Bury the Past

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

Chapter 3 (Estrangement)

It is often said of murder victims, they never had an enemy in their life, and families would speak of how good of a person that was. The cold hard truth spoken by many veteran homicide detectives: If they did not have an enemy, they would still be alive, because somebody didn't like them; and somebody got to them.

This thought wracked Trina's brain as she lay in her bed and stared endlessly at the ceiling fan above her. She hadn't told Martin yet because she was still recovering from the shock of what happened. "Maybe mom was the target," she whispered to herself. Tears ran down the sides of her face and she shook her head. "Maybe Jade. Jade probably has a lot of enemies. Maybe she was the target, and my mom and sister were caught up in it."

She felt a splash of anger, even though she thought the initial anger had already passed. She tried to deny it, but she saw the news report.

It was also often said of victims of crime, that many would find themselves caught up in a lifestyle that leads them to a point in their life where something bad is going to happen. Whether it's gambling, drugs, sex or something else. Lifestyle choices often play a role in homicide.

She wasn't a homicide detective, but all her life she wanted to be. It was the one thing she hounded her father about growing up, always asking him to let her help out at the office when she was old enough, but he never did. Not after the night they lost her grandparents. Everything changed then.

With a soft groan, Trina pulled her forearms over her eyes, trembling as the distant memory returned to her mind.

"Oh sweetheart," chimed an older lady, "Let grandma get a good look at you." The grey haired woman lifted the twelve year old girl up, to the child's surprise and joy, and spun her around. An older man, bent forward and walking with a cane, made his way over. He had a bald head and a wrinkled face. His lips were spread into a widening grin.

"My god it feels like it's been forever," he said. David walked past his parents, chuckling softly.

"We were just here last month, Dad." He tossed his overcoat onto the couch nearby and tugged at his shirt collar. "I thought we'd stop in while Holly's picking Tori up from dance recital." Trina's grandfather swept his arm through the air, motioning at Trina.

"I thought we were missing one granddaughter." Trina laughed jovially as her grandfather made his approach. "Come now Rosalie, I want to say hello to my granddaughter." Rosalie set Trina down, shaking her head.

"Oh alright, I suppose I have to share."

Trina threw her arms around her grandfather's legs, beaming with joy as he reached down and hugged her. "My, my, I've not seen you since you were three feet." David plopped onto the couch, rolling his eyes and smirking.

"Again, Dad, we were just here a month ago. She hasn't sprouted up that quickly."

Trina threw her hands behind her back and leaned forward, grinning at her father. "Come on daddy, he's got dementia, right grandpa?" David raised an eyebrow and his father belted with laughter.

"I see you've got my daughter trained already. I don't think she even knows what dementia is yet." He snapped his fingers and pointed. "Which you don't have."

"Worth a try, son. Worth a try."

"Oh George." Rose swat her hand in the air and walked past. "Goodness. Come with me Katrina, I've baked some delicious brownies for you to try." David looked over his shoulder with a sigh, having given up on complaining about them spoiling his daughter long ago.

Trina ran after her and David picked up a book from the end table. "Don't eat too much before supper, Trina!" He called, despite knowing there was little use in his suggestion.

Hours later, after dinner, the four were lounging in the living room. David was in the bathroom shower while Trina played a game on the console hooked to the television. George was playing with her, and Rose was doing the dishes.

The game was a golf game, one of George's favorites. Trina had been learning to play it for a while, so she was decent at it.

She pushed up on the analog stick, smirking when her well-aimed shot went in the hole. "My, my, you're getting good at this," George praised her. He hit his shot, and the ball went out of bounds. Trina saw his thumb pushing the analog stick to the left just before the hit, so she knew it was done purposefully. "Damn."

"Grandpa be fair, I don't want to win because you let me."

George laughed. "Okay, okay, I'll be serious."

As the game continued, Trina became complacent and focused solely on it and the sound of running water. The fun times only silenced when she heard her grandmother scream from the other room. Trina turned her head and her eyes widened when she saw two men standing in the kitchen with guns pointed at her grandmother.

"Grandma!"

George looked up and his game controller fell from his trembling hands. "What? Who are you! What are you doing in my house?" One of the two men, taller and with long brown hair and a muscular build, turned his gun onto George.

"First off, we're going to find every item worth value in this house old man, and then we're going to have some fun. First thing I want you to do is tell me where your son is."

George's head vibrated as his voice bellowed. "I don't know what you're talking about. It's only my wife and granddaughter. Leave now before I call the police." The man chuckled and took a step forward.

"You can't fool me old fuck, I know he's here. David Vega. Where is-"

"Psst Ned," spoke the shorter man. This one was bald and had a long red beard. "I hear running water. Somebody's in the shower." Ned's eyebrows rose and he started to laugh.

"Well I'll be damned, not a bad job Wallace." Trina's eyes shot to the hallway and she held her breath as the running water stopped. Her heart was racing and a scream caught in her throat, too afraid to let it out. "Okay. You three stay right where you are and don't try anything funny, you hear?"

"I'd do what the man says," Wallace hissed. Trina glared at the man and then whimpered as Ned approached the walkway to the hall. Half of his mouth rose, revealing a portion of his teeth.

David's heavy footsteps could be heard approaching the living room. Trina wanted to cry out, tell her father to run or to stay back, but fear had paralyzed her. Instead, she hugged her grandfather to protect him while her grandmother tried hiding her phone from Wallace's view to call the police.

"Okay," David said while rounding the corner. He was fully dressed and drying his face with a towel. "How's the game going out here?"

"Pretty great," Ned responded. David paused, slowly taking his towel away and turning his head. Ned grinned further and tilted his head. "Remember us, Dave? You fucked us over, threw us in jail a few years back." David's eyes widened and Ned slammed the end of his pistol down on the man's head. "Thought we'd pay our respects."

Within minutes they had the family held in the center of the living room and had David tied up and sitting on the couch. "What do you want?" David growled. "I'll give you anything, just stay away from my family."

"No, you see…" Ned paced in front of Trina and started to chuckle. "What you did? You ruined our lives. We lost our family, and you know what?" Without missing a beat, Ned pointed his gun to George's head and fired a shot. Trina screamed in horror as her grandfather fell back, and Rose threw her arms around her husband, crying out. "So will you."

"Dad!" David's body lurched forward and he struggled in his binds, but couldn't break free. They'd tied the rope fully around his body, locking his arms underneath. Then they had his wrists and ankles bound.

Trina tried reaching out for her grandfather, weeping as the old man's blood spilled out onto her. "You assholes," David growled, "You won't get away with this."

"Ah but we already have." Ned waved his hand in the air and motioned to Rose. The woman gasped and tensed as Wallace yanked her away from her husband and held her in place. "Wallace…if you will…I don't think we've made him pay enough."

Trina reached for her grandmother and Ned grabbed the back of her shirt, yanking her back. "Don't you touch my daughter, bastard!" Ned raised his eyebrows and looked down at Trina.

"Oh, well, I see where his main concern is." Trina hissed at Ned, kicking her foot into his shin. The man jerked back and cried out in pain. "Goddamn it." The man promptly swung down, striking her on the side of the face. The slap sent her to the ground, stinging worse than a wasp's sting. "You're going to pay for that, you little tart."

David tried struggling further, shouting at Ned for laying a hand on his daughter.

Just then a shot rang out and everyone fell silent. Trina jerked her head upright and her eyes flooded with tears. Wallace had one hand on Rose's shoulder and a gun at the back of her head. The woman's eyes grew dim and her head started to fall forward.

"G-Grandma."

Wallace looked at Trina with a sick grin and squinted his eyes. "And then there was the little girl." He let Rose fall to the side and approached Trina slowly. David's screaming turned to pleas and his struggling increased. "What will we do with this one, Ned?"

Trina froze as Wallace firmly clutched her shoulders and forced her in place. Ned chuckled sinisterly and lowered his gun. "Whatever you like, Wallace. Let the cop watch as we tear his little angel apart…"

David sped down the freeway, potentially breaking every traffic law in the book, as the same memory unfolded in his head. His hands were firm against the steering wheel and his knuckles were white as chalk.

His face was ashen and his eyes were wet with tears, red with pain. "Damn it Gary," he muttered, "I know you know where she is. You little prick, you're going to tell me." Ever since he lost touch with Gary, he decided to stop trying to find Trina because he figured she didn't want to be found. Now, he needed to find her.

Ned and Wallace didn't kill them that night because the police arrived, but it was too late. They'd already brutalized his daughter before his eyes. They got the revenge they wanted, he'd been unable to protect her.

The men took off and managed to elude capture for an incredibly long time. By the time Mexican authorities found them living somewhere in the deep south of Mexico, Trina had already left.

When they had been found, David wanted so badly to get his hands on them. If he had, he would have given them an incredibly slow and painful death, making sure first to revive them any time they passed out.

God how he fantasized about their imminent torture and death for so long. Now, with what happened to Holly and Tori, his nightmares and flashbacks were returning full force.

He had to find Trina. Even times in the past when he had visited Gary, the man would claim knowing nothing about Trina's whereabouts. David knew the man was lying, but could do nothing about it. Trina was an adult and if she wanted not to be found, then she would not be found.

Trina pulled herself out of the bed and looked to the wall in front of her. She was horrified thinking about what could have happened to Tori and her mother, and in assigning blame, she wanted to think maybe it was someone that had it out for her father that did the crime.

As she moved into the living room where her godparents and Martin were sitting, a weight pulled at her. She knew they could see her tears, and she didn't care. Martin stood the minute he saw her and walked over, extending his arms to her. "Ellie, what's going on? Talk to me."

She leaned into him, her arms folded over her stomach. His hands caressed her elbows and upper arms as her head buried into his chest. "I don't know how to say it, I don't know how to say any of it." She was considering travel to LA, she wanted to visit her sister and attend her mother's funeral. "There are some things…I haven't been completely honest with you, Martin." He furrowed his brow and she turned her gaze up into his eyes. "I love you. I don't want to lose you. I want you to understand, the things about me you don't know, the reasons I have…"

Gary looked up and over to his door, squinting at it. Martin appeared confused and concerned, and Trina didn't know how she could alleviate anything. She took a deep breath, holding it for a minute while studying the look in his eyes. They were uncertain and nervous, but she had a feeling he'd be supportive of her if she was at least honest.

"For starters…I'm happy with my new job, but I've always wanted to be a homicide detective. That's my real goal." Martin shrugged and nodded his head.

"That's not so bad."

"Also, I've been going by my middle name for the last ten years." Martin raised an eyebrow and nodded again, keeping silent. "Katrina is the name you'll find on my birth certificate."

"So I should start calling you Trina?"

"If you want. Most people in my life now call me Ellie." She lowered her arms and took a small step back. Her voice trembled and tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm going to have to go to LA for a while, I think. There, I go by Trina."

"Okay? Should we talk about this? You're not planning on moving there, are you? We've already settled."

"No. No, I think I just need to be there." She wiped her eyes with the cuff of her sleeve and glanced to the windows beside the door. Her eyebrows rose when she saw movement. "There's someone at the door."

"I know," Gary said with a huff, "And I know who…" The man set his phone down on the coffee table, where Trina could see a text message from someone telling Gary he was coming over whether he wanted him too or not. Her throat constricted and her hand moved over her mouth.

Before Gary could get to the door, it swung open, spilling light all across the room. David stepped forward, standing as still as a tree and looking hard as rock. "Gary. I want to know where my daughter is, and I want to know now. I'm done with the games." Trina closed her eyes as her husband twisted around, raising his voice.

"Who are you? This isn't your home to just barge into."

David glared at the man, flaring his nostrils. "I'll barge in when I know someone is keeping my family at bay." Gary locked his wrists behind his back and bowed his head.

"She made that decision on her own, Dave. I never forced or suggested anything."

Not wanting a fight to break out, Trina stepped into view. She was too upset to react adversely, and too frozen with grief and anxiety to truly move. "I'm right here, Dad." Martin looked back at her, his eyes growing large.

"What?" Trina bowed her head and laced her fingers together in front of her waist. "Isn't Gary-"

"He's my godfather, Martin. He's basically been my dad for the last ten years."

David's eyes narrowed and he started to turn to Gary. "You…" He breathed in deep and Gary raised his head slowly. "All along? You had my daughter all this time?" David's voice started to rise, shaking tremendously with each word. "Even when I came to your house looking in the past, she was with you this entire time?!"

"Hold on." Martin rubbed his head vigorously and groaned. "What don't I know about you?" Trina shrugged.

"I was raised in Los Angeles. Had a mom, a dad, and a sister." Her voice choked and the tears started running down her face. "I have-had an entire life that I put behind me because none of it was good."

"So…I know next to nothing about you? Nothing's real?"

"That's not true!" She raised her head, gasping aloud. "Martin, I love you. That's true, that's real. I want to be a detective, that's true." Martin ran his hand behind his head and looked at Gary and Carol, who had grown incredibly silent.

"But you don't trust me. If you trusted me, you would have been honest from the start…"

"Martin, no…" She began to shake, her heart breaking and sinking as the man shook his head and started to walk away. She reached for his arm, but he pulled it away with a sigh. "Martin!"

"I need some time to think, Ellie. Trina. Whatever your name is…" Martin looked at Gary, squinted, then looked at David. "It's good to meet you Mr.-" He looked back at Trina, frowning deeply. "Your maiden name isn't Lawton, is it?" She closed her eyes, feeling her entire body on the brink of collapse.

"Vega." She felt like a pane of glass, ready to shatter with the next word that came out of his mouth. She was hurt and angry, angry at her dad for interrupting this moment and angry at herself for having kept everything about her life from her husband. "I-I was afraid, Martin."

"I'm sorry." He cupped his hand over his mouth and shut his eyes. "I need to think." Trina gasped as he left the house. She wanted to run after him, plead with him to listen to her reasons.

Carol hurried to her side, catching her as she dropped to her knees. "It's okay honey," Carol said with a soft and warm voice. "He'll come around. It's just a lot to take in, sweetie." Her entire body was numb with anguish, and her mind was reeling with thoughts.

"W-What…" She raised her eyes to her father, glaring with fire at the man. "What are you doing here, Dad?"

"I'm here to take you home, Trina."

"This is my home." She stood shakily, raising her voice and pointing out the door. "That was my husband that just walked out!" David frowned and guilt flashed before his eyes as he glanced over his shoulder. "I have a career here. I have a life here. You can't just waltz in here and force me to go to LA."

"No one's forcing you. I won't force you. You're a grown woman." David walked forward, looking back in her eyes. "But I am still your father. A father that hasn't seen his daughter in ten years. I just lost half my family, one of my children is in a coma, and I had no way of knowing if you were okay because this prick-" His voice lashed out as he jerked his thumb to Gary. "-Wouldn't even tell me you were okay."

"Don't you dare blame or accuse him." She pulled away from Carol, stepping closer to her father. Anyone in the room could feel the heat rising as though the entire home had been set ablaze. "I told him I wanted nothing to do with any of you. I told him not to say anything. Me. It was all me, Dad."

"Come home, Trina."

"This is home." She needed to go to LA anyway, but damn her father if he thought he was going to make her. Here, she was calling the shots. As it so happened, an idea struck her that would perhaps be negotiable to him.

She wanted to find out what happened to her sister and her mother. She wanted to look into the case herself. "Who's handling Tori's case, Dad?" David rolled his eyes and looked away, crossing his arms. She replied firmly, narrowing her eyes. "Who is handling her and mom?"

The man unfolded his arms and pointed to himself. "I am. I'm the best homicide detective we got, and I don't trust anyone else with that case."

"You're emotionally charged." She cocked her head and started to hum. "I want to work that case with you. I want to help. You're too worked up with emotions."

He grunted in reply. "So are you." She shrugged and crossed her arms.

"We can help each other. Hell, maybe even bring Gary along."

"I'm retired," Gary muttered, "There's no way in hell."

She hardly heard what he said, her focus was too much onto her father. "I'll only go to LA if you let me help find out who hurt my mother and who hurt my sister."

David took a breath, eventually nodding his head. "Fine, I'll let you work the case. If it gets you there-"

"But it's temporary." She raised her hand up, then pointed to the ground. "I'm coming back here after we solve the crime. It's just going to be for this one thing that I'll go to LA with you, but I am not staying." David wrinkled his brow and frowned deeply, staring at her for the longest time.

She was unrelenting in her position, firm in her pose and stern in her expression. He needed to understand how serious she was Finally he broke, giving in. "Okay." He turned away. "Gather up your things, we leave immediately."

"Excuse me?"

"I have to be back, we have a homicide to solve."

And the tide comes rolling in, in the worst way possible probably. So what are your thoughts on it all? We see the shared memory affecting both Trina and her father, and now she's en route to LA. But there's also the issue of her husband, having just learned there's a whole life Trina has never trusted him with. It's hard to swallow, because he loves her but doesn't know how to digest this. Give your thoughts, and be ready, we hit the investigation next.