I think I have turned into an Avox. Wordless. Tongueless. Clueless of what to do. I have not the slightest idea how to respond to Peeta's accusatory question. The more I don't say anything though, the more suspicious Peeta will be. Survival is my greatest asset after all, so I say something hoping I will find my footing along the way.

"Of course I'm not in love with Gale...I hate him." I whisper. At least that part is the truth. Not a bad place to start.

"Our bedroom would suggest otherwise!" Peeta rages. This is a side to him that is foreign to me.

I'm a little startled so I just start to ramble.

"Don't be so blind! I would never bring that man into our house again, let alone to have sex with him. It's not what you think. There...was...an intruder." I say, trying to think of anything to disentangle this snare. "A stalker. A freak...who was jerking off in our bed. I caught him after I returned home from my walk picking dandelions."

Peeta doesn't seem to dismiss my fabricated story, but he doesn't seem overly convinced yet.

I continue to babble then, naturely.

"I guess I ran out of the house as quickly as I could. I was terrified. What was I to do! I must have made a beeline to the woods where I ran into Gale and had a panic attack. He brought me here, but nothing is going on between us. But there is a still a criminal running around our town."

Peeta sits down in a nearby chair. My story seems to be having the intended effect. His accusatory voice disappears and the feelings of guilt show on his beautiful baker's face.

"Are you hurt...did he...touch you." Peeta asks.

"No, nothing like that." I reply. "But you know how it is...with how famous I am around the country...I guess it was only a matter of time before some obsessed loon was out there."

"What did he look like!"

"I...I..can't think about this anymore. The panic is setting in again." I start to hyperventilate. Here I am once more, acting for my survival.

I think I am in the clear, though. Holy hell. This is how low I've stooped. I'll grieve for my horrid lies later. Now, I am drinking in the relief I have made it past this moment in time. I know it won't last long. I'll have to find Finnick and figure out what to do about Marigold. I know Peeta won't go asking Gale questions. So I don't have to worry about that. Thankfully.

"We need to fill out a police report. You need to tell them everything." He says. " And I'm sorry."

I just nod my head not wanting to discuss this further.

"Please don't around telling anyone about this. I don't want this out in the open. This needs to stay between us."

"Us and the authorities." He reminds me.

I nod again, knowing that I have zero intention of involving the police in my tall tales.

"Ok, just rest for now." Peeta gets up and plants a kiss on my forehead and then walks out of the room to find something to eat.

Breathe in...breathe out. I remind myself.

My brain goes back to the task at hand. What to do about Marigold? What if Finnick has already decided to spill the beans to Annie? What if I run away and never come back? And am I crazy or did Gale say I was going to have a sister?

No, my brain is not made for this right now. As I seen the nurse walk by, I try to get his attention, hoping that he is as immoral as I am and willing to sneak me some morphling in exchange for money. The cloudy, eerie dreamworld of morphling was sure to be less scary than whatever was going to come next...