The Epilogue - Katniss and Peeta

Meeting Eloise.

Maybe.

"Hey," Willow greets us as she walks up the steps. She seems happy, I'm guessing she had a good day.
"Hey, how was school?" I ask standing up.
"Good," she smiles. I gesture towards Eloise and put my hand on Flynn's shoulder.
"Hello," I start. "Please, make yourself comfortable." Flynn nods and opens the door to go inside—it's basically his second home. The other kids follow him and I hear them go running out the back door. I watch quietly and step inside. I hear the door close behind me as I walk into the kitchen.

Although it didn't go as bad as I expected; my hearts racing.

What if I mess up?

I can't ruin this night. I wish on every star out there, that tonight will go smoothly. I step towards the sink and run my hand under cold water—I've learned it can help to calm down your mind. Atleast, that's what Dr. Aurelius said. It eases my mind, although it never does stop time.

I feel Peeta breathe by my ear and I shudder. He wraps his arms around my waist and kisses my neck.

"Are you alright?" He says watching the water flow over my hand.
No, I think. But my lips can't part. They feel as if they've been glued together.

I hear him sigh and I close my eyes for a moment.
"Annie's coming over soon, she called me a while ago." He remarks. I nod my head and continue watching the drops fall over my hand. "Take your hand out of the water, darling. It'll become numb." He says while reaching for the handle to turn the water off. I push his hand away and he jerks it back. "Your hand feels like ice."
"I'm fine," I start but I'm cut off by the doorbell. Not the best time, Annie.

I can't blame her. I can't blame anyone. This is all my doing, all of this pain and emotions.

"Look at that, Annie's here. I guess you'll unfortunately, have to shut the water off." He jokes with me. I reluctantly shut the tap off and grab a towel to dry my hand off. He walks towards the door and greets Annie.
"Hey, Annie. Come in."
"Thank you for letting Flynn have his friend over here, I would have them at my house but—" she starts but Peeta cuts her off.
"We're more than happy too." I watch as she smiles and looks at the ground. "I'll go get Flynn." He says while turning to walk towards the back door.

"How are you?" I ask while embracing her. We both sit down at the table and she sets her bag on the floor.
"I'm good," she begins quietly. "I've been tying knots a lot."

I remember in 13 when he gave me his rope, his only source of sanity. I miss him so dearly, and I wish I could've hugged him, one last time.

"I'm glad he taught us how to do that." I laugh. She smiles and plays with her hands.
"How have you been? I mean, I saw the video but I didn't believe it or anything." She says cautiously. I nod slowly and let my head fall. I don't need the video to remember, I experienced it first hand. I don't ever want to feel that again.

"I haven't been outside the gate since. I'm afraid everyone is mad at me for it."
"Trust me, Katniss," She pauses while grabbing my hand. "Nobody believed it. They knew you wouldn't do that. I mean, Haymitch was calling everyone making sure they knew it was fake."
"I didn't know that," I say, a bit shocked he would do that for me. "Peeta hasn't let me use the tv or phone since."
"I think that's for the better." She smiles softly. "He's always been the smart one." I nod and laugh softly.

We sit there until we hear Flynn come walking in. I notice his face changes once he realizes his mother is here, but I'm sure that's how Willow and Rye appear when the see me, so I can't be one to judge.

"Hey, Flynn." Annie says while he reaches down to hug her. "How was school?"
"It was fine." He says, shifting awkwardly. "May I go now?" I watch as he gestures to the back door and she nods.
"Yeah." She says while he starts to walk away. Her voice contains hints of sadness, even I can pick up on.
He turns around for a moment and pauses.