The Scent of Roses || Coriolanus Snow

Chapter XXVI

The air had been cold as when Coriolanus walked you to his home. But, now, there was no wind. In its place were the whispers of winter covering the paths to return to your apartment.

You looked to the sky to see smog covering the once prominent stars. The war had caused many damaging effects to the environment, not just the people.

You remembered fondly the days when the night sky was bright with light from the moon. Back when you knew every constellation and which ones you would see each night. You missed the days when the air was fresh and clean in your lungs, and the water was drinkable wherever you went, and when plants and wildlife flourished.

That hadn't been a reality for many years, and you had little faith that you would see a total recovery in your lifetime.

Neither you nor Coriolanus had said much since you left, mainly because you didn't know what to say to him. Your stomach was filled with tight knots. Each one was a heavy battle between believing Tigress or Coriolanus.

You had somewhat meant what you had said to her about being able to handle yourself. Tigress knew him as family, which was far different than how you knew him. You doubted he showed much of himself to his Grandma'am and his cousin. He was hardly ever with them. He was busy plotting his way into the higher-ups of the Capitol, creating the games in their most perfect light. Even you had come to occupy much of his time.

But, her last words to you before you left. Before Coriolanus had wrapped your coat around, as well as the scarf he had gifted. He's killed people. That wasn't something you could ignore, but it wasn't an easy question to ask him. If he had killed people, he would hardly admit such a thing. Murder was illegal, even for someone of his status.

But wouldn't she have reported it if he had done such a thing? Or was she too fearful of what might happen if she stood up against him?

You finally made it to the entrance of your building. Coriolanus held the door open for you and offered to gently help you up the stairs, his hand leading yours to your apartment door. You fumbled with your keys until the door was finally unlocked.

Instead of bidding you goodnight, Coriolanus asked to come in momentarily. After his show of generous hospitality, you could hardly say no.

He walked inside and removed your coat, hanging it against the spokes that stuck out from the wall. He watched you cautiously as you walked around, putting other things in place, allowing you to settle down for the night quickly.

You could feel his stare becoming increasingly impatient. Did he want something from you? You could hardly tell. He remained silent while his jaw clenched tightly as if restraining himself from speaking.

"Are you alright?" you asked, hoping he would say his piece and let you get to bed. You were exhausted from this evening, and you were praying he didn't have any quarrels with your behavior around his family.

"I'm fine," he said firmly. "You're clearly not."

You passed momentarily, a little shocked by the vicious tone in his voice. "Who said I wasn't?" You responded quickly. Coriolanus had a nasty habit of believing he knew more about other people than they did. Sure, you were upset, but there wasn't any reason to tell him why. That could jeopardize everything.

"You did, with your eyes and not your words. You're looking at me like I'm some monster," he said firmly. "Something happened tonight, and you must tell me what it was."

That was easier said than done. If he were capable of what Tigress had claimed he was, then you would be sentencing her to that fate. No doubt that if he were capable of senseless murder, he would hesitate to kill his cousin, who had been offering people the knowledge of his crimes.