What if?- A Mockingjay Story

Chapter 83

What if?

What if I was right to come home? What if Katniss was right, what if we can heal each other? What if I should have known this would happen anyway? What if I should have known that I couldn't spend forever away from her?

What if? What if? What if...
---
Peeta's POV

The day flies by quickly and soon enough the time has come. Gracie has been itching to tell everyone all day so I know I am not the only one anxious to tell them. It effects all of us. So at the end of the day when all the customers have filed out the door we get everyone sitting at the tables. Everyone is dead quite as Gracie and I stand before them, the only sound is the humming of Sophie as she sits upon Katniss' lap. I allow Gracie to do the explaining after all this has been her idea from the beginning. So she takes a deep breath and begins to speak. For the first few minutes I zone out, starring into Katniss eyes once they immediately meet mine. In the back of my mind I hear Gracie speaking to everyone about how the bakery has thrived and then I hear the sentence that everyone has been awaiting to hear from the speech

"So we've decided to renovate the bakery"

Then it comes. The flash of smiles upon people's faces and the cheers. Everyone starts talking and I pat Gracie upon the shoulder as if to say well done. She walks over to Rachel to give her a hug in delight just as I turn to see Katniss by my side. Sophie cheers in her arms as Katniss places her lips on mine for a moment. I wish they could have stayed longer, that the kiss could stretch out for a lifetime. But she's already embracing me in a hug pulling me saw at from these thoughts. She says to me with a huge grin

"This is great"

Yes it is. Yes it is. A step in a right direction as Grace once called it.

---

Katniss jumps awake at the sound of the phone. She begins to sit up but I stop her saying

"I'll get it"

She nods and sits back as I rise from my seat and make my way down the hall. I glance back before fully leaving the room and see Katniss pulling Sophie onto her lap, giggling as Katniss bounces her up and down. I smile then continue toward the phone. I place it to my ear once its in hand

"Hello?"

Gracie responds

"Hi Peeta, its Gracie. We need you to help out on the night shift tonight at the bakery"

Considering we need to close the bakery whilst renovating we have the builders work through the night. But I know for a fact that I am never to cover night shifts, Jason is. I say

"That's Jason's shift. I already helped out today"

She takes a moment before replying

"I know that but Jason had an accident here an hour ago. A brick fell onto his ankle, he's gone to hospital. I know we agreed you wouldn't work night shifts but we need you here"

I sigh, summing up in my mind my choices. Then I realise there is simply one choice. I say

"Alright I'll be there soon. Bye"

I put down the phone and rub my eyes with a sigh. Katniss must have heard this as a few seconds later she is in the hall. Her arms folded across her chest as she leans against the wall she asks concerned

"Everything okay?"

I nod and turn to her and tell her what Gracie told me. She nods and takes in the information pretty smoothly until I mention the fact of me having to cover for Jason. Then I see it, in a flash. You could hardly catch it but I see it in her eyes. The flash of panic, fear. But she plasters a soft smile across her face to try cover it and says to me