The Life of A Victor || Finnick Odair

CHAPTER 40

➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳

Dove sat in front of her toilet, running her fingers tiredly through her hair as she closed her eyes for a few seconds. Just moments before, she had emptied her stomach's contents as she vomited her supper.

Everything hurts. My throat hurts, my head hurts, and even my body feels like I'm going to pass out at any moment. She thought, letting the back of her head hit the wall. Opening her eyes only contributed to increasing the sick feeling she had as the world spanned around her. Everything was blurry, although she didn't know if it was because of the poison or the tears she had barely noticed leaving her eyes.

"Finnick. . ." Dove whispered the best she could with her damaged throat. Finnick was the only one she wanted to see at the moment, the only one that could bring some light to her situation. However, even if he could hear her, he couldn't just barge into a fellow Victor's room, much less inside the Capitol where everyone searched for any minor mistake to start gossip.

Letting her arms fall to her sides, Dove closed her eyes again, accepting the cruel reality. No one would magically appear through the door. No one could help her. No one was going to save her. But, then, why was she still begging for Finnick or Melo to come? Why was she still desperately holding on to that one thought?

Either way, by the time the break of dawn made its presence on the horizon, no one had shown. Dove slept between the shower and the toilet, since she wasn't strong enough to lift herself up to walk to her bed. A few hours more went by, in which the blood coughing made breathing a difficult task.

Her hands were full of her own blood, her eyes were lost, staring at a wall, and her legs had long ago given out entirely. It was a horrible sight for her prep team and Ohan, who came to prepare her for the afternoon's party.

Neari and Mareshah ran out of the room, desperately asking for a doctor to come, despite Dove's attempts to deny the help. Ohan turned to Quedell, who was staring at her puzzled, and ordered him to call the other two District Four victors.

"Tell them Dove won't be able to accompany them to the party. And after you're done with that, send a formal apology letter to the host of the event." Ohan ordered in a calm tone. Quedell nodded frenetically, coming back from the baffled state he had just been in, and ran out of the room as well.

"Thanks. . ." Dove whispered, knowing perfectly well they could get scolded for not making her go, even in her current state.

"Shh. Don't speak. You'll hurt yourself more." He replied, crouching in front of her. "OK, this is the plan. I help you get in the tub, we clean the blood and sweat off, and I'll carry you to your bed. How does that sound? Only nodding or shaking your head are allowed as answers."

Dove chuckled, causing her to inevitably cough blood. Once it was subdued, she nodded. Ohan approached her, putting a hand on her back as the other held her legs and placed her in the tub. After that, he carefully took her nightgown off and tossed it to the other side of the room.

"Shake your head if the water is too hot, and nod if it's too cold, OK?" Ohan proposed as he tried the water on her toes first to make sure she was alright with the temperature. Dove nodded. The water was too cold for her, which he immediately adjusted.

Minutes later, the blood was no longer present in her hands, nor did she smell like vomit and sweat. Ohan wondered out loud whether he should use shampoo and other products to make her smell like her favourite flower, but Dove refused. With the little strength she had left, she lifted her hand high enough to shut off the water, which he comprehended rapidly.

Ohan repeated the same process to take her to the bed. Her hair was drenching his shirt, but he didn't care as he carried her, careful not to hurt her on the way out of the bathroom. There, he helped her change to another nightgown, before going back to the bathroom for the rope he had taken off her hair, which he thought was just to keep strands of hair from her face.