Mockingjay

pleased with. “The best thing about the Capitol basically ignoring Twelve all these years is that you people still have a little spontaneity. The audience eats that up. Like when Peeta announced he was in love with you or you did the trick with the berries. Makes for good television.”
    I wish I could meet with Peeta privately. But the audience of doctors has assembled behind the one-way glass, clipboards ready, pens poised. When Haymitch gives me the okay in my earpiece, I slowly open the door.
    Those blue eyes lock on me instantly. He’s got three restraints on each arm, and a tube that can dispense a knockout drug just in case he loses control. He doesn’t fight to free himself, though, only observes me with the wary look of someone who still hasn’t ruled out that he’s in the presence of a mutt. I walk over until I’m standing about a yard from the bed. There’s nothing to do with my hands, so I cross my arms protectively over my ribs before I speak. “Hey.”
    “Hey,” he responds. It’s like his voice, almost his voice, except there’s something new in it. An edge of suspicion and reproach.
    “Haymitch said you wanted to talk to me,” I say.
    “Look at you, for starters.” It’s like he’s waiting for me to transform into a hybrid drooling wolf right before his eyes. He stares so long I find myself casting furtive glances at the one-way glass, hoping for some direction from Haymitch, but my earpiece stays silent. “You’re not very big, are you? Or particularly pretty?”
    I know he’s been through hell and back, and yet somehow the observation rubs me the wrong way. “Well, you’ve looked better.”
    Haymitch’s advice to back off gets muffled by Peeta’s laughter. “And not even remotely nice. To say that to me after all I’ve been through.”
    “Yeah. We’ve all been through a lot. And you’re the one who was known for being nice. Not me.” I’m doing everything wrong. I don’t know why I feel so defensive. He’s been tortured! He’s been hijacked! What’s wrong with me? Suddenly, I think I might start screaming at him — I’m not even sure about what — so I decide to get out of there. “Look, I don’t feel so well. Maybe I’ll drop by tomorrow.”
    I’ve just reached the door when his voice stops me. “Katniss. I remember about the bread.”
    The bread. Our one moment of real connection before the Hunger Games.
    “They showed you the tape of me talking about it,” I say.
    “No. Is there a tape of you talking about it? Why didn’t the Capitol use it against me?” he asks.
    “I made it the day you were rescued,” I answer. The pain in my chest wraps around my ribs like a vise. The dancing was a mistake. “So what do you remember?”
    “You. In the rain,” he says softly. “Digging in our trash bins. Burning the bread. My mother hitting me. Taking the bread out for the pig but then giving it to you instead.”
    “That’s it. That’s what happened,” I say. “The next day, after school, I wanted to thank you. But I didn’t know how.”
    “We were outside at the end of the day. I tried to catch your eye. You looked away. And then . . . for some reason, I think you picked a dandelion.” I nod. He does remember. I have never spoken about that moment aloud. “I must have loved you a lot.”
    “You did.” My voice catches and I pretend to cough.
    “And did you love me?” he asks.
    I keep my eyes on the tiled floor. “Everyone says I did. Everyone says that’s why Snow had you tortured. To break me.”
    “That’s not an answer,” he tells me. “I don’t know what to think when they show me some of the tapes. In that first arena, it looked like you tried to kill me with those tracker jackers.”
    “I was trying to kill all of you,” I say. “You had me treed.”
    “Later, there’s a lot of kissing. Didn’t seem very genuine on your part. Did you like kissing me?” he asks.
    “Sometimes,” I admit. “You know people are watching us now?”
    “I know. What about Gale?” he continues.
    My anger’s returning. I don’t care about his recovery — this isn’t the business of the people behind the glass. “He’s not a bad kisser either,” I say shortly.
    “And it was okay with both of us? You kissing the other?” he asks.
    “No. It wasn’t okay with either of you. But I wasn’t asking your permission,” I tell him.
    Peeta laughs again, coldly, dismissively. “Well, you’re a piece of work, aren’t you?”
    Haymitch