I release from the hug me and Peeta share. Peeta smiles brightly and walks over to Prims cake. “We should go bring the cake to Prim” Peeta says, pointing at the cake. That was a great idea. It was Prims cake in the first place. She should be the one to enjoy it. I nod in agreement. I walked out to the front of the house. I open the front door and stuck my head out.
“Jaz. Reece. Come inside we're leaving!” I yell. Both kids stopped what they were doing and stared at me disappointingly. “Where are we going?” Jaz asks, walking towards the porch. She holds a purple hula hoop around her waist. Her eyes go from happy to upset in less than a minute.
“Where going to bring your Aunt Prim her cake” I say, walking all the way outside. I sit down on the porch to pull Jaz onto my lap. She takes off her hula hoop and sits down. I pull back her hair and begin to make a braid down her back. “I don’t want to go” Jaz whines. I sigh and shake my head. “No, you have to go” I demand. “Nobody’s here to watch you”.
“I’m here” a husky voice says. I know this voice. I could never forget this voice, even if I try. I'm too scared to turn around. The voice sounds a little deeper and older. But I am sure, I knew who it is. I drop Jaz’s hair down and froze in place. I feel his eyes burning into my back. I take a deep breath and turn around. And there in front of me, is the murderer himself.
Gale.
My body completely shuts down. Seeing his face is like getting a gunshot right in the chest. I have to stand tall. Show him that I am happy with who I am with. Gale even said when we were in the Capitol, that I would pick who I couldn’t survive without. And he was right. I can't survive without Peeta. But if it wasn’t for him killing Prim, then maybe there was a chance that I would be with him instead of Peeta.
Ever since Gale did that, I couldn’t stand to look at his face without feeling disgusted. I know that he wasn’t aiming them at Prim, but I also know that he was the one who made the bombs. The question still remains of who bombed the place. But the answer is obvious. Why would the Capitol wan't to bomb their own human shield? It was the rebels. It had to be.
“Why are you here?” I manage to choke out. I begin to breath heavily as my fist clench tightly, causing my knuckles to turn white.
Gale stands there, looking clueless. His jet black hair is in the same way I left him. In his face. He got tanner and taller, and much more muscular. He has scruff on his chin and cheeks. I look him up and down, observing everything new about him. He even has a tattoo on his left arm of a mockingjay. On the right wing of the mockingjay was an initial.
K.E
Katniss Everdeen.
“Thought I’d come to visit” Gale says, moving closer to me. I have no clue what to say, so I glance behind me. Jaz was gone. She went back to playing with Reece on the lawn.
Dammit.
I turn back around and sigh. I nod slowly. I don’t know what to do. Be happy? Or mad? Or just ignore him? Why the hell is he here in first place? He knew I didn’t want to see him. I don’t want anything to do with him. He’s a killer. Wait - I shouldn’t even be saying that. I’m a killer. I was a tribute in the hunger games. And I won with Peeta. All three of us were killers. Murderers. And the question still remains. Why am I alive?
“How’s everything?” Gale asks, sitting down on my porch. Emphasis on MY PORCH.
“Fine” I say, refusing to sit next to him. He turns around and pats the empty spot next to him. “Sit down Catnip. I don’t bite”. I raise my eyebrows and cross my arms over my chest. Gale waits for me to move. I give a loud sigh befoere sitting down next to him.
“What’s their names?” Gale asks, pointing over to the kids. “Jaz and Reece” I say, looking down at my feet. Peeta must be wondering what’s going on outside. If he saw Gale here, there would be a fight. Gale would say something stupid, and then Peeta would get mad. That’s how it usually works. “Nice” Gale replies. “So how’s Peeta?”
“You really want to know?” I ask, looking at him. Gale starts to laugh. “I’m just trying to make some conversation. You’re acting all weird”.
“I’m not acting weird. I’m acting normal” I say. My voice begins to get louder. “You act awkward all the time?” Gale asks, folding his hands, and looking down at the floor. “No. I’m acting like this because you’re here” I yell. “And just the fact that you come to visit on Prims birthday is just ridiculous! She would be here with me, celebrating if it weren't for you!”. Now I am screaming. I stand up and stomp over to Jaz and Reece. I pick them up so fast; they don't even have a chance to complain. I walk to the front door, marching inside. I put down the kids and slam the door behind me. If Gale thinks he can just come back into my life and act as if everything’s fine like it used to be, he’s wrong.
*******************
I lean against the front door. Clutching onto the door frame, I close my eyes to try my best and calm down. Why would he come now? He knows when Prims birthday is. Everybody did. So why would he come to visit me at a time of sorrow? He’s so stupid.
I pull myself together before walking down the hall to the kitchen. Peeta sits at the table talking to Haymitch. Haymitch never lost his ways of drinking, but he gotten better. After years of begging for him to let me and Peeta help him clean his house, he finally gave in. It took a week, but now his house is spotless.
When I walk into the kitchen, both Peeta and Haymitch stop talking. “What happened to you?” Haymitch asks. He held a beer bottle in his left hand, and a fork in the other. They already started eating Prims cake. I shake my head. “We have a visitor” I say, taking a seat next to Peeta. “An unwanted one”.
“Who?” Peeta asks, handing me a piece of Prims cake. I grab a fork from the counter and took a big piece. The cake is so good. I chewed slowly and then took a big swallow. It hurt going down. I put my fork down next to the plate. “Gale”
Peeta shoots up from his chair. “Where are you going?” I ask. I grab Peeta’s arm, holding on tightly. “To tell him to leave” Peeta says through gritted teeth. I get up from my seat and run to the door. “No” I say, blocking the door. “I’ll do it. You two in the same room is just bad”. I open the door enough for me to slip out. I shut the door fast behind me. Gale is in the same place he was before. He has his head buried in his hands. His elbows prop up on his knees. I jump off the porch, so I am facing him. “I think you should go” I say. Gale looks up at me. I can finally see his face. He had bags under his eyes. It looked like he hasn’t slept in forever. His gray eyes stared into mine. “I don’t want to” he murmurs. I raise an eyebrow in shock that he would go against of what I would say. Okay then, if he wants to play like this, I’ll play too. ”Well you should” I suggest. Gale stands up and stretches. “No Katniss. You can’t just ignore me for the rest of your life. I’m sorry okay? It’s not my fault. I didn’t know Prim was with the medical group. I didn’t even think they would let her!”
“She was only a kid” I whisper. I felt like I was about to cry. “Exactly. She was only a kid. Why would they let her go out into the Capitol in the first place?” Gale says. “I didn’t know. It was a suicide mission. I didn’t think they would let a 14 year old girl be in a battle zone!”
“But you did know you would have to kill all those medics, right?” I say.
“Yes. I did know. But it was the only way, Katniss! We all had to risk our lives. I risked my life. You risked your life. Even bread boy risked his life! For the rebels to win. And we did.” Gale says. “Millions died. They didn’t die in shame. They died in courage. In bravery. And in love”.
Gale walks down the porch steps and began to walk away. I glance over at the front door, seeing Peeta peeking through the window. When he saw me, he fell to the floor and put the curtains back where they were supposed to be.
Should I let Gale leave? He did come all this way to see me, but it’s not like I wanted him to come anyways. He thinks if he shows up, on my dead sister’s birthday, that I would just forgive him. I don’t know what to do.
“Gale wait” I say, running toward him. He turns around, giving me a weak smile. “Good hunting partners are hard to find” I say, patting him on the back. “And I haven’t seen my hunting partner in forever.” The look on Gales face should have been recorded. His face lightens up with joy and happiness like a little boy. He smiles so wide, it stretches up to his ears.
I missed that smile.
“So, you don’t hate me?” Gale asks, laughing in relief. The hope in his eyes is priceless. “Honestly, I don’t know” I admit. “I really don’t know. But I don’t hate you enough to not let you inside”. Gale nods and we both walk back to the house. We got up to the door. And then I realize Peeta was going to get mad that Gale was in our house. “Listen” I say, stopping Gale. “I know you and Peeta don’t get along. Just please don’t say anything to him. And if you do, be nice. Nothing sarcastic”.
“It’s a deal” Gale says, agreeing with me. I open up the front door and let him in. “Please don’t make me regret this” I whisper.
"You won't"