Cut Off

"You have three seconds to get out of my bar." Robert looked across at Punk who was looking over at AJ.

"April, go upstairs right now." Jeanette gritted her teeth as AJ looked over at Punk.

"I swear, I don't care if you're a cop. I will beat you out of that door if you don't leave." Robert made clear as Punk put his hands up in defence, nodding over to AJ who continued to wipe her wet face. The nod was a reassuring one, but she was feeling anything but reassured.

"Leave!" Jeanette yelled at Punk.

"Can I just talk to April?" Punk asked calmly.

"I think you've done enough to my daughter." Robert spat, "If I see you in this bar again I'll take your head off your shoulders." He said as Punk nodded to himself, looking over at AJ.

"Just go." AJ said tiredly. She couldn't take any more of the yelling. She wanted to get this part over with.

Punk nodded to her, backing out of the bar as AJ turned to her parents.

"Get upstairs now." Jeanette spat as AJ turned around and walked out of the bar, heading upstairs to their apartment.

"Robbie, hold the fort down here." Robert told his son as AJ's brother nodded, taking over the bar whilst her parents headed upstairs.

"I can explain. It's not like how she said." AJ said, standing in the kitchen as she watched her parents come into the room.

"April, tell me this isn't true." Jeanette said as AJ looked across at her, "Tell me you didn't… let that man take advantage of you-"

"He didn't take advantage of me." AJ defended, "I love him. And he loves me."

"I raised a smarter daughter than this." Jeanette shook her head, sitting down at the kitchen table stressfully, "My daughter… a homewrecker?" She spoke to herself with shock.

"Mom, it wasn't like that." AJ defended, "His marriage was over already. I'm not the reason it ended." AJ said.

"Are you really defending your behaviour?" Robert looked across at her in shock, "Really?"

"It's not like how she's painted it. We care about each other." AJ said, "He's been kind to me and sweet-"

"He is married!" Jeanette yelled, "He is a married man. He has a wife. You do not have sexual relations with another woman's husband. You-You shouldn't be having sexual relations with anyone, April. College comes first-"

"I'm twenty years old." AJ said, "You can't tell me how to live my life." AJ shook her head.

"What are people going to think?" Robert spat, "When they come into this bar? What are they going to think about our family? And you?" He looked across at AJ.

"I don't care because I know the truth-"

"The truth is you are his mistress." Jeanette stood up, getting in AJ's face, "Do you understand what that means? It means you don't matter. It means he is using you. It means when his marriage got hard he looked for someone who is easy." She spat as AJ stared at her, "Do you understand that?"

"No, it wasn't like that!" AJ yelled, "He wants to be with me."

"He will throw you away like trash and you will be known around here as the girl who broke up a marriage." Jeanette said, "You should be ashamed of yourself. Disgusted with yourself."

"Your mother is right." Robert said, "People are now going to treat you as classy as your actions have been." He said.

"I don't care." AJ said, "I don't care, I know what me and Phil have." She shook her head, "His marriage was over months ago. And then we got close. His wife even faked a pregnancy just to keep him around. She's crazy." AJ said.

"There are no excuses for what you have done." Jeanette spat, "You have no self-respect and you deserved that humiliation."

"Mom." AJ said with hurt in her voice, "I didn't mean to hurt anybody."

"Well you have." Robert said, "And that man will want nothing to do with you now."

"You're wrong." AJ said, "He wants to be with me."

"April you're a child at college. He is a grown man-"

"I'm not a child." AJ said, "You just want me to be one so you can keep controlling me. I'm twenty. I can make my own decisions. I can sleep with whoever I want!" She yelled angrily as her parents looked at her with shock, "And I did. I slept with him. So many times." She laughed carelessly, "I let him do whatever he wanted to me." She smiled as Jeanette slapped her hard across the face.

"Keep your mouth closed." Jeanette spat angrily as AJ held her cheek, turning back around to look at her mother, "You will pack your bags tonight and be gone."

"What?" AJ shook her head.

"You are not my daughter." Jeanette spat, "No daughter of mine would act like this." She said as AJ looked across at her, "I want you out of here by tonight."

Meanwhile outside Punk was standing with Janine and Dean, "She has nothing to do with this! You just humiliated her in front of all of those people." Punk spat angrily. His main priority was AJ right now, it always would be.

"It has everything to do with her you idiot." Janine spat whilst Dean made sure to stay between them, "She knew you were married, it's not like she's an idiot. And I… I spoke to her the other day, at the store… I actually spoke to her and all along she's been fucking you?" She spat, "I'm the one who is humiliated here!" She yelled.

"I think you should just go home." Dean nodded to Janine, "You've said everything you wanted to. Now go."

"Home." Janine chuckled to herself and nodded, "A home that we bought together." She looked across at Punk, "Did you fuck her in my bed?"

"Alright, that's it." Dean said, taking Janine around the arms, "You are going home." He made clear, "Phil, just go back to my place and I'll take her."

"I can walk myself." Janine shoved Dean away, "I feel sorry for her actually. Poor girl. Manipulated by you."

"Oh, shut up." Punk shook his head, "Just go."

"Once a cheater, always a cheater. I'm sure there will be others." Janine nodded.

"You didn't have to do this. If you wanted to get angry at me, then go ahead. Humiliate me, get people to point and laugh at me, but she did not deserve that." He said.

"She knew what she was doing. Don't defend her." Janine spat, "She deserved all of that and more." She said, "You both deserve each other." She nodded.

"Just get out of here." Punk shook his head, "You've said all you have to say." He said.

"Oh, I got more to say." Janine nodded, "More to do." She said as Punk looked across at her, "I loved you. I loved you so much." She shook her head as Dean stood awkwardly in the middle, "And this is how you treat me." She said, backing off down the street, walking off as Punk sighed to himself, running his hands over his face.

"Hey, man. She's just-"

"Fuck!" Punk yelled angrily, kicking over a trash can on the street as Dean watched.

"Let's just go back to my place." Dean said calmly, "Let's face it, we're both never getting back in that bar." He shook his head.

"Now would be the time where I offer you an alcoholic drink." Dean said, sitting at the kitchen table in his house as Punk sat quietly.

"I gotta go check on her." Punk said, "Her family are insane, Dean. The things she has told me about them… they're seriously crazy-"

"And if you step a foot in there you're a dead man and you know it." Dean said, "You can check on her somehow tomorrow." He nodded.

"This is my fault." Punk shook his head, "I shouldn't have brought her into this mess."

"You didn't. You guys both hit it off. It's not one-sided." Dean said, "All those things Janine is saying, it's just because she's angry with you."

"April didn't deserve that." Punk shook his head.

"She's a tough girl. She'll be ok." Dean nodded.

"This divorce is gonna be a nightmare." Punk said.

"Yeah well I don't think any divorce is easy." Dean said.

"She's just a completely different person to me now." Punk shook his head, "And not just because I… I love April and I fell out of love with her. She's just different. It's not the same woman I met five years ago."

"People can change." Dean nodded, "You know you're no saint. You're not playing any victim card. You both fucked up." Dean said honestly as Punk nodded.

"Yeah and I can admit that." Punk said, "She's not even phased at the fact she lied about being pregnant. It's like it doesn't even matter to her." He said.

"She lives in her own little world." Dean nodded, "It's not gonna be an easy journey but you'll get through it." He said as Punk nodded, listening as there was a knock at the door.

"I swear if that's her…" Punk groaned, leaning his forehead down on the kitchen table.

"I'll get it." Dean patted Punk's back, getting up from the table and walking down the hallway, opening up the front door in preparation for Janine when instead he found AJ, holding a bag as well as having a backpack on her back, "Uh… hey." Dean said worriedly, noticing her eyes were red and puffy.

"Is Phil here?" AJ asked, a lump in her throat.

"Yeah, yeah… come in." Dean nodded, letting her into the house as he closed the door behind her, "He's in the kitchen." He said, walking through to the kitchen as AJ followed.

They got into the kitchen where Punk's head was still leaning on the kitchen table, "Hey, buddy." Dean got his attention as Punk looked up, noticing AJ in the kitchen.

"Hey." Punk stood up immediately, looking at her bags and her puffy eyes, "Hey, are you ok?" He asked worriedly, cupping her cheeks as she took his hands.

"They threw me out." AJ cried as Punk raised his eyebrows whilst Dean sighed to himself and rubbed his forehead.

"Come here." Punk sighed, wrapping his arms around her tightly as she leaned into him and sobbed.

"I didn't know where else to go." She cried.

"It's ok, I got you." Punk nodded, kissing her head and hugging her tightly.