Never Let Go (Book 2)

Chapter 24

First Published  11/11/20 @ 19:59
Unedited

I mulled over my memory of the man who had offered me aid in running away from the Capitol, trying to place where I had seen him before, but I couldn't remember him from anywhere. It's entirely possible though that he's just an old man who felt shafted by President Snow. I had heard many stories of when the President was young, in the Peacekeeper's ranks. It didn't take too much thought once and older person told you the deaths that followed Snow, to connect the dots and make some frightening conclusions.

"Clove how are you still even walking?" Marvel asked as the night drew to a close, he himself having loosened his shoes and taken a seat halfway through the dancing period.

"I was made for this," I said with a sick laugh, the kind that is simply ironic and hard to stop once it starts, "I was made for this," I repeated, hissing this time, realizing that the observation was right. I was brought on a victory tour when I was barely young enough to be reaped, paraded around, and now President Snow wanted me to be his puppet. Maybe that's all I was, a puppet.

"Clove, people are starting to stare hun," Glimmer laughed in a condescending tone that made me want to punch her just to get her to stop talking. But that would draw even more eyes towards me. 

 I nudged Marvel with my elbow before saying "you are so funny Marvel, I am so glad I have gotten to meet you on this trip," with a smile and a glare cast at Glimmer. I could spin this so people thought I was having fun when I was experiencing the complete opposite. 

 He nodded, understanding my motives before smiling back at me and bringing a blush to his face to feign embarrassment. I smiled back, despite the dark thoughts whirring about my mind. 

 We were being paraded like prisoners, just in fancy gowns girls dream of and suits. We were just being used, to show everyone the life you can get if you are a good kid, if you love the Capitol. Just slap a smile on, and oblige to the tugging of the strings by your puppet master. 

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 The party wrapped up unceremoniously, and we were ushered back to our residences, all in separate cars, which was a shock to me. Since we began this trip, they had never separated us on purpose, especially not the district pairs. I began to feel uncertain, fearing they had figured out the real reason for my manic laughter during the Gala. 

 We took a different route back to the Victor's Village than we had taken to the Justice Building, and I felt my nerves grow greater, winding my stomach into a knot. The last thing you ever wanted was to be alone with a bunch of Peacekeepers in the dark in an unfamiliar place. I wondered what was happening when another car turned behind us, which I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a good sign or a bad sign. On one hand, it was an escort because things were going to go bad, but on the other thought, it could be the Presidential Coach. Which could mean certain death for me. 

 I spent the entire ride watching out the windows and mirrors, occasionally watching the speedometer to see if we were slowing down whenever we got extremely close to the water. They could throw me in and drown me had they wanted to. All I had against them was my knife from Cato, and that would not do me any good. 

 Eventually, we arrived to the Victor's Village, and I leapt from the car as soon as possible, exclaiming that I needed to use the bathroom, and ran into the house to see Cato pacing at the top of the stairs. A sight that made me relieved, but still uneasy. 

 "Clove! Thank God, I was so worried about you. Where did they take you?" He asked as he rushed down the winding staircase to me, running his hands across my hair and wrapping me into a tight hug. 

 "I have no clue, we turned off from everyone else at one point and drove down by the ocean almost the whole way. What matters most to me is that you are safe, I'm safe, and I can finally take these heels and dress off," I replied while hugging him, resting my head against his chest. 

 "I should probably let go of you so you can take your shoes off huh," Cato aid with a goofy smile as he looked down to me. I nodded with a lopsided smile, and felt his grip loosen. 

 "I am worn out from the excitement of today and think I'm ready for bed," he told me once I stood back up from taking my shoes off, "I already showered so I am going to try to sleep. I'm assuming you want to shower so just don't stay up too late and enjoy your shower."

 "I'll try not to wake you up when I come to bed," I replied with a smile before kissing his cheek quickly and turning to lock the front door. He had disappeared up the stairs by the time I had finished locking the door, and I descended after him to grab pajamas from the closet before going to the bathroom for a shower. 

  I stared at myself for a brief moment in the mirror, admiring my features for a second while I still looked like a doll, and not much like myself, before wiping away Clove 2.0 as fast as possible, hanging the gorgeous dress back on its hanger and climbing into the shower. 

 The warm water cascaded down my entire body, and I felt the nightmares of the day run away with the water. I stayed in the shower too long, just standing there, doing nothing, as the water hit my skin, eventually turning my skin a bright red from the heat. Once I fully looked like a lobster, I exited the shower and got dressed for bed. 

 I gave myself a single glance in the mirror after brushing through the knots of my long hair, and shut the light off to the bathroom, quietly making my way back to the bedroom so as to not awake sleeping beauty, who was an impossibly light sleeper. 

 I stumbled my way into bed, before curling into Cato who was shockingly awake, but not as if he had just been woken up. He looked as if he had been lying here staring at the ceiling for a while, yet he said nothing to me. 

 We laid there in silence, staring at the ceiling until I drifted to sleep, full of darkness and dreamless. 

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Hey! Long time since I last updated and my last note was kinda...angry. Sorry about that. The song up top isn't really related to the story but I like it so...I will probably replace it with a song that fits this chapter better unless y'all think it works.

I am going to ramble a lot in a life update in this authors note here but... a lot has happened. I can't believe it is freaking NOVEMBER! Where did the time go? The election was last week and, I am hopeful but who knows. Anyways, all the stuff going on in the trainwreck of the world of Brinley. I failed my first road test, passed the second one. My lovely boyfriend and are doing good. My mom hit a deer with her car on Friday night, almost totaled it but not quite. The deer friend took the license plate and Honda badge with it, and now we are down to one car in the family until hers gets fixed but that's alright because I am officially in quarantine. A bunch of kids from my school decided to have a party that someone went to with COVID-19 symptoms, the girl tested positive and now two other kids have tested positive from the party, and all of the positive cases classmates are quarantined, which includes me. It is the big freaking suck but hey that might mean a few updates while I am in quarantine. I am getting tested tomorrow morning so...wish me luck. 

I checked my demographics today and saw 5% of my reads come from Germany so if you're still here, hi German friends, my great-grandfather actually immigrated here from Germany so that's a fun connection! Let me know where you guys are from (anyone not just Germany) because I think it's cool to see where this is reaching. 

I apologize if the formatting of this is off, I wrote on my computer today so it formats a little oddly sometimes to readers, especially on mobile. 

As always, I love you all, my DMs are always open if y'all wanna be friends, and follow me on Instagram at Brinleysbookshelf if you want. If I get more follows there I might be more active for my writing stuff. Until next time friends...

Brinley :)