A/N: Hello everyone! Just wanted drop a line and thank everyone for their reviews they do mean alot to me! Also I know a few of you love rooting for the bad guys, I do too so don't feel bad ;) And off topic but how amazing was that AJ match last night? She didn't win but she stole the show so bravo to the Queen for having a five star match! Let's not all speculate, jude or assume anything as far as AJ staying with WWE. She's a private person so let's try to respect that. Anyway more to come soon, enjoy the new chapter!
Chapter 38: Weak
The bus ride went very smoothly and AJ enjoyed playing Punk in games in all day until she finally passed out in the spacious bed. Punk on the other hand couldn't sleep even if he tried. The guilt of not telling AJ was eating at him and he knew the longer he waited the worse it was going to be. He was also feeling bad for Drew. He didn't know the man well or long but he did save his life and more importantly saved AJ twice. Now one of their biggest supporters in the war against Christian was dead and gone. He felt alone in this now and he didn't want burden anyone especially AJ with any of this.
Once they got to Raw AJ was anxious to show off her new ring and gush about their small wedding. He watched from a distance as she chatted with Celeste and Eve.
"She seems to be in good spirits" Paul noted coming up behind Punk
"She is" Punk confirmed "She's happy, healthy and completely at ease for a change"
"I'm glad she took the news of Christian so well" Paul said to him
"How did you know that?" Punk asked alarmed
"The cop told me at your wedding" Paul said to him
"AJ doesn't know so don't go around telling people anything" Punk warned
"What?" Paul asked surprised "How could you not tell her?"
"That's how" he said pointing to AJ who was laughing hysterical at something Celeste said
"Phil" he started using his birth name just so he knew how serious he was being right now "You can't keep this from her you have got to tell her right away"
"I don't have to do anything Paul" Punk mocked "Whether she knows or not it doesn't change anything."
"Her safety is at risk" Paul reminded him "I can't believe you of all people are being so casually about this"
"You think I'm being casual about it?" Punk asked "I haven't slept in forty-eight hours. I have been up around the clock watching her"
"And what good are you going to be to her if something does happen?" Paul asked him harshly "You're not sleeping, you look like crap- someone tries something with her your body won't be up for it"
"Oh it will" Punk assured him
"You need to tell her" Paul repeated firmly "For your own sanity at least!"
"I don't care about my sanity" Punk shot at him "I care about hers"
"That Detective told me he was going to tell her" Paul told him "I think she'd rather hear it from you"
"He's dead" Punk informed him as Paul's face turned to a horrified one "He was shot this morning"
"That's horrible" Paul said as Punk nodded as he kept his eyes on AJ "Do they think it was Christian?"
"I don't know" Punk shrugged
"Do you?" Paul asked
"Probably" Punk said to him
"This is serious" Paul said to him "Tell AJ or I'm going to"
"Paul" Punk warned
"And then I'm going to Vince personally" Paul shot at him "I don't care if you hate me as long as you're not dead or her"
"I'll talk to her" Punk assured him "Right after the show"
"That's when I'll talk to Vince" Paul told him
"Just let her have the rest of the night" Punk said to him and Paul nodded
"Hey" AJ said skipping over to them "I have the best news ever!" she squealed "Well it's half bad half good"
"Don't keep me in suspense" Punk said forcing a smile as Paul just listened to her ramble
"Eve is leaving" AJ told him "And she has to drop the belt and she said early talks with creative is pointing to me!"
"Holy crap" Paul said with a smile
"They haven't decided yet because I'm so new-" AJ started
"You're the best one here" Punk said cutting her off "They would be stupid to not give you the title"
"I don't want to get my hopes up but I'm really excited to even be considered" AJ smiled and noticed both men didn't seem too happy "What's wrong? You don't think I could pull it off?"
"No of course you can" Paul said plastering a large smile on his face "This is great news"
"I have to be honest these last few days have been the best of my life" AJ said happily "I can't wait to see what's going to happen next"
"Excuse me" Paul said feeling uneasy himself. He now understood Punk's dilemma.
"Look after the show I really have to talk to you" Punk said to her
"About what?" AJ asked
"I don't want to get into it now" Punk said to her seriously and now she was worried
"You're scaring me" AJ said to him folding her arms "Did I do something-"
"No it's not about you or us" Punk said pushing those fears out of her head quickly "I've got to go warm up but make sure you stay with Langston, ok?" he questioned and she nodded. He gave her a kiss on the forehead then walked away leaving her worried.
"I just don't get it" AJ said to Langston inside of Punk's locker room "All of this great stuff is happening and he looks like he's being tortured"
"I'm sure you're overreacting" Langston smirked
"He seemed happier before we got married" AJ confided
"You've been married for what? Three days?" he said with a chuckle "He's adjusting. He wouldn't have married you if he wasn't sure and he told you that it had nothing to do with that so stop driving yourself crazy"
"What if he's realized I'm not enough?" AJ asked Langston who looked at her like she was crazy
"What the hell are you talking about?" Big E asked her seriously
"I'm not like any girl he's ever dated" AJ started off "I'm younger, less experienced, I'm clearly a danger magnet and he's world has been turned upside since he's met me"
"He loves you" Langston told her seriously "Trust me the guy would die for you in a heartbeat. I seriously doubt he's having second thoughts"
"Then what is it?" AJ asked him and he just shrugged even though he knew what Punk had to tell her. That's when her phone started to ring.
"Who is it?" Langston asked
"Nosey much?" AJ smirked before answering it "Hello?"
"Mrs. Brooks?" the voice asked and that caused AJ to smile. No one had formally addressed as that yet
"Yes this is she" she said cheerfully
"Hi this Detective Jacobs from the Chicago PD" he started off "I'm going to be overseeing all of Detective Keith's cases and I wanted to know if you and your husband could come in to see me so we can discuss the Christian Scott case. There's a lot of holes in Drew's notes and I need help filling in some of the blanks"
"Why are you taking over his cases?" AJ asked him
"Oh I'm sorry I thought you would have heard by now" the detective said to her "Detective Keith was killed last night"
"What?" AJ asked horrified "How?"
"He was shot outside of his home" he told her "And yes we do believe Mr. Scott is involved but we're keeping it out of the press for now"
"Wait….how could he be involved? He's gone?" AJ asked him
"He's in Chicago Mrs. Brooks" the detective informed her "Detective Keith has it written he spoke to your husband last Friday about it. And your home was his last stop before he was killed so we want to know what was discussed there as well"
"Oh my god" AJ said slowly
"I'm sorry I thought you were aware of all of this" The detective told her
"Um it's fine" AJ said to her "We're out of town until Thursday" she told him
"That's fine" he told her "Just come in on Thursday and use this number I called you on to let me know what time"
"Sure" she said quietly then hung up
"What's up kid?" Langston asked but AJ just glared at him
"I have to go see Phil" AJ said to him walking to the door and he quickly followed her
"Can this wait?" he asked her knowing what was going on "He's about to have a match-"
"His match isn't for another hour" AJ reminded him bitterly as she stormed down the hall and found him talking to Paul as he stretched near the gorilla
"AJ-" Punk started looking up to see her angry face
"How long were going to continue lying to me?" she demanded
"You told her?" Punk asked Langston
"You knew?" she asked glaring towards Big E
"AJ listen-" Punk started standing up
"No you listen" AJ shot at him "How could you keep this from me?"
"I wanted to tell you I really did and I was going to tonight" Punk told her honestly "I just didn't want to upset you"
"Oh great excuse Phil" AJ spat "I'm glad you waited so long so I could hear it from a Detective from Chicago. He went on about working Drew's cases and Christian and I had no idea what the hell he was talking about! Drew was our friend; he was at our wedding for crying out loud! How could you not tell me any of this?"
"I just wanted to wait until I had some more confirmation" Punk said to her quietly
"You didn't think the man working the case being shot to death was enough confirmation?" she mocked "We've been married for less than a week and you've already lied to me"
"I wasn't lying-" Punk started
"I have been asking you for days what was wrong and you told me everything was fine" AJ said pointing at him angrily "I told you how I felt Christian was gone for good and I felt safe and you just let me ramble on! You must think I'm some kind of a moron"
"No AJ" He started
"Really AJ he was just looking out for your best interest" Paul chimed in
"Oh so you lied to me too?" AJ questioned "Someone else I trusted. Anyone else know? Or was I the only one who didn't know"
"You're overreacting" Punk informed her "I was going to tell you I just wanted you to enjoy yourself a little first"
"It's not even the fact that you lied to me that hurts so much" AJ said to him honestly "It's the fact that you clearly didn't think I was strong enough to know any of this. So all the times you told me how strong and brave I am was all bullshit too"
"You told me you were sick of being brave" Punk pointed out a low voice as he started to grow angry "And I told you that you didn't have to be anymore that I would take care of everything so that's what I did. If you don't like it too bad" he seethed "I'm not going to apologize for having your best interests at heart"
"Of course you won't" she mocked "I can't even look at you right now" she spat
"You better suck it up because we're working together tonight!" Punk shouted as she stormed down the hall with Big E following closely behind
"You were doing so good" Paul noted "And then you blew it right at the end"
"I'm not wrong" Punk defended "What are you looking at?" he asked a producer who nervously jogged away
AJ accompanied Punk along with Paul for his match of the evening and everything went well. Punk actually assumed since she was so affectionate to him onscreen she was starting realizes how he was right. But as soon as they stepped behind the curtain she stormed away.
"You're really going to be like this?" Punk asked following her towards the locker room but she didn't respond to him as she reached the locker room "AJ-" he started to follow her in but she stopped him and passed him his bag "You're throwing me out of my locker room?"
"I can always leave" she suggested simply with an arrogant shrug "I mean if you don't mind me going elsewhere. I'm assuming you'd rather me stay locked up in the private room because you know how fragile and helpless I am" Punk just sucked in a breath in an attempt to remain calm and snatched his bag from her
"Fine" Punk said trying to hold back "But when-" he started but she slammed the door in his face before he could finish
"Give her some time" Big E suggested walking over to him
"I'm not wrong here" Punk defended to him "And I really don't want her alone"
"Well I wouldn't say that too loud or she might come back out here and hit you" Langston smirked
"You're going to stay with her right?" Punk asked him
"Yea as soon as she's done getting changed I'll go back in. Hopefully she lets me in" Langston told her
"I don't have time for these games from her. She can be pissed all she wants but there is no way she's going to start messing around with security" Punk said loud enough hoping she heard that. He banged on the door loudly "You hear that AJ?!" he shouted annoyed but the next thing him and Langston heard was a loud noise hitting the door. Probably one of her shoes or possibly a metal chair. Both cringed slightly.
"Good luck" Punk muttered
"Great you piss her off and now I'm going to be the one dodging punches and objects" Langston said to him
"Maybe she'll get it all out of her system" Punk smirked and that's when they heard another noise hit the door. "Make sure you take her to the bus right after. You're traveling with us to SmackDown right?"
"Hell yes. I can't wait to lounge around on that dream bus" Langston said to him "Don't worry I'll get her there even if she's kicking and screaming"
"Good man" Punk said slapping his shoulder then walked away and headed to the men's locker room
Once Punk made it back to the bus Big E was already on the couch eating a bag of chips.
"How is she?" Punk asked "Still pissed?"
"I don't know" he said to him with a shrug "She hasn't spoken to me but the good news is that she stopped throwing things"
"This is ridiculous" Punk muttered "She's in the bedroom?" he asked
"Yup" Langston told him and watched as Punk stepped into the small bedroom and closed the door behind him. The lights were off and AJ was already under the covers with her back towards him
"AJ" he said to her "You can't ignore me forever"
"I don't think you'll like anything I have to say so it's best I don't speak at all" AJ said to him coldly
"I'm sorry ok" he said annoyed "I shouldn't have lied but I thought it was the right thing to do"
"How could you think that?" AJ asked sitting up and turning around to face him "You didn't think you had some sort of obligation to speak to me about it? This doesn't only affect my safety but yours as well. I'm not just your girlfriend- I am your wife, I'm your partner and you don't trust me"
"Don't put words in my mouth" Punk warned
"What else am I supposed to think Phil?" she asked him "You didn't trust me with such crucial information because you think I'm weak"
"No AJ" he said firmly shaking his head
"Christian used to think about me that way" she reminded him
"Do not compare me to him" he warned her in a low voice
"It's true!" AJ shouted "He kept me away from wrestling because he didn't think I was strong enough, he told me I was weak and that's how treated me and that's how you've been treating me"
"I don't think that" Punk said not realizing this is how she really felt "I could never think that, I wouldn't have married you if I thought that. I just wanted to protect you"
"That's very admirable of you but you don't have to" AJ said to him "I don't need to be locked away in a cabinet like a china doll. I know I've had a lot of bad things happen to me over the last year but I've come through every single one of them"
"I know" he agreed softly
"With the help of you" AJ added "You make me strong and the fact that you didn't think I could handle this really hurts me."
"That was the last thing I ever wanted to do" Punk admitted honestly "I've been keeping this from you so you wouldn't be hurt. I know you're strong but you have to understand that I want to protect that I have to- you're my wife it's my job. Call me old fashioned but it's the way it is. I need to feel like I'm doing something to help you"
"Holding me when I need it helps" AJ said to him softly "Waking me up from a nightmare helps, replacing all the bruises with your gentle touch helps me. But lying to me does the exact opposite."
"I went about it wrong ok" he said finally realizing that she was right herself "What can I do? How can I make this up to you?"
"I want you to tell me everything" AJ said firmly "And I want you to promise me you'll never lie to me again like that again"
"I promise" He said walking over to the bed and taking a seat on the edge of the bed "Promise me something in return?"
"Ok" AJ agreed
"You're going to take this seriously" Punk said to her "I know you want to be independent and I know you want to stand up for yourself but you have to take all the safety precautions and keep me in the loop"
"Of course" she said to him "I would never keep something like this from you I know how much it would hurt you if I did" she said taking a subtle stab at him
"I love you" Punk said to her seriously "I love you more than I ever thought was possible and my instinct is to protect you and I want to do it anyway possible even if you don't like it but I promise I'm going to get better at it. I just can't stand to see you have to go through something like you have again. It literally hurts my heart to see you in pain."
"I know" she whispered cupping his cheek and giving him a sad smile. He gently removed her hand and placed a kiss over it "I love you too"