Someone slides into the seat before me, and I can tell without looking up that it is not Annie. The shoulders are wider and more defined. Terrified and curious, I look up from my phone.

Grey eyes meet blue.

"Peeta," I say breathlessly and barely above a whisper.

He smile at me. "Sorry for ambushing you. Don't be mad at Annie."

"Annie?" I ask in a daze. Confusion is written all over my face, and I slowly remember who I was supposed to be meeting. Anger takes over me as I realize I've been ambushed. Annie betrayed me.

"She let it slip that she was meeting you," Peeta tells me quickly. He must sense the shift in my mood. "I begged her to let me come instead. I had to. You're not answering any of my calls or texts."

I shake my head at him. With a deep sigh, I tell him, "There's a reason for that, Peeta." It comes out harsher than I meant for it to.

His eyes are full of remorse. His hands twist with anxiety on top of the white table cloth. "I'm sorry. I have never been more sorry about anything in my entire life. I'm especially sorry that it took me so long to apologize to you."

"It doesn't matter anymore," I tell him. I sit up straighter and gather my belongings. I need out of here before I do something stupid like cry.

For a second, I see Peeta light up. It's almost as if he thinks I'm telling him that the past is in the past. Then, a wave of sadness washes over him. "What do you mean?"

"I'm leaving at the end of summer."

His eyebrows knit together. "I still wanted to apologize, Katniss. I have a lot to apologize for."

Silence spreads between the two of us. I'm on the edge of my seat, read my to make my great escape. Meanwhile, Peeta is hunched over the table, clearly looking defeated.

Why do I have such a soft spot for Peeta Mellark?!

Begrudgingly, I relax back into my seat. "Then apologize."

A small smirk dances across his lips. It's like he won a battle already. He's proud of himself for convincing me to stay. "I should have never kept our relationship a secret. I should have told Rye."

"Obviously," I reply while rolling my eyes. It's almost playful.

"I'm sorry you didn't feel comfortable telling me about the internship."

"I didn't tell anyone," I remind him. I don't want him thinking he's special.

"Right," he says and pauses for a moment to think. "I wasn't on a date."

I channel Johanna's smart mouth and say, "So you said."

A light chuckle escapes Peeta's lips. "Most importantly, I'm sorry for what happened that night. I-I didn't mean to freak out like that."

I swallow the lump in my throat. All the playfulness from earlier is gone. This part of the conversation is inevitable. "Then why did you?"

It's Peeta's turn to sigh and look down at the table. "It has to do with my mother. That witch of a woman beat the shit out of me when I lost my virginity. I ended up in the hospital for two days. That was the day I swore that I'd leave, and I swore that I would protect Rye at all costs."

My heart hurts for the boy in front of my. If anyone knows anything about trauma, it's me. "I should have told you I was a virgin," I confess in a hushed tone. My cheeks burn at the thought of anyone overhearing us.

Peeta shakes his head at me. "No, you shouldn't have had to. I've gone to a lot of therapy. I thought I had worked past my issues, but that night triggered something in me. Every wall that I had broke down went right back up. I'm so sorry that I did that to you, Katniss."

"I forgive you," I tell him, and I know that I would have forgiven him if he told me the next day or in ten years.

"I'm also sorry that you felt the need to alienate all of your friends."

I scoff a bit. "That was all my doing. I burned a lot of bridges." It's my turn to mess with my hands.

"You didn't need to. We all love you," he tells me. The tone of his voice makes me look at him. His blue eyes are burning with emotion. "I love you."

"Peeta..." I say trailing off, stunned. I did not expect him to say that. After everything we've been through... I'm utterly speechless.

"It's okay," he rushes to say. "You don't have to say it back. I just wanted everything out on the table." His face looks uneasy as he adds, "I should also tell you that I applied for a teaching position in Fowler Ridge."

My eyes grow to the size of the saucer in front of me. I reach for my glass of wine and chug it whole. After carefully setting it down, I ask, "You did what?"

"I was drunk," he says like it would explain everything. "You weren't answering me. I thought I needed to do a big, romantic gesture... Now, I see that it's just creepy. I guess that's another think I should be apologizing for."

My heart pounds inside my chest. While I am a little creeped out, all I can manage to ask is "You were willing to move for me?"

Peeta nods enthusiastically. "Anything for you, Katniss. I know that I haven't been the best at expressing myself to you, but I love you. I know that you're it for me, and I was prepared to knock on every door in that town until I found you."

August rolls around faster than expected. Maybe that's because the second half of my summer went a lot better than the first. Time flies when you're having fun and spending time with friends.

Peeta and I finished eating dinner at the restaurant. Then, we stayed up all night talking, trying to find a way to make things work between us. Old trauma was no longer a secret between us. Everything was out in the open, and I understood everything that I was once confused about. Peeta wasn't a cold and calculated man. He was an overprotective brother who would do anything to not get hurt again. It's something I've come to admire about him. I'd like to think that I would have been the same way with Prim.

But there comes a time in every older siblings life when you have to cut the cord. The younger sibling must take flight on their own and forge their own path. Rye's path just so happened to merger perfectly with Madge. Rye decided to stay at the university and get his masters in Statistics, a decision that shocked everyone. It also helped that Madge was staying in town to work on her career in politics.

Annie replaced Peeta at the high school. While she won't be coaching wrestling, she will be planning a wedding. Finnick finally proposed on a romantic cruise. It was the easiest yes of her life.

Johanna and I made up fairly quickly. We both knew that I would never stay mad at her for speaking her mind. That's what made Johanna so unique as a person. At the end of summer, she moved to Chicago at as a teaching assistant. The subject? Gender Studies: Speaking Your Mind.

I was hesitant at first, but Peeta wore me down. Over the last month, we grew back together. We grew stronger. Whether together or not, Peeta was going to accept the job in Fowler Ridge. The pay was better, the school was better, and the wrestling team was better. Things were going to improve for Peeta. It was an offer he could not turn down.

We agreed to take things slow. We got a two bedroom apartment in case something should happen to us. We also promised to talk to each other.

No more shutting the other out.

No more running.

No more trouble.