Edward makes the decision to leave Katnis after he almost lost control of himself.
Katnis is hurt, heart broken even, by his departure but she understands why he left. He wanted to protect her from himself.
One month after The Cullen's leave Forks...
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Edward watched as Katnis sat in the bed of Bella's truck, with her headphones in her ears, listening to No. 10. La cathedrale engloutie by Claude Debussy. He could hear it so clearly from across the lot. It was one of her favorite pieces by Debussy
After maybe ten minutes, he watched Peeta, also known as Damon Bennett, cross the lot toward the truck.
"Hey."
Katnis looked up at him when she noticed him leaning over the back of the truck. With a smile, she removed her head phones. "Hey."
"What are you listening to?" he asked.
"Debussy. It's not really something you'd be into very much." she stated softly.
"Well, if you like it, I'm sure I could get into it." he said with a big smile.
Katnis smiled at him before she stood up. "Help a girl down?"
"Sure."
Peeta let her grab her things and stuff them into her backpack before he moved to help her. When she sat on the edge panther truck, he wrapped one arm around her waist and he placed the other one just beneath her legs and lifted her out of the truck as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Katnis chuckled when, instead of putting her on solid ground, he did a quick spin. "Put me down, Peeta." she laughed.
Smiling widely, he set her on her feet but she kept her arms around his neck and stared up at him. "Why are you so happy this morning?" she asked.
"Well, I woke up this morning, so that's one reason," he then wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her closer. "And I'm standing here with you."
Instead of responding, Katnis pushed on her toes and kissed his lips quickly. "You're sweet." she said.
His face turned a bit red and his smile seemed to grow wider. "Thank you. So are you." he said before he lowered his lips to hers, again.
Alice and Rosalie touched Edwards arm, in comfort, as they watched Katnis kiss Peeta. They had to admit that they were shocked to see her kissing him. Katnis was always so closed off, not willing to get to know someone in fear of losing them and yet here she is kissing Peeta.
"She's moved on. She's living the life I wanted for her," Edward said suddenly, answering their unasked questions. "She's happy and that's all that matters."
"Happy? You call that happy?" Rosalie hissed. "It's clear that she's just using him to get over you."
Edward turned to his sister. "Katnis would never use someone like that, Rosalie and you know that. You know that, that isn't who she is," he ran his fingers through his hair. "As much as we wish it weren't true, she's happy with him and she's moved on. Now, I have to do the same."
"No! You can't let her go like this, Edward," Rosalie hissed. "I will not let Alice's vision of you marrying Isabella come true. Hell no."
Edward sighed. "I am not marrying Isabella, Rosalie."
"How do we know that? With you and Katnis no longer together, this could have been the reason you moved on to Isabella, to get over her sister." Rosalie said.
"Rose, please. I am not nor will I ever marry Isabella," he looks down at her. "It wouldn't be fair to either of us because I'll always love Katnis."
Rosalie sighed. "Okay, I'm sorry. I just - I hate the thought of you with anyone else, especially Isabella, but Katnis."
Edward looked over at Katnis. She was smiling and laughing at Peeta as he twirled her around in his arms. She looked happy. She no longer looked tortured or broken which means Peeta was doing a great job at making her happy.
Or she's gotten really good at pretending. A voice in his head said.
Shaking the sudden thoughts from his head, Edward looked to his siblings. "Leave her be. She has the life she deserves. Let her be happy." he said before he walked away, leaving them to stare after him.
"I'm so not leaving this alone," Emmett said, having folded his arms over his chest. "Katnis is family and there is no way in hell I'm letting someone steal her from us."
"He didn't steal her from us, Emmett," said Alice. "We pushed her away and right into his arms."
He shrugged. "I don't care. She belongs to us, with us." he growled.
Rosalie placed her hand on his arm. "Calm down, Emmett. We'll get her back in time."
