Forbearance • A Cato Hadley Story

2.09

Livia was appalled. She was appalled that they would kill an innocent man. She was appalled that they would kill an innocent man in front of his family. In front of his friends. His district. That four year old girl would grow up without her father. That ten year old girl would have to live the rest of her life with only the few memories she had with her father, as she would be able to make no more. That woman would now have to take care of her two children on her own.

And not only that but she now had no husband. No love of her life. Now it wasn't just Glimmer they had lost. It was now their father as well. It was her fault. Livia cried out long after the doors shut in front of her. She had managed to wiggle out of the grasp of the peacekeepers and ran to the doors, only to be taken by the waist and pulled away. The blonde shuffled her way out of the person's arms and turned, finding Brutus behind her.

It had been him to grab her and she wasn't going to stand for the situation she had been put in. "Don't touch me! Don't fucking touch me!" the blonde yelled furiously, glaring at the man as tears clouded her vision. Cato quickly stepped in front of his girlfriend and wrapped his arm around the front of her body to push her back lightly, causing her to rest her hand on his upper arm. "Hey, Hun. Listen, you have to calm down. Look at me." the boy spoke softly.

He had managed to keep the blonde from causing any more of a scene and she was now frozen in place, breathing heavily and glaring at Brutus who simply walked away from the girl in an angry manner. But she would not look at Cato. So he had to grab her by the chin and force her to look at him. When she met his eyes she could instantly feel her heart rate go down, yet every few seconds she would sniffle and wipe a tear from her reddened cheeks.

"Cato they- they just- he was innocent! Help him! Someone!" she shouted, frantically searching for a sign of anyone leaving to help the man. But no one was moving. Livia kept on begging as Cato pulled her closer, only for a hand she knew to be Enobaria's to pull her harshly up two flights of stairs. The blonde was aware that her significant other was following along behind them and she made a point to cling onto him once they made it to the top room of the building.

"You two have a very simple task." Enobaria started, mostly aiming her lecture at the girl who was still distraught over the situation. In pure frustration she pulled away from the boy and ran her fingers through her hair as she let out a distressed sob. "I never meant for anyone to get killed, he has to know that!" Livia cried as Enobaria rested her hands on the girl's shoulders in reassurance. The mentor looked at the teen confused, completely unsure of the context.

Enobaria used her thumb to rub on the girl's arm, somewhat calming her down before speaking. "What are you talking about? Who has to know what?" the woman as, worried about both the girl and whatever she was talking about. Livia frantically shook her head no and broke away from her mentor so she could start pacing back and forth. "Snow, he came to see me. He's worried about the rebellion in the districts. He thinks that they don't believe our love story. I tried to tell him it wasn't- he didn't believe-" the girl stuttered, starting to feel light-headed.

Both Cato and Enobaria rushed forward and took a hold of Livia, the boy gripping her waist in an attempt to hold her up, as he could tell she looked off, and the woman grabbing her hand, all in the hopes of comforting her. The small girl's breathing stayed quickened but she had stopped pacing once she was in the embrace of her partner and mentor. "So he wants you to make them believe?" Enobaria asked, rubbing the back of Livia's hand with her hand.

The girl didn't respond but just quickly nodded her head moving her violently shaking hand to find a place to rest. Thankfully it was Cato's arm that her free hand had landed on which calmed her down a bit more, knowing he was there making it a bit easier for her to calm down. "What don't they believe? I wish I loved someone like you two love each other." the slightly taller woman spoke, causing the two heavily breathing teens to freeze.

Although the current situation was frightening, the mention of that one specific feeling made the two nervous. They had become official two or three months after the games, this being around their fourth month officially together and they hadn't spoken of that exact word just yet. Not that it was a big deal but it certainly changed the mood of the teens. Enobaria had sensed the atmosphere in the room shift completely and pushed off the comment so Cato could speak.

"Look, you should've told me that before I went out there and tried to give these people our money!" Cato lectured, turning his girlfriend so she faced him. Livia just shrugged in distress, staying latched onto his forearm. She didn't know what she was doing. All she knew was that she was scared. The people she loved most were being threatened and she didn't know what to do. "I'm sorry, I didn't know what to do. He threatened to kill my family. He threatened to kill you!" Livia shouted, causing Cato to go silent.

He didn't move for a moment but hesitantly pulled the small girl close to his chest in an attempt to calm down both Livia as well as himself. "What about them? Who protects them? Liv, what were you thinking?" the mentor asked the clearly distressed girl as she was cradled in her lover's arms. She could hear his heart beating while she was pressed against him, though her somewhat suppressed sobs covered it up.

"I was thinking about Glimmer and Marvel. Eno, please, please just help me get through this trip. Please, just help us get through this." Livia begged, turning only her head to face Enobaria. The mentor shook her head and stepped closer to the girl, who knew more to the lecture was coming. The small girl sniffled as she held eye contact with her mentor, though the woman was blurry from the layer of tears coating Livia's vision.

"This trip, girl? Wake up!" Enobaria shot back, snapping in the teens face. "This trip doesn't end when you get back home. You never get off this train. You two are mentors now, that means that every year they're gonna drag you out and broadcast the details of your romance. Every year your private life becomes theirs. From now on your job is to be a distraction so that people forget what the real problems are." the dark haired woman explained leaving Livia speechless.

It was this moment that Livia wished Cato had let her die in the arena. It was this moment that Livia wished she had never volunteered for the games. She never signed up for this. She was scared. She just wanted to leave the eye of the public and never show herself to the world again. But she couldn't do that. Not now. Not ever.

After a few extra days of the tour the couple found themselves in District Five. The crowd made up of the population of District Five cheered as Livia and Cato walked onto the stage hand in hand. On the right a little boy held out a gift for Cato, who let go of the girl's hand so he could take the gift. On the left was a small girl holding out a bouquet of flowers for the blonde.

The little girl reached a bit above Livia's waist and a beautiful white dress contrasted her long, curly, dark brown hair along with an adorable flower crown. "Thank you." Livia thanked the little girl with a smile as she took the bouquet from her small hands. The young girl stared up at the seventeen year old with a big smile and bright eyes. "One day I'm gonna volunteer, just like you did." the little girl told her happily.

But Livia wasn't even the slightest bit happy at the girl's comment. She knew it was meant to be honorable but it frightened her knowing that her actions had caused this ten year old girl to want to be sent to the death. And that's why Livia woke up screaming from her dream. The cry for help only lasted a few seconds but it was long enough to cause the back of her throat to hurt. The blonde's breathing was heavy and was the only thing that could be heard in the room.

Rushing in as fast as possible, Cato ran into the blonde's room frantically with a worried look plastered on his face. "Hun, what's wrong?" he asked, still clearly half asleep which made Livia assume she had woken the poor boy up. The blonde simply shook her head and took a deep breath as she sunk back into her bed. "It was just a dream, I'm sorry." she apologized breathily.

"It's okay. Goodnight, Hun." he reassured her quietly. Just as he had the night before the games he turned towards the door and began to walk out before Livia called for him. "Cato, will you stay with me?" she asked, hoping for a response from her significant other. The muscular boy hesitated for a moment before muttering a 'yeah' and walking to Livia's bed, climbing in with her. He swiftly wrapped his arm around her shoulders and let her rest her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, Bub."