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Song of the chapter; "Locked Away." By R. City & Adam Levine.

Peeta's POV;

Darkness. That's all there is on the other side, eternal darkness. Forever floating in and out of reality, a constant confusion of where you are or how long you've been there for.

I can't tell if I'm dead. I hope I am, at least for my sake, for Katniss's sake, for our probably now dead child. I was holding them back, that's for sure.

I'm dead, that's one thing I know.

Dead. Dead. Dead.

Never again to see my fiancée, or the child still in her womb, or the three year old only god knows where. My brothers kind face.

My fate is undetermined.

But already determined.

Katniss's POV;

"Get up Kat, it's time to get ready for your baby appointment. I hope you don't mind, I called the office. I also made breakfast, and did your laundry. And got the girls dressed and sent them to Haymitch's whole we're gone." He rattles off the information quickly while I'm still rubbing the sleep from my face.

"You didn't ... You didn't have to do all that Rye, it's not your house." I mumble into my palm sitting up. He's wearing one of Peeta's aprons, and his pajama pants, but no shirt.

"I know, but after everything you went through lately I figured house work was the last thing on your mind.." He says. He digs through the dresser, and finds a signature Peeta shirt; tight fitting white tee shirt. He slips it over his head, and then throws the apron into the hamper. "I'll clean later too, but the appointment is in half an hour."

"Okay." I nod. Hesitantly I walk to the dresser next to him, and look through. I find a pair of black leggings, and and then a tan knit sweater. I pull it over my head, and put my hair in its signature braid.

I brush my teeth, and pull on my hunting boots before walking downstairs. "Ready?" He asks softly.

I nod, and he offers me his arm. I take it graciously, and we start towards town. I nod towards the few I've already known, and a few nod towards me; some I've never met.

The maternal ward is nearly deserted, only a nurse or two roaming the halls for minuscule tasks to complete. So when they see us, all of them jump at the hands to help us. They lead us into a examination room, exactly like the ones in a regular hospital.

I change, and lay on the loud, crinkling paper on the metal table. Rye stands next to me, and places a hand on my shoulder when the doctors comes in. He gives is a reassuring squeeze before sitting next to me. His fingers are so close to mine I feel them graze across mine a few times. But they never enclose mine, they just stay there, twitching.

"So, what brings you two here today?" He asks pulling on a pair of light blue rubber gloves. A nurse walks in, the same one who escorted us to the room in the first place.

"I believe I'm pregnant, but I'm not sure because I just was-"

"She fell down a flight of stairs, and we don't want it to hurt the baby." Rye interrupts me.

"Okay, we'll lets take a look of that miracle growing inside your womb." The nurse smiles also putting on some gloves. She rolls my shirt up, and squeezes gel onto my stomach. 

The cold shoots through me, and I jump and grip his fingers. I release, but he keeps a hold of me.

She moves some kind of detector over my stomach, and finally sighs with a smile. "How far along are you? Just so we can be sure everything is correct and matched up."

"Three months." I say.

"Alright, in that case everything seems to be fine, the baby is smaller than normal, but as long as it gets around the five to six pound mark it'll be fine."

"Is it old enough to tell the gender?" Rye asks from beside me.

"Do you want to know the gender?" The nurse asks me, freezing the screen of the sonogram machine.

"I-I guess." I stutter. "Yeah, that'll be fine I guess." I whisper looking at a poster about abortion hanging across from me.

"You don't seem too sure." She replies. The doctor places a hand on my knee

"I'm gonna go check on another patient, you won't be needing me will you?" He asks her.

"Nope, your good." She says with a smile. He nods and ducks from the room.

"Kat, you don't have to find out the gender, I was just asking if it was possible." He says quietly. "I don want you I think you have to."

"I don't want to know." I finally decide. "I don't even know if I want to keep it when it's born." My thoughts come out of my mind before I can filter them.

"Why wouldn't you keep it?" My nurse asks softly. "Children are miracles, the only things still pure and innocent we have left in this world." She speaks, her slightly southern accent coming out as she talks.

"I can't raise this child on my own." I say.

"Your not alone, you always have the baby daddy." She nods towards Rye.

"Oh no, I'm not the father." He says. "The father is my brother."

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to him?" She asks sitting down in a stool next to the bed.

I look to Rye. "They were admitted into a mental institution a few months back, and he never came back out. We are under the intention that he is dead." Rye explains

"I'm so sorry.." She whispers taking my other hand in hers and letting a silent tear fall down her cheek. "I had no idea."

"It was terrible, but we made it out I guess." I shrug.

"Well, we'll save the gender reveal for the actual birth. How's that sound?" He asks standing.

"Yeah, that'd be great." I nod. She hands me a wad of paper towels, and I wipe off the gel from my stomach. Rye throws the towels away, and helps me up.

"This appointment's on us." She informs me as we make our way towards the main doors.

"Thank you so much." I sigh and collect Rye's arm in my grasp again.

"Do you want to stop at Sae's and get something to eat before we go home?" He suggests as we near the old, broken down hob.

"Yeah, that's fine." I nod. He holds the door for me, and the entire building goes dead silent. Suddenly, everyone starts to clap, and cheer, and hold up three fingers towards me.

Rye takes a step back, also to clap and smile proudly. It dies down, and a tall man comes foreward, shaking my hand. "Hello." I say wearily.

"Hello, we just wanted to say that we are all proud of you. After everything you've been through we just want to say that we're so sorry for what happened. And Peeta." She says softly.

"Thank you, but how did you know about all of this?" I ask her.

"It's all over the news." She explains with a deep, meaningful grimace.

"Well, thank you. But we actually just came for something to eat. From Sae's stand."

The crowd parts like the Red Sea, and we walk through the people. I smile a bit when I accidentally make eye contact with them as I pass.

We sit at a bench, not really a bench, but more of a weathered ten foot long, weathered board. "Katniss!" She exclaims when she finally sees us. She comes around to my side of the counter and engulfs me into her short arms. "How have you been?"

"Not too good, but I'm not here to talk about that. I was some of your wild dog soup." I say with a big grin.

"Coming right up!" She says, dishing out some soup for me. "What can I get you?" She asks Rye.

"W-What do you have?" He asks. I chuckle a bit at his uncomfortableness.

"Wild dog, potato root, cornmeal stew, and cheesy grits." She rattles off the kinds of soups and stews she's made.

"I guess potato root." He shrugs and she places the wooden bowl in front of him and he stares at it.

"Eat it." I nod. Spoon rattles off of the metal bowl my soup is in. We devour our soup, I can't spot Sae again so I leave a handful of coins on the counter beside our bowls.

We walk together silently back into the victor's village. "Oh shit." Rye snaps turning back towards town. "We've got that meeting with the police officer."

"Shit." I agree, and quicken my pace towards town again. The police office - as always - is buzzing with life, teenagers cuffed to wooden benches, waiting for their parents to come and scold them.

"We're here to talk to detective Beckman, about some personal matters." The explains as he leans over the the receptionists desk.

"I'll fetch him right away sir." The young girl nods and half jogs, half walks down the hall. I'm guessing to Beckman's office. "He's ready for you." She breaths jogging back to us.

We walk into his office, the room lined with various degrees and awards. "Hello!" He bellows standing from his swiveling chair. "I presume you are Katniss Everdeen."

"Yes, and this is Rye Mellark."

"Peeta's brother, yes." He nods. "Sit, please, your making me nervous." We all give an uncomfortable chuckle, and sit down in the plush chairs. There so soft, I feel like they could suck me in. "So, how can I help you guys today?"

"I'll cut right to the chase, I know a place in district one; where they do unspeakable things. I was there. They wouldn't let me leave, tortured us."

"Us?"

"My fiancée, Peeta Mellark."

He nods. "Continue."

"We were admitted to Bluemont Mental Institution four months ago to this day, and I promised everyone in there I would get that vile place shut down."

"How did you get out? Did you escape?"

"I did some favors for one of the men there, he helped me escape." I say hoping he won't make me elaborate.

"Favors?" I sigh, and lean against the side of the chair.

"You know .... Favors.."

"Oh alright, anyways, if you don't mind my asking, what happened to your fiancée?"

"My guess, he died. They told me he had hung himself with his bed sheets in the middle of the night." Rye's breath hitches in his throat. "I'm sorry." I rub his arm.

"So, what would you propose we do here?" He asks me.

"Get it shut down." I speak clearly.

"Alright, we'll get a warrant. We'll contact you in half a week, and then we'll go in, does that sound okay?"

"Yes." I nod.

Half a week, then I shut down Bluemont.

***

Hey y'all. Hope you enjoyed, this chapter was sooooo boring to write, sorry but it was.

Starting now, I will not be updating until I have ten votes on the previous chapter. Sorry if this is annoying, but it takes seriously two seconds to vote, so come on guys. ♥️

THANKS FOR 2K READS.

Xoxo Kylee.
Word count; 1898