Runaway Train

Call you up in the middle of the night
like a firefly without a light
you were there like a blowtorch burning
I was a key that could use a little turning

1993 was certainly not a good year to live in, specially if you were from the small town of St. Lewis, Iowa. Peeta knew that better than anyone. Well, maybe not better. Everyone who lived in St. Lewis seemed to have the worst life possible. Or ,unless, anyone that Peeta knew. It was just his point of view. The sky was always a shade of grey darker to Peeta's liking and everyone seemed so dead to him, including himself. The only person he didn't think of that way was Katniss's sister, little Primrose, and maybe Katniss herself. There was just something about the Everdeen sisters that brought a twinkle of light to his life. They were like the small rays of the sun that peek through the tightly closed curtains of his bedroom's window every morning. With them, Peeta didn't live in the complete darkness, but it was close enough.

Maybe that's what got Peeta to agree with Katniss's plan. Katniss had suggested for herself and Peeta to run away countless times, but it had never been something too serious. She'd often mention how much she wished to just leave this place and never come back . 'Do you imagine how it would be like if we were somewhere else?' she'd ask everytime the world seemed to be too unbeareble for either of them to take. Peeta would never incentivate her ideas to run away. He'd usually answer her with a 'We aren't somewhere else, and this is our life. There's no going back.' This statement would normally shut her.

But the last time Katnisss suggested for them to run away, Peeta didn't oppose. He didn't understand why he hadn't said the usual words he said, that had already became some sort of manthra in his head. He simply nodded and said that he'd follow her anywhere. Peeta didn't know why he said that. Maybe it was the fierceness she had in her voice, or maybe it was just the way Peeta knew her face would light up if he said those words. Either way, he still went along with her. The truth is that, no matter what, Peeta knew he'd follow Katniss anywhere.

So tired that I couldn't even sleep
so many secrets I couldn't keep
promised myself I wouldn't weep
one more promise I couldn't keep

His backpack seemed way too heavy for him, which didn't even make sense, since he was already used to carry pounds and pounds of flour around the small bakery his parents built their lives with. His room was almost completely dark, and he tried his very best not to tripp on anything. He couldn't afford to wake someone up at this point.

Peeta wondered if he was doing the right thing. Was he really sure he wanted to run away to never come back and leave his family forever? What if he missed them? Even worst, what if they missed him? Peeta scolded himself for having second thought about this. He just couldn't afford to think like that right now. It was settled, Peeta was going to run away with Katniss. There was no way out of this, he would never be able to live with himself if he just didn't leave with Katniss. He couldn't let her go like that, he'd never let her be stuck here, nor leave on her own. And there was something else, he just couldn't live without her.

The last few days Peeta couldn't take a break, sleeping seemed impossible, eventhough he was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. The last week consisted of Peeta's preparation for his departure. Preparing his (very few) luggage, managing to collect some money for himself (from both his life savings and some more money he managed to sneak from their parents), and, of course, his farewell from his old life. All this had to be done very discreetly. His parents could never find out. If they did, then most certainly his mother would just lock him up in the basement to stop him, claiming she could not afford the embarassment she'd receive if Peeta just ran away. His father would most likely be hurt. Well, actually his father will be hurt about this, but the truth, for more selfish it is, is that, if Peeta wasn't here to see his father's disappontment, maybe it wouldn't hit him so hard.