Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who read, favorited, followed, and reviewed this story so far. I really do appreciate it.
Hope you all enjoy this chapter and PLEASE review. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games, the state of Texas, the song 'Whistle' by FloRida or the song 'Blown Away' by Carrie Underwood.
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Chapter 3: Blown Away
~ Dry lightning cracks across the skies, those storm clouds gather in her eyes. Her daddy was a mean old mister; mama was an angel in the ground. The weather man called for a twister, she prayed blow it down. There's not enough rain in Oklahoma, to wash the sins out of that house. There's not enough wind in Oklahoma, to rip the nails out of the past. Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away, every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away, 'til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday. Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,
blown away. She heard those sirens screaming out, her daddy laid there passed out on the couch. She locked herself in the cellar, listened to the screaming of the wind. Some people called it taking shelter, she called it sweet revenge. ~
"Daddy, c'mon daddy you have to wake up! Please, get up!" I scream at my father. He won't wake up; he is passed out cold from all the alcohol. My father is a horrible person; he beats up my mother all the time. She is in the hospital from one of his beatings right now, he told the paramedics she fell down the stairs. That's why i'm sitting here at four and a half years old, begging my daddy to wake up. A tornado is coming, a really big one and we need to get to the storm cellar but my father will just not wake up. I remember what my mother said late one night when she was tucking me in. Her eye was black from where my father had just hit her a few hours ago, she mumbled something about how someday he would pay for all he has done. Some people call it taking shelter, I call it sweet revenge.
I grab Prim from her crib in my parent's room, and a thick blanket to cover her up. I rush out the front door of our house to our storm cellar; never looking back at the house that my father lays in. I safely get Prim and I in the cellar and turn on the one light we have in there. I lay her down on the mattress, and put a pillow on one side and lay down next to her. I drift off to sleep to the sound of tornado sirens and loud gusts of wind.
Nightmares plague my sleep, as I scream for my mother. The cellar is filled with the sounds of screams and cries, but no one is there to comfort us. I scream louder and louder for my mother...but no one comes. We are alone.
I am woken up by someone shaking me, I open my eyes to see Peeta. I choke back sobs as I lean into Peeta's embrace. My throat feels dry and raw from screaming. My body is drenched in sweat and I am tangled in the sheets.
"Katniss, what's wrong? I was downstairs making us some food and I heard you screaming." Peeta says worriedly. Peeta is the only person besides my family that knows about my nightmares.
"It was just a nightmare, I'm fine." I say hoarsely. He shakes his head and pulls me tighter. He tells me that I'll feel better if I tell him. So I do; I tell him everything and amazingly I do feel better. It would be fine if it was only a nightmare but it's not. It's what really happened and that makes it ten times worse. My tears gradually stop and by breathing becomes more even. He loosens his grip on me and pulls me up off the bed. We both laugh when I trip and fall on top of Peeta.
"You know if I'm not mistaken, this is exactly what happened thirteen years ago; what made us become friends." I say with a smile, still lying on top of Peeta.
He chuckles and rolls us over so he is hovering above me, "I think you're right."
I was five years old, we had just moved to Houston to be closer to my cousins after the stuff with my dad. I was starting Kindergarten that day and although my oldest cousin Gale was going to the same school and we were in the same grade he didn't want to show me around. He said that his friends would think he was a wuss for hanging out with his girl cousin. So there I was wandering down a hallway, carrying my backpack and holding on to my favorite stuffed animal. I wasn't paying attention, I had my face buried in the fabric of my stuffed animal, when I tripped over my shoelace and landed on top of someone. I looked at the person I had landed on, I saw a boy my age with the brightest blue eyes smiling at me. I smiled back at him and then I had gotten up and offered him my hand. He took it and I pulled him up onto his feet before letting go of his hand.
He stuck out his hand out again, "Hi, I'm Peeta Mellark. What's your name?" I shook his hand and tried not to smile when I heard just the slightest hint of a southern drawl in his voice.
"I'm Katniss Everdeen. I'm from Oklahoma but now I live here with my mom and sister." I had said happily. Even at five I didn't really like to tell anyone about myself but Peeta had looked so sincere and nice that I felt like I could tell him anything.
"Really? Do you have any friends here yet?" Peeta asked shyly.
"No, my cousin goes here but he doesn't want to be seen with a girl." I said sadly.
"Maybe, I can be your friend. I don't mind being seen with a girl, especially a pretty one like you. We could be best friends!" He said excitedly.
"I would like that. Best friends then?" I asked happily.
"Best friends." He said just as happily. Peeta took my hand in his and we walked hand in hand to our classroom. From that day on we were pretty much inseparable.
"You were quite the charmer back then." I said and pecked his lips. He chuckled and pulled us both up.
"Yes, I was. Now, I don't know about you but I'm ready for some food." He says. In reply my stomach growls. We both laugh and make our way downstairs to the dining room. Peeta's whole family is sitting around the table. His mom and dad send me friendly smiles. His oldest brother Ryan smirks at me, reminding me I'm still in my pajamas. His middle brother, Patrick, winks at me. I wink back and Patrick chokes on his cereal. Peeta and Ryan laugh and even their parents chuckle. We spend the morning eating breakfast and laughing. Eventually both of Peeta's parents have to leave for work, so we all say goodbye.
Once their gone Ryan gets ready to leave for work; leaving just Peeta, Patrick and I.
"So, who is throwing the graduation party this year? Finnick's party last year was the shit." Patrick says, shoving another piece of pancake in his mouth.
"Yea, well the party this year is going to be a hundred times better, it's at Volt's house." Peeta says smugly. Volt is from California and well-known for his parties.
Patrick high-fives Peeta, "You lucky little bastard. Just don't get too drunk their little bro and remember always use protection." I spit the orange juice that was in my mouth across the table. Leave it to Patrick to bring up sex at breakfast.
Peeta drives me home after I hang out at his house for awhile. I know Prim is probably dying to hear about Grad night plus I have to get ready for the party. When I finally get back to my house, Peeta helps me out and gives me a quick kiss goodbye promising to pick me at seven. I walk inside to see Prim, my mom, and Haymitch all sitting on the couch together watching a TV program but no one is actually focused on the show. When they hear the door closed they all turn to face me. My mother's eyes are blood shot and puffy and she clears her throat repeatedly. I can tell she has been up all night crying.
I walk towards them and sit next to my mom, "what's wrong mom? Is everything okay?"
She pulls me into a hug and chokes back a sob, "Katniss you're father has escaped from prison, and no one is sure where he is right now but we have been told to be on the lookout for him."
"Dad is dead. He couldn't have survived the tornado. Why didn't you tell me sooner." I scream at her.
"I'm sorry but you were young I didn't want to worry you." She pleads.
"I see how well that worked out for you. I have a party to go to tonight. Peeta will be here at seven, until then I will be in my room. If I don't see you when I leave, I'll see you tomorrow." I say as I stomp up the stairs.
"Be careful." My mom yells up to me.
"Whatever." I scream back at her as I slam the door to my room. I'm not letting this ruin my fun. I'm going to do whatever I have to at that party to get my mind off my dad, I deserve that much.
Later at the graduation party...
~ Can you blow my whistle baby, whistle baby
Let me know
Girl I'm gonna show you how to do it
And we start real slow
You just put your lips together
And you come real close
Can you blow my whistle baby, whistle baby
Here we go. ~
Music was blaring through speakers set up in the living room, empty drink cups were all over the floor. Couples are making out on the couches; drunken girls are grinding on guys they have just met. Cato and Clove went home over an hour ago, for once being the responsible ones. Gale and Johanna are throwing down shots with Volt. Alcohol is everywhere; there is just about every type of whiskey, vodka and beer you can imagine. Despite Patrick's warning, Peeta and I have both had at least four drinks. I use the alcohol to drown out the thoughts of my dad and it works. I dance with Peeta, the alcohol making me a lot more easygoing than usual. Peeta's arms are around my waist and my back is to his chest as we dance together. Peeta plants sloppy kisses up and down my neck and jaw as I pull myself closer. Eventually I take his hand and lead him up the stairs. We finally find an empty room at the end of the hallway.
I pull the door closed behind us and lock it. I try desperately to pull off the dress I'm wearing. Peeta sees what I'm doing and grabs my hands to stop me. Even when he's drunk he cares more for the good of other people but I still plan on getting what I want.
"Katniss, stop. We're both drunk and you know if we do this you'll regret it in the morning." Peeta says loudly, trying to make his voice hearable over the music. I shut him up by pressing my lips to his fiercely. He kisses me back as his hands trail up my sides, stopping at the zipper of my dress. He tugs at the zipper and my dress falls from my body. I waste no time undoing the buttons on his shirt, and throwing it off of him as I push him back onto the bed. Just as I'm undoing his belt, shots are fired through the window. The glass shatters and pieces fly in all directions. A piece of the glass lodges itself in Peeta's side. More shots are fired through the window as I try to quickly throw on my dress and grab Peeta's shirt. I stumble my way through the room stepping on pieces of glass with my now bare feet as I try to get back to the bed. Peeta's side is bleeding profusely, so I carefully remove the glass and tie his shirt tightly around his waist, trying to cease the blood flowing from the wound. Shots are now being fired at every window; I can hear glass shattering and people screaming.
After I have stopped some of the bleeding, I carefully inch around the room towards the window. I pull out my phone, ready to call 911 as I near the window. I need to be able to describe the shooter to the police. I look out the window searching for the gunman. I'm not prepared for what I see, because outside pointing a gun towards me… is my father. He sees me and pulls the trigger, all I feel is a searing pain as a bullet tears through my shoulder.
Before I succumb to the darkness that is beginning to surround me, I hear my father shout the same words I had thought fourteen years ago, "I call it sweet revenge."
I'm sorry for any mistakes that have been made. I actually typed up this chapter up between naps. My favorite little boy decided to keep me up all night because he couldn't find his stuffed frog. So I begged my mom, to come over and watch him today so I could sleep. X) But hey I uploaded two chapters in less than twenty four hours and managed to get at least eight hours of sleep total. Thank you mom :)
Anyways, that's chapter three, hope you all liked it. Next chapter will have more flashbacks and you will find out how everyone at the party is.
Thank you all for reading and don't forget to review. ;)
Love you all. – THGgoddess4ever :)