My Father's Daughter

Eighteen

Danny's POV

Audrey seemed upset when she left. As soon as I brought up her bruises she seemed like she remembered something that brought back painful memories. I felt bad, was it what I said? I sighed.

"What is it?" Vic asked. I looked up, realizing that sounded rude.

"Oh, sorry I was just thinking." I said. I smiled to assure him I was having a good time. He cocked his head.

"Danny, is everything okay?" I nodded and shrugged.

"I was just worried about Audrey; she seemed upset, is everything okay?" I asked. Audrey was a sweet girl. She seemed happy about Vic and I being together and was always joking around with us. Vic's expression contourted into one of sadness. No no no! I have to stop doing that...

"She, uh, she's been through a lot lately. A lot in general."

"Oh, okay. Is she alright?" Vic shrugged.

"No, not really. Her brother died of lukemia and her mother in a car crash. Then the whole transition to living with me a few weeks ago and just last night she..." He trailed off. He took a breath and looked back at me. " She was raped." My jaw dropped.

"Oh my god...oh the poor girl!" I whispered. Vic nodded.

"It was really hard on her but I've been trying to keep her occupied. Maybe try to keep her mind off it." I nodded.

"That's why she was all bruised..." Vic nodded. He dropped his head into his hands, sighing. "How...did it happen?" I asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"We went out for dinner, us and the other bands. I think she felt kind of left out of the conversation and just went to the bathroom to try and wake up a little. About ten minutes later, a friend, Alex, he found Audrey curled up crying in the bathroom and brought her out." He stopped as I took in every detail of what he said. He shut his eyes and shook his head. "I didn't even notice she was gone..." He breathed. I looked back up at him. He was staring at his hands in his lap with his brow furrowed.

"You can't blame yourself for that, Vic." He sighed and leaned back against the couch.

"I know..." I took his hand and leaned my head on his shoulder.

"I can't imagine what you're going through with this--what Audrey's going through--but if you ever need me, just call, okay?" He smiled and nodded. He squeezed my hand.

"You know, Audrey really likes you." I smiled.

"I like her too. And I like you too." He looked down at me, smiling.

"I like you too." He said. I smiled.

"Hey, um, would it be okay if I went and talked to Audrey?" Vic cocked his head but nodded.

"She might be asleep, but you can check. Her room is at the end of the hall upstairs." I nodded and got up. Making my way up to her room, I wondered why I wanted to talk to her. I didn't really know, I just wanted to make sure she was okay, I guess. I knocked on her door and waited a moment.

"What?" I heard her snap.

"Audrey, it's Danny. Can I come in?" I asked softly.

"...Yeah." She said. I twisted the doorknob and pushed it open. Audrey sat up on her bed and rubbed her eyes. As I walked closer, I saw that she was crying. Her face was red and her eyes were filled with unshed tears.

"Oh, Audrey, don't cry, do you want your dad?" I asked, worried about her. She shook her head and sniffed. I walked in and sat next to her. "...He told me what happened." I started off. She shrugged and pulled her knees up to her chest. "I know it's probably hard to talk about with your dad. But it is a good idea to talk about it." Her eyes shifted to me. "I just...want you to know that I'm here for you, okay? You can talk to me. Any time, just call me. I...actually went through the same thing when I was younger. It was awful, and I didn't have anyone there for me. I thought it might be easier if you have another girl around..." Her eyes welled up with tears again and I hugged her.

"Thank you, D-Danny..." She mumbled into my shoulder. I nodded.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Here, I'll give you my number, and you call me okay? Really, whenever you need to talk." She nodded and I put it in her phone.

"Thanks..." I smiled and rubbed her shoulder. "So...you like Vic?" She asked. I blushed and nodded.

"Yeah, I really do, why?" She grinned and shrugged.

"I don't know."

"What do you want us together so badly?"

"I guess...there aren't a lot of girls who would be okay with Vic having a daughter. He seems really happy with you, and I just want him to be happy."

"You know I met him like three days ago, right?" She shrugged.

"Yeah, but two are already really close so I just thought...you know..." I giggled.

"You're cute Audrey, and I promise you, if Vic and I get together for a while, you'll be the first to know."

"Good. I better be." There was a knock on the door and it opened. Vic poked his head in.

"I felt left out..." He said. Audrey and I giggled and Vic swung the door open more. He looked concerned when he saw Audrey. "Audrey? Sweetheart, are you alright?" He took a step in and bit his lip. Audrey nodded and wiped the last of her tears away.

"She's okay, just talking to a girl for a change." Vic nodded.

"I'm okay, Dad." She assured him. Vic sighed.

"Alright. Are you going to bed?" Audrey nodded and I got up to leave her alone. I followed Vic out and back downstairs. "What did you say to her? I can never get her to stop crying..." I shrugged.

"I just asked her if she was okay, and said if she ever wanted to talk that I would be here." Vic turned to me and smiled.

"Thank you. For doing that. I hate how alone she feels. I try to be there for her but sometimes I just..."

"She needs a break from the guys, Vic, it's hard to be a girl in a guy's world." He chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess I wouldn't know."

A/N: Sorry it's been a few days and it's not a great chapter but I'll try to update again soon!