Chapter 4:
Every evening for the next 5 years, we would meet at the beach. We never arranged to meet, but we always knew the other would be waiting there. Sometimes we would go swimming or fishing, sometimes we would sit and talk about life and sometimes we would just sit in silence while he stroked my hair.
The night before the reapping of the 70th Hunger Games, we sat on the beach as usual, but something was different. I wasn't sure what it was but there was defiantly something strange. Tonight was one of our nights when we sat in silence. "Annie?" he said. "Yes?" There was a hint of urgency in his voice. "No matter what happens tomorrow….." I silenced him with a kiss. "Let's not worry about what tomorrow will bring, let's just enjoy the time we have together". He nodded his head. Then he produced a beautiful yellow flower from his pocket. He fixed it in my hair and smiled. I should be worried, my name was in 20 times, but I was just too happy to worry about that.
We lay on the sand, wrapped in each other's arms until the sun began to rise. I gave him one last kiss and then I leave. When I got home, I had a shower and got dressed. I fixed the flower Finnick gave me back in my hair and headed out the door.
I remember everything, the smell of the salty air, the light breeze that caught my hair as I walked up the steps to the stage. I remember seeing the look on Finnicks face. I could see he was trying to hold in the tears. When Bise Selkirk's name was called, I couldn't believe it, we had been close friends since I was little, and now, within a few weeks at least one of us would be dead.
Finnick came to see me in the Justice Building, His eyes were filled with tears, and within seconds they were pouring down his face. "An-n-ie, I'm so sor-ry" he spluttered. I embraced him and began to cry. We held on to each other until the peace keepers pulled us apart. "You can win this Annie. I'll be waiting for you when you get back. I lov..." The peace keepers dragged him out of the room before he could finish.