Hello everyone! I want to thank EVERYONE who's reviewed the story, it means so much to me! Now we have some plot starting to emerge in this chapter, so I hope that you all enjoy!
NOTE:I am creating a playlist for this story so if you think of any songs that remind you of Annie, Johanna, Torrence, or ANYONE during the time period of this story, even those who haven't appeared yet, please put your song(s) in your reveiws. Thanks!
Without further ado, here's the next chapter!
()()()()()
Chapter 5: What Is Right?
Johanna's POV
"Real."
I expect Torrence to question me, cry, throw a fit, or get angry like he did when he wanted his prize but instead he just sits there and stares at me, sea green eyes full of wonder.
"Ok." He smiles, leaning in to hug me.
As he rests his head on my shoulder I share an amazed look with Annie, neither of us expected a six year old kid who doesn't know half the things that have happened to him take something like this that well. Torrence pulls himself back and we sit there in an awkward silence, Sharky playing in the background.
"Can I have another prize?" The little boy asks.
"Of course you can, sweetie." Annie giggles, leaving me with Torrence.
"Let's play a different game..." I stutter, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.
"What?" He inquires
"Well we could play Monopoly but it's just financial crap, we don't have all the game pieces to checkers, and-"
"Sharky Explores the Ocean game!" Torrence shrieks as he jumps up and runs over to his tiny game console.
"I'm not good at video games." I actually had never played a video game in my entire life, back in 7, it was just work.
Before Torrence has the chance to pout and yell at me, his mother walks back in with a tray of cookies like the one I gave him before. The boy runs over and grabs three before Annie can yank the tray away as scold him for being greedy. I sit there and chuckle as he runs out of the glass sliding door into the backyard where he falls into a mound of sand so he can eat his cookies in peace. Annie sighs, setting the tray down on the coffee table and sitting next to me on the couch. I lazily extend my arm and grab a cookie.
"Four cookies...he's gonna be bouncing off the walls soon." She mutters.
"Don't sweat it, he's a good kid." I assure her as I chomp off the tail of the fish cookie.
"Johanna, you were right. He needs to get out more and see the world. He can't just stay cooped up in this house and only have the beach as his sanctuary."
"Then why haven't you ever taken him to see the other districts and stuff?" I inquire.
"Because Finnick and I were always somewhat safe here...once he would leave, he was always vulnerable to Snow and the rest of the Capitol..." She whimpers.
"Crazy, you have to remember that Snow can't possibly hurt Torrence because he's DEAD. That man is just about as dead as they come. Finnick fought in that war to keep the world safe for all of us that are still here today. He wouldn't of just left if we were all in danger still because he loved us-" I stop myself. "Because he loved you and would never let anything bad happen to you or your son. Got it?"
She nods rather solemnly, but it's a start.
"Great! Now let's set a date for when we go back to 7 for my things."
We stand up and make our way into the kitchen to plot a date on the calendar that we'll take a little family trip to my old home. We plan to leave in two days, tomorrow will be for packing, today we decide to take Torrence down to the docks and look at the boats and shops. I plan to take Annie back into Odair's Boat Fairs and see how it's doing since she tells me that she hasn't been there since the war, too many painful memories of Finnick. I'm curious to see who's manning the shop now since Finn can't and his father is either dead or slumped over somewhere dark and depressed, isolated from civilization. It makes me shudder to think that if it wasn't for Torrence, Katniss, Peeta, and the most of us rebels, Annie would be in that state or worse: dead. She claims that she's not afraid of death because she would be with Finnick but it takes one reminder of little Torrence to make her hug the ground in desperation that she'll be yanked away suddenly. The entire situation makes me sad and uncomfortable beyond belief.
The sliding door in the living room slams and we hear Torrence's feet padding up the stairs. Annie and I talk some more before going upstairs. She tells me to get ready while she dresses the little boy. All I do is let my hair down so the red mixes with the black, throw on the same tank and shorts from yesterday and slab some deodorant under my arms. Since my eyeliner was finished earlier this morning than it's simple for me to get ready.
"We good in here?" I ask as I lean against the doorframe in Torrence's room where Annie is shoving his head into a cute blue shirt with a smiling fish on it.
"Yes we are." Annie smiles.
"Mommy gave me shirt for my birthday, Auntie Johanna!" Torrence claps.
"That's cool, little dude."
"I also got you these cute little board shorts, sweetie. Stick your right leg in real quick so mommy can help you." The redhead speaks gently.
Little Mr. Odair stands there staring down at his feet in utter confusion. I raise an eyebrow as he raises his left hand up and then puts it down. He continues this with both hands for about a minuet and a half before forcefully throwing his arms down and looking his mom in her mirroring green eyes.
"Which one is right?" His mother chuckles and points to the correct leg which he then lifts up, allowing her to put on his little board shorts.
"Maybe Auntie Johanna and I can come up with a trick to help you remember your lefts and rights." Annie suggests and I nod in agreement.
"Really?!" Torrence beams up at me with that ravishing little smile.
"Of course, little man." I respond.
"Why do you call me little? You call me little all the time!"
"Because you are little."
He scrunches up his little face and marches towards me. He sucks in a deep breath before attempting to set me straight.
"I am not little!"
"Compared to your father you are." I say suggestively, biting my lip so I don't let another thing I wanted to say fly out. Annie flushes a bright red and buries her face in Torrence's drawer so she doesn't have to face my smirk. It also makes me laugh at how horribly confused the little boy is.
"Let's go down to the docks now!" Annie pushes.
"You got it, Crazy." I wink and walk out into the hallway. The two others follow.
The breeze of saltwater chokes me at first, the breeze blows it directly in my face but Torrence who's up on Annie's shoulders doesn't seem to mind. They both sniff it all in and smile. The sunset is peeking over the blue/orange sky and it's peculiar to actually see the sky instead of leaves and branches scraping the clouds above. It'll take me some time to get used to all the smells, tastes, and sights of 4, but if it means that I'm honoring Finn in the process than it's worth it.
The road that I walked down yesterday is taken up by a few boys playing soccer, I can tell that they weaved the goalie nets themselves and some part of me wants to search the group for Antoine, but I refrain and look away. Women hang sundresses on clotheslines and talk to each other from their porches. Annie's house is much larger than the other ones around the district and I wonder if that is Plutarch and Paylor's doing.
"The docks are beautiful, Johanna. I think that you'll love them." The women's voice next to me says.
"I don't know, water and boats aren't exactly my favorite things."
"Do you know how to swim?" Annie asks.
"No..." I look down solemnly.
"Finnick taught me...and Torrence and I can teach you. That is, if you'd like."
I glance at Annie nervously. My breakdown today was a perfect example of how much I feared water but I knew that if I wanted to help raise Torrence, they would have to reach me how to swim.
"Okay..." I murmur. Annie smiles and Torrence cheers.
"Lookie the docks!" Torrence cries as he points to the rows of shops and the wood path that separates them and their patrons from the water below. Masts of boats shoot up higher than the shops themselves and many boat slots are empty due to everyone out on the water fishing and watching the sky change color. It's fairly crowded, but peaceful all the same. Even though I walk as close to the shops and as far from the edge of the dock as possible, I have to admit that the lapping sound the water makes is actually kind of nice considering its nothing like the large crashing waves from the Capitol.
People look at the three of us and it makes Annie feel timid so I give her a reassuring pat on the back, even if the whispering and pointing is annoying.
"Mommy I wanna go on a boat." Torrence hugs his mothers neck as he whines.
"Not now, baby."
"When?" He presses.
"Have you ever taken him on Finnick's old fishing boat? It's got a 300 mph motor." I inform Annie but she's shaking her head ever so slightly.
"DADDY HAS A BOAT?!" Torrence squealed.
Annie glares at me and sighs deeply. I knew that I shouldn't have mentioned that because Crazy is probably too afraid to take her son out on a fast boat like that and the fact that it was Finnick's only makes matters worse.
"I'd rather not talk about the boat right now, Torrence. It's in storage anyway." Annie desperately tries to swat away the idea of the boat.
"Can we get it OUT?" The little boy is now practically hanging upside-down from his mom's shoulders. The woman in question sighs deeply again, causing her son to move up and down with her shoulders.
This conversation continues for about five more minuets but about three minuets in I tune them out and listen to the lapping water and creaking boards beneath our feet.
It's panicking, yet invigorating at the same time and I haven't felt like this since the time that I talked to Finnick back in 13. It might've been the only and last time I talked to him in 13 actually. He was needed by the doctor so they wheeled him in on a cot right next to me and we got reacquainted.
Actually he got reacquainted with me and I just fell in love with him all over again.
"Johanna are you tearing up?" Annie's voice interrupts my thoughts and I look over quickly.
"No! The salty water stings my eyes because I'm not used to it...that's all..." I lie, but she believes it.
"Good! Because we're here!" Crazy exclaims with joy as she throws the door open.
"Daddy's old store!" Torrence giggles. Annie sets him down and he begins to explore.
"Are you okay?" I ask Annie who's looking around with wide eyes.
"I'm perfect." She smiles back at me.
Suddenly there's a large crash and Torrence's familiar little cry is heard.
"Well that didn't take him long." I roll my eyes.
"Oh that's not even close to his record." Annie jokes as we walk over.
"Does he belong to you lovely ladies?" A familiar voice that has brought both joy and pain says from in back of us. We turn around to see the figure with an arm around a smiling Torrence.
"Beetee!" Annie and I cry as we spin around.
Beetee Latier smiles and laughs as Annie slams into him, pulling his delicate frame into a tight embrace. He's in his sixties now, but he's still the Beetee we all love. I just hope that Katniss isn't hostile towards him since he helped Gale make the bombs that killed Primrose, the poor guy meant no harm towards the lot of us.
"How are you lately, Sweet Annie?" He asks, using his own nickname for her.
"Better." She nods. "Johanna is staying with us for awhile to help us back on our feet."
"Hello, Johanna." He tips his glasses like you would a top-hat.
"Hey there Volts." I crack a small smirk. "What are you doing here? Never thought we'd run into you at a boating shop."
"Well you see, I've been working on a new invention back in 3 and I needed a motor. My new assistant Cadilla Freemarch, she's a pretty young thing, suggested that I get a boat motor from District 4 and I thought there was no better place that Finnick's old shop. I was going to stop by later but you beat me to it." Beetee explains.
"I've missed you..." Annie sniffs.
It must be hard for Annie to see Beetee again and I know why. Back in 13, when Crazy found out she was pregnant, Volts was the first one she told since she saw him in the hallway when she was trying to find Finnick. He had then had to tell her about her husband's demise right then and there considering that the rebels were about to assassinate Snow. The two of them along with me and some others were all then whisked to the Capitol, and that's when Annie told me about Finn.
"I've missed you all as well. How have you been, Torrence Finnick Odair?" The older man asks as he uses Torrence's full name. Yes, his middle name is Finnick.
"Happy!" The little boy squeals as he hugs Beetee's left leg.
"Torrence! Is that Beetee's left or right leg?!" I quickly laugh and he looks terribly confused once again.
"Are you having troubles with your lefts and rights?" Volts asks.
"Mmhmm." Torrence nods.
"Well maybe I can help you. My old partner had a bunch of quick riddles for things like that."
My eyes fall as I think of Wiress and her little quirks. It sickens me to think that she was so easily replaced by some young and bubbly little thing so I instantaneously decide to harbor some hatred for Cadilla Freemarch.
"Why don't we all go outside and sit on the dockside? We can teach Torrence some tricks and catch up." Annie suggests and there's no objections.
Beetee leads us out of the store and I can't help but notice a more positive and normal light radiating off of him and I decide that I just have to go with the flow, like the waves that lap against the dock and it's boats.
()()()()()
YAY BEETEE! I love Beetee, I'm sorry and I dislike how people hate him for making the weapons in Mockingjay. Anyway, Katniss, Peeta, and more will come in soon AND we will also have a "surprise appearance" in later chapters so keep checking in! REVEIW PLEASE! ~PurpleKittyFangirl