Disclaimer: I own NOTHING.. Punk is borrowed from WWE and the song is borrowed from the delightful TSwift

May 15, 2011

"You're the one who's always off with someone else, Kady, not me! So, don't even try to come in here and accuse me of that bullshit!" Phil screamed, hazel eyes blazing, chest heaving in anger.

"The only person I am EVER out with Philip is Luke, and he is happily married thank you very much! And even if he wasn't, I would never EVER consider him a possibility. I love YOU and I want to be with YOU, but it seems like you're happier chatting it up with Beth than calling your girlfriend! So fuck you Philip! I don't need this!" Kady screamed back, her entire body coiled tight with the effort of being mad, no pissed off. She huffed a quick breath and made to turn away, hoping to end the fight.

This wasn't their first fight, no, this was just another in a long string of heated exchanges the pair had had in the last few months. It seemed like all the couple did was fight these days. Long gone were the surprise flower deliveries—always lilies because Punk knew her favorite and was considerate enough to make sure she got her favorite—long gone were the sappy text messages and hours long skype dates. It seemed that all they had left in them was anger. The love that had dominated so much of their 4 year relationship was rapidly dissipating; they could hardly remember what those days were like.

"Well, maybe I like being with Beth because she appreciates me! She didn't run off the second a little fame came her way like a certain celebutaunt we all know! Maybe, I'd rather be with her because when we're together we are actually together and I don't have to sit and watch her check her fucking phone every 10 seconds!" Phil retorted. He didn't really mean what he was saying, or at least, he wouldn't when he thought them over later—once he'd calmed down—but in the moment, he wanted to do anything he could to hurt Kady the way she had been hurting him.

Kady, defeated, eyes now brimming with tears turned her back to Phil and with more strength than she felt, said evenly "Then maybe we shouldn't do this anymore, Punk.(Phil flinched. Kady never called him Punk. She was one of the few that could get away with calling him by his given name..) Maybe it's so hard because it should have ended a long time ago. If you want to be with someone you can see every day, and that someone is Beth, I won't stop you. But we can't keep doing this Phil. This fighting is killing me. I love you, but I really can't do this anymore."

With that, tears finally slipping down her cheeks, Kady exited the hotel room she had been sharing with Phil until the fight. The last thing she heard as the door clicked closed was silence. Phil never even attempted to change her mind and that broke Kady more than anything he could have ever said to her.

Kady quickly made her way to her rental car and headed to the airport. Her trip was meant to be a happy occasion, between her touring schedule and his wrestling schedule, Kady and Phil hadn't really had a lot of time together and this was supposed to be a week of them just basking in each other. Kady had hoped it would repair the fractures that were making themselves apparent in the relationship, but instead, it was over. 4 years of her life were tossed out the window and Kady honestly didn't know how they had gotten to this place.

December 23, 2011 Nashville, TN

Kady set her pencil down onto her spiral notebook with a deep sigh. She was meant to be helping her mother prepare for Christmas with Joe's, her stepfather, side of the family, but she couldn't seem to stay focused. All she really wanted to do was write. There was an onslaught of lyrics she needed to get down, at least roughly, before they slipped from her mind. This was normal for the 26 year old songbird. One of the things that had gotten her a head start in her music career was her abilities as a lyricist.

Her frustration was coming from the pure misery coating every word she seemed to write. It seemed as if, since her break up with her long time boyfriend, Phil Brooks, that her mind had shut down. Most days she couldn't write at all—a fierce writer's block had set in—and when she could manage a few lines, they were all about Punk.

Today was different though, Kady had, for the first time in months, managed to compose an entire song. It was rough, sure, but it was on paper. Kady knew that she needed to do something with this song, it had to have come to her for a reason. Hesitant because of her mother's rushed anxious voice downstairs, Kady opened her laptop and clicked on her webcam software.

She chewed her lip fretfully and the program booted and strummed a few chords on her guitar. When the program opened, Kady took a shaky breath and clicked 'record.'

"Hey y'all, Kady here." She smiled tenuously. "I've got this song itching at my conscious and I feel like I need to share it with someone, so I figured I'd share it with all of you."

She took a deep breath and began to strum…

When she was finished, she set the video to upload to her personal webpage and went to check on her mother.

After making sure her mother wasn't going to have a meltdown, Kady returned to her computer to see that the song had completed uploading. Once again she hesitated before acting. However, what was done was done, and Kady then opened her Twitter and composed a new tweet, adding the link to her newest song for all to see.

KadyCartwright KadyBearrr

This one's the new one. I hope y'all enjoy it and the rest of your holiday season xoxo…

*************************************PunkandKady***************************************

December 23, 2011 Chicago, IL

Punk was restless. His best friend, Colt, was off visiting family for the holiday, and because of the snow, he couldn't do much other than sit around his apartment and mope. He had read and reread nearly all of his comics and had even sat through a few movies and an episode or two of 'The Wire.' Nothing was taking the edge off of his boredom.

Finally at around midnight, he decided to venture into 'Twitterland' and see if anyone had posting anything even remotely interesting. He hated people on the best of days, so he was doubtful that they would have said anything worth responding to. Sadly he was right. After calling out a few morons, he composed a tweet of his own:

CMPunk CMPunk

Bored out of my mind, stuck at home. Happy Crimmus all.

Frustrated, Punk closed his computer and headed into the kitchen. It didn't take him long, however, to return to his computer and to Twitter. This time though he saw a post that piqued his interest.

CenaRKOPunkGrrl HayleyJay

" KadyBearr This one's the new one. I hope y'all enjoy it and the rest of your holiday season xoxo" I think this song is about CMPunk! So sad! L

Punk clicked the link and watched avidly, hardly breathing as Kady popped up on his screen. His eyes devoured her face, taking in every detail, noting in the back of his mind his glee at seeing her in one of his old hoodies, and could hardly breathe as the music started.

Please take down the mistletoe, cause I don't wanna think about that right now

You see, everything I want is miles away, in a snow covered little town

My mommas in the kitchen worrying about me, season's greetings hope you're well

Well I'm doing alright if you were wondering, lately I can never tell

I know this shouldn't be a lonely time, but there were Christmases when you were mine

I've been doing fine without you really, up until the nights got cold

And everybody's here except you baby.. seems like everyone's got someone to hold

But for me it's just a lonely time cause there were Christmases when you were mine

Merry Christmas everybody that'll have to be something that I just say this year

I bet you got your mom another sweater, and were your cousins late again

When you were putting up the lights, this year did you notice one less pair of hands?

I know this shouldn't be a lonely time but there were Christmases when I didn't wonder how you are tonight

Cause there were Christmases when you were mine, you were mine….

As the song played, Punk lost himself to memories of last year's Christmas. He had spent the entire holiday at Kady's being shuffled between her mom's house and her dad's house. As dysfunctional as it appeared, Punk loved Christmas with Kady. Dinner at her mother's was always amazing—Kady's mom was a phenomenal cook and made sure Punk ate his fill at every meal. Then, after dinner at mom's, Punk and Kady, along with her brothers—Lanky, easygoing Alex and exuberant and chatty Matt—and her sister the beautiful, sweet Raini—they would head to Kady's father's house where a fierce game of football always took place in the backyard. Punk looked forward to spending the holidays at Kady's home, when he was there, he felt at peace. He was always accepted, tattoos and piercings and sarcasm too.

This year he felt a little lost. Ever since Kady had broken up with him, and he—like a fucking idiot—hadn't stopped her from leaving, he had felt a little off-kilter. This wasn't normal for him. He didn't like people. He didn't form attachments. But something about the 5'5" dark-haired girl had completely taken him over. He even listened to her country music crap—which he said he totally hated even though he owned each of her 3 CD's and still played repeatedly when he was travelling. Kady had changed him, and he didn't know how things had gotten so bad between them. He especially didn't know how to fix it; if he could fix it. Maybe they were too broken. With a sigh, Punk closed the video and tried to put it out of his mind in hopes of getting some sleep—haha funny thought right?

After about 2 hours of tossing and turning, Punk couldn't take it anymore. He picked up his cellphone and dialed 6 of the 7 digits of Kady's cell phone number. He debated with himself furiously, chewing on his lip ring, trying to convince himself to tap the last number. After about 10 minutes, Punk took a breath and punched in the final digit, anxiously listening to the phone ring…

*************************************KadyandPunk****************************************

December 24, 2011 3am Nashville, TN

Kady wasn't sleeping. Christmas was creeping ever closer, and she still had no idea how she felt about it. Usually, she would be curled up in the livingroom with Punk watching old Christmas specials that he hated but dealt with because she loved them so much. On a normal Christmas holiday, Kady would be bouncing with excitement over the tasks of putting up lights and nabbing kisses under the mistletoe, but this year she just didn't feel like dealing with the whole ordeal. She wanted Phil, simple as that, but they were over. They had been over form months now, and she needed to learn to adjust.

Kady knew she couldn't continue living her life in this Post-Punk haze, and most days she managed to seem normal, but Christmas was their time. It was completely uninterrupted—no work, no distractions—and Kady knew she missed having him there. On some level, her family missed him too. He had become such a usual guest, that they had grown attached to the man as well.

Frustrated, Kady attempted to sleep once again, burrowing under her comforter and closing her eyes tightly. She was distracted; however, by the buzzing of her phone. With a huff, she picked it up and almost promptly dropping it again in shock. The caller ID on her IPhone displayed a picture of her and..Punk and the name read Phil. He was calling her! She bit her lip, debating on whether or not to answer. Then, before she lost her chance, Kady accepted the call.

She was silent at first, not trusting her voice... and when she heard his voice again for the first time since the breakup, Kady nearly cried.

"Hey…"Punk whispered.