Chapter 45
(Gale POV)
As she's falling asleep, I whisper to her that I love her. Words I've actually never said to anyone. But I mean them. I absolutely love this girl so much and I want her to know. Somehow, I'm a little nervous to say it out loud for the first time though and that's why I decide to whisper it as she's going to sleep. I'm not sure she's heard me at first but then she rolls over to face me. It's nearly pitch black dark, the only light coming from the faint blue of the clock light on the ceiling so she can't really see me and I can't really see her.
"You love me?" She asks, her voice soft and quiet.
"Yeah, I do." I admit, waiting to see how she feels about my admission.
She doesn't say anything. Instead she lifts her lips to mine and kisses me, her hand on the side of my face. I pull her against me and deepen the kiss. When the kiss finally breaks, she's a little breathless but whispers "I love you too."
A smile spreads across my face before I shift so that I'm above her and then I lean down, kissing her again. She loves me. This amazing, resilient, beautiful, kind girl actually loves me too. A whole mix of happiness and desire flood through me and I suddenly could care less about sleeping, all I want is her. My hands cup her face and then move down over the curves of her body, her hands tighten and knot the fabric of my shirt. I move my lips to her neck, kissing down and along her collarbone. She lets out a moan and arches her body against mine. Her hands tug my shirt upward and I raise up to pull it off, tossing it to the floor. Our lips meet again and this time, I'm the one letting out a moan as her fingertips slide down my chest and grip at the waist of my pants, lightly sliding them downward. I run my hands up the length of her body, slipping the sleeping gown off of her as I do. My skin against hers, her mouth against mine, sensations shooting through me in a way I've never felt. I can feel her heart racing and I know this may possibly be new territory for her. While it's not new territory for me, it feels like it is. She runs her fingers down my back and underneath the waistband of my pants again, this time pushing them further down. I kick them off and pause for a moment, kissing her long and hard, taking in the moment for all that it is before we get completely lost in it.
After, when she's curled up in my arms and about to drift off to sleep again, I whisper it one more time. "I love you."
When we wake up in the morning, we're both smiling, still reeling from everything that happened between us last night.
"Good morning pretty girl." I tell her as I press a kiss to her forehead.
She snuggles closer, burying her face against my chest and jokingly grumbles. "Do we have to get up? Can't we just stay here all day?"
"Not today. We've gotta go find out what are jobs are gonna be."
She grumbles again but gets up and starts getting dressed for the day. I sit up, lean back against the wall and watch her. She's so damn beautiful and it blows my mind that she's mine. She turns around and sees me staring and her cheeks flush pink.
"Gale!" She shrieks.
I laugh and grab her, pulling her to me, kissing her quickly. "Just taking in the view." I tease.
She laughs and playfully pushes me away. I get dressed and we head to the elevators to go up to breakfast. As we're waiting, I see Drew come out of his housing unit, which happens to be right by the elevators. His jaw tightens when he sees us, hands intertwined and smiles plastered all over our faces. He doesn't say anything but I don't hide my smirk. In fact, I look forward to him having to see me here with her all the time. I hope it makes him miserable.
In the dining hall, it's plain oatmeal again. Madge only eats a few bites. I can tell she really doesn't like it at all. Hopefully, whatever they serve for lunch is something she will eat. I'm worried she'll start wasting away if she keeps just picking at her food. I don't say anything but I make a mental note to keep an eye on how much she's eating or not eating. If it starts to look like she's not eating enough, I'll mention it.
The viewing screens flick on and start playing Capitol news. This time it's actually President Snow himself talking to Panem. He gives a speech about how disappointing it is when tributes make a mockery of the games. He mentions how the consequences effect everyone, not just the individual tribute. He then announces something that shocks us all. They're holding another round of the games. And each district will reap 4 tributes this time instead of the normal 2 names being drawn. Reaping Ceremonies will happen tomorrow.
I sit back in my chair and just shake my head to myself. What in the hell did you do Katniss? Did you realize the windfall that would happen? Did you even stop to think about the rest of us? I mean, obviously I'm safe here in 13 but what about all the other districts who will now have to sacrifice children because of her choices? So many people have died because she killed herself instead of killing the baker's kid. So many lives lost. And I have no doubt these games will be downright brutal. Likely they'll bbe the worst we've ever seen, the worst the gamemakers' imaginations can create. I glance over at Madge and she looks as stunned as me.
As we leave the dining hall I try to lift the flat mood in the air. "I'm really glad we are here now so that you and I won't have to worry about being reaped this time."
"Just you. My name was never really in there." She says quietly, staring at the floor as we walk.
"Wait, what?" I ask, really surprised to hear this.
She nods and gives me a look that I think is guilt. I still don't understand so I ask again. "What are you talking about?"
"Drew told me that the names of the heirs are never really entered. They want to keep us future leaders completely safe. It was some sort of secret though. I didn't find out until this year's reaping and if Drew hadn't told me, I still wouldn't know."
Anger flashes through me. There are tons of heirs every year. What makes them so special that they get to skip being reaped? I don't respond because I don't want my anger to show more than it is because I don't want her to mistakingly think that my anger is directed towards her in anyway. It's not her I'm angry at, it's the Capitol and their ridiculous, selective rules. When we get to the orientation room where we're supposed to find out our jobs, we take our seats but still don't talk. We're both bothered by the announcement of the new games and I'm mad that heirs never got put into the reaping. Thankfully, the woman leading the job placement announcements gets started pretty quickly.
"We want to get started with announcing what jobs each of you will be doing. Once I've read through all the names and jobs, you'll each head to your respective departments where you'll find the supervisor on duty and get your schedules for training."
She gets started announcing jobs alphabetically by last name. As anticipated, my mother will be working in the laundry center. She's fine with that because she really didn't want to have to learn any new skills and it will allow her to be home when the kids get out of school. I get what I wanted and end up in the agriculture department. I don't know specifically what my role will be yet but I'm pleased that I'm at least in the department I wanted. I wait impatiently for her to get to Madge's name.
"Margaret Undersee you will be in the Defense Department."
Madge scrunches her face and looks at me in confusion and I mirror it right back to her. Why in the hell would they put her in the Defense Department? That's insane! Before I can think too much on that though, Drew's job gets announced. Turns out he's in the Defense Department too. Madge slumps a little in her chair and I feel like putting my fist through something. She already has to live by this loser and now she's gonna have to work with him too? At a job she's totally wrong for? I rub my hands over my face and shake my head. For a day that started off well it sure has been spiraling downwards fast.
When jobs are finished being announced, I turn to Madge.
"I don't know why they put you there but I'm going to see what we can do about getting it switched to something else." I tell her.
"It doesn't make sense to me either but before you talk to anyone, let me go check in with the supervisor and see what exactly I'll be doing. Maybe they need a person to answer phones or something." She says, letting out an exasperated sigh but trying to give me a smile.
I lean forward and kiss her forehead. "I'll meet you back at your place as soon as I can. Love you."
"Love you too." She replies with a squeeze of my hand. She's definetly trying to stay optimistic and I applaud that but I feel like this is just gonna keep getting worse and I absolutely do not want her working with Drew. I'm sure he's over the moon excited about this new development though.
I watch her walk to the elevators and then I turn and head towards where I need to be. I really hope she comes back with good news.
(Madge POV)
I feel like I'm caught in some sort of whirlwind of emotions. I woke up in a state of pure bliss after the amazing night Gale and I had. I actually felt like I was floating I was so happy. And then at breakfast it was announced that because of what Katniss and Peeta did, they're holding an entirely new round of games for this year and they're increasing the number of tributes. Then, Gale got angry about heirs not being included in the reaping. I'm not certain if he was angry at me or not but I could see it bothered him a great deal that certain people were considered too important to be reaped. Then I got some sort of odd work assignment in the Defense Department which makes zero sense to me, at least initially. Hopefully my new supervisor will be able to give me a better idea of what sort of skill I have that they need. Oh and to top it all off, Drew and I are both assigned to work in the Defense Department which is not something I am looking forward to dealing with. And I know Gale is mad about that too.
Drew doesn't speak to me on the way to the Defense Department which I am thankful for. When we get there, I let him ask for the supervisor and we sit in some chairs along the wall to wait for them to come out and speak to us.
A man in a different type of uniform than I've seen on the rest of the people comes out and calls out our names. We both stand and walk towards him. He looks harsh and I'm suddenly nervous to question why I've been assigned here.
"I'm Commander Evans. Mr. Whitney, your computer skills and abilities to hack into the Capitol's databases are something I've been waiting a very long time for. You will be a huge asset to our community and I already have an office set up for and a stack of work waiting." He tells Drew enthusiastically. And it makes sense to me because clearly Drew knows his way around a computer and the Capitol's databases.
"Thank you sir. I hope to be of great assistance to you." Drew says, shaking Commander Evans hand.
Then the Commander turns to me and looks much less enthusiastic. "Miss Undersee, with you, I have less of a defined role at the moment. You've been placed here because of your vast knowledge and experience as one of the Capitol's elite citizens. There will likely be times when we ask you questions or need to pick your brain about the workings of certain processes or events. However, until those specific questions arise, I'll be utilizing you simply as an assistant for Mr. Whitney. He's coming into a hefty workload and will need someone to type reports, run documents between departments and so forth. Please see that you assist him however he needs."
My stomach drops and I fight to keep from outwardly cringing. This is going to be a nightmare and Gale is going to lose his mind over this. I can't even audibly respond, I just nod so that he knows I understand.
He then speaks to both of us, letting us know our work schedules. "You'll both report here daily Monday through Saturday from 8am-5pm."
After that he leads us to Drew's new office. It's small. Concrete of course. A large wooden desk and computer next to a massive stack of papers and folders wait for Drew. A smaller, metal desk and chair are pushed into the corner. We are definetly going to be in very close quarters here. The Commander hands us Defense ID badges that have barcodes on the back which allow us to not only enter the department but give us computer access. Then he leaves, telling us to get started and gesturing to the stack on Drew's desk.
I turn and look at Drew and I swear I'm about to cry. I can feel the tears coming and I try to fight it but they start spilling down my cheeks as soon as we're completely alone. He shuts the office door so that no one sees me and I appreciate that but I don't want him to comfort me so I step backwards away from him.
"I'm really sorry about this." He says quietly.
I shake my head and wipe my eyes, mentally pleading for the tears to stop. "It's fine. It has to be." I tell him. "But don't mistake my having to work here as an opportunity for you to try and win me back because that's still never happening."
"I understand. This is work only, nothing more." He says without arguing or trying to persuade me to feel differently.
I nod. "Thank you. Now what can I do to help you get started on all of this?" I ask, getting straight to business.
"Help me sort through all of this I guess. I'll need to prioritize it. Anything that says urgent on it, goes in this stack." He says as he picks up a file and points to where it's marked urgent in the corner and then sets it down on the center of the desk. "Anything marked confidential goes in that stack as well."
I start helping him sort through the pile. We don't chat, just work. Once the files and papers are sorted as he wants, he sits down at his computer and starts working. I sit in what has to be the world's least comfortable metal chair and wait for him to need something. I can't think of a good way to tell Gale about all of this. He's going to be furious. He's also going to demand I be moved to a different job but I don't know if they'll do that.
"Do you want to see something? It's about us." Drew asks.
I hesitate but curiosity pulls me in and I get up and go around his desk to look at his computer screen. "What is this?"
"The Capitol has marked us as deceased in their database." He says as his finger points and slides across the screen showing me that I am in fact marked as deceased. It's a very surreal feeling seeing that. I see my father's name above mine and he's marked as deceased too. It has a code next to cause of death but I don't know what the code means.
"What's the code mean?"
"It's for manner of death."
"Which was what?" I ask, wanting to know.
He shakes his head. "You don't want to know. He didn't suffer if that's what you're wondering."
"Can you pull up the Everdeens? I'd really like to know what happened to Prim. She was in the Capitol when everything ended." I ask. I decide to take his word that I don't want to know the manner of death for my father. I do appreciate knowing he didn't suffer though.
Drew types in some commands and the screen switches and I see their names. Mrs. Everdeen is marked as deceased, same code as my father but Prim is marked as prisoner, not deceased.
"She's not dead. Looks like they're holding her for some reason. Doesn't say why." Drew says, sounding as puzzled by this as I am.
"Maybe because she's a child?" I wonder though I know better than that. The Capitol could care less about things like that.
"I'll try to look into this more deeply later and see what I can find out for you."
"Is your family okay?" I ask. I really haven't considered that something could have been done to them as well.
"They're like they got called in but were let go and have resumed normal activities. Pretty sure my father had already been working to show separation between you and I which probably made it easier for them to disassociate from the two of us when they were called in." He tells me, having already checked that.
"And Haymitch? Is there anything on him?" I ask, knowing he was at the games when this all happened.
Drew types some commands again. "He's being held. They've changed his status to prisoner as well."
"I wonder why they let him live?" It doesn't make sense that he would be allowed to live given how many people they killed. He was the direct mentor of Katniss and Peeta.
"They must have a reason. I'll see what I can find out on him too."
"Is all this part of work they gave you to do?" I ask.
He laughs slightly. "Uh, no. I was just curious. I actually haven't started working yet. I wanted to know what happened to everyone."
"Did you check Ellison?" I ask. I don't like her at all but I certainly wouldn't wish her dead. I know her father was killed but I'm not sure how that would relate to her.
He nods. "She's gone." He says quietly.
My mouth drops open a touch and I close it quickly. So they killed her too. She was as Capitol as they get and they still killed her because of who her father was and perhaps because of her association to myself and Drew.
"I'm really glad you didn't get on that train with me, that I followed you instead. They would've killed us both." Drew says.
I don't know how to answer him. I'm glad we didn't either. I hate that he followed me and that I can't seem to escape him now but I wouldn't have wanted him dead. I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone. I don't respond to that. "Thank you for letting me see all of this and for looking into what's happening with Prim and Haymitch. For now though, we should probably get to work." I say instead, wanting to get us off the personal stuff and back on a work only vibe.
He smiles a tiny bit and then reaches for the top file on his desk and gets to work. I go back and sit in my chair again. My mind is all over the place. I need to talk to Gale. Need to tell him about all of this. About my job assignment, about Prim and Haymitch. It doesn't make sense that they are keeping Haymitch alive. It just doesn't. They killed everyone else even remotely related but are keeping him alive. For what?