AN: I am soooooooooooooooooooooo sorry for the wait. Here is the very long awaited chapter 14. Yay! *Squeals* haha. Btw it's VERY long (and you'll probably cry... or die... very sorry)
~Katniss's P.O.V.~
I wake up curled up in Peeta's strong arms that I always feel safe in. I hear is steady breathing meaning he is still sleeping. I reflect on what happened yesterday, making silent tears stream down my face. I thank Haymitch for being there, I don't think, no I know that I wouldn't be here right now, in Peeta's strong embrace if he didn't do what he did.
I feel Peeta start to stir so I roll over to look into those dark blue eyes that I get lost in so easily. He wipes my tears like he did several times over the course of the night.
"Will you be okay?" he asks, I open my mouth to say something, but I end up shaking my head and bursting out in tears and sobs again.
Peeta just sits there holding me, like always, whispering soothing things into my ear. I still can't believe that he sticks with me through everything. The nightmares, and like stuff that happened last night, there was no doubt. That was my all time low. God I hate it here. Why do all bad things happen in the capitol? I can't answer that question. To be honest, I don't think anyone can.
Once I calm down enough to talk, I tell Peeta; "I am sorry, mostly for thinking that killing myself would change anything. We both know that it won't. I also apologize for not listening to you, like when you were telling me about what our future might hold. I thought I was at peace with Prim's death but being back here just brought it all back," He listens through everything, and I can feel myself relax now that I apologized and talked it out.
We just sit there in his bed, with my head on his chest, for what seems like an eternity. I just sit there in a daze until a knock on the door tear me away from this daze. It's Effie.
"Breakfast is ready... If you two feel like eating..." Effie says quietly, I hear her heels click. I don't move, and neither does Peeta. We just sit there neither speaking a word, just sitting in each other's calming presence.
Eventually my stomach growls, and loud enough to cause Peeta to laugh slightly. That makes both of us to get up, and head down to the dining room.
I don't speak at all through breakfast, still ashamed of last night. But I do realize that Haymitch didn't come down. So after breakfast I to go down to his room to see how he is faring.
I reach his room, and knock on the door. I don't hear anything so I slowly open the door to find him passed out on the floor with a bottle and his knife in his hands. I pry the knife out of his hand, along with the bottle. I shake him.
"Haymitch! Wake up!" He doesn't even stir even though I yelled.
He eventually does after a good ten minutes. He slashes the air with no knife in his hand until he realizes where he is and what's going on.
"Haymitch, I need to talk to you." I say and he just nods.
"Meet me down in the screening room, I'll be there, just let me wash up." he says groggily. I go down there to wait for him.
~Haymitch POV~
After Katniss comes in I get cleaned up. I know what she's going to want to talk about so I grab two bottles of whiskey and head out to the screening room. She's sitting on the sofa watching The Caesar Flickerman Show.
"Hey sweetheart." I say and it in the chair across from her.
"Hey" she says but keeps her eyes on the screen.
"What do you need to talk to me about?" I ask and uncork the bottle. I already know the answer.
"Last night." she says simply, finally looking at me.
"Well what about last night?"
"How did you know what to say? It's like you've been through it before. I know you lost your family, and your love. How do you cope?" I sigh, mute the TV, and put down the bottle without even taking a sip. She looks surprised but says nothing.
"Henry." I say, she looks confused. "Henry was my little brother." and once I leaked out that much, the rest came out...
"HAYMITCH!!!!!" Henry tackles me as soon as I'm in the door at our new house in the Victors Village.
"Henry..." I can't believe its him. I'm alive, we're okay. Just a month or so ago I thought i would never see him again, yet here we are. "Henry." I pull him into a tight hug and just think to myself that i hope he would never have to go through what I have.
"Haymitch." he coughs, "You're crushing me."
"Oh sorry!" I say and let go of him. I notice my mom standing in the kitchen doorway. "Mom." I stand up and hug her. Henry comes over and gets in on the hug-fest. We all stand there for a moment just happy we're still together. We only tear apart when the door suddenly flies open. I turn to see the most gorgeous person in the world. "Elsa."
"Haymitch" she says. We run to each other and I pick her up off her feet and spin her around before planting a kiss on her perfect pink lips. After a few seconds I pull back and look into her beautiful sky blue eyes. We both have big smiles on our faces and our eyes filled with tears of joy. Not even the games could keep me from this girl, or my family. And nothing ever will, I wont let it. Someone coughs and we look over to my mom standing there awkwardly but still smiling. And then Henry, looking at us between his little fingers.
"Ewwwww" he says drawing it out. We all laugh, and he sticks he tongue out at me.
"Oh it's on little man!" I start toward him but he darts away and I run after him.
"HAYMITCH! HENRY! DON'T YOU DARE BREAK ANYTHING!" Mom yells up.
"WE WON-" Then we hear the crash of something expensive from one of the rooms. "NEVER MIND!"
"SORRY!" Henry yells from the room the crash came from.
"THIS IS WHY WE CANT HAVE NICE THINGS!" Mom yells up. "HENRY! YOU'LL BE PAYING FOR WHAT EVER YOU JUST BROKE!" I hear Elsa cracking up downstairs. I continue the chase, heading straight to the room the crash came from. It was a gaudy looking vase that had broke, but I didn't dwell on it. I look around the room, a bedroom with a large wardrobe and a bed. I walk over to the wardrobe as quietly as I can.
"AHA!" I say as I fling the door open, nothing. Then I hear laughter behind me. I spin around to see Henry. He had hid under the bed. He runs out of the room but I catch him and fling him over my shoulder. He giggles like crazy, and I can barley hold on to him. I carry him downstairs. As soon as Mom and Elsa see us, they double over in laughter. I drop him down on the couch and start to walk away, only to get hit in the head with a pillow. I turn around slowly and look at him. I reach down and grab the pillow he threw.
"You really wanna try me?" I ask. He laughs and grabs the nearest pillow.
"Yes!" he replies.
"Oh not again." Elsa says behind me. I turn around to face them.
"Boys come on." Mom says. "No more, you don't want to break anything else."
"Aww but moooooommmm." Henry and I say in unison, and we all laugh.
*Later that night*
"You're DEAD 12!!!!" The girl from district one yells at me. Her axe ready and in hand. I'm about to yell back at her, but she's looking at something behind me. I go against my instinct and turn around. Instead of seeing me, where i was kneeling on the cliff, it's Henry. His guts spilling, and blood pouring, just as mine had.
"Henry!" I yell but he doesn't seem to even see me. He just looks up at the girl, like he's ready for death. The girl throws her axe and it lodges in my little brothers head. "NO! HENRY!" I scream, tears pouring down my face. He falls from the cliff and down into the abyss. "NOOOOO!!!!!!!!" I whip around to face the girl from 1. But she's gone. I turn back around to see the axe rebound from the force field and lodge into my skull.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I bolt awake, screaming. "HENRY!!!!!!!!!!!"
The door slams open and there's Henry and mom standing there terrified. It was a dream, Henry's alive. I look at them, and they look at me and I cry. I haven't cried in front of them since dad died from illness. I bury my head in my arms, I don't want them to see me like this. Someone walks over and wraps their small arms around me. Henry.
"It's okay Haymitch. You're home now." He says quietly. I hug him tight and bury my face in the crook of his little neck. "It's okay."
"The nightmares...It was you....You died." I sobbed, he hugged me tighter.
"It was just a nightmare. It's not true, I'm here and you're here and that's not going to change." He says. "I love you big brother. Now and forever." I pull back and look at him when he says it. What we always tell each other in times of trouble.
"I love you too little brother. Now and forever." He wraps his scrawny arms around my neck and I hug him back. "I'm sorry I woke you. Just a really bad dream. Go back to bed." He looks at me.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Mom asks. I just nod. She takes Henry's hand and they walk out of the room together. Just a bad dream.
*Two weeks after the Victory Tour---February 16th*
I trudge through the snow up to the Victors Village; presents tucked under my arm. Henry's birthday is next week, he's going to be nine years old. It's hard to believe and makes me feel old. I hide the presents in the attic of one of the empty houses and head over to mine.
I walk in my house in the Victors Village, shaking off the snow from my boots as I walk in.
"Mom? Henry? You home?" I yell as I walk in, I hear a sob from the kitchen. "Mom? Is that you?" I walk to the kitchen to see my mother at the kitchen table crying her heart out. "Mom?" she jumps at the sight of me.
"Haymitch." She gets up and hugs me tight crying into my shoulder.
"Mom what's going on? Where's Henry" she sobs harder at my 8 year old brother's name. "Mom, where's Henry?"
"The ice....skating...fell through..." It's all I can get through the sobs. I sit her down in the chair.
"Mom! Where is Henry?!" I say sternly shaking her slightly, it's enough to get her sobs to subside.
"At the hob, they made an ice rink, the filled a huge tub full of water. He was the only one there. He just wanted to skate, the ice was too thin, and he fell through. The peacekeepers found him but it was too late." she bursts into a new round of sobs. No, no no no no no... this can't be happening... I run upstairs.
"HENRY!!!!!!" I run into each room. He's got to be here. This is some sick joke. "HENRY!!!!!!!" I look in all the rooms, in all the closets, under all the beds. I run back out in the hall to see mom leaning on the rail crying. "No." I run past her and out the door. "HENRY!!!!!!!!" I fall to my knees in the middle of the road and cry until no more tears come. I feel tired, hopeless, lost. He was so young. He wasn't even nine. The presents...still up in the attic of that house. I get up and run to the other house straight up to the attic. There sit the presents, perfectly wrapped but never to be opened. I hit them, throw them, kick them. There's no use for them, he's never going to open them, he's never coming back... I fall back to the floor and bury my face in my hands. Why did this have to happen? Then it hits me. Snow had called me before the Victory Tour, telling me that I'm hanging from a thin thread with the Capitol for what I did in the games. He said I would loose some of my Victors privileges for what I did. I thought it would be something small, like taking away some of my fortune, or the pre-written speeches i had to read on the tour. "I did this." I say aloud. "I killed my own brother." It only makes sense, he was alone and the Peacekeepers found him. "Oh my god." More tears flow and I pass out up there, and plagued by nightmares and the thought of what I did.
*Three days later ---Henry's funeral*
My mom, myself, Elsa and her parents, and Henry's two best friends, siblings from the Seam, the boy Otto and the girl Valentina. Mom always joked that Henry and Valentina would one day get married. Looks like she was wrong. The rain pours down on our small group. We pay our respects and bury him at the far end of the meadow, next to the father he barely knew. We marked it with a stone that said:
Henry Gideon Abernathy
Loving Friend, Son, And Brother
"Unable Are The Loved To Die; For Love Is Immortality"
The Donner's came by to pay their respects to Henry, for what I did for Maysilee in the games. After the ceremony everyone leaves except me. I kneel at my brothers grave. "I love you little brother. Now and forever." I breakdown, on my hands and knees, sobbing for a brother that will never come. "I'm sorry, god I'm so sorry."
"Haymitch?" A soft voice says behind me. Elsa walks up and wraps her arms around me. I fall into them and cry like a child. "He's in a better place, Haymitch. A place with no games, no Peacekeepers, and no Capitol. Snow can't hurt him anymore."
I just nod. We walk back to my house, the tears still pouring down my face. We walk in and head to my room, I can hear my mom in the kitchen. Elsa takes me to my room.
"Do you want me to leave so you can change into something else?" That's right, I'm still in my black tux, now brown marks on it from the mud. I nod, and she leaves the room. I change into some clean, dry pajama pants; I just leave my chest bare. I lie on the bed and think. Someone knocks on the door.
"Haymitch? Are you alright?" Elsa asks from behind the door. "You've been in there for a while." I check the clock; I've been here for an hour. I didn't even notice. I open the door to her worried face.
"Sorry, lost track of time." I look at her, her blond hair in curls and still in her black mourning dress. "I've got some clothes you can change into if you want."
"Sure, that sounds great." She smiles. I go over to my dresser and pull out some small sweatpants I plan on giving- I planned on giving Henry when he got older... I force the tears back and grab my smallest shirt.
"Here," I hand the clothes over to her.
"Be right back." She smiles and walks out. I close the door behind her and go sit in the chair in front of my desk. The tears I held back before fall. I'm surprised I still have tears left, but I do. Someone's hand suddenly touches my shoulder, I instinctively grab their wrist and whip around to face whoever it belongs to. It's Elsa. She looks at me in shock. "H-Haymitch... can you please let go of my hand." I realize how tight my grip is, and I can see in her eyes that it's hurting her. I quickly let go.
"Oh my God. Elsa I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" She rubs her wrist, there are marks where I grabbed it. She's probably going to have bruises now.
"It's alright Haymitch." She says calmly trying to make me feel better. "It doesn't hurt." I know she's lying. I turn away from her and my hands automatically run through my hair in frustration. "Haymitch, it's alright."
"No it's not alright!" I snap. "I hurt you, Elsa, and you're just denying it. It's bad enough to know that I hurt you and I thought I never would. I couldn't protect my brother and I don't know if I can protect you from them!"
"Haymitch, what do you mean? What are you trying to protect me from?" She asks terrified.
"The Capitol, Elsa. They thought what I did in the games with the force field was an act of rebellion against the Capitol. It wasn't, I was just trying to stay alive, but they don't believe me. They killed Henry, Elsa!" She gasps.
"Haymitch..."
"The Peacekeepers drowned him. There is never a time in the day when the Hob is empty. They killed Henry and now they might take you away too. It would be safer for you if you hated me." I sob, and then Elsa does something I don't expect. She comes up, kisses me, and then embraces me, burying her face into my chest. "Elsa?" She lifts up her head.
"Haymitch, I am never going to leave you. I don't care about the Capitol. I know you can protect me."
"Elsa, I couldn't save Henry, what makes you think I can save you?" I ask hopeless.
"I don't know what's going to happen, Haymitch, but I do know that I'm never going to leave you. I love you." She says. I laugh out loud a bit in sheer nerves. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing. I love you too." We lean close till our foreheads touch. "Promise you'll stay with me tonight."
"Always." She looks up at me with her beautiful blue eyes, and we kiss. We sleep together, and no nightmares came to me that night.
~Months later -----after Haymitch's first time mentoring tributes~
Mom had gone into a deep depression after Henry died. She wouldn't eat, she wouldn't talk to me. She went through the days either sleeping or staring at the wall. On better days I would find her cleaning in the kitchen, or making lunch, but it wasn't my mother, just a body going through the motions, no one in control, almost like a robot. On some of these days I would find her sitting at the kitchen table talking to something invisible in the chair next to her, with an uneaten peanut butter sandwich in front of the empty chair. She thought it was Henry, but he wasn't there. He was six feet under the meadow. I would have to force her away from the table and have her go lie down. We didn't even notice the passing of my 17th birthday. But as the year went on she started to get better and she talked to me for the first time in months. Only little things like good morning and goodnight, but it still meant a lot. Until I had to mentor for the games. It was my first time, and I had to have Elsa watch mom. Once the games were over I came home as soon as I could. To celebrate I decided to make my mom's favorite; hazelnut soup and fresh apple pie.
"Elsa can you get mom, the soups almost ready." She puts down the rest of the dishes she was placing at the table, and walks out to get mom. They come back in, and sit at the table. I pour out the soup. We eat in silence until mom speaks up.
"The soup tastes good." she says not looking up from her bowl. Elsa and I look at each other. "Just next time maybe a little pepper." I'm speechless, she hasn't said this much to me since Henry.
"Thanks mom." I smile, "Do you want some apple pie?" She smiles and nods. I get up and get a piece, I'm not one for apple pie but mom loves it, "How about you Elsa?"
"No I'm fine." she says. I take the piece over to my mom. After she eats Elsa and I wash up the dishes.
"Elsa." Mom says we turn around; she's leaning on the chair like she can't stand without it. "Could you take me to my room...?"
"Of course." Elsa leads her out of the room. I finish the dishes and go sit in the living room. I turn on the TV to find them talking about this year's games. I remember the two I mentored, I tried to help them, I really did. They were both from the seam, skinny and weak. I could only get them a few sponsors, and it wasn't enough. All the sponsors were falling over the two from district 1. My girl tribute lasted longer than the boy. He went against my orders and went straight to the Cornucopia, where he got a spear to the head from the district 1 boy. The girl however followed my instructions exactly. But she slipped up on the third day, when she took pity on a younger boy tribute from district 5 who was maybe 13 at the most. He slit her throat without a second thought. I bury my face in my hands. I tried to help them but i failed. Two families lost a loved one and it was my fault.
"Haymitch..." I look up to see Elsa's worried face. "What's wrong, what happened?" I nod to the TV. She watches it for a moment then turns it off. "Haymitch, it wasn't you're fault they died."
"But-" She cuts me off.
"It's not your fault. It's the Capitol's fault, and it always will be. No one blames you." I just nod; she sits down on the couch next to me and hugs me. Neither of us wants to break the hug. We sit there until the clock strikes nine. "I'd better go, my parents will be worried." She gets up to leave.
"Elsa wait." I grab her hand, "It's past curfew and dark, maybe you should stay here tonight."
"Haymitch I can't, my parents expected me home at eight. And I'll be fine, I'll keep away from the peacekeepers." She kisses me and we walk to the door.
"Promise me you'll stay safe." I say. She gets on the tips of her toes and pecks me on the lips.
"I promise." she replies simply. We embrace one last time and with that she heads out the door.
*Two hours later*
I bolt awake after another nightmare. These things are really starting to piss me off. This time the two tributes I lost were following me around their desert arena. It was hot and there was no water. I tried not to look at them because I had this lurking feeling that if I looked back something terrible would happen. Finally I look back and the two are nothing but bones, literally bones. They reach at me gasping for water, their bones clicking and creaking until finally they collapse on top of me, clawing at my face, arms, and legs. With each rip and tear we fall deeper into the sand until finally it buries us and I wake up. My throat is dry almost like i had been in the desert with them. I head down stairs and get some water. Hey, I'm down here, I might as well get something to eat. I grab an apple out of a bowl on the table and start to cut it up. Suddenly there's a loud thud from the room upstairs, my mom's room.
"Mom?" No answer. I run up the stairs and get to her room. "Mom?" No answer, I open the door and look around the room. She's not in bed, and then I notice the light coming from the door to the bathroom. I open the door to a horrifying sight. My mom passed out, blood coming from her mouth and on the floor. "Mom!" I rush over to her. She's still breathing but barely. The doctor. I rush downstairs and grab the phone. My fingers fumble over the numbers.
"Hello? Who's this?" Doctor Turner asks. He's not a real doctor but his herbal medicines have saved a lot of people.
"Haymitch Abernathy. Please come quick, my mom has collapsed and I think she was vomiting blood!" I say as calmly as possible into the phone.
"I'll be right there, just stay calm and don't try to move her." He hangs up. I set down the phone and go back to mom. I hold her hand. A few minutes later there's a knock on the door. Doctor Turner. I race down the steps and fling open the door to see him looking awake but tired and a bag of medical supplies in his hand.
"Sorry it took so long. Your call woke me up and I had to get dressed. I came here as fast as I could." He walks in. I almost shut the door when another person walks in behind him. His daughter Clara Turner. My mind flashes back to the reaping then back to reality. I didn't know Clara well, but I did know her best friend. Maysilee Donner.
"Where's your mother?" Doctor Turner asks, snapping me from my thoughts.
"Upstairs, in the bathroom." I lead them up there and they follow as fast as they can. We get up there and they set to work.
"Haymitch, help me get her onto the bed." Doctor Turner says. We pick mom up and carry her to the bed. Immediately Doctor Turner and Clara go into a daze and continue their work. I've only seen them work once but I know to stay out of it. I go down stairs and sit at the kitchen table. I don't know how long I'm there lost in thought, when someone knocks at the back door. I open it to find Elsa. As soon as she walks in I pull her into a hug.
"It'll be ok." She whispers over and over to me. After a few minutes we separate.
"How did you know?" I ask.
"Small district and I live right next door to the Turners." She replies. I should have known. "So, can I come in or do I have to wait out here in the cold"
"Oh, yeah come in." She comes in and I close the door behind her. We sit at the table for a moment, not saying anything. "Do you want anything to eat?" I ask trying to break the silence.
"Sure." She thinks for a moment. "How about some of that apple pie?"I smile and go to the refrigerator. But then I notice something on the counter. The apple I cut up and hour ago. I pick up a piece and inspect it. It's still perfectly white and juicy, not a brown make to be seen that would be on a normal apple. That's weird... really weird. But it all makes sense.
"Elsa, I don't think you should have any of the apple pie." I say to her.
"Why not?" She asks. I turn around and show her the apple.
"I cut this up an hour ago and it's perfectly fine."
"Poison?" she breathes he eyes wide. I just nod. "The apple pie."
"We have to tell Doctor Turner." I run upstairs and she follows me. I reach mom's room and open the door slowly as not to disturb anything they might be doing. "Doctor Turner? I think I have some information that can help you." He stops what he's doing and turns to look at me.
"Yes?" He asks. "What is it?" I show him the apple and explain about the poison.
"Papa it would make sense," Clara says. "With Mrs. Abernathy's symptoms it would be the obvious explanation."
"Yes..." He says in a daze of thought but he quickly snaps out of it, "Yes of course. I must work quickly, Clara please take them downstairs." He turns back to my mom and sets to work. Clara comes over to us.
"Clara, we can go downstairs ourselves, please do what you can to help my mom."She nods and I turn away but she grabs my arm.
"Thank you, for... ya know..." She says timidly, I put a hand on her shoulder.
"I know." I say, "Now please, help my mom."She nods and heads back to her father.
"Haymitch," Elsa says behind me. "Let's leave them to work." She takes my hand and we head downstairs. We sit there until dawn and Doctor Turner and Clara finally come down.
"How is she? Is she going to make it? What happened?" The questions flow from my mouth. He holds up his hands to stop me.
"I think you should sit down." He says, and every terrible thought crosses my mind. "I know what you're thinking and before you come to assumptions I will tell you, she's still alive." Relief rushes through me, and I sit down.
"Just tell me flat out Doctor. Don't try to make me feel good with white lies, just be honest." I say.
"I wouldn't tell you otherwise. Your mother is alive, however as much as I tried we could not get all of the poison out of your moms blood stream." He sighs, "Your mother will live, but not for long."A lump forms in my throat and I swallow it down.
"How long does she have."
"Now Haymitch I-" I stand up and get in his face
"YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T LIE!" I yell. He looks at me with a terrified look on his face. I take a deep breath to calm myself and I back away from him. "How long does she have?"He swallows and backs away slightly.
"At least 24 hours." I fall back in my chair and I hear Elsa sob behind me, "Three days at most. I'm sorry." I can't believe this, she was finally getting better. "Haymitch, we did everything we could..." I bury my face in my hands.
"Please leave." I say and I hear them leave. I run and meet them at the door "Doctor Turner!"
"Yes Haymitch." He turns and looks at me.
"Thank you," I say "For everything, Thank you for giving my mom..." he puts a hand on my shoulder.
"I'm glad I gave you two more time," He says, "I know I would want someone to give me some extra time so I could be with Clara. I'll be back later to check on her."
"Thank you." I reply, and they leave. Elsa comes up behind me. I turn and look at her. Tears streaming silently down her face.
"We should go see your mom," She says. I take her hand and we walk upstairs. I open the door to mom's room. Her eyes lock with mine as soon as I walk in.
"Hi mom." I say. I sit in the chair next to her and take her hand. "How are you feeling?"
"Oh Haymitch," She grasps my hand. "My special boy."
"Yeah mom, I'm here." I say to her.
"Did I ever tell you what happened when you were born?" I shake my head no, she takes a deep breath "Well, when you were born, you were so little, and they wouldn't let me hold you. You weren't breathing and you're daddy was crying, and no one would tell me what was wrong. Why you weren't crying like a normal baby would. Finally you let out a big cry, and you kept crying until they put you in my arms, then you quieted right down, and they were actually worried because you were so quiet. Do you know why they wouldn't let me hold you? Why you weren't breathing?" I shake my head no again, "You had the umbilical cord wrapped around your neck. Most babies don't survive that like they did in the history books, but you did." She smiles "You've always been my little survivor. And I want you to know how proud I am of you."
Mom and I talk for the rest of the day about everything. Elsa stays here; cleans up the bathroom and makes lunch and such. Finally around five o'clock Doctor Turner and Clara show up again and check on mom. They say she looks promising and are glad that she's talking, but there is no saving her and that she will die soon. After they leave I talk to mom more until she falls asleep. I don't even notice myself doze off.
~The next morning~
I wake up and look around. Sunlight streams through the window, I'm still in mom's room. I must have fallen asleep in the chair. Mom is still fast asleep on the bed; she looks so peaceful, not like she's dying from poisoning. I get up and go to my room. I go straight to the bathroom and shower; once I'm done I wrap a towel around my waist and walk out. I go over to the dresser and look for some clothes.
"Haymitch?" a groggy voice says behind me. I whip around to see Elsa sitting in my bed. When I turn around her eyes widen. "Umm... Haymitch..." She points at me. I look down at where she's pointing. The towel fell off when I turned around.
"Shit!" I bend down and grab the towel and wrap it back around my waist. "Oh shit! I'm so sorry!" I grab some clothes and run into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. She's probably scarred for life now. I put on the clothes I grabbed and walk out. "Elsa I am so sorry."
"It's okay Haymitch." She suddenly starts giggling like crazy.
"Oh come on! I'm not that ugly!" I say jokingly and she laughs even more. Her laughter is like bells and I can't help but smile.
"I'm not laughing at that!" she says with a big grin on her face. "The fact that the towel fell in the first place was funny enough."I laugh.
"Please, nothing is funnier than your bed head!" I say and ruffle her hair golden blonde hair so it's even messier. She pushes my hand away and gets up. She's wearing the sweatpants and shirt I gave her the first time she stayed the night.
"Come on, go wake up your mom and I'll go make breakfast." She says and we walk out of the room hand in hand until we separate at mom's room. She gives me a small peck on the lips and heads down stairs.
"Mom?" I say and walk into her room. I go over to her bed, "Mom it's time to wake up." I nudge her. She's a light sleeper and usually that would be enough to wake her up. "Mom?" I shake her slightly and she doesn't even stir. "Mom?" I shake her more and still nothing, my hand brushes her shoulder and its cool to the touch, unlike the fever she had the night before. I check her pulse and there's only the faintest heart beat. Tears form in my eyes, "Mom?! Elsa!" she runs up the stairs when I call her name. "Elsa, call Doctor Turner!"
"Haymitch is she..."
"Just go!" The tears spill down my face and she runs out the door. I sit there with mom until Doctor Turner and Clara come. Once they get here Elsa takes me down to the kitchen and sits me down at the table and busies herself with making something to eat. A few minutes later she sets eggs and bacon and toast in front of me and herself. She sits down across from me and we sit in silence, neither of us eats we just sit and wait. The tears come back and I bury my face in my hands. Elsa wraps her arms around me and I can hear her crying too. We stay like that until finally Doctor Turner and Clara come down. I stand and go over to him.
"No lies." I simply say to him. He sighs, puts a hand on my shoulder and looks me right in the eyes.
"I'm sorry Haymitch. We did everything we could but there was no saving her. The poison was too strong," He says and it's like a punch to the gut. "She passed on." I bow my head as the tears that I thought I had cried away reform in my eyes. "But Haymitch, seeing as she practically died in her sleep, her last thoughts were probably of you." And with that him and Clara leave. I fall to the ground and cry. Elsa comes over and once again wraps her arms around me and cries with me.
~The Funeral of Haymitch's mom~
I don't remember much of that day but I do remember that before the service I was sitting on the steps out the back door and I noticed that Elsa had put the poisoned apple pie out next to the steps. Next to the nearly perfect pie was a little sparrow that had come down and eaten the pie and died, just like my mother. The service was short and not many people showed up. She was buried next to Henry and Dad at the far end of the meadow, and the stone read:
Adaline Jean Sinder Abernathy
Loving Mother, Daughter, and Wife
"All That We Love Deeply Becomes A Part Of Us"
Everything else was a blur, and that night Elsa and I slept together again, and no nightmares came.
~One year later. Haymitch and Elsa are now 18~
The months after my mother's passing I got called to the Capitol too many times to count. It seemed like every other day they were calling and shipping me in to meet with people and such. I did what they told me, too terrified to say no, because if I did, I know Elsa would join Henry and my mother. But it seemed with each visit; Elsa grew more and more distant...
I have the diamond ring in my pocket. It is very small and simple and out of style for the people here in the Capitol, but for Elsa and I, it was richer than anything I could buy in District 12. I plan on giving it to her as soon as I get back home. The thought of Elsa brings a smile to my face. A real smile, something I never thought I would have here in the Capitol, or more specifically, President Snow's mansion. I sit on the plush chair until finally someone opens the door to Snow's office.
"Come in Mr. Abernathy." Snow's cruelly calm voice says. I force my feet to movie into his office. His cold snakelike eyes meet mine. "Hello, Mr. Abernathy."
"Hello President Snow." I greet him as calmly as possible.
"I'm sure you're enjoying your time here in the Capitol?" He says as equally calm.
"Yes I am, sir." I reply, and I notice his eyebrow twitch slightly.
"Yes indeed you are." He says setting down his cup of tea. "I know by the small, simple ring in your pocket." A sense of dread hits me but I hide it. He's been watching me.
"Yes, I am having a lovely time here in the Capitol," I reply keeping eye contact. "However I am feeling very homesick, sir."
"My dear Mr. Abernathy," He pulls up a holographic screen showing Elsa in her home in 12 being backed into a corner by Peacekeepers. "Homesickness won't be the only thing you feel before long." A lump forms in my throat, panic courses through me.
"That's a lie." I say about the hologram, he raises and eyebrows at me. "You're just trying to mess with my mind."
"Oh am I?" He presses a button and the film begins to play. Elsa is backed into a corner by the Peacekeepers. He parents on the floor dead. She's screaming like mad but no one comes to help. The Peacekeepers grab her and inject her arm with something. She collapses to the ground and the Peacekeepers leave her. Her unconscious body begins to twitch and wither like she's fighting off something.
"NO!" I yell at him and run out of his office.
"Have a nice trip back Mr. Abernathy." He calls after me.
The ride home feels like a lifetime. I get there and it's late into the night. I sprint to her house. The door is broken off its hinges and the house is dark. I run in.
"Elsa!?" I yell but there's no answer. I run further into the house. "ELSA!?" I suddenly slip on something. I push myself up and my hand goes right in the puddle that I slipped in. I look at my hand and then the rest of the floor. I slipped in a pool of blood. And only a few feet from me are the bodies of Elsa's mother and father, but no Elsa. I look around and see a note on a table. I pick it up and read it. The hand writing's shaky but I know its Elsa's...
Haymitch
I love you but you don't love me.
I'm going to where the end of us started.
Please don't follow me.
Let them know I wish to be buried by my parents.
-Elsa
The end of us started? Then it all clicks. My new house. I run out of her house and straight to mine. I get there and the door is already wide open, I run in.
"ELSA!!!" I yell but there's no answer. I run and look in every room. "ELSA!!!!!" Finally I reach the upstairs sitting room that sits just above the entryway. I run in and on the balcony, standing on the other side in just a nightgown. "ELSA NO!" I run in and go to the balcony where she's standing.
"I'm going to jump Haymitch," she says in a strangely dreamy voice. Tears form in my eyes, "I'm going to die and it's all your fault."
"Elsa?"She's not acting at all normal.
"Why don't you love me Haymitch?" she turns to me and her eyes are glazed over like she's in a trance... the injection.
"Elsa! It's me Haymitch! I do love you! I really do!" I pull out the ring and she suddenly seems to snap out of it.
"Haymitch? Where am I?" She suddenly see's she's on the edge of the rail. "Oh my god! Haymitch HELP ME!"
"I know I know!" I say and rush over to her. Tears form in her eyes.
"Haymitch they told me that you had been in the Capitol with other women." She says tears spilling from her eyes.
"What?" I ask in confusion.
"They told me that you didn't love me anymore, and I believed them." She sobs.
"Elsa, I will always love you," I say and hold up the ring, "And no one but you." I slip the ring on her finger. "But right now we should probably focus on getting you back over here."
"Yeah that would probably be good." She says calmly. I put my hands on her waist, she's shaking like crazy.
"Now try and put one leg over." She does and she almost gets there, but the rail and balcony are slippery from the rain that fell earlier today.
"Elsa! No!" I yelled as she fell. I reach for her.
"HAYMITCH!" she yells as she falls but then she dangles over the concrete only my hand keeping her alive. "Haymitch I'm gunna fall!" she says terrified.
"No you're not! I'm not gunna let that happen!" but her hand is already slipping. "Elsa! Give me your other hand!" she tries but she just slips more. I grab onto her hand with both of mine but my hands are all sweaty and she's slowly slipping.
"Haymitch..." She says quietly, tears pouring down her face.
"Elsa don't you dare say goodbye! You're not gunna fall! I've got you! You're not gunna fall!"
"Haymitch!" she yells to get my attention, she looks at me with eyes full of regret and sadness. "You can't pull me up."
"Yes I can! I can do this!" tears pouring down my face.
She shakes her head. "It's too late."
I shake my head. "No it's not! I can pull you up!"
"Haymitch, I love you." She slowly starts to let go.
"No Elsa! Please! Don't do this! I love you..." she lets go and slips from my grasp. "ELSA! NOOOOO!"
Her body lies broken on the concrete steps two stories below. "No... no not again..." I crumple to the ground and cry. Its a few minutes before people start to show up. Woken by our yells. They all gather around her body. A few seconds later someone comes up and touches my shoulder. It's a warm caring touch.
"Haymitch..." says a familiar voice. I look up to see the face of Clara Turner. She sits me upright and looks at me very seriously in the eyes "Haymitch what happened?"
"Elsa fell... I couldn't save her..." I say between sobs, someone else comes up.
"Clara did you find Hay..." the person starts but they drift off once they see me. It's Nathaniel Everdeen, I recognize him from the Seam. We used to play as friends when we were young. "Haymitch." He finishes the sentence. "Their moving her body now if you want to see her one last time. I nod and they help me up. We walk down and I notice something in my hand, the ring I gave Elsa, it must have slipped off her finger when she fell. The crowd parts for us and I walk up to Elsa's broken body which is now on a board so they can move her. I hold her small hand in mine and slip the ring onto her finger.
"I'm sorry Elsa." I whisper and kiss her one last time. They take the body away and I kneel on my knees and cry. Soon every one's gone, including Clara and Nathaniel, leaving hand in hand.
Elsa's funeral is three days later. The only people who attend are myself, a family that knew Elsa's parents well, Elsa's cousins, The Turners, Clara, and Nathaniel out of respect. She's buried only a few steps from Henry and the rest of my family, and next to her parents. Her stone reads:
Elsa Rosalynn Wellwood
Loving Daughter, Friend, And Lover
"Death Leaves A Heartache No One Can Heal,
Love Leaves A Memory No One Can Steal."
~~~~~~Present day~~~~~~
Katniss sits on the sofa with tears in her eyes at my story, her mouth open in shock. I didn't notice the tears pouring down my face I was so wrapped up in my story.
"After that, I turned to the bottle." I say "But even to this day I still remember everything, even though I buried as far down as possible. I tried to forget it but the nightmares keep it with me." She seems to snap out of the shock.
"I never knew all that happened to you." She says, I just nod.
"No one does, I've hid it from everyone," I reply "They only people who know are the people who were there. And most of them have taken the story to the grave."
"I thought I had it bad," Katniss says. "And there's no way to cope?" I sigh.
"There's a reason why I wear long sleeved shirts all the time." I roll up my sleeve so she can see my scars. She gasps at the sight and realization of what I mean.
"Haymitch you..." she drifts off.
"The Capitol would never let me die; they wanted to use me as an example to the others of what they can do. I finally gave up trying to die because I knew it would never work. I also realized that Elsa, and Henry, and my mom wouldn't want me to do that, they would want me to live my life and be happy. Just like Prim, and Cinna, and Finnick would want you to do." I say and roll my sleeve back down to cover them up. I take my bottle and head to the door.
"Haymitch!" Katniss calls and I stop and look at her. "Nathaniel Everdeen was my father, but who was Clara Turner?" she asks and I'm surprised.
"Katniss, did your mom ever tell you her name? Or her maiden name?" she shakes her head no. "Nathaniel Everdeen and Clara Turner got married and had two girls named Katniss and Primrose. And the one thing I can tell you about your father is that he was a great man," she smiles "And he was a damn good singer." I smile and she laughs.
"Thank you Haymitch." She says. I nod and walk out. I go to my room and pull out a picture. A picture of Elsa, one she gave me the day of the Victory Tour.
"Did I do good Elsa?" I say. I smile at the picture of my lost love. I kiss it in remembrance of her and put it away. Next to where I placed her picture is a picture of the family I once had. My mother, father, myself, and Henry. All frozen in time smiling at me. And I hope their proud of the life I'm living.
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The Hunger Games: Extended Epilouge
FanfictionThis is the rest of the book that swangirl98 started!
