I Love You To The Moon And Back

Chapter 36: The slap

Katniss P.O.V.

I'm at Finnicks, and we're watching a movie. Finnick and I are the best with movies. We give our commentary out loud and we laugh because of our stupid movie jokes.

At the end of it, I have a stomachache from laughing.
'So, Kitty, how's the situation with Peeta?' Finnick asks suddenly. I frown at him. 'What situation?' I ask. He smiles.
'The situation in the bedroom', he says with a low voice. I roll my eyes and slap him on the shoulder.
'None of your business!' I yell in defense. Finnick starts to laugh.
'So I guess you didn't do it yet, looking at your attitude', he says. I start to blush.

'Why do you even ask?' I ask him. He shrugs. 'Dunno, just wondering', he says. I decide to switch things up.
'Did you already ask Annie for prom?' I ask. He starts to blush. What? Finnick blushes? What did Annie do to him?

'Not yet', he mumbles. I frown at him. 'Why?' He shrugs again. 'I planned to, but I... Eh... Didn't dare to...', he says. My eyes widen and my jaw drops.
I place my hands on his face, trying to pull the mask off his face.
'Who are you? And what did you do to my Finnick?' I ask, laughing. He slaps my hands off his face.
'Zip it, Kat. I'm going to, I promise', he says. I laugh hard. 'Oh, Finnick', I say. He rolls his eyes.

After that, I go home.
I sit on the couch and take my phone out. I have to call her.
'Hello?' I hear.
'Hey, little duck', I say, smiling.
'Katniss!' Prim yells.
'How are you doing?' I ask. 'Good. It's a little boring without you home', she says.
'It's okay, Primmy. I miss you too', I say. She sighs. 'How's Mathew?' she asks. My heart stops beating for a moment. She doesn't know yet... Should I tell her? Or should I lie to her? I never hide secrets from my little sister.
'Eh... He's okay', I say. She's quiet for a moment. 'Katniss, what's wrong?' she asks. Now I'm quiet.
'Prim... I'll explain everything to you, just not now', I say.
'Mom and Plutarch aren't here, you can tell me', she says. I sigh. I can't go up against my sister.
'Okay, Prim, but you have to keep it a secret', I say soft. She makes a agreeable sound.
'I'm not in New York anymore. I'm with Peeta, in his beachhouse. I'm safe, as long as mom doesn't know where I am', I say. I hear Prim gasp.

'So... You mean you're in town?' she asks. 'Yeah.' She screams happily.
'Easy, Prim', I say, laughing. 'Can I visit you?' she asks. I sigh out of sadness now.
'No, Prim. Not yet. That wouldn't be safe', I say. She sighs. 'Okay.'

I talk with her for a while and then I hang up, because I have to get my things together for the sleepover.
I'll pick up Peeta at the bakery at 5. It's 04:45. I could go now. I put on my coat and close the door behind me. I walk up to the bakery and open the door. Just as I'm in, I hear a female voice yell. 

'You useless piece of shit! You're absolute worthless!' she yells. Who is that? Why is she talking like that? Wait a minute... I sneak up the the kitchen door and listen. I hear a hard bang and I get a stomachache. I open the door just a little bit and see a little woman standing with back to me, and a roling pin in her hand. I don't see her face, but I know who it is... 

She raises the rolling pin, and she moves a little so I can see who she is talking to. She about to... 

'No!' I yell quickly and I run into the kitchen and take the blow for the slap she was about to give the boy behind me. I fall down to the ground and my jaw stings. 'No, Katniss!' the boy yells as he runs to me. I look at his eyes and see the clear blue colour. 
'Katniss... How could you do that?' Peeta asks me. 'I don't want you to get hurt', I say. Peeta stikes away a strand of hair. 'But now you're hurt', he says. 'Get up, boy, I wasn't finished', Peetas mom says. Peeta looks at her. 'Are you crazy? Look what you've done!' he yells. The woman looks at me. 

'She derserved that', she says. Peeta stands up and I try to sit up. My jaw doesn't feel good, but I can handle it. 'No, she didn't. You were beating me, she didn't do anything', Peeta says. 'Come on, it wasn't even a hard one. That little whore isn't used to anything', Peetas mom says. I see the colour of Peetas eyes change. 'Don't you dare call her that again', he says. His mom looks devilishly at him. 

'You want to take the blow for her? I don't care!' she says. And just then, Peeta gets another one. 

'No!' I scream, through my pain. I hear some hard footsteps and then there's a man and two boys standing in the kitchen. 'What the hell is happening here?' the man asks. That must be Peetas dad. And the two boys are probably his brothers. The man runs up to me and helps me to stand up straight. The two boys run to Peeta and helps him up. The man looks at my jaw. 
'Nothing broken. It'll sting for a while but I promise, you won't see a thing of it once it's healed', he says. I nod. I'm much more worried about Peeta. I walk up to him. 

'Are you okay?' I ask. He looks at me. 'I think I could ask you the same question', he says. His mom is still in the room, and I don't like the feeling of me standing with my back towards her, so I turn around. Peetas dad is talking to her, and after a while she leaves the room. 

'I promise you, son, you won't be here when she's here, and vice versa', he says. Peeta nods. 'That woman is crazy', he mumbles. Then his focus is on me again. 

'Sure you're okay?' he asks, and I nod. 'Maybe you can use the occasion to introduce us?' one of the boys says. Peeta can force a little smile on his face. 'Katniss, this is Luke, my oldest brother, and Jake, the asshole of the family', Peeta says to me. 'Brothers, this Katniss', he continues. I smile to the boys. 'And I'm Philip', Peetas dad says. He shakes my hand. 'I'm sorry about my wife. I really am', he says. I hold up my shoulders. 'It's okay', I say. I look at Peeta. I know he doesn't agree with me. He doesn't even look at me. 'We don't want you to be scared of coming here', Philip says. I smile. 'I'm not. I'm really not', I say. Philip nods. He walks out, leaving me and Peeta with his brothers. 

'So, Peeta, I guess you don't have such a bad taste after all', Jake teases. I laugh but Peeta just slaps him om the arm. 'Asshole', he mumbles. Jake laughs and takes Luke out of the room with him. I look at Peeta. 

'I think we have to go to Annie', I say. Peeta nods and starts walking. But he walks ahead of me. In the car he doesn't say anything. I try to make a conversation but he doesn't say anything other than 'mm'. 

When we're at Annies house, we get out of the car. Peeta wants to walk towards the door, but I stop him. 

'Peeta, what's wrong?' I ask him. I know it's a dumb question, because he just got beaten up, but there's something else. 
'I'm fine', he says, still not looking at me. 'Why are you ignoring me?' I ask. He sighs. 'I'm not. I'm just trying to ignore your bruise', he says. I stare at him. The bruise I got because of his mom. I think it starts to appear now. 
'I don't really feel it. Please, don't worry', I say. He finally looks at me. 'Don't worry? My mother gave you a slap with a rolling pin! And that was my fault', he says. I step closer to him. 'No, no, Peeta. It wasn't your fault. You didn't even know I was there', I say. He's quiet for a moment. 
'I could've at least try to help you', he mumbles. I sigh. 'You can help me by not worrying and just be kind and sweet to me', I say smiling, trying to convince him. He finaly shows me a real smile, the smile I love so much. 

'Then I think I should start with that', he says and he steps closer to me. He gently kisses my cheek. The one without the bruise. 'Finally', I say, smiling. I place my forehead onto his and he smiles. 'Let's go', I say and he nods. We push the door bell and wait for Annie to open up. 

*************

Oh no! Peetas mom hit Katniss! And what about Finnick and Annie? And the 'bedsituation' with Katniss and Peeta? Let me know what you want to read! 
Love, -xxx-