New chapter! Hope you like this one!
Tamara Melton- I just started a new Galeniss story called Into the Great Unknown. Check it out!
Chapter 22
When I reach Peeta's door, I knock three times while desperately hoping he's here. After a minute of no response, I knock again, this time louder. Another minute goes by, but this time, he does answer.
"Katniss, what are you doing without a coat? It freezing!" he says bringing me inside. Once inside he touches my cheek, probably to see how cold I am.
"Have you been crying?" he asks with concern as finger brushes across my wet cheek. I nod. He takes me to the living room. I sit down and watch him walk across the room, unsure of where he is going. He locates a blanket and then returns, wrapping it around me. Then, he takes a seat next to me.
"What is it?" he asks in a low voice. I don't respond. I'm not sure I want to tell anyone about this.
"I don't want to talk about it…now right now at least." I say as I play with the fringe on the blanket. Peeta doesn't press me for any more information. Instead he asks if I've eaten breakfast. Upon hearing that I haven't, he stands up and walks into the kitchen. He returns with a plate of muffins and two cups a coffee. I decide to concentrate on eating instead of anything else, thinking this might help. When I look at Peeta, I realize I must not be doing a great job, because he's looking at me with worry. I take a deep breath and then begin to tell him everything that has happened between Gale and I, leaving out the part that I felt something when Gale kissed me. He sits there listening to me without interrupting which I am thankful for. Sometimes it's nice to have someone to listen to your problems.
"He'll get over it." he tells me.
"We can't be friends though…not after that." I say, shaking my head.
"You'd be surprised. Just give it some time." he suggests.
Once we are finished eating, he takes me by the hand and leads me to the media room, telling me that movies are a good distraction. We sit together in an oversized recliner that easily fits the two of us. He scrolls through the menu to find something to watch while I lay the blanket I had wrapped around me over the both of us. He starts the movie and then dims the lights with the same remote. It's an old movie, probably from a hundred years ago.
As we watch, I think of Peeta, sitting in this dark room, alone, during the past few weeks. For him, this is his only escape. Part of it is my fault. I told him I'd visit but with everything that has happened the past few weeks, I have neglected him. I turn on my side to face him but he remains facing towards the screen.
"I'm sorry I haven't been here for you." I murmur in his ear. He hits the pause button and turns his head in my direction.
"You know you won't be able to know what's happening if you don't pay attention." he says with a small smile.
"I should have been here for you." I say repeating myself, in case he wasn't listening the first time.
"Katniss, it's fine. You had a lot going on…and besides, you are here now." he says.
'Yeah, because I have nowhere else to go.' I think to myself. I snuggle up to my fake fiancé and turn towards the screen as he resumes the movie.
I wake up in a bed underneath sheets and a comforter. My only guess as to how I got here was because I nodded off during the film and Peeta carried me here. I stay in bed for a little while longer, not wanting to leave the comfort of the luxe bedding. I eventually remove myself and go in search of Peeta. I find him in the kitchen, beginning to cook something. I can't help but notice the grimace on his face as he limps around the kitchen, his prosthetic clearly bothering him.
At one point, he leans his head on the refrigerator door and takes a few deep breaths. I walk up to him and take his hand, leading him to the living room. I sit in the middle of the couch and tell him to lie down. Luckily he doesn't put up a fight. Once his legs are in my lap, I push up the bottom on his sweatpants past where his prosthetic meets his leg. I've seen him take it off enough to know how to remove it. I carefully release the limb from him and rest it next to me. The abrasions on his skin let me know that his prosthetic isn't fitting him properly.
"How often does it bother you?" I ask him.
"All the time." he tells him.
"Does Haymitch know?"
"Why should he know?" he asks me with confusion.
"He could call the Capitol. Maybe they would send a specialist to check up on you." I tell him. As far as I know, he hasn't had any sort of follow-up since he got the thing.
"They are not going to send anyone out here Katniss." he says cynically.
"Maybe my mom could look at it." I say quietly. She's had to have dealt with this before, with all the mining accidents that have occurred.
"You think she'd know what to do?" he asks with interest.
"You can't be the first person to have lost a limb in District 12." I tell him as I scoot out from under his legs. I walk into the kitchen and pick up the phone, dialing my home phone number. My mother answers after a couple of ring and I explain Peeta's predicament.
While she has me on the phone she asks me to update her on Gale, including what medication I gave him. She also tells me that he's in a lot of pain and that he can't seem to stop crying even after the morphling has been administered. If only she knew that it was emotional pain that was afflicting him. I ask her to have Prim watch him while she's gone. Maybe my little sister will be able to calm him down.
A few minutes later, I hear a knock on the door and find my mother behind it with her medical bag. I bring her to the living room where Peeta is patiently waiting. She sits on the edge of the couch and inspects his leg. I notice the discomfort on his face as my mother checks his leg. I know he doesn't like it when any attention is drawn to it. I kneel on the floor beside him and take his hand. He winces as her hand grazes over his abrasions. She then asks him a string of questions: Does he massage it, is he regularly checking on it, does he wrap it, all to which he answers 'no'. My mother then takes time to explain the importance of doing all of these things.
She then tells us that she's going to go into the kitchen to make a salve for him to use on his cuts and tells me to massage his stump while she does this. I catch up to her just before she reaches the kitchen.
"Can't you do it?" I ask.
"I can't do everything, Katniss. Besides, I think he'd like it better if you did it." she said with a warm smile. At first I'm not sure what she means but quickly remember that my mother still is not aware that our engagement isn't real. I walk back to Peeta and place his leg in my lap as I begin to massage him, taking care to avoid his wounds. He closes his eyes and lets out a moan as my hands press into his tissue.
"Good?" I ask, making sure I'm not hurting him.
"Yes." he says, his eyes making contact with mine. He places an arm behind his head and relaxes as I continue my work. I don't stop until my mother returns with a jarful of salve. I move over so she can sit next to him to spread if over his wounds. She instructs him to use it 2 times a day. She then locates a reusable bandage from her bag and shows him how to wrap his leg. I watch carefully in case he forgets out to do so. She also recommends that he wears his prosthetic as little as he can in the next week. Peeta thanks her before I walk her to the door.
"You might want to stay here tonight…make sure he's doing ok." my mother says. I nod my head and thank her before closing the door. I return to Peeta who is stretched out on couch. I sit on the floor near his head returning the smile he is giving me.
"Thank you." he says with gratitude.
"I'm glad I could help." I say in reply. In the silence that follows, I can hear his stomach growl.
"Hungry?" I ask, resting my chin on the couch cushion.
"Yeah." he says. I look at the clock and see that it's nearly dinnertime. I then stand up and tell him I'll find something to make. I scan the contents of his pantry and refrigerator to assess the ingredients I have to work with. I'm not much of a cook. When I lived in the Seam, I did the hunting and my mother did the cooking. I never had the time or need to learn. I decide to keep it simple and make each one of us a sandwich using bread Peeta baked while I was sleeping. I also grab each of us a piece of fruit from the fruit bowl on the center island.
I return with a tray of food and help Peeta scoot up and around so that he is now sitting. I apologize to him as I hand him his plate, explaining my lack of cooking skills.
"It looks delicious." he says with a smile. We watch television as we eat our dinner. As I am watching, I notice an alert scrolling on the bottom of the screen, reminding viewer that the Quarter Quell card will be read tomorrow night and that it is required viewing.
"Did you know?" I ask him.
"Yeah, Haymitch told me the other day." Peeta said. He then explained to me what happens during the reading of the card and then tells me what the last two cards said. I remember Haymitch told us he was in the last Quell, where they doubled the number of tributes in the Arena.
"What do you think the card will say this year?" I ask.
"I'm not sure." he says. "I've tried not to think about it."
"I don't want to be a mentor." I confide in him.
"I don't really think you have a choice." he replies.
"I know. What good can we really do Peeta? We barely made it out of the Arena alive. How are we supposed to help two other tributes from hundreds of miles away?" I ask with worry.
"Haymitch is going to start coaching us, teaching us how to be the perfect mentors."
"That'll be interesting." I puff.
"Come on, he knows what he's doing. I think he's always known what to do, he just didn't give a shit until we showed up." he says. I smile when I hear Peeta use a curse word; it's so unexpected of him. "This whole being in love thing was his idea. I think he had been saving it, waiting for the right pair to use it on."
"Why do you think he decided to use it on us?"
"Because we are fighters. He knew how determined we were to make it back."
"Yeah, well look where his plan got us." I say with annoyance.
"We're both alive."
"And living a lie."
"It's better than being dead." he tells me and I know he's right. "If I could set you free, I would. I would get rid of this ring that means absolutely nothing to you and let you be with whomever you wanted."
"I know." I say. I see Peeta yawn and suggest we turn in for the night. He looks a little surprised that I'm staying with him. I help him to the guest room, thankful he isn't too proud for me to help him. On our way he informs me that he has been sleeping on the ground floor since the stairs were too much for him to handle. I lead him to the bathroom that is connected to the room and let him do what he needs. While he is doing that, I walk upstairs to his room and pack a suitcase full of his clothes so he'll have fresh clothes to wear.
When I return to his room, he is already sitting on the bed waiting for me. I hoist the suitcase onto the bed and show him what I've brought him. He thanks me and then picks something out to wear to bed. While he changes, I unpack the rest of the contents into the dresser. When I am finished, I lay and bed and reach for the light.
"No…don't." he warns me. I turn to him, silently asking him why. "I don't like to sleep in the dark. I still have nightmares…bad ones. At least when I wake up to the light on, I know exactly where I am." he explains. I leave the light alone and lay next to him.
"I still have nightmares too." I confide in him.
"About what?".
"Sometimes about the Careers. Sometimes about losing you." I whisper.
"Don't worry. I'm right here." he says, interlocking his fingers with mine. We close our eyes and hope that tonight will bring a peaceful sleep.
I wake up the next morning nearly as exhausted as I had been the night before. Last night had proved difficult for us, as Peeta and I consistently woke each other up for the nightmares we had been experiencing. It helped having someone there that knew exactly how it felt to be in the Arena.
After eating breakfast with Peeta, I return home wearing a coat that Peeta let me borrow. I enter my house and hang the coat on the banister before walking further inside. I almost enter the kitchen but stop when I see Gale sitting with his back towards me talking in a hushed voice to my mother. I'm not ready to see him yet so I keep walking. At the end of the hallways, I see Prim peeking out through the curtain that is covering the window of the back door. My curiosity leads me to her, wondering what she could be looking at.
"What are you looking at?" I ask.
"That boy is back." she said.
"What boy?" I ask as I look through a sliver of space between the curtains. It's Merrick, sitting on the top step of the back porch.
"He's been coming here a lot. He'll sit there for hours, just waiting for something I guess. He knocks sometimes, very quietly." she explains.
"Have you ever answered it?" I ask.
"No, I don't really know him, Katniss." she tells me.
"Why didn't you get me?"
"You were busy taking care of Gale." she replies. I tell Prim to go do something else. I wait until she is gone before I open the door. I quietly make my way to him and sit beside him, taking his hand in mine.
"I thought you might have chosen him." Merrick says, avoiding eye contact.
"No, he's just a friend. You know that."
"Things can change. We used to be friends." he says making a good point. "Katniss, I'm sorry, I really am." he whispers in my ear. "You're right I should have told you about my father. To be honest, I didn't really think it mattered."
"I know." I say, finally looking at him. His eyes are red and the areas under his eyes are chapped, probably from crying.
"Aren't you cold?" he asks playing with thin fabric of my shirt.
"I don't mind." I reply. To be honest I was more worried about our exchange than I was about the chilly weather. Merrick unzips his coat, then pulls me close to him, wrapping the coat around my body. I rest my head on his chest, his warmth radiating into me as we melt into each other. He brings his gloved hand to my cheek providing me with even more warmth. I've missed him and his gentle touch so I savor it while I still have him.
"Katniss, you awake?" he inquires. My closed eyes and lack of movement could easily look like I'm sleeping.
"Yes, I'm here." I respond, slowly rubbing my hand in circles on his chest.
"I have to leave soon to meet with my tutor." he says.
"Skip it." I coax him.
"I can't." he says with disappointment in his voice. I can tell that he doesn't want to leave me.
"Then come back this evening." I suggest.
"I can't. Required viewing, remember?" he tells me. His parents will probably want him home for that to make sure he watches.
"After that?" I ask.
"Tomorrow." he suggests.
"Tomorrow?" I huff back at him.
"You can wait until tomorrow." he says with a laugh. I tilt my head up to him.
"I don't think I can." I admit. A smirk appears on his face as he lowers his face to mine. His lips connect with mine as he draws out his kisses, each one long than the last. My heart beats wildly in my chest in response as my lips mingle with his. He ends it long before I'm ready to. I could kiss him for the rest of the day to make up for all the lost kisses we've had over the past week. He removes me from my cocoon and zips his coat, exposing my body to the cool air around us. We stand and he takes my hand, leading me to door. Not ready for him to go just yet, I clutch onto the fabric of his coat and pull him towards me for one more kiss. He braces my hips with his hands and pulls my body close to his.
"You are way too tempting." he mutters against my lips. My lips pull upward in a smile.
"Come inside. You know you want to." I tease him, sucking softly on his bottom lip, eliciting a low moan.
"If I go in there, I don't think I'll want to leave." he says kissing my lips. I put my hand on the doorknob, thinking the warm air from inside might add to the invitation. I swing the door open wide, letting a gust of heat hit our faces, but what I don't expect is that gasp that comes along with it. I pry myself from Merrick's lips and look towards the noise to see Prim standing there motionless, having seen the whole thing. Merrick increases the space once he sees my sister and mutters something about having to go. I take a deep breath and slowly trudge inside not looking forward to the conversation that will follow.
Merrick is back and Prim knows about Katniss and him. Thoughts? Predictions?