The response to last chapter was Amazing! Thank you all so much! I hope you enjoy this as much as to enjoyed that!
Losing. Madge has done it. Madge has seen it. But Madge is a Victor. She is not defeated. Batting a thousand. Gold medals. Laurels. Crowns. They all belong to her. The day Snow placed the thresh of victory on her head, Madge could never have dreamed that winning would be just like losing.
Since then, though, she confuses winning and losing on a near daily basis. They look so similar. Sometimes she cannot tell them apart. The morning after her party in Twelve, for example.
This is a losing day. This is not a victory day.
A chill tinges the sheets. Her bed is cold. No arms wrap themselves around her. Body heat does not find its way between two beings. She is alone. But things are not exactly as they were the night before.
Her beautiful dress is ripped from the slit in her thigh straight to the breast. A side effect of a man's passion. It is ruined forever. The crumpled mess of fabric lies in a heap on her perfectly buffed floor. The client log on her bedside table is wide open. Pages are held flat by a brand new pen. The spine is creased. A name is scribbled beside yesterday's date. Money lies carelessly on the pillow beside Madge's head. It is the first thing she sees when her blue eyes slide open.
It is what her life is worth. It is what she amounts to.
But there is something beneath the wad of money that makes the buzzer go off in the back of Madge's mind. This is match point. This is game over. She sits up. The sheets slide from her body, uncaring of her exposed skin. Her fingers brush the bills to the floor carelessly. The sound goes unheard before it happens. The walls seem suddenly very close. Her heart ricochets inside her chest.
A nightmare becomes real. She feels Snow tug on the puppet strings of her life. His laughter plays in her head. Her hands wrap around an envelope. Photographs fall to the floor. They fly before her vision like a movie she cannot turn off. They breach the horizon and eclipse her world. She and Gale scrubbing shutters. Matching smiles. Barefoot dancing on slick floors. Four words in red, written over a happy Gale and Madge.
I OWN YOU NOW.
She shouldn't be surprised. But she is. Snow has her by the throat.
Everything is wrong. No. No. No.
He can't have Gale. He can't have Gale.
For a while, Madge is frozen. But then, her mind pieces the puzzle together. A plans forms. She will go to the Capitol early. She will prove she is loyal. Her blood and skin will prove her loyalty. And they will have no reason to look at Gale. But until then, Gale cannot be here any longer. Gale cannot be her friend.
Snow cannot know he is all she has.
The silence is shaken by a knock. Her mind snaps. Everything happens fast. Clothes find their way to her body. Photos scramble into her arm. They hide in her chest. She flies down the stairs. A curtain covers the window of her front door. But she knows it is him. Who else would visit?
She breathes. She steadies herself. She thinks of the Masons and the Odairs and the Abernathys.
Her heart apologizes. Then, she opens the door.
"You can't be here," she spits.
Gale blinks. Nothing is getting through his armor today. He has been building to this moment. The chinks in the emotional metal are covered. He is steel. Not even the distant thunders of Madge Undersee could scare him from behind his shield. He twitches at the sight of her shirt- his father's shirt- thrown carelessly over her body- but that is it. He looks behind her and asks a question in disguise. Where is the man from last night?
"Anyone else in here?"
They are all at her father's house. But his question gets no answer. Madge's response is immediate. He cannot be here. The cameras could be anywhere. They could be watching now. She has to end this. He has to leave. Madge has messed up. Capitol danger lurks near Gale. And it is Madge's fault. It is Madge's fault they know about Gale. She knows better. Finnick told her about Annie. That reaping was no accident. She has to fix this. She has to send him away.
A normal breath. And then, terror. She tries to shut him out. Fire dances under her skin. He cannot be here. He cannot be here.
"You have to go. You can't come here anymore."
Her hand is on the door. But Gale is not done. This drama has played out a million times in his head. The lines must be spoken. This play is not over. Then, he is in her house. The door slams. The sound shakes Madge. Grey eyes meet blue. And there is no turning back now.
"I want an explanation."
Both of them stand their ground. Both of them puff their chests. Both of them play at strength. But they both feel so small.
"I'm owed that," he says.
Things can't be what they seem. Gale's mother says that. But Gale isn't sure anymore. He is just tired of being a piece in a game. He wants an answer. This girl is a part of him. And that cannot be left unfinished.
This story does not end with Madge disappearing into another man's arms. Gale is sure of that. Somewhere between his head and his heart, Gale is sure of that.
"Why do I owe you anything?"
Madge turns her back on him and hopes it builds a wall. A wall a thousand feet high. Sheer faced. No footholds. No gates. No windows. Just a wall to keep him safe. A wall to keep the Capitol in. A wall to keep him out.
Gale's response is clear. Each word is divided. There is no room for misunderstanding. Half shrapnel. Half voice of reason. He shoves her face in the words. He twists the knife.
"Because I am the only one who stayed."
No words. Madge cannot find words. Breath passes irregularly. She has to command her eyes to blink. Her fingers slip a little from the stack of pictures.
"You don't want me to stick around? That's fine."
It isn't fine. But Gale cannot say that now. His speech gains momentum. He gets a little more brave. An answer is so close he can feel it.
"But explain why I don't matter anymore."
His voice does not falter. These words, thoughts, and emotions cannot get through his picket defenses. Not anymore. There is just a bit of anger. And a lot of passion.
"Because they have you now."
She nearly screams the words. The pot boils over. She cannot keep it in any longer. An ache pulses through her skull. She pulls at her hair. Gale stops.
"What?"
A blonde head falls. Madge's blue eyes stare at a spot of dirt on the floor. The Capitol team did a poor job of cleaning. She has to do the whole thing over again. A sigh pours from her. Pictures reach out toward Gale. They hang from the edge of fingertips.
He snatches them from her. Eyes take in the images greedily. He expects sex. Scandal. He gets cleaning day. Clumsy dancing.
"When you win, you owe people things. Owe them for helping you win."
She isn't explaining this right. She knows this. But words won't stop now.
"Snow sells me. To pay back my debt. That's why my father is so ashamed. Because Snow sells my body."
Gale stops with the pictures. He stares without seeing anything. He suddenly doesn't want to know. The taste of blood fills his mouth. His stomach revolts. Snakes slither under his skin. This isn't the answer he wants.
The color pulls from his vision. He feels so sick. His head swims. All this time. He thought. Those men. Red lips. Black eyes. Her choice. Not her choice. So wrong. So wrong.
This turns everything completely around. This changes everything. He was going to walk out of that door and never come back. But he can't do that. Not now. They need each other too much.
"I thought I was done. I thought my debt was paid. But now he has you."
Her voice breaks. This is not worth her tears. She did not cry in the arena. She will not cry now. She blinks.
"He killed Johanna Mason's family. And he killed most of Finnick Odair's."
She walks to the door and turns the handle. She makes no secret of the fact that her hands are shaking. There is no need. Because her voice is shaking too.
"But he can't have you."
The door opens. Fury floods him. Is everyone supposed to just sit by and let Snow take what he wants? Gale is tired. Tired of being used. Tired of watching Madge from the cheap seats. Tired of being at the mercy of the television. Tired of Snow. Tired of waiting until Sunday. Tired of wondering which Madge he will have this time, his or theirs.
They can't have Madge. They can't have Madge. Not anymore.
"So that's it?"
Gale's voice is barbed wire, digging into her skin and dragging.
"You're just gonna let Snow use us?"
Unbelievable. This is unbelievable. She is trying to protect him. Madge looks him in the eyes. Her eyes are Capitol steel. Her decision is made. Her heart is not torn or aching. This is not a love story. This is survival.
"If it means you get to live, then yes," she says.
Gale walks through the door. His words are a promise. But they ring like a threat.
"I'm coming back here."
Madge slams the door in his face.
Gale keeps his wicked word. He shows up everyday after work. He sits on her porch for twenty minutes. Coal dust paints his face. His mining uniform stands out against the glistening white of her doorstep. He leaves stains for her to clean. He knocks. She does not let him in. She does not acknowledge his presence.
Except.
Once. The curtains pull back so Madge can seen him. Then, she closes them against the life she could have had.
She is saving his life. They cannot have Gale. Madge won't let them.
Drama. Am I right? Please let me know what you think! I promise you, the feeling will be a LOT lighter around her for the next two/three chapters, I PROMISE! Don't let this angst discourage you. Next up...Madge is back in the Capitol. And Finnick is worried. I can't wait to hear all of your thoughts! Please review!
