unforgivable ➸ finnick odair

T W E N T Y T H R E E

THIS IS JUST BARELY OVER 1K WORDS BUT LIKE I WANTED TO GET OUT A CHAPTER V QUICKLY FOR ALL YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE

SO HERE YOU ARE

ITS SHITTY I KNOW BUT HERE IT IS

A few more glasses of ice cold water and three cups of steaming hot coffee later, I was ready to put this morning behind me.

"Anything planned for today?" I asked Desiree and Sean over breakfast, which consisted of the aforementioned cups of coffee and a few pieces of fruit. They looked at each other and then shrugged.

"I don't think so," Sean replied, glancing at the clock, which read 10:56.

"Yeah, pretty sure it's smooth sailing for today and tomorrow before you go home," Desiree answered, eyes still on her coffee. I took a small sip of my own and sighed happily as the warm liquid slid down my throat. It's funny, really - before the games, I would make a face whenever my mother drank a cup of coffee, and now here I was, drinking my own.

Mum. A small frown blossomed on my face as I thought about her at home during the games, alone and afraid as she watched the screen, praying for me to return home safely. Guilt formed in my chest as I imagined her waiting at the Justice Building to visit me, only for the peacekeepers to tell her that I had already left. I hadn't even let her say goodbye. She could've lost two children in that wretched arena; one too young to go and another too bitter to stay.

"Yeah. Home," I said, finishing the rest of my cup and letting the avox take the cup to the kitchen. "And then the Victory Tour in six months, right?"

"Yeah. Don't worry though, both of us will be coming along for the joyride," Desiree added, sarcasm dripping off of her voice. I flashed her a half-smile, but I was reassured by her words. At least I would have two people whom I now counted as friends beside me as I faced the families of the people who died so I could live.

Just as I was about to respond, there was a series of hesitant knocks on the door leading to the District Five floor. Getting up, Sean shot Desiree a questioning glance, to which she just shrugged, and went to open the door for the visitor, who turned out to be a boy a few years older than me, with a round face and darting, nervous eyes.

"Hello there," Sean said, not unkindly. "Can we help you?" Quivering in his leather boots, the delivery boy simply handed my mentor an envelope and promptly sprinted away, a terrified look on his pudgy face. I managed to stifle a giggle at the boy's antics, but Desiree started cackling as soon as his feet rounded the corner towards the elevator.

"Did - you  - see - his - face?" she gasped out. Sean just rolled his eyes and skimmed over the front of the pure white envelope, the amused grin on his face fading as soon as he did so. Both Desiree and I noticed his dimmed expression, and the redhead quickly stopped laughing.

"El," Sean said in an unreadable voice. "It's for you." Raising an eyebrow in confusion, I took the envelope out of his outstretched hand and peeled it open, letting the contents fall out onto the mahogany table; a folded up piece of clean white paper, and a white rose. 

Snow.

Nervousness forming in the pit of my stomach, I slowly unfolded the piece of paper, discarding the rose without a second glance, and examined the letter carefully.

"Well?" Desiree asked urgently as soon as I was done reading it. "What does it say?" 

"It says that I have to meet him up on the roof of the Tribute Centre as soon as possible," I said, brow furrowing in confusion. Sean and Desiree exchanged a glance, but said nothing.

"Well, I guess I should go now," I shrugged, pocketing the letter and rising from my seat. "See you guys soon, hopefully."

"Good luck, El. I have a feeling you'll need it," Sean called to my retreating back. 

---

"Miss Reine," Snow nodded respectfully in my direction, white beard styled to perfection and his signature white rose placed carefully in the breast pocket of his immaculate black suit. 

"President," I replied, eyes narrowing slightly as I moved forward, constantly keeping a safe distance away from him. "What have you called me for?" 

"Ah," he began, a clever, snakelike gleam in his sharp eyes as they stared into my soul. "Cutting straight to the chase, are you?"

"You'll find that I'm not one for small talk, President," I shot back, tone carefully neutral as I spoke. "I was having a lovely conversation with my mentors before receiving your letter. A conversation I would quite like to head back to."

"Then I'll make this talk as quick as possible, for your sake," he sneered, eyes flashing momentarily before they quickly cooled. "Many of our beloved victors are rather... desirable, wouldn't you agree?" 

I raised an eyebrow at this strange beginning. Where was this leading?

"I suppose so," I answered, watching his facial expressions carefully.

"Say Finnick Odair, for example," he continued, eyes leering at me. "Quite a handsome one, isn't he? It would've been a shame had he not been available for the lovely women in the Capitol... for a reasonable fee, of course."

My jaw dropped as I finally realized what he was talking about.

Desirable.

Handsome.

Available.

Fee.

"You're making him sell himself?" I gasped incredulously, heart pounding as I remembered all of his mannerisms, his actions, whatever he had done before. Prostitution. Of course. 

"Ah, quite the intelligent one, aren't you? The men of the Capitol will quite enjoy that," he remarked almost casually, a devious smirk curling on his puffy lips. I took a step back, eyes flashing indignantly as I furiously shook my head.

"If you think for one second that I'm going to willingly sell myself just to satisfy your beloved Capitol men, you've got another thing coming, Snow," I spat harshly as I spun on my heel and stalked towards the elevator.

"You'll change your mind soon, Miss Reine," he threatened in a warning tone. "One way or another."

"No, I don't think I will," I snarled before the elevator doors slammed shut and I was whisked back to District Five's floor.