Chapter 6 – I Want To Know What Love Is (Foreigner)

Somehow they were both able to get up, exit the rink, and hobble over to a bench. They were seated when Prim rushed over.

"I saw the crash," she said. "Are you alright?"

"I'm okay," Katniss said. She turned to Peeta. Her brow was furrowed. "How is your leg? The one I fell on."

"It's a bit sore." He grimaced.

"Let me check it out," Prim said. She put both sides of her hands on his left thigh and moved them slowly down his leg. She felt gently around his kneecap. "Does this feel tender?"

"A little, but it feels okay when I'm sitting," he said. "It really hurt when I walked over here, though."

"Try to walk on it now," Prim said.

Peeta got up. He took a few steps forward, then returned to the bench. He frowned. "It's not good."

"You need to elevate your leg and ice it," Prim said. She turned to Katniss. "We should probably leave. Let me find Posy and say goodbye first." She scanned the rink looking for her friend.

"Tell Madge and Gale, too, if you see them," Katniss called, as Prim walked toward the entrance of the skating floor.

"I'm so sorry I fell on your leg," Katniss apologized. This is awful, she thought. Will he even be able to drive his car?

"It was an accident," Peeta said. "And you're not that heavy. Not much more than a sack of flour anyway."

Katniss frowned.

"That was meant to be a joke." Peeta tried to cheer her up.

"I just feel really bad about it."

"Don't be, really it's okay."

"No, it's not," she sighed. "But I can't change it now."

A few minutes later Prim returned. "We can go. I said goodbye to everyone."

Peeta slowly limped out of the building.

"Give me your keys," Katniss said. "I'll drive."

Peeta started to argue against it, but Prim chimed in.

"It's not safe for you to be driving a manual transmission with your leg in that shape."

He pulled the keys from his pocket and handed them to Katniss. "Be careful, I'm still making payments on it."

Katniss rolled her eyes. "I'll keep that in mind."

She drove very slowly back to the apartment she shared with her sister. Prim exited Peeta's car and got into Katniss' car to follow them to Peeta's house.

"Where do you live?" Katniss asked.

"I'm house-sitting for my parents. You can take me there."

She followed his directions as she drove on the freeway for a couple of miles before exiting and traveling through tree-lined streets. She checked the rearview mirror periodically to be sure Prim was still behind her.

A sinking feeling settled over her as she drove through what was once her old neighborhood. The houses, the street names, everything reminded her of her childhood. A life of ease and comfort, before her father died and everything had ended.

She wondered what type of person she'd be now if that Katniss Everdeen had survived. Probably very different from the person I am now. Her thoughts were interrupted when Peeta pointed out their old elementary school up ahead.

"Lots of good memories there," Peeta said.

"Some," Katniss agreed. But the good ones were overwhelmed by the bad. Getting called out of class with her sister to learn that her father had been rushed to the hospital. Returning to school after the funeral and not knowing how to react to the attention of others. Sitting in class with an aching stomach because she and Prim had begun rationing the little food they could find in the house. She knew she could have told a teacher or some adult at the school about her mother. But then, she and Prim would have been removed from their home, maybe even from each other. She couldn't bear that, not after the loss of her father.

"Turn left at the corner," Peeta directed. "Follow this street to the top of the hill. My parents live at the very top."

"Okay," Katniss shifted the car down into second gear as she drove up the steep road.

"You can park in the driveway."

At the top of the hill was a large Spanish-style house with an expansive front lawn. Even though it was dark, Katniss could see that the house was quite lavish. She pulled the car into the narrow driveway, turned off the engine, and put on the emergency brake. Prim parked Katniss' car by the curb in front.

"Thanks for the ride," Peeta said as Katniss handed him his car keys. "I can take it from here."

"Okay, are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Yeah."

Prim, who had exited the other car, rushed to Peeta's side. "Let's get you inside and get some ice."

"That's not necessary," Peeta insisted.

"Sure it is." Prim began walking to the front door. Peeta frowned and limped after Prim.

"You really live here?" Prim asked. "This place is…huge."

Peeta laughed. "This is my parents' house. My place is about the same size as yours and Katniss'."

"Where are your parents?" Prim asked.

Katniss shot her a look. "Too nosy," she mouthed to Prim.

"They're in the desert," he answered. "My mom needs some rest."

He opened the door and the two women walked in. Peeta followed and shut the door after turning on the entryway light. The living room looked like something out of a magazine. It was beautifully decorated with oversized white couches and chairs. The coffee table and side tables were made of oak. In the corner of the room was a large built-in bar that was fully stocked with a wide variety of liquor bottles on display.

"Do your parents have a lot of parties?" Prim asked, staring on the bar.

"No. That's my mom's personal collection." Peeta sounded irritated.

"Oh," Prim muttered. The tone of her voice changed. "Where is the kitchen so I can get some ice?"

"In there." Peeta pointed off to the right.

Prim left the room.

"Thanks for humoring her Peeta," Katniss said. "She's only been pre-med for a year, but she takes it so seriously."

"I can see."

He looked a little uneasy and Katniss wondered if his leg was hurting.

"Maybe you should take something for the pain."

"I might."

"Look if it hurts too much, please call me. I can drive you to a doctor so you can get it checked out."

Peeta smiled. "I'll be fine, but thanks for the offer."

"Look what I found," Prim said as she walked into the room holding a plastic bag filled with ice. Next to Prim was the world's ugliest cat.

"He hissed at me the entire time I was getting the ice," Prim said.

Peeta laughed. "Buttercup is my mom's cat. He guards Mom's ice with a vengeance."

"Don't worry, I refilled the ice trays," Prim replied. "Last week I dissected a cat," she added. "It was very interesting."

"We really don't want to hear about that Prim," Katniss added. "We should go now."

Prim handed the bag of ice to Peeta and gave him some final instructions, before walking to the door.

"Goodnight," Katniss said. She kissed Peeta's check and followed her sister out.

As Katniss drove herself and her sister home, Prim chatted away. "Peeta's mom must have a serious drinking problem. She's probably at the Betty Ford Center drying out."

"Prim that's a terrible thing to say," Katniss said. "You don't know that."

"Judging from the size of her alcohol collection, I'd say that's an accurate guess."

Katniss didn't say anything. She suspected Prim could be right. But she'd think about that later. Instead she was wondering whether Peeta was angry with her for falling onto his leg. He hadn't really encouraged them to come inside. Prim had been kind of pushy, in a nice way of course, about going in.

She felt terrible about the skating accident. Like she owed him big time now. She hated owing people.

Peeta lay on the white couch with an ice pack sitting on his left leg. He was a terrible skater and now he was injured. Katniss must think he was such a klutz. Guys twice her size had pinned him in high school wrestling meets without injury and now she falls on him and his leg is injured. He'd only agreed to go because he was flattered that Katniss had invited him. If she was introducing him to her sister and some of her friends, it must mean she liked him. It was so amazing that the girl he had such a huge crush on all throughout elementary school would suddenly reappear in his life. And she was even prettier than he remembered.

He glanced around the large living room. He could tell how the atmosphere had changed once the two sisters noticed the vast amount of alcohol displayed in the corner of the room. He was embarrassed they saw it. He hoped it wasn't a painful reminder to them of how their father died. Because it certainly was a painful reminder to him about the way his mother lived. He shouldn't have even brought them into the main house. He should have taken them into the guest house in the back where he lived. But there was no ice in his house at all. Anyway he was worried it would make him look weird to still be living in his parent's backyard, especially when Katniss and her sister were out on their own.

Of course he had his reasons. With his mom's problems it was easier this way. Between him and his dad they could keep her in check. It's not like his brothers were much help.

He sighed. He couldn't figure out exactly where he stood with Katniss Everdeen. He didn't want her pity.

It was late when Katniss and Prim got home. The phone was ringing when they opened the door and Katniss ran to answer it.

Is it Peeta? she wondered. But when she picked up the phone, her mother's voice called out, "Where have you been? I've been so worried."

"What's wrong Mom?" Katniss asked. It was unusual for her mother to be this upset without cause.

"There was another murder by The Night Stalker just a few blocks from your apartment tonight."

Katniss shivered. Los Angles had been experiencing a rash of serial murders over the past few months. Someone was breaking into the homes of mostly women, then raping and killing them. The local newspapers had dubbed the killer, "The Night Stalker." Initially the killings were done months apart, but the killer was getting bolder now. Murders were occurring more frequently. Even people who didn't follow the news much were beginning to talk about it. The weather was getting warmer, and many people in the Los Angeles area were afraid to keep their windows open at night.

"We're fine," Katniss told her mom. "Prim and I were out skating. We just walked in the door."

"Well lock your door and windows, he could still be in your neighborhood."

"We will Mom."

Sunday afternoon, Katniss called Peeta to see how he was doing. No answer, but she wasn't surprised. She only had the phone number for his place, not his parent's house. She tried calling Gale to see what he thought of Madge. But Gale wasn't home either. She called Madge. She was out too. She left a message on all of their answering machines, then told Prim she was going out for her usual Sunday hike.

Prim nodded. She sat hunched over the desk, memorizing the names of every muscle in the human body.

Katniss drove her car to a residential neighborhood that bordered the 405 Freeway and parked. There was a hole in the fence that ran alongside the freeway where she could gain access to the Santa Monica Mountains. She crawled underneath a loose part of the chain link. She took care not to scratch her bare legs or snag her long braid in the sharp end of the metal. Once she was under, she walked over the rocky terrain to the start of one of her favorite trails. It led back toward the Valley.

She occasionally encountered runners and even some mountain bikes on it, but today it was empty. She was glad. The solitude of the surroundings helped to clear her mind.

Much as she enjoyed her job, it was here in the outdoors that she truly felt like herself. In the back of her mind was the nagging fear that over time she'd eventually turn into another Effie Trinket, a high-strung, annoying woman who drove everyone crazy in her attempt to manage people and events.

She hoped that wouldn't happen.