Glad you enjoyed last chapter! Here's a little chapter for your Sunday evening. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.
Chapter 8
The beginning of August brings with it a heat wave unlike anything I have ever experienced in my life. I spend most of my days with Gale, swimming in the lake to escape the heat. I've thought about bringing Merrick here but I know that Gale would disapprove. In a perfect world, I would introduce the two of them and we all could be friends, but that is not where we live. We live in a world that is divided into districts that are even further segregated socially. I could never tell Gale that Merrick is a Peacekeeper's son. Even if I could convince him that he was from a merchant family, he still wouldn't want to be friends with him. This leaves me to divide my days between them, hunting during the day with Gale, and spending my evenings with Merrick.
August also brings some severe thunderstorms as well. Tonight is no exception. The tent sways as the wind picks up. It gets so bad that I fear the tent will collapse on us. The thunder starts to boom followed by the sound of rain pelting the ground. We go outside to check on the conditions.
"I should go home." I shout to Merrick over the noise.
"No, the storm is too close. Come inside." he shouts back.
"Your parents are inside." I remind him.
"So I'll sneak you in like I always do. Don't worry. I'll make sure you don't get caught." he says. I run toward his back door with him and the rain drenches us. I wait for him outside while he finds where his parents are. He returns with a smile.
"They are watching TV." he says. I take off my shoes and carry them as we quickly make our way to his room.
"Eww, I'm soaked." I say with a laugh as look down to my sopping wet clothing.
"Here, you can change into these." he says after handing me a pile of clothes. I go into his bathroom and remove my clothes into a pile on the tiled floor. I untie my braid and squeeze the water out my hair into the sink. Once I have dry clothing on, I wring out my clothes and hang them to dry. When I walk out, he is finishing up changing his clothes.
"How long do you think the storm will last?" I ask as I look out his window.
"Looks pretty bad. Maybe you ought to spend the night."
"I'm sure it's passing." I say before the lights start to flicker.
"You sure about that?" he says with a raised brow.
"So what are we going to do now?" I ask him. He was going to show me some stars outside with the new telescope he got for his birthday.
"I'll go downstairs and bring us something to eat and we can just lay in the fort and talk."
"I thought you were too old for blanket forts." I say with a laugh.
"Maybe I changed my mind." he says before leaving for the downstairs. While I wait, I turn out all the lights and plug in the string of lights we attached to the fort last week. It illuminates the light blue sheets with a soft glow. I lie back on my side of the fort and notice how each light looks like a star in the sky. I hear the door swing open and see Merrick's feet walking towards the opening. He hands me the tray of food before closing the door.
"Ah, you turned on the lights, I see." he says lying on his side.
"Yes they are nice." I say taking a cookie from the tray.
"So what should we talk about?" he asks me. I rack my brain to a conversation topic.
"Your parents."
"Really?"
"Yes, I want to know more about them. Like how did you father become a Peacekeeper?"
"Well his father was a Peacekeeper, and his father's father and so on. We're just a family of Peacekeepers, I guess."
"Is that what you want to do?" I ask him.
"No, not really, but there isn't much else to do in District 2. It's either being a Peacekeeper or work in the quarry…or teach at one the training academies I guess. To be honest, none of those really appeal to me."
"What do you want to do?"
"I'm not sure…something to help people I guess."
"You have some time."
"Two years."
"Merrick, is your dad a good Peacekeeper?"
"I guess so. He's doesn't really discuss what happens at work."
"What about your mother? What is she like?"
"Everyone loves her. She's just so nice to everyone."
"Sounds like someone I know." I say tapping his nose with my index finger.
"Yeah. Everyone says I got my father's looks and mother's personality. You would like her Katniss."
"But would she like me?" I ask.
"She's not like the other people in District 2. To be honest, I'm not even sure that she's from there."
"Have you asked her?"
"She never gives me a straight answer."
"Do you think your father met her when she was stationed in another district?"
"Hmm, maybe. I never thought about that. I'm not really sure how that would work though. You can't just leave your district."
"Maybe it's another Peacekeeper thing you just don't know about." I say with a shrug. All of a sudden, the lights flickered out. We wait for them to turn on but they never do. There is a knock on the door before it opens. I move further into the fort as to not be detected. Merrick quickly climbs out of the fort.
"Merrick, honey, are you alright?"
"Yes, mom, I'm fine."
"I brought you a candle, so you could see." she says in a light, pleasant voice.
"Thanks mom, you're the best." he says before closing the door. He brings the candle into the tent. "That was close."
"Yes, it was honey." I say with a smile. I see Merrick cheeks turn a light shade of pink.
"Katniss, there is something I've been thinking about for a while now…about the Games. Is it alright if we talk about it?" he asks me.
"Of course."
"I still don't understand how Galen's name got in the Reaping bowl. He said he would never do it, we swore to each other. And…he just looked so confused when his name was called. It just doesn't add up." he says with a furrowed brow.
"Maybe he did it on a dare."
"That's not like him. I just wish I could be back in District 2 so I could talk to my friends about this. Find out how this happened. Maybe they have some answers. I'll be right back." he says before leaving his room. I hear his footsteps travel downstairs and the muffled voices of him and his father talking. I wait a while for him but there is no sign of him coming back upstairs. I take the candle and place it on his side table before crawling under the covers. I'm not sure about what time it is, but I'm feeling tired. Maybe I can hold off sleeping so I can see when he returns. I look outside and watch the lightning dance around the sky. It really is beautiful. I feel my eye droop and I know cannot hold on any longer.
I am woken up by Merrick an undeterminable amount of time later.
"Katniss." he whispers as he lightly shakes me.
"Hmm?" I groan as I turn to face him. I'm still not fully awake.
"Katniss, wake up." he coos, brushing my hair.
"Merrick, it's late." I whisper. I then notice tear-stained cheeks. He looks a wreck. "Merrick, what is it?"
"I'm thinking about going home early." he says.
"To District 2?" I ask confused. He nods.
"I just think that's where I need to be right now…to see my friends and Galen's family. I'm still so very sad. I think maybe they could help me and that I could help them as well." he murmurs. He wants to leave. I don't know what to say. We only have three weeks left. Can't he stay a little longer?
"I should go." I say as I spring out of bed. I know it's late but I don't want him to see me cry. If that is what he wants, then it's his choice. I find him blocking the doorway.
"Katniss, my parents are still down there. They'll see you." He's right, I'm basically trapped in his room for another couple hours. I don't think I can hold the tears back that long. They are already starting to escape. I hide away inside the blanket fort, crying into arms that are folded on my knees. I hear him enter the fort and sit beside me.
"What's wrong?" he asks, gently combing his fingers through my hair.
"I don't want you to leave." I tell him as I lift my head to look into his eyes. "It's bad enough you have to go at all. I just thought we would have these next few weeks."
"I didn't think you'd mind me leaving early." he says.
"Well maybe I do. This could be it Merrick. It could be the last time I ever see you." I say as the tears flow in rivers down his cheeks. He takes my face in his hands and uses his thumbs to dry the tears from under my eyes.
"Katniss please don't cry." he whispers. "The last thing I want to see is you sad." I put my hands around his wrists and move his hands away from my face.
"I'm sorry, I'm being selfish. You should do what you want to do." I say before leaving the tent. I grab my shoes and make my way to his door. I don't care about being caught. Besides, the house is quiet now. His parents are probably in bed. I exit through the back door and quickly put on my shoes before I dash off into the night. I think I hear him calling my name but I don't look back. I run as fast as I can until I reach my house. Luckily no one is awake to find me in clothes that are not my own. I change into my own clothes and shove his under the bed before crawling under the covers and crying myself to sleep.
Sorry this chapter ended on a low note. Any predictions about what will happen next?