A/N: This story will probably be on hiatus for now. I am going to try and concentrate on my other story, 81 Characters, All With A Story. I want to finish a few chapters, as I have over sixty more to go. Also, I might be starting yet another story about Cato and Clove. Let me know what you think about it.
Everyone stops where they are to stare at me. I try and wipe away my tears, but fresh ones just keep coming. I can't stand to be here with all of these people looking at me, so I run back to my house, even if I don't have any crabs or shrimp. I throw the bucket to the side and run up the steps into my room. I slam the door shut and sink down into my bed and cry into my pillow. I can't believe they said those things about me. They are, or were, my best friends. Do they seriously think I am crazy? I am fairly sure I am, since I start laughing randomly, then start sobbing for no reason. I hear voices! Is that not a sure fire way to tell if someone is losing it?
My door opens slowly and I look up to see Mags' face peeking in. "Annie, honey, are you okay? I heard the bucket crash into the table, you running up the steps and your door slam." She sees my tear-stained pillow and looks into my eyes, which are brimming with tears. My bottom lip quivers and she comes in to comfort me. She sits down next to me on my bed and rubs my back in a mother-like way. I bury my head in her shoulder and start sobbing.
"They…..they were talking about me! They said I was crazy and they were glad I wasn't in school anymore so they didn't have to see me breakdown every time someone makes a comment about the Hunger Games and then Maria apologized and said she didn't think I was crazy and then Dylan stood up and said they did and that Maria did think I was crazy but she was too nice to admit it! And then they left me there crying and didn't even bother to say sorry or offer to bring me back home!" My voice is muffled by Mags' shirt and my tears soak the soft fabric. I lift my head and say, "I'm sorry Mags. I shouldn't be acting like this. It's just that…..since I have become a victor, it seems like life is so much harder. Aren't victors supposed to have an easy life? Aren't we supposed to enjoy out winnings and live like kings and queens? Or am I the only one whose life is horrible, even though I have enough winnings to feed the entire district?" Mags looks at me, and sadly shakes her head.
"Annie, no victor lives like a king or queen, except maybe the District One and Two victors. You aren't the only one whose life got ruined by becoming a victor. You know Chaff, from District 11? He turned into a drunk not even a year after he became victor. Haymitch from 12? Snow killed his family and girlfriend when he wouldn't do what he said, and he drinks more than anyone I know. Finnick gained you when he became victor, but he isn't happy. He is with you, but when you aren't around him, he is a wreck. He becomes depressed and moody and doesn't talk to anyone. He just spends all of his time at the beach, hidden by the dunes. No victor comes out of the arena perfectly fine. Everyone has wounds, whether they be physical, like Chaff, emotional or mental. Nobody heals completely. I won over sixty years ago, and I still wake up in the middle of the night, shaking from nightmares. But it can get better. I guarantee you people will stop talking about you soon. They will get engulfed in the 71st Hunger Games and you can forget all of the rude comments." She smiles sadly and opens her arms to me. I lean into her and let her hug me. I hear the door slowly open and look to see who it is, fearing the worst. I turn to see the man who completes me.
Finnick.
I scream and run into his arms. He wraps them protectively around me and buries his head into my hair. "I have missed you so much in the past month. I almost went insane, not having you there and having to see all of those clients. I am so glad to be home. I don't have to go to the Capitol now until your victory tour. I can stay here and be with you for five months straight with no interruptions, no Capitol women. What do you say we pack up some food and go down to the beach for a bit?" I lift my head from his chest and nod with a slight smile on my face. Then I lift myself onto my tiptoes and give him a soft kiss on the lips. Mags makes a mhm noise. We turn and raise our eyebrows at her. "Annie, you never got any of the seafood we wanted. What are you going to bring to the beach?"
I open my mouth to talk, but Finnick interrupts me. "I snuck some food back from the train. I left the basket of it in your kitchen. We could bring that." He looks from Mags to me and I nod. He hugs me again and laces his fingers through mine. "Ready to go?" He asks.
"I've been ready for a month." He smiles. We say goodbye to Mags and he leads me to the kitchen where he opens the basket to show me what he got from the train. He pulls out everything I enjoyed in the Capitol. Ice cream, chocolate, rolls from other districts and the Capitol, numerous soups, and an uncountable amount of desserts. "Is this what you like?" I nod fiercely. Finnick laughs and packs all of the food back into the basket. Then he takes my hand again and we walk out the door.
We walk hand in hand all the way to the beach, never once separating. People stop to stare at us, but we don't notice. Normally, I would get anxious and go back to my house, but I am with Finnick now. If he sees me getting nervous, he pulls me close and reassures me that no one is going to hurt me. Then I calm down and we continue walking.
When we get to the beach, no one is there. We go to "our spot" and Finn opens up the basket to get the food out. I walk over to a shrub and pull a hidden blanket from its roots and spread it out. I pat the space across from me and Finnick brings the basket over and plops down there. He pulls all of the food out and spreads it around. I rub my hands together, trying to decide what I want to eat first. I pick up a roll from District Two, a dark, dense, rectangular whole wheat loaf. I take a tentative bite and chew slowly. The grainy flavor spreads throughout my mouth. Then I look at Finnick, who is sitting there, not eating anything. I try to talk, but my mouth is so full of bread, all that comes out is unrecognizable mumbles. I swallow the bread and ask, "Aren't you going to have any?" He shakes his head and I raise my eyebrows as I grab a container of soup to dip my bread in.
"I had a lot to eat on the train, and plus, I have been eating this stuff for a month, and all I want is some traditional District Four stew. Did you make any?" I sadly shake my head and he pretends to be angry. He launches himself at me, knocking me over and causing me to spill the delicious and spicy soup all over my shirt front. I groan and push him playfully off of me. Then I take off my shirt, leaving me in just my bikini top. Finnick sees a perfect opportunity to dump me into the cold water, and picks me up. He runs down to the water's edge and throws me in. I scream as I go under and he hops in behind me. I resurface and cough. He swims over to me and wraps his arms around me from behind. I shriek and start shaking. Not from cold, but from fear. I am immediately transported back to the arena, where you always have to be on high alert and if someone touches you from behind, they are usually going to kill you.
Finn sees how I am and spins me around so I am facing him. "Annie, I'm sorry. I forgot. Annie, listen to me. I'm not going to hurt you." He rubs my hands, trying to pry them from my shoulders. After a while, he gives up and carries me back to the beach and lays me on the blanket. He sits next to me and whispers to me, telling me stories of mermaids and mermen, who live on the bottom of the ocean. Slowly but surely, I come back. I take my hands off of my shoulders and stretch out my legs. I scoot closer to him and he puts an arm around my shoulder. "Annie, I am so sorry. I forgot. Are you okay now?" I nod slowly. He sighs and says, "Thank goodness. Do you want to go back to my house? We can finally move you back in. If that's what you want of course." I nod and he helps me up. I take his hand and we walk back to my house to grab the boxes I never unpacked.
When we get them, we take them over to his house and dump them in a spare room. Then we separate and I go to my room and him to his. I get changed into a pair of cotton short and an old, baggy shirt of Finn's. I hear a soft knock on the door and I say, "Come in." He walks in in just a pair of pajama pants. I lay down on my bed and he lies next to me, putting one of his arms over my waist. He rubs my arm until I go to sleep. And when I wake up from my nightmares, he is there to comfort me.