Tortured but Together (A Hunger Games Fanfiction) [UNDER EDITING]

Chapter Thirteen

A/N: Usual reminder that the Hunger Games characters belong to Suzanne Collins and not to me! Also, this chapter has some more Evelark so yay!!

(Peeta POV)
As I listen to Katniss' story, my face changes from concern to anger to sadness and back again. I can't believe that all those awful things have been happening to her over the last two months. Being without Katniss for those two months was nightmarish for me, but it's nothing compared to what she's been going through.

At this point, I just wrap my arms around Katniss, holding her close against my body as she trembles out of fear. "It'll be alright Katniss, I'll protect you. I won't let them hurt you like that again." I'm not sure how I'll do that, but I'll do my very best.

She offers up a small and shaky smile. "Thank you Peeta. I love you so much, you...you mean the world to me."

"And you're the most important person in the world to me Katniss. No matter what it takes, I'll protect you. I won't let them take you underground again, I'll make sure they never touch you again."

Her smile is a little less hesitant now. "I...I know that you might not necessarily be able to do that. Still it...it means everything to me. Outside of my sister you're the most important person to me too. You...you've always stood by me...even when I didn't deserve it."

There's never been a time when she didn't deserve me standing by her, but, even then, it's wonderful to hear that Katniss loves me as much as I love her. After a minute or so of silence, I give her a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Katniss, can I get you something to eat?"

"I..I'm not hungry."

Even though she says that, I doubt that it's the case. If I know Katniss at all, she wants food, but she just doesn't want to ask. "How about I get you some cheese buns? That way you can eat as much or as little as you want. It seems like you haven't had good food for a while, and I want to fix that."

She nods hesitantly, something is still obviously making her nervous, but I truly can't blame her. "I promise I'll be right back, Katniss. It'll just be a couple minutes, I'm not gonna leave you," I say gently.

"And...and you'll be right back, you promise?"

Her voice has a slight tremble in it, and the amount of fear in her voice breaks my heart. "Yeah, I'll be right back, right back." I nod before getting up and going to the dining room to get a plate of fresh cheese buns. By the time I bring the plate back to the living room, I don't see Katniss anymore. Panicking, I run my gaze around the room before I see her; she's huddled up in the corner and on closer inspection I can see that she seems to be muttering to herself.

"Hey Katniss? Katniss, you're safe now, you're safe here with me." After saying this, she looks up at me, and her eyes are wild, slightly feral even.

"Don't! Don't hurt me! Like I've told you, I don't know about this rebellion! I didn't know what was going on! Please, you have to believe me." Then, after being quiet for another minute or so she starts again. "Please! Just let me go, just let me go! I won't do anything, I'll be quiet, I won't say anything, I promise! I promise, please, I promise!" Her screams just get louder and more desperate. Seeing that it might take a bit to help her calm down, I set the plate of cheese buns down on a side table.

"Katniss, it's alright. The people who hurt you aren't here, they're not going to touch you. It's just me right now, it's just Peeta. Can you look into my eyes please, can you look at me?" I know that I've had nightmares of mine come to life before, and I know that it helps me if I can just focus on something steady, like Katniss' eyes.

She catches my eyes, and I can see the wild panic start to dissipate from her eyes. "P..Peeta? You're here? I'm safe?" Her voice sounds confused, almost as if she doesn't realize where she is. "Where...where am I? I'm confused...I don't...I don't know what's happening."

That's the part that disturbs me the most; is President Snow somehow messing with her mind and her memories? Is this his plan to make Katniss denounce the rebellion? I have so many questions now. Hesitantly, I wrap my arms around Katniss. "You're alright Katniss. You're in the Capitol, but you're here with me and you're safe. We're not going back to the games...we just...have to stay here for a while."

She nods. "I don't want to go back to the Hunger Games, they were nightmarish for me. For both of us really. But now that that's all over we can focus on spending some quality time together right?"

"Yeah, I'd really enjoy that!" Before I have the chance to say anything else though, there's some sharp knocking on the door.

All of a sudden, Katniss' eyes fill with fear again. "They're gonna take me away! They're gonna take me away! You can't let them take me away!" She says all this as she's just grabbing onto me, and her eyes are wild again.

"Who's at the door?" I call out. It's not like I'll leave Katniss, whoever is at the door can either identify themselves or they can wait.

"Mr. Mellark, President Snow requests an audience with you, immediately."

It doesn't even take a second to decide how to respond. "I'm busy right now, come back later." It's impossible for me to keep the malice out of my voice, malice towards President Snow and all those peacekeepers who hurt Katniss.

"Mr. Mellark, this is not a request, it is an order."

"Then President Snow can tell me himself if it's really that important. But I wouldn't suggest it, I'm not exactly happy with him at the moment." This defensive streak is new for me, I don't think it's ever happened before; all I know is that I'm going to protect Katniss from all this, however I can.

About five minutes later there's an even louder and sharper knock on the door. "Mr. Mellark, I am truly starting to lose patience with you. Come and open this door, now."

Katniss nods at me, and I remember what she said, it'll just get worse. Not willing to let her go yet, I wrap an arm around her as we open the door to a positively livid President Snow.

"What exactly do you two think you're playing at? How do you see this resolving, Mr. Mellark? In what world do you imagine that defying me of all people would go well?"

I look down at my feet for a minute before meeting his gaze again and responding. "You put Katniss through hell! You hurt her in so many ways, and yet you still expect me to be loyal to you! What did you think would happen?"

"Mr. Mellark, let me just warn you that you are on dangerously thin ice. The only reason I haven't made things much worse for you is because, up until now, it would be more trouble than it was worth. Don't make me change my mind on that."

Before I can say anything else, to my surprise it's Katniss that responds. "You've ripped apart my mind, you've played with my emotions, you've made me so paranoid that I can see danger everywhere. I'm done. I'm done with your games, done with your manipulation, I just want to rest. Why can't you just let me rest? Haven't you already done enough to me?"

President Snow chuckles lightly. "Why, Miss Everdeen, I haven't done nearly enough. Like for example, I haven't told Mr. Mellark about what happened to district 12. How your little stunt with the arena where you shot that electrified force field is the reason that I had to destroy it, just like I destroyed district 13. I haven't told him how it was your decision that forced my hand, how it's your decision that led to the deaths of more than 10,000 people, including his family."

I don't know what to say. It's gone, it's all gone. My home is destroyed, my family is dead, there's nothing left.

"I didn't cause it Peeta, please believe me! Please believe me!" Katniss cries out. I believe her, I really do, she's the only person I know I can trust right now.

"President Snow, I think you should go now."

If possible, his face turns even redder. "You're dismissing me?"

"Yes. Katniss and I need some time. If it's that urgent, we can talk in the morning."

He pauses for several minutes before saying, "You'd better work some miracles with Miss Everdeen in the meantime. Otherwise, our deal is off."

Katniss looks back and forth between us before quietly asking me, "What deal did you make with him? What deal did you make with President Snow?"