Chapter 10: Not Forever
AJ drove Punk to the airport later that night, he had to be back in Chicago for Raw the following night but he was feeling uneasy about her being on her own.
"I'll be fine" AJ said as held as hand and the two walked into the airport together
"Yea I don't like it though" Punk said to her "We've got to try to get you into a hotel that Christian can't just walk in and out of"
"I think you made your point to him" AJ said to him "You hurt his ego, he'll be in hiding for a while"
"There's no one you can stay with?" Punk asked her "I mean no one else there that's also staying in the hotel?"
"This guy Dean is" AJ said with a simple shrug
"I mean female wise" Punk groaned
"You don't trust me?" AJ asked looking up at him
"It's not that, I don't trust other people" Punk said to her "You are one of the few I trust. I'm also not a control freak like Christian is believe me, you can have guy friends and hang out with whoever you want but I draw the line at bunking with other men" he told her causing her to giggle
"When will I see you again?" AJ asked
"When are you off?" Punk asked her
"Wednesday thru Saturday" AJ told him
"Me too" Punk smirked "How about I fly you out to Chicago? You can stay with me for a few days"
"Really?" AJ asked with a smile
"Yea I can show you around the City and take you to one of the best comic book shops ever" Punk told her and her eyes widened "I'll even introduce you to some friends"
"Ok" AJ agreed "I'm looking forward to it"
"Me too" he said "I've got to go I'll call you when I land" he said to her and she nodded as he leaned in and kissed her goodbye "Please be extra careful and put the chain up on your hotel room door as soon as you get back"
"I promise but be cautious yourself" AJ warned lightly
"I will" Punk said grabbing her hand and kissing it lightly "I'll see you in a few days"
"Yes you will" she smirked pulling away from him and waving as she walked away
As AJ headed to her car in the parking lot she spotted a familiar SUV and saw Christian's right hand man. He clearly wasn't trying to hide since his window was rolled down and he was parked directly in front of her he gave her a friendly wave as she quickly got into the car and started it up. As soon as she did Jack also started up his car and turned on his car lights. She expected this and knew she had been watch but they had never been so obvious about it before. She pulled out of her spot and sure enough Jack was blatantly following her. Luckily she was familiar with the streets of Tampa and after two hours of driving she was sure she had lost Jack finally.
"Yes!" She cheered lightly then frowned when her car slowed down. "Crap" she muttered noticing she was out of gas. She was so busy trying to lose Jack she didn't even pay attention to her gaslight going on about twenty minutes ago. "No, no, no" she said pulling over to the side of the road. She was down a quiet street that didn't really have many business but a few houses. She reached for her phone and figured now she'd have to call for help but dropped the phone when someone knocked on her window starling her.
"Need assistance Ms. Mendez?" Jack questioned with a large smile AJ just glared out of her car window and cringed.
Once Punk landed in Chicago he pulled out his phone and was about to call AJ but his phone started to ring.
"What?" Punk asked annoyed
"Where the hell are you?" Colt asked annoyed "I've been parked out here for like an hour"
"My flight was delayed I'll be right there" Punk told him as he headed outside with his luggage and found Colt easily
"About time" Colt groaned popping his trunk "So how was Tampa?"
"Great" Punk replied as he got into the car
"Better question- how's April?" Colt questioned as he drove away from the airport
"Really great" Punk grinned "Her first match was awesome"
"Cool" Colt said slowly "So did you spend anytime with her after the show?"
"Yea" Punk said to him "A lot of time actually"
"So you slept with her again?" Colt asked
"Not much sleeping but yea I guess" Punk shrugged while Colt grinned
"So what's the deal? Are you with her or not?" Colt questioned
"Why?" Punk asked annoyed
"Cliff wants to know and if you're not with her he'd like you to pass his number over to her" Colt told him
"She's with me" Punk told him
"About time" Colt grinned "Cliff will be crushed though but probably not as crushed at Mr. Scott will be"
"Yea he didn't seem to pleased with me last night" Punk said to him
"Sorry, what?" Colt asked "you saw him?"
"He showed up at the show" Punk informed him
"Creepy" Colt said with a shiver "You just never know when he's going to pop up, huh?"
"You have no idea" Punk snorted "This morning I ran out to get breakfast and when I came back in he was in AJ's room trying to drag her out of the hotel room"
"How the hell did he get in the room?" Colt asked
"He apparently owns everything" Punk muttered "He had a key and walked right in."
"What did you do?" Colt asked
"I hit him" Punk told him bluntly
"You can't just hit him!" Colt yelled "This guy will have you killed!"
"Please" Punk smirked "He's nothing but a thug in an over priced suit"
"Seriously man you need to check your temper at the door" Colt scolded lightly
"He had his hands on her" Punk told him slowly "It's an instinct and I can't turn it off. Speaking of I want to call her and make sure she's ok"
"How sweet" Colt grinned
"Shut up" Punk said to him as AJ's phone rang
"Hey" she said to him "You're home?"
"On my way" Punk said to her "What about you? Back at the hotel yet?"
"Yea I ran into some car trouble though" she told him
"What kind of trouble?" Punk asked "The car seemed fine"
"It was but when I left the airport I saw Jack- who works for Christian and he started to follow me" AJ started "I drove around trying to ditch him but I ran out of gas"
"He was following you?" Punk asked annoyed
"Yep and when my car broke down he tried to help me" AJ told him "But I kept my doors locked and called AAA"
"Good" Punk said to her
"I'm pretty sure he's at the hotel" AJ said to him "But I expected him to have someone here"
"You need to talk to Hunter about having your hotel moved" Punk said to her
"No way! The fact that he's putting me up is enough I can't get picky" AJ told him
"AJ someone is staying in the hotel with the sole purpose of following you, you need to get out as soon as possible" Punk said
"He'll find me anyway" AJ told him "I'm just worried they'll follow me to Chicago. I don't want them lurking around your place because of me"
"He already knows where I live" Punk reminded her "I'd feel better having you here on my home turf anyway"
"Ok" AJ sighed "I'm going to take a shower and try to get some sleep, I'll be watching you tomorrow night"
"You better" Punk smirked into the phone
"I'm not sure how easy its going to be sleep though" AJ admitted "I like falling asleep next to you or on top of you or my personal favorite underneath you" she said seductively causing Punk to groan slightly
"I really want to continue this conversation in a lot more detail to help me get through this night but I'm not alone" Punk said glancing over to Colt
"Have your weird sex conversation just pretend I'm not here" Colt said casually as he kept his eyes on the road
"Sorry" AJ giggled
"I'll call you in the morning and if anything seems off call me" Punk told her
"I will goodnight" AJ said to him
"Goodnight" Punk said then hung up
The next morning AJ woke up at seven like she usually did and got ready to go for her run like she did every morning. She headed into the lobby and saw Jack was sitting in the waiting area. He was sipping a coffee and reading the morning paper when he noticed her he smiled and raised his coffee up to her before taking another sip.
"Great" AJ muttered annoyed as she headed outside and noticed Jack had stood up and followed her.
Punk headed into the arena for Raw. He loved live shows in Chicago but he couldn't help but feel like he shouldn't be here tonight. He was very worried about AJ's safety and didn't sleep a wink last night. She had kept in constant touch but he still didn't feel right about any of this.
"Hey Punk" Paul Heyman grinned walking over to the current champion
"Hey" Punk said to him
"You look like hell" Paul noted "Everything ok?"
"Yea" Punk said brushing it off "I didn't really sleep well"
"You never do" Paul noted "But it looks like you have something on your mind"
"I'm good Paul" Punk said to him
"Your thoughts aren't being clouded by a tiny dark hair future Diva's champion are they?" Paul questioned
"You heard about that?" Punk asked
"Oh please who hasn't" Paul chuckled "It's all over including the Internet and not just wrestling sites either. Christian Scott is kind of a big deal and the media loves how some grungy Chicago punk whisked away his girlfriend"
"Gee thanks" Punk muttered
"I like her" Paul told him "I've seen her work and watched her train and she's something special, reminds me of you when you first breaking into WWE actually"
"I like her" Punk confided "A lot"
"I can see that" Paul said to him "So why the lack of sleep?"
"Christian Scott is a pretty scary guy" Punk said
"Did he threaten you?" Paul asked stunned
"Not just me but AJ too" Punk told him "I'm not worried about me it's her. He got a key to her room and just waltzed right in, he got her evicted from her home- I'm afraid he's going to hurt her and I'm here and she's in Tampa"
"She's still staying in a hotel?" Paul asked
"Yea and Christian Scott's right hand man is camped out in the lobby. He followed her while she went on a run" Punk told him
"I have a place in Tampa" Paul told him "It's small but enough room for her she can stay there"
"Are you sure?" Punk asked
"Yea absolutely" Paul told him "You remember where it is right?" and he nodded "I'll drop the keys off to you tomorrow just pass them on to her"
"I really appreciate it" Punk told him
"Is there anything else I can do?" Paul asked
"No that's good" Punk said to him
"I hope you're taking some precaution yourself" Paul said to him
"I can handle Christian" Punk mocked
"But can you handle fifteen of his hired thugs jumping you at one time?" Paul questioned "He has money and respect"
"He doesn't have mine" Punk told him "My focus is AJ"
"Please be careful" Paul frowned "Any try to relax because Christian is out of town this week so I'm sure AJ will be fine"
"How do you know that?" Punk asked
"He's in Puerto Rico it's all over the TV. He donated a ton of a money to a school out there" Paul told him
"Did you say Puerto Rico?" Punk questioned and Paul nodded
"Why?" Paul asked
"AJ's family lives in Puerto Rico" Punk frowned
"I'm sure it's fine" Paul said to him "What could he possibly do?"
"You can't put anything past him" Punk told him
AJ was sitting in her hotel room waiting for Raw to start. She had already missed Punk so much it was strange to her so seeing him on live TV was going to have to due for now. Her phone rang and saw her mother's number pop up.
"Hi mom" AJ said casually as she kept her eyes on the TV
"Hi April" Christian said happily
"Christian?" AJ asked stunned "What are you doing?"
"I was in Puerto Rico and thought I'd drop in my in-laws" Christian told her
"Get out of there and leave them alone" AJ warned
"Don't be silly April" Christian smirked into the phone "How are you? I was just telling your family about your first match"
"Please Christian" AJ pleaded lightly
"I love it when you beg" Christian whispered "Relax we're having a good time and eating dinner I just wish you could be here with us, next time though"
"There won't be a next time" AJ told him
"We'll see about that" Christian told her coolly "I'll be in Tampa in a few days and I want to see you"
"Just have Jack take a picture" AJ shot at him
"He does" Christian told her bluntly "But I'd rather have the real deal. It's been a lonely couple of weeks April and we have a lot of time to make up for"
"You're starting to scare me" AJ told him honestly "Just stop all of this"
"You stop it" Christian shot back at her "I'll see you on Thursday I've picked you up a few gifts"
"Keep them" AJ said then hung up her phone
After Raw Punk was feeling good. He was starting a big story with John Cena and was excited to see AJ in a few days. He had spoken to AJ right before he left the arena and she seemed ok (obviously leaving out the Christian called her part of her evening). As he approached his car he noticed someone leaning on the hood of it.
"Move or get run over" Punk said as he walked over to his car
"Phil Brooks" The man said with a smile
"Great" Punk muttered dropping his bag down to his feet
"It's kind of reckless to travel alone and stay so late after a show" the man said to him
"So I'm assuming you work for Christian Scott?" Punk asked
"That's right" the man said to him "So do they" he said as four other large man approached
"Ok" Punk said taking his zip-up off "Let's get this over with"
"You think you could take all five of us?" The man mocked
"Maybe" Punk shrugged smugly "Maybe not. But I'll have fun trying"
"Mr. Scott was right about you" the man smirked "You are stupid."
"Maybe I am" Punk smirked "But I'm also not a coward"
"These men aren't here for you Mr. Brooks" the man told him "We just wanted to drop by since we're going to be in town for a while. We just wanted to introduce ourselves"
"Nice to meet you all" Punk remarked sarcastically "Get off my car now then"
"We're looking forward to meeting Ms. Mendez" the man told Punk which stopped Punk from getting in his car
"What did you just say?" Punk asked turning to face the man
"We're Mr. Scott's 'problem solvers'" the man said to him coolly
"She's not his problem" Punk told him "He also wouldn't let you put a hand on her he'd much rather do that himself I'm sure"
"Mr. Scott wants results" the man told him "She's a pretty little thing. Do you think you'll still want touch her when her face is all deformed?"
"Don't threaten her" Punk warned getting in the man's face
"It's not a threat" the man told him "Mr. Scott has been very good to Ms. Mendez and what she's done isn't right and we're going to see to it that it gets rectified" as soon as he finished talking Punk grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and threw him onto the hood of his car
"I will kill you" Punk seethed as the other men stood where they were, Punk wasn't sure why they hadn't jumped him yet
"You can fix it" the man said to him as Punk let go of him "Walk away from her now. Because if she gets off that's plane and steps one foot in Chicago she'll be flying back to Tampa on a medical bed"
"You're lying" Punk said shaking his head "You think you scare me? You really think I believe Christian would have the woman he loves beaten?"
"Like I said he wants results" the man told him
"If you come at me again or even think of going near AJ I will end you" Punk threatened
"Ok" the man said to him as he pulled out his phone "Hey Jack" he said and Punk knew he was talking to the man currently watching AJ "Mr. Brooks has declined our offer….yea please keep your eyes on her and make sure you're on the same flight….I know we won't go that far with her…yes I know she's very small but my boys like that" he said with a laugh "…ok see you in a few days" then hung up "Are you sure about this? Hurting a woman is the last thing I want to do even if she deserves it"
"If you think you're going to get her you're going to have to get through me" Punk warned the man "And that won't be easy" as soon as Punk finished that statement someone from behind him hit in the back of his knee with a led pipe causing him to crash to the ground. It only took a second for the rest of the men to jump in, he was being hit with the pipe, kicked and punched all at the same time. There was no way for him to fight back.
"I think it will be easy" the man said to him with a laugh "That's enough boys" he told the four men who slowly backed away and they left Punk bleeding and unconscious on the ground.
Punk opened his eyes slowly and saw he was in a hospital room. The sound of the 'beeping' really irritated him.
"It's about time" Colt said annoyed
"Why am I here?" Punk asked slowly
"You got the shit kicked out of you last night" Colt reminded him "What happened dude?"
"I don't remember" Punk said sitting up slowly
"Well from what I heard a few of the guys found you by your car in a pool of your own blood" Colt told him "Your knee is all messed up, your face looks like it's been through a meat grinder and you have some of the nastiest bruises I've ever seen in my life" And now it was coming back to Punk
"I need my phone" Punk said to him
"You need to relax" Colt said to him
"I need to call AJ" Punk told her
"So this was about Christian?" Colt asked "I was kidding around before but seriously is she worth it?"
"Damn it Colt give me my phone!" Punk shouted
"You won't be able to reach her" Colt said to him "I called her last night and she took a flight this morning out"
"No" Punk said horrified "Call her tell her no!"
"What is your deal?" Colt asked standing up "Do you want her or not?"
"They're going to do this to her!" Punk yelled
"What?" Colt asked "What the hell is going on?"
"The guys that did this said they'd do this to her" Punk told him slowly but his voice was loud "They said if I didn't walk away from her they'd hurt her. I called their bluff and look at me now"
"Doesn't mean they'd hurt her" Colt told him "That's a little radical don't you think?"
"You need to go get her" Punk told him "Bring a few guys with you because there's five of them I think…..plus the one that's always watching her"
"You sound insane" Colt laughed
"I'm not insane!" Punk yelled surprising Colt "I'll go myself then" he said throwing the bed sheet off of himself
"No, no just relax I'll go" Colt said to him
"Don't go alone" Punk warned
"Fine" Colt said grabbing his jacket in keys "Just stay here and I'll bring her right over"
"Seriously watch your back" Punk said to him and Colt just nodded before leaving the room
As soon as AJ stepped off her plane she grabbed her luggage and decided to hail a taxi.
"Ms. Mendez" the man who approached Punk last said behind her and she slowly turned around
"Pete" AJ said coldly "What did you do?"
"Nothing" Pete said to her "I'm here to offer you a ride" he said opening the back door to his SUV open "Get in"
"I'm not going anywhere with you" AJ said to him
"We need to talk Ms. Mendez and this isn't the venue" Pete told her "Get in or I'll make you get in"
"Don't be difficult" Jack said coming up behind AJ and now she was sandwiched between the two men "Get in the car"
"I'll scream" AJ threatened
"And I'll rip your tongue out of your throat" Pete threatened "Go ahead then I'll head over to the hospital and finish what I started with Mr. Brooks"
"Ok" AJ said giving in
"AJ!" a voice shouted jogging over to her "Thought I missed you" AJ had no idea who this was "I'm Colt"
"Phil's friend" AJ said more to herself
"He wanted me to pick you up" Colt said to her then looked at the two men "I'll give her a ride don't worry about it boys"
"Ms. Mendez is coming with us" Pete told him as Jack stepped towards Colt
"I'm not alone" Colt told them pointing over to a few other men, AJ assumed they were all in the wrestling business. "It's not just one on four this time"
"Ok" Pete said "Ms. Mendez will pick this up later"
"I don't think so" AJ said grabbing her bag and walking over to Colt "I hope you both burn in hell" she replied casually causing Colt to grin
"I can see why Punk likes you so much" Colt whispered to her as they headed over to his car and his friend
Once AJ arrived at the hospital Colt decided to give her and Punk some privacy.
"Oh Phil" she said feeling herself start to cry upon seeing how banged up he really was
"I'm ok" Punk said as she walked over to the bed
"No you're not" AJ said "I am so sorry"
"You're tough but you didn't do this to me" he teased lightly "Did you have any issues at the airport"
"Yea a few Christian's guys were there but your friends showed up thankfully" AJ told him
"Good" Punk sighed already feeling better "We need to discuss some sort of safety measure for you" he started
"No" AJ said to him "You've done enough and you've suffered enough" she informed him
"I'm fine" Punk told her "I'm not even going to miss work"
"He's with my family in Puerto Rico last night" AJ told him "I called my mom this morning and told her everything"
"How did that go?" Punk asked
"Her and my dad are moving into a smaller place that they can afford on their own so you don't have to pay there way anymore" AJ told him
"I don't mind" Punk insisted
"I do" AJ said to him "The entire night all I could think of is how I've depended on men and that's what got me into this situation with Christian"
"I'm not Christian and I would never hold anything against you" Punk told her
"I know" she smiled briefly "You've been nothing short of amazing to me and that's why this is going to be the last time we're going to see each other"
"What?" Punk asked her
"I can't let them hurt you" AJ told him "And it was my mistake to jump into something with you so quickly. I knew you'd end up like this and I knew you'd protect me and that's not right"
"I'm a grown man AJ" Punk said to her "I knew what I was getting myself into"
"I need to work on me" AJ told him "Work on being independent and get rid of Christian myself"
"AJ" Punk started
"You know I'm right" AJ said to him "You know this will get worse before it gets better and I'm sure I'll end up in this same hospital as bed as you soon as well" Punk hitched a breath at the thought "I'm sure that's what Pete told you. That's his specialty. He doesn't have a moral code"
"I can handle him" Punk told her
"You shouldn't have to" AJ told him confidently "I love you too much to let you sacrifice everything you've worked for" she had never told him she loved him but he felt it. "You know this is the right thing to do" Punk didn't comment because deep down he was considering the same thing
"I don't like it" he muttered "I'm worried about you"
"I'll be fine" AJ assured him "You've given me so much confidence and strength and I feel as if I can take on anyone or anything. Let me worry about Christian"
"So this is it?" Punk asked her
"For now, not forever" AJ told him "I'll still be in FCW working"
"How do I know you'll be safe?" Punk asked her
"I'll stay in touch" she promised "But I'm not going to watch you get hurt because of me"
"Promise me something" Punk started
"Anything" she said to him
"If this gets to be too much, if you need a way out- anything at all you call me" Punk told her in a very serious voice
"Ok" AJ assured him sweetly as she held back tears "Please take care of yourself"
"I was going to tell you the same thing" Punk said sadly as she leaned over and kissed him one last time. As AJ pulled away she was now fully crying. Punk wanted to fight her on this but he knew this was the only option at the moment, he wasn't mad at her but more himself and he watched her practically run out of the room and slam the door.
"I love you too" he muttered once she was gone.
A/N: And that's the end! Hope you all enjoyed this story and thank you for all the reviews! I'm obviously just kidding (except for the gratitude over the reviews because I really do appreciate it!).