Querencia | Finnick Odair

Chapter XXXVII

And she was right. The woman was very eccentric and loud and her outfit hurt my eyes, but the only thing she wanted was to draw me. Naked. But it was better than sleeping with her. So I sit on a red velvet armchair for two hours, a red sheer scarf thrown over the middle of my body. She comments on my tattoos and says that they disturb the natural curves of my body which is why she won't draw them. She also says she will give me a copy of the drawing, which I don't know why. But her drawings are actually quite good.

"Your shading is amazing", I tell her and she smiles.

"You paint?"

"Sometimes. When I get time at home. But I prefer landscapes or sketches."

"Well. Paintings show a lot about the person drawing them. Here a copy as promised. You really do have a beautiful body."

"Thank you."

I mean it is good. Really good. The way she drew the cloth over my body, it looked realistic, following the curves of my body, almost seeming fluid.

I take the picture and, after slipping on the pair of flats, the drawing rolled up underneath my arm, leave the flat.

It is around 9.30 pm when I reenter the victor building and decide to use the bar in the basement after I changed back into the pants I wore earlier and a black lace top with a short knit black jacket thrown over it, my hair still open. Then I put Finnick's necklace around my neck and leave for the bar.

I enter the dimly lit room.

"Johanna!", I call out and the girl turns on her chair and I am shocked to see a dark bruise on her face.

She laughs. "Little T! How was business today?"

She was drunk, at least tipsy. "Surprisingly well. I was drawn, not raped."

"What a surprise!", she calls out and then turns to the man behind the counter.

"The young lady and I will have a round of rainbow shots."

So it comes that Johanna and I have one, then two, then some more rounds of rainbow shots. Gloss and Cashmere and eventually Enobaria join us and it is actually a lot of fun.

"Which was your worst one?", Gloss questions.

"Oh, that guy, Samuel. From the party, we went to. He had a thing for abuse apparently. I had three bruised ribs and you saw my throat. If I ever see him and am free of this bullshit I will kill him. After breaking three ribs and almost choking him, I will put a bullet in his brain."

Enobaria raises an eyebrow but smiles and Cashmere actually laughs.

"Mine was this crazy dude. At first, he talked about time travel and I had to dress up as a slutty mechanic and then he cuffed me to the bed, but lost the key so I lay there naked until guards had to remove the cuffs with force", she tells.

"Oh, mine passed out while...you know, going at it. He lay on top of me for 30 minutes", Enobaria tells us.

I burst out laughing. "No way."

She just nods and we order a round of a cocktail named sex on the beach. And as I hear the name I add a thing onto my To-Do before I die list.

Then another familiar face enters, with an unfamiliar face.

"Finnick!", I grin and tumble over to him. "And...who are you?"

The girl with the black hair and green eyes holds out her hand.

"I am Torri. From district 10."

"And you are way too sober. As are you Fishboy. Oh and welcome Torri, to the circle of the abused."

Finnick helps me back to the big round booth we are all sitting in, smiling at me adoringly, his thumb drawing small circles on my hip as we walk and I accidentally step on his shoe. I don't know Torri and don't know if I can trust the Careers in the room with our secret.

We order a few shots for the two of them aren't as sober anymore and we have wonderful conversations about carving peoples eyes out. And Finnick is there, sitting in between me and Torri, giving all his attention to her, his smile that I so adore. He laughs at every second sentence she says, and even though she is pretty funny, I dislike it. A knot is forming in my stomach and coldness seems to spread from the pendants around my neck.

"Excuse me for a moment. The alcohol seems to have found its way through my system."

And with that, I leave for the bathroom. Johanna stumbling behind.

"What's going on?", she questions.

"I don't know. It's just...the way he looks at her and laughs and smiles. It just...I feel cold again."
"Oh, honey. What happened between you two?"

"What do you mean?", I tilt my head to the side.

"Oh, you wouldn't be jealous if things didn't shift between you. You know he is head over heels for you."

"I do know. Hypothetically. But I feel different."

"Yeah. So what happened?"

"I told him I loved him. He said it back. We...well...you know", I mumble and wash my hands, splashing some water on my face as well.

"Dear lord. You did the sideway tango! No wonder you are jealous. But as said he is head over heels for you and you don't need to worry about them."

I smile. "I know."

"Then get out there and dance with your man", my friend chuckles and pushes me outside.