When There Are 25- A Clato Story

Let the games begin

Finnick and I walk back into the elevator and he wraps his arms around me, hugging me to his chest. We reach his floor and he gets off after giving me an encouraging smile. I'm ready to tell Cato. The second I get to the floor, I'll tell him. If I don't tell him now, I'll lose my courage. The doors open after what feels like an eternity. I walk out with a big smile on my face.

"Where's Cato?" I ask my parents as I notice them on the couch.

"Not sure. He disappeared," my dad replies, seemingly oblivious to why I want to talk to Cato.

I go back to my room waiting for Cato to come back. Then I realize what tomorrow is. Tomorrow is the start of the hunger games. I start breathing heavily as I look around in a panic. My heart starts jumping and then the thing that scares me most happens. I feel horrible, sharp pains in my stomach as I scream. I fall to the floor and writher in pain as I keep screaming. The last thing I see is the
door flying open before everything goes black.

I wake up and hope that that whole thing was a dream. I then realize that I am in my room in the Capitol and not my room back home. I look down and check for blood. I am relieved to find none and I rest my hands on my stomach as I smile down at it. I walk out of my room, a hand still on my stomach, towards the kitchen. I see my parents sitting on bar stools, talking in hushed voices. They look up quickly when I turn on the light switch. Their faces fill with relief and they both come running towards me. They scoop me up in their arms as I stand there confused.

"Um, guys. What going on?" I ask in puzzlement, also slightly squished.

They chuckle softly and lead me over to the couch. My mom begins to explain. "You got too stressed and because of the baby, you got horrible pains. The same thing happened to me when I was pregnant with you. The baby is completely fine."

"Thank god," I say in relief, leaning back against the couch, laying a hand on my stomach.

"You were out for a while. You missed the interviews. The games start in 5 hours," my dad says.

"Is Cato back?" I ask, now desperate to tell him after almost losing our baby.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Clo. He flew off the handle last night. He needs some more time to calm down," Dad says.

"What happened?" I ask, getting worried for his well-being this close to our fight to the death.

"You should talk to him later," Mom replies simply.

I give them a confused nod and walk over to the breakfast table. I make sure to avoid sitting anywhere near eggs as I put sausage and some toast on plate. I eat silently, hoping Cato will exit his room. I've sat here about an hour and not even a sound has come from the direction of his room. I sigh and decide to go get ready. I walk back to my room, walking slower past Cato's room to hear if I can hear a sound. When I hear nothing, I continue on to my room. I see clothes laid out at the end of the bed and put them on before going into the bathroom to fix my hair and brush my teeth. I lift the shirt up to see my baby bump. It seems to be getting big really fast. I drop my shirt and go back into the kitchen where Emerelda and my parents are waiting. I hug my dad goodbye and whisper "I love you," in his ear. He hugs me tighter and makes me promise that I'll win, that I won't give up.

My mom leads me to the elevator with Emerelda following us. They lead me to the hovercraft that will take me to the Arena.

"We'll see you there, Clo," my mom says before pulling me into a tight hug. I hug her back tightly before pulling back and giving her a nod.