"Katniss?"
Silence filled the tense air as two former friends held a stare down contest. My heart was beating in my chest. I held Lucio's hand in mine tight, squeezing it hard. Father looked at Mr. Hawthorne and then back and mother. I could almost feel his disappointment.
It seemed like Mr. Hawthorne found his voice again. "Katniss, what brings you here?" he asked, his voice unsure and broken. He looked vulnerable.
"My daughter," she replied. She pointed at me, her grey eyes staring in my blue ones. Mr. Hawthorne looked at me and then back at me.
The climax. That's what I liked the call this point. It took Mother too many years to visit Mr. Hawthorne. He clearly was shocked by Mother's appearance. Mr. Hawthorne looked at me again.
"You lied?" he merely asked.
I nodded, unsure what to say. My heart was still racing and I was desperately holding onto Lucio.
"Why?" he continued.
I watched Father and Mother. Both their eyes held an intense gaze. I took a deep breath, a shaky one it was. The climax; the moment of truth.
"I'm sorry. When I found the forty letters several months ago, I was upset that my father and mother hid something from me. I knew the rebellion was hard on them, but I felt like it was a part of me. And even if it was a horrendous story, I still felt like I had the right to know about that story. The letters, they showed me something beyond the history books at school. I was so nervous and unsure about coming here. I had never planned this. I had hoped you'd explain me on the phone about the letters, Mr. Hawthorne. When I called, you dismissed me. I knew you couldn't do that when I stood in front of you.
"When I arrived I was still sure this was an amazing plan with zero loopholes. But then, here, I realized if Mother and Father really wouldn't have wanted me to know the story, then I had to respect that. Someday they'd go and tell me. They had to. It was a part of them and a part of me. It wasn't something you could easily hide. I panicked; wanted to get away from this place. Then they arrived and all the guilt hit me like a bat."
It was silent again in the hall way of Mr. Hawthorne's house in District Two. I let go of Lucio's hand, he squeezed it a little before letting go as well. He gave me a reassuring nod, something I needed.
I waited for their response. Father was the first one to do so.
"I'm disappointed, Erica," he spoke. "I understand you wanted to know about our past, but the past isn't something fun and light we like to talk about. You are only fourteen and you might act more mature than you are, you shouldn't have run off."
I nodded and brushed some of my brown locks out of my eye. "I know, I never thought of the consequences. As I said before, it seemed like a flawless plan, but it wasn't. I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted to know about the rebellion. It seems like everyone in class has seen the famous nightlock scene, except for me: your daughter! I understand you want to protect me, but I have the right to know. I knew Mr. Hawthorne was going to tell me."
"How were you so sure?" Mr. Hawthorne replied. His voice calmer now; his eyes still wide, staring at mother.
"I just knew. You were in love with her. I just knew you were going to."
"Do you want to come inside? Delly will be at home in about two hours," Mr. Hawthorne suddenly said, ignoring my answer completely.
Father and Mother's eyes meet. Grey and blue, they are. They seem to argue, no words were spoken. Father nods and so does Mother. They turned to Mr. Hawthorne. Father nodded again and replied: "Sure."
We entered the house again. Mr. Hawthorne's son and daughter were sitting on the couch, watching TV. Upon our arrival, they turned to us and made their way. The little girl was the first one to introduce herself to Mother.
"My name is Primrose, Rose for short," she spoke as she held her hand out. Mother swallowed visibly and nodded.
"You have a beautiful name, Rose," she replied as her shaky hand met Rose's.
Next up with Tizen. An almost spitting image of his father. He introduced himself as well. When shaking my hand, he also winked, making Lucio give a low growl.
We then went over the dinner table where we had sat before I had a bizarre panic attack. I sat next to Lucio, Mother and Father on the opposite of us, and Mr. Hawthorne on the front of the table. An awkward silence fell upon us; no one knew what to say. I looked around and saw how Father was sending daggers Mr. Hawthornes way. I also saw Mother, watching her former friend intently.
"So here we are..." Mr. Hawthorne murmured.
"Here we are indeed," I replied awkwardly, unsure where to begin.
"You have a nice house, Gale."
"Thank you, Katniss."
"When is Delly coming home?"
"In about half an hour."
"Good."
"Yes."
I watched their awkward conversation. It was almost funny how they tried to have one, but failed miserably. This was worse than I imagined!
"Mother, how did you find out?" I asked.
Mother laughed a somewhat bitter laugh. "You never called or picked up your phone. I decided to call Lucio's mom who told me you were here for a school project. In a hurry I checked the box with old items, of course the letters were missing. It wasn't hard to connect it then. You left with Lucio to District Two after you found the letters."
"I read them all..."
Gale laughed. "Every one of them? I remember writing quite a lot. A lot, your mother didn't reply to. She wrote about ten to twenty letters to me. Some of them were your father's."
I nodded. "Yes, Lucio and I read all forty of them. Some were quite useless, but others I enjoyed. I was just astounded by how mother never ever told me about you."
"She had her reasons."
I nodded again and waited for someone else to say something. Instead a high pitched voice cut through the air.
"Hey, Gale! I'm home!"
THE MOVIE IS OUT GUYS! Have you guys seen it already? I was privileged with being able to see it on the 21st. But it was so awesome. I was so impressed by Alexander Ludwig! So any thoughts? Also would you rather like a Gale / Peeta / Katniss or Tizen / Erica scene?
Oh and only plot is mine and I want to thank my beta.