Three in the Morning

He Should Know

Gale

"Gale, honey, I want you to go back to my house and get some rest," Mrs, Everdeen says as she approaches me in the chair I attempted to sleep in last night.

I did get some rest, but it was a fitful and dreamless sleep.

I don't want to leave, but the exhaustion in me complies after promising to return as soon as possible.

I have to say she's handling this with more grace than I'd expected, it's almost like all this reawakened the caretaker in her that everyone thought was long gone after Mr. Everdeen died.

************

I slept soundly on Mrs. Everdeen's sofa, happy memories of Prim taunting my dreams.

Visions of picking flowers with she and Katniss, helping to teach her to ride a bicycle, her pleading me to braid her hair exactly the way her big sister's hair was always expertly done up; they're all vividly replayed in my mind. When I wake, I feel empty of them, but at the same time they've left me calmer than I was before.

My first thought is to get back to the hospital to see Katniss.

I don't want to be empty handed when I see her, forced to face her with only my unpredictable emotions as a front, so on my way there, I plan to stop by the Mellark's bakery to bring some of those cheese buns she'd live off of if it was up to her.

I'll be the first to admit my jealousy of Peeta, but I'd never let that out.

Walking through the front door of the bakery, a bell jingles as I heave it open.

"Hey, I'm just about on my way out of here, so can I get you something really quick?" says the baker, not bothering to look at who's just walked in while he turns off the array of ovens against the back wall.

"Sorry, would it be alright if I could get a couple of cheese buns to go?"

I dig out my wallet and look up to meet his eyes. Blue just like his son's.

"Of course," he says.

I bite my lip and decide I owe Peeta at least the knowledge of Katniss' condition.

Mr. Mellark puts six cheese buns in a brown paper bag and puts them on the counter. He's adorned with a tuxedo and has an undone black tie hanging around his neck.

"You're the owner, right?" I ask, fully aware that he is.

"Yup," he confirms with a half smile.

"So Peeta's your son?"

"He is. Are you a friend of his?"

"I'm a friend of Katniss Everdeen's, and I trust he is, too?"

"From my understanding, Peeta likes her very much, yes," he tells me. I try not to feel threatened.

"Well, could you tell him that she's in the hospital? I can give you her room if you think he'll want to visit, I just thought he should probably know."

"Oh, yeah, of course, is everything alright? Is everyone okay? Her mother?" he asks - his pleasant expression faltering. He's a very kind man, all concern genuine, so I warm up a little to the idea of the Mellarks.

"Um . . . no, not really. Katniss lost her sister - Prim - in a car wreck last night. Her mother's fine, and Katniss will be, too, but for now she's being treated for some broken bones and gashes."

"Oh," he says, shaking his head, "I'm so sorry. Yes, I'll definitely let Peeta know. And I'm sure he'd love to visit Katniss, so if you would write down that room number, I'll take that to him. He's helping set up my other son's wedding right now, and I was just about to head down to the venue, so I'll tell him as soon as I see him."

I scrawl the room number and name of the hospital, just to be sure, on a piece of the paper bag, rip it off, and hand it to Mr. Mellark.

"Don't worry at all about paying for the cheese buns, they're free of charge. Take these cookies, too," he offers, holding out a box of warm chocolate chip cookies he'd grabbed at random off of a shelf to his right.

"Thank you very much," I tell him, taking the brown bag and box of cookies in my arms.

"Thanks for letting me know."