Love at Sea (Finnick Odair)

Chapter 13

It was finally happening.

Taiya was opening up to Mrs Everdeen.

She was sat in the therapy room with tears streaming down her face as she detailed her nightmares.

"And I just never know what to do," she violently sobbed.

"That's completely valid," Mrs Everdeen reassured.

"I try to fight back but it's pointless," Taiya dropped her head in her hands. "It's an army of fish!" Taiya shook her head. "How are we meant to beat them? They're stronger than we are."

She was completely bullshitting Mrs Everdeen.

"I mean they come out of the water, and they use their fins as weapons. Fins! I don't have fins! None of us do. So the fish always win. And it hurts even more because I call Finnick, Finn, a lot of the time, but fins are the fish's weapons. And so in my dreams, the fish are fighting Finn with their fins and I'm struggling to get to Finn and save him from the fins, and I'm just watching Finn losing the battle against the fins. In my dream, I yell, 'No Finn, no! Watch out for the fins, Finn!' But then the fins get him and Finn is no more. Finn is beaten by the fins."

That was when she lost her self-control and smiled widely at Mrs Everdeen before cackling.

Mrs Everdeen dropped her pen and looked up. This was not the breakthrough she thought it was. Taiya had been messing with her for the better part of half an hour.

"Taiya..." she sighed, it was hard to hide the exasperation from her voice.

"Oh come on," Taiya smirked. "You listened to that rubbish and you're telling me you believed it?" Taiya snorted. "Fish can't come out of the water!" Taiya slapped her leg in amusement.

Mrs Everdeen observed the girl with a mixture of curiosity and concern as the girl laughed. She did have one diagnosis she wanted to put before her.

"I'd like to discuss something with you Taiya if I may," Mrs Everdeen crept forward in her seat, trying to tread delicately enough so that Taiya didn't take off running.

"What's up Doc?" Taiya quietened her laughter but continued to smile a wide grin.

With a gentle, yet serious tone, Mrs Everdeen continued. "As you know I've been analysing your behaviour and reactions."

"And you've been doing a swell job."

"Thank you. I have noticed a pattern of sorts. Have you heard of the idea of arrested psychological development?"

"Of course not," Taiya shook her head.

"Well it's a type of trauma response," Mrs Everdeen laid her hands out on the table in front of her. "I've been doing some research on it and you tick a lot of the boxes Taiya. It's a form of trauma response, in which a child experiences severe trauma and their mental development can get 'stuck', if you will, at the age they experienced the trauma."

"Well, what if it's just my sparkling personality?" Taiya winked.

"You experienced a trauma at 16 when your parents were killed. And then you were sent into the Hunger Games only months later. That's going to have some severe and long-lasting effects Miss Ambersnow," Mrs Everdeen sympathised. "Trauma responses aren't something to be embarrassed by."

Taiya regarded the woman with a perplexed expression before her eyes darkened. "You really just killed the whole vibe, Doc," she stood up from her chair.

Mrs Everdeen, feeling a pang of regret at the shift in Taiya's demeanour, tried to maintain a steady expression, despite the disappointment she felt as the girl raced out of the room. She'd been hoping for a more receptive response. Taiya's dismissive reaction wasn't a surprise, but it left her unsure of how she should proceed with future sessions. Every time the woman tried to get to the real root of Taiya's issues, the girl fled. Every time.