Family on Fire (book 2 in "toast")

Chapter 19

PEETA'S POV

Katniss picks Bare up and carries him to the bathroom. I wait until she is out of sight and run out the door

"River! River! River!" i run into the yard yelling for him, he doesn't come

River always comes back, he barely ever leaves but when he does, he comes back the first time you call his name. Who did this?

I thrash angrily around the porch, kicking and throwing things

The anger in me is so crippling, i strain my hands, trying to keep for banging on the wall. I feel like something inside me is about to explode, i've never felt this way, not authentically

Just as i'm about slam the door, i see a figure running across the yard

"Haymitch?"

"Peeta!" he runs out from behind the fence and along prances a muddy pup

"Where did you find him?!" i grab River's collar to keep him from storming the house with his muddy paws

"There was a group of boys, 4 of them, they had River by the collar. He was barking and trying to get away, he could have if he really wanted to, but River wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone a group of 10 year old kids"

My jaw clenches. They stole Bare's dog, beat him up and threw him into the mud? I'm going to find these kids in when i do-

My thoughts are interrupted by Haymitch

"Peeta don't"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not stupid Peeta, i've known you for longer than you've probably preferred, i know true anger and hatred when i see it. They took River, yes, but they're just kids-"

"They also beta up Bare! There are just kids, rotten kids, i wouldn't be surprised if they were Snow's grandkids!"

"Peeta calm down"

I storm into the house, up the long staircase and into the bathroom

"Bare, who were those kids" Katniss gives me a questioning look

Bare is sitting on the counter, Katniss cleaned him up, revealing more cuts and bruises than we saw before

"I can't tell you" Bare answers, he starts to cry

"Why not?!"

"Peeta!" Katniss grabs my arm and leads me into the hallway

"What the heck Peeta? Stop yelling at him!"

"But Katni-"

"I'm not finished, you might be angry with whoever did this to him, but you're making it a whole lot worse! I thought i was the irrational one, where did all this come from?"

"I- I don't know, my anger was all so fake, so genetically modified, i forgot what it feels like to really be angry. I guess some of it was real when i was hijacked, i don't know" Katniss begins to cry

"Hey Katniss, your mood certainly changed quickly"

"I'm sorry... i just never thought something like this would happen! do you realize how young his for bullies? Why would anyone do this?" i stroke her hair and try to calm her down

Just what i need, a hysterical wife, a child that won't tell me what happened and a- OAKLEY

I let go of Katniss and run down the stairs

I find Oakley standing on the kitchen counter, jar of cookies spilled into the floor and he's stuffing his face

"Oakley no!"

"You said i could have one!" he says with his mouth full

"I said you could have ONE, meaning a single a cookie"

I grab him off the counter and bring him upstairs, Katniss gasps when she sees his chocolate covered face

She wipes him up and lays him in his bed

"No mommy!" he screams, throwing himself onto the mattress in a dramatic flop

"Yes Oakley, you know what you did was bad" then she shuts the door and walks away, Oakley screaming bloody murder behind us

I walk into the bathroom and pull Bare into a hug

"I'm sorry" he just holds tighter and cries

"Daddy, don't leave me again" he whimpers

'Daddy' he only calls me that when he's afraid. Its like he retreats to the things he did/said when he was little

"Bare, please tell me who did this" he pulls away and looks at me, wiping the tear from his face

"Jasper Hawthorne"

Oof, Oakley has a serious case of middle child syndrome. The forgotten one, sometimes a good thing sometimes a bad thing. I'm a middle child and it's a hard knock life

k so i know what ur thinking; "another cheezy 'Gale's kids bully Katniss and Peeta's kids' story" and im here to tell you; yeah pretty much

look im sorry for the terribel writing, ive kinda lost my motivatioon to write this story

im really hoping to make it through this book without losing interest, cause i wanna at least finsih it (even if the ending sucks)

you guys are the greates, thank yo for over a half thousand read on "toast'!!!