Disclaimer: The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, two of the best books I've ever read, are owned by Suzanne Collins and I don't have any rights to them except the right to read them and love them.
A/N: This story now has a companion story titled, Souls on Fire. It is told in Gale and Madge's POV. You don't have to read SoF to read this story, but if you love Gale/Madge, I would recommend it.
Chapter Eleven
Unfortunately, it doesn't take long until the outside world comes crashing in. One minute, I'm sleeping peacefully in Peeta's arms, and in the next, we're both being jolted awake as a scream tears through the air. It's so full of fear and grief that, at first, I think it was Peeta. Then my head clears and I realize I just heard someone scream out, "Mommy." My very next thought is Prim.
I fly up from the bed and run into the hall. I stop short when I see my mother and Prim standing in the hall. Confusion sets in as I hear sobbing from Madge's room and I see Mayor Undersee sobbing outside in the hall. I walk into the room and my eyes adjust to the darkness. I see Gale trying to comfort Madge. I feel Peeta behind me as my mother and Mrs. Hawthorne come into the room. I start forward to help but Mrs. Hawthorne pulls me back as my mother goes to Madge. She shines a light into her eyes and announces that Madge is in shock.
I realize that Madge hasn't had time to grieve for her mother. She hasn't even said what has happened, not that there has been a lot of time. Gale asks, "From what?"
"I don't know," my mother says softly.
"Does her father know?" Gale asks harshly. There's derision in his gray eyes and I mirror his sentiments. Why is her father outside sobbing and not in here comforting his daughter? Madge clutches at Gale's shirt and I see him look down at her. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" he asks her softly. I feel myself frown. This is a side of Gale that I've never seen. True, I've seen him this way with Posy but never anyone outside of the family.
But Madge's whispered words chase the thoughts from my mind. "I killed my mother." I can't help but gasp with everyone else. How could she possibly think that? Gale looks up at me and his eyes are ordering me out of the room. I feel… I don't know. I slowly leave the room with Peeta and my mother. The Mayor is still sobbing in the hall and my mother tends to him.
Finally, Mrs. Hawthorne leaves the room and closes the door softly behind her. We all stand there awkwardly. "You kids better get some rest," she tells us softly as she goes into her room. The Mayor won't be moved, so my mother goes into her own room and shuts the door. Peeta and I go back into his room.
"Poor Madge," Peeta murmurs as he sits on the edge of the bed. I sit next to him.
"I wonder what happened," I tell him as I sit next to him. He grabs my hand and pulls me down with him to lie on the bed. I feel him brush my hair and press a kiss to my cheek.
"Hopefully, Gale can help her through it," I hear him murmur. I just nod my head in agreement. I lay there next to him for a while, my thoughts not allowing me to go back to sleep. I don't know what to think. Will Gale be able to comfort Madge like Peeta comforts me? What is going on between them anyway? Then I sigh. I remember it's not for me to wonder what is going on between Gale and Madge. It's just so hard not to think of it. I keep thinking about it until my mind is so tired from exhaustion that I can't help but sleep.
***
When I wake up, again, I see that Peeta is sleeping peacefully. I gently rise up out of the bed and sneak across the hall to my room. I'm still wearing the black uniform that I wore on the mission and I have a gritty taste in my mouth. When I step into the hall, I'm brought up short by seeing Mayor Undersee still in the hall. When Madge's scream woke us up last night, he was in the hall sobbing.
I notice that he's asleep with his head leaning forward on his chin. He's sleeping the sleep of someone who's been crying. I know this because the nights that I used to hold Prim after our father died always ended up with her crying herself to sleep. For hours I would listen to her hiccupping breath, just as Mayor Undersee's breath was hiccupping now. Madge's whispered declaration that she killed her mother haunts me now and I wonder if the mayor knows she feels responsible. I sigh as I walk over to him and gently shake his shoulder. He jerks awake and blinks his blue eyes as he looks up at me.
"Katniss?" I hear him ask and I nod.
"Come on, Mayor, let's get you to bed," I tell him as I help him stand. I'm struck how he seems like a child to me. His eyes are wide and vulnerable. I get him up and we pause as we hear Madge's door open behind us. I turn to look and I'm surprised as I see Gale staring at us. He watches us for a moment as I help the Mayor into his room and I see him waiting for me in the hall as I come back out. I raise my eyebrow at him in question.
He leans against the wall and rubs his hands tiredly over his face. "God, Catnip, you reek," he says.
We look at each other for a moment and then we both start laughing softly. All the tension I felt at being alone again with Gale, that I didn't even realize I was feeling, flows out of my body. "Gee, thanks," I tell him.
"Just thought you should know," he tells me. I meet his eyes and we stare at each other for a moment.
"Is she okay?" I ask and he looks away.
He shakes his head for a moment before he answers, "I don't know."
"What did she mean that she killed her mother?"
He shakes his head again. "That's not for me to tell, Katniss."
I feel shock. Gale has never kept anything from me. But I guess this is how things change. He must see the look on my face and he says, "That's not fair, Katniss. It's her burden and I can't share it with anyone." I just nod my head. Though, I do feel surprised that Madge has shared it with him.
"I see the two of you have gotten close," I tell him as I wave my hand towards the closed door.
I see a vulnerable look cross his face. Gale vulnerable? Everything has changed. "Well, we're friends now," he tells me and there's a slight blush creeping up his neck. I raise my eyebrows again but he doesn't comment further.
"Well, I'm going to get cleaned up," I tell him as I head to my room.
"See you later, Catnip," I hear him say softly before he goes back into Madge's room.
Is this how it felt when he would see me with Peeta? I can't help the thought as it passes through my mind as I enter the shower. I can't imagine how it must have felt for him but I feel like I 'm blocked from him somehow. I love Peeta with everything in me, but a part of me is sad that I've lost that side of Gale. Does that make me selfish? I sigh as the hot water runs down my back. I really don't know what to think. I'm just so glad to have Peeta back.
My thoughts turn to the nightmare he had and I wonder again what sort of torture they put him through. Whatever it was, it had to involve President Snow. Peeta was about to tear into Mayor Snow in a blind rage yesterday when he thought the mayor was President Snow. Even though the shower is hot, I feel goose bumps rise on my skin at the thought of the rage in his eyes. I could have imagined that look on Gale, but on Peeta… It scared me.
I finish my shower quickly because I have the need to see him again. I get dressed in a similar outfit to yesterdays and I leave the bathroom as I'm toweling my hair. I see Peeta waiting for me. I sit down next to him on the bed. "Hey, I thought you would still be asleep," I tell him as I lean over and kiss him.
He grabs my hand and squeezes it tightly. "You weren't there," he replies.
"I had to shower," I tell him and he nods.
"I know. I heard you talking to Gale in the hallway. I figured I would wait for you. I don't know where to go from here."
"Me neither," I tell him. I get up and run a comb through the tangles in my hair. I braid it back quickly and I look over to see him studying him with a slight smile on his face. "What?" I ask.
"You're so incredibly beautiful," he tells me. The look in his eyes is so intense that I feel my eyes tear up. "I didn't think I would ever see you again."
"Why is that? You must have known I would come for you," I tell him.
He takes my hand and pulls me back towards the bed. "I thought you were dead." Then I remember what Plutarch had said about Peeta seeing him close my eyes after the hovercraft lifted me out of the arena. "When I saw you in the Capitol, I thought that either we were both dead or they had somehow captured you too. There's no life for me without you." I wrap my arms around him and I feel him hold on.
"There's no life for me without you either, Peeta," I tell him softly as I hold onto him tighter. "And just for the record, I don't know what to do either." I feel him chuckle at that and I pull away from him.
"I really don't know where to go from here. I don't know how to get involved, though I know that we will be," I mutter.
"What do you mean?" he asks.
I sigh. "I'm the mockingjay. I'm the symbol of the rebellion. I'm still just a piece."
His hands grip my shoulders. "You're not just a piece to me, Katniss. You're everything. Absolutely everything," he says softly right before his lips take mine again and my body melts against him. Each time we kiss, it chases away every thought in my head. All I want is to feel… All I want is to get closer.
Since my brain isn't functioning, my body just takes over and the next thing I know, I'm sitting on Peeta's lap. "Katniss," I hear him murmur huskily as his hands grip my waist. I don't know if he's going to push me away or not. I couldn't bear it if he did. I wrap my arms around him and I kiss him for all that I'm worth. I feel his hands tighten and then he crushes me against him. I think one of us groans loudly at the full body contact. His fingers travel underneath the back of my shirt and I feel his skin caress mine.
My heart is beating so heart it's a wonder it hasn't leapt out of my chest. I feel his teeth on my lip and I shiver. My hands tunnel into his thick hair as I try to move closer. I feel his hand on the back of my neck and in my hair.
When we hear the loud knock on the door we both break apart as if a bomb went off in the room. I stare at him in wonder and in shock as I move from his lap. He straightens out my hair with a shaky hand and I turn as the door opens. Haymitch stands there and his eyes take in our appearance. I chance a glance at Peeta and I see a mile wide grin on his lips that are swollen from my kisses. Haymitch looks back at me and raises his eyebrow. "What?" I ask and I'm embarrassed to hear that my voice is hoarse and I still haven't caught my breath.
"Once you've cleaned yourselves up, I would suggest you get downstairs. We're going to the Justice Building. It's time for the next move." I nod as he turns to leave. Then he surprises us by turning back around and glaring at us again. He looks as if he's about to say something else but he just shakes his head as he walks out.
Peeta lets out a chuckle and I turn to punch his arm. "What was that for?" he asks in shock.
"For the grin! Thanks to you, he knows exactly what we were doing!" I tell him.
He laughs again. "And you think he doesn't already know?" I ignore his question as I walk out the door and down the stairs. But I do think of one thing. The next time Peeta and I are alone, we're locking the door.
A/N: Sorry for the long wait on an update. Real Life has been kicking me in the teeth. I'm going to try and get some more up soon, but I'm not making any promises at this point. I just ask for you guys to please, please, please bear with me. I will not desert this story or you readers. As always, please be kind and leave a review. I love them!
