Chapter 26
(Madge POV)
Gale slips me a small, folded piece of paper as I take the butcher's bundle from him. I clutch it in my palm so that Drew won't see it. After placing the bundle on the counter for Bethany, I excuse myself to the bathroom for a moment.
Alone in the bathroom, I unfold the paper and read the note. He's apologizing and wants me to meet him when I can. I tear up the note and flush it down the toilet. I will go and meet him tonight but I don't know yet what I'll say to him when we talk. I am hurt by what he said but I also really, really still want to see him. When I come out, Drew is waiting in the hall for me.
"Everything alright?" He asks.
"Yes. Ready to go to the viewing?" I ask, flashing a smile. I wonder why he's asking if everything is alright. Is it just because I needed the bathroom so suddenly or did he see Gale give me that note? Paranoia fills me briefly but I fight it. He couldn't have seen me take that note, there's no way.
We head to the viewing, hand in hand. He'll be leaving immediately afterwards and heading home to District 4. We have tentative plans for me to come up and see him again in a few days. He didn't say it in so many words but I know Ellison is coming to visit him tomorrow. And I'm not even jealous about it. Because wether she knows it or not, she gave me a much needed peace of mind regarding the games last night and I'm grateful for that. Without Drew's connection to her, that wouldn't have been possible.
At the viewing we learn the details of how Katniss managed to escape the tree and the tributes waiting below. First, she gets a sponsorship gift of medicine for her leg wound. Capitol medicine that heals it right up. Rue, the little girl from District 11 helps her by signaling to a nest of tracker jackers higher up in Katniss's tree. Katniss climbs up, cuts the nest free and lets it fall to the sleeping tributes below. The poisonous, deadly hornets send the tributes running, screaming for their lives. Some even die within mere seconds. Katniss sustains a few stings but nowhere near as many as the tributes on the ground. She seems disoriented but still manages to grab the bow and arrows from the dead tribute before she runs off. The venom of the stings finally gets to her though and she passes out. The little girl, Rue, hides her under some branches and puts some sort of leaves on the stings so I assume they must have some sort of medicinal power. The other tributes who survived the tracker jacker attack are all unconscious too though so I'm not worried about them finding her. I breathe a sigh of relief as the screen flickers off. She's still safe and she may have found a friend in little Rue.
I walk with Drew to the train station to say goodbye.
"I'll call you and finalize your travel arrangements soon." He tells me.
I smile. "Thank you for coming to see me, I'm glad that you did."
"Me too. I'll see you soon." He replies and then leans down and kisses me softly as his palm cups the side of my face.
"See you soon." I tell him as he steps aboard and hands his luggage to an Avox boy that's waiting there for it. He doesn't even look at him, just hands over his bag and keeps walking. I hate that. I want to thank him but of course I can't.
I head back to my house and sit through dinner, half paying attention to the games related conversations around me, half wondering how to handle the situation with Gale. Part of me thinks I should take what he did as a warning that no good can possibly come from us continuing whatever it is we have been doing. The other part of me just wants to keep doing what we've been doing and just forget about it, to not be upset because it's completely normal for him to be jealous of Drew and honestly being with Gale is the one choice I have in my life right now. And I'm sure I'd be jealous if I saw him with anyone. Ultimately, I decide just to go talk to him and see where he is with all of this. For all I know he may want to end things with me. I hope that isn't the case, but it is completely possible.
After dinner ends, I change into my lone pair of ballet flats and head to the Seam. When I get to the tree, he's there, waiting for me and he has a small bouquet of those pretty purple wildflowers in his hand. He brought me flowers and it makes me smile.
"I was hoping you'd come." He says, his eyes full of that hope.
I sit in the grass facing him and take the flowers as he holds them out for me. "Thank you for the flowers, I love them."
"Listen, I want to apologize for what I said, for how I acted. I was drunk and upset about Katniss and I never should've let my jealousy show like that and..."
I cut him off. "Gale, it's okay. I understand. I mean, it hurt but I understand, I do."
"I am so sorry. Hurting you was never something I wanted. I shouldn't have said what I said, it wasn't fair to you.I told you I wouldn't be jealous of that guy and then I turned right around and did it anyway. I'm so sorry." He says pleadingly.
"I didn't know he was coming. I would've warned you. I'm sorry I wasn't able to." I tell him, wanting him to know I didn't mean to blindside him.
He shakes his head. "Wouldn't have mattered. Pretty sure I'd be jealous either way."
"So what do we do? Do you still want to keep seeing me or is it too much with Drew in the picture? I know being with me puts you in the worst position. I mean you can't even tell anyone we're together and then to top it off, you have to see me involved with someone else. I understand if you don't want to do this anymore." I ask him, almost dreading his answer. I do not want him to end things for us. I just don't.
"Get over here." He whispers as he reaches forward and pulls me onto his lap, his lips going straight to mine, giving me the answer I wanted.
"And here I was worried we were done." I tease, my face close to his.
"No way, we're just getting started pretty girl." He flirts and then kisses me, more intensely. A flutter runs through me and my breath catches. My fingers clutch at his shirt and I move closer to him, feeling like I can't get close enough. His hands hold onto my waist and his mouth trails down along jawline and then my neck. I tilt my head, not wanting him to stop.
"Oh my God." I utter breathlessly as his lips leave a fiery sensation on my neck.
He leans back, lying down in the grass and pulls me with him, kissing me hard and furiously as I melt right there against him.
(Gale POV)
I pull her to me as I lay back in the grass, kissing her harder, wanting more and knowing I shouldn't. My hands move down her back and stop on the curve of her hips. When she starts kissing my neck, I about lose it. I groan and force myself to stop us. This isn't the place for me to be getting this carried away with her. I sit us back up but keep her in my lap.
"What's wrong?" She asks, her breath rapid and heavy.
I close my eyes for a moment, mentally reminding myself why I stopped. "We were getting a little carried away is all. Let's just take a breath for a minute."
She lets out a sigh and gives me a look that tells me she does not want to stop and take a breath for a minute. I know exactly how she feels in this moment but I also know that the place for things to go any further than a makeout session is not behind a tree in the Seam. Not when it's with her.
"I want you to know that you coming out here in the middle of the night to find me, to let me know about Katniss, that meant so much to me. I know I didn't seem appreciative but trust me, I am." I tell her, realizing I hadn't really told her that yet.
"I wanted to get to you sooner, but I got caught, well almost caught anyway and so I had to wait until everyone was sound asleep. I wasn't even sure if I'd be able to find you anywhere but I had to try. I couldn't let you keep thinking the worst had happened."
"You got caught sneaking out?" I ask, nervousness rising up in my stomach. The last thing I want is for her to get in trouble.
"Sort of. I pretended to be going to bed but then when I went to slip out the back door, the kitchen wasn't as empty as I'd expected. It's okay though, I pretended I needed to get a drink of water before bed."
She doesn't say it but I wonder if that guy is the one who almost caught her. "Is that why you came looking for me in pajamas?" I ask.
She blushes and looks embarrassed. "Yes."
I laugh. "Don't be all bashful about it now. If it makes any difference, I thought you looked awfully damn cute in those pajamas." I tease. I mean it though, she was really cute in those pink satin pajamas. Even as drunk as I'd been, I remember that much.
"Can you imagine if I'd been spotted and stopped by a Peacekeeper? I would've had to pretend I was sleepwalking to get out of that one!" She laughs.
"I'm glad you didn't get caught. I don't want you to get yourself in trouble trying to find a way to see me."
"Seeing you is the one thing I get to do that is just for me. It's worth a little bit of risk." She tells me and her words tug at my heart.
"Just don't risk so much that this ends too soon." I whisper and then kiss her again. This girl is everything I want and I like her so much. In the back of my mind, I push down the thoughts that threaten to rise up. The ones that tell me to tread lightly with her because she'll never really be mine. No, I don't want to think about that right now. Right now, I just want to soak in as much time with her as I can, to feel the way only she seems to be able to make me feel.