Deep, Dark Secrets

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye!

Chapter One: Difficult to Accept

Abby Rippner had never realized that her mother hated her father. She had just assumed that they had divorced when she was younger and her mother had taken custody of her. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever thought that her father was locked up and Lisa believed him to be dead.

At least he's alive and you have a reason why he's ignored you for your entire life.

Philippe did not tell her why he was imprisoned; just that he was currently housed in a high-security prison for the criminally insane.

He can't be insane, can he? I'm not insane, so why is he?

For as long as she could remember, a piece of her life had been missing. It was not just a father figure, because she had Philippe, but it was her real father. She missed him even though she had no memory of even having met him. Her step-father was really closed-mouthed about him and her mother had clearly forbidden any talk about him in her presence.

Lisa would always pause whenever she had tried to bring up her father before. After she realized who she was inquiring about, her mother would become hysterical and Philippe would jump into action. Philippe was forever calming down her mother and still had occasion therapy session with her after Abby upset her.

My own mother hates being in the same room as me. She can't stand to look at me. I know she hates me.

Lisa had even tried without any luck to convince her to dye her hair a different color or to wear colored contacts. Abby had always refused even though many girls her age would have be excited to have their mothers ask them to dye their hair. For some unknown reason, her appearance bothered her mother and she relished the discomfort that it brought, even when Philippe was there to reassure her.

I must look like my father and that's why she hates me. She hated him and since he's locked up, she only has me to be upset by.

Abby hated being lied to. Her entire life, she had assumed that her father was being kept away by Philippe and would one day come for her. Now, not only was Philippe keeping him locked up, her father could never see her. He could not even visit.

"He's never been allowed a visitor anyways. He's too dangerous to be around other people. He's separated even from the other inmates," Philippe explained when she asked about visiting him.

It was extremely cruel for Philippe to keep them apart. He had no right to keep her from her father. She knew that was why he was still her father's psychiatrist – it was to make them unhappy and ensure that they were separated.

There was a gaping hole in Abby's young heart that yearned for her father. She had been denied love from her mother and also from Philippe. He had tried to be her father, but she didn't want him. She wanted the man who's last name she bore. She wanted her daddy.

No one can replace him. He's my father and I miss him. Surely, he must miss me too, unless he doesn't even know I exist. Maybe Philippe is keeping me a secret from him. He sure had no qualms about keeping him locked up for all these years while I cried myself to sleep at night.

All she wanted was her father. She just wanted to feel loved.

If he had a choice, I doubt he would leave me with mommy dearest. He would keep me with him if Philippe wasn't keeping him locked up and medicated. I bet Philippe made him insane just to punish us both.

Her father was not insane. There was no way he was crazy. Philippe was lying to her; just like he had lied to her since the beginning. She would know in her heart with he was crazy and she could feel that he was not. He was as sane as she was and quite possibly saner that Lisa Carter.

Not that it takes much to be saner than her. If anyone's crazy and needs to be locked up, it's my mother.

Obviously, Philippe disagreed with her on that. He treated Lisa at home and had been treating her for as long as Abby could remember. He loved her mother far too much to send her away.

Yet, he had banished her father without a thought towards Abby's feelings. Of course, why would he care about the 'baggage' from her mother's first marriage? No step-father ever truly wanted another man's child in their life and if they had to deal with one, then would do everything in their power to make them miserable. At least, that's what Philippe seemed to be trying to do.

Abby sighed. All I want is my daddy. Is that too much to ask for?

Apparently so…

Author's Notes:

Abby's a really unhappy teenager. She doesn't know what Jackson's done, or even what his first name is. Of course, she'll find a way to meet him because she's inherited his sneakiness. Philippe's not as bad as she is making him out to be, but she needs someone to hate and to blame for her pain, so he's a good scapegoat. Thanks for the reviews!