Katniss pretended to be asleep as Peeta got up and left for work at the bakery, and he was kind enough not to wake her. He placed a soft kiss on her cheek before leaving, wishing he could spend the day in bed with her. He smiled as he remembered the night before, then headed out.
As soon as she heard the front door close downstairs she jumped out of bed and began putting on her clothes. She wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. She ran back to hers and went straight to the shower, hoping to wash off the guilt that hung heavily on her. She started up the water and began to cry, her tears intermingling with the water from the shower, then she started scrubbing at her skin with the nailbrush, wanting to cleanse herself of her skins. Her crying became audible over the shower, she was rubbing her skin raw, I'm a bad person, she thought, choking on her own tears, I'm a slut, the pain from scrubbing was not enough to erase those thoughts. "It's not fair!" She wailed, throwing her fists against the wall of the shower. She continued to lash out until her fists bled, then she slid to the floor, sobbing dejectedly, letting the water wash over her, losing herself in her own sorrow.
After what felt like a very long time, she managed to rouse herself. Her clothes felt heavy on her raw skin but she welcomed the pain it brought. She had come to the decision she should see Gale. Although she didn't know what to say to him, she had to tell him something. She threw on her fathers hunting jacket and headed out the door.
Gale was waiting for her at their usual meeting spot and just the sight of him bought fresh tears to her eyes. "Hey, hey, what's wrong?" He said when he saw her face, rushing to comfort her.
"They saw us, they know." Gale's face turned white, he looked around, as if trying to see the cameras for himself.
"What are they going to do?" worry was all over his face now. Are we safe? He thought, half formed plans of escape began to assemble in his mind.
Katniss swallowed back a wave of tears, "we… we need to stop seeing each other." Gale opened his mouth to protest, but she shook her head, blinking away tears, "I made a deal with Snow, I-" she couldn't hold back anymore and she began to sob. "I'm so sorry!" she cried, "it was the only way to keep you safe!"
"Hey, don't cry, it's okay, I promise it's okay." He tried to take her into his arms, but this just made her cry even harder. It's not okay she thought sadly if you knew what I did you wouldn't be saying that. Gale wrapped his arms around her and pressed his forehead against hers, looking deep into her eyes. "It's okay, I love you no matter what." If only that were true.
"I'm so sorry," she spluttered, "I love you so much, I need you to know that. Im sorry."
With that she turned and ran, not home but deeper into the woods. She ran and ran, further than Gale had ever been, she didn't want him to find her, she couldn't ever face him again. Finally when it grew dark she allowed herself to stop running. She was exhausted, starving and thirsty. She felt like she had on the first day of the hunger games. Still this pain wasn't enough to absolve her. She hauled herself into a tree and finally fell into a broken sleep in its branches.
When the morning sun woke her, she climbed down from the tree, stiff and aching. Slowly she began the long walk home, careful to stay away from anywhere that Gale may look for her. When she finally reached the fence she climbed under it and walked swiftly through the town, hoping no one would stop her, she couldn't handle social contact at this point. When she reached her house she slowly made her way up the stairs, then collapsed into the bed, pulling the cover over her head she wished as hard as she could that she would just disappear.