The Epilogue - Katniss and Peeta

Pain.

*Willow's POV*

I watch as his mouth moves, but his eyes and face stay idle. Part of me believes I just heard his voice in my head, until his left hand moves to mine, reassuring me. His finger glides back and forth against my skin, and my tears stop.

"Flynn?" I ask softly, and he nods his head. "What happened?"
"I woke up last night and when I left my room, I saw him standing in your room. He was about to climb on top of you so I ran in and pulled him away. I held him off of you until the guards arrived, but after that I don't remember anything." He says quietly. My body becomes more tense, and I feel a panic rise in my chest.

This was because of me?

"Why would you do this to yourself?" I ask, and my voice breaks.
"I'm okay." He remarks unconvincingly. I accidentally let out a cry, and his eyes finally open. "I'll be okay, sweetheart."
"I want you to be okay." I say, in between tears. He gestures for me to come closer, so I do, and he wraps his one arm around me tightly. "Am I hurting you?"
"You never hurt me, Lo."

But I do hurt him, I'm the one who caused this. If he never had woken up last night, he would be okay now. He wouldn't be here covered in bandages and in immense pain. He'd be able to wipe my tears.

"I need you to listen to me." He remarks before coughing. I keep my eyes averted from his face, and he tries to move my chin towards him, and fails. "Look at me." He says, and I shake my head. "Look at me." He says even softer, and I finally look at him. His eyes soften, and this makes me cry even harder. "I'm dying, Willow."

"No you're not," I start quickly. "You're talking to me and—and you can breathe."
"Yes, I can do all of those things," he starts before beginning to cough again. "But I'm bleeding out—and without surgery, there's no chance of me surviving."
"What's the chance of you surviving the surgery?" I ask, tears filling my eyes. He just looks at me, and I take that as an answer. I begin to cry, and I bury my face in his neck. "You have to be okay for me, Flynn." I remark hopelessly.
"I'm so sorry, Lo."

_

*Katniss's POV*

I watch from afar as a doctor walks out of his room and towards us. She looks back once before giving us her full attention. I watch as she fiddles with her hands, and I look up to Peeta, who's giving me the same look.

"It's really an honor to be taking care of you and your family." She says, and I fight the urge to roll my eyes. I don't want this attention on us, every single ounce of attention should be going to Flynn. "That being said, Flynn isn't doing well."

"What's happening to him?" Peeta asks, and I tighten my grasp around his hand.
"He has many fractures," she starts while pulling x-rays out of his folder. I watch as she points to areas to show us, and then continues. "But he also has a punctured lung and is bleeding out."
"Bleeding out?" I blurt. She nods in my direction and then shows us his Abdominal CT scan. She points to the darkened area on the scan, and I notice how big it is.

"Without surgery," she says, "he has very little chance of surviving."
"How dangerous is the surgery?" Peeta asks, and she shrugs her shoulders slightly.
"We won't be able to tell until we've opened him up and seen the damage."
"I feel like this is his decision, rather than ours." I say quietly, and Peeta nods his head in agreement with me. The doctor closes her files and then looks up at us. She then turns around and begins to walk towards Flynn's room, before pausing right outside.

"I suggest maybe giving these two some time," she says while looking into the room. "She seems to be taking it hard and I don't want any new surroundings to influence his decision." Her eyes flicker to me before she begins to walk away, in the opposite direction of which we came. I turn to Peeta, who's staring at the ground, and I sigh.