Dew of the Sea [Finnick Odair]

[28. Distractions]

Rosemary

When Rosemary left for the Capitol after she and Rye were Reaped, she had never expected to see her mother again. She had not been sad about this fact, and she was certainly no happier now that she sat with her at the table in her new house, Sage nervously sat between the two.

"No," Capri said firmly, blue eyes hard with anger. "Peeta is not living with you."

"I'm not leaving him here with you," Rosemary stated, her heart beating wildly. Goosebumps were starting to rise on her skin and her left hand was clenched tightly, further agitating the wounds on her palms. She was very nervous and more than that, angry.

Her mother hated her and her little brother. Why did it matter to her if Peeta came and lived with her?

"All of my life, all of Peeta's life, you've hated us," her anger outweighed her anxiety for the first time when it came to dealing with her mother.

She briefly wondered if it had anything to do with the Games. She had killed people, surely that could have changed her?

"I never hated you."

"That is such bullshit," Rosemary didn't even register the curse that flew from her lips. "You've hit us for years. You shoved me into that stupid closet so many times that I'm afraid of small spaces. Peeta flinches whenever he hears your voice. Don't tell me you didn't hate us, because if you loved us, you wouldn't have done this to us."

Capri cleared her throat, about to defend herself, but Rosemary continued.

"And I don't even care about myself. You can do whatever the hell you want to me, but I certainly care about what you do to Peeta. I've practically raised him since he was a baby, I've protected him the way a mother should, and I won't let you touch him again." she said firmly, looking at her mother straight in the eyes, her own watering in anger. "I couldn't do anything more than I already did before the Games, but I can now. I have the money, I have a house. I can protect him from you."

Sage cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Rose, I–"

"Don't defend her," Rosemary cut him off desperately, tears dripping down her face. "I lost Rye and I can't lose another person, but if you defend her, I'll end up hating you too and I can't."

Sage closed his mouth, thoroughly chastised.

Rosemary looked back at her mother, waiting for a response. She didn't have to wait long.

"We'll be down two workers in the bakery," her mom said stubbornly. "We need Peeta to help us, we can't afford to hire out and we can't make it with any less business than we currently have."

Rosemary inhaled, realizing why her mother had been so stubborn about this. She didn't want to lose a worker. She had assumed, incorrectly, that Rosemary wouldn't continue at the bakery, and she didn't want to let Peeta go because of the free labor.