Chapter 16: Joy to the World

Disclaimer: I don't own THG.

Peeta:

Christmas was finally here and Peeta Melleark was not in a cheerful mood at all. The bakery was closed, school was out of session and he was trapped at home.

"Merry Chritmas Peeta!

Love you, Kat"

He stared at the text Kaniss had sent him earlier that day. The 'Love you' she had sent didn't fail to warm him up.

"Peeta!" his father was up and trying to fix a Christmas dinner. A baker at heart, Mr. Mellark also boasted a talent in cooking.

"Think you can help in the kitchen? Your brothers will be here tonight."

He had forgotten that Christmas meant family time and his older brothers would be coming home from university for the day. Dinner was going to be a nightmare.

Peeta joined his dad and together they worked on fixing the meal. Some chicken and roast with freshly baked rolls; for dessert, a triple chocolate cake. That was his mother's favorite, no doubt his dad intended to please her.

"When will mom be home?" Peeta asked.

His mother was conveniently out for the day. In fact, she was always busy 'running errands' in the city. Probably busy with her other man, but his father never noticed. Perhaps if Peeta made it more obvious, his dad would put it together.

"A little later today. She wanted to go out and do some shopping. She's been very stressed lately, your mother." His father said. "I don't know what it is, but hopefully it'll get better."

Peeta knew exactly what it was, but Christmas Day was not the day to reveal it. He kept quiet as he chopped some vegetables. Today, he'd pretend everything was fine, for his father's sake.

"Woah dad," Peeta's eldest brother, Bran, displayed poor manners as he tried to speak and chew at the same time. "This roast, just unbelievable!"

"Don't chew with your mouth open, Bran." Their mother scolded.

Their father laughed heartily. "Don't spoil it, Kate! It's Christmas!"

"Alright, alright. I'll let it slide this time." She said. "This is what I get for having sons! Look at you three, Bran, Rye, Peeta; all grown up and your dad getting so old!" She was a talented actress. Maybe that's what Mr. Sinclaire saw in her, an actress of his own caliber.

Dinner went on with Bran and Rye talking about UCLA. They complained about their professors, telling Peeata who to watch for when he went. Peeta wasn't really listening but every so often he would say a few words to appear interested.

That night they all gathered in the living room to open their presents. Peeta got some new shirts from his brothers. A new iPod from his dad, which was a nice gift since he had broken his a month before. A set of oil pastels from his mother; those he'd rather she take back. Peeta handed out his gifts.

loved coffee almost as much as he loved his family, so Peeta got him a pound of imported gourmet blend. For Bran a new motorcycle helmet and for Rye, a leather wallet.

Peeta had a special gift for his mother. A while back he had seen a few pieces of glass in the trash. He found that one of the frames in the living room had been broken. It just happened to be the one that held his parents' wedding picture.

"I had it engraved with your wedding date." He told his mother as she stared down at the new frame. "I thought it made sense to add it."

Peeta was not a bad person, but he couldn't help but feel satisfied when he saw her smile falter the tiniest bit.

"Very thoughtful, honey. I love it." Was her response.

"I want to give you mom her gift now." Mr. Mellark announced. "It took a while to find the right thing, but I've got it." He handed his wife an envelope.

Her eyes widened when she saw what was inside. A pair of tickets for Australia. They'd be spending two weeks there over the summer.

"A vacation, just what we need! It'll be like a second honeymoon! Oh, Elliot, it's so wonderful!" His mom cried.

Peeta's dad was excited and his mother quickly embraced him. His brothers laughed and clapped, happy for their parents.

But Peeta couldn't watch. He rushed out of the house and took a seat on the porch.

There was nothing his father wouldn't do for his mother. He had noticed her odd behavior, how distant she was being. And he blamed himself for not paying enough attention. He bought those tickets in effort to spend more time with her. It was wrong.

"Peeta? You just ran out of there." His dad had followed him out.

"You don't see it, do you dad? Mom doesn't deserve that trip." Peeta said

He rarely saw his dad get angry but the words were upsetting him.

"She's your mother, Peeta. She worked hard to raise you and your brothers, she deserves all of it and more." defended his wife.

Peeta shook his head, saddened by the way it would all be revealed. He never wanted to be the one to say it, but his mom would never confess.

"It's not you that's messing up. You think you're the reason why she's pulling away, but your not. It's her." Peeta said.

His father scoffed. "Your young Peeta but even now you should know that marriage is problematic and you have to make an effort. Come back inside and we can talk tomorrow."

"I don't want to talk about it tomorrow! Dad, mom is cheating on you." It hurt to say those words.

His father looked shocked and then just plain furious. "Don't ever lie about you mother, Peeta Mellark! Show her some respect!"

"Respect? I can't respect her when she's out to destroy everything you give her! Go ask her! Go ask mom and she'll tell you!" He yelled, ignoring the guilt he felt for yelling it his father.

"Ask me what?" Mrs. Mellark had heard the fighting. "What's going on, ask me what, Elliot?" She gazed at both of them, the situation growing more tense.

Finally Mr. Mellark spoke. "Kate, we should discuss this upstairs."

Peeta sat back down and put his head in his hands. Christmas was ruined, but it had been a while since he felt so free.

Glimmer called him early the day after the disaster. She wanted to meet up. He saw her at the Sae's and even though she was looking beautiful, her eyes showed the turmoil she was experiencing inside.

"Merry Christmas, Glimmer." He had gotten her a new charm for her favorite bracelet. It hadn't been the most expensive thing, but she liked it. She wore it even then.

"Thanks. I'd ask how you spent it but I already know." She said. Peeta was confused. "My dad confessed everything. I assume your mom had something to do with it? Maybe she called to tell him the jig was up, I don't know."

Peeta nodded. "I kind of had something to do with it. I'm not proud if it, but I don't regret it either."

"My dad left the house." Glimmer said. His mom had left, too. "My mom didn't kick him out, he just packed up and left. She wasn't even mad!" Glimmer laughed, a bitter laugh."She said she knew it. That dad wasn't smart enough to completely cover his tracks. It was all so...quiet."

Peeta listened as she recounted her tale.

"I'm not as upset as I should be." Glimmer mused. "Shouldn't I be crying or breaking things?"

Peeta was honest. "I have no idea. I'm just going along with it."

"They made me sit down and talk to them after they had their talk. You know what they said? They said that they were already falling apart. That they tried to make it work for me." Glimmer whispered. "For my sake, can you believe it? And now, my mom insists we go see a family counselor. Such a pointless thing."

"She's looking out for you Glim." Peeta told her. His dad was also trying to help him. He took the blame for all of it, but Peeta should have said something sooner. He prolonged the whole thing.

"I guess." Glimmer smiled at him for the first time that day. "I have to ask you to keep everything quiet. My parents can't have this kind of negative publicity. It's not that I don't trust you, I do. But I don't want anymore trouble. The press will find out eventually, but I hope that it's all been settled by then."

Peeta understood completely. Her father was a well known actor and a cheating scandal would be the death blow to his career.

"I'll keep it a secret." He promised. She thanked him.

"I have another favor to ask of you. Peeta, I need some time alone. I have to get my thoughts together and see how all of this will play out. I think you need that, too. So, we should maybe take a break from us. A short one, nothing permanent. I don't want this to affect our relationship in a bad way." She looked at him in a hopeful manner. Expecting him to agree.

He didn't want to. He wanted to explain how their parents had already affected their relationship. Peeta could have taken that moment and told her that they weren't good together.

Instead he gave her what she wanted, out of sympathy. "Okay. If that's what you want, then go ahead."

She embraced him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. " I know we'll make it work, Peeta. You and I, we can get through this."

This would be his way out. Distance made the heart grow fonder, but only if the emotion was already there. For Peeta and Glimmer, it wasn't. The lovely blonde would finally understand that Peeta was not what she wanted. Then no one would have to suffer any more.

Woooo, that was dramatic. The family scene was hard, but I think it turned out pretty well. That's the best I could do.

Peeta doesn't want to be the bad guy. Do you all see him as a heart breaker, because I don't. Especially not now, that would make him cruel. He's convinced that Glimmer will see the problem and it will be a peaceful split. We'll see. Review please! :)