-Arianna-
I've been sitting on the couch thinking for what felt like hours and my confirmation was Jaime walking in through the door, I immediately wipe the tears from my eyes and run my hand through my hair.
"Hey baby, what are you doing?" Jaime asks coming over and sitting next to me.
"Hey what's wrong?" He grabs my hand and places his free hand on my cheek getting a better look at my face.
I say nothing but turn my gaze towards the open letter sitting on the coffee table; he follows my gaze and takes in a deep breath before looking back towards me.
He goes over and grabs the letter and skims over it.
"Read it aloud." I say repositioning myself on the couch to sit Indian style.
"Dear Arianna,
We are pleased to inform you that we have located your father Atticus Vespillo and a potential sibling.
At the moment Atticus resides in Cleveland, Ohio and is in very good health.
If you want to further pursue this search please feel free to call our offices at, 619-***-**** ext. 201, during the hours of 9 A.M. and 5 P.M.
Best Regards,
Deborah Littlefield
San Diego Child Welfare Offices"
I keep my eyes on Jaime the whole time watching his eyebrows scrunch up and jaw tense, maybe he felt the same way I did.
"Ari, I don't know what to say. How do you feel?"
"I feel like the least favorite child." I say.
"Don't say that, it says potential, which means they think you have a sibling, not that you actually do."
"And if I do Jaime?!" I say getting frustrated.
"If I do that just means he left me with a sinister mother while he rescued himself and my brother or sister. Do you know how that feels?!" I shout, getting up from my sitting position to pace back and forth in front of him.
"No I don't." He says dragging his hand down his face.
"No, but I'll tell you." I begin.
"It feels like knives thrown at your back, my dad didn't care-"
"Don't say that." He says catching me off guard.
"What? Are you defending him?"
"No I'm not; I'm just saying you're putting things in your mind before you know the answers."
A tear falls from my eye and I swipe it away quickly, Jaime gets up and comes over to me wrapping his arms around my shaking body.
I wrap my arms around his torso and sobs begin to rack my body as I grab onto his shirt and let the tears flow from my eyes.
"D-did he n-not love me-e?" I ask through tears.
"Shh, I don't know why he wouldn't, look at you." He says pulling away.
"Then why?"
"I don't know the answers to that baby, but we can find out if you want to know." I nod my head, finally wanting to know reasons, and not some made up stories from my brain.
"Well it's one-thirty right now." He says looking at his watch.
"You can call the lady and set up an appointment to meet her." I nod again and he hands me my phone from the couch and then goes over to the letter picking it up and reading out the number to which I type in with shaky fingers.
"Hello, this is Deborah Littlefield's office, Samantha speaking." I open my mouth but nothing comes out.
"Hello?" I hear again.
"Uh um, this is Arianna Vespillo and I received a letter from Mrs. Littlefield about my father, and I would like to possibly make an appointment to meet with her?" I say as more of a question getting Jaime to chuckle at my nervousness.
"Ahh okay Ms. Vespillo, we actually have room for today at three-fifteen, its late notice but I can squeeze you in if you'd like." She says, I look at the clock above the couch and see it's barely one-forty.
"Um yeah sure that'll work fine, I'll be there."
"Great I'll put you in and let her know you're coming, see you then." She says before we both hang up.
"Well what's gonna happen?" Jaime asks.
"I have an appointment at three-fifteen." I say taking in a deep breath.
"Well then go get dressed so we can get there in time." Jaime says resting his hands on my shoulders and giving them a light squeeze.
I skipped up the steps and threw on a decent outfit then did my usual makeup routine, running a brush through my still straight hair and making my way downstairs in record time.
"That was quick." Jaime says from his seat on the couch.
"I just wanna do this and get it over with." I say running my hand through my hair.
"You'll be fine, it' not like we're actually meeting him, just finding out about him."
"You're right, let's go. I want to stop by In and Out on our way because I'm starving." I say getting Jaime to laugh and agree.
"You ready?" Jaime asks as we sit in the car in front of the child welfare agency.
"Yes, let's go." I say quickly getting out of the car.
We made it up the elevator and to the office door; Jaime politely opened it for me and followed me in, immediately being greeted by a young lady in her twenties sitting behind a desk typing on her computer.
"Hi, what can I do for you?" She asks politely.
"Uh, I'm Arianna Vespillo and I had an appointment at three-fifteen." I say with a smile.
"Oh okay well if you'll have a seat I'll go and tell her you're here." She says getting up and walking to an office a few feet away.
Jaime and I sit down in the blue seats offered to us and I stay quiet silently freaking out that this is actually happening.
Jaime grabs my hand and I turn to look at him, he has a sympathetic smile on his face and instantly all my nerves wash away.
"Thank you for being here with me." I say with a sly smile.
"Till the end." He responds.
"Ms. Vespillo?" I turn to see the young girl calling me.
"She'll see you now." She says with a smile opening the office door for us.
I whisper a small thank you to her as Jaime and I file into her office.
"Ms. Vespillo, what a pleasure to meet you." The lady I'm guessing is Deborah says extending out her hand for me to shake.
"Likewise, this is my boyfriend Jaime. He's the one that contacted you." I say pointing to Jaime.
She shakes his hand as well then gestures us to sit down in front of her desk, we do as she says and that's when my nerves kick in.
"It's a pleasure to meet both of you, I'm Deborah Littlefield but you can call me Deborah." She says kindly.
"Now, down to business, you want to know about your father correct?" She asks to which I nod slowly.
"Okay so I can tell you what I've found out through a few searches." She begins, neither I nor Jaime saying a word.
"Atticus, your father, now resides in Cleveland, Ohio. There he owns Atticus and Leo Law Firm which he runs with his eldest son Leonardo Vespillo, which is why we suggested he might be a potential sibling." My mind began to twist and turn with everything being thrown at me.
"Whoa whoa okay so I might have a brother? For the longest time I was convinced I was an only child." I say.
"Well Arianna the only reason we suggest it is because he is twenty-five, obviously older than you from what your boyfriend has informed, you just turned twenty-five." She explains.
"And there were no marriages before my mom Cristelda Vespillo?" I ask.
"From the records we have here, he's only been married twice, to a Cristelda and a Veronica." She says opening a folder and reading what's in it.
I take in a deep breath and tell her to continue.
"Well Ms. Vespillo that's really all I know about him, he's quite a private person. I can give you his phone number and address if you'd like to arrange a meeting."
"Um, yeah if you'll give that to me, I'll think it over."
She types a few things on her computer then prints out a page handing it to me with my dad's number and address on it.
I thank her and leave quickly, Jaime running behind me to catch up.
"Arianna, stop." He says from behind.
I whip around and face him once we're out of the building.
"I'm sorry Jaime, I-I just had to get out of there." He pulls me into another embrace.
"I know, it was a lot to take in. But now you know."
Jaime's phone begins to ring and he pulls it out of his pocket.
"It's Vic." He states, I nod and gesture him to answer it.
"Hello?" He says into the speaker.
"Oh yeah, um, we'll go book our tickets, where is it again?" I watch him intently as his eyes grow big then he looks at me.
"Uh yeah I'm still here, I'll book them tonight, I gotta go bye." Then he quickly ends the call.
"What was that about?" I ask.
"The Alternative Press Awards are next week on the twenty-first." He says using big hand gestures still looking at me with wide eyes.
"And?" I drag out raising an eyebrow at him.
"It's in Cleveland, Ohio."
>>>>
Entry 55: July 20, 2014
Hello again!
I'm currently on a plane to Cleveland, Ohio for the Alternative Press Awards, Jaime is nominated for an award and I couldn't be more excited for him.
On another note, I found my dad.
Yeah I know crazy right? Well I'll finally be meeting him in two days. It feels like a dream, I've always wondered about him and question if I'm anything like him. Now I'll finally find out.
I'm so happy I have Jaime to bring a long on this journey; he's the one who found him for me after all. But I really don't know where I'd be without his support; he makes things like this easier.
Well diary, I guess this is it for now, we're almost to Cleveland and I need to wake Jaime up from his nap.
Until next time,
Arianna Rae
I shut my journal and stuff it into my bag underneath me before turning to Jaime whose sound asleep.
"Jaime." I whisper in his ear while shaking him lightly.
"Jaime." I say a little louder.
"Jaime!" I whisper yell, getting Alysha, who's in the seats across from us with Mike, to laugh.
"Wha-what?" Jaime says groggily rubbing his eyes from the sleep.
"Wake up, we're here sleeping beauty." I say through a giggle after I see Alysha recording on her phone.
We all get our things and step off the plane then walk towards the baggage claim.
"So why are you guys staying here for an extra day?" Mike asks us while we wait for our suitcases.
"Uh, site see for the day, thought it'd be fun since Ari's never been here." He says looking to me with a smile.
Mike just nods his head in agreement. "Sounds like fun."
Jaime and I both agree, then I see our huge suitcase coming and I point to it so Jaime can get it. He wanted a huge suitcase because he 'saw no use for taking two, when we could fit everything in one.' As he says, I thought it was just the Mexican in him trying to fit everything in one because he was too lazy to pack two.
Its two o'clock and we finally made it to the hotel where everyone was staying, courtesy to the people at AP headquarters.
"Holy fandom explosion." I muttered making Jaime erupt in laughter.
"Did you just say fandom explosion?" Jaime says calming his laughter.
"Yes don't judge me and the other fan girls out there. I'm still getting used to calling you boyfriend." I say giving him a hand in the face and hair flip before walking towards the front desk.
"Hi we have a reservation for Jaime Preciado." I ask the young lady behind the desk.
"Ah yes, one king size bed, non-smoking?" She states.
"Here's your room key, enjoy your stay and good luck at the awards Mr. Preciado." She says with a cheeky smile.
I glare at her then got pulled away by Jaime quickly.
"Did you see the way she smiled at you? Nuh uh sister, not my boyfriend." I say making Danielle laugh as we board the elevator.
"I have that problem all the time with this one." She says nudging Vic's arm.
"Not my fault I'm such a ladies' man." He says flipping his hair.
"Please never do that again." Jaime says laughing.
We got out of the elevator and went straight to the room; Jaime quickly changed shirts and told me he'd meet me down stairs because he had to do something with the guys and Adam Elmakias. This just left me to get relaxed and take a shower.
I dug through the oversized suitcase until I found my outfit for the rest of the day. I went to the bathroom starting the shower and got in, the hot water immediately relaxing my tensed airplane chair and jet lagged bones.
Once out I blow dried my hair leaving my natural curls to bounce around my face and down my back, I quickly began on my simple makeup: eyeliner, mascara, and my red lips.
When that was done I slipped on my denim blue skinny jeans and a floral crop top leaving a bit of my stomach exposed. I placed my black leather jacket over my shoulders and then slid my feet into black combat boots.
I gave myself a once over in the mirror before I heard a knock at the door. I open it up and the rest of the girls are there waiting for me.
"Are you ready?" Alysha asks.
"Yep let me just get my room key." I say going over to the dresser and grabbing it, placing it in my pocket along with my phone and walking out the door with them.
To say the day was amazingly fun would be an understatement; I got to meet so many people from bands that have been the subjects of many playlists on my iPod since I was seventeen.
Hanging out with the girls, walking around while the guys went to rehearsals and had photo shoots was the best, it definitely kept my mind distracted on what was to come on Tuesday.
We finally made it back to the hotel around eight after having a good meal with the guys before they took off again to the pier for another photo shoot which was for the tour their doing, the girls and I decided to stay in my room for the time being since they were going to be coming back to film a promo video with Adam after their shoot.
"Honey I'm home!" We hear from the door.
"Oh darling I'm so glad you're home!" I sarcastically shout back.
"Whoa, it's a party!" Jaime laughs when he sees all of us piled on our bed.
"Hey is Spencer in here?" Tony asks coming in behind Jaime.
"Oh there- They're in here!!" Tony shouts towards the door.
In a matter of seconds all the guys come in and find their girlfriends, each one leaving to go downstairs for the party.
Five shots and three cocktails later I was feeling the buzz and had Jaime take me back to the room around one in the morning, needless to say we had a good time downstairs.
"Babe wake up, we gotta get dressed, we gotta go to the venue, come on." Jaime nagged pulling the covers off my shivering body.
"But it's too early!" I shout folding my body into the fetal position.
"It's twelve in the afternoon and we need to go downstairs to- just get up." He says hitting me with a pillow.
I get up, very slowly, and do my morning routine then quickly get dressed while Jaime sits on the bed and nags about me going too slow.
"Well I'm sorry you're girlfriend is slightly hung-over and is in dire need of a coffee." I say with my eyes squinting from the sun shining in through the window behind Jaime.
"Well if you hurry I'll get you one from downstairs, there's some Advil in the front pocket of the suitcase." He says pointing to the suitcase on the bed.
I quickly go to grab them and down them both dry which makes Jaime cringe at the site.
"How can you swallow a dry pill?" He says scrunching up his nose.
"Used to it." I giggle.
Jaime comes over and gives me a kiss then pulls me in for a hug.
"What was that for?" I ask looking up to him.
He just shrugs and grabs my hand, "Because you're beautiful even when you're having a hangover."
I laugh and smack his chest playfully, "Shut up, let's go get that coffee."
We both go downstairs immediately being greeted by the many band members who, most of them, have sunglasses over their eyes and a coffee in hand, guess I'm not the only one who had too much fun last night.
The day was spent hanging out at the hotel keeping away from the press outside and the many screaming fans, though Jaime did take the time to walk around with me until the interruptions got crazy and we had to return back to the hotel.
I have no problem with fans, because I am one, and being here with these bands that I've been crazy about since high school is difficult even for me because all I want to do is ask for pictures left and right, but I have to maintain my cool.
"It's already five you wanna go get ready; we have to be out of here by six-thirty." Jaime says to me looking at his watch.
"Yeah I gotta go iron your shirt too." I say remembering that we wrinkled his shirt underneath the many things he piled into that damn suitcase.
I stepped into my black dress that falls right above the knees and had Jaime zip up the back; I grabbed my booties with a heel and zipped them up over my feet. I walked back into the bathroom and gave myself a glance, Jaime walked in and looked himself over as well.
He wore a white dress up shirt with a grey suit coat, the sleeves rolled up one time, a black tie tied nicely around his neck and some dark blue skinny jeans all put together with his grey and black vans.
"We look hot." He says looking at our reflection in the mirror.
He pulls out his phone and pulls me closer to his side both of us smiling as I hug his torso and he wraps his arm around my waist.
"Perfect." He says snapping the picture and typing away on his phone.
"Come on we have to go it's already six fifteen." I say exiting the bathroom and going to grab my clutch.
We make our way downstairs and find the other guys and girls then file into a van that would take us to the venue.
The girls and I got early access to find our table while the guys walked the red carpet and took pictures with fans; the field was beautifully set up with tables that had black table cloths and guitar centerpieces.
"I found it!" Danielle shouted.
We took our seats and waited for the guys to come, a few fans that were there caught our attention and we talked with them then took pictures as well, which took me off guard at first but I agreed.
"Hey the guys are coming let's go back." Spencer says as we see the guys looking at all the tables for our name card.
We walk back and sit down with the guys who got excited about tonight's events and the hype of being here with many other musicians.
"Ladies and gentleman we are pleased to welcome you to the first annual Alternative Press Music Awards, I'm Mark Hoppus and I'll be your host for the evening." We hear come from the stage in front of us.
The night went smoothly, Pierce the Veil winning the award for best live band and Jaime for best bassist; he came back with his award and took a cheesy picture which I proudly uploaded to Instagram.
He was holding the gold fret and head of a guitar that looked to be altered into a skull, slightly under his chin and he was smiling with his infamous dimples on full display.
@theariannarae My honey, the best bassist, and his award. So proud of you darling. (Guitar emoji) @ptvjaime #apawards #altpress #hottie #aintheacutie
"They spelt my name right." He says pointing to the name plate on the awards.
"You're such a dork, congrats baby." I say leaning in to kiss him.
"You're like my good luck charm, that's why I take you everywhere." He says making me laugh.
"Can I get a picture of you two?" Adam Elmakias asks.
I nod and close my eyes then place my lips on Jaime's cheek and I see the flash of the camera go off.
"That was perfect." He says showing us the picture.
Jaime was making a screaming face showing off his award and throwing up a rock and roll hand sign.
I giggled and threw a thumbs up at Adam and he told us he's send the picture to Jaime as soon as he uploaded it. That was definitely being framed.
"Thank you Ari." Jaime says leaning in closer to me.
"For what?" I ask tilting my head.
"For being here with me so far, sticking with me even though I'm always busy and have a wacky schedule every day. You haven't left yet and I'm glad, because you make me happy, you make my heart happy." He says looking down at his lap.
I place my hand atop of his and he looks back to my eyes, "Till the end."
He smiles and pulls me into him locking our lips instantly, opening up the butterfly cage in my stomach for the millionth time since I've met him.
---
The next morning was a drag for sure, not only did we all get shit faced and I was dealing with yet another hangover, today was the day I'll meet my dad for the first time since I was two.
I got up from the bed and got ready for the day, deciding on something nice to wear, because as Danielle told me last night when I told them the ordeal, the first impression is the best impression. And I certainly didn't want to go over to see him dressed in shorts and a crop top.
I laid out my outfit and looked it over again.
Dark blue jeans, a blue jean boyfriend shirt that will be tucked in loosely and the sleeves rolled up to my elbow with a white tank top underneath and some tan flats. I'll keep my makeup to a minimum but still use my red lipstick.
"Looks nice, I like that outfit." Jaime says walking behind me securing his watch on his wrist.
I smile then hurriedly situate myself inside the outfit then retreat to the bathroom to fix my hair and makeup.
I walk out and see Jaime already dressed and ready to go, he's wearing dark blue skinny jeans, black vans and the yellow and black Obey shirt he wore when I first met him.
"Don't be nervous babe." He says coming over to me and grabbing my hands.
"What if he doesn't like me?" I say looking down to my feet.
"What's there not to like? He can't judge you without getting to know you Ari." He says lifting up my chin to look at him.
I nod my head and wrap my arms around his body suddenly being engulfed in his cologne which makes my nerves settle and my mind be at peace.
"Come on, I called a cab and I'm sure it's waiting downstairs." He says getting my purse from the bed and handing it to me along with my phone.
"You have the information?" He asks making me dig in my purse and pull it out.
"Here I'll take it." Jaime says taking it and placing it in his pocket.
When we got downstairs the PTV guys and girls were there with their suitcases ready to leave.
"Hey, don't worry things will be fine Ari." Spencer says bringing me into a hug which I gladly accept.
"I know, I'll call and let you know what happens." I say looking at Spencer then to all the rest of my friends.
They nod and exit the building to the waiting taxi taking them to the airport.
Jaime stays talking to Mike about something and I pull my phone out of my pocket and go through Instagram for the first time since yesterday, instantly seeing the picture of Jaime and me in the bathroom before the awards.
@ptvjaime: Best couple award? I think so, taking over the world with my number one fan. @theariannarae (heart emoji) (guy/girl kissing emoji) #myeverything
I look over to Jaime and smile, all my nerves being put to rest, for now at least. He turns around and smiles then says bye to Mike before coming over to me and leading me outside to our taxi.
Jaime gave the driver the address and he quickly began driving, yep here come the nerves again.
The drive there had to be the longest drive of my life, every minute dragged on as if some higher power was giving me the chance to stop the car and tell him to take us back, but I didn't, I needed to do this.
The car came to a halt and Jaime gave him the cash telling him to wait for five minutes just in case, and then got out of the car coming around to my side.
He opened it for me and extended out his hand for me to take, I hesitated at first then took it getting out of the car and shutting it behind me.
We walked up to the door and right before Jaime rang the bell,
"Wait!" I shout.
"What? What's wrong?" He asks turning to me quickly.
"Oh my god let me just breath." I say placing my hands around my head and through my hair, blowing out air through my mouth.
"Okay, it's now or never. Ring it." I say relaxing myself then begin playing with one of the buttons on my shirt.
Jaime rings the doorbell then brings me closer to his side while we wait until we finally see someone coming towards the door.
A man around his early forties answers the door and looks at Jaime then at me, looking me up and down then tilting his head and scrunching his eyebrows together.
"Arianna?"
[A/N: Ahh another cliff hanger, sorry. Not sure if this chapter seemed rushed or not, I was really just trying to get to the going to her dads house part, but nonetheless it's here and it's coming.
Please vote and a comment if you liked it or if there's anything you want to see in the future.
Again be sure to go check out mine and CandyPlatypus story Again, an Alex Gaskarth and Jack Barakat double love story.
Love you all, Adri]