One Last Game -Haymitch Abernathy-

Chapter 51

"I know you didn't have a signature weapon," Beetee spoke. "I went ahead and made a few things." There was a table full of different weapons.

"Thank you, Beetee." Amelia appreciated the gesture.

His hands rest in his lap. He was in a wheelchair now, but he didn't seem to mind. "If you need anything else, you know where to find me." She nodded at him. That seemed to be the end of the conversation. Beetee wheeled out of the room. Amelia let her fingers glide over the weapons. Recently she has been experiencing a lot of anger. It was hard to process the things she had recently been through. Haymitch was gone. It was unclear for how long. He left two days ago. Amelia hated that she missed him. She remembered him, but there were still missing pieces.

The memories of her old life were returning. That included the ones she wished would stay forgotten, like the memories of finding her family after winning the games.

Amelia picked up a spear, letting the object twirl between her fingers. It felt natural in her hands. She lifted it up, spinning around. She slammed the object into a wooden beam. It felt good to express her feelings in such a violent way. Amelia had been holding in her true emotions since arriving at District 13.

The truth was, Amelia wasn't okay, and she didn't want to move on. She wanted revenge. Her entire life had been destroyed by one person, Snow. He put her in the games. He killed her family. He had her tortured. Everything bad in her life was linked to him.

Snow had to pay for what he did. Someone had to make sure he faced the consequences. Amelia couldn't think about anything else. When she entered the arena, she had accepted her fate. She was supposed to die. It was sad that the idea of dying, even then, brought her some comfort. It was selfish, but she didn't care. Now, she wanted to die more than ever. After everything she endured, Amelia felt that death was more promising than her future.

Amelia spun around, the spear effortlessly bending in her hands. She lowered it down, but it didn't get far. Someone caught it. "Well," Finnick smiled at her. "It's nice to see some things haven't changed."

She yanked the spear back. "Finnick." Amelia hadn't seen him since arriving. "Hi."

"It's good to see you out and about." He tucked his arms behind his back. "How are you?" Amelia sighed, unsure of how to answer that. "Probably the wrong question to ask." Before she could respond, he grabbed his trident. Amelia barely had time to block the strike he threw at her.

"Woah." She stumbled backward. "What the hell-"

Finnick came at her again. His feet glided over the matt. A smile appeared on Amelia's face as she fought back. The two moved gracefully, almost as if they were dancing. It was nice to be treated normally. Finnick wasn't holding back. He fought her with all his strength, which gave him the upper hand.

Finnick knew that before the Capitol got their hands on Amelia, back when they were training for the Quarter Quell, she easily could have beaten him. She had incredibly fast reflexes and was super smart. Amelia was strong as well. Finnick didn't stand a chance in a fight against her.

Now, things were entirely different. Amelia wasn't nearly as strong or fast, but it didn't matter. She was still the same girl he knew in the arena. The same girl who would have given her life to save Katniss.

"You're not nearly as fast as you used to be."

"Really? I had no idea. Wonder why." Finnick couldn't help but laugh at her response. Amelia took the opportunity to spin around. Using her spear, she knocked his legs out from under him. Finnick landed on his back, a pained gasp escaping. "Still smarter than you, though." He stared up at her. Amelia let her spear rest by her side. Bending over, she extended a hand for him to take.

Finnick took her hand but pushed himself up. "Thanks." He brushed himself off. "You know-" he swung his trident to the side. By accident, he hit a pitcher of water. It fell off the table. The plastic container hit the ground with a clang, the water spilling all over the grey tile. "Shit."

Amelia's body convulsed as the electricity coursed through her body. The man pulled the prong away. Water dripped down her body, pooling on the grey, tile floor. Her body struggled to process the trauma it was experiencing. Her arms were chained above her head, her feet barely touching the ground. Another man grabbed the second bucket of water, dumping it all over her. Amelia gasped as the cold water hit her. It woke her back up, a pained cry escaping. The man with the prong smiled. He waited a moment, letting her adjust before hitting her with it again.

Amelia let out a fearful cry, her body going numb at the feeling of the water hitting her feet. She stumbled backward, trying to get away from the water. The feeling of it brought back horrible, terrifying memories. "Hey, woah." Finnick had no idea what was going on. "Are you okay?" He went to help her, but Amelia knocked his hands away. He instantly pulled away. "Sorry." He hadn't meant to upset her. Finnick knew the water must have triggered her. He had heard vaguely from Johanna what they went through. "Amelia-"

"Sorry." She pushed up from the ground, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Sorry. I can't. Sorry." Amelia turned away from him and ran out of the room.

"Amelia," Finnick yelled after her. "Amelia!"

She struggled down the hallway, desperately trying to remove her socks. She could still feel the water on her. It was touching her.

"Please," she screamed. "Stop."

She turned down a hallway, tripping over her feet.

Her arms were tied to a chair, a towel over her face as they drenched water on it. She gagged, unable to breathe. Her lungs burned.

The memories were painful. They consumed her. Amelia's entire body was shaking, her hands dragging against the walls as she tried to get away from the feeling.

They ripped the rag off, and she instantly sat up. The water spewed from her mouth. Amelia gasped for air, only to be pushed back down.

She tripped again but never fell. Arms wrapped around her, catching her. "Get off me!" Amelia fought against them. "Get off of-"

"Calm down," the voice belonged to Haymitch. "Hey, calm down." Her body went limp in his arms. Instantly, they both dropped to the ground. "What the hell is going on?"

Amelia looked up at him. Her eyes were cloudly from her tears. "Water. The water." Haymitch noticed that the bottom of her pants was damp. "It fell. It hit me."

"Okay. It's okay."

"It fell, and-" Amelia was crying again.

Haymitch reached forward and rubbed the bottom of her pants. It didn't do much, but it was the thought that counts. "It's fine, see? It's just water. It's fine. Okay?" Amelia watched as he roughly rubbed the area with his hand. "See, it's okay." She let her head fall against his shoulder, a sad sigh passing through her lips. "It's okay," Haymitch spoke into her ear. "I got you. You're okay."

It was just the two of them in the hallway. Nobody could see them, and Amelia was grateful for that. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Haymitch slowly let go of her pants. "It's okay. It's going away now." Feeling her heart rate start to even out, she was overcome with exhaustion. "It's all okay."

"Glad you're back," she mumbled. She felt safe with him.

Haymitch smiled faintly, pressing his lips to the side of her head. "Me too." Amelia let her eyes fall closed, trying to relax even more. He was only gone for a few days, but it wasn't easy being away from him. She liked being near him in a way she couldn't explain. "Tired?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want to go upstairs?"

"Yes." She thought for a moment. "Haymitch?"

"Hm?"

Amelia stared ahead. "Will you stay with me?"

He answered quickly. "Always."