Sugarcubes // Finnick Odair - Hunger Games Fanfic

VII.

When I wake up in the middle of the night – not a surprise as I didn't expect to get a lot of sleep, instead of total silence, I hear soft sobs echoing through the suite. 

It's unexpected. Everybody hear tries to be strong despite the world thrashing at them – sobbing in the middle of the night isn't exactly what one would consider fitting that bracket.

I slip on my soft bunny slippers, one thing that the capitol has been regular in providing for me each trip to the city, which is one small thing I'm grateful for. And then, I pad softly to the living room. Blight's door is closed, and soft snores are issuing from it, and so is Johns. That leaves one person. And sure enough, sitting near the big window in the living area, staring out the window is a sniffling Johanna.

I don't know what to make of it.

"Hey? Jo," I ask softly, padding closer to her, and she looks up and me, startled, hurriedly wiping the tears from her face.

"Go away." She replies, which shocks me slightly, but I ignore her and sit a bit away from her.

"Come on Jo, you can tell me what's wrong."

"And then what, Kendria? You're going to volunteer to face that problem in my place too?" She asks, a flip switching suddenly. She's angrier than I've ever seen her before.

"No," I tell her softly, flinching at the sound of my real name rolling off her lips, "We'll work through it together."

"Is that what you did at the reaping? Worked through it together? No! You didn't consult anyone else before volunteering, did you? You're more than happy to throw your life away!"

"That's different! I was protecting you!" I tell her harshly, moving closer to her.

"I don't need protection! I'm not a child anymore! I'm 21! And protecting me at what cost? Your own life? You don't value your life! It's the same thing you did last time! Well guess what? There are others that do value your life! Like Lia, and Danny, and me." She screams back, stepping farther away from me.

"So, you're saying I should have let my little sister die?"

"I wouldn't have died. You on the other hand? You will, won't you? You have your little plan all chalked out. You're not going to come back! Not even for us!"

"Of course, I want to come back, Jo! I can't believe you're angry at me for this. You shouldn't have to relive your nightmares."

"None of us should have to do this! Hell, none of us should have these nightmares to begin with! The world isn't fair. I'm not your defenseless little sister anymore! I'm an adult with an opinion and a voice. You don't have to fight for me," She tells me angrily, and I'm taken aback by her words. "Finnick Odair can fight for himself too," She says in a snarky tone, pausing to take a breath.

"Don't. I did it for all of you. You won't understand that until later, and that's fine Jo. What's done is done."

"I won't understand?! I'm an adult! I do understand! I understand that if things go according to your plan, we won't see you ever again."

"That's not-" I start, closing my eyes slightly, but she cuts me off.

"You need to choose again, Kendria. Finnick or us. And as you made the choice of getting into these games so easily, you can make this one on your own too." She tells me huffily, before stalking off.

I run a hand shakily through my hair and breathe out slowly. Never in a million years could I have anticipated this. But I never thought this was where I'd be after my first games either. Life is unexpected. And when life is unexpected, I go to the roof.