Together Again

Chapter 4: The Parade (Cato Pov)

     I can't believe it. It actually happened. I didn't leave Birch's room that night. I stayed in there and either cried, screamed, or was silent. There was no in between. I didn't move, unless it was to look at something of hers.
     At one point, I got up and went to hee closet. Of course, there were clothes, but there were also photo albums, stuffed animals, random pictures, and things that have good memories of either Birch and I, or Clove, Birch, and I. I see a bunch of pictures of Birch and I. We're so happy. I remember when we got the day off of school for snow and we played in it all day. Birch ended up getting sick, but it was still fun. I see the knife she first got into the target. I see a lot of albums. I want to go through them, but not yet.
     I see notebooks. I see a lot of notebooks. Most of them titled, Letters To Everyone, there are boxes with the titles letters. I see a guitar. I see sheet music. I see pens and paper. I see a box. I might go through it later. But, I don't know.
     I sit down on the floor. Clove comes over and sits next to me. She manages a weak smile. "Hey," she says weakly. "Come on. You gotta eat. Besides, the parade is gonna be on soon."
     "I don't care. I'm not hungry. Besides, I don't want to watch. I'd rather just stay here. Ok?" I say coldly. I look over and see how much of a mess Clove is. She nods and goes to walk out, I grab her wrist.
     "Look. I'm sorry. I'll watch. I'm just on edge. And tired. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. But I should probably head home," I say. She nods. I run back home. I close the door and burst into tears. I walk to my room quickly. I stop crying and make my face emotionless.
     I walk to the living room. I sit down and watch the parade. Birch looks beautiful. She's in a stunning black and white marbled dress. She looks happy. My stomach tightens. I smile when I see her. She looks at the camera and waves more. I laugh a little.
     I watch the chariots form a semicircle around the stage where President Snow is. He says a short speech and then the chariots are pulled away and the parade ends. I hate that man right now. I feel sadness mixed with anger. I get up and head to the training center. I walk in and head to the main area.
     I pick up some knifes and practice throwing them. I'm really bad at it, so I stop after a few minutes. The training center has some other people in it. I walk over to the training dummies and pick up a sword. I slash and jab at the dummies. I take my anger out there. I only stop because it gets dark. I get home and collapse on my bed, exhausted. Exhausted from emotions and training. Exhausted from not eating. Exhausted from adrenaline. Exhausted from missing Birch. Exhausted from hating Snow and the Capitol. Exhausted from hating the Games more than anyone ever has.
     I fall asleep quickly. The next thing I know, I'm running and looking for Birch. "Birch! Birch! Where are you? Come on out! Where are you? Birch! Birch please come out," I shout.
     I hear something behind me and I turn around. I see Marble behind me, knife in his hand. He looks at me and smirks. He has a sick look in his eye. Something's wrong. He laughs at me.l and I feel my blood start to boil. I clench my fists. No one laughs at me. No one. No one but Birch.
     "Oh look. Cato is missing his little crush. How sweet. Too bad kid, you're never gonna see her again. I took care of that. Just look behind me," he says before running away to the shadows.
      I see what he was talking about, and scream in anger. It's Birch. She has blood all over her face and hands. She sees me and smiles, while trying to sit up. I run over to her and put her head in my lap. She smiles and I put a hand on her cheek. She closes her eyes.
     "No. No! Keep them open. Keep your eyes open Birch. Please! Please! For Clove. For your mom. For your dad. For me. Please. Please. I need you," I whisper, holding back tears.
     She opens her eyes and stares at me. "Hey. I missed you. Did I do it? Did I? Did I win? I must have! Cato, I won! I did it! I," she takes a deep breath in and winces in pain. "Cato I need to tell you something. I lo-" she closes her eyes and takes a shallow breath.
     BOOM! I hear the cannon go off. I sob and hug Birch closer to me. I don't want to let go. I can't. I won't. I sob even harder and scream in frustration. I stand up and put Birch down. I crouch down. I smooth her hair out and kiss her forehead. I stand up and crack my knuckles. I take off to where Marble ran. I find him pretty easily. He's cleaning his knife and humming. I sneak up behind him and crack his neck. BOOM! The cannon goes off. I wake up in a cold sweat.
     My throat is dry, so I get up and get a glass of water. I head downstairs slowly and quietly. I drink it and sit down. I take deep breathes in, trying to calm myself down. I fall asleep on the couch. I don't dream of anything else.