Finding the Missing Piece: An Everlark Story

Chapter Thirty-Four

Katniss POV- (November)

It's already Thanksgiving Break and I can't believe how quickly time is ticking by.

It seems like our senior year just began and that the time is flying.

Peeta and I are off this Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving and his parents are going to District 11 for the weekend so he is staying with us.

I'm really excited to get to spend a holiday and a weekend with Peeta, my mom and my sister.

"Hey, Katniss!" Peeta hollers, chasing after me in the school parking lot.

I turn around and lean against my car as he approaches me.

"Hey." I say.

"Hey, I just have to go home and get my things for this weekend. I was gonna see if you wanted to come with me and maybe we could bake a few pies for this weekend?"

"Yeah, that sounds fun. I'll follow you there, okay?"

"Okay, I'll see you in a minute." Peeta smiles and he walks to his car, a few cars down from mine.

I get in and follow Peeta to his house.

When we arrive, Peeta gets out and meets me by my door and we walk hand in hand into the back of the bakery.

"Hello, Katniss. How are you?" Peeta's Dad asks me awkwardly.

"I am great. How are you doing, Mr. Mellark?" I smile and Peeta releases my hand.

"I'll be right back." He says, quickly running up to his room to retrieve his things.

"I am really pretty good actually. Are you excited for Thanksgiving?" He asks me.

"Definitely, oh, thank you so much for letting Peeta stay with us over the holiday."

"No problem, Katniss. I am glad everything is going so good between you two." He whispers.

A smirk appears on my face, "Thank you, so am I."

He smiles and pats me on the back and returns to whatever he was doing.

A few minutes later Peeta's mother comes in and my heart begins to race in fear.

I've never officially met her before.

Well, Peeta has tried to introduce us but she stopped him from speaking any further.

Although, I despise her for the way she treats Peeta, I will admit, she has been kind to me before but I can tell my the look on her face, without Peeta on my arm, she has not a clue who I am.

She looks me up and down then asks, "Are you our new help?"

I begin to speak but she cuts me off.

"We need it considering my husband's youngest boy is always off galavanting around with that girlfriend of his."

'My husband's youngest boy.' She doesn't even claim Peeta as her own.

"Actually, Mrs. Mellark, I am his girlfriend."

"Oh."

"I'm Katniss Everdeen." I reach my hand out for her to shake.

She ignores my hand as if it were covered in poison.

This woman, she beats her son, calls him horrible names, doesn't even claim him to be her own and I just don't know what to think really.

All I know is I don't like her, even if she has been half way nice to me before.

"Why are you here?" She raises her eyebrows and my heart begins to race.