Begin Again [Wattys 2013 Finalist]

Chapter 25

Peeta's POV

I know Delly went to talk to Katniss. Probably won't end well. They're not that close. And Gale's probably there. Maybe Katniss left with him. I see them kiss again and again and again. I tell myself I need to stop. I need to get over it. I really need to eat. I haven't had a flashback in a while. I've avoided them all. And I was just with Delly. I think I can trust myself to go down stairs. I clean up my paints and as I'm about to release the hatch to go downstairs, I hear Katniss calling my name. I freeze with my hand still on the hatch. I hear my heart beating as I wonder why she's here. She continues to talk, and what she says shocks me. She doesn't tell me she loves me, but she might as well have. And in her voice I hear her soul breaking. She admits she was jealous. She explains what happened with Gale. He's gone. And I was so wrong. She has the same motives as me. I don't want to hurt her. So I've stayed away. She's been doing the same thing. She says she needs me. Does she? I can hear it in her voice as she pleads with me to come down that she does. And I know it's written all over my face that I need her as well. I finally hear the door shut, but I can't let her leave. Not after what I've heard. I swallow my fear and run to my door. I pull it open and, through the rain, our eyes meet.