Clato: The Cost of a Broken Heart

Chapter 46

CATO

I find her on the ground. She doesn't register me as I walk in. The doors are open, as are the windows. Rain from last night pools on the wood flooring. There's a knife is Clove's hand and blood on the ground. Her blood. And, hopefully, the blood of whoever hurt her. A sick feeling rises in my gut when I see her tattered clothes.

"Clover?" I say. She looks at me with wide green eyes. A tear slides down her cheek.

"Cato," her voice breaks as she says my name. That is all it takes: her voice, and I am on the ground beside her. I try to pull Clove into my arms but she shrinks back. The demons in my head drool blood but I shove them away. I can't let them have control while the girl I love needs me.

She whimpers, clutching the knife tighter and refusing to look me in the eye. What has he done to her? The blind rage threatens to consume me once more. Very, very gently, I pry the knife from her hands. They shake, even as my fingers brush hers. Setting the knife on the table, I close the doors, silencing the cries of the curtains. On my way back to Clove, I grab a dry blanket from the bed.

"Can I tell you a story?" I say, wrapping the blanket around her. She shudders, biting her blue lips. "It goes like this, Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl with eyes as green as leaves. She lived in a castle that was once grand and was guarded night and day by a fearsome dragon.  Now, each night as the dragon was sleeping, the girl went out on the roof to sing. She had a voice like angels, though no one had ever told her so.

"One day, an arrogant and selfish boy heard the girl singing. He fell in love with her voice but he was afraid of the dragon. He didn't understand. After a while, the boy couldn't handle being away from her. He climbed the terrace that night and knocked on the girl's door. She refused to let him in.

"Months passed and the boy grew discouraged. He made a mistake. He made many. But even as he tried to stay away, the voice of the beautiful girl drew him back to her. He tried to be less arrogant and selfish. He tried to deserve her. Finally, the girl realized the courage that she had always had and left the castle behind. When she did, she sought out the idiot boy who hadn't fought hard enough to keep her.

"You see, to others it might seem like the boy had saved the beautiful girl but he knew the difference. She was the one who had saved him, with her beautiful songs that reminded him what there was to live for. Gradually, slow as time itself, the two fell in love. And when the dragon came after her, the boy protected the girl. He tried to save her time and again but he failed. Because the only one who could save her, the only one who was strong enough, was her."

As I finish my story, Clove scoots forward and takes my hands. Hers are cold as ice. Gradually, as if every move hurts, she climbs onto my lap and rests her head on my shoulder. I can feel her shaking and I know it is not from cold, but fear. And it is the fact that she is once again afraid of touch, that Favian (for it must have been him) has sent us down this spiral once more, that is the final straw.

"He touched me," she murmurs against my neck, "in ways I never wanted to feel again. I can't--I can't get the taste out of my mouth." Hot tears slide down to my shoulders. "Do you think--do you still--"

"I love you Clover," I say before she can even voice her doubts aloud. I hold my entire world in my arms and how she can ever question her worth to me makes my chest feel like ice. I love her more than I wanted to win the Games. I love her more than there are words in this world to say. "I love you with all my heart and I always will, not just in a better life, but in this one. You are everything."

Finally, finally, finally, she grips me tighter and presses her body to mine. I know it will be a long road, getting back to the intimacy we had before, but I could wait forever if it meant keeping her.

"Your story, it was amazing," she breaths into my ear, "I didn't know you could do that. And, like all stories, it's made me realize something."
She says.

"What's that?"

"I have to kill Favian, once and for all."

A/N Ugh I'm so sorry this took forever. Please forgive me! Comment and vote! Next chapter will be out soon!