Chapter 9 - The Waiting Period.
KATNISS POV-
When I open my eyes, the room is dark and I don't know where I am or what happened. I can feel a cold wood beneath my stomach and breasts and freezing cold water dripping down my back, sliding onto my stomach and making me shiver. I try to bring up my arm to rub the sleep from my eyes but there is something stopping me. I lift my head up to turn it around to see a head of blonde hair and the sound of snoring. He is asleep on my arm and his hand is hanging limply across my thighs. "Rye?" I croak out and his snoring slows almost to a stop as his eyes open and he looks up and around to find the voice. I reach up my arm to caress his face and he almost collapses.
"Katniss!" He shrieks, leaning forward to kiss me almost straight away. "Oh My God I was so worried. How do you feel?" He asks but doesn't even wait for a reply as he turns away from me to talk to someone else. "Peeta!" He hisses through the room and I hear a groan come from the mouth of my best friend. "She's awake." Another blonde head appears next to Rye and I focus on Peeta's face.
"What happened?" I ask as I notice the big welt on his face and the bandages that disapear under his shirt. His left eye is almost completely swollen shut and there is dry blood still on his jaw line.
"Katniss, you where whipped. You almost died." Peeta says to me. "We where all so scared."
"And what happened to you?" I ask him, motioning to his injuries.
"Well Peeta being the hero that he is, stepped in to stop it and got a slash in the face and a slash across his chest which has effectively made him a cause for concern. He has to have someone near him at all times in case he stops breathing." I look up at Rye, about to ask where his black eye came from that I only just noticed, then he puts his hand up to stop me. "He punched me. Romulus Thread, then he was about to shoot me but Haymitch stepped in. I'm glad he did actually. I think he got about 40 lashes on your back or something like that."
"But that's illegal." I choke out and Rye nods.
"Yeh, but he didn't know that but Purnia from the hob put him in his place and then we brought you back here using the wood from the Stratser's makeshift counter at the clothes shop." Peeta says and Rye walks off, claiming that he is going to get my mother. Peeta takes his seat on the stool and takes my hand in his. "You don't understand how scared I was Katniss, when I saw you tied to that post, I thought I had already lost you." He says to me and I can hear the pain in his voice.
"Its alright Peeta, I'm here." I say and he smiles sadly. He is about to say something else that could be pretty awkward but is stopped by my mother and Rye coming down the stairs. My mother pulling her robe around her chest tighter. I try to look up at her but that's when the pain starts. Beginning in my lower back and shooting all the way up to my neck, I have to bite my lips to stop from screaming and my grip on Peeta's hand has probably become deathly as I try to stop moving and calm myself down.
"Right Katniss, I'm gonna use some Morphling if that's okay with you? I used some when you where asleep but clearly you need some more." My mother says and I nod as she quickly injects the clear liquid into my back. I wince at the pain and grab Peeta's hand again. I can feel Rye at my head, keeping me steady and also stroking my neck a little bit which I appreciate. "Now, it should kick in in a couple of minutes, you should feel relaxed but with all the sleep you have had, I doubt you will want to sleep, I think one of the boys will probably keep you company. Maybe both of them will but I have to be up early in the morning so that I can go into town to get some stuff I need with Haymitch but I'll come and see you in the morning." She is walking away when she turns around to look at me. "Oh and Katniss?" I focus my eyes on her. "Dont ever scare me like that again please? I thought I lost you."
I can feel the tears threaten to spill. That is the first time my mother has actually shown me any compassion since my father died. "I'm sorry." I say to her and she smiles slightly. "Mum... I love you." Her smile grows wide and she walks over to kiss me on the head. I haven't said them words to her in 5 years.
"I love you too Sweetie." She says and walks away again, leaving me with Peeta and Rye.
"How long was I out?"I ask them both as they sit there looking at me, as if expecting me to die at any moment.
"Only a day or two. Peeta has not left your side once." Rye says to me. "I would have stayed but I have work at the Bakery." I nod in understanding. He doesnt like working there but he has too.
"Well maybe you should both go and get some sleep in a proper bed." I say to them and Rye looks at Peeta.
"I wouldnt worry about me. I'd worry about Peeta. This is the first time he has slept since it happened and he only got about half an hour I think when you woke up. Maybe you should go on home Peet." He says to his brother but Peeta just shakes his head. "Come on you need to."
"No Rye, I'm not allowed to leave this house remember. Evelyn needs me to stay here." He says with a small laugh. "So I'm staying here." Rye shrugs his shoulders and turns back to me with a slight smile on his face as he was just laughing at his younger brother.
"Okay well, I was going to go back to sleep but I have to be at the Bakery in 2 hours so I dont see the point." Rye says and I nod, placing my head back down on the table. The Morphling kicks in and I find myself closing my eyes to the sound of Rye and Peeta talking quietly about work.
It takes me 2 weeks in total to fully heal and even after that my back is still a little bit sore. After 4 days, my mother let me finally get up. It was hard at first but eventually I got used to being on my feet again. My mother had me do some walking excersises to see if the whip had injured my spine which luckily it hadnt. It was hard at first but eventually I go used to it. I still cant walk for very long though. Mum says I'm healing quite fast but that doesnt make any difference, to me, I still feel useless and I'm finding it hard to not be able to move around much.
Peeta has been keeping me company most days because he is still healing slightly. My mother gave him permission to leave the house a couple of days ago but he still hasnt. He will go back to his to sleep but other than that he is over here most of the time. Holly sometimes comes with him aswell. Uncle Haymitch has started getting annoyed with the amount of people in his house but I'm thankful for it. Atleast this way I have company other than my mother. Prim is at school most days so normally its just me, mum and Uncle Haymitch whilst Peeta goes to work but everytime he is here on his days off, I'm thankful for it.
"Katniss?" Peeta says from the door and I turn around with a smile on my face. "Rye is coming by later, after work. I just needed to let you know that dad needs help at the Bakery and I talked to your mum and she is letting you come back to work. I know you have wanted to get out of here. You can start now if you want. I'll wait for you to get changed?" He asks and I nod in excitement. Not that work thrills me but I'm glad to be getting out of here and back to somewhere where I mostly have fun, as long as Rye doesnt dissapear again, I'll be fine. I pull myself up to my feet way to fast and my aches shook through my back and I have to take a moment before walking up the stairs.
I dress in record time and before I know it, I'm leaving the door with Holly and Peeta. It feels good to be getting some fresh air. My mother will let me sit outside sometimes but not a lot so normally I just sit infront of the fire in the sitting room. I suppose its better than sitting at home by myself. Atleast there is people over here most of the time.
When we make it to the Bakery, its opening time. "Hey Katniss. I didnt realise you where coming in today?" Masan asks me when we walk through the back door. Holly runs off to the sitting room so its just me and Peeta standing there.
"Yeh, Peeta told me that you needed help today so I came in." I tell him. "Dont worry I did ask my mum first." He laughs slightly and I carry on walking towards the register. Realising too late that I have a shadow. I turn around to see who it is, expecting Peeta instead I find Rye. "Hey."
"Hello, Pretty lady." He says in a really creepy voice. I'm about to laugh but his mouth is on mine before I can and I fall into the kiss. When I used to kiss Rye, it was like the whole world just slipped away and there was no-one here but us. Now though, its like I cant stop thinking about the fact that it is Rye kissing me. I dont know what is happening to me.
"Rye!" Holly shouts and I pull away from him, just in time to see Holly jump up into his arms. Well, she jumps half way, Rye has to catch her and bring her to his face so that she can have a big kiss on the cheek from him. I ruffle up her hair slightly and then do the same with Rye who sends me and evil look when I do. Rye never liked to have messy hair. The first thing he does in the morning when he wakes up is sort his hair out. He always told me that he didnt like the fact that he has curly hair even though I told him that I love it. I wouldnt say that its curly. More like wavy. Its Peeta that has the curly hair. I love Peeta's hair too and he knows that. Leaven just has flat hair though so its just like the Mellarks hair has just got curlier, the younger they are.
I leave Rye and Holly in the hallway outside the kitchen and walk out into the front, just in time for the first customer, who just so happens to be Uncle Haymitch. "Hey Sweetheart. 3 dohnuts please." He asks and I look down to the cabinets to see that nothing has been put out yet.
"One minute." I say to him and dissapear into the back. This never happend. Masan always stocks the cabinets before he opens the doors. "Hey." I say once I'm in the kitchen. "Why are the cabinets empty?" I ask.
"Sorry, Rye and Peeta are going to do it right boys?" Masan asks his sons and they both nod before leaving the room with trays in their hands. I look at Masan and see that he has gone pale. There are dark circles around his eyes and his breaths are coming out all jagged and horrible.
"Masan, you alright?" I ask him. He starts to nod but then shakes his head. He really doesnt look good.
"I dont know, I feel horrible. I think I might just lie down for a while. Is that okay?" He asks and I nod.
"Yeh of course it is, I'll just ring Leaven." I say and he walks up to me and pats me on the shoulder. He nods thanks and dissapears from the room. I dont know why but I feel quite scared that there is something very wrong with him.
I find myself leaning on one of the counters with my head ducked when the boys come back in. "Katniss, I sold Haymitch his dohnuts..." Peeta says when he is coming back in and I snap my head up to look at him. "Whats wrong?" He asks. He always did know when something was wrong with me. Rye walks in a second after him and they are both just looking at me.
"Nothing, I need to ring Leaven." I mumble as I try to walk past them but Rye stops me.
"Why? Wheres dad?" Rye asks.
"He is ill so he went to bed. I'm calling Leaven so that he can help." Normally today is Leavens day off but it looks like we need is help anyway.
"Dads never ill." Peeta says.
"I know but he went to lie down. Will you let me through." I push through them both and go to the phone.
The rest of the day goes by really slowly. Brooke comes to keep me company whilst the boys work in the kitchen. I dont really feel like to talking to her or anyone really after everything that has happened over the past couple of months, I just dont want to. We dont get many customers so most of the day, I just sit there and wait. I cant learn any baking today because the kitchen is hectic whilst they try and get all the orders filled. One of the ovens stopped working for a while so they had to put up with only one oven but after a call to the Justice Building, they sent someone over and it was fixed.
PEETA POV-
By the end of the day, I'm absolutely knackered and I cant wait to go to bed tonight. We had so many orders to fill that I cant even tell who wanted what anymore. Leaven and Rye went to give the orders to the right people so they should be gone for a while. Brooke went home so she could get her dinner so that just leaves me, Katniss and Holly who all have to go back to the Victors Village anyway. "My back is killing." Katniss complains, dropping into the seat next to me.
"Here, lie on your front." I say and she looks at me strange before doing so. I only need to check her back to make sure it hasnt got worse. I pull up her shirt and she shivers at me touch as I trace my fingers up her back starting from the bottom. Quite a few of them are just scars now but most of them are still a little red and inflamed. It looks as if it has got worse. "It looks like we are going to have to get you a better chair for reception." I joke as I pull down her shirt again and help her up. The redness still visible on my cheeks from seeing her bare skin. She laughs at my joke and starts to pull on her shoes. "You going?" I ask her. She normally sits here for a while before leaving.
"Yeh, I need to get back to Uncle Haymitch's, I think its about time that I went to sleep." She says with a laugh. "It is almost 7?" She says and I find myself looking at the clock, I did not know that it was that late. What have I been doing all day? It will go dark in about 20 minutes.
"That doesnt sound like a bad idea actually. I'll just go and say goodbye to my dad and I'll walk with you." I say to her and pulls myself up off the sofa and walk off up the stairs. I dont ever go into their bedroom during the day because last time I did, I got a mouthful off my mother.
I creep down the hallway to their bedroom across from the ladder to the attic. I can feel my palms sweating. Come on Peeta! You've been through a hunger games and you're still scared of your mother? Do it. I pull open the door slowly and focus on my dad lying in his bed. "Dad?" I whisper and he stirs. "Me, Holly and Katniss are going now." I say and he smiles. "Rye and Leaven are delivering the orders. I've locked up and I'll see you tomorrow." He nods and turns back around towards my mother and falls back asleep.
When I get back downstairs, Rye and Leaven are here with Brooke. "Hey guys, me and Holly are going now." I say to them and they all nod, turning to Holly to say goodbye.
"Peeta, Rye just asked me to stay here so it looks like its just you and Holly walking back by yourselves." Katniss says to me and I smile.
"Well I'll see you tomorrow then." She smiles at me and leans in for a small, quick hug, which I oviously return. "What about your mum?" I ask, knowing that her mum will be pretty angry that she hasnt gone back to let her check her back.
"I'll ring her when you're gone." She says and I nod.
"Peeta?" Holly says and I turn around to look at the tiny little girl. "I'm tired. Can you carry me?" I laugh slightly. She is always like this. It just hits a certain time and she is automatically tired. Its quite funny actually.
"Come on then." I say to her and she jumps up onto my back with Sammy slung over my shoulder as her hands connect at my neck. I pull myself back up to my feet again and turn to the others.
"Are you sure you're gonna be alright carrying her?" Katniss asks, motioning to my chest. Since I got injured at the whipping post, My chest has been aching but it hasnt been bad.
"You're one to talk." I reply, smiling, which she returns. "Anyway, I'll see you all tomorrow?" I ask the room and they all nod. I know I'm gonna see them tomorrow because I have to work but since my games, it has always been a question.
I leave them all standing there and walk out into the street, carrying Holly on my back. It wont surprise me if she is asleep within a couple of minutes of walking. She never was good with walking. She is normally alright walking to mine considering that its only round the corner but clearly she is quite tired today. I once took her to the meadow on the other side of the Seam but she starts whining half way there though and I had to carry her the rest of the way.
As I walk into the Victors Village and pass Gale's house, I feel a chill as I see that it looks cold and unwelcoming. After he died, Delly spent all of her time there but eventually she had to leave the house when we cleaned it out so we gave her most of the belongings that he had that didnt go back to Hazelle and she made her peace with not being in his house. She got most of his clothes which she claims still smells of him. Since that day, I havent seen her wearing her own shirts. She always seems to be wearing Gale's oversized shirts. I dont blame her though, I could never understand what she is going through, I dont know what I would do if I lost the one person that I loved more than anyone. We are all just giving her as much time as she needs.
Haymitch's house looks dark as it normally does. Apparently it used to look horrible when he used to be drunk all the time but since he quit drinking, his house has normally looked welcoming, I suppose but he must have gone to bed. Evelyn and Prim must have gone to bed too unless they have already gone home which they might have done. I hope Katniss was able to call them before they left. If not then I'm sure that Haymitch would have gone to tell them, to stop them worrying about where Katniss is.
Delly's house is also dark but with one light on. Her bedroom light. I'm surprised at that because normally when she is in her house, she is in her bedroom, with the light off. I go to check up on her all the time to make sure she hasnt done anything stupid and she never lets me turn the lights on, so its really strange. I might call her later and see if she is alright.
When I get to my house, Its dark inside and the faint smell of Bread is wafting through the gap under the door. I smile lightly at the smell and slide my key into the lock. I go to put Holly down on the floor, so that I can get at the lock better but as I turn around to pull her down, I find that she is asleep. I make sure she is steady before leaning over and pushing the door open. The smell of bread blasts through the doorway and I breathe it in. I place Holly down on one of the chairs in the sitting room and drop her bag and coat onto the other chair before dropping my key into the little bowl by the door with all the keys that I own in it. There is one for Delly's house which has a blue keyring on it. One for Haymitch's which has a black keyring and one for the Bakery which doesnt have a keyring. Mine has an orange keyring on. I used to have one for Gale's house but the Mayor came and took them all off us so that we could no longer go back into that house.
I'm broken out of my thoughts by the sound of the phone ringing. I move over to it quickly so that it wont wake Holly up. She cant stay asleep for long because I need to give her some Dinner but if she is tired then I'm going to let her sleep. "Hello?" I ask through the phone when I finally get to it.
"Hey, have you got the letter yet?" I hear Finnick Odair say from the other end. He was probably the last person I expected to call me. We are good friends but he never calls.
"What letter?" I ask in reply. I dont think I have got a letter in about a year.
"That means you havent. well as soon as you-" I'm pretty sure he carries on but I pull my ear away from the phone at the sound of the door. What is with everyone talking to me today?
"Wait a sec, there is someone at the door." I say to him and place the phone on the table next to it before going to answer the door. When I pull it open, a man stands there with an envelope in his hands. He holds it out to me with a smile and starts to walk away. I push the door closed again and start walking back to the phone, looking down at the envelope in my hands. Peeta Mellark, Victors Village no.4, District 12. It must be important if Finnick is talking to me about it. "What is this letter?"
"So you got it then?" Finnick asks.
"Yeh, that was the postman." I say in reply, still looking at the letter in my hands.
"I chose a good time to call then. Just read it and then we will talk." He sounds so much like Haymitch when he tries to be serious.
I follow his instructions and slide my finger under the flap, ripping it open.
Dear Peeta Mellark,
I bet youre wondering why you have a letter from me on such a random day. It must confuse you. I was going to make the trip myself and talk to you about it but I have work to do here, I hope you understand why I wrote the letter. It wont be a long letter.
I am just writing to let you know that I am auctioning off your body to the highest bidders and it would make me really happy if you would agree to this, as long as youre comfortable of course.
Finnick will fill you in more. I believe he has to talk to you about it. Anyway, I wont keep you, just keep in mind that I will be watching.
Kindest personal regards,
President Coriolanus Snow.
I almost feel my heart drop into my stomach. I cant believe he would actually do this to me, I didnt do anything wrong. "Finnick what is this?" I ask him. If anyone can explain this then he can. I know for a fact that he has got one of these letter before.
"So you read it? First of all how you feeling?" He asks even though I'm guessing he already knows how I'm feeling.
"Confused, Annoyed." I answer truthfully. I'm confused at why he would do this and annoyed at the fact that I'm confused.
"Well as the letter says he plans on selling your body like he does mine. It turns out that the people in the capitol have found you desireable. I cant talk about it much over the phone but he has agreed to allow me to come to 12 and talk to you about it in person. I'll be there in 2 weeks and I'll be staying for about a week if youre alright with that?" He says. Why would Snow pllan on selling my body and send Finnick to tell me about it. If it was really important wouldnt he come over himself? I know that Finnick has been through this but I didnt even think that he was allowed in this district, never mind stay here for a week.
"Yeh of course." I answer him. It might cause a lot of trouble but I cant wait to see him. He is my best friend in the Capitol. He stood by me last year when Delly and Gale where in the games and he has done quite a lot for me in the past. When I was on my Victors tour, he showed me a room off the main staging room, where it was really quite which was nice. Last year when his tributes died, he helped mine.
"Well I'll see you then. I'm sorry about this Peeta and I'll help you with it I promise." He says seriously and I smile slightly.
"Thanks Finn." I say back, he pauses for a second to say hi to someone, Annie, I think.
"No problem. Goodbye for now." He says.
"Bye." Then I hang up, staring at the letter in my hand as if its going to kill me. I need to hide this. Nobody can know about this. I cant tell my family or Katniss. One person I do need to tell is Haymitch. He needs to know. I can tell him tomorrow.
That night I have a great dream. Well it was great to me anyway. Most people would say that it sounds kind of sissy, Thats why I never tell any of my friends about my dreams. Most of them include Katniss and last nights was one of the best so far. It was a very simple dream. Me and Katniss where sitting on the sofa in my bedroom, next to the bathroom door and she had her legs over mine. Its not like we where kissing or anything like that. I had my head leaning back on the sofa but I could still see the sun filtering through the bedroom window and illuminating her face as she sat there and read a book to me. One of her hands was in my hair and the other was holding the book down on her legs. I remember being so happy up until the moment that I woke up and I was forced to deal with reality again.
The next day, I find myself in a little bit of an awkward moment. I show up to work to find Katniss sitting on Rye's lap in the sitting room. Its early so the Bakery isnt open yet. Dad, Leaven and Brooke are in here too but all my attention is on Katniss and what she is wearing. She is in her own jeans but she's wearing one of my jumpers and I'm surprised that Rye isnt blowing his top right now but he seems fine with it.
"Is...is that my sweater?" I ask her when I walk through the door, letting go of Holly's hand. She runs straight over to Dad and jumps up onto him.
"Yeh, I'm sorry, I borrowed it, I was cold. I hope thats okay?" Katniss replies and I nod slightly, still a little confused. My face goes red as I remember my dream last night, she was wearing my sweater in that too.
"Yeh well... If you where someones sweater... shouldnt it be your boyfriends?... And I'm not him..." I sputter out, she narrows her eyes at me slightly
"I'm sorry, I'll give it back to you..." She says, starting to pull it up from the bottom. Rye is staring at me as if he cant believe what he is hearing. I put my hand up to stop her and she looks at me.
"No - No... Then will all be smelling like Katniss..." 'Smelling like Katniss?' What the hell is wrong with me?
"Are you saying I smell bad?" She asks in reply. Idiot! What did you say that for?
"No... you smell like a -a Meadow..." I get out but nobody reacts, they are all still staring at me like I've gone mad. "I'm sorry." I turn to walk away, letting a sigh of relief as I walk towards the door. "I need to go and talk to Haymitch."
"Wait, I'll come, I need to go home and see my mother." Katniss says from behind me and I turn back around hoping that nobody is looking but everyone is still staring at me.
"Oh okay well... erm... Do you wanna... walk with me?" I ask her as if it wasnt obvious that she was going to anyway.
"That was actually the plan." She laughs slightly and I smile awkwardly.
"Oh right..."
"What is with you?" She says, pulling herself up off Rye to get her shoes.
"Erm... Well I kind of had a dream last night..." I decide to tell her the truth because I know she can tell when I'm lying and I wouldnt be surprised if she told everyone that I was lying.
"What kind of dream?" She asks.
"Well and dont kill me for this because I dont have a say in what I dream about but I had a dream that me and you where dating and you where reading a book to me." I say, regretting almost immediately when she and Rye start to laugh at me. "Fine, laugh at me... I'll see you at Haymitch's." I start to walk away again feeling more embarrassed that I ever have before in my life but am stopping again, this time by Rye.
"Wait Peet!" I turn around to face him and he points at Katniss. "Look at Katniss now. Are you attracted to her right now?" He asks and my face goes even redder. Rye has no idea how attracted I am to Katniss right now but I cant tell him that. Just looking at her, I want to kiss her right now but I cant and I have to remind myself everytime I see her.
"Erm... no - no." I say, focusing on Rye.
"Good then we dont have a problem, now wait for me, Let me put my shoes on first. Or attempt to atleast." Katniss says, grabbing her shoes and sitting down next to Rye. She tries to bend over to put her shoes on but cries out in pain when she gets so far down. I didnt know she was finding it hard to bend down. She must have done something last night that hurt her back more. I wonder what she was doing. No, infact I dont actually want to know. With the look on her face when she was looking at Rye and the fact that they where closer than they normally are, I think I already know what they did last night and it is something that I dont want to think about.
We finally make it to Haymitch's and Evelyn takes Katniss into the kitchen to check her over. Which means that I get to talk to Haymitch. "I have something I need to give you." I say to him and he watches me as I take the letter from my pocket.
"Arent you meant to be at work?" He asks me as I hand him the letter.
"Dad let me have the morning off because I needed to talk to you and Katniss' back was hurting this morning so she is off today." I reply, truthfully.
"Okay so what is this?" He asks, waving the letter around.
"I got it last night whilst I was on the phone to Finnick. You have to read it." I urge him. He nods and pulls open the letter and read it through.
"What did Finnick say?" Haymitch asks, now looking at me.
"He is coming to the district to talk to me. I havent told anyone yet so please dont mention it to my family or Katniss." I say to him and he nods. Haymitch has always been good at keeping secrets.
"We will talk about this when Finnick arrives." He says and I nod, pocketing the letter again just as Katniss and Evelyn walk back in.
"So what where you boys talking about?" Evelyn asks and Haymitch shakes his head in reply. That way both Evelyn and Katniss know that we cant talk about it in here. Plus he promised not tell them, well Katniss atleast.
KATNISS POV-
Its been 2 weeks since I finally went back to work after my injury and I feel alot better. I have come out of work a couple days because of my back but Masan obviously understands and is alright with it. Infact he's the one that told me to go home when he saw how much pain I was in.
I've been spending my days off at Peeta's house. My mother is still next door at Uncle Haymitch's with Prim. She said that Uncle Haymitch enjoys the company so she is staying with him for a while but I've still been sleeping at home because I prefer it there. I just dont like the loneliness during the day so normally I would spend my time at the Bakery but its been getting quite hectic around there these days and its better at Peeta's because Its warmer and quieter.
I actually slept here last night because I was walking back with him anyway. By the time I got to the Victors Village, the sun had set and curfew was in order so I wouldnt be able to walk to the Seam anyway. I rang my mother to tell her and she suggested thay I sneak next door to sleep at Uncle Haymitch's but I said that I would be fine. It was only the two of us here last night anyway because Holly stayed at the Bakery. Peeta just went to get her.
I am currently standing in the Kitchen, putting some bread in the toaster. I already made myself a brew, and Peeta. He might have gone to the Bakery to pick up his sister but he said he would be back any minute now so I made him a brew about a minute ago. I'm startled by the sound of the doorbell. I walk to the door and open it, my mouth hanging open at the man that stands there. I havent seen him in person since I was 7 and even then I never actually talked to him. "Hello? Finnick Odair? What are you doing here?" I ask. He looks really strange dressed in everyday clothes, He is normally in strange Capitol clothes that look really stupid.
"Hi, is Peeta in?" He asks with a look down at me. The way he does with so many women on television.
"He just went to the town square to pick up his sister why?" I say in reply, pulling my robe tighter around myself, feeling self conscious because of his eyes.
"Because I am meant to be staying here for a couple of days. Can I come in?" He asks, now focusing on my face.
"Yeh sure, I'm sure he will be back any minute anyway." I say, moving aside to allow him entrance, walking back towards the kitchen. He follows behind me and takes a seat at the table, dropping his bag on the floor beside him.
"So are you his girlfriend?" He asks me as I walk to the the toaster to get my toast.
"No actually I'm his brothers girlfriend." I say without turning around.
"Katniss Everdeen is it?" How the hell does he know me. Most girls would start screaming if they found out that Finnick Odair knew them but it just makes me feel creaped out.
"Yeh how did you know?" I ask, trying to hide the confusion in my voice.
"Peeta told me about you. Arent you Haymitch's neice?" He asks. Yeh that makes sense.
"Yeh."
"Yeh, everyone knows you." He replies. I turn around to face him and he is just watching me.
"What?" I ask. How does everyone know me. I dont think Peeta would have told everyone around me. Neither would Uncle Haymitch.
"Well, I heard about you off Haymitch and Peeta but considering that the Capitol have cameras in all the Victors homes and it seems you have a connection with each one of the victors of the district so we have all heard of you. Haymitch's neice. Peeta's best friend. The President thought you and Gale where having some sort of affair and thought that it would break up Gale and Delly. There is quite a lot of rumours about it all and youre involved in quite a lot of them." He says. I'm surprised that People I have never met actually talk about me.
"Rumours?" I ask, a little intrigued.
"Yeh, that you where dating Peeta and Gale at the same time or that you where cheating on Peeta's brother with Peeta, stuff like that. You know, just girly gossip. I didnt care for it much myself. I didnt think you would be that kind of person." He waves it off as if its nothing but its actually quite important.
"Well none of its true. Firstly, Gale was my friend. Secondly Peeta was my best friend and I would never dream about cheating on my boyfriend. Gale and Delly loved eachother I would never break that up." I find myself thinking about Delly and how she has hardly left her house in days.
"I'll be sure to tell everyone then." He says with a smile. A somewhat sarcastic smile. "You know you really are very pretty." Is he hitting on me?
"What?" I ask, narrowing my eyes, taking a sip from my brew.
"Thats a compliment, I'm not hitting on you or anything." He says raising his hands slightly in surrender.
"I find that hard to believe." I reply, finishing off my brew that I didnt realise I had drank so much of.
"Well would you like me to hit on you? Because I could." He asks, turning even more sarcastic.
"I think I'll survive without it." I roll my eyes and finish off my toast.
"Thats good. I really dont want to. You not really my type and maybe a little young." He says and I laugh at him.
"Well youre not my type either." I reply to him, catching sight of Peeta walking through the kitchen door. I didnt even hear the front door open.
"I'd prefer it if you didnt hit on my best friend thank you very much." Peeta says, startling Finnick and I have to hold in my laugh. He says it calmly but I can tell he is slightly annoyed by the look in his eyes.
"But its just too hard to resist. You know how I cant help but tease you Peeta." Finnick says, pulling himself up to his feet to greet his friend.
"And hitting on Katniss thats meant to annoy me is it?" Peeta asks. Sadly enough, he isnt that good at hiding his feelings.
"I'd say it does by the look in your eyes." Finnick says with a laugh which Peeta returns.
"Its good to see you Finn." Peeta says, sticking out his hand for Finnick to shake.
"Its good to see you too Peet." He ignores Peeta's hand and goes in for a hug instead, patting him on the back. Thats when Holly walks in and Finnick pulls away from Peeta and looks at the little girl. "Is this the one and only Holly that I've heard so much about?" He asks and Holly smiles, slightly hiding behind Peeta's leg.
"How do you know me?" She asks.
"Your brother has told me all about you." Finnick replies, squating down infront of Holly to see her better.
"Who are you?" Holly asks.
"My name is Finnick but you can call me Finn if you like and I'd really like it if we could be friends?" He sticks out his hand slightly for Holly to shake and she takes it after hesitating.
"Okay. I've never been friends with a man before." Holly says and I let out a laugh, handing Peeta him his brew as he leans against the counter next to me.
"What about Peeta?" Finnick asks her, glancing over at us.
"He is my brother, he has to be my friend." Holly replies and Peeta laughs.
Finnick pulls himself back up to his feet and turns to us. "Peet, how about I get settled in and then you take me for a tour around your beloved district. Maybe the beautiful Katniss and your little sister could come too?"
"I'd rather stay here." I say, narrowing my eyes towards him.
Peeta laughs at me. "She can be stubborn sometimes. Holly would you like to stay here or come out with me and Finn?"
"I want to stay here." Holly replies to her brother and I smile at her.
"Okay well I'm sure Katniss would like to look after you. Isnt that right Katniss?" I nod. I would love to look after her.
"Yeh sure. Peeta would I be able to talk to you?" I ask him. I need to find out if these rumours are true.
"Yeh just let me show him to his room." Peeta replies and leaves the room with Finnick, taking Holly with them to put her bag in her room.
When he finally comes back downstairs, I'm still standing where I was when he left. "Whats up?" He asks me, taking his brew again.
"Finnick said that there are rumours about me in the Capitol. Is that true?" I ask.
"Yeh, I'm sorry I didnt tell you earlier but me and Haymitch thought it would be better for you if you didnt know." He looks scared about something.
"Okay well how come you didnt say anything against the rumours. You know, tell them that they arent true?" I ask. I though that he would stand up for me.
"I've tried but nobody is going to listen to me, I'm all younger than them." He says. Yeh thhats true. I can understand that.
"Peeta?" Finnick asks, now walking back into the kitchen with Holly. "Would it be alright if we dropped by to see Delly? I want to see how she is coping and I want to see Haymitch. I ould also love to see this family that you talk about so much. Katniss are you sure you dont want to come?" He asks. I think about it for a second and realise that it might actaully be fun.
"I might do actually, but if my back starts to hurt then I'm coming back. Holly will you come too please?" I ask, looking down at her.
"If youre going then yes." She replies with a smile.
"Good, I'll go and get changed and we can be off." I say and set off for the stairs, catching something that Finnick mentions to Peeta which confuses me so much. "We can talk about the Capitol later." He says to him.
PEETA POV-
I'm standing in the kitchen with Finnick when I hear it. The sound of a scream, but not just any scream, Katniss. Finnick looks at me in horror and I run out the door like a bullet. I can hear him running behind me and eventually infront of me as my leg still holds me back. What the hell is happening upstairs. "What is that!" Finnick shouts behind him as we bound up the stairs and start down the hallway to the room that Katniss was in.
"I dont know, just keep going!" I shout back to him. He might not know it but me and Haymitch have realised that there is someone in the Capitol out to get Katniss so neither of us actually like it when she is alone. I know that she could have screamed because she had fallen or something but something inside me is telling me that it is something more than that. Hopefully not something to do with the Capitol.
I run down the hallway and top speed and try to knock through Katniss' door, but its locked. I didnt even know that this door had a lock. Wait a minute, the only room in this house that has a lock is mine and the bathroom. There must be something on the other side of this door, stopping it from opening. I hear a loud scream again. "KATNISS!" I shout through the door but she carries on screaming.
"Move out the way!" Finnick shouts from behind me. I quickly throw myself against the wall to the side just in time to see his foot fly forward and kick just next to the door handle, knocking the door completely off its hinges. I push off the wall and climb over the knocked over door and the chair that was stopping it from opening.
Katniss is lying on the floor with her head in her hands. She has gone completely pale and I can almost feel the terror coming from her. I drop down next to her and pull her into my arms. "What happened?" I ask Finnick. I'd ask Katniss but I doubt she is up for talking right now.
He walks over to the window and looks out of it. I wasnt aware that it was open until now. "There is someone there." He says quite loudly. I think about getting up but I need to be with Katniss. "They where definitely here." He says. The only thing that confuses me about this is that why would Katniss be this scared of him? Katniss is never scared of anyone. I tell my thoughts to Finnick and he looks at me in worry. "I dont know." I can feel the tears faling down my face now as Katniss is still crying in my arms. "Do you want me to call your brother?" Finnick asks and I nod.
"Number is on speed dial number 2 on my bedroom phone if you dont mind?" I say and he walks out the room.
Rye doesnt show up until half an hour later, "sorry I was dealing with a customer. There was no one to take over." He says, taking a place on the end of Katniss' bed where I had put her when she finally calmed down. "What happened to her?" He asks, smoothing down a little piece of hair that found its way onto her face.
"She was attacked. I dont know who it was." I cant tell him about the Capitol. I dont want to worry him and that would definitely worry him. "I dont know why they did it but we found a 5 inch gash across her right arm. It was pretty deep. I think they meant to do it. I have never seen her so scared. You know Katniss, nothing scares her, but this was different, we found her in a ball on the floor shaking." I can still feel myself shaking from the sight of her.
"Thats not like Katniss at all." Rye says and I nod.
"Anyway, I'll leave you two alone. Do you want something to eat? I was just going to make Lunch." I ask him whilst turning around to leave the room.
"It sounds like someone already is making you Lunch." Rye says, looking at me.
"What?" I ask a little confused.
"I heard someone moving around in your kitchen when I came in." He says and then it clicks that there is more than one person in this house. Finn must be downstairs with Holly.
"Yeh, thats Finnick. I was just about to bring him over to meet you guys. He's staying here for a week." I say.
"Finnick Odair?" He asks and when I nod his mouth drops open. "What is he doing here?"
"Victors Business you wouldnt understand. You can come down and meet him later if you want to." He nods and I leave the room. I cant believe I just said 'you wouldnt understand' to my older brother. I have never said that because he nearly always understands what I am going through, unless it has something to do with the Capitol or the Games.
I cant believe that Katniss was attacked. I knew that they wanted to get at Katniss but I didnt think for one minute that they would hire some kind of assassin to come and hurt her, or worse, kill her. We need to get this sorted somehow but I cant think of anyway that we can. What if I made a deal with him that I would become a prostitute if he left Katniss alone? Yeh, that might work. Its going to be hard and I know that I could become this broken shell of a person just like Finnick is but its all worth it, for her.
So, the attack was strange :) I hope you liked it, please leave a review!