California Love

Chapter 36: Mrs Mellark's Call

It's been two weeks since Peeta's been gone. Only two more weeks until he comes back. I hear the Skype call ringing and I run to the laptop, and can't stop the smile that breaks across my face when I see that it's Peeta. We've been Skyping a lot since he's been gone, either that or talking on the phone.

I click answer and wait for it to load. Then I see Peeta's face pop up on the screen. "Hey baby," he says with a smile. "Hey." I say, almost jumping in my seat. "How are you? How's the baby?" He asks and I smile. "We're great, although this bump is getting annoying." I say with a laugh and I hear him laughing along.

He must be sitting on the balcony of his hotel because I can see the ocean and horizon and the tops of the palm trees. It looks so beautiful. "What's wrong?" He asks, noticing my daydreaming. "I wanna go to Australia." I say grumpily and he laughs. "One day, I promise I'll bring you here. It's amazing." I smile. "I'm glad you're having fun. How're your brothers going?" I say with a smirk and he groans.

"Don't even mention them! I had forgotten what it was like to live with them. Rye's picked up some chick named Lavinia, reckons he's never going to let her go because she's the love of his life. We're leaving in 2 weeks." He says and I roll my eyes. "Typical Rye."

"How have you been, Peeta?" I ask and he leans on his hand. "I miss you. But if you're talking about the trip, it's amazing. We went to Tasmania first; that was so good, although it was pretty cold and rainy. And then Melbourne, well that was an experience all in itself. There was cities, and beaches, and farm land, and country sides. There was, like, everything there. The weather was pretty funny. I swear it was like four seasons in one day. It was amazing how one minute it was sunny and the next it would be raining. Although, since it's coming into summer here, it was pretty hot most of the time." He says and I nod.

"Yeah, and we haven't been to Queensland yet. We are about to leave in a few days." He says and I smile. "Sounds like it's been great. But I miss you." I say and he sighs. "I miss you too."

I hear a voice in the background "Peeta! Come on, we're going out for lunch now." I think it was Josh. Peeta looks over the top of the camera. "Okay, hang on!" He calls back. He looks back to me. "Sorry, I gotta go." He says and I yawn. "That's okay. I'm tired anyways. I'll just go to bed." I say and he nods. "Love you." I say and he smiles. "Love you, too." Then the camera clicks off and his face disappears, taking me back to the Skype homepage.

I stumble up the stairs and brush my teeth before heading up to bed. Like every night so far since Peeta has been gone, I organise his pillows so they are lying next to me. I hug his pillows to me, where I can still smell his scent, as I drift off to sleep.

The next few days I spend at either Prim's, or hanging out with Johanna, Annie and Delly.

Two days after my last Skype call with Peeta, I get a text from Thresh.

Hey Katniss, is it possible for you to come into work today for your first shift? Sorry for the late notice.

I text back telling him that it is fine and I'll be there soon. I go and have a shower, dressing in skinny jeans and putting on a coat over my top since the weather is getting colder. I find myself getting angry at Peeta who is in Australia where it is going into summer.

I walk through the door to the sports shop even though the sign reads closed. "Hey Thresh, it's just me." I call out and I see him appear from the back room.

"Hey, Katniss. Ready for your first shift?" He asks and I laugh. "Ready as I'll ever be, I guess." I say and I head out the back and put my bag in one of the lockers. "So, today you will just be working behind the counter and hopefully on your next shift you'll be able to go out and interact with the customers, help them with what they're buying, that sort of stuff." I nod.