Ghost (A 'The Hunger Games' Fan-Fiction)

Chapter Three

In every one of the pictures was a man, a woman, and a little girl. They all seemed oddly familiar, but Prim knew better than to ask about it. Ghost had gone silent for a reason, and she had an odd feeling that those three people were a key part of it.

"I love your home." Primrose complimented.

Ghost didn't bother replying as she wrote with the pen and paper. Yes, it was a very kind comment on Prim's part. But Ghost wasn't the most polite person, either. Once she was finished scrawling across the blank page, she handed it to the younger girl. Taking it in her frail hands, Prim read the writing on the paper.

I would love to eat breakfast with you and your family. Just say what food you need to make the meal enough for all of us and I'll do my best to provide. 

Prim grinned a genuine grin that spread from ear to ear.

"I'm happy you'll be joining us. But really, you don't need to bring anything. It's our gift to you as our guest."

Ghost straightened her beanie and rolled her eyes. It wasn't a gesture that meant she was annoyed or that she intended to offend Ms.Everdeen, but to say 'Are you kidding? It would be a pleasue.' She took the paper back and quickly wrote another note then handed it back to Prim.

Tell me what's on the menu. I can handle the rest from there. 

After that, Prim rattled off the short list of food they'd be having. Cooked squirrel, diced rabbit, soup made from wild vegetables found in the woods and milk from her pet goat, Lady. The words had barely left the younger blonde's mouth before Ghost approached one of the kitchen cabinets, opened it, and pulled out an old basket woven from twigs and long slabs of wood. Prim watched silently as she closed the cabinet doors and immediately began filling it with different kinds of foods. Fresh bread from the bakery, fruit, raw eggs and a small sack filled with something that smelled sweet.

Once Ghost was finished loading her basket, she set the basket on the table and held up her index finger, signalling for Prim to wait a second, and disappeared down the hall into what Prim assumed was her bedroom. Quickly, Prim counted up the food items before Ghost had a chance to return and catch her taking inventory. Two whole loaves of white bread, one dozen chicken eggs, an entire jar of strawberries, another jar of blueberries, and that last draw-string bag of something that smelled delightful. Curiosity took the reigns and Prim was about to take a quick peek inside, but was stopped by the sound of footsteps on wood. Right before Ghost entered the room again, Prim had stepped back away from the delicious-looking goodies.

In only mere seconds, Ghost had changed out of her pajamas and into a white t-shirt, jeans, black boots that reached her mid-calf, and a denim jacket that covered her forearms and started just beneath her ribcage. The dirty and partially faded beanie was still plastered to her head, though. Prim had never seen Ghost without it. She didn't even know the silent teenager's hair-color. That is, if she even had hair. Her scalp was always hidden by the fabric of the ragged and worn hat.

"You look great."

Ghost gave her a faint whisper of a smile. Maybe missing out on her beauty sleep wasn't such a terrible thing if it meant spending her morning with such a young and kind girl. Without another thought, Ghost lifted the basket up and balanced it on her left shoulder. Then the two were out on the street, walking next door tot he Everdeen's place. It wasn't much of a walk, and it ended fairly quickly.

"Mom! I'm home!" 

The Everdeen's home hadn't changed one bit since the last time Ghost had been inside of it. The rooms were still small, the kitchen even smaller, and it still had the familiar scent of the coal mines. The only true difference was that Prim no longer had a crib, now she must've shared with her mother or sister. It was a surprisingly pleasant feeling to be back in the home of the people who had taken care of her for a few of her childhood years. As she and Prim closed the front door behind them and began to approach the kitchen, the door to their guest bedroom caught Ghost's eye. All the memories of those long and scary nights as a little girl, alone, flooded back to her at the sight of that door. She tore her eyes away. The pleasant feeling was gone.

"Did she say 'yes'?" Mrs.Everdeen hollared from the kitchen. Prim and Ghost entered the room and the strong scent of cooking meat masked the familiar one of coal. Mrs.Everdeen had her back facing them as she tended to something sizzling over the frier. Ghost set the basket of additional food for the meal on the table with a light 'thud' sound, causing Mrs.Everdeen to turn around and face the two girls. Her eyes widened at the sight of Ghost standing in her kitchen then nearly jumped out of their sockets when she saw the enormous basket of bread, eggs, and other goodies. She quickly blinked away her surprise and turned her attention back to her guest politely.

"Ghost," She started with a friendly grin. "You didn't have to bring all of this." Ghost just waved away her words and began to set out all of the edibles from her woven basket onto the table. Prim and her mother exchanged a discreet glance of shock at this extremely rare action. Ghost didn't seem to notice. If she did, she hadn't reacted as she finished setting out the items. "Wow, I've never seen so much food in one place." Ghost gave Mrs.Everdeen a small smile at her comment, then walked over to the sizzling meat. Diced rabbit, just like Prim had said. The two Everdeens watched her stare at the cooking food for a few seconds, then turned to face them. She held up one finger, pointed to Prim, held up another finger and pointed to Prim's mother, then a third and gave them a questioning look.

She was wondering where the third member of their family was.

"Katniss went to the Hob." Mrs.Everdeen told her. Ghost nodded with realization and tried to hide her pain at that word, that name. 'The Hob'. That had been a safe place for her at one point, where everyone loved to see her and enjoyed her charming company. Now it was only filled with looks of pity and worthless sympathy that she didn't need. To erase that thought from her mind, she picked up the spatula Mrs.Everdeen had been using to tend to the diced bits of frying rabbit meat and pressed the thin, flat tip against the flesh.

Prim's mother was about to object and say that she didn't need to help her with the meal, that her presence and spare food was more than enough, when the front door opened and banged closed.

"I'm home! I've got a gift for you, Prim!"

Katniss.

"We're in the kitchen, dear!" Mrs.Everdeen replied with a shout. Ghost didn't look up as she flipped and ground the now-brown meat. Then she remembered the loaves of bread she had brought and realized that they'd be able to make some really tasty rabbit-and-squirrel sandwiches if they wanted to. Maybe they could even toast the bread to give it a nice crunch. The sound of foot falls on the floorboards filled the air and sloppily mixed with the humming and buzzing of the rabbit, followed by a gasp. 

"Ghost? What's she doing here?"

Well, it was obvious where Prim got her intensely blunt tongue. 

"What are you talking about?" Prim asked innocently. A little too innocently for Ghost's taste. "You wanted to invite her for breakfast, remember?" Ghost hadn't had very much human interaction in her life- she could admit that- but even a dumb person with a brain the size of a walnut could tell that Prim wasn't telling the truth. It hadn't been Katniss's idea to invite her over after all, she obviously didn't want to be friends again. Why had Prim lied about it, though?

"Oh." Katniss stated. Ghost looked up from the frier and the two teenagers stared at each other. "Right". Katniss hadn't changed at all. Except for the fact that she had gotten bigger and she had one braid instead of two. But other than that, not much was different. She was wearing her father's old brown coat, a dark shirt, jeans, and boots. Her bag was slung over her shoulder and was bulging with items from the Hob. Katniss looked from Ghost to the food on the table. "Did you bring that?" Ghost nodded.

"That was very nice of her, wasn't it girls?" Mrs.Everdeen chimed in. 

The food.

All they had wanted was the food.

Not her.

The betrayal was thick and slimy in her mind, slowly slinking through her head, dripping down her neck, and contaminating her heart. The youngest and oldest Everdeen knew that their plan was compromised.