Hidden Troubles

Chapter 1: Suspicions

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games. There will be triggers in future chapters. Katniss' POV

Peeta and I walked down the narrow path in Victor Village. It connected all the remaining houses. They seemed to be sturdy enough, considering recent events, like bombings then abandonment. We, as in Peeta and I, lived in one of the houses of our past mentor,Haymitch, lived in a neighboring house. Only three of the past 12 houses supposed to be in in Victor Village still stand. They were still the largest houses in the remains of district twelve.

It has been almost a week since the last time we have heard from Haymitch. As I said earlier, he used to be our mentor only a few years ago, Peeta and I had been a past event once known as the Hunger Games. He kept us both alive. Twice. Maybe more. Just completing that task once was an impossible thought. Although, it seems he has evolved into more than just our past mentor. Maybe even more than a close friend. Family. That might be the closet word I can come up with. I consider him one of the few family I have left. Peeta, the boy with bread, and Haymitch, the sarcastic drunk, are my remaining family. Sad, but we're a family of past victors and rebels. We're all we need.

I hate to admit it, but my sarcastic, pain of a mentor actually has me concerned. I know it's probably just him getting drunk and neglecting to check up on us, yet there is still something nagging at me. I know there is now very few things to fear. Especially compared to the games or the war we faced or even the more personal challenges that each of us has stumbled out of. That and even after the fall of a country he despised, he still sleeps with a knife in hand.

Haymitch has been through a lot in the past years. Entering the Hunger Games at 16, and then that's where everything fell apart for Haymitch Abernathy. He turned to the 'comforting' sight of the bottom of a bottle. 26 years later and he still lives off the alcohol to drive away the pain of the past. While how he gets drunk constantly is annoying, I understand why he does it. If I was in his shoes, I might have even turned out much worse.

Our short jaunt to Haymitch's house has come to an end. Now, Peeta and I, are looking at the house before us. From the outside the house seemed normal, well taken care of. Inside was a completely different story. It was a mess and usually reeked of alcohol. There was no sound coming from the house, but that was normal, Haymitch wasn't always the loudest of neighbors.

Peeta and I exchanged a quick glance. Light blue eyes meeting my grey Seam eyes. His wavy light blonde hair swaying slightly in the breeze. My ebony hair tied back in a lazy ponytail. I nodded. He understood that it meant for him to knock,with his free hand. In the opposite hand held a brown paper bag filled with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. It was a fall back option in case he was perfectly fine and I was just worried for nothing. Knowing him, I probably wouldn't live it down for a month. That would be extremely aggravating for me.

Peeta knocked on the door. The echo, from the knock, sent an eerie chill up and down my spine. I looked up at Peeta's face, it didn't look happy about the bone-chilling echo either. We waited a minute for extra insurance. While Haymitch wasn't exactly the youngest or most sober he still knew how to move around swiftly and quietly. Surprisingly, he even has managed to sneak up on me a few times. Still no one opened the door. Everything remained still throughout the house. I didn't like it. Although, this is rather common with him drinking. He is either passed out or actually sleeping. Passed out is the more probable considering it is Haymitch, afterall.

Still remaining silent, Peeta knocked loud and hard. You could definitely hear the echo, but it didn't seem as haunting when it was loud and booming. It lost something in the sound. Even the pitch seemed to change with hardness of the hit. However, once again, no answer.

Peeta looked to me for what we should do now. He had an eyebrow raised in expectation of the obvious answer. Rolling my eyes I checked the door, seeing if was locked. Normally, it was left unlocked. Probably for me or Peeta to get in. Today it was locked. Strange. "Well," I started,,"we can just force our way in."