You Said Always

Chapter Nine

*Sorry for not updating. School stuff is happening, if you know what I mean. It's annoying! TOO MUCH HOMEWORK!!

Peeta's POV:

I say 'Always' as Katniss closes her eyes. I brush the hair out of her tear stained face. I remember what how she responded when I said 'I love you'.

Her eyes showed desperation, hope and happiness at the same time. 'I never stopped' was her response before letting sleep overcome her.

This is the most guilty I've ever felt. Well, second most guilty. You know. The attack after the Capitol.

I tear escapes my eye and falls onto Katniss's pale cheeks.

Before I can get up, the hospital room door flies open with Haymitch standing in the entrance.

"What did you do to her?!" He yells at me.

I shush him before saying, "She's sleeping." I wave of relief flows over his face. He sits down on the plastic chair next to the bed.

"She should've never forgiven you." He mutters under his breath, but loud enough for me to hear it. I roll my eyes at him, but I know it's true. After all I've done to her.

"She must really love you, after all the shit you've done and still forgiving you." He adds. I nod my head.

"Are you sober?" I ask him. He looks surprised at my question.

"I don't know?" He says, more of a question. He's definitely drunk. "I've been drinking more since I heard about you and Melanie."

"What about us?" I ask him, not really sure if I want an answer.

"I've heard that she's pregnant." He exclaims, holding up his beef bottle I didn't know he had.

"What?!" I yell, making Katniss stir.

"What happened?" She asks groggily, her eyes slowly opening.

"This guy got Melanie knocked up." Haymitch says, gesturing towards me. I see a tear run down Katniss's face and she refuses to look at me.

"Really?" She whimpers, looking down at her hands in her lap.

She finally looks up at me when Haymitch leaves the room. "Really?" She asks again, but this time running out of the hospital room.

*************************************

Katniss's POV:

Haymitch just told me news I would've never believed if it came from anyone else.

This guy got Melanie knocked up. The words repeat in my head. After Haymitch had left Peeta and I, I ran. I have no clue where I'm going, but I'm running and I'm not going to stop.

I eventually reach the place where I can really be myself. The woods. I duck under the fence and run to the hollow log that holds my bow and arrows.

"Hey Catnip." I here a low, familiar voice behind me. I tense up, knowing who lies behind me.

"Hello." I say to him, not turning my head from the hollow log. I feel his arm wrap around my waist from behind.

"No Gale." I plead, knowing where this is going.  I feel his arm untangle itself from my waist. I turn my head to look into his grey seam eyes.

"Why?" He asks me, smirking. "You scared?" He's now whispering in my ear, making me shudder. This only makes Gale more confident. I step away from him.

"You aren't still mad about the bomb, are you?" He asks me seductively. I know what he's talking about, and all the memories flood back to me.

"You-you-you k-killed h-h-her." I stutter. Gale takes a big step back towards the gate. He knows what's happening.

"My little duck." I whisper, a tear falling down my cheek. No. I tell myself. You cannot cry in front of him. The murderer of her. My face goes blank, but anger and sadness flood it soon after.

"You killed her!" I screech. My hands go for his throat, but with my weeks in the hospital he's stronger and faster than I am. He dodged my fingernails that reach for his face.

"You killed her, and now I'll kill you." I hiss at him. I step closer, causing Gale to walk backwards and trip over a rock. I tuck my arrow onto the string of the bow. Gale holds up his hands defensively and says, "I love you Katniss." And my mind goes blank.

My fingers loosen around the bow, causing it to clatter against the gravel.

"I'm sorry." I choke out, knowing that I had almost killed my best friend due to an attack.

"What happened?" Gale asks me, gripping onto the grass below him.

"An attack." I whisper, focussing my eyes on my shuffling feet.

"Are okay?" He asks. I stare up at him in shock.

"The real question is if you're okay. I could've killed you." I yell at him. I return to a calm state when Gale has a look of hurt on his face. "Why didn't you tackle me or pin me down?" I ask him, sitting next to him on the dried grass.

"I couldn't live with myself if I had hurt you." He whispers, barely audible. "And I'm sorry about Prim." He chokes out. "I knew you loved her and I loved her too. I didn't intend President Coin to use my bombs in such a way." Gale shoves his face into his scarred hands, identical to mine. I rub his muscular back as his body is racked with sobs. I can't even cry anymore. I've done it so much, that I've just ran out of all of my tears.

"It's okay." I choke out to him. "She's with Finnick and Rue and dad and mom now. My little duck will be much happier."

*************************************

After a few hours of crying and talking, Gale and I head down to our lake. The sun is starting to set as we get down to the little concrete house my father had showed me as a child.

"Maybe we should just stay here for the night since it's almost dark out. It would be safer." Gale suggests. I nod my head, but soon regret it. There's only one bed.

"I'll sleep on the floor." I volunteer, not wanting to sleep in the same bed as him.

"No." Gale argues. "I will." He's so stubborn. That's probably why we're such good friends. "Why don't we both just sleep in the bed?" Gale asks. "It's big enough for the two of us." My cheeks heat up.

"I really don't think of you that way Gale." I blurt. He just laughs.

"I know." Gale says, still chuckling. "I meant as friends." I let go of the breath I didn't know I was holding onto. My body floods with relief.

As we walk inside I turn to the small fireplace and kettle, smiling at the good times my father and I had shared here. I place small twigs into the fireplace and start to create a small fire.  I walk over to the moth-bitten bed and look at Gale, his eyes closing. I lay down next to him.

"I really do love you." He whispers into my ear. My ears turn pink. He must have noticed because he quickly adds "In a brotherly way, of course."

Both of our faces turn a bright red. We both start to laugh, and I almost fall off of the bed.

"I missed this." Gale says after the laughter dies down.

"What?" I ask him curiously.

"Just being ourselves and not bothered by anything else." He answers as I snuggle closer to him.

"Me too." I whisper to him before falling asleep peacefully, only to be waken up by a nightmare.