Author's Note: Sorry for the wait! I've been extremely busy. I'm going to try and update at least once a week.
Disclaimer: I don't own the hunger games. All credit goes to Suzanne Collins.
Katniss's POV
"Prim!" I yell and try to get to her. She's drowning.
I feel someone pull my hair.
"Where do you think you're going." He mutters in my ear.
He punches me but I keep on yelling for prim.
"Prim!" I yell. My throat is starting to get hoarse.
Everything fades, then I'm reliving the day I killed gale. Except this time prim is watching.
"You're sick. I hate you." She says and I start to cry.
"Wake up!" I hear someone yell.
I wake up crying. Someone's arms are around me.
"Get away! Please!" I yell and try to get their arms off me but they wont move.
"Hey, It's ok." He whispers in my ear." It's ok. It was just a nightmare."
He turns me towards him and I cry uncontrollably.
"Please, don't hurt me." I sob.
"I'm not." He says in a soothing voice.
I cry into my hands and he whispers soothing things in my ear.
Minutes later when I've calmed down, I realize he's in the room. How did he get in here?
I push him away and sit up. I see that the door is knocked down and so is the dresser. He was trying to make a move.
I jump up and grab my back pack.
"What's wrong?" He asks ad stands up." Where are you going?"
"Away from you." I say and put on a hoodie.
"I'm sorry." He apologizes.
"No you're not. You just wanted me to stay so you can have your way with-" I begin and see shock on his face.
"That's not the reason I wanted you to stay." He says in a calm voice.
"Then why did I find you holding me when I woke up? I remember putting a desk in front of that door and locking it." I say and put on my shoes.
"I heard you yelling, I thought you were in trouble." He tells me.
Since when do men care if a woman is in trouble?
"That's a compete lie." I say in a small voice. He heard me though.
"No it's not." He says and grabs my wrist.
"Let go of me." I say and try to pull my wrist back.
Gale would always do this, right before he would throw me against something.
Instead of throwing me, Peeta just hangs onto my wrist.
"I'm not going to let you go. That son of a bitch, that's hurting you, is still out there. You'll probably run into him again." He says. Gale isn't out there, he's dead.
"Even if I did run into him, big deal." I say." He always finds me one way or another."
"If you stay with me, I won't let him get near you." Peeta vows.
"You're making a mistake." I tell him. I can't let him take me in. He'll just get involved in my mess and that's the list thing I intend to do.
"No, I'm not." he says.
"Yes you are." I repeat.
"No," He takes a step towards me," I'm not."
"I'm warning you right now, it's not a smart idea to take me in. Just by letting me stay here, you can get involved in a big mess." I say.
"I'll just have to deal with it." He gives me a small smile.
I scowl and look away.
...
I wake up wrapped in a warm blanket. I'm sleeping in the same room. Peeta offered me his room but I denied.
I hear pots and pans in the kitchen, with the sound of music?
The last time I heard music was five years ago. I never really heard any music since. If I did, Gale would smack me and yell at me to turn it off because its giving him a headache.
I get up and see that my cuts are better than they were before, but all I see small scars on my arms. I look hideous.
I grab my backpack and head into the bathroom. I change into some jeans, and long sleeve. I won't have to wear a sweater today.
I'm about to braid my hair but stop myself. Instead, I leave it down.
I go outside and see Peeta is cooking something on the stove.
"Hey." He sees me and smiles." I'm almost done cooking the eggs, you can sit down if you want."
"Thank you." I say and sit down.
"You new here?" He asks me. I raise a brow." Here, town. District 12. I don't think I've ever seen you around."
"Uh, yeah." I say.
"May I ask why?" He asks and I freeze. Just come up with a lie.
"My ex boyfriend got a job here, and dragged me with him. That was when we were together." I say in a small voice.
He seems to buy it.
"This place isn't as bad as it seems, I can tell you that. It's a small town, yes, but there's a lot of nice people." He smiles at me.
"Sounds nice." I say as he places a plate in front of me.
"Eat up." He says.
I hesitate. Should I eat it? Can I trust him enough to? What if he's doing what gale did?
"I promise I didn't put anything but of salt on it." Peeta says with honesty. I can feel him studying me.
"Trust me, I didn't." He says.
There he goes again, with trust.
"I don't know." I bite my lip. The food smells amazing, but I don't know if I should eat it or not.
"Trust me." Peeta says.
"I'm not going to hurt you." He says moments later." I promise."
I let the thought sink in for a minute or two. I find myself starting to eat.
"It's good." I compliment. This feels like heaven in my mouth.
"I'm glad you like it." He smirks." Make sure to save some room for pancakes!"
...
Peeta makes small conversation with me. I'm still trying to figure out why he wants to know the little things about me. Like what my favorite color is and when my birthday is. I had to lie about my birthday. It's originally May 8th but I said it was August 15th.
However, Peeta told me a lot about himself. He has two brothers, his birthday is on October 28th, he likes to paint and bake, his father and mother gave Peeta the bakery when they announced they would be traveling the world, he likes to sleep with the windows open, he doesn't take sugar in his tea, he likes to dance to slow songs, and double knots his shoe laces.
"Are you going to work today?" He asks me.
"Yeah." I say. I need the money, how else am I going to pay him for letting me stay.
"Do you prefer the morning, afternoon, or night shift?" He asks me." The night shift is only for three hours since we close at ten."
"I'll work the morning and the afternoon." I say. I don't like being out at night.
"Ok." He smiles." Are you comfortable with waiting tables, I can always-"
"Waiting tables is fine, thank you." I tell him.
"I'm going to get ready, want to go to work together?" He asks me.
"I don't want anyone to think less of you, I'll just-" I begin.
"Why would they think that?" He asks me.
"I don't fit in. If they see you with me, they'll think less of you." I explain.
"It's a good thing I'm the boss." He smirks.
I fight a grin and say," I guess it is."
He gets up and is too busy giving me a wink, that he runs into the wall. I burst into laughter but immediately stop.
It's wrong. He got hurt and I laughed.
"I'm sorry." I say and help him up.
"It's fine." He chuckles and gets up on his feet." At least I got something out of it."
"Bumping and falling. Two things." I say and he chuckles.
"No, I got a laugh from you. You should laugh more often." He tells me before he leaves with a small smile on his face.
...
He comes out five minutes later wearing his uniform.
"Can I - um- take shower?" I ask him.
"You don't have to ask." He says.
"Right." I say like I knew.
I go towards the bathroom but he stops me. He lifts up my chin and says," You don't have to ask me permission for anything. You can do whatever you want."
"Anything." I say. I've never been able to do anything.
"Yeah." He says." Would you like another pair of clothes?"
"No." I say and run to the bathroom.
...
I have three minutes left until the bakery closes. Peeta's closing it early today because it's a girl named Madge's birthday. She turns twenty four.
I'm glad she gets to celebrate her birthday.
When it were my birthday the beatings got worse for me. I never looked forward to my birthday because I knew what the expect.
"Jessica, we're going out to eat after we close, want to come?" A girl with sea green eyes and brown hair asks.
"No, thanks. Maybe next time." I say and finish cleaning off a table top.
"Come on, it'll be fun." Finnick says. He's been acting really friendly lately.
I shake my head and say," Maybe next time."
"Why the fuck not?" A girl with spiky hair snarls. They call her Johanna.
"Um-I-" I stutter.
"Leave her alone, Jo." Madge glares at her." She doesn't have to go if she doesn't want to."
One more minute, then you can clock out and leave.
"Did you guys hear about this girl named Katniss Everdeen?" I hear the giggly blonde say.
I feel my heart stop.
"Katniss?" I hear Johanna ask as if thinking what kind of name is Katniss?
"So get this, a neighbor saw her stab her boyfriend and take off running." the blonde says.
"Who the fuck does that?" I hear Johanna say.
"People in the neighborhood say she was a big slut." The blonde says.
I feel tears rising. It's not true. I'm not a slut.
"Do you honestly believe all that?" I hear Finnick say." That sounds like bull shit to me."
"I agree, there's a lot of people who can just-" his girl friend, Annie, begins.
"Oh come on. The girl has no soul." Johanna says.
"You shouldn't judge someone like that." Madge says.
"Look at the photo of her." I hear the blonde say.
Photo?
"She looks like such a slut." The blonde snickers. "I hope they catch her."
No!
I feel myself getting nauseous. I take off running towards the back and clock out.
"Hey Jessica, are you-" Peeta doesn't get to finish before I run out the bakery.
Author's Note: Please review and tell us what you thought. Half credit goes to Awesomegirl2656, the other half goes to me.