DISCLAIMER: HG CHARACTERS DO NOT BELONG TO ME, BUT OC ONES DO
A/N: This chapter is a flashback chapter
Chapter 153-District 12
September 25 (Friday)
Avery exits the train in District 12 and looks around the station for Haymitch. She sees him off to the left, leaning up against a pole. Immediately waving and walking over to him, he opens his arms for a hug and says, "Avie."
After their embrace ends, she pulls back and says, "You are the only person who still calls me that you know."
He chuckles and says, "What can I say? Old habits die hard."
She sees a man standing near him, and he explains that he has hired a driver to take them back to his home in the Victor's Village. Once the driver collects her luggage and everything is loaded into the car, they drive off.
She looks out the window and takes in the sights of District 12. Having only seen District 12 in photos and video footage, she is surprised by how small the District is. She had been told by her parents that they walked everywhere in the District growing up, but Avery had figured that with the re-build that the District would be more spread out. She sees a small main square area, with a government building, knowing most likely that is where the government official of District 12 works, along with the mayor. She also sees another large building nearby, guessing it is some type of factory, and sees smaller shops and eateries as they drive down the main street. As they drive away from the square, she sees a library, a large school, and connected townhomes and single homes. Driving further out, she sees newly constructed homes, until they get to a section much further out, and she sees two rows of connected houses. The car pulls up and they get out, knowing they have arrived at the Victor's Village, she takes a deep breath as she looks around, taking in her surroundings, for it was overwhelming to be here.
Seeing the distress on her face, Haymitch has the driver take her bags into his house and he says to her, "Let's take a walk around, come on."
She follows him as he walks down the long row of houses and around back. She is taken aback by the scene in front of her, she sees a huge meadow behind the Victor's Village, with the woods and mountains in the distance. Even though fall had just begun, the flowers were still blooming, and the meadow was beautiful. She looks at the mountains, they were not as high as the mountains in District 2 and the Capitol, but had their own unique beauty, with clouds scattered within them.
"Your Mother loved coming out here, this meadow was her favorite spot when she wasn't hunting" Haymitch says.
"I can see why" Avery says.
He asks her if she is ready to go inside, she hesitates then nods yes. When she enters the village grounds again, she takes her time looking around again and sees that most of the houses appear to be unoccupied, with only two appearing to have people living in them. When she asks Haymitch about it, he confirms that his house is across from Peeta and Delly's. She asks why no one else lives here, and he explains that for many years after the war, hardly anyone lived in District 12, explaining that not even a hundred people lived here. He further explains that as the District started to rebuild, all the housing and construction was near the main town square area. Remembering that she saw all those townhomes and single homes right outside the main square. He tells her that when he and Katniss first returned, an older woman named Greasy Sae and her granddaughter returned to District 12 and lived in one of the houses for a while until people started to return and housing started to be built. Then Greasy Sae and her granddaughter moved to a house closer to the square. Haymitch went onto explain that even after the war, no one lived in the Victor's Village, before because the Capitol would not allow it and now out of respect to those who were in the games. He tells her that for years it was just him, her Mom, and Peeta living here, then Delly arrived a few years later. It is hard for her to imagine her Mom living with Peeta, but she knew that her Mom was with Peeta was for many years before moving to District 2 to be with her Father.
They head inside the house; Avery is taken caught off guard by how dark the house is. Haymitch goes straight into the kitchen and pours himself a drink, asking her what she would like. She tells him she will have water, and he tells her to make herself at home as he gets her a glass. She begins looking around the house, she sees it is a nice house, the rooms are large, and she sees an office room with a beautiful stained-glass window. After he hands the water to her, he shows her the upstairs, showing her where her room will be. Once they head back downstairs, she realizes she has not sent a message to her Father letting him know she has arrived at Haymitch's. She goes over to her bags and pulls her phone out of her purse and begins typing a message to him.
"I just realized I forgot to tell my Dad I got here" she says as she puts her phone back in her purse.
Having just poured himself another drink he says, "Your old man is worried you are here with me I think."
"I don't think he is worried-"
"It's okay Avie. I am not your Father's favorite person. He and I-well-things with us will always be complicated."
"Because of my Mom?"
"And Peeta."
She nods her head in response, he tells her dinner will be ready later once his cook arrives. She decides to take her luggage upstairs to unpack. Later, they have dinner together, his cook preparing beef stew with a side salad.
She goes to bed early, for she is told tomorrow he is taking her back the main square and to Peeta's bakery to introduce the two of them.
Avery asks Haymitch why she is meeting Peeta and if Peeta even knows she is in District 12 as they drive into town.
Once the taxi drops them off and Avery helps Haymitch out of the car, he explains to her that meeting Peeta is important, because Peeta was particularly important to her Mom for many years, he also says that he feels that there are a few things she can learn from Peeta when it comes to recovering from loss.
She does not tell Haymitch, but she is nervous about meeting him, does he resent the fact that she is here? Knowing somewhat about the complicated history between him and her parents, she cannot imagine it would be easy for him having her here.
When she enters the bakery, she sees a woman behind the counter who smiles at them. She has a very warm and bright smile and says, "Haymitch!"
She then comes out from around the counter and extends her hand to her and says, "You must be Avery, I'm Delly, Peeta's wife, it is so nice to meet you."
Avery greets Delly as she shakes her hand in return. A few moments later, a man comes out from the back. Looking as if he recently changed, as he was buttoning the top button on his shirt as he walked out, Avery notices he looked to be about 5'10" and had blonde hair mixed with a bit of gray. He introduces himself to her, as she shakes his hand, she cannot help but begin to feel uncomfortable by the way he is staring at her.
Sensing her unease, he says, "Sorry, it is just-you look so much like your Mother."
She looks down at the floor as she says, "I look more like my Father."
"No denying you are Gale's daughter, but I definitely can see Katniss in you."
A feeling of extreme sadness overtakes her, hearing her Mother's name, since arriving yesterday Haymitch had keep her busy and she did not have much time to herself. Wishing she could run out of the bakery and have a moment to herself Haymitch suddenly comes up to her and tells her he is heading back to the Victor's Village.
"You're leaving?" Avery says, with slight desperation in her voice letting him know she does not want to be left at the bakery.
He takes her outside to the front entrance of the bakery so the two of them can speak in private and says, "You'll be alright, Peeta and Delly are good people, you can trust them."
"I don't even know them!" Avery hisses.
"I said you were going to be meeting Peeta today."
"Yeah, I thought you would be with me!"
"Avery, it will be alright, if there is a problem, call me" and he turns around and begins heading towards the taxi.
She watches as he gets inside and departs, once the taxi is gone, she reaches into her purse and pulls out her phone. Deciding to call her Father, she dials his number, desperate for him to pick up.
Wanting to go home, she plans to tell him she is uncomfortable being forced to spend the day with Peeta Mellark and plans to ask him if the government official from 12 can arrange to take her to the District's hotel before she can buy a train ticket back home.
However, her Father does not pick up and she hangs up the phone, not leaving a message.
Extreme anxiety overcomes her, not used to this feeling, she begins pacing in front of the bakery. She thinks back to the last time she felt this anxious, realizing it was when she first arrived in District 8, but even then, it was not this bad. Not used to being in unfamiliar places by herself, for even when she arrived in the Capitol Sienna was with her.
Delly comes out and approaches her, gently asking if she wants to come back inside. She tells Delly she will be inside in few minutes, asking if she could just have a few more moments to herself, Delly tells her to take her time and goes back inside.
She sits down on the ground outside near the door, ignoring some of the looks she receives from the patrons coming in and out of the bakery. She begins thinking what she knows about Peeta Mellark, remembering what she read about him at the Hunger Games museum, and trying to remember the conversations she overheard her parents say about him while growing up.
Being the second oldest, Avery's memories are not as clear as Sienna's, for Sienna had an insanely good memory, but because Avery spent her entire childhood into young adulthood with both of her parents unlike Jack and Juniper who were not as fortunate, she remembers more of the private moments between her parents, with Sienna having the most memories. She remembered the embarrassing moments of walking in on or hearing her parents during their most intimate moments, and, she also remembered, the rare but intense times she overheard them argue and fight. She thinks back to when she was fifteen or sixteen, when she had arrived home after going the fall school dance. Being out later than she was supposed to, she had opened the front door as quietly as she could, once closed, she tiptoed down the foyer of the house and headed for the staircase and heard her parents in a very heated conversation regarding Peeta. She remembers hearing her Father confront her Mother regarding her most recent trip to District 12 for work. She remembered back when her Mother was a teacher in Silver Lake and remembered when her Mother changed jobs after Juniper was born and began working as a recruiter for PES. While she was only gone for at most a week a few times a year, when she visited District 12 for work, she would stay a few extra days to visit with Haymitch and Peeta. But when she went on the last trip something happened with Peeta that had upset her Father, for her Mother never went to visit Haymitch or Peeta again in Victor's Village, making her trips much shorter. Trying to remember more of the details of that night, all that she can remember was her Father yelling about a package that had arrived, and her Father saying that her Mother needed to put her family first, and to forget about the past. She remembers her Mom yelling back and telling her Father that she didn't ask for it to be sent, and for him to throw it away if it bothered him so much. Becoming uncomfortable for this was the worst argument she ever heard between her parents, she begins to slowly head upstairs and hears her Father's voice get louder as he yells that her Mom and Peeta do not think about him or Delly in their actions and asks her why she even showed it to him in the first place.
Realizing that is all she is going to remember from that night, she sighs as she gets up, knowing what she needs to do as she heads inside.
Peeta walks with Avery in the meadow, Delly is closing the bakery for him, for the bakery closes at noon and it is now just after 12 pm. When Avery had come back into the bakery, she had asked him if they could talk in private, deciding it might be easier if they talked out here, away from everyone, for he had a strong feeling that she wanted to talk to him about Katniss.
Once they were far enough out and away from the houses at the Victor's Village, he places a large blanket for them to sit on. Once seated, she gets right to the point. She asks him why her Mother quit visiting him, and tells she wanted to know the truth about why he caused so many problems between her parents.
He pauses before he speaks, deciding to start from the beginning, telling her how he had a crush on her Mother since he was five. He tells her how he was mesmerized by her singing in music class, but that growing up he was always too afraid to talk to her. He tells her how he burned bread so that she would not starve, and that while she never thanked him, she held a dandelion in her hands as they made eye contact in school.
He says they never actually spoke until they day he was reaped, and she volunteered for Prim. Saying that if he was going to die in the arena, at least he got to know her. But he did not die in the hunger games, and neither did she, as they pretended to be star crossed lovers, only for him it was not an act.
Avery raises her eyebrows at him, and he says, "When we arrived back in District 12 your Mom wanted to forget about what happened in the arena, for your Mom it was all an act. I know part of it was, she was just trying to survive, but I always knew, while we were in the arena, she had-other people on her mind."
"My Aunt Prim and my Dad" Avery says with assurance.
Peeta nods and says, "I was jealous of your Father before I even had the courage to even smile at your Mom in school. For years I saw the two of them together, I heard about how they would go to the Hob to trade, I knew they went into the woods to hunt, I knew they had a strong bond."
He then tells her about how they both had to adjust after the games, how she had nightmares, how things were never the same for him either. Then the quarter quell happened, he talks about how he went into the arena prepared not to come out, how he was planning to sacrifice himself for her, how he gave her a locket, and a pearl. And how he wanted her Mother to be with Father for her to find happiness. He then talks about his abduction and torture, and ultimately what happened between her parents after Prim died and her Mother's anger and needing to place her anger and grief at her Father to move on. He tells her about her Mother's depression, how it was so bad she had to be force fed food, but that in time, she recovered.
He tells her about the years they spent together, but that slowly, over time, her feelings changed, and while she still loved him, she was not in love with him. She left District 12 to go to the wild territory, reconnected with her Father, and never returned. He tells her about how he reconnected with Delly, for they were friends in District 12, and she helped him adjust when he first arrived in District 13. He then tells her about his seizures, and his surgery and how he lost his memory, and how he feels her Father was relieved when that happened, for it was only then, that her Father no longer looked at him as a threat.
He then tells her what no one knew, was that his memories slowly returned over the years, and that about eight years ago, all his memories had come back, there were no more gaps or pieces missing.
With all his memories back, he explains he had decided to send her Mother a package to their house in Silver Lake after she last visited him and Haymitch. Avery asks him what was in the package, for it had upset her Father greatly.
He pauses for a few moments, unsure if he should answer the question. But he knows he must to gain her trust.
"It is not what was in the package itself, the package just had some items from my bakery I had expressed shipped to your house. It was what inside the envelope that upset your Father so much."
She gives him a pleading look to go on, for she needed to know what transpired that day if she was going to stay in District 12. Just then she hears her phone begin to ring, knowing it is her Father calling, she pulls out her phone in her purse and sees that it is him calling her back, she does not answer placing the phone back in her purse.
He continues saying that with his memories fully returned, he had remembered a poem he had written her, after they had begun their life together in District 12. He had given her the very shortened version of what had happened to him after her Mother was rescued from the arena and he was captured, and what happened to him after when he arrived in District 13. How he was in the Capitol for months after the war ended, and while he spent quite a bit of time drawing, he had also begun writing poetry as part of his therapy. He explained most of the poetry he had thrown out once he left the Capitol, and once he returned to 12 the only hobby he continued with was drawing and painting. But there was one poem he had written, a poem about her Mother and his deep love for her. He explained that once he remembered the words, he had to write them down again, and decided to send the poem in a letter, explaining that while he knows things between them will never be the same again, that he felt in his heart the words written in the poem helped the two of them grow back together again. He also said in the letter, he knows she felt the same, though her heart moved on. He tells her also placed in the envelope of the letter was a pearl, explaining that he had given her Mother a pearl in the arena right before he was captured, and had told her that he considered her as precious as a pearl. He tells her he also gave her the locket of her Father, her Grandmother, and Aunt Prim that same day in the arena.
She asks him why her Father would be so upset by the pearl, for her Mother kept the locket for the rest of her life, telling him that she was buried with it. Though she declines to tell him where her Mother was really buried.
"When your Mother was in District 13, things between her and your Father started to become strained. They did not agree on a lot of things. She also worried about me a lot, and the pearl I had originally given her, I have been told, she kept with her. I think your Father knew the person he loved was slowly slipping away from him. The locket represented him, your aunt, and your Grandmother, but the pearl, that represented my love for her. When he saw the pearl and read the poem, he became extremely hurt. To this day I don't know why your Mother showed it to him, but your Mother wrote to me shortly after and said in her letter she would not be visiting Delly and I in District 12 anymore and sent the poem and pearl back, she said that while the words in the poem were as beautiful now as they were then, she cannot think of me in that way ever again. That what we had was in the past, and that I needed to move forward. It was wrong of me to send the poem and the pearl, but I just wanted her to know that my feelings would never change, despite all that has happened."
"You are with Delly, you have two children, are they not enough?" Avery asks.
"They are enough, I love Hunter and Lily with all of my heart. And I love Delly, truly I do-but-not in the same way I loved your Mother."
"Are you happy?"
"Yes and no, I am happy with my family, but when you have lost as much I have, I don't think it is possible to ever be truly happy. And I don't mean what happened between your Mother and I, I lost my whole family when District 12 was bombed. I went through-traumatic events when I was held captive-and I killed people when I was in the Hunger Games. Like I said, being completely happy, not possible."
"Do you still have the poem?"
"Yes."
They then head back to his home, she is introduced to his daughter Lily, who is now 14. Closer in age to Juniper, she sees Lily has blonde hair and blue eyes like him and Delly. She also learns that Hunter, now 20, still lives in District 12 with them but often goes out of town for weeks sometimes months at a time for he is learning carpentry, and he is currently on a job in District 6. She decides to go back over to Haymitch's, for she knows she must call her Father back. Once back in her room she takes her phone out and calls him, seeing the time is 3:19 pm.
He answers on the 3rd ring and says, "Everything ok?" before she can even say hello.
She smiles, her Father, ever the protector, always made her feel safe growing up. When she was injured or hurt, she always ran to her Father for comfort, for he always had a way of making her feel better. Sienna always preferred the comfort of their Mom, but she their Dad. She knows part of the reason, was because growing up her Mom had her hands full taking care of Jack, and she found her Father was able to give her the attention she needed when her Mom could not.
"Yeah Dad, everything's fine."
She tells him she called him earlier to say hi; he apologizes for missing the call and says he and Juniper were at the stables for her riding lesson. He then puts Juniper on the phone, and she tells Avery how in November she will begin competing in events. She hears the excitement in her little Sister's voice and is happy for her. Juniper also tells her before their Father gets back on the phone that they are going out to dinner with Kimber later. Once her Father is back on the phone, she tells him she thinks it is good they are still in contact with Mom's friends.
He tells her loves her before he hangs up, knowing she should tell him she loves him back; she cannot bring herself to do it. She is unsure if it is because she is upset by what Peeta told her today, or because deep down, she is still angry at him for moving on with Cassandra. She looks at Peeta, who is still carrying a torch for her Mom almost thirty years later. Here she is with the opposite problem, afraid that Cassandra will replace the role of her Mother in her little Sister's life.
She decides to lay down on her bed, dozing off for a little while. When she wakes up, she sees the time is 5:12 pm. She picks up her phone and sees a missed a message from Levi, asking if she wants to meet for dinner tonight and letting her know he missed her.
She has not spoken with him since the day he left to visit District 11, he had sent messages, but they remained unanswered. She types back that she is out of town, but that she will catch up with him later. Placing the phone back on the nightstand she then gets up and heads downstairs.
She helps Haymitch heat up the meal his cook prepared for them, and the two of them eat it for dinner. After, she watches a bit of TV with him then heads upstairs early for bed.
The next morning, she awakes early, but lays in bed the entire morning, unable to find the energy to get up and leave the room. Unsure if it was still the hormones lingering in her body, her continued depression, or both, she dozes in and out of sleep while laying on the bed. Around 1 pm, Haymitch comes into her room without knocking and says, "Peeta would like for you to come over, I told him you'd be over sometime before the day ends today."
She tells Haymitch she is getting up now and he leaves. Forcing herself out of bed she gets up and showers, once dressed and ready she sees the time is after 2 pm. She eats some fruit before she leaves. Quickly going across the way over to Peeta's, he answers the door and tells her that Delly and Lily have gone into town for a fundraising event this afternoon for Lily's school. Peeta explaining that her school just started back last week.
Taking advantage of the opportunity that they were alone in the house; she brings up their conversation from yesterday regarding the poem he wrote to her Mother. She asks him to see it, telling him she wants to see what he wrote to her Mother all those years ago. She sees he is hesitant, that it is something he does not want to do, but he tells her he feels he cannot say no to her, for she reminds him too much of her Mother and he could never refuse her.
He takes her into his study, the same big room with the stained-glass window that Haymitch has in his house. She watches as he opens a locked drawer and takes out an envelope, he tells her that besides her Mother and Father, no one else has seen this, not even Delly.
Avery takes the poem and begins reading:
I think of you in the morning
before the sun rises,
when in the still of the darkness
my heart feels your presence.
Your love, your tenderness,
your slow rhythmic breathing as you sleep,
and I am at peace.
I think of you when the first rays of sunlight
spill like a waterfall between the blinds
and settle in my eyes.
I reach my hand, my foot, any body part will do,
to touch you and breathe you in.
It feeds my heart, my soul, my spirit,
and I am at peace.
I think of you at noon when the sun is at its highest,
when the heat warms my skin
and causes my eyes to close with sheer pleasure.
Thoughts of you surround me, envelop me, overpower me.
Images of you swirl around like a funnel cloud,
sucking into its grasp all that it touches,
and I am at peace.
I think of you when the sun is setting
and its final rays of light begin to fade.
I can hear your voice, deep, soft, and slow in my head-
words of beauty, joy, friendship, and everlasting love.
My heart begins to sing a love song so sweet and so gentle.
I cannot wait to share my day with you and yours with me.
And I am at peace.
I think of you when the sun has set and the stillness of the moon
is displaying one of its many wondrous phases.
Thoughts of your smile, your laugh, and your eyes
create a feeling that is impossible to express with just words.
The need to touch you, to feel you, to drink you in
is almost too much to hold inside.
Anticipation of you is the greatest gift.
I am at peace.
Knowing her Father, Avery can only imagine what he was feeling when he read this. She hands the poem back to Peeta and says, "You have to destroy this."
Taking the poem back, he says to her, "It is safe in this drawer, Delly never comes in here, I use this room for drawing and painting. I lost so many memories for years, I don't want to just-destroy memories that have come back to me."
Not agreeing with this explanation Avery comes closer to him and says, "My Mother loved you, she did, I know her love for you was different than for my Father. But I think that the reason my Father got so upset with my Mom that day is because he was reminded of a time when the two people she cared about in her life were competing against each other for her affection. But that is over now, time to shut the door on it once and for all."
"I didn't invite you over here today to re-hash the past, I invited you here for us to talk."
"I cannot be here with you knowing that you still continued to-be a source of conflict for my parents."
"Avery that was never my intention."
"Doesn't seem like it to me when you send a poem like this to another man's wife."
She sees a look of guilt form on his face.
"Shut the door on it, perhaps not all memories are worth getting back" and she turns around and leaves.
A/N: poem written by author found on public domain
The next chapter will go back to the present and focus on Gale, there will be some back/forth between Avery in 12 and the present time
