Forever [Prim/Cato]

Chapter 1 - The Lie

Recap

"The last agreement between me and Snow was that at some point, I'd have to make sure to get you pregnant so that he could stick her in the Games and make her a special victor."

What?

"So, you agreed to give our baby away to the Capitol without telling me?"

"It wasn't like that. I just planned on not even getting you pregnant, but I couldn't control myself, as always, around you."

I scoff. "You knew that we'd end up having sex at one point. I don't need your excuses."

"You could make any man lose his mind. Of course I lost mine."

"So I'm just supposed to give her up to him sometime in the future?"

Cato shrugs. "I'm sorry."

"This man has taken everything from me. And now you want him to take her?!"

"I haven't taken anything from you, my dear."

I want to stab him, but I just clutch Willow closer. She's all I have. "You took my sister, and Haymitch!"

"Sweetheart, they were never gone."

My heart stops. "What?"

Snow smiles. "I think we'll both get what we want in the end, hm?"

He strides to us and I smell the sick rose scent. He kisses my forehead and leans to kiss Willow's cheek before leaving.

I think President Snow just told me that Katniss was never dead.

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1

I don't know what to do. President Snow has left, and I'm left alone with Cato, who has basically betrayed my trust and his daughter's trust.

Willow is staring up at me with her bright green eyes, probably wondering why I look so upset. Cato is watching me, too. Cato is far from my mind right now, though, because all I can think of is one thing...

All those that I thought were gone may still be alive. For a whole year, I thought the most important pieces of my life would forever be a memory.

I don't know what to do. I can't seem to process the information. It doesn't register within my mind because it might not be true. Snow could be playing another one of his tricks on me.

I can't get worked up in the what-ifs. I need to focus on what's happening right now.

Cato walks towards me slowly, reaching his arms out for Willow, but I turn away. He's not touching my baby. After what he's done, how could I ever trust him?

Cato scowls at me, but I shrug it off. "Let me hold my fucking baby, Rose," he snaps. "You can't do that to me."

His baby? It seems to me he lost those privileges the moment he sold her to Snow. "She's not yours. She's mine."

I stalk away from him, not wanting to fight in front of Willow. The last thing she needs to see is a screaming match between her Mommy and Daddy when she's barely a day old.

"I helped create her," he shouts at me. Tears almost pool in my eyes at the height of his voice. Since he never yells at me, I'm always startled when he does.

Please... I don't want to fight. I just want to go back to bed.

It takes everything in me not to completely ruin his mood. I can't avoid the inevitable fight. I'm absolutely fuming. "You're also the one that's going to kill her!" I shout back, but I regret it the moment the words fall out of my mouth. I glance down at Willow in my arms and her face is scrunched up, ready to cry bloody murder.