A/N: Thank you so much to the readers for getting me back on the right track with this fic. So, may I present, chapter 2!
Chapter 2
AJ sat in the car staring out the window. She was thinking and not paying attention to anything around her. Which was par for the course with her, when she was traveling. She just thought. It was where she did her best thinking. Mostly about the errands she had to run when she got back to her home in Florida. But then she realized it. She wasn't going home. Not anytime soon. Instead she was going to Vermont. To a safe house. Away from Bryan and his abuse. And then she started shaking again. She looked over to notice that Phil was staring at her.
"You okay, April? You went away there for a second."
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. Just sometimes I do my best thinking on car trips. But then I realized that I wouldn't be going back to Florida. And it just hit me a little, that's all."
"I know, but the sooner you're protected from Danielson, the better you'll be. I promise you AJ, that when we get to my house, you'll be safe. I'll be there, Ali'll be there, my cousins Addie and Claire will be there, my sister Amy. We'll all be a support system for you, honey."
AJ nodded, thankful that she was here right now. Once Phil turned off the main road, and onto a dirt path, she sighed. She knew she needed to tell him what Bryan had done to her, but she knew she couldn't. Not yet. She was sure the nightmares would begin once she slept alone, but she didn't want anyone to know about them.
"Why do we have to have a full house though? I honestly thought you were trying to help me."
"I am. But I invited Ali, because she's been there. And Addie and Claire are therapists, and Amy is…ah fuck it…I don't know. Ali's staying, but I'm sending Addie, Claire and Amy back. You just need peace and quiet."
"I just want to be away from Bryan. I just…"
AJ didn't finish the thought as they arrived at the house that Phil had. AJ looked at it, and smiled. It was a modest place. It was small and brick with windows everywhere. It was just the sort of place that AJ would love. She suddenly found herself not being able to contain her excitement. She bolted out of the car the second Phil put it in park and walked up to the front porch. She noticed the little porch swing, and sat down on it. Just from the outside, this wasn't a house that you would associate with CM Punk. Phil could see the look on her face and chuckled. He carried their bags up to the house and laughed.
"Just wait till you see the inside."
Phil said, unlocking the door for them. He looked at AJ and watched as her smile widened. The living room that they were walking into was spacious and wide open. She looked at the hardwood floors and cream colored leather couches, and matching recliner. There were pictures scattered around the wall of various things. Mostly Phil with his very high profile celebrity friends, his parents, his sister. AJ walked forward and stepped into the kitchen. It was also a big room, and looked like it was never used. AJ loved cooking, and she hoped that maybe she'd get to show her culinary skills off a little bit. She stared at the granite countertops and looked around at the pots and pans. Very top of the line stuff. She looked out the back door and smiled at the deck she saw sitting there.
"You know, there is more of the house to see."
AJ jumped a little bit. She hadn't heard Phil come in. She turned around and looked at him. She couldn't help but to admire this whole house. It was beautiful. If she could relegate herself to those two rooms, she'd make herself happy. She blushed a little bit, when she found out he'd come in, and Phil couldn't help but to watch her. She was so unaware of how adorable she was sometimes, that it made his heart hurt.
"No! Absolutely not, Phillip. You will not do this! She's Bryan's girlfriend!"
"Okay tour guide, lead the way!"
AJ said, shaking Phil out of his revelry. She had this big old grin on her face, and Phil knew it was going to be hard for him to keep his thoughts clean, but he was going to try. He took her arm in his and lead her up to the second floor. She smiled as he showed her his game room, his guest room where she'd be staying, the bathrooms and they stopped in front of another door. AJ didn't need to guess what that was.
"Yeah, this is my room."
AJ smiled and nodded. And then Phil did something he didn't think he'd do. He opened the door. AJ peeked inside and looked at the walls. There were posters everywhere. The Ramones, The Misfits, Paramore, New Found Glory. He had comics on the shelves, the queen size bed made up in the room was made up in black and blues. AJ gasped and smiled. She was getting a glimpse into the life of Phil, and she liked it. He closed the door and smiled at her.
"That's a wonderful room."
"Thank you. It's mine. I mean, I know it seems kind of childish, but it's me. So, enough about me! What shall we do today?"
"I was kind of hoping I could cook."
"You cook?"
"Yes, I cook. And I'm quite good at it, actually."
Another reason Phil was struck by the brunette standing in his kitchen. She could cook. And that was one reason he never stepped foot in his kitchen, because he couldn't. He nodded and lead her back downstairs toward the kitchen. He did have a fully stocked kitchen, because his housekeeper stocked it. With what, he never knew, but it was. So, AJ headed towards the cabinets and started taking down everything that she was going to need for the dish she was preparing. Phil looked at the amount of ingredients and sighed. That was a lot of stuff. She walked over to the refrigerator and spotted the final ingredient she'd need. Then she set off to work.
"What are you making?"
He asked, not trusting her. She looked up from the recipe she obviously knew by heart, and smiled at him again. She shook her head and smiled, once again effectively silencing him. He waited sometime later as they spoke briefly and the dish was finished. She put it in front of him and grinned.
"One of my favorite meals. Tonkatsu. It's a pork dish. Just shut up and eat it."
She said, stuffing forkfuls into her mouth. She watched as Phil started eating it and she could tell he loved it. After that dinner, he was stuffed. He couldn't believe just how amazing AJ was as a cook, and he loved that about her.
"This was amazing, AJ. It truly was! I had no idea you could cook."
"Yes, well I'm very multi-talented."
AJ said. Was she flirting? Oh god, she was flirting. AJ sighed and started to clean up the kitchen. Phil came around the island and headed towards her and the sink.
"I'll do this. You go sit and watch whatever you want on TV. I'll be in soon."
He said, shooing AJ out of the kitchen. He watched as she sat in front of the TV. He stood at the sink, gathering his thoughts. He couldn't flirt with her. She was Bryan's girlfriend. He was trying to get her out of a bad situation, and he knew this was the only way to help her.
"No you dumbass, there were other ways! You could've helped her by not bringing her here!"
He said to himself. He couldn't deny it to himself any longer. April Jeannette Mendez was going to be the death of him. Because as he, Phil Brooks knew…he was attracted to her. And he'd fight it for as long as he could.
