Chapter 11
I could hear her moaning. I could hear him grunting. They were fucking and there was nothing I could do about it. The window to my left had given me a perfect view of her on top of him. As disgusting as I found her with him, she was beautiful. Every inch of her was beautiful. I hadn't meant to watch, but it was like a bad accident… one where you couldn't look away. Eventually the moaning ended and their voices floated to me.
She felt bad about everything; that she wished she wasn't in this position. It gave me some comfort to know this wasn't what she wanted, but the pain was still strong. Tears flowed down my face.
I began the long walk back to my room where I was staying. Haymitch waited at the top of the stairs, his face vacant of all emotion. Wiping the tears away I met his gaze. "She doesn't have a choice Gale," he said. Haymitch rested his hand on my shoulder. "Right now she is going through hell, and it's only going to get worse. She is going to need your support."
I looked up at Haymitch, his eyes filled with pain and memories. "How can I stand next to her and watch her do this when I love her." More tears welled in my eyes but I pushed them back.
"You have to realize she has no choice. She doesn't do this and her entire family, all her friends and loved ones, are killed. She is trapped in the deadliest game of her life."
Realization and anger settled into my stomach like rocks. "Tell her to meet me at my room tonight. I wanted to talk to her."
Haymitch laughed heartily. "You want to do more than talk."
Glancing sideways at him I could see the amusement in his eyes. "I'm not the only one."
Haymitch's laughter faded. He turned to look at me square in the eyes. "Be careful Gale. If you're not careful, if you become public with your relationship with her, Snow will kill you."
"I don't care what Snow does to me!"
"Don't be stupid!" Haymitch barked. "You'll end up hurting her too!"
Guilt spread over me. "Just tell her to meet me at my room."
I could hear Haymitch still muttering somberly to himself as I walked away. He was right… about everything. As much as I hated it, I couldn't do anything to help Katniss…