Chapter 55

(Madge POV)

When I get to work in the morning, I find Drew with his face in his hands at his desk.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

He lifts his face and i see his eyes are red as if he's been crying. "Nothing." He says as he turns away from me and busies himself with a stack of files on his desk.

"Don't lie to me. I can see something is bothering you. Talk to me." I tell him.

"Did you not go to breakfast in the dining hall?" He asks, looking up from the stack of files.

I shake my head. "No, I don't like the food they offer at breakfast."

"Then you missed the live executions."

I let out an audible gasp. "Who?" I ask in barely a whisper.

"Does it matter? Eventually they'll just take out everyone." He grumbles.

"Drew, was it August?" I ask. I know they weren't close in years past but it's still his brother.

"Yes. And Martin's family. And any remaining families of every single tribute we got out."

"Why didn't we try to rescue those families too? I don't understand why we would leave them there if we were rescuing the tributes."

"We can't get everyone, Madge. It's not that simple. Some people, like my family, don't meet the criteria to be rescued. They can't be trusted to become citizens of the new 13."

"Were any districts punished as a whole?"

"Not yet. They've upped security nationwide, deployed extra peacekeepers to all the districts, implemented curfews, reduced food shipments."

"I'm sorry about August. How is the rest of your family? Do you know?"

He shakes his head. " I know they aren't marked as deceased yet in the system. But according to their data files in the system, they also have been removed from their positions in District 4 so I'm sure they'll be killed or made in Avox soon."

His voice cracks as he speaks and my heart breaks for him. I reach across the desk and place my hand on his. "At least you're safe. Nothing will happen to you. That's what you need to focus on now. Focus on the fact that you escaped and you are forever safe."

"Yeah. I guess there's that to be thankful for." He says and then sits up, pulling his hand out from under mine and straightening in his chair. 'Anyway, I'm fine. It was just hard starting the day by seeing all that on the viewing screens. We've got work to do, best get to it."

I want to tell him it's okay to be upset and that it's okay to grieve but I know I need to remember that it isn't my place to push him on this. I am not his match. I am barely his friend. And if he's making it clear that he wants to focus on our work, then that's what I need to do. Our relationship is a very complicated one and regardless of what's going on, it will likely always be best for the two of us to have clear boundaries between us. So I go to my desk and start working on the tasks he's already placed there for me. We work like that all morning, not a word spoken between us. When I leave to go to lunch, he's still working away at his computer, eyes fixed on the screen. I tell him I'll bring his lunch back when I return but he tells me not to worry about it. I don't ask, but I'm hoping that means he will leave soon and go get it himself rather than skipping it.

In the dining hall, I see Pemberly sitting over at a table alone, picking at her food. I decide it's as good a time as any to go over and befriend her.

"Hi Pemberly, mind if I join you?"

She looks up and her face brightens when she sees that it's me. "Sure!" She says, giving me a smile.

"How are you settling in?" I ask, knowing firsthand how much of an adjustment it is.

Her smile turns sheepish as she admits "It's a lot to take in."

I smile and nod. "Give it some time. I know it's overwhelming but it won't feel that way forever. And you'll like it here I think."

"I didn't even know it existed until we were rushed onto the hovercraft. Did you know? Back before you got here?"

"I knew of a rumor, nothing with any certainty. But when they bombed my district, I had no choice but to hope those rumors were true. Lucky for me, they were."

"I'm so glad you and Drew were able to escape together. We all thought you two had died in the bombings."

I realize she doesn't know that Drew and I aren't together anymore. "Actually, I'm sure this will be news to you but, Drew and I aren't seeing one another anymore."

Surprise covers her face. "Really? But you two always seemed so happy together! Honestly, I was always a little bit jealous of the way Drew looked at you. No matter how hard I tried, I could never get August to look at me that way."

"Drew and I were happy I guess but it wasn't where my heart was. And our relationship wasn't organic or authentic. Everything was very calculated and planned out. I ended up falling in love with someone else who I'm more alike and I'm really happy."

"So you two broke up when you got here?"

"Actually, I'd ended things just before the bombings. I'd told him to go ahead and pick Ellison."

"Then how'd he end up here with you?"

I hesitate. "Well, it's a long and complicated story but the bombings happened the same day I broke things off with him so he hadn't left District 12 yet."

"Wow, I just can't believe it. I really thought you two had something special. He never looked at Ellison the way he looked at you. He was planning to pick you, you know."

"I know that but how do you know that? Did he tell you that?" I ask, surprised that she knows this little fact since Drew was adamant about not letting August know he was planning to pick me.

She shrugs. "I spent a lot of time wandering around the Whitney house by myself while August was who knows where. Drew felt bad for me always being alone I think so if he saw me, he tended to stop and chat with me some. Drew never outright said he was picking you but I could just tell. I think he didn't want August to know though. He didn't mention you much if August happened to be around."

"August and I were never fans of one another." I explain, thinking back at just how awful he was. Then it hits me that Pemberly may not yet know that August was publicly executed this morning. I'm mentally debating if I should tell her or not when she beats me to the punch.

"You know they killed him this morning." Her voice quiet, face sad.

I nod. "Drew told me. I didn't see it myself."

"How is he? Is he taking it alright?" She asked, expressing her concern for Drew.

"He won't admit it but I know he's pretty upset. How are you?"

She inhales deeply and there's a long drawn out pause in our conversation as she decides how to reply to me. "Am I an awful person if I feel relieved?"

I shake my head. "No, you're not. He wasn't a good person and you deserved much better than to be forced to marry him and spend your life being mistreated by him."

She wipes a single tear away from her eye and then gives me a sad, sad smile. "Now I have to figure this whole dating thing out and see if I can find my future husband all on my own. I never thought I'd have to do that. It's a little terrifying, especially considering how disinterested August always was with me."

I let out a light laugh. "You'd be surprised how easy it is when you meet the right person. August just wasn't your person is all."

"Do you know where I can find Drew? I'd really like to talk to him and make sure he's okay about losing August."

"He's at work right now. We both work in the Defense Department. You won't be allowed to go into the department but if you ask the woman at the front desk there know who you are and that you'd like to see him, I'm sure he'll come out and talk with you." I tell her, glad that she's going to check on him. Hopefully he will open up and talk to her about what he's feeling right now.

"I'll do that. One more thing though before I go." She says and then lifts her sandwich up. "What in the world is this?"

I almost die of laughter. "I'm told it's called bologna. I don't eat it. Neither does Drew." I tell her.

"Me either!" She laughs as she gets up to leave.

She stops and turns back. "I'm really glad we got to talk. Thank you for coming over and sitting with me. It's nice to find a familiar and welcoming face."

I flash a smile. "I'm glad too."

(Gale POV)

After I get off work, I take my mother and the kids to go visit Prim. She's in some sort of special unit where they keep children who don't have families. We have to wait in a waiting area for her to come out to us and when the doors open and she sees us, tears immediately fall and she runs over, throwing her arms around me. And I have to swallow the lump in my throat because of the pain it drudges up over the loss of my best friend.

"She promised you'd take care of me and you did! You got me out of that horrible place!" She sobs. And Madge was right when she said it looked like Prim hadn't been taken care of while in that prison. She's the frailest I've ever seen her and has deep dark circles around her eyes.

My family visits with her and the kids tell her all about how great things are here. Especially Posey. She goes on and on about all her new friends and all the things she gets to do at her school. While they visit, my mother pulls me to the side.

"Gale, do you know if they allow families to adopt children here?"

"I don't know. Why? You gonna let Prim come live with us?"

"I feel like she should. I don't want to leave her down here all alone. The Everdeens were always like family to us. Prim belongs with us now."

"I'll find out and let you know. I think that'd be really good. Katniss would want us to take her."

"Can you do it now? I'd like to get her out of this special unit as soon as possible. She clearly needs to be with familiar faces right now." My mother urges, concern covering her face at the sight of Prim looking so frail and being so emotional.

I say goodbye to Prim and my family and then head off to the information desk to ask about possible adoptions and find out what we would need to do in order for Prim to live with us. Hopefully, it's possible and easy to make happen.

"I have a question about the children in the parentless unit. Are you able to help me with that?" I ask the man working the desk at the information center.

He pushes his glasses up on his nose and gives me a smile. "I certainly can. What's the question?"

"There's a girl, recently brought here from District 12, who has always been close with my family. My family would like to find out if it's possible for her to come and live with us. We'd like to adopt her. Is that something that's possible?"

"You can apply to adopt any of the children in the parentless unit. Once you submit an application, a supervisor reviews it, speaks with the child about it and then you'll be notified of the whole process takes just a couple days"

"That's it?" I ask, surprised at how simple it sounds.

"That's it. We always want the children here to feel like valuable parts of our community. Being adopted is a way to help that happen. Would you like the forms?" He asks.

"Yes, please." I answer, taking the forms he holds out for me.

I leave and take the forms to my family's house. I leave them on the table for my mother who still isn't back from her visit with Prim yet. I know she'll be happy to hear that its a quick and simple process.

I head to the park to sit and get some fresh air for a bit. As I sit under a tree, leaning back and closing my eyes, breathing in the smell of the trees and grass they grow here, my mind wanders through thoughts of Katniss and our time in 12. She really was my best friend and always had my back. There were so many times where one of us relied heavily on the other to help make ends meet and keep our families from starving. Katniss hated the Capitol and the games and all the ways they controlled our lives. She'd be so happy to know that we were able to get Prim out of the grip of President Snow and into safety only found in 13. Having Prim come live with us is hands down what Katniss would want. If she could talk to me right now, she'd tell me so, I know it. And taking Prim in with us honors the memory of my friend. I miss Katniss so much and there's so much I wish I could talk to her about now, so much I wish I could share with her. So much I wish she could be here for. But in a way, none of this would be happening if she was here. She was a catalyst in all of this coming together. A sacrificial one, but a catalyst none the less.

"Hey, I thought I might find you here." I hear Madge's voice call out and I open my eyes to see her smiling face looking down at me.

"Hey pretty girl. What are you up to?" I greet her as I pull myself to my feet.

"Just looking for you so we can go to dinner together."

I smile, give her a kiss and then together we walk hand in hand towards the dining hall. I tell her about my mother adopting Prim and she tells me about her lunch with Pemberly, one of the new refugees. She tells me about the executions and wrath the Capitol is unleashing throughout the country and I know we both feel nothing but relieved and grateful to be out of that horrific place.

A/N: Thank you all for your immense patience this past month while I was unable to post new chapters as frequently as I'd like to! My work schedule has finally returned to normal hours and I can now get back to writing and finishing up this story for you.