I pushed around food on my plate until dinner was over. The minutes seem like hours. We're all silent while we eat, until Dad speaks up.
"Go to your rooms, kids. We'll come find you after we clean up." he says. Pane and I immediately jump out of our seats and run to our rooms. It seems like forever until I hear a knock on the door. I jump up to get it, to find Mom waiting for me.
"Come on, Ivy. " she says. Without another word, I follow her downstairs to the living room, to find Pane and Dad already there. Dad's sitting on the coffee table, starting to explain what the Hunger Games are to Pane, who's on the couch. I take a seat next to Pane, while Mom grabs Dad's hand and sits with him.
"You must hear about it in school." Dad says.
"Kind of. I don't know what they are though." Pane responds. Dad goes on to explain what they are, the rules, how terrible they were to everyone in the District, and how each year, countless people would die in the clutches of the Capitol.
Then he goes on to explain how they got involved. Our Aunt getting reaped, Mom bravely volunteering. Our father getting reaped, his only thought was to die to save the love of his life. He doesn't go into gruesome details, but he does tell him everything they went through. Pretending to be in love, or not so pretending on our Dads part. Just hearing it again brings tears to my eyes. It must of been so hard, so confusing and terrible for both of them. The berries, the suicide. The story has barely begun, and once he gets through the Victory tour, and the threats against them, Dad starts to get into the second arena.
It's too hard. The remaining pool of victors are reaped. Dad fabricating Moms pregnancy, pretending they are in love again, even Dad dying. Names like Finnick Odair and Wiress are brought up. I'm crying by the time he gets to Mom blowing up the arena, and while Panes eyes were dry, we are both bawling by the time he gets to his hi-jacking.
Our parents let us take that much in for a while. I cry into Moms shoulder while Pane crawls onto Dads lap and cries into him. Mom hasn't said a word, but I know it's hard for her also. I hate to say it, but Dad has always been the strong one when it came to this. After we are somewhat calmed, the story starts again. But it's Mom who speaks now.
She tells of her deep depression while Dad was gone. Of how she was the rebellions 'Mockingjay', how she was the face of the war. She tells us about how Peeta thought she was a mutt, how confused they both were. She told us everything that happened in District 13 during the war, right to the when they're in the Capitol, and they have success. She even tells us about how her and Dad came back to District 12 and fell in love all over again.
Through some of my tears, I have to ask. "But...who's is Gale? Where does he come into this?" My parents look at each other, knowing this moment had to come sometime. Mom speaks again.
"A friend. My hunting partner actually. You know after my father died, I had to provide for my mother and Prim." Her voice falters on Prim, my aunt. Primrose is my middle name, in honor of her. "His father died into mines also. I met him in the woods, for years we hunted together. Me and Peeta got reaped. He looked after my family, along with Peeta's father. When we got back, he didn't like the 'Star -Crossed Lovers.' He told me he was in love with me. He's the reason I held back from Peeta all that time. They were sort of at competition, who I would choose."
Dad interrupts, "No, it wasn't competition. We were just so unsure of who...who she loved."
"Oh, I loved Gale. But not like I loved Peeta. Gale, he was destructive. He rescued Peeta from the Capitol, but he killed tons of people in the war. He...even...he made a plan to drop bombs on all the children in the Capitol. To distract them by killing the little ones." Mom is near crying now. "He didn't mean to." she says. "He didn't mean to kill her." It sounds less like she's telling us and more like she's telling herself.
He set off bombs, on children? What kind of monster is this? "Who?" I ask, "who did he kill?" I say forcefully. Mom is crying now, a lot. Dad catches my eye and motions for me to calm down.
"Prim." She gets out in a breath.
I take a moment. Prim, my aunt. He killed her.
I stand quickly. He's the reason for half of Moms nightmares, for all her worries about us. He kept Mom from Dad. He kept me from having an Aunt. I don't care how much he 'loved' Mom. This was not okay. I'm about to say something, but Pane gets to it first.
"So he's here. Is he dangerous?" He asks. All three of us look at him, surprised he spoke.
"That's the problem." Dad says. "We don't know if he could do anything to hurt us." I know what he's saying. He could try to take Mom away. He could be 'destructive', like Mom said. I couldn't think straight. They should of told me when I was 12. They shouldn't have lied. I didn't like Gale. He seemed like too much trouble. How could Haymitch say he didn't matter?
"Make him leave." I yell at them. Can't they see I'm angry, hurt? They stay quiet, so I take the chance to run up to my room, lock the door behind me, and sob.