Troubled One

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The slamming of doors and clanging of cutlery against plates startled Peeta awake. There's a few loud gasps. Then Peeta heard his own name.

"We have to tell Peeta." Iris Mellark said.

Peeta then heard the legs of a chair being scraped back, followed by loud footsteps. He kept his eyes shut. His mother sometimes enjoyed waking Peeta up at the ass crack of dawn to do chores, which Peeta absolutely despised.

In his defense, it was really annoying to be woken at 7 am to wash the dishes from yesterday.

The door to his room opened. Peeta rolled onto his back, averting his face from his mom. Peeta was a great actor and liar, but really, who could fool their own mother?

"Peeta, honey," Iris's voice was shaky, like she was holding back tears. "Please wake up."

Peeta immediately realized that his mother was serious, and really needed him to wake up. Peeta opened his blue eyes and gazed at his mother.

"What's up, Mom?" Peeta sat up slowly.

"Honey, I.." Iris trailed off.

Peeta frowned in confusion and worry. His mother and father both had a great way with words, and neither of them ever got tongue-tied. This must be serious if Iris was unable to form a sentence. Tears spilled down her cheeks. Peeta grabbed his mother's hand.

"Mom, what is it?" He practically pleaded.

"Honey, it's Katniss, she.." Iris took a deep breath. "They found her."

"What?" Peeta jumped out of bed. "Where? How? Can I meet her? I miss her so much-"

"Peeta, no, honey," Iris halted him. "They found her body."

Peeta faltered. His lips turned down.

"Mom?"

"Peeta, they found Katniss's body at.." Iris took another deep breath to stop herself from crying. "A slope at the woods. They said it wasn't steep. Do you know which one?"

Oh, he knew.

He knew which one.

The one he had shoved her off in his drunken and angry stupor.

Tears filled Peeta's blue eyes and he threw his head back slightly, trying to keep them in his eyes. He pushed her off, this was his fault.

His fault, his fault, his fault.

He could still hear her voice calling his name, pain lacing her voice as she clutched at her bleeding calf.

Then he realized something else. Katniss had been screaming his name when he walked away from her. She didn't die on impact. Peeta didn't kill her. She was still alive even as he stalked off, angry, drunk and confused.

The tears did finally sneak down Peeta's cheeks. Iris pulled Peeta in for an embrace, stroking his hair as Peeta cried for his dead girlfriend.

When he finally gathered his wits, his mother sat him down on his bed and settled beside him.

"How did she die?" Peeta asked, his voice blank.

He was numb, nothing could ever make him feel anything else. Katniss had died, taking a part of him with her.

Peeta needed Katniss to live.

"We're not sure yet," Iris replied, holding Peeta's hand tightly. "We heard it on the news. The coroner's doing his work."

Peeta stared at his wardrobe. He could barely feel any despair or longing. He felt nothing but numbness.

"Can you.. can I have some time alone?" Peeta whispered, his eyes still wet with tears.

"Of course, dear," Iris released Peeta's hand. "We'll all be downstairs if you need us."

Peeta only nodded. He didn't even flinch when Iris accidentally slammed the door. He didn't respond when Iris yelled an apology for slamming his door.

His phone buzzed. Peeta stayed like a statue for a few minutes. It probably was a friend, offering sympathy and a shoulder to cry on.

It couldn't be A. Yesterday, he figured out that Katniss or Cato could be A. Today, Katniss was dead. Maybe A had given up, or A had killed Katniss.

Or maybe Katniss had given up.

Peeta finally reached for his iPhone and saw the multiple messages on the screen. He unlocked it to take a closer look. He went to the most recent message he had recieved, which was from a blocked number.

His heart clenched and his stomach did somersaults when he read it.

Too little, too late.
-A

💘✨🙌✖️
so do you think katniss is really dead? do you think katniss is A? who do you think A is? let me know your theories 💭

• Chapter 6 •
word count: 706 words 💬

I say no, you wanna take it slow ⚓️

-A 💓