disclaimer: I don't own THG :(

long time no see! I sincerly apologize for my lack of posting in months. i promise to post more frequently if... (yes if) I get more reviews from some of my lurking readers out there. I've done it before and the little button isn't that hard to press and type. :) I know theres more of you out there i've seen the traffic for the story. Over 500 since 3 months ago. Wow! thanks. so please it will make my day and it will help me out with some better suggestions for future chapters. Right now I'm going to type 3 new other chapters and maybe keep this one. It wasn't edited well at all this time just because of the rush to post. Is Blaze a name I've already used...? should it change. I'll fix it up just lmk.

When I get home, I slowly drag my luggage across district twelve. The day seems to be alive yet I'm not. The butcher is chatting with the grocer and the florist is humming while cleaning off the snow from her shop. The bakery has small puffs of smoke rising from the chimney. I know the point of coming home was to prevent my parents from knowing, but every single step I take is filled with guilt. The Hawthornes loved me, and then I broke each one of their hearts. Ever so slowly, I make my way up the granite steps to the intimidating polished door. I can't leave again but something inside me is screaming at me not to go in. After one long deep breath, I decide it's the moment of truth and step into a well missed aroma of cinnamon and pine trees. My bags slip out of both my sweaty palms and I sprint into the kitchen to find my parents on the floor. Dad is covered in floor head to toe rolling cookie dough on a cutting board balanced on his knees. Mom is scowling from pure concentration on her widdling a pile of sticks to a sharp point. However, within those few seconds of my arrival two pairs of eyes have already met mine glowing with happiness.

"Rye! Oh goodness I missed you. It was only two days though. Where did you go this time? How is grandma?" My mother rapid fires billions of questions at me while twirling my hair round and round, and sneaking in pecked kisses on my forehead and cheeks. I have to say, she is the queen of multitasking.

"District two…" I wait for their faces to fall and sure enough, they mirror each other. My mother's fingers drop out of my hair and grab my father's face. A wave of cold stiffness washes of both of them. They are frozen like statues to the ground communicating with only inner thoughts and eye contact that I can't see. "Mom is something wrong?"

"Huh? No. Nothing is wrong sweetie. Why don't you run up the bakery and help your brother close the shop for the day. I think we're going to have Haymitch over tonight." A cheesy, overdone smile is pasted across her face and her voice quivers every now and then. My dad brushes the wispy strand of hair that fell in front of her eyes out of the way and squeezes my hand. He knows me more than anyone else in the world, even more than Bow. The slight squeeze told me a thousand words that are described better than words. Mom needs her time, go help Blaze out, please, thank you; I love you and everything else. So, I slip out of the room and back into the open world once again.

Blaze Jay Mellark POV

Nothing could ruin this day. I was warm for once in the middle of the dead of winter. I had the bakery all to myself to bring my inner child to life with just a little imagination. Rye was gone for the week and that meant for once Mom and Dad would be centered around me. They wouldn't fawn over the deer she shot and skinned or the painting she made in five minutes on her walls even though they had told her so many times not to paint on the walls. She was Mommy's little prodigy and Daddy's little angel. I was the second child, younger by two years, left to fend for myself in the boring world of district twelve. How come she can visit Grandma but I can't? Why does mom cringe every time she looks at me? How did I wind up second for everything in my life? I never could find a reasonable answer for these questions.

Sweat beaded up on my over heated forehead as slid back into the oven to examine my fresh baked cookies. My grey eyes were like eagle eyes and helped me carefully grab the pan at the right angle. But, my long chocolate hair kept falling into my eyes blocking the perfect vision. My hands began lifting the sizzling pan ever so slowly out of the roasting oven when a shrill yell echoed in my ear and I burnt my arm with the pan and yelped.

I take back my previous thought of nothing being able to ruin my day. I was too warm now. Rye sat on the counter swinging her short legs as if she was taunting me. As much as I wanted to loathe her at this moment, I noticed a weary, exhausted gleam in her eyes that matched mine. She wasn't happy I hurt myself, or even thinking about the fresh welt that would scar my arm forever. "Rye you're back so soon."

"I guess."

"You always come back late. Did you see Mom and Dad?"

"Yeah, they told me to help you close the shop. Haymitch is coming over tonight." Nothing was right in anything she was saying. Rye doesn't help me, ever. Haymitch doesn't come over unless something serious is going on. Which this means Rye did something bad when she was away.

"Okay, just turn off the oven and were good to go."

"What about your cookies Jay?" Why does she always call me by my middle name?

"Throw them away." A twinge of guilt distorted her ever-pretty face and she grabbed the tray. But, when the dumpster opened instead of dumping them into it she threw a couple in, and bagged the rest behind my back. From that, I couldn't help but smile.

Rye POV

The table was uncomfortable. Haymitch became indulged in a conversation between my father and my mom. Blaze hid a notebook under the table and scribbled things randomly. And I sat numb in my solid hard chair. It was impossible to tune into what they were even talking about because all I could hear was sharp hissing whispers. Everything about the situation sent my nerves into shock mode. They must know where I went. I'm going to be grounded for life. And if they don't know now, imagine how much worse Mom will get when she hears the true news.

"Rye?"

"Yes Mom?"

"Did you meet anyone new in District 2?"

"Like who? I barely even spent more than 5 hours there."

"Oh good, it's just there are lots of bad people there. I was worried that someone could have harmed you. I'm glad you're fine. Now let's get this dinner served."

The lies spilled out of her mouth like a powerful rain stop in the spring. I knew she wanted to know if I met Gale. She could never know the truth. It's not like we would ever see each other again, they knew that it wasn't safe form them to talk to me anymore.