What if?
What if I should tell my mother about the wedding? What if that is a terrible idea? But what if she finds out, and Gale, what will he have to say about all of this? What if I need to stop thinking of the negative and focus on the positive that is that I am getting married?
What if? What if? What if...
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I lie awake early in the morning, as the sun rises all of these questions whirl around in my mind. I twist the ring around my finger lightly, the diamond glistening in the sunlight every now and then. I hear the birds chirping outside, I hear the rustling of the leaves clutching their branches. I take in these sounds for a while, I take in all that has happened and all that is about to happen. Sophie going so soon, getting engaged. It's all coming so quickly upon me its so hard to process. I feel Peeta stirring beside me and a few seconds later he is facing me, his eyes squinted from the light. He yawns before saying softly
"Good morning"
I reply
"Good morning"
There is silence for a moment as his eyes lay on the ring on my finger and soon a smile dances across his lips. His hand slips into mine and I feel an invisible strength in the air lift my eyes to his as he says
"Last night.... you saying yes was all I've ever wanted"
I smile, a feeling of warmth bursting in my chest. I tell him
"All I want is for you to stay with me always, and getting married is like making that promise for everyone to see, for everyone to know how true your love is..."
He asks me
"And is that what you want?"
I nod
"I just want you no matter what"
His smile grows and in a matter of seconds he has sealed my words with a kiss.
After breakfast, once we are changed we head over to Haymitch and Effie's not only to break the news but to collect Sophie who ended up staying the night. I make a mental note to keep my hands in my pockets to hide the ring until we tell them. When we go inside Sophie jumps on top of me hugging me tightly yet quickly before greeting Peeta with the same. After this we go inside and sit down with Haymitch and Effie who offer us a cup of tea. I use my hand without the ring to hold my cup as I sit beside Peeta, Haymitch and Effie on the other side of the table. I first of all thank Haymitch and Effie for the gift and Effie goes on to explain she loved making it. Suddenly I feel Peeta's hand slip into mine under the table, giving me a soft squeeze as if to say "Lets tell them". I look at him and he gives me a questioning look. I pause for a moment before giving a small nod and a smile. Haymitch and Effie notice this immediately, both confused as Effie asks
"What's going on?"
Peeta smiles and looks at me as I say
"We have some news"
Haymitch and Effie glance at each other before looking back at us, anxious. There is a pause until Peeta says happily
"We're getting married!"
Effie gasps with joy, clapping her hands together. Haymitch grins as they both stand up and give us hugs and words of congratulations. When Haymitch comes over to Peeta I hear him say
"Finally real huh?"
I overhear his reply
"Yeah, yeah it is"
Effie starts rambling on about the wedding once we've sat down again. For this I tune out. To me that's not what the day is about. It's not about how I look, what I wear, where we are. What matters is where we are married and who I am married to. All I need is Peeta. I could be married into rags and I wouldn't care. On that day it won't make a difference where we are, or what we're wearing, or when it is. All we need is each other and our love. All we need is us.
When we arrive home Sophie immediately goes to the art room, Peeta soon follows. I then sit down alone on the living room couch and close my eyes, dreaming of the future for once with hope rather than with fear.
Peeta's POV
When I enter the art room Sophie is sitting down at her small desk, her crayons sprawled across it as she draws. I smile and kneel before her. I ask her
"What are you doing?"
She doesn't look up as she replies sweetly
"Working"
I laugh and ask
"Working on what?"
She replies
"A dawing"
Her pronunciation isn't great but is understandable. I sit on the couch across the room and watch her. Take in everything that is about to happen, letting her go, getting married. It's all just like a sudden wave, engulfing me into this sudden moment of being completely frozen and overwhelmed. It's a feeling that though hasn't been felt in a long time, almost feels familiar. She's truly like our daughter, for the past 3 years of my life she has been with us and now all of a sudden she won't be. I just don't know how I'm going to be able to let her go, not knowing if we'll ever even see her again.
Katniss decides to put Sophie to bed that night. As I make my way up the stairs toward our bedroom I stop, hearing Sophie and Katniss and not being able to help but listen. I hear Katniss laughing softly until Sophie speaks again
"And I fell too! I fell on the floor like bang!"
Katniss gasps dramatically and asks
"Were you crying?"
She makes a 'mmm' noise and I'm almost sure she shows Katniss her injury. I peek in and see that I'm right. Katniss says to her
"Well you know what? That just makes you stronger. Every time you fall, every time you cry or hurt yourself doesn't mean your a baby, or your weak. It means you strong, it makes you stronger in here"
Katniss places Sophie's hand over her heart. I smile, feel a rush of happiness within me. Katniss' words are so heart filled and powerful and she doesn't even realise it. She has always have a powerful and moving voice, and now she has been using it to teach this little girl things to help her once she has left us. I wait for a few minutes until Katniss leaves the room after bidding Sophie goodnight. She looks startled at first, surprised to see me but within a second she asks
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Because I love you"
She laughs a little and glances at the ground before saying
"Mellark I love you too but that was the cheesiest answer ever"
She plants a kiss on my cheek before walking past. That night I stay awake longer than usual and watch her sleep, I find it comforting and reassuring. Her ring glistens in the moonlight, reminding me of our future. That the ring that lays on her finger represents s a tight circle around us, joining us together in love for the rest of our lives. The lives we've deserved from the beginning, the lives that grant us happiness, love and each other no matter what.
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Hey guys! Hope you liked this, sorry took so long to publish I'm at a festival! Just so you all know Sophie's parents are coming around chapter 97 or chapter 98! I know you've all been wondering so I said I'd tell you! Anyway thanks so much for reading and if you enjoyed leave a comment and vote! Thanks so so much for reading!
Em is out!
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WORD COUNT: 1307