Breathe in, Breathe out • F Odair² •

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"I like when you call me that,"

•∘♔∘•

"Come on."

It was Finnick's voice speaking to her, trying to reach out to her. It sounded a million miles away, but Athena could recognize his voice in any situation. She was certain it was him.

Athena was still standing right by the door of the train, staring unseeingly ahead of her as the train carried them out of District Four at top speed. She felt frozen, unable to move or tear her eyes away from the sight. Finnick, standing close behind her, was trying to coax her away and she was pretty sure had been for some time now.

"Athena, come on."

The train kept moving, bringing them farther and farther away from home. It felt like District Four was flying past her. They were gone. She was gone. She was gone and she'd likely never return, likely never see them again. She felt her eyes sting, found it hard to breathe, and felt a sharp ache in her chest that was spreading further and further until it was all over her body.

"Athena, come on," Finnick said again, moving to stand closer to her and placing his hand on her shoulder gently. "Come on."

He moved his hand so that it was at her waist and guided her gently away from the door. She let him lead her away, past Mags and Alayne, to his chambers. She walked forward numbly until she reached his bed. As soon as she sat down on the bed, she broke down into sobs. She could not help it, it felt like it was all spilling over the surface like a tidal wave and she could do nothing to stop it, sobs wracking her body.

It all felt too much for her to bear, she felt too small for any of this, too small to be able to go on. She didn't think she could contain all this grief and all this fear; it all seemed to pour out of her with every tear and every sob, but somehow still left more of it behind in its wake. Finnick, who had been closing the door behind them, turned around immediately at the noise and rushed to her at once.

"Come here," Finnick murmured, sitting next to her and putting an arm around her. "Come here, my love, come here."

She leaned into him at once, weeping into his shoulder, her fingers moving to clutch onto the front of his sweater. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, pulling her into the warmth of his body, one of his hands going up to play with her hair comfortingly.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye," she sobbed. "I didn't even get to say goodbye... and now they're gone and I'll never - "

She cut herself off abruptly, unable to even finish the thought aloud. Finnick seemed to know what she was thinking at once, though.

"Don't think like that," he said, drawing her nearer to him, running his hand up and down her arms lightly, soothingly. "We'll make this work. We'll figure something out."

She just shook her head, holding onto him tighter as she let out another sob. It felt like she was sobbing not only because of the lost goodbyes to the ones she cared about, but because the reality of their situation was sinking in for her now. They were officially going into the arena, where they would be facing off against all-experienced killers, and the likelihood of her seeing the other side was slim. Whatever chance at peace she had, whatever chance at a full life she had, they were long gone now.

She lost track of time fast, but it seemed an eternity passed before she stopped crying, her sobs ceasing, her body steadying and her eyes drying. She shifted so that her head was on Finnick's shoulder, and he placed his head on top of hers. He stretched his hand out to her and she took it at once, intertwining their fingers and holding onto it tightly. As her own breathing became more even and regular, Athena could hear Finnick's; steady and even and deep - despite everything. It occurred to her at once that he was only pretending to be okay for her sake, and at once, she felt terrible. She was not the only one who had left people she cared about behind, after all.