DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES TRILOGY
IT BELONGS TO SUZANNE COLLINS
Fifty-Two
"Katniss!" He says immediately and my heart skips a beat.
He remembers my name.
A feat I would gladly take any day because even if he doesn't know who I am, knowing my name tells me I'm not a complete stranger in his new life.
"You know my name." I blink at him. I take a step toward him but no more. He gets up from his bed and rubs the back of his neck, looking ashamed.
"Well," he starts, "I've had a crush on you since we were kids. Just a crush."
A let myself laugh.
"It's ridiculous, I know." He says.
"No, it's not." I say genuinely. We stand face to face, him seeing me in a completely different light while I look back at him silently willing his memories to return. I force myself not to grab him and kiss him full on the lips by digging my nails to the palm of my hands.
"Peeta?" I call to him, breaking the silence.
"What is it?" He says, looking back at me.
"It's over." I exhale, "You can go home now."
"Are they done with me then? No more health tests?" he asks confused.
"Yes." I tell him.
"What about you?" He continues.
"You're going home with me." I tell him in an attempt to tell him gently that he's married to the girl he fell for when he was a child. "We live in the same house."
"What?" He asks, his brows rising.
"Peeta, I'm your wife." I say finally as I raise my left hand to show him my wedding ring.
"This is a joke." He says gawking at me.
"No, it's not." I take a seat on the mattress and gesture for him to sit by me and he does. "Peeta, I'm going to explain some things to you. They will sound crazy but I promise you they're the truth."
I look down at him, his elbows on his knees, his eyes staring at the floor. I wait for him to say something but he doesn't so I decide to just go on.
"You saved my life— my family's life." I start, "Do you remember that?"
"Katniss, the only thing I know is that I live in Twelve and that I'm a baker." He says, "The people from the Capitol brought me here for the standard and mandatory Physical Exams. You can't be my wife."
We'll ease him back into his life slowly. The voice of General Walker rings in my head and I take a deep breath.
"We were kids." I tell him, ignoring the things he just said, "My father had just died in the—"
"Mines." He says, "Your father worked in the mines."
"You remembered. That's right." I tell him.
"Many people from Twelve worked in the mines." He says quietly.
"My family was starving." I continue, "I was out trying to sell my sister's baby clothes so that I could buy some food but no one wanted them."
"It was raining." He continued for me.
"Yes, Peeta." I sigh, clinging onto hope that he'll remember the right things. "Somehow I found myself at the back of your house, sinking into the mud and losing all hope when—"
"I burned the bread." He cut me off. "Mother was angry at me."
"You threw the bread to me, Peeta." I tell him, reaching for his hand but he pulls it away from me. "I went home that night and my sister and my mother and I had something to eat after so many weeks of having nothing but the air to swallow."
I wait for him to say something, anything but he doesn't. We sit there in silence, unmoving.
"I'm sorry." His voice is low and desolate. "It was just burned bread. I'm glad I was able to help your family but, crush or not, I don't know you well enough to be your husband."
"Yes you do." I plead. "Peeta please try to remember."
"All I know is that we were young and I had a petty crush on a pretty girl who was in my class." He says, "I don't know you so we can't possibly be married. If this is some kind of sick joke—"
"No, it's not!" I say firmly. "You have to believe me. We were in the Ga—"
"Mrs. Mellark, please do not mention anything about the Hunger Games!" General Walker's voice booms from my earpiece. "Take it slow, Mrs. Mellark, he'll get there."
"I hope you know," I sigh, letting my anger go, "that I would never do anything to hurt you. I'm not here to ask you for anything, I just want you to know that I will be here for you. Whenever, whatever you need, I'm ready to help you." I get up from the mattress and straighten down my blouse. I look back at him and offer him my hand.
"It's time to go, Mr. Mellark." I say as evenly as I can. "There is a hovercraft ready to take you back to District Twelve." He takes my hand and gets up. I let him go and I make my way to the door and open it. I let him go first and follow afterward. I look down the hall and watch as Claire walks briskly away from the scene in an attempt to keep Peeta from seeing the baby. The doctors usher Peeta through the building and away from me.
"Doctor Dane and Doctor Williams will take him to the hovercraft." General Walker says when only Harvey and I are left.
"That was excruciating." I sigh. "Paylor promised me he'd remember how he felt about me."
"And he did." General Walker says, raising his shoulders. "He remembers that he has feelings for you."
"A crush is not enough." I say with a grunt.
"It will be." He says. "Didn't you see him remember how it was raining or that your father worked in the mines? He will remember you, it will just take time. Just know that he's actually got a life to look forward to now. This will all be worth it."
"Thank you, General Walker." I say to him and he salutes me. He leads us through the hall again and out the front door where Claire is showing Alouette the birds in the sky.
"What about Peeta?" I ask as Claire brings Alouette to me.
"We've arranged a different hovercraft for him." General Walker says. "He's boarded and the craft has just ascended."
"Good." I say.
"Why is that?" Harvey speaks up.
"Because I'm not going home just yet." I tell him, pulling Alouette's fists away from my hair.
"Where are you going?" Claire asks then.
"I'm going to visit the president of Panem."
