Forbearance • A Cato Hadley Story

2.01

It was the third of December and the cold winter air was crisp as ever. Just like it always was during this time of year in District Two. And though it was cold, Livia felt warm inside. She was happy. Well, as happy as you can be when your own sister won't speak to you. Chloe hadn't spoken to the blonde in months. All she got was a big hug and a 'welcome home' from the little girl but nothing more. That was all she got.

Livia didn't know why her sister wouldn't talk to her. As far as she knew, she hadn't done anything. It hurt her knowing that she almost didn't come home and her sister wouldn't even utter a word to her. It broke her. But Cato was always there to pick up the pieces. Whether it had something to do with her sister or other issues she was having, he was there for her. Just like tonight. It was around four in the morning when Livia woke up thrashing around in her bed.

She had dreamt about the games. Just like every other night. Every night there would be some remembrance of the games in her dreams, which, once she thought about it, were starting to seem more like nightmares to her. Tonight she saw Marvel. She remembered him the day the girl from Twelve ended his life. The day was traumatizing for her. She had grown close to the boy in the small amount of time she had known him. It hurt her to watch the light leave his eyes.

It was Katniss, Rue, Marvel, and herself in the small patch of open grass where Marvel ended the life of the little girl. Katniss let her arrow slip and land in Marvel's chest. His body instantly stiffened and he fell to the ground. When this had happened in the arena the boy, nor herself, had gotten the chance to say anything to the other before he left Earth and joined Glimmer in the afterlife. But this was different. Marvel got to speak to her this time around.

"Livia..." the boy mumbled weakly. Livia was shocked by this and dropped to her knees, lightly grabbing his hand to comfort him as the light slowly started to willow away in his eyes. "It's your fault. It's your fault I'm dead. You killed me!" he uttered just before he took his last breath and stared blankly into the blue sky of the arena. The blonde screamed at the top of her lungs, shaking her friend frantically in hope of a response. But it was too late. He was gone.

The flashbacks took a few moments to go away even after she had awoken from her nightmare. The girl was sweating and tears were continuously streaming down her face as she breathed heavily in her bed. She needed Cato. So swiftly, Livia carried herself out of her bed and put on her jacket, which was really on that she had stolen from her lover, along with her shoes. Once they were on she quietly walked through her house and out the front door, revealing Victors Village. The village was nice but quite basic.

The only plus side was that the two teens lived right next to each other. Livia's house on the left, Cato's on the right. It only took a matter of twenty seconds to get from her front door to his before she knocked on the door. In that moment she was glad the boy's room was the closest to the front door so she could knock without having to worry about waking his parents. As she waited on the front step she could feel the cold air nipping at her porcelain skin.

Thankfully she didn't wait any longer than a minute or so before Cato answered the door. The girl could tell he was tired by the way his eyes were slightly swollen and his hair was somewhat disheveled but the clear tiredness seemed to be swept away when he realized who stood in front of him. He wasted no time in pulling her into the warmth and comfort of his home and wrapping her in his arms as she cried, shaking, although she was shaking a bit less now as she was concealed by his strong arms.

"What's wrong, Hun?" he asked, holding her as close to him as he could. He could feel the girl's tears drip onto his shirt, making his shirt slightly wet. But he didn't care. He just wanted to make sure she was okay. He understood how horrible the nightmares could be as he got them himself sometimes. The games alone were traumatizing as it was, let alone having to re-watch them over and over every single time one of them closed their eyes. And, of course, the girl didn't reply.

She just stayed silent in his arms as she cried her tears of pure fear. "Nightmare?" he asked, placing comforting kisses on the top of the girl's head. She simply nodded yes in response and rested her head on his chest where they stood. Not speaking so much as a word, the muscular boy gently pushed Livia off of him and grabbed the girls hand lightly and led her to his room where they could lay down for the night. His room was a decent size.

It had just enough room to where he could fit his bed and dresser and still had quite a bit of room left. He had a queen bed which was perfect for nights like this where either Cato, or in this case Livia, needed comforting. The bed was big enough for the both of them and had a bit of extra space to move around during the night and still be comfortable. "I'm sorry, Bub." the blonde sniffled, cuddling closer to Cato as they laid down on the bed.

Her right arm went under the boy's torso as her left went on top, and her head rested on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her almost on top of him. "It's okay. I get them too." he spoke softly. No one ever really got to see this side of the boy. He always felt the need to put on this tough act for the people around him but he didn't need to do so around her. It was good knowing he had someone that he could be himself around.

And she liked knowing that even though she was broken in more ways than one, he wasn't going to leave her. She had too many people in her life leave her and knowing that she had him felt great. They needed each other. So they stuck by each other. He was her other half and she was his. Neither of them were going anywhere and they both knew that. They were doing this together.