I'm so sorry I keep letting you all down. School is busy again, and for any of you in America for school, school for us at least is ending in two and a half months. For my school, work is picking up, and we're all scrambling to fix the laziness of our grades. LOL. Soo, we are up to 162 reviews as of today. Almost 15,000 hits too! This has blown me away so much. Well, here is Chapter 25!
Peeta walks Prim and I towards Madge's home. She sits on the small wooden bench out front, fidgeting with a navy blue eyelet dress.
"Hey Madge." I say, and she looks up.
"Hi guys. Glad you came; they are starting the interviews in ten with us. Caesar is in the living room with the Hawthorne crew. Your dresses are pretty."
Peeta's hand squeezes mine in a silent agreement, and I give a small smile. Prim runs up and hugs her, and Madge seems to calm a bit. Madge is like another sister to Prim. They've always had a special connection since Prim met her when we were younger. A peacekeeper steps outside stiffly looking at us.
"It's time. Follow me please." We all follow, winding our way to the fancy living room of the Justice Building. Hazelle has gathered the kids, all of them looking well. Rory runs over to Prim, giving her a quick kiss.
"You look beautiful Primmy." He says with a smile. She goes about three different shades of red, and mutters a 'thanks' in return. Peeta laughs loudly, causing Rory to join her blushing.
"Totally called that one." I hear him mutter, and I punch his arm lightly.
"Hi guys!" I see Caesar in front of us with a wide grin. "Shall we get the Everdeen girls done first?" Prim nods, and gives Rory another peck on the cheek. We walk over to the white sofa, and sit nicely down. The cameramen calls action, and Caesar grins at the camera.
"And we are back, with the Everdeen sisters, otherwise known as Gale's cousins! Hello Prim, and Katniss!"
I put on my best fake smile, and Prim chimes in lightly. "Hello Caesar!"
"So Gale is in the final eight, and the Games are coming to an end. What do you think of that?" Prim glances at me, and I take it as my cue to respond.
"It is really nice. We've been all a tight family for years, and it would be horrible to lose him. We're so thankful he's still alive."
"That's wonderful. Simply wonderful. Anything else you would like to say?"
Prim answers for herself before I can. "Gale will always find his way back home. Especially with Madge. He will do whatever he has to." I nod in agreement, and add my comment also.
"Gale will win." Caesar thanks us, and says Madge is coming up next.
"You ladies are wonderful. Thanks for your time." He kisses our hands with his utterly disgusting lips, and we head to towards Madge. She smiles timidly, then slides on the sofa. We wait another two minutes, and then Caesar is calling out pleasantries.
"Madge! It's great to finally meet the lady who holds Gale's heart. How are you?"
"I'm great, thanks Caesar." She smiles brightly, and glances towards us. Peeta gives her an encouraging nod.
"Madge, tell me, how did you two fall in love?" Caesar smiles slightly, and she blushes.
"We have known each other for many years actually, and I have been crushing on him for a long time. When he was reaped, I knew I had to tell him before it was too late. I didn't think he'd return them, but hey, look where we are now."
"Aww! Isn't that adorable? Tell me, will he come home?"
"He promised. Too many people are expecting him to keep to it. He has to come home."
"And come home he will. Thanks for your time Madge, we're looking forward to seeing you in the future."
"I am too Caesar." Madge gives a big grin, and the camera cuts.
"Alright! We're done! Thanks Madge." Caesar gives a thumbs up, and we're all escorted out. Madge stops when we get out of the building and turns.
"Do you really think he'll win? I mean, Sara has proven to be a mass murderer. And there is that Cato boy, and Thresh…"
"He'll be fine. I promise." I say, and grab her hand. Her eyes are glazed slightly, and she pulls me into a tight hug. I stiffen at first, but relax for Madge's sake. Prim smiles sadly, then runs off to Rory. Peeta sits on the bench and pretends to mind his own business. "It'll be okay Madge. He'll come back home, and move into Victor's Village with his family. He'll sneak out at night to see you, and probably even take you hunting. You'll live happily ever after. It'll all be great." She sniffs, and pulls back.
"Thanks. I really needed that."
"No problem. Sorry to cut this short, but Peeta and I got to get to work. We needed to go there right after the interviews."
Madge lets out a laugh. "Alright, have fun. Well, not too much fun. When Gale comes back, we should double." I cringe inside on the thought but nod to her. "Bye!" She says, turning towards her home. Peeta stands and I can't help but notice the movement of his biceps.
"Let's get to the bakery. Dad will tolerate us being late to a certain extent. Besides, he is supposed to be off today, since Rye is working." I groan at the remark of his brother.
"A day with Rye. This ought to be fun." I say sarcastically, and Peeta replies with a laugh.
"Because you two are sooo close." He jokes, and I can't help but crack a smile. I look down, and see my dress and nice shoes.
"Oh! Can I borrow a pair of clothes by chance?"
"Yeah, I think I have some draw string shorts, and an extra shirt. Besides, you look really hot in my clothes." I see him freeze, and go red. I snort and shove him lightly.
"Don't lie."
"I'm not. Do you not realize how incredibly cute you are in my clothes." I scowl at him, and he shrugs. "It's the truth. Believe it if you want." How would I be cute in clothes bigger than me? I shake the thought off, and we walk the rest of the way in silence. That is, until we hear a screech from someone I had thought we'd never see again.
"PEETA MELLARK." Peeta freezes up, and we turn to face her. The witch.
"Hi." He says quietly, staring at the ground.
"How could you betray me? And let your father kick me out of our home? How could you hold hands with that, that scum!" She squeals, and I flinch when she calls me scum.
"She is not the one who is scum here! YOU ARE." He yells, his face bright red with anger. She fumes also, and steps forward making a move with a dagger in hand. She cuts into his arm before we realize what's happened. I release Peeta's hand and pull the small knife out from under my skirt, and whip around her. My blade sits right at her throat.
"One move. It only takes one move and I will slice you like a pig." I whisper harshly, and Peeta's eyes widen.
"Get off of me filth! What I do to my son does not concern you! Go back to the Seam you whore!" She yells, thrashing in my arms. My knife lifts and slides down the side of her face. It isn't deep enough to kill, but it will leave a nasty scar. She cries out, and starts shaking. A small puddle forms at her feet and mine, causing my nose to wrinkle in disgust.
Peeta actually smirks at me. I mouth 'I'm sorry.' He shakes his head, and talks loudly.
"You aren't my mother. You're just a horrible woman who tricked my dad into marrying you after my real mom died. You will never be my mother. Rot in hell." I wipe my knife on the side of her shirt, and walk towards Peeta. She scampers away with tears mixing in the blood on her face, wet marks streaking her khaki pants darkly. I rush over towards Peeta and grab his arm.
"You're going to need stitches." I say, desperately pushing the bile that has risen in my throat back down. My hands reach the bottom of his shirt, and rip a long strip off. I make a small tourniquet above the cut to slow the bleeding, and then lead him to the bakery. Mr. Mellark looks up when the front door's bell rings.
"What happened?" He says worriedly while standing to walk over.
"Violetta." Peeta responds through gritted teeth. "No worries though, Katniss decorated her face a bit. Hope you don't mind." Mr. Mellark turns to me with a look of curiosity, and I raise my finger to trail down the right side of my face. He smirks, and then speaks up.
"Should I send Rye to get your mother?" I ponder for a moment, but the front door bell rings before I respond. Prim stands, with shock on her face.
"What happened?" She asks, then runs up to Peeta and immediately starts looking at the cut.
"His mom got a little dagger happy." I respond, and he scowls.
"That bitch is not my mother." Peeta says loudly, his voice shaking with anger.
"I will go fetch my medic bag; mom is on a house call. Give me five minutes." She sprints out the door, and I get Peeta to sit on a stool. Mr. Mellark flips the sign to say 'on break' so nobody comes in to this mess. Prim runs back in by three minutes, which must be hard since it would usually need five minutes to run here.
"I need him to lie down on something; it will be easier for me to stitch up." Prim says while standing him. Mr. Mellark leads them to the extra room where a decent sized table lies, deserted. Prim throws a clean brown sheet across the table, and has Peeta lie down. I slide a chair next to him and hold his hand tightly. "Peeta, I'm really sorry but I don't have anything for pain killers. This is probably going to hurt a lot." He nods his face turning towards me. "Katniss, distract him. It will take another minute before I can start stitching."
"So, was it me or was Caesar sitting in District 12 a ridiculous look?" He laughs, then his face contorts in pain. "Hang in there Peeta, you're doing great." I ramble about the woods, and Prim looks up. She gives me a slight nod, a flash of guilt across her face. "Prim is going to start stitching, just squeeze my hand, alright?"
"I need you to hold his arm in place Katniss." There is no way I can fit over by Prim regardless of how skinny I am. I climb onto the table and sit on his chest, holding his arm.
Prim's nimble fingers slide the needle through, and he cries out in pain. I wince, and try to calm him. It's a long cut, so I know he'll be in a good chunk of pain. When she starts to slide the needle through the other side, I do the only thing that will distract him. I lean down and press my lips to his, and feel him relax. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Prim start to speed up while he is distracted. Peeta stays quiet, stiffening only slightly when she pushes the needle through. My lips rub his gently, and his tongue slides across my lower lip slightly. I allow entrance, though I'm embarrassed I'm doing this in front of my sister and his dad.
Prim coughs loudly. "Alright, I'm done." I laugh slightly, and sit up. My legs slide to the side and slip towards the ground. Peeta is bright red with embarrassment, mine must be matching too. Prim pulls out salve to ward off infection then wraps gauze around the stitches.
"You're good Peeta." He thanks Prim, and she smiles. "Now, getting to why I came, I needed to pick up a loaf of bread for the Hawthornes. Rory gave me some coins for it…" Mr. Mellark waves her off.
"Nonsense. Which bread?" He responds, escorting Prim back to the front.
Rye pops in the door. "Never liked that woman. How lovely does her face look now?" I motion where I cut, and he grins evilly. "She deserved it." With that, he heads back to the ovens, and starts baking again.
"Nice distraction method." Peeta says with a sheepish smile.
"Shut up. It was all I could think of at the time." We both laugh, and leave the room. Running upstairs, Peeta throws a change of clothes for me. I change in the bathroom then head back downstairs to say by to Prim. As I grab my apron, I notice something different on the front under the logo. All the Mellark's have embroidered aprons with their name and specialty, but I had always had the plain one. Now on the front, I have my own special one. Katniss Everdeen: Pastry Specialist. My eyes water slightly, and I hear Mr. Mellark walk up next to me.
"Now you're really a part of the Mellark Bakery staff, and family." He gives a comforting smile, and I return it gratefully.
"Thank you."
HOLY CROW. 2,246 words. Longest chapter I have ever written, and it took me two days to fit everything I wanted in it. So I am sorry for no update again on Friday and Saturday. I might have to switch to every other day updates, which I don't want to do, but grades are more important. Alright? Love you all! And Peeta's step witch, Violetta, is gone! YAY. I felt like she was a loose end, waiting to be tied for good. Final days in the Games next. REVIEW.