The Capitol's Darling - The Hunger Games

thirty-three: haunting you in your nightmares

"It's beautiful." I complimented.

"Thanks.. It's meant to be Rosie's.." He replied. His mood dropped instantly as I realised this must've been a very sensitive topic.

I didn't say anything else as it looked like he didn't want to talk about it, but he spoke again; "We're both 18 now, and I thought we were safe from the reaping so I was planning on proposing to her the day after. Obviously you know that didn't work out well."

Halo and Rosie met in school when they were 6 and had been together since they were 13. Everyone adored and envied their relationship, it was nothing but pure love between them.
"I'm so sorry." I replied, not knowing what else to say.

"Yeah.. Before we went on the train, I tried to do it. Propose. But she wouldn't let me. She said I can do it when I come back to her but," He chuckled which got me confused on why he would be laughing at a time like this. "Let's be real Katia, I have no chance of winning."

"Don't say that Halo. You can win. You're good with hand-to-hand combat, you're from District 4 so we have the upper hand by knowing how to swim and use a spear, and you're strong." I said truthfully. Because it was true, he could easily win, but he had one weakness, and that was he didn't want to kill.

"Against you? Katia we all know you're gonna win this. Everyone knows it. You got a 10 on the evaluation, your odds were 19-1, your brother is a victor let me just add, you're good at everything, and you have all the sponsors. What makes you think I can win against you? Plus you're only fourteen, you're too young to die."  He admitted.

"The girl from 6 was only 12 years old, and she died day 1." I hadn't known the girl back then, but I saw her during training and she was helpless. She refused to do anything and the things she was forced to do, she did horrible on. Her odds was 96-1 but she was only 12. She shouldn't have been there in the first place.

If only I knew back then exactly how she died.

No one said a thing after that. Then I saw Halo starting to take his ring off. "What are you doing?" I asked.

We stopped walking as he reached his hand out in front of me. "I want you to take this."

"What? No! That's your engagement ring I would never take something so precious."

"Katia, I want you to have it. I need you to win this stupid game and go back to your family. When you do, please promise me you'll give this to Rosie. Tell her I love her and no words can be said to tell her how much I love her. And i'm sorry that I won't be there to watch our daughter grow up." He confessed. We both knew that Rosie most likely heard everything he was saying back home, but I still remembered everything he was saying, to tell her anyways.

"S-she's pregnant?" I asked cautiously, not knowing if he wanted to talk about it.

"Yeah..." He smiled as we started walking again. I guess the subject of his baby was a positive one. I hesitantly took the ring from him and inserted it in my right thumb since my hands were too small. I didn't want to lose it especially when it meant so much to Halo.

"Have you guys thought of names yet?" I questioned, wanting him to be happy talking about his soon to be daughter.

"We've actually been arguing about it, Rosie wants her named after her, something like Rose or Delilah, you know- cause like both their names are flowers. But I wanted her to be named after me, something like Angel or Hayley. What do you think?"

His mood went up again and he was back to being smiley. I loved that about him, how even though we were in the hunger games, his personality never changed. God I wish I was the same.