Everthorne

The House

Katniss's POV
    It's been nearly a month since Rory emerged as the victor of the Quarter Quell. He's been doing quite well for just coming out of the games— a lot better than I did. He got the house in the Victor's Village next door to mine and he and his family moved into it a few weeks ago. It's been tough not being with Gale at night, but we find time to hang out. We still hunt every morning and our mothers take turns preparing dinner so I see him then too. It's just not the same though.
     Prim, Vick, and Posy have gone back to school now, Gale works in the afternoons, and Rory does his own thing at the edge of the woods, so I'm alone again. Come to think of it, Rory hasn't told anyone what he does during the day. He leaves shortly after Gale and I return from hunting and is always a little late for dinner. He's been pretty secretive about it too. He won't answer any questions about it and won't tell us anything about his days near the woods. When I offer to go with him, he always tells me it'd be best for me to stay behind. I'm not hurt by this, just curious.
     One night, Rory tells Gale and I to take a walk with him. We follow him through town until we reach the meadow, when we see a nice house sitting on the hill. It's placed where the fence line is behind it and it overlooks the meadow. Rory turns to Gale first, "When father died, you took care of our family. At fourteen you took on the burden of the family and provided for us well. You never complained and took it all in stride. I want to thank you for that and let you know that it's my turn to provide for them now, you don't have to worry about us anymore. And Katniss," he turns to me, "Thank you for taking care of my family, letting us live in your house, feeding us, and keeping Gale sane. Without you, I never would've won the Quell. I wanted to do something as a way to thank you  guys for all you've done for me, and I wanted to give you a house of your own in your favorite place." As soon as Rory finishes, Gale and I pull him into a hug. "Thank you Rory," Gale says as Rory hands him a set of keys. "There's only one catch," Rory says smirking, "you can't go in until the toasting." He takes the keys back from Gale's hand and sprints back to the village.

Short chapter! I have band camp this week so I'm super busy and I'm drowning in summer homework ☹️