Fight Gone Wrong

"He didn't pick her up?" Jamie shook his head, getting home from work later that night where AJ had told him about what happened earlier on in the day when she had to pick Jessica up from school.

"He said he got asked to work and he didn't want to let anyone down but… I thought maybe letting his daughter down would be a little more worrying for him." She sighed, standing in the kitchen as Jamie shook his head.

"What an ass." Jamie shook his head, "You know, I was starting to almost respect him for… you know, stepping up, being a man, doing his best with very little, being there for Jess but…" Jamie scoffed, "I had a feeling this would happen."

"I didn't." AJ said, "I mean I know his job means a lot to him and he's trying to keep a clean reputation and do his best but… I thought this meant everything to him, Jess coming to see him on her own." AJ shrugged, "But maybe I was wrong." She shrugged.

"Well think about it, he's not lived a life where people depend on him for five years. He probably doesn't think about how shitty it would feel for Jess, who was pretty damn excited to go see him." Jamie said, "Was she upset?"

"Yeah, she was crying in the car." AJ sighed, "I can't tell him that, though." She shook her head.

"Why not? I would." Jamie said.

"Look, he's in a difficult place. Don't worry, I'll be going in on him and telling him how shitty it was for him to do that but… he's still just a few weeks out of prison, you know?" AJ said.

"Well he shouldn't be making promises he can't keep." Jamie shook his head, "How is Jess? Is she ok now?" Jamie asked her.

"She was upset for a while. She just thinks he didn't wanna see her." AJ sighed. It'd been a difficult day seeing how upset her daughter was and how let down she felt, "I took her out for a burger on the way back from school. She didn't eat much. Then we came home and she done some homework. I took her for a bath and she didn't say much. She's in bed now." AJ nodded, "It's just so hard seeing her upset and I don't think Phil would have meant to make her feel this way."

"Well no, I don't think he would have meant for it but… he could use his brain and try and figure that it would crush her for him to just cancel so last minute, and for work of all things." Jamie said, "It's ridiculous."

"I'm scared in case she won't wanna see him now. Or she won't wanna be with him herself." AJ sighed.

"Well that's on him, AJ." Jamie said, "Don't be so soft on him. Yeah, I get it. The guy is doing his best, he's been through a tough time but so have you." Jamie nodded, "If he couldn't commit to definitely being there for Jess then he shouldn't have got her hopes up. And that's just it." Jamie shrugged as AJ nodded.

"I know that." AJ said, "I left a heated text with him and I'm seeing him tomorrow… on my own." AJ nodded, "I don't want Jess around any of the arguing, if there is any, and like you said, I don't know if she'll wanna come." She shrugged.

"She's too young for this." Jamie said, "To be hurt and upset over this." Jamie shook his head, "He needs to dedicate time to her and if he can't do that then he should stick to seeing her with you for an hour every few nights." Jamie nodded.

"I'll see what he has to say." AJ said, "I'll try and keep my cool with him."

"She was crying!" AJ yelled, standing in Punk's apartment with him in the kitchen. She barely got a foot in the door before things escalated and they were both yelling.

"She was crying?" Punk shook his head.

"Yeah, she was." AJ said, "And I still did my best to defend you because I don't want her thinking badly of you already." She said, "But what the hell, Phil? Don't-Don't give me this bullshit act that you're only focus is Jess and being there for her when… when you chose a work job over her. She was devastated the full day. She thinks you just didn't wanna see her or spend time with her." AJ explained as Punk swallowed the lump in his throat. Knowing he'd made his daughter cry was the ultimate stab in the heart. He'd felt lighter pain in prison, and that was saying a whole lot.

"Look, my probation officer tracks how often I work and how many hours, and my boss also needed me, I didn't want to let him down-"

"And what about letting your daughter down?" AJ asked, "She was so excited to get picked up and go have dinner with you. She was so excited." AJ shook her head, "And you let her down, and I'm sorry but that's not gonna happen again. You're not gonna make her feel like she's nothing-"

"April, c'mon… you know I didn't mean that. I'm angry with myself that I couldn't cancel sooner. It wasn't like I just didn't show up. I told you and I'm sure it's a valid reason."

"No, it's not." AJ shook her head, "If you can't fully commit yourself to Jessica, if you can't promise her things, then don't make the promise." AJ said, "Don't feed her all this bullshit and then make it crumble in front of her. She's five years old." AJ said.

"Look, I'm sorry, ok? I am sorry." Punk said, "I didn't do it because I just couldn't be bothered picking her up. I was working. That's a big deal for me. It came up and I didn't want to say no. I thought that if I text you quick enough that you and Jessica would understand and we could reschedule for a day that I'm off, maybe at the weekend or something." He shrugged.

"You'll be lucky if she still wants to come see you." AJ said, "I spent half an hour in the back seat of my car, hugging her as she cried outside of a stupid burger place, and what sucked was… I knew exactly how she felt because I know what it feels like to be neglected by you-"

"Hold on a second." Punk put his hand up, "I didn't neglect Jessica. Something came up and I apologise for that and I'll make it up to Jessica as best I can, if she lets me." Punk nodded, "I did not neglect you either. I… I wanted better for you. Why are you punishing me for that?" Punk shook his head.

"Because I just wanted to see you." AJ shrugged, "I just wanted to see you." She repeated, "For two years, I spent night after night on my own, sometimes I would bring Jess in beside me just so I didn't feel completely alone. I missed you. I wanted you beside me. I wanted you to hold me and tell me everything was ok, the way you used to-"

"Yeah and I couldn't do that so that's why I wanted you to move on." Punk said.

"I would have waited." AJ shrugged, "It would have been easy. I only wanted you. And then maybe when you got out, we could have been a family." AJ nodded, "But you didn't think about the future, you thought about you and what worked best for you in that moment."

"I was thinking about you." Punk screwed his face up, "Everything I did, I done it for you-"

"Oh, please." AJ rolled her eyes.

"The reason I was in prison in the first place was because of you, April!" Punk yelled, "So don't stand there and make out like I was selfish I just thought of myself, because you were always my one priority in everything and you know what… maybe that was my downfall." He nodded.

"So it's my fault? All of it?" She smiled.

"No, I'm not saying that." Punk rolled his eyes, "Look, you've made your point. I get it. It's killing me that I've hurt Jessica but I promise I will make it up to her."

"Do not promise me or her anything." AJ warned him, "She doesn't deserve this. She's a five year old."

"I didn't do it on purpose, April." Punk said, "And now you're just using this to divert another argument about me in prison." He said.

"Yeah, because I'm still mad." AJ shrugged, "What was it? Did you fall out of love with me? Did you resent me and hate me? Because I don't know which part of you thought that pushing me away, risking your relationship with me and your daughter, was part of a good idea?"

"Because I wanted better for you." Punk said, "I wanted better for you than you visiting me every day. I saw those guys who had visits from their wife and kids every day, they were more miserable than I was because they were getting a taste of what life was like before, and so were there families, and then just like that, after the visit, it was back to being miserable again. I refused to watch you go through that." Punk said, "Why won't you believe me that I did it for the right reasons?"

"Because I loved you with all my heart and you just cut ties with me and that was it." AJ said, "Like I didn't matter, ever."

"Well you know that's not true. You're not dumb. You meant everything to me. That's what made it so hard." Punk said, "You weren't the one who was getting beat on. You didn't have to see people die in front of you. I… I was in hell in that place. And yeah, you might have been alone and upset but guess what? You had Jessica, and you had a soft, warm bed to sleep on every night, and a home, your friends and family, your job… you had that to pass time. I had absolutely nothing!" He said as AJ gulped and looked at him, "And I didn't want you to see me in that environment." He swallowed to clear his dry throat.

"I could have helped you." AJ whispered, "I could have helped you through it. Me and you, we've got through a lot. I could have been there for you and eventually when you got out, we could have been a family."

"Sounds to me like you want that more than you want a family with Jamie." Punk noted.

"Jamie has nothing to do with this." AJ shook her head.

"He's your boyfriend, has been for three years, he has a lot to do with this. I'm not mad that you're with him. Am I jealous? Hell yeah, of course I am." He laughed, "I still love you, I still wanna be with you, I still dream about us… together." He nodded, "But for me to move on, realistically, I have to accept that you love someone else, and I'm happy for you."

"You're happy for me?" AJ asked him.

"I'm happy for you. It's what I wanted for you, right? You deserved better than waiting around on me." Punk said, "I know I've messed up with Jessica and it makes me feel sick knowing I've upset her, but I promise… yes, I promise, I will make it up to her somehow." He nodded.

"What if I didn't want to wait?" AJ asked, "What if you asked me what I wanted?" She asked him, "Huh? Instead of just deciding everything for me like everyone else in my life does." She said, stepping closer to him as he saw her getting angrier, "Why didn't you talk to me? Instead of sending me a cheap letter and telling me you wanted nothing to do with me?" AJ asked as he ran his hand through his hair and shook his head, "Why?" She asked him desperately.

"I've told you. You're just playing the hate game because you don't want to admit that you're still in love with me." Punk nodded.

"Get over yourself." AJ spat, "I'm not in love with you. I love Jamie." She said, "I'm not playing any hate game. I do hate you." She hissed, "I hate everything that you pissed away because you thought you knew what was best for everyone without even… consulting me about it!" She yelled, "You broke my heart but I am not letting you do the same with Jess." She shook her head.

"I broke your heart? Ok, maybe I did, but I did it to benefit you. But you know what… maybe it was the wrong thing to do because now you're just that cold, catty, wants to fight with everyone AJ that I remember before we dated. Yeah… I remember her. She wasn't that nice to people because she was insecure and had no idea who the hell AJ even was." He said, feeling a whistling slap hit him across the face.

He placed his hand on his cheek and looked down at her, their bodies almost touching as she stared up at him, hurt because of the things he said, not just because he said it, but because they were very much true and he still was the only person in the world who absolutely knew her.

She looked up at him, her heart racing, blood pumping, placing her hands on his cheeks as she leaned up and pressed her lips against his. She couldn't hold back. She felt heated and vulnerable and all she'd ever wanted was to do this since the second their lips last touched five years ago.

Punk immediately backed away, not wanting to meddle with someone who was in a relationship, "Woah." Punk put his hands up and looked at her.

"I didn't… sorry, I wasn't-" She turned to walk away when Punk grabbed her by the hand, pulling her back in and pressing his lips back against hers, deepening the kiss to cancel out all the horrible anger and tension they were feeling, even though they knew this would only create more problems.