The one time I saw this man, he was in a wheelchair. His body was slumped over from being knocked out by Peacekeeper. As they tossed him out of the chair and onto the floor, his face fell to the side and I got my first real good look at him.
Other than seeing his eyes, I could register that he was Cato's father. They were exact replicas, the only difference being the freckles on his face that matched Charlie's more than Cato's. I never imagined the day that he would be standing next to his first son, staring at me and my baby with eyes wide with surprise.
"Rose..." Cato starts.
I snap out of the trance and look at Cato. "Yes?" I stand up slowly and train my eyes on Cato's dad.
I can't believe it.
"Baby, this is my dad, Carrick. Dad, this is Rose.. shit sorry, Primrose. She's my girlfriend." Cato shakes his head.
U make my way to the man and smile shyly. He smiles back.
"And Dad, this is our daughter Willow."
Carrick glances at Cato and back down to Willow. As he gets a closer look, his eyes bulge.
"Cato...son, you have a baby girl?" Carrick asks Cato.
Cato nods. "Just born yesterday."
"Yesterday was your birthday, son." Carrick looks to me and holds his hands out carefully. "May I?"
I look to Cato for reassurance and he nods his head lightly. I hand Willow over to her Grandpa and he settles her in his arms, holding her in the same way Cato does: tucked in right next to his heart.
Carrick places his free hand on her tiny body and frowns. He leans closer and then peers up at Cato, who has now moved to stand next to me.
"Cato... god, she looks just like you did when you were first born." Carrick's green eyes shine brightly as he smooths Willow's hair down. She stirs a little in his arms, but doesn't wake up from her slumber. "Her eyes?" he asks.
I smile. "They're Cato's eyes."
Carrick smiles wide. Cato eyes him cautiously. "Rose and I have been together for a year now. We met in the Games," he says to his dad.
I stare blankly, waiting for the reaction to come. This man tortured the love of my life so that he could volunteer for the Games. He pushed him to the edge, almost broke his soul all because he valued alcohol more than his own son.
If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have Cato. Without Cato, there would be no Willow.
I don't know if I should yell at the man or thank him.
Carrick just nods his head once. "You win?" he asks Cato.
I can feel Cato tense beside me. He looks like he wants to speak, but his voice catches in his throat and he's mute.
"I won," I answer for Cato.
Cato immediately casts his eyes downward as his dad purses his lips at him. Carrick was disappointed. Even after everything he put Cato through, after everything Cato did to save us, this man has the audacity to be upset. He wanted Cato to win the Games. Instead, it was me.
Taking a closer look, Cato looks somewhat afraid. Oh no...
I quickly grab Willow out of Carrick's hands and turn to Cato. Cato slowly peers up at me as I hand him Willow. Willow moves a bit as she curls up into her Daddy's arms. It takes a minute, but Cato smiles and leans down to rub his nose against hers.
She makes him happy. She brightens his world, and nothing, not even his father, can take away how happy he is when she's resting near his heart.
I turn to Carrick. "Excuse me, but it's not your place to judge anything that this man has done given what you did to him. He sacrificed his life for me, for us. He did whatever it took to make sure that we could lay in bed at night and wake up next to one another. So no, he didn't win the Games... But quite honestly, winning the Games is nothing compared to the prize we were given just a day ago. Cato won, in my eyes. He won, and he did it without your help."
"Rose—" Cato starts.
I cut him off. "No! After everything he did to you, he cannot come into our home and regard you in that way!"
Carrick stares at me in surprise. "Listen, you don't know a damn thing about—"
"I know enough! Now either you can leave, or you can treat this family with respect!" I yelled at him.
Carrick's eyes go wide. Cato stares at me, jaw dropped.
After a few minutes, Carrick finally speaks. "I...I'm sorry."
I huff in anger and turn to walk away. "Damn right," I mumble.
Cato says something to his dad, and then I hear him shuffling his way behind me to follow me into the bedroom. I plop down on the bed angrily and cross my arms as I finally look him in the eye. He looks so sad and angry with himself.
Cato sits next to me, but says nothing.
So I guess I'm talking. "Cato, why did you bring him here?" I ask.
Cato shrugs and turns to place Willow down on the bed in between us. "I went in to get some updates on the post-Games drabble and as I was walking out of the door, Snow comes sauntering in with my Dad right behind him." Cato pauses for a moment to shake his head. "I couldn't believe it. Seeing him standing before me put me in some kind of shock, and the next thing I knew I was inviting him back here to see everything that I've made happen for myself."
"Did Snow say anything about Hayworth or Katniss?"
"No. Just him. I don't know why he's back. Snow should've kept him dead."
I go silent. I'm not sure what else to say but I do know one thing: I don't want that man anywhere near Cato, especially not with by himself. The man could convince Cato to do anything based on the mere fear that Cato has for him.
"Cato I don't want you alone with him."
Cato rolls his eyes while shaking his head. "I don't think that can happen."
"It's going to have to! I don't want him coming back and ruining what we have with one another! I can already tell he's breaking you down from the outside in. He's already made it into your head and it's only been a few hours."
"Rose... it's just not that simple."
I lean forward to take his hand. "I'm not saying that it's simple, because I know it's not. But I'm going to be here to help you. I need you, Cato, and if you let him back in the way he was before, he's going to take you away from me, and from your daughter."
Cato looks back at Willow. While I know I mean a lot to him, I don't think anyone will mean more to him than she does. He'd never do anything to lose her.
Cato finally sighs and stands up. "It's getting late and it's been a long day, baby. You should get ready for bed."
I stand as well and nod, turning around to pick willow up and put her in her bed. "Fine. But he needs to go."
Cato nods once and walks out of the room. I follow him and turn to Willow's nursery while Cato goes back into the front room.
As I'm leaving, I hear some heated whispering going on between the two men. I walk to the edge of the hallways and peer in to check on Cato.
The men are face to face, and Cato's head is hung low. His father is pushing him lightly with his hand, whispering angrily at him. Cato says nothing, just lets Carrick berate him. I can't hear anything being said, but Cato speaks in low whispers and shakes his head often.
After a few more seconds, Carrick gets very infuriated and turns to walk away. Before he makes it out of the door, Cato finally speaks up.
"Dad, please. I'm sorry," he says lowly.
Carrick still walks out, leaving Cato standing in his place.
I knew this was going to happen. The one person that could kill Cato on the inside is back, and I know that from now on, he's going to be nothing but trouble.
I can't let that happen. It looks like I need to protect Cato just as much as he's protected me.
END OF CHAPTER TWO
Hello hello, and goodbye goodbye. I hope you enjoyed this filler chapter. Things are picking up from here.
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Cheers. Laters, baby.