DISCLAIMER: HG CHARACTERS DO NOT BELONG TO ME

WARNING: Sensitive/disturbing content in this chapter (beginning to first break line and end of chapter)

Chapter 152-The Tragedy

Gale sat with Cassandra on the bed, holding her as she continued to cry. Trying to stay awake, he feels his eyes get heavy, but manages to keep them open. Finally, as she calms down and releases her grip from him, he says, "Who did this to you?"

She looks down, refusing to make eye contact and says, "It doesn't matter."

He pulls her face up, forcing her to look at him and says, "Yes it does, I need to know if I have to take you to law enforcement, I need to know if they have to-collect evidence."

She sighs loudly then takes a deep breath and says, "Collecting evidence won't matter, I already had sex earlier in the night before I ended up at that nightclub."

He tries to keep his emotions under control, his jealousy rising at hearing she has been with another man. It is expected, for he knows men hit on her all the time, younger men, and older men. Keeping focused on what was important he says, "It's clear you've been attacked; we need to report this."

"No, I don't, I got slapped around yes, and things could have been worse, much worse, but I ran away. I managed to get out of the private room I was in and ran out of the bar and across the street and into the nightclub and straight into the bathroom. I knew they would not follow me into the women's bathroom. Avery then found me later."

"Who are you protecting?" he asks, confused as to why she will not report what was clearly an assault to law enforcement.

"Myself."

"I can arrange to have you protected by Panem's government. You know I won't let anything happen to you" he says fiercely.

She gives a soft smile, the first smile she has given him. "I don't need that kind of protection. I am talking about repercussions in my professional life."

He looks at her at in a puzzling manner, she responds by saying, "The man I was with tonight, we have been on a few dates, he is the Brother of the owner of the company I work for. I'm afraid once he tells his Brother I have rebuffed him, they'll terminate me. My best option is just to not say or do anything, if they let me go, I can try to get another job somewhere else, if I press charges, they will no doubt have me blacklisted from other modeling jobs. I can't afford not to have a contract; I won't make it on small modeling jobs alone."

"Cassandra, listen to me-" but before he can say any more she interrupts and says, "Don't tell me it will be alright Gale, it won't. Ever since I was 18, I have been on my own. I have no financial support from anyone in District 5. I had a lapse in judgment agreeing to go out with this man, and an even bigger one agreeing to go out with him two more times. Tonight, he took me out in a private vehicle, while riding around, we were drinking, and he started taking some pills. I declined the pills, but after he took them is when he started to get aggressive. I mean-sex with him was always more aggressive, but this was even worse. He reached under my dress and pulled my underwear off and said I was to leave it off for the rest of the night. Then we-had sex in the back of the car, I didn't want to, but he let me know that looking the way I did tonight, it would be unfair to deny him what we both wanted" she says in a disgusted tone.

"My plan was to just get through the night and politely decline his offers to see him again. Once we arrived at the bar, he had me leave my coat and purse in the car. When I got inside, he took me to a private room in the back, and that is when I saw we were not alone. There were-about six other men there. All his age, and he is, 46, I think. He's recently divorced and has young children."

Gale braces himself for what she is about to say next.

"I think at first he just wanted to show me off, have his friends see his date, see that he was moving on from the ex-wife. I mean, he is not a bad looking guy, but he is, average looking. But as the night progressed and he drank more and took more drugs, things just went from bad to worse. He was making me sit on his lap, I think one of the reasons he wanted me sitting on his lap was because he was hard, his erection would have been easily noticed. But my head was starting to throb, and I just was not able to keep up the charade anymore, so when he started to kiss me and reached under my dress and began touching me, I pulled away. For one, since he removed my underwear, once he reached under my dress and spread my legs the other men saw-all of me. He did not care that he was exposing me to his friends. When I told him to get off me, that is when he started hitting me, hard. His friends did not do anything of course, some of them just turned around and continued drinking, pretending that it was not happening. I expect they were used to seeing it with the ex-wife maybe. Once he was finished, I was on the floor and he said to his friends that they could have me if they wanted, that I was a good fuck, and that I had one of the hottest bodies he had ever seen so why not share. I somehow found the strength to take my heels off ready to use as a weapon. Only one of the men tried approaching, but when he saw me abruptly get up with my heels ready to strike, he backed off and I ran out, all I could hear was him shouting for me to get back here or else I'd be sorry. I just ran-I ran out and ran across the street into the nearest building which ended up being the club, I ran to the back and found the bathroom, collapsing on the floor. I ended up putting my shoes back on because my feet were freezing running on the cold, wet ground."

"Give me a name" Gale says through gritted teeth.

"No" she says in a calm manner.

"You know I will find who it is, I have my ways."

"I'm asking you not to get involved, I'm not going to press charges for being slapped in the face, I choose to have sex with him beforehand, it is not worth that battle."

"That other man was going to rape you!" Gale says his voice raised.

"That didn't happen, I got away."

"He forced you to have sex with him in that car" he says with disgust in his voice.

"Gale, I knew when I went out with him tonight what was going to happen, I just wasn't comfortable doing it in the car because he had been using drugs. He never used drugs before, but-I have had sex with him in the car before. We have had sex just about everywhere but a bed the times we went out. The car, the bathroom, and an alleyway."

He stares at her, processing what she had just told him.

"I was having spontaneous sex with him, because I was trying to move on from you, unfortunately I think my actions gave him the wrong idea."

"I have had spontaneous sex with many women in my life, and I could not even fathom doing what he did to you to any woman" Gale says angrily.

"I know" she says staring intently into his eyes.

"I'm so sorry" he says touching her face.

She closes her eyes and says, "I just-want to sleep now."

"Okay, here put this on" and he goes into his bag and takes out one his shirts for her to use as a nightshirt.

She thanks him as she gets out of the bed and he helps her unzip her dress, as she undresses, he sees that as she said, she has no underwear on, she is wearing black stockings that are pulled up to the top of her thighs. She removes her stockings and bra and gets into his shirt.

Once she is back in bed, he tells her he will be out in the living room on the couch. He sees the look of disappointment on her face, but she says nothing, only nods. As he leaves the room, he sees the time is 4:28 am.

He changes into a sleep shirt and pants and collapses on the couch, falling asleep quickly.


The next morning, Avery awakens at 9:30 am. She goes out into the living room and sees her Father passed out on the couch. Figuring Cassandra is still sleeping as well, she quietly exists her apartment and heads down the street, figuring she can get a head start on her day since it is early on Saturday and city is still quiet.


Cassandra awakens around 11 am. She climbs out of the bed and uses the bathroom closest to the room. She then walks out to the living room area and sees Gale still asleep on the couch. Not wanting to disturb him, she is surprised when she sees placed on the small island towels, shower gel, and shampoo and conditioner along with a note that says, In case you want to take a shower-Avery

Just as she is about to grab the items to take one, the door opens and Avery comes in, carrying one large bag and one small bag. She gives Cassandra a friendly smile as she quietly says, "Hi, I am glad you are up, I have something for you" and Avery hands her the large bag.

Cassandra reluctantly takes the bag, unsure what is inside, she is surprised when she sees Avery has purchased clothes for her. She sees inside the bag is a pair of black stretch pants, and a tunic sweater, deep plumb in color. She also sees a pair of socks, underwear, bra, and a pair of short black boots.

"Avery" Cassandra says touched.

"You are easy to buy for because I know your size, the perks of being a stylist."

"I'll pay you back, hopefully sooner rather than later if my purse is returned."

"Don't worry about it, another perk of being a stylist, I know where and how to shop for deals."

Cassandra watches as Avery goes over to the island and removes bagels, cream cheese and juice from the small bag and places the food on the island and puts the juice away in the fridge. She then goes into her room and in less than five minutes comes out with a small duffel bag.

"When my Father gets up tell him I took the train to Silver Lake, and that I'll be with Juniper at her riding event later this afternoon. Let him know I already talked to Juniper this morning. I'll be back tomorrow."

"You're leaving?" Cassandra says in surprise.

"Yeah, my Dad has a key, he can lock up. But-you can stay as long as you would like today, and tonight if you need to" she says as she heads for the door walking out.

Cassandra rushes to the door, as she sees Avery descend the hall she calls out, "Avery!"

She sees her turn around and look at her, she then says, "I wanted to thank you for last night, for bringing me here, you and your friends."

"You don't need to thank me, I'm glad we could help."

"I'm sorry I wasn't responsive."

Avery holds up a hand and says, "You don't need to explain anything to me, trust me."

Cassandra gives a small smile and says, "Thank you for calling your Father."

"He misses you."

She does not say anything in response, unsure of what to say. For while she appreciated Avery's help, she was still deeply hurt by her actions over the summer.

Seeing the look of unease on her face, Avery says, "I hope you feel better" giving a small smile as she turns to leave.

When she goes back inside, she sees Gale still sound asleep. Still wanting to let him rest, she goes into the spare bathroom and takes a shower, once she is dressed and her hair is dry, she goes out into the living and sees Gale begin to awake.

Once he sees the time is 12:23 pm, he bolts off the couch and says, "Shit! I forgot to set my alarm! I have to call Juniper" as he begins dialing his phone.

Cassandra quickly goes over to him and says, "It's okay, Avery left over an hour ago to go to your house, she said she talked to Juniper this morning."

He puts his phone down, a look of relief on his face. He then looks at her and says, "Where did those clothes come from?"

"Avery, she went out and bought them for me this morning."

He smiles at her and says, "Are you hungry? I can grab us food after I get a shower."

She points to the island and says, "No need-she got us food too."

With a pleased look on his face he says, "She sure is full of surprises today."

After taking a shower and getting dressed, the two of them eat at Avery's island. "I can't believe I slept for so long, I can't remember the last time I got up past noon" Gale says thinking the last time he slept in that late was back when he was up all night with Katniss when they were raising Sienna, Avery, and Jack when they were little. For at times the house was beyond chaotic with three children under the age of five after Jack was born.

"Sleeping in is not a bad thing, and besides, you are retired from one job now" she says.

He gives a short laugh and looks down as he says, "Yeah, I'm still getting used to it."

"I never asked how your retirement ceremony went" she says softly.

"It was nice; I was surprised how many people were there. Sienna came which I appreciated; I miss her."

"I am not surprised to hear a lot of people were there, people haven't forgotten all that you did for Panem. I for one am thankful I got to grow up with the freedom to leave District 5. If it were not for those in the rebellion, all the rebels, being brave enough to take on Snow's regime, I don't even want to try to imagine what my life would have been like."

He looks at her intently as he takes her hand in his. After a moment she lets go and says, "How is Sienna?"

"She's doing great, she'll be finishing up her rotation in District 7 on December 20 and then she'll have a break for the holidays before she begins her next rotation in District 4 that begins on January 4th."

After they are done eating and clean their plates, she asks him if she can use his phone to call her apartment complex, seeing if her purse was returned. Explaining that there was a chance the man whose name she refused to give returned her purse, for he would not want her reporting her phone or wallet missing and risking anything being traced back to him. Sure enough, after she calls, she finds out her purse has been returned and is waiting at the security office for her to pick up.

They walk over to her apartment, Gale giving her his coat for she did not have anything to wear, and Avery's coats would not fit for she was too short compared to Cassandra's tall frame. And while Cassandra did not think there was anything wrong with this at all, Avery also was not nearly as thin as Cassandra and had a much fuller figure. From some of the pictures Cassandra had seen on Gale's phone, Sienna appeared to be slightly taller with a thinner frame, with Gale explaining once that Sienna took more after Katniss in physique as well as looks. Glad that he packed a sweater, he pulls her close to him as they walk down the busy street, and she grabs his hand, lacing her fingers in his. She realizes he has finally fulfilled what she wanted for a long time, for him to acknowledge she is his. That she wants him to not be ashamed that they are together, and not be discreet when they hold hands. Not at all embarrassed or ashamed of some of the looks being thrown their way, she knows some of it is out of jealousy, for she knows they are a very nice-looking pair. She also knows though, that some of the looks being thrown their way is because her face is slightly bruised.

Once she arrives to her apartment, she is given her purse and her coat, but notices he did not return her underwear. She is not surprised by this, and is relieved, for she would have just thrown them in the trash anyway.

While heading up in the elevator to her apartment Gale says, "I see he left something behind" the tone of his voice indicating his anger.

"Whatever, he can have it. I am glad my purse is back, that's all I wanted" she says as she takes his coat off and hands it back to him.

After they enter her apartment and she puts her coat away, she offers to take his coat, but he says, "I need to be heading back to Silver Lake."

Realizing she did not give him all of Avery's message she says, "I'm sorry, I forgot to mention, Avery said she was spending the night, and she'll be back tomorrow."

"She did?" he says raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, she packed a bag" she says shrugging.

He takes out his phone and she watches him as he types a message in it. Less than a minute later she hears his phone chime back, once he reads the response he says, "I think she might need to visit District 12 more often, this is the Avery we raised, not the one she turned into when she moved to the Capitol" he says not realizing he has voiced his thoughts aloud.

"She was in District 12?"

He looks up as he puts his phone away and says, "Yeah, long story, I will tell you, I promise, but that's a story for another day."

"So you'll stay?"

"Of course" he says gently and approaches engulfing her in a long hug. Once he pulls away, he takes his coat off and she places it in her closet. Once she closes her closet door, she feels his hands on her waist as he pulls her to him, leaning into him, she hears him whisper into her ear, "I've missed you so much."

She leans her head up to his and says, "Thank you for coming yesterday."

He turns her around to face him and says, "I only wish you'd let me help you press charges against this bastard."

"Gale please, I think I explained my position on it yesterday" she says as she heads for couch.

Not wanting to argue or upset her, he sits down beside her and says, "I know, I'm sorry, I just-it makes my blood boil seeing your face like that." He gently touches the dark marks near her eyes and near her jaw line.

"It will heal."

He nods and asks her what she wants to do for the rest of the day, she tells him she just wants to relax, so they begin watching TV, finding a movie while scrolling through the channels that they begin to watch, once the movie is over, they begin watching a TV show that is not as interesting and she falls asleep on the couch shortly after it begins.

When Gale sees she is passed out, he gently picks her up and takes her into her room, placing her on the bed, he places a blanket over her and returns to the living room and continues watching the show.


She is walking down the road, the huge power plant off to her left. She is fifteen again, her hair long, she is dressed in a medium length plaid skirt and a navy pull over sweater, a white blouse underneath. She is walking home from school, it is wintertime, but it is warmer in District 5 then in other parts of Panem during this time of the year.

She walks in the door of her house, she sees him sitting there, laughing with her Brother and her parents in the kitchen. Barely acknowledging her presence, she sets her bookbag down in the living room and walks past them as quickly as she can, heading for the back patio.

She sits out there as she watches the sun go down, the sun setting early as expected this time of year. An unusually beautiful sunset, the sky is purple and cloudy as the sun disappears from the horizon. Suddenly, she feels a firm hand on her breast and his voice as he says, "Cassie."

She closes her eyes and screams, when she opens them, she finds herself in her old bedroom, she is lying down on her back, she feels his body holding her down, she closes her eyes again, trying to erase the pain. She feels her body begin to feel pleasure, trying to ignore the feeling, she squeezes her shut, she then realizes, she feels someone else's hands on her body, she opens her eyes and looks down and sees she is back in the present. She is in her bed, lying on her back, but the pleasure she is feeling is because Gale's head is between her legs.

She leans her head back, and begins to moan, but as she feels herself begin to orgasm, she awakens, her eyes abruptly opening. She sits up, breathing heavily, feeling the discharge between her legs from being aroused, she gets up and strips her underwear off, angry that her dreams from the past have returned. Only this time, Gale entered the dream as well. She knows the dream has resurfaced because of what happened last night.

She goes into the bathroom and takes a quick bath, when she emerges, she sees the time is 7 pm. Shocked she has slept that long; she changes into new clothes and goes out to the living room and sees Gale still watching TV.

He asks her if she is hungry, she tells him she is, and they decide to have food delivered. After the order is placed Gale says to her, "Sleep well?"

She changes the subject by asking him what he did while she slept. He tells her he continued to watch TV and that he called and spoke with Juniper and Avery on the phone, hearing the details of Juniper's riding event. He tells her how Juniper is now competing in events.

"And she has events and lessons every Saturday?"

"Yeah, next Saturday is the last lesson for the year. I signed her up to begin lessons next February and events begin next June" he says.

Once their food comes, they eat at her small table near the kitchen, they are eating stir fry, both tearing into their food for they had not eaten anything besides the bagels Avery got earlier.

After they finish, they continue to sit at the table, letting their food digest. A few minutes later Gale says, "Do you want to sit out on your balcony? It is nice out even though it is cold."

She nods her head yes and they get their coats on as they go outside and sit on the two chairs that face the city. The sky bright from the city lights, they listen to the noise below.

"Do you ever miss seeing stars?" he asks as they stare out at the tall buildings in front of them.

"Not really, the sky was never clear in District 5 due to the power plants. I imagine you see stars at your home in Silver Lake?"

He nods and then says, "I miss seeing the northern lights."

She turns to him, "You've seen the northern lights?" envy in her voice.

He turns and smiles at her, shaking his head yes.

"I didn't think you could see the northern lights in District 12."

"You can't" he says.

"Did you see them in District 9?"

"No, you can see them in District 9 sometimes, I used to see them in the wild territory."

"You've been to the wild territory? Did you go there when you were in the military?"

"A few times for the military yes, but I've been to the wild territory numerous times with Katniss."

"I didn't think someone could just-go to the wild territory."

"You can't, not safely. But-well-Katniss had her ways, the President provided us a hovercraft to go."

She does not say anything in response, knowing the as the former mockingjay, she had certain-privileges other people did not. Knowing he too has the same advantages.

Feeling he needed to explain, he says, "Katniss and I-we had the ability to-live off the grid."

"You two would go live in the wilderness?"

"When we went north yes."

"And your whole family went on these trips north?" she asks.

"Yes" he says, not telling her about their relationship with the tribe, for he knows that is something Katniss kept private and did not want very many people outside of her inner circle to know.

"Avery can hunt?" she asks flabbergasted.

"All my kids know how to hunt, the only one who never took to hunting is Juniper. She loves animals too much to kill them. Her personality is exactly like Katniss's Sister. It is scary sometimes how much they are alike; it is almost as if, Juniper is Prim. I know it is just hereditary but-"

"Do your kids still hunt?"

"None of us do that much anymore, Avery and Sienna stopped hunting once they went off to school. Jack and I occasionally go. We hunt in the woods behind our house. But it is not the same for me since I no longer have my hunting partner."

She is surprised by all that he has told her, for she knew that when he lived in District 12 his life was vastly different than it was before the rebellion, but she believed that when the war was over, when he moved to District 2 and started working for President Paylor, that he had left all aspects of his former life behind. To hear that he continued to hunt with Katniss, and that they had introduced their children to that part of their life and that they would go into the wilderness to hunt made her realize, there is still a lot about him and his life she did not know. She thought she had gotten to know him well over the past year they had spent together off and on. While they had met last October, they had their first break over the summer and then their second break again in October. While she never wanted to break things off with him, she felt she had to, for her own well-being. The first time she allowed him back in her life she thought things would be different, and it looked like they would be, but then the drama exploded with Avery and she lost her job. A blow to her career that she is trying to come back from. She wants to let him back into her life again, but now she is unsure if she can, for she does not want to get hurt again. While the time they spent together was amazing, she realizes she needs more than just a sexual relationship, she needs more than just their conversations in the bedroom, for while they were intense conversations at times, they talked about everything from the current political climate in the Capitol to TV entertainment, she wants to be doing those things outside in public, either with his friends, her friends, or possibly, with his children.

They knew about her now, the only exception being Juniper. While she was not one to give ultimatums, she knew if they were going to be in each other's lives again, he would have to agree to her terms this time, he wasn't going to be the one calling the shots anymore.

She was glad he did not try to kiss her earlier, for if he had, she knows she probably would not have been able to resist his advances and most likely, they would have ended up in her bed. Deep down she was ashamed, for after awaking from her dream, she was forced to face yet again the demons from her past. To re-live those days spent in her room, with him.

Suddenly realizing she was not paying attention to him, she hears him say, "Cassandra?"

She sits up and says, "Sorry."

"Looks like I lost you there."

"Was just-thinking about things."

"Are you ok? You haven't been yourself since you woke up from your nap."

She turns her head and stares at him.

Realizing what he has just said, he gets up and says, "I don't know why I said such a stupid thing, of course you wouldn't be yourself. You were assaulted and almost raped not even twenty-four hours ago. Look, I'll leave, I'll take the train home."

She grabs his hand before he opens the sliding glass door and says, "Don't go, please sit."

With a confused look on his face he says, "Okay."

"There's something I have to tell you" she says staring straight ahead.

"Okay" he says gently, staring intently at her, waiting for her to continue.

Knowing that if she wants a relationship with him, if she wants to be in his life completely, it is time she tells him the truth of why she prefers the company of older men. For he has earned her trust to learn the details of her past.

"I think it is time you know why I prefer being with older men, why I've only been with men older than me since I came to the Capitol."

"Do you want to go inside to talk?" he asks.

"No, no one can hear us out here, these balconies offer full privacy, trust me I know."

He nods his head, encouraging her with his eyes for her to continue. She begins telling him about her life in District 5, born one year after the war, her parents of course grew up during Snow's regime. She has one Brother, who is only 15 months older than her named Emeric. Gale internally snickers to himself when he hears the name, for he knows the name means power, she goes on to tell him her parents named him that in honor of their district. While Gale had no issues with parents naming their children after the District they are born in, for he and Katniss had named Juniper after District 12, he was never the biggest fan of District 5 and felt the war could have been won a lot sooner if they had joined the rebellion.

She continues to talk about how they lived in a medium sized home, in a populous neighborhood that had three power plants. Her Father of course worked in one the power plants and continued to work there after the war. Their house had three bedrooms, all located on the second floor with one bathroom. Downstairs there was a spacious living room and dining room with a half bath and a small kitchen in the back with a small breakfast table to eat it. On the back of the house was a patio. She explained this was the home her parents had gotten before the war. Even though her parents had named her Cassandra, they called her Cassie, deciding to go by that name in school for she was used to it. Growing up, she never felt that she quite fit in with her family, explaining how her parents always favored Emeric over her. He was good in athletics, and had much better grades in school than she did. She much preferred music and talked about how she used to play the piano. Her parents had enrolled her in lessons, and she had a keyboard at the house, but her parents had refused to buy a piano even though they could have afforded one, saying that they were not going to buy something that would take up so much space in the living room to just sit there. Insinuating that she would grow bored with her hobby. But she told Gale how music wasn't just a hobby, it was a real passion to her, an escape. As she got older, she continued to play, but her relationship with her parents remained unchanged.

She explained that when she was fourteen, Emeric had met a new friend in school, a classmate named Ryker. They both were one grade ahead of her in school. She was in grade 9, and they were in grade 10. At first, she liked Ryker, she thought he was funny, and it was nice having someone over all the time, for her parents acted nicer towards her due to the fact a stranger was in the home. Ryker also paid a lot of attention to her at school, which some of her female classmates took notice of. Some were happy for her, but some were envious and would give her dirty looks in the halls and in class when she walked by. Their actions hurt her, for all she was doing was talking to him, nothing more. He was her Brother's friend, it was best if she got along with him, and she did not mind his company, as it was easy to talk to him.

That summer, once school was out, Emeric and Ryker had gotten summer jobs at the power plant, the same one their Father worked at. Working long hours, Ryker had slept over quite a bit during the week since their house was closer to the power plant than his was. Now fifteen, she told Gale how that summer was the beginning of the worst times in her life. She told him how one night, while lying in bed sleeping, she heard Ryker come into her room. Startled at first, he apologized saying he could not sleep. He made small talk at first, then he sat down on the bed beside her and began telling her how beautiful she was, how she was the most beautiful girl in the whole school. He leans forward and begins kissing her, gently at first then becomes more forceful. She pulls back, telling him she does not want things to get complicated, him being her Brother's friend.

But he tells her not to worry about it and leans in for another kiss. She reluctantly gives in, not wanting to upset him. They continue to make out, explaining to Gale it was her first time heavily making out with someone. For before she had only innocently kissed boys on the lips, but that the kisses never involved inserting her tongue into their mouth. He left shortly after, and she was relieved. Not knowing how he would act the next day at the house after he and her Brother arrived home from work, he acted as if nothing transpired between them. She was not surprised when he came into her room again two days later, for he did not spend the night every night, usually staying over Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. On the second night, he had begun touching her, uncomfortable with his advances, she had tried to pull his hands away, but he continued, telling her that he could not resist her she was so beautiful. As the nights continued, so did his advances, she was conflicted, for while she enjoyed kissing him, and enjoyed his touches, she herself learning what it was like to be with a boy, she did not ask to be put in the position she found herself in. He was the one who came into her room. Eventually things progressed to the point where he was forcing her to touch him, and as expected, she complied. She was curious, and she figured if things did not progress any further, she was okay with that. But then, towards the end of summer, the night came that she feared the most. He had touched her until her body was ready, then he forced himself inside her. She begged and pleaded with him to stop, but she explained at the time she was shorter than she is now, and how Ryker was taller than Gale and that he easily overpowered her. He told her while she may be saying no, her body said yes to him. Shutting her eyes as he pumps into her, she explained how she fought back her tears.

The next day was Friday, and she knew he would not be coming to the house. She approached her Mother, telling her that she was uncomfortable with Ryker coming over to the house so much and asked if they would consider no longer allowing him to sleep over. When her Mother pressed her further asking why, she told her that his advances had made her uncomfortable, but she did not give explicit details as to what he had done. Her Mother told her that she would speak to her Father about it and let her know.

When she came home from spending the day at her cousin's house on Monday, she was shocked to see her parents, Emeric, and Ryker sitting in the living room waiting for her. Her parents sat her down and begin lecturing her, telling her she shouldn't tell lies. She is speechless, for she cannot believe Ryker has lied, as her parents continue to humiliate her and lecture her, it becomes apparent by what he says in response that he told her parents that she was the one hitting on him, but that he rebuffed her, explaining he has a girlfriend. She is crushed that her parents do not believe her. After Ryker leaves, her Mother says to her in private that she is ashamed she has a daughter who thinks she can use her beauty to get what she wants in life. Seeing she is officially an outcast in her own family, she finds solace in music, continuing her piano lessons. He stopped spending the night after the ambush in the living room. But once the new school year started in mid-September, he began coming over to the house again, and began spending the night again on Friday and Saturday nights by the end of October, and as expected, returned to her bed. To make matters even worse, was that he did have a girlfriend once school resumed, a girl she knew in her grade.

Knowing that she had no one to turn to, she had given up all hope that her situation would ever change. Once he returned to her room, she had stopped resisting, and began to learn, that she liked sex, that she liked it a lot. She remembers once, walking home from school in winter, that once she got home, Ryker was there, deep in conversation and laughing with her parents and Emeric. They had all ignored her as they usually did, and she went out to the patio to watch the sunset. She remembers how the sky was a deep purple color, and how it was beautiful. As the sunset, she remembers how Ryker snuck up behind her, grabbing her and pulling her close to him. His hand going down the front of her sweater and grabbing her breast, she remembers how her nipple had hardened, and how he had whispered into her ear that he could not wait to make her come. That night, as she lay in her bed naked as he put his clothes back on, she found the courage to ask him why he's with her when he has a girlfriend. He tells her that his girlfriend is not nearly as good in bed as her and tells her that they could have been a couple, had she not lied about him to her parents. She tells him she did not lie, that she was not ready to lose her virginity and that she didn't get a choice, that he just took it from her. He scoffs at her and tells her that she needs to drop her innocent act, that if she really cared about her virginity, she never would have flirted with him last year. Knowing she never flirted, she drops the subject, for she knows it was of no use trying to get him to see how he had hurt her. She was hurt by everyone in the house, him, her Brother for she knows Emeric was aware what was going on, and her parents. Once they had begun sleeping together, she knew she had to protect herself, so she had approached her Mother about getting the birth control implant. She had lied and told her Mother that she had begun seeing a boy at school, her Mother, being the type of person who cared more about what other people thought than the well-being of her own daughter, had taken her to the Capitol to get the implant. While on the two-hour train ride her Mother scolds her, saying how ashamed she is of her, how she will not tell her Father, and that the only reason she is taking her to get the implant is so that she will not bring shame to the family by having a baby. She also tells her that she is taking her to the Capitol so that no one their family knows in District 5 finds out.

Once they return to District 5, she goes up to her room and tears up the sheets of music that were on her bed. No longer wanting to continue with her piano lessons she drops out, and her keyboard ends up collecting dust in her closet. As the months pass, her depression deepens, for she no longer had her outlet of music, she also no longer had any other adults to talk to. Never being the best student, her teachers tended to give her the minimum amount of attention, but she did find comfort in her music teacher, and she believes it is due to the relationship she had with her music teacher that she learned she preferred the company of older adults. She had considered confiding in her music teacher about what was going on, but she was afraid she would be rejected by her like she was her Mother and Father. If her own parents didn't believe her, why would her music teacher?

It finally ends when he and her Brother graduate from school. Both getting permanent jobs at the power plant, Ryker moves into his own apartment. She finishes out her last year of school, and dates some of the boys in her grade but nothing serious comes of it. She manages to grow close with her cousins again, for they were the only family members she got along with. Her Father had a Brother who worked at the other power plant in town, and her cousins attended a nearby school. Her Uncle had three children, two daughters and a son, and she explains she was close to all three of them. However, after her sexual relationship had begun with Ryker, she had distanced herself from them due to her depression. Now that Ryker was gone, she managed to resume some of the few things that made her happy in District 5, though she did not return to music. Right before she graduates from high school, Emeric was able to save up enough money to purchase his own house, moving out the weekend before her graduation.

Once she graduates, she gets a job at two local diners waitressing and saves as much money as she can. She works seven days a week, sometimes working at both places in the same day. Her parents do not ask why she is working so much, figuring she is trying to save up money to move out. She does not tell them what her plan is, to save up enough funds to move to the Capitol.

She has enough money by November, she had researched at the library how much an apartment would be with roommates and had contacted renters in the Capitol. Finally taking a day off work, she takes the train to the Capitol to look at apartments and is offered to room with three other young women her age in an apartment in the southeast section from the Capitol square. She accepts and is told her she has till the end of November to move in, once her portion of the rental payment is received. Once she returns to District 5, she sends the money and moves to the Capitol a week later.

The day she tells her parents goodbye, the only question they ask is what she plans to do once she gets there to support herself. She tells them the truth, that her plan is that she wants to become a model, for by the time she turned seventeen she had grown to the height she is now, and because she was thin, she figured modeling could be a feasible career. She remembers her Mother making a snide remark, saying she only hopes she does not end up working in a brothel.

When she first arrives in the Capitol, she takes a job at an upscale restaurant as a server. Working nights works well, for during the day she was able to go on interviews and photo shoots. She asks people to call her Cassandra, shedding the Cassie nickname. By March, she had gotten her first official modeling job at age nineteen, and by the time she was twenty, she had landed her first modeling contract with AMB. By the time she was twenty-seven, she was able to afford her own apartment, and moved to her current neighborhood. She talked about the men she dated over the years, how they were all older, and how she felt she related to older people more in general. She explained how when she began modeling, her mentor was an older woman in her fifties she had met at AMB, one of the stylists who was now retired, and how she is still close with her to this day.

She then says to Gale, that having her contract cut by AMB hurt more than he or Avery could ever imagine. Because it was as if the past was repeating itself. They had told her AMB valued professionalism and could not keep an employee who acted in an inappropriate manner with a government official. Knowing that Avery had lied to the executive's, she chooses not to defend herself, because she has seen that look before, the look a person gives when they have made up their mind and judged her before getting her side of the story.

"I'm not telling you this because I want you to feel sorry for me, that you think my life is a tragedy. I am proud of all that I have accomplished in my life, what I had to overcome. I got out-I got away from my parents, I have not seen them since I left District 5. I did not even return for my Brother's wedding. The only family I talk to is my cousins, they come and visit me here in the Capitol when they can. But even they do not know about Ryker, besides you, only one other man I dated knows. If we-are going to be a couple-I need your full support. I cannot wait for you anymore. I want-I need-for you and me to be official. As in, people in your life will know about me. The reason I did not act myself after I woke up earlier, is because I had a dream about Ryker, I was back at my house in District 5, being felt up by him on the patio as I was all those years ago. What I thought back then was a boy just being a boy, I now know was much more than that. I was abused by him; from the time I was fifteen till I was seventeen. And I know, that while I prefer the company of older men, that I can be hurt by anyone, look what happened yesterday. I know you are a good person; I know you never meant to hurt me, you tried to avoid hurting me at all costs. But if you really want to be with me, things truly will be different."

She gets up and walks inside, desperate for a cigarette. She had not had a cigarette in three weeks, but after talking for so long she needed something to help calm her nerves. She begins rummaging through the drawers in her kitchen, for she knows she last put a pack of cigarettes in one of them. She hears footsteps come up behind her and she turns around and sees Gale standing there. His face crushed, he is silent as he drops to his knees and hugs her, wrapping his arms around her waist, his face buried in her stomach. She realizes he is softly crying into her stomach, his head turned to the side to breathe.

She looks up at the ceiling, trying to hold back her own tears. She does not want to touch him, but she knows this is his way of apologizing to her, for everything.

A few moments later she places a hand on his shoulder, the other on the back of his head. She slowly moves down to the floor and embraces him, and he holds her tight as he continues to cry into her shoulder.

A/N: As I said from the beginning, I like complex characters and themes in my stories. And if anyone is wondering if I am a Mandolorian fan with this chapter title, YES! I had to go with this title because it is too fitting not to