The peacekeepers don't give much time to empty the contents in my stomach. Before I can wipe my mouth I'm whisked away into my designated room and the doors shut behind me once again. My legs feel like jelly beneath me and I fall ungraciously onto the the velvet couch.

The room looks just like it did last year when I was here for Katniss.

I will myself not to cry, even though the lump is in my throat, my chest is tight and there's a familiar wetness pooling in my eyes, I don't want to. It seems like an eternity before the door clicked of open and Mom comes rushing into the room. As soon as I stand up she stops walking. She stands a couple feet away and we stare at each other for what seems like too long. Then, she's rushing toward me and capturing me in a bear tight hug. I cling onto the sleeve of her dress and she strokes my hair. Her breath tickles the top of my head as she mutters over and over again, "Prim, my sweet Primrose". A tear falls on the bridge of my nose and I can't tell if it's my own or Mom's.

I can't offer reassurances. I can't tell her to stay strong for anyone because I am the last thing she has left. When I die my mother will be all alone. The thought causes me to squeeze my eyes shut tightly together and cling onto her tighter.

"I'm sorry, Mom," I say as she strokes my hair.

Mom looks down at me, concern in her blue eyes, "What do you have to be sorry for, Prim?"

"For leaving," I sniffle, "For leaving you all alone here. I'm so sorry!"

"Look at me, Prim." She holds me out at arms length and kneels down so she's close to my level. There's a hardness in her eyes, one I've only seen when she's trying to heal a patient and the odds don't look good for them, "You can't think like that."

"What am I supposed to think?" I cry out, "The reason I wasn't reaped last year was because Katniss took my place. She-"

"She was protecting you," Mom says, "And you can't let her act of selflessness to go to waste. It's time for you to protect yourself."

"But I can't! Gale says I'm useless! I can't kill anything! Everyone says I'll be the first to die! No believes in me!"

"That's not true, Prim not at all," Mom strokes the side of my face, "You didn't see the way people wept when you were taken away. No one would wish this for you, no one. The district wants the best for you.

"But do they believe in me? Do they think I'll win the games?"

Mom presses her lips together and I can tell she's thinking of a way to dance around this question, "They hope so. They'd love to see you return back home."

But that wasn't a definite yes. I only swallow the bile in my throat and nod, burying my face in the front of her dress once more, "I love you, Mom."

Her hand is on the back of my head, her lips touching my forehead. She kisses me once and turns her head so she can hug me closer, "I love you too Primrose, more than anything is this world. More than you can imagine."

The heavy wooden doors swing open and the peacekeepers are here to take Mom away, but I'm not ready to let go. Not yet.

"No!" The word rips through me, cutting the silence around us, "No! Please! I'm not ready!"

When it's clear that I won't be letting go of Mom anytime soon, a peacekeeper wraps their arms around me and pulls me away. Mom reaches out to me, but then clasps her hands together and puts them to her chest, "It's okay, Primrose. It's okay."

But I squirm around and I kick. This is possibly the last time I will see my mother, it is not okay, "Please, don't go!"

"I have to Prim," She gives me a small smile, "Be brave."

"Mom!" I'm aware of the tears leaking down my face now, "Mama, please!"

No amount of my protesting could change anything though, the peacekeepers lead Mom out of the room. Once she's gone the peacekeeper holding me drops me down onto the floor and follows the rest out. The door closes and clicks, locking me into the room by myself. I don't expect anymore visitors so I climb into the couch in a mess of tears and snot. I pull my knees up to my chest, my body shaking with sobs. I didn't even get to tell her to take care of Buttercup and Lady for me. I didn't tell her just how scared I was. I didn't get to say half the things I wanted to.

I'm crying so hard and so loudly that I don't hear the door open again. I also don't hear the footsteps but I feel someone's arm touch mine. I glance up and I'm met with the green eyes of Gale Hawthorne.

"Wh-what are you doing here?"

Gale draws his hand back, his signature frown still on his face, "You thought I wouldn't see you off?"

"I thought you hated me," I wipe my nose on the inside of my shirt, the only surface available.

Gale sighs, "I don't hate you, Prim. I just-" He shakes his head, deciding that whatever he was about to say didn't matter, "This isn't about me. I don't have much time. There's already a line out the door for the people who want to see you."

"People..people want to see me?"

"More than half the district," Gale informs me. I lift my head up to get a good look at him. Half the district have come to see me? Why? How? I don't get the chance to ask because Gale starts talking again.

"Prim, listen. I know that hunting is not your strong suit. What you need to do is get out of the way of everyone else. Stay far away from the other tributes. Maybe you can last by making sure you get enough food and water and finding shelter, but don't worry about killing the others. You just stay under the radar until they pick each other off."

"But Katniss tried that last year and they led her straight back to the other tributes."

"There's twenty three other tributes Prim, get lost in them! Do something or you sure as hell won't make it!" Gale has lost his patience with me once again. He rakes a hand through his dark hair and turns his back to me. There's a moment of silence as I run my hands along the velvet and he breathes heavily before he speaks to me again.

"I promised your sister I'd protect you." I go stiff in my seat and stare at him. He's not looking at me yet, instead he looks at the wall in front of us.

"I don't have all the answers. Just, please, stay alive, alright? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you too."

I wish I could feel flattered, but I know he only says that because of his promise to Katniss, not because he cares about my actual wellbeing. He doesn't hug me, instead he turns and lets himself out. That's it. There's no words of encouragement. No promises. Just the click of the door and the unavoidable silence. This silence, however, isn't as long as the others. Soon after Gale's exit I have another visitor.

Then five.

Then ten.

Then twenty.

Patients of mine and my mother's, their loved ones, people I had passed by on many occasions, people I remember seeing briefly once or twice have come to see me, me, off. They grab me in hugs, kiss my cheeks, cry, tell me stories of how we've met (I remember each and everyone one of them). Some tell me they wanted to bring me something but the peacekeepers didn't allow it.

Mom was right, people do like me, very much actually. Every visit leaves me warm and fuzzy afterwards. It's the warmest I've felt in what seems like a very long time in District 12.

I'm warm as the peacekeepers stand around me and lead me to the train station, I'm warm as I board the train and take my seat by the window, I'm warm when the train starts moving and people stand, staring, waving farewell to me. I take one last look at the district, the people, my friends, and still I'm warm.

We go through a tunnel which makes everything dark, so dark I can't see my hand in front of me.

Only then do I go cold to the bone.