Chapter 11

Call me

(Peeta's POV)

The sound of Effie's shrills of excitement fills my ears and I pull the phone away from my ears so I don't go deaf. A million questions come afterwards Names, gender, how far along she was, then the concern of raising the baby in 12, it seemed like everyone had a problem with District 12 these days and who could blame them. The condition was unbelievably horrible. Effie goes on and on about the baby and how this gives her an excuse to spend some of her moldy money, I tell her she doesn't have to get anything for my son or daughter but she insist and there is no arguing with her once her mind is made up. I have a feeling deep down she is about to spoil the crap out of my child. I think everyone will once the baby is born and is into the world. I missed Effie so very much and my mind goes back to the heart-filled goodbye we had in the Capitol. I had hugged her and thanked her for everything she did for me, Effie Trinket was truly like my other mother and I kind of wished she was my real mother instead of adopted. She would be the perfect parent to a child, except for the possibility of her dressing the kid up in fluffy pink, furry clothing from the capitol, I'm horrified at the thought.

"I'm so happy for the both of you, this certainly is big, big, big news" She comments on the other end of the line "It's a good thing you came back when you did."

"I know, and I feel awful for leaving her alone, I should of been there in the beginning, but I wasn't "

"Now that kind of talk isn't allowed. What's important is you have a beautiful baby on its way. Your going to be a father, this is exciting news. How is Katniss doing anyway?"

"Her mother is putting so much stress on her; with talks of actually offering to take the baby off our hands. She honestly thinks we wont be able to handle it. I just want them to go away and leave her alone?" I sigh, a frown is in my voice.

"Them?" Effie questions.

"Gale is here to, although its been a couple days since we have seen him. The man certainly decided to give me a warm welcome. There is so much going on here I can barely stand it, its a miracle that I haven't had an episode."

"You have control my boy. You wont hurt her or the baby. Remember Aurelius's advice; emotional control" She says with confidence. How she has so much faith in me is unknown, I'm like a ticking time bomb its only a matter of time before I go off and hurt the person I love most which is Katniss. Was it really wise for me to be here, around her while she was pregnant and vulnerable like this, probably not, but my deep love I have for her makes it impossible to stay away from her, and if I do end up leaving her in some way it will cause her more heartache and that prick Gale will slink his way back into the house confusing her even more. I hate Gale more than anything, aside from the Capitol of course. During the games I tried so hard to like him, tolerate him because he was Katniss's best friend and she cared about him so much that I put the jealousy aside and controlled my rage towards him. When he was whipped in the square I offered to look after him for her, everything I do is because I love her so much, I never stopped, even when things were shiny and confusing I never stopped caring, the confusion was bad of course, but I knew deep down she wasn't a mutt, just like I know I can control and beat this hijacking.

"Effie, I need to thank you for everything, for being there for me, giving me a place to stay. You were more of a mother to me than my actual one." I comment.

Effie's voice cracks on the other end as she replies, its a happy whimper, one filled with love "My dear boy I care so much for you and Katniss, and believe it or not that drunken old fool. We are in this together, we're family. That means your like the son I never had and I thoroughly enjoyed your company while you were here and I'm going to help you with the little one on the way. You just leave all that to me, by the time I'm done you'll have enough clothes, toys and baby furniture to last a lifetime."

I am completely flattered that she is going to take the time and effort to go baby shopping for my child, but apart of me doesn't want her to buy baby clothes until we know for sure if its a girl or a boy. Diapers, baby formula, high-chair, all that she can buy if she wanted to. The hard thing about all of this was trying to find out a way to keep this a secret, I doubt they will ask questions about Effie buying baby clothes since she was an ex-escort and all. Effie would figure something out if questions were asked, she was honestly smarter than she looked.

"So where do you guys plan on having the baby?" Effie asks curiously.

"We were thinking District 4 since her mother works down there, but I'm kind of hesitant about that, her mother is being awfully persistent about some things, but I guess four would be good since the temperatures down there never get below 60, not to mention Annie is down there so it would give us someone normal to talk to and I'm sure there is a lot of things for us to do down there."

"Well see what you can do about her banishment getting either revoked or transferred and then let me know what your having so I can buy clothes, in the meantime I'll buy the other stuff, toys, diapers, all that fun stuff. This is so marvelous" I hear her clap her hands together on the other end of the line in excitement, the thought of Effie Trinket spending every dime she has on this baby both excites but worries me. I'm thankful we have help and people that are willing to buy us things for the baby, but I don't want her going overboard, considering both Katniss and I are fine finically.

"Just don't go crazy" I warn her softly.

Effie chuckles "Peeta Mellark my boy its about time I decide to spend my money on something useful besides useless junk." She got me there I have absolutely no comeback and I'm way to tired to think of one so I let it go, "Well I must be going got a big, big, big shopping spree ahead of me. Good luck with the call to the president and hopefully the banishment gets revoked, most importantly transferred."

"Thank you so much Effie"

"No problem boy, call me back if you need me. Bye. Bye."

"Bye"

I set the phone back on its base and stretch my arms. She was truly going to spoil our kid rotten, not even born yet and he's already has everything he could ever possibly want, if I know Effie it was going to take her a full days shopping to get everything we needed except clothes. I owed her one since she was doing this for Katniss and I. I sit down at the kitchen table and cuff my hands together, tapping my foot against the hard floorboards, this next phone call was the most important one yet, I had to chose my words carefully and effectively, they must not know anything about the baby. I pick my body up from the chair and hike back over to the phone that sits still on the base. I'm just about to dial the number when the sound of footsteps approaching causes me to freeze. Lynn rounds the corner; her hair is wet which means she has just gotten out of the shower. She dresses in a pair of baggy old sweatpants and a blouse, a mismatch choice but who cares she's older and fashion doesn't really appeal to her anymore.

"Good morning." I greet kindly.

She peers at the phone that rests in my left hand and raises an eyebrow "Who are you calling?"

"Oh I just got off the phone with Effie" I lie at the fact that I was just about to attempt to get through to the president "She is going to help us buy some baby clothes"

She looks at me unconvinced almost as if I'm lying to her, that look says it all She strongly dislikes me and for reasons that are exactly unknown to me. It could be an number of reasons, but honestly, I don't care how she feels about me, I only care about the wonderful person that is her daughter. Lynn may hate me because of the hijacking or she may hate me because I got Katniss pregnant at a very young age, whatever the reason I'm not able to stop that suspicious glare that plasters her face as she moves into the living room without saying a word to me and slips on her shoes.

"Want some breakfast before you go?" I offer and she shakes her head, pulling on a large winter coat.

"I'm going into town, my shipment order has to be here by now. Katniss is still asleep so don't wake her up. I want her to rest" She gives me a warning look and by the time I open my mouth to reply to her she is out the door. I was going to warn her it wasn't good to go outside in wet hair, but I guess she'll figure that one out on her own. I'm done trying to get people to like me you, and I'm done putting up with her nasty glares every time we are around each other. She has no right to dislike me no right at all. I didn't ask to get hijacked and beaten, the sex Katniss and I had was an accident and it just happened, there was no stopping it. I glace back at the phone that sits on the base and bite my lip, this needed to be done I needed to pick it up and call into the Capitol, but what was I going to say to them. How was I going to convince them to move Katniss. I could say she was extremely sick and needed medical attention and she wanted her mother to look after her. I had to think of someway for her, Haymitch, Lynn and I to travel in secret. Maybe Paylor wouldn't say anything to the rest of Panem, maybe if I told her the truth she would bend some rules. I highly doubt it though, telling the president herself that the star-crossed lovers were expecting a child was a big mistake.

Paylor was a good person and all, but she was the president and it was her job to restore peace through the world and what better way to do it then to show the people of Panem that if the star-crossed lovers were able to move on, settle down and conceive then that must mean The Districts of Panem were livable, stable, and above all safe. I could see Paylor doing something like that, so the answer was definitely no. I tap my foot against the floorboards and am just about to move towards the phone again, a rapid knock on the front door causes me to freeze and roll my eyes in irritation, I've had enough interruptions for one day. I grumble under my breath as I move across the floorboards and into the living room, flinging open the front door and allowing the early winter breeze to spill into the house.

The man standing in front of me wore the biggest smile I have ever seen in my whole life. He wore a thick pair of glasses, a fancy trench coat, black pair of pants and snow boots. I eyed the vanilla folder that he held under his armpit, and a pen and clipboard that were in his hands. Who the hell was this guy and why was he knocking on Katniss's door in the late morning? I had a bad vibe going about this guy, but I just smiled back at the guy and waited for him to speak.

"Oh my god I cant believe you really answered. I do have the right address?" He asks with a grin.

"Who are you?" I question him seriously.

"Oh my where are my manners. I'm Herson Henderson, and I'm doing a story on the rebuilding of Panem. I got a call stating the star-crossed lovers would be happy to sit down and answer a few of my questions." Herson said.

I looked at him like he was a total nut-job and shook my head immediately "We didn't agree to anything, I don't know who called you, but they obviously didn't seek out our permission before they promised you an interview from us"

Herson frowns at my statement "But I traveled all this way for a story, to update the people of Panem on the rebuilding of the nation and on our Mockingjay and star-crossed lovers. I need to talk to you both."

"I'm sorry, but the answer is no" I say sternly.

"Come on man this isn't fair I want what I was promised!" Herson shouts angrily.

"And I want you to respect our privacy. We didn't know anything about this" I state calmly.

"This is ridiculous I was promised the star-crossed lovers and I'm not leaving until I get what I came here for" He threatens.

"Fine but your going to be here awhile, now if you please excuse me. I got breakfast to make. I'm deeply sorry"

"Oh fuck you man. You act like a interview is such a bad thing"

I don't respond to his anger I shut the door gently in his face, hearing his muffle yells behind the wood. I pace back and forth angrily with my hands behind my back. I'm beyond pissed off at the fact that someone called them and told them that we were willing to do an interview. No way in hell I was going to let that Herson guy anywhere near Katniss and I know there was no way he was leaving until he got what he came here for. I think long and hard, trying to figure out who the fuck would do such a thing, then it hits me. The only person rude enough to do it because he didn't get what we wanted from Katniss and now he is getting us back for not only kicking him out of the house for violent behavior, but because Katniss rejected him and chose me instead.

I clutch my fists in anger ready to pound the life out of Gale, ready to shove him face in the cold snow and watch him bleed. He's fucking with us and I don't appreciate it. I slip on my winter boots, mumbling in anger, throwing on a heavy jacket. I take one glance up the stairs and figure she is still asleep that I'll get back in time before she wakes up. Am I off to pick a fight with Gale? Not really, I just want to know for a fact if he is the one that called the Capitol reporter or if it was someone else, which I doubt it was someone else. There was nobody else; certainly not Haymitch or Lynn, it has to be Gale who called, getting back at us.

I place a hand on the doorknob, take one last glance up the stairs and am out the door into the chilly afternoon air. I walk around the Village, trying to figure out which house Haymitch saw him in, most of them are vacant, only a handful have District 12 survivors stashed in the lots. I pick the one next to Haymitch's house on the left, which is empty, then the right, empty. I walk a couple houses down, searching each one, all empty. That asshole probably made a break for it, call the Capitol on us and then take off. I check on last house and he is in there, passed out on the couch. My anger is back, my fists are clutch. I slam the door so loud it wakes him up out of his slumber.

"Get the fuck up Gale" I hiss.

"What's your problem Mellark" Gale groans as he rolls from the couch and yawns, stretching his arms over his head. His careless attitude makes me ten times more angry and the urge to punch him in the mouth becomes great.

"Did you call that god damn capitol reporter on us?" I growl.

"Ah he really came, oops, I didn't think he'd actually come" Gale replies with a small smirk.

"You fucking asshole, do you know what you've done? Any hopes of rebuilding your friendship with her are gone. She'll hate you for this. Do you fucking care about her at all?"

Gale glances down at his shoes, the careless attitude still spreads across his face "Yes I do, more than you can image. I was angry when I called him and I didn't actually think he'd show up"

"Well he did and he isn't leaving until he gets an interview, and if he finds out she is pregnant and tells the entire nation, that's on you."

Gale is silent, holding his head down like a pathetic dog.

I take a step forward towards Gale so I'm in his face. He's bigger than me, but I'm stronger than him "If you ever, ever come near her again I'll kill you and I mean it. I'll kill you"

"Fuck you Mellark, I messed up I was angry at the fact that she threw me away like I was nothing as soon as you came back. I could of made her happy, could of taken care of the baby. Your wrong for her Mellark and you know it."

"I'm not listening to this anymore." I growl and take a step towards the door. "Stay away from her"

"What truth hurts don't it. You fucking wrapped your hands around her neck. I watched you. How do you know you wont do the same thing to your baby?"

I've had enough of his mouth I pull back my fist and crack him in the jaw as hard as I can, then I tackle him and we both go through the coffee table, glass shatters into a million pieces and a couple shards poke my knees as I straddle him and pound him left and right. There is nobody to stop us this time and I'm pretty sure one of us is going to kill the other.

to be continued...