Sticks and stones may break my bones
but you were there to save me.
His emerald eyes searched the beach but the girl he was looking for was nowhere to be found. For about half an hour he sat in the sand, staring ahead and waiting for her to show up. He had even brought some cake his mother had baked the night before because he knew you always got hungry while swimming.
However, his new student seemed to have decided to not show up instead. Finn felt disappointed but there was also a hint of uneasiness. His mother had given him a weird look when he had told her about Annie and he had heard her talk to his Dad about Annie's uncle. Usually, his mother Ever Rose was a very warm and gentle person, but when she had talked about Mr. Cresta, she spat out the words like poison. It seemed that Annie happened to live with a drunkard, a man who abused his wife and daughter and wasted all of his money on liquor.
The thought of Annie being abused by him made Finnick feel sick. He barely knew her but he saw her at school every day. Her unhappiness had not gone unnoticed by him, neither did her bruises and scratches she tried to hide so desperately. Finnick could not help but feel terribly sorry for her. His family was not rich, but they all loved each other. Neither his father, nor his mother had ever raised a hand against one of their children, no matter what Finn or his older brothers had done. Growing up in an environment like Annie was nothing Finn could imagine and he wanted to help her. He knew he could do nothing against her uncle, but he could be her friend and give her hope.
Hope for a better life some when in the future, with friends that loved her like family.
Another half an hour passed before Finnick rose from the sand and decided to go and look for her. He knew where she lived, even though he had never been at her home. It was a small, dirty looking house near the beach. The paint was falling off the walls and trash was gathered in front of the house where used to be a small garden years ago. The front door had patches all over it, band-aids to cover the wounds an aggressive man had left with his fist when he came home drunk at night and couldn't fit the key in the keyhole.
Finns bare feet rubbed against the pavement when he left the beach and made his way over the dike towards the first houses. The people who lived so closely to the beach were the poorest. They could not afford to live closer to the city center, where the raging winter ocean could not harm them. When the flood rose, the houses were usually flooded. It always hit those who had basically nothing left to lose anyway.
Annie's house seemed as bleak as her whole situation to Finn as he approached and hesitated for a moment, before he opened a broken garden gate and reluctantly entered the front yard. He couldn't help but be nervous after all the curses his mother had said towards Mr. Cresta. His knock on the door was soft and for a moment he feared that no one would hear it, but then the door opened and a little girl stood in front of him.
"Hi…I'm Finnick. You are Aylee, right? I'm looking for Annie. Is she at home?", he wanted to know and was glad that the girl had opened, not Mr. Cresta.
Big blue eyes stared into his own, before the girl stepped aside and gestured him to follow her. He felt uncomfortable because he did not know what awaited him inside, but he followed nonetheless.
The house was dark and dirty.
It smelled like dust and smoke and booze.
Finn tried not to stare at the mess too obviously as the girl was leading him through the living room and upstairs where the bedrooms were. It seemed like the adults were gone and only the two girls were at home.
"Annie wanted to meet me at the beach but she didn't come. Is she alright?"
His voice sounded more nervous than expected as he spoke but the girl did not answer. Finn wondered if she ever spoke. He had seen her at school as well. She had no friends and was always by herself, blankly staring ahead during breaks.
The two of them reached the bedroom the girls shared and Finn hesitated a second before he entered it, unsure of what awaited him there.
What he found was nothing he had ever expected.
"Aylee! You were supposed to send him away!", cried Annie and crawled deeper into the corner next of her bed.
Her whole face was swollen, her lips and nose bloody. Fingerprints were around her neck and wrists and her dress was torn. Her formerly hip long hair was now short and looked as if it had been cut with a dull knife.
Finn just stared at Annie for a second, before he stepped closer and kneeled down in front of her.
"Annie…what happened?!"
His whispered words were as soft as his touch when he reached out and slightly brushed her cheeks with his fingertips. He was in absolute shock. Annie was crying silently and pulled her knees closer to her chest.
"He got very angry this morning", was all she said between sobs. In fact, he had been angry all day before he finally left to get drunk. Annie had chosen a pretty dress in the morning and had carefully braided her hair in order to look clean and pretty enough for Finnick Odair to notice her. When her uncle had seen the bow in her hair and her white dress, he had lost it completely. She had never seen him more angry and raging, his fists slamming hard into her face until her bones cracked and blood was flowing.
"You need a doctor to look at your face. Annie…you cannot stay here. Please, come home with me. My Mama will look at your wounds and you can stay with us as long as you like. Can you get up? I will not leave you here!" He sounded fierce and determined even though he was scared as hell.
"I cannot leave. He will kill me if I disappear. Or he will take it out on Aylee!" Annie wiped her tears and looked up at him. Finnick held out his hand but she did not take it. She was too scared to go anywhere because she knew he would find her.
"Aylee can come, too. I will not leave without you, Annie. And if you stay, so will I. I don't mind getting beaten up by him. Let him come, I'll hit back, we'll see how funny he will think that is!" Finn's anger was rising and even though he knew he would most likely not beat anyone, he liked the idea of paying Mr. Cresta a lesson.
"I want to leave."
A soft voice from behind caught Finnick's attention and he turned around. Little Aylee stood in the doorway, looking as desperate as ever. "I don't want to live here anymore." Her tiny body looked as battered and bruised as Annie's and her naked toes dug into the wooden floor.
Finn was determined to take both of them home and protect them. He knew his father and mother would let them stay and take care of them. They were already 4 children at home and space was limited, but Finn didn't mind sharing his room with two more.
Finally, Annie rose from the floor and took his hand.
"I don't want you to get into trouble. He will come for us and he will be furious. We have to get back before the night or else he will notice we're gone", Annie said and yet she walked a few steps towards him. He could see her limp and realized that every step was hard for her. For a moment he thought and then looked around.
"Do you have a phone, Aylee?"
The young girl nodded.
"Downstairs. Don't know if it still works, though…"
Finn nodded and let go of Annie's hand to quickly run downstairs. He found the phone on the wall next to the door and dialled his number.
For a moment he thought the line was dead but then he heard his brother answering on the other end.
"Drew, it's Finnick. You have to come over to the house of the Cresta's. Don't ask, just come! I need your help!"
For a second, there was silence.
"Okay…I'll be there in 5 minutes!"
He heard his brother hang up and ran upstairs again.
"Pack everything you need and want to take with you", he ordered and watched Aylee grab a bag from under her bed. She stuffed some of Annie's and her things inside and looked at her cousin. Annie pulled out the box from under her own bed and put it into the bag as well.
"Let's go then. You just have to get downstairs, Annie. Can you make it? I'll help you", he said and wrapped one arm around her waist to support her.
It took them forever to get down the stairs because Annie could barely walk. Her left foot looked as if it was broken and her ribs were as bruised as her face. When they finally walked out of the front door, a young boy of sixteen approached. His bronze hair was like Finnick's and his eyes were as green as his brother's as well.
"Drew! You have to carry Annie home. She can't walk."
Drew stared at the girls for a moment and paused in his walk, before he nodded and gave Annie a charming smile.
"Alright little Lady. Tell me if I hurt you, will ya?", he said and carefully scooped her into his arms. He did not ask any questions because he saw why his brother had called him. The girls were in horrible shape and he knew his mother would never let them go back to that place.
While he carried Annie down the beach, Finnick felt Aylee's little hand slip into his own.
He looked down at her and smiled a little.
"Thank you."
The sea wind carried her soft words to him and his smile grew wider.
"Don't worry, Aylee. You are save now", he promised.
He couldn't have been more wrong.
Well, it took me forever to update the story, I'm SORRY! I hope you like it 3 review if you do :) more to come soon. Merry Christmas to all of you!