CATO:
There were three days left before the next reaping. Willow and I were working as hard as ever, something we always do right before the reaping. We touched up on all of her skills, and I made sure to work her until she couldn't work anymore. Of course, she thought it was just stress from having to plan the Games, and that's why I was so tough, but she still worked her ass off to put a smile on my face.
Willow doesn't know that she's going to be reaped. She thinks that since she's in the Capitol, she won't be pooled into the mix since all other Capitol children are technically exempt. I want to tell her that's not the case... that we're nothing like Capitol people (which she can probably see from the way we act and dress) but I want her to enjoy her life before it's changed forever. I'm trying to do all that I can to protect her, and I want to tell her so badly so that she can prepare herself. But, at the same time, I know my baby. I know that not telling her is the best thing that we can do for her. She'll be on edge, scared for whenever it'll come. But, being reaped will ignite a fire in Willow. Her practices would be harder, and she wouldn't do as well as she is now if I told her. So, it's staying a secret.
Rose, on the other hand, has been acting very strangely this year. Usually, she's afraid and tense and angry, but this year, there's something different about her vernacular. She keeps telling me that this year is Willow's year. She has a gut feeling that only a mother can feel when something bad is going to happen to her baby. I keep trying to calm her down because her behavior is really starting to disarm Willow, but it's not working. She's cried every night for the past week and a half. She continuously tries to smother Willow, spending every waking hour with her, but of course, Willow is a teenager and wants to focus on friends and... well other teenage girl shit. I don't know why Rose is acting this way. I can understand that there's a large level of uncertainty with Willow going into the Games, but still. There is an absolute guarantee that Willow will come out of the Games without any complications. She will win.
But, Rose still has it in her that Willow may not make it out alive. And because of this, I have that feeling as well.
I want nothing but to protect her from what could result from entering the Games, but that's not possible. There's nothing we can do but prepare her for what's to come. I've been doing that for years, now. I've been training Willow for the moment that she's reaped. She picks up on skills so effortlessly, quicker than anyone I've ever seen. I know she gets this from me. But her determination... she gets that from her mother. When her face sets into that little frown and she sticks her tongue in between her teeth, I smile, because that's exactly was Rose does when she sets her mind to doing something.
I admire my wife after all these years. She's really done so much for the both of us. We've both left everything behind to create a more comfortable and substantial life for Willow, something we couldn't have done back home. I can't believe that this is the life that I'm living. If someone told me this was what it would be, I would never believe them. But here we are. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
I decided, much to Willow's disagreement, that today we would take the day off from training. Rose has been getting really anxious about the Reaping, and to be honest, my ass is sore from Willow's beatings, so I thought that we could just spend the day together, without any distractions. Willow could sleep in, since we were keeping her from school for the day, and we could just enjoy being together. I love it when we're all together. I get to watch my two favorite girls; watch how they brighten up the room with their pure, wholesome hearts. I swear, they could mend the most broken of hearts. As Willow has grown, she resembles me physically, but she has her mother's personality, her mother's heart. I'm glad she didn't turn out like I did when I was a teenager.
The one trait she took from me is that she is stubborn as hell. She absolutely has to get her way, or problems arise. Given how much everyone loves her, this isn't a hard task for her. People are always wanting to be in her inner circle, to witness the magic that follows her. She's a beautiful girl, inside and out.
...just like her mother.
Rose and I were in the kitchen, and I was helping her make breakfast for the day.
By help, though, I mean sneak pieces of the food for a taste test. This woman is a damn good cook, and though I'm not too bad myself, there's just something about her food that makes it so much better than mine.
Rose swats my hand away after I tried, again, to steal a pancake. "Cato, wait until Willow gets up!" she says with a small laugh.
I stand, making my way to her from around the kitchen island. "She probably won't be up for another hour," I say as I finally make it to her. I snake one arm around her waist and lean down to kiss her. "If you want me to wait, you'll have to find something for me to do to keep me preoccupied."
Rose raises her eyebrows and blushes. The same blush.. after all these years. Her eyes snake down my chest, drinking in the uncovered skin. She sighs, trying to turn away. "The food will burn."
I quickly turn the stove off and turn back to her. "There," I give her a sly grin, "now we have plenty of time." She crosses her arms in front of her chest, pushing her breasts up into the most heavenly of positions. Her body has only gotten better with age. Womanhood suits her.
Rose shrieks as I pick her up swiftly and place her on the kitchen island. I place myself in between her legs and lean down to kiss her. Her hands find their way to my hair and she grabs onto me tightly.
The sound of Willow yelping brings us out of the trance. Rose blushes and pushes me away, hopping off the counter quickly. I chuckle and turn to Willow, who is now making her way to a chair. She has her hand over her eyes, and cautiously peels them away to check if it was clear to see.
"Mum, Dad, please... I actually want to eat, if you didn't already know that. Stop doing things that curb my hunger. I'm a growing girl that needs sustenance. You know the one thing I love more than even you guys is food." Willow jumps into her seat and I move around to sit next to her. She turns to me and I kiss her forehead. She smiles and rubs her nose against mine.
I can't go a day without our little ritual. When she's in the Games, I don't know what I'll do without it. I've been doing it since the day she was born...
Fuck.
"Sorry, baby girl. Your mother seduced me." I smirk at Rose, who throws a towel at me while Willow gags.
"Yea, the sight of me flipping bacon keeps all the men coming," Rose says while rolling her eyes. I scowl, but say nothing. After all the years of her rolling her eyes at me, I've learned who's the one in control. My daughter, on the other hand, is a different story.
I laugh. "It kept me coming." I raise my eyebrows slyly and Rose blushes and turns away.
"Ew! Daddy stop, please. Don't think I'm still a little girl, I know exactly what you just meant. If you make me so sick that I can't even hold down my bacon, there will be hell to pay!" She picks up a piece of bacon and shakes it in front of us. "And can you please put on a shirt?! I don't want to see old man chest. All my friends talk about you all the time, especially Jenica. I think it's gross."
I scoff and stand up, taking a quick look down while gesturing with my hands at my body. I look damn good. It's hard being this beautiful, and having to keep up with a wife that's even better looking than I am. "Willow, your Dad has never been more fit in his life. Right, Kitten?" I turn to Rose.
Rose gives me one look up and down, sighs and nods her head. Willow gags again and rolls her eyes. I give her a stern look, and she smiles apologetically. "While I'm sure Momma just loves what she sees, I don't. You guys are getting old, of course you like other old people stuff!"
Rose frowns, to which Willow just shrugs. "Hey, what happened to yesterday's 'you're young and beautiful' spiel? Now I'm old?" She pretends to be hurt, and Willow shrugs again.
"You're young and beautiful when you and Daddy don't do disgusting things while I'm trying to eat." Willow pauses to stuff some food in her mouth before continuing. This girl can eat, just like me. "You know, they should make PDA illegal during prime feasting hours. Maybe more kids would live longer without the constant suffering of mini heart attacks we get."
Rose almost chokes from laughter. Willow is damn funny sometimes. "Alright, alright Willow. You've made your point. No more of the madness," I tell her.
"That's all I ever wanted!" She sighs and goes silent as she begins to eat again. The one thing we need to teach her is better table manner. Then again, that's one more thing she shares with her old man.
Rose hands me my plate of food and then sits down to dig into hers. "So what are we doing today?" Willow finally asks. "I'm not complaining about missing school, Ms. Nerico was gonna give out a pop quiz today."
Rose smiles, and I can see that she's trying to not appear to be sad. "Whatever you want to do," she says to Willow.
Willow ponders for a moment, but then speaks up when she gets her idea. "Let's go see Poppa," she smiles.
"Poppa" is what she calls Haymitch. They've developed an incredible bond over the years, much more than she ever could with my own dad.
Rose can't handle herself, and immediately bursts into tears. It was so sudden that the two of us were completely taken by surprise.
Willow's eyes go big with worry, and she turns to me, regret and sadness in her eyes. "Daddy... what... what did I say to make her cry?" Willow looks like she's going to cry if Rose doesn't stop.
Rose wipes her eyes and shakes her head. "You're just the sweetest girl in the world. It's your day off, and you want to go see Haymitch while other girls are selfish and do things just for themselves. I just... I just love the person you grew up to be."
Willow breathes in relief. "Well you guys raised me Momma, of course I wouldn't turn out badly. But you don't need to cry about it," Willow explains with a frown.
Holy fuck, this woman is so emotional that it makes me believe that she's pregnant again. But, she's not... at least I hope she's not...
"Rose, come on. Willow, finish eating and get dressed and then we will go see Haymitch. Take your time... I need to talk to your mother." Willow nods slowly and watches us as I lead Rose out of the kitchen and into the bedroom.
Once the door is closed behind us, I turn and watch Rose as she stares at me with that sad look.
"Rose... you need to get a grip. You're starting to scare Willow, and we don't need her to be fucking scared. She's gonna find out that something is up."
Rose frowns at me, and starts to walk away, but I pull her back. "Let go of me, Cato," she says sternly.
"No!"
Rose snatches her hand away from me. As she's walking away, she says "I wouldn't be acting this way if you didn't sell our daughter out."
This again? Fuck!
It's every fucking day with the same argument. Every. Fucking. Day. How many times do we have to go over this?
"Well where do you think we would be if I didn't, huh?! One of us, or hell even both of us, would be six feet under the ground. For the last fucking time, I did it for us! You wouldn't even have Willow if I didn't do what I had to do to get us out alive!"
"Well maybe things would have been better off if you hadn't!" She screams back at me.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath before I lose my fucking mind. This woman is just as temper-testing as she was when she was 16.
Once I've collected myself, I walk up to Rose and press her against the bathroom door. "You and I both know you don't fucking mean that."
"Maybe I do," Rose says, turning away from my gaze.
I grasp her chin and force her to look at me. She doesn't mean that shit. "You don't fucking mean it," I say firmly.
A few more tears escape her eyes and then she's shaking her head. "No, I don't. I'm just so scared. Nothing is guaranteed in that arena, okay? There's no guarantee that she's going to make it out of there and be the same girl she has always been. It changed me, and I know it'll change her. I don't want to lose her."
"You won't. I promise you won't."
Rose shakes her head again and tries to shove me away, but I stand my ground. I grasp her hands and hold them above her head, leafing our fingers around one another.
I lean down to kiss her once, lightly. I wish I knew what to do to take her pain away.
"Cato..." She closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath, and when they open again, they're full of lust.
Rose eyes me warily, and then she's stepping on her tiptoes to reach up and kiss me. Something is ignited in the air and suddenly, we're reaching for each other's clothes, dropping them behind us in record speed.
"Baby, we have to---"
"Shut up," she cuts me off while sliding my underwear down. She snakes an arm around my neck and kisses me forcefully. Fuck... her taking control is such a fucking turn on.
"You want this? Now?"
As I grab her thighs to prop her up against the door, she nods her head.
"Quick, we have to make this quick," I whisper to her.
She nods and loses herself with me, and seven minutes later, we're done. Shit, I've never come so fast in my life.
By the time we make it out of the bedroom, Willow is leaving her bedroom, hair freshly washed.
"Ready?" She asks with a smile. She looks at her mother warily, but Rose just smiles back at her, no longer sad.
Looks like my dick does the trick.
When we make it to the old man's place, he's in his rightful place: on the couch.
He doesn't look up when we enter, but when Willow calls out "Poppa!" suddenly he's brought to life.
Willow runs up to him and pulls him in for a long, tight hug, which he returns with a huge smile. He pulls back and eyes her.
"Well look at you, Willow girl. You're getting more and more beautiful by the day. Not long before I'm killing any boys coming after you."
Willow laughs. "Poppa you know there's nothing that can pull you away from this couch, not even boys running after me."
Haymitch snickers. "That'll get me runnin'. These fifty-somethin' year old legs will jump up faster than I do for a fresh beer."
Willow shakes her head, but smiles all the while. She adores this man just about as much as he does her. "Alright, old man, I'll take your word for it." She goes silent for a second, but then speaks up again. "Wanna play chess? I've been practicing... I think it's time I beat you Poppa."
Haymitch pushes himself up to get the board game out while Rose and I take the backseat and let them enjoy their time together. If one of us were to visit Haymitch, he wouldn't think twice about getting up for any of us. But he'll jump up for Willow the moment she asks him to.
Willow learned how to play chess from the old man, something I didn't know he was even good at. We learned a lot about him after Willow was born. He'd spend hours in our home just so that he could spend time with her. From the moment she was born he was latched onto her. She stole his heart, and he stole hers. I think he might be her best friend. She talks about him more than her actual friends.
Rose takes a seat on the couch and I join her. She nestles herself under my arm and I kiss her forehead. "Everything will be okay," I whisper to her. "It'll all be okay."
She starts to shed silent tears and I wipe each one away. This is all my fault, but what can we do now?
"Rose..."
She looks up at me. "Hm?"
"I love you. I'm here for you, and only you. We're gonna get through this. Please, baby, you don't have to cry."
She shakes her head as more tears start to fall. Seeing her like this... shit.
I feel my eyes beginning to burn with tears. I don't fucking cry. I don't.
But seeing Rose like this, there's just something different about her this year. This has to be the worst year yet for her.
Of course, I'm fucking terrified of throwing my little girl into the arena. I want, more than anything in this world, to stop it from happening.
I take a quick glance at our baby girl. She's laughing, smiling, as happy as can be. We've both worked so hard to make sure she kept a smile on her face... if she goes in, that'll all change.
Rose notices my silent tears and she takes her turn to wipe them away. She gives me sweet little kisses as we grieve together.
"We're in this together." Rose says to me.
I nod because she's right. It'll always be the three of us.
I can't help but smile at her. We're in this together.
She gives me a tight squeeze, and as she glances at our daughter, she whispers "Forever."
END OF CHAPTER 8