𝖙𝖊𝖒𝖊𝖗𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖚𝖘 | THE HUNGER GAMES

fourteen

Fourteen

Alia 🎨

The interview is in two hours and I'm genuinely a little worried cause neither Keith or Kamari had even considered what they were going to talk about or how Flickerman could manipulate their answers. Trixie had only sushed me away when I had raised my querry. I had stomped away into my room as I saw Kamari standing in front of the drying canvas, her eyes full of tears as she looked up at me. She stood there looking the stark contrast of the painting, wearing a black turtle neck and and the dark beige pants. I noticed the red heels she was probably going to wear for the interview and a chuckle escaped me as I imagined Matt and Trixie trying to wrestle the heels onto Kamari's face.

She stared at me as tears fell down my face as I realized that she was not going to be there anymore. There are going to be no more late night hot choclate sessions over 'girl talk'. Or tormenting our resident 'not-a-morning-person' Keith for early morning runs. A sob escaped me as I realised that this could possibly the last moment I have with Kami.

The same Kamari who volunteered to take me in because I couldn't live alone. The same Kamari who dealt with every snark remark when no one else would. The same Kamari who held me through every nightmare. The same Kamari that kept me alive in my games. The same Kamari who brought me back to life. The same Kami who took care of me. The same Kami who is my big sister. The same Kami who was family when mine died. The same Kami who is the last bit of family I have.

I was sobbing in Kami's arms as we sat on the edge of the bed. "You made this?" She managed to choke out once my breathing had levelled a bit. "You said that if you ever got to, you wanted me to paint it for you. I don't want to leave it up to chance. Just in case-" I heaved at the though of never seeing my sister again. "Shh. It's okay. I'm not going anywhere. Everything is gonna be just fine." She said emphasising each word as guilt filled me. I realised that Kami was the one heading into the butcher's shop tomorrow, which she did to protect me and there is a chance she might not walk out. Yet, here she was, consoling me.

She stood in front of the canvas, eyes still wide as buttons. "Ali, it's-" She hesitated as her fingers reached out to caress the white strokes as if she could somehow feel the silk. "I don't have words." She said as I stood up, hugging her again. "I'm gonna miss you." I said as more tears fell onto Kami's turtleneck. A lnock resonated through the room as we pulled away, arms still wrapped around eac, only heads leaning away as we looked at the opening the door.

Keith's mop of black hair shoved through. "Kam?" He questioned before his eyes landed on us. "I thought I'd find you here." He said stepping in as Kami pulled away, wiping at her cheeks. "They're waiting for us downstairs. Trixie, Matt, Malcom, Pixie and surprisingly Joey wanna talk to us. So, just come down as soon as possible." With one look Kami understood my nudge to send her downstairs. Keith held out his hand to her as she wrapped hers around it.

"Wait!" She said, striding up to me. "Can I take it? I want that to be the last thing I see." She said her voice breaking a little as my eyes widened at her proposal of taking the unfinished painting. "No!" I exclaimed as both the older victors narrowed their eyes at me. "I still have some things to add. I'll give it to you after the interview." Kami just nodded, holding onto Keith's hand again as they left the room, the man mumbling about him not getting any gift as the three of us laughed.

Just as the door closed, I requested a glass of water, dipping the paint filled paintbrushes into the glass, watching the colour swirl as I washed my face, tying my hair back before picking up a now clean brush. I moved away the white cloth covering part of the canvas, smiling at the familiar face in the doorway. I touched the white paint, dipping the brush in water before I started painting translucent strokes on the canvas.