This chapter is kind of depressing, I hope you're ready for it but please like it :)
11.
A week later my legs are almost healed and I can go back to school. Peeta went back to school yesterday after spending a week carrying me around, which I am very thankful for, I wouldnt have been abke to get around without him. Last night he came round to tell me that people at school aren't talking about the rumour anymore so someone must have sorted it all out. I dont know who it would have been but I personally want to thank them.
I climb out of bed and walk down the stairs, slowly as my legs are still swollen slightly and my knees still hurt, making it hard for me to walk at my normal speed. When I get to the bottom, I can hear voices. Walking into the kitchen I find Gale standing in the kitchen talking to My Mother and Prim.
"Hi Gale how are you this morning?" I ask, he only really gets this from me since he lied to me. I know I should give him something more, maybe tell him how I am, atleast give him a descent conversation like I used too. But I just dont think I can.
"I'm good, I'm just dropping off the animals from the woods for your family would you like some?" He asks handing out a bit of meat. I take it off him, mumble a thank you and go back upstairs. I don't know why it's so hard for me to forgive Gale. We used to tell eachother everything until Delly came along and now he doesn't seem to want to tell me anything.
I sit back down on my bed rubbing my ankles that are a little sore from walking up and down the stairs. Maybe it wont be long before me and Gale are actually friends again but I cant see it being anytime soon. Nobody really understands other than Peeta. His best friend didnt tell him the truth either but the difference with Peeta is that he is the most forgiving person that I have ever met, he never even fell out with Delly.
Delly and Gale. The thought still seems too weird. Delly is one of the popular Townies and Gale is... Gale. Nobody ever noticed him, I dont think they did anyway. It just sounds like they where never even meant to meet, let alone be together. But then again, Me and Peeta are the same even if we are only friends. He is one of the most popular Townies and then I'm probably even lower than Gale on the popular scale. It wouldnt surprise me if I'm right at the bottom, not that I care though.
When my legs feel good enough to walk, I get myself to the other side of the room to get changed out of my pyjamas and into my everyday clothes. Finished off with my Dad's hunting jacket and some shoes that Peeta gave me. He brought them round yesterday from his own collection of shoes because my feet where too swelled to fit in my own shoes so he offered me some of his. I've still got to wear a couple pairs of socks underneath them but they fit me better than mine do. I'm very thankful for that.
I meet Mum and Prim in the kitchen when I'm done, Gale must have left not long after I went upstairs. Prim smiles at me before her eyes fall on my feet. "Who's shoes are they?" She asks, pointing towards the shoes that make my feet look huge.
"Peeta's. Mine still dont fit me so Peeta let me borrow some of his." I realise just how comfortable they actually are. I'm gonna have to ask Peeta if I can keep them.
"Well, should we get going to school?" Prim asks me and I nod, smiling goodbye to my mother as Prim gives her a hug I follow her out of the door and the cold air hits me straight away.
When we get to the Bakery, I decide to walk in beside Prim, mainly because I need to sit down but its still a valid reason. Plus Mrs Mellark is probably still asleep so I'll be fine. Rye is sitting at the register, messing with a pencil when we walk through the doors and I go straight over to the table to sit down. My legs feel instantly better. "Hey Rye, Is Peeta here?" Prim asks him as I adjust my legs to make me more comfortable.
"Yeh give me a sec." He leans back, opening the door slightly and cups his hands around his mouth. "PEETA, THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE IS HERE!" I'm already on my feet and walking towards him before he turns around and when he does, I slap him hard on the top of his arm, my ears going slightly red.
"What the hell was that for?" Rye asks, laughing slightly as he rubs his arm better.
"For being an ass." I reply, I can feel the heat dissapear from my face and I just hope that I've returned back to a relatively normal colour.
"And who would be the love of my- Katniss!" Peeta exclaims as he walks through the door. Rye bursts out laughing as I see Peeta's face go red. Atleast its not me this time. "How are you this morning?"
"I'm alright, my ankles are still a bit sore but other than that I'm fine, how about you?" I ask, taking my seat again at the table, now next to where Prim is sitting.
"I'm good today actually. Something is telling me that today will be a good day and I cant figure out why." He laughs slightly, looking down to my feet under the table and smiling, a shine in his eye. "Nice shoes by the way." He winks at me slightly and I try to look offended but I cant stop laughing.
"Yeh, thanks, I got them off some complete idiot! How do they look?" I ask him. He tries to look offended at the 'complete idiot' thing but the shine falls across his eyes again and he looks surprised.
"You can make anything look good." He says and my ears start to warm up again. What is it with Peeta and making me blush, nobody ever makes me blush, normally I just come up with some stupid sarcastic comment if someone says something nice to me but everytime Peeta does, I can help looking like a tomato. Its actually getting annoying.
"Thank you." I finally say. "These shoes are so comfortable, I might just have to steal them off you sometime." He smiles and looks away.
"Have them if you want, he has plenty more shoes." Rye says as Peeta seems lost for words. I nod thanks in his direction.
"Obviously." I say motioning towards Peeta's feet where his shoes are.
5 minutes later, we are walking out the Bakery after saying goodbye, well , shouting goodbye into the back to the 2 Mellarks that arent actually in the room. Rye, I get a smile and a nod off as he tries to keep his laughs under control because of his brother.
Half way there, Prim asks me if I'm alright walking by myself and after a lot of arguing I eventually say that its getting kind of hard so Peeta links his arm around my waist and leads me on my way. It feel kind of good to have Peeta helping me walk. Normally I hate help from People because it makes me look weak and where else would you not want to look weak then the school yard but with Peeta, I just dont care. I am probably one of the only girls at school that Peeta would help to school anyway and that gives me a sense of accomplishment.
Soon as we walk through the school gates Prim walks away from us and goes over to Lilly, leaving me alone with Peeta. He helps me over to the bench under the Willow tree at the back of the yard and I sigh in happiness, I thank god that I get to sit down in school. There is just the problem of getting to the classes, I cant let Peeta carry me around all day, he has his own life.
"Are you sure you dont want to go home?" Peeta asks, concerned as I try to rub the feeling back into my legs.
"I'm sure I'll be fine, dont worry about me. You go speak to Delly or something, I'll be alright here." I say with a smile. He needs to get his old life back, not this one. He needs to forget about me, I'm just bringing him down.
"I'm not leaving you like this." He says, his brow furrowing.
"You need to." I say back.
"I dont care what you say Katniss, you need help. Once you're better, I'll think about it." He laughs slightly and I laugh too.
"Fine you can help me around." I say, sighing.
"Good because I'm gonna be here to help you forever, you know that right?" He says and I focus on him as he looks at me. His eyes dont leave mine I feel like I'm obligated to say something, but what the hell do I say?
"I thought you would say that." I say, probably ruining the mood. I didnt have a clue what to say, he cant just say something like that without giving me some kind of warning. I smile at him but he looks away. I've upset him now.
"Come on we better get to class." He says quietly, helping me up to my feet and linking his arm around my waist to help me on my way.
I cant believe I just said that to him, he's never been anything but good to me and I couldnt even come up with a good answer, like 'I'll always be here for you too' or 'Thank you, that means a lot'? It did mean a lot but I dont know wether I will be here for him. I want to be but I dont want him to be here for me. He needs to get his old life back and I'm not going to stop until he has it back.
When we get to first lesson, my legs are killing. I havent heard anyone mention the rumour or anything luckily which means that hopefully everyone has either forgotten or wont say anything infront of the teachers. Nobody even mentions anything about my ankle, Not even Gina and her friends. Peeta helps me down into my seat and then takes his next to me, thats when I resign to my every lesson routine and gaze out the window at the Willow tree, normally I think about Prim or My Father because of the Dandelions but now all I think about is Peeta.
For the rest of the day, I'm left alone by everyone in school and it feels really good to have a day where I dont want to kill everyone. Just me and Peeta talking about everything and anything. When we get to PE, fourth lesson, I get to sit out due to my legs. Its running again and I keep a close eye on Peeta, thinking about what happened to me in PE last time I was here. He seems fine though and everytime he passes where I sit on the little grass bank, he smiles and waves. I obviously wave back and he goes once again round the track. I also keep a lose eye on Gina too incase she tries anything and luckily he doesnt seem to be bothered. After she has done about 10 laps she stops and comes to sit on the bank, where everyone that has given up is sitting. I think she is going to pass me but she plops down right next to me.
"Everdeen, How are the legs?" She asks me, looking out over the track as she leans back on her hands, trying to make it look as if we have been friends for years.
"They're good actually, thanks for asking." I say, giving it right back. I know that she doesnt actually want to know but atleast I can be as nonchalant as she can.
"I was hoping that they would heal fast." She says. She still isnt looking at me but when I glance her way, I see an evilish smile on her face.
"Yeh, I bet you where." I reply, thats when she finally turns to me as I'm already looking at her.
"What makes you think you have the right to talk to me that way, I was trying to be nice." She scowls and starts to back away from me.
"Dont you have friends that you can play with?" I ask, yearning for her to go away. All I wanted was peae, just for one day, but no, someone has to come along and ruin it, and it just so happened to be the one person that I hate the most right now.
"Oh I have friends alright, but you looked kind of lonely, do you have any friends?" She asks. I motion back towards the track where Peeta is running alongside River Cassus, River says something causeing Peeta to laugh and I like it. I like the fact that he is hanging aroung with River again and I like it that he is having fun.
"Yeh Gina, I do have friends but they can run for a lot longer than you can." I say and she follows my gaze but when she looks back at me she has an evil look in her eye.
"Not for long." She says before pulling herself up and walking away. I look back over to Peeta, my heart pumping fast. He has his hand half raised in a wave as he passes where I am, a smile playing on his lips and his eyes locked on mine. My eyes however, are watching Lavender, Gina's friend. She's standing at the finish line trying to look like nothing is happening but as Peeta gets closer her leg comes out and within seconds, Peeta is on his face and a cry escapes my mouth.
I pull myself to me feet as quickly as I can but a crowd has already started to form around Peeta when I get there. I fall down next to him, trying to lean on anything but my legs. "Are you alright?" I ask him as he looks up at me.
He mumbles something that sounds like a 'yes' but when River and Delly help him to his feet, they have to keep hold of him, he sways slightly and almost falls over. "I guess that means you're not fine?" I ask him, he laughs slightly and Madge helps me up to my feet. Peeta shakes his head and I laugh at him slightly.
We all set off back towards the school doors and I notice how Gina and Lavender are nowhere in sight. Somehow I knew that they would dissapear soon. Inside, I grab my stuff from the Locker room. Everyone else would have put theirs in their lockers in the hallway but considering me and a few other kids dont have one, we keep ours in here.
At the nurses office, River and Delly help Peeta down onto the bed and then leave to get back to lesson. Madge left on the way down the hallway because I didnt need her help anymore. Th nurse isnt in, which means its just me and Peeta in here. I grab her chair from the desk and bring it over so I can sit next to Peeta. "I cant believe all this happened." I say to him, dropping my head in shame. "This is all my fault. You shouldnt be friends with me, its gonna get you seriously hurt one day."
He reaches over to grab my hand but yelps out in pain halfway there so I meet his half way with mine. I guess he must have landed on his sore shoulder. I'm gonna have to get my mother to look at that. I hope he hasnt injured his neck again.
"Katniss, I dont care what you say, you already know that. I would die for you. They're just stupid, petty school kids." He's looking at me now, his hand has moved closer to me and I can tell it hurts him but he isnt showing it at all.
"Thats what I'm scared of. I'm scared of you dying. You dont understand how that makes me feel Peeta. I wouldnt be able to live with myself if you died for me." I say to him, without realising what I said. I can feel the tears on my face and his eyes are glued to my face, just as mine are his. I dont realise what I'm doing before I feel the taste of his lips on mine. I dont have any desire to pull away first and I fall into the kiss, my hand resting on his chest and his in my hair. My stomach does flips and I quickly pull away before it gets any worse.
"Thank you." He whispers to me just as I'm pulling away and dread fills me up. I cant believe I just did that. I know I never want to lose him but this just makes things worse.
"I've got to go." I say quickly, standing up, but Peeta pulls me back down.
"No, please stay. I'm sorry." He says and when I look at him, he actaully looks scared. "Please dont go."
"Okay." I mumble just as the nurse walks in. She looks like she was just laughing about something but as soon as she see's that she has company her smile drops and she drops her papers onto her desk.
"You two seem to like coming here. Tell me, what is it this time?" She asks, crossing her hands over her chest, a saracastic smile playing on her lips, which kind of reminds me of Rye. Its strange how similar it is actually.
"Peeta was tripped over in PE. I think he may have injured his shoulder and his head." I say to her, glancing back at Peeta as the nurse shoo's me out of the way so she can get at him to assess his injuries. Her hands find his head and she looks him over. She even has to roll him over to look at the back of his shoulders and his neck.
She turns back to me and smiles slightly, I guess that means he's alright. "Okay, well, there is a little damage to his left shoulder and his neck but he will be fine by tomorrow. He did land on his head, but doesnt have concussion, a headache might occur later. Just give him water and rest when you get him home." I nod in agreement. "You are very welcome to stay here so that he can get a little bit of rest before the day finishes, there is only an hour left, I'll just fill in the paperwork and get you both out of last lesson." She smiles and nods before leaving the room and I take a seat next to Peeta again as his eyes close.
For the next hour, I find myself thinking about the kiss. It felt good dont get me wrong but I just cant deal with that ontop of everything right now. Prim has her first reaping soon, my legs have made it impossible to hunt, Me and Gale arent speaking, Gina seems hell bent on destroying my life, There's a rumour going around school still. I like having Peeta as a friend but I dont think I could even think about dating him yet. Maybe sometime in the future but not now. Once I know that Prim is safe from the reaping and I've left school, then I would consider it.
Peeta wouldnt be that bad to marry. I wouldnt have kids with him, I wouldnt have kids with anyone but I wouldnt mind marrying him. Waking up every morning to a cheese bun or something that he made for me. Maybe one day in the future, me and him owning the bakery and giving cookies to Prim and Rory. I could see that. Friday nights spent with his family. Rye and Leaven cracking jokes all night and Masan making us all smile.
Me and Peeta could be happy. I know we could but its going to take a while for me to be there for him the way he is here for me. I just cant add him onto the list of people that I absolutely can not lose. The only problem is that I think he already is on that list. If I lost him, I wouldnt know what I would do. If I lost Gale, I know that maybe eventually I would get over it but with Peeta, not seeing his smile everyday or hearing his laugh would be impossible. Could it be possible that I feel something for the youngest Mellark?
Before I know it, its almost 3pm. Which means its time to wake Peeta up. I peal myself off the chair where I've been sitting unmoved for the past hour and I look back at Peete, a smile appearing on my lips as I look at him. "Peeta?" I shake him and he stirs slightly. "Come on, school is finishing, we have to get you home." I say and his eyes open and suddenly something flashes through my head. A glimpse into the future maybe, or just imagination...
Its just turning light outside and me and him are lying on his bed in the Bakery. The window is open behind us and the light is streaming in from the sunrise, exploding on his face, lighting him up just as he opens his blue eyes and smiles up at me where I lean over him. His right hand hooks around my waist and he pulls me down onto his chest and I feel safe, secure.
"What time is it?" Peeta asks, pulling me out of my daydream.
"Its almost 3." I say to him, trying to stop my voice sounding too high. I help him up, trying to stifle the laugh that threatens to come because of his hair. He;s been led in the same position and because he was sweating when he fell asleep, his hairs has flattened at the back and is sticking out the sides. He doesnt notice though and I straighten it down for him, pulling him out the nurses office and on our way.
Prim is waiting for us under the Willow Tree. "Hi Katniss." She says with a small smile. Peeta is actually kind of walking by himself now. I have to keep my arm around him but it just kind of looks like he is helping me around, just like we have looked all day.
"Hey Prim, did you have a good day today?" I ask her as she stands up and starts to follow us out the gates of the school. I can feel Peeta getting weaker as he starts to fall asleep again.
"Yeh it was alright. Someone came up to me asking if it was true that you where pregnant so I told them that its impossible and that they should mind their own business." She says to me and I sigh.
"Thanks Prim." I reply and she smiles at me.
20 minutes later, I'm explaining everything to Masan. What happened to Peeta and why it took us so long to get back. Normally it only takes about 5 minutes to get back but we had to walk extra slowly as Peeta kept trying to fall asleep. I think that nurse had no idea what she is talking about. He obviously has concussion. I try to keep a good hold on him but just as I'm finishing explaining everything, his eyes close fully and he drops, taking me with him. Leaven grabs my arm and Rye grabs Peeta's.
"He just needs rest." I say, trying to get my breathe back.
Masan turns to everyone. "Right, Rye you get him upstairs and in bed. Katniss, you get home and get some rest yourself. Lev, you get back out front and Rye when you come back down you can help me in the kitchen, just make sure you shut his bedroom door. Your Mother can not know he isnt working." Rye nods as if he already knew that and hoists Peeta up onto his shoulders as if he is a sack of flour. Thats when me and Prim set off back home, saying goodbye to Masan and Leaven.
Prim babbles on about stuff that happened at school on the way back but I cant listen to any of it, my mind is still realing with the kiss. I cant believe that I even thought that was a good idea. I really hope that Peeta doesnt remember it tomorrow, that might make things a little better to deal with.
I stop suddenly at the top of our little street and turn to Prim. "You go home, I'm just going to go for a walk." I say to her and nods before giving me a hug and running off home. I turn back around and walk back the way I came. I dont know where I'm going, my feet are just carrying me.
When I eventually stop walking, I'm outside the hob and my legs are absolutely killing, I'm surprised I havent collapsed or something yet. Its already going dark and I'm gonna have to be careful getting back home but first I go inside to talk to Sae. I havent seen her in a while because I havent been hunting, It would be nice to catch up.
As I step through the door, I almost knock straight into someone. "Wow, watch out sweetheart." Haymitch. Drunk Haymitch.
"Haymitch, how are you?" I ask, straightening up.
"Considering you almost just knocked me over, I'd say I'm pretty good." He says with a stupid grin on his face.
"Already drunk I see?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Obivously." He laughs but I dont return it. Its nothing to laugh about. One day all this drinking that he does will catch up on him and make him really ill.
I decide to step away from him and start to walk over to Sae, just as he calls after me. "Wait, come back." He shouts and I stop. He walks over to me. "I didnt mean to sound like an ass, I'm sorry."
"Thats alright." I say in reply. "But I better get going, I was going to talk to Sae."
"Okay well, I want you to know that you can come visit anytime you want. It felt good having people at mine. Its kind of lonely now." He says with a small laugh which I return this time and I'm not ashamed to say I did because I dont think Haymitch is ever nice to anyone but himself.
"Maybe I will." I smile and he turns to walk away further into the Hob.
I have a nice little conversation with Greasy Sae about everything that has been happening and then decide to be on my way. It seems colder outside and darker which makes me choose to take the back streets. Strangely enough I actually find it safer, no-one ever walks these roads during the night.
Well atleast I didnt think they did, until I find someone I really didnt want to see, skulking around one of the back streets not far from my house. Gina. "Everdeen, how are you tonight?" She asks and I quickly turn to walk the other way. There is no way that she could catch up to me, she was too far away.
Thats when 2 sets of feet step out infront of me, blocking my path. When I look up I find Eric Stratser and Gale's friend Joe. "Whats going on?" I ask. I actually ask Joe because he has never done anything to me.
"We just want to talk to you." Gina says, appearing behind me as if she's trying to stop me from running away but me and her both know that she couldnt stop anyone, let alone me.
"About what?" I ask trying to keep it light. The last thing I need is to provoke them.
"So whats been going on between you and Weasel Mellark?" Eric says I focus on him, turning away from Gina.
My hands find my hips as anger rises up in me. "Dont call him Weasel. Nothing has been going on as if its any of your business." I say still trying to get past them. Something is telling me that this is not going to end well, whatever I do. My legs arent strong enough to run right now so I dont know what I'm going to do.
"Liar!" Gina screams behind me and when I turn around to look at her, her face is red with anger and her fists are clenched. "You're pregnant and we all know it so why dont you just tell everyone the truth!" She shouts, stepping closer pushing me backwards. My back hits Eric's chest and my hands find their way to Gina's shoulders, pushing her back before I even have time to think about the consequences.
I feel someone hands grab my shoulders and I'm thrown off my feet, hitting the floor hard a couple seconds later. "Dont ver touch my sister like that." Eric says, standing over me. I have shooting pains in my back and I think I landed on my hips because hey just went numb and I can feel bile rising up in my throat from the pain. He reaches down for me again and I attempt to scramble away. It doesnt work and Eric's hands have me clamped to the floor. I look towards Joe, pleading for help but he just looks away, pain clear on his face. He doesnt want this.
Thats when Eric joins me on the floor but not with me really, He straddles me, fully clamping me to the floor, his face close to mine. "I am going to make you pay for everything you have done." He hisses at me.
"Come on Eric thats enough." I hear Joe say and I try to kick out to get him away from me but the pain in my back makes it almost impossible.
"No, thats not enough. This little Seam whore deserves to die but first maybe we should have a little fun." His eyes are on me again and I can feel the tears falling from my eyes from the pain of having him on top of me, crushing my spine into the floor.
"What do you mean?" Joe asks but I hardly hear him.
"You'll see." Eric replies. That when he pushes my arm under his leg, crushing it so that his hand is free and I think I have a good chance at an escape until I'm caught off guard by the feeling of his hand on my boob. He does the same with my other arm which means he now has use of both of his hands. Thats when I begin to scream but he clamps his free hand over my mouth and takes his other one away from my boob.
I cant see over his hand but I can feel his hand fumbling around with the clasp on my belt. Something or someone is trying to pull him away and I'm guessing its Joe as I can hear Gina laughing off to the side. This is just what she wanted, why would it not be. She wanted me hurt and this is going to hurt me for the rest of my life.
Without any kind of warning or anything at all, I feel him force himself inside of me, He lets out a groan of pleasure whilst I let out another scream of pain, the difference is, nobody is going to hear mine. It feels horrible. The pain is unimagineable and his feet are hooked around my knees, pulling the bones further out of place with ever thrust of his hips. His other hand finds my neck as the thrusting gets harder and harder.
I cant breathe, I cant feel anything but him, I cant scream, no-one is around, he isnt going to stop, I'm going to die. Its inevitable, there is no way around it. Even if he finishes, he's going to kill me. The feeling has gone from my legs, my knees have all but dislocated and my hands are covered in cuts from the stones on the floor. My back feels like its broken and my neck is undoubtedly bruised because of his hand.
I cant feel anything anymore, just the sweet relief of dying. Just a few more seconds and I wont have to deal with it anymore. But I cant bring myself to close my eyes to let it all go. Thats when I hear footsteps, through the sound of my own blood pumping. "What is going on out here!" I recognise that voice, Haymitch.
Eric pulls himself out of me and his hands leave my neck, I choke on the air and try to move any part of my body but everything is numb.
"What do you want old man, this is my business." Eric says, pulling himself up to his feet.
"You better leave now or you'll regret it." Haymitch replies but I can feel myself loosing consciousness.
"Oh, I know you, you're Haymitch Abernathy right, well I'm not scared of you." Eric says.
"You will be, now get lost." Thats when Eric dissapears with Joe and Gina. Haymitch drops down by my side and look over my face. I've lost that much energy that I can hardly open my eyes.
"What did he do?" He asks.
"R-" I try to get the word out but I cant. Luckily he seems to put it all together. The way my jeans are still undone, not showing anything as my underwear has now fallen back into place and how I'm lying here with fresh tears in my eyes and my body unmoving.
"We need to get you back to your mother." He says to me but I dont want to go back to my mother. She cant know about this. I need to get to the Bakery and sleep it off. Tomorrow I can go home like nothing happened. I try to shake my head but I cant so I just make noises that say I dont want to.
"- Bakery..." I get out and he nods, sliding his arms under me and carrying me back into town.
(PEETAS POV)
I've been awake for an hour now and everything has been fine. Dad explained to me that Katniss got me home then went home herself but honestly I dont even remember leaving school. My head is slightly sore and my shoulder aches a little but other than that I'm completely fine. We have all just been sitting here since I woke up and it fun actually. Rye and Lev are joking about and Dad is just sitting their laughing at them both.
That is until the back door flies open and Haymitch comes running in with someone in his arms. I cant see their face because they are covered by Haymitch's coat but I do recognise the shoes because they belong to me. I shoot out of my seat and motion for him to put her down on the sofa. I pull away his jacket, scared of what I'm gonna find and I can feel Rye, Lev and Dad watching over my shoulder.
She's asleep, but she looks more dead than asleep. Her face is white, there are nail marks around her mouth as if someone has had their hand around her face. Her hair is full of sweat. I can feel the tears threatening at my eyes when I see the dark bruises on her neck and her legs pointing the way that they shouldnt. Her breathing is very slow, almost death like. I dont know what it was but something tell me that she wasnt meant to survive. I notice too how the button and zip on her jeans is undone.
"What happened to her Haymitch?" I ask, turning around to him.
"I'm sorry I didnt know what to do, I found them, they where- ... and she didnt want to go to her mother, I brought her here, I thought she was dead." He looks really distressed which is bad.
"Haymitch, what happened?" I ask him, my heart pumping so fast that I fear it might explode.
"That Eric kid from the clothes shop attacked her. His little sister and some kid from the Seam where there too. He... Raped... her." My heart all but stops as I let myself fall further to the ground. I dont feel anger, I just feel dread.
"I'm gonna kill him." Rye hisses behind me and I dont turn around but I know that Lev is holding him back. I, however, drop my head onto the sofa next to Katniss, holding her hand in mine.
"I'm glad I showed up when I did, I think she was ready to give up. He was trying to kill her. He had his hands around her throat." Haymitch says and the tears fall quicker. I feel someone pat my back, I think its my father trying to comfort me but nothing will help right now. I didnt care about anything that happened at school but this is crossing the line.
"Someone needs to go and get Evelyn, I dont care what she said, I dont think she is going to last much longer." Haymitch says and my heart starts to beat fast again. I might lose her tonight. I cant lose her. Not tonight, not tomorrow, not ever. She is my life and if I lose her then I might as well die. I grasp her hand in both of mine and lean in close to her face as Dad sends Rye off to get some covers for her and he takes a seat on the sofa where he was sitting. Haymitch takes a seat and Leaven runs out the door, without even grabbing his jacket.
"Come on Katniss, you're stronger than this, I know you are." Fresh tears fall down my face and a few of them land on her cheek.
"I'm sorry Peeta." I hear Haymitch says behind me but I just ignore him.
"Katniss, I love you, please dont leave me." My forehead falls against her shoulder and I let myself cry for what feels like forever until Evelyn and Prim fly through the door followed by Leaven and Rye all but drags me away from Katniss and out the room which they get to work. "Let me go." I shout at him but hs keeps his arms around me.
"I'm sorry Bro, you need to stay out here. Its going to be alright I promise." He says and I stop fighting and fall apart. He's there to catch me before I hit the ground though and he helps me into the kitchen to make me a brew.
Rye starts moving around, getting the teabags and stuff whilst I just sit there and stare at the floor. "Why did he do this to her?" I ask him.
"I dont know Peet, I just dont know but I promise you that I am going to get him back for what he has done." He's now standing infront of me patting my shoulders and I feel like I'm about 4 again being looked at by my father after falling over.
"Thank you." I say to him and he moves away again, coming back about 2 seconds later with a cup of tea in his hands, which he hands to me and walks out the room, I follow him not long after the find everyone standing in the hallway. Evelyn and Dad are having a hushed conversation. Haymitch is talking to Rye about something and Leaven is comforting a crying Prim.
I walk over with a heavy heart. Nobody looks happy, which means that this cant be good at all. I force my feet to go forward one by one and Dad catches my eye, motioning towards me and Evelyn turns to look at me with a sad smile playing on her lips. I take a breathe a walk over to her. "Is she okay?" I ask through the tears.
"Peeta, I'm not gonna lie, she's not good at all. From her injuries I'm guessing she wasnt meant to survive and he did a very good job in that area. I'd say if Haymitch hadnt shown up she would have had about 30 seconds left. Her knees are broken and I've applied a pot to each of them. He neck will be okay, the swelling just needs to go down. Her pelvis is badly bruised and so is her monkey bone, she will find it very uncomfortable sitting down and painful sometimes. She hit her head on something and has once again caused only a small impact to that dint in the back of her head which luckily didnt cause any lasting damage this time. She is going to need a lot of looking after and in her condition, I cant get her home so she is gonna have to stay here. Me and your dad talked and you have to choice to stay off school to look after her. Rye has agreed to walk up with Prim. Are you up for it?" She asks.
I nod almost instantly. "I would do anything for her." I say and everyone looks at me. "I dont care what any of you say, I dont care if you laugh at me or whatever but Katniss Everdeen is my life and I cant let her die. Or I swear to god none of you will ever see me again because I would join her." I see Leaven step forward and pat me on the back and I look towards Rye who I know is probably holding in some kind of Sarastic remark right now. I know I sounded soppy, I know I sounded like a girl but I've always been brought up to tell the truth and that is the truth. I love Katniss Everdeen and I'm not ashamed of it anymore.
"Okay. Its alright Peet. I'm sure she'll be fine." Dad says but Evelyn steps in.
"Now I've talked about the physical problems but I hope you know, what Eric did is going to haunt her for the rest of her life. Its bad enough for a girl the first time anyway, it hurts like hell but with all the pain in her legs before hand and the fact that it was forced and all the pain she is in right now, its way too much for her to handle. She wont be the same, I hope you're ready for that. I used to know someone who was in the same boat as Katniss is now but she wasnt hurt physically, just mentally and 3 months later, she killed herself but she couldnt stand it anymore. Katniss is going to need all the support she can have. I'll be by every single day to see her, dont worry. I should be here when she wakes up just look after her please."
"Dont worry Evelyn, she's safe with us." Dad says but I cant feel my legs turning to jelly.
"Peeta, you get her to bed and I'll see everyone home." Leaven says and I walk away from everyone else, bracing myself for seeing Katniss again. She looks slightlu better but she is covered in bandages and has two pots on her legs that go almost the entire length of her leg. I place my cup on the table and slide my arms under, trying to keep the tears in. The pots make a little bit heavier but even so, she still feels a little lighter than usual.
Leaven and Haymitch are just setting off to walk Evelyn and Prim home when I walk past them and up the stairs. I'm at my bedroom in seconds and I lightly place Katniss down on the bed. Evelyn took her shoes and jacket off downstairs so I just under the braid in her hair and over her from head to toe in the covers. I pull open the windows and breathe in the fresh air.
I cant believe this happen. Everything about this day has been horrible. I think its about time I got some sleep. I might have not long since woke up but I'm tired again and I want to be next to Katniss incase I dont get another chance.
I slide off my boots and my jacket and climb into the bed next to her, straightening down a piece of her hair. Watching her their, unmoving, hardly breathing, the anger suddenly kicks in and I have one thought playing on my mind as sleep pulls me under: I'm gonna kill Eric for what he has done.