The darkness has yet to overcome the light

Chapter 8: Room

Chapter 8

Katniss P.O.V.

"It's done", Peeta says walking into the kitchen.

"Huh?" Birdie asks looking up at him.

I smile to myself, leaning against the sink with a cup of coffee on my hands.

"Your room is done", Peeta says with a smile.

"Oh", Birdie says from her seat on the high chair. She puts down her hot chocolate on the kitchen island. "Can I see it?"

These past two days hasn't been that bad, and yesterday Birdie even laughed. I think me way he doing at least some things right. I hope.

"Of course", Peeta says. "Come here".

I put down my coffee come just as Biride stands up. I walk up to Peeta and take his hand. Together the three of us walk up the stairs. Peeta points at a closed white door.

"There", he says. "Open the door of you want to".

Birdie walks the steps to the door and puts her hand into the handle. She opens it and gasps as she puts her feet into it.

Peeta and I walk in after her. I smile inside myself. Typical Peeta. He's painted the walls as a beach in the sunset. He's painted it in 3-D so it feels as if we're actually on a beach. The ceiling is painted in a very dark blue color. The bed is white and a queen size with a light purple bedspread. Her desk is white and has everything she's need, from pencils, to markers, papers to writing pads. There's also a brand new black laptop and a lamp which gives away a warm pink light when lit. There's also a small green love seat and a tv in one of the corners, with a small table. There's a big Fatboy beside the love seat. On the nightstand beside the bed is a digital alarm clock and and IHome. On the wall behind the love seat is a door.

"Oh my I..." Birdie seems speechless. "I... What's that door?"

"Why don't you take a look?" I ask.

She nods and walks up to the door. She opens it and gasps. What she walked into now is her walk-in-closest. Filled with clothes and shoes and jewelries Annie and I pick out.

"I don't... What... This is too much", Birdie finally says, closing the door to the closet.

"No it's not", Peeta says. "Lay down on the bed and look up at the ceiling".

Birdie raises her eyebrows but shrugs and does what Peeta told her to. When she's lying there, looking up at the ceiling, Peeta turns off the light. I'm the darkness I hear Birdie gasp. I look up at the ceiling to see that starts are shining just as bright as Peeta's eyes. So beautiful.

I still don't get how Peeta does this. It's so mind blowing. I can't believe anyone can do this really.

Peeta turns on the lights again and Birdie stands up. She runs up to Peeta and hugs him.

"Thank you thank you thank you", she repeats over and over again. "It's my first room, my first real room and it's too good to be true, thank you thank you".

Peeta is smiling with his whole face, wrapping his arms around Birdie in a protective hug. It's the first hug anyone of us has gotten for her the past week she's been with us. This is a big progress.

She looks at me and gives me a smile. I get all warm inside my body. It's the first genuine smile I've gotten from her. I hold back my tears with big effort. I can't cry in front of Birdie.

"You've never had a room?" I ask her instead, trying to keep my voice steady.

"No, none of my foster family's ever bothered to give me one, I've always had to share with, foster kids and not always girls", she says with her head on Peeta's chest.

"All of that is history now", I say.

"But it's still my past and a part of me", Birdie snaps at me with narrowed eyes.

Like I said, what ever I say I always manage to make her angry or irritated or annoyed with me. What's wrong with me? Why does this keep happening? She really does seem to like Peeta but dislike me. It's heartbreaking but I guess it's kind of good that she at least likes Peeta a little.

But this is a working progress, Peeta and me as parents to Birdie, it's something that we have to work on, and we have to do it together, the three of us. It can't be only Peeta and I working on it, Birdie has to do that too. I think she does though, I really think she does, her happiness now is so genuine I know that she tries.

I understand Birdie though, I would like her if it had been me, but I don't think I'd ever forgive though and that's not a good thing. I hope she isn't like me in that way at least.

Peeta frown, looking at me. I shake my head slightly and he gives me a small encouraging smile.

"We're going to leave you to get to know your room a little", Peeta says and Birdie lets go of him.

She smiles and nods.

I'm the first one out of the room. I walk straight to mine and Peeta's room. I sit down on the bed and open up my jewelry box. I take off the first layer and look into a space where I keep precious thing. One of the things is a small photo of a newborn baby. A little dark hair on the her, slightly opened eyes and so tiny, lying with her head on a girls breast. Birdie when she was just born, right before they took her. The worst day of my life. The photo is worn on the edges, being bent by me when I've looked at it. I look at it a lot, I always have. It's the first and only photo I have of her, on her birthday I look at it for way to long, crying and crying.

"Baby don't torture yourself", Peeta says as we walks into the room and closes the door.

Peeta walks up to me and sits down beside me. He puts a hand into mine, I realize that I'm shaking.

"What if we..."

"We couldn't have known, we didn't know she wouldn't get adopted we didn't know anything because we were children ourselves back then", Peeta says, he looks down at the photo with pained eyes. "But we can't look back, we have to get Birdie to look forward, and to do that we have to do that too".

I nod. I know Peeta is right. He's almost always right.

"Yeah", I say. "I know".

"We'll get through this, you'll see", Peeta says and wraps his arms around me. "Just don't look back". He kisses my temple and I sigh.

Yeah but it's easier said than done.

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Hey guys, I hope you all liked the chapter.

I'm currently on vacation, but I'm him try to give you one more chapter this week or two. And yey, it's my birthday on Thursday! I'm gonna be nineteen!

What's gonna happen now? Will Birdie always be this happy? When will Annie have her baby? Will Katniss and Peeta succeed with Birdie? And wow Birdie's room! I want that! Would you?

Please vote and comment.

-Josephine xx