My Father's Daughter

Ten

Vic's POV

"Have fun! And Tony, keep an eye on her." I ordered as they left.

"I will, don't worry." He groaned. Jaime carried Audrey out of the bus and Tony shut the door behind them. I sighed and turned back to the lounge.

"Vic?" Mike asked. "Can we talk?" I nodded. I knew he was going to continue our conversation from the night before. We sat on the couch and Mike sighed. "So...Audrey?"

"Yeah..."

"Why does she do it?" I shrugged.

"She started after her brother died. Everything just went downhill from there. The anxiety...I think it's being pretty hard on her. She just thinks I hate her. She thinks everything is her fault." I thought if she told me what was going on, then she could realize that it was all in the past. Now that she's getting panic attacks, it can never be over.

"...Shit..." There was a moment of silence and I dropped my head into my hands.

"God, this is all my fault!" I groaned.

"Vic."

"If I had just been there for her before!" I stood up and started pacing around.

"Vic."

"I could have been there for her. None of this would have happened. I'm such a horrible father!"

"Vic!" Mike shouted. He jumped up and held me still. "That's not true, Vic, you know that. You couldn't save her brother, you couldn't have done anything. It all would have been the same. Do you think Audrey ever told her mother about the cutting? Don't you think if she did, Abby would have helped Audrey the same way you would have? Vic, you're a great father, you just need to get used to this. You did everything right, Audrey just needs to open up to you. She's going to be okay." I shut my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Okay..." Mike patted my shoulder.

"And I'm always going to be here if you need me." I nodded.

"Thanks, Mike." I said.

"Is there anything I can do for you then?" He asked. I thought about it for a moment and nodded.

"Yeah, actually..." I stood up and walked over to my bunk. I grabbed the box I took from Audrey and brought it back to Mike. "C-Can you get rid of them? I couldn't do it..." I handed the box to Mike and he opened it. He stared at the blades and gave me a worried look. "I didn't use them..." I bit my lip and took my phone out, not wanting to talk to Mike.

"Vic..." I sighed and looked up at him. "You need to tell me when something's up, okay? I'm worried about you." I nodded. He threw the box down next to him and sat on the couch next to me. "If Audrey finds out--"

"She won't."

"But if she does, Vic, she's never going to be able to stop. You're being a hypocrite about this and that makes it even worse." I squeezed my eyes shut and took a shakey breath.

"I know, Mike, but she won't find out. She can't..." Mike sighed.

"How long have you been clean?" I shrugged.

"Maybe a month."

"Okay, well, just promise me you'll talk to me more?" I nodded. "Want to go take a walk?"

"Sure." We went outside and walked down to the center of town. I love walking in new cities and finding new places. We didn't shop or anything, we just walked. After about a few hours, Mike stopped.

"Vic, do you think we should go back?" I shrugged.

"You can if you want, I need coffee." I said, dismissing him.

"Okay, don't stay out too late."

"Yes, Mom." Mike scoffed and shoved my shoulder. "I'll be back later." Mike nodded and turned, heading back to the bus. I continued down the street, not really caring where I went, just needing to think. I walked along the sidewalk and stopped at a starbucks. As I opened the door, a girl tumbled out holding a try of coffees. I caught her tray as she regained her balance.

"Sorry! Sorry!" She squealed. I shook my head.

"No, it's fine. You okay?" I asked. I looked up at her and smiled. She was beautiful. As she nodded, her long red hair brushed her shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm fine, and thank you." She smiled and she had adorable dimples. She had a gorgous smile and I couldn't help but try to continue the conversation.

"Oh, yeah, no problem. I'm Vic, by the way."

"Danielle."

Tony's POV

"Wow, that was so much fun you guys!" Audrey yelled as I lifted her down from my shoulders. I smiled and nodded. She jumped up the steps of the bus and I couldn't help but admire how much she looked like her mother. But her personality was all Vic, and it was adorable. "Thanks for taking me with you!" She ran back up to Jaime and I and hugged us.

"No problem L'il Fry! Mini Vic's more fun than regular Vic." Jaime said. Audrey giggled and ran into the back room. I grinned at her goofiness, and went to sit on the couch.

"Ahh! What the heck?" I said as I jumped up. There was a box lying on the couch where I just tried to sit down.

"What's that?" Jaime asked coming over to me, staring at the box. I shrugged and picked it up, pulling off the top. My jaw dropped when I saw what was inside. "Oh shit..." Jaime mumbled.

"Whose are they!?" I whisper-screamed so Audrey wouldn't hear us.

"I don't know, I--"

"Hey guys." Mike said as he walked in. I turned to him and rushed up to him.

"Mike, what do you know about these?"

"What?" I held out the box to him.

"The blades Mike! What do you know about them?" I pressed. He took the box quickly and shut it.

"Shit! Did Audrey see them?" I shook my head. Mike ran his fingers through his hair, sighing. "Come out here guys." He led us outside and turned to us. "They were Audrey's. Vic took them the other day."

"Audrey? Crap, she cuts?" Mike nodded. "Wait, so why does he still have them then?" I asked. I knew there was something wrong and I wanted to figure out what it was. Mike froze.

"I, uh..."

"Out with it Mike!"

"I think you should ask Vic that y-yourself." He stuttered out. What? What was going on with Vic?

"It's okay." I heard from beside me. I spun around to see Vic with a sad expression.

"Vic? What's going on?" Jaime asked. Vic looked up at us and sighed.

"I-I..." He trailed off. He looked up at Mike like he needed help to say it. Mike sighed.

"A few months ago...Vic relapsed." He said. My jaw dropped, and so did Jaime's. I looked back at Vic who was staring at the ground with tears in his eyes.

"Vic..." I said, disappointed.

"Why'd you start that up again, buddy?" Jaime asked, putting a hand on Vic's shoulder. Vic shook his head.

"I don't know...I just...I don't know." I sighed.

"You should have told us." I said in a concerned tone. He nodded slowly.

"What about Audrey? Does she know?" Jaime asked. Vic snapped his head up.

"No. And she's not going to, not until I can get this under control." Vic demanded before storming onto the bus. I looked at Mike with a confused expression. He ran his fingers through his hair.

"Try not to be mad at him? Be feels really bad about this whole thing." He asked. Jaime and I nodded.

"He knows we aren't mad right? We just care about him." I told him.

"Well, I know that, but he still has that feeling of 'everything's my fault and everyone hates me.'" I felt sick; Vic, one of my best friends, and his daughter both self-harm.

"What are we going to do?"