Murder On The Mind

"Hey, babe. We're getting some runs." Punk nodded, sitting up on the couch watching some baseball as AJ got home late on in the afternoon. She'd spent her day with her daughter lying against her lap. Sometimes crying. Sometimes sleeping.

"Hey." AJ nodded as Punk turned to her.

"Where did you shoot off to this morning anyway? The office?" Punk asked.

"Uh… no. No I was at Thea's house." AJ nodded.

Jude had asked her to tell him what had happened. She figured it may have been best for her to tell him, to handle his reaction before he saw Jude. She knew it wasn't going to be good. Of course it wasn't.

"Oh, were you dropping off some of James' presents?" Punk asked, looking over at the TV.

"No, I was seeing Jude." AJ nodded as Punk turned to her, "She was staying with Thea last night."

"So they've officially made up?" Punk questioned, "Good. No point arguing over stupid stuff." Punk shook his head.

"We need to talk, Phil." AJ nodded as Punk turned back to her, this time a little more concerned.

"What's up?" He asked, turning the TV down and sitting up.

"Ok." AJ whispered to herself, taking a seat on the couch beside him.

"Are you ok?" Punk asked, becoming more and more concerned, "Are the girls ok?"

"I'm… I'm ok." AJ nodded to him, "It's Jude."

"What about Jude?" Punk questioned, standing up, "Is she ok? What's happened?" He asked.

"Just… calm down. She's ok." AJ nodded. If they were going by her physical safety at this moment time, she was ok. But emotionally and mentally, she was so far from ok.

"She's ok?" Punk nodded, sitting back down, "So what's going on?" He asked.

She wasn't sure how she could even say it. She never thought she'd ever have to sit down and tell him this. Like Thea had said, she thought it was something that you heard of around you but it always felt impossible that something like this could come and hit close to home. So very close.

"April." Punk waited, noticing AJ had gone blank, "What's going on? You're worrying me." He nodded. The TV was now turned off and his attention was fully on her, "What's wrong with Jude?"

"Something happened." AJ said, "On Christmas Eve." She said as Punk looked at her.

"What happened?" Punk asked as AJ looked at him, "She's not still apologising for showing up late on Christmas day, is she?" He wondered. He knew Jude. She was a worrier. Sensitive to other people's feelings and what they thought of her.

"N-No… no, it's not that." AJ sighed almost painfully, running her hands over her face, trying to keep it together.

"Then what?" Punk shook his head as AJ lifted her head, her clasped hands going over her mouth as she looked at him.

"She was raped." AJ whispered.

"What?" Punk said, almost immediately as AJ nodded.

"She was raped." AJ said a little louder as Punk looked at her, like he really couldn't understand what she was saying, "She was… drugged at the party and she doesn't… she doesn't remember anything. She just woke up in a bed, with no clothes on and-"

"What… What the hell are you talking?" Punk stood up, "What the hell, April?" Punk shook his head as AJ looked at him.

"I just found out today. She wanted me to tell you." AJ nodded as Punk screwed his face up.

"What?" Punk shook his head, "No… no, she… she's fine. She was fine." Punk nodded, "She was fine." He repeated.

"She's not fine, Phil." AJ shook her head, "She's in a bad way and she needs help." She said as Punk looked at her with horror. It just wasn't registering with him, "She's gone to tell Sean tonight and I think she's going to the police in the morning. She wants Thea to go with her." AJ said.

Meanwhile Punk was barely listening. His ears were ringing. There was no way he was hearing this right.

"Jude is fine." Punk shook his head, "I saw her yesterday. She was fine. She was a little sick but… she was…" He shook his head, running his hands through his hair, remembering Jude walking into the living room yesterday for the first time. Remembering her sleeping for most of the day. Throwing up at dinner. Acting overly fine afterwards.

"She's not fine." AJ shook her head as Punk looked at her, "She needs us. Now more than ever." She said, "Sit down with me." She reached for his hand as Punk ripped it away, too agitated and anxious to let her touch him. Too shocked and confused.

"You can't be serious right now." Punk shook his head in horror. It truly was his worst nightmare. Above anything else in the world. He would have taken another eight years in prison rather than hearing this about one of his children. It was torture.

"Baby, I'm serious." AJ stood up, "It's bad but she's… she's gonna get through this. Because we're all gonna help her. And we're gonna find the bastard who did this." She said as Punk looked across at her, "We'll find him with or without the cops." She said, starting to notice his facial expressions change from shock to anger as he realised there was a culprit behind this. There was someone who had done this, out there in the streets walking free.

"I'm gonna kill him." Punk said calmly, heading out of the living room door.

"Phil." AJ walked after him, "Phil." She called, watching him open the front door up as she quickly closed it over before he could walk out, "Phil, you don't even know who it was." She said, watching his shaking hands run over his head.

"C'mon, you're not… you're not being serious right now, are you?" Punk shook his head. But he knew she would never joke about anything like this. It was real, this had happened and he couldn't believe it.

"Please, just come and sit down with me." AJ nodded calmly. She didn't expect a different reaction from him.

She walked back into the living room as he followed her, "How… why did this happen?" Punk shook his head. He knew it was a ridiculous question but he couldn't find anything right to say or ask. What could he say?

"Sit down." AJ nodded, sitting down on the couch as he slowly sat down beside her, his hands shaking as he clasped them, "She's safe right now. She's at Thea's, stayed the night there. Sean is gonna come there and she's gonna tell him." She said as Punk just shook his head, "She doesn't know what happened. She was drugged at the party." She said as Punk placed his hands over his face. He really wished he could just wake up from this nightmare.

"And no one noticed?" Punk asked fiercely.

"Kirsty had gone and apparently Jude was leaving right after her but… obviously didn't get the chance." AJ nodded, "She knows the location of the house she came from so when she goes to the cops-"

"Where is it?" Punk stood back up, "Where is the house?" He asked.

"She… she didn't tell me. Phil, you need to calm down." AJ stood up.

"Calm down? You want me to calm down?" Punk asked angrily, "Whoever did this is still out there-"

"And this is not your situation to handle. This is Jude's." AJ made clear.

"She's my daughter." Punk said.

"Yeah, don't worry, I get that." AJ nodded, "And I know you don't want to think about it but just take a second to think about what Jude needs right now." She said, "She needs us to be there for her. We're not giving the son of a bitch who did this any attention-"

"I'm gonna kill him, April." Punk nodded simply.

"No you're not. You're gonna be there for Jude." AJ batted, "Because this is about her and what she wants." She said, "The last thing she really needs right now is worrying about her dad going off the rails."

"Is she… is she hurt?" Punk asked, not really sure he could face knowing.

"A little." AJ nodded, "Not as much physically as emotionally." She said, "I just… I sat with her all day in bed. She barely moved. Sometimes she just… started crying." She shook her head, folding her arms and looking down at the ground as she felt tears welling in her eyes as Punk sighed to himself.

"She's telling Sean tonight?" Punk asked.

"Yeah." AJ quickly dried her tears as Punk sighed, "She wanted to before going to the police." She nodded, "I said that I'd go with her but she just wants Thea." AJ nodded.

"She doesn't remember a thing?" Punk asked.

"No, it goes from her at the bar to waking up." AJ nodded, "I think that's what's affecting her so bad. Not knowing what someone did to her whilst she was… passed out." AJ's voice broke, not being able to hold her tears back as Punk watched.

Punk walked over, wrapping her arms around her tightly as she hugged into him. He felt exactly how she did. He too wanted to break his heart and cry loudly, but he kept it together the best he could.

"We'll help her through this." Punk nodded, rubbing AJ's back softly.

"How can someone do this?" AJ cried as Punk closed his eyes. He had no answer to that, "To do that to someone. To take so much away from them." She shook her head.

"It's not human." Punk shook his head. It just wasn't sinking in for him. As parents all they wanted to do was make it go away for Jude, to take her pain and sadness.

"Thea sort of told me something too…" AJ pulled back, "You know how she went to Sean for an address for an old friend?" AJ asked.

"Yeah?" Punk shook his head.

"Well she was lying. It was for some guy who she'd saw following Jude and being weird with her. But you know how paranoid Thea can get over stuff like that. But… then she told me it was that guy who invited Jude to the party." AJ said, "So I'm thinking… it's gotta be him, right? But… the house Thea went to was different from the one Jude woke up in so…"

"Thea went to this guy?" Punk questioned.

"Yeah, to warn him to stay away from Jude." AJ nodded.

"What's his name?" Punk asked, already feeling the anger boiling in his gut.

"Jeremy." AJ said, "But it was a different house, Phil. And this guy is in Jude's class at the institute." She said.

"Yeah well that's how scary shit like this is. It can be anyone. It can be a friend. Someone who smiles to you in the street." Punk said, running his hand through his hair, "So… where does this Jeremy live?" Punk asked, trying to act calm.

"I don't know. Thea never said." AJ said, "It's best we wait until Jude goes to the police." She nodded, "There's been other girls attacked the same way. All girls who study at the institute." She said, "I just never thought… I never thought it'd be Jude." She shook her head as Punk nodded.

"We'll be there for her and she will… she'll get through this." Punk gulped, wrapping his arms back around his wife, "She's got her whole family behind her." He nodded, kissing AJ's head as she rested into him for comfort.

He wasn't shying away from the fact that he would find this person, with or without the police, and he would make him pay for what he'd done to Jude. He'd never felt anger like this in all his life, and he knew once they found this person behind the attack, that anger was gonna come out ten full.