California Love

Chapter 16: I'll Stand By You

I wake up and the other side of the bed is cold. I roll out of bed and pull on a pair of sweatpants and go to walk down the stairs but I'm so tired that my foot catches on the top step and I go tumbling down to the bottom of the stairs. I let out a groan and raise my hand to my head as I lay on the floor.

"What was that?" I hear Rye ask. I hear footsteps and then a gasp. Annie, I think. "Peeta!" She calls.

I hear more footsteps, "Katniss!" I feel hands slide under me and pick me up. "Kat, are you ok? What happened?" Peeta asks worriedly as I sit curled on his lap.

I yawn and look at him, trying to keep my eyes open. "Fell...down stairs...so tired," I say in between another yawn.

"Annie, can you get me an icepack?" He asks and she nods and walks off.

I hear a scream and then hear Annie yell out, "UGH! BOYS!!!" She comes back with an icepack and her shoes are soaked. Oh yeah, I forgot about the water on the kitchen floor.

I curl into Peeta's chest as he holds the icepack to my head. Before I can say or do anything else, I have fallen asleep again.

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"Should we wake her?" I hear an excited voice say; Josh.

"Yeah! Okay, you get the water balloons and I'll get the bucket!" I hear another voice.

I hear footsteps and then hear Madge call from upstairs, "Who already packed the bathroom?" I hear Annie yell out, "Katniss was up packing half asleep at freaking 4am!" "Really?!" "Yes!"

I hear more footsteps and then Peeta's voice. "Guys, shut up please, she needs her sleep."

I smile, thankful for Peeta. Then everything seems dead silent and it sounds like the silence when you know something is about to happen.

Before I can open my eyes I get soaked in water, freezing cold water. I scream and sit bolt upright. My hair drips all over my face as all the guys except for Peeta errupt into laughter.

Peeta runs out of the kitchen at the sound of my scream, takes one look at me and then rounds on the boys.

"I told you to leave her alone! Guys, she is so tired! Leave her alone!" He yells at them. I feel tears in my eyes and I start to cry.

All the laughter has died down and Peeta walks over to me and scoops me up into his arms, carrying me upstairs. He takes me into the bedroom and sits me on the bed. He walks out and comes back in with a towel.

He takes his t-shirt off of me and then my sweatpants and then puts another one of his t-shirts from the drawers and pulls it on me.

He helps me into another pair of sweatpants and and helps me dry my hair.

I try to brush but just get angry and throw the brush across the room. Peeta goes and gets it and comes and kneels behind me and starts to brush my hair.

"Baby, what's going on?" He asks me as he runs the brush through my hair. I shrug and turn around so I'm sitting on his lap facing him.

"I don't know! I'm so tired and I can't think straight," I cry and he pulls me into a hug. He rubs my back in small circles as I feel my eyes start to droop.

"I can't sleep," I say tiredly, "I need to pack." I mumble into his shirt. "It's okay, everyone else has been helping. You did enough packing last night." He says and I nod.

I close my eyes and listen to the sound of Peeta's heartbeat where my head rests on his chest. And slowly I drift off to sleep.

"Katniss," I feel someone shake my shoulders.