~KATNISS~

Katniss dove to his his side, screaming, "Peeta, Peeta—-" He didn't respond. She looked around him, there was just so much blood, she needed to get help. She jumped up and ran down the stairs, heading out the door towards her home. She needed her mom, she was the only one that could help him.

She swung opened the front door, hollering out, "Mom!" She was frantic, she knew that she needed to find her mom now, if there was any chance for Peeta. She didn't know how long he had been lying there. She knew that there was a chance of him doing this again, but how did it go from flesh wound, to this. Was it an accident? Had he accidentally went too far, or had he meant to end his life?

Mrs. Everdeen looked alarmed as she came into the foyer, from the kitchen, "Katniss what is it?" sounding as if she was afraid to hear the answer. When Katniss didn't answer right, "Is it Prim?"

"No," she cried, as tears fell down her face. "It's Peeta. There's just so much blood…." Katniss stop crying, she told herself. This wasn't the time for this, she had to be strong for Peeta. He needed them right now. She didn't give her mom time to react before she rushed out the door. Mrs. Everdeen quickly followed her, but not before grabbing her bag, that she kept by the door in cases like this.

On their way out the door, they were met by Prim on the path. She noticed that they both seemed to be in a panic, "What's happening?"

"No time to explain, we need to get over to Peeta's house," her mom said.

They all rushed to into Peeta's room. As they saw him lying there on the ground, with a pool of blood around him, "Prim, I need you to put pressure on his wound," her mom yelled as they rushed to his side. She began grabbing out things out of her bag, Katniss took her sweater off, and handed it to her sister to use.

"Katniss, what happen to him?" she asked. She needed to know as much information as she could to help him as best as she could. Katniss just stood there frozen, unable to answer her mother. "Katniss!" she yelled.

Snapping out of it, "He cut himself. I found out just over a week ago that he's been cutting himself. It started not long after we got back from the Games," she cried, holding back the tears that wanted to fall.

"I need you to go get Bran."

"Why?" not wanting him anywhere near Peeta. They hadn't bothered with him, so why should he get to be here now.

"Now isn't the time to question. Now go!" she demanded. She knew by that tone, that it couldn't be good.

Katniss ran out of the room, out of the house, and towards town. This was the hardest she had run since the Hunger Games, so she could feel the burning in her chest, but she ignored it.

As she approached the door, she noticed Mrs. Mellark in the kitchen. Now wasn't the time to shade away. This wasn't about her, and what she felt, this was about Peeta. And right now he needed his father. She took a deep breath, and knocked on the door. The door swung opened. Mrs. Mellark stood right in front of her. "We don't want your business Seam rate!" she said before she went to close the door.

Katniss put her foot in the door to avoid the door fully closing. "I need to talk to Mr. Mellark."

"I'm sorry, but he's busy. Now leave before I call the Peacekeepers!" she sneered.

"I'm not leaving until I talk to him," she snarled back. If she had her way she would do every bad thing she ever did to Peeta, back to her. "Mr. Mellark! Mr Mellark!" she screamed.

"I told you to leave!" she said getting into her face, as if to intimidate her, like she was sure she did to her sons.

"And I told you I'm not leaving until I talk to him. Your tactics may work on other people, but they don't work on me. Now you go get him now, or you will live to regret it. I know what you have done to—" before she got to finish her sentence, Mr. Mellark came down the stairs in a rush.

"What is it Katniss?" concerned to why she was at his home this evening.

"It's Peeta, he's hurt, real bad!"

Without hesitation, he grabbed Katniss, and they rushed back to Victors' Village.

Katniss sat by Peeta's side, holding his hand, while Mr. Mellark sat on his other side. Her mom had been able to stop the blood, now they were just waiting. Prim stood behind her sister, and put her hand on her shoulder. "Mom, why hasn't he woken up?"

"Katniss, he lost a lot of blood. His body is trying to heal itself."

"Eva can I talk with you?" asked Mr. Mellark, Katniss heard him say. She didn't bother to pay much attention, as she was too focused on Peeta. She was worried about him. He looked so fragile lying here. It reminded her of their days in the cave as she tended to him.

Katniss brushed the strand of hair away from his face, "Peeta, you need to wake up. I need you here with me. I don't think I can handle going to the Capital without you. Haymitch is a little too much to handle, and you're the only one that can keep be calm throughout it."

"Katniss, everything is going to be okay," Prim tried assuring her.

"How do you know?"

"Cause Peeta is a fighter, and he wouldn't leave you behind. He loves you."

She wasn't too sure. Her sister didn't know what had been going on with Peeta, why he had begun cutting. She wasn't sure she wanted to tell her sister, as she didn't want her to think badly of her.

~MRS. EVERDEEN~

They walked outside of Peeta's room, somewhere Katniss and Prim couldn't overhear. "Eva be frank with me, how is my son really doing?"

"He's not well. He lost a lot of blood, and because I don't have the type of equipment that the Capital does to help save him, he will be lucky if he lives the night. I'm so sorry Bran," she said as she put her arms around him. She knew this couldn't be easy for him. He had just got Peeta back after thinking he wouldn't come back from the Games, only to have a chance of losing him again.

"Thanks." Releasing her from his arms, "Do you know what happen to him? Katniss never really explained."

"From what Katniss told me he's been cutting himself since some time after the games."

"What do you mean cutting himself?"

"Some people cut them self to relieve the pain their feeling."

"This is all my fault," he said, leaning up against the wall. "I abandoned my son when he needed me the most."

"Bran—-"

"No it's true. And he probably did this today because of me."

"Why would you say that?"

"I came by the house earlier to see him. He was really mad at me, and he told me what he thought of me. He told me to leave."

~PEETA~

Peeta slowly opened his eyes, looking from side to side. How did he get in bed, he thought. He couldn't remember anything.

"Peeta," Katniss whispered.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I found you on the ground, you were bleeding badly. You had cut to deep this time."

His stomach dropped. It was all coming back to him. He had been so upset after going over to Katniss's place. He had come home, closed all the curtains, closing himself off from the world again. He then had went into his art room, and started painting his feelings, but got frustrated and trashed the room. When he went clean himself up, he saw the razor sitting on the counter by the sink, he did everything to try to stop himself, but he was too weak. He chose to cut himself, but had gone too deep.

"I'm going to get my mom," she said.

He watched her get up, and leave his room. He wish she wasn't here. He couldn't take these games anymore. He just wish she was honest with him, instead of playing with his heart. He didn't want her around because she felt obligated, or because of the Capital. Maybe it would have been better if he had just died, then he didn't have to feel this pain anymore. It wasn't like he would be missed.

He was interrupted from his thought, when Katniss and her mom came back in. Mrs. Everdeen came and sat down beside him, and started checking him out. "Peeta, how are you feeling?"

"I'm a little tired, and my arms are hurting," not that it bothered him. The pain was a welcoming feeling, it was a release from what he was feeling right now.

"That's to be expected after the blood you loss. Your wounds seem to be healing nicely. I will give you a little of sleep syrup later to help you sleep. I will let you two be. I will be downstairs with Bran if you need me."

"You mean my father's here?" Peeta was surprised.

"Yeah he's been here for the last few days," she smiled at him, before walking out of the room. He hadn't expected him to show, let alone his mother allow him to be gone from the bakery this long.

"Peeta, I need to ask you something," Katniss said, as she looked down at her hands, as she fiddled with her hands. She was nervous, but he didn't know why. "Did you try to kill yourself?"

He was taken back by her question. Cause in reality he didn't know. He was so upset that day. He couldn't be sure if he accidentally went to deep or not. "I don't know," he said, as a tear came rolling down his cheek. "Katniss, I can't keep playing these games. So you're off the hook. You can be with Gale, and I will let Snow it was me that broke it off. I will take the fall, I will do anything he wants me to. And you can be free of me."

"Peeta, I don't want to be with Gale."

"Come on Katniss, stop with this. I heard you the other day with Gale."

"Well I don't know what you heard, but you must not heard the whole thing because I told Gale that I didn't want to be with him, that I only thought of him as a brother."

"Come on you don't need to lie to me."

"I'm not ly— Is this why you cut that day? Did you think that I was hanging around you just because I had to?"

Peeta opened his mouth to say something, but nothing would come out. He really didn't what to think. He had been fooled before. He was tired of being the joke of District 12, because he had believed that someone like Katniss could ever love him back.

Katniss took his hand. "Peeta, I promised you I was done with all that, that I wanted to be friends. That hasn't changed. When I found you lying there, bleeding, I was so scared."

"But then you would have your life back, and you wouldn't have the burden of me holding you back. It would just have been better if I died. It's not like anyone needs me."

"I do. I need you," she said before she leaned down, and kissed him.