Katniss & Tobias

Chapter 2

I look at Tobias in mostly disbelief. Even though he did say he needed help in his message, I didn't expect such a broken man. Tobias reminded me of. . .me.

"Um, alright, what is it that you need help with?" I say, thinking it would be an easy beginner.

When he talks, emotion is pouring into every word and his conversation is so rich with sadness and so much experience that I just have to trust him. He's too much like Peeta. And me. "I have experienced something very hard. My girlfriend, Tris Prior. . .she recently died. In this big war."

I do feel sorry for the guy. I do. But how could I help him? Peeta is alive and well. Is it advice he wants. . .?

He focuses his eyes on me. "I need some advice. Word spreads in Chicago. Fast, if you believe it. Anyways, my best friend, Christina, she told me of you. Your story, how you volunteered for your sister." Tobias lingers on the last word, like it's something he can't get rid of, no matter how much he tried.

Then I know what he wants.

Tobias cries, "How do you deal with the pain of someone you love dying?"

His words are like raindrops. They splatter on me. They make me want to find somewhere where everything is okay-not even good!-just okay.

I shake my head at him. "Prim. . .she was more than a sister. But I'm not sure if my advice would help you. Prim wasn't my lover. I have a different love for her than I do Peeta."

"Please," he whispers. I hear the desperateness in his voice. Tobias is grasping at anything-anything to make the pain bearable. But he doesn't know that his grasping is meaningless, that he's just sinking into the quicksand of life. Its utter unfairness and merciless actions stun me.

"Here's the thing: it's not curable. No matter what you do, where you go, or who you surround yourself with, it will be the same."

Tobias looks devastated. "But-I have to cure this. I have to. For Tris, at least."

I'm no therapist, but I sit on a rock closest to me and say, "So, Tobias, tell me more about Tris Prior. She sounds amazing."

His face lit up at the mention of her name. "She was amazing. She was the best person I know. Brave, unselfish, kind, smart, stubborn. I could go on and on about how amazing she is. She was the salt to my pepper, the bow to my arrow, the reason why I became why I am. She was the only person that I opened up to, and told me deepest, darkest secrets. I entrusted her with my fears. Her dying became one of them. Where I'm from, Tris isn't normal. She's quite a wonder. She's divergent."

Divergent. That sounds so outlandish. But then again, Tobias was living in a whole world I didn't know about, and I was living in a different one.

"Okay, so she's different. She was unlike anybody else in your. . .Chicago. So, maybe you should come home with me. Meet Peeta. My mom is an excellent healer. Maybe she can help you," I suggest.

Tobias smiles, and I think that he looks a thousand times better when he does. "We can try."

Together, we trudge home.