In This Together (The Hunger Games Fanfiction)

Chapter 18: Rescue

Amy's POV

"I can't believe it," Adam murmured to himself as he entered the living room.

"What is it, darling?" I inquired, the false concern hopefully convincing on my face.

"They haven't found the intruders yet. They're still loose!"

"Oh dear," I pretended to be frightened.

"Daddy, I'm scared," Maia whined. She was quite the actress. Maybe one day she would perform in plays.

"Don't worry, I won't rest until I find these horrendous people who are disrupting our beautiful town!" Adam raised his fist for emphasis. "New World has always been a peaceful place, and these intruders think they can just burst in here and disrupt our whole lives? No, we will not stand for this! We New People have always shied away from conflict, but it's time we defend what is rightfully ours!"

His tirade over, Adam turned away without waiting for a response and marched upstairs to our room. Maia looked over at me, eyes wide.

"Don't worry," I whispered to her. "He'll never find out."

I was more reassuring myself than Maia, because I wasn't sure if we would be able to keep two strangers a secret from my own husband.

"He's gonna find out!" Maia spoke the truth.

"What we need to do is find a way for Celia and Tristan to safely escape," I realized. "It's not safe for them here anymore."

"I don't want them to leave," Maia sighed.

"I know," I sat beside my daughter and wrapped my arms around her. "I know you have had a hard time making friends around here, and then Celia comes along and... and now she has to leave. But we need to do what's best for her and Tristan. You understand that, right?"

She nodded weakly.

"Good girl, I knew you would understand. Now come along and help me make dinner, we'll have two extra mouths to feed tonight," I grabbed her hand and led her into the kitchen.

Here in New World, we had everything we could ever need. Every family had their own well to draw water from, and some families kept livestock while others, like my family, farmed fruits and vegetables, and we traded with one another for meals. It was a good system, and usually it worked flawlessly, but today I was going to have to stretch our supplies for three into supplies for five.

I carefully skinned the two potatoes Maia had picked today while she cut the three pieces of meat into five. We spent a lot of time arranging the food on the plates to make them look as full as possible.

"Pour an extra two glasses of water," I instructed Maia.

"Are we having company?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin at Adam's sudden appearance.

"Um..."

Maia froze, about to pour the last of our water for the day into the two extra glasses.

"Well?" Adam pushed. "You're setting two extra places."

"Actually," I stammered. "We were just going to... put those in the fridge in case if I needed a drink during the night."

"What about the plates?"

"They are for breakfast tomorrow..."

"That seems unnecessary."

"Well I-"

"Amy... I trust that you would never keep anything from me," Adam marched closer to me.

"I-"

"Don't make me regret my decision," He whispered in my ear before leaving the kitchen.