Sisters
"Thanks for the help with the present. She loved it." Punk told Dean, still running on a high from seeing Jessica earlier on in the day. It had gave him hope that he really could be her dad, and make up for the lost times. He'd had horrible thoughts about coming out and not being able to see Jessica or be there for her. He was scared in case it was too late for him but today gave him a lot of hope and promise, and more than anything, it gave him motivation to get himself a life suitable where he could be a good dad.
"I thought she would." Dean nodded, putting the grocery items away after coming home from the store. Lia was upstairs getting Eva ready for bed, "So it went well?"
"Yeah, it did." Punk ran his hand through his hair and smiled to himself, "She gave me a hug at the end… told me she liked my hat." He chuckled to himself.
"Oh, yeah. She's cubs daft." Dean nodded as Punk smiled.
"I mean we didn't talk that much, just a little at the start and end but… I was preparing for her to… hide behind AJ or… not speak a word to me but… she was cool, and surprisingly enough, so was AJ." Punk said, "I mean… I'm obviously never gonna be ok with knowing that she's happy with someone else. It's killing me but… if she's happy then I'm happy for her. I mean this was essentially what I wanted for her, to move on and not wait around on me." He said, "If we can just… put everything aside, be friends, I'll be happy." He sighed to himself.
"I know it sucks, man." Dean turned around, "I know you love her and you want her back, obviously you do, and I guess you didn't realise how tough it'd be to see her moved on with a new guy and a new life with someone else… but you're doing everything right, putting everything into Jess." He said as Punk nodded.
"I can't really doing anything about it." Punk said, "She's with this guy and I've got five years of catching up on everyone's life to do, on my own life." He nodded.
"You'll get there." Dean nodded, "I'm proud of you." He said as Punk nodded, "And you know that if you ever wanna talk to me about prison, about anything that happened, about your time there… you can talk to me, I'll be there to listen." He said as Punk smiled.
"Thank you but… I don't really wanna talk about any of that… to anyone." He said.
"As long as you're keeping yourself healthy up here." Dean tapped the temple of his head, "It's good to talk about things. I'm sure you saw a lot of crazy, stupid shit in there, the last thing I want is you bottling it all up." He said.
"No, I know." Punk nodded, "But I'm good. I'm alright." He assured Dean, "AJ is gonna contact you again, let me know when I can see Jessica again. Until I get a phone." Punk said as Dean nodded.
"Ok, I'll keep my phone on me." Dean nodded.
"And hey, as soon as I gather enough money, I'm gonna get my own place, my own apartment." Punk said.
"What'd I tell you? There's no rush on anything. You're no trouble staying here." Dean made clear as Punk just smiled and nodded.
"I appreciate it." He said. He did feel lucky to have a good support system, even if it wasn't from the woman he loved anymore, he still had friends and family who loved him and were happy to help him, and that meant a lot.
"Hey, girl." Cami smiled as she swung the door open to where AJ was standing with Jessica, dropping her off for the night to stay.
"Hey, Cami." Jessica smiled, running into the apartment with her book bag whilst AJ followed behind.
"Hello." Cami nodded to AJ who nodded back and closed the door over behind her.
"Cami, guess what?" Jessica said, dumping her bag down by the couch as Cami looked over.
"What?" Cami asked.
"I met my daddy today. Did you know I had a daddy?" Jessica asked her as Cami turned to AJ who just nodded.
"Oh my Gosh, no I did not, you're so lucky. I'm jealous." Cami crouched down and smiled, "What's he like? Is he cool?"
"Yeah, kinda." Jessica nodded, "He bought me a present and candy. I brought the candy so we can share it. It's in my bag." She told her aunt, "He had a cubs hat on too. It's like my one." She said as Cami tried to keep up with her excitement, having waited so long to hear that Jessica had finally met her father after all this time, and seeing how excited she was about it was even better.
"He sounds so cool." Cami shook her head with amazement.
"Yeah." Jessica agreed, "I'm seeing him again. Mommy says in a few days." She said.
"And you wanna see him again?" Cami asked her.
"Yeah, I like him." Jessica nodded, "And not just because he got me a present." She clarified sophisticatedly as Cami laughed and nodded.
"Of course." Cami smiled, "Hey, why don't you take your candy and go put it in the kitchen? We can have it later after dinner." She said, "And you can check it out the other candy I got for us." She said as Jessica nodded, heading over and taking the candy out of her bag, running through to the kitchen whilst Cami stood back up and looked on at AJ.
"Not too much candy, yeah?" AJ said as Cami nodded.
"She always falls asleep after dinner anyway." Cami said, "She's excited. He must have put in a good shift." She nodded.
"Yeah well I never doubted he wouldn't win her over. I didn't think it'd be this quick but… nevertheless." AJ nodded.
"Bet it's annoying." Cami folded her arms.
"What is?" AJ asked her.
"Now he's back… you're gonna fall back in love with him and realise that… Jamie was just a void you had to fill for a little while." Cami shrugged, her honesty the reason she got into the trouble she'd been in, in the past.
"That's not what Jamie is." AJ shook her head, "Phil and I are over… we agreed today that… that we just put it all aside, and focus on Jess, doing what's right for her." AJ nodded, "I'm not in love with him anymore, Cami. He's been gone for five years, he pushed me away-"
"Oh, AJ… He didn't push you away. Have you… have you considered what they maybe did to him in there? Have you thought about what he's been through? Or have you thought about your feelings the entire time? He's hurting too. At least… at least all this time you had a home, and your daughter, and your life… he didn't, and he didn't want you to see him like that. That's why he told you to stay away." Cami said.
"Don't start with me, Cami." AJ placed her hand on her forehead, "There's not a single day that went by where I didn't think about him in there… his health and well-being. But I could have been there to help him through it, to guide him." She said.
"You're gonna forgive him one day." Cami shrugged, "You're just as stubborn is him, so I know it won't be today or tomorrow, but you will forgive him, and you will want him back-"
"I don't. I really don't." AJ sighed, "My life is simple now, it's easy going, I'm happy, I have routine, my daughter is happy… it wasn't like that with Phil-"
"Yeah, because you and Phil were tested with a lot, and guess what? You always stuck by each other. I mean Jamie is barely even there. Seth tells me that he just works, he's always at the station… does he even take you out?" Cami said.
"You're so annoying." AJ rolled her eyes. Their relationship had turned into that of a sister relationship which included more fighting than anything else. Cami just couldn't bite her tongue. She knew AJ still loved Punk, it was very obvious.
"Because I'm telling the truth?" Cami laughed a little, "You can go on living in your fantasy of a perfect life, nice picket white fence, sunshine and rainbows… but Phil is here now, and you're gonna have to see him a lot more, and that's gonna cause a problem… in my opinion." Cami shrugged.
"Nobody asked for your opinion." AJ arched a brow as Cami folded her arms, "It's none of your business. I have my life, Phil has his, we're gonna be civil for Jess, and arrange when he can see her, and that's it. I love Jamie. He was there for me when Phil pushed me away. Yeah, that's right, pushed me away. Because he did. He married me and divorced me within two months, he wanted me out of his life-"
"He didn't have a life anymore!" Cami yelled, "Stop pretending you're so cold and shallow when I know you're not." She spat as AJ turned around where Jessica was standing by the kitchen door looking at them both with confusion.
"Why is everybody yelling?" Jessica rolled her eyes and wandered over to them both.
"We're just kidding, baby." AJ smiled, crouching down to her, "I… will see you in the morning when I come pick you up, ok?" She nodded.
"Ok." Jessica nodded.
"You have lots of fun with Cami and be a good girl for her." AJ nodded, placing her hands on Jessica's little hips as the five year old nodded.
"She's always good." Cami smiled.
"Give me a hug." AJ said as Jessica gave her a tight hug, "I love you." She said, kissing her cheek loudly as Jessica giggled.
"I love you." Jessica replied, "What are you doing tonight then?" She wondered, "Will you be all lonely without me?" She teased cutely as Cami smiled. She did find it very odd how Jessica dismissed everything about Jamie, it was like he didn't really exist in her world.
"Me and Jamie will probably get some pizza and watch some movies, nothing exciting." AJ smiled.
"I'll say." Cami scoffed as AJ looked up at her and glared as Cami made a face back childishly.
"Well have fun." Jessica told her as AJ smiled, standing up straight and looking across at Cami whilst Jessica headed over into the living room area.
"Call me if you need anything." AJ nodded.
"I will." Cami said, "I don't say all these things to annoy you, AJ. I say them because no one else wants to, because it's the truth, and you deserve the truth, I know it hasn't been easy for you either, but maybe that's something you and Phil could bond over."
"Me and Phil are over." AJ made clear, "There's nothing left to say about it." She said, "I'll be around in the morning to pick her up." She nodded, heading off and walking out of the apartment door as Cami sighed and shook her head.
She walked back into the living room where Jessica was sitting watching TV, "You picking what to watch whilst I order pizza?" Cami asked her.
"Yeah, I will." Cami nodded, "Hey, where is Seth, Cami?" She wondered.
"He's working late tonight, sweetheart." Cami nodded. Some nights Seth joined in on the movie and pizza fun, as he and Cami did live together, "Pepperoni, extra cheese?" Cami picked up the phone.
"Yes please." Jessica nodded as Cami smiled over to her, watching her as she flicked through the TV channels. The best thing was seeing her knowledgeable about Punk and actually being excited to meet him.