Life goes on

Chapter 11

I wake up to the smell of fresh bread. It feels so cozy here, why does the hospital feel so comforting?

My eyes slowly open and I come to see that I'm not in a hospital at all. In fact, I think I'm in my own house.

I look around the room; it looks like my house but something isn't quite right. That's when I notice I'm in a nice, warm bed. When I move my head too fast everything starts to spin, I must be hungover.

I hear a noise coming from the bathroom. At least in my house behind that closed door lies the bathroom but I'm not sure if this is my house. The walls are the same and the colors are too but the pieces of furniture are in different places.

I hear another noise from the bathroom but this time it sounds like water falling. Is it raining? All of sudden the water stops, oh it must have been the shower.

I hear footsteps getting closer and then the bathroom door opens and someone is walking out. It takes a minute to register but I see that the person is Peeta with a towel tied around his waist.

Oh, it all clicks, this is Peeta's house. Wait, Peeta's house? My last memories come flooding back to me: the woods, Peeta stopping me, me trying to hijack him, and him punching me.

As my thoughts rush through me I close my eyes and start to whimper. I don't want to be here, especially not in Peeta's house of all places. All the drinks yesterday are not helping.

I feel like I'm about to throw up and try to make it to the bathroom but the moment I stand up I realize I'm too dizzy to walk. Do I still have a concussion? My lack of memory is probably not a good sign.

I don't make it to the toliet and end up throwing up right on the floor. I then slip and just lay on the floor with no motivation to stand up. At least I didn't land in my own vomit.

I see Peeta rushing to me and his mouth is moving but I don't hear anything. So I just close my eyes and try to block out the world.

I feel Peeta's strong arms wrap around me and pick me up. I can't believe he is still trying to help me. I thought he never wanted to see me again. But I guess if that were true he wouldn't have stopped me in the woods. Yet another thing I owe to Mr. Peeta Mellark.

"Katniss," I am able to process his words now. "Are you thirsty?" He says while laying me back down in the bed. I open my eyes and stare at him. He doesn't have a shirt on and his hair is still wet from the shower.

Any girl would be lucky to have him. I don't know why a broken person like me is in his house when he should have a loving wife who didn't just puke on his floor.

I don't say anything. I don't want to say anything. Not to Peeta. Not to Haymitch. Not to anybody. But after a few minutes of silence Peeta talks to me again.

"I'm so sorry," he confesses while sitting on the side of the bed looking down. "I'll never forgive myself for that."

What? What is he sorry for? Obviously whatever he's talking about isn't him carrying me to the bed it's something more.

"I couldn't let you leave," he continues. "I wasn't going to let you give up on everything that you fought so hard for." Oh he's talking about when he stopped me from dying in the woods. "I had to stop you from saying those things because I was going mutt. I knew you wouldn't stop so I had to knock you out. I'm sorry."

He then starts to tell me he didn't bring me to the hospital because he was afraid they would send me off to the Captiol, which was their warning for the next time I went to the mental department. I'm about to tune him out but then I hear his next words and they stick with me.

"I know losing your sister was the hardest thing in your life but this isn't what Prim would have wanted."

He's right. Prim wouldn't want me to act like this. Just floating through life and having no point. I wish Prim was here instead of me. All I ever wanted was to keep her safe.

I'm so caught up in my thoughts I almost forget Peeta is there until he speaks again.

"I know all you ever wanted to do was to protect Prim but nothing can change the fact that she's safe now in a place where no one can hurt her and you're here."

He is standing up to leave but I automatically reach out and grab his hand to stop him. I didn't even have time to think, it was just a reflex.

"Don't go." I manage to say in a raspy voice.

He looks at me for a second then crawls into bed with me and I wrap myself around his bare chest. I drift off to sleep with Peeta to protect me from the nightmares. Oh what a night's difference can make.