Life After the Games

Chapter 17

I wake up in Peeta's arms in the morning with the sunlight shining through the window onto the floor.

"Morning sweet heart," Peeta says groggily.

I twist my head to face him and smile sweetly.

"Mommy! Mommy!" I hear Cinna calling me and making an appearance in mine and Peeta's room, his blond curls bouncing a bit as he runs in with Willow following behind.

"Hi Cinna! Hi Willow!" I smile widely holding out my arms to embrace him as he jumps into my arms. I kiss him in the cheek before he pulls away. "Guess what?" Cinna says excitedly.

"What?" I say with equal excitement as I hug Willow as well.

"My teacher wants you and daddy to speak in front of the class to talk about the games!" Cinna exclaims with bright eyes like Peeta.

"That sounds wonderful." I smile back trying to sound excited. "Of course I'll do that."

Cinna squeals with excitement as they leave.

"Peeta. I can't speak about the games in front of Cinna's class." I state propping myself up on the bed with my arm facing Peeta. "I don't want to remember them anymore."

"We can do it. Together?" Peeta asks sweetly staring into my grey seam eyes.

I gaze into his ocean like blue eyes almost getting lost in them. "Together." I answer laying back down in Peeta's arms.

For the rest of the morning I couldn't get the thought out of my head and Peeta could tell I was off. I tend to the kids trying to concentrate on feeding Rye and Cinna. Peeta and Willow are taking and I over hear something about a boy Willow likes and it makes me smile to myself. 

"Okay kids lets get ready to go to school." I say getting Cinna's lunch  and handing it to him.

~.~.~

The night before Peeta and I have to talk to Cinna's class I couldn't sleep. I stared into the darkness of the room hoping sleep will consume me.

The sun is just rising and Peeta wakes up.

"Morning Peeta." I say quietly.

"Morning. How did you sleep?"

"I didn't." I deadpan.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Peeta asks in concern.

"I didn't want to disturb you. I'll be okay." I give him a reassuring smile.

"Alright." Peeta sighs, not convinced.

At Cinna's school Peeta and I are waiting for the teacher to call us up as we sit in back of a bleak cookie cutter classroom with some educational posters here and there on the walls. As the time ticks my anxiety is building.

The teacher drones on about the games and why they happened and how they work. Peeta and I finally  hear the teacher say "please welcome the victors of the 74th and 75th Hunger Games."  There's a small applause that fills the room as Peeta and I walk up to the front of the class.

"The games are brutal." Peeta starts out. "You never know what will cross your path in the arena the Capital dreams up. It could be mutant dogs or monkeys." As Peeta is talking I look out at the kids. The youthful faces that have their whole lives a head of them. I stay silent for most of the time. I feel like I'm back on the Victors Tour again, the train Peeta and I will never get off.

I tell the kids about my concussion and scar and why it happened. I start taking about the props and what I was feeling when Peeta was kidnapped.  As I keep taking about it the memories are so vivid I feel like it just happened. All the memories of the training, the fire balls in the 74th games. The meaningful kiss between Peeta and I on the beach. I talk about the war in a way the kids won't be sacred. I don't even get halfway through and before I know it I'm sobbing. The memories I'm longing to forget overtake me. I feel my face getting warm and the the salty tears running down my face. I run out of the room to the hallway before I leave I hear Cinna's quiet voice full of concern say "mommy."

I get to the hall and sit against the wall. The hall  is eerily silent the only thing filling it is my sobbing. Flashbacks of my sister dying right in front of me, the war in the Capital, Peeta.

Moments later Peeta is standing next to me.

"Katniss it's going to be okay.  You'll be fine." He says shrugging me off.

I look up at him with disgust. I have so many emotions of neglect, disgust, hostility, and sadness I can't fathom it.

I get up and exit the school I'm hoping he'll run after me, but he never comes. Before I know it I walk down a couple of blocks and see someone I wouldn't think I would see in a million years.

•Thank you guys so much for reading. I haven't updated in sooooo long I'm sorry about that. For a while I couldn't think of anything now I have a lot of ideas. I hope you liked this chapter I'll try to update soon.

Comment who you think Katniss saw! •