I run my fingers through my hair and sigh as I pull my tank top on. Today is my only day off this week aside from Sunday and Peeta is upset, more like angry because I'm working New Years Eve and Day, which is tomorrow.
He watches me dress with a sad look on his face.
"I won't be gone that long." I mumble.
"One millisecond is is too long. Blinking is too long. This isn't fair." he crosses his arms and sits down on the floor like a child.
"Peeta..." I pull my long sleeve gray loose fitted shirt that says 'MAKE LOVE' and my coral pants and button them up. Them I pull my hair out if it's bun and flip my head and run my fingers through it before flipping back and putting on my gray beanie and black vans.
"Rye and Alexis can make their own love story." He says.
"Peeta." I sit down in front of him. He pull me into his lap and puts both hands in my ass.
"Quit your job." He says.
"Peeta I can't just quit-"
"Come on. Please? Quit your job. We can move to the country and get a farm on our property and a forest and horses. You can hunt! Don't you miss hunting? I'll be able to see you when I want and you can work at the bakery. We can do what we want and we don't have any schedules."
"Peeta I'm not going to let you convince me to quit my job again." I say. He pushes me off his lap, his touch gentle.
"Fine." He stands up. "Bye." He walks away.
...9...
By the time I get there, I'm late, and I'm just in a bad mood. I see her sitting at a table. I walk over to her and she meets my eyes and smiles. "Hi!" She says. She stands up and hugs me like she's known my forever and I hug her back. "I honestly thought you were just a fan trying to meet me or something. I didn't think you would need something from me." She laughs. I smile.
I sit down and so does she.
"I just want to say that your voice is amazing." I say.
"Oh, thank you." She smiles. She flicks her eyes over my shoulder and sighs softly. "Everyone is watching us." she whispers.
I shrug. "I know."
She look at me. "So what is it you need?" she asks.
"Well, you know my fiancé, Peeta?"
"I know of him, but I don't know him personally." She says. I nod.
"Well his brother met this girl named Alexis Olivia Peterson. They ran into each other on the street and they both want to date but neither one if them has the guts. This is where you come in." She's listening intently. "You see, Alexis lives here in LA and she has the voice of a god. I was thinking of songs, you know, one that she can sing to tell him she thinks she's falling in love with him."
"Ah, I see. You want to know if your fiancés brothers friend can cover my song 'I Think I'm Falling For You' so she can sing it to your fiancés brother, is that right?"
I let out a breath. "Yes. She would have asked you but she didn't know how to get ahold of you."
"I guess she can cover the song." She says. "I think we have to get something signed first..." She frowns.
"We do?" I ask.
"Let's just both sigh a piece of paper." She says.
"I'll get one." I stand up. I'm just about to get in line when everyone insists I can cut. "Oh that's really not necessary." I say.
"Please." They insist.
"Um...okay." I move to the front of the line. "Do you have a piece of paper?" I ask.
The lady stares at me, dumbstruck.
"Uh..." She says. "Um..."
Then she passes out, falling backwards to the floor. I lean over the counter.
Did I say something wrong?
"Did she just pass out?" Colbie walks over to me.
"Um...yes." I say. A worker comes out of the back, sees the two of us and screams.
"Shit! Jess! Come look at this!"
A girl walks into the front and gasps. "Oh god." She grabs the guys arm. Colbie and I exchange a look. My phone starts vibrating insistently in my pocket. I pull it out to see I'm getting a trillion messages from Finn, Jo and Peeta in a group. Rye and Graham and Justice and Kegan are added.
Jo: BRAINLESS YOU NEED TO COME HOME
Rye: THIS IS NOT GOOD
Graham: OH GOD
Kegan:I see nothing happy in the future
Justice: well damn
Finn:KITTY COME HOME NOW
Peeta:kat you really need to come home. Like...right now
Me: why? What's happened?
Peeta:it's a long story but you need to come home
I feel myself getting nervous.
Me: fine. Im on my way. If this is a joke I'm going to kick someone in the face
"Colbie I'm really sorry but I have to go. Can we meet tomorrow or something?"
"How about I call you?" She asks. I hand her my phone and she saves herself as a contact and texts herself.
Then I leave.
...9...
I realize just how serious this is when I walk in the door and I hear my family screaming. Finn is pale and pacing, as is everyone else aside from my family. The kids are crying.
Prim is crying and she looks like she's about to kill somebody.
I don't even get noticed. Everyone is so angry. Mrs. Mellark looks upset and she's whispering to Mr. Mellark.
"I can't fucking believe this!" Mom says.
Mrs. Mellark walks over to me. "Prim threw up this morning and then she admitted she might be pregnant. And this has been going on since. Your Mom and Dad want to throw her in a foster home."
"They want to get rid of her?" I ask.
"Yes."
"Are you joking?"
"No…I mean…I strongly believe in no sex before marriage but I would not ever get rid of my child…kids will be rebellious. They're teenagers. They don't listen and…I mean…I wouldn't and could put my sons for adoption. Just the very though…" she looks at her three boys and shakes her head. "You'll understand one day, I bet."
"No, get in the car! I don't want you anymore!" mom points to the door, and I get pissed when Prim listens.
I slam the front door and lock it.
"Move Katniss." Mom says.
"Don't tell me what to do." I cross my arms. She looks like she could kill me right now.
"Youb are my daughter-"
"And I am an adult and that is my fucking sister!" I point at Prim, who looks slightly relived when she realizes I'm sticking up for her.
"What are you saying?" Mom demands.
"I'm saying that if you put her up for adoption, I swear on the fucking bible you will never see me again."
"Katniss she had sex-"
"I don't give a fuck!"
"Katniss she's seventeen years old."
"I don't care!" I'm seething. "You're pissed because she's pregnant, is that it? If you didn't get me on birth control, I could have been pregnant with Cato's kid! Then what? Are you going to get rid of me, too?"
"Katniss this wasn't rape." Mom says. "That's completely different-"
"Did she tell you it wasn't rape?" I demand.
"No but-"
"Well Prim wouldn't just go off and have sex." I say. Prim must get what I'm doing. "She wouldn't and you damn well know it."
"Katniss cut the shit and get out of the way."
"You're not putting my sister up for adoption because you're pissed off because she made a mistake."
"Mistakes mean you're a failure in life." She says.
I actually stare at her for a long time. "You know…your wrong."
"Not I'm not-"
"How many mistakes have I made? I can think of a huge mistake right off the top of my head." I hiss.
"Let's hear it then." She crosses her arms.
"The day I asked Peeta what was wrong and he told me he had to move back to New York and I let him go. That was the biggest I've ever made. "I helped him pack. What kind of sick person does that? But am I a failure? No, I'm not. You know why? Because I learned from the damn mistake. He's right there. I got my head out of my ass and fixed the fucking mistake!"
"But that doesn't make you successful."
"Well I have about…" I think for a moment. "Almost four million dollars more than you do." I point out. She looks angry.
"She broke the family rule." She says.
I say it. I say what I've been holding in for years. "The family rule is stupid." I say. Gasps hit my ears. Peeta, Jo, Rye, Graham, Finn, Justice, Kegan and Prim just smirk, shake their heads and look down at the floor. Finn is expected to follow the rule.
"Excuse me?" Mom asks.
"You heard me. The rule is stupid! It's so fucking stupid! I'm an adult! I should be allowed to have sex with my fiancé whenever we want! I get waiting till eighteen because I'm still a kid, but I'm going to be twenty five soon. I'm twenty five years old and I've never had sex by choice."
"I'm twenty nine and I've never had sex." Graham mutters.
"See? It's stupid! What about those of us that aren't planning on getting married?"
"Well then-"
"They never get to experience sex? That's stupid. I've thought it was stupid since I was old enough to understand sex. It's so damn stupid. I get you want to save yourself, but come on mother, there's a ton of loopholes. Peeta's seen every single inch of me but we can't have sex because of the stupid family rule!"
She looks insulted. "I'm not okay with you thinking like this." She says.
"Well, the doors right here." I point to it. "I'm just saying that it's a really stupid rule. Honestly people, raise your hand if you agree." I shoot my hand up on the air, and slowly, all the kids and teenagers and young adults raise their hands.
"You guys are still young."
There are more of us that have had sex than there are of you. I hate the damn rule."
"Yeah uh…I really just think it's stupid. If you're going to have restrictions, at least make is so you have to be engaged...or in a serious relationship." Peeta says.
Mrs. Mellark is quiet for a long time. "I kind of agree with them…" she says.
"Me too." Mr. Mellark says.
"Let's make is different." Mrs. Mellark says. "If they're in a serious relationship for a year oir more, they can have sex. If they are engaged they can have sex. That sounds fair."
The rest of the Mellark's start nodding in approval.
"But Prim isn't in a serious relationship." Mom says.
"We don't even know if she is pregnant."
"Yeah I mean…I'm sort of on my period…"
"Then you can't be pregnant!" Mom says.
"I think you owe her an apology." I cross my arms.
"I'm sorry." Mom says.
My Grandmother who was left in charge of the family rules clears her throat. "I think it seems perfectly necessary to let them be in physical contact if they are in a relation a year or longer." She says. "And I suppose…if they get pregnant…it could be alright. If they have sex before a year they're shunned."
"Are you sure?" Mom asks.
"Yes." She says. "That's the new rule."