The Last Mockingjay

Chapter 6

I open my eyes and instantly feel nauseous, and the pounding in my head doesn't help either. I slowly pull the covers back and get out of bed and see that Peeta is still asleep. I'm glad he is because I don't want him to see me like this.

I barely make it to the toilet before I'm puking my guts out. I keep thinking that maybe I'm done, but then another wave of vomiting follows. After what seems like forever, I have literally nothing left in my stomach.

I clean my face and brush my teeth, then warily drink some water, hoping that I can hold it down. The pounding in my head still persists, but I feel much better. I lay back down in bed slowly, trying not to aggravate my sensitive headache.

I begin to think about last night. Everything is a little foggy, but I know that I slapped Gale and made myself look like an idiot. Hell, I was an idiot. So much for a good birthday.

I wince as I hear a loud crash upstairs. It only sinks in, though, when Peeta jolts awake. In an instant I am on my feet.

“What was that?” asks Peeta, groggy from sleep.

“I have no idea,” I reply as I head for the door to see what the noise was. Before I know it, Peeta is behind me, following me up the stairs. I walk as fast as I can, but pain jolts through my head every time I take a step. Peeta, noticing my struggle, takes the lead. I follow him to the bedroom above ours, which is where we heard the crash.

Gale’s.

I don't know how the kids slept through the crash, but I don't hear movement from either of their rooms. I guess Peeta and I are just light sleepers. Our lives used to depend on it.

I’m a few feet behind Peeta as he opens the door. I don’t dare follow him as he walks into the room, but I can see a shattered vase on the floor opposite of the bed.

“What do you think you are doing?” Peeta’s voice is contorted with a rage that I hardly ever hear. I dare to take a step towards the room to see what is going on. I see a flash of Gale’s faced, covered in anger, the welt from last night very prominent on his cheek. This is all my fault.

“I had to… to do something. It’s not good to keep anger bottled up inside.”

“But that was not your’s to destroy! Fine, get your anger out, but do it with your own property!”

“Ha. Like you could ever get rid of all that anger,” I say calmly as I enter the room.Gale glares at me with his dark grey, Seam eyes. Maybe he is supposed to intimidate me with his glower, but I am undeterred.

Finally he is facing his anger on a reasonable target. Me. “Remember, I’m the one who let you stay, and I can kick you out just as easily. So don’t give me that look because if it wasn’t for me, you’d be dead.”

My words knock him completely off guard. I guess he isn’t used to a straight-thinking Katniss. He gives me a questionable look, most of the anger gone. He cocks his head slightly, lips parted to speak, but for the longest time, nothing comes out.

“You let me... stay? After you said you blamed me… Why?” I think about this for a minute, looking for reasonable answer.

“You were my friend, my only friend, for the longest of time. You didn’t have to help me feed my family or teach me how to make snares. You’re one of the reasons I made it out of the Hunger Games alive. I owed you one, so now we’re even.”

Gale nods and becomes lost in his own thoughts. My head begins to hurt even more, so I just leave him there and let Peeta take me downstairs for breakfast. When we’re in the kitchen, he wraps me in his arms, and locks his gaze with mine. Looking into his beautiful, deep blue eyes, I cannot tell what he is thinking, but I’m still lost in them anyway.