Bad Man


"What the hell did I do?" Punk shook his head, later on in the night when AJ had told him about Jessica getting upset. She managed to get through the rest of the night and comfort Jessica, and when they got home she went straight to bed. She couldn't tell AJ why she thought her father was bad, but she seemed so sure of it and it was painful to hear and see, especially when things had been so good.

"I… I don't know. I don't know where any of his has come from." AJ shook her head truthfully, standing in the kitchen with him as Punk folded his arms.

"Who has she been talking to?" Punk asked, "I mean… have I done something… said something that I can't remember?" Punk asked, starting to doubt himself, wondering what he had done to make his daughter think this way about him all of a sudden. It broke his heart. He never wanted to scare her.

"She's only been around us, Cami, Dean, the usual people." AJ shrugged, "And they wouldn't say anything like that." AJ said, "I asked her why she said it but she just kept saying it." AJ shook her head, "I don't know, she's five, I mean maybe she's just overreacting about something, something stupid." AJ said.

"No, something has had to have happened for her to think that way." Punk sighed, "What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Just talk to her. Ask her why she thinks that and assure her it's not true. Maybe she just picked up on something wrong or overhead something." AJ shook her head, "I thought maybe she wouldn't believe that, when she knows you, but she's just a little girl." AJ concluded, "A lot of things are just confusing to her."

"I'll talk to her tomorrow." Punk said, "I can't believe she's scared of me." He shook his head angrily.

"Hey, don't take it to heart." AJ shook her head, wandering over to him and wrapping her arms around his neck, "Kids say all kinds of crazy stuff. She's gone in little moods with me before." AJ nodded.

"She's never been scared of you." Punk replied as AJ sighed, resting her head on his chest.

"It'll work itself out." AJ nodded, "She'll come around. She loves you." She looked up at him, "That's never gonna change."

"It feels like it is." Punk shook his head.

"Hey." AJ shook her head, cupping his cheeks, "No, she loves you, that love isn't going away. She's just picked up on something and got spooked, once you talk with her she'll be fine. She just takes a lot in." AJ nodded, "She's like me. She worries." AJ nodded.

"I don't want her to worry about me and be scared of me." Punk sighed, "What could I have done that made her feel like that?" Punk shook his head. He was devastated to know his own daughter was scared by him. He was trying to think about what he'd maybe said or done that could have made her feel this way but he couldn't pinpoint anything.

"Nothing. You've not done anything wrong. It could be something simple." AJ said, "It'll be fine." She assured him as he nodded slowly, "Don't worry." She nodded, leaning up and kissing him softly as he kissed back, needing the assurance from her that he hadn't done something wrong to make Jessica feel this way.


The next morning, Punk got up early after barely sleeping, trying to prepare himself on what he could say to his five year old daughter, as if he was about to speak to some sort of professor to convince them of his worthiness. He wanted to be the safest and most trusted person in Jessica's life, so to know she felt weary of him and frightened really hurt him hard, and he was determined to fix it.

AJ eventually got downstairs with Jessica to get breakfast. She decided to cook to let Punk talk to Jessica over by the table. Jessica was doing a good job of minding her own business, playing a game on her mother's phone whilst Punk sat across from her and looked across at her.

"Jessica." Punk said as Jessica looked up, "Hey, uh… look, mommy told me you were feeling a little scared of me." He said, "And that I've… I've done something bad." Punk nodded as Jessica looked across at him, "Baby, you don't have to be scared of me. Me and you are buddies. I would never do anything bad, ever." Punk promised her, "What… What made you feel like this?" He asked her as Jessica shrugged.

"I don't know." Jessica said as Punk looked across at her.

"It must be something." Punk said, "I'm real hurt that you think I'm bad, cause I'm not. There's no one that loves you in the world more than me and your mom, and I would never do anything bad to you to frighten you." He said as she looked across at him, her little brain wondering if she could stay frightened of him. She naturally felt comfort with him, and he was the person she trusted the most in her life.

"Did I really hurt you?" Jessica asked, starting to get sad that she had upset him. She didn't want to upset anyone, an deep down she still knew her daddy was a good person.

"Well yeah, only because I thought I'd hurt you." Punk said whilst AJ looked over with a smile, "I promise you, I'm not a bad man, and whatever reason made you think that, you can tell mommy and me." Punk assured her.

"Just someone told me, that's all." Jessica shook her head as AJ paused pouring herself coffee and looked over.

"Who told you?" Punk asked her with confusion.

"Just a man." Jessica shrugged, continuing to play the game on AJ's phone.

"What man?" AJ walked over to the table immediately.

"I don't know his name." Jessica told her, "He was at the park."

"When?" Punk asked. It was every parent's worst nightmare, to hear that their child had been talking to a mysterious man that had no name. Punk's stomach immediately sank at the thought of it.

"Uh… I don't know. When I was with Dean and Eva." Jessica told him, "He waved me over and said he knew you and that you were bad and I should be scared of you." Jessica said as AJ looked at her.

"Baby, what did this man look like?" AJ asked, "He didn't give you his name."

"No." Jessica said. As a child, she didn't see the issue in what was going on, "He said it was our secret. He… He had his hood up. I can't remember what else." She shrugged as Punk looked at AJ.

"Baby, what do I say about talking to strangers?" AJ shook her head as Jessica looked up, "You can't ever talk to them." AJ said, "This man is a liar. Daddy is not a bad man and you do not need to be frightened of him."

"I know that now." Jessica mumbled, "But he was nice." Jessica shrugged.

"That's not the point. He is a stranger and you do not know him." AJ said sternly as Jessica looked up at her, realising she was in trouble, "Anything could have happened to you."

"Ok, everyone calm down." Punk sighed, noticing AJ start to panic, "She's fine." Punk nodded to AJ, "I'll… I'll talk to Dean and see if he saw anything. Don't worry about it."

"Obviously I'm going to worry about it." AJ sighed, placing her hand on her forehead.

"Mommy, don't be mad with me." Jessica frowned.

"I am… I'm not mad, Jessica." AJ said, "I'm scared. You are way too small and precious to be talking to people you don't know." She said, crouching down by the table where Jessica sat, "There are so many bad people out there, and just like you can't wander off, you can't speak to people you don't know." AJ shook her head, "It makes mommy and daddy worry, and we get super scared."

"Oh, no. But I don't want you guys to be scared." Jessica sighed, starting to feel bad.

"We're ok." Punk nodded, "And you're ok. That's the most important thing." Punk nodded, "And you don't have to be afraid of me. That man… whoever he is, he doesn't even know me, I guarantee. He was probably just trying to scare you."

"That was mean." Jessica said as Punk nodded.

"Ok." AJ sighed, looking at the clock over by the oven, "I really have to go now." She shook her head, having to rush off to court for the trial, wishing she could stay at home after realising what had happened with Jessica.

"It's fine." Punk assured her, "You go be great for the day. We'll hang out and I'll talk to Dean." Punk said as AJ nodded.

"Ok." AJ sighed, "Ok, I love you." AJ turned to Jessica, kissing her cheek, standing up straight and grabbing her bag with her things in it, "I love you too." AJ said, leaning over and kissing Punk before rushing out of the door, her mind all over the place, not sure if it was in the correct place for court.


"Your witness, Miss Mendez." The judge nodded as AJ stood up from behind her desk with her notes. The trial was going pretty much in favour of Lily, especially with all the evidence she had to show in regards to how mistreated Lily was. The process of the trial was slow anyway, but she was making sure to make each moment count.

"Ok, Miss Pratt, you are Lily's mom, correct?" AJ asked Lily's mother who agreed to testify to further add to the defence for Lily. AJ had gathered some witnesses to favour Lily in how she was treated of her now deceased boyfriend.

"I am." Her mother nodded.

"Can you tell me when…" AJ paused as she felt a wave in her stomach for a second, shaking her head and carrying on, "When you noticed changes in Lily's behaviour?" AJ asked.

"From the minute they were together, she became very isolated. I actually rarely saw her. As a mother I thought she was just intrigued in a new relationship but… I later found out that Paul wasn't letting her go out, not even to see me." Her mother said as AJ nodded.

"When was the first time you noticed evidence of physical abuse on Lily?" AJ asked.

"About… four years ago." Her mother nodded, "She had very clear bruises on her wrists, only one can assume from someone grabbing her."

"Bruises to which my client confessed to being her boyfriend's doings, your honour." AJ told the judge, "What else did you notice, Miss Pratt?" AJ asked, starting to feel that wave of sickness in her stomach again.

"She'd gotten very skinny. She wasn't eating. Or responding. I wanted her to come stay with me but… she feared the consequences too much. I wanted to call the police but… she begged me not to." Her mother said.

"Why…" AJ paused again as she felt herself get extremely warm.

"Miss, Mendez… are you alright?" The judge asked with confusion as AJ nodded.

"Mhm." AJ nodded, "Why did… Why she not want you to call the police?" AJ asked.

"She was scared he would kill her, and she was also very reluctant because Paul was a police officer and… could probably talk his way out of it." Her mother nodded.

"So she feared for her life and so stayed with her abuser who raped her, threatened her, abused her…" She turned to the jury, "And it's like one day, she just snapped." AJ nodded, turning back to the judge, "Your honour, I'd like to bring into evidence the text messages between Lily and her mother on an occasion where Lily felt suicidal, because of this man's abuse." She said, taking the remote to present the text messages on the screen as the judge turned a little.

"Miss Pratt, can you can confirm this is the messages between you and your daughter on April the 12th of this year?" AJ asked.

"I can." Her mother nodded, starting to get upset, drying her tears as AJ grabbed the box of tissues and passed them over to her.

"Can you please read out the first message your daughter sent you?" AJ asked.

"Uh…" Her mother nodded, turning to the screen, "I just want you to know that I love you but I don't think I can carry on much longer. There's no way out and I don't want to be here anymore. I'm trapped and I'd rather end it now than suffer later. I'm so sorry." She said as she dried her tears.

"This has nothing to do with the death of the victim here." The prosecutor stood up.

"The victim?" AJ turned around, "The victim in all of this is my client who suffered years of abuse from her boyfriend, to the point where she wanted to kill herself."

"The abuse is not on trial here, your honour." The prosecutor shook his head.

"No, but the self defence of the abuse is!" AJ yelled.

"That's enough." The judge said calmly, "Miss Mendez, please proceed." The judge nodded.

"Thank you, your honour." AJ said, "Can you continue reading the…" AJ paused again, as she felt the wave of sickness travel further up her body.

"Miss Mendez, what is going on?" The judge asked with frustration as AJ shook her head, looking around her for something, knowing she wouldn't make it to the toilet, grabbing the small trash can beside the desk as she violently threw up in it, "I think… a recess is in order." The judge nodded as Lily got up to go check on AJ who was crouched down and continuing to throw up.