Stay With Me...

~Chapter 4~

     ❗️Back to Katniss' Point of View❗️
      ________________________

I wake up in a white room with machines surrounding me. My head is pounding. I have a severe headache and my vision is a little on the blurry side. I see Haymitch and Gale at the end of my bed and my mom to the side of me holding onto my hand.
          "Where's Peeta?" I ask causing my head more pain.
          "He had to..." He stops.
          "He had to what Haymitch! Where is Peeta!?"
          "He is in a stable house. For those who need to go through multiple stages of recovery." He chokes out.
          "No. No he can't be. I'm. Im not hurt. See I'm fine. He can't be there. I. I need him!" I begin to sob.
           "Sweetheart. You aren't fine. You have been in a coma for 3 days. You have a major concussion. And even though you were in a deep sleep. You have sat up every night screaming. The doctors had to give you sleep medicine just to get you to stop. Katniss you're hurt. And Peeta is going to stay there for as long as he needs to. We are doing what's best for both of you." Haymitch explains.
          "Haymitch you don't understand. He needs me! I need him!" I get up quickly and start to twist and turn. I start to scream and cry trying to reach his throat. Gale comes to the side of the bed and pulls me back.
              "Get your hands off of me you don't understand! I...need him." I squeak out quietly. The doctor soon comes in and puts a needle into my arm. I black out.
✖️
I wake up to the sound of a metal try crashing on the floor. I look up to see Effie's face turn red. Her big, puffy, tree outfit was so big that it knocked the tray off of the table.
"I'm so sorry Katniss." She say apologetically.

"Your fine Effie. Why are you here?" I ask maybe a little to harshly.

"Well I heard the news and, well, I just thought I should come visit my girl. Is that alright? Do you mind?"

"No, yes. No I don't mind. Yes it's alright." I say confusing myself. We sit there staring at each other for a few minutes until she breaks the silence.

"So I heard that Peeta is in the stable house!" She says enthusiastically. Haymitch grunts.

"No no it's fine. We can talk about it. Yes. He is in the stable house. But just for the time that I'm in this stupid hospital. I'm going to get him out of there as soon as I'm out of here. He is going to stay with me and I will help him recover," I begin to scream, "not a specialist who thinks that they can help him just because they have a degree. Peeta needs me and the only way he is ever going to recover is if I am sitting right there next to him!"

Effie backs up slowly.

"Alright Sweetheart. That's enough. Now you are going stop talking like that. You are going quit screaming. And you are going to wait and talk about this when you are in a better condition. Do you understand? I may be the drunk old man that you think you can talk to anyway you want. But you can't and you won't! Now I'm going to walk Effie out and when I come back you had either have a better attitude or you should be asleep." He's tells me sternly.
He opens the door and he and Effie walk out. I look to see who is left and it is just my mother. Gale must have gone back home to his family.
She smiles at me and squeezes my hand.
"Will it he be ok? Are they going to hurt him? I don't want then to do anything to him." I say with tears building in my eyes.
"Katniss. You know all of this is for his own good. We would never do anything that would cause him pain. He will be fine. And as soon as he gets out he will be the old Peeta. The Peeta that loved you even if you didn't love him back." She says softly.
My heart stops. Even if I didn't love him back. I realized right there that, I do need my old Peeta back. The one that loves me. I need him to love me so that I can show him that I truly do love him too.
I nod my head and smile up at her. She calmed me. She relieved me. She helped me realized my love for Peeta Mellark. She loves me and I love her. I close my eyes and fall into a deep sleep with the comfort of knowing that two people in my life have a real love for me. And I have a real love for them.