This one's a little sloppy. I apologize. I'm trying to keep the plot interesting but not too predictable. But what do you all think? Is this too lame?
Life progressed smoothly but slowly with Peeta. While my insides burned within me every time we touched, I didn't want to push him further than he wanted to go. Peeta and I were both still healing. Even when winter rolled around and it was two years after the rebellion ended and I had killed Coin, we still felt the scars that were physically and emotionally left. They would never heal, but learning to live with them together, knowing the other person was right there by our side, helped. We just wanted to take things slowly.
Gradually I grew bored with my routine and began hunting regularly again. In the mornings I would eat breakfast with Peeta and when he left to go to the bakery I would head the opposite direction towards the woods. The fence was up and the door was closed, but I opened it and snuck in with my hunting gear and set up snares to get meat. While life was still much better off than when we were under Snow's rule, there were still hiccups between the districts and there would be times meat was harder to come by.
Instead of the Hob a new market was set up where farmers would come with their freshly harvested fruits and vegetables. Occasionally there were other people selling grains and other items, and when meat supplies ran low I would supplement what was available with my newest finds. I tried to blend in more now. Every once in a while people would stop and stare or ask questions concerning my "stability", but for the most part I enjoyed relearning how to interact with the people of the area. More were moving back because it was their home- including Gale's mother and siblings.
At first it threw me off when I saw Hazelle and Posy. Was Gale near? The thought made my stomach turn but my fears were laid to rest when she sensed my unease and quickly said with a reassuring smile, "Gale's not here. He still lives in 2." We caught up on things, conspicuously avoiding the topic of Gale, and I learned that while they lived with him for a little while they wanted to come home to 12. "It's my home," she said, patting my hand. Rory and Vick had moved back also and were working in the medicine factory although Vick hated it.
Over the next few weeks I saw her more and more often and felt comfortable with her. I remember when I was growing up, after my father had died and before the Games, that I wished she had been my mom. She was kind, but strong-willed and a hard worker. She took care of her family and made sure that she was the one to look after her children. She was so different from my own mom. I invited her for lunch one day while Posy was at school and we were able to enjoy each other's company. It was like it was with Sae, but Sae was old enough to be my grandmother and while I knew her from the Hob, we didn't have as much of a shared past. Besides, she had Haymitch to look after now.
"Maybe Vick could work for Peeta," I suggested as she spoke of his dissatisfaction at the factory. A sense of unease arose and I quickly realized why. "I think that may be awkward for him. He's so close to his brother, you know?" Had Gale really not moved on? In the more than two years since I saw him, was he was still bitter that I wasn't with him? I tried to brush past the tension and threw out another option, "He could work for me." Hazelle's ears perked up and she put down her tea. "I don't need the money I get from selling the meat, but if he can hunt anything like Gale he would be a good partner." She smiled and said she would throw out the idea to him that evening.
When Peeta came home that night I told him the events of the day. I was surprised when he didn't react when I mentioned the awkward moment between Hazelle and I concerning Gale, and when I told him my idea of having Vick work with me he smiled and said it was a great idea. Afterwards we headed upstairs to head to bed. Both of us had been up earlier than usual and we were exhausted. As we lay there falling asleep I couldn't help but ask Peeta what he thought of the whole situation.
"Why would someone be like that? He's had two years to move on. Besides, it's not like he would be hurting for women. They've always flocked towards him," I started. Peeta got a look of disappointment across his face and I could tell he was thinking. "What?" I asked, encouraging him to fill me in as I propped myself up, leaning against his chest. As he stopped my hand that had been rubbing his chest he held it and said, "I wouldn't be able to move on. In all honesty, I don't blame him. You're a one-of-a-kind woman, not some girl who goes around swooning and fainting into the arms of men. You're tougher than nails and you have your head on straight," he shook his head and pushed some hair out of my face, "I don't envy him because I know I would be the same way if you had gone with him."
I fell backwards onto my back thinking about what Peeta said and for the first time in a while I felt sorry for Gale. As I fell asleep in Peeta's arms I couldn't help but think about what he had just said. How would it have been if I had gone with Gale instead of him? Would he have come back to 12? Would I have progressed as well as I have? Would Gale have put aside his military career to move back here with the declared lunatic who had killed President Coin?
That night I had a nightmare of a different sort. Given my thoughts prior to falling asleep it shouldn't be too surprising that they were about Gale. I was in this house, but instead of waking up to Peeta's blue eyes and fair skin there were Gale's grey eyes and olive skin. As I followed him downstairs instead of smelling fresh bread I smelled something burning and little parachutes were strewn across the kitchen and living room. As I walked towards a box I could hear children screaming and crying. As I knelt down to open it there were children burning as Gale pushed me away. As he pinned me down and began to force himself upon me I called out and Prim appeared. But quickly he shot her with a gun and dropped a parachute on her, her body immediately going up in flames as I listened to her screaming and cries mingled with the children. As I awoke, screaming for Prim's freedom, Peeta's arms came around me and kissed my cheeks that had been covered in tears.
"He killed her Peeta. He killed her," I said in desperation. Peeta quieted me down as I lay there shaking and sobbing. As he ran his hand up and down my back I couldn't help but picture Prim's last moments outside of Snow's house trying to help save the Capitol children.
A few days later Vick came to visit me at the market and I threw out my proposition to him. He nodded in excitement and asked when he could start. "Well, how about tomorrow?" I asked. The next morning he showed up at my front door and waited inside while Peeta and I got ready for the day. You could tell he felt uncomfortable but Peeta tried to make him feel at ease and invited him to eat breakfast with us. "No," he responded to the invitation, "I ate before I came. Thank you though." Given Vick's size though, you could tell that one breakfast wasn't necessarily enough for the teenaged boy. He looked just like Gale but was taller and broader. "Are you sure?" I asked. "We're going to be out there for the better part of the day and I'm not sure when we'll get a chance to stop and eat," I reminded him. He got up from the couch and sat in the chair closest to me. Peeta passed him some bread and jam to go on top and Vick ate silently, not raising his eyes towards Peeta, but quietly said thank you.
As we left I gave Peeta a kiss before we separated and Vick kept his eyes to the ground as he waited and then left towards the woods. As we began our work in the woods I realized that Vick was no Gale. His stealth skills rivaled Peeta's and while he was definitely able to hit a few rabbits, he was a little rusty on his shooting skills. "When was the last time you went hunting?" I asked. "Well, I've never actually been," he said reluctantly. "Oh?" "No. When we were in 13 I learned to shoot and practiced some. But that was about it," he continued sheepishly. I laughed and patted him on the back. "It's okay. You can learn. I'm surprised your brother never took you while you were there with him in 2," I said, regretting my final words as they escaped my mouth. He looked down and said, "Well, he was pretty busy. Plus he never really goes hunting anymore."
When we left the woods that afternoon Vick carried a deer I had shot over his shoulders while I carried the rabbits and squirrels we had gotten. We returned to my home where I began to show him how to clean the animals. He was a little squeamish at first but picked up pretty quickly. "Don't worry, Vick," I smiled, "you'll be as good as your brother was if not better." He blushed a little and smiled at the idea. As we finished the last few squirrels Vick began to warm up a little and talk with me.
"He asks about you, you know." He said, after a quiet moment. Caught off guard I yelped out an awkward, "oh?" "Yeah. When we moved back he asked us to keep an eye out for you to make sure nothing happened to you. You know, that no one hurt you or anything." I realized who my hinted at attacker might be and gripped my knife tightly until my knuckles turned white. How dare he think Peeta would do anything to me! As I continued to skin the squirrel I took a few more chunks of meat out than I intended and excused myself before I finished.
I went instead to let out a bit of frustration and came back outside to Vick who had finished the squirrel I sloppily butchered and Peeta. Peeta was trying to talk to Vick but Vick sat silently, nodding and staring at his shoes. When they noticed me Peeta gave me a shrug and quick peck on the cheek and said goodbye to Vick as he went inside. As I thanked Vick for his help that day and told him when to meet me at the market tomorrow I finished by trying to clarify some things. "Peeta is actually a good guy. He hasn't laid a finger on me since we've been back," okay, so maybe that was a lie, but it wasn't really Peeta doing it as much as the Capitol. "Besides, after today, don't you think I could defend myself from him?" I said with a fake chuckle and punch on Vick's shoulder. He returned a similar chuckle and nodded, excusing himself to go home.
The rest of the evening I replayed Vick's comment in my mind and grew more and more frustrated with Gale. How could he think Peeta would willingly hurt me? Peeta wouldn't willingly kill anyone in the games! It was the Capitol that had done this to him! But Gale willingly designed the bomb that killed Prim! As I grew more and more upset with him Peeta tried to console me. I didn't want to let him know what upset me though.
As I lay there in his arms that night I couldn't help but tear up a little. When Peeta noticed and asked what was wrong I brushed it off as being exhausted and not getting all of the game I wanted. But in reality, behind my eyes I couldn't help screaming in my head, "Damn you, Gale!" That night the nightmare returned.