Those Ocean Eyes

Chapter 7:

KATNISS

Walking into the bakery six-fifteen, Peeta is nowhere in sight. I am sure that he's in the back baking for the morning, scratching my eye with the palm of my hand as I walk behind the counter on the side furthest in. Instead of good night sleep to load up for the first day at my job, my night contained nothing but nightmares. I hoped it wouldn't affect my ability to work as it did with my hunting.

Immediately, I feel a wave of heat hit me dramatically caused by the oven and see Peeta work just like I did the same morning four days ago.

"Mr. Mellark." I said, making my presence known. He turns around and greets me with a smile, clapping the flour away from his hands.

"Katniss. Welcome." Before I know it, he grabs an apron and puts it over my head, the action making me blush if it wasn't so hurried and somehow professional. He leads me to the counter and explains everything I need to do to accomplish the day. The information keeps coming from his mouth fast yet direct as I try to remember most of it.

"Don't be afraid to call me if you need anything." And he leaves once again. Leaving me somewhat shocked. Peeta was in full working-mood and so should I.

I worked hard the first couple of hours. Customers came in one after the other buying their orders. Some were coal miners, only a few, hungering for a good breakfast on their break, while most of them were Merchants. And if they eyed me suspiciously, I didn't notice. Too stressed and focused on my job. Some even asked where Mr. Mellark was, the elder one, and I didn't have an answer to that. So I replied easily and said that I was taking over for a few weeks. And before they could nod understanding or glare accusatory, I greeted the next customer with a smile. Just like Peeta taught me.

Around nine, two and a half hours later, it finally started to slow down and I sat down on the chair that she took from the corner exhausted. I didn't expect this to be so tiring, my neck and legs aching of all the standing. But the most tiresome part of it all was the surrounding. The storefront was small, yet people managed to push themselves in and hundreds of voices talked over each other while I almost needed to scream when taking orders. It didn't make the whole thing better than when the children came with their mother early in the morning, crying and wailing in hunger and sleepiness that made me almost cry with them. People were stressed and overstrained and smiles didn't do them much either.

Despite that, I was proud of my accomplishments. I wasn't done just yet, but the worst part was over. Even without much sleep, I managed the morning rush. I breathed out with relief and a big yawn, covering my mouth.

"Tired?" Peeta walked out from the back, placing some loaves of bread under the glass beside the counter that smelled amazing.

"Yeah. I didn't get much sleep." I don't know why I say that. Why he would care, but he waits on me to continue, standing up and giving me his fullest attention. "Nightmares." Thankfully, it's empty in the store so no one except Peeta can hear. I scratch my neck, looking at anywhere but him as I smile embarrassedly. "That night... It still scares me when I think about it." Just talking about it made me feel much better than before. Like two heavy stones lifted from my shoulders. It was hard to not be able to tell anyone that I almost died. Got killed. That I almost got shot, the bullet hitting my skin barely and causing a wound I hid from my closest. I still remember clearly how I ran and ran and thought about getting executed while my sister screamed my name over and over again. It made my eyes tear thinking about the fear I experienced when I saw Peeta's wide eyes, knowing that someone saw me and could scream after the peacekeepers that I was right there. It made me dizzy when I remembered all the blood and how it could leave drops after I and may be the cause of my death.

All these feelings and I couldn't say anything to anyone . All they thought about was the proposal from Gale that I denied. Like it was the worst thing in the world.