The Fourth Quarter Quell

Chapter Six

Rue's POV

A small part of me knew that my mom would be finding out about Greyson and I before the reaping. I could've guessed that it was going to be uncomfortable, but that was worse than I ever imagined. It wasn't anything she said, it was what she didn't say. She tried to look happy for me, but I know her well enough to understand that she wasn't really feeling that way. Maybe it's not the fact that it's Greyson, maybe she's upset because she realizes that whatever love Greyson and I have for one enother could possibly end in a matter of weeks. Maybe she sees in Greyson and I what she and Gale could have had. Maybe she sees what she and my father did have.

After many minutes of never ending uncomfortable silence, Greyson, Hunter and I finally stole away to get ready for dinner and to check on Delilah and Cinna. As I was about to turn into Cinna's room, Hunter stopped me, saying, "I'll check on them, you two should talk." Greyson nods and he grabs my hand, leading me into his room. He shuts the door, knowing that our conversation should be private.

"I cannot believe you," I mumble as I walk over to the window to check out the view. Endless fields wiz by and my eyes begin to blur. Even in the confusion, the landscape is still beautiful. I haven't seen much more than District 12, so I've only learned about places like this in books.

"What?" He questions, "I thought that it went well." He walks over to the window as well, standing beside me with his hand placed on my shoulder.

"No, it's not that. That is what it is," I say, then a take deep breath before saying, "I cannot believe that you think you're going to volunteer." I continue to stare forward, but he turns me around to look me in the eyes. When he tries to hold my gaze, I look away, so he leads me to the bed and sits me down. Then he bends his knees a bit to be at my level, holding my hands in his.

"I don't think I'm going to volunteer, I know that I'm going to volunteer if you're chosen. I'm going to do it for us," he says. My mind spins in a thousands directions; all in anger at him.

"For us? You think that the best thing for us would be for us both to die?" I say, practically spitting with anger, "Greyson Hawthorne, I've heard a lot of stupid things in my life but this had to be the worst. Promise me that you won't volunteer."

"Rue, I'm not going to prom-"

"Promise!" I scream, cutting him off.

"I won't. You mean too much to me," he says calmly. Then, he tries to kiss me, but I turn my head so he can't.

After a moment, he stands up, gazing at me one more time before leaving the room.

Katniss's POV

On the way to my bedroom, I hear a soft, muffled cry coming from the inside of Rue's room. I knock on the door, pausing for a moment by the door until I hear her meek voice say, "Come in." When I walk in the room, Rue does not even bother to look up at me. Her head is placed in her hands as she sits on the edge of her bed and lets out a few choking sobs. I sit beside her, setting my hand on her back.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I say as I watch the tears fall down onto her cheeks. A part of me doesn't want to ask her this question because I know that she could be upset as a result of my decisions. Now that I know more about her life than I ever have before, things are different. I've been selfish. I've only been thinking of my own needs while telling myself that my choices have been in the best interest of my children. Choosing to become a mentor has been the worst offender. Closure was the only thing on my mind when I agreed; not my kids. The only thread of hope that I'm holding onto now is that I could possibly persuade Johanna to take Rue and the Hawthornes out of the reaping.

"Greyson," she stutters through her sobs, "he says he's going to volunteer if I'm picked, mom." I suppose that I should be shocked, but I'm not. A Hawthorne trying to play the hero isn't exactly unheard of to me. I struggle to find the words to respond, because I can't fix this for her. I can't tell Greyson not to volunteer, and most likely I won't be able to take Rue out of the reaping. This mess of a world that I've created is slowly falling onto the shoulders of my daughter. So instead of trying to fix it with words, I sit with her on the bed and let her cry into me. In this moment, that's all that I can do for her.

Without warning, Hunter pops his head into the room, beginning to tell us that dinner is ready, but then stops when he sees Rue. I glance at him as he stands awkwardly in the doorway, not knowing what to do. I nudge Rue, pointing my head in the direction of Hunter. She immeadiately wipes her eyes and stands up straight, fixing the rumples in her clothes. Without a sound, she glides pass Hunter and makes her way to the dining car. Hunter and I both pause for a moment. Not many people have seen that side of Rue, and when they do they know it's serious. I don't think I've ever seen her feel this way about someone before.

It reminds me too much of Gale and I...

Hunter's POV

As soon as I see Rue crying, I immeadiately know the cause. It's the games. That's the root of the problem at least. I know that her tears are most likely a result of what Greyson and I told her earlier, but we figured it would be best to tell her now rather than to 'surprise' her on reaping day. I want to believe that Rue won't be chosen, but I know she will. As for Greyson and I, I would say that the probability is very high. I haven't told Greyson this yet, but if he gets chosen I'm going to volunteer. He keeps saying that he needs to be in the arena with Rue, but he can't. He won't last a day, and more importantly, he won't be able to protect her. Our whole lives, Greyson and I have been protecting Rue, especially after her Dad died. We can't and we won't stop now. She needs us now more than ever.

Katniss and I continue to stand in our places, waiting for the other to move first. Finally she breaks the silence, saying, "She's, I think she's-"

"I know," I interrupt. I don't want her to finish the sentence. I already understand, but somehow hearing it out loud is way worse. Without a word, Katniss slips by me and makes her way to the dining cart. In a quick motion, I walk behind her.

Dinner was awkward, to say the least. Rue refused to look at Greyson, much less speak to him. Dad kept trying to make light conversation, but it didn't work. Nobody was in the mood to laugh or even be polite to one another. When our dishes were cleared, Rue, Greyson, Katniss, and the kids immeadiately left the cart to most likely go to bed; it had been a long day. I stayed behind, wanting to have a word with my father, the one who has gotten us into this emotional mess.

"So you're finally going to talk to me?" He says, fully concentrated on twirling the straw in his drink. His eyes flicker to me when I don't respond right away. I don't know what to say to him, even though there's a million things that I could. "I'm surprised you even came. You're eighteen, you didn't have to." He's right, I didn't. But I needed to. "Oh but Rue's here too," he continues, "I see the way you look at her."

"It's not like that," I snap, quickly defending myself.

"Oh but it is," he says with a smirk on his face, "You see I had the exact same feelings for Katniss, but there was always another guy. And she married him, so jokes on me I guess." The slight smile he once had turned to a grimace as he most likely tried to forget the memories he doesn't like to talk about.

"Just because I want to protect her, doesn't mean I'm in love with her," I say although the words that I said didn't seem true. I thought what I was saying was true, but I don't fully believe myself. My dad just smiles; I have a feeling he doesn't believe me either. Trying to get away from the subject, I snap, "But what about you Dad? You're the reason I'm here in the first place! We shouldn't be here Dad! There's absolutely no reason why we're being sent off to our deaths!" He's quiet. He knows there isn't a good response.

"Clousure-" he begins to say, but I've heard it all before.

"When are you going to stop lying to yourself? Closure can't be the only reason you're okay with sending us into the games." His eyes dart around the room, looking for an answer to my question.

"This time there wasn't another guy," he says softly, not even picking up his head before leaving the room.