"Yes, Miss Everdeen. I own it all and I built this company from the ground up. I tend for it to stay the most successful," he leans close to my ear, his breathe tickling down my neck. "But it can be very risky and even dangerous."
"How so?" I questi...
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"Katniss, please do not hate me once I explain this to you." Katniss stared into her mothers eyes. They were begging for answers. "You had another older brother. Kale's twin brother named Kaeden. After I had your brothers, the nurse that was watching over them fell asleep and that's when someone came in and took Kaeden. I was devastated, so was your father. Our hearts hurt so bad and we tried so hard to find him, but the police gave up. They marked it as a cold case. Kaeden must've taken up our relatives last names to at least have some part of us, but I don't understand why he never came around."
Paula was hysterical, her tears streaming down her cheeks like a quick river and sobs racked her entire body. Katniss held on to her mother, her own tears falling from her eyes. She held her mother tight in her arms, gently rubbing circles in her back as she let out all of her emotions. She whispered soothing words to her even though she felt her own heart break for her long lost brother. It finally hit her that at the Mellark offices you have to take a DNA test. Peeta has access to his files. "Mom, I'm going to go find out if it's him and I'll talk with him."
"Thank you Katniss, thank you so much. I'm so sorry for keeping this a secret, it was just too much to handle and bring up especially if we didn't even know if he was dead or alive." The sadness was strong in her mothers voice. Although Katniss was a tad bit angry at her mother, she couldn't help but feel for her mom. She lost a child, of course that would be hard to bring up. She hugged her mother goodbye once more and exited the room. She hugged her younger sisters, telling them to take care of their mother and that she'll visit soon. She got into her car, slamming the door as she dialed Peeta's number on her car. She drove, her eyes fixed on the road ahead and her tears still dripping down. Peeta answered after the second ring, "Hello baby, I've missed your voice."
"Hey honey, I - uh do you have the files for Kaeden Russo, his application things?" she asked, sniffling her nose a bit. Peeta tensed in his office chair, leaning forward to his desk.
"I'll find it, what's wrong? What did he do?" The sudden panic filled in his voice. Normally Peeta didn't panic about things except when it involved Katniss. He could never live without her.
"I - I think he's my brother Peeta," she stuttered, finally breaking down in a fit of tears. Peeta clenched his jaw, starting the tea machine and hunting through his employees files. Tea always helped calm Katniss also, so of course he was going to have a cup ready for her.
"Just come over to my office, I'm finding the file now and then we can bring him in to discuss the matter." He hated to hear his Katniss so sad and upset. She was frustrated that she never knew about him, but she was always frustrated that he never once reached out to her.
"Already on my way, I'm almost there. I love you." She flicked the tears off of her face, pulling into the VIP parking garage.
"I love you, be careful. I'll meet you at the entrance," he hung up as he closed the elevator quickly. She shut her car door, locking it carefully. She hurriedly plodded into the streets, walking up to the entrance. Peeta left the elevator, storming into the lobby and walking out the door. All eyes were on him. Katniss met him halfway up the steps. She grabbed his face briefly, planting a loving kiss on his lips. She snatched his hand and walked inside rather fast. Once they made it to his office, she sat criss-cross on the couch as Peeta fixed her tea and grabbed the file. He walked over, placing a blanket over her and handing her the mug of tea. He held the file that held everything in his hands. "Do you want to see it?"
She nodded her head. He handed her the file and she opened it. It revealed everything, at least she thought. He really was her brother. "He's my brother."
"I don't know how I didn't catch that before. I swore I looked over this so many times!" Peeta exclaimed, running his hands through his messy blonde hair. Katniss scratched his back and kissed his shoulder, leaving her lips to rest against his bicep.
"It's okay Peeta, I'm just glad you're here with me now when I open this. It means a lot to me," she mumbled into his shoulder. Her eyes were trained to the ground, she didn't know what her next move might be. Peeta held on to her hands that were grasping his muscular arm and he kissed the top of her head.
"Do you want to be in here when I call him in?" he questioned, asking for her safety and the baby's safety. Too much stress could be bad for the little one she was carrying. She nodded her head as he whipped out his phone and dialed Thresh's number. With the few words he spoke, he told him of his commands to bring Kaeden up. They stayed silence in each other's grasp, Katniss was hanging on to Peeta for dear life. Her body was trembling as she began to think about what his reaction would be. A knock on the large office door interrupted her thinking. "Come in."
The door swung open slightly, shutting carefully. She couldn't move her eyes up to look at him, she was too nervous. Peeta gave her a quick squeeze. She could hear his footsteps pounding against the floor, coming closer and closer to them. She saw his shoes, a sleek black pair of dress shoes. He wore his security attire, she could tell by the pants and the radio he switched off hooked in his pocket. "Mr. Mellark, you wanted me to meet you in your office sir. I didn't know we'd have company."
"Please sit across from us Mr. Russo," Peeta stated, glancing down at his wife. She was still nervous. She slowly looked up and met those same grey eyes. Identical to hers. "Do you have any idea why you're here?"
"No sir," Kaeden shifted in his seat uncomfortably. His eyes took a glimpse at Katniss and quickly averted back to Peeta. "I've been doing my job right, I believe."
"That's not why you're here," Katniss spoke, her voice surprising herself. She cleared her throat after it had sounded raspy. "Kaeden Everdeen. That's your real name, isn't it?"
"I don't know what you're talking about Mrs -"
"You know exactly what I am talking about. I have the DNA paper right here!" she shouted but quickly regained her senses and composed herself. She noticed his tense motions as his eyes flickered back and forth between the two of them. "Now I am going to ask you one more time, your real name is Kaeden Everdeen right?"
"Yes. I, I'm your brother Katniss," he gulped as he confessed. "I saw you on television and everyone kept telling me I looked like you. I did a DNA test and found out, so I found the office where Mr. Mellark here works at and knew you'd be here too. I just wanted to see you."
"When were you going to tell me?" she asked in a hushed tone, her voice slowly began to break. Kaeden looked to his lap, shaking his head slightly while ruffling his hair.
"Soon, I promise. Just not at the moment, I was trying to think of a way to tell you," he explained. Katniss looked into his eyes for any signal that he was lying. If he was Everdeen - that meant he wasn't the best at lying. He seemed to be truthful. Katniss nodded and stood. Peeta stood alongside her, their hands still hanging tightly on to one another.
"Meet us at the Italian restaurant down the street for dinner," Katniss replied to him in a more demanding tone than a questioning tone. She handed him her card which held her number on it. "Then maybe you can meet our other siblings and mother another day."
"Thank you Mrs. Mellark, this truly means a lot. I was scared you were going to hate me," he chuckled as he stood up.
"Please, call me Katniss. I am your baby sister you know," she stated this with a true smile growing on her face. "How could I hate my own blood? I could never."
"I'll see you both tonight for dinner," his dimples were displayed as he began to walk out. As he reached the door, he turned on his heel giving her a smirk. "Oh and sis, congrats on the baby."
+ + + woah, two chapters in one night, who is she? so big reveal, Kaeden is Katniss' brother! anybody see that coming? i feel like somethings fishy about him though, guess we'll just have to find out ;)
thank you all so much you are so loved bye tributes -xoxo
