32 | THE THORNS
SONG SUGGESTION: Roses by The Chainsmokers
Something pulled Greyson from her sleep. Someone was shaking her shoulder. Instinctively, she clasped her hand around the wrist and bent it backward, sitting up quickly to see who it was. Breathing heavily, she scolded herself as she saw Boggs calmly staring back at her with his dark brown eyes. Katniss stood tiredly behind him, her hair in her usual long waves.
Greyson immediately let go of Boggs' wrist and mumbled an apologetic, "sorry," while standing up from her bed and adjusting her jumpsuit on her body.
Boggs didn't comment on her peculiar actions. "Come with me."
Greyson obeyed with a curious nagging at the back of her mind. She couldn't help but think that this had something to do with the event that occurred just mere hours ago. It had to be early in the morning, she could recall hunting with Gale and Katniss this morning and then receiving the call . . . Her mind was trying to put itself back together as they descended up to the control room, where Coin and Plutarch stood waiting for them.
Coin started speaking without recognition as to who was in the room just as Greyson took a spot beside Katniss who was looking more and more sullen as the the seconds ticked idly by. "We took their best shot, didn't we?" She offered up the two of them a smile.
"Yeah," Katniss responded.
"Your mother and sister okay?" Coin asked in concern, focusing her attention mainly on Katniss. Greyson was starting to question why she was brought up here in the first place. Probably because you're both the Mockingjay, a voice reminded her. She wanted to roll her eyes at herself. It was obvious to anyone that Katniss was the better Mockingjay, she was young, experienced, and had more to fight for than anyone. She was the exemplification of hope.
And Greyson, well, she was all sorts of messed up.
"I need you to do something for us." Coin looked to a slouching Greyson, "the both of you," she paused, "I need you to tell Panem that we survived an attack by the Capitol with no casualties, that we remain fully operational."
Greyson nodded with heavy eyelids, "okay." All she wanted to do at this point was sleep.
Coin looked to Katniss once more. "You should know something. We had eight extra minutes of civilian evacuation because of Peeta's warning. I won't forget that."
Katniss visibly stood up straighter, which amused Greyson and caused her to smirk. "Thank you."
Greyson and Katniss were both whisked away to get prepped and ready for the propo. Greyson sat at a table with Effie fiddling with her cut and knotted hair. From above her she heard Effie sigh in exasperation.
"You like to make things difficult don't you?" Greyson wasn't sure if Effie was teasing her, but she had other things on her mind. Other people.
Effie had somehow found a pair of scissors and started to even out Greyson's hair, still managing to rest it not too far away from where it had originally been cut. Effie then weaved Greyson's hair into a French braid, adding smaller braids into it for texture. Greyson admired Effie's delicate technique and couldn't argue that even Effie did a better job on her hair than she could ever do. To Greyson's defense, she taught herself after seeing a girl in school wearing her hair like that. Effie probably had some of the best stylists in Panem to learn from.
"There, all done." Effie let Greyson stand up.
Greyson turned to the woman and smiled, "thank you."
Effie shrugged with an airy laugh, "it's been my pleasure, seeing as there's nothing else to do in this place."
Greyson nodded while looking for Katniss. She was standing near Cressida who was explaining what they were going to do. Greyson walked over to them and Effie followed like a little bird. Once they caught up to the team, they started to exit Thirteen. Greyson saw the brightly lit sky envelope them from overhead, drifting with soft clouds that resembled cotton balls.
"So Katniss and Greyson, its 'Thirteen is alive and well and so are we.' Katniss?" Effie grumbled under her breath as both Greyson and Katniss fully stepped outside into the bitter cold air. "Never one to waste it in rehearsal, I know."
Greyson's breath caught in her throat. She felt as if she was falling, and to greet her was death holding a bouquet of white roses. They were everywhere, scattered beneath her feet with that sickly sweet perfume. All of them were in perfect condition, not a single petal out of place, all picked from him and his ill-fitted mind. Never had she felt more vulnerable, more defeated than at this moment, more so than when she was reaped for the second time, or when Finnick had kissed her. She was convinced someone had dug their way into her brain and found the one thing that surrounded her greatest, most violent fears. She felt as if someone opened up her chest and yanked out her heart.
Seeing these roses didn't just mean that they were from Snow or that the Capitol actually planned to bomb Thirteen. It meant that Snow was still watching them; all of them and everyone. Every child, every man and woman. To Snow, life was a game, a gamble of sorts, and every living being under his power was his pawn that he could tease and torment to his desire until he got sick of them. Greyson knew of his games, as she has been playing them for awhile now. However, her game was almost finished, and consequently, that meant a winner was to be chosen, a victor. It was either her or Snow, and she wasn't going to take defeat easily.
Gale picked up a rose, twirling it in his hand, observing it. "Why would they drop these?"
"For me," Katniss breathed. Her eyes were becoming red and her hands were balled into tight fists held at her sides.
Cressida called from a distance in a strong and steady voice, "ready to go, Mockingjays? We're gonna do this just like District Eight. Tell me about the roses."
Greyson wanted to sink into the ground and fall until she couldn't see anymore light.
"Tell Snow Thirteen is alive and well." Cressida ordered.
"He's gonna kill Peeta," Katniss whispered.
The thought dawned on Greyson. The blood that splattered the floor after the interview, the bombing of District Eight and Four and Twelve, the endless games, the Quarter Quell, the roses. It was all leading up to this moment, the moment where Snow declared Finnick's life not his own anymore. His final move, where he would finish her off before taking her life, and the only possible way of doing that was by killing the one thing that held her together, that kept her sane.
"Lets try again, can you speak up? We don't have a mic on you." Cressida spoke again, this time a little louder, "'Thirteen is alive and well and so are we.' Come on, Greyson."
"He's going to kill Finnick, I can't." Greyson could see her breath in clouds of white.
"Greyson?"
"You can do it, Katniss," Gale urged Katniss, who was trembling on the spot staring at the roses in a bewildered state.
"I can't do this," Katniss shook her head.
Greyson shut her eyes, the brutal images of Finnick getting beat to death pulsing behind her eyelids like bursts of starlight. Her hands found her skull and her palms pressed into her temples, the smell of the roses becoming stronger at each heavy breath of air.
"'Thirteen is alive and well and so are we.'"
"He's just gonna keep . . . he's never gonna stop." Katniss' voice broke.
Greyson wished she was back in her hospital room with Dr. Yu and the quiet hum of the machines that surrounded her. She missed the solitary confinement that gave her a sense of security. And most of all, she wished that Finnick was here holding her, whispering into her hair that the sun would rise, that the flowers would decay, that time would heal all of her wounds. But even she knew the sun couldn't rise without the night, the roses couldn't decay without the essence of death, and time was a very fragile thing to have, especially when the wounds were as deep as hers.
A/N: it's been such a long week, I swear school hates me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I wrote some of it on on the computer, which is strange for me considering I'm used to using my phone, it helps me write faster. I'm pretty sure the next chapter is the last or second to last chapter of part two, which means part three will be coming! either way, just prepare yourself for a shit ton of Finnick feels ;) thank you for reading, and oml this story is almost at 70k!! that's crazy!!! please vote and comment (this chapter was pretty lowkey compared to usual). xx