Confronting The Past
April was playing with Max on the floor. She couldn't believe how big he was already getting. He was already holding his head up on his own and his new favorite game was peek-a-boo. She just wasn't ready to part with him and go back to work. It had been two weeks since the potential break in but everything had been smooth sailing since. No one approached the house or tried to break in. She was feeling more and more at ease everyday except when the doorbell rang she jumped a little. She grabbed Max and headed over relieved to see who was on the other side.
"Jewel" April smiled stepping aside to let her in. "How are you?"
"Good" Jewel smiled "Hey there kid" she said tickling Max's belly "He's gotten so big"
"I know" April frowned "I wish he would just stay a baby forever"
"Less diaper changing" Jewel teased
"That I am looking forward to" April chuckled "So what's up? Do you want coffee or something?"
"Actually I wanted to talk to you and Punk" Jewel said to her "Is he around?"
"No I actually convinced him to go to Milwaukee to train today" April said taking a seat with Max on the couch
"I think I know who came into your house" Jewel said to her
"Who?" April asked stunned
"Jason" Jewel said to her
"Why?" April asked "What does he want?"
"Your son" Jewel said to her and April's eyes widened "I don't know for sure but I got a visit from his loan sharks last night and they told me he's missed his deadline and if he doesn't get the money they'll do worse to me"
"What did they do to you?" April asked her
"It doesn't matter" Jewel said to her
"So why do you think Jason wants Max?" April asked
"They mentioned something about waiting on a baby" Jewel said to her "They weren't talking to me but I overheard them. I can only assume that Jason thinks if he takes Max he'd make money on a ransom"
"Son of a bitch" April muttered "Why didn't I think of him to begin with?"
"Because he dropped off the face planet but that's what he does" Jewel said to her "He shows up just when you think you've been rid of him"
"Well I have to be honest I feel a little better" April said to her "I thought this was some random child predator but Jason? I could kick his ass"
"I have no doubt" Jewel smiled "I came to you because I can't go to the police they said they'd kill me"
"Do you think they'll come for Max?" April asked her horrified
"I don't know" She admitted "I don't think so but Jason is the desperate one"
"Did you tell him those men came to see you?" April asked
"No you were my first stop" Jewel said to her "I would have come by last night but it was too late and I'm leaving town in a few hours"
"Are you going to tell him? Your safety is at risk" April pointed out
"I'm going to be in the UK for the next three weeks. Hopefully they just kill Jason during that time" Jewel said to her "If I were you though I wouldn't take any chances I would get out of the house" she encouraged
"And go where?" April asked
"It's best I don't know" Jewel said to her "Just take the baby and go. Maybe go to Milwaukee and see Punk" she suggested
"Yea maybe" April said to her looking down at Max "It's not Jason I'm afraid of it's these guys. If they figure out how much money we're worth they'll know we'd give it all for Max-"
"Don't freak out" Jewel insisted "If they wanted Max they would have come here last night. It's Jason" she reminded her "When he gets desperate he gets dangerous"
April arrived in Milwaukee and outside the gym almost two hours later. She saw Punk's car park in the lot and grabbed Max and carried him inside.
"Hi" April smiled walking over to the desk "I'm looking for Phil-" she started
"Sorry honey but fans can't just walk in here" a woman said to her.
"I'm not a fan I'm his wife" she informed her smugly "You can also add mother of his child to that" she said gesturing to Max.
"Sure" the woman winked "He's in a training session right now-"
"I'll wait" April said simply
"We can't have loitering in the lobby" the woman shrugged rudely "Why don't you just call him if you're married" she suggested
"He's training and didn't answer his phone" she said to her starting to grow annoyed
"Well then he's obviously not expecting you" she shot at April
"Listen lady I am his wife and I'm standing here with his newborn son in my arms and I don't think my husband would be very fond of you not only being rude but so unhelpful" she shot at her
"She's legit" A voice said causing April to look behind her and it was Carter "She's his wife let her in"
"Here's a pass" the woman said smiling passing April a guest pass
"Gee thank you" April said sarcastically
"Everything ok?" Carter asked
"I can't talk to you" April said to him
"Look I fucked up" Carter said to her "I'm not going to touch you or anything but I do know you and you seem really upset. Is everything ok?"
"No which is why I need to see my husband" she said clutching onto Max. "Please just go away before he sees you here"
"Fine" Carter forced out with a smile "He's in room 3"
"Thanks" April said walking into the gym. She stopped outside room 3 and looked through the window and saw Punk on the ground with an instructor. "Look at Daddy" April grinned pointing to Punk so Max would follow her finger. "Now you know as soon as I tell your daddy all about Jason he's probably going to do that to him" she said to him "But don't worry I'll call Uncle Colt so he keeps Daddy in line" Punk had noticed April and his son and quickly let go of the man he was practicing on. He said something to him then walked to the door.
"April" He said surprised and she leaned up and kissed his lips "Are you guys ok? What are you doing here?"
"I know who was in Max's room" April said to him
"Come here" he said pulling her inside an empty room
"It was Jason" April told him
"What?" Punk asked surprised
"Jewel came by today and said he's in trouble with loan sharks again those same sharks went to her home and shook her up last night" April said to him "She heard them talking about how Jason was supposed to get a baby"
"Are you sure about all of this?" Punk asked her "It seems out there even for Jason"
"Jason has a history of stealing from me" April pointed out "I didn't want to just sit at home not that I'm afraid of Jason but what if those guys came to our place?"
"No you did the right thing" Punk assured her "I mean if you would have called I would have saved you a trip and just came home"
"I didn't want to be home" April said to him
"What did the police say?" Punk asked her but she didn't answer the question
"Max has been making the cutest sounds all day" April grinned "Maybe he'll do it again-"
"The police April" Punk said to her "What did they say?"
"I didn't call them" April said to him and he rolled his eyes "These guys threatened Jewel and told her not to go to the police"
"You're not Jewel" Punk argued "I understand you never wanted to see your old friend in trouble but if this pig is involving our son with dangerous criminals then the police should be involved"
"You're right I just didn't want to do anything without talking to you" April said to him "I was thinking we could get a hotel tonight and hang out here for the night? We won't make any rash decisions"
"The pipe" Punk said to himself then laughed
"What?" she asked
"The pipe- the one I found in Max's room I should have known it was him it's clearly his weapon of choice" Punk said annoyed referring to April's attack on her knee. "You know what? Don't call the police I'll handle this myself-"
"So seriously can we just stay the night here? I bought all of Max's things just in case" April asked
"Yea I think you two should definitely stay in Milwaukee tonight" Punk agreed
"Wait what about you?" April asked
"I'm going to go to Chicago and talk to Jason" Punk said to her "After I talk to him I'll see how I feel and if I want to contact the police"
"This could be really dangerous" April reminded him "I don't think you should do that-"
"There's a hotel across the street from here go get yourself a room" he said to her "Just for the night" he added "I'll meet you back here after I talk to Jason"
"Well if you're coming back why can't I just go back to Chicago with you?" April frowned
"I don't want you and Max sitting at home just in case those loan sharks show up while I'm beating Jason" Punk said to her
"Phil-" she started
"I'll take you across the street right now" Punk said placing his hand on her lower back and walking her down the hall he stopped when he saw Carter watching them. "You want to do this now?" he shot at Carter
"Nah man" Carter defended with a grin
"Come on Phil" She said tugging on his arm
"I really hate him" Punk said to her loud enough for Carter to hear as he walked her towards the exit.
Punk arrived in Chicago a few hours later but stopped at home first to get changed. When he walked into his home Colt was already sitting on his couch.
"About time" Colt said turning off the TV
"What are you doing here?" Punk asked
"Waiting for you" Colt said standing up
"I don't need you with me on this" Punk said to him "It's my family I'll handle it"
"And I agree I think you should" Colt said to him "I know you though. Once you get heated you get out of control I'm just here to make sure you don't kill the guy"
"After everything he's done to April it would be justified" Punk said to him "She was so fucking nice to him!" Punk yelled "Paid him to train her even though she could have done better, stealing from her home that she welcomed her into, leaving her when she had concussion, assaulting her on New Years-" he stopped himself "Why? What kind of a man does that to a woman? And why do men keep doing it to April?" he asked more himself
"Well April is kind of taboo" Colt shrugged "She's only ever been with you other guys want to prove they could be better"
"I love the fact that April has only been with me" Punk said to her "I don't love her anymore because of it but there's this innocence about her still." He said to him "An innocence that men like Jason and Carter tried to rob of her. Carter I handled and I'll get another shot at him but Jason- it's long overdue. April has always protected him because she's that good of a person but I made sure to keep her in Milwaukee"
"I understand man" Colt sighed "I feel the same way. There is something about April that you just feel the need to protect- and you've always felt that way about her. When you two got together you were all she had but if you do something stupid tonight and end up in prison she's going to be alone"
"I'm not going to kill him" Punk mocked "As much as I'd like to." He added
"He's a big baby he'll run right to the police if you rough him up. Kiss goodbye your UFC career and reputation" Colt said to him
"Reputation? Father confronts potential baby kidnapper" Punk said to him "You're right I'd never come back from that"
"Spin it anyway you want doesn't change that I'm going with you" Colt said to him
"Do you have any idea how much trouble I can be here?" Punk asked him seriously "If this scumbag told these loan sharks the kind of money I have-"
"I know this can be sticky which is again why I'm going with you" Colt said to him "I'll drive" he said pulling out his car keys
April was in the hotel room staring at her phone. She was growing anxious waiting to hear from Punk. A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts as she glanced at Max who was sleeping in the hotel supplied crib. She peeked and saw it was Carter and rolled her eyes.
"I know you're in there April" Carter said "I can stand here all night if I have to. I'll even start banging on the door-" she opened the door on a crack to face him.
"You can't be here" April said to him
"We need to talk this out" Carter insisted "I need to talk to you"
"Well I needed you to not molest me" she shot at him
"It's going to come out in a week but I'm not cleared to fight" Carter said surprising her "I might never fight again actually"
"Sorry to hear that" she said closing the door but he jammed his door in the frame
"Punk did that to me" Carter informed her
"You did it to yourself" April shot at him "Don't try to guilt me"
"I'm not" Carter said to her "I just want to clear the air between us" April thought about it for a second but decided against it. "Maybe some other time. Right now my son is sleeping and Phil is on his way back" she tried to close the door again but he pushed through.
"We're going to talk about this now" Carter said closing the door behind him….
Punk was in the passenger seat of Colt's car parked outside the gym that they knew Jason was in.
"This is stupid let's just go in there" Punk said growing anxious
"Give it a few more minutes" Colt said to him "He'll be out soon and going in there and causing a scene isn't going to do you any favors"
"I want to get back to Milwaukee" Punk said to him "I hate leaving my family alone out of state"
"How much trouble can she really get into there?" Colt teased with a laughed
"There he is" Punk said pointing and Punk bolted from the car. "Jason!"
"Shit" he muttered
"If you try to run you know I'll chase you and catch you" Punk warned
"What?" Jason asked annoyed
"What?" Punk mocked amused with a grin "You broke into my home!" he said shoving him hard "You wanted to steal my kid!" he shoved him again harder this time sending him to the sidewalk
"I don't know what-" Jason started
"Don't lie to me" he warned as Colt hung back and just watched "Tell me the truth or I'm going to the police or better yet maybe I'll get in touch with those guys you owe money to-"
"Jesus fine!" Jason yelled "I wasn't going to hurt him! I swear to god I would never hurt a kid!"
"I don't believe in god" Punk hissed "What was the plan?" he asked holding up by the collar of his shirt "You thought you'd sneak into my house and get past me and get to my son? You really fucking think I would let that happen!" he screamed
"No!" Jason yelled fearfully "I was waiting for you to leave…"
"So you could ambush my wife!" he screamed
"No! I didn't want to hurt April-" Jason started
"You left her lying in a park and tried to rip her ring off of her hand while she was hurt and pregnant! You really think I'm expected to believe that?!" Punk questioned
"I was just going to hold him at my place ask for money and then give him right back" Jason cried "I wasn't going to hurt him! But these guys who I owe money to they're going to kill me! It was my only option!"
"Are they really going to kill you?" Punk asked and Jason nodded
"Yes" he said quietly "I was scared- I'm still scared. They told me not to take the kid but it was all I had but I promised it'd be good money. But my time is up now I missed the deadline." Jason said crying now and Punk let go of him
"Good" Punk said to him "Because if they don't kill you I will" he threatened "Come near my home again I'll have you arrested- come near my family again I really will kill you and I'll have no trouble convincing a jury of self defense"
"I'm a dead man anyway" Jason whispered
"You deserve nothing less" Punk said spitting on him then turning around and walking away
"You did well" Colt said to him "You left him in one piece"
"I really will kill him if I ever see him again" Punk said getting in the car
"Are you sure you don't want to go to the police?" Colt asked him as he started the car up again
"No I don't" Punk said to him "I hope these guys come back and kill him. He said those guys he owes money to didn't want him to take Max that's good enough for me. That means Jason is the only threat and with my luck he won't be a threat much longer"
"You can live with that?" Colt asked him
"It's not my problem he borrowed money from shady people" Punk shrugged
"But if you tell the police he broke into your house and admitted to it he'll be locked up" Colt said to him
"Or I piss off some extremely dangerous people" Punk argued
"April told me they went to Jewel's" Colt said to him "What if they hurt her? I mean this isn't a joke you can save two lives here"
"Fuck" Punk groaned "I really just want to get back to April" he said looking at his phone checking his messages but saw he didn't have any.
"How do you think April would feel knowing you left him for dead? Shitty person or not he's still a person" Colt reminded him "Let him rot in prison."
"Fine" Punk said annoyed "Take me to the fucking police station" Colt smiled
"Good choice" Colt said to him "Who are you calling?"
"April to let her know I'm going to be longer than I expected" Punk said "She's not answering"
"She probably fell asleep" Colt shrugged
"Or she's having a hard time getting Max down" Punk said "Let's just get this over with before I change my mind"
"You're doing the right thing and I'm proud of you if that means anything" Colt said to him
"Doesn't mean much" Punk mocked
"Well I'm sure April would be proud and I bet your son would be damn proud" Colt said to him "Does that mean anything?"
"It means everything" Punk admitted quietly
A/N: Uh-oh...Carter alone with April, how will that turn out?