A couple of weeks went by and it was just as hectic, if not more, than the previous weeks. Dawn’s album debuted at number two, just as expected.  Her ankle was twisted in the mess at the signing and swelled up pretty bad. With AJ’s urging, Noah cancelled a few of Dawn’s shows.  She didn’t like it, but she didn’t want to risk further injuring it and having it affect a lot more than just three shows. 

Her and AJ went ahead with the tattoos, much to Noah’s dismay.  He didn’t find out until after they got them though.  Dawn got the Japanese symbol for ‘Bone’ on her shoulder, while he got the symbol for ‘Angel’ on his.   Noah ranted and raved for the longest time about Dawn getting the tattoo.  He felt that it would give her audience the wrong impression of her.  She didn’t understand it considering she already had three tattoos previous to that one that he didn’t say anything about.    

After a night of heavy, late night partying, D realized how often they were going out and how much drinking they were doing…especially Dawn. She was the one that usually suggested they go out and that was unlike her. It was also unlike her to drink so much. D was starting to get worried about her. She knew she should ask her what was going on. Before a show one night she walked into Dawn’s dressing room and saw that she was drinking a Rum and Coke.  She decided to confront her about it.

"Can I talk to you for a sec, Dawn?"

Dawn looked at her concerned.

"Sure, is it about Nick? Did you guys have a fight?"

"No, we’re fine. I’m missing him like crazy but that’s normal," she laughed. "It’s actually about you."

Dawn looked surprised.

"Me? Have I done something?"

D sat down on the couch and looked at her seriously.

"I’m a little worried about you. We’ve been going out a lot lately and you’ve been getting drunk quite often."

"I’m just having some fun," Dawn laughed, crossing her arms.

"I know you are…it’s just that you never used to want to go out as much. And you never used to drink like this."

"I think it’s about time I got out, don’t you?"

"I suppose. I’m not trying to lecture you or anything. If there’s something wrong you know you can tell me," D said, standing up and walking over to her.

"Nothing is wrong. You told me that I should go out and have fun and not sit in my hotel room…that’s what I’m doing."

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. It was Noah telling her she had five more minutes. Dawn went over to the mirror and looked over her appearance. She turned back to D and smiled.

"I’m going to be fine. I’m just having some fun. Don’t worry about me, okay?"

"Okay, fine. I’m just looking out for you," D smiled. 

Dawn laughed and gave her a hug.

"I appreciate the concern. I gotta run or Noah will kill me. I’m still on his shit list because of the tattoo," she laughed as she walked out the door. 

D sat down on the couch and sighed. She wasn’t completely convinced that Dawn was okay. She was still worried about her. She’d have to keep an eye on her. She wondered if she should say something to AJ. Maybe they had a fight about something and she didn’t know about it.  After a lot of thought, D called AJ after she got back to her room that night.

"Hey D, what’s up?" He asked, a little surprised to hear from her.

"I wanted to talk. Is it a bad time? I forgot what time it was over there," she laughed, looking at her watch.

"No, I just got back from dinner with my Mom and Arianna. It’s only seven o’clock here."

"Okay good. Hey listen, I wanted to talk to you about Dawn."

"What about her?"

"Did the two of you have a fight when you were here?" She asked curiously.

"No. Things were great when I visited. I actually thought we got closer. Why?   What is this all about?" 

Now he was getting worried.

"Well, we’ve all been going out a lot lately. She’s been suggesting it most of the time, which is pretty unlike her. I usually have to drag her ass out of her room."

"That’s good isn’t it? She’s out having fun," he said, confused.

"Yeah, it’s good but she’s been drinking a lot more too."

AJ closed his eyes and sighed heavily. He knew he should have said something to Dawn when he was there and he had the feeling that Dawn was drinking a little too much.  That was very unlike her.

"How much is she drinking?"

"She gets drunk every time we go out which is about every other night."

"Holy shit!! Are you serious?? Why are you letting her drink like that??" he asked, fuming.

"Wait a second McLean! Don’t blame this on me!! I can’t stop her from drinking. The only thing I can do is cut her off and get her back to her room and make sure she’s safely in bed," she yelled back.

"You could make sure she doesn’t get shitfaced every night!!!"

"I am not her alcohol monitor, AJ!!"

"Do you know how easy it would be for Noah to take advantage of this if he got the chance??!!"

D closed her eyes and put her head in her hand.

"J, I’m watching him like a hawk. I’m taking care of her. I’m not her mother or her babysitter. I can just make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble. That’s the best I can do."

AJ didn’t say anything, but she knew he was still angry.

"Alright, alright. I’ll try to make sure she doesn’t over due it. Okay?"

"Yeah", he sighed, "I can’t believe I’m hearing this."

"You think I’m happy having to tell you?? I don’t like her drinking either. I’ve been around alcoholics and heavy drinkers and I hate it but I can’t stop her. I’ll do my best to have her cut down."

"Good.  I don’t want anything to happen to her. Maybe I should talk to her about it."

"I did earlier today actually. She said she was just out having some fun. No big deal."

"We’ll see about that. Keep an eye on her for now. If it gets worse please call me."

"I will, J," she promised.

"I’m sorry I yelled at you. I’m just worried about her, especially now."

"It’s okay, I understand. Just don’t yell at me again McLean," she laughed.

"I won’t unless you give me a reason to," he laughed back.

They hung up a few minutes later and D went to get ready for bed.

Chapter 29
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