lover/fighter - Finnick Odair

Chapter 24 - At the bottom

Everything is prepared and outside it is still raining cats and dogs. Rhea's luggage is already on the way to the station, and she gave Isla a long and heartfelt goodbye, who didn't really want to let her go. Now that she has finally been able to tear herself away, she is confronted with the harsh weather once again.

The heaviest part of the storm passed over them during the night, there is no more thunder to be heard, but the rain doesn't seem to let up yet. That is why, despite Finnick's jacket, she is not entirely spared when she finally reaches the shelter of his porch and is already dreading the walk to the station after returning the borrowed item to him. The wind was still so strong that it kept ripping the hood off her head on the way, which is why her hair is now dripping with wetness.

She gets no answer to her ringing. Either Finnick is indeed still asleep, or he doesn't seem to be home. Both seem strange to her, considering the fact that they had agreed to meet again before she would leave.

The wind pulls at her wet hair and Rhea thinks about what to do now. She doesn't want to just walk away without a word, and there's still plenty of time before the train leaves. Looking for him would make little sense, because she has neither a clue where he might be, nor does she know her way around here very well, not to mention the rain.

What if he is home after all and just didn't hear her? Rhea touches the door handle and sure enough, it's not locked. She concludes that he is either at home after all or possibly just away for a short while.

She hesitates a bit, but then decides to go in, because she literally doesn't want to stand in the rain any longer. Quietly, she closes the front door again behind her and listens for a sign that the homeowner is home after all.

Except for the wind whistling past the house and the ticking of a clock from somewhere, there is nothing to be heard.

"Finnick?" she calls into the silence anyway. No answer. It looks like he really isn't there, so she decides to wait for him.

She quickly notices, however, that the water dripping steadily from her clothes and hair is slowly forming a small puddle on the floor.

"Crap," she curses softly and looks around the hallway searchingly. What she finds is of little help to the situation.

She removes her shoes, which already have what feels like half a ton of sand stuck to them from the wetness and leaves them on the doormat so as not to spread the stuff all over the house. She hangs Finnick's jacket on a clothes rack. The water from her hair is now running down her clothes, which feels much more uncomfortable.

Given the choice of standing here soaked, or going in search of a towel herself, Rhea moves off. She knows which doors belong to the living room and the study, so she takes a quick look behind the others she passes, hoping to find a bathroom.

First, she discovers the kitchen, then she ends up in a large pantry and then in a small storage room. Finally, she finds a smaller bathroom without having to go to the second floor, which she would like to avoid.

Relieved, she turns on the light and looks at herself in the mirror above the sink. She looks like she fell into the ocean, but the sight makes her smile a little at herself. She looks around and searches for a towel to dry her soaking wet hair. She opens a small wooden dresser and finally finds what she is looking for.

Rhea sighs in relief and pulls out one of the soft white cloth towels, neatly stacked on top of each other. In general, it doesn't look like the room is used much. Considering what Mags told her, that's probably the case. Finnick spends a lot of time at the Capitol, and when he's usually with Mags during his time in 4, his house is probably often deserted.