kill for your love - the hunger games

(072) juniper, johanna, katniss

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KILL FOR YOUR LOVE.

act three.

(chapter seventy-two, juniper, johanna, katniss)

hospital ward / training / the compartment / the dining hall, 75 ADD.

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JUNIPER HALE DID NOT see the darkness once during her sleep that night. Her mind was filled with chaos, memories of her and her father's conversation, and it seemed to block out the tendrils that were creeping towards her. She slept through the entire night and when she woke, Juniper jumped at the sight of Dr. Aurelius smiling at her in the plastic chair. 

"How was your sleep?" 

"What are you doing?" Juniper scoffed as she rubbed her eyes. 

But Dr. Aurelius shrugged as he replied, "It's our session. But you've been asleep, which is good, so I've been doing my work." 

"How long was I asleep for?" 

"A while." Aurelius nodded. "Miss Mason said you practically crashed the minute your head hit the pillow last night. It's nearly noon now." 

Juniper huffed as she sat up, wincing slightly from her ribs. There was a plate of hospital food on the bedside table and so, she leaned over to grab it, placing it on her lap as she began to eat. The Hale woman could feel the doctor watching her.

"What?" 

"I'm just thinking..." Dr. Aurelius muttered. 

Juniper scoffed as she replied, "Don't do it too hard otherwise you'll hurt yourself." 

"No-one knows what happened to you... in the Capitol," Aurelius said. Juniper froze. "And I presume no-one is going to know, not even myself or Mr. Odair... but I've realised that whatever happened, you're blaming yourself."

"And how can you tell that?" 

"I just can," he said. "Miss Hale... no-one is perfect. We all make mistakes in our lives, knowingly or unknowingly. I don't know what you blame yourself for, but you feel guilty. You are consumed with regret, anyone can sniff it off of you... but you can't live with that. Your father lived with that and look where it got him." 

Juniper remained silent. 

"The first step to overcoming that blame and guilt does not involve constantly brooding over it, killing yourself over it. Not sleeping because of it," the doctor continued. "You need to accept that mistake, whatever you made, without any rationalisation. What is done, is done. Mistakes are made to learn from them and if you don't, then you will continue to suffer until you make the corrections. Do you understand what I'm saying?" 

Juniper let out a shaky breath before muttering, "They weren't just some mistakes..." 

"Whatever they were... it was not your fault," Aurelius said as he leaned forwards in his chair. "You are a good person, Miss Hale. It's the order of nature to make mistakes, to do things you are not proud of. But you can't live with that guilt and regret. You are a good person, Miss Hale. You have a natural goodness inside of you... who's made you feel like this?"