"You need to stop traveling alone."

"What?" AJ looked over at E. "What's wrong with traveling alone? I'm fine with it. I know it's hard to believe, but I'm actually getting really comfortable driving. I had to do a lot of it when…well, when I was with Phil, I drove a lot, he kind of made me, said it was a good way to get over my fear of it."

"Do you still think that?" E asked her as he shoved another bite of food in his mouth in order to clamp down the comment that was begging to spit out. Honestly, there were a lot of things that he was chomping at the bit to say about her estranged husband, but he didn't want to upset AJ any more than she was already upset. In fact, he wanted nothing more for her than all the happiness in the world.

"I guess, or maybe he was just lazy," she allowed herself a little giggle about it. E smiled because that's what he wanted to see. If she could start to joke and even insult Punk, somehow he knew it would make her start to heal. "But still, I'm okay with driving myself."

"Yeah, but you need to get back into the groove, get back into this," he gestured around catering. "You're acting like you're some kind of rookie or something that doesn't know anyone."

"I'm not."

"You are," he said. "you're acting like you're in this little bubble that you're trying to stay safe in. You know these people, you need to start living again."

"I'm getting better," she said, but it wasn't convincing. He raised an eyebrow and she knew that she did an even poorer job of convincing him. "What do you suggest I do then?"

"Travel with me for a while, at least for the weekend," he told her, "we'll have fun, like we used to. I insist."

She didn't say it, and neither did he, but she thought back to the kind of fun they had when they traveled, but there was someone missing that they were both obviously thinking about, a third party who traveled with them and seemed to make it more fun than it had any right to be. Dolph was always hilarious, making even the longest, more boring road trips a silly adventure.

"I don't know," AJ said.

"I said I insisted," E started nodding.

"Okay, fine," she gave in without much resistance because she had to admit that she missed having the company, "but just for the weekend."

"Mmhmm."

E sat in the car tapping on the steering wheel waiting to leave. He knew he was going to be in trouble, and he knew that this had the potential to be very, very bad, but he didn't care. Sometimes what people needed was a good kick in the ass, and that's exactly what was necessary in this instance. He glanced to his right and saw Dolph jogging towards the car, throwing his suitcase into the open trunk and slamming it down before hopping into the passenger seat.

"Hey, sorry 'bout that, got caught up talking to Mike, but let's go," he drummed his hands on the dashboard, "I'm starving, can we stop by and get something disgusting? I'm ready for a cheat meal."

"Yeah, sure, we're just waiting for one more," E told him.

"Oh, that's cool, who're we waiting for, Austin, Kofi?" Dolph asked, looking around as if the person would magically appear in the backseat.

"Nah, they've already left."

"I think everyone's already left," he said, glancing around the parking lot and seeing there were only a couple cars left. Because he was looking around at the other cars, he didn't notice the person slip into the car, throwing her duffel bag into the seat next to her as she kept her head down, her eyes on her phone.

"Sorry, E, my mom was texting me," AJ said, not bothering to look up.

"Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me." AJ's head shot up and spotted Dolph's blond-streaked hair sitting in the front seat, and she clammed up immediately. She turned her gaze to E helplessly, but he was looking over at Dolph. "What the hell, man?"

"Come on, let's go," E said.

"I'm not going anywhere with her," Dolph said, not even looking at her or acknowledging that she was even in the same car.

"Dude," E said, his voice saying so much more with that one word. He was silently telling Dolph that at some point, he would need to hash it out with AJ, and if it was going to happen, it might as well happen right now.

"I'm going."

"There's nobody left," E said, and it wasn't that he planned it that way, but it happened to work out that way since the parking lot was nearly empty.

"I'll take a goddamn cab then," Dolph said, starting to get out.

"You don't have to," AJ said, "I'm clearly the problem here, I'll get a cab."

"And what, AJ?" E asked. "Take a cab all the way to the next city? You're going to sit there, Nick, you're going to sit there, and we're going to go together, got it?"

"Fuck this," Dolph said, but he slumped down into his seat and didn't look like he was going to jump out the car so E started it up and they were on their way. Two minutes in, Dolph turned on the radio and turned it up so that talking wasn't an option. AJ sat there and watched the back of his head, wondering if she should say something, wondering if there were any words that would make him turn around and give her that smile that seemed to light up even the darkest corners.

He didn't say anything, and neither did she because she feared anything she said would be rebuffed immediately. E tried a couple times to initiate conversation, but he was met with grunts from Dolph and nothing from AJ so he eventually gave up. Then Britney's "If You Seek Amy" started playing and it gave AJ a small giggle that caused her immediately to cover her mouth. It was nice to know that even thought he hated her now, Dolph was still Dolph.

"Hey, babe," he said as he answered the phone, and this caused AJ to sit up a little straighter. She didn't know that Dolph had a girlfriend. When did this happen? How long had they been together? What was she like? Who was she? "Nah, I'm just on the road with E…three or four hours unfortunately…uh, no, you cannot do that while I'm in the car…later, I promise…okay, love you too, babe."

After he hung up, E asked, "How's Kim doing?"

"Fine, she needed a break studying for the BAR exam, thought she'd call her increasingly handsome boyfriend," he said, "told her I'd get back to her later if she was awake, we'll see, I bet she falls asleep with her books around her."

E laughed, "She needs to come around again, that girl can drink us all under the table."

"I know, she's awesome," Dolph said with a laugh then settled back into his seat, clearly feeling more at ease right now. AJ took that as a good sign and wondered if now would be the time to talk to him. Clearly this girl put him in a good mood, and she was happy for him, happy that he'd found someone who could make him happy.

When they were friends, he'd confessed to her on a number of occasions that he never thought it was going to happen for him, that the perfect girl, the one who could both balance him and handle his lifestyle, would never come. It seemed she might have, and that made her feel happy for him, but it also made her even sadder for herself. Why was it everyone else seemed to do okay while she was suffering.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, and she wasn't even sure how she said it without her voice breaking.

"Did you say something, AJ?" E asked, and apparently, she'd been too quiet so E turned down the music even further.

"I'm sorry," she said, and it was clear who it was directed to, but even if he didn't know, the way she was staring at the back of his head was all the indication E needed to know that it wasn't him she was speaking with.

"We're not doing this," Dolph said lightly, staring out the window, his voice cold and emotionless, a far cry from the way his voice sounded not a few minutes before when he was on the phone with his girlfriend.

"Please," AJ said, "I know that—"

"AJ, just stop, please."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"For what?" he asked, still not turning towards her. "For treating me like shit, for severing our friendship over a stupid jackass who I knew wouldn't treat you right, or just for being a bitch in general?"

"Hey!" E said, cutting in.

"It's alright," AJ said, "I was a bitch to him, E, I was, you don't know, but I was."

"At least you know it now," Dolph said, "but I guess it took me being completely right for you to see it. If you'd have listened to me, but no, I was just the jerk who was jealous of Punk, so jealous of him that I would make up lies. I could never know that he was a manipulating jerk, no way, not Punk, not the precious cupcake."

"Nick, please, understand that I was in love."

"Fuck that," Dolph spat out, "we were best friends, and I was looking out for you because I saw how bad he was for you!" Now he turned to her, his eyes ablaze with a fire she'd only seen a few times before, and most of those times were before a huge match. "I didn't want this for you! Damn it, AJ, he was an asshole and I saw it, and you fucking chose to think I was jealous of him!"

"I know!" she yelled. "I know I did, and it was a mistake, I made a mistake!"

"Yeah, you did," he said, "and I do not care anymore, I do not care about you, I do not care about what happens to you, as far as I'm concerned, this is exactly what you deserve."

"Come on, man," E said, "you don't mean that."

"Like hell I don't mean that," Dolph sneered. "She wanted to get involved with him, chose him over everyone, this is what she gets, and she ignored us all, don't act like she didn't hurt you too, E."

"E?" AJ hadn't known the depth of his hurt, and suddenly, she was faced with the reality of what Punk had done to her. She knew that he'd isolated her, cut her off from her friends, but she was only now seeing the true damage. She and E were friends, but even their closeness suffered, and it was like there was this barrier between her and her friends that she was trying to scale.

"It's okay, AJ, we're cool," he said, clearing his throat and staring straight forward.

"I didn't mean for it to get this way, Nick, please know that, I'm so sorry, and I will always be sorry. I just didn't want to listen because I thought I changed him, and I was wrong, and I'm suffering, I don't think I deserve that."

He didn't say anything back, but she watched as he turned around and stared out the window again. She didn't say anything else, and the car returned to silence, more oppressing and thick than before. She leaned her head against the cool glass, wishing she were anywhere but in this car. From this angle, she could see a little bit of Dolph's face in the side mirror, the intermittent lights alongside the freeway illuminating him every so often, giving her a glimpse at his strong-featured face. She thought she could almost see a glassiness to his eyes, but she must have been imagining it, Dolph wouldn't cry over her.

He didn't care enough about her now to cry.