The Miner's Wife

Chapter 20: A Town boy and a Seam girl - Part Two

Peeta waits until I've come back from following Arrow to school and have put Ivy down for a nap before he talks about last night.

"Thank you for helping me yesterday."

"You're welcome." I put my book down. He said he'd answer my questions. He said he'd tell me the truth. "Did you dream about your Games last night?" I hedge.

If he understands that I'm testing him, he doesn't give any indication. His answer is immediate and without hesitation. "Yeah. That's what I dream about most of the time." I think about the paintings in the room at the end of the corridor, which gave me a small, terrifying window into his nightmares. "They are usually versions of the same dream, but last night it was... different."

"Different, how?" I ask.

"I dreamt that you were in the Hunger Games, too. Cato was out to get you, get us - but mostly you. We were in a cave and I was very sick. I knew I was dying and you knew it, too. You tricked me into eating some sleep syrup so you could go to the Feast to get some medicine for me and then, when I woke up, you were lying there next to me in a pool of blood. I thought that I had lost you." Dreaming about losing me caused him to scream like that? The scream sounded almost otherworldly. "But I slept through the rest of the night, I mean for real, after you..." His voice trails off. He clears his throat. "Why did you do that for me, Katniss?" he asks.

I don't quite know how to answer that question. "I talked to my mother yesterday," I begin haltingly. "She helped me put some things into perspective."

"What kind of things?"

"You. Me. Why people in 12 react so strongly to the idea of us being together."

"Us together," he repeats.

I take a deep breath. "Yeah. You asked me before what I wanted. I couldn't answer your question, because I didn't even know myself. But I do know that why I'm not leaving and why I'm staying are two different things." He looks confused, and I try to explain. "I don't leave because I don't really have anywhere else to go. But why I'm staying... that's different."

His blue eyes don't leave mine, he doesn't even blink. "Then why are you staying?"

"I'm not sure."

"Okay." He looks down. I don't know what to say, so I don't say anything. Neither does he. I serve him lunch and we eat in silence. After only one helping of lamb stew, Peeta drops his fork on his plate, pushes away from the table and announces that he's going to check on Haymitch. He's obviously upset, but I don't object. I clear the dishes. I drown out the clanging of metal against porcelain and get lost in my thoughts.

Peeta asked me why I'm staying and I don't have an answer for him. But I know someone who might be able to help me figure out what that is. Cashmere. Haymitch offered me some insight, but Cashmere knows him in a different way. She's there in the hotel, so she knows the business from within. Haymitch doesn't.

I dry my hands and walk over to the phone in the hallway. I rarely ever use this thing. There are so many bells and whistles, and who would I call anyway? Hardly anyone in the Seam has a phone. But I know there's some sort of auto dial feature. I lift the receiver and push the button labeled "Cashmere." It's lunch time here, and there's only an hour or two difference between 12 and District 1, so I don't think I'll disturb her. It rings only once before she answers.

"Peeta, hi. Hang on a second, okay?" There's a shuffling sound and I guess she must be pulling the phone away from her ear. I didn't even have a chance to identify myself. "Gloss, watch her. It's Peeta... Yes, I will." The phone shuffles again and when it stops, her voice is clear again. "Gloss says 'hi.' How are you, honey?"