13.
Haymitch knew shit had hit the fan when he spotted Katniss dragging her feet away from the school, Finnick's arm firmly wrapped around her shoulders. Right behind them, Peeta stormed in the opposite direction, completely ignoring Johanna who was arguing with a lot of wild gestures and, frustrated, ending up grabbing him. The boy shoved her and hurried to his brother – which was probably good because that girl would have shoved back, fake leg or not.
Finnick, meanwhile, safely guided Katniss back to Haymitch, Annie trailing behind them uncertainly, glancing back at Johanna and Peeta.
"What happened, now?" Haymitch sighed.
Katniss wordlessly outstretched her arms and he picked her up, letting her cuddle close to his chest. Her hair was loose – which was odd because Effie had secured it in a braid that morning – and he had to brush it away from her face to take a peek. She was crying, silent sobs that ended in barely audible whines. He wiped the tears and the snot away with his sleeve, feeling more and more angry with each passing second.
"Peeta's an idiot." Finnick scowled. "He said she was a monster."
"Peeta's sad." Annie tempered, slipping her hand in Finnick's.
"He was mean." the boy insisted. "He jumped on Katniss and he tried to hurt her."
"What?" Haymitch barked, making the three kids flinch. He made an effort to calm down and lower his voice. "What do you mean he tried to hurt her?" He peered at the girl more closely but she seemed intent on burying her face in his neck. "Are you hurt, sweetheart?"
"He put his hands around her throat and he pressed like that." Johanna explained, joining them and miming a very vivid strangulation. "It's ok. I pushed him away and I hit him with my bag. Can we come and play at your house?"
He ignored the girl as well as Blight who was supposed to pick up Annie and Finnick at the same time as his own kid and was wondering why the lot of them were remaining cluttered around Katniss. He forced his niece to detach herself from him so he could have a look at her neck. There was no bruising as far as he could see. He probed her throat but she didn't seem in pain just terribly upset.
"Where was the teacher?" Blight asked, once his daughter had explained everything.
"Marvel was crying because he had lost his candy." Finnick declared, rolling his eyes.
"Why the fuck did he do that?" Haymitch growled.
Blight bristled at the language but Jo and Finnick looked nonplussed, Annie was the only one who shot him a disapproving glance.
"He flipped." Jo declared, nodding her head as if it was obvious.
"Jo, you're not helpful." Blight sighed.
"It's because of her hair." Annie piped in. "The braid. He said she stole his aunt. That she's a monster."
"And so he thought it was okay to jump at her throat because he was jealous?" Haymitch snarled, cradling Katniss closer. He looked up but the Mellarks were already gone. It was lucky because the boy would have gotten an earful, upset or not.
"I don't think Peeta acts like Peeta anymore." Annie hummed sadly. "He never plays with us now. He's sad all the time."
"He said he hates me." Katniss added before started sobbing in earnest.
It was a real mess.
Convincing Katniss to stop crying, Finnick and Annie to stop hovering and Jo to stop asking if she could tag along for a play-date took entirely too long but he eventually managed to get his niece away from the school.
"Peeta hates me." she mumbled against his neck on the walk home.
"No, he doesn't, sweetheart." he sighed. "He's just angry 'cause he misses his aunt."
And, to be fair, Haymitch was angry too. He knew it wasn't Effie's fault but…
"He doesn't want to marry me anymore." the girl insisted, toying with the plastic ring she hardly ever took off. It was one of her most treasured possessions along with the picture of her family, the huge leather jacket that had belonged to her father and Buttercup.
"It will get better." he promised.
She disappeared upstairs as soon as they reached the house, to get her Mockingjay or to check on Buttercup, he figured. He took the opportunity to call Effie.
"Hey." she answered at the third ring. "I'm just closing the shop. Cinna and Portia left early. Does Katniss like Tai food? There is a brand new restaurant right around the corner and it is the latest rage. I could order some take-out and…"
He often wondered how she could talk so much and so fast without breathing.
"You can't come tonight." he cut her off.
There was a brief silence. Probably because she had been there so often lately she might as well have officially moved in. "Oh. Naturally."
"Look…" he sighed.
"No, I understand, it is perfectly alright." she answered, a little frosty. "I will admit I took too many liberties. I invaded your house, didn't I? That was rude and inconsiderate of me and you have been very patient. I…"
"If you could shut up for five seconds and let me talk…" he growled.
"Language." she rebuked him. "What if Katniss heard you?"
"She heard me say worse." he grumbled. "Listen…" He told her about what had happened and finished with a shrug that she had no hope of seeing.
"I… do not know what to say." she admitted. "Are you certain Katniss is alright? Maybe you should take her to see a doctor… And I will call Dylan right away. Someone needs to have a talk with Peeta."
That would go well, he mused, hanging up after saying goodbye.
It felt odd not having Effie around, he had gotten used to having her in the house.
He and Katniss spent the rest of the afternoon watching Avengers cartoons. He lied down on the couch and the kid made herself at home on his chest. She was crushing him but he didn't really mind. He wanted her close. He checked her throat several times but she insisted she was fine. She was sullen, devastated, and out of spirits but she didn't seem in any physical pain.
It wasn't until she was out of her bath, her hair dripping down her green bathrobe that she tracked him down to the kitchen with a frown. "Where's Effie?"
The girl looked confused and uncertain, her hairbrush tightly clenched in one hand.
"She's not coming today." Haymitch answered.
The frown deepened. "Why?"
"'Cause I thought you would like it better this way?" he asked, uncertain too now. It had seemed logical to him since the fight with Peeta had stemmed from Effie's presence in their home.
"But she needs to help me untangle my hair." Katniss replied flatly. "And where is she going to sleep?"
"She does have a house, remember?" he scoffed.
"But it's big and empty." the girl argued. "She will be sad. She will miss us. Won't she miss us?" A worried scowl appeared on her face. "What if she never comes back? Sometimes people never come back…"
She was thinking about her family and Haymitch found himself sighing, helpless as ever to comfort her. "She's fine, sweetheart." Probably eating her tai food take-out, he didn't say. All alone in her big dining-room in her big empty house with big windows that gave on an equally big garden. "She's fine." he repeated. Maybe a little lonely. Maybe a little sad. How had the conversation with Peeta's dad gone? Maybe she was worried too now.
Katniss said nothing, she just stared.
He rolled his eyes. "Well, grab the phone and call her then."
He didn't have to tell Katniss twice. How she could work his phone so quickly and easily when he always fumbled for five minutes, he didn't know but soon enough it was pressed to her ear and she was tapping the hairbrush against the kitchen table impatiently.
"You need to come home." she said, bypassing any greetings. He tried not to pay attention to the discussion, focusing on not burning the chicken nuggets. He didn't know what Effie answered but Katniss sounded positively aggravated. "But my hair is wet and tangled and Uncle Haymitch doesn't know how to do it the right way." Another pause. "But it's stupid." She hit the hairbrush against the table harder. "But I want you to come home." Her eyebrows furrowed together and she turned toward Haymitch. "She says I'm confused and it's not her home."
Haymitch sighed. "Tell her she's the one who's confused."
"Uncle Haymitch says you're the one who's confused." Katniss repeated dutifully. "Now are you coming home or not? 'Cause there are nuggets and green beans for dinner and you have to hurry because it's ready soon." She rolled her eyes at whatever Effie was saying. "I don't like missing you. Come home."
She took the phone off her ear and pushed the button to end the call. Haymitch grabbed it from her hand and sent a quick text. Move your ass over here, sweetheart. She wouldn't like it, he suspected.
Then again, it was effective.
Effie showed up fifteen minutes later. The chicken didn't even have time to get cold.
"Your language is dreadful." was the first thing she told him before starting to fuss over Katniss and her wet hair and how he really ought to have dried it before.
The Peeta problem wasn't discussed, Katniss seemed happy to ignore it for now. When Haymitch asked, Effie said Dylan had promised to have a serious talk with his son.
It turned out the next day, Liddy had decided that Peeta couldn't play with Katniss anymore and thus the boy spent his time with Delly, a girl from another class, playing baker. Katniss was jealous, irritated, and annoyed. She asked Haymitch for a play-date with Gale, which he granted easily if only to cheer her up.
It was a disaster.
Gale had nothing nice to say about Peeta and Katniss slammed her bedroom door shut long before Hazelle stopped by to pick up her son. When Effie arrived home, Haymitch was nursing a headache and fighting the urge to drive to the nearest bar. He left the scolding about proper behavior with guests to Effie – and he noticed that since she had no love for the Hawthornes, that scolding was mild.
The following day, Jo put her foot down and demanded that they all had a play-date. Blight chided his daughter but Haymitch didn't see why not and that was how he found himself lost in a sea of five years old running around the yard, bundled in coats and scarves, apparently unable to feel the cold.
Annie was sweet as always but Finnick and Jo were reckless, dragging Katniss into dares and stunts. He watched them from the window over the sink, washing the dishes while he was at it. The kids were chasing each other or the occasional goose.
Effie came home not long after Finnick had stopped running to sit next to Annie, cheering Jo and Katniss who were locked in a race of some sort. She kissed his cheek distractedly and peered out the window, looking a little gloomy.
"Peeta missed his medical appointment. The doctor called me." she announced. "I called Liddy directly and I fear I have made things worse."
"How?" he frowned.
"I told her I would stop sending money if she didn't bring Peeta to his appointments." she whispered. "It's the only thing she understands, so I thought… But she's adamant she doesn't want me anywhere near him and she told me he's now forbidden to talk to you or Katniss. She made it very clear. He's asking after you too, it seems."
Haymitch's jaw clenched with annoyance. "When are we going to actually do something?"
She shook her head and he was startled by the tears shining in her eyes. She was exhausted. When she wasn't working in an attempt at distracting herself, she was there, either taking care of Katniss or cleaning a room or another, claiming it changed her mind and his house was in disarray anyway. She didn't sleep much at night either.
"I don't know what to do… I don't know…" she whispered, blinking fast.
The backdoor opened wide and Katniss rushed in. She took one look at Effie, pursed her lips with irritation, and rushed to the woman, almost climbing her like a tree. Effie picked her up and held her tight.
Katniss' attempts at comforting her were clumsy but touching. The kid petted her blonde hair like he did with her after a nightmare.
"If I marry Peeta, can he come live with us?" she asked, her voice resigned. She didn't really want to marry the boy, he thought. She didn't fancy herself in love with him but she would do it out of a stupid sense of misplaced duty, because she thought it would help her family. She was stupid that way and he loved her for it.
"I am afraid not, darling." Effie chuckled. "But that's a nice thought."
He smirked at them. He smirked until the three other kids rushed in, saw what was going on and promptly declared a climbing game. On Haymitch. With Annie and Finnick hanging from each arm and Johanna clinging to his neck, very much strangling him and tugging at his hair, he quickly lost his smirk. Effie's laughter burst forth though and that was a reward in itself.
It took ten minutes to settle everyone at the kitchen table to distribute snacks.
"Who are you going to be at my party?" Jo asked.
"What's that?" Haymitch frowned.
That turned out to be a costumed party Katniss had agreed to go to without asking him first and nobody was short of ideas as to who they wanted to go as.
"Let me guess…" he sighed. "You want to be Merida."
"No." his niece scowled. "I want to be a Mockingjay."
"That's going to be difficult, sweetheart." Haymitch argued.
"Not so much." Effie cut in, with a grin full of mischief. "Leave it to me."
By leave it to me, she meant leave it to Cinna.
He had to hand it to him though, for a guy who wore gold eyeliner, the man was talented. When Effie led Katniss back to the kitchen three days later, Haymitch whistled. The dress was made of real feathers and looked like the descriptions of the fantastic birds Katniss' father had invented for her. It was a masterpiece.
"Nice dress, sweetheart." he approved. Katniss batted her arms to show him the feathered wings. He glanced at Effie who was standing behind the child, her arms folded over her chest, a smug look on her face, and winked. "Not yours."
Effie pursed her lips, tilted her head to the side, and looked him up and down in a disapproving fashion but her amusement was perceptible.
Johanna's party was a success.
The only hitch was Peeta's glaring absence. Blight had tried to convince his mother to let the boy go but to no avail.
All the kids were downcast by what they perceived as a desertion on their friends' part and Haymitch walked more than once on a play-date that had turned into a war council on how to rescue Peeta.
And that was the question wasn't it? The question he and Effie pondered until early hours of the morning, the question Chaff and Seeder – who had been consulted after all – tried to solve without much avail, the question, in short, that was making all their lives miserable.
How were they going to rescue Peeta?
Yeah... How do we rescue Peeta? I hope you liked this chapter! Let me know!
Please, note since next Sunday is Christmas there won't be any chapter given that I'm publishing a 7 chapters Christmas story next week. I'm not sure about how we will make it work the Sunday after that yet but I'll keep you posted on my blog ;
