Dawn Trager is Tig's black sheep daughter. She hasn't done much with her life, hopping from one bad decision to another. One fateful decision will change her entire life and bring her into direct contact with the enforcer of SAMCRO. Will they be abl...
A/N: Before we get started on Dawn and Happy's story, I must caution you, dear readers. The first few chapters of this story are going to be on the dark side, containing drug abuse, domestic violence, depression, and subsequent child abandonment. It may be triggering for some, so I want to be upfront about this. I will try to keep it as light as possible, but Dawn's story has to be told before we can move forward, and it's a deeply troubling one. I promise that if you stick with me through the dark, we will all find the light together, holding hands if need be. This is the second part following The Past Repeats. Let's all take a deep breath. Are we ready to go?
"Shut that brat up, you stupid bitch! Can't you do anything right?"
Dawn shrunk back into the couch cushions as Eddie raised a hand to strike her yet again. She looked up at him with wide eyes, shaking her head. "I ran out of formula this morning. I need money, Eddie."
Eddie growled and shook his head as she rubbed the back of his neck and back away from her toward the door. "I ain't giving up my cash to feed that little bastard. Figure something out." He pointed a finger at her. "Did you do what I told you to do?"
Dawn shook her head quickly. "Yes! Yes, Harmony is coming."
Eddie sneered at the mention of her younger sister but patted her awkwardly on top of the head like a child. "That's real good, Dawnie. You'll see how much better things will be once he's gone. Then it'll just be me and you again like it used to be." Dawn nodded, willing to agree to anything if Eddie just wouldn't be mad anymore. "I'm going to the bar. I'll be back later."
Dawn snagged Eddie's hand as he walked by and tugged on it. "Can you... can you get me something? I need it, Eddie."
He smiled and nodded. "Sure, baby. I'll make you feel better once the brat's gone, ok?"
She nodded as he walked out and slammed the door behind him, making Max scream louder. Dawn covered her ears with shaking hands and rocked back and forth, tears streaming down her face. As she stared across the room at the squirming form laying in a dresser drawer, she knew that no matter what, she had to convince Harmony to take Max. She couldn't do it, not another day. She knew that Eddie was going to end up doing something to her baby, and she couldn't put the little thing through another day with them.
She closed her eyes and prayed that Max would grow up to be a good man, but she knew that the only way for that to happen was for him to be somewhere else. She scoffed to herself as she looked down at the track marks on her arms. He sure as hell didn't need a mother like her. She wasn't strong like Harmony and Fawn. She wasn't a good wife or mother like her own mother had been.
She couldn't go to her father, because she couldn't bear the look of pity or anger she would see on his face. She'd burned that bridge the last time she had seen him, and Alexander Trager didn't often give second chances. She shook her head as she got up to go to her son, hoping that she could quiet him just a little and ease the pounding headache that she had.
As she picked him up and cradled him to her chest, she started sobbing. He deserved better in life than a junkie mother that turned tricks and let her boyfriend beat the shit out of her on a regular basis. She was nothing and nobody, but she knew that she could make sure her son became somebody. She traced his cheek with a trembling finger, trying to memorize everything about him as her sobs turned to quiet tears.
Dawn, dirty hair hanging limply in her gaunt face, holding a cigarette and beer in the hand that wasn't on the doorknob, stared at Harmony for a moment like she didn't know who she was. Of course, this was mostly put on, but Dawn knew that she had to make Harmony believe that she didn't care about her boy. As much as it hurt her to the very core, she had to act indifferent to him if she had any chance of getting her sister to take him with her.
Harmony shook her head as she walked into the dirty apartment, her nose wrinkling at the smell of old pot, stale alcohol, and sex. "Isn't it a little early in the day to be drinking?"
Dawn rolled her eyes as she slammed the door shut, locking all three locks before turning to face her sister. "I didn't call you here to give me shit about my drinking habits, sis."
Harmony stared down her older sister for a moment before lifting a brow. "Well, you seem to be in one piece. Not healthy, but in one piece. Just what exactly was the emergency?"
