When Finnick Met Annie

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

5 years had passed by since I had been in the games. 5 years had gone by since I had lost my mind. 5 years had gone by since I had realized that the only person I could count was my boyfriend, who was laying in front of me, passed out on a couch. I shock him slowly, and... Nothing. “Finn... Finnick... Finnick Odair!” I said  my voice growing louder. Something escaped his mouth but it was too low for me to understand it. I sighed, and headed to the kitchen. I filled a cup with ice cold water; then, I dumped it on top of Finnick’s head. “...I’m up! I’m up!” He woke up in a holt. His wavy bronze hair was now dripping wet. I realized he was in a bad need of a haircut, since his hair was already covering his eyes. I laughed as he shock his head like a dog. He ran his fingers through his hair, flexing all his arm muscles and gave me a smirk. “God Annie, you know I hate waking up like this!” He said. I put my hands on my hips and smiled. “Maybe if you’d wake up on time, such measures wouldn’t be necessary!”  I said and he rolled his eyes. He got up and headed to the bathroom to grab a towel. He put the towel around his shoulders and put his hands on his pockets. I examined his tall athletic structure, tracing all the lines with my eyes. I fixed my eyes on his abdomen for a moment, then turned them back to his face. “God, he’s gorgeous!” I thought and a small smile crept up un my face. He smirked. “Are you checking me out Cresta?” He asked. I crossed my hands and rolled my eyes at him. “You so were! You, Annie Cresta, were checking me out!” He said laughing and I laughed too. “I was not!” I said, trying hard not to blush. So what if I was checking him out? I still wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that. He stood closer to me until we were face to face. “Admit it Cresta, you were checking me out...” He whispered. His breath was warm against my skin and I could clearly see his perfect turquoise eyes behind his hair. It still amazed me how his eyes always managed to take my breath away, even after all these years. “Ok, maybe a little. Happy now?” I said blushing. He smirked and put his hand around my waist. “Very...” He whispered and then kissed me on the lips. I heard the phone ring in the kitchen, it was probably my parents, asking how I was, or if I needed help with breakfast. I pulled away from Finnick and he let out a little sigh. “Here, put this on.” I said handing him a shirt and then went to pick up the phone. He rolled his eyes and put on the white shirt that I gave him. If it was possible, he looked even sexier with it on. I picked up the phone, and as I had imagined it was my mother. “Annie?” Said my mom’s muffled voice. “Hey mom!” I greeted her, and picked up an apple from the kitchen counter and took a bite out of it. “How’s everything over there?” She asked carefully. “I’m fine, Finnick just woke up. He’ll take care of breakfast.” I said, gulping down the bite. There was a long pause before she said anything. “Finnick stayed over?” She asked coldly. I sighed, here we went again. My mother was very strict about these thing, and even thought I was already an adult, she still tried to dictate this part of my life. I had told her a thousand times before that nothing had ever happened between me and Finnick, that went beyond kissing, and that nothing would happen, unless we got a proper marriage, but she refused to listen. Besides, it wasn’t like Finnick stayed over all the time, only occasionally, like when he came home late from fishing and headed here to check on me, or when I was having one of those breakdowns. In todays’s case it was because he had come home late from fishing. “Yes, he slept in the couch.” I said. Finnick looked at me in doubt, and I shock my head, signaling for him not to worry. “Annie, you know how I feel about these things...” She continued talking but I zoned off. It was like I wasn’t in this world, and my mother’s voice felt as if it were a thousand miles away. Images of the games started forming before me. I could hear the canons go off. It sent shivers up and down my spine, but I couldn’t move.  I heard more murmurs and felt something on my shoulder, then I came back to reality. Apparently Finnick had noticed what was going on, and had rushed over to my side. He had one hand on my shoulder and the other on the phone. “Yes Mrs. Cresta, of course. I’ll tell her to call you right back... No, everything is fine, yeah... ok... Ok, bye Mrs. Cresta!” He said into the phone a bit annoyed and hang up. Finnick looked at me with a worried look on his face. “What did my mother say?” I asked and he shrugged. “What she always says, ‘take care of my daughter, blah, blah blah... Don’t you dare lay a finger on her, blah, blah blah’ you know, the usual lecture.” He said casually and I laughed. He tucked a lose strand of my hair behind my ear and place his hand on my cheek. “Are you alright Annie?” He asked. I could hear the the worry in his voice. I shrugged. “I’m fine, it was just another blackout.” I said, and he shock his head. “Are you sure? You’ve been getting them a lot lately...” He said and I just shrugged. “I’m sure it’s nothing Finn, no need to worry.” I said. I hated when Finnick worried so much about me, it made me feel helpless, I could take care of myself. Finnick stayed quiet, and I sat besides him. “Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked him and laid my head on his shoulder. “The day Annie, look at today’s date...” He said, his voice almost a whisper. I looked at a calendar that was hanging on the wall and saw and big red ‘X’ marked over today. I knew what it meant... “The reaping... it’s today...” I said. My head started pounding and I swallowed hard. Finnick put his arm around me protectively and kissed my forehead. “That’s not all... it’s the quarter-quell this year. Who knows what new surprises they might bring...” He said. I felt my breathing start to get heavier, and I could feel the pounding in my head get worse. I was having a panic attack, my doctor had warned me about them. Finnick pulled me closer to him and hugged me. “Hey, it’s ok, nothing’s going to happen to you...” He said in my ear and kissed me. His voice was calm and soothing, and I began to calm down. He got to his feet and helped me up. “C’mon, we still need to go. Don’t worry, it’ll be over before you know it.” He said and grabbed my hand. I nodded and we headed to the city hall.

I stood in the middle of the crowd in the city hall. Next to me was Mags. She had been one of the earliest victors, and was very fond of Finnick. She was in her late 90’s but was still more energized than half the people here. I heard the capitol’s funny accent boom through the speakers. It was beginning. “Welcome all to the 75th Hunger Games! As you all know, it’s a Quarter-Quell this year, that means the rules have been altered!” Said the woman. She had a yellow and blue dress, with pink tinted skin and bright green hair. I had never seen something so odd in my life. “This year, our tributes will be chosen from our past pool of victors, exciting isn’t it!” She said and I gasped. I felt the pounding return and my breathing get heavier. We only had 2 female victors and 2 male... That meant Finnick and I were likely to return to the games. “First, the ladies...” She put her hand inside the familiar bowl and took out a piece of paper. “... Annie Cresta!” As she spoke my name, I felt my throat tighten. I shut my eyes, since the pain in my head was unbearable and I covered my ears. I opened them faintly to see if I could see Finnick. He stood in the other side of the field motionless, watching me, horror filled his eyes. I saw Mags step in front of me. What was she doing? I had already been picked for victor... “Oh looks like we have a volunteer! Come up!” I heard the woman from the Capitol say. What was happening? Why would Mags take my place? I tried to make sense of it, but the pounding in my head wouldn’t let me. I realized that I didn’t have to go to the games, that I was safe, and I owned Mags for that, she had saved me. “Now for the gentlemen...Finnick Odair!” She said. With my ears still covered I opened my eyes and looked frantically for Finnick in the crowd. It couldn’t be. They couldn’t take his away from me, not again. Please, not again. Finnick met my eyes only once before going on stage, but once was enough. The look in his eyes wasn’t of sorrow nor was it desperation. It was something else. It was... forgiveness. He was asking for forgiveness with that look. Realization drew upon me and the tears began streaming down my face. My mother who had somehow managed to find me, held my shivering body and tried to calm me down, but it was impossible. I didn’t hear the rest, nor did I see Finnick’s face as he stood on that stage. I realized that he already knew this would happen. He already knew about the Quarter-Quell and that he had talked Mags into volunteering for me. I realized he must’ve done this all weeks ahead to try and protect me, and to keep me safe. And the part that hurt the most was, that now I couldn’t do anything to save him. That he was going once again to the Arena, and that I didn’t know if I was ever going to see him again. That’s what hurt the most. My mother held my body in place, but it was no longer under my control. I was torn, and the only person that could piece me back together was gone and beyond my reach...