A week had passed. AJ was in Miami at an all night convenience store. He was getting some snacks. He walked out to his car. As he was unlocking his car he heard footsteps fast approach him from behind. Then he heard the metallic click of a gun.
"Give me your wallet!" A man's voice said.
"Ok I'll give you whatever you want just take it easy." He reached into his pocket and took out his wallet. He handed it to the man behind him not looking at him. The man pulled the trigger shooting AJ in the back of the head. He ran off. AJ was dead before he hit the ground.
The next day Anna was getting ready for work. She had the news on but wasn't really paying attention to it. Until she heard.
And in national news professional wrestler Allen Jones Styles was found murdered in a convenience parking lot last night. The apparent motive was robbery." "The suspect is still at large."
Anna immediately broke down crying. She couldn't believe that AJ was gone.
Five days later she went to AJ's funeral in Georgia. She was at the burial site. She'd waited until everyone else had cleared out to go up to the casket.
"I still can't believe this." She said out loud. "I'm waiting for you to appear and say you were playing a prank on me." "I feel so guilty." She started to cry. "You left this world thinking I didn't love you." "I do." She said through her tears. "I do." "I was just upset." "It's all my fault." "I love you AJ."
Present Day…
"I knew dad was murdered but I didn't know the rest." AJ said.
"Three and a half months later I found out I was pregnant with you." Anna said. "I was scared but happy at the same time." "I knew I was always going to have a piece of your father."
"You never told me you're originally from LA." AJ said.
"So are you." "Haven't you ever looked at your birth certificate?"
"I just always figured that's where you happened to be when you gave birth to me."
"Nope for the first nine months of your life we lived in LA." "Then I got a job offer in Chicago and we moved." "I met Spencer my first day there but he didn't ask me out until you were two." "You took to him right away." "A year and a half later when he legally adopted you, I found out I was pregnant with your brother." "I love Spencer but there's not a day that passes that I don't think about your father." "I've always regretted not telling him I loved him." "The point is, if you don't want to be with Lucas anymore then fine but if still love him and you're only staying away because you're angry at him, work it out." "Work it out now because there might not be a tomorrow for you to do it."
"I'm going to my room." AJ went to her room and dialed Lucas's number. "Lucas, it's me." "I know." "We're gonna go to a meeting together."
After Anna got everything squared away she went to her dance studio that she'd owned for the last fifteen years. She taught ballet to girls ages six to seventeen. She went back to her office. She sat down and opened a drawer. She pulled out hair ribbon AJ gave her. She remember his words to her that night.
"Hey I have something for you." He took a rectangular box out of his pocket
"AJ." "What did you do?"
"Open it." She opened it. It was a blue ribbon for her hair when she performed. "Since your favorite color's blue I thought you'd like it."
"I love it." "Whenever I dance I'll wear it and think of you." She kissed him. "Thank you AJ."
"You're welcome Anna."
As she tied it in her hair she started to cry a little. She knew she would think of him for the rest of her life, hoping that sometimes, wherever he was now, he was thinking of her.
I hope you enjoyed the story.