Stay with me? [Finnick Odair]

108

༻❁༺
Chapter one hundred and eight
༻❁༺

Just close your eyes, the sun is going down.
You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now.

Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound...

One day, the beautiful scene in front of me fades to black. At first, I don't know what's happening. I lose that feeling of safety I had when I rested my head on Finnick's shoulder, I lose that feeling of content when I watched the sunset repeating in front of my eyes. But then, I realise what's happening. I'm beginning to come back from the effects of the medicine I'm on. It's beginning to wear off, they slowly give less and less to me each time. This starts happening more frequently over the next few days, I wake for a few minutes before slipping back into that all-too-familiar slumber, but the day soon comes that I finally wake for longer than a few minutes. Part of me wants to go back, to live in that moment where everything was simple, but the other part of me knows I have to return to reality eventually.

I have to return to the world where everything is completely messed up. Where I caused so many deaths to occur.

But then, I think about all the people I get to see again and a part of me becomes excited to finally wake after so long.

I'm not visited by anyone during the time I've been given to recover, only the doctors keep me company while also trying to nurse me back to health as quickly as possible. I know why this is. President Coin wants to kill Snow as soon as she can. The doctors explain to me that the Capitol fell as soon as those parachutes were set off and Coin took up the presidency, she now leads Panem and troops have been deployed in order to put down whatever little bits of Capitol resistance still remains. I ask why I can't see Finnick or Mae, but they just give me the same excuse of they're busy. That they don't want me to have any visitors during my time in the hospital, that they want me to focus on nothing but recovery.

I remember I was the only one hit by the flames out of me and Finnick. Luckily, he barely missed one and now is only brought into the hospital to check up on how his wounds from the mutts are healing. I see him occasionally on my way through the hospital, but the doctors never allow him to talk to me. Mae is somewhere in Panem, I don't know if she stayed in Thirteen or if she's in the Capitol now, all I know is that she's visited me a few times. I'm not allowed to know any more until I've recovered enough from my burns.

Thankfully, this punishment doesn't last long and I'm allowed out of the hospital within a couple weeks. I've been assigned to a room in the president's mansion to share with both Finnick and Mae. I'm escorted to the room I've been assigned to by one of the doctors, making sure I don't collapse on the way since I haven't used my legs in weeks. When I walk into the room, I'm instantly attacked with an embrace from my sister. It hurts me, but I don't care. I've missed her so much that I can push past the pain.

I wrap my arms around her so tightly that I almost squeeze all the air out of her lungs. It just felt so great to finally hug her again, to know that she's alive and safe.

"I promised we'd be okay, didn't I?" I choke out, trying not to let the tears slip down my cheeks as she pulls away from me and I see her smile again. God, I forgot just how happy seeing her smile makes me. It reminds me so much of our mom. My hand finds her cheek, brushing my thumb across her soft skin just as a tear slips from her eye. "Don't cry, Mae," I say, pouting at her as I pull her into another hug. "Don't cry. Please."

"I'm sorry," she mumbles, clutching on the back of my shirt tightly and wiping her eyes on my shoulder. "I thought you were dead, so seeing you now —"

I shush her, brushing my hand across the back of her head and planting a kiss on her cheek. "It's okay," I whisper, tightening my grip on her. "I'm sorry I scared you like that, but I'm here now and I'll never leave you again. Okay?"

"Clementine."

I jump at the voice behind me. Turning on my heel so quickly that I got dizzy, my wide eyes meet the one person I thought was dead months ago and I feel my knees buckle at the sight of his big brown eyes and golden freckles.

"Cosmo!" I exclaim, throwing my arms around him and making him stumble backwards slightly.

He chuckles as he slips his arms around my waist, holding me in a tight embrace before allowing me to stumble away from him. "Nice to see you, too, kid," he says amusedly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. He looks so different than when I last saw him. Despite the smile he held on his face so proudly, his skin was sunken and had this strange grey-ish overlay to it; his eyes had large circles under them and dark bruises littered his face.

"How did you — when —"

He chuckles again at my stumbling of words. I can't help it. I have so many questions buzzing around in my mind and I have no idea where to start. It thought I would never see him again — especially after Katniss told me that Snow had Cinna killed. So, seeing him now, it was like my brain had suddenly lost connection to my body; I couldn't think straight.

"Snow kept me alive because he thought I had information about the rebellion," he explains and suddenly my heart sinks to my stomach.

"Oh," I say, my voice cracking as I realise what this meant. "So... he..."

He tortured you like he did to me. Only, you weren't saved when the soldiers from Thirteen came to rescue us.

It's likely that Snow kept Cosmo in a different part of the mansion, used him, tortured him, and kept him for as long as he could — which would explain why he wasn't rescued with the rest of us.

Cosmo nods. "Yes, but I'm okay. Honestly."

I don't believe him. Considering we both have matching bracelets which read 'mentally disoriented', what he just told me is a blatant lie. But I decide against questioning it further. I'm about to talk to him more, catch up with him since I haven't seen him in months, when a pair of strong arms lifts me from the ground. I immediately squeal, kicking my legs as the person who grabbed me spins me around and sets me back down on my feet. Once my head stops spinning, I see that it's Finnick; staring at me with a wide smile spread across his lips.

"I'm so glad you're okay," he says with a sigh, shaking his head before he leans down — pulling me closer to him by my hips and captures my lips in a passionate kiss. I feel every emotion he's been feeling in these past few weeks, every little drop of pain and sorrow, but I also feel the happiness radiating off of him as he kisses me for the first time in weeks. I comb my nimble fingers through his hair, feeling the warmth of his skin against me, feeling my heart flutter when he pulls me closer until there's no space between us anymore, and I just lose myself in the moment. When he pulls away and I see that breathtaking smile again, I know that I'm home.

"I would never leave you, Fin," I whisper, leaning my forehead against his and allowing my eyes to slowly flutter closed. I take a moment to just breathe in that familiar scent of sea salt that lingers off of him and my lips curl upwards into an absentminded smile. "I love you."

"I love you too, Clem."