My Dawn

Chapter 48

“You are a beautiful singer and dancer Miriam.” Young Mark said.

“Oh, Mr Bridge you say that all the time.” Young Miriam laughed.

“Mr Bridge now? I suddenly don’t get called my nickname?” Young Mark asked.

“Not in public. I’m not sure about us.” Young Miriam said.

“Friends can have nicknames.” Young Mark said.

“I don’t think so. You know how I feel about you, but I don’t know if it’s the right decision.” Young Miriam said.

“Why not?” Young Mark asked.

“Lilith loves you, she’s my best friend. I can’t ruin her chance of happiness. I know you can provide her a good life Mark. I would rather she lived it. She deserves it.” Young Miriam said.

“Stop putting other’s first. Listen to me for a moment.” Young Mark said.

Young Miriam nodded and walked closer.

“I will do anything to show you that I love you. I want you to be my wife, the mother of my children.” Young Mark said.

“Anything?” Young Miriam asked.

Mark nodded.

“Then be with her. If you love me, show me by being with her. It will be our secret and I will know you love me by being with her.” Young Miriam said.

“But I want you.” Young Mark said.

“You can still have me, consider it a prize. Every year, every gathering. We can be together if you choose her. Besides I don’t know how to break up with Brutus and even if I did, he would think it was for Henry and then they would disband the only club I love.” Young Miriam said.

“How do I know you mean it when you say I can be with you?” Young Mark asked.

Miriam walked backwards. Sticking her finger upwards to gesture Mark to follow her. They stood along the bleachers in the school gymnasium and Miriam was seen on camera kissing Mark. She moved his hand to her lower backside.

“My mother slept with two guys at the same time?” Dawn asked.

“Yes, because she knew Lilith had the genetics like Lilith’s mother and could die any day. She wanted Lilith to be happy. But she also didn’t want to lose BTL. And your father wouldn’t allow her to be near other men because he was possessive. That’s one of the reasons why Mr Purkles, as you call him, went his own way after school. He changed his last name for his protection.” Mark said.

“He never mentioned it.” Dawn said.

“Your mother and I loved each other, but she sacrificed her own happiness so that Lilith could be happy. She took my advice on letting herself be happy which is why she stayed with Brutus to keep BTL alive. She never was a bad person. She never meant to hurt your father or Lilith by having me sometimes.” Mark said.

“So, you might be my dad. Brutus was protective as hell and a bit of a jerk. And my mother publicly made out with you on camera.” Dawn said.

“My uncle recorded us because he didn’t believe we loved each other.” Mark said.

“I feel slightly uneasy now.” Dawn said.

“All I ask, is we do the DNA test. I won’t open the results until you say.” Mark said.

“If you really want to, wait until I am 17 at least and out of school. I will have a whole year of nothing to do before I can go to college.” Dawn said.

“Deal. I will wait 2 more years. But can I be honest about something?” Mark asked.

Dawn nodded.

“I feel like part of me knew you were her daughter. I saw you and you looked exactly like her except the eyes. It took me a bit to realise. And when you said Dawn Rivers. Brutus’s last name was Rivers. But Miriam always said she wanted a daughter with me to be named something to do with the sun. I never caught on to that until the day at the carnival when you said BTL.” Mark said.

Jessie and Dawn looked at him confused.

“I did the math in my head when Tate said your birthday and it did match up. That’s why I threatened the boys specifically. If you are Patrick’s sister, then it would have been awkward if you two were dating before you found out. So logistically I just threatened and scared them off. Plus, after I heard what you went through, I just wanted to protect you. You reminded me of her and I just wanted to keep you safe. Her death was in the papers and that day I shut down for a whole month grieving. She always sent these cute emails of her selfies and when Miriam was pregnant, she sent me ultrasound pictures and baby pictures. It started slowing down when she said Brutus was suspicious. So, we stopped communicating and then almost 3 weeks later it happened.” Mark explained.

Mark grabbed a tissue as well.

“Did the police find the person?” Dawn asked.

“No, but they were targeting the BTL. So, it was someone from school that one of them pissed off. All I know is I paid the police for information and they said that the house was ransacked and they found some ripped family photos that looked like they ripped you out of the pictures. Some showed a kids knee still in there. If the information is correct, then Dawn you can’t do BTL. They will look for you.” Mark said.

“It’s her legacy. I can’t stop it. Even before I knew of it, I was always trying to help.” Dawn said.

“Hang on, so there’s someone looking for Dawn, even as we speak?” Jessie asked.

“Yes, and the more public BTL becomes, the more danger she is in.” Mark said.

“Derek tagged her in a video he shared of someone’s recording from the roller coaster incident and captioned it saying Dawn Rivers is a hero #BTL.” Jessie said.

Mark’s face sunk and went serious.

“Dawn, I think you should be home schooled.” Mark said.

“No. I want to be normal. I will slow down on BTL.” Dawn said.

“Derek just advertised you’re in this town. They can see you at school.” Mark said.

“I’ll be fine. When in doubt, run the f**k away.” Dawn said.

Mark laughed.

“You just made that up.” Mark laughed.

Dawn nodded.

“If one person tries to hurt you, student or not, I will take you out of school.” Mark said.

Dawn nodded.

“Wow, it’s almost 7am. I’m going to get started on breakfast.” Mark said.

Dawn nodded. She got up to follow him. Jessie followed as well.