Stay With Me...

~Chapter 3~

❗️Peeta's point of View❗️
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I wake up with short breath and and fast heart beat to the sound of Katniss screaming. She slept in the guest bedroom last night because I turned mutt on her. She still wanted to be in the house in case I needed something. I yank the covers off of my body and run across the ice cold floors. It's pitch black and I am running into everything. I eventually made it through the door and into the hallway.

The soft carpet rose up between my toes and the warm heat filled my body. The temperatures change in the house. My room is the coldest since I always sleep with the windows open.

I flip the light switch on and continue to run towards her room. I shove the door open to see her sitting up in her bed holding her head and rocking back and forth.

I walk slowly towards her and place my hand on her back. I begin rubbing in a circular motion until I know it's safe to hug her. I climb in bed with her and lay her head onto my chest. Her breathing has slowed down since I first came in and she has stopped screaming.

          "Katniss. Do you want to talk about it? What happened?" I ask softly. I feel her body begin to tense up but it soon relaxed and I feel her sigh.
"You were gone Peeta. They took you because of me. They tortured you. They made you lose all of your good memories of the bakery and of your childhood. They erased the memories of us. They sent you to kill me! They sent you and you almost did kill me. But then you took your spear and... and you pointed it towards yourself. Peeta!"
"Shh. Katniss it's ok. I'm here now. I'm alright. Nothing has hurt you or me." I say as I hold her tightly in my arms. I remove the hair that is from her face and look down. "It's going to be alright." I say as I place a sympathetic smile on my face. She looks up at me and smiles. Her eyes slowly close and she drifts off to sleep.

I want to tell her so badly. I want to tell her that nothing can ever separate us again. I want to tell her that I will always be here for her. I want to tell her that, I love her. I close my eyes hoping that the next time I open them. The sun will rise.
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I walk out of the door into the brisk air that has taken over district 12. I grab my coat and pull it tighter. I quickly walk to the gates and then stop to look at them. I kick the metal with my right foot and regain my balance with my left. This gate. This sign. This "village" needs to be taken down. It needs to be a normal neighborhood just like the others. There are no more true victors except Katniss and there never will be any. I begin to kick it harder causing metal scraps to fall off. I didn't get very far before I heard my name called.
            "Peeta! What are you doing? Why are damaging the gate?" Katniss asks as she walks quickly towards me. She stops and looks up at it. Her expression turned angry quickly.
            "I'm going to take it down. I don't think anyone needs to have gates surrounding a neighborhood. I think that we need to all start treating each other equally. With the treatment that that we all deserve.
             "Why do you have to be so good with your words and your actions. You only have to choose one of those traits you know." She says with a smirk.
             "Yeah. And I chose both. You got a problem with that Katniss?" I say as I chuckle.
            "No. No. Not at all. It's what makes you the great guy that you are."
           "Ok well, I'm going to start on it. You should go inside though it's getting pretty cold out here." I say pointing her towards the her house.
           "Oh I will. But someone has to go in first because it is freezing out here and that someone doesn't want to get sick. So that someone is going to march their cold butt inside and wait to do this another day. Understand?" She says all so sternly.
          "Yes ma'am!" I say as I raise my right hand to my forehead and start to march off. She shoves me to the side with a laugh and runs to the house. I chase after her and reach her just before she opens the door. I wrap my arms around her body and gently tackle her to the ground. She lets out a laugh and rolls onto her side. We both lay there getting colder by the second when Katniss finally gets up and walks into the kitchen.

She pulls out two mugs, some chocolate mix and some marshmallows. She pours steaming water in the mug along with the mix and stirs them both. She puts a handful of marshmallows in each and then hands one to me. I follow her into the living room and we wrap each other in a blanket. We lie on the couch watching Caesar Flickerman's interview show. The evening was spent laying together on the couch until we decided to go to bed.

I walked up the stairs behind her and saw her hair dangling from her head. The hair that would be so easy to grab and yank. I raise my hand to her hair and pull it back as hard as I can. She shrieks in pain and she falls backwards on the stairs. I then grab her by the arms and pull her upstairs to the bathroom. I put her against the wall and place my hands around her neck. Her eyes are bulging out and her face is becoming purple. I smile with satisfaction and let go. She gasps for air multiple times before she can talk again.
           "YOU MUTT! YOU ARE A MUTT! YOU KILLED MY FAMILY! YOU LIED TO ME! I HAVE TO KILL YOU!" I scream in her face.
          "Peeta stop! Peeta this is not real! I am not a mutt Peeta! I am Katniss Everdeen! You are I love with me. Peeta! Listen to me!" She cries. I don't pay attention to any of it though. All I'm thinking of is how I can kill this mutt.

I look around the room for a good weapon. I find a block of wood left over from when we refurnished the bathroom. I take the block in one hand and Katniss' neck in the other. I raise the block in the air and bring it down on her head as hard as I can.
               "PEETA!"