Broken Toys - Johanna Mason x fem reader

Chapter 24 - Waking Up

"Hey, (f/n). Finally you're awake. Took you long enough", I heard a soft, familiar chuckle. 

"Rue?", I whispered in disbelief. 

I opened my eyes and saw her sitting on her bed smiling at me. I pulled the comfortable blanket off of me and sat up. We were in our room back in district 11, victor's village. 

"What are we doing here?", I wondered. 

"What do you mean? This is our home now. Aren't we supposed to be here?" 

I hesitated for a moment. "But Rue. You're ... dead." 

She looked at me concerned. "Did you have that nightmare again? Don't worry. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere", she reassured me. 

I stumbled to my feet and enclosed her in a tight embrace. Breathing felt impossible right now out of pure relief. Had it really just been a dream? Another cruel nightmare? I could not quite believe that, but I desperately wanted to. 

Rue took my hand and pulled me with her. "Come on! You promised me to climb onto the trees and eat some fruits!" 

On the way through the house I noticed unusual silence. "Rue? Where are Mary and the kids?" 

"Visiting somebody I don't know. I volunteered to stay here and look out for you. Just in case you got a panic attack again." 

We skillfully climbed onto a plum tree and Rue picked one for each of us. She handed me mine and bit into hers with a bright smile. "Delicious!", she exclaimed happily. "Aren't you going to eat?", she questioned her eyes wandering down to the untouched fruit in my hand. 

"Rue, you hate plums", I recalled. 

"Do I?", she replied confused. 

"Yeah. Once you tried one, you couldn't even swallow it." 

She shrugged her shoulders. "Seems like I changed my mind." 

"This isn't real, is it? We're not in district 11 and you're not ..." I could not finish my sentence. 

"Why are you so strange since you woke up? Has the nightmare been so terrible?", she asked worried again. 

"No. Stop. Stop it, Rue. I know you aren't alive anymore", I mumbled starting to get a headache. 

"What are you talking about? I'm right here!" She looked at me as if I was insane. Like the others had looked at Johanna in the arena, when she had provocatively challenged Snow. 

"Where's Johanna?", I questioned. "In district 7 of course." 

"What about Seeder?" 

"I don't know. I haven't seen her today." 

I jumped off the tree and left victor's village.

"Where are you going?", Rue called after me. 

I just kept walking without giving her an answer. I froze in place, when I saw the rest of the district. It was completely abandoned. I thrashed around toward Rue, who looked upset now. 

"Stop playing with me! What is all of this about?", I growled at her as an immense pain settled inside my chest again. 

"What's gotten into you?" Rue seemed scared. My lovely, little Rue scared of me? 

"My mind is messing with me, isn't it? Am I dreaming or dead?" 

Her gaze switched from scared to sad. "That's up to you", she admitted. 

I took a step back. "Up to me?" 

"It depends. Do you want to go back? You could also stay here with me. We could do everything we want without having to fear any consequences. We could be free. Together."