Chapter One
This was never supposed to happen. It was just a mistake. A silly little mistake.
It had only happened once. In District Eleven whilst they were on the Victory Tour only two weeks prior. It had only been one night, one small night. But it still happened. And nothing could change that, especially now.
The floor of her bathroom was freezing on her bare feet and legs. But Katniss didn't care right now, how could she? She was too busy staring at the white stick in front of her.
She thought back to the night that this all happened, the night that she had been so foolish as to let her emotions take over. The night that she had invited Peeta Mellark to spend the night in her compartment... It was supposed to be nothing more than sharing a bed, cuddling at most. But that wasn't exactly how it played out.
Katniss Everdeen, The Girl on Fire, Victor of the Seventy Fourth annual Hunger Games, was with child. The child of Peeta Mellark, the Boy with the Bread, no less.
Katniss' heart ached at the thought of Peeta. How would he react to all of this? She didn't even know how she was reacting. A part of her felt like it was all a dream, a sick dream and that she would wake up and that it would all be ok. But she knew better. Another part of her just wanted to scream, cry and shout, but that wouldn't make the child that was currently developing in her womb disappear.
Her mind immediately caught onto that thought. An abortion.
Katniss scowled as soon as she had registered just what an abortion would mean. She tried to shake the thought from her head straight away. Abortions we scarce in the Seam, as was birth control. This is why it had never even occurred to Katniss to use it. It was the reason that the Seam was the most populated part of the District. Abortions weren't very common in any part of the district, but a few could be heard of from the merchant area.
It wasn't like she could get one without the reporters or media catching on either, she was being watched left right and centre. No, abortion was out of the question.
The thought of bringing a child into this world made Katniss want to throw up. Her baby would become just another part of the Capitol's games. Another person for Snow to use against The Girl on Fire. The baby could never be safe.
The thought of giving the kid away had also crossed Katniss' mind, but the reporters would catch on just as easily.
There was no way out of this one. No loophole.
She didn't know what she could do now but sit there. Thinking her next move over carefully. It was a delicate situation.
Gale was downstairs still recovering from the events that took place just hours before.
Katniss' hand made it's way up to where the mark was and rubbed it. Gale.
She felt another pang of guilt in her chest. She didn't want to hurt Gale, she didn't want to hurt anyone. But she knew that Gale would never forgive her for this, he could never accept this.
Katniss didn't know how to tell Gale, how to tell her family, how to tell Peeta.
She lifted the bottom of her shirt slightly to take a peek at her stomach which was still the same size as it had been prior to the Victory Tour and sighed.
How could she have been so stupid?