Author's note: Another Chapter coming your way this evening. In the mean time, enjoy!
Trigger warning: A little talk of child abuse in here.
Happy reading.
Chapter Thirteen
Peeta dialed Katniss's number and tapped his fingers anxiously as it rang. He jumped when he heard her voice on the other end. "Hi. It's Peeta."
"Yeah, hi, Peeta." She said. "What's going on?"
"I was sitting here bored and wondered if you would like to meet up for a drink."
"Um, well, I have to ask if Caleb can spend time with Prim and Gale."
"Okay, just let me know." He hung up. He looked around the kitchen of his house and sighed. Callie was spending the evening with Annie, getting pampered and doing some shopping. He wasn't used to being alone. He hated being alone. His phone buzzed and he quickly picked it up.
It was a text with an address. Katniss sent another text right after. "Meet me there in 15?"
"Sure." He typed back. He put on his shoes and went around the house turning out the lights and closing up. He sat and stared at the clock on his phone for a few more minutes until he figured he could make it without being too early.
He stepped into the bar. A man behind the bar nodded to him as he walked over. Peeta ordered a beer and sat down.
"So what's your story?" The bartender asked as he passed a bottle over.
"My story?" Peeta chuckled. "Not much of one. I'm meeting a friend here. She gave me the address."
The bartender nodded. "You like her, but she doesn't like you."
"What makes you think—?"
Katniss slipped into the chair beside him. "Hey, Haymitch."
"The usual?" Haymitch asked.
"No, I'll have what he's having this time." She smiled. She turned to Peeta. "Hi."
"Hi." Peeta grinned. He reached up and rubbed her back for a few seconds and then dropped his hand.
"Let's move to a table." She picked up her bottle and slid off the stool and moved to a nearby table. "So what have you been up to today?"
"Working." He looked down at his phone as it buzzed. "Cal." He smiled and typed out a response.
"She miss you?"
"Yeah. She's getting ready to spend a few days with Alex's parents."
"Does she get to do that a lot?"
He nodded. "They all like it. She gets stories about her mom from the best source and they get to keep the connection. With school starting next week, they're getting the whole week. Gonna miss that kid." He answered another text. "Has Caleb ever met the other side of his family? I know you have kept him away from Cato."
Katniss shook her head. "Cato's mom died when we were in high school. His stepdad took custody and he was a jerk. Cato never talked about it, but I know that his biological dad was killed by Cato's mother. She swore self-defense. He was coming at her with a knife and she defended herself with a bat or something and got him badly enough to take his life. But she was a meek woman and her second husband was gruff. He said and did things in my presence that you don't say to people. And I saw Cato more times than I can count with black eyes and bruises. His grandmother was really sweet. I would have let Caleb have time with her, but she died when Caleb was still a baby and I was still in the middle of recovering. So, no, he doesn't see any on that side of his family. And they aren't his family anymore." She chewed her lip a moment and then took a sip from her beer.
Peeta sighed, "I keep putting my foot in it, don't I?"
She shook her head. "That's just been my life. And I want you to know about it. All my friends do. It's been a while since I made a new friend, though."
He patted her hand. "I only need to know what you want me to know. And you don't have to say it all at once. Let's talk about something else. I'll tell you my dark secrets." He sat back. "I have two older brothers. And we don't talk except when we have to. One is a doctor, the other is on track to being some bigwig in an office. They sided with my mother about Alex. It hurt my dad to think that they didn't have their own minds by then. Married and with kids. Both of them. But they did it in the right order."
"There is no right order."
"Not according to my mother." Peeta started picking at the label of his bottle.
Katniss waved at Haymitch and indicated both their bottles.
He came over. "You sure you want more, sweetheart? You hardly ever stay long enough to drink more than one."
"That's when I'm drinking something harder. We need another round, please."
Haymitch nodded, "You got it."
"So this is your place, huh?" Peeta asked as the other man walked away.
"In a way." She smiled and asked, "So how did you get the bakery?"
He chuckled. "I begged my dad. He wanted all three of us to have it, but Parker said he was too busy with his practice and Paul just didn't want it. So I went to dad and I said, 'I know this business like the back of my hand and I want it. I deserve it.' And he said yes."
Haymitch sat down two bottles of beer in front of them and large plate of fries. "On the house."
"Haymitch." Katniss warned.
He shrugged and walked away.
Peeta smiled, "A pretty face gets free food everywhere."
"Is that why you give me free food? Because you think I'm pretty."
He shook his head. "The first time was because you took time out of your busy morning to get Callie to camp. You didn't have to do that. I could have brought her that day. But you came. All the others were because we're friends. Finnick, Annie, all my friends get free treats."
"You'll go broke."
"They end up bird food if they don't get eaten. So I give them to someone in the end." He smiled and picked up a fry.
She returned his smile.
Peeta's phone went off again. "I'm sorry, she's about to drive me nuts."
Katniss chuckled. "It's fine."
He opened the text and smiled. He turned the phone around. "Annie gave her a manicure."
She took the phone and looked at the job done. "That's pretty." She handed the phone back. "Did you ever let her paint yours?"
He chuckled and nodded as he typed out a response. He stuck his phone back in his pocket. "This one time she was five and she got this kit from my father for Christmas. She convinced me to let her give me a makeover. She did my nails, makeup all over my face, even put some barrettes in my hair. She wouldn't let me clean it off. Dad took pictures. I'm sure they are in a photo album somewhere. But the worst part is, Dad neglected to realize he also needed to purchase anything to remove nail polish. So the next day, I worked with pink nail polish."
Katniss laughed. "That's amazing."
Peeta shrugged. "I went out after my shift and found nail polish remover and made sure to keep it around. But I sported nail polish a few more times because she begged me not to take it off for a while. And whatever Cal wants, Cal gets."
She smiled. "We do what we can to make our kids happy, don't we?"
He nodded. "What's something Caleb made you do to embarrass you?"
She thought a moment. "He found this hat that had these clapping hands and made noises and he thought I needed it. I don't like to call attention to myself, so I was going to conveniently lose it after the first day. But he kept finding it and made me wear it when we left the house for a couple weeks. And he made it make the noise every chance he got and people were staring at me and I was so ready to burn that thing." She laughed.
He joined her. "That's hilarious."
"It was pretty funny." She finished her beer and ate a few fries. "I wanted to say thank you."
"What for?"
"When you asked to kiss me the other day. Instead of just doing it."
He shrugged. "I never want you to think that I'm going to take advantage of you. That's the last thing I want. If you ever want a kiss from me, you just take it. But I will ask every time because you deserve to have your say."
"Well, thank you." She wiped at an unexpected tear.
"Want to get out of here?"
"And go where? I can't leave Caleb with Prim all night."
"We don't have to go anywhere special. Just drive around a bit." He shrugged. "If you want."
She thought a moment and then nodded. "Sure."
Peeta paid for their drinks and Katniss slipped several bills across to Haymitch for a tip.
"See you around, Haymitch." She said.
Haymitch stuffed the cash in his pocket and nodded. "See you later, sweetheart. Have fun on the rest of your date."
"It's not a date." They both said at once.
"You were looking pretty chummy." He pointed out.
Katniss shook her head and walked out the door in front of Peeta. They stood outside in the warm night for several silent moments.
Katniss said, "I know a place we can go." She pulled her keys out of her pocket. "We can come back for your car in a little while."
"Are you okay to drive?"
"I am." She headed for her car and pushed the unlock button. She slid into the driver's seat and waited for him to join her. "I want to show you something." She pulled out and drove toward the outskirts of town.
"Are we going to camp?" He asked.
"Not quite." She pulled off on a side road and took a few winding turns until she came to a stop at an observation point. She got out and leaned against the front of her car.
He followed and leaned with her. Over a little barrier, there was a valley with many lights from the houses and the streetlamps. Through the center ran a small river.
"I wanted the camp to be here." She said softly. "It's so pretty in the daylight. It's pretty now." She looked over. "But I had these horrible images of Caleb falling down this hill or one of the other kids doing it. It's frightening enough thinking of your own child injured, but other people's kids is even more worrisome. That's someone's baby."
He watched her a while and then turned his head back to the view. "It's beautiful out here. But I understand the concern."
"I still drive out here when I have a few minutes to myself." She hesitated a moment and then leaned against him.
He slipped his arm around her. "Is this okay?"
She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. They stood there quietly for a while. It was peaceful. Katniss lifted her head after a moment and pulled Peeta's face gently to look at her. She pressed her lips to his briefly and then moved away.
"We should go." She said.
He nodded. "One more kiss?"
She shook her head and got in the car. He followed silently. After he put on his seatbelt, she leaned over and kissed his cheek. He turned his head and she kissed his lips again. She rested her head against his a moment and then sat down once more in her seat. She dropped him at his car and drove on to pick up Caleb.
He watched her leave. He felt empty and lonely. But not for his late wife this time, for Katniss. He just wanted to hold her.