Ariel's POV:
My aunt and I arrived at her house an hour later.
"Let's go inside" my aunt said getting out of the car. I follow after her.
"You can stay in the guest room and here's a set of fresh pajamas. I'm sure we're the same size. Also if you want to take a shower it's upstairs 2 doors down" she tells me.
I grab the pajamas and hug my aunt. "Thanks for everything" I sayto her.
"You're welcome Ariel. You know I will always be here for you no matter what. Family always stick together." We both smile at each other.
"Well I will let you go change and get settled. I will make us some hot chocolate" Aunt Karen tries to cheer me up a bit before going into the kitchen.
...
After I showered and put on my pajamas, I start heading downstairs. Just as I got to the middle of the stairs I hear my aunt talking to someone.
"What are you doing here?" my aunt says to the guy.
"I came to see my daughter" the stranger says to her.
"You chose this day to see her? After all these years you decide to show up and pop back into her life. She doesn't deserve this. Ariel is really in a fragile state right now. She lost her mother today." My aunt says to him.
Just as my aunt told that to him the guy fell to his knees. "Laura is dead?"
She sighs sadly and nods."Yes. She had stage 4 cancer Simon."
My mom had cancer and I didn't even know about this. My mom hid this from me and so did my aunt.
"She's gone. Laura is gone" he whispers.
"Simon you got to go before Ariel sees you" Aunt Karen says pushing him out the door.
"No. I have a right to see Ariel and so help me God I will see her." Simon argues with my aunt.
Why does this guy want to see me? I never seen this guy in my entire life.
"What right do you have to see Ariel? You left her and Laura a week after your daughter was born. Do you think your daughter wants to see you? She is fine without you Simon" my aunt yells back.
"I do still have the right because I am the father of Ariel. I am here now and I will try to set everything right between me and her. It has nothing to do with you. Also you don't know the whole story on why I left. I was trying to protect them Karen" Simon says to her.
"Protect them? Protect them from what? You know how bad of a condition Laura was when you left? She was heartbroken and went through depression. You made her go through hell. The only reason she held it together was because of Ariel. " Aunt Karen argues back to him.
"It's none of your business why I left. The only person that needs to know everything is Ariel. Where's Ariel? I want to see her!" Simon yells at Aunt Karen.
Not wanting to hear them argue anymore, I decided to face the both of them and go downstairs.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs, they both stopped yelling at each other and stared at me. Nobody said anything. So I decided to break the silence.
"What is going on here and who are you?" I say eyeing Simon. Pretending that I didn't have a clue on what they were discussing and who he was.
"Ariel is that you? My gosh you're all grown up" Simon said giving me an unexpected hug.
I froze not knowing what to do. My aunt just eyed him staying where she was standing. I put my hands on his chest and pushed him away a little.
"Not to be rude or anything but who are you?" I ask him.
"I'm your father. Simon Cowell." he says to me with a small smile.
I didn't know how to react or what to say. Should I feel happy, mad or sad? To be honest it was a mix of those emotions.
"Say something Ariel." Simon tells me with pleading eyes as he grabs one of my hands.
Quickly, I remove my hand from his hold. "I don't know what to say honestly. You're a stranger to me. Yes, I get it your my father, but you have been gone my whole life and now you show up out of nowhere. I'm not happy what you did to me and my mom. You left us Simon. How can you leave the person you love the most and plus she was bearing a child. That is the cruelest thing a man could ever do. That shows that you're a coward Simon. I'm sorry but it's best if you leave. My aunt was right" I said turning my back away from him.
"I understand. I just want to say I am truly sorry. I know an apology is not enough but I promise Ariel I will make it up to you someday" Simon says and leaves without saying another word.
I felt numb and tears were rolling down my face as I ran back upstairs. I cried and cried for not knowing how long. Everything was too much for me to handle. First my mom's death and now my dad randomly comes back. I just feel so confused.
"Ariel can I come in?" Aunt Karen asks at the other side of the door.
I slowly open the door and see her with a tray containing two mugs filled with hot cocoas. "Thought you would might want something to drink" she say with a small smile.
I try to give her my best smile back. She sat next to me on my bed and handed me a cup. I took it and started drinking it. "Are you okay Ariel?" my aunt asks me.
"To be honest I don't know Aunt Karen. It's just a little too much right now" I answer her truthfully with a frown.
"I understand but remember that if you need to talk I'm here" she puts her hand on top of mine .
"I know Aunt Karen." I simply say to her.
There was a silence for a while and I decided to break it. "Is Simon really my father?" I ask my aunt.
She sighs and put her cup down back on the tray. "Yes. Simon is your father" she answers my question.
"I want to talk to him" I tell her looking straight to my aunt.
"Why?" Aunt Karen says shocked with my decision that I wanted to see Simon.
"I don't know. I just want to talk to him."
"Are sure about this Ariel? You know you don't have to do this" my aunt tries to put some sense in me.
"I know my father is not my favorite person, but he still is my father and I still do want to know him" I say truthfully.
Aunt Karen groans. "Well who am I to stop you. To be honest I don't think it's a good idea but I will support you in everything you do. As long as they're good and decent choices" my aunt said smiling.
"Thank you" hugging her tight.
"Anything for my favorites niece" she hugs me back.
"Well I think I will let you sleep. We both had a long day" Aunt Karen gets up and removes the tray off the bed.
"Goodnight sweetie. I love you" she kisses the top of my head.
"I love you too Aunt Karen" I say to her.
She leaves the room and closes the door behind her. I lay in bed putting the covers over me. Turning off the lamp and slowly drifting off to sleep.
Aunt Karen's POV:
I went to the living room and sat on the couch. Kept on thinking if it's a good idea to let Ariel see her father. I know what I said that I would support her in her decision. But I don't want her to get hurt or disappointed. Knowing what to do... I have to call Simon.
I grab my phone and dial Simon's number.
Simon: "Hello"
ME: "Hey I need to talk to you"
Simon: "About what?"
Me: "Ariel wants to see you"
Simon: "Really! That's fantastic!"
Me: Don't get your hopes up. She's not really happy about you. To tell you the truth I really don't want her to see you. But I respect her decision.
Simon: I understand. So when do you want to meet?
Me: Tomorrow at the coffee shop down the street from my house. Around 2.
Simon: Okay I will see you there.
Me: See you bye.
I hang up the phone and sigh. Hopefully everything will go smoothly tomorrow.