The corpse of the past

Chapter 28: Effie's news

Chapter 28

-Peeta-

The baptism was really beautiful. The lake really did the whole baptism to something extra.

Now we're at Annie's where the party is held. I brought the food here, and now everyone are eating. Or everyone except Gale. He just keep giving me these glances I don't prefer to get.

"I should go now", Gale suddenly says.

"What why?" Katniss asks.

"Because I have to, and I don't think that I'll be coming back either", he says bitterly.

Katniss starts to cry.

Gale ignores her tears. I know that he sees them, he just won't do anything about it.

"But we can send letters to each other, to keep in touch", he mumbles.

"Okay", Katniss says.

Johanna glares angry at Gale. It's like she doesn't like Gale. But maybe it's not even that, but the fact that she does like Katniss nowadays.

"Bye Katniss", Gale says and kisses Katniss cheek before, stroking a finger over Finns cheek, kisses Annie's cheek, nods at me and than leaves.

"That shitbag", Johanna mumbles, but I don't think that Katniss heard her.

I wrap my arms around Katniss.

"It's gonna be okay", I say and she nods.

I wipe her tears with my thumb. I won't ignore her tears. Even though it hurts to see her cry, but I won't ignore them. Not ever.

"Peeta! God! These are fantastic!" Plutarch exclaims and I turn around.

Plutarch has three chicken legs in his hands, and the area around his mouth is greasy. I can't help but to laugh at him.

"What?" Plutarch asks.

"Uh you've got some ... Nothing, I'm glad you're enjoying it", I say with a big smile.

Katniss hides her face on my arm, to not laugh.

The day really does fly when you're having fun. I never knew that part was true. I was always miserable. My life was never fun, living in the poorest district, getting beaten every day by mother, being in love with Katniss and her not loving me back, getting reaped, enter the arena, two times. And on top of that, just to make my life better, I got hijacked and tried to kill the one and only I ever and will always love. Life has always just gone slowly for me. But now, when I'm finally happy, maybe it'll goes fast.

Katniss walks around talking pictures all day long.

"Why are you taking so many pictures?" Johanna finally asks.

"I wanna document all the happy things in life, I don't think that any of our lives has been very happy, do you?" Katniss asks, snapping a picture of Johanna, who is totally unprepared as the flash hits her eyes.

"Yeah, but you don't have to blind me, brainless", Johanna says, rubbing her eyes.

Katniss giggles.

"I wish to speak with you now", Effie says, seriously.

What's up with her? She seems so uptight. I mean, she does most of the time, she's Effie after all. But now she seems even more uptight than she usually does.

"What's wrong Effie?" Annie asks, rocking baby Finn, who is close to sleep.

"Well nothing really, I just need to tell you something", Effie says and suddenly gets a sad face.

"Okay, you're freaking me out right now Effie", Katniss says, lowering the camera.

"Yeah what's wrong?" I ask.

"Well... I was ... I know that ... Um ... Oh god, this isn't easy", she says, getting tears in her eyes.

Wow. Something's up. Why is she crying?

I look at Plutarch and knows right away that he already knows what Effie's is trying to say to us. He looks at her with a pity face.

What happened? I really wanna know.

"Just say it Effie", Haymitch says, also wanting to know why Effie is crying.

They grew pretty close. They don't fight anymore. They don't. And they care about each other. I never thought  that day would actually come. But it did.

"Um ... I'm sort of leaving", she says.

"You don't have to", Annie says.

Annie thinks that Effie means, leaving the party. But I don't think that that's it. It's something else. I just feel it.

"No honey, not the party", Effie says. "I mean ... I'm leaving Panem".

"What?!" Haymitch, Katniss and I yell.

"You can't!" Katniss shouts, crying.

"I wanna see the world Katniss", Effie says. "And now when we finally have the permission to do so, I want to. I'm traveling around world, and I wanna do that before I'm getting too old".

But I don't want her to. I want her to stay here.

"When will you be back?" Haymitch asks.

"I don't know", Effie says. "Not in a while, but I promise I will be sometime".

"If this will make you happy", I say.

"It will", she says.

She walks up to me and hugs me. Than she hugs Katniss and than Haymitch. We're like a crazy little family. And now it's splitting up. I don't want that. But that's life. Sometimes things happen. Or people make other choices.

I just hope that Katniss, Haymitch and I don't get split up. I would die if that happened.

I just hope that Effie comes back. She have to. She just have to.

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-Josephine xx