Unthinkable

Chapter 7~ I Know Our Future

"Morning beautiful," I hear as my eyes flutter open. I open my mouth to say Gale's name, but nothing emerges from my throat. Pain is my only feeling right now. The back of my throat is so dry and I can feel it swelled up inside. I'm pretty much positive that my neck is bruised on the outside. I remember when this happened about a year ago. Comparing the two, I realize the results are worse this time. I could speak then, just scratchily. But now, my voice is completely gone.

Gale climbs in bed with me and strokes my hair like he usually does. He tells me that I'd been out for a couple days and that my voice should come back soon, but when it does I should rarely speak for about a week till it's completely healed. The speech sounds all too familiar. I'm relieved when he says my voice will come back. It'd be hard living life voiceless. Although this isn't my big worry. He has a bandage on his nose and multiple scratches in result of fighting Peeta. I point to his injuries and he shrugs it off, but I still worry.

That night, I stay in the new hospital they'd recently finished and my voice comes back the next day. After that, I only stay one more night and they let me go. Gale stayed with me the entire time no matter how much I'd urged him to go home. I wanna ask so many questions, but Gale hushes me each time I try to speak until I eventually give up. It isn't worth it right now. Later on, when the sky begins to get dark, I'm eating applesauce which hurts going down my throat even though it's cold and smooth, and I sneak a single question.

"Why'd he do it?" I ask croakily. Tears form in the corner of my eyes while saying this. I thought I could trust Peeta, I thought we could be friends, but now I'm second guessing that. I know I'll keep a distance even if I don't have to. Gale has told me Peeta is on restrictions of seeing me and he will be for a while, but I know this doesn't matter anyways. I stare at Gale while waiting for an answer. He seems shocked and even angry that I spoke, but he gets over it.

"A bee stung him. That's what they think triggered it cause the Capitol used tracker jacker venom in their procedure while hijacking him," Gale answers. I'm satisfied with that theory. It makes since because Peeta had grabbed his arm in pain before he attacked me. So I nod and retreat upstairs without another word.

For a week or so Gale helps me do voice exercises. Most of the time I don't want to because it hurts and it's boring, but it's all worth it to hear him demonstrate the ridiculous noises I'm supposed to repeat. I never do, I just end up laughing while attempting to do it, but I giggle too hard to actually get through the exercise. He gets frustrated with me at first until he gives in and laughs along. He starts making fun of himself so that I laugh even harder and tickles me like he did that one day. It all becomes a daily routine until finally, my voice sounds normal and recognizable.

"I guess all those days of laughter paid off, huh?" says an ecstatic Gale. I chuckle and nod in agreement. "I can hear that angelic voice of yours again," he smiles and pulls me towards him in a tight embrace.

"I have so many things to do," I exclaim while I jolt up and frantically search for a phone. I feel a tug at my wrist and spin around to see Gale gazing at me pleadingly.

"No you don't, lay here, please." I jerk my hand away and start pacing back and forth, trying to create a list in my mind of what to do. I remember I'd thought of so many regrets I needed to fix when I was nearly about to die, but now I only remember one and that's to call my mother. Gale grabs my wrist again and pulls me down next to
him. I let out a long exasperated sigh and bury my face into his chest before I begin to cry and talk about what it felt like while I was being choked and how terrified I was and still am. I spill my frustration at how I can't remember everything I'd regretted at that moment of near death. And Gale pats my back and comforts me the entire time while assuring me that Peeta is very well injured.