The Mentor - A Hunger Games Story

10 - AFTER

Haymitch didn't have much memory of the Victory Tour. Each day he would arrive somewhere, say something about the district's fallen tributes, have a classy meal with the district mayor, and then drink alone on the train. The next morning he would wake up and try to recall what had happened, but didn't care enough to.

He figured he was trying to trick himself into not realizing he would have to go home. But despite the chemicals he was pouring into himself, he was still smart.

The last stop was District 12, where he would make his speech, eat dinner, and then move into Victor's village.

He forced himself to not drink the night before. He owed it to Carson, Rydell and Maislee's families.

He exited the train and breathed in the scents of the forest. The once beautiful smell was tainted to Haymitch's nose, so he sped walk to the capitol building.

He noticed that as he walked, several peacekeepers surrounded him. At the other districts, he had only one peacekeeper, who was basically there just to make sure Haymitch got from place to place on time. But this group seemed like they were there to protect him from something. Or to keep him from running.

His speech followed his normal script. Thank everyone for their support, honor the fallen tributes. Haymitch refused to let himself get tripped up while talking about Maislee. He didn't need any more pity.

He knew the entire district knew of his family's deaths. He could see it in their faces. The last thing he wanted to hear was how sorry they were. He honestly just wanted to snuggle up in his new mansion in Victor's Village and pop open the new bottle of scotch he'd gotten as a present from some guy in District 11.

He was finally released from Peacekeeper custody, his security telling him that his Victor duties were fulfilled, for now. He was free to go home.

Haymitch laughed in their faces, flipped them off, and walked out of the capital.

For the first time in his life, Haymitch found himself without a plan. He stood alone in the street, people already gone from the assembly, off to work. He had nowhere to go, no one to see.

He stood for one more moment, willing his brain to do what it usually did. Regardless of the scenario, form a plan.

His legs moved him before his mind did, carrying him down a street he'd never been on before. But Maislee had described it enough for him to find his way right up to her house. The pink house in the sea of gray, with the green door. Her and her sisters painted it when they were younger, and got to pick out the colors. She described it as a place of life, with five girls running around constantly, their moms trying to wrangle them.

But the house Haymitch looked at was the opposite. The siding was still pink, the door still green, but there was no sound coming from inside. No girls playing.

He clicked his jaw nervously, but walked up the steps and knocked on the door before he could stop himself.

The door jerked open before he had planned what he was going to say. Luckily, Maislee's four year old sister, Gina, answered.

"Hi!" She said in a sing-song voice that sounded slightly on edge. Poor baby probably knew her family was sad, but had no clue why. She was too young to understand.

"Hey." Haymitch's voice cracked from the light tone he tried to force. He squatted to her eye level. "You must be Gina."

"Yeah!" She giggled and swayed around, her hands on the skirt of her dress. "Do you like my dress?" She could hardly say her r's, bringing a rare smile to Haymitch's face.

"Gina, sweetie, get away from the door." A shrill voice emitted from the house. Haymitch stood up as one of Maislee's moms came to the door, grabbing Gina by the shoulder. "What did we talk about?" She lightly scolded Gina, and pushed her further into the house. She finally registered who was at the door, and her face sunk.

"Hi, um_" Haymitch started, feeling extremely awkward.

"Honey." She grabbed Haymitch and pulled him in for a hug before he could protest. Before he could blink, she pulled him into their small home, sat him at the dining table and poured him a cup of tea. Apparently the other two girls were at a friend's house, and Maislee's other mother was off at work.

Shiela, Haymitch learned her name was, sat down next to him at the table and stirred her tea gingerly. Gina was off in the playroom, singing to herself.

"Can I ask you a few questions?" Haymitch asked, sipping his tea. He hated tea, but refused to let Sheila know that.

Sheila nodded fervently. She had short brown hair and wore a simple blue dress. It had a few stains, no doubt from the youngest Donner girl.

"Have you received Maislee's body?" The question felt uncomfortable in the comfortable home. It bounced around the walls like the house knew that a key family member was missing.

Shelia shook her head and wiped away a tear. "No, not yet. We've asked a few times_"

"Fucking hell." Haymitch cursed, making Shiela turn her head to make sure Gina wasn't near. "Sorry, sorry." He cleared his throat. His brian was on fire. If they were still performing experiments on Maislee, reaching into her memories_. No, he couldn't allow that. "I'll get her back for you. I have some pull now." He half-lied, forcing a smile.

"That would be amazing, thank you honey." Sheila was still crying, but also forced a smile. "I just know your friendship meant the world_"

"No." Haymitch held up a hand, shaking his head. He couldn't hear this. "I can't_" He choked, wishing he hadn't come at all. "Maybe some other time we can talk, I don't know if I can_" The room was getting too small. The hair was thicker here - was there a chemical in the house? Was this a set up? Was Sheila even Maislee's mother? Was this all a plot?

Sheila reached out and stroked Haymitch's hand. He swallowed and tried to breathe.

"Do you want me to take you to them?" She asked gently.

Haymitch nodded, wishing he instead had passed out in a whiskey induced coma.