Hey guys, I'm finally back into the reading and writing mood, (Great Gatsby, one of the most boring books I've ever read) Anyways, I'm trying to be a bit more detailed, moving the story along further. Sooooo Enjoy! -MissWaffles101
Chapter 8: Awake
Once I finally got myself together, I stood up slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible. The last thing I'd really want to do is wake up Peeta. He really should sleep through the night, just so he can get even more rest and try to forget today. Even I wish I could forget today, so I guess I should get more sleep too. My symptoms have been clearing a little, so it's easier to move around. My body was finally at the right temperature, there wasn't so much stuffiness in my nose, and I even sounded like my old self again.
I walk away from the front door and into the kitchen, instantly craving some hot tea. When I boil the water, I go over to the table and stare at the box of medications my mother sent me. I kept reading all the different labels on the liquids and pills, hopefully not needing any more of them. We actually got more hours of sleep, so that was the best medication for us.
With a little more digging, I took out the puking vaccine, staring at the white label with the letter my mother instructed me to take in case I puked more. While rotating it I kept looking at the frothy white liquid inside, slushing around. It's so unusual for me to puke while having the flu, I know it's more common for kids. I put the needle back in the box and closed the cover tightly, trying to forget the visual I took.
There's just no reason to take it anymore. The drama's over, Peeta will completely forget about all of this once he wakes up. What I probably need to take is Peeta's frostbite vaccine. I opened the box up again and shuffled the medicine around again until I found another copy of his. Just in case, I stick it in my pocket, I might need it later if I start shaking.
If I puke again, I'll do it, for both of us. I shouldn't be scared of this sickness, I can't let it take over my whole body and time. I can do this. This isn't a problem. Sleep will take me over and I can relax with Peeta, and we'll both get through this. Together.
I woke up steamy and hot, sticking to our own bed. And it wasn't the room, it was me, because when I tapped the other side of the empty bed, it was nice and cold. Peeta must not have moved himself to our bed, unless he still needs to calm down, which is totally okay. He needs to relax, and so do I.
Carefully scooting out of bed, I placed my feet onto the cool ground, then stood up slowly. The windows were covered with a thin layer of snow and mist. I moved the curtains back to see the snow was still falling, but now in a blizzard way, just a light wind, with little clumps of snow falling gently from the sky.
I closed the curtains back and turned around when I saw Peeta standing in the doorway, arms crossed, still in his clothes from yesterday. His jaw and cheek were slightly bruised, showing a small color of purple and red across his face. He still seems tense, almost ready to just throw something at the wall, or someone.
With small, graceful steps, I walked over to him, until I was a foot away, he held his hand up, indicating I don't come any closer. His hand shook as he moved it back down, the chills are still in him.
"Don't," was all he said. His thoughts must be clouded over from yesterday, if he remembers anything. I felt so bad for him, he can't control any of this. Events that happen will bring his old memories back, and he just can't control himself. His episodes haven't happened for years, I must've triggered it, but you know what, never mind it all, it's over now. I'm leaving any of those moments in the past.
Suddenly I feel his surprisingly warm arms wrap around me, then his head buries into my shoulder, wetting my night shirt with warm teas. I tense up a bit, then relax as I wrap my arms back around his chest, actually feeling his warmness, his beating heart, and his smell of well- him. I bring my one arm up to stroke his messy, blonde curls as he breathes heavy into me. I coax him, shushing him and keep saying "it's okay," until he takes one deep breath to say something.
"I'm so sorry Katniss," he choked, trying to hold back his tears. I stroked the back of his head, feeling his warm hair. Now he was okay, safe, relaxed and in my comfort. The sickness probably went to his head or sucked him into it. Thomas must've brought back some memory too. Ugh, he's been under so much pressure, of course his memories would come back to haunt him. I don't know, I'm just glad he seems to be out of his episode, and hopefully it won't be happening again for a while.
I moved my arms up so my hands were on his shoulders, just so I could look him in the eye. Those dark, blue, sparkling eyes stirred over mine. His soft lips were pressed together, saying he's eager for me to say something. My thoughts moved into words forming through my mouth, speaking to him.
"It is not your fault, you've been under so much pressure lately, and your sickness just makes it worse. I should be saying sorry. I shouldn't have left the house, I should've just taken the medicine but I was just
so-" I started choking on my own words. It's come to me that I've been completely selfish, that all these problems have come out from me. I can't be like this, I've been selfish enough. This can't happen anymore. I push my own thoughts away as I focus back on Peeta, still coaxing him.
"It seems we're both under a lot of pressure. We just have to get our lives straight. None of this is going to influence anything, especially our relationship," I finish. He clenches his jaw, trying to take all that I told him in. The red and purple in his bruise moves as he moves his mouth.
"We're getting through this," he whispers. I nod, then a little faster.
"Yes, we are," I say a bit happier. "I'm not as stuffed up, I don't need to sleep as much, and neither do you!" A little smile creeps onto his face.
"Just remember, nothing is going to get between us, no sickness, and no-"I hesitate. "Episodes. We are going to be okay, and if it happens again, we'll just get through it. We're not going to run away from these problems anymore, okay? We're not going to let them take us over, we're going to face them," He nods.
"We're in this together, all through the way." he says. I look away from him then look back. The color in his face is actually regained, you could tell the blood was flowing in his face and arms. His eyes sparkled like they always did, he just seemed like-Peeta.
"Good, we'll start with this," And he brings me back up to his chest, and plants a kiss on my lips. I put my hands on his head, making him leave his lips on mine. They move in rhythmn with his, and soon my hands stroke ferociously through his hair, his hands stroke down my neck then my back, the touch making me shiver. He pulls back, keeping our foreheads together, so I keep my eyes locked in his.
Then he smiles, making my heart melt immediately. Suddenly, this sharp pain shoots up my whole arm, paralyzing it, and my smile disappears as soon as I feel it. I look over to see what struck through my arm to see Peeta push the needle in my arm. He takes it out and puts it back in his pocket. My eyes wander back to his and he smiles even bigger. My feelings become irritated at him again as I push him backon his shoulders. He looks hurt but he starts chuckling again/
"Peeta! Why did you do that? I didn't need it!" I yell at him. He walks forward a little and puts his hands on my shoulders, gripping them hard.
"You needed that, I knew you did, and you did too. Besides," he starts to chuckle a little more, releasing the grip on my shoulders "A bit of payback from the games never hurts,"
Oh I can't stay mad at this boy. That thought brings a little smile to my face. I start to chuckle a little too. I nudge him on his shoulder, making us laugh even harder. He wraps his arms around my waist and places his lips back on mine, kissing me passionately, and we stay like that in our own little world.
3 MONTHS LATER…
Peeta's P.O.V.
Katniss seems to have finally fallen asleep. No matter what she said, she never got any better, not back to her same self when she talked to me about getting through this a few months ago. Her fever was back, along with the chills she got occasionally. Luckily she wasn't puking anymore, but I knew her sickness didn't plan on going away for a little while longer.
It was about two in the morning when I got into bed with her. With as little sounds as possible, I slipped under the covers and looked at her. You could see the shininess of the sweat dripping down her forehead, it made me feel so bad for her. I don't know what she caught and why it wasn't going away. She looked so peaceful when she was asleep, far from the sickness that overtook her. I placed my hand gently on her head, stroking her hair away from her face, and kept doing so until I drifted off into sleep.
And it wasn't until a few minutes later I heard a large "thud" on the door.
I slipped out of bed without a sound, tip-toeing out of the room and down the stairs. This couldn't be anything, who would be at our door at 2:00 in the morning? I made it to the front door and tried to open the door without the squeaking and the gust of snow falling in our house, and my eyes feel on a brown box with an envelope addressed to us, no return label. I looked around our porch, in the falling snow, to see if anyone was out. Then I saw it. Two figures, huddled together, just leaving our driveway.
"Hey!" I yell. They stop for a second, then continue walking away, only faster.
"Wait up!" I yell again. They stop longer this time, then it looks like they turn around. All I can see is their figures, no faces or contact. I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn around, to see it's Katniss, groggy and awake, with her eyes barely open. Even sick, she was still perfect.
"Peeta what's going-" she starts to say, but I interupt her by turning her around in the directions of the stairs.
"Katniss, it's okay, just please go back to sleep," I beg. She turns around to face me, purses her lips and crosses her arms, trying to act wide awake.
"I'm not going back to bed until you tell me why you're out here," she says. I smile back at her, trying to enhance her mood.
"Well, it seems someone ordered something at 2:00 in the morning and got overnight express, and also requested it to be hand-delivered personally," Her face relaxes a little, but a smile does not form. She moves forward a little and looks out the door, snow falling on her face and drips on her eyelashes, not even minding.
"Seriously, is there someone out here?" And she finally sees who I see, still standing there, huddled together.
"Who is it out there?" She calls, and the figures immediately come over and back up our driveway. Once they're finally in the light, we notice they're-
"Delly? Thomas?" Katniss questions. They both gleam at us, to show how happy and awake they are, but with guilt. They both wear the same exact, navy blue, long raincoats. The hoods over both theiry heads are drenched with snow and water, along with the rest of the coat. Thomas has heavier duty boots on than Delly, combat and her yellow rainboots.
"Thomas?" I question. He's the last person I'd expect to be with Delly. I'm sure Delly put him up to it somehow. It seems Delly always has her door open around herer.
"Hey guys…." Delly start and drones off a bit. "We just brought this box of different medicines and treats to help you both feel better,"
"We didn't want to come over in the daytime, didn't know if you were sleeping or not," says Thomas. "But then of course, little Delly here has to slip and fall on your door, and I'm supposing you heard that," Delly shows a sad, apologetic smile. Katniss steps up a little.
"You guys," she says tiredly. "Thank you, this is way too much trouble just for a little sickness. Go home now, before either of you get frostbite,"
"Katniss you've been sick for months now, this isn't right," Delly says worriedly. Katniss rolls her eyes.
"Weeks, actually. Quit worrying so much," When she says that, I notice her starting to grip hard onto the door frame. She was that tired, so I started to wrap things up.
"Thank you guys, we'll try to keep in touch, no more coming here at midnight," They chuckle a little.
"We'll see you guys later," Thomas says, taking Delly's hand firmly, and starts to guide her down the stairs. I sigh and look back at Katniss, who almost looks drunk from her appearance. I put my hand on her face, removing strands of hair and tucking it back behind her ear.
"I think you need to go back to bed," I say. She smiles and chuckles a little. This wasn't the Katniss I knew at all. This sickness just keeps taking her over again and again.
Katniss P.O.V.
I felt like complete crap.
It was even worse that I was in that complete relaxed mood, making me look like a drunk bastard. My fingers gripped harder on the doorframe as Peeta shut the door, before too much snow got inside. He slowly took my hand away from the door as it shut completely. Then his grip became harder, moving down to my wrist.
"Let's get you back upstairs," he says calmly. I try to nod but end up throwing my head forward a bit too much, and immediately have the urge to throw up again. I run right for the bathroom, and nothing happened at first, it was only dry heaves. I leaned over the toilet until the feeling goes away. . Peeta rubs his hand around my back as I cough and sputtert, and right when I'm done, he picks me up like a baby, and carries me right upstairs, back to bed. Once he lays me down and tucks me in, he hovers over me with the most concerned expression on his face.
"That medicine must have some serious effects on you," he says he wipes his hand over my forehead, feeling how hot I was. My head felt like fire, and after he took his hand away, I could tell he could sense it too. He lets out a heavy sigh and looks at me again.
"Just get some sleep Katniss, you'll feel better in the morning," I nod a little and squeeze my eyes shut, then relax them to show Peeta I've fallen asleep quickly. I had no feeling of sleep in my whole body, no matter how sick I was. My whole body ached with heat, making it impossible for me to sleep. I felt Peeta's body snuggle into mine, his arm draped over my shoulder.
"You'll be okay," he mumbles to himself, and keeps whispering it until he's fully asleep. I open my eyes again and look around our room. The curtains drape shadows in the backround, the wind whispering us to sleep, and occasionally splattering ice on our window. The dresser stands alone on the wall, the mirror staring back at us. Looking at that mirror made me see how tired and relaxed Peeta was, even a little younger. I wish he wouldn't have to put up with me anymore. He's not saying but I know he's tired of me being sick.
I look down at his unmoving arm and slowly starting stroking his arm, down to his fingertips. I clasped my fingers into his and went into a restless sleep.
Hey guys, I didn't post this chapter very quickly because I wanted it to be just right! I hope you guys liked it, and I already got ideas for the next chapter. Happy Reading-MissWaffles101
