Hey everyone! Finally I'm back! I hope you're not too angry that it tooks me so long... So my camps are over and I'm a crying wreck, because I won't see my amazing american friends until next year. But back to my story...
I'm here with a brand new chapter and I'm pretty sure you'll not like the ending. One new thing is, that there is a little part from Hilly's POV. Something happens to her and I needed you to know what happened. I hope you will like this new chapter and I promise to post another one as soon as possible...
Chapter 21: For Better And Worse
It's Thursday morning and I'm working in the bakery. Rosie is happily coloring some papers and I'm behind the cash. Today I'm alone with Hilly and Dave. Well at least for the morning. Peeta and Jacob have some appointments with two restaurant owners, who were interested in ordering bread from our bakery every day. Mum comes to the bakery and takes Rosie home before lunch.
I still can't stop thinking about the alone day we had in the cabin. I still can't stop thinking about him inside of me, filling me fully. When I see strawberries I can't help than smile and I feel butterflies in my stomach. I always remember the way Peeta licked my…
"Just stop it!" Hilly yells from the kitchen. I just roll my eyes. Usually, they can get on with each other, but today they're extra quibbly.
"I'm not doing anything." Dave says offensively with such an innocent tone that I don't even have to look to know that he's irritating her with something.
"Argh" I hear Hilly's frustrated groan.
"Are you guys okay?" I ask walking into the kitchen and examining the situation. Hilly is bent over the cupcakes, frosting and Dave is across from her kneading the bread dough.
"What's the problem?" I ask.
"He keeps staring at me and winking and I can't concentrate." She complains with annoyed look.
"Since when it is forbidden to smile and wink at people?" he asks defensively.
"Dave, leave her alone." I say calmly trying to persuade him to be wise.
"Yeah, you're adult, not some pubescent teen and…" Hilly is interrupted by her phone ringing. She takes it out of her pocket and she frowns at the display.
"Mum?" she answers the phone and walks further away from us. She walks during her calls very often.
"Dave, please give her a break." I say quietly.
"No, I'm at work." Hilly says to the phone.
"But I can't help." He says quietly and a little sheepishly "She's too cute! The way her hair falls down from her ponytail, right over her eyes…" he trails of and watches her. "I just want to reach out and brush it behind her ear." he whines softly. It makes me smile slightly, because I already know, that he's fond of her.
"Mum I won't sit down, stop beating around the bush and just tell me!" Hilly says annoyed.
"Well, try to be nice for a change and not annoying." I tell him quietly "It will not do any good, when…"
"WHAT?!" Hilly says in that terrible kind of voice. That deadly serious tone, which makes your stomach tighten and it makes you feel that something really, really bad happened. Until now she was pacing around, but now she stopped, her hands start to shake and she holds onto the working table. Her eyes are wide and I can see fear in them. We watch her closely with Dave and I can't miss the concerned look in his eyes either.
"But, but, b-but…" she stammers but she's obviously interrupted by her mum.
"W-where are you?" Hilly asks and her voice shakes slightly.
"Okay, I'll t-try." She says "Don't worry." She adds.
Then she hangs up and we slowly watch as she falls apart. The phone slips out of her hand, she starts shaking and she slides down on the floor, placing her face into her hands and in the end a loud sob escapes her.
"What's wrong?" Dave asks as he hurries towards her. His voice is soft and full of concern which only confirms our theory that he really deeply cares about her. He crouches next to her and he puts his hand on her shoulder.
"I-it's my g-grandma." She whines "s-she had a s-stroke." She adds and breaks into sobs again. Dave gives me one concerned look and then he does the best thing he can. He extends his arms towards her and she accepts his offer. He hugs her tightly as she sobs into his shirt.
"Where is she now?" he asks after a while.
"She's a-at St. Anne's hospital." Hilly hiccups "But I don't have a car and it's at least thirty minutes from here so I guess I have to find a bus and…"
"Hey." He says and his arms tighten around her again. "Slow down." He coos. "It's okay, I'll give you a ride. I have my car here." He says.
"You would do that?" she looks up at him disbelievingly.
"Of course I would Hilly." He smiles.
"You called me Hilly." She says in surprise. It makes me chuckle quietly.
"Well I know your name." he smiles "I just usually like to tease you with nicknames." He says. She smiles up at him for a while, but then her smile fades away again.
"But we can't both go." She says in panic. "We can't leave Katniss in here alone." She says looking at me.
"It's okay." I say coming to them. "Peeta and Jacob will be here soon, I can handle the bakery alone for a while." I say as I wrap one of my arms around her too.
"Really?" she asks with her teary eyes.
"It's a piece of cake." I smile at her as I release her.
"Come on, let's get up." Dave says and he offers her his hand. She takes it shakily and he pulls her up. He puts his arm around her waist and he leads her to the front of the bakery.
"Thanks." She says shakily.
"No problem." He smiles. "It's what best friends do. They help each other."
"You're not my best friend." She says sharply and gives him a glare. "We have never even been proper friends."
"Not yet." He smirks as he leads her towards the door. Just in that moment they open and Peeta walks in.
"Hello everyone! Let's celebrate our newest…" he starts joyfully but he stops when he sees tears on Hilly's face.
"What happened?" he asks in alarm.
"Hilly's grandma had a stroke and she's in the hospital now." Dave says "Will it be a problem if I would give her a ride?" he asks.
"Oh my, of course, go with her it's okay, we can handle it here with Katniss." He says.
"Okay, see you later guys." Dave says and leads Hilly towards the door.
"Ta ta for now Hilly." I call after them to cheer her up a little. She turns back with a slight teary grateful smile.
"So he has taken the opportunity to show her he cares about her?" Peeta asks looking after them.
"Seems like that." I smile.
"Let's get to the work then." He smiles and kisses me softly.
"What were you talking about when you came in? Is there something to celebrate?" I ask.
"Oh, yeah, we made a deal with those two guys so we will bake bread, rolls and buns for them every day." He smiles at me.
"That's great!" I exclaim enthusiastically and I hug him.
"It is indeed." He smiles down at me.
Hilly's POV
After he opens the car door for me I sit down and buckle my seat belt as he closes the door and walks to the driver's seat. I'm not able to stop my tears I hate crying in front of other people, but this situation and the fact that there is only Dave makes me feel less terrible about my crying. I hope he won't tell anyone about this. Somehow I know that deep in his heart he's not a bad guy.
"Hey." He whispers cheerfully smiling at me slightly. "It'll be okay. She'll be all right."
"How do you know? There's no guarantee that she will be okay." I whine.
"My grandpa had a stroke two years ago and he's quite okay. He just sometimes has a problem with remembering some words but apart from that he's still the same." He says and his eyes don't leave mine. "To be honest it's more fun. Every time he can't remember some word he describes it and we try to guess which one it is." he smiles slightly.
"So you think my grandma will be okay?" I ask my voice shaking slightly as another tears silently streaming down my face.
"I can't be a hundred percent sure, but I think you'll be okay." he says and starts the car.
I pull my knees to my chin and I hug them tightly looking out of the car window, while he drives towards the hospital. When he parks, I don't feel like going out of the car. Just looking at the building scares me. I'm not ready for my grandma lying in hospital bed, hooked to strange machines. Dave had to see my hesitation, because he goes out of the car and he opens the door for me. I look up into his eyes and he surely saw my fear, because he smiles at me slightly.
"Don't worry Hilly. Come on, I'll go with you and we'll find your parents okay?" he says and extends his hand towards me.
I hesitate looking at his hand. It's an ordinary hand, but I feel something different about it. I have never dated before. I know that it's strange in my age, but I just want to date a christian and I want to date the boy God created for me. I know it sounds old fashioned and not cool at all, but it is how I want my life to be.
So finally after few moments of hesitation, I stretch my hand towards him. He grabs it softly and pulls me out. As our skin touches I feel something strange deep inside my belly. Something like a wave of excitement. Or fear? I don't know. But it's over as soon as he lets go of me and locks his car. He puts his arm around my shoulder and he leads me in. As we approach the lady behind the table I feel my throat tightening more and more.
"What's your grandma's name?" Dave asks and looks at me.
"Elizabeth." I say shakily. He gives me an amused smile.
"Her surname is the more important part I think." he adds with a smirk.
"She has the same surname I do. Turner." I say shakily. Dave turns around and goes to the lady.
"Hello." he smiles at her. "We're looking for an old lady, Elizabeth Turner. She was brought here after a stroke." he says. The lady says something I can't hear, he thanks her and goes to me again.
"Second floor, room 12." he says and puts his arm around my shoulders again. "Come on, I promise she'll be all right." he says encouragingly and he leads me to the elevators. As we're walking through the second floor and the numbers on the doors are increasing I start to tremble. Dave stops in front of the door with 12 on it and he looks down at me concerned.
"Hey." he says softly and he wraps his arms around me carefully. "It's okay." he whispers near my ear. To my own surprise I don't pull away. It feels good to have someone to comfort you in moments like these. I'm only surprised that of all the people it is Dave.
"Go in." he says as he pulls away. "I'll wait here and when you check on your grandma you come back and tell me okay?" he smiles and sits down.
"Okay." I whisper shakily and turn to the door. My fingers are trembling terribly when I open them and walk in. My parents are there and my brother too. Luckily for me, grandma is already awake and she's even smiling.
"Grandma!" I say and a loud sob comes out of my throat.
"I'm okay sweetie." she says weakly. I can see, that she's tired, but the fact that she's smiling is giving me hope. I sit by her bed and hold her hand until my cheeks are dry.
"Grandma will be fine Hilly." mum says and puts her hand on my shoulder. "The doctor said she had a light stroke and she was in doctors hands pretty quickly so there should not be any complications." mum explains.
"Okay." I say quietly. Then I realize Dave is probably still waiting outside.
"Oh, will you excuse me for a moment? I have to thank David so he could go home." I say before I can stop my words.
"David?" My dad asks with suspicious voice and he looks me in the eyes.
"Yeah." I say blushing slightly because everyone is looking at me now. "David Clark." I specify "We were in the bakery, when mum called and he was so kind he gave me a ride." I say.
"Oh, okay then." Dad says and I walk out. But I can't miss Dad's suspicious look. He's always been too sensitive about boys coming close to me. He's guarding me very closely.
"So how is she?" Dave asks and stands up right as I walk out of the room.
"She'll be fine." I say quietly looking at my shoes. "Doctor said the stroke was only light and she was here pretty quickly so she shouldn't have any permanent damage." I add.
"I told you so." he says and when I look up I can see he's smiling. To my surprise my own lips curve into a slight smile.
"I know." I say "And I want to thank you." I say and when I take all my courage I wrap my arms around him and squeeze him in a friendly hug.
"You don't have to thank me." he says and I feel his hand stroking my back and hair and it feels nice. I don't feel like going out of this comfortable hug as I close my eyes and inhale his scent. He smells like vanilla. Probably because of the cupcakes he was making today. But eventually I let go of him and give him a smile again.
"Yes I do." I say "Not everyone would do what you did."
"Okay, if you want to thank me, there is one thing you could do for me." he says and smirks at me. I feel like I'm not gonna like what he will say.
"What is it?" I ask.
"Could we be friends?" he asks and smiles. "Like true friends? Could you try to bear my annoying nicknames and in exchange I will try to use only the good ones, and not the embarrassing ones?" he asks and I have to laugh at that.
"Okay, we can try." I smile up at him. He smiles back with a smile I have never seen before. It's not a mocking smile or a joking one. It is a warm genuine smile, which somehow warms my heart from inside. I have never seen him smiling like this at me or anyone else.
"Thanks" he smiles and he hugs me lightly again. "Then see you tomorrow Sunshine." he winks at me and I just roll my eyes with an amused quiet laugh. I guess I should really get used to this nickname. Still better than nightingale...
Katniss's POV
It's 2:30 when Dave comes back with a smile plastered over his face. By his bouncy walk and whistling I guess that it went well.
"So, how is Hilly and her grandma?" I ask casually.
"She'll be fine, no permanent damage." he says "And Hilly agreed to try to be friends. Like true friends!" he exclaims excited. "She promised she will try to bear my annoying behavior and I promised to be less annoying." he laughs.
"That's a good start." I smile.
"And..." he says and gives me a proud face "she hugged me."
"Oh, that's something." I laugh over his face. "Well I just hope you two will find out if you belong together." I smile as he goes to the kitchen.
"I figured it out already." he smiles and winks at me "I'm just waiting for her to realize it."
I just laugh and shake my head over his confidence. But maybe he's right. Wasn't it exactly the same with me and Peeta? He knew he loved me just from the beginning and he was just waiting for me to realize it. Like if he can hear my thoughts, his hands hug me from behind tightly and he presses a soft kiss to my neck.
"Hey." he whispers into my ear and I giggle.
"Hey Muffin." I smile.
"I was thinking..." he whispers.
"And?"
"And I want to ask you if you'll go on a date."
"A date?" I ask. We didn't have many classical dates in our relationship. Between Peeta's mum, Cato and the bakery, there was not much time for those.
"A date." he states. "Walk in a park, nice dinner and some movie in the cinema." he says as his lips brush my neck again.
"Okay, I'll go." I smile and close my eyes.
"Well that seems easy." Dave's voice comes from behind.
"Dave!" I exclaim angrily.
"It's not right to listen to such an intimate conversations." I say.
"Sorry." he says "I just wanted to see how to persuade girl to go on a date with me. So I should kiss her neck?"
"No!" I whine. "You can't ask Hilly to go on a first date with you and kiss her neck."
"Right." Peeta says "The first time Katniss actually agreed to go on a date with me, I had to make a deal with her." he says and winks at me. A smile plays on my lips as I remember when he asked me to go on a date.
"I promised not to flirt and touch other girls for a week and she promised to go on a date with me on Saturday if I'm able to keep the deal." he smiles.
"Wow, that's pretty hard deal." Dave laughs.
"Well it was, but the first kiss I got in the end was priceless." Peeta says and smiles at me.
"Sure it was." I smile back. Dave looks at our "in love" looks as his face gets sad and he sighs deeply.
"She's never gonna go on a date with me." he says desperately and puts his head into his hands.
"Oh, it's not that bad." I say with a smile. "I tell you what you do." Peeta adds.
"First be her friend. A true one." he says "Be kind and nice, you can tease her for fun, but when there is something serious and she needs you, be there for her. When you become real friends, next step is making her want you. You touch her shoulder, hold her hand for a while, be close to her, when she needs someone, be there. And watch her reactions to you. Watch if she's afraid or scared or just shy... Watch her and learn and do whatever it takes to make her like you." he says and winks at me.
"If it would be that easy..." he says desperately. "I can talk with her and tease her, but I doubt I'll be able to hold her hand and be calm. Today, I hold her hand just for a few seconds and it almost made my heart jump out of my chest." he admits.
"Then you're really in love buddy." Peeta smirks and goes back to the kitchen.
"You'll be okay." I smile. "You already did the first part I think. You're friends and today you showed her that you are there for her in bad times." I encourage him. "And if you need it, I can always talk to Hilly about you."
"Okay, thanks." he smiles back at me and he goes to the kitchen too.
The day goes on in our usual routine and at 4 we close the bakery and Peeta drives me home. He promises to come back in an hour to get me so we could go on our date. I don't want to wear a dress today, but I decide to look more girly than usual so I take jean shorts and an empire waist tank top, which is falling down in nice folds around my body. I'm sure Peeta will like it. When I'm dressed, I go down to find where everyone is. In a minute I find Mum, Prim and Jacob in the kitchen, playing some card game.
"Hey, why are you so dressed up?" Mum asks.
"Date with Peeta." I smile.
"You want to eat something before you go?"
"No, he's taking me for dinner."
"When will you be back?" Mum asks.
"Well, after the dinner we're going to see some movie so... late I guess." I smile innocently.
"Well, make sure Peeta escorts you home, I don't want you to be kidnapped or raped again." Mum says and gives me a strict look.
"Don't worry mum." I say.
"Ohh, I think I'm done or this young lady will ruin me!" Jacobs exclaims as Prim beats him.
"That's why I don't want to play with her." I smirk just in the moment when the doorbell rings.
"I'll get it, it's probably Peeta." I say walking to the door. When I open them I'm met with a huge shiny smile and bright blue eyes. I can't not smile back at him as he walks in.
"Hey." he whispers and kisses me softly.
"Hey" I answer and lead him to the kitchen.
"Mum it's Peeta and we're going out okay?"
"Okay, enjoy your date and Peeta?" she says and turns to him.
"Yes?"
"Keep her safe." she says.
"I will." he smiles slightly. Than he grabs my hand and with a final goodbye we go out of the house, into Peeta's car and he drives to the city center.
"So what kind of dinner do you want?" Peeta asks. "Some good meal, pizza, china or Thai food?"
"Mmm, I'm not sure. Do you have some recommendations?" I smirk at him.
"Well there's a little restaurant with homemade food like hamburgers, steaks, practically everything you could think of. And they have delicious desserts." he winks at me.
"Okay, let's go there."
In fifteen minutes we arrive to a little restaurant, which is buzzing with chattering of the customers. We sit at the table by the big window and in a few minutes we get our food ordered. Peeta is getting a double cheeseburger with French fries and I got a classical hamburger with French fries. Right now he's just sitting across from me and smirking.
"What?" I ask irritated by his looks.
"I'm just thinking about how amazing you are." he smiles and I blush slightly, which makes him smile even more.
"Every girl I ever took out for a dinner wanted salad or pasta and they would run away if I would even mention a hamburger." he smirks
"Well it only confirms what terrible kind of girls you were dating before." I laugh quietly.
"Right." he smiles "I'm glad you're normal."
In a while we get our hamburgers and for a long time we're quite busy with them. I'm relatively small person, but everyone always tells me that I have a huge appetite for such a small girl. Well I guess I do, because I polish off the entire huge hamburger and all of my fries. And there's still some place for a dessert in my stomach. Peeta only smiles over me and shakes his head as I tell him I want to order a cheesecake. I enthusiastically wave to the waiter who's going by and I order two of them. When he goes away with our order, Peeta is frowning for some reason.
"Why that grumpy face?" I ask.
"He was staring at your boobs." Peeta says through gritted teeth.
"What?!"
"He was staring at your boobs." he says more clearly.
"Really?" I ask and blush. He laughs in response.
"You really have no idea what effect you have on boys." he chuckles.
The waiter brings our cheesecake in a minute and he winks at me as he places mine in front of me, which makes my face turn into a disgusted one. Peeta just laughs at me.
"So I found out which movies are they currently playing in the cinema and I think I've found the right one." he smiles at me.
"Oh really? Which one is it then?" I ask curiously.
"Divergent." he smiles and I squeal in excitement. "I thought that since we missed it last time we could see it now."
When we pay for the dinner, we slowly walk towards the cinema hand in hand. It's nice to have some quiet time together. I feel so amazing when his fingers are entwined with mine. We buy tickets for the movie and some drinks and we head in. As the lights turn off, Peeta cuddles closer to me and he puts his arm around me. I lean into his shoulder and just enjoy our closeness while we're watching the movie. It's really amazing. Usually I don't like movies made from books, because they leave out my favorite scenes. But this one is really good in this aspect.
After two hours we finally go out and we both agree that the movie was amazing and we both enjoyed it. We slowly walk towards Peeta's car talking about everything and anything. I'm quiet during the car ride, because I'm starting to feel really tired. When Peeta stops in front of our house he shuts the engine down and smiles at me.
"You can't imagine, how gladly I would go with you and sleep with you in my arms." he whispers into my ear and I sigh as goosebumps erupt on my neck.
"I would gladly accept your offer, but I think our parents would not like it." I smile slightly.
"No definitely not." he says and kisses me softly.
"What about some making out session in a car?" he mumbles between kisses and I giggle in response.
"I think I won't protest." I sight against his lips. They start showering my neck in kisses, slowly going down to my collarbone, to my calvage and finally his fingers brush the tank top away softly and he kisses my breast.
"Peeta stop." I sight into his ear.
"Why?" he asks sadly.
"We can't do this in here." I say.
"I know." he says sadly.
"We'll have to set another date then." I smirk.
"Date it is miss Everdeen." he smiles and kisses me. "I'll tell you when I think of something special for us."
"Okay." I smile. "Good Night then."
"Night night Cupcake." he says and gives me last sweet kiss.
When I close the door, he starts the engine and pulls away. As I watch his car driving through our long street, I remember his kisses, his tender caresses and his lips down between my folds. Only the thought makes me feel tingling between my legs and I feel wetness in there.
But my pleasant thoughts are interrupted with a loud bang sound. Only when I hear metal crashing against another metal, I realize what my eyes see in the distance. It's like in a slow motion. Some yellow SUV literally smashed into Peeta's car on the crossroad. Peeta should have right of way, but the other car ignored that fact. I see Peeta's car sliding through the road and finally stopping when the it hit a lamppost hard. And then there's absolute dead silence. Silence interrupted only by a blood freezing scream echoing against every wall in the street. And that scream is coming from my lips.
"Hooray! A cliffy!" I suppose that's not what you think right now =) I'm pretty sure you'll guess what happens to him in the next chapter... And because I'm also Divergent fan, the only thing I can say is... "Be brave."