Broken: A Hunger Games Fan Fiction

Chapter One

I tucked a loose piece of hair out of my face as I walked back inside the house. So much had happened since I had told Peeta I loved him. Haymitch had become completely sober, to the point that he made sure everything he drank was non-alcohol. The Districts didn’t change, but the Hunger Games was dropped completely. It had been about fifteen years since the last Hunger Games, and I had still had a scar from where the tracker used to be.

I opened up the front door to find Peeta running around chasing Ivy, and picking her up once he got her. I heard her giggle and shriek when he swung her upside down. “Be careful,” I said. He turned around and let her down. I knew I had looked like a mess since I had just got back from hunting. I had been chasing a group of deer for about two miles and got two of them. It wasn’t much of an accomplishment, but it was better than nothing. I took a deep breath, trying not to hyperventilate.

“What’s for dinner?” Of course he only seemed to care about dinner most of the time, which had been bothering me for a while, but I figured it would be best if I didn’t mention that to him.

“Deer.” I said throwing the skins and meat at his feet. Without even looking, I began walking up to our room; where we spent most of the nights laying down next to each other. He had usually been the one to cook but lately I’d been the one cooking.

As I walked up the stairs I heard Ivy ask Peeta, “Dad, are you and Mom fighting?” It honestly broke my heart hearing that but that wasn’t the first time.

“I don’t know.” He mumbled taking in a deep breath. I didn’t know either. I went under the covers and buried my face into the soft, green pillow.

Finally, there was silence. It had become a rare thing ever since I had Chasen. When Ivy was little, she was hard to handle but Chasen was a handful. I looked at the wall, which was painted orange with the sunset. I had never really had time to be alone, since I was either hunting or taking care of Ivy and Chasen.

            I heard a conversation going on outside and snuck out of my bed to see whom it was. I was curious and peeked under the tan blinds to see Haymitch, at our front door. He was telling Peeta “No” after multiple times of asking him to buy him beer.

            “Please Haymitch.”

            “No.” I heard him start yelling but it just seemed like gibberish.

He had been a heavy drinker, before we had children. It had gotten so bad. It got worse because whenever I hid them, he found them. When he had no money left, he stopped. The drinking had made him forget why he loved me in the first place. It made him forget almost everything. He considered me as a roommate, or someone he could “mess around” with while he was drinking.

“Think of Katniss, Peeta!” I heard Haymitch yell. “Think of the kids!” The front door slammed and I watched Haymitch walk away.

I felt my heart sink, afraid that Peeta would ignore Haymitch’s words and drink anyway. I wanted to go downstairs to talk to Peeta but it’d only lead to a fight, which I wanted to avoid. I slipped back under the covers and waited Peeta to say dinner was ready.

But I didn’t hear anything. It’s like the whole world had stopped.

By the time I came to realize I had fell asleep, the sunset had left and had been replaced with the moon, and I felt a warm body next to mine. It was Peeta’s. Without trying to wake him up, I snuck downstairs into the kitchen, looking for food. I shuffled through the cabinets, fridge, and freezer without finding anything.

“Leftovers are in the bottom cabinets.”

“What are you doing up?” I asked Peeta shutting the cabinet. The leftovers were the least of my problems right now. “Couldn’t sleep?” I said taking a seat on the couch in the lounge room. He nodded his head and sat down in the seat next to me. There was this feeling in the room, of comfort but awkwardness. He placed his head between his hands and then brushed his hair with his fingers. I wanted to say something but I know it wouldn’t come out right.

“How are the kids?” I managed to say.

“They’re good” he said simply. “How are you?” I raised my eyebrow because this was something new.

“I’m pretty good. Y-“

“Look I’m sorry for what happened.” He said gently touching my arms. “I’m sorry for the way that I’ve been lately. It’s been hard trying to be sober for me. I’m trying to manage all of this and someone always gets hurt in the end.” Before he could continue, I put my head on his shoulder and squeezed his hand.

“It’s okay.” I whispered. I felt his fingers interlock mine and stared into each other’s eyes for a moment. We both wanted that moment to last. We wanted to feel each other’s warmth when we needed it. “You love me. Real or not real?”

He rolled his eyes. “You know the answer.”

“Well,” I said moving away from him, kind of annoyed. “I haven’t heard those three words in months, possi-“ Before I could finish my sentence he had kissed me. This kiss wasn’t just a kiss. It was one that made everything fall into place again. It made me feel safe, for the first time in years.

“Real.” He whispers.

“I can’t hear you” I said jokingly, smiling.

“I love you Katniss Mellark!” he yelled holding me close. I shushed him hoping he didn’t wake the kids up. I wanted them to actually stay in their beds, for once. I felt his heavy breath breathe down my neck before he let me go. “Let me go.” He said. “Let me go!”

It was one of his nightmares, again. He had begun getting them randomly when he was awake, and it had brought back the worst memories of his past. “Peeta!” I yelled. I didn’t care about waking the children at this point. The last time he had a nightmare, he was very close to killing himself. “Peeta! It’s just a dream, wake up!”

“Katniss!” he screamed running away.

“Here we go again.” I mumbled. The last time I also had to chase after him and make sure he didn’t end up dead. I pinned him down to the ground as he tried to kick himself free but then soon, gave up. His eyes slowly opened. “How long was-“ I hushed him again; I heard footsteps coming from a different stairwell. “Who is that?” I ran to the closet, grabbing my bow and arrow. I went down the hall to go look.

I heard what sounded like a faint word. I turned around and aimed my bow. I had almost fired when I had realized that I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kill him, because it’d become a part of another one of my nightmares. Now that I knew he was alive, I could go to sleep a little bit better tonight. He was an avox, which made my jaw drop. How could President Snow do this to him? I tried to say his name, but I couldn’t manage to get it out. Peeta grabbed onto my hand and whispered. “Cinna!”

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