Dawn - A Short Story

"You're an idiot."

"Shut up."

"She's right. You're an idiot."

"Shut up!"

"Don't take your anger out on us. We're trying to help you."

"Yes. We're your friends. Don't we always look out for you?"

"True. Where would you be without us?"

"Go away! You're just trying to upset me, and I was in a good mood today."

"When are you ever in a good mood?"

"I've been in a good mood since I moved here. It's nice here."

"Keep telling yourself that. If you were so fucking happy, you wouldn't need us."

"Language!"

"I'm sorry. But it's the truth."

"I am happy! And I don't need you here! You're just always tagging along and annoying me."

"Not true, Dawn. You know you need us. Remember the last time you told us to go away? You ended up in a drunk tank with a broken nose. Which still looks horrid, by the way."

"Indeed."

"That was ONE time! And it wasn't because you weren't there. I don't remember exactly what happened, but I know it wasn't my fault. It was just one of those things. An accident."

"An accident, yes. But that girl was in intensive care for two weeks. And she'll never see right out of that eye."

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"

"We'll shut up when you pull yourself together. But until then, we stay."

"She's right. We can't leave you to your own devices. You show poor judgment."

"I concur."

"Well, maybe I wouldn't have been drinking if I hadn't been trying to get away from you two. All that relentless nagging. All that talking, talking, talking. I don't want to talk. I want to stay here and be happy."

"Dawn, dear, there were things that needed to be discussed. You can't just ignore us."

"I didn't want to talk about it then, and I don't want to talk about it now!"

"That may be true. But you know he needed to go."

"Yes. You handled that situation very poorly. You just ran away and we had to step in because you're weak and stupid."

"I'm not! I just didn't want to be there anymore. He was scary. I was afraid. Everything hurt."

"But you just let him go, Dawn. And, we felt that it was in your best interest to handle the situation properly."

"I handled it just fine. It was over fast. He didn't hurt me anymore once I stopped struggling."

"If you say so. But, because you refused to handle it, we stepped in and handled it for you."

"I don't want to talk about that! You didn't have to do anything. No one had to help me. I just want to forget. This place makes me forget. All you do is remind me and make me feel bad."

"If we hadn't helped you, he would have just walked away. We couldn't allow that, Dawn."

"He got what he deserved. Becoming a shameful drunk was just unnecessary. And frankly, quite embarrassing."

"Yes, it reflected on all of us poorly."

"I don't care. And I haven't had a drink in weeks. I'm feeling much better."

"Hmmm...keep telling yourself that, dear."

"Oh shit. Here comes the reality police. We'll see you later, Dawn. We'll be waiting."

"Dawn? Honey? Are you alright? It's time for your meds sweetie."

"Yes, please. I'm not feeling well."

"Here...take these. Have some water. Lift your tongue sweetheart. Very good. You'll be feeling better in no time. Why don't you go into the activity room and finish working on your project? We'll be serving dinner soon.It's meatloaf night. You like meatloaf."

"Yes. Thank you."