CHAPTER FOUR.

MEMORIES.

"I DON'T THINK I COULD BE ANYMORE PROUD OF YOU, YOU KNOW THAT?"

The blonde flicks her head to the side as her older brother smiles at her, the genuine emotion on his face making her  so much more than happy. She'd only been home for a few moments, the second she stepped off the train she was wrapped into his arms and hauled into the air. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and his smile was so bright, it could have replaced the sun. They'd been shown their new home in the area for the Victors and they'd moved in instantly.

The people of District Two are still celebrating outside, happy that they have another victor amongst their ranks. Emori was quick to retire to her home however, not really in the mood to celebrate anymore. Cato joined her moments after, wanting to spend some time with his sister who he'd missed severely.

"I'm just glad to be home," she admits and he nods his head in understanding. He's aware that his sister isn't the same as him, there is barely a vicious bone in her entire body. Of course she'd been trained just like him and all the rest but he knows the last thing she has ever wanted to do is hurt somebody. When her name was called and nobody volunteered, he admittedly felt a tinge of fear. Due to the way she thought about the games, he was worried she wouldn't kill when she needed too and therefore she'd die. She had proved him wrong.

"And I'm glad you're here. I don't know what I'd do without you," Cato comments to the blonde who rests her head on his shoulder.

"Feeling is mutual," she responds.

Her eyes remain on the ceiling, her mind seemingly all over the place. The events of the training centre flood in, the fact she'd shown such fear and emotion in front of all those people. It was the last thing she should have done and yet when she saw him, everything just broke apart. She couldn't think clearly and she didn't have the energy to. All she could think about was the fact she'd killed him.

She hears her door open and she looks over to see Reed there with a plate of food in his hands. He sets it down on the beside table and lays down beside her.

"How you feeling?" He questions his friend who lays on her side so that she can talk to him better.

"Not good. It was so real, Reed. It was like he was there," Emori breathes, her eyes once again filled to the brim with tears.

"I know. It's grief, Mori. It's perfectly normal to feel this way," He promises as he also faces her now, the two of them no longer laying too far from each other.

"All I feel now is embarrassed. They're all going to think I'm weak," Emori cracks and he shakes his head.

"We've all experienced something like that since leaving the arena. Your's is just worse because you had to go through it again with your brother. I promise you, nobody in that room thinks you're weak. Not me, not Brutus and not Finnick — none of them. You're new friend even came to ask how you were," he says the last part with a small smile and she allows a small chuckle to escape her lips.

"Peeta isn't my friend, Reed," Emori responds and he hums in response, clearly being playful.

The two of them just lay there for some while in silence, neither knowing what to say. Her mind returns to thought of her older brother and she closes her eyes.

"You know, I stopped him from volunteering before. He wanted to volunteer during your year and I told him it was silly. He wouldn't be eighteen, he should stay at the academy until he'd reached the end of his training. I thought maybe he'd give up on the idea of going," Emori whispers.

Reed stares at the girl as she clearly tries to fight back tears by closing her eyes. When they open again, she can see that they're full of sadness — he can only imagine the guilt that is within her. He more than likely could have won the games he was in, he's physically larger than Reed and Reed has never been too great at longer range weapons meaning he would have been overpowered. Cato could've made it back home to his heartbroken little sister but instead he went into the games with the girl who somehow managed to defy all odds stacked against her.

"I was such an idiot but in a way it's ok. If he'd have won your games, you wouldn't be here. Yet, imagine if you'd bother have died in those games, who would I have then?" Emori says and the boy smiles softly in response.

"You wanted your brother to live, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm sure that wherever he is, he's proud of you. You know that," Reed responds.

She nods slowly and moves to lay on her back again. Reed follows her movements and watches the roof much like she'd been doing when he walked in.

"Is it normal to think about him so much?" She asks her friend.

"Of course it is. He was your brother," Reed replies.

"I just keep having little flashbacks in my mind,"

The blonde laughs loudly as she throws the cookie at the older boy, he catches it without any effort. The girl had been seemingly baking all day, making sugary goods for herself and her brother. It's a nice change from the food they had to eat before and she can only be grateful for it — she's discovered that she has a major sweet tooth.

"We probably shouldn't eat anymore. We will make ourselves sick," Emori chuckles as her brother eats another.

"Eh, why not enjoy them whilst they're here? Besides, I wouldn't want all your effort to go to waste," The boy says with a small smile, causing one to appear on her face.

"You're right. Catch!" The girl exclaims as she throws another at his head.

"Sometimes I just wish he wasn't so set on being the boy to bring pride to our district, you know? His whole life it's what he wished to do. He thought the only way to do so would be through winning the games. I was already so proud of him, he took care of me when we had nobody else. I wish I did better at convincing him," Emori says to the boy who looks her in the eyes once again.

"If he wanted to go his whole life, he wouldn't just give it up because you asked him. You know that," Reed responds as he reaches out and grabs her hand in his. 

"I know but the guilt is still there. It sticks around and it will for a long time,"

"You feeling better?" Brutus asks as he eats his food, getting a nod in response from the young girl. Enobaria, who is to mentor them, looks unconvinced but does not say anything to her. She knows how hard it hit her, it hit her hard too — she was one of his mentors.

"The private session is soon. They already know what you two can do so just go with it. You'll likely get high scores anyway due to being careers, they often find you more impressive. Show them what you can do," Enobaria instructs and gains a simple nod in response from both of her tributes.

When the blonde has finished her dinner, she heads back into her room and prepares for bed. When she closes her eyes, she hopes for a peaceful nights sleep but she knows it's unlikely.

"Why would you do this!? You might not come back," The blonde sobs as she clutches onto her older brother, her arms wrapped around him tightly as the train moves towards the Capitol.

"You know I'll come back, Mor. I've trained for this my entire life, it's my destiny. I'm going to come home," he promises the crying girl.

She rolls over and wraps the blankets around her tightly, wanting nothing more than for the memories to stop. For weeks they've run through her mind, taunting her, making her cry. It's hard to extinguish such thoughts — near impossible.

The girl is shaking in her chair as she watches her brother clutch Peeta Mellark to himself. There is blood slipping down the side of his face, his arm wrapped tightly around the other boy's neck, cutting off his supply of oxygen. She clutches Finnick's hand almost to the point blood flow has stopped.

"I can still do this. One more kill, bringing pride to my District, seeing my family again. That's all I want. It's what I'm going to get," Cato hisses, not noticing that Peeta had gestures for Katniss to shoot him in the hand.

Before Emori can even comprehend, the arrow slices through his hand and she watches on in horror as he's shoved off the cornucopia. A small screech falls from her lips as the mutts begin to lunge for her brother. He falls to the ground and she starts sobbing, Finnick grasping her to his chest to calm her down.

"Please! Please!" Cato is calling and yet Katniss and Peeta just listen to his cries of pain as he is slowly pulled apart by the Capitol mutts.

"Finn," The girl sobs and Finnick tightens his grip around her. The boy on the screen continues to cry out for what seems like forever, at least an hour must have passed and then finally, Katniss shoots her arrow through his head. As she hears the canon, Emori screams.

"No! No! No!"

She flies up in her bed and breathes heavily. Her cheeks are wet with tears, her heart sore. The memories, not only do they fuel her sadness but her anger. Katniss Everdeen left her brother to suffer and now, she will return the favour.

NOTE!

Hope you enjoyed! We're getting closer to the games so it should get a little more interesting soon. Thank you for reading!