DISCLAIMER.
Prologue
'Peeta, don't!' I scream, hurling myself at the telephone. His eyes widen as I grab hold of the device and fling it across the room. It slams into the opposite wall and falls to the floor with a loud crash but only after sending bits and pieces of plastic flying around.
'Katniss, what the-' Peeta starts but I'm too thwarted by the emotions racing through my head to let him complete.
'NO!' I yell, red-faced. I raise my hands to my cheeks, only to find them damp with sweat and tears. Tears. No. No! This is not supposed to happen. I am not supposed to cry. Not after promising Prim. 'No! Prim, I'm sorry!' I choke out. I take a few steps back, away from Peeta.
'Katniss.' He whispers and extends an arm towards me. I can hear the tension in his voice but for some reason the thought of him worrying about me frightens me out of my wits and I stagger backwards. 'KATNISS!' Peeta shouts as I whip around and stumble out the room. I sprint down the staircase, trip on the last step and land on my face. His footsteps are what rouse me from my drunken state on the floor and without waiting for another second I get to my feet and race through the front door out into the inky blackness of the night. 'KATNISS!' Peeta's voice howls after me but I don't stop running. I can't stop running.
Tears fly across my face as I sprint across the road, barefoot, the granite cutting into my feet. I don't slowdown, not until I reach the woods. And even there, the only reason I do it is to crawl through the gap in the wires. Unfortunately, in my hurry, I literally throw myself through it and end up with my side smacking into a boulder. Pain surges through my shoulder as I roll onto my back. 'God!' I shriek as the it rushes through the rest of my body, paralyzing me.
As I lie there weeping, unable to call out for help, a word materializes in my thoughts in the midst of all the hurting. Broken. That's what I am, I realize. Broken, all the way through. It never struck me as hard as it does now and I open my mouth to let out a blood-curdling scream…