Yay another chapter! I don't necessarily know how I feel about this one, a lot happens and the plot begins to thicken, so if you have any questions feel free to ask. If this chapter is as bad as I think it is, they will get better. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I own none of these characters (with the exception of Torrence) they all belong to Suzanne Collins who killed off my beloved Finnick.

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Chapter Three: Truth or Lie

Annie's POV

"It's okay, my love, I'll be back for you before you even have time to realize I'm gone. Then we can go and live our lives in safety."

"What if you don't come back?! What if you leave me all alone?!"

"My dear little Angelfish...I'd never leave you alone."

"Please stay...please just stay with me! They'll kill you! They don't care! Stay here, I care about you!"

"My dear Annie...you know I can't..."

I shoot up suddenly, breathing heavily and tears streaming down my face so I immediately look for comfort that should lie next to me.

Hugging the first thing I feel, and burying my face in the first chest I can find. Arms wrap around me and I feel safe in Finnick's grasp, knowing that he would never lie to me. I'm comfortable enough to feel his warmth and begin to cry into him like I always used to do.

"Mama?..." A tiny voice says.

I look up to see my son's familiar green eyes staring back at me. His expression is scared and sad, just like me.

"Torrence I'm sorry...I should've known you weren't your father. Mama just had a bad dream..."

"I wanna be like Daddy...I wanna make you better!" His little arms squeeze me and his grip gets tighter.

I smile slightly and bat away a tear with my eyelashes, I have to be strong for my son. He's the only thing I have left that I love and if anything ever happened to him I'd lose it completely. My differing grip on reality would be gone and I would be nothing again.

"Mommy is better. Here, I need you to go back to sleep." I sit up so my head is back on my pillow and Torrence immediately wraps himself around my arm, it's instinct by now, and his breathing slows down as his eyelids flutter so his green orbs are covered. It amazes me how he falls asleep so quickly when neither Finnick or I could.

The room is still. No gentle breeze turns the silk curtains into ghosts that move quietly, no seagulls squawk to keep me awake, and I can't even hear the waves that should be crashing directly outside my window. I hate the silence. Torrence's breathing is small and takes up only half the room, making me miss the deep breaths and sighs that would fill everything up after a long, hard day of fishing or Capitol work. Sometimes I shudder to think that we only had short periods of time together, sometimes it makes me sad that people say he lied to me...he said he would come back.

But as I lay here with my son in my arms throughout the entire night, listening to the stillness, I can proudly say that I know the truth.

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I don't know when I fell into slumber, but when I awake Torrence isn't in my arms. I temporarily panic for a moment but then I hear a Sharky movie on from downstairs and know that he's alright. Walking out of my room, I'm surprised to see that the door to the guest bedroom is wide open but then I remember that Johanna arrived yesterday.

I don't know how to feel about my new arrangement. Johanna and I haven't always been friends and I still remember the time she snapped at me about Finnick when I mentioned that he wouldn't have wanted another Hunger Games, she didn't need to remind me what had happened to him. When I finally saw the Quarter Quell it hard as well, until the scene where it had those birds copying my voice, I was convinced that Johanna was making Finnick have some sort of secret love affair. That would've made an interesting topic for Caeser Flickerman to discuss with them.

Some part of me thinks that she didn't come here out of worry for Torrence and I, so I decide to give another stab at getting more information out of the stubborn lumber-woman.

"Good morning. How did you sleep?" I say as I walk into the room, trying to sound somewhat assertive.

"Not bad, comfier than the beds back in 7." She tells me as she puts her dark hair up in a messy bun.

"That's nice..." I bite my lip.

"Torrence is downstairs, I gave him some toast and a glass of orange juice. He should be fine with his TV and all that."

The thought of Johanna actually caring about Torrence enough to give him food makes me curious. I could've sworn that she wouldn't have payed any attention to him even if he was attempting to kill her for food.

"Thank you for that. I slept in..."

"I noticed." She chuckles as she reaches for a tube of eyeliner considering she's done with her hair. I'm not the biggest fan of makeup, but I'll wear it if it makes me look less mad or hermit like.

An awkward silence settles in and I stare down at my feet.

"I know you want something, Crazy. Just spit it out." Johanna crosses her arms.

"Why are you here?!" I mirror her movements, finding strength in my love for my son so that I can stand up for myself.

"What do you mean? I'm trying to help you with your son who I bet hasn't even talked to another kid his age!"

"I'll have you know that he has in fact talked to other kids his age! I told you that I've taken him all around 4! Who are you to barge in here and tell me how to raise my son?!" I step closer to Johanna, not intimidated one bit.

"Excuse me, Angelfish, I like to think of him as Finnick's son!" She holds out my nickname on purpose, I can see the smirk on her face and behind her eyes. With a mention of my husband or something that relates to him like my nicknames, I'm sent into full battle mode.

"I'm Finnick's wife! Torrence's has two parents and their names are Finnick and Annie Odair! I have papers and witnesses to prove it! You were even at the wedding!"

Johanna throws her eyeliner on the floor and I don't even worry about Torrence, my whole mind is focused in on the next words that will fly out of my mouth.

"Oh yeah I was there! I saw the fancy ceremony and I heard the fancy children's choir! I saw them wheel out that monstrosity of a cake and I also saw all of you dancing, having a gay old time! I was there for it all, from the first song to the last dance, and don't think we all don't know about what happened after the party!"

My face flushes a bright red, not just our of embarrassment, but anger as well. Johanna has no right at all to insult my wedding or anything that happened before, during, or after it. It was the best day of my life and I'm not going to let her ruin it for me.

"Shut up, Johanna! You wouldn't know how beautiful that day was if it walked right up to you and slapped you in the face!" She's taken way aback and I feel a pang of pain in my chest, this isn't me and I know it, but I can't let her get away with insulting me, not anymore.

"Oh really?! I wouldn't?! I'll have you know Annie Cresta that I was extremely happy on that day! I knew how important it was because I cared about Finnick!"

She spits.

This makes no sense whatsoever and I take deep breaths through the pains in my chest that keep popping up. Half the time when we were in 13, Johanna was either hopped up on morphling or completely out of it. We were both tortured in the Capitol and I know exactly how it feels to be hurt but this is ridiculous. All I want to know is why she's here, I'm afraid she'll hurt me or my son and nobody will be here to do anything about it. The saddest part is, you never know with these people who have been tortured by the Capitol.

You never know with me or Johanna or Peeta and as much as I wish I could be friends with the woman in front of me, I know it can never be.

"What do you mean you cared about him?! I LOVED him!"

Johanna runs over, full of rage, and slams the door. She then begins to approach me and I immediately shrink backwards. She's going to kill me and I know it so I consider jumping out of window but I only have one thing to say as I crumple to the ground at the foot of the bed.

"Don't hurt my baby! Do what you want with me but don't hurt my Torrence!" I wail, losing all sense of strength or security as the tears flow freely.

The angered woman is right up in my face now with her eyes narrowed and shoulders heaving as he takes sharp gulps of air. Her axe is on the other side of the room and has a confused look plastered on her face. I hope she's rethinking skinning me alive. My face finds my hands and I hope that this is all quick.

"Your insane..." Johanna breaths.

"What?..." I whimper.

"Your insane!" She repeats as she stands up from her crouched position. "I don't want to hurt you!"

"Well what else is there?!" I cry out.

"I want to let you know that your not the only one that loved Finnick Odair! I'm not talking about his string of fancy Capitol toys, I'm talking about me, okay?! I loved Finnick Odair!"

Her words hit me harder than the axe in the corner ever could. The pain is instant and intense as the countless thoughts and scenarios spin around in my head because if what Johanna is saying is true, everything that has happened since she has arrived suddenly makes sense. She wanted to come because she loved Finnick and she wants to honor him, Torrence is a lot like Finnick and caring for him makes her happy.

If all of this is true, it makes me a big jerk. I look up at the broken down girl with saddened eyes.

"Johanna...I had no idea, and I'm sorry-"

"Don't be." She cuts me off. "You won his heart fair and square, Crazy, but god still hasn't told me why. If he had to end up with anyone other than me...I'm glad it was you. I think...okay this is kinda a tough subject. Don't think I'm over him or our argument though, because I'm not."

I smile and stand, for Johanna, that took a lot of courage to say. We've both seen sides of each other than nobody else ever has and now that we're calmed down, I realize her pain. I walk over and give her a hug, to my great surprise and pleasure, she doesn't resist.

"Please stay with us..." I murmur.

"No problem, Crazy." She half smiles back at me as we break apart. We can see the hurt reflecting off of one another.

"We may need to make a stop back in 7, you'll need your stuff if your gonna be staying for a longer time." I suggest, regaining my composure.

"Yeah, it'd be fun to take Torrence around the districts." She agrees.

"Speaking of the kid, wanna go see what he's up to?"

"That's a good call although I don't think he's left the couch all morning." I laugh.

Together we leave the room and walk down the stairs, joking all the way. For once it feels good to know that I'm not alone with the full responsibility of my son weighing me down. I'm sure that many more conflicts will rise between Johanna and I, but for now, I'm going to enjoy the new friendship I've made. Not knowing if it will last is always scary, but I have a gnawing feeling in my gut that the tougher times are over. I decide to put Johanna's confession about Finnick on the back shelf for now, I'll tell Katniss soon enough and then since her District 12 sentence was lifted some time ago, I'll try and see how I can cope with the fact that my husband's best friend secretly coveted him for all this time.

Yes this new arrangement will take some time getting used to, but for now I guess I can do it.

All for Finnick and Torrence.

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There you all have it! Johanna and Annie are "friends" now! I'm sorry if this chapter was poorly written of too short, I really am, but PLEASE REVIEW! Pleasey please please even if your anonymous! Okay I'm done! Talk to you all later! ~PurpleKittyFangirl