Chapter Text
“Hey, Darius,” I say to my landlord over the phone. “We still don’t have any water pressure today. What’s going on?”
“Sorry, Katniss,” he replies. “I can’t get a plumber out until after the holidays. Do you want me to send DJ up to have a look?”
Johanna comes out of her room with her boots in her hand. She plops down on the sofa to put them on, so I hold up a finger to let her know I’ll just be a minute longer.
“Does DJ know anything about plumbing?”
“No, but he’s always looking for an excuse to see you, Katniss,” he says with a chuckle.
“No thanks, then. I guess we’ll have to figure something out.”
“I’m really sorry, Katniss. I’ll only charge you half rent this month for the trouble,” he tells me.
“Okay, thanks, Darius,” I mumble, about to hang up. Half rent is great. I could really use the extra money, but I’d give that up for running water. Bottled water is too expensive, let alone not practical for some things.
“Merry Christmas to you and Johanna,” he replies.
“Merry Christmas to you and DJ,” I tell him half-heartedly before hanging up.
“So, no water until after the new year,” I tell Johanna as she hands me my coat. “What are we going to do for a whole week?”
Johanna throws the strap of her guitar case over her shoulder, her coat already buttoned up to her chin.
We both pull knit hats over our heads, gotta dress for Panem winters. We’re heading out the door before she answers my question. “After we’re done tonight, I’m staying with Blight for the week, so I’m good.”
We walk down the stairs toward the building exit. We have to pass the landlord’s office and I pray that DJ doesn’t hear us go by.
I hold my breath as we pass the door. After we’re what I think is a safe distance away, I whisper, “Didn’t you just meet him last weekend?”
“Yes, and I rocked his world,” Johanna says loudly, shimmying her shoulders. “He thinks he’s in love with me, so I’ll be sitting in the lap of luxury all week, or at least I’ll be sitting in Blight’s lap.” She chuckles at her own joke. “You gotta find someone to spend the week with too.”
“Johanna,” I whisper harshly, hoping DJ didn’t hear her.
No such luck.
“Hey, ladies,” a smarmy voice calls out behind us.
“Hey, DJ. We’re on our way out,” I say over my shoulder. I try pushing Johanna toward the door, so we can get away, but she’s not budging. She enjoys torturing me. I don’t know why I put up with her.
“Hey, DJ,” Johanna says, swaying her hips as she walks back to him. “Katniss and I were just talking about where we’re going to stay while the water is out.” She starts circling him, tracing her finger across his chest as she goes. “I’m all set, but our Katniss here needs somewhere to stay. Do you have any ideas?”
“Oh, I have some ideas,” he says with a smirk, nodding his head. He’s leaning against the doorframe in what he must think is a seductive pose. With his lips pursed and one eyebrow raised he looks me up and down.
I brace for what he’s about to say, but he seems to struggle.
“Nice uh, uh…” he trails off, and I raise my eyebrows, wondering what he could be trying to say.
“I like your coat,” he blurts.
Johanna barks out a laugh.
“Thanks, it was my dad’s,” I deadpan. “See ya, DJ.”
Johanna and I continue on our way out into the cold.
It’s a short walk to the train station. Luckily, our usual spot is open. Christmas eve should be a good haul. Holiday travelers usually tip well.
Johanna opens her guitar case and we both toss in a few ones. Can’t start the night with an empty case. No one ever seems to want to be the first to give. After warming up, we start into some popular Christmas carols.
Some people stop and watch for a bit, while others just pass on by as if we aren’t even here.
Johanna strums her guitar as I sing. I look out into the holiday crowd, people rushing off to visit family and friends, and see some of our regular commuters who take the train into the city every day. There’s one regular in particular I’m hoping to see.
Toward the end of our set, Johanna bumps her elbow into my side in the middle of “Let it Snow” and tilts her head to the side. I look over, and it doesn’t take long to find him as he stands out in the crowd: tall, lean frame in an expensive suit and coat, slicked back, dark blond hair, bright white teeth, and dimples when he smiles.
I can’t help but smile back when I see him.
Johanna rolls her eyes at me. “Go stay with him,” she whispers before the last song.
“Yeah, right,” I tell her. “Why don’t I just marry him while I’m at it. Oh yeah, that’s right. I don’t even know him.”
The crowd is definitely thinning out, so Johanna speaks up. “This is our last song of the evening. Please join us, won’t you?” It’s so funny how Johanna can talk to a crowd so sweetly, when in real life, when she’s not performing, she can be so sarcastic and brutal even.
We start into “Silent Night” and I close my eyes. It was one of my father’s favorites. I’m brought back to all the times my father and I would harmonize this song together and it makes me smile.
I hear the crowd joining in, so I open my eyes to see smiling faces all around. People are swaying as they sing along.
After the song is over, we wish everyone a merry Christmas. The crowd starts to disperse, and I have a smile plastered onto my face as one after another, people come up to drop a couple of dollars into the case.
“Now’s your chance,” Johanna says in a sing-song voice, “He’s coming this way.”
I look up just as Mr. Gorgeous approaches, and he stops right in front of me. I hold my breath as I wait for him to say something.
“You have a beautiful voice,” he tells me as he drops a couple of fifties into the case.
Johanna and I exchange a wide-eyed look before I turn back to him, but when I do, he’s walking away toward the tracks.
“Go after him,” Johanna tells me, but I just shake my head. As if someone like him would be interested in someone like me. We’re just a couple of charity cases for some rich guy.
After the crowd has left, Johanna and I quickly divide up our take. We don’t need anyone coming along to rob us. Once we’re done, Johanna starts to pack her guitar back into the case.
I contemplate booking for a hotel room for the night, so I don’t have to deal with the lack of water back home, but I really don’t want to spend the money, when I hear a commotion behind me.
I turn around and see three people, two men and a woman, surrounding Mr. Gorgeous. I start to move toward them, but Johanna grabs my arm.
“Don’t get involved,” she tells me.
We both watch as he fights them off, but there are too many of them. During the scuffle he falls back, down onto the tracks. The would-be thieves take off running.
I pull my arm free from Johanna’s grasp. “Call the rescue squad,” I tell her as I run. I don’t hesitate to jump down when I see he’s unconscious. I lean down and listen. I sigh when I hear he’s breathing. Now I just have to figure out how to get him back onto the platform.
My heart skips a beat when I hear the train whistle. That’s the express; it won’t be stopping. I gotta get him off of these tracks.
“Come on, mister,” I plead as I try to shake him awake.
Nothing.
The whistle blows much closer now. We’ve gotta get out of the way. I grab his lapels and roll us over to the side, off the tracks. Hopefully there’s enough room between the wall of the track well and the train.
I let out a sigh of relief as the train goes by.
I look down and see his blue eyes are open. “Hi,” I say, smiling.
“Are you an angel?” he asks me before his eyes roll back and he’s out again.
Frustrated, I lean down and press my head to his chest. God, he smells good.
Once the rescue squad pulls him off the tracks and helps me back up, I’m asked to ride in the ambulance with him, so I can give a statement at the hospital.
As we are driving away, I look back out at the train station and I see Johanna with her guitar case over her shoulder, giving me a salute as we drive by.
When we arrive at the hospital, doctors rush in and take him away. I’m not sure what to do, but I gotta make sure he’s okay, so I try to follow, but a nurse tells me I can’t go with him.
“But I was going to marry him,” I mumble, remembering what I told Johanna when she suggested I try to seduce him, so I’d have a place to stay for the week.
I should leave, but I wander over to the waiting area, because it’s warm and I need to find out about the man. I roll my eyes at myself; I really need to learn his name.
Even though it’s Christmas Eve, the waiting room is packed with nervous family members waiting for word about their loved ones. It takes me back to when my father was in that horrible work accident. Waiting to find out if he lived or died was excruciating.
My sad thoughts are interrupted by the nurse from before. “Follow me,” she says, and I do. She takes me to the third floor and leads me into a room.
There on the bed lies the man, still unconscious, but just as handsome as ever. “Have a seat,” she says, motioning to a chair next to the bed. “The doctor will be in in a minute.”
As she’s leaving, a police officer comes in. “Miss, we need to take a statement,” he says.
“Why?” the nurse asks before I can say anything.
The police officer turns to me and asks, “You are the one who rescued him, right?”
I nod my head yes. “I rolled him off the tracks,” I add.
The nurse audibly sighs. “Not only is she his fiancé, but she rescued him as well. How romantic.” She gives me a big smile. “Let him hear your voice,” she says, giving my arm a squeeze before leaving the room.
After I give my statement and the officer leaves, an orderly gives me a bag full of the man’s belongings.
I look through his wallet, full of cash and credit cards. The man is definitely loaded. I pull out his driver’s license and I finally know his name. “Nice to meet you, Rye Mellark.”
Of course, there’s no response, so I close his wallet and try to shove it into his coat pocket, but there’s something in the way, a paper bag with a can of cat food and a set of keys.
I should go to his apartment and feed his cat. Maybe I could stay there for the week and take care of the poor thing. Johanna would tell me it’s the right thing to do. I don’t think Rye Mellark would mind. He won’t be going anywhere any time soon. Even if I chicken out and don’t stay there, someone has to feed his cat.
Determined, I get up to leave, but the nurse stops back in. “The doctor will be in soon,” she tells me.
“Great, thanks.” I smile and sit back down and reach for his hand. I gotta keep up this ruse of being his fiancé for a little while longer.
It’s getting late and I’m tired. I lean my head down onto the bed and close my eyes for a minute, just until the doctor comes in, then I can leave.
I’m startled awake by a large group of people who come rushing in with the nurse. They stop short when they see.
“Who’s this?” a tall man with thinning blond hair asks. I’m pretty sure that’s Rye’s dad.
“She’s his fiancé,” the nurse tells him, as if it’s obvious.
I stand, about to bolt. Surely, they know it’s not true.
“What? He’s too busy to tell his own mother he’s getting married!” His mother lamets.
They all start to chime in about how Rye is too busy to spend time with his family.
I try to sneak out amid the chaos, but I’m stopped by the older man in the group.
“What’s your name, sweetheart,” he asks me.
“Katniss, Katniss Everdeen,” I tell him, unsure why I used my real name.
“Well Katniss, I’m Haymitch Abernathy, Rye’s godfather,” he says, holding out his hand. After we shake, he says, “Let me introduce you to everyone.”
We turn to an elderly lady with a cane. Her hair is tinted pink. I’m not sure, but I think it’s a wig.
“This is Rye’s grandmother, Effie,” Haymitch tells me.
“Nice to meet you, Effie,” I say as she squeezes my offered hand. “Would you like to have a seat?” I gesture to the chair I had been sitting in.
“Such a lovely girl,” she tells Haymitch as he helps her to the chair.
Once Effie is seated Haymitch continues with the introductions. “These are Rye’s parents, Bran and Midge Mellark.” As I suspected, the man with the thinning hair is Rye’s father. His wife is quite lovely. I can see where Rye gets his looks.
I hold out my hand, but Bran pulls me in for a hug. “Welcome to the family, my dear,” he says.
Then Midge hugs me too. “I’m so glad he found you,” she says, her voice thick with emotion.
I give Midge an extra squeeze back because I know what it’s like to be worried about someone you love.
When I let go of Midge, she and Bran walk around the other side of the bed to get closer to their son. Midge takes his hand while Bran rubs her back.
The last of the group comes up to me before Haymitch can introduce her. She’s a beautiful young girl who looks like she’s still in high school. “Hi Katniss, I’m Primrose. You can call me Prim,” she says.
“Rye’s little sister,” Haymitch tells me as she too gives me a hug.
I’ve never felt so much love in such a long time.
“Sorry I’m late.” Another man rushes into the room carrying a couple of bakery boxes and a tray of coffee cups.
He has to be Rye's younger brother. Their features are similar, but his jaw is more angular. While Rye is tall and lean, this guy is medium height and stocky with very broad shoulders.
“Had trouble finding a parking spot,” he says, handing the coffees and baked goods out. That’s when he notices me. “Who’s this?” he asks, just like his father did.
“Peeta, this is Katniss, Rye’s fiancé,” Prim says. “She’s going to be our sister.”
He gives me an odd look. “How long have you and Rye been together?” Peeta asks me, suspiciously.
“We haven’t seen him in so long,” Midge adds. “He’s always so busy with work.”
“Rye was going to bring me as a surprise to Christmas dinner tomorrow, but some people tried to mug us at the train station.” I tell them how he fought them off, but he fell down onto the tracks, and how I jumped down to help him. At least that part isn’t a lie.
“Would you like a pastry, sweetheart,” Haymitch offers, elbowing Peeta to hold out the box to me.
I didn’t realize how hungry I was until now. I look over the selection. “These all look delicious,” I tell him as I settle on a chocolate croissant. “What bakery are these from?”
“Don’t bother asking,” Haymitch tells me around a mouthful of pastry. “It’s some secret he won’t share with the rest of us.”
That’s an odd thing to keep secret. I take a bite of the croissant and it just melts in my mouth. I think I let out a little moan, it’s so good. “Well, wherever they are from, they are delicious.”
Peeta’s face turns red as he rubs the back of his neck, telling me thanks. I wonder what that’s all about.
Finally, the doctor comes in. “My apologies for the delay. The test results just came back. Rye suffered a severe concussion from the fall. He’s in a coma,” he tells us, and Midge cries out. Everyone else around the room is murmuring their concern.
“However, the swelling should subside in about a week. After which, he should regain consciousness,” the doctor adds.
I can feel the relief around the room at the hopeful news.
The doctor answers a few questions about his prognosis then tells us that visiting hours are over. We can come back to see him again in the morning.
Finally I can get away. I’ll miss this family, but it’s all for the best. “It was nice meeting all of you,” I tell them as I start heading for the door.
“Where are you staying?” Midge asks.
“Oh, I’ve gotta go feed Rye’s cat, then I guess I’ll just stay in his apartment.”
“Alone?” she asks as Bran helps her back into her coat. When I nod she tells me, “You can’t stay alone on Christmas Eve. Peeta can drive you to get the cat, then bring you both back to our house to stay until Rye gets better.”
“Thanks,” I tell her as I try to plaster on a smile. Just wonderful, I have to keep up this lie for a whole week.