Chapter 12: Haunted

I took concentrated, careful steps, even though I walked on these worn wooden planks every day. Head down, hair curtaining my face like a veil, I watched my feet and pretended my skin was see-through, muscles smoothly carrying me without the thought of where I was headed. It was like I was forced into marrying the darkness. I was walking down an aisle in my white dress, marriage to hopelessness waiting for me.

And I look almost pretty, with my hair brushed out in soft waves loosely framing my face. The front piece of my hair was twisted and pinned above my ear. My seafoam eyes were wide and sparkling, the sparse sun finding the gold flecks in my eyes and making my eyes bright. My eyelashes were dark and long, brushing my skin as I looked down. I wore a creme dress that I sewed seashells onto the hem of. My feet looked unnatural, suffocated into never-worn shoes. I looked as innocent as a doe, right before the arrow sank into it's heart.

I passed Tyler's boat and I couldn't help but think of all those nights looking up at the stars. If we died, where would those memories go. I bit my knuckle, trying to fight back tears. I reached where the worn planks transitioned into cobblestone. I kissed my parent's foreheads, never meeting their eyes. Sound didn't exist in the Reaping Square. I silently stepped into my section, 15. Slipping through tightly packed people without brushing against them, I stood on my tiptoes by the rope dividing me from the 14s. My heart twisted as I spotted Tyler's curls.

Our eyes met, and I watched the emotions cross his face. He reached under the rope and took my hand. He turned my hand over and traced delicate patterns on my palm

with his fingertips. I thought of his hands being cold and lifeless, no longer able to run through his curls when he was frustrated. Unable to make gesture wildly when he was excited, his hands unable to catch up with his words. Hands that could no longer wipe the tears from my eyes. Crystals of ice flowed through my veins, and I shivered, even though a warm salty breeze lazily weaved through the crowd. We were lined up like livestock ready for slaughter. Impulsively, I ducked under the rope and crashed myself into him.

"Please...", my voice was quiet and raspy, urgent. "Remember that I love you. They can not take that." He protectively wrapped his arms around me and I listened to his heartbeat, feeling his chest rising and falling with each shaky breath.

"Always." he whispered, and I could hear the smile in his voice.