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･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.
"What? I don't get it, why can he put that there?" Johanna began once more, pointing to the red seven. "I wanted to do that but I couldn't."
Odette chuckled as Miles groaned. They'd explained the rules over four times now and hadn't even finished one round. "He has a red seven on a black six, you can't put black on black or red on red."
"Why not?" She scanned her cards, putting them down. "You know what, forget it. How did you teach him this fast?"
Odette looked at her nephew, whose eyebrows were raised. She had her feet stuck under the blanket, her legs had begun to get chilly. Why had she insisted on wearing a short and pretty dress anyway? "It's been our thing for years," Miles hesitantly put his cards down as well, the backside up. "Late nights playing cards until we fell asleep or the electricity decided to give up for the night."
She hadn't told Johanna they were related, hadn't thought she'd care at all, but Odette's cheeks grew hot when Johanna glanced between the two. "You know each other?"
Miles looked at her too, surprise on his face before he shook his head with a faint smile. Odette dug her teeth in her lip before nodding. "Yeah," it came out more awkward than she'd intended. "He's my nephew."
It was then she realized she hadn't wanted to tell her or anyone for that matter. Odette didn't want pity or long stares or anything at all. It was her problem to deal with, and she was actively ignoring it. She didn't need the reminders. "Oh," Johanna said, suddenly sitting a bit taller. Odette didn't look at her. Or at Miles. She held the cards tight, studying them. It was selfish of her. How could she even make this about her? "You didn't tell me."
"Didn't think you'd care," the answer came instantly, regret soon after. There was no snap back, Odette suspected that had more to do with an awkward-looking Miles than with Johanna holding back. "Right, I'm sorry Miles. You must be tired, why don't you go back to your room."
She stood quickly, pushing the loose strands of hair back from her face. The last thing Miles needed was to be involved in her drama. She needed to focus on getting him out of the arena alive. "Alright," he collected the cards, pushing himself off the bed. "Goodnight."
Odette pulled him in for a hug, some of her anxieties falling off her shoulders when he hugged her back. She kissed his temple before she let go and the boy walked out of the room.
The moment the door closed the silence was loud, even though there was no complete silence. Odette still stood with her back to Johanna, footsteps were still heard in the hallway and very faintly she could hear Cecelia and Neil laughing.
Letting it slide wasn't an option, it seemed, though she didn't know why they couldn't. There were plenty of things they never talked about, how was this any different? She knew why. Without really meaning to, she'd wanted to keep it a secret. Wanted no one to know, because in the Capitol, everything could be a weakness. Anything could be used against her.
