Chapter 2

As soon as she got home, she dashed up the stairs towards her room, slamming the door behind her and jumping face first onto her bed. Then she screamed. Her voice was rough and edgy, and she decided that she might lose her voice soon if she didn't stop. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself down.

"Why?" Sarah asked herself. "Why do I have to like him? I hardly know him!" She scolded herself.

She didn't notice her father standing in the doorway.

"Sarah, is everything okay?" her father Peeta asked. He came in and sat on the end of her bed.

"Um, yeah, sure." She paused. "No. Actually, I don't know."

"Let's start from the beginning. Why were you screaming?"

"There's this guy I really like, whose Mom died on the cliff, and he always sings mom's lullaby every other day!" The words spilled out unconsciously, and only did she realize what she had said after finishing the last sentence. She was out of breath, having said the sentence so fast.

Her father had a surprised and shocked face.

"Oh no." Sarah buried her face in her hands. "I wasn't supposed to tell you! Mom told me everything. She told me on how you guys were in this game that the Capitol hosted, and all that stuff. Please don't tell her I told you!"

"I'm sorry Sarah, I can't. After what happened to William, after he heard us talking about it…" He took a beep breath. "He told me the same thing, and I kept it. But it tore our family apart. Now this was during your visit to Gale's house in District 2. He saw what it was doing to our family, so he went wondering one night and he got lost, and he was by the cliff. The next thing I knew, the Peacekeepers were at our door." Peeta wiped away a tear.

"Okay, fine; don't keep it—but I want to tell mom".

"Okay." He left without another word.

Sarah sat there in utter awe. Then as slowly as she could Sarah slugged down the stairs into the kitchen where her mother was cooking dinner.

"Mom?" Sarah asked uneasily.

"Sarah, will you please set the table?" Her mother didn't even turn to look at her. She was so fixed on her current job.

"Mom I need to tell you something."

Her mother stopped in her tracks, turning to look at Sarah worriedly.

"I told dad everything; about the games, about everything. I'm so sorry; I didn't mean it! It just slipped!" Sarah shut her eyes tight, worried about what might come next. She bit her lip, praying to whomever that her mom wasn't going to yell.

"Okay, that's fine. Thank you for telling me."

Sarah opened her eyes, sighing with relief. A smile found its way onto her face, the worry vanished from her eyes. Only then did she realize she had a question for her mother. She looked at her, her eyes questioning. "Mom?"

"Yes?" her mother replied while getting back to work.

"Is that why you have your nightmares? Are the Games… haunting you?"

She took a deep breath. "Yes."

A million questions were buzzing in her head, but after one quick look at her mother's solemn expression, she decided not to ask. She decided that the cliff would be the best destination. Instead of hurrying, she walked, taking her time, and she sort of wished that Edward wouldn't be there by the time she got there. She didn't really feel like talking to him. She walked past her neighbor's houses, the shops, the barber, the bakery, other houses, into the thin woods, and to the cliff. To her disappointment Edward was still there.

"Edward?" she called out.

He turned around.

"Oh hey red cheeks!" he teased, a lopsided smile on his face.

"Okay that was not funny." Sarah said defensively, but despite what she said, she laughed. "I'm sorry for running off like that, it's just that you knew and I just found out and—and—and I'm just not a very good person to have so many emotions at once."

"Nah, it's okay. I understand. After my mom died, my dad got drunk every night. I was relied on to work and bringing in money. I was sad that my mom died, but at the same time mad at my dad for drinking instead of gathering himself. I almost went ballistic!

"But my dad never gathered himself. So one day, I made a decision and just left." Edward said, staring off into the distant.

"Wow, I'm sorry." Sarah said caringly.

He turned to her, smiling. "Don't be."

"Okay; but can I ask you a question?" Sarah asked.

"Sure." He replied with dignity.

"Um…" Sarah was unsure if she should ask the question. "How did your mom die? Er, I mean—how did she come to die on the cliff?" Sarah asked unsure of what his response would be.

"Well, she used to live in the Capitol when she was very young, and she wanted to go back; but my dad wouldn't let her. She became so sad, she cried every night and didn't want anyone to see her. She was also mad at my dad because he wouldn't let her go. And I guess she got so depressed, and wanted to die. So one day, when I came home, she wasn't there. I didn't bother to ask my dad, even though he was still sober. So I did the natural thing: I looked for her. A tugging feeling in my gut told me she'd be here, so I followed it. The second I got here, I saw a wisp of her hair disappear." He took a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry for asking the question. I knew I shouldn't, but it was on my mind, and I couldn't stop wondering. I'm sorry." Sarah finished with a deep breath.

"No, it's fine, really! I've never ever shared that with anyone before, and it feels good to get it off my chest. Thanks." Edward said reassuringly.

"I've had a crush in you ever since I found out you came here!" Sarah blurted, while blushing a bright red. She wished the ground would swallow her up, right there. Half of her wished she never confessed, but half of her wanted to know what Edward might think.

"Really? No way," said Edward sarcastically.

"It was that noticeable?" Sarah blushed an even brighter red (which I don't think is possible, but anyway back to the story).

"Yeah, it was." Edward nodded, and gave her a smile.

Sarah covered her face with her hands mumbling "No. No. No. No." Without warning, Edward gently removed her hands from her face, kissing them softly. Butterflies fluttered like mad in her stomach, as Sarah stood there, unsure what to make of that movement.

"You are beautiful, and I'll tell you my secret." His voice became soft, sounding like a gentle summer breeze. Sarah wished he'd do that more often. "I have had a crush on you ever since I first saw you."

Sarah looked even more stunned. "Wait, how long ago was that?" Her curiosity was on its peak. She wanted to know this more than ever.

"Um, er… Ever since I was seven."

"Wait. How did you know me when you were seven? And how old are you anyway?" Sarah was confused. She had never seen him until she arrived on the cliff.

"I'm also fifteen. I know you because I was always playing on the swings while you climbed up trees during recess at school."

Sarah was speechless. So, she did the natural thing to do: she stared.

"Ah, that sounds like I'm a stalker right?" He blushed a little, avoiding her gaze.

"Yeah, it kind of does."

"Sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound like that!" His voice was full of worry, as he turned his gaze back to her.

A thought just came to Sarah. "Where do you stay? I mean since you ran away from home."

"Um… nowhere. I sleep in trees most of the time."

"How about you come over to my house tonight? I can ask my mom and dad, and they will most likely say yes. Oh! And we also have an extra bedroom you can use." Sarah said happily.

Edward didn't want to let down Sarah so he said yes.

They started to walk back to her house in an awkward silence.

"So…" Sarah said breaking the silence.

"So…" Edward replied

A fun game suddenly popped in her head, and it was definitely better than awkward silence.

"Do you have anything on you? Like a pen or something, maybe even something that means a lot to you?"

Edward glanced at her cautiously, as if he didn't trust her completely—yet. "Yeah, I have my mom's favorite hair clip, why?"

"Can I see it?"

"Um, sure." Edward took the clip from his back pocket of his jeans, handing it to Sarah.

"Wow," Sarah said admiring the clip. "Well if you want it back then…" Sarah trailed off, a sly smile appearing on her lips. Her feet began pumping faster, breaking into an even run. "…you better catch me!"

"What? Hey get back here!" Edward yelled at Sarah, a giant grin on his face. His feet sped after her, chasing her like a predator after its prey (only in a good way). Sarah started to laugh. Suddenly, Edward came up behind her and grabbed her waist. Sarah laughed some more.

"Now that I have caught you, you will have to give me back my mom's clip and something special to you."

"Fine, I'll give you your mom's clip and a kiss." Sarah said.

"Wait, a kiss?" Edward asked slowly.

"Yes, a kiss." Sarah quickly handed Edward his mom's clip, then she grabbed a nearby rock and gave it to Edward.

"This is a rock, Sarah. Not a kiss." Edward said

"I know, but you can't carry a kiss. So if I catch you then you will have to kiss me." Sarah finished with a smile. "You might want to start to run." Sarah whispered.

Edward started to run, and Sarah caught him right before a Peacekeeper came by.

"Ahem. Miss Sarah, you know the rules: no one is allowed outside after five o'clock. Especially after that one incident" The Peacekeeper's voice was strong, as if indicating one special incident.

"Sorry. I was just taking Edward to my house; he's going to spend the night."

"Sarah, I just want to inform you, but you do know that Edward is caring a rock."

"Oh. Yeah I do. Which reminds me; Edward, I caught you, which means you have to give me that kiss."

"Okay." Edward gave Sarah the rock, a smile on his face.

"Thank you. I very much love this kiss." Sarah tried to keep a straight face but couldn't. She started to burst into laughter.

"Sarah you should leave now, it's almost five o'clock."

"Yes, sir." Sarah said and she started to walk towards her house; Edward joined her, and again the awkward silence took over. When they came to Sarah's house, her parents were on the porch waiting.

"Sarah! You know better than to dillydally when it gets close to five o'clock!" Katniss said, who didn't notice Edward.

"Katniss, Sarah is with someone," Peeta whispered into her ear.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't mean—I mean—Oh, forget it." As strange as it was, Sarah swore her mother just confused herself.

"Mom, Dad, this is Edward. He doesn't have a place to stay, so is it okay if he stays with us for awhile?" Sarah said.

Sarah's mom looked more closely at Edward and gasped.

"Katniss is everything okay?" Peeta asked worriedly.

"It—it—it's Coin. It's Coin. It's Coin's son!" Katniss said, trying to get a hold of herself.

"Edward, do you know who your mother is?" Peeta asked.

"Well not really. She was always to herself, and she committed suicide when I was about 10 years old. So I never got to know her."

"I'm so sorry Edward. Come on, let's get you situated." Peeta motioned Edward to follow. The two teenagers trailed behind him.

"What was that about?" Edward whispered to Sarah.

"I don't know," Sarah whispered back, her voice shaky.

They both went up the steps to the house. And when they went inside, something was waiting for them.