Thank you MrsMKT68, HogwartsDreamer113, X The mad girl back home X, .gorn, and Just A Guest for reviewing! :)
From the reviews I've received, I think I'll just post snippets (the more important bits) of Finnick's time for the next two years.
P.S: Happy (late) 4th of July to any Americans!
XVIII.
I don't even bother bidding farewell to Oliver, as I speed down the road to the Victors Village. He won't mind, considering the situation we're currently in. I'm back in the arena again and I'm being chased by snakes. From behind me, Rhea releases an ear-piercing shriek. I clamp my hands over my eyes, attempting to block out the sound and then realise that she needs help.
"Finnick!" she screams.
A snake clamps its fangs onto Rhea's ankle and she lets out another screech. "Help me!"
Ssssss.
Two fangs dig into my left calf and the pain is numbed by the urgency of saving my sister. The hissing of snakes echoes around in my mind and I find it exceedingly hard to think straight. I start seeing double. Half stumbling around, I manage to regain my balance, despite the pounding ache in my leg and the blood pouring out of it.
Time seems to slow down as I rush after her. Rhea collapses and the snake advances on her, slithering up her torso. It opens its mouth wide and I can only watch it horror as the monstrous creature digs its teeth into her chest.
"Finnick!" She slaps my cheek and the deja vu washes over me for the second time today.
I cast my gaze down to my calf, then her ankle and then her upper body, and breathe out a sigh of relief. "Sorry," I apologise. "… Hallucination."
She stares at me for a few unnerving moments with a frown etched on her forehead. "Are you okay?"
I give her what I hope is a reassuring smile and nod. "Let's go see mother."
The route home seems incredibly slow and time consuming. My patience starts to wear thin, despite the fact that we're running as fast as we can. "Slow down, Finnick!" Rhea yells from behind me, "It's not like she's going to die!"
"Yeah? How do you know?"
"Maybe because you've passed out a lot more times and every time, you've woken up."
"But those were from the arena," I argued back.
"Once you passed out because you didn't sleep for four days."
"That was an accident and just once."
By the time we reach our house, paramedics are rushing in and out of the house. The urgency that is written all over their faces almost causes me to stop breathing all at once. I lunge forward to the front door step of our house.
"No, Odair, don't you do that," I faintly hear Joseph Aelous' demanding voice, as well as Rhea's loud sobs. A pair of rigid, strong arms grip onto my shoulders and pull me back.
"No!" I scream, as I watch a few doctors wheel a gurney out of our house. They run along the pavement to where I'm assuming is the District's hospital, which is fortunately only a few streets away. Annie trails behind with a wild expression on her face. Struggling in the grip of Joseph's hands, I rear my elbow back, slamming it into his shoulder blade and he loosens his right hand's grip only a little. "Watch it, Odair," he grunts in pain. "Give her some space."
"She's my mum!"
"Stop struggling!" he roared into my ear. Unable to stand watching the doctors and my mother on the gurney disappear around the corner, I manage to pull myself out of his vice grip and only seconds later, his left cheek meets my fist. He may be thirty-five years old and stronger, but I'm taller. "Get off me, you bastard," I grunt out and out of blind anger, I land another punch on him, square in the face. I'm almost satisfied when I see the blood dribbling out of his nose.
A smaller and cold hand slips into mine. "Rhea's already on her way to the hospital," a quiet voice speaks up. I close my eyes, and breathe in and breathe out. Despite the situation, I can't help but think how the spaces between my fingers are right where hers fit perfectly.
"Let's go," I say, shortly.
The path to the hospital seems to take even longer than it did when Rhea and I ran home. Annie's small hand is clammy, probably from nervous sweat, but I don't mind it. It's comforting to know that at least, she's safe.
When we do arrive, the place is buzzing. Doctors shout orders at each other, several contradicting others. "In the ER, Odair! You can't go in," the receptionist yells at me, as I storm past her.
"Shut up," I snarl.
"Emergency room," Annie mumbles.
"What?"
"Emergency room," she repeats. "That's the ER."
I stop in my tracks and shoot her an irritated glance. "Where were you?" I demand. "Why didn't you help her?"
"I was at… home. I didn't know that she passed out. I was about to go outside but I saw here in the kitchen and then…" She trails off and pulls her hand away from mine, twiddling with her thumbs.
"And then, what, Annie?"
"She was lying on the floor and there was blood all over the floor," she whispers so softly that I have to strain my ears.
And now, I notice how relaxed she is, compared to me, compared to Rhea, and the doctors. "Why aren't you worried?" I demand, unable to control what I spit out of my mouth anymore. "It's more like you're… scared. What's wrong with you?"
"She's not my mother!"
The words die in my throat and I laugh bitterly. "Of course she's not, but she considers you to be her daughter."
"But that doesn't mean I don't care," she argues. "I do worry. I guess I just have more self-control than you."
I spot Rhea banging on a door, tears streaming down her face. "Mummy!" she screams. Immediately, I rush over and crash into the door in the process, in hopes of breaking it. I groan as my shoulder throbs, painfully.
"Mr Odair, step away!" a nurse exclaims, while she examines my shoulder. "You can't go inside."
I ignore her. I watch through the window as the five doctors inside fiddle with my mother's body. It's almost as if they're violating her. "What's happening?" Rhea asks. She's too short to see through the window.
I hold her hand and squeeze it, comfortingly. "I don't know."
An incessant beeping that signals our mother's unstable breathing comes from inside the room. I don't even need an education to understand what that means as the doctors inside force their actions in a more urgent manner.
The line goes flat.
Rhea and I stare at each other in horror for a few moments before I tear my gaze away and I watch a doctor attempt to resuscitate her. They pound an object onto her chest and her body spasms for a brief moment before it relaxes. The line become volatile again. Twisting the metal doorknob in my hands, I unlock it and tear it off in the process. I ignore the shouts of protest from the nurses outside and barge in the moment the line goes flat again. Despite the fruitless attempts of reviving her, the line remains flat.
"No," I say, shaking my head frantically. "This can't be happening. No, no, no, she's not… she's not…"
The doctor who seems to be in charge steps back and gives me a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Mr Odair."
My lungs seem to constrict and I find it hard to breathe. "No," I gasp out, "Mum!"
I hold onto her limp, frail form on the bed and shake her. "Wake up." Vaguely aware of the doctors behind me, I grab her cheeks. Her eyes are tightly shut and her body is quickly losing heat. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."
Several arms grab a hold onto me from behind and drag me away. I punch, kick, elbow whatever's in the way and suddenly, everything becomes a blur.
When I wake up, I'm reminded of when I woke up after my Games. I'm situated in a dazzling bright room. I blink rapidly, getting rid of the sleep in my eyes and look around, sitting up automatically.
"Take it slow, Mr Odair," the doctor says.
"What happened?"
"You freaked out; destroyed almost everything in the room and they injected you with a sedative," Annie replies. I look over at her and I notice Rhea is sitting on the bed on her other side.
"Sedative?"
"Mr Odair, I suggest you relax for a moment," the doctor advises, "You did a bit of damage to the hospital and yourself."
"There's absolutely nothing wrong with me," I snap.
"Yeah," Rhea replies, sarcastically. "That's why you tore down the IV cords, punched the nurses and doctors and everything."
"Mr Odair-"
"Finnick," I interject.
"Mr Odair, you'll be placed in the psychiatric ward for a while," the doctor continues as if I hadn't just interrupted.
"What? Why?!"
"You've been diagnosed with PTSD - post traumatic stress disorder and depression. From what I've been told, you have suffered from hallucinations, am I correct?" I nod. "It will be safer for you to stay in the hospital where people can keep a watchful eye on you."
I roll my eyes and scoff. "I don't need people watching me. I can take care of myself."
The doctor nods. "That's what I thought you'd say. That is why you'll be staying home for a week. If nothing improves, you'll be coming here in the psychiatric ward, no matter what."
Not in the mood for fighting, I just sigh and agree. "Just tell me what happened to my mother."
He looks conflicted for a moment and the two girls shift uncomfortably in their seats, immediately averting their eyes away from me. "What am I missing?" I ask.
"I don't think it's good for you to know," he replies, "At least not right now…"
"Tell me."
"No, Mr Odair. This is for your own good as of right now."
"You sure sound like you want to be punched right now," I mutter under my breath.
He sighs, most likely irritated with my persistence. "Your mother also had PTSD and depression. After the death of your father, she slowly drowned in a depression and a few months later, your sister dragged her to the hospital where she was officially diagnosed."
"How is that possible? She was always smiling at home."
"The one thing about people with depression is that they put on a fake smile. Don't you do that?"
"… No." My brain screams, lies!
"Another symptom is that they deny it. Your mother refused to come to her designated weekly visits. Her death was a suicidal attempt."
"No, it bloody wasn't!" I leap out of the hospital bed and grab his collar. "She was fine! You killed her! You and the other doctors."
"We detected drugs in her body. Annie said there was an empty bottle of pills on the kitchen table. She also sliced her own wrist as well, which made it even worse."
The uncomfortable, yet placid look on his face tells me how honest he is, even though I try to not acknowledge it. I turn to the girls and point an accusing finger at them. "You guys knew about this."
Rhea winces and the two of them shift under my gaze, uneasily. Annie nods, almost hesitantly.
I don't say anything. I bolt out of the room and run to the only place I can think of: Annie's cave.
When I get there, I cry.