Real or not real? (everlark)

16

These characters, as well as their original story, belong completely to Suzanne Collins, one of the greatest authors of all time.
I wake up, startled, expecting to see the morning sun shine through my bedroom window. But instead, the darkness lures outside the glass, small stars and a moon giving a small amount of light.
I swing my legs off the bed, my bare feet hitting the cold wood floor. I walk downstairs, my feet making a small noise when they hit the ground.
I open the fridge, and pull out the pitcher of lemonade. I pour myself a giant glass of it, and drain it in a mater of seconds. I put the glass in the sink, and grab a cookie from a plate in the counter. The cookie is soft and delcicous, and I savor it's sweetness.
Once it's finished, I start to head to the stairs to go back up to bed. But a small light glows from the living room, stopping me. I turn, and make my way towards it.
District 12 gave out hologram phones, just like every other district, as a gift. An apology of all that's been wrong in the past. It's basically like facetiming, which I'd what people in the past used, but a 3D picture shows up. I didn't know Peeta left his on, and I move towards it.
Peeta's hologram card glows, illuminating a small figure. I swipe the screen, looking at all of his past holograms. It may seem nosy, but he's told me that he has nothing to hide, and he was right. Most of them are him talking to me, but then I stop when I hear a different voice ring out, one with a different face.
"Peeta, I'm so sorry. I've liked you for a long time now and I should have just held it in, I mean, you were obviously dating someone..." Lacie's pretty little face shines up, and she stands on a pink platform. I look at it for a moment. My figure always stands on green, Peeta's on orange. She looks urgent, desperate, and I wonder how Peeta responded to her.
That's one of the only problems. You can't see what the other person daid, only what the callers says.
The hologram switches automatically. Again, Lacie's voice sounds, not mine.
"Peeta, I can't find her anywhere. She's gone, missing maybe, oh, this probably isn't making you feel any better about this is it? Im sorry, this is all of my fault. I've looked for her everywhere though, and it's like she vanished out of thin air..."
It take me a moment to register that they're talking about me. Most likely when I hid in that old house. I'm about to look at the next one when I look up at the clock. Midnight.
I climb into bed, my mind swirling into thoughts of Peeta, and Lacie, and me.

I wake up gasping once more, but it's for a different reason. I didn't watch other people get hurt in this dream, but I was hurt myself. I've never had a dream like that before.
Peeta and Lacie were standing above me, laughing and cackling. Kissing in between their mocking words, they made tears burn in my eyes and jealousy sear my throat. They pointed at how stupid I looked, shrieking all sorts of mean things at me. Tom and Gale are in the background, laughing with them.
I look at the clock once more, and see that it's only 2:25. I glance over at Peeta, wondering how he used to stop my nightmares, but they've been back.
I climb into his arms, which I haven't done in a while, and a feeling of calm and security splashes through me. This is why, I haven't done this, and that's why my nightmares have come back.

"Katniss! Get your butt down here, you have a letter!" Peeta hollers up the stairs. I groan, throwing my pillow a good 10 feet. Why he always has to get up and beat even the postman, I don't know.
I take a pillow down stairs with me, and when I reach the landing, I proceed to knock Peeta in the face with it. He laughs, and gently pushes me onto the couch, putting a letter in my hand.
In elegant script, words are scratched in ink onto the fine paper. They read-

Dear Katniss,
I know that we have much better means of communication now, but I've always been rather fond of the old "snail mail". But of course you already know that.
I've missed you so much. We haven't seen each other in months, and it's killing me that I haven't seen my two baby girls in so long. I'm sorry about Prim, you seemed destroyed at just the thought of her being gone. But that's off topic, sorry.
Anyways, I decided, why suffer? Why not come and see you? If that's alright with you, of course. It would be a huge pleasure to see you.
Please answer me as soon as possible,
Love from,
Mom

I smile slightly. She has always liked communicating this way. And so I decide to play her little game, and write one back saying that we'd love for her to stay.
"So, what're you up to on this fine day?" Peeta asks me, and I look outside. The leaves on the ground lift up, the wind blowing them every which way. I can practically see the cold air, and it looks like it might rain.
But then a different thought hits me.
"Beatrice. I think we should go visit her. She's an old woman, she needs company." I say, getting up and stretching. We both pull on boots and a coat over our pajamas, and we head out into the cold, harsh wind.
The horrible weather makes the house seem even farther away than it is. My hair whips around my face, and my hood blows off each time I put it back up. Shivering with cold, we finally reach my old house.
We step into it, and a rush of heat hits us. But something is wrong here. It's too quiet. Too still.
"Beatrice?" I call, checking the living room, then the kitchen. "Beatrice? It's Katniss. Are you home?" No response.
I start to worry. Where is she?
"Katniss, maybe she's asleep in her room. Come on." Peeta pulls me into her bedroom.
There, laying on the bed, is Beatrice. Her hair is fanned out around her, but she's still. She doesn't move. Peeta moves forward to her in shock. He must've noticed something that I didn't.
"Why didn't she answer?" I ask him. He pauses before answering me in a sad tone.
"Because she's dead." He whispers.

Maybe this stinks, I don't know. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, please keep reading! Remember to vote and comment opinions and feedback, and thanks!
-Skylar