When We Drown~Finnick Odair {Book 1}

Chapter Ten

•••

The second day was simply more group training. Finnick was there in the morning to wish Autumn and Tyson good luck. Finnick gave Tyson some extra advice, so Autumn nodded at Finnick gratefully.

Finnick realized how important this was to Autumn and he vowed to not disappoint her.

Autumn decided to work on sword combat for a while. Tyson taught her the basics like how to hold the sword, different types of swings and different types of swords and what they're good for. Once Autumn got the hang of the basics, she began combat with one of the trainers and Tyson walked off to work on fire starting.

Autumn was able to hit the trainer a few times, which she was ultimately proud of. He told her to work on her grip and not to step before she swings.

After the swords, she found Tyson at the knife throwing station. She taught him what kind of knives there were and what they were good for, as Tyson had done with the swords for her.

Autumn showed Tyson the correct gripping of a throwing knife and how to aim. Once he tried it by himself, he managed to hit the dummy almost every time. He was never able to throw the knife in the head but he could hit the stomach fairly often.

The day ended quicker than Autumn wished it had as Tyson and Autumn walked back into the elevator that brought them back to their floor.

Finnick was waiting there, ready to greet them. Finnick hugged Tyson as he and Autumn walked out of the elevator.

"What, I don't get a hug?" Autumn joked with Finnick. He laughed as he ran up to Autumn, picking her up off the floor in a hug. Autumn squealed in surprise. Autumn was surprised that he actually hugged her, much less picked her up off the ground. Once Finnick set her back on her feet, she walked away and into her bedroom.

She took a quick shower as she and Tyson had gotten back from training late, so she didn't have much time in between training and dinner.

She put on leggings and a sweater before walking out of her room and into the dining area. She sat down next to Finnick, beginning to eat right away.

"What were your lives like in District Four?" Amethyst asked, seeming very interested in a different culture other than the Capital. It never really occurred to Autumn that the Districts are just as foreign to the Capital people as he Capital was to the Districts. Even though Amethyst had been the escort for District Four for a while, she really didn't know anything about the District.

"Lots of fishing," Tyson joked, causing Finnick to laugh and Autumn to smile. "I train a lot but I also go to school and I live with my aunt and uncle. Ans its a beautiful place to live. I feel lucky to live in a wealthy District." Autumn smiled at Tyson. Many citizens of District Four had no idea how good they actually had it.

"What about you, Autumn?" Amethyst asked. Autumn looked down at her plate.

"It really is beautiful. I live right on the water, too," Autumn smiled, but her smile quickly dwindled. What is going to happen to her house? It will no doubt be sold if Autumn dies in the arena.

"Well that sounds lovely," Amethyst smiled, noticing Autumn's change of emotions.

Once dinner was done, Autumn left to go back to her room and relax for a while. Finnick quickly caught up to her in the hall, before she reached her room.

"Autumn," Finnick got her attention. She turned to look at him. "I have to show you something."

•••

Autumn ended up following Finnick into the elevator and up to the roof. Once the elevator doors opened, a soft breeze wafted around the two of them.

They both stepped out onto the roof, walking over to the edge. Autumn wasn't sure if tributes were allowed up there, but mentors probably were.

"It's beautiful," Autumn smiled as she walked to the edge of the roof, looking out over the Capital. "And yet horrible."

"You really hate the Capital, don't you?" Finnick asked, standing next to Autumn.

"They're the reason I'm here. They're the reason you're here," Autumn spoke.

"Maybe that's one good thing to come out do these Games. We might never have met otherwise," Finnick smiled as he walked over to a bench by the edge of the roof and sat down. He motioned for her to sit next to him, which she did.

Autumn stared at the stars in the sky while Finnick stared at her. It was dark, but there were a couple lights illuminating the roof around them. The yellow light lit up Autumn's face, the reflection in her eyes.

"Why did you volunteer?" Finnick asked, suddenly. Autumn looked at him before sighing.

"For the same reason you have to keep Tyson alive," Autumn began. "My family died when I was young. I have nothing else. Tyson is young, he has a future to live for. I don't. The girl I volunteered for, Annie Cresta, is a sweet girl. She has a younger brother, you know. Her parents are dead. They need each other."

"So you need to save everyone?" Finnick asked.

"Yeah, I guess," Autumn shrugged.

"But then who saves you?" Finnick asked. Autumn stared at Finnick, unable to answer that question. You will save me. That was the first thing that came to her head. She knew that was nonsense. But that was the exact same thing that Finnick was thinking.

Without realizing it, Finnick had been leaning in closely to Autumn. They seemed to be in a daze, their minds lost amongst the stars and the city as they stared at each other. But Autumn had trained herself that anything good was too good to be true, so she forced herself back to reality and turned her head away from Finnick.

Finnick turned away, surprise and disappointed. He had never been rejected before, but that's what made him so attracted to Autumn.