Broken Promises

chapter 24

Athena wakes up curled into a ball and shivering. Sheesh, did her mom open her window before she went to sleep last night? She should really close that. Ugh where’s her blanket? Athena reaches to the side of her bed to land on something hard. Um ow? What is that? She presses harder and feels warmth emanating off of the object. She furrows her eyebrows in confusion and lazily opens her eyelids. Her eyes adjust from their unclear vision and a boy comes into view. She flutters her eyelids to check to see if this isn’t her imagination playing tricks on her but the boy doesn’t disappear into midair. He even stirs under her touch and she quickly removes her hand from his chiseled chest. There’s no denying Gray is undeniably gorgeous but he isn’t Jason. She stares at the angle of his set jaw and the long blond lashes that land on his pale cheeks. His eyes flutter open and he’s caught her staring at him. His annoying smirk spreads across his godlike features.

                “I know I’m stunningly attractive but you don’t need to drool.” Athena laughs, irritated.

                “Please, the only way I’d be attracted to you was if you considered plastic surgery and if you got a personality change. I don’t really like egotistical jerks.” She finishes with a smirk just as intimidating as his and crosses her arms over her chest. His jaw tenses at her comment and all humor has left his expression. Within seconds, he’s grabbed her wrist and pushed her against a wall of the cave.

                “You’re pushing me Athena.” He growls into her face.

                Gray stares down at her petite frame as he towers over her, as her bony wrist is still squeezed tightly in his hand. His body is pushed against hers and they’re flush against the dry wall. Her large grey eyes look up to him, her plump lips pulled into a thin line of seriousness, yet oh so inviting. He shakes the thought from his head, he can’t make out with this girl, he needs to kill her. But there’s just something in her eyes that leaves him whimpering and wanting to do anything she says. He roughly tosses her wrist aside and sits back down on the hard cave floor. She begins rubbing her wrist unconsciously as she stares at the exit which leads back out to rest of the arena.

                “Don’t even think about it.” Gray warns her sternly. She huffs and stomps her foot like a little girl. He can’t help but chuckle at her innocence showing again. Athena is an adorable girl. He likes how she can go from innocent to feisty at any minute. Back in District 2, she would have been sought out by all those hormonal teenagers just looking for a quick virgin. He guesses he shouldn’t really be talking about hormonal teenage boys considering he’s a part of that lot. He used to find any virgin he could and convinced her he was in love with her. She would believe him and then he’d get exactly what he sought out. Then he was onto the next girl. Sick right? He dropped that whole bad boy act though.

                “It’s not funny!” She shrieks as she stomps her foot again. He shakes his head amused at how she’s becoming impatient.

                “Come on.” Gray grabs her skinny bicep and leads her away.

                “Where are we going?” She asks with large eyes filled with shock.

                “We’re going to hunt.”

                The train ride had been horrendous. Tyler kept getting sideways glances from all of the other passengers. He did seem out of place. A boy from District 7 heading towards the Capitol? It’s never been heard of. Ever since Paylor became president, the citizens of Panem are allowed to travel between districts but that doesn’t mean that everyone uses the luxury to their advantage. The thing is he needs something from the Capitol. He needs answers. He’s now walking through the Capitol in search of one particular mentor. The freaks of the city gawk at him for coming through their city wearing such apparel. He’s dressed in a dark blue sweater and dark pants. His thick black hair is messily tousled and his expression must seem furious. His jaw is clenched and his fists are stuck in the pockets of his pants. He glides past peacekeepers and charms his way into the Gamemakers’ headquarters. He smirks to himself, now to find the vicious mentor that is Johanna Mason.

                “Ugh who are you?” Johanna’s voice booms over the small office as Tyler steps inside. The small woman is seated at a desk and has stack after stack of papers piled around her.

                “Can’t you see I’m busy getting sponsors for my tributes?” Her eyes look drained of color and there are dark crescents under her eyes from lack of sleep. Her hair is matted and her fingernails look bitten to the base.

                “I need to talk to you about one of your tributes.” Her head snaps up from the paperwork and she scowls at him.

                “Which one?” Her voice drips with venom.

                “Athena Taylor.” He sighs. Her jaw clenches and he knows she must feel strongly towards Athena.

                “What about her?” She has pushed some of the paperwork away and gestures towards the plush seat that is planted in front of her desk for him to sit.

                “It’s regarding a note you sent her during the games.”