this chapter is dedicated to peetame for being an awesome reader =)
Chapter 7
"Wear protection!" He shouts when he's out of sight.
Katniss's eyes are wide and her cheeks are a deep shade of red.
"Katniss, I don't plan on doing, you know, 'it.' I'm not like that." She nods.
"Let's go. If we wait too long, Gale's going to assume things." Katniss nudges my elbow and we start walking in silence. It's peaceful and pleasant. I wonder how she feels about me now. She better break up with that animal, Cato. I disliked him, but now I hate him with every fiber in my being.
She takes out her phone and reads something on the screen. She stumbles and I grab her before she can actually fall. "Thanks." She mutters.
"What happened?"
"Nothing." I raise my eyebrows. "Nothing! I'm fine." There are tears in her eyes.
"No. You're not fine. What's going on?"
"Nothing, Peeta." She tries to give me a reassuring smile, but it is quite a failure of a smile.
"Katniss." She looks away. I put my hand on her cheek and she looks back at me. Tears are streaming down her face. "What's wrong?"
"Can we just go? I'll tell you later." She cries.
I nod and start walking, but she doesn't follow. "Can you walk?" I ask, hoping not to sound too harsh. I go back to her and raise my eyebrows again. She shakes her head and holds her arms up to me. "Apparently not." I shake my head and lift her up into my arms. I carry her bridal style the rest of the way. She lays her head on my chest and wraps her arms around my neck.
I carry Katniss back to Gale and the girls. By the time we get down there, Katniss's breathing has evened out and her tears have stopped.
"Dude! That was quick!" Gale shouts.
I kick his shin. "She's sleeping." I whisper.
Gale nods, but then stops and stares at something behind my head. "Peeta, what happened to her wrists?"
"What do you mean?"
"Here," Gale holds his arms out and I pass Katniss off to him. "Look at her wrists."
I hold up Katniss's arm. There are red marks and bruises all over it. Some of the red marks look like somebody's nails were dug into her skin. Madge speaks up, "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything!" I say loudly. Katniss stirs, but stays asleep. She clings tighter to Gale, probably still thinking it's me. He starts to look uncomfortable and I take her back. "I just didn't notice them before. Plus, they would still be bleeding if I did it."
"Good point." Madge frowns.
My eyes widen. Did Cato do this? "You don't think-"
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" I swing my head around. Cato's deep voice lingers in the air.
I shake Katniss awake. She lifts her head. "Hey Peeta." She smiles and snuggles closer to me. "Why is everyone so quiet?"
"Hey Kitty." Katniss jumps out of my arms at the sound of Cato's voice. She hides behind me and grabs my arm.
"Go away, Cato." She says shakily.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Kitty."
"Stop calling me that!"
Cato's face softens a little. Somewhere in his eyes, I see that he's hurt. "What?"
Katniss steps out from behind me. "I'm done, Cato." She crosses her arms.
"No." His jaw clenches.
"Yes."
"It's this guy isn't it?" He gestures to me. "You're fucking him aren't you?"
"I'm not fucking him, Cato." She keeps the same calm and authoritive tone that she began with.
"Not anymore. You're mine." He reaches out to grab her wrist. "I'm going to fuck you again. And again, and again. Nobody is going to hear you scream and cry for help." She tries to fight her way out of his grasp.
"That's it." I push Cato away from her and punch him in the jaw. "Get the fuck away from her."
"Hell no. She doesn't want you, don't you get it? You'll never have her!"
"She's a person, not a possession! You can't just claim her!"
"Oh yeah?" He swings at me and I dodge it. He narrows his eyes. "Well, I'll take her and fuck her right in front of you. You won't be able to stop me or help her."
I swing at him. My fist connects with the other side of his face and he stumbles back. I look back to everyone else. "Go to the car! Now!" Everyone but Gale hurries off. "Gale, you should go."
"No way! I want to beat the shit out of this dude too." He grins.
Gale and I sprint outside and see Katniss, Madge, and Rue in Katniss's car. Katniss is sitting in the passenger seat and the driver's seat is vacant. I run in and start the car. Gale shouts something and falls into the back seat onto Madge and Rue. I back up and start driving away. "Where the hell are we going?" He yells.
"We could go to my dad's cabin in the mountains! He said I could use it anytime I want as long as he's not there with mom."
By the time we are about ten minutes away, everyone but Katniss and I are asleep. "Is your face okay?" She asks.
"My face?" I look in the mirror and I have a few cuts here and there. I've seen worse, so it's not a big deal. "Yeah, I'm fine. So, what did you want to tell me earlier?"
"Oh, never mind. It doesn't matter anymore. Cato was coming either way."
"You knew he was coming?"
"Yeah, I couldn't do anything about it."
I shrug it off, it isn't anything to hold a grudge on.
I sigh. "When did he do that to your wrists?" I look at her left arm. There is new blood on it from where Cato grabbed her.
"When he raped me." She says quietly. "But it's not the first time he hurt me like this."
"Why didn't you break up with him?"
"I've been dreading the moment you would ask that question, but you have a right to know."
there's the chapter! It took a while for me to get writing. this chapter was kinda boring when I wrote it, but I think it worked out okay…
