The Science And Theory Of Beating The Fuck Out Of Yourself

Don't you try to blame this on me

Mike's POV

Jodie fell asleep after she explained to me why she was so upset. I gently laid her on her bed and pulled the covers up to her shoulders before I left. I had never seen Jo that upset before, at least not about something like a fight. Then again, maybe I just never saw her crying like this. Either way I knew I had to tell Vic. He probably didn't even know how bad he hurt her, and if they didn't work it out, Jo would probably be halfway to Alaska by the time we realized she was missing.

I shut her door behind me and headed downstairs. Vic and the happy couple were sprawled out on the couch watching TV and guzzling beer like the typical day off tour. I stood at the end next to Vic and he looked up.

"Can we talk?" I asked him. I'm not one for intense conversation and Vic knew that. He nodded and stood up, following me to the kitchen which was out of earshot of Tony and Jaime. Not that they would have heard a thing we said since their ears were giving full attention to who could make the louder kissy moans.

"What's up?" He asked, leaning on the counter. I sighed.

"What exactly did you say to Jo this morning?" Vic hesitated and shrugged. He turned away from me and walked into the kitchen.

"I don't know why? Who cares? It doesn't matter anymore." He said, brushing it off as he pulled an unpopped bag of popcorn out of the cabinet and put it in the microwave.

"It does matter, Vic." I said in an almost desperate tone.

"Mike, I was mad, alright? She's ruining every opportunity I give her and I told her that." He still wasn't answering my question. I groaned in frustration and Vic sighed as he realized I was getting frustrated. "Mike, it's over I--"

"What the fuck did you say to her Vic!?" I yelled at him. I grabbed his shoulder and spun him around to face me. He looked pissed at me and started yelling himself.

"I told her she fucked up alright!? I'm giving her the best fucking life I can as a single parent and she takes advantage of me every time I try to reason with her! It's annoying as fuck and I told her I'm fucking done with her!" He seethed.

"You told that to who, Vic?"

"Jo you dumb ass!"

"Say her fucking name!"

"Jodie Mae Andrews!"

"Really?" I asked in a slightly calmer tone. He gave me a confused and somewhat disgusted look. I cocked my head at him. "Because I thought your daughter's name was Jodie Mae Fuentes." Vic stared at me for a second as he processed what had been said. His face slowly fell and he brought his eyebrows to a point. He turned away and dropped his head.

"Oh my god..." He whispered to himself. I waited for a moment before continuing.

"You know that really fucked her up, Vic. She thinks you hate her." I said. Vic turned back to me and look horrified.

"No no no I couldn't never hate her! I love her!" He insisted. I sighed and crossed my arms.

"Tell that to your daughter who was fucking crying herself to sleep when I left." Vic looked like he had been stabbed. "You know she almost ran away again? When I went up there she was sitting on the windowsill ready to jump. If I hadn't gone in there when I did, she could have been out of the state by the time we even noticed."

"God, fuck, fuck, fuck!" Vic ran his fingers through his hair and walked aimlessly around the kitchen.

"It's not just that, Vic." He looked to me and waited for me to continue. "Do you know how devastating it is for her to be told that she might be bipolar? She feels like everyone thinks she's crazy, or going to blow up at them at any point. And what you said to her only supports that frame of mind. You can't do that to her; she's really vulnerable right now." Vic sighed and nodded.

"I need to talk to her."

Vic's POV

I walked past Mike and up the stairs, ignoring Tony and Jaime's eyes burning into the back of my skull. I felt horrible. What kind of father drives his only daughter to the point where she wants to run away from him? A horrible one. Me.

I sighed before pushing Jo's door open since Mike had said she was asleep. I sighed seeing her curled up form asleep under the blankets. She looked so peaceful, but at the same time so fragile. Her eyes were red and puffy with tear streaks down her cheeks. I did this to her.

I felt a warm breeze blow through the room and shut the window it was coming from. Jo shifted slightly at the sound and I sat on the edge of her bed.

"Jo?" I called softly to her. She didn't move. "Jo? Baby?" I ran my hand up and down her arm, trying to wake her up. I would have let her sleep, but it was killing me every second she believed I hated her. She let out a soft moan and fluttered her eyes open. The way she looked at me sent daggers through my heart. She looked scared. Her eyes were wide and she shied away from me when I tried to brush the hair out of her face.

"Oh, Jo." I sighed, desperately. "Please Sweetie, I'm not going to hurt you." She looked terrified; like a puppy who had been kicked. She didn't make a move towards me and I didn't want to scare her. "Jodie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you so bad. I love you so much." I held out my hand, close to tears. "Please, come here?" I begged her. She sat up and through her arms around my neck and I held her.

"Daddy?" She asked as she began to cry again.

"Yeah?" She buried her face in my shoulder and I pulled her into my lap.

"I'm s-sorry."

"Shh, it's okay, I'm not mad anymore. I'm sorry too." I cooed while combing my fingers through her hair. "I love you so much." Jo pulled away from me.

"You do?" She asked. I nodded and wiped her tears away.

"Of course I do. Never forget that, okay? I'm sorry I made you think I didn't." I kissed the top of her head as she hugged me again.

"I l-love you too." She choked out. I couldn't hold back my tears anymore and I tried to keep my voice steady.

"Jo, I didn't mean to say Andrews instead of Fuentes. I didn't even realize I said it."

"I thought you didn't want me a-any more." I closed my eyes and held her tighter.

"Jo, you're my daughter. I'll always want you. And I never want you to run away from me again." She pushed away from me again and looked confused.

"Run away again?" She asked. I nodded.

"Mike said you were going to go out the window. You know you could have gotten hurt? That's a long fall." Jo looked uncomfortable and dropped her head.

"I-I wasn't trying to r-run away..." She said, trailing off. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and lifted her chin. She looked guilty and immediately I understood what she meant.

"Oh my god, Jo!" I cried, pulling her to me. "Never do that again." My daughter almost killed herself because of me. She cried into my shoulder and I was afraid to let her go. I felt like the moment I did she would slip away from me and I wouldn't be able to save her.

"Daddy, I-I'm going crazy." She said. I moved her away enough so I could look at her.

"No, Jo, you're not crazy. This is just something that you have to learn to deal with. Nothing's changed okay? You're still the same person and I still love you. Everything's going to be okay. I'll make you another doctor's appointment and we'll figure this out alright? You're going to be okay. Everything will be okay. I love you, Jo, no matter what."