HEARTBURN ➭ THE HUNGER GAMES

008

ੈ♡₊˚•. ˖⋆ ━━━━━⠀HEARTBURN !
▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ ⋯ ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ ˓ 𑁍ࠜೄ
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 EIGHT ・*: ·. ⇌ ஜ  .·:*┛

   Time is a game played beautifully by children.

   Unfortunately, the clock is ticking. The hours are going by. The past increases and the future recedes. Possibilities were decreasing, and regrets mounting. Time is a game, and Julianna played it very well.

   Well, most of the time.

   It was in the dead of night when she laid down her chess pieces and revealed her cards, this was when Julianna stopped playing. It would be encouraging if she said she spent her time away worthwhile, but then not only would she be a coward but a liar as well.

  So, for the third time that night, Julianna hangs her head over the toilet and empties her stomach. Then again, she no longer had anything left in her. Quinn sat on the bathroom floor with Julianna's red hair pulled back into her hands, stroking it softly. When she's finished, Julianna rests her head against the toilet. As gross as it was, it was the only thing cool enough that didn't make her feel like she was burning from the inside out.

   "Are you nervous?" Quinn asks softly.

   Julianna shakes her head, too afraid to open her mouth. Though it wasn't the exact reason, it wasn't a dumb question. Every time she went on that stage and gave her interview, she had spent the nights before a nervous wreck. Throwing up her insides was not a rare occasion for her.

   "What is it, then?"

   The sickly feeling rises in her throat, and Julianna is coughing into the toilet again.

   Julianna was terrified.

   Julianna is in love, and the thought alone makes her sick.

   She thinks if she even attempts to admit it out loud her tongue will fall out, leaving her defenseless. It is all so lame. All the things she did to show she doesn't need anybody, meanwhile all she wants to say is, 'Please keep me'. Everybody wants to be kept. The problem is, that she is too afraid to let anyone know about it.

   What is this fragile thing in her chest that has so much fear of being broken?

   "I'm in love, Quinn," Julianna admits softly, and quiet tears stream down her face.

   "I know," Quinn comments, still stroking her hair.

   Julianna has set her limit on love. She binds her heart like the women bind their feet. The binding is painful, but eventually, you get used to it and the pain goes away.

   "It's Enzo," Julianna admits, and her tongue feels swollen.

   It was the first and only time Julianna would ever admit it out loud, but it was like a monster eating her from the inside out begging to be released. Julianna didn't feel any better.

   "I know," Quinn says again, sighing. "Have you told him?"

   The redhead shakes her head, it is weak and barely noticeable. "I can't." She whispers.

   "You can." Quinn denies, "How can you be afraid to feel it? Love isn't made to be feared, Julianna. It's a feeling, just like fear itself. If you're feeling fear, you've already felt one of the most negative emotions there is to feel. Everything else should be a piece of cake."

   "Don't mention cake," Julianna grumbles, holding her stomach.

   Her abdomen ached; her pale hands wrapped around her sides.