"I love you."

The words exited her mouth like an infection, desperate to cling onto the next open victim, which was me. Her words lingered in the air for a second, and I wrapped my arms around her. We stayed like that for a second until I murmured into her hair words that I shouldn't even considered to be a thought.

"I know."

Her arms left my waist, and I fell an uncomfortable coldness exerted off of her. Her arms are at the sides of her body, dangling. She composes herself quickly, and escapes my embrace. She grabs her game bag from the floor and exits the little abandoned home with quick, light footsteps. Why the fuck would I even say that? I don't know if I in love her. I don't know. My body moves before I can even know it is, and I am catching up to her in a fast pace.

"Katniss! Katniss, wait!"

As soon as I think I can catch her if I run a bit faster, she's out of sight, and I'm out of my mind. There's a stupid tree next to me and I punch it with my stupid fist for being so stupid. There's no way that anything is going to be the same. I'm losing my mind, so I run until I reach her house. I scope the place out and see no sign of Katniss. I'm walking slowly, looking at my shoes, when I see the blood. It's not much, but it's enough. A little splatter is stained onto the floor, about the size of Katniss' bag. I look around and see her bag a foot away, open. I walk over and pick it up. There are strawberries in there, and nothing else. We caught four squirrels today. My mind is racing. She wouldn't leave her strawberries here in the open unless-

My head is throbbing at the same rate that my heart is beating, and I am livid. If it's her-no, it can't be her. She wouldn't be that stupid and ignorant. And then I see her. And the world is spinning and I can't breathe but I am running. I am running at full pace, and I can't tell if I'm crying or if my eyes are watering from how fast I am running, but not even the tears in my eyes can blur out what I am running towards. Katniss, in the middle of the town, shirt off, getting whipped. I run and run but she is too far, too far that I caught a glimpse of the leather of the whip being brought against her skin and I have lost it.

The anger I am feeling cannot be explained in any stupid fucking words. I am getting closer, and I am yelling multiple profanities and I see the peacekeeper bring the whip up again, and I am almost there, and he's lowering it, and I can see the tears on her face, and I slide over her, and the whip hits the skin of my back. I'm hovering over her back, and the flesh of her skin is the only thing I can see. She's bleeding like fucking crazy, and another whip hits me through my shirt. I wince and I find her shirt laying next to her, so I grab it, but then then next whip hits me harder and I let out a groan and drop it. The peacekeeper grabs her shirt and yells at me.

"Get up!"

I get up off the floor and I can see Katniss' pale face. And that's when I realize that she has her eyes closed. I bend down and cup her face in my hands, tapping one of her cheeks frantically. She's unconscious. I get up again and face the peacekeeper.

"Give me the shirt and just leave."

He scoffs and gets directly in front of my face. "Leave, so I can finish my job."

I want to push him, and I want to yell in his fucking face, but I know that I will make this worse for her if I do. I grab the shirt from him, but he pulls it away at the last second, and it rips in half. I half growl in frustration and the last bit of control I had went with the ripped shirt. I can't help but do something.

"Why the fuck does she deserve this, what kind of sick, cruel person-"

"This is my job, and if you don't leave, I'll have another one soon."

I'm ready to hook him. My hands are clenched into fists and I'm lifting it when I hear a husky voice in the background."

"Let em go."

Haymitch is standing behind the peacekeeper. He has a bored look on his face as he says, "I am trying to sleep and I can't with all this bullshit noise. Let them go so I can go back to bed."

I don't even care what happens, I just want Katniss to be safe right now. I take the shirt off my back, and the part of it that was whipped stings when it comes into contact with the cold air. I lift her off her stomach, and turn back to Haymitch and the peacekeeper. He's giving him alcohol. To let us go. I briefly question this, but turn back to Katniss immediately. I place my shirt on the floor next to me and hold Katniss' head in one hand, and her legs on the other. She isn't wearing a bra. Guilt eats at my stomach and I place her legs on the floor, and grab my shirt. I place it on her bare chest and my cheeks are flaming. I turn to where the peacekeeper was, and appraise the floor around me. He took her bra. I'm immediately furious and I just want to kill the fucking bastard. I get up off the ground, holding Katniss in my arms, and I'm fast walking, and eventually running to the Everdeen house. My legs aren't moving fast enough and I'm pushing, forcing them to go faster. How am I going to explain to Mrs. Everdeen that I was the reason her daughter got whipped? We're at the front porch and there are tears in my eyes and I am crying for the first time in a long time.

"Help!" I yell and my voice breaks. Mrs. Everdeen hurries outside and sees her limp daughter in my arms.

"Gale, what-" she gasps, but her voice is breaking and she can't talk. Her eyes are collecting tears, but she quickly turns around and I follow her into the small house. Mrs. Everdeen lays a cloth on the table and I lay Katniss down gently on her stomach, and I'm praying that she'll start working.

She wipes her tears and starts boiling water. I take another look at Katniss' back and my throat closes in. My stomach churns. Her back is inexplicably painful to look at. Her skin is not there. The meat of her back is the only thing visible, along with the blood that ceases to stop. Some of the blood around the sides has begun to crumble dry, into a brick red. Mrs. Everdeen starts adding various herbs to the pot of water.

"Gale, does you mother have mint?" she asks in a firm voice. I can see that the tears are drying on her face.

"Um I think so. I'll go get some." I glance at Katniss one more time, swallow, and start walking away. And then I hear Prim behind me, yelling like she did at the reaping.

"Katniss?! Mom, Katniss, she's dead!"

I can see Prim kneeling beside Katniss and my stomach is in knots and my throat is closing in and turn around and run out of the house. I run again, and although my mind feels weak, but I am stronger than ever, and don't bother to stop until I reach my kitchen. I start rummaging through the cabinet, but I can't find the mint and I'm getting frustrated and

"Gale? What are you looking for? Let me help you."

My mom comes into the kitchen and her eyes are bright with curiosity.

"I just need the mint, there isn't any mint and Mom I need it please tell me you have some." I can feel my cheeks starting to burn and my mom runs into the bathroom and exits with a small glass container.

"I use it in my bath sometimes I-Gale what's going on?"

I take the container from her hands and start to run back to the Everdeens' house. I can hear her yelling at me, so I just turn around and yell,

"It's Katniss!"

I bolt to her house and Mrs. Everdeen has Prim collecting snow coat. Prim's braids are a loose mess, and her eyes are a swollen pink, and I hate everything and I should of answered her and I should of protected her but-

"Gale!" My mother's voice snaps me out of my daze, and her eyes are wide. Rory, Vick, and Posy are behind her, with the worst expressions on their faces as they see Katniss lying on the table.

"Mom, go into the other room with the kids." I snap back. She shouldn't of came here.

"Mom?" My head whips in Katniss' direction and I can feel her pain, I can see it in her cloudy eyes.

"Stay still. Don't move, honey."

"But mom, it hurts. Mom, mom, it hurts so much."

And Katniss starts bawling and she's trying to move when her mom applies the remedy, and she's squirming and crying and I don't know what to do. Mrs. Everdeen rubs the mixed herbs onto the wound, with the slightest touch. For a second, just a second, Katniss stops crying. And then she's screaming. Screaming murder that it burns, that it hurts. I bend down near the table she's lying on and meet her eyes. She's screaming with her eyes open, eyebrows scrunched up in pain. She's staring at me, so I grab her hand and pull it up to my mouth, and start kissing her hand everywhere. She locks our hands together, closes her eyes and screams louder, while her mother pours more herbs onto her back. I'm kissing her hand intertwined with mine, and she's squeezing with all her strength. The tears dripping from my eyes land on our hands, and after 10 minutes of this, the screaming stops. We sit in silence and I can see the flesh of her back glistening as the herbs form into a thick glaze. Mrs. Everdeen runs over with a syringe, and injects it into Katniss' arm. She's moans, but doesn't move much.

"The mayor's daughter brought it over. She saw the whole thing."

I study Katniss' mom for a second. The contours on her face are deeper than ever, but her face is dry. This gives me strength, but I can still hear Prim sniffling in the bedroom, and I'm still guilty.

I pull Katniss' face up to look at mine, and her eyes are swollen.

"Katniss.."

"Gale, Gale, it hurts."

"I know, Catnip, I know, I'm sorry."

My mom shows up behind me, and she taps my shoulder.

"Gale, I'm going to leave. Katniss honey, you're going to be okay, sweetie." Katniss hums a reply and my mother gives me a sad smile.

"I'm going to stay here, all night. I'll see you tomorrow."

Katniss half opens her eyes and stares at me. The injection is settling into her system; I can see it in her eyes.

I don't think Katniss can talk anymore, but she gives my hand a little squeeze, and I know what she's saying.

I bring my lips down to hers in a response that could only mean one thing:

I love you, too.

hi thank you for reading. I would really appreciate it if you took the time to review. If not, that's totally fine, too. I hope you enjoyed it (: