in which girl and boy are forced into their almost certain death. in order to live, they know one of them must die.
this is their story.
peeta mellark x julia arlock (oc)
(planning to update every 5-7 days!)
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the girl on fire.
after the finish of the anthem signals the end of the ceremony, peeta and i are ushered into the justice building and shoved into different rooms.
five years ago, i stood in this same spot watching my mother cling to lily and sob while my father barely held back tears. five years ago, my sister smiled at me for the last time as she took her silver necklace and placed it gently around my neck. now, it is my turn to say goodbye to district 12.
my parents are the first to come in. with one look at my mother, my heart splinters and shatters. her cheeks are ruddy and streaked with tears, blue eyes begging for this to be some sort of sick joke. my father still just gazes down at me, no discernable emotion on his face. no one speaks for a moment. we all stare at each other for a moment before my mother lets out a broken wail to split the silence. she grabs me by the fabric of my dress and pulls me toward her chest, enveloping me in a crushing hug. she shakes as sobs rack her body and even though she is squeezing me so hard i cannot breathe, i do everything i can to grip onto her even tighter. who knows if i'll ever hug her again.
my father doesn't move. he stands off to the side, fists clenched, and watches as my mother dissolves in front of him. i meet his gaze and realize with a pang that i do know the emotion in his eyes. he is staring at me with not sadness or pride but disappointment.
"julia," my mother says, pulling away to look at my face. her hands are soft as she strokes my cheek and she smiles sadly. "i am so proud of the woman you've become."
i cannot cry. i know as soon as i start, i will never stop and i can't appear weak on the cameras. my competition and sponsors from the capitol will be watching. but her words make it extremely hard to keep it together. "i love you, mom." i kiss her softly on the forehead and turn to my father. arms crossed at his chest, he scowls at me, resentful. to him, it's my fault that my mother is losing her only living daughter. in his eyes, i chose this fate. i make sure to glare back with just as much animosity.
"you have to take care of her," i say quietly, pointing back at my mom, who has started to cry so hard that she has to sink to the floor. "i'm not going to be here to find food or to check in on her on her bad days so that needs to become your job again." he doesn't acknowledge anything, just looking at me with so much anger and so much hate, one wouldn't even know i was his daughter. "say something. say you'll take care of her."
he still stays silent as the peacekeepers come in to pull them away. my mother leaps towards me, sobbing my name. i grab her hand as tears start to flow freely down my cheeks. "dad, promise! please, just take care of her!" but he walks out the open door and away. away from the justice building, away from the reaping, and away from his only living child.
