I had just gotten home from a day with Dad when I saw the prettiest card on my pillow with a rose petal next to it. “To the edge of the wood where I first saw The Blonde Beauty” the card read. I remember flying out of the house with more energy than I had had all day. I ran to a giant oak surrounded by millions of white flowers. As I got closer, I could see Jake waiting for me in the midst of them, red roses in hand. I sat next to him, crushing even more flowers their sweet, intoxicating smell making my vision hazy as if I was in a partly remembered dream. I took his free hand in mine and smiled. “What’s up, Jakey?”
His beautiful eyes turned to me with downright true bliss. “Care-bear, I want you to marry me; to be happy together like our parents are. Please?” He passed the flowers to me and holding them together was the little plastic ring.
“Jakey, not now; we have to wait until we’re old!” I said, smelling the pretty flowers. “One of them doesn’t smell: Why?”
“Because, Care-bear, I’ll only love you until that last flower dies. And that last flower is a fake flower. And that means that I’ll never stop loving you.” I remember beaming so brightly my face hurt. But instead of stopping, I kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll marry you, Jakey, but we have to wait until we grow up.” I slid the ring onto my thumb and ran all the way home, Jake hard on my heels the whole way.
“Caroline, I’ve been meaning to ask you for years now: Why do you still have that ring?” Jake’s voice startled me. I jumped and looked at him so carefully perched at the doorway and by the looks of it he’d been standing there a long time.
I shrug, sniffling and wiping my eyes. “I guess I kept it as a reminder that someone out there actually loves me. A reminder someone is there for me and has my back.”
“And the rose?”
“Sitting with the rest of my stuff at Kade’s.” I felt his warm arm around my shoulders and his sturdy body next to me.
“Care, is that all I am to you? Just some ring and a ragged fake flower sitting on a dresser, collecting dust? Because honestly, that’s what I feel like. You ran to him, not me, when your family died. You barely knew him and I was there the whole time. Did he leave your side? Did he follow you everywhere like a shadow? No. But I did. I couldn’t stand to see you with him through those terrible three months or the few after.” Jake sighed, and I felt his body tense, waiting for my answer.
“I didn’t go to you because you knew everything and also because I knew you would be there for me.” I looked him in the eye and what I saw broke my heart.
Longing.
“I can’t compete with him. I know deep down that I’ll lose every time.” Silence.
“Do you still love me?” I ask after a few moments.
“What did I say when we were eight? Don’t you listen to-,” I cut him off with a kiss. A kiss that he returned. As he lay on top of me, a knock sounded. We both look to see Seth- or Sam, I still can’t tell.
“This is slightly, awkward….” It’s Seth. “Anyways, we need to get to work. We have a lot of preparing to do for tonight.” He left us, shaking his head.
“What are we going to do about this?” Jake asked, rolling off of me with a moan.
“Well, we’re going to get to work.”
“Ha, no. I mean about us. You’re cheating on Kade with me. That’s kind of a slap in the face, and not to mention that we’re about to be sent to our deaths in a day. One of us has to die, at least.”
“One step at a time, man,” I said as pulled him off the bed. Four hours with Celestia telling us how to act and how to walk on toothpicks for heels (for me) wears me out, but I’m totally unprepared for what comes next.
“Honey, we need to figure out how you’re going to present yourself tonight.” Abel walks in, to my complete and utter horror, and Jake struggles to hold me back. I notice deep gashes on his right cheek with bruising around them. I smile smugly and he just glares at me with hate.
“I’m not working with him!” I yell at no one in particular. Jake is still pinning me to my chair and as I thrash around and claw at the air, I try not to scratch him.
“Only until we figure out what card you’re going to play. It’s not going to kill you to stay here for an hour and not do anything.” Abel laughed as I stilled.
“It won’t kill me, but I might kill you if you don’t shut your mouth!” Jake smacked my head and I nipped at him. “Kade and I already figured it out, and I’m not telling any of you what that is. Can I go now?” I pleaded with Jake, and he let me go, knowing I wouldn't lie to him even if it meant escape.
I sit in my room for what seems like an eternity, but in reality it was only a few hours before my prep team shows up to get me ready. They talked about everything and nothing at the same time. I tuned them out letting them play dress up. Hair tugged in all directions, face poked constantly with a variety of brushes and tips, my fingers pulled around till they almost fall off: It’s almost one of the worst things ever done to me. “All done,” Faye exclaims as she drops my hands.
“Now go put on the dress I have picked out for you and I’ll find the perfect shoes to go with them.” Veronica disappeared into my room as I picked up the dress sitting on a rack.
I knew that it belonged to Kelly, the President’s daughter, at some point because it was of “top notch fabric” and it was very fine: Black strapless with gathers from the ribs up and from the hips down to mid-thigh where the dress ended. But in the stomach area, there was very little fabric because the sides were cut out, showing a lot of skin. The deep red pumps that Veronica brought me matched my nails and the eye shadow they put on me. I had body glitter everywhere and my hair was straight, back combed at the crown of my head. “Beautiful, as ever,” Seth said, clapping his hands.
“Well, I can’t congratulate you on the dress, but I can do so on the idea of it.” I smiled as he laughed.
“True, but we can’t talk all night; you have somewhere to be later, and it’s going to take a while to get there with this traffic the way it always is when The Games come around.” Seth pushes me out of the room and I walk as fast as I can to catch the car waiting for me. When we get to the stage, everyone else was there. I hadn’t seen Jake since this morning, but her was here now, and waiting for me too. His hair was messy, and he was in his usual black pants, but this time he had on a red V-neck exactly like the red I was wearing and black shoes. “Caroline, you’re here. Just in time too: It’s about to start.” He hugged me and pulled me to the chair next to his. Logan is up second for his three-minute interview with a different interviewer this year. I try to tune it out, but I can’t sadly, because he brings me into it.
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