Daddy Issues (Andy Barber x OC)

5

Pippa lay in her bed that night, but she couldn't sleep. In a twist of fate, she and Andy were booked into the same hotel, and he was a few floors above her. She'd messaged Isla to make sure that she was ok, and she'd received word that she was 'fine' and to 'stop being such a worry wart'. 
Why her daughter was up at the same ungodly hour that she was, wasn't a surprise. She was staying with her friend for the weekend which had put Pippa's mind to rest. 

She liked to think that she had done well in raising her, Pippa had tried to give her everything possible while growing up, from school trips to that special doll she'd saved up for. All to see the smile on Isla's face. Each Christmas and birthday that passed were bittersweet. It should have been three of the. Instead it was just the two - and they were incredibly close. 
They would get their nails done, have pizza nights if there was something to celebrate, and as her daughter had gone into her teens, on the weekends they'd stay up late while Isla would tell her all the gossip. 

They still did this, even now. 

Thankfully, Pippa was in a better financial position, which meant she could give her daughter more and not have to worry about whether they would be eating that night. 

Her phone rang and Isla's picture flashed up, her voice quiet as she spoke. "Mom? Why you still up? Did you party the night away?" 

"Not exactly - are you ok?" 

"Yeah, Olivia's asleep so I've just been scrolling through my phone for a while. I'm still not tired." Isla whispered back. "So...how was the reunion? Did you get all nostalgic with your friends?" 

Pippa paused. "Kind of...not in the way I wanted to." 

Isla paused for a moment. "Was dad there?" 

She swallowed and then spoke. "I'll tell you about it when I get home..." 

"Mom...was he there?" Her daughter pressed further. "I know you're trying to avoid telling me." 

"He was there..." Pippa confirmed. 

Isla was quiet and then spoke again. "Did he see you? Did he speak to you..." 

"We spoke to one another...and I told him about you." Pippa let out a small sob.

"You did?" 

"I did...and do you know what the worst thing about all this is?" 

"What?" 

Pippa calmed herself as she sobbed, while Isla told her silently to not cry and calm down. "He really had no idea that you existed. We were both lied to...his wife? She was our friend in college,  and she lied to us both to break us up and take him for herself." 

She couldn't even hear whether Isla was saying anything right now as she was back to crying once more. "He wants to see you, my god he's fallen in love with you already, he just couldn't stop looking at your picture and telling me how beautiful you were." Pippa told her through the tears. "He's worried that you'll resent him though, for not being there. It's not his fault Isla, it really isn't." 

Isla waited until she'd calmed down. "He does? He really wants me?" she asked in a little bit of a dazed tone. 

"He wants you so much baby...he's so sorry that you were robbed of him seeing you grow up. He loves you so much already." 

"W-when can I meet him?" Isla stammered. "Mom, please let me see him..." 

"I told him I would speak to you first before we arranged for you to meet as I didn't know what your reaction would be, but now I know that you want to? I'm meeting up again with him this morning. We still have a lot more to talk about and to work out." 

"Do you still love him mom?" Her daughter now asked, "You always told me that was why there's been no guys in your life - because dad was always the one?" 

Pippa sighed. "I will always still love him, no matter what happens from now on, and when I saw him again? I had those same butterflies that I had when we first met."

She heard Isla shift slightly in her sleeping bag. "Would I be able to talk to him? Over the phone? Y'know when you guys meet? I just...I want to hear his voice, I've always imagined what it would sound like..." 

"I don't think that he would say no to that. Anyway we should both get some sleep. Text me when you get back tomorrow and if I'm still with your dad then I'll get him to call." 

"Ok - love you mom." 

"Love you too baby." Pippa smiled and ended the call, being able to sleep easier now that her daughter was aware of everything going on. 

Andy was waiting in the hotel restaurant the next morning when Pippa came down. He sat up in his seat a little more as she walked in and gave him an awkward little wave on spotting him. 

"Good Morning..." She smiled lightly, taking the seat across the table from him. 

"Morning...did you sleep ok?" 

She shook her head. "Not really." 

"Me neither..." and passed her a glass of juice that he'd poured for her. "I just can't stop thinking about how screwed up this all is." 

Pippa thanked him and sipped the juice. "I spoke with Isla..." and then she saw his face. "I told her everything - well a breif explanation, but she wants to speak to you..." 

Andy now looked up, surprised. "She does?" 

There was a small nod from her, "She was so excited to hear that you now knew about her, and wanted to know her. She was begging me to ask you to speak with her over the phone this morning." 

That was a relief. Andy's main concern had been that his daughter wouldn't want to know him. He couldn't blame her if she suddenly changed her mind after things had sunk in. But Pippa seemed confident that she wanted to build a relationship and he wasn't about to let that slip from his grasp. 

"Ok...if she wants me to call, then I will." 

"I'll text her to see if she's home - she was sleeping over at a friend's so she should be back by now." Pippa said, checking the time while messaging Isla. 

Immediately a message shot back. Been home for an hour, waiting for you - ready now x

Pippa showed him the message and he nodded with a small smile. "Go on, call her..." 

Pressing the call button, Pippa didn't have long to wait as Isla answered straight away. "Mom?" 

"I've got your dad here..." 

She heard Isla take a deep breath, obviously her daughter was feeling a little nervous now. "Okay, I'm ready." 

Pippa passed the phone to Andy who put it to his ear. "Hello Isla..." he said warmly.

His heart almost exploded as he heard his daughter's voice now answer him back for the first time. 

"Hi daddy..."