My inside is red | Finnick Odair

ᴛᴡᴏ

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴏ

"Could you pass the salt, please, Reggie?" Regina nodded and the meal quietly resumed. Mary sat next to Mikael and just poked at her food. She had no appetite. The day had ruined it for her. "Mary? Would you like to eat something before the food gets cold?" She looked up in surprise and shook her head slightly. Her siblings' heads turned to her now. "Mary, you need to eat something. Tomorrow there is the reaping. It's not healthy for you to sleep on an empty stomach tonight."

She just looked blankly into her father's eyes and shook her head again. "What's wrong?" her father asked. Mikael had put his hand on hers during that, resting on her thigh. He threw her a small smile, encouraging her to speak. 

She took a deep breath before telling the secret that had been haunting her all day. "I ... I heard her voice." Her father now sat up vertically and put away his silverware. "When I was outside today, I heard children. Birds were flying in the sky, and then there was Mama's laugh." She looked at Mikael, who showed a pitying face, then at Regina, who froze, then at Lorenzo, who continued eating but listening, and finally at her father. "I thought it was real. It sounded so real, Dad. Then, when I realized it wasn't, everything disappeared. The kids, the birds, and mom..."

The table was completely silent and Lorenzo started laughing. Her father and siblings looked at him strangely. "I told you guys she was insane." He threw his napkin on his empty plate and leaned back as he laughed. "Are you sure you don't want to see Dr. Mareike again?"

Mary's face turned red, and she looked toward him. "I am NOT insane!" She yelled at him, while Lorenzo continued to laugh. 

"Sure you're not." He laughed in her face. He just laughed at her.

Mary began to cry. Tear after tear ran down her cheeks. "She's insane," Lorenzo continued. Mary closed her eyes to suppress the tears, but failed. More and more tears ran down her cheeks. "She's insane." Lorenzo continued to warble and did not stop. 

"Lorenz," Mikael warned him, however, he did not listen.

"She's insane." Mary put her hands on the sides of her head and shook her head. 

"I'm not insane," she whispered softly to herself. 

"You're insane."

"Lorenz." Now it was Regina who warned him, too. "Stop it."

"I'm just telling you the truth. Look at her. She's insane. There's something wrong in her brain. No normal person would have something like that." Mary kept yelling at him that she wasn't crazy. Lorenzo ignored it, "It's been six years since she died."

"LORENZO." Her father, meanwhile, also argued. "Stop it. It's going too far."

"What? Mom's been dead for six years, and Mary's been crazy ever since. Get it through your head. MARY'S CRAZY!" He yelled the last part and slammed his hands down on the table and looked at Mary. 

She had enough, stood up and yelled, "I AM NOT CRAZY!" and ran out of the room.

 Mikael stood up and made his way to the door. "Where are you going?" asked Regina.

"I'm going to see if my sister is okay. You should do the same." Regina quickly got up and followed her brother. 

Once they were both out, Steven sat back, catching his breath, but before he could say anything, Lorenzo spoke. "I'm sorry, Dad. Okay? I didn't mean to make it seem like that."

Steven laughed. "You shouldn't apologize to me, Lorenz. You've been mean. Very mean. You know, Mary has it the worst of us." Lorenzo nodded. "Off to your room." He quickly ran up to his room before his father could say anything else.

Steven took a big breath and looked at the picture that was on the counter by the wand. "What am I going to do, Margaret?"

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ᴛɪᴍᴏᴛʜᴇ́ᴇ ᴄʜᴀʟᴀᴍᴇᴛ ᴀs ᴍɪᴋᴀᴇʟ ᴋᴇɴɴᴇʀ

"I'm twelve minutes older."

ᴍᴀᴄᴋᴇɴᴢɪᴇ ғᴏʏ ᴀs ʀᴇɢɪɴᴀ ᴋᴇɴɴᴇʀ

" I'm the big sister and I'm supposed to be looking out for you instead of you looking out for me."

ʟᴏᴜɪs ᴘᴀʀᴛʀɪᴅɢᴇ ᴀs ʟᴏʀᴇɴᴢᴏ ᴋᴇɴɴᴇʀ

"Are you sure you don't want to see Dr. Mareike again?"

ᴄʜʀɪs ᴇᴠᴀɴs ᴀs sᴛᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴋᴇɴɴᴇʀ

"Why did you do that? You're thirteen! For god's sake..."