Scraping his piece along the chess board, Blight smiles triumphantly. I hate playing chess. No rephrase, I hate playing chess against a smug drunk. Egor's on my team and between us were about as 'useless as a milk bucket under a bull' is what my grandma used to say. Egor goes next moving out chess piece onto a square which isn't even our colour. I groan loudly standing up from the table and knocking over all the pieces. "Your a sore loser Johanna." Blight sighs as I flounce up to my room.
If I'm honest I'm in a bad mood altogether. It's been 4weeks since Finnick left that message and I still haven't called back. Every time I try my fingers fail to press the simple stream of numbers. But today, at the 4week mark, I know I have to call back. He's probably just as frustrated as me and I can't imagine how frustrating it is to be the one waiting for the call. I grab the one off the hook which rests on my nightstand and begin typing in the numbers. What do I say? How am I meant to begin? Should I act as if I never even got that message or tell him it's ok? It's too late to debate any longer because the ringing has stopped.
"Hello?" A voice says into the phone. The voice is melodious and seems to pour out of the recipients mouth like a stream. But it's not the familiar husky voice of Finnick. It is someone else.
"Sandy?" I say into the phone. I not ever sure why I said that.
"No it's Annie." The same soft flowing voice says. I swallow deeply. Had I forgotten about the shear chance that it could be Annie at the end of the receiver and not him because this sure as hell came as a shock to me. What am I meant to say now.
"It's..Johanna." I manage to get out in a rush. Why couldn't Finnick answer the god damn phone the only time after 4weeks that I call.
"Oh Johanna. Finnick's been wanting to talk to you. I'm afraid he's out. He's going to be awfully sad he missed your call." She sighs and for the first time I can head the utter madness in her voice. So she knows. She knows about what went on between him and I? She knows that he's been wanting to speak to me for weeks. I can't help feel sickened by this because its the first time be realised how strong him and Annie actually are. It's the first time I've realise that what goes on with Finnick in the Capitol isn't just some big secret to her. That they are obviously strong enough for some fling with me not to affect them! "Are you there?" He worried voice breaks my thoughts. I'm panting now I feel so sick.
"Do me a favour. Don't tell him I called." I say firmly shutting off the phone bursting out my room and sprinting down the stairs.
"Johanna?" Blight calls as I grab my coat and make a dash for the door. He's risen from his seat now and is walking to the doorway. "Johanna what's happened?" He shouts after me but its too late I'm sprinting now and there's no way he'll be able to catch up.
You see I'd always presumed their relationship was on secrets. That she only knew the half of Finnick but by the sounds of it she knows him better than me. Perhaps she even knows about these unspoken feelings he has for me. Perhaps she knows about the fact he willingly asks me to kiss him because he's missing her. Wow. She must be mad because who the hell would be alright with that?! Either mad or uncontrollably in love with him.
I'm just about to push that thought out of my mind when the snow is replaced by black ice and my feet fly up into the air. My back hits the ice with as much force as it possibly can. I'm dusting the snow off my knees cursing every insult under the book at these workmen until a hand appears in front of me. I look up to see that same pair of mysterious brown eyes. I brush off his offer standing up onto my feet. "Are you stalking me?" I ask but it sounds all weird because there's still the risk of me vomiting after that phone call. He smirks slightly.
"No but I'm sorry about the back. I was saving that ice for a peacekeeper but you found it." He says. Right so Chuck really isn't bothered about his punishment. In fact, he's already to break their necks. I begin to walk away still not thinking straight but he grabs my arm.
"Are you ok because you were running with some force." He says actually looking at me in concern.
I don't play with that too nicely since unless it's Blight or Egor there isn't many men that actually care and as proven today they're usually just trying to get into my pants. "It's nothing." I sigh trying to walk away but he doesn't let me.
"Look my shifts over come on let me take you for a coffee." He asks of me fluttering his curtain of thick brown eyelashes. I eye him suspiciously. His brother died because of me just over a month ago and now he's inviting me for coffee.
"Come on. I hurt your back so I owe you." He says.
I shake my head in firm disagreement. "I think I owe you a million times more." I mutter. I suddenly see Tom being dragged under by the current in every place possible in my mind. Great. This trip out my house didn't do much for clearing the head.
Chuck doesn't let that stop him. "Then you can pay." He says with this infectious grin that I can help replicate. I give in walking along side him to the only coffee shop in town. Once we've ordered we both take a seat. I'm sat down and fiddling with the sugar sachet in seconds whereas Chuck stands there admiring the chairs. "My grandfather made these." He says with a smile.
To be fair I can't really see much excellence in them but they're comfortable enough.
"So Johanna, who rattled your cage enough to make you go sprinting down the street?" He asks me. I look down at the table.
"It's kinda personal." I say trailing my fingers along the wooden graining. To my surprise, unlike a persistent Finnick who constantly thinks he has to know what's going in my head, Chuck doesn't push me. "Lets talk about something else then. A peacekeeper fell in the hole I built today and hit himself in the face with his gun." He tells me causally and from that point I decided to go ahead and like him because he's not trying to pick my brain and want to know whats going on in my head. He's happy with just hearing my words.
The months go by and I hear no more from Finnick. Perhaps Annie didn't tell him like I asked. Maybe she's so mental she forgot? I don't care. He hasn't called so that's good enough confirmation for me. At the same time though, Chuck and I have also become quite good friends. Real pair of troublesome twins. I'm not too sure what Blight reckons to him but as I assured him 'I'm just having a little fun'. He's helping me work on my garden at the minute. Well I say garden, now the snow's cleared, it's basically just a square of grass. We're on with planting, to my dismay, a row of flowers. He says it'll improve my status which I couldn't help find a little funny. 'You'd have to buy the whole neighbourhood a whole row of flowers to bloody improve my status' I'd retorted. He walked me to the store though and now we've got a whole range of things. He arrives at my door nice and prompt and I go over to it gardening clothes on at the ready. We get digging straight away but I occasionally feel mud entering my hair. I fly my shovel filled with mud in his direction completely plastering his head.
"Whoops." I say but he's already lifted me up dangling my head over the pile of mud. I thrash about and in the end get myself out of his iron grasp. "You can forget that ice bun for lunch if you carry in like this." I scold jokingly as I plant the seeds. His face grows in mock horror and I hide my smirk.
"You don't think it's going to make the house look too inviting do you?" I say worriedly when we come to an end.
"Only Johanna Mason could possibly want her house to look uninviting." He chuckles as he pulls of his muddy boots with his muddy hands and enters the house.
"I don't want a load of crazed fans thinking they can come round." I say utterly seriously as I walk over to the sink to wash my hands. That makes him howl with laughter.
"Crazed fans? Even the woman in the garden centre was scared of you and you'd never even met her!" He points out. I shrug happy I still have that affect on people just as the phone begins to ring. "Just get that Chuck It'll be Blight. Tell him to get his own liquor." I ask him as I continue to scrape the mud off my fingers. Blight's been a right drunken mess these past few weeks. "Hello." Chuck says into the phone. "Err I'll just get her." He says walking over with the phone in his hand.
"Tell him to get his own." I sigh but Chuck is shaking his head. What could Blight even want?
"Hello?" I say tiredly into the phone.
"Johanna. Who was that?" The voice asks. I'm immediately taken back. This voice is not Blight's drunken plea for more alcohol its a rationally jealous one.
"Finnick? It's a friend." I say still in complete shock for even hearing his voice. How long had it been 4months? Maybe 6 since the games? I don't even know.
"Who? It sounded like a man." He says skeptically. I suddenly feel anger. He cannot cut me out of his life for this long then act jealous because I've found company and am not sat by the phone waiting for him to call.
"It was and it's none of your business who it was Finnick because it stopped being your business the day you told me I wasn't enough so goodbye." I say into the phone slamming it down on the counter. Who does he even think he is? Doing this to me. Calling up and acting all jealous like he cares then telling me I'm not enough a moment later. Well that's it. Finnick can think what he likes because now he feels exactly what I felt when Annie was at the end of the receiver. Completely sick. Completely betrayed.