Chapter One: A New Beginning Or The Beginning Of The End?
Over a year later
"Why doesn't Peeta come round anymore?" Prim asks abruptly and I look up from my textbook at her. "Don't look at me like that! I'm just hoping you'll answer this time and not make up something stupid!" Prim says angrily and my eyesbrows raise. It upsets me that like me, she has built a huge guard around herself and rarely let's even me in.
"We just, drifted apart Prim." I say calmly and went back to my textbook. I heard her storm off into her room and I rolled my eyes. Peeta had driven down sometime, when either of us needed sex or company. After Gale's funeral he came round less and then about 8 months ago he just stopped coming round. And I stopped asking him to come round. He still sent money every month but his letters had turned to notes, then simply to a brief scrawl and now nothing comes with the money. It makes me feel like shit that I'm taking his money but I can't work for a while yet and I have to pay the bills and get food. What else can I do?
"If you didn't treat him like shit he wouldn't have left!" I heard Prim shout from her room and I sighed.
"Language, Primrose!" I shouted back and she slammed her door again. "Stop being a child!" I shout at her then sigh again. She is a child. I'm interrupted from being about to shout at her again by a knock at the door. I huff and get off the floor and open the door.
"Katniss Everdeen?" A short lady wearing a suit asks and I swallow heavily. I nod. "Can I come in?" She asks and I shake my head. "I'm afraid I need to come in, Katniss."
"Who is it?" Prim asks and I turn to her quickly, when I look back the woman is inside our flat.
"Primrose?" She asks and Prim nods slightly. "I'd like you to gather your things please. You too Katniss." I'm frozen to the spot.
"Who are you?" Prim asks rudely and I want to scold her but I can't speak.
"My name is Miss Matthews. You can call me Jenna though." Jenna starts to roam around our flat while Prim stares at her, confused. "I'm here on behalf of social services." That's when Prim runs for the door, I try to grab her but she has flung the door open and three large men have stepped into our flat. "You have to come with us now. It's time to stop playing house and meet the real world." Jenna hisses and I pull Prim with me as I go to our rooms.
The car is cramped and freezing. Prim is cuddling next to me, Jenna next to her, one of her henchmen is driving and our luggage all over the place.
"I can't feel my toes or fingers." Prim mumbles and I take her hand between mine and turn the page in my book.
"Stop complaining. You'rer damn lucky you have a placement already. Some kids go to foster homes their whole lives. You weren't even in there for a day." Jenna says sourly and I glare at her.
"We were there for a week during which time I nearly got raped." I hissed and she rolled her eyes.
"Exaggeration gets you nowhere, Katniss. Stupid name." She mutters and I clench my jaw. "Roy, you okay driving in this snow?" She calls sweetly to Roy and he hunches further forward to be able to see.
"Going up the drive now, Jen." He replies and I slowly put the marker in my book and close it. Prim sits up and gasps.
"Look at the size of the house, Kat!" She says excitedly and I nod and smile without even looking. The car stopps and Jenna reaches out and grips my wrist roughly.
"You better behave yourself. Do not even speak to them, okay. They are out of your league. Remember those papers you signed." Ugh, those papers, never ending papers. I can't remember half of what I promised to do and not to do! I pull my wrist away and am startled when my door opens.
"Out you get, we'll get your things." I can't see whoever is speaking because of the snow but his voice is low and he seems quite young so I grab Prim and pull her out of the car. "Up those steps there, Melissa will meet you." The voice says again and I hug Prim close to me and look at the floor as I climb the stairs, my feet sinking in nearly a foot of snow, three more sets of feet run down the stairs quickly and I keep my head down. At the top of the stairs a woman in jeans and a jumper smiles widely and pulls us in through the massive oak door.
"I'm Melissa!" She says, her voice is lovely. Its sweet and motherlike and I instantly like her. "I'm the maid." This shocks me. "Come on into the kitchen and we'll get you some hot chocolate and cookies!" She smiles at Prim then looks at me. "Come on, the boys will get your bags and then come and meet you, their father is talking to Miss Matthews!" Prim and I follow her into a kitchen that is ridiculously huge. The whole thing looks like it was made in a marble cave and I carefully put down my book on the counter as Melissa gestures for us to sit on the bar stools and passes us a mug of hot chocolate.
"This is delicious!" Prim cries and I smile and agree. I'm distracted by a dog in the corner and I hurry over to it. Its an old sheep dog and he has grey fur. I let him smell my hand then crouch down next to him. His tag says his name is 'Max' and I stroke Max's fur.
"Come and sit down, love. They'll be here in a moment." I sit back in my stool, Max follows me, sitting next to me and I pat Max's head and look down at his lovely big eyes.
"Well, hello you two!" I don't want to look at the man so I don't. I'm being rude but I don't want to see whoever is going to be in control of my life now. "Come on in boys and introduce yourselves." I zone out so I don't hear them talk, I focus on Max and ignore Prim stabbing me in the side with her elbow.
"I'm..." The voice makes me jump into the air and land back on the stool loudly.
"Woah! You alright there?" The man asks and I gulp and look between him and the three guys. "Carry on son."
"I'm Peeta Mellark." My heart stops.