Forbearance • A Cato Hadley Story

1.01

"Livia!" a high pitched scream came from across the house. Livia's tired mind immediately recognized the voice to belong to her little sister, Chloe. It was Chloe's first year that her name was put in for the reaping. She was scared. Though her name was only entered once, she was still terrified at the thought of being put into the games.

The nightmares had been going on for months. It was almost every night that she would call Livia to her and ask to stay next to her for the night. Most people in District Two would lecture Chloe, saying that she was being dramatic and that someone would most likely volunteer before she even had a chance to be reaped.

But that didn't stop the thoughts of being sent to her inanimate death from entering her mind. Livia knew that 15 year old Clove had agreed to go into the games and that there was nothing to worry about but she knew how her sister was. And every night she ultimately gave in and joined her sister until she was able to sleep peacefully.

Tonight was no different from the others. When Livia heard her sister call her in a panic, she sleepily crawled out of bed and dragged herself two doors down the hallway to her sister's room. The hallway was dark and deserted at this time of night, the only light coming from two candles that lit the kitchen a few yards away. Livia could barely make out what the dark wood floor looked like with how dimly lit it was.

Chloe's door was already open when Livia reached her little sister's room. She could see the smaller version of herself sitting straight up in bed breathing heavily as tears streamed down her face. Chole's hair was a mess and her blankets looked as if someone had tried to toss them across the room but ultimately failed; most likely from Chloe slashing around as a result of whatever dream she was having.

"Chlo, are you okay?" Livia asked her younger sister softly, walking up to the full sized bed. Cautiously, being how dark it was in the room, Livia reached for the chain on her sister's lamp, turning it on to slightly brighten the pitch black room. With the small light it became clear that the little girl had been crying. It had been weeks since she had cried. But Livia knew it was worse tonight compared to the other times she had cried.

Within seconds the poor girl broke down more. "I had the dream again. It was me." she choked out quietly as she broke into sobs once more. Livia quickly grabbed the girl lovingly and held her as close to her chest as possible. She could feel the younger girl's heavy breath against her body as she cried in fear. Later that morning would be the reaping and she was the most scared she had been in the previous weeks.

After around five minutes of cradling her younger sister, Livia rested the smaller figure on the bed carefully as she calmed down and the girl fell asleep peacefully. Now that the younger Perez was sleeping comfortably in her bed, the green eyed girl pulled out a chair from her sister's desk and sat by her bed. Livia's legs curled up onto the seat of the chair, arms wrapped around the tops of her knees, and head buried in her arms.

It wasn't long before the older daughter fell asleep in the surprisingly comfortable chair by the bed. Near eight o'clock that morning Livia woke in the same chair she had fallen asleep in right by her sister. It was quiet in the house and still not bright out yet it was light enough that she could see the room better than she could earlier that night.

Quietly, she got up from the chair and slipped out of the room, going back down the hall to her own room. Once entering the small space, she went to her closet and picked out a light blue dress and a pair of white sneakers, laying the pieces to her outfit on the bed before going to the bathroom for a shower. Five minutes. That's all the time she was allowed to shower.

Though District Two was more fortunate than most districts, they were still limited to some resources. And water was one of them. So all she got was five minutes to shower. Once she showered, the blonde walked back to her room with a towel wrapped tightly around her and shut her door behind her to change. When she was finished changing the girl looked at herself in the mirror.

She stared at her well toned body that she had worked for at the training academy. With her being 5'2 it left her to wonder if she was picked for the games, whether or not she was stronger than most, would she even have a chance at winning? But she knew that it was keeping her sister contained that she needed to worry about.

Livia's father was in the kitchen by the time she came down for breakfast. He was cooking bacon and eggs on the stove just as he did every morning. At the sound of his oldest daughter behind him, he turned around and smiled sadly in her direction. She reminded him so much of her mother. She reminded herself of her mother. Her piercing green eyes screamed at him just as her mothers had before she died.

Tears sat on the brim of his eyes as he looked lovingly at Livia. "You look beautiful, darling." he told her as he walked up to her and engulfed her in a sweet yet bitter hug. Because although he knew that it wasn't likely for either daughter to be sent to the games, he couldn't help but think about the possibility that one or the other could be sent off.

"Thank you, Papa." Livia responded, shutting her eyes and letting out a breath that she wasn't aware sat in her lungs. The pair held each other for a moment before her father released from the embrace and stepped back over to the stove so he could continue to make breakfast. "Livie?" a higher pitched voice asked from behind the blonde. When the oldest girl turned around, she caught sight of her younger sister standing in the entrance of the hall that led to each of the bedrooms.

Livia smiled at the young girl. In her eyes, Chloe looked beautiful in her light blue dress. She looked so beautiful, so elegant. "Look at you." Livia admired as she stepped towards her sister, kneeling in front of her once they were a mere half a foot apart. "So beautiful. Come on, let's fix up your hair while Papa makes breakfast."

Chloe smiled at her sister with a nod as Livia got up off of the floor and the pair went to Chloe's bedroom which the pair had sat in together just an hour or so beforehand. Quickly, the older girl had put Chloe's hair in a neat fishtail braid that draped down her back gracefully as she sat in the chair. "You look beautiful, Chlo."