Chapter 13
I got home at around 5 with tons on my mind. Me and Haymitch got lunch together after we found the gift, and he didn't notice, but I kept thinking about what he said about me making a judgment on Gale.
When I got home I went to my room and stared at the wall. I've had the same room since I was little, and on the wall across from my bed was a mural. Dad had painted it when Mom was pregnant with me, and it was a gorgeous picture of a meadow. The sun was setting, so there were soft pinks and oranges in the sky, and a flock of mockingjays were flying over the daffodils and sunflowers.
It was weird, but the wall always got me into deep thought mode. Maybe Gale wasn't a bad guy. He was Mom's friend. He did obviously care about her, and she him. And Dad didn't act like he was an enemy. If anything, he came to say sorry right? Because he must know he hurt my parents when they were kids.
It might even be good if he talks to them. If he's mean then they'll take him out of our lives forever. But if he fixes it...he might help them. Every once and a while Mom had nightmares, and I stay up with Pane distracting ourselves from the screaming and crying. When we were younger, we'd go in and crowd the bed to comfort her. Maybe less nightmares would come if Gale came to apologize.
I scratched my head and felt my scar. It went from the top of my forehead right to my eyebrow. I thought back to when I was 5 and first got it.
It was my birthday. Me and Dad went out for ice cream at Delly's restaurant. I was wearing my favorite orange dress.
"I learned a song in school today!" I had said excitedly as we ate our ice cream.
He smiled back and said "Oh yah? Sing it for me, I'm sure Delly would love to hear too, right Dell?"
Delly turned at the sound of her name and was leaning over the counter, nodding expectantly. I wasn't shy at all, and stood up. Before I began, Dad wiped my mouth with a napkin and then sat back in his chair and nodded. I began to sing.
"Down in the valley, the valley so low
Hang your head over, hear the wind blow
Hear the wind blow, dear, hear the wind blow;
Hang your head over, hear the wind blow"
Near the end of the first verse I looked over to Dad expecting to see a big smile and maybe even an applause, who knew. But he wasn't smiling, he was just staring coldly ahead. He was sweating. His hand was in a fist. Nevertheless, I continued, trying to remember all the words.
"Roses love sunshine, violets love dew,
Angels in Heaven know I love you,
Know I love you, dear, know I love you,
Angels in Heaven know I love you."
I looked over again. This time, Dad's eyes were closed tightly, he was sweating more, and he was grabbing and rubbing his own wrists over and over again. Delly seemed to notice and she came around, coming closer to both of us.
"Peeta, are you okay?" Delly asked worriedly.
Not knowing what to do, completely clueless, I began to sing again. "Down in the valley, the valley so low-" Dad opened his eyes and stood up from his seat. His eyes were almost completely black, and he was making a terrifying face. He looked angry.
I gulped and looked at Delly, who was now in front of me, blocking me from Peeta. "Daddy?" I asked cautiously.
The next few moments were a blur. Dad freaked out and punched the wall. Then, I saw him start to lift a table.
I had just started to cry when Delly yelled to me "Ivy, get out of here. Run across the street and get Mr. Stern from the laundromat."
Not thinking twice, I ran out of the restaurant as fast as I could. I ran across the street and somehow, I tripped on something and landed flat on my face on the cement outside the laundromat. A second later, I heard glass break behind me in the restaurant. I began to wail, blood obscuring some of my view. I heard someone on the street yell "oh my god!", and soon, there was a crowd in front of me.
They kept on trying to get me up, put bandages, and the nurses even came from the hospital. But I kept screaming in between cries "Daddy! My daddy is with Delly PLEASE go help him".
The next morning I woke up in the hospital, Mom sleeping in the chair next to my bed. "Momma?" I asked. I got out of bed and shook her awake.
"Ivy!" she exclaimed when she woke up. "Baby come here!" she hugged me and then picked me up and put me back in my bed. "How are you feeling? I was so worried!"
"Where's Daddy?" I demanded. "Why was he doing that? What was wrong with him? Does he not love me anymore?" I said on the brink of tears.
Mom shook her head immediately and sat down next to me on the bed. "No baby. He loves you with all his heart. Completely. But Daddy has had a rough past and sometimes gets really angry. You were singing a song to him right?"
I shook my head yes. "The Valley Song. I learned it in school and wanted to show him. But then he started sweating and punched the wall."
"Ah, see?" Mom said. "That song and Daddy, they don't go together well. When you're older, you'll understand why. But he needs some space, and didn't mean to scare you. If he ever starts to get that way again, you need to run and find an adult, okay?"
"Okay, but where is he?"
"He's in another room in the hospital sweetheart. With Haymitch and Delly. You'll see him later, when you're both ready."
I didn't really understand what was happening at all. But I was 5, so I didn't know what to do. A few minutes later, the nurse came in. She explained to me that when I fell my forehead had partially split open, and I had gotten 12 stitches.
Later that day, I went down with Mom to the psychiatric ward of the hospital and had a supervised visit with him and Mom. He kept on apologizing and saying he loved me no matter what, and gave me a big kiss on the forehead.
7 years later when I was twelve, I found out my Dad was hijacked by the Capitol during the Victors War. The night my parents explained to me why Dad had his episodes, I looked in the mirror at my scar and cried all night.
I stopped touching my scar when I heard Mom call me down for dinner. I went downstairs and saw Mom setting the table and Dad coming through the door. By then I had made up my mind. I wanted to meet Gale.