Peeta's POV
The doors of the train opened to reveal the massive crowds waiting for me on the platform. I stepped onto it and instead of the usual cheers and applause that await the victor upon their return, everyone fell silent and I knew what they were all thinking about or rather, who they were thinking about. Katniss Everdeen. The girl on fire. No one seemed to be able to look at me or say anything. And then I saw them, Prim, her mother and of course, Gale. I quickly avoided their gazes not wanting to feel worse about myself.
To break the silence, I started in a dry voice 'Hello everybody, I know I'm not really what you were expecting. I…I…I know I'm to blame.' I shuddered as an image of Katniss's mangled body flashed through my mind. I opened my mouth but no sound came out because my throat was so dry.
Suddenly someone started to clap, slowly and in a matter of seconds the whole crowd was applauding. But were they applauding me or Katniss or the two of us? I didn't know. The train pulled out of the station and I gave a meek smile before turning my back to the crowd so I could hide the tears that were starting to fall from my eyes.
I wandered through the town. Nothing had changed, yet it seemed that everything was different. I stopped in front of the bakery and gazed through the window. The bakery was empty; my family was probably amidst the crowd still on the platform. I turned to start the walk up to the victor's village when a familiar face stopped me.
'Not keen on crowds son?' Haymitch questioned.
'No. At least, not anymore.' I answered.
'Do you miss her?'
'More than you could ever know'. And with that I left without another word.
