Safe and Sound (The Hunger Games)

Chapter 32 - Some Help

My fake smile disappears from my face the second he leaves the room. Did he just threaten to kill my family? How could he do that! How could he-

Did I just say that out loud?

I clamp my hand over my mouth. Maybe if I have my hand over my mouth, I can feel when I'm talking and speaking my thoughts. I guess I'll try it out.

That's when I hear a knock on the door. "Come in..." I weakly say as my mentor, Annie, walks in with a friendly smile on her face that warms up the room immediately.

"Kaya! I was just about to come in, but then President Snow was in here, so I let you two have your privacy."

I wish you would have came in... I think to myself. But at the same time I felt my lips moving... Oh my god I said that out loud.

"No, the president always talks to the victor alone. It's the routine." She casually says.

"It is?" I ask her with wonder. She didn't seem that convincing.

"Ermm... no. He never sees the victor after the games like that." She says seriously. My heart sinks to my stomach. This is really bad, my family can die from this... "What did he tell you?"

"He threatened to kill my family if I slip up." I say one hundred percent honestly. There's no point in sugarcoating this situation.

"Well you can't slip up then." Annie says nonchalantly.

"I think it's easier said than done..."

"Yes, but I can still help you. I'm still your mentor, right?" She says as she gives me a kind smile.

"Yeah, but I'm crazy. I'm literally going insane." I start saying, and then tears start forming in my eyes.

"I'm crazy too. I guess we will do nicely together then."

I get a good look at Annie. Only a few weeks ago I looked at her and saw this insane girl who went through the games the year before. The girl who would cover her ears at random times for no reason. The girl who rarely talked to anyone. The games changed her. And now I look at myself and I realize that the games changed me too. I understand how Annie feels. Annie understands how I feel.

"Yeah, yes we are." I say as I stifle in a sob. I'm not a little girl anymore, I don't need to cry.

"There will be medications, there will be time to hide from the media, but for now you only have me. And for the first time in forever I have you. We will help each other." She says as she leans over me and gives me a huge hug. My body aches, but I could care less. Since my friends died, I haven't had anyone to care about me.

When we let go, she sits in the chair next to my bed. "Annie? I have a question that might make you uncomfortable." I say honestly.

"Ask away." She nods.

"Why... why do you cover your ears?" I ask, getting ready for her to do just that and forget about me just how she did the same during training.

Annie grips her hands at the edges of the chair. Her knuckles begin to whiten and she squeezes her eyes shut. "I..." She starts saying, but then she takes a deep breath and relaxes. Her green eyes find mine, and her hands let go of the chair. "I sometimes hear... I hear my nightmares from the arena... and I want to block it all out." She painfully says and finishes with a heavy sigh.

"Oh," is all I say. "They never go away?"

"Kaya, sweetie," Annie says with empathy. "The nightmares never go away. You'll just have to learn how to deal with them like the rest of us do."

"What do you mean, like the rest of us do?" I ask.

"The victors. All of the victors turn to something or someone to help deal with the horror we have seen. Some turn to drinking, morphling, a love interest, a hobby, anything really."

Suddenly something sparks in my head. Dylan said that his mentor is always drunk. Is that how my life is going to turn out? Being half me, half drunk all the time to forget about the arena? I think being in the arena was easier...

"It definitely was." Annie says. I raise one eyebrow at her, she heard what I thought? "You said that being in the arena is easier than facing life after the games. And I agreed."

"Oh," is the only word that comes our of my mouth. Or did I think that? I don't even have control over myself anymore...

"Just go to sleep. Drink this, and you will have no dreams. Believe me, sometimes I slip a little bit in my water before I go to sleep." Annie says as she hands me a palm sized cup of a clear liquid. "It's going to make you sleepy in about five minutes, just letting you know."

She doesn't have to tell me twice. I down the drink in seconds, not leaving a drop in the cup. Instantly I feel less energetic, so I make myself more comfortable in bed.

"Good night Kaya," Annie says as she leaves the room.

"Good night..." I quietly repeat. The words echo in my head over and over again until... there is nothing.

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Hey guys! I don't usually do author's notes, but I feel like I have to this time because... THIS STORY HIT 1K READS!!!! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!! Keep reading because something big is happening soon... Hint: think about Annie. Comment your guesses below! Thanks again, and read on! xx