Its not over until the Mockingjay sings - F. Odair

Chapter 91

"Oh I forgot to ask you with everything we talked about yesterday. But what happened between Katniss and Peeta? Don't tell me she went in there all by herself?" Lea asked. 

Finnick immediately had a worried look on his face. "Well, when I got there, I asked Haymitch whether Katniss had already seen Peeta, and then Haymitch said that she was in there and before we knew it Peeta attacked Katniss. He took her by her throat and attacked her. Haymitch and I immediately went in and tried to pull Peeta off of Katniss, but we didn't succeed. Peeta kept on choking her. It was so terrifying to see, but then Boggs came in and slammed some metal plate on Peeta's head. Katniss is okay, but she is wearing a neckbrace," Finnick explained. 

"Oh my god, that is horrible. I knew he is not himself right now, but I certainly didn't expect this." Lea said with a shocked look on her face. 

"Yeah, I don't think any of us did," Finnick said. 

"Poor Peeta, he is going through so much." Lea sighed. "Do you know what they did to him?" She asked. 

"Well, I was talking with Haymitch and Boggs, and Boggs said they must have hijacked him," Finnick sighed. 

"Hijacked him? What does that mean?" Lea said as she furrowed her eyebrows. 

"It's a technique the capitol uses apparently to alter your memories. They use tracker jacker venom to change his memories of Katniss into negative ones. To make him believe that she abandoned him, and that she is some Capitol mutt who wants to kill everyone," Finnick explained. 

"Oh my god, that is absolutely horrible," Lea said with a shocked look on her face. 

"Did you see any of that happening, given that you were there, too?" Finnick hesitates to ask, his voice barely above a whisper.

"No, I don't. I'm sorry, we were all mainly kept separate. In the beginning, before I acted out during my interview, they let me see him every day, and I slowly saw him change. He began to say all kinds of mean things about Katniss, and I just tried to reassure him that those things weren't true," Lea said, looking down, not fully comfortable to talk about what happened in the capitol. 

Finnick just looked at her with concern in his eyes. He wanted to ask her what happened in the Capitol. He wanted to know all the horrible things they did to her, but he was afraid that if he asked her, it would only make her relive everything, and he didn't want that. She hadn't had any nightmares ever since she arrived in District 13, and he wanted to keep it that way. 

Instead of asking, he reached out, his hand hovering near hers for a moment before he gently touched it, offering what comfort he could without saying a word. His thumb brushed lightly over her knuckles, a silent promise that he wouldn't force her to open up if she wasn't ready.

"I'm sorry, I just don't want to talk about it yet," Lea admitted. 

Finnick gave her a soft smile. "I understand, baby. Just know that when you do want to talk about it, one day, I will be here," Finnick reassured. 

"Thank you for being so understanding," Lea said with a soft smile. 

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The next days, Lea stays in her hospital bed, her arm stuck to an IV. Finnick was there the entire time, never leaving her side. 

"I am so sick of this, I can't move properly with this stupid IV stuck to my arm." Lea nagged, tugging slightly at the Wires on her arm, connecting her to the IV. 

Finnick raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms as he leaned casually against the edge of the bed. "Careful, baby. Rip that out, and you'll be back to square one."