KATNISS' POINT OF VIEW.
I wake up the next morning and slowly get out of bed. The sunlight creeps through the crack in the curtains. I sigh at the thought of a new day, but continue on downstairs.
Bae's drawing again in the kitchen, I take a seat at the table too.
"Good morning" he says, without taking his eyes off his page.
"Morning" I sigh. "Any plans for the day then?"
"Not really." He says. "Oh, there is one thing." He looks up at me "I might go and see Ivy" he beams.
"Right. Bae here's the thing." I look at my hands on the table. "I don't want to stop you from being friends with Ivy… but I'd like you to stay away from her for a while. And her dad" I think about everything that happened last night.
"What?!" he protests "Why? That's not fair, you can't do that"
"It's only for a while." I sigh. "Only until I've sorted out everything with gale – I mean, Mr Hawthorne."
"No! Mum, that's not fair" He complains again.
"I'm sorry Bae, but that's it. That's my final decision." I snap. He throws the sketch book at me and storms off to his room. I feel the anger make my blood boil under my skin. It throbs in my fingertips. Not Bae though. I'm not angry at him, he's done nothing – and to be fair; he has a reason to be upset. But it's gale's fault.
So many questions bubble up in my head; why did gale get so upset? Why was he drunk? Why does everything happen at once? I wish it didn't. Everything happens when I can't handle it. I feel myself shaking as I pick up the sketchbook. Tears well in my eyes when I see it. A perfect picture of Peeta and me; with the words 'welcome home mum' scribbled in the corner. I sit with my head on the table.
"Are you alright?" I hear Peeta ask, moments later.
"I just had to tell Bae that he couldn't go and see Ivy today." I sigh.
"Ouch" He says, squeezing my shoulders. "Don't feel bad, it had to be done. There's no way I'm letting him near that psychopath."
"Peeta!" I exclaim "Gale isn't a psychopath. He was clearly drunk." I correct him.
"I know, but still – that doesn't excuse him from acting the way he did."
"I know, I know." I sigh. "But Gale wouldn't just drink for no reason, I think something's up. I'm going to go over there later and make sure he's ok"
"Are you sure that that's a good idea?"
"Yes. Don't try and change my mind."
"Trust me, I have no plan too." He laughs.
By lunchtime, Bae still hasn't come out of his room. He has the ability to hold a grudge, I'll give him that.
"Should I go and get him for lunch?" Peeta says.
"No, I'll do it. I owe him an apology anyway."
I walk upstairs and knock on his door.
"Bae?" I call through the closed door. "Do you want some lunch?" no answer. "Please come out Bae. Look, I'm sorry. Maybe you could call Ivy after lunch and see if she wants to come round?" still no answer. I decide to just open it, as I'm getting nothing from just trying to talk.
I open the door to find Bae's room empty.
"Bae?" This time I didn't expect an answer. "Peeta! Bae's gone." I shriek.
He joins me in the room later.
"Look, he's gone."
"Through the window, look" he point to the wide open window, stating the obvious.
"What are the chances Ivy's with him, wherever he's gone."
"Very high" Peeta sighs. "Come on." He grabs my hand and takes me with him.
Gale's house. I watch as Peeta hammers on the door until gale answers.
"Oh, don't" he says, holding his head in pain.
"Gale, are you hung-over?" I ask; associating his pain at the noise with the outrageous state he was in last night.
"How did you guess" he says, sardonically.
"Alright. Enough of the small talk" Peeta interjects. "Where is she?"
"Who?"
"Ivy, your daughter"
"In the kitchen… I think, why?"
"Gale, you might want to check that" I tell him. He disappears for a while before returning to the door.
"She's gone" he says in some state of confusion
"Bae's gone too" Peeta says.
"Well you know where they've gone, right?" He asks, now in some sort of panic.
"No. We were hoping you knew something." I tell him. He shakes his head.
"Well why are we just standing here?" Peeta asks. "Come on, we've got to find them"
After a while of looking, I begin to give up. I'm tired and worried and starting to lose hope in ever seeing either of my kids again. It's raining, late and getting dark. We walk through miles of forest and meadow and dry soil until something hits my memory.
"The mines!" I blurt out. Both boys look at me like I've lost it. "Bae drew a lot of the mines; I bet they're somewhere near there."
"It's worth a shot" Gale says.
We get to the mines and by now it's raining really heavily, storm weather. Sure enough they're both here. A crack of thunder makes me jump.
"Ivy, Bae!" Gale screams. "Get here right now!" He's angry, only because he was worried. His voice must startle him, because it makes Bae take a step back. What happens next makes me scream. The step back that Bae takes is back towards the mouth of one of the old elevators. They were shut down and boarded up years ago – but evidently the wood has rotted; because that one step. One step. That was all it took for him to fall. Through the wood and down several feet.
"Bae!" I screech as he falls. Peeta runs to stop him, but he's too far away. I watch as he disappears from all sight. Gale holds me back from running, knowing what I'd see is not going to be pretty. I claw at his skin as I cry and shout. Gale stays rigid, holding me up.
All it took was that one step. One step.
