Peeta's POV
I sat down in Annie and Finnick's living room for the annual Christmas party. The day before Christmas eve, I'd be going to my parents for Christmas, which meant a whole day of driving the next day to get there before Christmas mass.
I sat boredly watching the TV fire-place on the arm of the sofa. It was still early in the day but I was already tired. We have this Christmas party from nine in the morning until about midnight every year, it's our big thing that we all celebrate together.
"Why so down?" Annie asked walking up to me he hand over her hardly noticeable stomach.
"I just can't stop thinking about Katniss." I sighed bringing the thought back into my mind. "I can't believe I just let her run away like that."
"Listen Peeta, I'm worried about her too but she'll talk us eventually." Annie assured me.
"I guess," I shrugged not convinced. "I just feel so bad."
"Hey you were just concerned for her." Annie said, "She just didn't react optimally. Sure, it could have gone better, but it could have been worse." She was wrong, things were as bad as they could be. None of us knew it yet, but things would get much worse in the next few hours.
"Peeta, wine?" Finnick called. I walked over and poured wine with him, "Get drunk, keeps your mind off things." He said clanging glasses with me.
"Not necessarily." I said.
"Let it." Finnick laughed after taking a sip.
"And really this early? It's nine-forty dude."
"So?"
"I have a whole stock of whiskey at home if you need it Peeta. You're not my employee you can drink it legally." Haymitch said walking into the living room.
"Thanks Haymitch, appreciate it."
"Peeta, my whore!" Johanna called out, "When you get back, I'm taking you to a strip club."
"Um..."
"Not for you, for me."
"Alright."
"Come on kid that joke always gets me a smile." She nudged me.
"I'm not feeling it today." I shrugged.
"Peeta Mellark is never unhappy at Christmas." Finnick said. "You are Christmas spirit. For fuck sake!"
"I let my girlfriend run away from me in the snow." I said putting my glass down on the counter. "I just let her run off."
"Hey we all make mistakes." Annie said.
"I guess." I said not convinced.
"Stop blaming yourself for something that you don't know happened." Annie said.
"I can't what if she didn't get home?"
"She's a big girl Peeta she made it home." Johanna assured me taking her own glass of wine.
"I know, I'm just really worried."
"You have the right to be." Annie said.
"Let's do something," Finnick said.
"Like what?" I asked.
"Beer pong?" Johanna asked.
"Too early Jo." I said.
"Hey change the channel guys, we have a real fireplace for a reason." Annie said to Cato and Clove.
"Yes ma'am, if we knew how to work the remote." Clove said.
We all sat down on the couch and watched Cato try to work the remote. I stared absentmindedly at the screen, when suddenly Katniss's face replaced the fire. She stood in the middle of an empty field and looked to be laughing.
"Wait, leave it." Finnick of all people spoke up.
"Turn up the volume." Boggs said to Cato.
"Take a look at this girl," The image changed to another few pictures of her laughing and generally looking happy. "she is twenty-four years old. She is bilingual, she has a master's degree in Foreign affairs." An image of Katniss in a cap and gown with her two degrees in hand popped up on the TV. Then an image of her with a school sweat-shirt faded into view.
"She also happens to be a national title winner in horseback riding." A picture of her with trophies and medals standing next to a horse appeared, "She works for one of the biggest corporations in the United States and she owns her family's breeding farm." A picture of her with an acceptance letter in hand, before a picture of her with her sister appeared.
We all looked at each other. Why was her face plastered to national news?
Before anyone could contemplate the question asked, the TV flashed to a man standing in front of a large farm-house, "Now what if I told you that same girl was held captive in her own home not a few hours ago? The twenty-four year old, Katniss Everdeen did just that."
We all glanced nervously at one another, each of us sat up taller. But no one uttered a word.
"This morning the twenty-four year old, flew back into her home state Montana at around midnight. A whole ten hours before her intended arrival."
Annie's hand raised to her mouth. Finnick's grip on her waist tightened. I watched the screen begging for answers.
"She arrived here, at her family's farm at two-thirty this morning, authorities say, when she heard noise coming from the upper level of her home. She investigated and found her younger sister Primrose Everdeen pinned underneath the weight of their mother and a knife held to the girls' throat."
All of us again glanced around the room to see what the others were doing. Could this be true? Could this have happened to someone we know?
"The twenty-four year old distracted the mother long enough for the young Primrose Everdeen to run. Their mother then pulled a knife on the twenty-four year old as Primrose went for help. The sixteen year old ran a total of six miles to the closest home where she then called the police."
"A knife?" Clove asked, "Why would her mom...?" Cato silenced her by gripping her to him. The end of a recent argument I had only assumed.
"This is not the first time the girls have been through assault charges and been on the crime scene. In 1992, the girl's father, the late owner of this very farm, was shot and killed in a bar fight. Not two years later, in 1994, the girl's mother assaulted the two sisters."
"Her triggers..." Boggs muttered.
"While Katniss called the police, the mother cut up the younger siblings legs." A picture of a blonde eight year old with gashes along her legs appeared.
"Oh my god," Annie gasped nestling further into Finnick's chest.
Ginger and Rue gripped one another's hands. How they managed to still be standing I didn't know. They both had younger siblings they could both feel the hurt of seeing them injured. Not to the extent little Prim had received by a long shot.
"Then in an attempt to thwart her mother's attack, Katniss jumped on top of her mother. Her arms were then clawed at in the same way until authorities arrived." A picture of Katniss with bleeding arms.
"Her scars." I whispered.
"Knife cuts." Johanna sighed. Haymitch stood cold and unreadable. Beetee sat as if calculating her cuts. Glimmer was crying, and Thresh watched only after blinking away any trace of emotion.
"At the time the mother had first been diagnosed with schizophrenia; a psychotic disorder characterized by loss of contact with the environment, by noticeable deterioration in the level of functioning in everyday life, and by disintegration of personality expressed as disorder of feeling, thought, perception, and behavior. Normal side effects of this disease are hallucination- seeing things that aren't really there- and hearing what most patients refer to as, voices telling them to commit certain acts."
We all sat in a self-sustaining silence. Some of us in pain, some in grief. Me? I only felt the pang of immortal regret. Regret that would never fully go away.
"She was taken into police custody and committed to a mental institution. A custody battle ensued for Katniss to remain her younger sister's legal guardian, which was won by the teenager in 1995. According to investigators and hospital records the girls' mother was released from the mental institution last week as they believed her to be cured.
"I'll be right back with Chief of police-" Cato muted it as commercials came on to taunt us with the lack of information.
"Oh my god..." I was the first to break the barrier of silence, "I'm such an asshole."
"You aren't the only one bud." Finnick assured me, "I'm just a prick who set her off."
"Hey how were we supposed to know her mother had schizophrenia? That's not something you can just talk about to people you've known for six months." Clove said. "She shouldn't have had to say anything." Clove add quietly at the end.
"Annie," Finnick said softly pulling his crying wife out of his chest.
"I didn't think it was that bad Finn." She said clasping her mouth.
"I know honey." He assured her kissing her head. I wish I could have told Katniss that. I wish I could have held her and told her everything would be okay. I didn't even know what was happening to her at that moment.
Haymitch sat down rubbing his face, his employees were like his kids. I couldn't imagine he'd known anything about this. By the look on his face it hurt him too.
"I'm so sorry, Peeta." Annie said gripping at my hand. I said nothing but held on to Annie equally hard.
"Guys it's back on." Cato said turning up the sound.
"I'm now with the chief of police who has the full story of today's events. Good morning." The reporter greeted a tall police officer, "Could you tell us exactly what happened to the victim?"
"Well after the witness ran away, it seems the attacker threw the victim into the master bedroom breaking the door off its hinges. It seems like the victim struggled for a bit before receiving a scrape to the right side of her face." The broken door was shown, how her body had done that? I wasn't sure.
"Then the attacker ordered the victim to close and lock the front door. Then it seems she cut the left upper arm down to the elbow before dragging the girl up the stairs."
They showed pictures of the blood stained staircase. That was hard to look at and not look away.
"At some point the victim and the attacker made it into the hallway where we believe she slashed open the victims leg. That was when police arrived on scene."
"And what did you do?" The reporter asked.
"We called the phone, as we do with most hostage situations. But the victim picked up the phone and gave us her name. I have the recording here." We watched as he moved to a tape recorder. As he turned it on, I feared what I would soon be hearing.
"He-hello?" That couldn't have been Katniss. Her voice was far too small, too distant. The voice was too timid. She was too afraid to be my Katniss. But it was.
"Who is this?"
"Katniss Everdeen." Her voice still so small and afraid.
"You're a hostage, we're going to do everything we can to get you out unharmed."
"I'm already hurt."
"What?"
"She-"
"Give it to me!... Listen closely." There it was, the sound of a knife hitting a bone. No one in the room moved, Katniss's ragged breath broke the barrier of silence. "Trying not to cry?" Her mother sounded so cruel and hateful. "Come on baby girl, SCREAM!"
I'll never forget that scream as long as I live. The sheer terror and agony in one movement of vocal cords. It was the most bloodcurdling sound I will ever hear in my life.
We heard gasping in the living room. Clove gripped her mouth to close as she cried. Annie looked sick, like she'd vomit at any moment.
Ginger and Rue held each other tightly afraid to let go. Haymitch shielded his eyes from the TV. Thresh let a tear roll down his cheek.
Cato tried to hush Clove by smoothing down her hair, but even his hands trembled.
Beetee and Boggs sat in their chairs with closed eyes.
I'd never felt so alone in my entire life. Even as Annie's hand squeezed mine, I was alone.
"That's mama's baby girl." I swallowed the bile, that woman sent to my mouth. How could someone's mother, schizophrenic or not, do that to their kid? "Always so good at following orders. And even now you won't cry? Mama raised you right."
I wanted to personally strangle that woman. The police officer turned off the recording and continued to talk.
"That was when we kicked down the door and made the arrest." He sighed, "We found the victim had a foot long cut down from her rib cage to her pubic bone. There were cut up organs, blood in just about every inch of her body cavity. The whole nine yards."
All of us fought images of Katniss's gnarled body from our minds.
"We're awaiting an airlift as we speak, paramedics are packing her with gauze, looking for heart murmurs-"
"So the victim is still inside?"
"Yes."
"How will this affect the safety of the town?"
"Honestly? Not much everyone has known about the Everdeen's mother since it happened. They knew she was off her rocker and this won't make anyone feel insecure. However it will bring the town together."
"How so?"
"The people here, myself included, have known this girl since her mother was pregnant with her. She's a huge part of this town and everyone will do their best to help in any way they can."
"Thank you for your time." The reporter said so the officer could leave, "Other officials are stating the twenty-four year old is in critical condition and is in desperate need of medical attention. We'll be right back with some locals-" Cato muted the TV again as commercials came on.
"I can't..." Annie said and left the room, Finnick trailing close behind.
"It's alright Clove." Cato whispered just loud enough for me to hear. She cried into him without effort. Tears were just there as she needed them. She didn't have to work for them, showing me that Katniss and her truly were close.
"Peeta?" A soft hand rubbed my shoulder. "Are you okay?" It was Rue, Ginger next to her.
I didn't speak, I just shook my head no. She hugged me, she didn't say anything just a hug.
When it came back on Cato turned up the volume, "How is the community handling this incident?"
"It's a really sad day for everyone here, it is an actual tragedy for us. We love her so much, I work here in the summer for volunteer hours. She's always been here, always so dedicated and kind. She's understanding, if I have a problem she's there you know?
"She is such a big part of the community here, we cannot be more devastated by this."
"What kind of effect do you think this occurrence will have on the community?"
The girl on-screen stared off at the house.
"Ma'am?"
"Oh my god that's her." The girl said. The camera turned to a bloody gauzed up body rolling out on a gurney. That couldn't be Katniss, it couldn't be.
"Katniss!" Someone shouted off-screen. A blonde girl rushed through the line of police to reach the body. She was stopped by a police officer who handed her off to a man who held the girl close.
"Is that the sister of the victim?"
"Yes..." The woman was crying then, "Excuse me... Prim!" She shouted and ran to hug the girl.
I got up off the couch and headed to the door.
"Peeta where are you going?" Haymitch asked.
"I can't just sit here." I said, "I-... I have to-"
"You aren't going anywhere." Finnick said coming down the stairs. "We're all going to sort this out."
"What is there to sort out?" I asked as Annie walked down the stairs. "I just, I need to go."
"Peeta, I think I want to go too." Annie said.
"Annie, are you sure, you were just sick a moment ago." Finnick said taking her hand.
"Finn honey, she needs all the support we can give."
"If you all are going I'm going too." Johanna said.
"Same." Clove stepped forward.
"If Clove is going I'm going." Cato said.
"Family trip huh?" Thresh asked bitterly not trying to be funny but to me it was, "I'll go too."
"Us too." Ginger said.
"Well someone's go to keep you kids in line." Haymitch said. "Beetee Boggs, we're going to keep these kids in line."
"Yes sir." Boggs saluted.
"They're taking her to Montana Central Hospital near Lewistown. There's an airport there." Glimmer said reading the information on the TV.
"Call the airport see when you can get booked, call us back when you have your flight." Finnick said. I walked quickly out to my car and pulled out my phone from the back seat. My Christmas present from her still sat in the back.
I had one thing to do the moment I got in, call the airport. I knew the number well, from all the traveling I used to do. Before Rye died, "Seattle international airport how may I help you?"
"Excuse me, I was wondering if you had any flights to Lewistown, Montana."
"We have one seat open on this afternoons flight would you like me to reserve it for you?"
"Yes please."
"Name?"
"Peeta Mellark." She asked me about payment and a few other things before saying.
"Alright you're all set to fly out at one o'clock this afternoon." It was just barely noon. Normally the Christmas party at Annie and Finnick's would have lasted well into the night. I was upset it hadn't this time.
As I pulled up to my house I checked in with Annie and Finnick, they and most of everyone else had a flight for that night at six fifteen.
Annie was worried for me since I hadn't been on a plane since Rye's death. I told her I'd be fine, in hindsight I was too distracted with worry to care about flying.
I quickly packed away five shirts and pants when my mom called.
"Mom I'm in a bit of a rush what is it?"
"I was just wondering what all the fuss was about. I accidentally dialed Finnick a few minutes ago and he said something had happened."
"Mom turn on your TV, it's all over the news."
"What happened?" She asked as I packed my remaining things. Just essentials like a tooth-brush and tooth paste.
"Katniss is hurt. I'm flying out today."
"What happened? Is she alright?"
"Mom it's too complicated look it up online, that's why we have internet now. Get dad to help you."
"Is it that serious?"
"She's in critical condition mom." I said racing down the stairs and into my car. Though I'm not proud I sped the whole way to the airport. Sure I had forty-five minutes but I panicked.
"Well I'll look it up, be safe honey."
"Thanks mom." I checked in quickly, and got through security with just under ten minutes to spare.
Not five minutes after I had reached my terminal, my plane began to board and so I got on.
I sat for an hour thinking hard about what I would be seeing when I got in. I wondered if she was alright. If she was in surgery, even wondering if she was dead.
"Hey, want some?" The guy next to me offered me gum.
"Thanks." I said.
"You look tense." He said.
"A bit."
"Flying out for a family issue?"
"Yeah,"
"And this close to Christmas... I'm sorry."
"Thanks, what are you flying for?"
"To see my kid." He smiled. "Her mom's had her most of the year. I only get to see her on holidays because of work." I nodded. "I think we'll be closer this year. I heard about what happened in that small town with the stab victim. Breaks my heart someone's parent would do that to them."
Without thinking I said, "That's my girlfriend."
"Who? The girl who was stabbed?"
"Yeah," I said, "Crazy thing is I didn't even know anything about her parents until today. She wouldn't tell me. I thought you know, it was something to do with me. But I guess it didn't. I just... I just want to know she's okay, you know?"
I didn't mean to talk like that I just kind of did. "I can't even imagine. I'm sorry."
"I am too." We landed then. I collected my bag swiftly and went to the hotel I had quickly rented a room from before taking off in Seattle. I didn't know if I'd use it but I thought it would be helpful.
I walked from there to the hospital only my phone in my pocket and a little bit of money just in case.
I walked into the lobby of the hospital and talked to the receptionist. "Excuse me, I was wondering about a patient here,"
"Oh are you flying in from out-of-town?"
"Yes,"
"Last name?"
"Everdeen." I said.
She looked at me sharply, "If you're a reporter-"
"I'm her boyfriend." I said, angry, but not letting my tone reflect it.
"Oh... Right this way." She took me into an elevator and got me up on the third floor. "She's still in surgery but you're welcome to wait here." There was no one there only a single girl with blonde hair sat waiting.
The receptionist left me to take a seat. I ran my hands through my hair quickly before daring to look at her.
She was pretty and would have been more pretty without red puffy eyes. She had long blonde hair that looked to have been in braids. Big watery blue eyes, long fingers twisting in and out of her other fingers. She looked short, I'd learn her height is only five-one.
"Hello." I said, she hardly glanced. "What's your name?"
"Prim..." She sniffled.
"Hi Prim, I'm Peeta."
"Peeta." She looked up at me in surprise. "What are you doing here?" She moved over to sit next to me.
"I flew out as soon as I heard." The moment she sat back down she stuck her face in my shirt to cry.
"Thank god I'm not alone." She cried.
"It's okay Prim." I said rubbing her arm. "It's okay."
"I'm so scared."
I couldn't help but answer truthfully, "So am I."
"They said every specialist is on her team, that means it's bad."
"No that's good she's in good hands."
"Gale left to go pick up Madge from the airport, but it's been an hour and he's not back yet."
"I'm sure Madge's flight just got delayed. It happens all the time."
"I didn't think this would happen."
"What?" I asked, not in a prying way but a curious one.
"The institution just said my mom wanted to spend Christmas with us. They wanted to see if she could be released..." She cried into my chest a bit longer, "I just wanted to see my mom Peeta, I didn't think anything would happen."
But then I remembered something, Katniss knew what would happen.
It had been back in November, Veterans day weekend. I showed up with Annie at the office for a lunch date with Finnick and Katniss.
"Hi" Annie poked her head into their office to kiss Finnick, "You guys ready?"
"Just about." Finnick assured her grabbing his phone and jacket.
I stepped into the room, and walked over to Katniss's desk.
"I'll be ready in five minutes." She said kissing me. "Just let me get my purse."
She stood up and shoved a few loose items into her bag when her phone went off, "Hello?... Hi baby." She said in the tone she always developed when her little sister called. I thought it was sweet. "What?" She asked furrowing her brow, she cupped her hand over the phone, "You guys go ahead I'll be down in a few minutes."
Annie and Finnick nodded, but I stayed. "They did what?... Alright... Baby can you put them on the phone?... Thank you baby." She drummed her fingers on the desk before speaking,
"Hello?... I was just informed you were getting in contact with my sister... So it's true... Alright, well here's the thing. She's a minor, she is under my guardianship and I own the property you are discussing and I will not allow that... I will not tolerate that woman being on my property..." That woman must have been her mother and the other line must have been the hospital,
"No you listen to me, I don't care how many degrees you pull out of your ass. I will not allow that woman anywhere near me or my family do you hear me? That woman will stay far from me and my sister... Are you deaf or just stupid? I will NOT have that woman on my property, and don't you dare get in contact with my sister again because that is illegal. I will not only have you arrested but I will sue your ass... Listen to me you sick fuck, if that woman is even caught in my town, I will be pressing charges against you... You'll be finding a letter in the mail tomorrow morning with a legal warning from my lawyer, count on it... Goodbye." She angrily hung up and sighed.
Then she noticed me. She put on a smile, even though I clearly heard her, "Let's go have lunch." She walked over and kissed me before walking out. If only I'd known then...