A/N: Thanks so much for all of your comments, critiques, encouragements in the reviews!! I apologize for this chapter... Love 25 of y'all (and guests)!
CHAPTER ELEVEN:
THE QUALMS OF LOVE
The Plinth household was unwell. Coriolanus couldn't have arrived at their front doorstep at a more inopportune time. Their meek Avox maid had ushered him into the foyer, and he could already hear Ma's snuffles coming from the main parlor. Somehow, his dire circumstances had forced him to outline a clear script in his head for what he needed to say. His mouth felt tense, ready to spew out the words.
He approached Mrs. Plinth's trembling shadow near the open window. She had been staring down at the quiet street below, tears dripping off of her chin. Her innocent yet hollow gaze found his and she reached her hand out towards him and weakly gripped his shirt arm. The sorrow that befall her seemed to age her by ten years.
"Mrs. Plinth, please excuse my intrusion, but I've only just heard the news of your son today. I would like to offer my condolences to you and your husband," he started, assuming the grace of a caring gentleman. Dignified and genuine qualities always seemed to please her.
"Coriolanus Snow. Dear boy, thank you. I still have not processed this fully," she admitted. He kneeled before the woman and extracted his handkerchief from the breast pocket of his uniform.
"Where is your husband?" He asked, offering it to her. She took it, dabbing at her puffy eyes.
"He has locked himself in the office... It is very kind of you to come to check on us, but I think we'd both like to be alone," she murmured while patting him. Yes, he imagined that they would. Had old Strabo Plinth reached his breaking point? Was he hiding himself away, even from the eyes of his own wife, ashamed and heart broken for his only child?
"Listen, Mrs. Plinth. I understand how painful this time must be for you both, but I must speak with your husband. I believe I know of a way to save Sejanus," he declared. She straightened up, clutching his handkerchief in her hands.
"You do?"
"Yes. Please, show me to his office," he entreated. Prompted by the urgency in his voice, Ma Plinth relented and, taking his arm, she pointed the way down the hall.
And so Coriolanus proceeded to offer his assistance to the Plinths. He plastered on his mask of confidence, inspiring a sliver of hope within them. He claimed how he would vouch for Sejanus Plinth's insanity at court. If their son could be ruled out as mentally unstable, then he would be given the opportunity to avoid the gallows and instead be placed in a mental institution on the outskirts of the Capitol. Most criminals didn't have the chance to plead insanity, but the son of Strabo Plinth was a rare exception. Coriolanus believed that not only could he testify but so could some of his classmates, perhaps even Dr. Gaul. He would need to contact them. He was also convinced that they could uncover specific evidence to help his case. Coriolanus thought that the suicide mission Sejanus started by throwing himself into the arena would surely prove him to be a lunatic.
"This could be a way out for him, but what if it doesn't work?" Strabo Plinth probed him with a heaviness.
"It's a chance, Strabo. We have to try to save him," Mrs. Plinth urged her husband, gripping his hand. Strabo's head dropped, his face obscured in shadow.
"Is it really better for him to be locked up for life with a bunch of psychos?" He murmured. He couldn't bare to show his face to Coriolanus or his wife. The shame was burning him up from the inside out. Ma Plinth attempted to contain herself, but she choked on her words when she spoke.
"It's either that or a r-rope around his n-neck," she got out, tears gushing from her again. "At least, I could see him again, Strabo!" She cried. There was a terrible awkwardness as Coriolanus stood there watching them grapple with this private horror. He wanted to pull them out of it, and he needed to save Lucy Gray. They had to cooperate with him.
"Please, sir, I'll do whatever it takes to help him," he pressed. He watched as the light illuminated Strabo's brown eyes, finally staring up at him. He suddenly felt examined by his searching gaze, picked apart like a genetic mutation in Dr. Gaul's lab.
"But you want something. I can see it. I know when a bargain is about to happen. There's a... desperation," Strabo observed. Coriolanus felt caught. But it was true.
"I won't lie to you. I am willing to offer my help in exchange for some of yours. I'm dealing with a crisis, too. There's too much to explain, but to put it simply, someone I love is in great need of medical attention. My family—our fortune is entirely lost and we are living off of mine and my cousin's income. I can't pay for the bill. If I don't get her help immediately—well, I believe she will die," he unleashed it all upon them. He felt shocked at himself for forcing the floodgates wide open, but his instinct told him he had to. In this one instance of his life, he needed pity. He needed them to pity his situation enough to lend him the money. It felt lowly, but hadn't the Plinth dynasty crumbled as this point, too?
"It's not your grandmother, is it?" Ma Plinth wondered, her kind heart already melting upon hearing his confession.
"No, it's—it's Lucy Gray."
"Lucy Gray? Your tribute from District Twelve?"
"Yes, I've—I've married her. She came back here with me. There was a fire in Twelve and she was burned badly. Her burns got infected, and she's been very sick," he rushed. He didn't like experiencing that queer stab of pain when talking about her.
"That's quite something to hear," Strabo Plinth commented, perplexed. Coriolanus didn't know what to make of that. Right now, he didn't have time to hear about their opinions regarding his personal choices.
"I know, it's a whole tale."
"It seems that we must make a decision quickly. I... I will accept your offer. You will serve as a witness on the stand, and you must help us to persuade a significant amount of people to come forward about my son's mental state. In exchange, I will see that Lucy Gray is taken care of at the hospital. If you must take her there tonight, then please do so. I know what it feels like to worry about someone you love," Strabo added softly.
The moment Coriolanus shook Plinth's hand, he felt stunned by the successful execution of his plan. He knew that it was rooted in desperation for both parties, but he couldn't afford to worry about logistics. Lucy Gray had to be transported to the hospital. When he fled through the front door, Tigris was miraculously still up in the kitchen and demanding an explanation for his whereabouts.
"There's no time. Tigris, I need to take her to the hospital."
"But, Coryo, you know we can't afford—"
"Just call a cab, okay?" he ordered before entering the spare bedroom. Lucy Gray was awake yet delirious. She was sitting upright, the moonlight creating a halo around her mess of curls. As Coriolanus approached her, he felt disturbed by her behavior. Her eyes were glassy and her body swayed slightly, like a sleepwalker.
"Lucy Gray, I'm going to take you to the hospital. I'm going to get you help," he assured her as if he was speaking to a child. He knelt before the mattress, pressing the back of his hand to her hot cheek.
"You're going to get me out?"
"Get you out?"
"Please, Coriolanus, don't let me die in here. Help me win."
Oh god. The arena. The sickness had resurfaced those horrible memories, her past suffering blurring with the present. His stomach tightened, as if he was reliving those moments, too, watching her up on that screen scaling the brink of death. He leaned toward her, gently pressing his forehead against hers. She was on fire.
"I promise, Lucy Gray," he soothed her. Then, wrapping the sheet around her he scooped her up in his arms. Tigris had packed up her bag with some clothes and followed Coriolanus out of the apartment and down the hall. The cab had swiftly pulled up to the doorstep.
"The peacekeepers won't let me escape, Coriolanus. They'll just throw me back in," Lucy Gray murmured as he entered the backseat with her. He clutched her tighter.
"No. I won't let the peacekeepers touch you. I'm getting you out for good," he consoled her. There was no point in trying to discern reality for her now. So, he simply soothed her anxieties about the things past. As they rode to the hospital, Coriolanus watched her eyes shut in relief, her body relaxing in his lap. He wiped away beads of sweat trickling down her forehead. The horror Lucy Gray had experienced in the arena gnawed at his heart. He would never fully understand what she had gone through, not even during his brief time in there. That torturous fear would certainly haunt her for the rest of her life. And the Capitol had caused it. For the first time, Coriolanus felt deeply guilt ridden over this.
For hours he lied on a stiff sofa near Lucy Gray's hospital bed, dozing in and out of a nightmare where he was trapped in the arena with her. He was a tribute and they were allies. And the terrible game ensued over whether or not he was going to kill her or sacrifice himself. Can love outweigh the human thirst for survival? His eyes would open upon his real girl, lying on her stomach with her bare back exposed to translucent lighting as the doctors injected needles into her, and then they would close and reveal his dream girl, curled up asleep beside him with a compact filled with poison beneath his nose.
In the early morning, to his dismay, he broke down over Lucy Gray the second time. She seemed so lifeless on that hospital bed, drugged up on morphling and sleeping syrup. His own lack of sleep and stricken anxiety had pushed him over the edge. The drying tears felt sticky on his face, and he hadn't bothered to wipe them away.
So, this was what it was like to be a lover. It hurt like hell.
Tigris helped him get his bearings together when she brought him some fresh coffee and a pair of clothes. The two huddled together on the sofa, and Coriolanus permitted Tigris to stroke his short curls. They had grown out ever so slightly now.
"I know about the deal you made," she whispered. He nodded.
"It will be a lot of work to get a decent case together for Sejanus, but I think it's right of you," Tigris noted.
"It was the only thing I could think of to help her. But I had to expose us to do it," he admitted reluctantly.
"What do you mean?"
"I had to tell Plinth that we've just been putting up appearances. That we're not really wealthy anymore," he lamented. "Although, he probably already knew when he saw where we had moved to."
"Oh, Coryo," Tigris wrapped her arm around her cousin. "You know we couldn't pretend forever. For myself, it was really for Grandma'am's sake that I hid our reality from other people. We'll be better off soon. Money isn't everything," she quoted, smiling at him.
"You say that, but..." Coriolanus studied Lucy Gray's still body. "If we did have money, I wouldn't have had to beg at Plinth's feet," he uttered bitterly.
"I know," Tigris whispered. "But, at least, this may save the Plinths from the sorrow you almost experienced last night. Your friend could be spared from the gallows because of you."
"Yeah. Honestly, I couldn't give a shit about Sejanus, Tigris," Coriolanus mumbled. She shot him a bewildered look.
"Look, I'm sorry. I'm just exhausted." He brushed her off, rubbing his eyes. He forgot that he hadn't entirely disclosed his frustrating relationship with Sejanus to Tigris.
"Well, drink up," she ordered, nudging his cup. Despite the coffee scalding his tongue, he took a big gulp.
"Look, Coryo, she'll be alright. She has the best doctors around. You stay here and don't worry about anything until she gets better. I'll take care of Grandma'am and keep the apartment afloat. And I'm sure your commander won't reprimand you for missing a few days. After all, this was an emergency," Tigris assured him.
"Thanks, Tigris."
Within the hour that Tigris left, the caffeine fortunately kicked in. Coriolanus finally felt energized enough to shower and change out of his wrinkled and sweaty officer's uniform. Although he wanted to believe in what Tigris had said, he felt agitated about how his absence might affect his performance with the Department. Perhaps Commander Masculles would be too consumed with the issue of Sejanus to penalize him? Or would he be insistent that Coriolanus return so he could help him sort out the logistics? Either way, now he would have to reveal to his commander that he would be defending Sejanus in court.
He needed to take a walk to calm himself. Maybe the coffee wasn't such a good idea. He didn't want Lucy Gray to wake up alone in the hospital room, but she still seemed deep under the influence of the drugs. Perhaps he would take a lap around the floor, grab some breakfast to settle his knotted stomach, and then return. He squeezed her unusually pale hand before venturing out into the hall.
"Good morning, Officer Snow," a bouncy yet misleading voice sounded from behind him. Coriolanus felt his insides rattle, and he turned on his heel to greet the familiar, eccentric presence of Dr. Volumnia Gaul.