My Dawn

Chapter 5

Dawn looked at Jessie confused as the father got out and walked over. Patrick was in the front seat with Laura in the back.

“Jessie, you know better than to run off.” Mark said.

“Sorry Mr Bridge. Laura’s friend was hurt by Patrick and I wanted to make sure she was okay.” Jessie said.

He knelt down in front of Dawn.

“You’re Dawn, I take it?” Mark asked.

“Yes sir. I’m sorry I snapped at them. I was put on the spot.” Dawn said.

“They tried forcing her to tell them what she wasn’t comfortable telling them yet.” Jessie said.

“What might that be?” Mark asked.

Dawn looked at Jessie.

“He can be trusted, do you want me to tell him?” Jessie asked.

Dawn nodded and looked down. Jessie explained the whole experience that Dawn explained to him. Mark examined her face and saw her crying as Jessie explained it word for word.

“You poor dear. Well, I know Laura still wants you as a friend. Would you like to come over our house sometime?” Mark asked.

Dawn looked at him confused.

“Patrick has to apologise for hurting her first. Dawn kept trying to get away to cry away from everyone. And Patrick pushed her off the skateboard when she was riding, all because Laura was crying.” Jessie said.

“Well, that won’t do.” Mark said.

Mark stood up and walked to his car.

“Laura, go over there. Patrick get out of the damn car.” Mark said.

Laura got out and walked over there quickly as Mark grabbed Patrick’s ear and pulled him over there.

“What’s this I hear that you pushed her off the board causing these scrapes?” Mark asked.

“I was trying to get her to apologise to Laura.” Patrick complained.

“Dawn wasn’t in the wrong. You both were trying to force her to talk about something she wasn’t comfortable with talking about yet. Jessie ran all this way because he knew Dawn shouldn’t have apologised.” Mark said.

“I’m sorry Dawn.” Laura said.

“It’s okay.” Dawn said softly.

She was looking at Tate now. Tate was leaning against the car in case he was needed. He noticed Mark pulling up and got a bit protective of his charge.

“Dawn, do you know this man?” Tate asked.

“It’s their father.” Dawn said softly.

“You sound like your about to cry.” Tate said.

Dawn shook her head but Tate rolled his eyes. He went into the esky and grabbed a strawberry milk bottle and a chocolate bar. He handed it to Dawn.

“You are a s**t liar Dawn.” Tate said.

“Hello sir, I’m Mark.” Mark said.

“I’m Tate, nice to meet you.” Tate said.

Mark walked away from Patrick. Patrick looked at Jessie with an annoyed and angry look.

“Did that really happen? She was in a toy box?” Mark whispered.

Tate nodded.

“I was her first support worker. We were on call all the time to keep her company on a rotating clock at first. She was having breakdowns and needing a lot of therapy. I heard them explain it all . She didn’t mention to Jessie that she found them stabbed, hacked up and the blood everywhere. She ran to the neighbour and they called police but she ran in to try to wake her parents up and was pulled away while covered in their blood and crying. I was called to the hospital the same morning they grabbed her. She hasn’t had a stable placement since. Most of the men or the older boys in the homes try to hurt her. And because of this she’s been acting up.” Tate explained.

He was fiddling with a pen in his hand as he watched Dawn drink her milk and offer everyone a bit of chocolate.

“I can’t imagine a young girl going through that. How does one become a carer?” Mark asked.

“They prove income, they fill out forms and have a home check. The child protective services will come out regularly and check up on her. She has 3 support workers including myself. She used to talk about a gym with bars. I realised she meant gymnastics so I bring her to the park to practice on the bars. She hasn’t been to a real one since their passing. If you know anyone willing to try to take her in, you can call and ask for me. We just received word that the home she’s in now is about to remove her because of today’s stunt.” Tate said.

“What stunt?” Mark asked.

“Besides skipping school, she was found with a can of spray paint in her bag, the teacher Mr Davis had profanity spray painted on his car a few days ago. And then she stomped on his foot to get away from him.” Tate explained.

“Do you know why she did it?” Mark asked.

Tate nodded and looked at Mark.

“She has always hated bullies. She saw him push a student to the ground and not even help him up like it was an accident. So, she wanted people to know he was an asshole and so she did it.” Tate explained.

“Would you say she’s a bad person?” Mark asked.

“She’s not. She is impulsive, energetic and I will admit noisy and hard to keep up with. But she only acts out when she’s bottling something up, someone has hurt her or she’s defending someone which gets her in trouble. She’s never started the fight.” Tate said.

“You’re sure about that?” Mark asked.

“I know it’s hard trusting kids with a rap sheet. But she isn’t a criminal. And I know the other student she ran out of class with, she would have done it to protect them from something or someone. When I asked her, she said it wasn’t her story to tell. So, she couldn’t share. Which is what she says when she’s protecting a victim.” Tate said.

Mark looked at Dawn as she looked at Laura.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you and said hurtful things.” Dawn said softly.

“I’m sorry.” Laura cried.

“Can we be friends again?” Dawn asked.

“I never stopped being your friend.” Laura said.

Laura threw her arms around Dawn.

“I promise you, if you ever get doubts about her being your daughter’s friend. Dawn will be like a sister and be protective. She took the blame for one of the foster siblings at another house. I was with her at therapy, and when we returned there was red scribbles on the wall that wasn’t there when we left. The next time I saw her, she had bad bruises along her back and her arms because she took the blame. She’s sacrificing herself for others.” Tate explained.

“My daughter skipped today, they said she ran with another girl through the school avoiding teachers and laughing.” Mark said.

“Then Dawn was trying to cheer her up and protect her.” Tate said.

“The boys said that Laura was bullied at lunch time. Patrick saw a bruise on her which is why they went out for a walk.” Mark said.

“There’s the proof you need. If you have any more to discuss, you can call me at work.” Tate explained.

Tate pulled out his business card.