IV
…
I didn't leave the penthouse after carrying Katniss to her room that night. Instead, I spent the rest night on one of the couches in the living room to Effie's dislike. And without a doubt in my mind that Brutus and Enobaria would have something to say, nice or not, about my time spent in the penthouse on my return whenever that would be.
I was glad though that I stayed because -
She wasn't… well in the morning.
She was up well before seven. We didn't have to go into her room to know she was awake either, we knew by the stumbling and clashing and rumbles that came down the hall.
Haymitch went down to her rescue with a cup of coffee shortly after we heard her moving around. Cinna was rushing down the hall within minutes following and Effie was right behind him with a blanket and worried expression on her face.
All the while, I sat at the table across from Portia, the boy Peeta's stylist.
Then the next thing I knew, Peacekeepers were coming off the elevator. One by one they came, in a straight soldierly-like line. Doctors were in tail after the Peacekeepers, too. One I recognized as Aurelius, the doctor who had treated me after my games.
They, the Peacekeepers nor the doctors, bothered with us though. Not even a glance. They went directly down the hall towards Katniss's room.
There was shouting and crying and crashing. At one point I nearly went down to find out what the hell was going on. But just as I was standing up from my chair, I heard Haymitch's voice boom through the room and down the hall.
Everything seemed to fall silent in that moment – silent, silent.
Then one by one people were retreating from the hall. The Peacekeepers were first. Then Effie followed, tears smuggling her elaborate pink and golden makeup. The rest on the doctors except Aurelius appeared next. Cinna was the last down out.
He came straight to me, clasping his hand on my shoulder giving me a thin smile.
"She's doing fine, Cato. She's just experiencing some mild reactions from the large amount of morphine she was give," he says reassuring me, playing along with Haymitch's cover story of why Katniss had run from the Capitol hospital and attacked a number of people in the process, "Aurelius is just making sure her system in calming down now."
I nod my head knowing what he actually meant:
"She was just experiencing some common sickness - confusion, off-balance, an uneasy stomach, dry mouth, chills, etc., etc. - as the result of the immense amount of alcohol Haymitch had made sure she had consumed last night and Aurelius is checking now to make sure she isn't going to die."
So we sit there and wait. And we wait for a while. Two, three hours may have passed before Haymitch and Aurelius reappear.
Haymitch clapped Aurelius on the back as they came down the hall and Aurelius gave him a small smile. He then muttered a few words between the two of them that caused Haymitch to crack a smile.
When they reached the main room where we were all seated the Peacekeepers snapped up, Effie looked to Aurelius worried, and Cinna looked as he always does.
"Katniss is fine," Aurelius reassures us. "She's asleep now and will probably be unconscious for the next twenty-four hours more or less. She was overmedicated which was most likely the result of yesterday's events."
…
Not long after the Peacekeepers and doctors cleared out, everyone else did too. Haymitch and Effie went off to talk to the press and… Snow. They had to explain what the hell had happened, smooth over any and all worries. Aurelius went off to file a report on Katniss's condition and treatment given for her "morphine overdose." Cinna went to make some adjustments to Katniss's evening gown for her crowning and interview with Caesar tomorrow. And Portia went along with Cinna.
And I, I was left at the table with Katniss down the hall.
A while passed before I stood up and made my way down the hall. But I didn't go to Katniss's room as I had thought that was where my feet were carrying me. Instead, I found myself entering the boy's room.
Mellark.
Peeta Mellark.
The Baker.
Lover Boy.
Most of the tributes left their room in a mess. But this Peeta Mellark was different.
The room was seamless.
It's presentable and untouched natured caused me to think Peeta Mellark was an oddly, simple boy.
The bed was neatly made, pillows aligned against the headboard in size and shape order. Clothes were precisely hung inside closet, in order as well, from sort of clothing to fashion and design. Not a fiber of the carpet was brushed in the opposite direction. The only reason I knew this wasn't the doing to the Avoxes was because of the thin layer of dust collecting on the windowsill.
The only thing that was of the ordinary was a thin, white sheet of paper folded in three on the nightstand beside the bed.
A letter, a goodbye.
They were common remnants among tributes.
Walking over to the table, I take the paper in hand.
To whom it may concern.
It read in thin, black ink along the front. Then on opening it read:
To whom it was concern,
If this letter is found it means I, Peeta Mellark, did not make it out of the Arena alive. In return of my absence, I hope that means Katniss Everdeen was the one that made it out of the Games in one piece, to be crowned the 74th Hunger Games Victor. If she did not make it out, like me, than there is no use of you reading the rest of this letter. Yet, if she did survive the Game, please continue reading.
Since I am not there and Katniss is, my greatest wish has been attained - that she is alive.
Now, all I ask is for one more thing - that she is taken care of, watched over.
I know this task won't be easy, but please try to your best to care, watch over her stubborn self.
Haymitch, if you are reading this, please do your best to sober up… or cut back on the amount of alcohol you consume. Katniss has already lost her father and it will be a great harm to her if she losses you, too. She does look up to you, do matter how many times she may try to cut off one of your finger. She will need you to help mentor her over the years, on how to be a victor as well as how to be a mentor. Please be patient with her Haymitch, you know she will not take coming out of the Arena well.
Effie, if you are the one that has found my letter please continue to be yourself, but… be easy on her. Katniss is not "girly." She will not fit into the "Capitol scene" as you would like. She is not one for fashion or people or… manners. She will do her best to follow you lead in what to wear and how to act, but she will never be able to do so perfectly. And yes, she may talk back to you, but please don't think much of it. She is not a people person like you or a fashion extraordinaire. Just - just be kind to her.
Cinna and Portia. Be the friends that she already thinks of you as. Cinna, she loves you not just for your lavish designs, but because of your gracious kindness and simplicity. Portia, I'm sorry I'm not there myself to say this, but thank you. Katniss, herself, I am sure without a doubt is thankful for all you have done for me as well as her even if she won't say so. She's stubborn. Please, both of you, be her friend and don't make her wear her anything that isn't "her."
If you are reading this and are none of the people I had addressed above, all I ask is for you to be there. Become her friend, watch over her, be patient, protect her, be kind, keep her safe, and do whatever you can to make your she survives properly, not an alcoholic like Haymitch is what I mean, no offense Haymitch. Do whatever you can to be sure she gets what she deserves, the best.
Now I can ask no more of you, but just hope that you will try to fulfill what I have asked of you.
Thank you.
Peeta Mellark
I grasp the paper in my hand, rereading it one, two, three more times.
Then after so many times I have every word memorized, engraved in my head. I glance over the letter one more time before folding the letter back into its original creases and then in half, tucking it away into my jacket pocket.
I'll do my best, Mellark.
…
Effie left us in the living room long ago saying she had to get her beauty sleep for the coming day. Cinna had finally excused himself just moments ago, ready to finally give in to the night. And Portia, she had never actually come to sit with us after returning with Cinna from making adjustments to Katniss's gown. Now only Haymitch and I remained.
"You really doing this boy?" He asks after taking a long drink from his glass.
I nod.
"I hope you know what you're getting' yourself into."
"I can deal with the Capitol," I inform him, "Snow, too."
He laughs. "That's good to know, but I meant with the girl."
I look to him a little caught off guard, but nod anyway.
I would be able to deal with Katniss. She was worth it. No matter how stubborn and unwilling she might be opening up to me or even allowing me to have the smallest part in her life, I was ready to put up the fight. She was worth it. I had already survived one Hunger Games, death. I would be able to manage dealing with Katniss Everdeen. I was ready to put up the fight.
We fall silent after that.
It's after Haymitch's fourth drink is finished he finally excuses himself, going off to him room.
As I sit there by myself, knowing I have to return to my own floor I feel something… move? And so it's then that I look over at my shoulder to see Katniss appear from behind one of the pillars.
She looks as she did the night before.
Thin.
Lost.
Bruised.
Tired.
Wounded.
Pained.
She doesn't look well, but I would not be one to tell her that. Those silver eyes would always be the world's greatest beauty in my perspective no matter what.
She looks at me, scanning me up and down, taking in my full stature.
I wonder if she recognizes me from last night or from the hovercraft or even from my own Games, but I can't say in her state of mind if she was really there, processing me.
Looking me up and down, her eyes finally reach mine. I don't look away when our eyes connect and either does she. We hold each other stares, caught in a stalemate.
Then after a long moment, she looks away, down at her feet. She glances up at me a second later as if making sure I was really there and then looks away just as quickly. She stands where she is for a moment longer too and then turns. She makes her way out of the room and down to the hall to her room.
When I hear the door to her bedroom close, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
How long was she there?
Why was she there?
What did she hear?
A million questions run through my head a billion miles an hour. Yet I can't answer them nor do I try. Instead, I stand up, flattening out the wrinkles in my jacket with my hand before stepping for the exit. It's then that I look back at the penthouse as if Katniss was still standing there half behind one of the pillars before stepping onto the elevator.