Falling For You

Chapter 12

I take a few bites of my pancakes, but something doesn't feel right. I start to feel dizzy and I immediately run to the kitchen sink, hand covering my mouth. I keep gagging, but it's mostly just spit coming up. I hear Peeta's footsteps and then his hands on my back. I cough a few times, making sure it's over, then I rinse my mouth out, and wipe my face with my hand. "Are you okay?" Peeta asks, softly rubbing my back. I run my fingers over my braid and nod. "I'm fine now. I just got dizzy all the sudden and...." I lose my train of thought, looking down at the floor. "Okay, well I think you should probably lay down for a minute just in case." He suggests. "Okay, but just for a minute." I allow him to lead me to the living room and lay down on the couch. He covers me up with the blanket that we keep on the couch and brings me a glass of water. "Peeta this isn't necessary. I feel fine." I accept the water anyway and take a sip. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up and go see Prim." I get up and toss the blanket back on the couch. "Are you sure? What if you're sick. You could get prim sick." I smile at him. It's sweet how much he cares about me, even if it's annoying. "If it'll make you feel better, while I'm there I'll tell my mom what happened and see if there's anything she can do." I tell him. "Okay....I'll see you when you get back." He hesitantly, says. "I'll be fine." I kiss his cheek, before running upstairs to go get changed.
As soon as I step inside the door Prim jumps up from where she was sitting at the table. She runs over to me and hugs me. "Hey, little duck. I missed you so much." I hold her tighter, not wanting to let go. "I missed you too Katniss." I kiss her hair, breathing in her scent one last time, and release her. "Did you have fun with Peeta?" She asks, returning to her seat at the table. "Yeah." I sit down next to her. "What'd you guys do?" Memories of the first night flash into my mind, making me blush. "We just you know laid around the house and relaxed. I went swimming, but Peeta didn't swim with me." I tell her, leaving out the biggest part. I glance up at my mom as she walks in and I can tell she was listening. "What'd you do once you got home? I went to go see you yesterday, but no one was home." She frowns as if just remembering. "I'm sorry." I feel horrible for not coming to see her first. "Gale wanted to talk to me and Peeta must've went to the bakery." I watch my mom rearrange the cabinets. I can tell she's eavesdropping by how slowly she's moving everything. "It's okay." Prim opens the container of cookies in front of her and takes one out. "You want one?" She pushes it towards me. "Yes, thank you." I take two out and put one in my mouth. Prim and I talk for a while, about her school, and about how she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. It's like everytime I see her she's changed, gotten older, stronger, smarter, braver, and less and less like the little girl I volunteered for. I don't want her to grow up, but I know it's inevitable. Suddenly, the scent of my mom's medicine mixed with my emotions is too much and I start to feel nauseous again. I jump up from my seat and run to the bathroom upstairs, barely making it before I throw up again into the toilet. I hear footsteps on the stairs, and then she's holding my hair back. "Are you alright, Katniss?" She asks, eyes filled with concern. "Yes. I'm fine. It was just the medicine. The smell made me sick, I guess." I assure her. "Is Peeta sick? You could've gotten something from him." Prim suggests, clearly not satisfied with my explanation. "No, Peeta's not sick. I already told you it was just the smell. It's nothing to worry about." I find myself comforting her, even though I'm the one who just threw up. "I think I've got something you can try." My mom offers from the doorway. Prim follows her downstairs. I rinse my mouth out, and wait for them to return. My mother approaches me and holds out her hand. I only have to glance at her hand once to recognize what it is, a pregnancy test. Most girls from the seam don't get that kind of luxury but now that we have money we can afford to buy them for some people. "No." I start backing away from her. "Katniss-" she starts, but I run away before she can finish. I run down the stairs and out the door without stopping or slowing down. I keep running, until I reach my old house. I run inside and crouch down on the floor, catching my breath. I don't need to take the test to know that she's right. I lay down on the floor and curl up in a ball.

I don't know how long I've been laying here when I start to hear footsteps coming towards me. I know instantly who it is. No one else I know is that loud. I watch him walk up to me and sit down next to me, but I don't make any effort to move. "Katniss, your mom told me what happened." I make eye contact with him so he knows I'm listening, but I say nothing. "I'm going to take you home now, okay?" He asks. I nod, allowing him to pick me up. My first instinct has always been to run, but I can't run from this.
I cry the entire time he carries me into our house. He tries occasionally to comfort me, but it doesn't help. He sets me on the couch and I curl up with a pillow. "Katniss, please talk to me." He sits down next to me and wraps his arm around me, forcing me to release the pillow. I Lay my head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat. "I can't do this Peeta. I can't bring a child into this world knowing that there's a huge possibility that because of us it will have to be in the games." It'll be all my fault. I'm the one who pulled out those berries. "You can't think about that right now, you need to just focus on taking care of yourself and this baby. We have twelve years before we even have to think about that." He says. I know he's right. I've tried so hard to push the thought of having children to the back of my mind this entire time, but I've always known it was inevitable. "I love you." As I say it I realize this might be the first time I've said it when I actually meant it. "I love you too. Both of you." He rests his hand on my waist. I really do love Peeta, and I need him now more than ever.

A/N: I feel like this chapter was really um cliché? Expected? idk. But the next one is the reaping so that'll be interesting.