Carry On

Dad was silent the entire car ride to the airport. I was torn between believing he was so upset that I was leaving, or that he just didn't have anything else to say to me. Matt and Val sat in the backseat, sometimes whispering things to each other. Probably 'I'll miss you'. They were always cute like that. I had to admit that even though Matt was a big lop who always seemed to be angry, he was always his nicest when Val was near him. He really was a big softie, and Val brought it out in him. Either that or the fact that Val is probably more terrifying than Matt when she wants to be, and he knows better than to piss her off.

After two hours in traffic Dad parked his car in the temporary parking lot. He refused to just drop me off against the curb, waving goodbye from the window. Which would still be better than up and leaving like Mom did. Still, he didn't say anything as we parked, all four of us getting out of the car. Dad grabbed my duffel, swinging it over his shoulder before grabbing my rolling suitcase with the other. Matt did the same with Val's bags, except he had two additional bags to carry on his shoulder due to Val's inability to pack lightly.

We crossed the street, entering the terminal in LAX. Dad attempted to get our tickets out of John Wayne Airport, but couldn't find some on such short notice. Dad hated flying out of Los Angeles. We entered the busy terminal, heading to the American Airlines counter where a woman with much too red lipstick and a much too white smile greeted us, "How can I help you today, Sir?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm trying to get my daughter and her aunt on their flight," He said, handing her our tickets. I watched the woman as she looked down to me, then Val, then Matt, and finally back to Dad. Her greedy eyes saw our first class ticket, our expensive luggage, and Val's designer purse. It wasn't long until her eyes traveled down Dad, eyeing his hand for a wedding ring.

"We'd like to get on our flight sometime within this millennium," I stated, pulling her out of her thoughts. Her smile faltered before she grinned even wider, compensating for her mistake. I could hear Val and Matt biting back giggles, and I looked back up to Dad to see the corners of his mouth twitching.

"Of course, Miss. How many bags today?" She asked Dad. He answered her with five, not including our carry ons.

"You're allowed another carry on item, if you'd like. It's cheaper than checking all five bags," She reminded him.

"I honestly don't care. I just want their bags there on once piece," Dad handed her his credit card and she understood, charging him the extra fees to get our bags on the plane.

"Now you can just take your ticket and go through security on the East wing. They'll be able to direct you. If you have any questions you can always ask me," She smiled and Dad didn't hesitate to roll his eyes, taking the tickets and grabbing my arm, pulling me away from the desk.

"Well, she had her fill of eye-candy for the day," Val smirked and Dad shot her a glare, only resulting in her sticking her tongue out at him.

When we got to security the four of us removed our shoes, belts, and cellphones from our body. Dad also had a rough time trying to convince security to escort me all the way to the plane. He managed to explain that I was his only child and it was my first time leaving him. Lucky for him the officer was a woman and thought it was adorable that he was so caring for me. So she let him slide by, along with Matt.

We only had to wait fifteen minutes until they called first-class so start boarding. Dad sighed and turned to me. I was quick to notice that he had pulled his sunglasses over his eyes, even though we were inside the building and there weren't too many windows. I raised an eyebrow at him, "What?" He questioned.

"Are you crying?" I asked and he sighed.

"Liza..." He groaned and I smiled.

"It's not that big a deal," I stated.

"Easy for you to say," He muttered. At that Matt and Val walked a few feet away from us, letting us have our goodbyes to ourselves. "Liza, I know it's hard for you to understand... But you really are the only thing I have in my life. And it's going to be hard being away for a while. I know I go on tour, but that's different. This time it's you who's leaving."

"It's gonna be okay, Dad," I said and he nodded.

"I hope so," He whispered before pulling me into a big hug, kissing the top of my head. He gave me a firm squeeze before releasing me, and I quickly made my way over to Val and Matt.

"Ready to go?" She asked and I nodded, turning to Matt. He smiled softly at me before pulling me into a hug, lifting me off the ground a bit as he did so.

"Listen to Val. Don't go anywhere by yourself, and make sure you try to call your Dad at least once a day," He instructed.

"Any thing else, Sergeant?" I smirked and he laughed.

"Go before I kick your butt," He smiled and Val tugged on my arm. They were making the last call for first-class boarders. I went with her, turning back to wave by to Matt and Dad. Dad weakly waved, as if something was holding him down. But he gave me a small smile before I turned around and was gone.

-

Brian tried to ignore the glances Matt kept sending at him from the passenger's seat. His knuckles were turning white as he gripped the steering wheel, his eyes fixated on the road, "What?" He snapped when Matt's eyes wandered to him again.

"Dude, you need to calm down," Matt said softly.

"Calm down?" Brian asked, the gas accelerating just a bit as he became tense, "How the fuck can I be calm in a situation like this? I should have gone with her," He said and Matt sighed.

"It wouldn't have made it any better. You know had you gone things would have been worse. Liza can't handle both of you at the same time," Matt stated.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Brian demanded.

Matt glared, "It means that you and Michelle can't be in the same room without fighting. Do you honestly think her witnessing you tearing each other apart is good for her?"

"Don't tell me what's good for her, Matt. It's not like she's your daughter," Brian snapped and Matt's eyes widened, his mouth dropping.

"Are you fucking kidding me!?" Matt yelled, turning in his seat to face Brian as he continued to drive, "You of all people should know that I love Liza more than my own life. You know she will always be a daughter to me. So don't you fucking dare throw that in my face."

Brian took in a deep breath, realizing the nerve he struck in Matt, "I'm sorry," He breathed, "I know she's your daughter too," He said and Matt couldn't help but start to relax at the sound of that, "But I can't help that I worry too fucking much. I can't help that I'm worried she's going to kill herself."

"Brian," Matt went to stop him.

"I can't help that my worst nightmare is becoming a reality," He finished and Matt could see that he was holding back tears, even underneath his mirrored sunglasses.

"She's going to be okay, Brian," Matt assured.

"Is she?" He asked, "Because I worry every waking moment of my life that it isn't."

Matt said nothing. He knew deep down he couldn't make a promise like that to Brian. He couldn't convince himself that everything really would be okay.