❝𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐀❞ ━ TREECH

31. countdown

“I know you do,” Cas says before June can ask their little brother to leave the room. He’s already dressed in the lab coat he has been wearing ever since he started helping their mother out, still fixing one of his sleeves. “But you know how it is. He needs to win first before you can start demanding stuff.”

He ignores the looks his siblings shoot him. “Mom’s looking for you, by the way. She said something about you not finishing your breakfast?”

“That’s because it’s oatmeal! Plain!” The little boy’s voice is almost shrill and June winces. “No fruit, not even sugar! It’s torture!”

“You wouldn’t have survived a day in the war,” Cas states matter-of-factly. Ignoring his protests, he ushers Max out the room and has to hide his satisfied smilemore or less gently ushers his brother out of the room and down the corridor. Once he’s out of sight, he crosses his arms over his chest.

“How do you feel?” he asks. “You think you’re prepared for today?”

June shrugs, running her thumb over the fabric of her uniform’s jacket. “We’re prepared,” she answers, hinting at last night’s events. “Whatever happens now is up to him, I think. I’ve done all I can.”

Sensing the way she’s hiding her emotions for her own sake, most likely to avoid a nervous breakdown this early, he sighs. “I know I can’t be there,” he says, “but I want you to know that I’m also rooting for Treech. He has good odds, almost better than anyone else. And you’ve taken such good care of him, he’s one of the most prepared tributes in there.”

She nods and shoots him a sad smile, “I know that, too. I feel better knowing you and Max are cheering me on as well.” She scoffs, “Because I know mom and dad are going into this as cold as always.”

“Yeah, they don’t have any favorites. Not that they’d be allowed to sponsor anyone anyway,” Cas scoffs as well. He understands why mentors and their immediate families aren’t allowed to — it would give richer families like theirs, the Creeds and the Heavensbees a huge advantage and would therefore be unfair — but he wishes he could’ve at least persuaded his parents to invest in someone, preferably Treech.

Especially because he knows that even when the Games are over, his sister will not abandon the boy. No matter the outcome, this experience will stick with her for life.

June hums and grabs her hairbrush off the nightstand along with the neckerchief that she tied around the handle. “I know. They didn’t seem impressed with anyone’s interview,” she says with a shake of her head. She forces a laugh, “Can you imagine not even being moved by Lucy Gray’s singing? Not even a little bit?”

He shrugs. A moment of silence follows and he can’t help but sigh. “You want to know why I took it yesterday, right?” he asks, pointing at the neck scarf. When she nods, he continues, “It’s simple, really. I just don’t want what happened to me to happen to you, too.”

She frowns and bites down on her lower lip in an attempt to hold back her tears. “I thought so,” she responds softly. Memories of his breakdown at the hospital and after he found out Sheaf passed come flooding back to her and fill her with a sense of sadness and appreciation for her brother.

Without him, she’d probably still have gotten her hands on the antivenom without any complications. But the information he provided her with is still not any less important. And he has been forcing himself to work with his mother and, indirectly, Dr. Gaul as well.

“I haven’t thanked you yet, have I?” she asks softly.

Cas shrugs. “No, but you don’t have to. You’re my sister,” he says. With a cheeky grin, he adds, “But you can thank me after he wins.”