Lost Daughter

Chapter 15

*PSA: WRITER'S BLOCK IS A BITCH, SO WE'RE JUST GOING TO HOP OVER TO THE MIDDLE OF THE TOUR. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION*

Victoria's p.o.v

Tour was already halfway over and I was super pumped. Life was good so far. I got my family with me, I'm seeing the world, the fans loved me (at least in this part of the world) and I haven;t had any nightmares. I'd say things are going smoothly, but I don't want to jinx it, so I'm keeping my mouth shut.

I was tired, exhausted but happy at the same time. Another day of watching the guys do their thing and photographing the memories and vlogging my adventures had passed. Now tomorrow would be a new day and a new adventure in London. I wore an oversized hoodie I "borrowed" from Rian that made it seem it was a dress and sat on the floor with Jaime, playing Mario Kart. We had played three game, and I scuffled $200 out of him. It's like harmless gambling.

"You might as well stop, Jaime. She's killing you," Mike laughed at him.

"I'm just going easy on her. It's part of my master plan," he lied. He knew he was getting creamed by a kid. I crossed the finish line and made first place, defeating Jaime for the fourth time. "Victorious once again! Oh, Tori, you're so fine! You're so fine, you blow my mind! Hey, Tori! Whoo, whoo! Hey, Tori! Whoo, whoo!"

"Cheater," Jaime playfully grumbled.

I smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "I love you too, Jaime," I said. He looked at me with an evil look in his eye and picked me up bridal style and ran to my bunk, tossing me inside and proceeded to tickle me. I shrieked in laughter and flailed my whole body around. 

"JAIME ALBERTO PRECIADO! NO! MIKE! TONYYYYY! HELP ME!" I screamed.

"Banshee?" Mike joked.

Jaime and I wrestled a bit but he stopped when he saw that I couldn't breathe. He tossed my the blanket over my head and kissed my forehead. "Go to sleep, cheater," he said, kissing my forehead. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep, since I was so tired.

~Nightmare~

I walked in to my old house back in Manhattan, the space was empty and dark, the walls and flooring looking burnt to crisp and covered in ashes. My bare feet slowly walked across the wooden floor, picking up debris and attaching it to the bottom of my feet. "Hello?" I called out, my voice echoing and reverberating all through the house. "Delilah? Tia Rosa? Anyone home?"

A cold breeze tickled the nape of my neck, making me shiver. I hugged myself and looked around, searching for a source of life. "Is anyone home?" I asked. Once again, I was greeted with silence. Giving up, I turned around and headed for the door, but the music notes of the Silent Night made me stop in my tracks. Slowly, I swiveled my body in place and traced the source of the music to a little girl, no older than six, sitting on the couch, with a carousel music box in hand. She was wearing a nightgown like represented Snow White, and her hair was braided into two french braids with yellow bows. The little girl lifted her eyes and turned to me, her eyes pitch black.

"Welcome back, Victoria. We missed you," she said.

My breathing became heavy and labored as I backed up away from the creepy girl, who I noticed was really me back when I was a toddler, but much scarier. Little me offered her bloodied hand to me and walked closer to me. "No, stay away from me!" I screamed at her, backing up. I tripped on Blink, who was missing a fraction of his right ear and one of his eyes were missing. 

"Help... me..." the stuffed rabbit croaked out, reaching his arm out of me.

I grabbed his tattered ears and threw it at the demonic younger doppelganger of me. She wasn't phased by the top going through her and continued walking to me. "You'll make her mad if you keep doing that. She'll kill you, just like how she killed me!"

"No!" I screeched. I stumbled back on my feet and tugged on the doorknob, rattling it violently in my grasp. When the door wouldn't budge, I bashed my fists against the wall and dragged my nails down the wall, scraping off the ash and dirt. "Let me out of here, please!"

"Noche de paz, noche de amor," the young child sang. "Todo duerme en derredor."

The same shill hit my body and a intoxicating scent of death and alcohol invaded my nostrils. A long and dirty nail brushed my hair back and caressed my damp, tear stained cheek. Panting heavily, I reluctantly looked back and screamed in horror at the sight of my mother, who's faces was deformed and bleeding. "No, no please! Please!" I begged, falling to my knees.

"Victoria... Victoria!"

Mom held a butcher knife and grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking me up to my feet. "Time to die, bitch," she snarled venomously, displaying her decaying teeth. She held the knife high and swung it swiftly across my neck.

"NOOO!!!"

I woke up with a jolt, sitting upright in my bunk. The bus was still moving, and Jaime's loud snoring was heard above the others. I crawled out of my bunk and walked to dad's who's bunk was right next to mine and nudged him. "Daddy. Daddy, wake up."

"Mmm?" he mumbled. He looked at me and rubbed his eyes. "Mija, what are you doing up?"

"I had another nightmare. May I sleep with you for the night?" I asked him.

He yawned and nodded, making space for me. I crawled in and curled next to him, pulling his blanket over me. "Wanna talk about it, pumpkin?" A part of me wants to just bury it beneath me with my mother's rotting corpse, but another part of me tells me to just tell, him. He'll find out eventually.

"Can I come clean with you?"

"Baby girl, you can tell me anything," Dad assured me.

I stared at him for a while, trying to figure out what to say. "I can't let her go," I finally said. "Mom. I can't find peace in her death. A part of me is happy that I'm free from all the abuse she gave me, but a part of me feels guilty because I feel like I'm the reason she's dead."

'Victoria, there's no way you could have known about the accident-"

"That's not what I'm taking about, Dad," I interrupted. "I mean, if I was different. If I changed the way I was back then, then maybe Mom and I would actually had a real relationship with her. But I goofed up and messed up everything because I'm such a screw up."

"Victoria Elizabeth Anna Maria Antoinette Fuentes, don't you ever say that again. You're perfect just the way you are. The path your mother walked on was her choice. She chose to get herself involved in alcohol and and drugs. It has nothing to do with you. Cara was just a thirsty bitch and looking back into our relationship, it might have been one of the biggest things I regret getting myself into."

"Do you regret having me as a daughter?" I asked timidly.

He kissed my cheek and rubbed my arm comfortingly. "There's nothing more in this world that could make me smile like you can, mija. The day I first held you was the happiest day of my life. I promise I'll love you better than your mother."

I smiled and cuddled close to him. I heard him softly sing Hold On Till May in my ear, rocking me gently. I fell asleep in his protective arms, my thumb in my mouth and  smile spread across my lips.