CATO:
The walk back home with Charlie was quiet. I was afraid to say anything to him because I knew he was just going to bring up the situation with Molly.
What the actual fuck did I do? I know I've been horrible to girls.. I admit that. But never, never have I ever done anything with another while I was screwing around with one. Cheating was a hard limit for me; it was something that my Mother taught me never to do, even if I was the worst person in the world. But, I just did it. And this one, Rose...
What the actual fuck did I do?
How could I let something like this happen? How could I let Molly trick me into kissing her? I knew she was up to something; she sent the damned note last night telling me that she was going to do something. I should have known the moment she walked up to me while I was sitting on the bench that she was hatching her plan. The best way to attack someone is when they're alone and vulnerable. I was alone, and I sure as hell was vulnerable, especially with worrying about Rose every goddamn millisecond of the day.
Maybe I was just going insane. It wasn't my fault, right? I mean, I didn't plan for it to happen, and it's safe to say that I wasn't in my right mind when I was with Molly. She was tweaking my brain, saying and doing things to fog my mind.
No, it is my fault. She kissed me the first time and I joined her the second time. And with all of those people watching. Charlie and the entire school had been filing out of the building when he called out for me. Who knows who could have seen?
How am I going to tell Rose? I can't stand to see her cry. But then again, I don't want to keep this secret. It was eating me alive already.. Imagine when I actually step in front of Rose when I get home. No, no I can't tell Rose.. And Charlie can't tell her either. I need to make sure he keeps this a secret, from Mum and anyone else that he could possibly tell. If he can tell Rose about me farting at the dinner table when I was twelve, he can definitely tell her this and not think that he did anything wrong.
Charlie was walking beside me, aimlessly swinging a branch against the weeds growing from the ground. "Hey Charl?"
"Huh?" he asked, still paying more attention to the weeds.
I sighed and kicked at pebbles. How can I approach this? "Do you know what happened back there?"
"Yes," he nodded, frowning at me, "you kissed Moppy and now you have two girlfriends."
Shit, so he does know what happened.
"No, Charlie, that's not what happened."
"Then what was it?" he asked, staring up at me. "Cuz you kissed Rosey the same way as you did Moppy and she's your girlfriend," he answered quite smartly.
God dammit, why did I have to teach him so much? Couldn't I just have made him a little less smarter?
I rubbed my forehead. I'm just going to have to lie to him. Even though I hate lying to him, too, he wouldn't even know and he'll probably forget as soon as he picks up a toy. "Well Charlie, that was just an experiment that Molly had to do in school. She had to test whether or not I was yucky for a school project, and that is the only way to test it."
Charlie's eyes widened and he frowned. "So she thinks you're yucky, too?"
"Yes," I nod.
"I knew it!" Charlie almost yelled. "I told everyone that you were yucky and no one believed me! Now everyone will know!"
"Yup, you were right buddy."
Charlie smiled wide. "I have to tell Rosey! Then she'll believe me, too!"
"No!" I yelled accidentally. "Sorry, Charl. But you cannot tell anyone. This was a top secret experiment that stays between the two of us and Molly, okay? Not even Mum."
"Why?" he asked. God, why do kids ask so many questions?
"Because.." I stuttered, "because Molly is going to have a grand reveal to the whole district when she's ready to tell everyone. And when she does, Rose will be in the very first row."
"Really?"
No. "Yes."
Charlie nodded, completely oblivious to my lie. "Okay, it'll be our secret until the huge party with a lot of balloons, toys and candy! And a train! Will a train be there, Cato?"
"Yes," I lied again. "In fact, there will be five trains, all for you."
"Woah, that's so cool!"
"Mhm, but it will only happen if you don't tell anyone."
Charlie pretends to zip his mouth closed and smiles again. "I promise."
"Good."
By the time we finished the conversation, we had already made it home. Charlie ran into the back of the house, where Mum was most likely in the garden, working for the short time that the sun would be up.
I did not want to go inside. I was afraid to encounter Rose. What if I slipped and told her? What if I acted too weirdly and she figured out that something was wrong? Rose wasn't invasive enough to go to Charlie and ask him, but she is pretty observant, when she wants to be at least.
Shit, why did I have to be so stupid?
I have to go inside. I can't stay out here forever, and we're leaving later tonight anyway. Whatever, I just need to go in there and act like nothing is wrong. I can't walk in like there was a problem because then Rose would most definitely see that something was up.
Okay, I'm just going to go in..
I braced myself and walked through the front door, trying to be as confident and unsuspecting as possible.
I was able to breathe for a little. Rose was nowhere to be found. She was probably in the backyard with Mum. Knowing my mother, she probably dragged her out there.
I was just about to escape upstairs when I heard Mum calling me from outside.
"Shit," I groaned.
I stopped, turned, and slowly made my way to the backyard.
Sure enough, Rose was bent over in the garden, her perfectly sculpted ass pushed up into the air as she dug into the ground with a mini-shovel.
I could just imagine her bent over like that in front of me, hands holding onto the headboard of the bed while I took her to town.
Charlie rose up from where he was sitting and jumped onto her back. She laughed and turned to squeeze him in a hug.
"Pumpkin!" Mum yelled, interrupting me. Rose turned and gave me a huge smile.
"Yeah, Ma?"
"Could you go inside and fix Baby a snack and help him with his studies while we work out here?" she asked.
"But I don't need help with it Mummy! I can do it alone!" Charlie interrupted.
Mum gave him a stern look and he pouted and let go of Rose. "Don't you pout. You go and do your work," Mum scolded.
"Okay," Charlie grumbled.
Before anyone could say anything else to me, I hurriedly walked back into the house and went into the kitchen to make something for Charlie and get his snack.
Charlie was right; he really did not need my help. All I did was sit there and watch him do the work while eating an apple, and then check it over when he was done. After that, I listened to him read a chapter of a children's book about trains.
Once he was done, he stuffed all of his materials in his backpack and raced up the stairs to play around with his toys. I followed him up the stairs, much more slowly, to the bathroom. All of this anxiety was making my bladder work too well. I had to piss like a dog.
Just as I made it to the bathroom door, it flew open, and the next thing I could comprehend was Rose laying on top of me, straddling my junk, and my back on the floor. Her hair was covering my face and her hands were flat on my chest.
This is my type of position.. Hell yeah.
Rose looked up to look in my eyes and blushed. "Oh, Cato I'm so sorry. There was water on the floor.. a-and I slipped, and I didn't know you were there and... This is so embarrasing," she stuttered.
"Rose?" I interrupted her from her rambling. She continued talking, apologizing and telling me how embarrassed she was for making me fall backwards. "Rose!" I ended up having to yell.
Rose stopped talking and stared at me. "What?" she asked.
I watched as she gulped and stared down at me. I sent her a smirk and watched as her blush deepens. "Kiss me."
"W-what?"
"Kiss me," I repeated.
She frowned and tried to remove herself from atop me. I secured her hips with my hands and kept her where she was. "C-Cato, I can't kiss you while I'm on top of you like this," she said.
"Yes you can." It'll satisfy one-fifth of my wildest dreams.
"Not here, in the hallway."
"Would you prefer we take this elsewhere?" I ask with my eyebrows raised. What was she suggesting? No matter what it was, I would be down. Holy fucking yes, I would be so down.
Her blush went to her ears and she bit her lip.
God dammit, I feel the hard-on coming. Especially with her wriggling on top of me.
Why did I have to kiss Molly when I have something so great sitting on top of me? Nothing and nobody compares to her.
I'm a fucking idiot.
Rose surprises me by leaning down and attaching her lips to mine. I was trying to get myself in the mood and kiss her back fully, but the incident with Molly kept running through my mind. I couldn't even convince myself that I was worth her time. Rose deserves everything, but I ruined that by letting myself get wooed by someone else.
Rose sat back up and frowned at me. "What's wrong?"
"What- what are you talking about?"
"You asked me to kiss you, and then you didn't kiss me back. Are you okay?" she asked while running her hand through her hair. Shit, I love when she does that.
"Mhm," I lied.
Rose frowned, obviously not believing me. "Are you sure? You didn't even say hi to me when you made it back with Charlie.. Did something happen?"
Hell, does she already know?
She sat up and rose off of me. She stood and I followed suit. "No, Kitten. I'm okay," I lied again.
"Are you sure? You know that you can talk to me about anything," she said.
"Yes, shit Kitten I said that I was okay. Stop asking me," I snapped accidentally.
Rose pouted. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"No," I sighed, "I'm sorry. I'm still a little tired." Another lie... I wonder how many it's going to take for me to just tell her.
No, I can't tell her. I just can't. It would devastate her.
"Okay." She rolled her eyes, and I would have said something, but I was too busy trying to get my hard-on to deflate.
The rest of the night, I tried to avoid Rose as much as possible. I felt as though if I was alone with her for too long, I would cave and just tell her at the wrong time and the wrong place. By the time it was time for us to leave, Mum was in tears. She didn't want us to leave, but I really couldn't take her with us. Snow didn't want family to be around us in the Capitol because he thought that they would distract us from the tasks that he wanted us to complete with him and everyone else.
I really wanted them to be there with us, though. I would be so much happier with Charlie and Mum would be such a huge help, espcially when it came to how I should treat Rose. I mean, I know what I'm doing, but Mum can alays keep me in my place.
It was hard letting go of my family, but within in an hour of saying goodbye, we were almost halfway back to the Capitol and our new lives.
Even though things were so fucked up between us, I was happy to be able to start my life over with someone like her. Rose was the best person that could help me be a better person because I would always listen to her. If it takes my whole life, I would do anything she wants to keep her happy, even if she wants me to leave her.
When we made it to the Capitol, Rose was fast asleep, so I picked her up carried her out of the train. An Avox woman with thick, curly red hair, silently led me to a high-rise building with the elevator that took us to what was called the Victor's Suite.
The place was humongous, like nothing I've ever seen. The windows were all glass, giving us the view of the entire Capitol, with all of the beautiful lights and buildings surrounding us. It was a very nice place. All of the furniture was new and looked way too luxurious to belong to people outside of the Capitol.
The Avox was about to leave but I stopped her. "Can you show me to the bedroom, please?"
She nodded silently and led me through the suite while I carried Rose in my arms. Once we made it to the bedroom, I laid Rose out on the king-sized bed and began removing her clothes.
Rose stirred in her sleep and opened her eyes. "What are you doing?" she mumbles.
"Just changing your clothes, baby. Go back to sleep."
She doesn't question me, just closes her eyes and sleeps again. I went to the fully stocked closet, but decided against it and removed my own shirt, placing it on her. I removed her bra, throwing it into the laundry bin in the closet along with her socks.
After tucking her in the bed, I went to get something to eat and go to sleep myself. But just as I made it to bed and had my arms around Rose comfortably, I heard a knock at the door.
Damn, I just want to sleep for at least an hour!
I removed myself from the bed, not caring to throw on a shirt and went to answer the door. I was surprised when I found Haymitch at the door, standing alongside Effie.
Effie surveyed me up and down and cleared her throat. Oh hell yeah, I worked too hard for this chest; she better look.. but not touch.
"What?" I groan, rubbing my eyes.
"Well handsome, if you must know, President Snow asked us to come and tell you that he would like to meet with you," Haymitch says with a smirk.
I sigh and turn around, going to throw on a shirt and some joggers. When I return, Haymitch is looking through the cabinets in the kitchen. Effie is commenting on the 'interior design' and how everything was 'just absolutely perfect!'
"What is this meeting about?" I ask while closing the door and making sure to lock it. I didn't want anything to happen to Rose while she was here, all alone in the dark.
"It seems as if he caught something scandalous on camera back in your District. Hm, I wonder what that could be," Haymitch answers sarcastically with a frown.
Aw shit, god dammit, they saw me kiss Molly.
"Shit," I mumble.
"Oh, shit is right young man." Haymitch stops in front of me and places his hand on my chest, stopping me along with him. "Now let me tell you something. If you do anything to her that sweetheart, I will personally castrate you," he says, grabbing me by my shirt.
"What?" I question. What the hell was happening?
"Prim is way too sweet and deserves someone much better than you. But, she chose you, so I have to accept that. But, what I won't accept is her running to one of us when you hurt her over and over again. So, I'm going to repeat myself. If you do anything to hurt that girl in there, I will personally cut off your dick and sell it on the black market. Do you understand me, boy?"
He has a harsh look in his eyes and from there, I know he's serious. No one really messes with Haymitch, especially when he's drunk.
"I understand," I gulp, not saying anything to upset him. I have to tread lightly around Haymitch. He's a crazy son-of-a-bitch. Plus, I really want to keep my dick. It has brought me some amazing moments in this life.
"Why would you do such a thing, Cato? You know that is not the gentlemanly thing to do," Effie says.
I roll my eyes, ignoring her. Doesn't she know that I know what I did was fucked up?
We step into an elevator that transports us from this building to the President's house. It was pretty huge, but I've seen it before, so it really was nothing special.
Once we got off of the elevator, Effie and Haymitch both led me to the President's office. Effie knocked once and opened the door, making me go in first with them following behind me.
President Snow was sitting at his desk, sipping on wine and watching a projected video clip.. The one where I was kissing Molly. I stood frozen, watching as she placed her hands around my neck and kissed me. I stared back down at her and then I leaned down and kissed her back.. Holy shit I was even grabbing her ass. I don't even remember doing that!
Snow turned to me and smiled. "Cato Hadley. Please, take a seat." He motioned to a seat at his desk and then motioned for Haymitch to close the door.
"Snow, I know what that looks like, but-"
"Oh, yes, I know exactly what it looks like. It seems to me that you have no respect for the standards that we put in place for your survival along with the woman that you claimed was the love of your life," Snow interrupted with a frown.
I sighed and tried not to get angry. "I didn't mean for that to happen. She seduced me into it," I tried to explain.
"And then you reciprocated her seduction," he answers, taking another sip of his wine. "Does Ms. Primrose Everdeen know about this?" he asks with a smirk. Of course, he knows whether or not I told her. He knows everything.
"No, Rose-"
"Primrose," Snow corrects.
"Primrose," I snarl, "doesn't know because I haven't told her."
"And when were you planning on doing so?"
"I wasn't," I answer honestly. There's no point in lying to Snow. He would find out sooner or later whether or not I was lying, and the end result would not be pretty.
"Well, now you will."
"What do you mean?" I ask him. I feel as though something bad is about to be said.
Snow takes another slow sip of his wine, leaving me waiting for his answer. "Tommorow night, a dinner will take place with a some of the other Victors so that you two know who you'll be working with. There, you will tell Ms. Everdeen about your incident with Ms. Molly Symes with everyone watching so that I can confirm that you told her the truth. After your reveal, you will have twenty-four hours to win her forgiveness. If you fail to get her to forgive you, you will be sent to death."
Fuck.. I knew this was coming.
"I can't tell her something like that with other people watching."
"Isn't that too bad?" Snow answers sarcastically.
"And she's not going to forgive me," I tried to reason with him. "You know that she won't."
Snow chuckles and shrugs his shoulder. "All the more harder you should try," he answers. "And this time, no negotiations."
I stood up angrily and stormed out of the room before I strangled Snow with no remorse.
"You have a total of fourty-eight hours, Mr. Hadley," he calls after me, laughing lightly.
Shit. What the hell am I going to do?
Just so you know, I'm supposed to be studying for a History and Science final that are both tomorrow.. Oops. I should probably get that done. I'll start right after I post this, eat and watch an episode of House on Netflix.
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. A lot of the chapters have been in Cato's POV but now they will be in Prim's. I notice so many more new readers, so I just want to welcome you all!
I love you more than maths class (which is my favourite subject, btw). SO you should vote, comment, share and follow! Thank you so much for reading!
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Cheers. Laters, baby.
Myesha xx