Annie woke up to an unexpected feeling of coldness next to her. She was surprised to find that Finnick had woken up before her and was already out of bed.
Annie stood up groggily and walked over to her dresser, where a neatly written note was placed.
A-
Snow called me early this morning. He requested my presence in the Capitol for a brief meeting or something. I'll be home by tonight. I promise.
-F
Annie put the note down and sighed. Of course the Capitol had to call in Finnick. It seemed he spent more time there than he did here in 4.
Every time he came back home, she would ask him what he did there. He would always say the same thing; it was just a small gathering, or a brief meeting. No more details, and it was implied that the conversation was over.
It would be a lie to say that she wasn't suspicious, and it killed her that she didn't know the full truth and that Finnick obviously didn't trust her enough to tell her the full truth.
Annie took a shower and got dressed. She ate a quick breakfast consisting of a glass of water and a banana, even though she knew she should eat more. Ever since her Games she hadn't felt the need to eat as much as she was supposed to, which, of course, made Finnick worry. While he was the loveliest person she could ever have the pleasure of being in a relationship with, he did have the tendency to be a bit overprotective, which while sweet and appreciated could be a bit annoying.
After breakfast, she decided to go to the town square and look around at the shops. She visited Mrs. Ludwig, the old woman who ran a small bait shop. She bought a beautiful painting of some sea turtles and a vase made of smoothed out coral.
The day had slipped by with out Annie noticing, and before she knew it it was already six o'clock.
She decided to take the long way home and walk along the uninhabited beach. The water was moderately calm and the only noise that could be heard was the soft whoosh of the waves.
She could see the faint outline of her house up ahead, signalling she was almost home.
She felt relieved and happy as she realized that Finnick would be home soon.
That was, until a dark figure tackled her to the ground.
Panic started to fill her, but she forced herself to stay calm and focus.
Annie thought of what she could use to defend herself. The only things she came up with was herself and the sand, as she was too far from the water and there wasn't another person for at least a mile.
The attacker pinned down her arms and stomach by sitting on them. Annie got her first good look at the person. While a mask covered their face, Annie could tell by the build of the body that it was male.
She tried to squirm free, but as soon as she did that she got a hard punch to the face, which would for sure leave a bruise. Trying to ignore the pain, Annie thought of head butting him, but then realized she couldn't reach that far up.
Her attacker gagged her with an old piece of rope.
The man then proceeded to tear her shirt and bra off and roughly feel her chest. He pressed and bit and scratched and Annie began to cry, as she realized the man had not planned to kill her; no, he had planned something much worse.
She couldn't believe how weak she was being. She had won the Hunger Games, for God's sake!
Of course, that was practically by default; she was the only surviving tribute after the flood.
Annie felt tears rushing down her face. She closed her eyes, hoping to be knocked unconscious soon. She didn't get the pleasure.
She had never felt dirtier in her life. After three showers and eight cups of green tea, she still felt disgusting and impure.
Annie had no idea who the attacker was. After he was finished with her, he left her naked body covered in sand, tears, sweat, and blood.
She felt pathetic. What kind of victor was she? Victors weren't supposed to be unable to defend themselves in times of need. She wasn't a true victor; in fact, she was the exact opposite. She was a loser.
She had a boyfriend that she didn't even begin to deserve. She got to live while 23 other children died. What made her better than any of them? They didn't deserve to die. If anything, she did.
And, to top it all off, she was just raped.
She was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't hear the front door open, or the footsteps that were quickly approaching.
The only thing that snapped her out of the trance she was in was an unmistakable voice calling her name.
"Annie? Hey, love..." Finnick's voice trailed off as he saw the tears streaming off her face.
He quickly kneeled in front of where she was sitting on the bed.
"Annie. Annie, what's wrong?"
She struggled to find words, and that just resulted in more crying.
"Come on, love. Talk to me."
Finnick tried to soothe her, tried to calm her down, but nothing seemed to be helping. What could've happened that made her this upset?
It was then that he finally saw the bruise beginning to form on her cheek, and the scratches and bite marks on her neck, arms, and legs.
His muscles tensed. Annie had been attacked. He leaves for one day and this is what happened. Annie gets attacked, and he isn't able to protect her.
"Annie...I need to know what happened." His voice sounded as if he was ready to explode, but tried to control his emotions for Annie's sake.
After a few minutes, Annie began to calm herself. She told herself that she was safe now; Finnick was here.
She swallowed and rubbed the tears away from her eyes.
"I-I was walking home from the square...I decided to take the long way. No one was around. I was almost home. And then...a man tackled me. H-he...he raped me, Finnick."
He suddenly felt the need to be back in the arena; except this time, it was just him and the douche-bag who decided it was just fucking okay to rape Annie.
He never felt an emotion this strongly before. The only thing that could compare was the love he felt for Annie.
What he felt was a mixture of anger, pure hatred, and the feeling he had only felt once before, in the arena. The feeling that he would do anything to grab a hold of this guy and fucking rip his head off.
Finnick saw red; his heart rate picked up and he clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white.
His mind was set on only one thing. Brutally murdering this son of a bitch.
He stood up and walked over to the front door, about to blindly leave and find this man, even though he had no idea who he was.
The only thing that snapped him out of the trance he was in was an unmistakable voice calling his name.
"Finnick?"
He attempted to subside his anger and turned around slowly. "Yes, love?"
She creased her eyebrows. "Don't go. Even if you do somehow manage to find this guy, he'll be able to fight, too. You'll get hurt. Or what if you beat him up to the point of death? No matter what he did, no one deserves to die, Finnick."
Finnick stared at her blankly. No matter how long he knew Annie Cresta, she never ceased to amaze him. How could anybody possibly be this innocent? Even in the Games, she managed to stay alive without killing anyone. The most she did was fight over a bag of supplies in the bloodbath, which only lasted about 10 seconds because Annie let the other tribute have it and fled to the woods.
"How...How can you be so amazing, Annie?" Finnick said, sitting on the bed next to her.
She blushed. "I don't even begin to deserve you."
Finnick gaped at her. "If anything I don't even begin to deserve you. Any man would be incredibly lucky to have you in their life, Annie. "
She smiled, but her eyes darkened. "How could you want someone so screwed up? I'm insane. I'm hideous. Sometimes I just want to hide in the dark and die. How pathetic is that, Finnick? I'm supposed to be this tough and fearless victor, yet I was just raped."
Annie's voice broke slightly, and she averted her eyes, trying to ignore the confused and frustrated look he was giving her.
Finnick was at a loss a for words. Temporarily.
"Maybe you are screwed up. But so am I. So is every single person that lives on this Earth. But no one on this planet even begins to compare with your beauty, inside and out. I've never met a person as pure and compassionate as you. And your looks? Please, Annie. You could make all the men in Panem have a heart attack. Maybe sometimes you will hide in the dark. But just know, love, that I will be here to kiss away your tears, and I will be here to help you fight your demons, and I will be here to love you through it all."
Annie was paralyzed. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe.
No one had ever said anything to her that deep, that caring.
Suddenly, she was able to move again. She flung herself forward, wrapping her arms around Finnick's neck.
She crashed her lips to his, the passion evident.
Annie pulled back slightly.
"I love you."
Finnick gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"Love you too."
Okayyy, so that was my first Hunger Games story. I read the books like, two years ago, but I'm glad I finally decided to write one. What did you guys think? Good, bad, in between? Feel free to flame as that will help me to become a better writer. Thanks :)