Chapter 46

(Gale POV)

Meeting with my supervisor actually goes really well. I'm going to be working with crop harvesting. Whenever various crops are ready to be harvested, I'll be one of the people doing the harvesting. And because of the way that they have this place set up, there is always a crop that needs harvesting. It's actually incredible what they've done. Nothing is ever out of season, they have climate controlled all the different areas of the department so something is always growing. This week, I'm going to be harvesting corn. One of the best things about this job is going to be how it smells like the outdoors. I wasn't sure how I'd feel being trapped under concrete all the time but with this job, it won't really feel like that. In fact, if I close my eyes, I can completely forget that I'm underground. It's really pretty amazing. My schedule is an early one but that's fine with me. I'll be working 5am to 1pm, six days a week with Sundays off. My supervisor doesn't have me start actually doing work today. Instead she has me take a detailed tour of the department so that I understand where everything is. She also issues me a pair of rubber work boots and canvas work gloves. I'll start actual work tomorrow.

Once I'm finished there, I leave and head to my house. My mother is there, already finished with her job orientation. She's ecstatic about the technology they have in the laundry center. She used to do laundry by hand all the time back home but here, they have machines for both washing and drying. She said there's lots of other women working there too so it won't be as tiring as the work she used to do at home. It feels good seeing her so happy here. She gets to do a normal amount of work and in return they give her decent housing and plenty of food, which is something we never got back home. I tell her about my job and she listens. Then she does what I knew would be coming. She wants to talk about me spending the night with Madge.

"I don't think it's appropriate for you to spend the night with her Gale."

"Ma, she is here alone. Her family is dead. She doesn't even have any friends here. I'm literally all she has. I'm not leaving her down there in that little room by herself all the time."

"I'm sure she will be just fine. You can see her at meals or in your downtime. You don't need to stay there all night."

"Why does it matter where I sleep?"

"She's a very classy girl and I just feel like it creates a poor impression if others see boys coming out of her room every morning."

"They'll see me, Ma. Not boys. Just me."

"Are you at least serious about her? Or is she just going to be like all the other girls you only briefly felt any interest in?" She asks with a sigh.

"She's the one. There won't ever be anyone else. I'm in love her." I admit.

Her face softens a little. I hadn't realized that because I never really told her what Madge meant to me, she didn't know that it was different this time.

"You love her, hmmm? Does she feel the same way?" She asks.

A smile spreads across my face. "Yeah, she does."

"I still think you should practice some discretion."

"That'll be easy. My new job starts at 5am so when I leave in the mornings, most people will still be sleeping." I point out.

She gives me a pointed look. "Well I certainly hope you two are being careful. Love her or not, you don't want to be getting her into any trouble."

"You don't need to worry about that but we are not having any further discussion about this." I assure her but silently plead for her not to have a talk with me about absolute last thing I need or want to do is discuss such intimate details of my life with my mother. I feel a little guilt because we actually weren't careful last night. It'd actually been the furthest thing from my mind in that moment.

Thankfully, she lets it go at that. I go to our bathroom and take a shower. I won't shower on Madge's floor in the communal bathrooms, I'll still be using this private one. I figure I'll come here after work to shower and change clothes and then sleep down in Madge's room with her. After I've showered and gotten dressed, I take my pillow off my bed and carry it down to her room though. She isn't here but I told her I'd wait for her here so I kick back on the bed to wait for her. As I'm lying there, I see her backpack in the corner on the floor and remember that Drew's journal is in there. I go and grab it, wanting to know exactly what he wrote about her in there.

The stuff in the first part of the journal is mostly random tidbits of things. But the more recent stuff is what I'm more curious about. I don't really care what he saw in her when she was in 3rd grade. I mean, it's weird that he was watching her all the way back then and all but it's dumb stuff from what I can tell by skimming it. Like, what color her dress was or what book she ordered. I flip towards the back and see the stuff I really want to know about. I want to know how closely he was watching her because I feel like that will give me an idea of how closely he's gonna be trying to watch her now. And that will let me know how much I need to watch him. I start scrolling through the drabble. Some stuff is less about watching her and more about things he's learned about her through being with her. Others are more about his thoughts.

Gave her a strand of pearls the last time I saw her. Curious to see how often she wears them. So far, they've been visible in just one picture.

My mind goes back to the necklace I returned to her when she left it in the grass by mistake. If I'd known it was a gift from him I probably would've left it in the grass.

She told me I was her first kiss. Seemed embarrassed about it but it actually makes me very happy. She is a very good kisser.

So he was her first kiss? I guess I could've figured that seeing that she never dated anyone before him. I never really thought about it I guess.

I told her to stop speaking to Avox. She needs to learn to follow the rules and stop bending them just to be nice. I'm worried she might be breaking other rules when she's at home. I need to hire someone to teach her about what's expected.

I knew he was the one who didn't want her talking to Avox. What an ass.

I called multiple times last night and she didn't answer. Audio sounds like she wasn't even home. Where was she all night?

I think about how we stayed out almost all night, sitting by the tree. Must've been one of those nights when he called. What sort of creepy guy listens in on audio recordings of his girlfriend's house? I think too how screwed we would've been if he hadn't told her that there was audio recording of her house before I came over that one night. He would've heard us and turned me in for sure.

There are worn out shoes under her bed. It doesn't make sense. All her other shoes are perfectly kept and in her closet. These are filthy and scuffed and hidden away. Is there some sort of sentimental meaning to them? Maybe her mother"s old shoes or something? I need to find a way to ask without letting her know that I was looking through her room.

So he snooped through all her stuff? I'm also really glad we didn't hide her backpack with the map under her bed like she wanted to initially. That would've gotten her in a heap of trouble. We were so close to being caught more times than I care to admit. I'm about to read more when the door opens and Madge comes in.

I sit up and set the journal to the side. "Hey, how'd it go?"

"It's still going. I'm just on a lunch break. Did you eat yet?" She asks.

"Nope. Let's go. And I wanna hear all about your job." I tell her, standing up and giving her a quick kiss.

"Then we should probably stay here." She says glumly.

"Why?"

"Because I already know you won't like what I have to tell you and it's probably better if I tell you here, in private."

I sit back down and pat the bed beside me for her to sit too. She does but she looks really hesitant.

"On second thought, I'm actually really hungry. Let's go eat and then you can tell me whatever it is later." I say as I realize that staying here will lead to another missed meal for her and I can't let her do that. SHe's barely eating these days and I can't be the reason she misses another meal.

"Are you sure?" She asks.

"Definetly." I say, pulling us both to our feet.

As we walk to the dining hall, I use the time to tell her about my job instead of hearing whatever awful stuff she has to tell me about hers. Lunch ends up being a peanut butter sandwich and an apple. This, she actually does eat and I'm glad I decided to come eat. I push my apple towards her.

"Here, I don't want mine." I tell her. I actually do want it but I want her to eat as much as possible since she may hate whatever they serve at dinner later.

She gives me a look. "If I'd tried that with you back home, you would've been mad."

She's not wrong. I would've accused her of giving me charity. "That's different. Here we all have equal shares, I just don't want mine." I argue.

"Fine." She says as she takes the apple. "But next time I offer you some of my food, you have to take it. Deal?"

I smile at her. "Deal."

When she's finished eating, she goes back to work and I head back to her place. She'll be back in a couple hours and I can find out then what's going on at her job that's going to make me angry. For now, I want to read more of this journal. I wonder if she's read all of it yet or not?

When she finally comes home from work, I've read enough to know that Drew is a complete stalker and Madge is his main obsession. Like, he's really insane I think. I'm actually happy to set the book down for a bit. "Hey." I greet her.

"Hey." She says back, looking hesitant again.

"Alright, spill. What's going on with the job that you think is going to make me angry? They aren't planning to use you in actual battle or anything are they?" I'm joking about that last part but she honestly looks so uneasy that I'm getting nervous.

"No, I won't be fighting in any battles. They actually put me with Defense so that I could be some sort of insight into Capitol things, which makes sense. I mean, I did grow up learning exactly how they like things and how they function."

I sit silently and wait for whatever is coming. She takes a deep breath and continues.

"But when they aren't using me to gain insight on specific things, I'll be working as Drew's assistant." She finally tells me. Her voice quiet and filled with anxiety.

"You can't be serious! His assistant? Why does he need an assistant?" I ask, trying so hard not to yell in anger.

"They gave him a pretty important role. He'll be hacking into the Capitol databases and retrieving information they need for various projects. My job is to help however he needs. Type his reports, run documents between offices, file things, whatever he needs."

"You're not staying there. I don't care who I have to talk to to get you transferred but you are not working with him." I say defiantly.

"I figured you would feel that way. But I actually have more to tell you." She says.

"What?" I snap and then apologize for my harshness. "Sorry, that came out harsh and I didn't mean it to."

"Drew did a little non work related hacking so he could see what happened to our families. I had him look up the Everdeens. Gale, they didn't kill Prim, she's still alive."

"She is? Where?" I ask, stunned at this new information.

"A Capitol prison. And the same goes for Haymitch Abernathy, he's in the same prison."

"Is everyone else dead? Like your father, the Mellarks, Mrs. Everdeen?"

"They're all dead. Drew's family is still alive and living normally but he said his father had already been building an image of disliking me and they were far enough removed from associating with me that it probably saved them. They even killed Ellison, the other girl Drew was seeing. I can't figure out why they would let Haymitch and Prim live though."

"Can Drew not find out more information?"

"He said he'll look into it. When I left he was still there working, they gave him quite a workload so I'm not sure when he'll have the time to look into it."

"They wouldn't keep them alive if they didn't have a reason." I say, running over ideas in my head.

"I'll stay on Drew about looking into it, I promise." She tells me, placing her hand over mine.

"Katniss would freak the crap out if she were here." I say, letting out a huge sigh. "I really wish she would've stopped to think about what all would happen when she did what she did."

"She wasn't thinking clearly. The games do that to you. Haymitch himself used to be a totally rational, normal guy before the games changed him into a crazy drunk."

"How do you know that about him? I thought he was always a drunk."

"I overheard a conversation my father had about him once is all." She says with a shrug. She looks down at the journal on the bed next to me and then back up at me. "I really wish you wouldn't read all of that."

"I want to know how closely he was watching you so that I know how closely I need to watch him now." I explain.

"I get it, it's just that some of that stuff he wrote about me might be embarrassing. I still haven't even read it all so I'm not sure what all he wrote about."

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about. We almost got ourselves caught a couple times, did you know that? He literally almost caught us a couple times."

Shock registers on her face. "Really? How?"

"When we stayed out all night by the tree, he repeatedly called your room. When he didn't get an answer, he tapped into the audio and knew you'd been gone all night. He just wasn't sure where you'd been. And he was snooping around in your room one time, found your shoes hidden under your bed. And if he hadn't told you about being able to listen in on your house, he for sure would've heard us that night I came over because we wouldn't have known anyone could listen in."

"He searched my room?" She asks, her face full of disgust.

I nod. "Yeah. All the more reason why we have to get you out of that job and into another one."

She nods back, looking really bothered by knowing he went through her room and listened in on her. Wanting to lift her mood, I pull her into my lap and start kissing her. She kisses me back and I know all her stress is temporarily forgotten. I lean back, pulling her down on top of me. She finds the spot on my neck that drives me insane and elicits a moan from me. My hands are in the process of tugging her shirt off when the warning my mother gave me earlier about being careful suddenly comes to mind. I let out a sigh and sit us up so I can talk to her about it.

"What's wrong?" She asks, a little breathless.

I don't even know how to talk to her about this. "Um, it occurred to me that we weren't exactly careful last night and we really should pay better attention to that. Before we get carried away with all this, I should probably figure out where to get some protection around this place." I tell her.

She laughs. "Is that all you're worried about? Because if so, we don't have a problem."

"How so?" I ask, genuinely curious.

"The Capitol strongly encourages newly matched couples to get close with one another, however, they absolutely do not want us having babies before we're actually married. So, to prevent that, they give all the girls a shot to prevent it. The shot lasts for 2 years so we're safe for quite awhile."

"Seriously?" I ask, shocked at this news. It's so strange to imagine them giving all the girls a pregnancy preventing shot. Just one more thing she had no say in. I also don't like that now I'm wondering if she and Drew ever took advantage of her having had that shot.

"Yep." She says with a big smile.

My thought about her and Drew has completely killed the mood even though her news about that shot was a nice surprise. I fight to push the thought out of my head but she can tell something is wrong. And she's pretty spot on in guessing what it is.

"I never needed the shot though. Not until now." She says quietly, her cheeks a little flushed.

"Never?" I ask as relief floods through me. I know it isn't fair for me to even care about such a thing because it isn't as if she was my first but for some reason, it feels really really good to know that I'm the only person she's ever been with.

"Never." She repeats with a little smile, cheeks still pink. "There's actually a complaint about that little fact in that book if you want to see it in writing." She jokes, gesturing to the journal.

"I'm sorry. I just feel really selfish about you and I want you all to myself." I apologize with a smile, glad she isn't mad that I even cared.

"Well I'm all yours." She says as she leans forward, kissing me again.

We makeout for awhile but it doesn't bring a repeat of last night's activities. Mostly because it's almost time for us to be at dinner and I know we'll have all night together later. Even still, it's tough to stop kissing her and go to dinner.

We walk into the dining hall and get in line for food. Looks like some sort of casserole and another corn muffin. Smells good, whatever it is. As we're waiting though, the viewing screens come on and we hear the Panem anthem playing. The whole room goes still and we all watch the screens. It's reaping day in Panem and with extra tributes to boot. We watch as the Career districts seem to have less volunteers than usual. They still have some but it doesn't seem like near as many as they had last time. We watch as no other districts have volunteers. We watch as children cry over being reaped. Even the ones who aren't crying, look very solemn. In District 11, they somehow magically pull Thresh's little brother's name and Rue's little brother's name. Both just barely old enough for the reaping. I know it's no coincidence that those names were pulled. It's just another message from the Capitol to the people of Panem. A warning not to test them or else more of their loved ones will suffer. After they pull the other 2 names, I expect the screen to flicker off since all the districts have been reaped, but they don't. Instead, the screen switches to a shot of Prim and Haymitch, standing side by side. Prim looks terrified, eyes bloodshot from crying. Haymitch looks like hell physically but his face is like stone, not reading any emotion whatsoever. President Snow's voice rings over the speakers as we all stare at Prim and Haymitch.

"And because all of this is greatly in part to the rebels of District 12, we feel it only fair to submit the last remaining survivors as tributes as well. Haymitch Abernathy and Primrose Everdeen will represent the former District 12 in the games."

Gasps are heard all around and Madge leans back against the wall, looking as if she may get sick. I feel the same way. No wonder they held them. They had a plan the whole time. They're sending them to their death and it won't be an easy one. And they want everyone to watch.