Breaking the Chain

It had been a week since Missy's disappearance.

It had been a few days since Dawn's.

Mrs. Wiener had once prided herself on being the perfect mother. She has raised a computer nerd, a ballerina prodigy, and an ugly duckling she prays will grow into a swan, or marries into wealth and becomes a swan through a few surgeries. Dawn hasn't been graced with the best of genetics; Mrs. Wiener blames her husband.

But now two of her girls are missing and despite her grief over Missy, she notices people are talking. She knows how nosy the neighbors are, always quick to pry into her family business through the local gossip about the town's rejects. Two missing girls and a social pariah of a son is known to have people gossiping and questioning her parental skills. She might even be the laughing stock at next week's dinner party over how much of a train-wreck she's become! She could just die of embarrassment if she sees another look of pity or another condescending side eye that reads, you're such a terrible mother that both of your daughters are gone and you're sitting on your ass moping. Such an attention-whore!

She sits in her now empty living room, a cigarette in her mouth and the family photo clutched in her hand. It was a more innocent time, before Dawn started middle school and she became such a nuisance. She marveled at how perfect they looked, how they appeared to have it all together.

Now her picturesque family is torn apart: her son wants no involvement with her and her husband, her favorite daughter is missing while the other one is...somewhere. She bets her best dollar that she ran off for attention and Mrs. Wiener will be damned before she gives it to her. Missy is missing; possibly kidnapped by some pervert who is probably...she'd much rather not think about it. Instead, she takes a sip of wine and tries to piece together her shattered family through her family videos.

"I hate my family."

Brandon looks over and sees Dawn walking with her head down.

"They're a bunch of fucking assholes. All they cared about was Missy. Missy this, Missy that, it's like after they got the daughter they wanted I vanished. They make it obvious she's the favorite and it makes me sick,"

Brandon nodded in agreement.

"You shoulda left a long time ago. I don't see why you put up with them."

"Because I thought that one day, they'll appreciate me. They'll love me and accept me for who I am and..."

"And what?"

"I don't know." Dawn shakes her head, "I never gotten that far."

Brandon sighs.

"Fuck 'em. As of tonight, both of our parents are dead. D-E-A-D dead. Matter of fact, they never even existed. They died by...having their heads shoved up their ass for too long."

"I don't think that's possible-"

"Shut up. If I tell you your asshole parents are dead, then they're fucking dead. We won't talk to them, we won't ask them for help, and we'll definitely pretend we don't see them if they cross our paths. Right now we have only each other to depend on. We are our own parents, our own siblings, our own family. We are all we have and we are all we need." Brandon locks eyes with Dawn, urging her to see things his way.

They are in for a long, hard journey to New York City. At this moment, they only have each other's backs and Brandon needs to know if Dawn is going to hold her end of the bargain. Dead weight won't do for where he's going. For once, he needs Dawn to have a spine and be strong.

"Us against the world," Dawn meekly replies.

"Us against the world." He kisses her quickly and they reach their destination.

"Prepare for a good night's rest, because after this, we might be sleeping on benches, cars, and subways for a while."

Mrs. Wiener was on her fifth glass of wine when Mark called for her.

"Mom, it's Dawn!"

Straightening herself up, she walks up the stairs and answers the phone.

"Ready to come crawling back home, young lady?" She asks, smugness dripping with every word.

"Actually, Mom, there's something I need to tell you and Dad."

"You got a lot of nerve calling us at this ungodly hour! Where are you, anyway? Don't you know how stressful it is for me to lose Missy and to have you pull an attention stunt and run off? Paul! It's Dawn!"

Her husband groans in reply.

"You're making him even sicker. See what you did?"

She hears her daughter take a deep breath and sigh in frustration.

"Mom," she begins, "This will be the last time you'll ever hear from me. This will be the last time to talk to me, to get anything off your chest, because right now, I never want to see you again. After tonight, you are dead to me."

Ice fell into the pit of Mrs. Wiener's stomach.

"All my life, I've been treated like shit. From the kids at school, and even at home from you. And that's not the way I want to live. I love you, Mom, but you and this family are poison. I'm running away to New York City with a boy who actually gives a shit."

"Watch your tongue, you little wench! I spent 36 hours in labor to push you out and this is what I get? A foul-mouthed daughter who is running away in the midst of her baby sister gone-"

"Could you shut up for once, Mom? Please, stop talking. I've had it with you talking about Missy all the time. That's all you care about. So quit pretending to care about me when you didn't even notice me or my problems. Please, just forget I even exist like you did before. So it can be easier for me to move on and actually be happy for once."

"You're making a big mistake! You're going to be strung out, pregnant, and you'll come running back! Just you wait! And I won't have a junkie pregnant daughter smearing the family name!"

"..."

Silence.

"Goodbye, Mom. Tell Mark I love him and thanks for being there."

Click.

Dial Tone.

Mrs. Wiener looks at the phone in disbelief.

Just forget I even existed like you did before.

After tonight, you're dead to me.

I never want to see you again.

"What did Dawn say? She comin' home?"

Mark sees his mother's tear-streaked face, and knows it's nothing good.

"Put Dawn's things out in the garage. We're selling it Friday."

Dawn looks at the phone, disbelieving what took place. She finally stood up to her mother. She cut all ties with her awful family. She's free.

"I'm proud of you." Brandon interjects. He stood by her as emotional support for when she told them the news. Dawn is shaking, tears rolling down her cheeks.

She's free.

She's finally free.