C x C

𝖠𝖫𝖶𝖠𝖸𝖲 𝖧𝖠𝖵𝖤, 𝖠𝖫𝖶𝖠𝖸𝖲 𝖶𝖨𝖫𝖫

Warnings: Mentions of death, drug abuse, alcohol abuse & vulgar language.
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If you were to ask Cato Hadley, he would tell you his heart stopped beating exactly a year ago that day.

If you were to ask a clinical professional, they would tell you that Cato Hadley's heart was working just fine.

"Cato." His mother, Cassandra Hadley said softly, gently brushing his matted blonde hair out of his face. Cassandra had let herself into her son's home, and had found him in the same position he'd been in every time she came to check up on him. He was typically slouched in his kitchen chair, head hurried in between his folded arms. Over the last year, Cato had neglected any form of self-care, he spent most of his time dirty, un-showered and passed out from either drugs or alcohol as well as extremely depressed. "Cato, baby." She whispered, gently shaking him.

Cassandra's heart almost skipped a beat, as her son spontaneously snapped awake, jerking upwards as he did so. "Fuck-" He hissed, frantically looking around in search of what had woke him up. "Mom." He said with a hoarse voice, "What are you doing here?"

"I let myself in-"

"I didn't ask how you got in, I asked what you're doing here." He interrupted, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Well," Cassandra said hesitantly, "I know what day it is today." She said, prompting Cato to raise his eyebrow in confusion. "I was thinking you and I, could go and visit-"

"No." Cato retorted, realising where their conversation was heading:

"Sweetie-"

"I said no, mom." He shouted, shooting up from his seat. Cassandra's heart ached, as Cato made a beeline towards his kitchen cabinet. He angrily swung the small, wooden door open, grabbing a small bottle of pills as he did so.

In District 2, the Hadley family were nothing short of modern royalty, their money, power and influence stemmed from an incredibly long line of Hunger Games Victors, almost everybody new their names and almost everybody respected them. That also meant that when Cato Hadley developed a drug and alcohol problem, it very quickly became public knowledge. While Darius Hadley found the publicity surrounding their family name embarrassing, Cassandra Hadley became more focused on acquiring their son the help he clearly needed. Cato very swiftly opened the bottle of pills, and threw a couple into his mouth, swallowing them with ease and experience. "Are you sure that's the best thing for you right now honey?"

"Even if it isn't, I don't care." He shrugged, grabbing a bottle from inside his fridge. "It helps with the pain." He mumbled, throwing himself back into the kitchen chair.

"No, it doesn't sweetie." Cassandra said, taking the empty seat beside him. "If you'd just talk-"

"There's nothing to talk about." Cato mumbled, taking a large swig of his drink.

"Cato I know it's-"

"Don't say it."

"Ignoring it isn't going to make it go away, Cato darling." Cassandra said, trying her best to maintain a calm and understanding tone. "I know today is the one year anniversary of her death." She said, gently placing her hand on top of his.

"Mom, stop." He groaned, voice breaking as he did so. Cassandra briefly considered leaving well enough alone, but deep down knew she couldn't ignore her sons grief, especially on that day. Cassandra took another moment to ponder what her next words should be, she looked into his lifeless blue eyes, and knew instantly what she needed to do.

"No Cato, you need to hear this." She said firmly, causing him to look up at her in confusion. Cassandra had spent the last twelve months using the soft approach, but soon realised it wasn't getting him anywhere. "I'm sorry for what you went through in the arena, I'm sorry the Games left you hurt, and scarred and most of all I'm sorry you lost Clove."