“I’m telling you sweetheart there’s no kind of action that we can take without getting killed!”
“There has to be some way!” I yell at Haymitch from across the kitchen table.
“There isn’t.”
“We have to do something! If we just sit here we’ll get killed!”
“And if we do something we’ll get killed!” he snaps back at me.
“Katniss he’s right. We should just lie low…” I open my mouth to say something but Peeta continues, “Just for awhile. What was it that Melody told you before she left the kitchen?”
“Not to tell anyone what happened,” I mutter.
“And that’s exactly what we want her to think. We don’t want her to know that anyone else besides you and Gale know about her secret. That’s why we’re going to go about our lives as usual until we figure something out. That means me going to the bakery and…”
“But Peeta can’t you just play sick or something?” I break in.
“Katniss, we talked about this when you wanted Jay to stay home from school and the answer is still no. I know you’re worried but we’ve been in worse situations and it’s going to be alright. Okay?”
“Okay.” He smiles at me and to let him know that I’m still not happy I scowl. He rolls his eyes.
“If I’m going to get to the bakery in time to open I should leave now.” He gets up from the table and kisses the top of my head. “I’ll see you later.”
“I sure hope so.” I can hear the laugh he’s trying to hold back when he says,
“Oh Katniss what would we do without your positive outlook!”
“Ha-ha very funny.” He laughs out loud. As he leaves I can’t help but smile because no matter how bad the situation is Peeta can always find a way to have a light moment even if it’s just for a few seconds. I glace over at Gale and see that his gaze is fixed on where Peeta was just standing but before I can comment Haymitch stands and says,
“Well if we’re going to go about life as normal I’d better get back to washing away my sorrows. I’ll see you all later.”
“Drinking doesn’t help Haymitch,” I call after him.
“Tell that to the people who make it sweetheart!” he calls back to me before he slams the front door behind him.
“I swear…” I begin.
“Katniss would you mind checking on Annie for me?” my mother breaks in.
“Uh, yeah, sure. Where is she?”
“She’s in the nursery with Benit.” When I get to the nursery I find Annie sitting in the rocking chair cradling Benit and talking to him.
“I used to have a son just like you. His name was Nate. He had Finnick’s beautiful green eyes and…”
“What do you mean used to?” I ask her. She looks up startled to see me and then replies,
“They took him away when Laura came to take care of me.”
“Oh Annie.” I cross the room over to her. “I’m so sorry.” I hesitate before asking, “Do you know why?” She shakes her head.
“No. A day or two after your mother came they came to the house and just took him away. I always wonder what happened to him or if I’ll ever see him again.”
“I’m sure you’ll be with Nate again soon.”
“Do you really think so?” She asks hopefully. Even though I really don’t know I say,
YOU ARE READING
Crossing Paths
Fiksi Remaja“Crossing Paths” tells the story of Katniss’s life a few years after the events in Mockingjay. She has a daughter, Mockingjay (aka Jay), who is 14 years of age. Life is going pretty smoothly until Gale Hawthorne comes back to District Twelve for a...
