Tribute or Victor

Chapter 5

The morning went by in a flash as if taunting you that something was about to happen, and it couldn't wait to see it. After you, your dad, and Trinity ate breakfast, he spoke up in a sad but gruff voice.

"I um-" he clears his throat. "I won't be able to go to the reaping today," he says cautiously, as if waiting for you to explode and attack him.

"Wha- what do you mean," you stutter, the words feeling like a punch to the gut. "Of all days you can't be with us it happens to be this one? I mean what if my name gets picked," you accuse, a sudden boost of courage allowing your voice to rise as you stand up, your fists clenched.

He had washed away the last of your patience. From disappearing in the mornings to coming back by the time you and Trinity were supposed to be asleep. It was wrong, and you weren't going to put up with it anymore. If not for yourself, then for Trinity who needed her father.

"Then it's your own damn fault for putting your name in extra times," he snaps. Your breath hitches as you take a step back. What was wrong with him? Why would he say something like that? He's panting heavily, his jaw clenched as he glares down at your broken hearted face.

"Dad where are you even going? Every business in the district is shut down. If your gonna leave on the day I need you most, then I at least deserve an explanation," you cry, swiping at your eyes furiously. He continues glaring at you before spinning around and stomping to the door, slamming it shut behind him as he storms out of the house, not offering you an explanation. "Dad," you cry, running after him, Trinity knowing to not follow, or just deciding not to.

You run out the door he had slammed seconds before, chasing after him. "Dad please don't go," you sob, grabbing onto his arm to try and pull him to a stop. He jerks his arm and shoves you back, causing you to trip and fall onto your back on the rough pavement, scraping your elbow in the process.

"Get back in the house now! This is for your own good," he snaps, absolutely no regret in his tone. That is until the very last second of him turning around. You swear you saw a tear drip down his cheek, but you were sobbing to much to believe he was actually crying. It was probably just your blurred vision.

You watch as he stormed off down the street, and around the corner. All you could do was sit there and sob. No one was out on your road, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about. It's not like anyone would see you crying like a toddler who didn't get their way.

You don't know how long you sit there for, minutes, hours, but your shot out of your thoughts by a sweet but weeping little girls voice behind you.

"Why's daddy so mad," Trinity cry's, making you spin around. You see her sobbing figure, and you reach out to grab her, pulling her to you and crawling up onto your knees so you could hug her, and she could stay standing.

"I don't know," you sniffle, not even trying to hide the fact that you had been crying. "But were gonna go over to Minho's house with Sonya and Newt, we're gonna go to the town square. I'm not gonna get picked, and we're gonna come home, and we can make chicken and potatoes. How does that sound," you say in as happy as a tone of possible, but you still had tears streaming down your cheeks. She doesn't respond, only hugged you tighter and continued to cry into your shoulder.

Suddenly you hear a small drip like water leaking from a faucet, and you pull away from Trinity, with wet cheeks, to see where the noise came from. You look around for a second before you spot a small pulled of red behind Trinity's feet. Looking down at your elbow, you see blood dripping down your arm from where you scraped it on the road. You cringe, suddenly feeling the stinging sensation.

"Are you ok," Trinity asks, still sobbing but trying to sound like she cared, but it was obvious she was too upset to think about anything else.

"Ya I'm fine," you sniffle. "How about this. I'll go ahead and take you to Minho's house, and you can hang out with him while I get cleaned up. Is that ok with you?" You ask her, mumbling into her hair as you hold her close to your chest again. She nods her head into your shoulder, and you get up, grabbing her hand.