Maybe It Can Be Real

Chapter 28

ALL RIGHTS GO TO SUZANNE COLLINS. I OWN NOTHING.

ENDING OF LAST CHAPTER:

My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am seventeen years old. My home is District 12. I was in the Hunger Games twice. I escaped. I started a rebellion. My sister was killed by a bomb. Peeta was taken prisoner. He was hijacked. He was rescued. He's here with me now. He's in love with me again.

More memories and flashbacks bombard my mind. I ball my hands into fists and put them on the side of my head. I squeeze my eyes shut, and tears leak out.

"Make it stop!", I yell through my tears. "Please make it stop!"

****

"Pl-please!" I sob.

In the distance, almost like I'm underwater, I sorta hear my name, distorted and hard to hear through the bombarding memories. "Katniss!"

It doesn't really register in my mind, though. The salty tears stream down my face.

I try and push the memories away, but it doesn't work. I don't know if it's because the memories are too strong or if it's because I'm too weak to push them away. Either way, I can't do it.

I continue to cry, and every once in a while (like before), I will sorta hear my name.

Eventually, the awful flashbacks slow down. They stop coming after a long time. I can practically feel the fear draining out of my body like water.

But the guilt and anxiety stays, weighing me down like an anchor.

My forehead is pressed to the ground, my shaky hands are covering my ears, and my shins and forearms are on the ground. I'm breathing heavily, almost to the point of dry-heaving.

I slowly open my tear-filled eyes. I peel my forehead off of the ground and look up. Peeta is kneeling in front of me, a look of worry and concern over his features. All of the color has drained from his face, making him as pale as a ghost.

"Katniss? What happened?", he whispers softly.

"I-uh-I," I stutter. I can't get the words past my lips; they feel numb.

I just shake my head, close my eyes, and lean forward to rest my head on Peeta's chest. His heart is beating rapidly. He tightly wraps his arms around my trembling frame.

He kisses my head. "It's okay, you're okay." I let out a shaky sigh.

After a little bit of silence, my lips feel like they can finally function again. "Oh my God," I whisper. "That was a-awful." I shudder. "I never want that to happen again." I take in a deep breath through my nose.

"I wanna go back home," I whine softly.

Peeta slowly nods his head. He gets up and pulls me with him. I wrap my arm around his waist to steady myself, and he wraps an arm around my shoulders.

Neither of us talk as we walk back home. Oddly enough, there isn't a sound from anything else around us either, so it's dead silent. It's not a comfortable silence like we're used to, either. It's slightly awkward.

I glance up at Peeta, and I see his eye twitch. I wonder what he's thinking about, I ponder to myself.

I look forward again. We continue walking, and we get closer to the Village. Dark clouds are starting to take over the sky, dulling the brightness of the sun a bit.

Peeta stumbles over seemingly nothing.

"Are you okay?", I question, concerned because he's acting weird. My previous experience leaves my mind for a moment.