Fall Away

The Peacekeepers dragged me in through the door of Snow's office, and I was surprised to see two chairs pulled in front of the president's desk -- one of them already occupied. Adri. Mad as I was at him, I couldn't help but feel bad. I knew that he was in far worse trouble than I was, given that he was the one who'd blown the secret in the first place, and if the Peacekeepers had been so hard on me, Adri must look 10 times worse.
But then he turned around, evidently curious to see what all the noise was about and no. He was in perfect condition, not a scratch or bruise or hair out of place. He looked just as polished and preened as he had when he'd stepped on screen on Caesar Flickerman's show less than an hour ago.
"Winnie! What the hell happened to you?" Adri demanded, eyes running over my face, taking in all the places where I'd been hit.
I didn't say anything for fear of crying again, I just waited for the Peacekeepers to set me down in the chair next to Adri across from President Snow and stared ahead. I knew all my makeup had smeared down my cheeks, leaving black streaks from the tears, but I was still determined to do my best to look brave. Maybe I really could fake it until I made it.
"Yes, what exactly happened to Miss Nova?" President Snow asked, spinning his chair slightly to give an expectant look to the Peacekeepers.
The one who had hit me stepped forward to answer. "She put up a fight. We had to forcibly capture her."
"That's a lie!" Adri snapped. "Look at her knuckles, they're clean, the skin isn't broken. She didn't hit anyone."
Every cell in my body screamed at me to turn to him, to look at him, to try and read his expression and figure out why he was jumping to my protection, but I refused. I wouldn't let him get to me, I wouldn't be a part of his back and forth game anymore. Not when I had to go into the arena tomorrow morning.
"Is that true?" President Snow asked, voice low and calm as he turned to one of the other Peacekeepers.
He paused, then nodded. "Yes, sir. She didn't fight, just tried to run."
"I see," Snow said, turning to give the first Peacekeeper an accusatory look. "And did he do anything else to Miss Nova?"
The other Peacekeeper cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably, but didn't say anything.
"I trust you remember that there are security cameras all throughout this building. If you don't say anything, I will still find out, and you will be punished for your lies," Snow said, narrowing his eyes slightly.
This seemed to scare him into talking. "He, um, he...he groped her, sir."
"Winnie..." Adri said softly, and I stiffened, refusing to acknowledge him. I didn't need his pity. He was the one who had opened his mouth and caused this whole situation. I didn't need his concern now.
"I see. Thank you for informing me," Snow said, giving a small, almost wicked smile. "Have him executed." He pointed to the violent Peacekeeper, and in seconds the others stepped up, all restraining him and removing his weapons belt.
"What? No!" he cried. "I was just doing what you said! Sir!"
"Why would I tell you to do that?" Snow said, feigning mock innocence, and my stomach churned knowing that everything that had happened was on Snow's command. "We treat our victors with only the utmost respect and dignity. Don't we, Miss Nova?"
I didn't answer for a long moment, hoping Snow would press on without needing a reply, but he didn't. "Yes, sir," I replied quietly.
The Peacekeepers left the room, dragging the other one along with them, and I tried to ignore his cries as he begged for President Snow to reconsider.
"Now, then. Lovely to see you two again. I trust you feel the same," Snow said, folding his hands on his desk and turning to Adri and I with an expectant look.
"Screw you," Adri spat, shooting up out of his seat. I heard a loud jingling noise, and noticed out of the corner of my eye that they had cuffed Adri's leg to his chair to keep him in place.
"Don't test me, boy!" Snow said suddenly, voice a fraction louder but filled with venom. "You have made a bigger mess than you could possibly fathom. Don't think you can escape the consequences that follow your actions."
Adri scoffed. "Do your worst. I'm not afraid of you."
"I know you're not. Your little show tonight proved it," Snow said with a nod before looking at me. "She, however, is much more vulnerable, don't you think? I'd hate to see her violated and abused by even more Peacekeepers during the night. It'd be a shame if she never even made it into the arena."
Adri said nothing, just slowly sat back down in his seat.
"I know how to break you. Your wife is your weak spot." Snow pointed at me with a long, crooked finger. I felt sick.
Adri paused, swallowed thickly. "Do whatever you want. I don't care. If you hadn't heard, our marriage is as good as over."
Snow cocked his head, and in an unexpected move, smiled. "Then you wouldn't mind if I went ahead and voided your marriage?" he asked, holding up an official-looking paper. It took me a second to recognize it as our marriage certificate.
"Go ahead. You'd be doing the both of us a favour," Adri muttered.
"Oh, don't worry about that. It's already been done. As of about...twenty minutes ago," Snow said, checking his watch. "So, congratulations. Consider yourself divorced."
Adri let out a short laugh. "Great. That was efficient," he said dryly.
President Snow ripped the certificate in half, placing one half in front of me and the other in front of Adri. "Consider it a souvenir. I'm sure you'll want to go deliver the good news to Cashmere in person," he said to Adri, though his eyes stayed on me, watching my reaction carefully. I did my best not to even flinch.
"Yes, sir," Adri said, and I could feel his eyes on me, too.
"Miss Nova, you've been awfully quiet. Why don't you make yourself useful by unlocking your...ex-husband's restraints?" Snow said, handing me the key to the cuffs.
Wordlessly I got to my knees in front of Adri, working with shaking fingers to free his ankle from the cuff. I scurried to my feet as soon as it was done and turned back to Snow, giving a curt nod and dropping the key back on his desk before turning and marching out the door. My bare feet slapped against the marble of the floors, my high heeled shoes still on the roof where I'd dropped them no doubt.
I had just made it out into the hall when I felt a hand close around my wrist. "Wait, please," Adri murmured.
"What do you want?" I hissed, not turning around.
I didn't seem to have a choice; Adri closed his other hand on my shoulder, angling me around to face him. "I just want to know if you're okay."
"Don't even go there. This whole thing -- it's your fault! If you had just kept your mouth shut, none of this would be happening, and we both could have gone on that show and played our parts like we're supposed to!" I snapped.
"And is that what you want? Do you really want to follow Snow's orders, be his little puppet?" he demanded.
"If it keeps me out of trouble until I get in that arena, then yes! I don't have many days left, Adri. I just want to spend my last ones in peace. And if you don't want that for yourself, then fine, but the least you could do is leave me out of it!" I turned to walk away, but he kept his grip on me, holding me in place.
"It's not just about dying in peace anymore, Winnie," Adri said, voice low and deadly.
"Then what? What is it about? Is there something happening that you're not telling me?" I asked, glancing at him over my shoulder, studying his expression. "Because if there is, you have to let me know. If you don't, I'm walking away from all of this, from you, and I'm not looking back."
Adri's eyes met mine for a moment, before he laughed and looked down at the ground, letting me go. "There's nothing going on. I just thought you were stronger than this. Guess I was wrong."
I balled my hands into fists so tight I felt my knuckles crack. "Sorry to disappoint you, yet again," I muttered, turning and walking off to the elevator without a second thought.