Drowning.
"What do you mean the ship sank?" I can hear someone shout from across the beach.
I sigh.
This happens every once in awhile. Usually, during the rainy season. There are lots of storms, typhoons and such but, the Capitol people don't care. They know the weather conditions are unsafe and the risks of fishing boats sinking are high but it doesn't matter to them. All they think about is sending us out to get more fish. The fisherman do it to make the quota. It's almost a cycle.
"Finnick!" I hear my sister shout.
"Yes?" I ask as her blonde ringlets are messy around her face.
"Finnick the boats. The people."
"We can't help them Kara."
"Well technically we could but that's not why I'm here." She says angrily.
I look at the shore and see not that many people have come down to save the people who actually made it out of the ship. People are too scared. I envy them so. I'm not scared. I'm just dead inside and am too cynical to care anymore.
"Then why are you here?" I ask unamused.
"That new Victor, Annie Cresta." I nod so she knows I'm listening.
"What about her?" I ask. I'm not really close to her or the other victors, with the acceptation of Mags.
"Her Dad's name was on the ledger."
"So? Why do I care?" I ask harshly.
"Well, she's just sitting on the beach all alone. I think she will be out there all night. Is her Mom dead or something?"
"Her Mom isn't dead, she's just… sick." I say. Annie told me about her Mom on her Victory Tour. Her Mom is apparently a drunk. She would hit Annke when she was little. I only know all of this because I ask where she got a crescent shaped scar on her thumb. It was a fishhook accident. Although Annie didn't cause the accident. Annie didn't need to say that her Mom didn't say goodbye to her. It was obvious by the way she talked about her.
"That's not my problem." I say and clear my throat.
"Isn't she your friend? Don't you want to sit next to her while she waits to hear-"
"She should just go home. She's stupid to think that her Dad will come back if he wasn't on the rescue boat." I say coldly.
"You know why." She says. We both do. Our Dad didn't die, but we thought he was. Me, my mom, and my sister sat out all night like the other people. In the rational part of your brain you know they're dead but there's the other part that wants to give you hope.
That time some of the people got off at the wrong docks so there was mass chaos. We didn't see our Dad until three days after the report.
I sigh and stand up.
"Fine." I say.
"Try and smile when you talk to her. It makes you look nicer." She says.
I roll my eyes.
"I'll try." I say halfheartedly but in my mind she's still just my tribute and I'm still her mentor.
I see her sitting in the beach among the other people. She's playing with her hair in that way where I know she's uncomfortable.
When I'm close enough she flinches and looks up at me with hope.
"It's just you." She mumbles softly. She turns her eyes back out to the sea.
"Yes it's just me." I say and sit next to her.
"What do you want?" She asks.
"I saw you sitting here, I heard about the ship wreck-"
"So you knew I would be here?" She says harshly.
"Not really." I say.
Why did I bother listening to my sister?
"I mean my sister said you were here and looked lonely." I say.
"I have friends." She mumbles.
"I know." I say although I haven't seen her with any.
"I'll just go then." I say and get up.
"Oh well-"
"Annie? Annfee. Where is he?" I see a drunken woman stumble this way. There is no mistaking that this woman resembles Annie. The hair is just like hers. Which means this person is her Mom. She's wearing dirty clothes and smells of vomit.
"Oh Mom go home." Annie says gently and walks over to her.
"But Annife-"
"Mom go home. I'll come and get you when Dad is here. Let me help you up." Annie says sweetly. Annie tries but her Mom just pushes her down. It looks like Annie fell hard but she doesn't seem fazed. She doesn't even seem embarrassed. "Mom please go home." She says.
Annie doesn't want to leave the beach but her Mom isn't going to go home. Someone needs to take her there.
"Annie you stay. I'll take her home." I say the words before I realize it.
"What?" Annie asks shocked.
"I can take her home so you can wait for your Dad." I say.
"But you don't know where I live." Her Mom says with attitude.
"I remember when I brought Annie home from the Victory Tour." I say.
Her Mom doesn't approve of this.
"Finnick can I talk to you over here." Annie says softly.
"Don't think I'm dumb I know ya talking about me!" Her Mom shouts.
"Finnick I can take her home and you can just stay here." She says.
"You need to be the first to hear about your Dad. I'll take her home." I say.
"Will you stay with her until she passes out?" Annie asks.
"Yeah, sure." I say from the amount of alcohol in her body I'm assuming that won't be long.
"Thank you. She might get aggressive but-"
"I can handle her. I can handle Haymitch from 12 and that was when I was fourteen."
Annie nods.
"Thank you." She says again.
It takes convincing and some charming but I do make it back to Annie's house. Well the house she grew up in. I've never been inside it, just seen the outside.
When I open the door I get engulfed by a smell of vomit, smoke, fish, and an attempted cover up with vanilla candles.
The vanilla just makes it worse.
"Annife never broughttt a boy backh herrre before. She's a saint that girl and she got you taking care of her mama." She says with a laugh.
I smile and nod.
I wonder when the last time Annie came here was. The house clearly hasn't been cleaned in a while. The sea voyage was probably a few weeks.
"Annie doesn't come here often." I say trying to figure things out. If I can pull it out of drunk and sexually stimulated Capitol citizens I'm sure I can pull something out of Annie's drunk mother.
"Nah she likes taking me to herrrr big fancy house. Although it don't really matter she's crazy now."
"Mrs. Cresta." I say sadly. She isn't the only one who is thinking this. But I'm surprised her Mother would voice it.
"There was never something quite right about her. When she was little she named her doll Claudette. What the hell kind of name is that?"
"I-" It's not a normal name for District Four but the name sounds familiar. I think it's from a fairy tale.
"Boy, I'm not finished. Let me talk." She says and slams her fist on the table. Angry drunks are the worst. "Now she claims that monsters are chasing her. Red falling from the sky and sometimes she just stares out the window all day or cowers in fear yet she thinks I'm the one who needs help."
"Surely you don't feel that way. She's your daughter."
"That don't mean I don't think she fell down and bumped her head and is now in someplace called crazy town."
I know she's drunk but how can she say this about Annie. Nice sweet Annie.
Her mom does pass out after awhile and when she does I go back to Annie. Annie's sitting in the same spot.
When I get close enough I can hear her muttering something to herself.
Star light, star bright,
The first star I see tonight;
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight
I recognize the nursery rhyme. I think everyone in Four would.
I sit next to her and she flinches.
"That took longer than I thought." She says.
I look around the beach and see things have calmed down. There are still a few stragglers, like Annie, but other than that it is pretty much deserted.
"She didn't hurt you, did she?" Annie asks and I shake my head.
"Good." Annie says softly.
I hear her humming that nursery rhyme to herself.
"My Mother would sing that to me when I was little." I say softly. I don't want to add my sister still does sometimes. How else are you supposed to calm down someone when they are in a frenzy of panic.
She nods.
"I saw you the other day with that girl you live with." She says.
"My sister." I clarify so she doesn't think it's some woman I have stashed away in Four just for my taking. Although many woman have come to my doorstep, none of them have made it inside. That's the one thing I like about home. I can say no.
She nods.
"You were getting rid of your flowers in the yard." She says.
I swallow hard.
We were getting rid of the roses. No matter how many times I tell the groundskeepers I don't want them, they still plant them. I'm not going to order them to get rid of them either because I get the feeling they won't. I'm the only Victor in the Village that gets roses planted in their front yard. I know it's not a coincidence either. It's a message from Snow. Letting me know I'm always watching.
"I didn't like them." I say and she nods.
"You could've asked the groundskeepers to get rid of them." She says.
"If you want a job done right you need to do it yourself." I say and Annie looks at me strangely.
It looks like she is about to yell at me for some reason but then her face softens.
"Daddy." Annie whispers and gets up.
I look towards her direction and see a man, I'm assuming her Father.
She runs to the person and he hugs her.
I smile. It's glad to see her Dad is still alive. I get up and dust off the sand. I don't want to ruin this personal moment until I hear Annie's voice.
"And Finnick's here too." She says. I stop and turn around to see her Dad. He's well built and tall like a fisherman should be. He doesn't look like Annie much, but she does have his eyes. "He uh helped Mom." Annie says in an awkward tone.
"That was kind of you Finnick." He says and holds out his hand for me to shake. "You may call me Paul." He says and I nod.
He lets go and I breathe in relief. I wonder what he is thinking right now. What he is thinking of me. Finnick Odair the sexual being talking to his daughter alone at night.
I nod.
"I'll walk you home Annie." Her Dad says.
"Oh Dad don't you need to get looked at by a medic?" Annie asks worried.
"I'm fine sweetie." He says. He does look it.
Annie nods.
"What happened sweetie?" He asks and touches her forehead. She has a small cut.
"I fell down." Annie says a little too quickly.
"Did Mom do this to you?" He asks gently.
"I just tripped and landed on some drift wood. Right Finnick?" She says and looks at me desperately hoping I will cover for hers
"I wouldn't say you tripped it was more of a hard fall." I say.
Annie nods but her Father doesn't look convinced.
The walk back is mostly Annie's Dad talking about what went wrong. He also reassures Annie he is fine. He doesn't even ask about Annie's Mom.
When Annie is back home her Dad follows her inside. I head back to my house.
In a few hours I hear a knock on the door.
"Who the hell is that?" My sister says and I roll my eyes.
"Just answer the door." I say.
She does.
"Finnick it's for you." She says.
"It is my house." I say annoyed and see it is Annie's father.
"Mind if I talk to you, alone?" He asks and is looking at my sister oddly.
"Of course." I say.
"I need to go home to check on Lydia so I'm not going to beat around the bush."
"Okay?" I say confused.
"You should stay away from her Finnick." He says catching me off guard. He was acting so nice earlier.
"Sir, I'm not interested-"
"No Finnick, not that. You should stay away from her because you can't let her down. Annie had lots of friends but, after she came home from the Victory Tour none of them wanted anything to do with her."
"Sir-"
"They think she isn't right in the head. She laughs when things aren't funny. She covers her ears saying she hears high pitched screams and chirping. There's nothing wrong with her but she's different."
"She's a victor." I say. It looks like he wants to hit me when I say this. "All of us aren't quite right in the head." I say and look towards Annie's house.
It's true, we all have problems but no one seems to grasp that.
I'm severely depressed. Suicidal even. The only reason I am still alive is because of my sister and possibly Mags. Although that doesn't mean I don't think about it.
Her father is looking at me strangely.
"I won't hurt her but I'll be there for her. If she wants." I say.
"Alright." He says strangely and walks away.
I'll be there for Annie if she wants me to be.
A/N: Wow sixty of these one shots! Thank you for reading! I hope you are enjoying!