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･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.
The days passed and things almost seemed to go back to normal. For the others, at least. Cecelia went back to fussing over Thalia instead of Odette, who kept her face in a smile and took part in civil conversation. The tragic interview wasn't talked about, and for the time being, Miles wasn't being mentioned. It was almost just like any other year.
Except it wasn't to Odette. Miles was dead and there was nothing she could do. She couldn't even bring herself to talk about it. Instead, while everyone forgot her cousin, she could not stop thinking about him.
She was in the same kind of disturbed frenzy she'd been in after her games. Trying to hold herself together without anyone noticing, trying to figure out the way the earth spun again.
It was more difficult than she remembered; whenever she closed her eyes she saw Miles dying, blood coming from his mouth, blaming her with his eyes as he fell to the ground, the same look forever etched on his face. During the parties, all she heard was people talking about the games that killed him. While the interviewers had stopped prodding her, entitled men waving with money for Thalia hadn't.
In a way, it was a strange relief when Thalia died and the Victors didn't need to beg for money anymore.
With so little to do, Odette's mind was twice as loud. She dreaded going home. Would everyone look at her with pity? Probably, except for Holly. The only family she really had left would hate her. She'd let her son die, after all.
The thought of being that kind of alone was terrifying. Of course, she had the other Victors, but they wouldn't understand her mother. Just like Holly never understood what the games had done to her. She needed both, this couldn't be what left her alone.
She worried. She was beginning to lose her grip on the present, and no one noticed. She wanted them to, but didn't want to talk about it. Odette had worked herself in a trap where any outcome would not make her happy.
Still, Odette was determined to somehow be okay. Or at least convince everyone she was. That's why she was dressed in a white silk top and a purple skirt, standing before a closed door. She knew Cecelia and Neil were in there. Perhaps Lucinda from district six.
When both tributes had been murdered, there was little to do for the mentors. They weren't annoyed to leave and would rather die than attend another Capitol party. At least most felt that way. So they gathered at the only place in the training center where they could drink together.
Odette hesitated. She'd felt particularly low that day, Miles' death had been repeated again on a recap. Not to mention Thalia had died only sixteen hours before. How many hours had Miles been dead? Was he home already? Buried or burned with the Capitol and Hunger Games over him?
