Life Will Go On - sequel to Our Love Will Remain

Chapter 16

"Mommy, why are you and Daddy on TV?" she asks. I freeze, so I trust Peeta. He's the man with the words.

"Ivy, there is something we need to tell you. And it will be awful. You just have to listen carefully and let us explain." he says. I take his hand and Ivy climbs into his lap. She looks at him with a curious look and he picks up a strand of her hair.

"Once, many, many years ago, this place where we live now wasn't a nice place to live in. The little kids didn't get enough food and they were very thin. And there was an event every year called The Hunger Games. They weren't nice games, like the ones I play with you. They were horrible. Two kids were picked from every district to go to the Capitol and fight with the other kids. Only one of the children could come out alive." he says. Ivy looks at him with big eyes.

"But why did they have to die, Daddy? Little kids can't die." she says. Peeta sighs.

"Because the president was evil. He didn't care if kids died." he says, and then continues. "One day on the reaping, the day that you picked the boy and the girl who had to compete in The Hunger Games, Auntie Prim was picked."

"So did Auntie Prim die from the Hunger Games, Daddy?" she says and hits her hand in front of her hand. We haven't told her how Prim died, the only thing she knows is that I had a sister and she isn't here anymore.

"No. Mommy volunteered for her, Mommy said that she could go there instead of Aunt Prim." he says. Ivy looks completely devastated.

"Mommy, were you in The Hunger Games?" she asks and looks at me with a worried face. I motion her to continue listening to Peeta. I am not strong enough to tell her about these things. I will probably cry myself to sleep today anyway. Ivy turns to Peeta and he continues.

"And then, when they picked the boy's name, they picked me." he says. I gasp, and hide my face in Peeta's shirt. I feel a small tear roll down my cheek, but I force myself to not start crying. At least not yet. Peeta rubs my shoulder and kisses my head.

"Daddy! Did you go there too?" she says. I can tell she is upset. She never thought her parents went through this kind of stuff when they were only sixteen.

"Yes I did. But we both survived, they changed the rules so that we both could win. But then, the next year, we had to go there again. We both made it out, and Mommy was rescued, but I was..." he isn't able to continue. I won't make him go through the torture of telling about his experience in the Capitol. So I manage to continue.

"Daddy was kidnapped. The president didn't like us, he thought I had started a war. And I had. The people in the districts had started a war, because they didn't want to be poor and hungry again. I went to district thirteen. But Daddy wasn't there, and I knew they were torturing him. So I was about to get crazy. They rescued Daddy. But the evil president had made him hate me, and he tried to kill me." After that I get a lump in my throat. I look at Peeta. His eyes are cloudy. I grab his arms and pin him down to the couch. He doesn't try to push me away. I wait until he is okay again and he hugs me tight.

"I'm so sorry, Katniss." he says. I kiss him quickly and turn to Ivy again.

"We won the war, and the world became much better. But Aunt Prim died." I force myself to continue, for Ivy. "Daddy was cured and didn't want to kill me anymore. He started loving me again. And now we are here." I say. Ivy starts to cry. I hug her and kiss her hair. Peeta hugs us both and we all start crying. When we are done, laying there sobbing, I tell her something that she needs to know.

"Ivy, that's because Mommy screams at night. That's why Daddy gets daymares. The Hunger Games were so scary that we both still dream about it every night. And Daddy is still scared sometimes, because of what the president did to him." I say. Ivy sits up and rubs her eyes.

"Mommy, will the nightmares ever go away?" she asks. I shake my head.

"I don't think so. But things are good now. There will never be any Hunger Games anymore, and you don't have to be afraid. All that we told you is in the past, it won't happen again. And if you have anything that bothers you, you know that you can always talk to us, okay?" I say, and she nods. She yawns. I decide to get her into bed as quickly as possible, so that she won't have to wonder for any longer, I stand up with Ivy and Peeta follows. His eyes are red, and I bet mine looks like his. I tuck Ivy in and she falls asleep after a few verses of the Valley song. I get into bed with Peeta and we pull up the covers.

"Did I tell too much? Or was it too complicated for her to understand?" I ask him. He kisses my lips softly.

"No. We couldn't have done it in a easier way. We left out the most difficult parts and told her the most important things. And made her understand that she is safe now, that nothing can hurt her." he says, and I start crying a little. Then, suddenly, I want him desperately. I want his body desperately. My breaths get louder as I try to hold it in, but it doesn't go very well. I feel my hands slip to places on Peeta's body that makes him shiver and look at me.

"Do you want to?" he asks. I answer by throwing myself on top of him and starting kissing him fervently. I kiss him and he kisses me until we both are satisfied, and then we lay down and fall asleep. I wake up in the middle of the night to someone screaming. Ivy.