Nightmare
"Why are you always on that computer?" AJ questioned, opening up her eldest daughter's bedroom as the nineteen year old quickly closed it over.
"I'm not." Raimy got defensive.
"You… you actually are." AJ laughed a little, "Why don't you go out to the movies with your friends or something?" She questioned, "You know… like Viv and James do."
"How about you get off my back and let me do what I want?" Raimy asked as AJ smiled.
"Charming." AJ nodded, "I'm just saying, a bit of socialising doesn't hurt no one. I mean… what are you even doing on that laptop?" She questioned.
"I'm doing… essays for school." Raimy shrugged.
"Every hour of every day?" AJ questioned.
"What's it to you?" Raimy asked, "You're even more annoying than dad, and he's annoying." She huffed.
"Well I just hope that whatever you're doing, you're not being irresponsible. We trust you with a lot. You're the oldest. You're like our guinea pig." She smiled.
"Uh… thanks, I think?" Raimy shook her head, "James has a computer-"
"Which is still in the box." AJ tutted, "Me and your dad thought it would help him… focus more on school work but, apparently not."
"James? Focusing? That will never happen." Raimy laughed to herself as she picked up her phone that was being bombarded with messages, smiling to herself as AJ watched.
"Who is cracking the jokes?" AJ questioned.
"Mom." Raimy moaned, "Can you just get out my room now?" She asked, "Please."
"I'm going." AJ put her hands up, "I'll shout you when dinner is ready." She said, leaving the messy bedroom and heading downstairs where her husband was sat on his computer, "Oh, not you too." AJ rolled her eyes.
"What?" Punk looked up at her.
"Burn all the damn technology in this house." AJ shook her head.
"Uh… I'm trying to pay off our mortgage here." Punk chuckled a little as AJ looked over.
"Oh." AJ smiled, leaning over and kissing his cheek, "Well that's ok then." She nodded as he smiled.
"Vivian said I've to be on standby to pick her up from her party." Punk shook his head, "And if she comes home with sick in her hair like last time then I'm locking her up. I mean… Raimy wasn't like this at sixteen."
"Raimy didn't go out. She still doesn't." AJ said, "I worry about her."
"You worry about Raimy more than Viv?" Punk asked her.
"Yeah, I do." AJ nodded, "I mean, do you know what she's really doing on that laptop?"
"No, what?" Punk questioned.
"I don't know. It was a question." AJ said, "It scares me. Social media these days. It's horrid." She waved her hand.
"She's probably just… playing games or something." Punk shrugged, "I've also to pick James up at some point tonight. He's at the movies. I dropped him off and saw a few girls there." He smiled to himself, "It's cute." He said, looking up at AJ who was in a different planet, "Are you seriously this worried about Raims? She's at college, she keeps Viv and James in check, she keeps us in check sometimes. Why are you worried about her?"
"I'm worried about what's going on in that laptop." AJ shook her head.
"Look, I know these things haunt you. You're protective, maybe more than the normal mom is, and there isn't anything wrong with that but… Raimy is a good kid-"
"Good kids still find themselves in dangerous situations, especially on the internet." AJ said.
"Well then just ask her about what she's doing?" Punk shrugged.
"Well that's the problem. When I do she just shuts me down, which makes me worry even more." She said, "I gotta see what's on the laptop." She nodded.
"You're never going out again." Punk folded his arms, standing in his bathroom looking down at Vivian hugging the toilet bowl, throwing up on and off after Punk brought her home, intoxicated to say the least.
"I… I agree with that decision." Vivian nodded, still a little drunk.
They weren't smothering parents, they let their children make mistakes so they could learn from them. Vivian definitely had another layer, another switch that would go off. Punk called it the April switch as she was the embodiment of her mother at times.
"You're sixteen years of age. Aren't you supposed to be… I don't know, playing in the park or something?" Punk questioned.
"I gotta avoid the pedophiles, dad." Vivian said, resting her head on the toilet seat as Punk rolled his eyes.
"What's going on in here?" AJ asked, having woken up as she opened up the bathroom door, looking on at her most rebellious daughter on the floor beside the toilet, "I bet you had like one drink." AJ chuckled as Vivian rolled her eyes.
"Just bring my duvet in here and I'll sleep." Vivian nodded.
"You're going back into your bed." Punk nodded, "Let's… get you cleaned up." He shook his head as AJ smiled, rubbing his arm softly.
"You're such a nice dad to me." Vivian smiled.
"Oh, kid. Wait until the morning." Punk laughed whilst AJ had disappeared out of their bedroom, opening up Raimy's and looking in where she saw her daughter fast asleep in her bed.
She knew it was wrong and a complete invasion of privacy, but she just couldn't help it anymore. She pulled the laptop out from under the bed, leaving the room with it and closing the door back over.
She got back into her own bedroom whilst Punk put Vivian into her bed. AJ tilted the laptop lid up and sighed as she realised she needed a password. Luckily, she had a husband who knew his children a lot more logically than she did.
"Phil, a password." AJ nodded as Punk walked back into their bedroom.
"What?" Punk groaned tiredly, walking over and lying down on the bed beside her, "What are you doing with that?" He asked.
"I just… I just gotta know that she's not doing anything irresponsible." AJ shrugged, "She'll never know." She said, "What's her password?"
"Why would I know?" Punk asked.
"You always know these type of things." AJ said.
"Uh…" Punk thought to himself, "Try that guy's name from that boy band she likes." Punk nodded as AJ typed it in.
"You're so smart." AJ shook her head after getting logged in.
"Ah yes, I am very talented at hacking into my children's private things." Punk smirked, sitting up beside her against the headboard, "What do you think you're actually going to find?" Punk shook his head as AJ went through her daughter's history.
"She watches porn." AJ whispered as Punk groaned.
"April, why are you doing this? This isn't fair on Raimy." Punk shook his head, starting to feel uncomfortable of course.
AJ agreed, realising that it wasn't fair to invade her daughter's privacy this way. She was about to shut it down when she heard a bleeping noise.
"What was that?" AJ wondered curiously, noticing something pop up, "Chat room." AJ made a face as Punk sat up a little, "Oh my God." AJ gulped, "Tell me I'm not reading what I think I'm reading." AJ placed her hand over her mouth as Punk looked on with confusion and shock.
"What-What even is this? Scroll up the chat." Punk demanded as AJ scrolled up.
"Why is she agreeing to meet these people?" AJ shook her head, her heart racing fast as she read the chat which seemed to be highly inappropriate and completely unsafe, "Hey Raimy, how much for some more pictures?" AJ read the chat, her voice breaking as she turned to Punk who slammed the computer down and got out of bed, watching him leave the bedroom to go wake Raimy up.
"April…. Uh… April."
"Huh?" AJ jumped up on her seat, her face no longer pressed against the table as she looked around at the meeting she was in, rubbing her cheek and sighing as everyone stared at her.
"Are you alright, sweetie?" The older woman taking the meeting asked.
"Uh… yeah. Yeah I'm fine." AJ nodded, "Sorry, I was… up pumping all night." She nodded as they all looked at her, "Breastfeeding." She made clear, "Uh… my son, he's 3 months old so…"
"Oh, well… you don't have to be here for the entire meeting, sweetie."
"No, I want to listen. I'm sorry, what-what was I missing?" She shook her head, embarrassed by her actions, haunted by her nightmare.
"We were just further talking about ways which these trafficking groups are getting away with louring young girls in, particularly through social media, chat rooms, online camming websites. Girls who are just bored and looking for something fun… they're targeting them, brainwashing them, convincing them to meet and… well we know how it all goes from there." She explained as AJ sighed to herself and sat back on her chair.
"How was the meeting?" Punk asked, walking over and kissing his wife on the cheek, feeding baby James with a bottle AJ had made up, "Did you meet any important people?" He smiled, standing in the kitchen whilst AJ enjoyed a needed coffee.
"Yeah, a few." AJ nodded, "It was good to meet different organizations too and find out their approach to things. We're really getting ours out there which is amazing. More safe houses are also being made." She nodded. She was hesitant about going back to work just three months after having James, but she felt ready for it, even though falling asleep during a meeting might not have indicated that.
"Well you work your ass off to help." Punk nodded, "You should be damn proud. You're making the difference. Biggest thing is getting the word out, right?" He smiled as she nodded.
"Yeah, absolutely." AJ nodded, "How was my baby? Did you guys have a dude day?" She smiled.
"We did." Punk nodded, "He was great."
"I missed him." AJ frowned.
"Hey, remember if it's too much for you then you can take more time." Punk reminded her.
"No, I'm ready. I work from home most days anyway so it's not a huge deal. I want to be back doing my bit. We're moving up and I want to start working on more things. I want to tackle these chat rooms and cam websites that these trafick groups are using to get girls." She said, "Social media is our biggest factor here."
"You're gonna defeat social media. I know it." Punk nodded as AJ smiled.
"My number one supporter." AJ smiled, "Hey, where is Raimy? And Viv?"
"Watching a cartoon I think." Punk said as AJ nodded.
"Missed my girls too." AJ nodded, taking her coffee and leaving the kitchen, walking on into the living room where her daughter's were sitting together watching TV, young and sweet, not burdened by any sort of adulthood. She was so happy to see that.
"Hey, mommy we're watching Scooby Doo in the spooky island." Vivian told her mother as AJ smiled, sitting down between them and sitting her coffee down.
"Have I saw this one?" AJ asked them.
"No, it's the other one you watched." Raimy said as AJ nodded.
"I see." AJ smiled, looking down at Raimy, kissing her head softly and playing with her hair as Raimy hugged into her, "I missed you both today." She said, hugging them both tightly.