To Live Again
Ch. 7: Flashback
On our next phone session, I tell Dr. Aurelius about my conversation with Peeta. He asks if I had thought of a way I could help keep the memories, and I find myself talking about our family plant book when a light bulb goes off inside me.
"Maybe I could write everything down, like that book," I tell him. He seems impressed with the idea and says that when I'm ready to persue the idea further to let him know. As I hang up the phone, it begins to ring almost immediately afterwards. Thinking Dr. Aurelius was calling back because he forgot to say something, or because he was looking for Peeta, I answered it, only to find Plutarch Heavensbee on the other line.
"Katniss, glad I could finally catch you! You're quite the hard one to get a hold of," Plutarch says. I'm so surprised by the call that I don't even know what to say. There were reasons I had been avoiding my phone, and finding people like him on the other line was one of them. "I was calling to see if you, Peeta, and Haymich could attend a dinner I'm having in a few weeks. Nothing fancy, just a gathering at my house…" He goes on to describe the details as I try to think of a way to say no. One dinner with him would also mean hundreds of photographs, interviews, and possibly even seeing Gale. "Too bad the appearance for my new singing show didn't work out. Haymich said-"
"You talked to Haymich?" I interrupt to ask.
"Why yes, a couple of months ago. He said you were ill and wouldn't be able to appear. You're better now, I presume?" It takes me a couple of seconds to gather my thoughts before I just agree and say yes. "So, what to do you say? When shall I have a hovercraft pick you all up?"
"Let me talk to Peeta and Haymich, and I'll get back to you," I say and quickly hang up the phone. I couldn't go to the Capitol. No way. I would never go back if I could help it. Even if it wasn't at the Capitol and in some other district, I wasn't planning on ever seeing Plutarch and the others again either. As my chest tightens and I begin to panic, I run across the street and barge into Haymich's house. He's passed out on the couch but wakes up between the door slamming and my calls.
"What is it, sweetheart?" He asks as he sits up and rubs his eyes.
"You didn't tell me you talked to Plutarch," I say. Haymich looks confused so I add on, "I just talked to him on the phone. I accidentally answered when he called."
"I didn't think you needed to know. He may not know it, but I know you never want to see the man again," He replies as he begins to understand what happened. I bring him some water to help sober him up. "What did he want now?"
"He wants you, Peeta, and myself to attend some dinner he's having. I was too surprised that he called that I told him I would get back to him." I was originally semi-angered that Haymich hadn't told me about Plutarch, but I realized that I would rather have him deal with Plutarch than me. "Can you talk to him again?" I ask as I sit down on the couch and take a few deep breaths. It takes him a few seconds to get up and go to the phone. As I sit and wait, I can hear the mumbles of his voice, but no yelling.
No more than a two minutes later, he returns and says, "You're off the hook," with a smirk.
"What did you tell him?" I ask, wanting to know if he had to make up a lie or just told the poor man I couldn't stand him.
"I told him that you and Peeta had been through a lot, you needed some time, and that you weren't ready to attend the dinner."
"Much better than I could have said it," I smirk too.
"You're welcome." As Haymich decided to break open another bottle of alcohol, I decided to head home. Before I got there, I decide to stop by Peeta's house and tell him about the idea for the book. I knock before going inside, but it's absolutely silent when I walk in.
"Peeta, are you here?" I call as I check to see if he's napping on the couch or something. I'm about to leave when I hear him moving upstairs. His artificial leg had a very distinct sound to it. He must have been too involved in his painting to hear me come in. "Hey, Peeta, boy did we luck out today," I tell him as I climb the stairs. "I got a call from Plutarch, and let's just stay that Haymich saved our butts." When I find Peeta in his painting room, I know that something is off. He is crouched down in the corner, his latest canvass of the primrose bushes is on the floor, along with some knocked over paint.
"Peeta?" I whisper as I take a step closer, unsure if I should run out the door or stay. He responds to his name, but when he turns around to look at me, his eyes are cloudy and pupils dilated. He's in the middle of a flashback.
I'm almost sure I should just leave before I stop myself. If Peeta had been helping me with my nightmares, the least I could do was try to get him out of this.
"Peeta, it's me, Katniss." I can see him start to struggle with himself, caught in-between being the Peeta he wants to be versus the one that Snow made him. "You're okay," I tell him calmly as I inch forward. This makes him nervous and he begins to move towards me. His breathing becomes ragged and I quickly look around for something I can use against him in case he attacks. "We're home in District Twelve. Snow is dead. We're free. C'mon, Peeta. Stay with me..." And just when I think he's about to snap in a bad way, he closes his eyes, lets out a gasp, collapses to the floor, and he's back to normal.
"Katniss?" He questions as he sees me standing a few feet away from him. As he looks around and realizes what has just happened, his eyes go wide as he looks to me and says, "I didn't…"
"No, you didn't hurt me," I shake my head. "Sorry, I just came by to tell you something and didn't know…" He lets out a sigh of relief and leans against the wall. "Are you all right?" I ask as I come and sit next to him. He nods, but I know better. I get him a glass of water and begin cleaning up some of the spilt paint.
"You don't need to do this," He finally breaks the silence as he moves over to help me. "You should have just left me here."
"That wouldn't have been fair. No more shutting each other out, right?"
He smiles, nods, and asks, "What was it you wanted to tell me?"
"You know what? It can wait. Why don't we get out of here for a bit?" I suggest. I can tell he's surprised by my offer, especially after what just happened. "I think I know just the spot."
