Chapter 5
Katniss P.O.V
It takes two weeks for both me and Peeta to fully recover. After twenty minutes of convincing from me this morning, Peeta finally decided to go back to work at his office in the mansion today. He's entirely convinced that the car wreck we had wasn't an accident, and there's no doubt in my mind that he's right,but he doesn't need to sit around all day and worry about me.
He's already called me five times this morning and he's only been gone an hour. I honestly can't complain about it too much though because I'm worried about him too, but it helps knowing about the added security measures at the mansion. Peeta even hired people to stay outside our house and stand guard each day until he gets home.
So here I am, sitting inside my house bored out of my mind, while total strangers stand outside my house with guns to make sure I'm safe.
This time when the phone rings, I jump a little since I was almost asleep. I smile as I go to answer the phone, already knowing who is calling.
"Peeta, I'm fine," I say, answering the phone. He lets out a quick laugh.
"I know," he says. "I was actually calling to tell you something."
"And what might that be?" I ask.
"First, has the mail came yet?"
"No, I don't think so," I say as I walk outside. I try to ignore the nurmber of "guards" looking at me as I check the mail box. "No, it hasn't," I inform Peeta as I walk back inside.
"Okay, well when it does come, please don't open anything," Peeta says.
"What if it's addressed to me?" I ask, not understanding what's going on.
"Especially if it's addressed to you."
"What do you mean especially if it's addressed to me?" I ask. The more Peeta talks, the more confused I am getting.
"Just don't open it. I'll explain later."
"I should have the right to open my own mail," I tease.
"Katniss," Peeta says in a pleading tone.
"Peeta, I'm joking," I say. Wow! Something has him really upset. "I promise I won't open anything we get in the mail." Peeta lets out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you," Peeta says. "Well, I better get back to work. I'll be home in a few hours though."
"Okay," I reply. "I love you Peeta."
"I love you too Katniss." And with that, the line goes dead.
The rest of the afternoon, I sit round and wonder why Peeta doesn't want me to open any mail. It doesn't make any sense to me. When the mail finally does come, I decide it would be too tempting to bring it in, so I leave it in the mailbox. When Peeta finally comes home, he has today's mail in his hands.
When I go to greet him at the front door, he looks at me and smiles.
"Too tempting?" Peeta asks as he waves the mail in front of me. I smile back at him.
"What was that all about anyways?" I ask. Peeta ignores me and changes the subject.
"What did you cook for dinner?" Peeta asks.
"Chicken and mashed potatoes," I reply. Before I can say anything else, Peeta speaks up again.
"Is it ready?" Peeta asks.
"Yes," I reply. "But Peeta, you changed the subject." He laughs a little.
"I know," he says. He puts the mail in his coat pocket and goes to hang his coat on his chair in the dining room. "I'll keep it there and the after dinner, we might talk about it."
"We will talk about it," I say smiling.
"We'll see," Peeta says as he kisses me. "Can we eat now?" I laugh as I shake my head at him.
"I guess we can," I say as I walk into the kitchen.
"Thank you," Peeta replies. The entire time we are eating, I'm thinking about the mail. I know it seems like a stupid thing to be thinking about, but I can't help it. I'm curious. I wish I knew what this is all about.
After supper, I take the dishes into the kitchen and wash them. When I return to the dining room, I find Peeta's coat still hanging on the back of his chair, but no Peeta. I look around to make sure the coast is clear before I make my way over to his coat.
I reach into the pocket and sure enough, the mail's still there. I take it out and go through it, finding only one envelope with my name on it. Just as I'm about to open it, his voice stops me.
"What are you looking for?" Peeta asks, making me jump. I look up to find him walking towards me with a forced smile on his face. I ignore him and continue opening the envelope. Peeta grabs for it, but I snatch it out of his reach just in time.
"This has my name on it. Therefore, it's mine," I tease.
"Katniss, please hand it to me," Peeta says, taking on a more serious look. He grabs for it again, but still doesn't get it.
"Why? It would be too easy for you if I just gave it to you," I say while laughing.
"All right. You've had your fun, now please hand it over," Peeta says in a pleading, yet somewhat demanding, tone.
"Sorry. I was just messing with you," I say as I hand the envelope back over to Peeta. "What's the big deal anyways? I mean, it's not like it's anything life-threatening."
At the words "life-threatening," Peeta tenses up. I start putting the pieces together and immediately regret teasing him about it.
"Oh," I say softly. "I'm sorry." Peeta shakes his head.
"You have nothing to be sorry about," he says as he comes over and wraps his arms around me. I got one in the mail at my office addressed to me and was afraid that whoever it is would send one here, too. I see that my fears came true."
"How do you know the one that I was about to open is also a threatening letter if you haven't even opened it yet?" I ask. Peeta lets go of me, walks over to his coat, comes back, and hands me another envelope with his name on it, along with the one I handed him.
"Because they're from the same person. They have to be," he says as I take both envelopes. "Look at them."
I see what he means. I look at the letters and find that the handwriting and the stationary are the same. Not to mention the lack of a return address on both of the envelopes.
As I read the letters, I find that they're basically the same. Threatening my life if Peeta doesn't give them what they want, but never saying what exactly it is that they want.
"I'm sorry," Peeta says as I'm finishing up the second letter. "I should have told you." I tuck the letters back in their envelopes and look up at him.
"How were you supposed to tell me?" I ask. "I mean, it's not like you could have just came out and told me someone was threatening my life. There wasn't really a subtle way that you could have told me."
"I still should've said something about it," Peeta says.
"Peeta," I say soflty, "you did the right thing. I promise I'm not mad at you for that. I just got anxious to see what you were hiding from me." A hint of a small, yet genuine smile starts playing across his lips.
"Impatient," he mumbles.
"What was that?" I ask.
"You heard me," Peeta teases as he walks over to me and wraps his arms back around me. I start laughing as I wrap my arms around his neck and rest my head on his chest.
"Promise me one thing," I say.
"What's that?" Peeta asks.
"Please don't worry yourself about this situation," I reply.
"I can't help it Kat," Peeta says. "I always worry about you."
"Well, I am one hundred percent sure that it's nothing."
"And I am one hundred percent sure that you're saying that just to make me feel better," Peeta retorts. I sigh.
"That's what I do best," I say. Peeta chuckles.
"It sure is," he says. "But I have to say, it doesn't work."
"And why is that?" I ask.
"Because I'm your husband," Peeta replies. "It's my job to protect and worry about you."
"Well, could you do a little bit less of the worrying?" I ask, causing Peeta to laugh.
"Katniss, I love you too much to not worry about loosing you."
"I know Peeta, and I love you too. But you're not going to loose me," I say as I look up at him. "I would never do that to you." Peeta's grip on me tightens a little.
"I know without any doubt that you'll never just walk out on me. That's not what worries me," Peeta explains. "What worries me is the thought of you being taken away from me. When you're being threatened like this, it only makes my worry grow."
"I know," I say softly. "But try not to worry about it all the time. Let's take this one day at a time. All right?"
"Okay," Peeta says as he leans down and kisses me.
"You know, you're going to make a great father someday," I point out.
"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you. When is that going to happen?" Peeta teases. I take a deep breath.
"Soon," I reply. "I promise I haven't forgotten what I told you the night I finally made my decision. I just need a little bit more time." Peeta smiles at me.
"As long as you keep your promise, you can take all the time that you need."
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: Truyen247.Pro