A/N: Contains mentions of suicide.
When he'd looked over at her, checking to see if she was okay, Annie had smiled back at him and given his hand a reassuring squeeze. A shaky smile, yes, and her grip had been a bit too tight, a bit too desperate, but both were supposed to mean she was all right. He should have known better. He liked to think she was strong enough to withstand anything, but he had seen her fall so far before. You should have known better than to think she would be all right. No one comes out of the Games in one piece.
Maybe he was overreacting; she'd only been in there a few minutes longer than he would have expected. She might be cleaning herself up or brushing her hair or any one of those thousand other things that females found to do to their appearance. Just because she'd been crying and shaking when she locked herself into the bathroom didn't mean she wasn't okay now. Now, if only Finnick could bring himself to believe that was the case.
She usually wanted to be alone when things fall apart, but he should at least ask if she wants company. "Annie?" He tapped on the door. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?"
Finnick wasn't really expecting a response. "I'm out here if you need anything. I want to help you." He waited for a moment, hoping she would at least tell him to go away so he would know that she was a little bit there. Naturally, he was disappointed. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay here in case you need me."
He paced, waiting for her to emerge or say something, to lie to him and say she was fine. Nothing was ever fine, but sometimes they could pretend for a while. Honesty held no value here. He wished they could go back to lying. Finnick looked over at the clock. Six thirty. She'd been in there for almost forty minutes. He hadn't heard anything from her in at least the last twenty. Finnick's heart stopped. She could be dead in there. She could have found the pills he'd kept at the back of his drawers since his Victory Tour for just in case. If it was ever far too much, he had a way out. Not an honorable one, but an escape. Somehow, the thought of Annie doing exactly what he had planned around hurt more than a kick to the gut. She could be in there, bleeding out on the floor after a few quick swipes with a razor or choking on her own vomit, or…
"Annie? Annie, please tell me you're all right. Annie!" He didn't sound sane. That was fine. He wasn't. "Annie, please say something." Finnick half-clawed, half-pounded at the door. His hands stung when he dropped them to his sides, but he couldn't care less. She was still in there. "Annie, Annie please." He hated that he was so desperate, but maybe that was what it meant to be in love.
She still hadn't answered him. Maybe he should break down the door. It was easily replaceable; she wasn't. "Annie, Annie are you okay?" No, of course she wasn't. None of them were. Victors gave that up when they decided to live.
"I'm going to break down the door, okay? Make sure you aren't near it." Fuck, how was it that the Capitol could come in and ruin their lives over and over again? Sometimes, it seemed like they didn't even have to try. A message on one of hteir television stations had been all it took this time. Just a casual mention of the Games with a little snippet of the very moment when Seannan - ugh, his stomach turned just at the thought of it, and he hadn't been there the way Annie had… he forced himself to stop thinking about it. He'd said he would break down the door. All right, three, two, -
The door opened, squeaking just a bit on its hinges. Annie, eyes puffy from crying and trembling, but very much alive, stood before him. He took a few hesitant steps towards her, and she didn't pull away when he brushed a stray piece of hair from her forehead and tucked it behind her ear, so he brought her in closer. She crumpled against him, completely slack, and he was determined that, if she needed it, for now, he could be strong for the both of them.
A/N: A few weeks ago, I had a request to show Finnick's point of view for "Clawing", so I decided to write this. Thank you for all of your feedback. It's lovely to hear what people are enjoying and what they think I could be doing better.