Forbearance • A Cato Hadley Story

1.11

Livia had trouble sleeping again that night. That morning she would be sent to her inanimate death. No matter how long she laid in the comforting sheets of her bed she couldn't get a blanket of sleep to take her in so she could dream away for the last time. With a groan of disappointment the girl pulled the sheets off her shivering body and went straight for the elevator.

Trying to stay as quiet as possible, not wanting to wake anyone, the girl tip-toed to the elevator and pressed the silver button with the upwards arrow on it. Seconds later the elevator doors opened and she stepped in, letting the doors close behind her. Once she made it onto the roof she could feel the calming breeze envelope her, making her relax almost instantly. She then made a b-line for the railing so she could look down at the city around her.

The blonde enjoyed the silence of being alone. She found it calming. It would ease her nerves and let her clear her mind in the process, leaving her to feel much better about what was going on around her. Unfortunately the moment lasted only a short period of time. A few minutes after she had been out there the elevator rang and the silver doors slid open revealing a clearly tired Marvel inside.

"Marvel? What are you doing up here so late?" the blonde asked, turning to face the boy as he walked closer to her spot at the railing. The boy tiredly smirked at her and stood next to her, looking at everything below them. He wouldn't admit it but he was scared just as she was. He was scared of not returning to his mother and brother. He wanted them to be proud. With a deep sigh he pondered and focused on the people walking along the streets.

They looked so peaceful. What both Marvel and Livia wished they could be in the moment. "Not tired yet. I thought I'd come up here and try to make myself tired" he lied swiftly. He was quite skilled at hiding his true thoughts and feelings. Livia just silently nodded in understanding and went back to looking at all the buildings surrounding their current one. Although the pair wasn't aware, they both felt exactly the same.

Both of their minds were running a mile a minute and both wanted to speak but were unsure of what to say. Becoming slightly uncomfortable with the silence, Marvel spoke up and turned to his right so he could face the blonde beside him. "You know, Cato made me promise something." he blurted out. He immediately regretted his choice of words. He wasn't supposed to mention whatever he had promised but he had already dug himself a hole.

The girl looked at him questioningly after he spoke. It left her to  wonder what he meant. "What do you mean?" she asked him. Marvel, for a split second, considered telling the girl not to worry about it and walking away. But he knew he couldn't just leave her hanging. With a sigh the boy put on his serious face and paused, wanting to choose his words carefully this time. After a moment he silently confirmed in his head what he would tell her and nodded to himself.

"He made me promise to get you out of that arena." he told her straight up. Livia wished that she could say that she was completely surprised but she wasn't. He had promised her on the train to the Capitol that she would make it home to her father and sister. She just didn't expect him to make somebody else risk their life for her. That was what caught her off guard. She didn't actually expect Marvel to carry out the promise. She didn't want him to.

He had a family back home as well. She didn't want to win just because she was being protected. She wanted to win because she deserved it. In defeat, the blonde closed her eyes briefly and sighed before looking at the boy in front of her in his eyes, placing a friendly hand on top of his own, which was sat on the handle of the railing. His eyes glanced to their hands momentarily but quickly looked back up to her, signaling for her to speak.

"Marvel, you don't have to protect me. I mean sure we're a team but if I'm gonna win, I want it to be fair." she told him truthfully, trying to take a kind approach with her words. The boy in front of her nodded in understanding. He got where he was coming from. He felt the same way. If it was him, he would want to win because he did what he had to to get there. Not because he had people dying for him so he could win.

Livia could feel herself getting tired by now. Not tired enough to sleep but tired enough for her to want to be on the comfortable couch in the living room of the penthouse. Kindly, she let him know she would be heading back downstairs and he agreed that she should go to bed. She figured he would be outside a bit longer as he wasn't moving from his spot so she gave him a tight but friendly hug and went for the elevator.

She was a matter of a few feet from the elevator doors when she heard the teens voice ring in her ears. "Look, I promised Cato I would let you live. Don't make me regret it." he jokingly warned her. The pair giggled at his words and the girl continued downstairs to the comfort of the penthouse for what she hoped wasn't the last time.

The living room was dark when she entered. It was the middle of the night so of course no one was up. She knew she still wouldn't be able to get herself to sleep so she sneakily went and sat on the rounded, dark purple couch. The silence felt so loud in her ears. It was just nothingness. Not that she minded. It was comforting. That was until she heard footsteps slowly coming from behind her.

Cato. His eyes were partially closed and puffy, indicating that he had either gotten no sleep at all yet or that he had just woken up. The blonde was so tired that he couldn't even lift his feet all the way off of the ground as he walked. Without a word being spoken between the two he came around to Livia's side of the couch, sat next to her, and grabbed her hand tiredly, fiddling with her fingers.

The small girl laughed quietly at his actions and laid her hand on top of his to keep him from moving his hand too much. She just needed the comfort and she wasn't going to get that with how much he was moving around. Minutes went by before the girl actually spoke. "What are you doing awake?" she whispered, being careful not to wake Annette, Augusta or Enobaria. The boy stayed silent, focusing on their hands before responding tiredly.

"Couldn't sleep. I'm a little nervous." she couldn't believe it. Of all people, the oldest Perez daughter least expected Cato to be scared of going into the games. As far as she knew, it was his dream to be in the games and now he was scared? But he wasn't frightened because of the reasons she assumed. He knew that only one of them was going to make it out. He wasn't sure what he would do if it came down to them. On one hand, he wanted to go home to his family. To bring glory to his district.

On the other hand, he promised her he would get her home. And they both knew that only one or the other was possible. "Me too. You're not the only one. I ran into Marvel on the roof as well." she responded sadly, laying her head on his left shoulder. Though she didn't think it was possible, she had grown quite fond of the boy over the last two weeks and she wasn't ready to let that go. She wasn't ready to let him go. Same with Marvel and Glimmer. The four of them were like family now but it wouldn't last  much longer.

Tensely, the boy rested his head on top of hers and tightened his grip on the girl's hand. It was nice; just the two of them. Livia's heart warmed at the contact. He was special. Too bad they would no longer be together in a few weeks time. The girl sighed and waited a moment before repeating her previous words in a whispered tone. "Me too."