Secrets of the Sea | Finnick Odair

- chapter 10 -

FINNICK

Cordelia looked so peaceful when she slept. It was hard to see her in the dark but once his eyes adjusted it was easy enough.

When she had whined at the loss of his warmth it tugged at his heartstrings. Finnick had been planning to ask if she would let him stay with her, his nightmares had started to get the better of him. Every time he fell asleep he would wake up shivering, afraid a tribute was waiting to kill him.

It felt stupid, childish even. But the games had left scars. Not visible to anyone but himself. Finnick hadn't told anyone about his nightmares. Cordelia had asked that he never lied to her and so far he hadn't technically done so. She hadn't asked, at least not yet. Finnick was 99% sure Mags knew, but they weren't too bad. Having Cordelia stay in his house since he got back had done wonders to fight them off. If he woke up all he had to do was go across the hall. She would be there, sleeping soundly, unaware of the world around her.

She was alive, she was safe and so was he. Everything was fine.

But there was an itching feeling he couldn't seem to scratch. His birthday was tomorrow, so he should feel excited. Then why was there a sense of dread? A bad feeling he couldn't seem to shake.

Usually, his bad feelings were because of his nightmares but because of Cordelia, they had been kept at bay. So whatever was going on to make him feel so uneasy needed to sort itself out. If he wasn't careful Finnick might accidentally drag people down with him.

He looked at the sleeping girl in front of him. Red hair was sprawled across the pillow behind her, the small amount of moonlight almost made it glow. She was comfortably tucked into his chest, a position Finnick realized he liked very much, Cordelia's own chest moved gently up and down with each breath she took. Finnick watched for a while before attempting to match her pace.

It wasn't much longer until Finnick could feel his eyes drooping, much like Cordelia's had earlier. 'He didn't fight it like she did. Instead, he let his eyes close and rested his head above hers.

...

˙· 𓆝.° ｡˚𓆛˚｡ °.𓆞 ·˙

...

"Finnick, wake up." A voice sang above him. He could feel himself being poked. Finnick groaned before attempting to roll over. A force stopped him. "Come on Finn, it's time to get up." He recognized the voice now. Cordelia. The only reason he was able to sleep through the night. With that in mind, he complied with her request and opened his eyes, sitting up.

She smiled at him and he saw she was the force that prevented him from rolling over. Clearly, Cordelia had been up for a while, she was dressed and her hair was pinned back out of her face. Noticing his eyes were open and he was awake she continued.

"Happy birthday!"

Her smile was so bright it was almost contagious.

"What is that? On your face?" His question must have caught her off guard. Cordelia moved to wipe her face but Finnick beat her to it.

Whatever it was, it felt grainy. Finnick watched her avert her gaze elsewhere, while she did that he smelt it. Nothing. Really it was one of two things. Either salt, which was not uncommon to find practically everywhere in District Four, or sugar. A quick taste test gave him the answer.

"Sugar?" Finnick looked at her, but Cordelia still avoided his eyes. "Why do you have sugar on your face?"

Like the previous questions he asked, there was no answer. Instead, she grabbed his hand and directed him to his closet so he could change.