XXX

it's a short ride from the justice building to the train station. i've never been in a car before. rarely even ridden in wagons. in the seam, we travel on foot. i'm watching the wheels move from the window, wishing i had a book that taught me all about cars when i feel a tap on my shoulder.

kit is sitting on the other side of the car so there's a small space between us and when i look at him i see his arm pulling back after he has my attention. "who visited you?" he asked, his voice laced with curiosity.

"who visited you?" i ask and a small smile plays on his lips.

the station is swarming with reporters with their insectlike cameras trained directly on my face. i jump away from the window, accidentally nudging kit. i apologize and move back but shield my face away from the cameras.

kit chuckles and says, "i was asking who visited you because i wanted to know who made you cry. if you had answered i would've told you to wipe your tears because there'll be cameras."

"why did you need to know who made me cry in order to tell me about the cameras?"

"i didn't" kit said simply before opening his door and jumping out of the car. i quickly climb out after him and follow him onto the train.

we have to stand for a few minutes in the doorway of the train while the cameras gobble up our images, then we're allowed inside and the doors close mercifully behind us. the train begins to move at once. the surprise of it knocks us both off our feet. we collide with the hall and each other.

our bodies are way too close for comfort. i scramble away quickly. "where is vivian? and haymitch?" i ask kit.

he finds his feet, one arm pressed against the wall for balance. "why are you asking me like i know the answer? i've been with you the entire time, dalina."

"it's davina," i reply curtly. "i need to get off this thing."

i make my way to another compartment. kit gives me a head start before following, his footsteps heavy and slow behind me. he's not trying to catch up, but give me space. we walk through the narrow, rocking corridor into a living room with polished paneled walls. this part of the train isn't swaying and i can finally stop holding onto the wall for balance.

kit comes up from behind me, taking in the entirety of the room. i go to the tv and turn it on. the screen shows the recap of the reapings across panem. one by one, we see the other reapings, the names called, the volunteers stepping forward or, more often, not. we examine the faces of the kids who will be our competition.

in district 7 there's a boy who's picked and moments after they pick a girl, but someone volunteers in her place. as she steps up onto the stage, she runs to the boy and kisses him directly on the lips.

kit scoffs and when i look at him he's stifling a laugh. he notices me staring and begins to explain. "she volunteered so she can go with her boyfriend into the arena. she's either crazy or has trust issues, but stupid nonetheless."

i agree with him but i'm too stubborn to tell him. "maybe she just wants to protect him."

kit stared at me for a long moment before he replied, "she can protect him all she wants but in the end she's going to have to kill him or he'll kill her. only one comes out, remember?" he was no longer laughing at the couple from district 7. he's the most serious i've ever seen him.

as much as it scared me, he was right. "will you turn it off?" i ask him before i could stop myself.

he already knows i'm talking about his humanity, i don't have to tell him. something flashed beneath the surface of his hardened expression but the emotion disappeared before i could identify it. "who's to say it's not already off?" he asked, and just like when we shook hands back in district 12, his lips tilt up into a smile but this smile sends shivers down my body. it wasn't kind.

to my utter relief, haymitch abernathy came through the door. "looks like it'll be just us having dinner. vivian seems to be avoiding us at all costs."

i look at kit one last time before moving around him and following haymitch to the dining room. the supper comes in courses. a thick carrot soup, green salad, lamb chops and mashed potatoes, cheese and fruit, a chocolate cake.

my head hurts from thinking too much and i can't bring myself to take a bite. i can't stop thinking about my father, alone in the house and too depressed to eat. kit doesn't eat either. he's leaning back on his chair and biting on a straw at the other end of the table.

haymitch looks at the both of us before sighing and setting down his spoon. "you two should eat something."

"i already ate," kit answered and that gained my attention. i've never known someone from the seam to say that.

haymitch raised his eyebrows. "what did you eat?"

"a deer back in 12," said kit with a shrug. i guess that would explain the leaves and dirt in his hair. "i'm already bored. where's my room?" he stood up and dropped the straw with bite marks onto the table before going where haymitch said it was.

silence hung in the air like the suspended moment before a falling glass shatters on the ground. i rubbed at my arms uncomfortably until thankfully haymitch says something. "we're alone, davina. you can tell me anything you don't want kit to know."

"what wouldn't i want kit to know?" i ask, confused.

"i've mentored tributes before and they had already started seeing the other tribute as an enemy by now."

this catches me off guard because i don't see kit as an enemy but only as someone who is in the same boat as i am.

then kit's words play in my head. only one comes out, remember? it was a hint, that when it comes down to it he will kill me without a second thought.