Chapter 2

Forget

Peeta's P.O.V.

I stood frozen as I looked at her. She was so different from the woman who had left here three years ago. That light that I always loved in her eyes was gone. The longer I looked at her, the weaker she seemed to get. This couldn't be real, the Katniss Everdeen that I knew would have fought and fought hard, but then again, maybe she had.

I must have stared longer than I had thought because it was her who broke the silence.

"Peeta? Can I come in?"

I snapped out of my shocked stance and moved to put my arm around her. As soon as my hand touched her ribcage, she winced. What happened I didn't know, but I silently promised right then and there that they would answer for it.

I moved my hand a little lower onto her hip and took her bag and hand in my other. It was a slow trek to the couch in the living room, but I wasn't in any hurry. I felt like I was in a lucid dream and could feel myself waking up. As if the moment we made it to the couch I was going to wake up and she would be gone.

I sat her down gently on the couch and ran back to close the door. By the time I made it back to her, silent tears were streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry," she replied sadly as her eyes met mine.

"For what?" I asked, moving to her side.

"I never should've left you. It was always you, I just couldn't admit it."

"You don't have to apologize for anything. You made the decision to be with the person who made you happy and that's all I ever wanted for you."

"No I didn't." I know my face must have been twisted into some strange picture of confusion. "I made the decision to be in the relationship that I thought was the safest. It just seemed to make so much more sense for me to be with Gale; it was almost like we were the same person. But I was wrong. It turns out he wasn't who I thought he was."

The tears continued to flow silently as she stared into the dying fire. My heart sank as the realization of what she'd said finally hit me.

"It was Gale. He did this to you?!" she only nodded as the sobs began to rock her body violently. I sat down next to her and opened my arms which she moved into gently. I went into nightmare mode almost immediately, stroking her hair and rocking her gently back and forth. "It's ok, he'll never hurt you again, I swear."

"I though he loved me," she sobbed.

"So did I."

Katniss' P.O.V.

I stayed in his arms for what seemed like forever, but it still wasn't long enough. The only coherent sentence I could form was a repeated "I'm sorry" as he rocked me slowly and gently back and forth. Placed firmly against his strong chest, I could hear his familiar heartbeat; I focused on each beat and every breath until I could finally bring myself to move away and look into those perfect blue eyes.

"I'm sorry," I said again.

"I'm the one who should be sorry."

"You? For what?"

"I didn't fight for you. For an entire year, I told you how I was desperately and irrevocably in love with you, but when push came to shove, I didn't fight. For that," he placed his hand on my cheek, "I will be eternally sorry."

"You shouldn't be, it wasn't you that did that; it was me. If I hadn't been so caught up in trying to find some way to feel like I still had Prim in my life," my voice caught at her name, "without making myself vulnerable, I could've been there for you. I'm not the only one that suffered losses, Peeta." His gaze dropped to our hands that had somehow found their way to each other. "There you were dealing with losing your entire family, as well as friends, and I just added to it by making sure that you lost me too."

He was silent and never moved his eyes from our hands as he stroked his thumbs across the top of mine. At first I thought maybe he was having an episode, but eventually he spoke.

"Why don't we get you cleaned up then?" His voice was sadder than it had been, but that didn't quite reach his eyes which were brighter than they had been since my arrival. He stood and offered me his hand which I took. I allowed him to help me to his downstairs bathroom and sit me down gently on the built-in wall hamper. I waited until he knelt down in front of the sink and pulled out a first aid kit as well as a pristine, white wash cloth. I watched him wet the cloth and then pull a hand towel out as well. Finally, he made his way back to me.

"Earlier," he began, "you said it had always been me. What did you mean by that?"

"I meant that what I was doing, the things I was saying, they were always real. I loved you from the start Peeta. I just couldn't admit it to myself, or anyone else for that matter. I know that I pulled you around and that I don't deserve you, especially now, but I just thought you should know."

"Katniss, if this is just a 'caught in the moment' kind of thing, please don't say that."

"It isn't; I swear." He was silent for a moment as he gently dabbed the wet wash cloth at my cuts and scrapes.

"You said from the start. When was that?"

"The same day as you." His hand froze in place and he looked up at me with shock in his eyes. I smiled shyly and lowered my eyes.

"Now you're just trying to make me happy," he replied with a laugh.

"No seriously. I never told you because I didn't really understand it. On the first day of school, I was standing next to my dad, holding his hand, and he pointed you out to me. He said, 'It looks like you have an admirer.'"

"No he didn't; you're just saying that." He looked down at the pan of water he'd collected.

"I swear! I noticed you then. Your hair was all messy," I ran my fingers through his curls, "just like now. And I could even tell your eyes were a beautiful stormy blue. You were dressed so normal compared to the other kids, just a white button-down and a pair of black pants. You were already the man you were meant to be."

"So that was the moment for you then?" he continued to smile as he opened the first aid kit to dress my freshly cleaned abrasions.

"No, my moment came later that day. We were in Music Assembly and the teacher asked who knew the Valley Song. I knew it, so I raised my hand. When she picked me up and stood me on that stool, I looked out at all the other students, and there you were, smiling at me. That was my moment, the first time I ever saw you smile."

"What's so special about my smile? It's just like everyone else's." I winced as the peroxide touched a deep cut at the arch of my eyebrow.

"No, it isn't. When you smile, it isn't just a smile; it goes all the way from your lips," a placed my finger to his soft, perfect lips and he closed his eyes, "to your beautiful eyes." I traced my finger across his face until I reached the corner of his eye. I leaned in gently and placed a soft kiss on his eyelid. His eyes fluttered open and he smiled. It was then that he placed his hand gently on my cheek and leaned in to press a gentle kiss on my lips.

I noticed immediately how different it was from kissing Gale. Gale was so controlling and forceful, but Peeta was so gentle and sweet. As he pulled away, I barely caught a glimpse of his eyes before I pulled him back to me. This was what my life had been missing. There was really no way to explain how quickly a hunger rose within me. Almost immediately, my heart melted and I knew I was a goner. Peeta was mine and I was his. Forever.