Always

Drowning

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Peeta's eyes narrow at my reaction and he instantly appraises Gale, his face hard, but relatively expressionless. However, his eyes tell a different story. A threat swirls within his blue irises, a dangerous glint. I've spent enough time with Peeta to know what this look means. In his mind, he's now labeled Gale as a possible threat, for no other reason than my slight discomfort at his presence. I lace our fingers together to try and give him some comfort. The close contact causes him to flinch, but he quickly returns to normal.

No one speaks as the elevator doors close and the car begins to descend. Peeta is still tense and alert, while Gale is the perfect picture of calm—such an odd twist of roles. However, just because Gale seems calm doesn't mean that I can't see through his faux air of indifference. It's obvious by the brief flicker of his eyes in my direction and the immediate thinning of his lips that he does not like Peeta out of the hospital.

I should have known Gale would choose this time to break our silence.

"Katniss."

"Gale."

"Peeta."

I stare at Peeta in confusion, and he just shrugs. "I didn't want to be left out of the conversation."

I roll my eyes. Way to break the tension, Peeta.

"So you're out of the hospital?" Gale asks conversationally. His tone is casual enough, but I sense that something's off. Apparently, Peeta does too, because he immediately becomes even more guarded.

"Yeah," he replies vaguely. "Can't say I'll miss the place."

"Makes sense," Gale nods. "Must have felt like just another cell."

My jaw clenches at Gale's remark, and my grip on Peeta's hand tightens. I know what Gale is doing. He's seeing how well Peeta has recovered. He's testing him.

"Compared to the last one it was much more comfortable, I'll give them that," Peeta retorts calmly, though his tone doesn't do anything to reassure me. "Even hospital beds are better than a cold, stone floor soaked with your own blood."

I flinch slightly at the visual that appears in my head, and Gale tries not to show his shock at Peeta's newly developed blunt demeanor. Despite his brief hesitation, Gale quickly collects himself and replies, "I bet. So you're going to be playing house with Katniss, now? Are you cleared for that?"

The implication of Gale's statement causes my eyes to narrow. Does he honestly think that Peeta would hurt me?

Peeta smiles humorlessly. "Yeah. Great, isn't it? I'm considered halfway sane and I still get to live with Katniss. You just keep loosing, that must really sting."

Gale's face hardens at Peeta's statement and suddenly the air in the elevator becomes so thick I would need a hacksaw to cut through it. "I'd be careful if I were you," Gale warns coldly.

Peeta seems to take Gale's veiled threat with a token of glee. "What are you going to do, Hawthorne?" he chides with amusement. "Hit me?"

"I'm thinking about it."

Peeta's eyes darken slightly, and the danger that radiates off him makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. "You could try, but it won't end well for you."

Suddenly the elevator dings and the doors open. "Looks like we're here. Come on." I pull on Peeta to try and get him to leave Gale. He turns to glare at Gale once again before the doors slam shut.

"Haymitch is in the compartment next door." I say pointing towards the door that reads room 126. "This is us." I motion to the grey door and smile at him. I wait for him to respond but instead he steps inside the meager room and immediately surveys his new surroundings. I hang back by the door, silently watching him as he analyzes the entire room. "No windows," he finally says.

"Well, we are underground."

"I hate it."

"Join the club."

I lean against the door, silently watching him stand in the middle of the room, his eyes still taking in the four walls surrounding him.

"There's not much, but I did bring you something from district twelve." I go to the top drawer of the dresser and pull out one of his shirts. "When you were gone, it was like I couldn't breathe. I needed something to remind me of you and so I took these with me."

He nods his head slowly and holds the shirt. "Thanks." He says quietly.

"Can I ask you something?" He looks up at me and I can see the barriers he has around himself. "A couple week ago, you mentioned how you felt as if a part of you died in that cell." I pause and watch as he braces himself for whatever I'm about to say. "Why did you keep fighting, why didn't you just give up?"

He runs his hands through his hair and looks anywhere but into my eyes. "I made you a promise. I told you that I would find you."

A deflated feeling fills my heart and I nod my head.

"I was drowning in that cell, but I knew that if I could come back to you. . . it would be like coming up for a breath of fresh air." He whispers and I choke down a sob. Quickly he stands and opens the door.

"Peeta," he turns towards me and looks me in the eyes. "Are you still drowning?"

He looks at the ground before returning his gaze to me. "I don't know." The door closes behind him and I let the tears fall as I hear his footsteps leave.

A.N. Okay guys so my chapters will probably be a little bit shorter now. And I'm really sorry about the wait, I've been so busy with school, my job, and then babysitting. Ugh life is really awful guys 😂 Anyways make sure you hit that star button!

Shoutout to 16gwitmer jocelyn_pauta and Peetasdistrict for winning the competition. Go check them out guys!