Deleted Scenes: Last Goodbye

 (This scene was written by Lauren. Thanks Lauren!)

-Jo Margolis, 18: Girlfriend of Camellia-



The pit in her stomach just wouldn’t go away as Jo stares at the screen, timer counting down until the fighting began. She could see the way Camellia was preparing to run towards the supplies - a way to see and hear Jo within the arena - and Jo just wanted to scream at her to get out of there, tell her it’s not worth it. Seeing her face now isn’t worth putting her life at risk when she’s so close to getting out of that hell and seeing her in person.


But there’s no way for Jo to talk to her now and she can only sit, paralyzed in fear as the fighting begins and Camellia starts running towards the supplies, but when she diverts away, Jo yells at the scream in fear and anger, “Leave him!”


But she knows Camellia couldn’t do that to Ceru as he’s frozen in place, unable to do anything to protect himself as a career is running towards him… Camellia raises the confetti cannon and blasts it at Remus, taking the careers focus away from Ceru and instead placing it on Camellia.


“Please no,” Jo whispers as Camellia jumps out of the way of Remus’s rapier and tries to attack in return, but Remus avoids the swing of her hammer. Over and over he stabs, Camellia barely avoiding him, and Jo can barely breathe as she watches Camellia swing her hammer. The crack of bones is loud in the air and Jo has a brief moment of hope that Camellia can do this, she can take down the career, before he swings the rapier into her stomach.


Jo can’t move, completely frozen in panic at the sight of Camellia bleeding. As Remus lands more and more strikes on her, Jo can feel the prickling in her eyes of tears that want to fall, but she quickly blinks them back, knowing that the fight isn’t over yet. She has to have hope that Camellia can do this.


But when the rapier strikes her chest and Camellia collapses to the ground, Jo takes in a sharp breath and her lip begins to quiver. “Camellia…” Jo whispers as Remus stands above her, beginning to laugh and Jo knows that sound will haunt her nightmares…


Until Ceru runs up behind him, slamming the axe into Remus’s head and bringing the career to the ground and sparing Camellia. Please let her be spared…


“Go,” Camellia tells her District partner who hesitates and Camellia repeats herself, finally convincing Ceru to leave her behind while there are still tributes left at the feast.


Jo can feel her heart breaking as she watches Camellia grasp at the ground, trying to push herself up to face the tribute who killed her ally as he takes her bag away, not even sparing her a second glance before leaving, taking down a helpless tribute on his way.


“Come on, Camellia, get up,” Jo pleads at her girlfriend, begging her to have the strength to get to her feet and survive this. She’s survived so much up until this point...she has to survive this.


But anyone can see the blood surrounding her and staining her clothes…


Yet Camellia tries to sit up and almost starts to stand, only to collapse to the ground. Jo lets out a small cry as she watches Camellia lay there, staring up at the ceiling as her breaths get ragged.


“I’m sorry, Jo,” her father says, only making her start immediately shaking her head at him.


“She’s going to get up,” Jo tells her parents, not taking her gaze away from her. “Just watch. She’s just catching her breath.”


But she knows she’s lying to herself. Lying to protect herself from knowing that this is truly the end for Camellia. Yet she holds back her tears with the little bit of dumb belief that she has left as Camellia reaches into her pocket and takes out the pill that was placed before her.


“Don’t do it,” Jo begs, knowing what happened the last time the Gamemakers placed something in front of a tribute, but Camellia still takes the pill.


When the screams start, Jo shuts her eyes tightly, her breathing getting ragged at the familiar sound. How many nights has she been awoken by Camellia screaming and had to shake her awake from nightmares over losing her brother and Malloy over and over again? But this...she’s never heard this kind of pain from Camellia before. She can feel her throat tightening as she can’t do anything to help Camellia now while knowing that this is all her fault.


It should be her in that arena right now.


The screams shut off suddenly and Jo opens her eyes just before the sound that has haunted her dreams almost every night for the past four years…


Boom.


“No,” Jo whispers, her eyes unable to form any tears as her brain tries to stay in disbelief that this is all happening. But as she stares at the screen, Camellia’s body is quickly taken away, leaving her with no way of trying to deny that the cannon was for anyone other than Camellia. “NO!”


Jo’s legs move on their own as the world spins around her, dragging her away from the screen in front of her and to her room, away from the concerned faces of her parents as they try to reach out and stop her. She stumbles against the wall as her vision blurs and she fights back a sob as she throws open her door. She barely shuts the door behind her before she collapses to the ground and a scream of pain slips out of her. “No, no, no, no,” Jo mutters over and over as she slams her fist into the floor with each word, eyes blurry from her tears. She gasps for air, her throat feeling so tight and she struggles to take another breath, sobs slipping out of her as she hides her face against the carpet. “Why? Why her?!”


Her door opens, nearly hitting her on the ground, and Jo’s mother quickly kneels next to her and puts her arms around her, trying to pull her into her lap to comfort her. “Oh Jo...I’m here.”


“Don’t touch me!” Jo yells at her mother, fighting to push her away as the arms around her start to feel constricting. It was only a year ago that she was holding Camellia like this as they watched Malloy die… “Leave me alone…” Jo wails as she shakes her head, barely even able to form the words.


Yet her mother doesn’t listen to her, instead starting to rock Jo gently and rub her back as Jo sobs against her shoulder, unable to form any words for the pain in her aside from screams of anguish. Jo is held there, her mother not trying to offer any words of condolence, knowing they’ll just fall on deaf ears, having gone through this pain years ago.


“It’s not fair,” Jo wails, muffled against her shoulder. “Why her?”


“I don’t know,” her mother whispers, her voice wavering just a bit as she continues to soothe Jo, but there’s nothing she could possibly do that will help her.


“It should have been me.”


“Don’t say that,” her mother answers immediately, but Jo just shakes her head, refusing to believe that. Jo knows it’s true. Her name was called out at the Reaping, not Camellia’s. She should have tried harder to stop Camellia from volunteering in her place. Should have been the one in that arena and taken the place of Camellia…


But could she have made Camellia watch her die in the arena, all by herself with no one to hold her tight? Just a family that’s still broken from the loss of their first child and distant from her. Too busy trying to pull themselves back together to be able to help Camellia suffer another loss…


No. Jo couldn’t have done that to her. Yet part of her still wishes it was her in Camellia’s place. She knows why Camellia did it...Jo can barely handle this pain and loss. After Malloy’s death, Jo knows she was the only thing helping Camellia barely keep herself together. So how would Camellia have done it without Jo by her side?


But why did she have to leave Jo all alone? What has she done to deserve this pain? Just...enough is enough. Three times now she has lost someone she loves to the Games… How can anyone expect her to take anymore of this? How is she supposed to go on when everyone she loves has left her behind, taken away by the Capitol?