The Truth

The sun is just setting on the horizon when I enter the penthouse. I carelessly set my purse down on the dining table and search through it for my sleeping pills. I'd rather struggle through my dreams than have Haymitch hear me scream one more time and decide to burst into my room in the middle of the night.

After what feels like ten minutes, I remember throwing them in the trash. I sigh and straighten up, and when I lift my head, his eyes meet mine.

He's standing in the shadow of a pillar at the beginning of the hallway to the elevators, looking up at me. I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and my heart starts to race. I can't explain why.

Haymitch does not speak. He slowly walks up the stairs to the dining area without taking his eyes off me for a second.

I swallow when we are only a few meters apart. And only when he takes the next step do I understand why my body reacts the way it reacts. Fear. I take a step back from him and in the next moment I feel the cold glass of the window in my back. While my eyes fix on him in shock, my hand presses against the glass. It won't save me today, not like it did in my dream. Only death would await me here and I want to avoid that at all costs.

When Haymitch suddenly realizes that I'm afraid of him, he stops, eyes wide. He looks down at himself for a moment, and when he raises his head again, every barrier that has ever separated us is swept away.

It blows my mind for a moment. His eyes glow with desperation. In a weak gesture he stretches his left hand towards me. Then, slowly, carefully step by step, he comes closer. I know that he is unable to put his feelings into words. I can tell from the look he gives me that he regrets it. But a little part of me doesn't want to let him get away with it that easily. He didn't need to treat me like that, a friendly tone would have done it.

Very gently he touches my right arm and slides to my hand and takes it in his. Restrained, without any hesitation, he lowers his head to be able to look into my eyes. I notice my defensiveness collapsing. I lift my head and just stare at him, unable to move an inch. My legs seem frozen to the ground. My heart is still beating like crazy, but now I'm not sure if it's from fear.

Haymitch's gaze sinks down to my neck and his eyes harden. With his other hand he carefully pushes back the collar of the dress and gravely examines the scar that remains. It's a long and deep incision that starts below my ear and extends to my collarbone.

I notice how absentminded he seems while his eyes still rest on the wound. As if he was seeing something else in his mind's eye. Then he closes his eyes and takes a step back. His ghosts plague him, I can tell by the way he flinches imperceptibly and almost automatically closes his eyes so he can block out the outside world.

But I don't let go of his hand. When he wants to pull away from me, I pull him back to me and squeeze his hand. He has to know that I'm here, that I'm standing next to him, otherwise he'll lose himself in the place where he is right now.

Surprised by my reaction, Haymitch opens his eyes and stares at me. "You've always been an idiot," I whisper softly, smiling tightly. "And this is nothing new to me."

"Even worse," he says. His voice sounds rough and hoarse. He swallows and takes a deep breath before uttering the next few words. "I'm sorry." His eyes look at me troubled and I wonder for a second how he could have hidden that so well. But he's Haymitch, he's been hiding his feelings for years.

I nod silently and look at him with a sad expression. Still, I force a smile to my face. It almost hurts, it seems so wrong. I can't pretend like I'm fine anymore, everything around me is falling apart.

Haymitch notices the tear before I do. His hand gently strokes my cheekbones as he wipes them away. I raise my head to look at him and in the next moment he's just leaned forward, and his lips touch mine.

And now here we are. Two broken people together in a broken world. For a moment I'm paralyzed, unable to do anything, my heart pounding in my chest. Then, slowly, I lean into him and kiss him back. I feel his hand travel to my neck while he releases my hand and slides it to my hip.

I let my lips glide over his; he has incredibly soft lips and slowly we find a rhythm. After we've both weathered the initial shock, the kiss deepens, as if someone has awakened something deep within us. I'm afraid Haymitch's going to push me away any second, disgusted with me, but he doesn't. He takes me as I am, as Effie, as woman from the Capitol. Just as the kiss turns messy and my hands tangle his hair, I finally gasp. I lean back a little and hear him sigh when my lips are suddenly gone. I smile to myself.

Haymitch's eyes shine in a light grey. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me towards him. He rests his head on my forehead. When he doesn't comment on the annoying wig I have to grin. I close my eyes contentedly and press my flushed cheeks against his chest. I don't know how long we stay in this position. The sun has long since set. The kiss plays over and over in my head and as time goes on I wonder what it actually means.

The realization that it can't really mean anything hits me so hard that my stomach seems to hurt and tears come to my eyes, but I quickly blink them away. The kiss means nothing. I will never see Haymitch again. As soon as the Games are over, I will resign as escort and someone else will take over. Haymitch will return to District 12, and if he's lucky, he'll never have to set foot in the Capitol again. I will never see him again and this moment that was given to us means nothing.

I bite my lower lip in desperation because I don't know what to do now. Time heals all wounds, I just have to hope it's quick. Faster than last time. I squeeze my eyes shut, inhale his scent once more, and then lean back. I look at him and see the tension in his eyes and I know that he also knows that everything is not okay. But I also see something else. A deep concentration. His thoughts seem far away.

"What about the Games?" I choke out, just managing to keep my voice steady.

Haymitch shakes his head and squeezes my shoulder before releasing me. "Go to sleep, I'll wake you up if something important happens."

"But what about Beetee's plan? I want to see if it works."

"Don't worry, it's a few hours until midnight. Go to sleep, I'll wake you up when it's time."

I nod and want to leave when he grabs my arm again. I turn to him and give him a questioning look, hoping he's explaining the moment. A small sad smile creeps onto his lips. "Remember ..." Haymitch pauses, as if trying to find the right words. His eyes glow in the dark. "This is the truth."

My questioning gaze rests on him and I wearily raise an eyebrow. Haymitch just shakes his head and waves it off. The expression in his eyes takes on an expression I don't understand again. "We will see each other again soon." Then he walks past me into his room.

oOo

Someone screams. My ears pick it up, but I'm not awake enough to react. It's only when the screaming gets louder and more intense that my brain has enough strength to free myself from the snares of sleep.

I sit bolt upright in bed and press my lips together. I stare into darkness, my eyes only making out tiny outlines of space. At first, I don't hear anything, but when I listen more closely, I hear them again. Screams. I turn my head to the side. It's almost midnight. It takes me a moment to understand, but then it all comes back. I'm dressed in no time and stumble into the living room.

The TV is on. Katniss takes up the entire screen. Her eyes stare into the camera, but I know she's actually staring at a spot behind it. The bow in her hand is drawn. Her eyes are wide with shock. Where's Peeta? Suddenly I panic. Where's Peeta? The camera perspective changes, and one can see Finnick standing at the edge of the jungle. A hand stretched out to Katniss in a pleading gesture. The arrow in her bow aims at his heart.

A huge tree towers behind her. It must be the thunderstorm tree that Beetee was talking about in his plan. But where is the rest of the group? Johanna, Beete and Peeta? I can feel the palms of my hands starting to sweat. The sky above the tree is black as night, lightning is about to strike. Loud thunder pierces the silence.

"Katniss, get away from that tree!" Finnick's warning is lost in thunder.

But Katniss doesn't move an inch. She doesn't look like she really understands what he meant. She looks absent. As if only her body was still trapped in the arena. The bow in her hands is still drawn. Her eyes stare at him with a mixture of suspicion and fear.

Finnick raises his arms and takes a step towards her. His gaze is serious, but his eyes are honest. "Katniss," the thunder has stopped, everyone can hear his voice. "Remember who the real enemy is."

Katniss doesn't immediately understand the meaning of his words. But when she understands her expression changes from one second to the next. She abruptly lowers the bow and turns her eyes to the sky. Then she runs back to the tree. Finnick shouts her name, calls her back, but she doesn't listen. She grabs a knife lying on the ground by the tree. Next to it is Beetee, I have no idea if he's still alive or not. The knife is wrapped with its wire.

The rumbling in the sky is getting louder. Katniss turns and straightens to her full height. Then she draws her bow again, only instead of an arrow she holds the knife by the string.

I don't understand. I just watch speechless as lightning hits the tree at that moment and she shoots the knife up into the sky. The whole screen glows a glaring white, so I have to look away. Solid white with a loud roar in the background. Then suddenly the TV goes off. Dead silence.

I stare at the screen in bewilderment. The TV is not off, only the picture is black. I involuntarily press my lips together. A strange feeling creeps into the pit of my stomach. That's strange, that's wrong, something like that shouldn't happen. Nothing like that has ever happened. The sudden stillness in the room doesn't match anything that has happened seconds before.

The moment I realize Haymitch isn't there, I'm suddenly terrified. I look around, startled. No sign he's even been here in the past few hours. I can't say what makes me feel this way, but on the way to his room, I suddenly start running. My heart is beating in my throat. I yank the door open without even thinking about knocking and rush into the room.

I trip and fall to the ground. I have just enough time to catch myself with my hands. I jerk my head up to see what I fell over. A stack of books. For a moment I wonder what they are doing in the middle of the room.

I look around the room. The bed is made, his bottles are sorted on the windowsill and the chair where Haymitch should have been is empty. Now I realize that something is definitely not right. Haymitch is not a neat person. My throat is dry and when I want to call his name, only a croak comes out of my vocal cords. I go to the bathroom. Only now do I realize that all his clothes are missing. Only the ones from the Capitol still hang on the wall in the large closet.

I can feel my stomach tighten uncomfortably. My heart is still beating like crazy and my mind is racing. What's going on here? When I'm sure Haymitch isn't lying around drunk somewhere, I leave his room and close the door behind me. As if in a trance, I grope back into the living room. The TV is still flickering black and you can hear a faint hissing. The line is dead.

Where's Haymitch? He must be somewhere. His clothes are gone, as are his valuables, suggesting he left the penthouse. This idea cannot have come about overnight. Haymitch is not like that. Haymitch is a strategist, he thinks ahead, thinks three times before he does anything ...

His concentrated and deliberative gaze. I completely misinterpreted him. He never worried about us. He was worried about something else.

Naturally.

We will see each other again soon.

What did he mean by that? We will see each other again soon. It means he'll be back. But what for?

And when the scales fall from my eyes, the television turns on again. Haymitch gave Finnick his bracelet. Finnick revived Peeta. Mags sacrificed himself for Peeta. The victor of 6 sacrificed herself for Peeta.

She won't break the alliance as long as she knows the boy is safe. But as soon as it gets too much for her and the risk of something happening to him becomes too great, she's out.

Katniss. It was all about Katniss.

Haymitch won't be coming back. At least not now. He's a strategist. They need him. He'll come back when it is over. But who are they? And what is it?

The more time passes, the more I realize that they will come for me soon. I'm her escort, part of her team. I don't know what they will do with me, but there is still no trace of Cinna. So, I silently sit in front of the TV.

Katniss blew up the arena. They show the recordings. A spokesman says that nothing else is clear at this moment. His voice fades into the background. I just sit there with my hands pressed together and wait. Fifteen minutes. Half an hour. After an hour and a half I hear them rushing up the halls from the elevators.

When they see me, they call out to each other. I slowly turn in their direction. Five Peacekeepers in formation. They run towards me and surround me at a distance of one meter. Their guns are loaded and aimed at me. Neither of them move or say a word. Then suddenly more footsteps echo out of the hallway, but the Peacekeepers block my view.

It is also a Peacekeeper. His rifle hangs from his belt. He stops right above me. "Euphemia Trinket, you stand accused of high treason and are hereby arrested." His harsh voice is dark in tone.

It seems to me that I know his voice from somewhere. One of them roughly pulls me to my feet and handcuffs me. At that moment, the Peacekeeper takes off his helmet. He has brown eyes with a hard expression. He's from the Capitol. And suddenly I know where I know him from.

-

Did you like the chapter? Well ... some things happened here. They finally kissed! Juuust for Haymitch to disappear. From now on, the plot will be a little more unpredictable. What do you think will happen next?  

I also have another happy announcement to make: I'll be uploading once a week from now on! So more content for you! :)

See you,

Skyllen :)