• Forever •

Chapter 51

Chapter 51:

As I sit outside on the back patio watching Peeta and Adeline play, I realize how truly lucky I am. I'm about to turn 26 and to think when I was 16 I was sure I was going to die. As I'm thinking about my past and everything I have been through I hear Adeline scream. It's followed by a cry. My instincts take over and I shoot straight up from my chair. I see Peeta is already by her side but I jog over there anyway.

"What happened honey?" I asked.

"She fell of her bike and cut her leg on the bike chain." Peeta says.

"Let me see." I say taking a look. It's already bleeding and it looks pretty deep.

"Can you take her inside, I have to get a closer look." I say.

I put her bike in the garage and come into the kitchen to see Peeta has her sitting on the counter and is holding her hand. She's bawling her eyes out and shaking with sobs. Just looking at her makes me want to sob. The worst feeling in the world is seeing your child in pain, knowing there is nothing you can do to fix it.

I walk over to them. "Okay sweetie, mommy's going to have to clean this a little. It's gonna hurt but I'll try to be gentle, okay?" I say.

She nods, clutching onto Peeta's shirt. He gives me a wary look, but I nod reassuring him. I grab a cloth and wet it. I start to wipe it on the gash but she screams and holds onto Peeta's shirt even tighter. He holds her in his arms and she cries into him.

"I'm sorry sweetie, I'm almost done." I say. I don't know if I can do this much longer. Her pain is making anxious. I blot it a little more and realize how deep this thing really is. She continues to cry and Addy's a pretty strong kid, so I know this is more serious. She'll probably need a few stitches. I whisper my thoughts into Peeta's ear and he nods, agreeing with me. We head to the hospital to get Addy some stitches.

When we enter the emergency room, I have to fill out a bunch of paper work while Peeta holds Addy and rocks her a little to try and sooth her. Her wails have turned into a steady stream of tears and small whimpers here and there. Once I have everything filled out we're asked back. The doctor's name is Mary Claire Lee.

"Hello I'm Dr. Lee, I see we think we might need some stitches?" She says.

"Yes our daughter, Adeline, was riding her bike and fell off, the chain cut her pretty deep in the leg." I say.

"I see, may I have a look?" She asks.

Addy hasn't let go of Peeta yet so Dr. Lee turns Peeta to the side to look at the leg. After a few seconds she says "Yes, this is pretty bad, but will only need 4 stitches. I'll go get my tools and be back in a few minutes." She leaves the room.

Peeta looks at me terrified. I look at him and mouth 'I'll tell her.' He nods okay.

"Addy, honey, the doctor is going to give you stitches now. It's going to hurt pretty bad, but will feel much better when they're done." I say smoothing her hair.

"Okay," she sniffles, "but can I still sit with Daddy?"

"Yes, I'm sure the doctor will let you sit with Daddy." I say.

Just then Dr. Lee comes in with a tray of tools and a nurse following her.

"Okay, are we ready to do this?" She says putting her gloves on.

"Yes, but would it be okay if she sits on his lap, she doesn't want to let go." I say.

"Oh of course, as long as he could just sit up on the table." she says.

"Oh I can do that." He says.

He gets up on the table with Addy in his arms and they reposition her so they can access her leg. After they've wiped and cleaned out the cut, Dr. Lee goes in the the numbing shot. That is the worst part of the whole day. She screams bloody murder as the needle goes in and I just want to cry for her. Peeta feels the same way, I can just tell by the look on his face. I go over to him and grab his free hand and rest my head against his shoulder. After the shot is done she calms down and Dr. Lee gets to work.