Family on Fire (book 2 in "toast")

Chapter 11

*1 month later*

PEETA'S POV

"River come back!" Bare yells, chasing him out the door

"Stay away from the road!" Katniss yells

I help Katniss down the steps even though she insists she can do it herself and we head towards her mother's house

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As soon as we reach the porch, the front door swings wide open and her mother runs over to Oakley

"Happy birthday!" she yells

"How old are you Oakley?"

"One, two... three!" he sings. Then he wiggles out of her arms and runs off towards Bare and River

"So how are you doing Katniss?"

"Good, excited, exhausted"

I hear a squeal of delight and look out the window to find Bare, Oakley and River playing in the mud

Katniss is still talking to her mother, so I try to get them out before she notices and has a conniption

"Bare, get out of the mud!" I whisper harshly

"But daddy we are having fun!"

"Listen Bare, i'm trying to save you here. If your mother sees you like this, she is going to freak out. Just look at your brother"

"Im muddy daddy!" Oakley squeals happily

"Okay dad, i'll take River home" I nod at him

He looks behind him and sees River running for Katniss' mom's house, and i left the door open

Bare's eyes widen as he races off after him, i follow closely behind with Oakley

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I make it to the porch, Bare still chasing river around the yard

Then i turn around and, within a second, a sopping wet, mud covered puppy races through the door, making little muddy pawprints with every step

I turn to Katniss and see her face red and her eyes squinted in anger

"Bare! Get the dog out of the house! What have I told you about making sure he's clean before you let him inside? He's going to get mud everywhere! And look at yourself! You're covered in mud! Go home and clean both of you up... NOW!" she yells

Bare looks at her kind of stunned at first, then he picks River up and carries him home

Katniss glares at me and I quickly follow behind him

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I finish drying River's paws and hear a whimper

I walk down the hall to Bare's room, he's sitting on his bed in tears

"W-why did mom get so mad?" he cries

"Well Bare, you led Oakley and River into the mud and got everything dirty. Your brother looked like he was dipped in chocolate"

"But she's never been THAT mad before, and i've done worse things than this"
"Your mother gets angry very easily these days Bare, you need to be more responsible"

I've been dreading to say this to Bare since the day we decided to keep the dog

"If you can't act more responsible, I- have to take the dog away" he looks up at me, his face is red and his eyes widen in fear

"But i'm only 6!"

"Well maybe you're too young to be responsible with a dog then"

"No! I'll be responsible"

"Okay... responsibility isn't always easy. I have to responsible for you and Oakley and sometimes I just about lose it. But if you love River, then you'll learn to think before you do things" he nods and lounges into a hug

"Oh yeah, by the way, where's Oakley" Bare asks

"In his room... he's been awfully quiet though"

I jump out run down the hall to Oakley's room. He's sitting peacefully on the floor, covered in baby powder. He turns to me and giggles

"I like dis"

"You can walk over to grandma's house Bare, I need to give Oakley another bath!"

yes, i am well aware that this chapter had no plot and no purpose 

other than revealing the dogs name and Oakley's age

but i did say i was going to slow down the plot a little bit lol

get ready for the next chapter boiiiiiis!