CHAPTER 3

Author's note : Hello ^^. I want to thank you all the people who reviewed and commented. It made my day, you have no idea. I know a lot of you are upset with Prim. But she is young and in love. She thinks she does the right thing and she is unaware of the dangers. So today's chapter will be Peeta's pov and just a the end, back to Katniss's pov. The chapter had been really hard to write. I had so much to explain. If you enjoyed the chapter. Tell me. Thank you for reading. Next chapter , next week. ^^

Peeta 's pov.

I was hungry and in my room. It was dinner time and I was forbidden to enter the kitchen where my family had dinner. Well…Not really a proper dinner: Just some stale bread with hot water to make it soft and eatable enough. Worst of all, it was probably the last stale bread left from Saturday. Before the robbery. I should have accepted Delly's sandwiche at noon, but I wasn't hungry at all at that time. My stomatch growled again. At least I had a bottle of water. So I drank.

I felt miserable. The whole weekend had been a nightmare. On Saturday's night my parents left to visit some friends for one day. Colin and I were left alone to take care of the house and Colin had the day off for the next day. He had planned to see his friends and he talked about visiting our older Brother at his home.

I had expected to have a calm Saturday's night. After closing the bakery, all I wanted was to pass the evening drawing. But Colin had another idea. When I went upstairs and opened our bedroom door. I couldn't believed my eyes. Colin was already inside but he wasn't alone. He was with an unknown naked seam young woman. A prostitute. One of Cray 's girls.

"Hey Peeta" my brother said with a huge smile. "I know I'm one month late for your eighteen's birthday gift but this darling here, cost a bunch and Cray didn't want to lower her price."

I blinked and stayed silent. My brother was all happy about his "gift" to me. I wasn't.

"Here is Vanessa, you have the whole night with her little brother. You will be a man tonight. Isn't she gorgeous?"

I glared at him.

"Don't worry, I brought condoms. I know how it is the first time, we can't control our excitation and it's hard to pull it off in time. Cray made a discount for them. He'll have another shippement coming from the Capitol in a few months confirmed. So he was in a good mood." He explained to me.

"Hi Peeta" Vanessa waves at me and then touched her breast sensually. I felt my body reacted at this. She had a big breast and lovely curves and I couldn't helped but to stare at her with some desire but it wasn't how I pictured to loose my virginity : With a prostitute. I wanted to be all about love. Not about lust. I was still dreaming about some miracle: That one day… One day Katniss Everdeen will see me and… I sighed. I will probably died being a virgin, or will loose it to a prostitute … But not today.

I looked at my brother and suddenly I got an idea.

"Thank you brother, it's a perfect present."

"You are welcome. Take care of her, show her the Mellark's dick power." He grinned. He was about to leave the room when he noticed I took my sketchbook. He frowned.

"Vanessa, can you sit on this chair and take a sensual pose? I need an accessory " She looked confused.

"You want what?"

"I'll sketch you. Never done a naked woman yet. It 's a good opportunity."

Colin groaned.

"No, no, I didn't pay her and Cray a fortune, for you to sketch her Peeta."

I turned to my brother.

" You said she was a gift to me. And I'm not going to… You know I want my first…"

He was exasperated when he interrupted me.

"I know you want to be in love…But you are 18 years old Peeta. It's time! Really, what's wrong with you? Are you gay?"

Vanessa looked at the ceiling, she was trying to not hear our discussion but it was something impossible. Obviously.

"I'm not! I dated plenty girls."

Colin rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I counted them all, you dated 15 girls but each of them last only a day! Some not even a couple of hours" He was frustrated."You never went beyond kissing."

"I didn't fell in love with them. The spark wasn't there" I replied. The truth was simple. I noticed every girls but none of them could compare to Katniss.

Vanessa coughed and we turned our heads toward her.

"I know a couple of young boys who will be glad to earn some money…" She suggested and I lost it :

"I'm not gay!" I yelled. "I'm just picky, and romantic…what's wrong with that? I want to marry the love of my life. I don't want to become our parents or do what Jared did! I want to be in love!" I hated that I had to explain myself again.

Colin didn't understand. Colin was a very sexual being. But he wasn't like me. All was about sex with him and he swore that he 'll never fall in love and be as miserable as our father. It was the first thing he said to each girl he dated " This is temporary sweety. I'm not gonna fall in love with you. I won't marry you. But I'm good at sex, very good."

"One day you will be tired to use only your hand Peeta." He warned me. "One day you will understand how much you were dumb and how much you wasted some precious time. Forget about love, Sex is better without. It never disappoints."

"I don't care." I replied. "Can I sketch her?"

"Fine, but I pay her for sex, so once your done, I'm in charge. You will sleep on the couch. Because I paid her for the whole night. It cost me a lot!"

Vanessa shrugged.

I felt bad for the woman.

"Do you want a cup of tea?" I asked.

"Yes".

Later I couldn't slept. The couch was old and unconfortable and Colin and Vanessa were noisy all night long. He must have done it on purpose. Probably told her to moan loudly too. I was beyond tired when the morning came. And a morning for us, bakers , started at 4am.

I was yawning. I needed to focus. I had to finish to decorate a big celebration's cake the mayor ordered. Some capitol people were coming today and he needed a fancy giant cake. He wanted to impress them. Mother had been delighted. An opportunity like that was rare outside of the days around the reaping time. Plenty capitol people arrived at the district to prepare the reaping, a lot of peacemakers came too. The reaping season was always excellent for all us merchants. We sold plenty each time. The half of our incomes for the year were from that period alone.

Today's cake was priceless. That cake alone represented two weeks of our usual income. Because of that order, my mother bought a laying hen. We were just done to pay back the pigs. It took 10 years to pay them back. But my mother knew how to control the money. The laying hen was a good investissement. She advanced some money already for them. They were in our tiny backyard and their eggs were yummy.

I followed Mr Undersse's instruction for the decoration. He wanted a cake that represented our district. But not the reality of it. A perfect, ideal district 12. My cake was a fantasy of what the district could have been in differents circumstances.

Then I had to prepare the store, the cupcakes, the pastries, the bread. Colin was still pouting and didn't helped me. It was time to open the bakery for a very long day, alone with no time for a break. Mr Undersee was my first customer. He was with his daughter Madge. She was so shy. She just smiled at me but said nothing. The mayor was very happy to see the cake. He loved it. He paid and they left. It was a lot of money. I noted the income in the bakery 's incomes book. I sighed. 90% of everything we earned have to be given for the capitol at each end of the month. We had to live with only 10%. So much work for not a lot of money at the end. That 's why we had to eat stale bread most of the time.

It was even harder when we had really bad winters. Nobody had enough to buy bread like usual. Jared, Colin and I signed up for tesserae. There was no other choice. We had the pigs to continue to pay. But I knew other people, particulary in the seam had it a lot of worse than us. My stomach were never empty. Unless I was punished. Just like now.

The door opened and Colin entered. Even, he, had been upset with me because of the robbery. I had been so stupid. I have been trapped. My brain had stopped to function correctly once I heard Prim told me , she wanted to talk to me about Katniss.

Colin sat near me. The silence was unbearable. Suddenly he put a small bread on my lap. I looked at him.

"Eat it. Dad saw I took it but didn't say anything. For you. You must be hungry."

I took the stale bread.

"I deserve to starve." I told him.

" True,You fucked up big time brother". He sounded dissapointed.

"I know". What else could have been said.

I took a bite.

" Mother wants to murder you and cook you so we can have our bellies full for the next two weeks…" He announced.

I laughed. It was an old joke between us from that hunger games when a tribute ate another one. The capitol had put a stop and forbade cannibaslim and our mother said " What? He was starving, I would have done the same. They can't blame that guy for what he done. It's their fault."

My father said nothing as usual. Colin and I looked at each other and wondered if she could killed us and ate us if she had no other choice in order to survive.

"She can't eat me." I declared. "She needs me to decorate the cakes and pastries."

Colin nodded.

" True. That's why I have to go to work at the mines. I start tomorrow."

"What? Why? No!"

"There is no other choice. How will we pay the capitol at the end of the month? The salary isn't a lot , but each coins will be needed. If I have known I wouldn't have bought that prostitute".

"Colin, you stayed at the bakery. I'll go to mines."

He shook his head.

"You can't. Mother doesn't need me here, like she needs you. You are the one who transformed our pastries and cakes into art… and that's why we are selling better. We need all the money now."

I was about to cry.

"I'm so sorry bro".

" You can be. What the hell happened? You are smarter than this Peeta. I still can't understand why you didn't lock the door? Why didn't you return to the bakery sooner than that?"

"I'm sorry." I repeated.

I remembered all too well. It was one hour and half after Delly's visit. She had caught Colin kissed Vanessa in the morning. She came to know the truth. I told her. She cried a lot. Delly was in love with Colin. Always had been , always will be and against my advice, a year ago, she became his " friend with benefits". She hoped that one day, Colin would changed and marry her. She accepted Colin rules. But she was hurting so much. Sometimes I thought my brother was an asshole. But he never lied to the girls. Delly made her choice without being tricked but she was my best friend and I felt so bad. There was nothing to do. I just conforted her.

One more hour left before closing the bakery. I was yawning. I was so tired. I barely had time to take a break to pee. Then, Prim entered the bakery with her sweet and innocent smile. Now, I remembered she looked a bit anxious but I didn't pay attention. She was Katniss's sister. I wanted to make a good impression.

"Mrs Everdeen, welcome. What can I do for you?". I looked around to see if Katniss was near. But there was nobody outside and was disappointed. Prim was alone and this was rare.

"Peeta… can we talk outside for a minute?" She was toying with her skirt. I saw it clearly now. The girl was sweating and her cheeks were red. The more I remembered the more it was obvious, that Prim didn't look like herself. I was too happy to have her here, too nervous that Katniss might show up, too tired to think straight.

"I have no customers now. You can talk to me here." I told her with a soft voice.

"Hum… I have a secret to tell you about Katniss… I don't want any customer to interrupt us".

"Oh okay.." The words: Katniss and secret together froze my entire being. " Let me take my keys…"

"I don't have much time. It 's only for one minute." She opened the door and was outside. I followed her suit. It was only for a minute and what if Katniss was in trouble?

Prim walked a bit far away from the bakery but I was too nervous. What was she going to tell me about Katniss?

"What's going on Prim? Is Katniss alright?"

Prim stared at me worried clearly nervous.

"Yes, she is fine." I was relieved. " What do you want to tell me then?"

"I'm not sure, it was a good idea. If she learns that I came to talk to you , she is going to be mad at me."

Now, remembering it all, I recalled she looked beyond my shoulder a couple of times. Prim grew so much taller the two past year. Katniss looked so petite near her now. It was so cute.

She paused for some long seconds before telling me.

"I know you have a crush for her. I noticed how much you are staring at her when you think she won't see."

"Woah …What?" was all I replied. I felt myself blushing. My heart was racing. So much scenarios came to my mind. Prim looked at her shoes and stayed silent. Few seconds passed and I was wondering if I should told something : Deny it all? Confirmed? Could Prim helped me ? What if she was going to tell me , Katniss had a crush on me too? Nothing around existed anymore. I did hear a noise coming from what I knew now : The bakery. But I didn't paid attention.

"You know, Peeta, my sister is special… She isn't like any other girls."

"I know." I replied quickly. "She is brave with a noble heart". I wanted to kick myself. Prim was taking so much time to talk. She looked so torn. I let her take her time, like the idiot I was.

" About the secret…" She started.

"Yes…"

Another long seconds passed.

"She is dating Gale Hawthorne. I'm sorry Peeta." What kind of cruel joke it was?

"Oh" was all I said. I felt so bad. My heart was breaking in millions pieces. I was physically hurting. I should have known. I still asked.

"Isn't he a cousin? Or something?"

She shooked her head and told me that they were best friends and they started to date a week ago. A week ago. I wanted to die. What a coward I have been. I should have gone and talked to her and now it was too late. My whole world was crumbling.

"Well… I have to go back" I announced. I needed to go back and bury my tears , my hope, my future in the secrecy of my bedroom. I considered to take my dad's whiskey bottle hidden in the kitchen too. To confort me. To numb me. I was about to leave when she took my hand in her. I was confused.

"I have something else to tell you. Peeta".

Her hand was so sweaty. The girl was so tense and nervous. Not the usual Prim I've known.

"What else?" I asked.

She started to confess her love for me. I was so stunned. I was speechless. She was asking me to wait until she was 18. It sounded surreal. I felt so bad for her. So bad for myself. She was obviously embarassed and so I was. I rejected her kindly. She took it better than I thought. She asked me to walk a bit with her and I couldn't denied her request. I had completely forgotten the bakery. When I came back. To my horror, everything was gone, money include.

The worst day of my life and I had plenty horrible days in my life already. Thanks to my mother. The bakery had been robbed when I was away. My mother was going to beat me to death this time. My father will not forgive me. Colin… And Katniss everdeen was dating Gale Hawthorne. It was the end of the world.

I didn't connect Prim and the robbery immediately. I was in panic. It's when the peacemarkers started to aks some questions. I understood. I couldn't believed it. Because it was Prim. Katniss's sweet little sister. But it was too much a coincidence and the time she took to tell me everything. She probably wasn't in love with me either. I had been tricked. I had been stupid and naïve.

"I heard someone screams outside." I lied. "I left the bakery, but couldn't find the person… But still heard the screams…".

Why didn't I tell the truth? Because I couldn't believed it. I was surely mistaken. I was going to find out there was another explanation. It was Prim after all. Sweet, shy, innocent Prim. It was impossible. When I came back from the peacemakers with Darious. He wanted to check the bakery for evidence of the crime. I saw Prim, she exited the bookstore with a huge book, in her arms. The bookstore closed behind her. She didn't look at me. It when all my doubts left.

When my parents came back. It was horrible. My mother was in a blind fury. She took the rolling pin and I let her beat myself. She didn't beat me since I grew old enough to fight back. But this time , I deserved it and while she beat me, all I could wondered was : Did Katniss robbed the bakery with gale Hawtorne and his brothers when Prim was distracting me?. Mother could have killed me . I didn't care at that point. Colin stopped her when he came back. My father had locked himself in their bedroom.

Colin took care of me that night. He was used to do it after all the years when our mother beat us. But he was clearly mad at me. My father didn't look at me either. My mother was probably plotting murder, until she reminded herself, she needed me to decorate their cakes.

Another night when I couldn't sleep at all. My body ached so much. It was impossible to move without pain. She beat me everywhere but the face.

"I'm sorry" I repeated to my brother. I ate the little stale bread.

"We are in deep trouble…Bro. Mother doesn't want to sell the pigs and the layer hen to pay what will need to pay to the capitol at the end of the month."

I understood. She made plenty sacrifices and hard work to get them after all. It was still an insurance for the future. The pig was pregnant again. It was out of question to sell her.

"I will work as long as it needed to the mines. To help." Colin added. "Mother called the school, you won't finish it. She will need you at full time here. The mayor gave her the authorisation to make you able to work full time before your last reaping. He did us a favor". In district 12 you can work full time only when you were 18 and you survived your last reaping.

I nodded. I was about to cry. I have been so stupid.

He breathed heavily.

"We will need to eat too… There is nothing left. I mean we got the eggs and in a week a bit new stale bread. But… We can't afford to spend money. We are in debt… The capitol won't care if we had been robbed or not."

I nodded. You don't mess with the capitol. If we weren't able to pay them… I heard what happened to the previous butcher's family who couldn't paid them back… It wasn't something you wished to happen. His children had been turn into avox and were now in the capitol. He lost his store. He and his wife had been sent at district 11.

"How many?" I asked in defeat.

" Mother doesn't want to starve. She said you will sign up for at least a dozen more if it what we needed."

" A total of 20 then…" I whispered. It was my last reaping year. "It still less than some other…" I declared.

"Yeap, I heard Hawthorne had 42 total and he didn't get reaped. Anyway the games just finished. We have time before worrying about them again" He wanted to reassure me.

I didn't want to think about Gale Hawthorne and the hunger games.

"I think I need to sleep."

I was so exhausted that I fell asleep this time.

Katniss 's pov.

I woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. How could I forgot that? Madge's words.

"Peeta said he heard some screams outside and went to check if someone was hurt…"

He knew… He lied. He knew. Why did he lied? Why did he do that?

I was unable to fall asleep again after that.

To be continued.