do this. Just let me go, please," I plead to him, to the Peeta I used to know.
Peeta shakes his head and steps closer than before. "No, I'm doing what I have to do, for me and for Cherche," he claims.
All too soon, I feel the machete slip deep into my skin and my body reacts to the pain, causing a blood curdling scream to reach my throat. Peeta laughs, and pulls the machete out slowly, only to replace it into another spot my belly.
"This is for choosing him over me!" Peeta booms over my piercing cries and screams. Every stab come with more force than the last, and every scream I make is louder than before.
He continues to stab me over and over, leaving no mercy no matter whether I call for my mother, Katniss, or Cato. When I do call for Cato, he stabs me with even more force than the other times and plunges the machete even deeper into my being. My family is watching me be murdered mercilessly. It's all I can think about: their expressions, cries, pleas for him to stop. But he doesn't. He continues.
I feel my body shaking as I scream, louder and louder with every stab and drop of blood I feel run away from me. I'm being drained.
"You should have chosen me!" Peeta yells with every stab. My screams turn into sobs, horrible sobs as I imagine my family watching him take the life right out of me. I feel myself slipping away, away from the earth. My breaths becomes short and quick as I try to hold onto life for any sort of moments longer, but it's becoming extremely hard to try and stay alive.
"Rose!" There's a voice yelling for me as I slip away. I realise it's Cato, but he's too late. I feel my last breath coming soon. I want it to be for Cato, not Peeta.
"Rose, wake up!" My body is shaking once again as Cato tells me to.. Wake up?
"Come on, Kitten, wake up. It's just a nightmare," Cato pleads again. It is Cato. I don't see him anywhere though. All I see is Peeta. All I see is his knife, his face, and his anger.
My eyes flutter open and I'm screaming, loud and hard. My arms start swinging and I'm trying to push Peeta away from me. Every moment my eyes close, I see him, and he's stabbing me. And when I open my eyes, he's staring down at me. I'm free from the ropes, but Peeta is still here.
Peeta is everywhere.
"No! Peeta, stop!" I scream. I feel Peeta touching me and I swing my arms even harder, pushing him away, willing him to stop causing me so much pain. My ribs hurt, my face hurts, my throat hurts, and my heart hurts.
"Rose! Rose, it's me, Cato. You're having a nightmare. Just open your eyes," Peeta tells me. I shake my head furiously. Opening my eyes will only bring my nightmare into reality. I'd rather see him with my eyes closed than open.
"No, Peeta, please. Leave me alone!" I plead, pushing him away. My eyes remain screwed shut. I don't want to face him. There's just too much pain; I don't want any more.
"Kitten, please. Open your eyes. It's Cato. I'm here, I won't let anything happen to you. I'm not him, I promise. Just open your eyes and look at me," the voice says again. My arms stop moving and I'm breathing hard.
"Don't hurt me," I whine. My entire being shakes in fear. He sounds like Cato, but it could be a trick. The Gamemakers could be tricking me by faking his voice.
"I won't, baby, I won't. Just look at me."
I hesitate before I open my eyes, and there he is. Cato. He is staring down at me with all the hurt he's been holding for me while I created more and more. My chest lets out a huge breath and I wrap my arms around him, holding him closely so that he would never let me go again.
"Cato," I breathe. My knight is here. Not Peeta. Not Cherche. No one else but him in the cave with me. I couldn't be more happier than I was now. There was so much relief that I felt in my heart. There was no Peeta. No Cherche.
But there was also no Rue.
My body started shaking at the memory of her. She's actually gone.
"You've been asleep for a really long time," Cato commented, laughing lightly at the end. "Almost two days actually."
My eyes widened. "What? I have?" I asked.
He nodded. "There's eight of us left. You, me, Peter, Clove, Thresh, that girl from five, Marvel, and Mandy." So Peeta is alive. I thought that maybe Cato killed him with the other axe, but I didn't see him after he got off of me, so he must have gotten away.
"What happened to the other girl from the Careers?" I asked, trying to pick myself up off of his lap. I struggled a lot. My body was sore, especially where I was punched and stabbed, and it was hard to move.
Cato picked me up off his lap and set me down next to him, putting something wrapped in cloth onto my lap as he shrugs. "Glimmer? I don't know. I was watching at night when they show fallen tributes, and apparently she was one of them."
I open up the cloth to find a small mountain of raspberries. I immediately burst into tears. I ate these with Rue right before she died.
Cato rubbed my back softly. "Stop crying. You need to take a break from thinking of all the bad things," he tells me. But how on earth could I achieve that? There are so many things in this arena that remind me of Rue, and after her death, and being threatened by Peeta, who after everything, I still considered a friend, it's hard not to think about it. The bruises and pain and soreness they left behind don't really help either.
"Cato, I can't just forget," I claimed, throwing a berry into my mouth. My stomach was twisting and knotting from the extreme hunger I felt from not eating for all this time. The berry immediately soothes my stomach, and the twisting subsides. I shove more into my mouth and Cato smiles sweetly.
"I didn't tell you to forget. I said not to think about it," he says, giving me that deadly smirk.
I feel my eyes rolling but my mouth twitching with a smile. "How on earth can I forget?"
"I have ideas," Cato says, his eyebrows raised suggestively, and I feel myself blushing hard, "but first, I want to take care of your injuries."
I frown and rub my sore cheek. "You didn't do that while I was out?" I question, sitting the berries down. Cato hands me water and I drink it down in pure relief. The water quenched my parched mouth and body.
Cato shakes his head, and I swear I see his cheeks turn pink. "I would have, but I didn't know if you would be comfortable with me looking at or touching you without permission," he says, rubbing his hand through his hair.
"Oh," I nod. "Well, it's okay."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
Cato smiles lightly. "Okay. Where would you like to start?" Cato pulls out three first aid kits and pops them open, pulling out a bunch of medicines and cloth.
"You don't have to do it, you know? I'm fine doing it myself."
He laughs and closes the kits. "No, it's fine. I told you I would take care of you, so I will."
My head bobs up and down in a nod, but I know I'm probably very, very flushed. "Okay."
"Where should we start?" he asks, staring at me closely.
I assessed my body mentally, deciding on what part of me hurts the most. I was in pain all over, but I felt it most significantly on my stomach and my chest. I point there with my finger, and Cato's eyes widen.
I felt myself frowning. "What's wrong?" I know the bruising must be bad, but I didn't think it was too much for him to handle.
He clears his throat and rubs the back of his neck. "Are you.. um, are you sure you're comfortable with me.. seeing and touching you there?" Cato asks shakily.
"Why?"
He clears his throat again. "Well, usually, touching a girl there is a bit.. Intimate." Cato blushes and I'm shocked. He does not do that very often, so it's definitely a treat. It makes him look extremely adorable. He looks younger.
My cheeks flush, again, and I nod. "Uh, yeah. I guess so."
"Okay." Cato goes silent as he lays out a sleeping bag while I watch his moves. He was uncomfortable, afraid even, to touch my belly. That was sort of weird, I guess. I don't really think him seeing me there was intimate, but then again, I know nothing about being intimate, so my thoughts don't really matter. I wonder if Cato has ever been.. you know.. with anyone. I'm not going to ask him, though. That is extremely personal.
"Take off your jacket and then lie down," Cato says. I obey, removing my blood-stained jacket and move backwards slowly so as not to cause any more pain.
Once I'm completely on my back, Cato sits beside me. His hands hover over the bottom of my shirt and he eyes me questioningly.
"Can I..?" he asks me slowly. I nod my head, watching his hands closely. I don't know why, but there was this sudden tension, as thick as fog in the air amidst us, and it was making my chest rise and fall heavily, panting way too hard. I was afraid, for some unknown reason, and very anticipated.
Cato wrapped his fingers onto the bottom of my shirt and he pulls it up my stomach slowly, up until the bottom of my chest. I see him gulp hard as more of me becomes exposed to him. There is a huge, nasty red and purple bruise along the left side of my belly, and the other side is clear but pale. My eyes flutter closed as I feel his cold fingers run along my torso softly.
Soon, his fingers are gone and my eyes are opened again. I watch Cato as his hands shake and he gets the cloth and some alcohol to wipe my bruise. His eyes are no longer that soft blue that they usually are; they're filled with something much deeper. His eyes are narrowed and he's breathing harder than I am.
The alcohol hits my skin and I hiss at the pain. Cato's eyes widen and he removes his hand quickly. "I'm sorry," he mutters.
I gulp and nod. "It's okay. Keep going." Cato nods and continues to wipe my bruise while I groan in pain. Alcohol really burns. While one hand cleans my bruise, the other grips onto my bare right side. His hand made me squirm. It made my heart pound.
All of a sudden, the familiar feel of his soft, hot lips are on my torso, and he's kissing my pain and sore feelings away. My body is quickly turned to fire for a moment, and then it's gone.
Cato sits back and laces his hands behind his neck. "Shit.. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.. I was just- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that," he rambles as if he's done something bad. I'm guessing him kissing me there was bad, but it felt really good.
"Cato, it's fine. Just keep going. I want to get this over with," I mutter, stopping his mouth. Cato flushes again and he rubs cold cream on me and gets a huge bandage, taping it over my torso and then kissing it. I smile and he pulls my shirt back down and I sit up.
"Where next?" he asks.
I point to my arm, where the old bandage I had on from days ago is ripped and soaked in blood. Cato treats my arm the same way he did my stomach, wrapping it and kissing the bandage once he was done. Last of all was my cheek. He placed his face close to mine as he examined the damage and treated it, wiping it down and putting the cream on it. I feel his breath hitting my ear and again my heart beat quickens. I realise I haven't kissed him in seven days.
Cato finishes his work but leaves my cheek bare of a bandage. I close my eyes as he places a chaste kiss on my cheek, releases his lips, and replaces them on the corner of mouth. My eyes shoot open and he stares down at me.
I've been waiting for this moment for a long time. Our eyes are locked and we both know what we want, but neither of us makes a single move. It's intense, really intense, and I'm just waiting for him to do something, anything.
Cato's cold fingertips run along my cheek as he watches and takes in all of my features, like he was trying to get a permanent picture for the future.
"What the hell are you doing to me, Rose?" he whispers, shaking his head.
I shrug my shoulders as our breaths join one another in the small space between our lips. I felt the millions of eyes in Panem hanging on to every word and every breath we took, but I didn't care.
Cato brushes stray hair from my ponytail behind my ear, and then all I feel is electricity. His lips brush against mine, and I'm lost. Our lips claim each other's desperately, tongues dancing in a harsh battle for power. It's refreshing and fills my being with relief.
I don't know how long we were there, me lying down with his body hovering over me as two pieces of clay moulded perfectly into one sculpture, but when we separate for air, I know what hung in the air. It was pure lust.
Once the heavy breathing dies down, Cato stares at me with huge eyes, like he's never seen me before. I sit, confused, wondering what was going to happen now. These last few moments made me forget the entire world, all but him, but I'm back in the present, and we're still in the Games.
"What now?" I ask him, putting all the items surrounding us away. I couldn't put my nasty jacket back on, so I'm just going to have to go without. Cato rubs his swollen lips with his thumb and he watches me closely. A smirk plays on his lips and I know he's got something good up his sleeve.
"We go home," he says simply with a shrug. There's excitement in his eyes, happiness and mysterious close, and it only makes him more attractive. He has a boyish grin on his mouth, making him look younger.
"And what does that mean?" I ask slyly. No doubt, I was going to agree to whatever was making him smile so brightly. Cato told me he would try to get us both out, so anything he asks me to do to get us out, I will do.
His eyebrows raise in surprise at my sudden excitement and enthusiasm to join him. "We're going after everyone, one by one."
My grin is evident and my body reels in anticipation. "And where do we start?" I ask, grabbing my weapon and making sure my bag was packed. Cato seemed to have merged my and Rue's supplies into my pack.
"We start small, with a tribute that's just in the way, and then, we work our way up to the ones that deserve to be punished. The first to go: the girl from five. Last: Peter." Cato's expression hardens and he grips the end of his blade tightly.
My heart beats in nervousness for Peeta. I don't think Cato will show him any mercy. "Cato, you won't do anything.. drastic to Peeta, will you?" I ask hastily. I wasn't sure if asking him something like that would upset him, especially after what Peeta did.
"Fuck that. After what he did to you, I'm going to make sure he feels nothing but pain from the moment I see him until the moment he dies," he snarls, his brows tightly furrowed together.
I know what Peeta did was horrible, but I don't want to see him get tortured for anything in the world. He's still my 'friend', a very, very horrible one at that, but he's from home, so there's a connection that he and I have that I don't have with anyone else here. Then again, Haymitch is from home, too, so..
I miss Haymitch, and I don't know why when he was so mean to me most of the time. He did give me a present for my birthday.. one that he didn't think of himself. But, he did compliment me after my assessment, but that was the only compliment he's ever really given me. He.. Umm..
I really don't have a reason why I miss him. I guess I miss life outside of this arena.
"Cato, please don't do anything too drastic to him. He is from home," I plead.
Cato looks at me like I've lost my mind. "No, I don't give a damn about whatever you have to say about him," he says, gathering all of his things and making sure all his weapons were clean.
"But Cato-"
"God dammit, Rose, if you say one more thing defending that prick, I'm going to think maybe you'd rather be with him!" Cato yells. My lips quiver and I sit back and pout.
"Don't yell. I just don't want to watch him be tortured to death by you," I explain, watching my hands knit together in my lap.
"Yeah, but I had to watch him and his friend bruise you!" he yells, regardless of me asking him not to.
"I know that, but that doesn't mean that he deserves-"
"Fuck, Rose!" Cato yells louder than before. I've definitely said too much. He's fuming. "Just stop, okay? Look at your face, you arm, and your stomach! He did that to you! Your skin should be beautifully smooth, not printed with black, blue and red! Now just shut the hell up or I'm going to make his punishment worse than I already have it planned to be!"
My face scrunches and I cower back. "I'm sorry," I whisper, my lips trembling. I hate it when he's angry, and I know that sometimes I provoke him, but I don't want him going overboard. I know Peeta's going to have to die if I want to go home, but I don't want it to be as horrible as I know Cato can make it.
Cato's eyes soften and he pecks my lips softly. "I know, Kitten. But look at you. I promised to take care of you, didn't I?" I nod my head. "I did. And look at you. He ruined your perfection. Your whole body aches, you've been beaten and bruised, and you watched your friend get murdered without so much as a blink of an eye. I made a promise to you, and I broke it. I fucking broke my promise. You don't know how much it breaks me to see your body flinch with every move you make. And your skin; it used to be a beautiful porcelain white, and now when I look at your face, all I see is black and blue. He's not getting away with what he did." Cato gets angrier with every word he says, and soon his hand is gripping my bruised rib so tightly that I wince and force his hand away.
And about what he said. I had no idea he felt so strongly about what happened to me. But watching his face as he spoke, I could tell he was fantasising about all the damage he was going to do to Peeta once he got the chance. No matter how much I wanted to, I did not argue with him. He's passionate, and even if he denies it, I know he cares about me much more than I thought. My heart swells with.. I want to say love, but I don't think it's that.
I rub his burning red cheeks and watch as the anger subsides in his eyes and they soften as he looks at me. "You ready to start?" I ask with a smirk. I'm on his side, one-hundred percent, and with all the admiration he has for me, I can't do anything but support him. I strap my quiver onto my back and grab my bow and arrows.
Cato grins back at me and wields his knife and nods enthusiastically. "That's my Kitten. Let's get these fuckers and go home."
It's time to see the real Cato. The uncontrollably, amazingly, irresistibly fit Cato that we all know and fantasise about in Maths instead of paying attention to their super boring, yet overly loved teacher Mr. Pytel.. Not saying that was my life.. but uh.. yeah. (Sidenote, I no longer have to see his face bc this coming Thursday, I will officially be a University student! So yay for both!)
Please feel free to comment how old you are and what grade you're currently in, and also what you're most excited about for going back-to-school. Personally I love the BTS shopping! But I love interacting with you guys, but you're mostly mysteries that I would definitely like to know more about! I could be that one writer that has a million 12 year old readers, or I could be the one that semi-cool for having someone above that age.
And please comment if you don't like what's happening in the story or you want to see more of something. Usually when someone asks for something, I give them that wish. Plus, I don't think I'm too good of a writer, so I definitely LOVE positive and negative feedback. It always helps.
As always, I love you guys more than breathing! So how bout you vote, comment, share and follow? And thank you so much for reading!
Cheers ? Laters, baby.
Myesha xx