A/N: I want to thank you guys for making this an easy transition back into the wrestling world. AJ spoke to me, and wanted this to happen in chapter 3...so here we are! Enjoy it!
Chapter 3
AJ stood at the sink and sighed. She was sporting another black eye from Bryan, and she knew that if she didn't clean up this mess soon, she'd have another one to match. She'd just finished baking a cake for his birthday. She'd wanted to surprise him. It was a small mess, but a mess nonetheless. She started scrubbing the countertops and singing at the top of her lungs. She hadn't heard him come in the front door. She had finished loading the dishwasher and was almost finished cleaning. She looked at the clock above the island and sighed. He was due home at four-thirty, and she didn't want to risk angering him. He'd gone out with some of his friends for a birthday lunch, and that's why she had time to bake him a vegan cake. She put it in the refrigerator and smiled. She had just finished cleaning off the island when he made his way into the kitchen. She had just thrown the paper towels in the trash can.
"AJ."
He said. AJ whirled around and smiled. But it was hopeless. He was in a mood, and nothing she could do would calm him down. She walked over to him and smiled anyway, hoping things would turn out for the best.
"Hi honey. How was lunch?"
"It fucking sucked. What did you do today?"
"Baked a cake."
Bryan glared at her. He couldn't believe that she'd spent all day baking when the house needed to be cleaned. He shook his head and slammed his fist on the counter. AJ flinched, and knew that this wasn't going to be good.
"You fucking spent all day baking a cake! April, this house is a mess! You didn't clean at all today?"
"I cleaned the living room, the bathroom and our room. Then I came down here and baked a vegan birthday cake for you!"
"I didn't ask you to make me a fucking birthday cake! I asked you to clean the house while I was at lunch with my friends! And I come home, and nothing was done? That is bullshit, AJ!"
"I'm sorry. I wanted to do something nice."
"Something nice? Something nice! How about you fucking do what I want you to do for a change!"
He said, coming around the island to stand in front of her. AJ braced herself for the hit that was sure to be coming. And sure enough, it did. He slapped her right in the face and AJ went down to the floor. She wrapped herself in a ball and waited for the beating to stop, knowing that nothing good would come of crying….
"No! No! NO!"
Phil could hear AJ yelling. He got out of his bed and walked into the guest bedroom where AJ was staying. He walked in and saw her thrashing all around the bed. He knelt down next to the bed and started stroking her hair and whispering in her ear. She immediately woke up and looked around the bedroom crying. That's when she looked around the unfamiliar room and realized that she was with Phil in Vermont. She looked at him.
"You okay?"
"I had a nightmare."
"I could tell. Do you need me to get you anything?"
AJ shook her head and sighed. She pulled herself into Phil's arms and he sat there and held her. She fell back to sleep again sometime later and Phil walked into the kitchen. He needed to be able to relate to her. He'd never been in an abusive relationship before, and he needed to understand it. But, before he could pick up the phone, AJ wandered back into the kitchen. She looked at him and walked right to the fridge. She opened it up and placed a carton of eggs on the counter. She always cooked after she had a nightmare. She always opened up to someone too, afterwards. She took a pan down off the holder and looked at Phil.
"It was Bryan's birthday…"
"AJ, you don't have to tell me if you don't want too."
"I do. I probably should, since you're helping me out."
Phil nodded and watched as she made her way around the kitchen flawlessly. She made the omelets and placed them on the island. She then sat down and started confiding in him.
"Bryan went out for a birthday lunch. He'd asked me to clean the apartment and I did. Well, most of it. I wanted to do something nice for his birthday, so I made him a cake. A vegan cake for his birthday. He came home just as I had finished cleaning up the kitchen. He got mad when he found out I'd made him a cake. He was more worried about why the apartment wasn't clean. He came around the island and beat the hell out of me."
"Was that the first time?"
"No, that was the second. The first time was right after his first match with you. I said something flippant and he slapped me. The first time I went to see Ali, she stitched me up, and I made her promise that she wouldn't say anything."
"AJ. I am so sorry. I wish that there were something I could've done. Maybe if I could've caught it sooner."
"No…don't ever think that, Phil. You couldn't have helped anymore than Ali could've, or Tamina, or Kaitlyn, or Beth. Nobody could help."
"I have. Now. Don't even stress this situation, okay? You're safe now, and I'm making sure of that. Nothing or nobody is going to come after you again."
"How can you say that? How can you sit there and tell me that I'm going to be safe?"
"I know that Bryan Danielson is a jerk. And I know that you're a beautiful, amazing, funny, smart, woman. And any man would be lucky to have you! And you don't need him."
AJ gasped. She was shocked at what was coming out of Phil's mouth. Nobody had ever said any of those things about her. Not anyone who wasn't Bryan trying to seduce her. She grabbed Phil's hand and held it.
"You really think so?"
Phil moved his hand from AJ's and put it on her cheek, stroking it softly. And then he did something he'd kick himself over later. He leaned in and kissed her. AJ didn't think about anything, she just kissed him back. A few minutes later, she pulled away from him and shook her head.
"I'm sorry."
Phil said, knowing that he should walk out of the kitchen. But he couldn't. He felt the pull of AJ calling to him, and he knew that he should probably put the kibash on the whole thing, but he couldn't. He couldn't keep AJ at arms length. He needed her, and that kiss solidified it for him.
"I'm not sorry, Phil. I'm glad you did it. And I really want you to do it again."
"If I do it again, AJ…I promise you that it will be more than just kissing."
AJ nodded and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards his bedroom. She didn't want to think about anything, she just wanted to feel. Feel the way she did when Phil held her, feel the way she did when Phil kissed her. And she didn't care. She knew that things were going to change between her and Phil, and they'd discuss it properly, later. For now, she lay on his bed and watched as he made his way towards her.
"She's in Vermont, dude."
A voice told Bryan on the other end of the phone. Bryan sat up in bed, and grabbed the notepad off the nightstand. He scribbled down the address of the place that his friend had gotten for him.
"What the hell is in Vermont?"
"Apparently, Phil Brooks has a place there. And she's hiding out there. There isn't any word on if he's there or not, but she's in South Burlington. It's an affluent area."
"Scotty man, thank you. Keep me in the loop."
"I will."
He said, hanging up. Bryan grinned evilly. He now knew where AJ was located, and he was going to find her and drag her back to Florida by her hair. And he'd make sure that Phil knew he wasn't playing around. That was his woman, and he'd be damned if someone came into the picture and took AJ from him. He took his cell phone out and dialed the airport.
"Yes, I need a ticket to Vermont please, as soon as possible…"
