Annie's Story

Chapter fifteen

Finnick grabs my hand and holds it tightly. I smile when I look up at him, he does care about me. He really does. That's the best feeling in the world, it makes me the happiest girl on earth. We start walking towards his new house, which is gigantic! Really, it's huge. 'Were you really planning on training me?' I ask Finnick, not really knowing what to say. 'I don't know, you're not going to enter the Games anyways, so somewhere it's pointless. But you need to protect yourself, because one day, I'm not going to be here anymore to care for you. And that day, you need be strong and fight the world on your own. I know you can do that.' He says with a sad tone in his voice. 'What?! You sound like you're going to kill yourself!' I say stressed while I look into his eyes. He stops walking and stares back with a serious look on his face. 'I'm not. But all of the nightmares from the Games, they are killing me inside. Maybe one day I won't be able to handle it anymore.' Slowly I put my hands on his cheeks. 'You will. I will always be here for you. Always.' I tell him hoping he'll see that I'm speaking the truth. I will never lie to him. He places his left hand on mine, still on his face. 'Thank you Annie.' He says while his face comes closer to mine. I close my eyes and I come closer too. Slowly our lips touch. I feel like flying, my feelings are exploding! Finnick puts his arms around me and kisses me just a bit longer. When we let go, I feel that my cheeks are red. His are too. He scratches the back of his head and stares at the ground. 'I'm sorry.' He mumbles. 'What are you sorry for?' I whisper. He looks up again. 'For kissing you, you probably don't like me as much as I-' I put my hand on his mouth before he can finish what he's saying. 'I love you.' I say with not even a single doubt in my voice. His smile gets bigger and his cheeks turn red again. 'I love you too Annie. In the Games, everything I did, every kill I made, I did it for you. I wanted to see you again. So I had to win. Now you're here, in my arms, saying you love me, this is why I won. This is what I wanted to live for.' Smiling I put my hands around his neck. 'I watched every single second of the Games. I always screamed when you were in danger, hoping you could hear me.' He kisses me on my cheek. 'I heard you, deep in my heart I heard you.'