so people really do tear out their hair and beat the ground with their fists

No, you won her over. Gave up everything for her. Maybe that's the only way to convince her you love her.

She must have really loved him to leave her home for the Seam. I try to remember that when all I can see is the woman who sat by, blank and unreachable, while her children turned to skin and bones. I try to forgive her for my father's sake. But to be honest, I'm not the forgiving type.

And don't you let your guard down for a second because you think anything's inevitable.

It's weird, how much he's noticed me... And apparently, I have not been as oblivious to him as I imagined, either.

Something inside me twists as I remember another voice. Rue. In the arena. When I gave her the leg of groosling. “Oh, I've never had a whole leg to myself before.” The disbelief of the chronically hungry.

Remember, girl on fire,” he says, “I'm still betting on you.