I'M A MONSTER

After Enobaria won the Sixty-Second Annual Hunger Games, she and Brutus began to mentor the tributes from District Two together. Eventually, they fell in love and nobody was surprised. Everyone knew they would fall for each other somehow, it was so obvious.

He fell for her first, but she was a challenge and wouldn't give in to him. After all his charming and flirting, Enobaria agreed to go on only one date with him if he promised to stop flirting with her. She enjoyed her time with him and they went out on more dates than she agreed on, but she didn't mind.

She liked feeling special, she liked how Brutus understood her, and she liked how Brutus and she were so alike. They didn't care about the fact that he was older than her, age didn't matter when it came to love. They weren't married, not yet. But they still lived in the same house after Enobaria was starting to have nightmares. That was a year ago and they still love each other.

They never got into fights, but that's about to change.

"Baria," said Brutus. "What are you freaking out about?"

"Are you blind?!" she asked him. "This is something that I have to care for, nurture, and god forbid; cuddle!"

Brutus chuckled and smiled at her. "Did you even check what the test says?" he asked her.

She looked at the pregnancy test in her hand and sighed. "Negative."

"See?" asked Brutus while walking up to her and pecking her on the cheek. "Nothing to worry about; you're not pregnant and we won't have a baby to deal with after all. Now, I'm going to take a nap." He walked upstairs and closed their bedroom door.

Once she was certain that he was in their bedroom, she slumped to the floor and tears began to stain her cheeks.

What am I going to do? she asked herself. Should I get rid of it? Brutus never told her he wanted kids and he'll probably leave me her if she told him the truth. She wiped off the tears, stood up, and walked outside to the doctor's office.

A half hour later, she returned to her house and there were no traces of a baby even existing. She went upstairs to her bedroom and lay next to Brutus, who automatically wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Even though she got rid of the baby for Brutus' happiness, she felt guilty. Sure Brutus didn't want a baby now, but was it necessary to kill it? She killed the opportunity of a baby having a life and growing up. She shrugged off the thought and fell asleep in Brutus's arms.

XXX

A month later, the situation occurred again and she lied to Brutus, again. The same routine; she went to the doctor's office and came back as if nothing happened at all. She never told Brutus, and she planned on keeping it that way. She was never aware of the fact that all dirty little secrets have a way of crawling back into your life to haunt you.

A week after her second visit to the doctor, Brutus found out about the babies.

"Baria!" he called from the kitchen. He was checking the taxes to make sure that everyone was going alright, until he saw the receipt of two abortions from the last month.

"Yes?" called Enobaria from the living room. She stood from the couch and walked over to the kitchen to see her confused and angry boyfriend. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" said Brutus, repeating her words. "Care to explain to me this?" He held the paper right in front of her eyes and she felt ashamed.

"What about it?" she asked.

"Why?" he asked her, frustrated. "Why would you kill them?"

"You told me that you didn't want to have to deal with the responsibilities of being a father," she said defensively.

"Well why didn't you at least tell me?" he asked her, shouting out the words from his angry mouth.

"I thought you would leave me if I told you," she said. "Please don't be mad."

"I can't even look at you," he said to her disgusted. "You're a monster and you'll always be one."

"Brutus, please," she begged him, tears rushing down her face. "Don't leave me."

"I need some air," he said. He walked past her and grabbed his jacket. "And don't get your hopes up. I don't know what is going to happen to us." He slammed the door and she was left alone.

She was scared, lonely, sad, confused. The words began to replay non-stop in her head.

'I can't even look at you. You're a monster, monster, monster, monster…'

The point of breakdown came when Enobaria saw nothing but black and felt a sharp pain in her forehead as she collapsed on the floor.

XXX

She lied to him, he felt betrayal. He felt as if she didn't trust him, like she did things behind his back. He can't believe she did that.

He was walking along the streets of District Two when he stopped and spotted a couple walking together with their children. The dad had the little girl up on his shoulders while holding his wife's hand and the big boy was walking the dog. They all seemed so happy.

How could Brutus not want something like that? How could Brutus not want a family? Truth is, he was scared of being a father, and he was scared of being a husband. It wasn't that he didn't want to be any of those things; it was just that he was worried about not being a good father or a good husband.

He was never taught to love when he was little, until he met Enobaria. She changed his entire perspective about life and he felt different around her.

He realized that he just left her alone by herself when she needed him. He ran back to the house to see her sprawled on the floor.

"Baria!" he yelled. He ran to her and kneeled next to her, checking her pulse. Her heart was beating, but her breathing was low. "Baria, please. Stay with me!" He gave her mouth to mouth, but no effect. After five minutes of trying, he gave up. "I am so sorry." He grabbed her hand and held her close to him. "Please come back, I didn't mean what I said about you being a monster. I need you." A tear stained his face and he kissed her on her ice cold lips.

She inhaled deeply, and then she exhaled while at the same time opening her eyes. She looked around her surroundings and her eyes met with Brutus.

"Baria!" he said while tears soaked his face from happiness. He hugged her tightly and she hugged him back. He felt so relieved that she wasn't gone; he didn't want her to die. He couldn't take it if she died, he'd go completely sane and hysterical. "Baria, I am so sorry. I never meant to call you a monster and I don't ever want you to feel as if you can't tell me something. I love you and I will love you forever no matter what happens."

"I love you, too," she said to him. "I'm sorry I killed the babies."

"Don't be sorry," he said while pulling away from their hug and cupped her cheek. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen. I put pressure on you and I should have accepted what was happening. Please, don't ever scare me like that again." He hugged her again and this time, he didn't let go. He inhaled her scent and admired his time with her.

He almost lost her.

"Ow!" yelped Enobaria while rubbing her forehead.

"It's your forehead," said Brutus. "Here, I'll help you up." He helped her get up on her feet and set her down on the sofa. After she sat down, he went to the kitchen and grabbed an ice pack from the freezer.

She lied down on the sofa and he sat down next to her, bringing the ice pack to her sore area. She accepted his help because she knew she needed it and Brutus liked to baby her a lot of times. She wouldn't argue with him, it was kind of cute. The brutal and vicious victor turns into a loving and caring boyfriend just when she's around.

She was resting on the sofa while Brutus sat next to her and played with her hair. He admired it, a lot. He liked how it was long, thick, and dark. He especially liked to brush it out after Enobaria showered; it was nice to brush out her long and beautiful hair.

He stopped playing with her hair after noticing that Enobaria was getting tired. He picked her up bridal style and carried her to their bedroom upstairs. After setting her down in their big king-sized bed, he tucked her in and kissed the soft sore temple.

"Brutus?" she asked him, with her eyes still shut.

"What is it?" he asked her.

"Stay with me," she said in a gentle and soft manner.

He couldn't resist Enobaria, so he did as he was told. He got in and opened his arms up to her so that she could snuggle in them. One of the things that only Brutus knew about Enobaria was the fact that she loved to snuggle, but only with him.

She crashed into his arms and he held on tightly. After thinking that she was asleep, he kissed her temple and said words of reassurance.

"I'll never let anything like that happen again," he said. "I'll protect you from harm's way. I love you, Baria."

"I love you too, Brutus," she said to him. She startled him a little because he thought that she was asleep, clearly she wasn't.

"Go to sleep, Baria," he said while holding her tighter. "It's been a long day."

"Okay," she said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he said. Her breathing evened out and he admired her beauty in the moonlight. He loved her, and the next time she gets pregnant, he'll help her get through it, together.

THE END