Determined Hearts | F. Odair

iii. last goodbye

Finding the will to get herself ready for the Reaping was difficult. Glade gazed up at the ceiling and images of her last one came to her mind. She couldn't believe that she was reliving it after all these years. The Capitol broke their promise to her and the Victors she has known for years. They never truly left the train car that took them to the Capitol, but she never thought that they would see the inside of the arena again. If she came home, which she was certain that she wouldn’t, Glade would never be the same. She would be a hollowed out version of herself.

Glade got off the couch and left for the house next to her grandmother's. She went into the mostly empty room. Most of her clothes were in Finnick's spare bedroom. After nearly five years spent sharing the same bed with the man, it made sense most of her belongings would be with him. She never wore her nicer clothes unless the camera crew came back around, which was only once a year.

She pulled out a nice and simple green dress with a tulle skirt. It reached her mid thigh and clung to her waist. Glade struggled to zip up the back and grunted as she contorted her body to allow her hand to go that far behind her. A knock at the door caught her attention and she smiled seeing Lincoln Marlowe there. He laughed at the sight of his daughter and came in to help her. 

"I remember you wore something similar to this when you volunteered," he murmured, tugging up the zipper. He moved his calloused hands to the ribbon that still needed to be tied. Lincoln expertly tied the bow making it the right amount of tight to complete the outfit. 

The brunette nodded, biting her lip. "I burned that dress…I couldn't stand looking at it when I opened my closet everyday." 

"I'm aware," he reminded her. "I was the one who suggested it, little minnow." Glade shook her head, smiling at the amusing memory. She met her father's gaze in the mirror and tears filled her eyes. 

He knew his daughter well. She was going to be the tribute no matter who's name was drawn. As strategic and well thought out his little minnow was, he knew that she was just as rash and courageous. That was what allowed her to become a Victor in the first place. She bided her time in the trees with Ripley. They let the muttation hunting them in the forest kill off the other tributes. 

He kissed her temple and closed his brown eyes. "Come back to us," he pleaded, "Do whatever you need to do to survive. Just come home to us in the end." 

Glade gave him a tight lipped smile about to say something when a handsome blond leaned on the doorway. He held her black flats in his free hand as they hung from his two fingers. Finnick grinned at her looking her up and down. "Someone dressed nice for today," he commented cheekily, "I thought you would want these since black goes with everything, according to you." 

She rolled her eyes at him. Lincoln took that as his cue to leave knowing that Glade would go off on a tangent. "It does," she defended herself like had countless times before, "What would you know about color theory anyways, Blondie? If you were given the choice, I know you would choose to go everywhere naked." 

Finnick shook his head at her accusation because they had joked about it before when they were kids. He tossed the flats onto the floor, allowing her to put them on, and watched her with a smug smile. "Would that really be so bad, Dimples?" he wondered, the purr in his voice becoming more prominent. 

She swallowed harshly and tried to keep herself from blushing at the thought of Finnick revealing his whole self to the world. Averting her eyes from his, she moved past him to get out of the tension filled room. He had never so blatantly flirted with her before. Sure, there have been some comments here and there. However, they were never so direct and only left her wondering if he was flirting and never fully understanding his intention. Shaking her head to erase the strange thoughts coming to her mind, she exited the Flannagan-Firth household. Plausible deniability was the only thing tying her together in that moment.