Hellooo! x

I didn't really like the last chapter too much, so I wrote this. Consider it a part 2! :D Enjoy!

Throughout dinner, my mother refuses to look at me. Prim notices, but she tries not to say anything as Effie continues to babble on about everything and nothing. Haymitch sits at the end of the table shoveling his food down and only stopping for a few seconds to slurp his wine. And then it's right back to the food. Usually I eat like Haymitch- my mother even blamed him for teaching me to eat that way when I was younger- but today I feel like I can't eat at all. Between the stress of my secret and my mother taking my phone away so that she can look through it, my appetite does not even dare to come anywhere close to me.

"Delicious, Genny!" She daintily pats her face with a napkin as my mother winces at the nickname. "Simply delicious! You must give me the recipe!"

For the first time since I came downstairs, I let out a snort; I can't even remember the last time Effie cooked for herself without it turning out to be a disaster. She doesn't even notice as she continues to talk, but my mother does. She stares at me with such intensity that I have no choice but to return my eyes to my plate and keep them there. Dinner finally ends when uncle Haymitch finishes his food and wine and falls asleep in his chair. Effie giggles and makes a joke about it, but it's obvious that she is incredibly annoyed with him.

"Katniss." I look up at my mother while Effie tries to wake Haymitch. "Could you help me with the dishes?"

I nod, knowing that I would be plain stupid to say no. Prim watches me as I pick up a couple plates and take a deep breath before joining my mother in the kitchen. When I walk in, the dishes are in the sink and my phone is in her hand again. I wordlessly place the dishes in the sink along with the rest and stare at the floor in the middle of the kitchen. I don't even need to look up to know that she is looking through my texts.

"Katniss, I don't even know where to begin." Her voice shakes with anger, but I still say nothing. "Were you two planning on meeting for your birthday?"

I look up to meet her eyes, but I give no response. She shakes her head and looks at my phone again. She scrolls down to see more, and I brace myself. I know it gets worse. The day after Peeta came over to talk to me- the day after we made love- I remember texting him about how I already missed him. Except it wasn't just him. I may have mentioned how much I missed his body and his kisses. It wasn't anything serious. We meant it in more of a flirty way, but I know that she will not take it that way. When she sighs and closes her eyes, I can tell that she has found these texts.

"I already want you again?"

When she looks at me, it seems like she is close to tears, but I look down too fast to know for sure. She lets out a humorless laugh and goes to sit down at the kitchen table. I watch as she rests her head in her hand and uses her free hand to hold onto my phone. I walk slowly and cautiously- the way someone would approach an animal that could attack at any moment- and sit down next to her at the table.

"We were just-"

"Have you had..." She stops as she looks at me, like she doesn't want to say it. "You have. Haven't you?"

I consider lying, but I can't. I'm a terrible liar, and lying is what caused all this trouble in the first place. When I meet her eyes again to answer her, I can see by the look on her face that my silence was enough of an answer for her. She closes her eyes and covers them with her hand as she takes a deep breath.

"Mom, Peeta isn't a bad guy like you think he is." It's a lot easier to talk when she isn't staring at me. "He's a great guy, and he-"

"You shouldn't be having sex with any boy," she snaps as she takes her hand away from her eyes. "You're only 16, Katniss! What if you get pregnant?"

"Then I'll figure it out," I snap back, trying to keep my mind off the fact that I may in fact be pregnant. "But we're not talking about pregnancies. You and I both know that. You hate the idea that I love someone with the last name Mellark, and you hate that he loves me. You hate that he's such a great guy because if he was bad, at least you would have a good reason to hate him!"

She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. We both stare at each other quietly for such a long time that I lose count of the seconds. A tear comes from her eye, but she turns away so that I won't see it.

"Why him?" she mutters to the table. "You never had any interest in boys. And now all of a sudden, you decide that you want him of all people."

"You know, you're right," I snap. "Maybe I should have chosen a guy that likes to beat his girlfriend senseless-"

"Katniss, that's not what I meant, and you know it."

"It's exactly what you meant." She rolls her eyes and sighs. "You have no reason to hate him. Give me one. Besides his last name. Give me one reason. Please, just one."

"Because I said so." She looks at me sharply. "I am your mother. I have reasons that you couldn't even think of. If I tell you this guy is wrong for you, it's because I know that you're going to hurt." Effie calls for my mother from the kitchen, and she stands up and takes a deep breath. "And that's that."

"You won't even-"

"We're done, Katniss."

I watch as she starts walking toward the door. Finally, I decide to say what I've wanted to say to her for such a long time but never had the courage.

"What would Dad say if he heard you talking like this?"

She freezes in the doorway and clenches her jaw. My eyes tear up as she just stands there, staring at the air in front of her for what seems like forever.

"We'll never know," she mumbles. "Will we?"

I finally let a couple of tears fall after she leaves the room. I rub them off of my face and shudder, wishing that I was smart enough to keep my phone with me. At least then I could have avoided this. My relationship with my mother would not have gone from bad to worse. The rest of the night, I sit quietly as Effie continues to talk to my mother. Haymitch is still asleep on the couch, and Prim is still staring at me, but I refuse to look at anyone. Even when they decide that they will go to bed, I only open my mouth to say goodnight. Because Effie hates sleeping on the couch, Haymitch has taken over the living room, Prim and I must share my room, and Effie will sleep in Prim's room. As soon as everyone has gone off to their room, I tell Prim that I need to go downstairs for only a few minutes. When I get there, I find that Haymitch is half awake and watching television again. He doesn't even look at me as I sit down across from him.

"What're you doing up?" he mumbles.

"I wanted to finish our conversation from earlier." I stare at him, but he still doesn't look away from the screen. "I really want to know."

"Sweetheart, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"The Mellark's," I mutter, trying not to get frustrated. "Why does my mother hate them?"

When he finishes flipping through the channels, he thoughtfully looks at me for a few seconds. He shifts his position so that he can look at me without bending his neck too much. Then he glances through the doorway to make sure nobody is listening.

"Look. I don't know if your mom wants me repeating this story to you," he grumbles. "But I doubt she'll ever tell you, and you ought to know."

I sit quietly as he sighs and starts telling the story.

It begins with my mother and Solomon, Mr. Mellark. He tells me that Solomon fell in love my mother, and they started dating in high school. They were so happy together, and my mother thought that he was a great man. But then- he tells me- there was a huge misunderstanding. Solomon's parents hated my mother, and they demanded that he date someone better. Of course by better, they meant richer. They demanded that he date an old family friend's daughter. Her name was Etta, and she began to flirt with Solomon as soon as her parents mentioned him. One day, my mother saw them together and thought that he was cheating on her. She was so angry that when he came to talk to her to ask her what she was upset about, she only told him that it was over. She told him that she never wanted to talk to him again while she was in a fit of anger. Solomon was heartbroken- especially because he had no idea what he'd done- but he caved. He knew that my mother was not going to take him back, so he decided to date Etta to appease his parents.

Then- he continues- after my father died, my mother went to the bakery. She found Solomon there, and he started talking to her. He offered his condolences and tried to cheer her up the best he could. And then, he did something that he had surely wanted to do for quite some time. He tried to kiss her. And that is when Etta walked in. Given their past, she didn't quite believe that they were just catching up. She pushed him away from my mother and chased her out of the bakery. Needless to say, they haven't been on good terms since. Any of them.

"That's it?" I scoff. "All of this. It's all because of a guy?"

He looks at the ceiling for a moment and hums.

"You could say that," he mutters. "But it's bigger than that to your mother. She thinks the son is the same way. You know, that he'll date you until he moves on to some richer girl, and then you'll be all heartbroken like she was. Plus she hates that wife of his. I mean everyone does."

"Still!" I look at him, but he is focused on the television again. "Why is she dramatic if that's all that happened?"

"If it happened to you, would it be no big deal?"

I don't answer, but I realize that he is right. I try to imagine what it would feel like if I thought that Peeta was suddenly leaving me for some pretty, rich girl. How would I feel if the man that I love more than anything abandoned me that way? I guess it would be somewhat traumatizing. Especially for my mother: a woman who feels intensely devastated at any loss. The woman who shut down completely after my father died. And now I wonder: was he even the man that she really loved? Or was she just devastated at the thought of being alone?

Please review to tell me what you think - I love hearing your opinion!