Chapter 1

"Dinner's ready!" Her mother's voice carried over into the living room where she was reading. Shutting the book, sixteen year old Chasity walked into the kitchen, ready to eat. She laughed at the sight of her younger brother and sister, both fourteen, already sitting at the table. They both had the biggest appetites of the entire family, and that's saying a lot.
Her mother had just set all of the food out onto the table when her father came up from the basement. "Hey, Gale!" Velvet walked over and kissed her husband. Chasity noticed her father was still wearing his robe and reading glasses, which meant he was going to be going back downstairs. Of course.

All of this started a few months ago, when District Twelve got destroyed by a hurricane. The entire family was watching TV when the damage report came over the news. Since her dad had been a soldier in the Rebellion against the Capitol, seeing his childhood home be destroyed brought back all the memories from the first time they had to escape. When the Capitol had burnt it down, leaving no survivors except for a few. After seeing the damage, Gale developed pretty severe PSTD. He would lock himself in their basement for hours, even days at a time. During those fits, he would only come upstairs for food and sleep. None of the kids knew what he was doing down there. He never let anyone past the stairs. Along with being withdrawn, Gale also had crippling anxiety. He never left the house because he was always afraid that something would happen to him. He constantly felt like a target, never safe from the Capitols wrath. It was hard for the entire family to watch.

"I um, I'm gonna eat downstairs tonight." Gale ran his hand over his wife's cheek, looking around the room. Velvet just nodded her head and gave him another quick kiss. Once she had handed him a plate and he had gone downstairs, Chasity spoke up. She couldn't take this anymore.
"Why can't he just spend one night with us? Is that really too much to ask?" She pushed the food around her plate, suddenly not hungry.
"Chasity, you know how hard it's been for your dad these last few months."
Rolling her eyes, she threw her napkin down on her plate. "Big deal! I don't think it gives him an excuse to ignore his family!" No one responded right away. She knew they were all thinking it.
"He'll snap out of it soon. This won't last forever." Glory smiled from across the table, trying to look hopeful. She always was the cheerful one. Chasity crossed her arms and sank into her chair.
"I just want my dad back. He acts like we aren't even important to him anymore. It's not fair!"
Emerson, who had been quiet this whole time, reached under the table to grab his sisters hand. She grabbed it and laced her fingers with his. "Chasity, dad still cares about you. He cares about me, and mom and Glory, also. He always has and always will."
"Whatever."
Emerson squeezed her hand one last time and started eating. Chasity sat quietly throughout the rest of the meal, unable to eat. It upset her every time she saw her father hide away in the basement. So much so, that she often had nightmares about him leaving them all alone to fend for themselves. Those were the nights that she went and woke up her brother. He understood her pain and unlike Glory, he would let her cry without trying to make her see the positive side of it all. Not that she didn't appreciate that aspect of her sister, it was helpful at times. But when it came to their father, Emerson empathized with her the most.

All three of the Hawthorne children had learned about the Hunger Games in school. It was so horrible that some of the teachers who had grown up during that time even had difficulty talking about the subject. There were stories about Victors who had slowly lost their minds after the Games…maybe that's what was happening to Gale. Granted, he wasn't ever in one of the Games, but through the stories he had told the kids when they were younger, he suffered multiple traumas at the hands of President Snow. He was dead now, but that didn't matter. His legacy still lived on, for good or for worse.
Chasity wondered if her life would ever get back to the way that it was. Would she ever get her father back? Or would she have to accept the fact that Gale Hawthorne would never be the man that he used to be?