Life After Death

Moving In

"Finnick?" I gasp?

Before I can get another word out, he steps forward and wraps his arms around me. "Katniss, I've missed you so much."

It's only been a month but I don't bother saying that. I have Haymitch here, but it's probably felt like years for him, alone in his District.

"I had no idea what house you lived in," he explains. "I knocked on three other doors before I got to this one." He starts to chuckle. "So is this your house or Haymitch's?"

"It's his," I say. "Mine's right next door."

"Ahhh, I see," he says, smiling.

All of a sudden his smile drops, and he's looking straight into my eyes, a serious look on his face. "How are you doing?"

I can't help it. I start crying.

Finnick pulls me into his arms once again and I cry on his shoulder. He tries to soothe me by rubbing my back, but I don't ease up at all.

"Shhhh," he whispers. "It's okay, darling, it's okay."

Haymitch abruptly gets up and leaves the room. I hear the door to his bedroom slam upstairs.

"Want to go back to your place?" Finnick asks.

I nod. We both stand up and he puts his arm around my shoulder, leading me outside. When we get inside my house we sit down on the couch. I try to dry my tears out of my eyes and calm down.

"We don't have to talk about-" he starts before I interrupt him.

"What are you doing here, Finnick?"

He eyes me carefully before speaking. "I have nobody left in District Four. Annie's gone, and I have no other family there." He takes a deep breath. "I had to get special permission from the President and the Mayor of course, but they let me leave."

Well what are they going to do? Deny something so simple to someone so broken?

"I couldn't stay there," he continues. "The first place I thought of was here. With you and Haymitch."

"So how long are you going to stay with us?" I ask him.

"I packed up whatever I could find at my house that I needed. It's all sitting just outside the Village in some bags. I'm going to live here now."

I stare at him in complete shock. I could understand him wanting to take a break from his home, but moving here? To District Twelve of all places?

The thing is, I know how he feels. Gale's gone, so I avoid the woods. My mother and Prim are both gone, so I just stay away from the area where The Seam used to be. Nothing in the town was even recognizable after the bombing, so I feel as if Peeta's bakery is scattered everywhere. He's everywhere. I've had times where I've wanted to get up and leave, but where would I go to?

Finnick couldn't bear the pain of the memories back home alone, so he moved here.

"So should I bother asking how you've been doing?" I ask softly.

He smiles sadly before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a short length of rope, twisted into a complicated knot. "Do you think I'm lying to you when I say this helps?"

"It clearly works for you," I say with a smile. "I still have to find something that helps me."

"Go shoot your arrows somewhere, blow off some steam, darling." He says jokingly.

I laugh. "Shooting a rabbit in the eye will surely help me forget about the deaths of all the people I've ever loved." I try to make it sound like a joke, but it didn't come out the way I expected.

The reaction on Finnick's face appears instantly. "I'm sorry, Katniss. That's not what I meant, I-"

"Finnick, it's alright, darling." I mock.

We share a laugh and then sit in silence for a moment.

"So which house in Victor's Village did they assign you?" I ask him.

"The mayor said I could pick whatever one I want," he replies.

"You could always stay here." I blurt out. "There's plenty of room for the both of us."

Finnick smiles. "I would love to stay here."