Stay with me? [Finnick Odair]

114

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Chapter one hundred and fourteen
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Weeks have passed since Katniss was first taken into custody. I don't know what's going on in the room she has been locked up in. I'm not allowed to visit her, but I catch chatter from the guards that she's been trying to starve herself to death. It's not a surprise that she's trying to leave on her own terms, she thinks she's going to be executed for what she did.

I keep thinking about her. Wasting away in that room, a thin skeleton of what she once was, trying to kill herself before the rebels are able to execute her. But they're not planning on killing her. They're planning something else. I don't know what, I've only caught whispers of it, but they don't want to kill her for what she did to Coin.

Eventually, I am cleared of questioning from the guards after they're satisfied that I had nothing to do with Coin's death. I'm allowed to go back to my every day life in the mansion... if there ever was such a thing. An emergency election was held a few days after Coin's death, appointing a guard called Paylor as president, and Plutarch was appointed secretary of communications. Then, came Katniss' trial. Of course, I was questioned as the one who was stood beside Katniss during the execution. They suspected that she was planning the whole assassination and convinced me to help her carry it out, but I swore I had no idea of it.

I told them exactly what I saw. It seemed like Snow had told Katniss something before his execution that stuck with her, something about Coin that made Katniss want to kill her. Then, the arrow was released. That's all I know of the situation. Thankfully, they didn't push me too much as I was already cleared before the trial. They did ask me about my knife sticking out of Snow's body when they recovered it after the pandemonium, but I just told them what I told Haymitch and Peeta.

They also had Plutarch as Katniss' star witness, but it was really her doctor who helped exonerate her.

All I hear of Katniss after this is that she has been moved to Twelve until further notice. Then, nothing more is spoken of her.

One day, after the whole thing about Katniss has been forgotten, I walk into my room in the President's mansion to see bags have been packed and set in the middle of the room. Finnick walks out of the bathroom, having just taken a shower, and I look to him in confusion.

"What's this?" I ask, gesturing to the bags in front of me. He smiles, moving over to me, he takes my hands in his and pulls me closer.

"You know how we've always talked about having a house near the ocean?" He said, his arms snaking around my waist, and I feel my lips curl upwards into a smile. "The President agreed to build one for us, one that's far away from all of this. We get to start over."

"Really?" I say, unable to believe it at first. Finnick nods, lowering his forehead onto mine. "We get to start over?" He nods again. I find myself beginning to laugh. The first real, happy laugh that I've let out since all of this started. That's something I haven't truly felt in a long time. Happiness. All I had of that feeling was little tastes of it with Finnick, Mae and Cosmo. That's it. But now, here I am feeling that warmth swallowing me whole.

It's incredible.

"How did you manage to convince them to let us go?" I question, pulling my head away from Finnick. He keeps his arms wrapped tightly around me as he smiles down at me.

"It took a lot of convincing. They agreed to let us go as long as we agree to stay in touch if they ever need us," he explains. I roll my eyes, but nothing he says in this moment can wipe the beaming grin from my lips.