Dead in the Water | An Odesta Fanfic

Chapter Fifty

Annie had changed her outfit about five times already. Her closet was half-empty, there were clothes thrown all across her room, and now she was standing in front of the mirror in the same outfit she had started in. It wasn't much – just an old pair of pants and a shirt that she had been wearing to work at the docks for years. She had tried on a pair of earrings too, but they just made her look ridiculous. They were just going fishing. There was no need to try so hard.

"Annie!" Mags called up the stairs. "Finnick is here!"

"I'm coming!" she shouted.

Annie took out the earrings and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. After spending months in the sun sailing with Finnick, some of the color was finally coming back into her face. But there was still a wide-eyed, peaky look about her that Annie was quite sure hadn't been there before the games. Then again, she had never been much to look at. Annie frowned at herself as she looked in the mirror. There wasn't much she could do to change that. But Finnick probably wouldn't look twice at her anyway, and she didn't care if he did.

Kai was laughing at her.

"I don't care." she repeated.

But if she was really content just being friends with him, she wouldn't have started every morning like this, worrying over what she was going to wear and whether he was going to notice.

Kai's laughter wasn't the only sound in the house. There were voices downstairs. Annie could hear them as she finished tying back her hair and hurried out of her room. Not just Finnick and Mags, but the voice of another woman and a few high-pitched giggles that sounded like little kids.

Real or not?

Mags was in the kitchen, but she wasn't alone. There was a young woman there too, dressed like she was from the Dunes and holding a baby in her arms. The baby babbled and looked at Annie with wide eyes over his mother's shoulder. Real, Annie decided. Mags was talking to the woman, so deep in conversation that she hardly noticed Annie enter the room.

"Morning Mags." she said, taking a scone from a pan on the counter.

Mags glanced up at her. "Help yourself." she said, waving at the pan. "And take some with you. I'm sure Finnick hasn't eaten any breakfast."

Annie took a few more scones, grabbed the lunches Mags had packed and ready for them, and followed the sound of laughter into the next room. Finnick was there, sitting on the floor across from two kids, a little boy and girl. They were both petting Sammy and giggling as he jumped around between them, his tail waving wildly. Annie hung back in the doorway for a moment, unnoticed, and watched Finnick with a smile on her face and those same old butterflies in her stomach.

"Does he know any tricks?" The little girl was asking.

Finnick looked doubtful. "Well, he's still just a puppy, but we've taught him a few."

He pulled a few dog treats out of his pocket and held them just out of Sammy's reach. The dog jumped to attention, looking eagerly at the food in Finnick's hand. "Roll over." he said firmly.

Sammy just looked up at him and wagged his tail again.

"Roll over." he repeated, but Sammy trotted forward and began sniffing at Finnick's pockets, where the rest of the treats were hidden. The kids started to laugh again and Finnick sighed. He fed Sammy the treat anyway and patted him on the head for good measure.

"You're not supposed to be that smart, Salmon."

"I want a dog." the little girl said. "Where did you find him?"

"He's from the Capitol." Finnick told her.

The girl nodded. "I'm going to go to the Capitol and get a dog too."