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Chapter 49-Choices II
"What is it honey?" Hazelle asks Gale. She could tell her son was stressed even though she could only hear him.
"There is some-tension at the apartment between Dez and Katniss. I think at this point it is best if Katniss stays with you, Vick and Posy until her exam is over. Is that okay?"
Hazelle is not the least bit surprised by this. She could see firsthand that Dez and Katniss did not care for each other when they came over the other day. It might have been eight years since Hazelle has seen Katniss, but her personality hasn't changed in the slightest. Her face shows it all. And Hazelle also noticed how Dez just picked at her food at dinner which was uncharacteristic for her. She needed to know if Dez really was sick like Gale had said. She couldn't help but notice how Dez was getting thinner and thinner.
"Of course, Katniss is more than welcome to stay."
She hears a big sigh of relief on the other end of the line. "Thanks Mom, I really appreciate you helping Katniss."
She doesn't want to say she was doing it for him, not for Katniss. She has something else more important to discuss with him. "I'm glad to see you are putting Dez's needs first. But honey, I'm worried about Dez. She is looking really fatigued and frail. I know you said she hasn't been feeling well, how long has this been going on?"
"Mom-please" Gale began to plead, desperately trying to avoid this subject with her.
"Gale" Hazelle says sternly. "I need to know. I don't mean to pry, but, is Dez pregnant?"
"What? No!" Gale scoffs. "Trust me Mom, Dez is definitely not pregnant."
"Well, it would make sense. Some women cannot keep food down the first few months."
"That's not why she is losing weight."
"Then why is she? Is she ill? Is it serious?" A million scenarios started racing through Hazelle's mind.
"I didn't want to bring this up, I wanted to keep this between the two of us. But I can't anymore."
"Gale….." Hazelle is beyond nervous of what he will say next.
"Dez is anorexic Mom."
"WHAT?" Hazelle says shocked. It was a word no one uttered in District 12.
"When she is stressed she won't eat. I think because she is naturally thin it is easier for her to hide it."
"What started this? Katniss being here?"
"We've had these issues in our relationship long before I started talking to Katniss again. She feels insecure in our relationship and feels in order for me to stay with her she has to be as attractive as possible."
"Gale that's ridiculous. Does she not KNOW you? Does she not know how loyal you are to the ones you love?"
"Believe me I've told her. But you know the family she comes from. Her parents value prestige and image. They are clueless to what is going on."
"Oh honey I'm so sorry. What are you going to do?"
"Before we were able to get past it, Dez got better, she gained the weight back. But this time, it is getting worse. I'm hoping if Katniss leaves it will help her focus more on getting better."
Hazelle is glad she originally said yes to allowing Katniss stay with her. Knowing now how critical the situation is with Dez, she knows her son needs her support more than ever.
"Let me know if you need anything, I mean it. You know I've grown to really care for Dez."
"Thanks Mom. I didn't mean to keep this from you."
"I understand. Some things need to stay private."
"Did Katniss leave?"
"Yes, right before you called."
"Okay, well, I will probably bring her over tomorrow with her stuff after she gets back from class."
"We'll be here."
Gale hears Dez emerge from their room and quickly hangs up the phone, telling his Mother he would see her tomorrow. When Dez comes into the kitchen she says, "Were you talking to your Mom?"
"Yeah, Katniss is on her way back. I told her Katniss would be over tomorrow. So-did you have a nice shower?" Gale tries to say teasingly.
"Yeah it was okay. It was lonely in there without you" she says flirtatiously.
"Dez….Katniss will be back any minute."
"So? That never stopped you before" she runs her hand down the back of his pants, grabbing his backside.
He immediately takes her hand out of his pants and says, "I need to discuss with her about the change of plans in her living arrangements. I hope you can respect our privacy while I go talk to her."
"Fine" she says huffed.
"Dez-I'm doing this for you, for us. We're lucky my Mom agreed to let Katniss stay with her. Otherwise I'd be paying for her hotel for the next week and a half."
Dez became angry at this. "Why should you have to pay for her hotel? You have gone out of your way in hospitality from the beginning!"
"I said she could stay here, I don't go back on my promises. As I told you, Katniss and I-we have a history of taking care of each other."
"Taking care of each other? When was the last time she took care of you Gale? When she blamed you for her sister's death? When she let you risk your life to save Peeta?"
"Those things happened towards the end of our friendship. Before we got caught up in everything with the rebellion, she did take care of me. She offered me money after she became victor, but I wouldn't take a cent of it. She brought me gifts from the Capitol, I threw them back in her face. While I was working in the mines and unable to hunt she brought my family food daily. She gave my Mother money after she started to lose clients after I got whipped. Like I said, we took care of each other."
He can tell Dez doesn't like hearing that Katniss was once a decent friend to him. She throws her hands up and says, "I'll make myself scarce then" and she turns and goes back into their room, shutting the door.
Five minutes later Katniss walks in. She sees Gale sitting on the couch petting Harper and says, "Hi Gale."
"Hey Catnip, can we talk?"
She gets an apprehensive look on her face. "What about?" she says questioningly.
"Do you mind if we go in your room to talk?"
"Uh-okay" and he follows her with Harper at his feet as they head into her room.
Katniss closes the door after Harper comes inside and says, "Out with it."
Gale sighs, figuring it is best just to get this over with. "After speaking with Dez tonight at dinner, I think it is best if you stay with my Mom for the remainder of your trip."
She doesn't look the least bit surprised. "Do you want me to go?"
"Katniss…."
"Answer me Gale!"
"I think you know the answer to that."
"Your Mom said yes?"
"Of course, why wouldn't she?"
"I don't know, considering the fact I haven't been in their lives for the last eight years might be a factor" she says sarcastically.
"You were once family, and she knows how much our friendship means to me."
"When do I leave?"
"Tomorrow, I thought we could go over after you get back from class."
"Okay" she says in a sad tone.
He comes up closer to her and lays a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too."
When Gale goes back into their room, he brushes off Dez's advances, much to her displeasure.
The next day Gale helps Katniss move her belongings over to his Mother's. Dez does not come and elects to stay home with Harper. After Gale and Katniss arrive and her stuff is moved to the downstairs living space of the townhome, they all have dinner together. It was a nice dinner, reminding Katniss of the way things were between her and the Hawthorne's back in 12. It was more relaxing not having Dez around. Hazelle still kept her distance but Katniss didn't mind because Posy and Vick continued to be just as talkative as they were last night.
When Gale leaves he tells Katniss he will see her over the weekend. He gives her a brief hug before scooping Posy up in a monster hug.
Katniss adjusts to living with the Hawthorne's pretty quickly. It amazed her how memories came flooding back to her staying with them again. She had the downstairs area to herself. The couch pulled out into a bed and it was nice to have more living space as opposed to being just in Gale's guest room. She even had her own TV not that she used it much. On Thursday she studied with Vick after class and Hazelle actually let her help prepare dinner, much to Katniss's shock.
On Friday, as promised by her teacher, they were let out at early. She arrived back to the Hawthorne's at 1 pm. She had hoped that she and Posy could possibly do something fun since she had some extra time on her hands for once. When she walked in the front door though, she was caught off guard to see Dez with Hazelle and Posy. They looked like they were getting ready to leave.
"Hey Katniss" Posy says brightly once Katniss walks into the living room. "You are back early."
"Yeah, our instructor let us out early. A little treat since my first exam is next Tuesday."
"Well, we were about to leave. Dez has off today and my Mom and I decided to surprise Dez with a girl's day out."
Katniss fakes a smile and says, "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, Dez and I got our nails done this morning and now are about to do some shopping and then dinner tonight."
"All three of you?"
"Yes. I'm lucky these lovely ladies will be my future mother and sister in laws" Dez pipes in before Posy can respond.
"Well, enjoy yourselves" Katniss says still forcing her smile.
"Have a good afternoon Katniss" Hazelle says. Katniss is relieved for once Hazelle is not speaking to her in usual nonchalant way.
Katniss has the entire townhouse to herself, for Vick is not home either. Most likely out with his friends, trying to spend as much time with them as he can before they all go their separate ways soon.
Instead of doing something fun like she was hoping she could do, she spends her afternoon and evening studying all alone in the Hawthorne's home.
The next day Gale comes to the house right before lunch. He comes downstairs and says to Katniss, "How was your day yesterday? Did you get off early?"
"Yeah I did, and I came home and studied. Your sister and Mother were with Dez-having a girl's day."
"I know. Dez is working today since she had off yesterday."
"What did you do?" Katniss asks.
"I got home around 4, went out with Harper for a bit. Then met some friends from the military base for dinner and drinks. Was Vick here?"
"No, he was gone too. I didn't see him all day."
"Hmm, interesting. I wonder if he was with a girl."
Katniss tries to picture Vick with a girl, she still sees him as the 10 year old back in the Seam. She gets pulled back into the present when Gale says, "Anyway, I came over to see if you wanted to go to lunch with Posy and me."
"Sure, I'd like that,"
Gale treats Katniss and Posy to lunch at a place called Rosewood Cafe. Posy explains to Katniss how it is her favorite place to eat. It appeared to be a very popular hang-out for kids Posy's age. Katniss felt like she and Gale were the oldest people there, though there were other adults there-with their children.
Katniss had a great time. The food was pretty good and she enjoyed watching Gale and Posy interact with each other. The café had arcade games to play and Katniss had fun playing with Gale and Posy. Arcade games were becoming more popular in the Districts, they used to only be found in the wealthier districts and the Capitol. But of course District 12 didn't have any. Posy did a good job teaching Katniss how to play some of the games. They spent most of the afternoon there, getting back to the townhouse at 4 pm. After Gale left Katniss asked Posy if she wanted to do something fun for the night, just the two of them. Posy said she'd love to hang out much to Katniss's relief.
Posy showed Katniss around District 2 shopping district and the two of them also walked around the downtown area. They were not far from Gale's apartment. Katniss wondered what Dez and Gale were doing. Were they just hanging out and watching TV as they often did? Were they with their friends at Bar 2? Were they having sex? Remembering what she heard that morning she walked by their room came flooding back in full force. She tried to push it away.
On Sunday and Monday Katniss spent both days intensely studying. Tuesday was part one which consisted of a six hour multiple choice exam. Three hours of testing in the morning and three hours in the afternoon. Vick continued to help Katniss with all of the math sections she had to study. She was beginning to think perhaps it was a good thing she was kicked out of Gale's apartment and sent here. She tried to not look at it as being kicked out, but she was still not happy that he chose Dez over her. Though she knows that is what someone is supposed to do for the person they are going to marry. She knows she's being selfish but she doesn't care.
Katniss was beyond nervous when she got ready to head to the Capitol on Tuesday morning. She was wide awake for she hardly slept. She knew she would need a lot of caffeine to help her get through the day. She arrives a half hour early. She sees a lot of people there for the examination. While there were only 23 of them in the prep class, there were about 50 more people who had showed up to take the exam. She guessed the people who decided to show for the exam were more educated. That or they felt they could take the exam without needing the prep class.
The first three hours flew by for Katniss, she used the entire time to complete the exam. They got an hour for lunch and Katniss ate with some of her classmates, the women and men from District 11. All of them discussing how they felt they did so far. She used the entire three hours in the afternoon as well. Not having any idea how she did once it was finished. Some of the questions were really easy, some were really hard.
When she arrived back to the Hawthorne's, she was greeted by Posy, Vick, and Gale waiting for her. "Hey, how did it go?" Gale asks eagerly.
Katniss tells them about her day, all of them listening intently. Hazelle arrives home after a late house cleaning with take out for all of them. Hazelle surprises Katniss by asking her how her exam went as well. Katniss gladly fills her in. Gale stays for dinner much to Katniss's delight, and Posy's as well.
After Gale leaves Katniss watches TV with Posy and Vick before going to bed, utterly exhausted from her lack of sleep. She's asleep seconds after her head hits the pillow. The next morning, Katniss gets ready for part two-the written exam. She sits and discusses possible essay questions with her classmates from District 11 after she arrives, again arriving a half hour early. She was happy that she at least got a good night's sleep last night.
The written exam consisted of ten essay questions. Five in the morning and five in the afternoon. They again got an hour for lunch. Katniss was more confident with this portion of the exam. She was able to answer all of the questions and felt she provided enough information. It was Friday she was most worried about. The final portion of the exam was the in person interviews with a ten person panel. She had off tomorrow to prepare.
When she arrived back to the townhouse, Gale was not there. She was disappointed, but knew that most likely he was busy, perhaps he got called out of town for work as he often did. Or maybe he had plans with Dez. After she had dinner with Posy, Vick, and Hazelle the phone rang, Posy informing Katniss Gale was on the line for her.
"Hey Catnip, how did today go?"
She filled him on well she thought it went and also explained to him what Friday was going to consist of. She then asked Gale if Dez was working tomorrow, for she wanted to know if Dez had time in her day to squeeze Katniss in for an appointment.
When Gale asked Dez if Katniss could come see her tomorrow for a hair appointment, she reluctantly agreed, wondering what Katniss's motive was.
