Dead in the Water | An Odesta Fanfic

Chapter Forty-Three

It didn't seem like Annie would ever get used to Finnick being gone.

If she thought that watching him leave was going to be any easier a second time around, she was wrong. If anything, it was more difficult to watch him go back to the Capitol smiling and laughing, knowing that she was sending him off to be broken again. But Annie hated to see him go for a lot of selfish reasons too. Without Finnick in District 4, the days felt a little longer, the voices in her head were a little louder, and it was a little harder to find a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

She wasn't the only one waiting impatiently for Finnick to come home. Sammy would spend his days pacing around by the door, whining to be let out, and stopping outside Finnick's house every time they passed it on their walks together. Annie couldn't blame him. She would stop with him, staring up at the dark windows, hoping Finnick was safe wherever he was, but knowing better than to believe it.

Annie and Sammy spent their days sitting together by the window, staring out at the dark shape of the Odair house in the distance. When the weather got a little warmer, they ventured out onto the front porch and sat there instead, staring into the street as if Finnick would come walking down it at any moment. But he never did, so Annie and Sammy sat together as the days passed by, with only each other for company.

Sammy wasn't such bad company, considering he was just a dog. He was always ready to listen, asking only for dog treats and scratches behind his ears in return. He wasn't so concerned about the strange thoughts Annie had or the crazy things she believed, sitting quietly in her arms as she talked it all out. She told him stories too, when she could remember them, trying not to forget how life used to be. And without Finnick there to tell her what was real, Annie would watch Sammy to see if he barked at the figures that wandered past the house or the voices that shouted at her. She wondered sometimes if Finnick had meant it that way – buying a dog to keep her company while he was gone. It wasn't the same as having Finnick back, but it was something, and it kept her from completely losing her mind.

Bay and Mags even thought she was sane enough to leave the house alone, letting her take Sammy out for his daily walks into town. This evening was the same as almost any other. Sammy had given up on walking and now he was settled happily in Annie's arms, snuggled up against the knit sweater that she never seemed to take off these days.

"I always wanted a dog." she was telling him. "Not many people have pets here in 4. You might have noticed that. But the boys and I always wanted a dog."

You mean YOU always wanted a dog. I think you were the only one old enough to care.

Annie ignored Kai's voice, holding on a little tighter to Sammy and going on with her story.

"We found a stray once, down at the docks. He was big and brown with wild fur, and probably more of a wild animal than a pet. We begged mom and dad to let us keep him. But no one has the money for that. No one but the victors, anyway."

The victors – and their families. She had never seen a penny of that money, the monthly payments that were supposed to be hers for life. The checks were still sent to her house, as far as Annie knew. She could only hope that her parents were using it, trying to build a new life for themselves here in Victor's Village.

Then where are they?

She didn't see them nearly as much as she expected to, considering that they were neighbors. But she walked past their house almost every day. Did they watch her as she passed by? Had they seen her going out on walks with Sammy, coming back from dances with Finnick, and moving on with her life as if they'd never been a part of it? 

I miss them, Annie.

She stared at the house on the corner as it came closer, at her last name still written in shining paint on the mailbox. "So do I." she whispered.