How was it possible that things changed so quickly? Peeta stared at the wooden coffin, shivering under the heavy snow that fell on District 12.
A few hours ago he was helping Prim change Katniss's bandages and now he was watching a coffin be lowered into the ground in the small district's cemetery.
"Peeta," he heard Prim's voice through the wind and turned around to look at her. Her eyes were full of unshed tears, her nose red from the cold. Her boyfriend Rory was hugging her protectively under his arm.
"Hey," he rasped and saw Mrs. Everdeen behind them with Madge and Gale Hawthorne. Her eyes were distant while Gale and Madge talked in hushed voices behind her.
Prim left Rory's side and, to Peeta's surprise, she enveloped him in a strong hug. She smelled like Katniss and his throat closed painfully.
"I'm so sorry, Peeta," she said with a choked voice and he nodded. Prim let go of him and Rory held his hand out to him.
"I'm sorry to hear about your Dad, he was a really good man," he said with a deep voice, his grey eyes serious. He was almost as tall as Gale, but he looked less angry and his hair was hidden under a red woollen hat. Peeta couldn't help but noticed how he held Prim, who looked small next to him and so delicate, but at the same time fit perfectly.
"Thanks for coming" he asked, his hands in his pockets."How's Katniss?"
"She was really upset she couldn't be here, her back is not fully healed yet," Prim said and Peeta nodded.
"It's okay," he said with a small smile and turned around when he heard his mother's voice.
Peeta nodded at Prim and Rory and then walked toward his family. Bran and Delly were watching Mrs. Mellark talk with worried faces while Sam tried to calm her.
"I will not stand having that woman here," she spit, looking at Mrs. Everdeen and Peeta sighed.
"She was dad's friend," Sam said tiredly but his mother looked at him with a frown.
"She's nothing more than a coal miner's whore," she said again and her icy blue eyes shone with resentment.
"Okay, Mother, enough. I'll ask her to go, but please don't insult her," Peeta said with a low voice but Mrs. Mellark huffed.
"The three of you, all soft like your fool of a Father," as she said this her face softened a bit and her lower lip quivered slightly. "He was a fool, a fool!"
"Mom, please," Peeta said, extending his arms towards her but she shook her head and covered her mouth with both of her shaking hands.
"He was a fool!" she gasped and Sam put his hands on her shoulders and she buried her face on his chest.
Peeta saw Mrs. Everdeen leave the graveyard with Prim and the Hawthorne boys quickly while Magde walked towards him. She hugged Peeta and kissed his cheek, saying she was sorry.
She greeted the Mellarks and Delly gracefully and when Mrs. Mellark was calm enough they finally left the place.
Peeta was still trying to understand the last forty eight hours.
"He had asked me about Katniss, we were doing prep work and I went inside the pantry as I was telling him about her, and then all of a sudden I heard the tray hit the floor and then I went to kitchen again and he was on the floor, his hand on his chest," Peeta said to Madge while they walked toward Town. Delly was holding Bran's hand and Sam was walking with his mother,a long arm across her back.
"I'm so sorry, Peeta," Madge said, squeezing his forearm through his thick coat.
"It was so sudden," he whispered, shaking his head, the sight of his dad's blue eyes void of life still fresh on his mind.
Madge was saying something about Katniss and he tried to pay attention, but his mind was somewhere else, a weird place where his father was still smiling kindly at him.
Soon the night fell and he realized that he didn't remember Madge leaving, but to be honest he didn't even remember getting to his house from the graveyard.
He was staring at the ceiling of his father's small office next to the kitchen. It was always warm because it shared a wall with the main oven. Peeta had taken his mattress from his bed and put it on the floor between the desk and a small closet.
He put the cover aside, opened the closet door and turned on the small lamp. There was a stack of white ironed aprons inside, the scent of the soap still fresh.
His father's coat was hanging from the hook and Peeta leaned into it. He searched the pockets and found an order for a small wedding cake. Peeta smiled at the small sketch with his father's handwriting.
His scent still lingered and Peeta's eyes watered, his jaw quivering. Hot tears fell and he cried for a long time, his father's apron still in his hand.
xXx
Katniss sighed in relief when Prim put the minty cream over her back.
"He was still in shock I think," Prim said after Katniss had asked her sister about Mr. Mellark's funeral. It was surprising to hear a knock on their door that early morning, and the news Madge had made her terribly sad.
She knew Mr. Mellark, she traded with him every week and he was always kind to her, always trying to put an extra roll or cookie in her bag for Prim and her.
"His mother made a fuss because mom was there, so we left," Prim explained.
"Oh," Katniss whispered, wondering why. Mrs. Mellark was known for being sour and hard with her children and husband, but Katniss didn't know why she held a grudge against their own mother.
When her mom entered the house later that night Katniss was tempted to ask her, but she could see the lost look in her mother's eyes and droped the subject.
"Katniss, wake up," Madge's voice roused Katniss and she wondered when she had fallen asleep.
"Hey," she said, her voice hoarse. Madge was next to her on the chair that Peeta had sat on a couple of nights ago.
"You okay?" Madge asked and Katniss nodded slowly. Her back was healing faster thanks to the constant care of Prim and their mom, but now she had annoying thin layers of scar tissue that made her want to scratch her back.
"How's Peeta?" she asked Madge and she smiled.
"He's shaken, but he's strong guy," Madge said and then sighed, looking nervous. "Listen Katniss, I need to ask you something."
Katniss frowned at her friend and Madge smiled weakly.
"Is everything okay?" she asked nodded.
"Yeah, I just...umm, I wanted to, actually it was my father, but we both agree-"
"Madge, just tell me," Katniss said, scared at her friend's behaviour
"My father asked me to offer you a job in our house. We have a maid, but she's tired and you could help us run errands and with all the household stuff. That way you don't have to go to the woods everyday." she said this quickly and looked at Katniss with a guarded expression, like she was offending her somehow, but Katniss thought about it with her mouth open.
"You want me to work at your house?" she asked slowly, feeling her heart beat loudly in her ears.
"Yeah, you would buy the groceries, take and pick up the laundry, clean the kitchen, because Mimi refuses to let someone help her with the rest of the house," Madge finished in a small voice.
"Are you serious?" Katniss asked with the same tone and Madge nodded slowly.
"We don't want you to get caught again," she whispered and Katniss felt tears in her eyes.
"Yes, of course!" she said, thinking about the stability of the job, thinking about how she wouldn't have to be afraid of getting caught. She wouldn't have to be afraid of lashes anymore. She thought about helping Prim everyday and she smiled.
"Great!" Madge said squeezing her hand and Katniss smiled at her. "I asked Prim and she said your back would take at least another week to heal so, yeah."
"Madge, you have no idea how much this means to me, to my family," Katniss said in a choked whisper and Madge kissed her friend's cheek.
"It's the least I could do."
Katniss smiled and was still smiling long after Madge left the house.
"I guess sometimes things change, Duck," she whispered to Prim that night while Prim was cutting leaves of aloe vera to rub on her back.
"I'm glad you won't have to go into the woods anymore," she said and Katniss chuckled. "And you'll be near the bakery."
"Meaning?" Katniss asked trying to sound aloof but Prim laughed.
"Meaning." Prim answered with a shrug. "Tomorrow I'll put some bandages on your back so you can sleep in the bed."
Katniss was glad, her body felt stiff and uncomfortable from the roughness of the table. Her bones protested and she groaned loudly when Prim helped her off of the table the next morning. Prim covered her back with bandages and then helped her to put on a loose shirt and woolen jacket.
At least she could sit down, but she was getting restless, she couldn't remember the last time she had stayed in her house in the morning. She was used to waking up at dawn to go to the woods. But now, as she watched how Prim and her Mother left for their own obligations, she wondered what she could do, because moving was not an option.
She spent another week like this, knitting, sewing old pants and shirt's buttons. She didn't want to admit it, but she was disappointed that Peeta didn't visit her. He had sent a loaf a bread along with a doodle of him trapped by a big loaf of bread and underneath was a note that said he was busy with the bakery, but as soon as things settled he would visit her. He had signed with a small Love, Peeta and Katniss made an effort not grin like a fool in front of Prim.
Every night, she fell asleep looking at those two small words; Love, Peeta.
"Why are you asking me about Peeta Mellark again?" Katniss asked watching Madge and Prim pick strawberries from the basket with a fond smile.
"He asked me about you," there, finally Madge said something specific. She had been running in circles with hints and small jokes for weeks.
"What about him?" Katniss asked trying to keep her cool. Madge didn't know about the bread Peeta had given her years ago that had saved her and her family's lives.
"You tell me," Madge said with a wink. Katniss sighed, feeling her cheeks redden. Without really trying, along the years, she had followed Peeta Mellark, maybe to thank him, maybe to make sure he was okay. And, if she was honest with herself, she knew that she wasattracted to him, not only because he had turned into a handsome boy, but because he was kind and funny and there was something about him that sometimes made Katniss want to stay for a few more minutes with him after their trade.
"He's chatty, but he's really nice," she said, blushing. Prim and Madge smiled at her but thankfully they dropped the subject. But that night, when Prim asked her about Peeta, she couldn't help but admit out loud what she had been thinking the entire day. And maybe for years.
"He's kind, and I don't know why, but I feel like he's always making sure I'm okay when he asks me about the woods or when he walks me to the Square. He's really kind," she whispered to Prim.
"So I guess it wouldn't be such a bad thing to have him around, huh?" Prim asked with a smile and Katniss shrugged but didn't say anything else.
"You really don't know, do you?" Prim whispered after a few minutes, but Katniss was falling asleep, tired from her long day in the woods. She mumbled a no, wondering what Prim was talking about.
She opened her eyes. She was still in her bed with Prim snoring softly next to her, their mother breathing deeply in the bed next to theirs.
The memory of that conversation had popped into her mind at random moments during the week and today, after a tortuous week of doing nothing, she was finally ready to start her job at the Mayor's house.
She was really nervous. The lashes on her back were covered by a layer of scar tissue thick enough to let her move and Prim, reluctantly, gave her permission to work if Katniss promised she would take it easy the first few days.
She sighed, her breath visible in the still dark and cold District.
She made her way to Town while all the miners left their houses to work with their helmets hanging from their hands. She shivered at thought of going to the same place her dad had died and she was grateful once again to have a job in Town; she would miss the woods, but she couldn't risk hunting, at least not now.
She made it to the main square where all the Merchants were opening their shops for the day and with a small smile she wondered about Peeta. Then, as if she had called him with her mind, she saw the bakery's back door open and Peeta leaving the house.
"No," she whispered and ran as fast as she could with the bandages toward him. He was carrying a helmet and under his coat and scarf he was wearing the same coveralls she had seen just minutes ago.
"Peeta!" she yelped, the cold air feeling like daggers in her lungs. He lifted his head and looked at her sadly.
"Hey," his voice was small, his shoulders hunched and eyes sad.
"What are you doing?" she said and when she stepped right in front of him she noticed he had a gash on his cheekbone.
"I can't work with her," he said as an only explanation and tried to move past her.
"Don't, please don't go into the mines," she said putting her small hands on both of his shoulders. She felt panic running through her veins. He was a baker, not a coal miner, and the idea of him trapped under the ground made her want to cry.
"Katniss, please," he said, placing his hands on her hips gently. Katniss realized that they haven't spoken since that time after she was whipped, their only interaction the doodles he'd sent her with the bread. It was not her place to ask him things, no matter what or how she felt.
She dropped her hands at her sides, but Peeta took them quickly. They felt rough under her touch and she could feel the calluses forming.
"I'm sorry I couldn't visit you," he said, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. He was looking at her intensely, his bright blue eyes still a bit sleepy. The sun was rising and his hair looked like a halo around his head.
"It's okay, I'm better," she mumbled, her eyes glued to his. He smiled softly when she put her hand on his cheek and ran her thumb delicately over his gash. His eyes were roaming her face, just like they had when she was laying on the table with her back full of fresh lashes.
"I should leave," he mumbled and Katniss moved her hand slowly and then took a step back. She hadn't realized how close they had gotten.
"Yeah, me too," she said hoarsely. He smiled shyly at her and moved past her and this time she couldn't help it. She called out to him and when he turned around he was surprised by her hands on his shoulders and a soft kiss on his cheek.
"Please, take care," she said and he nodded numbly. She turned around and walked quickly to Madge's house, not daring to look back at Peeta, because then he would see the blush and the smile that came when she felt his stubble on her lips.
I'm so so sorry for the long wait, RL was crazy (mean crazy, not good crazy). The next chapter is almost done, so I'll try soon.
Thanks again to eatnightlockforbreakfast because she's awesome and she helped a lot.
Okay, so, if you feel like, leave a review, it would be nice to know what you think :)
Bye
Mari