Daddy's Little Surprise

Four years had past and Ariel was raising a three year old girl named Evangeline May Montgomery, she had her mother’s and father’s blue eyes, her mother’s smile and her father’s personality. She had black hair, white skin, piercing blue eyes and a huge smile. Andrew didn’t know he had brought a daughter into the world, Ariel thought it would be best for him and his career. She was now twenty-two years old, living on her own in an apartment. She was still single, but raising a little girl and working a full-time job she didn’t have the time to date. Black Veil Brides were working on their fourth album now, she still listened to the band and even tried to learn a bit more about Andrew to see what her daughter’s father was up to with his career. He had cut his hair, gotten taller and gotten older. He was now twenty-three years old and had a girlfriend of the name Juliet Simms, Ariel had watched his girlfriend on The Voice and even though Ariel didn’t really like her music she was happy they were together. It was August 16th and Ariel had just gotten off of work, she had to pick Evangeline up from her best friend’s house before heading home. Her best friend Whitney was twenty-three years old, she liked to treat herself like Evangeline’s aunt, which she was in some ways since Whitney and Ariel were like sisters. Once Ariel arrived at Whitney’s house, she parked in the driveway and cut off the engine of her Toyota Camry, she took off her seatbelt and opened the door, stepping out into the warm summer air. She was glad she would be off for two days, she would be able to do things with her daughter, She approached the front door and rang the doorbell, hearing Whitney’s cute dog Stacy barking inside. She was a poodle but liked to act like she was a big, mean dog. The door opened and Whitney appeared with a smile.
“Eva, your mommy is here!” Whitney called, suddenly a three year old girl appeared in a pink tutu. She ran towards Ariel and Ariel didn’t hesitate to pick her daughter up, she hugged her tightly and kissed her all over her face, making Evangeline giggle happily.
“I missed you!” Ariel exclaimed, stepping into the house, hearing the door close behind her.
“I miss you, mommy.” Evangeline said, her sweet voice was like music to Ariel’s ears. They entered the living room and Ariel saw it was a mess from the kid toys Whitney had brought for Evangeline.
“Was she good?” Ariel asked, sitting down on the couch while Evangeline held onto her.
“Yes she was, we had fun today. I took her to the park and she ran around for an hour, then she had a snack and then a nap, and woke up and we played.” Whitney said, sitting down beside Ariel.
“Sounds like someone had fun.” Ariel said, Evangeline smiled and climbed off of her mom’s lap and took off running out of the living room, making the two girls smile.
“So, what’s going on in Andrew’s life?” Whitney asked, Ariel sighed softly.
“His band.”
“Would you ever tell him he has a daughter?”
“Eventually yes, but I don’t know if he’s ready to know..” Ariel said, trailing off her sentence.
“Maybe he’s matured though, because the older she gets she’s going to start asking for daddy.”
“I know Whit, but I can’t just call him up and say ‘I don’t know if you remember me but we have a daughter together.”
“No you can’t do that,” Whitney said, she paused in thought. “But you can go to him!”
Ariel looked at Whitney as if she was on crack.
“Whit you’re crazy, I can’t fly to California and find him.”
“Sure you can, I’ll come with you. It will be fun anyways, even if we don’t find him. It is still summer Ariel, it could be a nice girl vacation.” Whitney said, Ariel didn’t know if she was ready to tell Andrew he was a father.
“I don’t know Whit.”
“Oh come on, do it for Eva.” Whitney said, she knew Ariel couldn’t resist when she said things like that. She was quiet for a while and suddenly a loud sigh filled the room, and Ariel looked at Whitney.
“Fine, I guess we’re going to California.”
“Yes! This is going to be so fun, if we start getting things ready we could probably leave tomorrow.” Whitney said, Ariel swallowed hard apprehensively. This was really happening wasn’t it? The girls stayed up most of the night working on flying to California and getting a hotel room, there was a flight that next day leaving at eleven thirty. It was four o’clock when Ariel got home and put a sleeping Evangeline in the bed, but Ariel didn’t go to sleep until six since she was packing. When that next morning came, Ariel was woken up by Evangeline at nine thirty for breakfast. Ariel carried Evangeline to the kitchen and fixed her a bowl of Fruit Loops while she got ready, she was finished by ten thirty and that was when Whitney showed up. They loaded up Whitney’s SUV and headed to the airport, Ariel was beginning to wonder if this was a mistake but she was thinking about her daughter when they got on the plane. Evangeline did need her father. It took five hours to fly from North Carolina Charlotte to California Hollywood, they got a ride from the airport in California to the hotel room they were staying at during all of this. The hotel was nice actually and so was the room, Evangeline seemed excited to be here even though she didn’t know why she was. And even though the sights were beautiful, Ariel was feeling a bit guilty keeping Evangeline away from her father.
“Okay, so we have to think of a plan to find this guy.” Whitney said, sitting down in a recliner near the window while Evangeline jumped on the bed.
“Eva, please stop jumping on the bed. You’ll fall and get hurt,” Ariel said, the last jump Evangeline made she landed on her butt and looked at her mother. “Thank you, and I don’t know where to look.”
Whitney thought for the longest time until she got an idea. “You said they were working on a new album right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“We can probably find the studio!”
“And how would we do that?”
“I don’t know, it couldn’t be that difficult.” Whitney said, suddenly Ariel’s cell phone started to ring and she saw her mother was calling her. Veronica didn’t know Ariel was in California, she didn’t have enough time to tell her.
“It’s mom,” Ariel said, answering the phone and putting it to her ear. “Hello?”
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“Um, trying to find Andrew.” Ariel replied awkwardly, Veronica was quiet.
“Evangeline’s father?”
“Yes, him mom.”
“Wait, where are you?” Veronica asked.
“California.”
“Where’s Eva?!” Veronica asked in panic and concern.
“She’s with me mom of course, and so is Whitney.”
“Hi Veronica!” Whitney said loudly so Veronica could hear.
“When did you plan this, Ariel?”
“Last night, Whitney talked me into it. So I’m here and we’re trying to find him.”
“Do you even want to do this, Ariel?”
“Mom, he deserves to know. I shouldn’t have kept it from him for three years.” Ariel said.
“Don’t blame yourself for that Ariel, you did what you thought was best for his career.”
“I know, but he deserved to know.” Ariel said, sounding a bit guilty.
“I don’t want you blaming yourself Ariel, I mean it.”
As Ariel talked to her mother Whitney got an idea, she grabbed her cell phone and dialed her cousin’s number. He lives here and she knew he would know where Black Veil Brides were recording their album, he was a record producer.
“Hello?”
“Shane, it’s Whitney, can I get some information on something?” Whitney said.
“Sure, what do you need?”
“I’m in California, don’t ask questions. But I want to know where Black Veil Brides are recording their new album coming out this October.” Whitney said.
“I don’t know Whit, I can’t give out information like that.”
“Shane, it’s serious!” Whitney snapped.
“Okay, okay. I’ll text you the address, give me a few minutes.” Shane said, giving in.
“Okay, bye.” Whitney hung up the phone to see Ariel looking at her curiously, she was already off the phone with Veronica and was now letting Evangeline lay in her lap. She needed a nap.
“Who were you on the phone with?”
“My cousin Shane, he’s a record producer and he’s going to find out where they’re recording the album for us.”
Ariel’s eyes widen, she didn’t know her cousin Shane was a record producer.
“You have an awesome cousin.”
“I know, but I’m more awesome than he is,” Whitney said with a giggle, and suddenly her cell phone went off. That was pretty quick but Whitney didn’t care, she looked at the text and smiled. “Bingo, let’s go.”
“Now?”
“Yes now.” Whitney hissed, Ariel sighed and picked Evangeline up. They left the hotel and Whitney pulled up her map on her phone, and that’s when she realized they weren’t far from the studio. They started walking down the streets as Ariel carried Evangeline, not wanting her to end up in the street. It was hot and walking made it hotter, but Ariel didn’t mind walking much. She was beyond apprehensive, what if he doesn’t remember her? What if he doesn’t believe Evangeline is his daughter? What if he doesn’t want to be a father? What if he gets mad at Ariel for keeping it a secret? So many thoughts ran through Ariel’s head and she felt her stomach turning, this might not go so well as she’s hoping. They arrived at the studio and Whitney spotted three males standing outside the door talking, so she figured she should talk to them first.
“Excuse me,” Whitney said, they looked at them. “I’m Whitney and this is my friend Ariel, is Black Veil Brides recording in there?”
“Yes, they are, but you can’t go in.”
“Oh please, we’re not going to tackle them when we see them or anything. It’s very serious.” Whitney said, one male raised his eyebrows.
“How is it very serious?”
“Because this little girl here is Andrew’s cousin, and we’re in town for a little while and wanted to see him.” Whitney said, her lie sounding believable.
“Oh, so you’re related to Andy?” The male asked, looking at Ariel. She nodded.
“Yes I am.”
“Well if you’re family you can come in, come on, I’ll take you.” The male said, opening the door. They followed him inside to hear nothing, but when they started walking up some stairs Ariel heard a drum. They walked down a hallway and reached a door, and the male opened it and stepped inside. The walls were painted dark red, the carpet and furniture was black, and it seemed like a living room but Ariel saw Christian Coma in the booth beating on the drums. Andrew, Jeremy, Ashley and Jacob sat in the sitting area listening to Christian, nodding their heads impressively.
“Andy, someone is here to see you.” The male said, Andrew looked up and saw the two women and the little girl, his expression showed confusion.
“Um,---’ Andy began, but Whitney interrupted.
“Andy, come with me, now.” She said demandingly, she gripped his leather jacket and pulled him off of the couch and out of the room while Ariel followed.
“Hey let go of my jacket, and who are you girls?” Andy said, pushing Whitney’s hand away as they stood in the hallway.
“Give me Eva, and I’ll be in the studio. You two can talk.” Whitney said, taking Evangeline from Ariel and heading into the booth. Evangeline had already passed out. Andy looked at Ariel with a confused expression, waiting for her to speak.
“Do you remember me?”
“No, should I?” Andy said, she sighed.
“Back in 2011, we met after a concert and we went to the tour bus and we slept together. It’s Ariel.”
Andy was quiet for a while as he stared at her, the memories was slowly coming back to him and she seemed familiar.
“Oh, I remember you now. What are you doing here?”
Ariel took a deep breath. “I got pregnant that night and found out two months later,” Ariel said, Andy’s blue eyes widen. “That little girl, is your daughter.”
Andy’s eyes were wide and he gripped his hair in shock, he didn’t know what to say.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes I’m sure.” Ariel replied.
“Why didn’t you tell me? She’s at least four years old!”
“I know and I’m sorry, but I had no way of contacting you. I didn’t know where you were and you were just starting out your career and I didn’t want a child to ruin it because I didn’t know if you wanted to be a father. And she’s three.”
“I’m not like that Ariel, she wouldn’t have ruined my career. I’m her father and she doesn’t even know who I am!”
“I know and I’m sorry, but she’s here now and if you want to be a father in her life. Then you can, I won’t keep her from you.” Ariel told him.
“How is that going to work if we live in different states?!”
“I don’t know but we’ll think of something, will you calm down please?”
“You want me to calm down after I just found out I have a three year old daughter I didn’t know about?!” Andy snapped, Ariel frowned as she felt guilty.
“I’m sorry..”
Andy saw the guilt on her face and he frowned a bit, maybe he overreacted a little bit too much, she did say she didn’t want to ruin his career but he wished she didn’t think like that. He released his hair and looked at her.
“Ariel I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to unleash it on you.”
“It’s fine, I kind of expected it.”
“Can I go see her?” Andy asked, she nodded.
“No need to ask Andrew, she is your daughter.”
“Thanks, and you can call me Andy if you want.” Andy said, he approached the door and headed into the studio to see CC had stopped playing the drums. Evangeline was awake and standing behind Whitney’s leg shyly, when Andy looked at her he melted. She looked like a perfect angel, she was beautiful and he wanted to hug her forever. His heart was beating fast apprehensively, he was apprehensive, he didn’t know if he was going to be good at this father thing. He approached her slowly, then lowered down to her level as Whitney watched him protectively. A soft smile was on his face and she looked at him shyly, not knowing who he was and why he was near her.
“Hi sweetie,” Andy said softly, she continued to look at him. “I’m Andy, what’s your name?”
“Evangeline.” She replied, her name sounding wrong since she couldn’t say it properly yet.
“Evangeline, that’s a beautiful name. Why don’t you come out from behind your mom’s friend here, we don’t bite.” Andy said, holding out his hand. She hesitated for a few seconds but then looked at Ariel for permission, Ariel nodded and she placed her small hand into Andy’s big hand. He closed his hand gently and pulled her slowly out from behind Whitney, making sure she was comfortable. The band members watched Andy and Evangeline in confusion, they didn’t know who that little girl was, nor who the women were. But Andy seemed like he knew them all his life, and they didn’t understand why he hadn’t mentioned them. Did he have a secret sister they didn’t know about? It was very obvious she was shy, she was looking around the room apprehensively and holding Andy’s hand made her feel a bit more comfortable.
“You know, you’re very cute.” Andy said, poking her stomach and making her giggle. Right then he knew she was ticklish. “Oh I’m sorry, are you ticklish there?” He asked, beginning to tickle her stomach as she laugh and tried to get him to stop. A smile appeared on Jinxx’s face as he watched Andy play with the little girl, whoever she was Andy seemed like he knew her. She squealed and hugged him around his neck, and he finally stopped tickling her. A huge smile was on her face and her eyes were lit, he felt scared when she hugged him. She was so small and fragile he was afraid if he hugged back he’d squeeze her too hard, but he gently wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. She was so cute to him and even though he hadn’t known her long, he felt as if he already loved her. After they talked for a little bit, the band members walked Whitney, Ariel and Evangeline to the door. Evangeline had herself wrapped around Andy’s leg as he walked and every time he walked she giggled, Ariel knew Evangeline had grown on Andy quickly as he did her.
“Ariel,” Andy said, she looked at him. “I want you to have my number, call it day or night. I’ll answer.” He said, she smiled and pulled out her cell phone as the band members told Evangeline bye.
“What is it?”
He gave her his number and she added it to her contact list, then she looked at Evangeline.
“Eva, we have to go.”
“No!” Evangeline shouted, holding onto Andy tighter. Ariel leaned down and grabbed Evangeline from Andy’s leg, she screamed and starting crying and Andy’s heart broke. He stepped forward and grabbed Evangeline’s chin gently and looked into her eyes.
“I promise you will see me again, okay? Be good for your momma,” Andy told her, she cried and leaned forward, holding out her arms for him to get her. He smiled and kissed her forehead and let her hug his neck, her tears dried up and a small smile appeared. But then he pulled away and looked at her. “Can I see her tomorrow?”
“Of course, I’ll call you or something?” Ariel said, putting Evangeline on her hip to hold her better.
“Sounds good, and thank you for letting me see her. It does mean a lot. Be careful, bye guys.” Andy said, Whitney opened the door and stepped outside while Ariel followed. Andy watched the three of them walk across the street and disappear.
“Who was that little girl?” Jinxx asked Andy.
“My daughter.” Andy replied…

Notes