Life Will Go On - sequel to Our Love Will Remain

Chapter 23

First I feel angry at Katniss' mother for disturbing us in this moment. But she couldn't have known, and she said she'll come past noon. And it is past noon now. So I just suck it up and get up from the couch, answering the door. Katniss tries to fix herself up, smoothing her hair, and that's when I notice she's still not wearing anything else than a dressing gown. So she tells me to wait and tell her mother that she's getting dressed. I nod and open the door. There she is, Mrs. Everdeen.

"Oh, hello Peeta." she says.

"Hi Mrs. Everdeen. Katniss is just getting dressed, she will be here soon." I say and step aside so that she can enter the house. She looks around.

"Well, things haven't really changed much. Oh! Where's the little one?" she says with an excited voice.I walk over to the crib Adrian is lying in and I kneel down, carefully lifting him up in my arms.

"Hey." I say with a low voice and straighten up. I can't describe how much I love my son. I can't describe how much I love Ivy. And I can't describe how much I love Katniss. They are the only ones who I really love now. Before, when my family and friends still lived, there were a few more. But now, there's only my own family, my children and my wife. I turn around, and Mrs. Everdeen gasps a little.

"Oh, he's so beautiful." she says, and I walk up to her.

"Isn't he? He's perfect." I say, and she strokes his cheek with a finger. We go and sit down by the table, because I know that Katniss probably is taking a shower right now, and I offer her mother a cup of coffee. She accepts, and I hand her Adrian while I start making it. Twenty minutes pass, and Katniss is still not here. I decide to go to check on Ivy and tell her Granny is here, and after that go and see what's taking so long. I find Ivy still on the floor, playing with her toys.

"Ivy, Granny's here. Why don't you go and say hello? Your brother is there, too." I tell her. Her eyes twinkle when I mention Adrian, and she is downstairs in no time. I hear faint "You've grown so much" and "I'm so happy to see you"s when I enter our bedroom. I don't find her there or in the closet, but the shower is on so I walk into the bathroom. I freeze in shock when I see her. She is sitting on the floor in front of the sink, her head between her legs, sobbing and shaking uncontrollably. I see that the cupboard is open, and something peeks out from a box on the top shelf. A blue ribbon. I immediately kneel down in front of Katniss and pick her up, carrying her into our bedroom. I don't let go of her until I go back in to turn off the shower, and then I go straight back to her, pulling the sheets up and putting my arms around her trembling body. She sobs for a while, but when she has curled up against me and I have hugged her even tighter, she is slowly starting to calm down. When the sobs have stopped, I break away from her enough to reach her lips, and I press mine to them gently, only once. She whimpers a little and puts her hands behind my neck, pulling me into another kiss. But this isn't only a kiss. I feel like she is trying to go too far, or too far for this moment. Her mother is waiting downstairs and I don't know what I would do if she caught us. She would probably leave, and Ivy would be really upset. So even though it hurts me incredibly to break away when Katniss needs me so much, I do. When she tries to contunue, I stop her.

"Katniss, I'm sorry, but we can't do this now. Your mother is waiting downstairs." I tell her, and she looks down. "We should go down now." I say, getting up.

"No! I can't go there, I just can't-" she says, not able to continue. I know she is thinking about Prim now, and I know there's nothing I can do about that. She has to come there. Or her mother will come here. She'll have to meet her anyway. I try to be nice, or Katniss will just break down again.

"Look, Katniss, I'm really sorry, but you have to come. If you don't, she'll just wonder and come here, and I know Ivy wants to see you too. And Adrian will become hungry, and I can't feed him. I'm sorry." I say. She looks furious.