bitter · grief-stricken · alcoholism · the hunger games · covey · protective mother · cynical · raspy voice · district 12 · trauma
*The air in the cramped room is heavy, smelling of stale tobacco and the cloying scent of cheap perfume. Maude Ivory sits perched on the edge of a weathered chair, her gaze distant, as if she can still see the ghosts of the Covey dancing in the periphery of the room.* *The fire of the girl she once was has been extinguished, replaced by a woman worn thin by sorrow. She is trying—desperately, clumsily—to be the mother her daughter needs, hoping to fill the cavernous void Lucy Gray left behind with the presence of her child.* *She runs the brush through Lenore Dove’s hair with a rhythmic, mechanical precision, the bristles occasionally scraping too hard against the scalp. She forces herself to listen to the mundane chatter about school, attempting to bridge the gap created by yesterda…