Kofi stared intensely at his best friend trying to digest the words that were coming out of CM Punk's mouth. He couldn't believe that the CM Punk was practically involved in a love triangle and it almost seemed too good to be true. It could easily pass as a storyline yet this was actually happening in real life, and he still had trouble believing that all of it was real.
He let Punk finish and as silence grew in the room he finally spoke up, "So what are your plans?" He tried picking his words wisely but he was never in this type of situation before and that was all he could come up with.
"I want to see AJ." Punk immediately said without even thinking twice. His nose was still stuffed and he kept on sniffling.
Kofi rubbed his neck and sighed, Punk was totally losing it right in front of him and he thought about slapping him to bring some sense back into this head. "Why do you want to see AJ if you can't tell Lita? Don't you think it's a bit unfair for well, all of you to be honest." Kofi shrugged his shoulders and continued, "The way I see it, the further this goes on the more damage it will cause. Plus Lita deserves to know the truth; she never did anything bad to you Punk."
"But if I tell her, it will destroy her Kofi. "
"Look, no one said it was going to be easy…" Kofi echoed AJ's words, the same words that were unquestionably still ringing in Punk's ears. The look on her face when she told him that she hated him created an image that will burn in his head and he was all to blame. "But the truth hurts and you've got to face it. Come on Punk, out of all people I never thought you'd have a problem facing ugly situations. Just do it and put an end to it."
Punk sighed nodding in defeat and slipped his hands in his pockets. He knew what he had to do; after all it was the right thing. If Lita was the one who did the bad deed, he would have wanted to know and it was only fair. He wondered whether Lita was waiting for him to call or text back. She said she wanted to work things out and she even professed her love to him despite the horrible treatment he gave her earlier and that just made things more complicated for him.
His nervously ran his tongue over his lip ring and started to play with it. He kept his gaze fixed on the floor beneath him and he was thinking hard. How was he going to break it to her? He had to do it face to face for sure. He may be an asshole but at least he knew that no one deserved to be dumped over the phone, it was unethical. In his case it would have been much easier to do it like that if he wanted to, after all he'd escape a possible punch in the nose and if she started to scream, he could easily hang up. He knew that he would be taking the easiest way out and he was actually angry at himself that he was contemplating it.
"She deserves someone that will treat her good and I know I can't be that guy. I thought I was but… yeah." There was a hint of disappointment in his voice and Kofi just nodded. "But after I tell her, do you think AJ will come back?" Punk looked up at Kofi like a little innocent child. He actually thought it was cute how throughout all of this, AJ was still his number one priority in his mind. He knew that AJ wasn't just another 'fuck' so to speak; CM Punk had genuine feelings for this girl and it was driving him insane.
"I can't promise you anything man, but one could hope for the best." He patted his friend on his back and gave him an encouraging smile. Kofi thought he did a fine job at helping Punk sort his problem out and now it was his friend's turn to stand up and take the first step. He just prayed that he would get out this whole shindig alive.
"I know what I have to do, thanks Kofi." He gave his road buddy a manly hug though no one can erase Kofi's memory of CM Punk bawling his eyes out on the floor. That was going to be a secret that unfortunately he had to keep but he was glad that he had this opportunity to see a different side to CM Punk.
AJ was still in a taxicab making her way to the nearest hotel available. She hated riding cabs during this type of hour but she tried to keep her mind off it by looking out at the unfamiliar streets. She rolled the windows down and let the cold breeze hit her face and her hair was flying all over the place but she didn't care. She was already a hot mess, and she had no one to impress.
She kept biting her lip, trying to hold back the tears that she desperately wanted to let out. She actually wanted to scream and kick and punch and just generally go batshit crazy but she couldn't; there was the driver watching her from the rear view mirror.
"Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?" She heard a voice and AJ's face turned pale.
Oh shit, oh shit.
She looked nervously around her trying to find the right words. She wasn't in the mood right now plus she was already scared as hell.
"I think you're mistaking me for somebody else."
"Could be. You know who you look like? Don't know if you watch wrestling but there's one of them and she looks like ya."
"I'm not a fan of wrestling, so I'm definitely not who you think I am." AJ casually shrugged her shoulders trying to play it off. Apart from being a good wrestler, one had to be a great actor to tell a story and she was grateful that her acting skills were helpful even outside the ring.
"Yeah. Celebrities aren't the taxi types you know?" His eyes were darting back and forth from the road to the rear view mirror. She couldn't see his face clearly but she thought he sounded to be in his mid forties.
She couldn't help but smile at the fact that she was just called a 'celebrity' yet her smile quickly disappeared when she realized that she herself was using a taxicab. Some celebrity she was.
"Okay, here it is." The driver announced as the car came to a sudden halt, "It's not the fanciest but it's good."
AJ peeked her head out from the window and looked up. The hotel was brightly lit up and the building looked like it stretched for miles. This was better than expected.
"Wow, this looks amazing! Thank you so much!" She said as she got out 20 bucks and handed it to him.
"You're welcome! Oh and I remembered her name, that wrestling girl I talked about? It was AJ something."
"I still have no clue, sorry!"
AJ got her hand bag, hopped off the taxi cab and dashed through the revolving door. She easily booked a room for the night and the nice lady behind the reception handed her the keys. AJ made her way to the 3rd floor and the second she got in, she ran for the bed and jumped on it.
She let out a sigh of sadness as she tucked her hands under the pillow and buried her face into it. For the first time she was all alone, there was no Kaitlyn to the rescue, no CM Punk, no Daniel Bryan, no nobody and come to think of it, she liked it like that. There was no one to judge her, only herself to think over the things that happened to her in the last 24 hours. She cleared her mind, trying to push all the problems to the back of her head and she got up to take a hot shower.
She reached for her little bag, fishing for her cell phone and after almost pulling everything out of the bag, she finally found it. She flipped it open and saw a missed call from Punk. "Hah, like hell I'll talk to you, jerk." She looked at her phone in disgust, snapped it shut and tossed it over the bed. So much for clearing her head, all she could think about was how CM Punk basically threw her out of his tour bus despite his so called love for her. What if he was just using her to fill those empty nights without Lita? That must be the reason why he didn't want to tell her, he still cared for Lita.
She entered the bathroom and grabbed a towel.
"Shit, I forgot my things… again!" She remembered leaving the rest of her stuff behind in CM Punk's tour bus and she mentally beat herself up because of it. It was like her subconscious making her forget things in order to see Punk on purpose. To hell with CM Punk, he can keep her clothes; she wasn't going to look even in his direction now, except for when they're in the ring during a promo of course.
And then her mind clicked. There was another problem, of course there was. Dating a colleague or in this case, sleeping with a colleague of yours meant that when things end, you still had to face him in the work place whether you liked it or not and there she was, planning on never talking to his stupid face ever again. She knew that she was going to have another promo with him next Monday and she was dreading the moment that they'll hand her her lines.
She looked at herself in the mirror and forced a smile. She was a mess, and not just emotionally but also physically. She rubbed the smudged eyeliner from under her eyes and huffed. "I think… I love you." Punk said in her head. If he really loved her, he'd tell Lita but guess CM Punk was too chicken to do it. Best in the World I think not. CM Punk was a douche bag, a coward and a jerk but she loved him and there was no point in trying to deny that.
What did Lita had over AJ Lee? Was it the age difference, the fact that she must have been more experienced than her? Both in the bed and in the ring? Wasn't AJ Lee up to par with Lita? Or maybe he just liked red heads better. Her mind was wandering off in the wrong direction and she wasn't thinking straight. "I think… I love you." Yep, there it was. He thought he loved her, he didn't actually love her. He must've said it in the heat of the moment, there weren't any other explanations.
She kept looking at herself, her chin trembling "How stupid can you be!" she screamed at herself. Tears were streaming down her face and she wanted to break the mirror with her own fist but she wasn't in the mood to pay hotel damages. "Nobody loves you, AJ and it's all your fault!" she was pulling her hair out and crying hysterically. She tossed all of the small bottles of soap off the sink and fell to the cold floor in a fetal position and continued to sob. She was deeply hurt, and no one could help to ease the heart ache. She was all alone in this world.
Kofi was already passed out on the couch and CM Punk was left alone wide awake. He was never the type of guy that went to sleep at night and tonight was no different. In fact AJ was the sole reason of him staying up that night, how could he shut his eyes if an image of AJ quickly flashed right before him every time he tried to close an eye? There was no escape from her.
CM Punk got up from the couch opposite Kofi and went to the front. "Hey Rob, change of plans, we're going to New Jersey."
"New Jersey it is, sir." The driver nodded and turned the tour bus around. Punk crossed his arms on his chest and took a deep breath. This was definitely going to be a long process.
"Something wrong?" Rob took a quick look at CM Punk and then focused again on the empty road.
"Nah, just have some things to deal with."
"Well the sooner you take care of them, the better."
If only Rob knew what or in his case, who he had to deal with, it was always easier said than done but nonetheless he was right. Punk wasn't afraid anymore, he was determined. Lita deserved to know the truth and AJ Lee deserved to be happy, but where did CM Punk fit in all this? What exactly was he going to get after everything goes down? He hated the fact that the outcome was still unknown. He was usually the one who if he wanted something, he'll do anything in his power to get it, but now he had to rely on faith and that was something that he didn't quite believe in.
CM Punk ran a hand through his slicked hair and took a deep breath, "Thanks Rob."
"Anytime."
He went in the back again, not sure what to do with himself to occupy his time. It was already 3AM and he hoped that by noon he'd be in New Jersey. He slumped down on the couch and kicked his trainers off. He wondered where AJ was right now, whether she was sad or happy or sleeping safe and sound. Who was he kidding? Of course she wasn't happy, knowing AJ she's somewhere crying her eyes out and he wished he was there to wipe away those tears and make everything okay. He wanted to hold her in his arms where he thought she rightfully belonged, caress her hair and tell her over and over again that she was beautiful. Her smile was the first thing he loved about her, the second she showed her pearly white teeth the room lights up and there would be a sudden change in the air. AJ was different from all the women he's dated, or slept with for that matter. Every time he was with her, it was like a new experience and he loved how she could still surprise him out of the blue. She had her own way of going around things and he definitely wanted more and he'd kill anyone that tried to get in the way.
Punk had no other threats except for himself but somehow deep down he had a nasty feeling. Daniel Bryan. If that man ever tries to even take a step in AJ's direction, he'll make sure to rip his heart out. It didn't take much for Daniel Bryan to seize the opportunity and creep back into AJ's life when she was at her weakest. That sleezeball would do anything to have his last laugh.
He got up to get some juice from his fridge to take his mind off things and his leg caught on something and he tripped causing him to land with a huge 'thud'. He took a quick look at Kofi to see if he woke him up but his friend didn't even flinch. You could set off a bomb and chances of Kofi not waking up were still relatively high, that man could sleep for days if he wanted to.
Punk looked at his leg and grabbed the strap that was around it. "The fuck is this?" There was something under the couch and he pulled it out. It was a small black bag that had different types of patches on it. He unzipped it and took out the first thing he saw, a small pink t-shirt with skulls and hearts on it.
"AJ…" he chuckled to himself. He grabbed it from the sleeves and held it up to admire it. It was so small not even his hands could fit into it if he tried and it still had that strawberry smell on it that he loved. "Oh AJ, I hope you'll come back to me."
