I'M BAAACCKKKKKK! Did ya miss me? I can't tell you how much I missed this story. I was going to continue my other story Max's Letter, but I just couldn't wait. I needed this story to continue.
SO ENOUGH OF MY CHIT CHAT YOU'VE WAITED LONG ENOUGH!
Ladies and gentlemen, I present you the sequel of Unfolding Scars,
Unraveling Future.
*Disclaimer: I do not own THG, sadly.
Prologue
When I walk into the house, I immediately take off my hunting boots so I don't track dirt around the recently cleaned floors. The fact that it is only noon and I'm back from hunting upsets me, but a long nap seems more approving to me at the moment. Before I take a seat on the couch, I walk over to the windows and open them, letting in the September air. Once that is settled and I am comfortable in my seat, I close my eyes only to open them again and look at the table side next to me.
I can't help it. Whenever I catch a glimpse at the picture placed on the table side, I smile. The picture was taken three years ago, on the day of my wedding. Never would I have imagined getting married at seventeen, or getting married at all, but I did, and I wouldn't regret it for the world. Peeta and I stand in front of our garden, his arms wrapped around my waist and my hands holding my bouquet in front of us. Both of us have huge smiles plastered on our faces, showing how happy we are. Sometimes I even stop whatever I'm doing and stare at the picture, which makes Peeta laugh.
I take the picture in my hands, marveling at its beauty. Three years have gone by so fast. I place the picture down and look across the room at the fireplace where there are more pictures. There is one of Thom, Delly, and Finnick, which was taken two months ago. Thom and Delly took Finnick in after Annie had died, leaving her son without a parent. They treat him as their own, which now, he is. Finnick is now four years old, he is a polite boy, but likes to cause ruckus whenever means necessary. Thom says he has his terrible two's in his fours. We do need a more updated picture of them though because at the time, Delly was heavily pregnant with their son, Grayson. Grayson is small baby at one month; he has blonde hair and blue eyes, just like his mother, but he gets all his facial features from his father. At first, I was frightened to hold him, in fact, I wouldn't. But eventually Peeta helped me hold him, and by the end of the night, I wouldn't let him go.
The picture on the other side of the fireplace is Haymitch and Effie. It's an odd picture, Effie dressed up in her Capitol Couture and Haymitch dressed down in a stained button down and sweatpants. Haymitch has gotten worse on his drinking habit, to the point where it's the first thing he drinks when he wakes up and the last when he goes to sleep. Peeta and I are surprised that he hasn't gotten alcohol poisoning yet. He won't die from drinking, his body is so used to it I think it will die without it. Effie still lives in the Capitol, though she lives closer to the Presidents house now, which makes her feel special. She comes down to visit every once in a while, but as she says, time is everything, and only stays until her next meeting.
I snap out of it when I hear Peeta gagging upstairs. I thought he would still be sleeping. I run upstairs to find him in the bathroom on all fours. His head is halfway in the toilet, throwing up all his breakfast. I bend down beside him and rub his back, "It's okay, take deep breaths and it will pass," I sooth him.
"Katniss," Peeta pants after he is done vomiting, "you don't need to stay in here. Last night when you came in here you nearly threw up yourself."
"I was just caught off guard, that's all. Now let's get you to bed, okay?" I say.
Peeta nods and weakly stands up to brush his teeth. I flush the toilet and put the lid down, waiting for him to be finished. Once he is done, I help him back to bed and pull the covers up and over him.
"Stupid flu," Peeta mumbles.
I frown and kiss his forehead, "Sae said it should only last a few days, a week at the most."
Peeta frown at this and closes his eyes.
I'm about to turn around and go back downstairs when Peeta whispers, "Katniss?"
I turn to face him, "Yes, Peeta?"
Peeta's voice is shy, as if he is afraid to speak, "Stay with me?"
I smile, thinking back on how I asked him the same question before. I go onto the other side of the bed and lay next to him, "Always."
-Katniss P.O.V-
Change
*Three weeks later*
I wake to a wave of nausea overcoming me. Peeta's arms are wrapped around my waist but at this point I don't care if I wake him. I jump out of bed and run to the bathroom in time to throw up everything in my stomach. Not even a few seconds after I entered the bathroom, Peeta was by my side, holding my hair back and rubbing my back, "It's okay, just breathe."
I know there is nothing left in my stomach but i continue to gag, my body shaking. Peeta frowns, "I'm so sorry that I gave you the flu."
My voice shakes, "Peeta, there's no need for you to apologize, it's not your fault."
"But I know how much pain you're in and I'm the one who gave you the flu. If I could take the pain away I would in a heartbeat." There's my Peeta.
Even though I'm exhausted, I smile, "Thank you."
I can hear the smile in his voice, "Anytime."
After a few more minutes of gagging, I feel a little better. I brush my teeth and we both go back to bed.
The sun burns the back of my eyelids, making me squeeze them shut. I pull the covers up and over my head to try to block the light that shines brightly through the open window. My hand glides across the side of the bed where Peeta sleeps to find it cold and empty. I take the covers off my head to see that he is gone. I turn my head to look out the window to see that the sun is standing high in the sky. It must be noon.
When I sit up, my body aches all over, making me groan. The small movement makes my stomach churn, which makes me jump to my feet and run into the bathroom.
I vomit violently into the toilet, not caring at how much noise I make. Peeta is at the bakery for another hour, leaving me to mope around the house until he comes back. After I feel that nothing else could possibly come up, I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and stand up to brush my teeth. The flu has spread rapidly across District 12, maybe even across Panem. It's effects are different on every victim, as well as how long it lasts. Peeta had it for five days. Finnick had it for three days. Sae had it for two days. Haymitch had it for a week. I've had it for two weeks.
I don't feel any better than any of the other days this last week, in fact, I feel worse, but I decide that instead of staying inside and feeling bad for myself that I'll go hunting. We are low on game, as well as Greasy Sae's, anyway. Going back into the bedroom, I slowly strip off my nightgown, placing it in the hamper.
My eyes catch a glimpse of myself in the full body mirror., the same mirror I stood in front of on my wedding day. Against my will, I face the mirror, taking in my appearance. The first thing I notice is how much I've thinned in the last two weeks. My hip bones are visibly noticeable, as well as a few ribs. It reminds me how I looked when I was a little girl, in the Seam. I also take in how sickly pale I am. Maybe going hunting is a bad idea, after all.
I go over to my dresser, taking out new undergarments and sweatpants. After putting those on, I go to Peeta's dresser and throw on one of his baking shirts. I'm about to lay back in bed when someone knocks on the front door. I groan, walking down the stairs and towards the door.
Opening the door I find Thom and Finnick. Finnick let's go of his father's hand to run to me. He wraps his arms around my knees, giving me his signature hug, "Auntie Katniss!"
"Hey there Finn!" I try to put enthusiasm in my voice to show him that I'm happy to see him but it just comes out tired.
"Finnick, Auntie is sick, remember? We don't want you getting sick again, now do we?" Thom asks, bending down to Finnicks level.
Finnick looks to his father then back to me, "Sowwy Auntie, daddy's rules."
I let out a small laugh, "It's alright buddy, you can give me a hug when I feel better, okay?"
Finnick nods his head vigorously. He walks back to Thom, grabbing for his hand to hold it. I move aside for the two to come inside , which they do gratefully. We all sit in the living room, "What brought you over here? I don't want to get you two sick, Thom."
"We'll be fine, don't worry. I just came by to see how you were doing. I talked to others in town and almost none of them had the flu as long as you did."
Now that surprises me. "Really, are you sure?"
"Positive," Thom says.
Now this worries me. Is there something bigger go on with me? Could I be more sick than anyone anticipated?
"I'm thinking the same thing you are, Katniss. Me and Delly are worried for you. You have been taking the medication the Capital sent you, correct?"
"Of course I have, but it hasn't been working. I don't have a fever anymore but besides that, all the symptoms still stand."
"Okay Katniss, this isn't good. Tell me the symptoms again."
There goes Thom, knowing how to make me nervous. Now I wish I had Peeta by my side, rubbing my back and telling me everything is going to be okay even when we don't know it would be. "Nausea, sore, feeling weak, always being tired," I count my fingers to how many things I have listed.
Thom thinks then gives me a double take. To me it looks like he is noticing how thin I am, it must be that. But he looks at me with wide eyes. "Thom if you're looking at how thin I am, it's because I can't keep anything down."
To my surprise, he smiles. "What, why are you smiling?" I ask.
"Because, I'm just trying to figure out what's wrong with you." He gets up, picking Finnick up in his arms with him, and starts to head out the door, "Say goodbye to Auntie, Finnick."
"Goodbye Auntie Katniss!" Finnick waves.
I wave back, with a confused look on my face.
After thinking about mine and Thoms conversation, I lay down on the couch in hope for a little nap before Peeta comes back in thirty minutes. When my head hits the pillow, another knock on the door echoes throughout the house.
Are you kidding me?!
I groan, "Come in!"
-Peeta P.O.V-
I thank Dyron again for taking over the bakery while I go get orders from a few stores. September is one of my favorite seasons with the leaves turning, the humidity being just right, the beautiful sunsets. It's the type of weather that you don't need a jacket, but I wear one anyways to hold all the papers with orders in my pockets. The list in my hands say that the first shop is the convenience store, which is the closest to the bakery.
I walk up the steps to the convenience store to find Delly paying for something at the cash register. She takes the bag from the counter and says goodbye to Brion, the owner. I walk inside and greet the two of them.
Delly looks at me with wide eyes, "Peeta! Funny to see you here." She laughs. She sounds off today.
"I'm doing orders for the bakery, thought I'd give Dyron a break of it. What do you got there?" I ask, pointing towards the bag.
Delly looks at the bag then back at me, unsure how to answer.
"Her and Thom like to make lots of babies," Brion says from over the counter, smirking.
I look at Delly and smile, "You think you're pregnant again? Congratulations!"
"Uh-yeah, yeah I do. Thanks, Peeta," Delly says, sliding past me, "But I should get going. See you later."
"Best of luck!" I say from behind my shoulder, watching Delly leave.
-Katniss P.O.V-
"Come in!" I groan, flipping around on the couch so I can see the door.
Delly rushes inside and nearly charges at me. "Delly, what's wrong?" I ask, sitting up.
She sits next to me, placing a white paper bag on her lap. "Thom told me how you were feeling."
"He acted strange when he left, do you know what it was about?"
"Katniss, sometimes I can't understand you. Your mother was a healer. There had to been many people come to her for many different reasons, certain reasons."
"What are you talking about?" It seem like Thom and Delly both have it out to confuse me today.
"Katniss, Thom and I don't believe that you still have the flu," Delly smiles.
I look at her, "What are you trying to say?"
Then it hits me. My eyes trail down to the white paper bag in her lap. She couldn't be serious, could she? She couldn't possibly believe I was...pregnant?
"Oh. Delly. You can't be serious? You think I'm..." I trail off, not able to say the word.
Delly nods her head, "Pregnant."
I shake my head, "No, I can't be. I would know, wouldn't I? And look at me, do I look like...like I'm having a child? I'm thin, very thin."
Delly looks at my body, her eyes widening, "Oh Katniss! Why hasn't Peeta done anything about this?"
"I've worn baggy clothes," I mumble.
Delly shakes her head, then picks up the bag. She looks at me then places the bag gently in my lap. She looks into my eyes and nods, as in telling me to go.
I look at her and sigh, "Delly I'm not...pregnant."
"Katniss, go take the test," Delly says firmly.
I slowly get up and make my way towards the bathroom. I close the door behind me and unravel the closed bag. Inside is the pregnancy test. I pull it out of the bag, examining it. My mother never used this contraption, but Delly told me about them when she used it to find out that she was pregnant with Grayson so I know what is. The box that the test is held in is easy to open, which upsets me because I was hoping to waste time. I decide to just get it over with.
With a deep breath, I take the test.
After I am finished, I place the test on the edge of the counter. I look at myself in the mirror, imaging myself with a large bump that keeps Peeta's child safe. My left hand sneaks its way up to my stomach, holding it. I would single-handedly be the only person to keep a child safe for nine months.
I would fail.
Nerves begin to bubble up at the pit of my stomach, making me feel the need to vomit. Time feels like it is ticking by quicker than it should; two minutes has passed. On that tiny little stick lays my future. The future that I have now and love or the future that has scared me ever since I found out what the real world was.
My hands shake as they reach out to grab the stick. I bring the stick up to my vision but I can't seem to see anything, my eyes blurry. I blink them a few times and they clear out.
I look down at the stick.
I fall down to my knees, crying. The counter supports my back as I curl up in a ball, wrapping my arms around my knees.
The door opens to Delly who rushes inside and crouches down to my level. She puts her hand on my arm, "Oh honey, I'm so sorry. We truly thought you were pregnant." She looks at my sympathetically.
"Delly, I am pregnant!" I get out through a fit of tears.
I'm pregnant.
Delly's face brightens, "Really? Congratulations! I can't believe it!" She stops talking when she notices I'm not happy about this. Her voice becomes serious, "Katniss why aren't you excited about this?"
I sniffle, "I've never wanted a baby ever since I knew how the real world was. I don't want a child to be brought up on this world where so many bad things could happen. Especially with parents like me and Peeta, where so many people could be out to get is, where the Capitol and all of Panem can't leave us alone. I wouldn't be a good mother. I don't want to be like my mother. I'm afraid, Delly."
Delly doesn't answer me, instead she wraps me into a hug. I sob into her shoulder, making her shirt soaked with my tears. Finally Delly speaks up, "When are you going to tell Peeta?"
Peeta. I can't tell him about this. Not now at least. Or not at all. Peeta has brought up the subject about children two or three times but every time I would change the subject or just say no. I would know that he would be ecstatic about this, I'm sure of it, but I can't tell him that I don't want this. My eyes widen, "I can't tell Peeta."
"Katniss what are you talking about you have to tell Peeta, he is the father."
"I can't. Not now at least."
The front door opens, telling us that Peeta is home from the bakery.
"Don't say anything. Please." I beg.
Delly looks at my with yes that I can't understand. Sympathy? Disappointment?
She nods her head, gets up from the floor, and steps out into the hallway.
I can hear Peeta and Delly talking in the other room. While I listen to them, I wipe off my tears to erase any trace of tears.
"Delly, nice to see you again," Peeta says.
Again? Did he see her while she picked up the test?
"As to you," Delly says, her voice showing no emotion on what has just occurred.
"So...are you?" What is he talking about?
"Oh, uh, no I'm not. False alarm is all." Did he think she was pregnant?
"Oh, well, I'm sorry to hear that," Peeta apologizes, "I wish you were though. We need another baby running around here."
A pang of guilt hits my stomach. If only he knew...
I hear Delly whisper, "Look at Katniss." She must be talking about how thin I am.
Once I hear the front door open and close, I know that Delly is gone. My nerves come back, bubbling up in the pit of my stomach. I quickly shove the pregnancy test in my sweatpants pocket, before Peeta comes in and sees what is going on. The box is wrapped up in toilet paper and thrown into the bottom of the trash. With a deep breath, I open the bathroom door and walk out into the hallway.
Once I walk out into the hallway I slam into Peeta's chest. He puts his hands on my shoulders to pull me back, "Woah, didn't see you there. You okay?"
"Yeah...I'm okay," I put on a small smile. Everything is not okay.
Without my permission, a tear falls down my cheek.
Stupid hormones.
Peeta becomes worried, "Katniss, everything is not okay. What's wrong?"
I shake my head, as if saying everything is alright. Peeta sighs and picks me up bridal style. He takes a few steps towards the living room and stops. He looks at me for a second then bounces me up and down a few times.
"What are you doing?" I ask, starting to feel queasy.
Peeta's voice becomes serious, "Katniss, how much weight did you lose?"
"I don't know. I haven't been eating that much because of the flu, remember? It all just comes right back up." I wish I didn't say the last part, he might get suspicions.
He places me on my feet and suddenly lifts my shirt to below my breasts. His mouth drops, "Katniss, I can see your ribs!"
"It's not like I want to be like this! I just can't keep anything down and so my body isn't getting anything it needs."
"Then I'll take you to the doctors tomorrow and see what's going on. You need to eat, Katniss, you need to." Peeta's voice is raising, which only makes me cry more.
"No! No. I'm not going to the doctors." If I go, they'll say I'm pregnant.
"Why? Why don't you want to go? Is it because of the needles? I'll make sure they won't take blood."
"I-I just don't want to talk about this right now," I whisper, tears still streaming down my face.
Peeta's face softens. Without another word, he picks me back up and before I know it, the world is drifting away from me.
-Peeta P.O.V-
When I look down at the fragile girl that lays in my arms, I see that she has already fallen asleep. She would be happier in bed than the couch, so I walk up the stairs and into our bedroom. I gently place her on the bed, kissing her forehead. Her forehead is warm, probably from crying. With the blankets she will be sweating, so I go over to her dresser and take out shorts.
I walk back over to her, placing the shorts on the bed. I take her sweatpants off carefully, hoping she won't wake. Once her sweatpants are off, I begin to fold them when something in them stops me from doing so. I put my hand in the pocket, touching something warm. I pull it out and gasp.
A positive pregnancy test.
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