Rose

Home

My eyes opened to a blinding white. As they adjusted to the bright lights, I realised I was in a bright, white room. The exhaustion behind my eyes was pulling at me, so I simply laid my head back down and fell asleep once more.

I awoke again to the bright white light, but this time there was someone in the room with me.

"Ms Heartthorn, your finally awake!" A loud, ditzy voice spoke through the blinding light.

I grunted in response.

"How do you feel Ms Heartthorn?" The voice was closer, at my side now.

"I feel fantastic." I said, deadpanned.

"Well that's great, as your injuries have healed and you may return home!" My eyes finally adjusted to the woman in front of me. Her hair was covered by a small, white hat but underneath the nurses uniform her skin was tinged green.

I threw my legs over the side of the bed.

"Be careful Ms Heartthorn, you have not walked for quite some time!" The nurse warned as I pushed myself onto the floor.

I stumbled slightly, catching myself on the side of the bed.

"I'm fine." I mumbled.

The nurse took me down through the hospital, checked me out, and left me in the waiting room.

She told me to wait for my mentor.

Finnick. I get to see him again. Maybe he'll hug me and tell me everything will be ok, despite both of us knowing it won't be.

Instead, Henry come to get me. I don't complain, and I hug him instead.

"I knew you could do it Celestia." He said as he patted me in the back.

The car ride to the train was silent. The train was even quieter. It was just Henry, Finnick and myself. Tiara had stayed in the Capitol, and despite how much I had thought she annoyed me, the train was empty without her voice constantly filling it with noise.

I still had not seen Finnick. He had gone into his room before I had arrived and still had not come out.

Dinner was quiet. Henry tried to make conversation, but gave up after I only gave one word answers. He took the hint. He didn't seem to notice when I stole a knife from the table and slipped it up my sleeve.

I wished I had spent more time at dinner because afterwards I had to return to my room. It was eerie and looked like the apartment room in the Capitol. I pulled all the sheets and pillows off the bed and set them up in my bathtub, making sure to lock my bathroom door.

I tried to fall asleep, but I couldn't. Everytime I closed my eyes I saw my hands covered in blood and a dead tribute beneath me. It was usually Annie.

After a while I gave up on sleep, and decided to go into the kitchen for some water. I brought the large knife I had taken earlier with me.

The train wasn't as dark as I thought it would be, the moonlight shinning in through the window. I gripped the knife tightly as I filled as glass with water, the memory of what happened last time I was here still fresh in my mind.

I sat on the couch as I drank, the moon large in the sky. I watched it through the trees we raced past. It was beautiful.

I went to refill the glass I had gulped down, but my eyes fell on something other than water. It was a large bottle of white liquor.

I filled the glass with it halfway and brought it to my lips. It was harsh, but I forced it down my throat. I drank the rest of the glass quickly, the burning liquid sending a rush of adrenaline through me. As I refilled the glass, I realised I had felt something for the first time since getting out of the games. Sure it was pain, but it was something.