Chapter 4

Rory and I end up going home. He glances at the "bouquet" of flowers in my arms but I don't think he knows.

My mother starts getting up to see where I went but Hazelle mutters something to her and she nods, sitting back down.

I let go of his hand and walk into the bedroom, slamming the door. I sit down on the edge of my cot. Making sure there's no sign of anyone coming in, I unwrap the blankets surrounding the bow and arrows.

I set the bow aside and pull an arrow out of the sheath. I trace it slowly, thinking of my sister. My fingers instinctively stop at the arrowhead.

Katniss has always warned me about how sharp it is. I pricked my finger once when I was little, but I don't remember it. There's a loud knock on the door, and startled, I accidentally jerk the arrow across my arm. Blood starts oozing from the open gash and I begin to panic. The pain is searing up my arm and I feel closer to fainting by the second.

"Prim?" asks Rory, sounding concerned.

"Um, one second!"

I grab the sheet because it's the first thing I can think of and I cover my arm with it, trying not to make it obvious.

"Come in.."

I smile nervously at Rory while holding my arm tight to stop the bleeding.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay." He said awkwardly, scratching his head.

I cleared my throat. I was trying not to scream because my arm was burning not to mention that the blood was beginning to seep through the sheet.

I manage to grit my teeth and smile at him. "Thank you, Rory."

He smiles and walks closer to Katniss' cot, which is right next to mine. "Mind if I sit down?"

He couldn't have picked worse timing. But of course, I couldn't say anything, so I just nodded and tried to move my hand out of his view as he began to sit down on the edge of Katniss' cot.

He then suddenly stands up straight and stares at me sheepishly while his face reddens.

"Sorry.. I didn't mean to um.. You know, sit there."

"No it's fine." I smile, but my voice sounds strained.

"Are you sure you're okay, Prim?" he asks, looked concerned. Rory's so sweet. I'm glad he didn't have to lose Gale.

"U-um.. Yeah. I'm fine."

"Okay. Well, that's good." he says, smiling. He begins walking over to door, but before he can leave, I say his name.

"Rory? Help." I whispered, blacking out.

I wake up in the same place I passed out, the room Katniss and I shared.

Everything's exactly the same, except there's a chair pulled next to my cot and a glass of water I assume is for me on top of it.

I greedily gulp the entire thing down, immediately craving more. I try getting out of bed, but for some reason, I find it hard to move.

"Mom?"

My mother is at my bedside within a second.

"Prim, is everything alright!? How is your arm?"

I glance down and see that my arm is heavily bandaged and smells of medicinal herbs to speed up healing. I didn't even remember my arm was injured.

"It's completely fine, Mom. Thank you for wrapping it up."

"I wouldn't have even known if Rory hadn't screamed from your cotside for help. He was so worried; I thought he was going to faint himself."

"Oh. Well that's nice of him."

I realize that Katniss' arrows and sheath are nowhere to be seen. I begin to panic as my mother gently perches herself on the edge of the cot. I imagine her soothingly placing her hand on my knee and telling me some idiotic story about how she disposed on them because they were oh-so dangerous.

"Where did you put her arrows? Where?!"

"Prim, calm down. I put them under here. I hope you don't mind that I took some safety precautions." she says, reaching below the cot.

She hands me the sheath, which had about thirty rags stuffed in it so that the arrowheads didn't protrude.

I manage slight laugh before my thoughts return to Katniss.

"Did they show anything else?" I ask, almost not wanting to know the answer.

"No. They barely got 10 seconds of each District in before they started showing all of the Reapings."

"Do you think you could bring me a glass of water?"

"Of course."

By the time my mother walks back in with a full glass, I'm fast asleep again.

Hey guys! I'm incredibly sorry for not updating sooner. Thank you to that guest reviewer who asked me to update; you truly made my day! I'm sorry this is a short chapter but once I get my thoughts together I will start publishing longer chapters again. Also, for anyone who has read I Can Help, I WILL finish that story soon.

-DramioneForever123