I am truly overwhelmed with all the lovely messages I am getting I really am so pleased you are all enjoying my story. It his is a little chapter but I hope you enjoy it all the same. I will update agin this week as it is such a short chapter.
The next week flies by with breakneck speed and I was almost dazzled by the fact it was Friday already and it was my last class of the day. As much as I loved the last class of the week I also had a feeling of dread this was the class where Cato always tried something. If I wasn't quick to leave he might succeed in tripping me or slamming me against the lockers again and I could really do without both so I had to be on my toes. Minutes before the bell I had my bag packed and my eyes were on the clock. When the bell rang I sprang out of my seat like it had given me an electric shock and I practically ran out of the room. I noticed Cato glaring at me a horrible snarl on his face and I smiles triumphantly as I left the room first. I marched down the hall quickly knowing he could still catch me but when I spot Peeta I smile widely.
"Hey." I say cheerfully.
"Hi, you seem happy." He says rapping his arms around me.
"It's the weekend." I say and he nods I put my arms around his neck and play with the hair at the base of his neck.
"How was your afternoon?" He asks his hands tightening on my hips.
"Rubbish as usual." I say and he smiles I spot Cato standing behind Peeta his eyes fixed on us. "Let's get out of here." I say tearing my eyes from him Peeta nods and takes my hand and kisses it.
"What is happening tonight? Are we still teenager sitting?"
"Yeah, Rue is staying over." I say sadly knowing we wouldn't be able to have a repeat of last Friday. We hadn't had a chance to be alone all week Peeta had to work extra shifts, which I think was his mothers doing and I had to look after Prim as mum was having to take on more shifts while one of the other nurses recovered from the flu.
"Shame." Peeta says obviously reading my thoughts and I laugh.
"It really is, instead we could be harassed by them talking about boys and pointless celebrities."
"Sound's excellent." He says faking enthusiasm. "I should have read up on my teen heart throbs."
"Shame." I say making he laughs.
"Have you thought more about building a house in the woods anymore?" He asks smiling down at me.
"It is very, very tempting." I say and he groans.
"Don't tease me." He says and I laugh. Madge calls out to us and we head over to meet her.
"I am freaking out here!" She says pacing in front of her car.
"Why what's wrong?" I ask and she stops and looks at me.
"I am meeting Gale's family tonight." She says her eyes wide. I roll my eyes.
"You will be fine they are all lovely, Posy will love you because you are all girly." I say and she gives me a shaky smile.
"But there are so many of them!" She says the fear returning to her eyes. The fact Madge is an only child means she is not used to being around "little people" as she calls them.
"Madge you will be fine." I say squeezing her shoulder. She looks at me and huffs.
"Thanks Katniss you are a good friend when you want to be." She says smiling and I laugh as she gets in her car. "Oh and good luck with the in-laws tomorrow." She says with a cheeky smile. I roll my eyes at her and she waves as she is driven off.
"I have a confession to make." Peeta says as we watch her car drive off.
"What's that?" I ask looking up at him.
"I am worried about tomorrow." He says.
"It'll be fine. I am looking forward to meeting your brothers."
"It is not my brothers I am worried about, much. It's my mother." He says glancing at me as we walk to his car.
"I know." I say and I squeeze his hand, "It will be fine." He huffs and opens my door for me.
"I hope so." He says before I close my door. We drive to my house in silence and I can tell Peeta is preoccupied and I wish I could help him but I know he will be worrying until tomorrow night is over. I take his hand as we walk towards the house I pause at the front door and take his other hand.
"Are you ok?" I ask and he nods down at the floor.
"I am fine but before tomorrow I think I need to tell you about my mum." He says and when I remain quiet he looks up at me.
"Are you sure?" I ask and he nods. "I... I um have to say something as well."
"Oh?" He says and I nod, "Ok do you think we will get a chance to talk tonight?"
"Yeah Prim and Rue can hang out in her room." I say and he nods. We enter and start on dinner, both of us are quiet no doubt nervous about what the other has to say. I was very nervous about telling him how much I know and was worried about how he might react to my knowing about what his mum did to him. Prim comes in the house closely followed by Rue and they both wave hello as the pass holding bags full of sweets and smacks. They rush into Prim's room giggling loudly, I hear mum's door open and she enters the kitchen a few seconds later and smiles at us.
"I forgot Rue was staying." She says pouring herself a cup of coffee.
"Sorry I should have told them to be quiet." I say turning over the steaks in the pan.
"Its fine, I should be up anyway. How are you Peeta?" Mum asks as Peeta mashes the potatoes in the pot.
"I am fine lavender, thanks." He says giving her a little smile and turning back to his mashing. Mum turns to me with a worried look and I shake my head.
"Dinner is nearly done, could you get Prim and Rue please?" I ask mum and she nods. When she is out the room I snake my arms around Peeta's waist. "I think they are mashed." I say and he stops and turns in my arms.
"Sorry," he says and I look up at him, "I am fine." He says answering my unanswered question. I give him a quick kiss and unwrap my arms from around him as I hear mum, Prim and Rue coming into the kitchen.
We have a pleasant dinner listening to Prim and Rue chattering about their plans to eat their body weight in junk food and about making some cookies.
"Oh Peeta can you please help us?" Prim asks her big blue eyes shining; Rue looks at him hopefully her brown eyes wide and excited. Peeta looks between them and he turns to me looking helpless and I smile.
"Sorry I can't help you." I say and he smiles and shakes his head.
"Sure I will help you guys." He says and they smile widely and high five each other. He stares at me and narrows his eyes a little smile playing on his lips.
"Sorry." I whisper and he laughs.
Mum leaves a little while later and we all do the dishes and once we are done Peeta is snatched from me and forced into a flowery apron and I laugh. He glares at me and I stick my tongue out. I rush into the living room and search through the drawers and find my old Polaroid camera I stand in the doorway of the kitchen and look through the lens.
"Peeta." I say and he turns and I snap a picture he blinks rapidly at the flash and when he can see again he scowls at me. I pull the picture free of the camera and fan myself with it.
"You are pure evil." He says and I put the picture on the fridge. Prim pushes him towards me.
"Let me take one of you two." She says taking the camera off of me Peeta smiles down at me and wraps his arms around my waist. I smile up at him and rest my hands on his chest. There is a flash and we both look round at Prim. "That was a lovely picture." She says showing Rue whose face breaks into a smile.
"Oh that is so cute." She says clasping her hands together. Prim hands me it and I smile down at it and my heart flutters when I see how happy we look. Peeta wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on my shoulder.
"We look good together." He says and I smile.
"We do." I say and Prim and Rue giggle. "What?" I say with a laugh.
"You two are so in love." She nearly sings and I grin.
"Yes we are. Have you got a problem with that?" I ask and Prim shakes her head and Rue giggles.
"Actually yes I do," Prim says and I frown, "you have stolen our baker." She grabs Peeta's arm and pulls him back to the little cooking station they have set up. I stand there and fold my arms.
"Well I will just go for a shower then shall I?" I say and I smile when I see Peeta's longing look. "Have fun." I say and Prim and Rue smile while Peeta looks at me pleadingly.
After my shower I get dressed and I fish the picture of Peeta and I out of my pocket and I tack it next to the picture he drew of my father's bow. I smile at the picture again and I hear the door creek open and Peeta slides in and leans against the wall still wearing the flowery apron.
"Have they let you go?" I ask and he shakes his head.
"They went out to feed the goat. So I ran." He says and I laugh. I pull on a jumper and walk over to him. "I love when you wear my clothes." He says and I look down at the blue and white stripy jumper.
"It is comfortable." I say and he smiles. He leans down and kisses me.
"I just want to rip it off you." He says against my lips I let out a little moan and he bites my lower lip. I kiss him hard and push him against the wall and he groans. I run my hands through his hair and he grips my hips tighter I feel him harden against my stomach and I reach over and lock my door.
"Can you be quick?" I ask and he nods pulling the jumper off me in one swift movement. I smile and he backs us to the bed and I fall onto my back he pulls the apron off and I cover my mouth to laugh he smiles and grabs my trousers and pulls them off in one quick movement. He unbuttons his jeans and rids himself of them and his boxers. My mouth waters when I see him standing in front of me hard and squirm. He pulls a condom out of his wallet and slips it on quickly and he lowers himself onto me.
"Ready?" He says his voice deep and desperate I nod and he slams into me and I gasp and smile. I have missed this feeling, the feeling of closeness and pure bliss. Peeta's jaw is tight as he thrusts into me. I have to cover my mouth as he hits that glorious little spot inside me every time he enters me. I bite down on my arm as he starts to rub between my legs and my body arches off the bed.
"Oh my god!" I groan quietly. He grunts trying not to make any noise. He starts breathing heavily and he looks down at me his eyes asking if I was ready and I nod furiously. He thrusts harder and my body convulses and I tighten around him. He stills and he muffles his groan in my pillow while I bite hard on my forearm. He moves off of me kissing my stomach leaving me breathing hard and I hear him zip his jeans. I open my eyes and look at him smiling. "Wow! That was amazing " I say and he smiles. I sit up slightly shaky and he throws me my sweats with a smile and I pull them on. I take his hand and pull him along, "Come on or the will come looking for you." I say and I pull the jumper back on, he groans. I stand on my tiptoes and give him a lingering kiss and he makes a deep noise in the back of his throat and I smile. He wraps his arms around me and holds me tightly.
"Come on then I have to take those cookies out of the oven." He says taking my hand and leading me back into the kitchen and Prim and Rue are staring into the oven.
"Timer went off." Rye says excitedly. Peeta washes his hands and puts on an oven glove and opens the door releasing a hot blast of air; he puts the tray on a cooling rack.
"Now you have to let them cool." He says and Prim and Rue groan making him smile. "Only for ten minutes." He says and they both smile he unties the flowery apron and hangs it back up. "My work here is done." He says looking quite pleased with himself. We head into the living room and he switches on the television while I smuggle into him.
"That was fun." I say watching the screen and he chuckles.
"Oh yeah it was." He says giving me a little squeeze and kissing my head. "I have been thinking about that all week I thought I was going to go mad." He says and I giggle. A little while later Prim and Rue rush past us holding a plateful of cookies giggling loudly.
"They couldn't wait three more minutes." I laugh and Peeta's laugh rumbles in my ear. I sit up and I can see he has gone back to his preoccupied state and I put my hand on his face. "You know you don't have to do this don't you? You really don't have to tell me if it's to difficult." I say and his eyes land on mine and they look a little scared.
"I want to. I need to, if we are going to..." he pauses and blushes, "If we want to be together I need to tell you."
"Ok but can I tell you something first?" I ask and he turns to face me and he crosses his legs and I mirror him.
"What is it?" He asks looking worried.
"I know what your mother did to you." I say quickly and his eyes fall to his hands. "I know she..." I take a deep breath; this was way harder than I thought it would be. "I know she nearly killed you." My voice catches and my eyes sting. Peeta doesn't move he just breathes slowly and deliberately, I wish he would look at me I wish I knew what was going on inside his head.
"How?" He says slowly.
"On the night she... it happened I answered the door to your dad." I say and he takes a deep breath and lifts his head slowly and my heart plummets to the floor when I see his eyes shining with unshed tears. I reach my hand up to his face and wipe away a tear as it spills from his eye he holds my hand to his face.
"I never knew you knew." He says his voice thick.
"I'm sorry," I say, "I should have said something earlier but it is not easy to bring up in conversation." I say and he lets out a dry chuckle, I bite my lip and his eyes darken.
"You're biting your lip." He says his voice deep.
"Sorry." I say and he runs his finger over my lip and I smile.
"Mum has always been and remains to be violent towards me." He says slowly my eyes widen and he takes my hands. "Nothing serious anymore just little slaps around the head and snide comments."
"Why is your dad still with her?" I ask and he sighs.
"This is where it gets complicated and a little bit messed up but please bare with me." He says and I nod waiting for him to continue. "Ok so after the big incident she was sectioned for six months and when she finally got out she promised she was better. She apologised to me and the others for what she did and I forgave her."
"You did, why?" I ask interrupting.
"She is my mother Katniss." He says his voice remaining calm, "She was ill, I know that and that is why my dad never left her. He is very loyal and a man of his word, through sickness and health and all that stuff, right?" He says and I shake my head in disbelief. "My dad is a good man and he helps her the best he can. He nurses her when she drinks herself into a coma or when she doesn't eat. They may still be married they haven't shared the same room or bed for as long as I can remember. He doesn't love her or even really like her I don't think but he promised to care for her and that is his burden to carry. I respect my dad so much, he is my hero and I want to be like him, he is who I strive to be." Peeta says and I blink and a tear rolls down my cheek.
"That is so sad." I say wiping my eyes. "Your poor dad I would hate to go through that."
"He has a rough time, he is conflicted you see he either looks after her and be miserable or leaves her and has to live with the guilt of her finally managing to drink herself to death. Either way he is unhappy, this is just the lesser of two evils." Peeta says with a sigh.
"That is awful Peeta." I say and he nods, "I still don't know how you forgave her, no mother should do that to their child."
"I forgave her because I don't like having to be angry all the time it's not healthy. However I do not consider her to be my mother. As far as I am concerned I don't have a mother, she is just a woman I live with. My mother died a long time ago and I am ok with that." He says and I stare at him, "So," he says taking a shuddering breath, "that's my story."
"Peeta..." I say and words fail me, he just looks at me waiting for me to process everything. It was all so messed up I think of how when mum was depressed and how it felt like living with a ghost and if that is what it he felt like that about his mother. I think how sweet and kind Alex was, of course he would sacrifice his happiness to care for his sick wife. I think how hard it must have been to grow up living with Mrs Mellark everyday and I marvel at the thought of how Peeta came out the other end of all of that the kind, compassionate, generous and loving man he was. It was nothing less than a miracle.
"Now you see why I didn't tell you before." He says with a little smile.
"I just can't believe it, it is so..."
"Horrible?" he offers and I nod.
"How are you so normal?" I say and he sits up straight and he laughs.
"What?"
"I mean how are you not grumpy and mean and miserable?" I ask really not saying what I mean right.
"The same reason you aren't Katniss. You have had just as rough a time as me but here you are all "normal"." He says with a smile. "Because I want to live and I want to be happy. I want the opposite of what my dad has and I know he wants that for me too. I want a family and I want to be happily married and run the bakery. It is what I have wanted for the longest time." I stare at him and smile.
"Sounds like a nice plan." I say and he smiles.
"You don't want that?"
"I didn't before. I never wanted to get married and I most certainly didn't want kids."
"Really, why?"
"I just didn't but I just didn't know what I wanted back then." I say.
"But you... you want that now?" He asks hesitantly and I nod once and he rewards me with his most dazzling smile that still makes my heart flutter. We just look at each other for a moment. "I can't believe you haven't run for the hills." He says his easy humour coming back and I laugh.
"Did you expect me too?" I ask and he nods. "I am pretty tough you know?" I say and he smiles.
"You are." He says and he leans forward and kisses me. "I didn't think it was possible for me to love you more than I did, but I was wrong." He says and I blush.
"Same." I say giving him a quick kiss. "Thank you for telling me all that, it really means a lot."
"You're welcome." He says, "To be honest it is quite a relief to finally talk to someone outside of my dad and brothers about it. You are the only other person I have ever told."
"Thank you for telling me now I know what to expect tomorrow. What are your brothers like?" I ask and he laughs.
"They are um, interesting. I don't suppose you have spoken much to them." Peeta says.
"Not really I never spoke to them apart from asking for your dad." I say and he nods.
"Well Alex, he is the oldest and named after my dad, obviously. He is quite quiet in comparison to Rye. He can be pretty crude, he might be a nightmare."
"So I should worry?" I say and he laughs.
"Maybe but I will tell him to be on his best behaviour." He says and I nod feeling a little nervous
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I would love to hear what you have all got to say. Thank you again. X