Life After Lucy-Gray: Coriolanus Snow

Chapter Three

"Mr Snow, we caught her attempting to flee to District 13."

Coriolanus furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, as he had believed that there was no such thing as District 13, and that it was burned and ruined during the war.

Why would they lie about District 13 to Capitol residents?

Dr Gaul thought she was reading Coriolanus' mind and continued speaking.

"We're not going to kill her, after all - she was your girl tribute."

Coriolanus was not thinking about Lucy-Gray, but rather District 13. Nevertheless, he turned his attention to the topic of Lucy-Gray. After all, Dr Gaul was right - she was his girl.

"Where is she?" Coriolanus questioned.

"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to."

***
Coriolanus was sat on the edge of his bed, with his leg bouncing with anxiousness.

Where was she? What were they doing to her? A million thoughts were running through Coriolanus' head. He wanted to forget her, he truly did, but he also felt the burning desire to protect her. His mind felt in two places, but his heart was aching at the thought of seeing his Lucy-Gray again. 

Tigris entered Coriolanus' bedroom, holding a cup of tea which she had just made for him. She was quick to notice his anxious legs - and walked slowly towards him before sitting right beside him.

"Is everything alright?" Tigris questioned, whilst passing the cup of tea to him.

"They found Lucy-Gray." Coriolanus replied bluntly. 

He took the cup of tea Tigris has offered him and drank a small sip.

"That's amazing! Where is she? How is she? Why aren't you going to see her?" Tigris was over the moon happy for Coriolanus for Lucy-Gray was the one person in this world that could keep Coriolanus tamed.

"Dr Gaul has her, and I don't know what she's going to do with her." Coriolanus replied.

Tigris heart sank for him. He really did care for her, even if in the past two weeks he acted as if he had no care in the world for her.

"You're taking the piss right?"

Coriolanus shook his head in a slow manner, indicating the answer no. 

No he was not taking the piss.

"I'm on about you. You fought so hard to keep her alive in the Games, you even cheated the system. You got banished from the Capitol and yet still found your way to her. Why are you sat here doing nothing, when you could be saving her?" 

Coriolanus had never seen Tigris so angry, or passionate about anything, aside from clothes, yet she was right. Coriolanus was about to stand up, ready to go find Lucy-Gray before he remembered something. Tigris had no idea about what had happened in District 12, and why he was so hesitant to see her again.

"Tigris, there's so much that I haven't told you" Coriolanus muttered.

"So tell me then, you can trust me. You know you can, I have always been the one you can trust. You know that right?" Tigris said.

Those words. 

Trust.

Lucy-Gray was already haunting him, through Tigris' words.

Coriolanus immediately turned his head and looked at Tigris. 

Trust.

Trust was the reason he lost Lucy-Gray.

Trust was the reason why she fled from him.

"I almost killed her." Coriolanus whispered.

"What?" Tigris exclaimed.

"She's a clever girl, too clever. She realised something and tried to leave me. No - not tried. She did leave me. She ran away and I tried to find her, but then I fear she tried to kill me. So I was shooting back. I thought she was gone, I thought she could have died." Coriolanus sobbed.

"Coryo, it's okay. You're not a bad person, so stop trying to convince yourself so. You haven't done bad things." Tigris' heart sunk for him, she knew who he was at heart - but love had changed him. 

"I've killed four people."

Tigris jumped up in fear, tears forming in her eyes.

"What have you done Coriolanus? Why?"

"Bobbin, in the arena, as you already know. I then shot the Mayor's daughter, because she was going to tell on me. Sejanus, well..." Coriolanus stopped. Could he tell Tigris?

"He got hung, and I blame myself for not taking care of him. His Ma asked me to do so" Coriolanus said. In his defence, he wasn't lying - he just wasn't telling the full truth.

"Who's the fourth?" Tigris asked.

"Highbottom. He was threatening us." Coriolanus full on lied.

Two of the murders he has told Tigris sounded justified, whilst the other two sounded accidental. Surely she would believe him. 

"Coryo, I think you should go find Lucy-Gray." Tigris told him, as she shed a tear.

Coriolanus stared at his cousin for a few seconds, before nodding his head. If Tigris seemed to still have love and trust for him - surely Lucy-Gray would too. Surely she would understand. She had to, right?

Coriolanus threw his coat and shoes on and looked back at Tigris, as a way of saying goodbye, before making his way to the Citadel. He had no idea what he was going to say once he saw Lucy-Gray, but he didn't care. He just wanted to ensure that she was safe and alive.

After all, he thought he had left her for dead.