Early Grave


"Phillip." Janet noticed Punk walking down the corridor, "Long time no see." She said.

"It's close family only." Punk said, walking towards them with Thea who couldn't hide how she felt on her face. She knew these people were bad. People who had dumped debt and despair onto her parents. The same debt that got her father wound up in prison. They were not her family, and they never would be.

"We're April's parents." Robert said.

"You haven't saw April and I in twenty one years." Punk screwed his face up, "When you fucked off and left me to rot in a prison cell, after dumping us with your debts." He whispered angrily.

"Twenty one years, you'd think you'd be over it by now." Janet scoffed.

"You aren't welcome here." Thea said.

"And who are you?" Robert questioned.

"Thea." Thea said, "The oldest."

"Oh, I see." Janet nodded slowly, "You do look like a… a prettier version of April." She smiled as Thea shook her head.

"Get out of here." Punk warned, "April sure as hell doesn't want to see you."

"We've already been to see her." Janet said, "We were just leaving."

"Because she kicked you out?" Punk assumed.

"No, we've been here for over an hour." Robert said as Thea turned to Punk, "Is it so hard to believe that our little girl wanted to see us whilst she's in hospital?"

"Yeah, it is actually." Punk said, "You have never, ever cared about her. Ever." He said, "Not even when you guys lived here. She told me about things you used to do. Things you used to say." He nodded, looking specifically at AJ's mother, "You are no mother and father to her." He made clear.

"Who even contacted you?" Thea wondered.

"We heard from some friends who still live here. They called us and told us she was in a coma so we… got the first flight over." Robert said.

"Why? Because you wanted to be there for her or because you figured you'd be coming to a funeral?" Punk asked as they both looked at him without saying anything, "Yeah… thought so." Punk nodded, "Just piss off." He shook his head, walking past them both and into AJ's room.

He really had no energy for this. He didn't want to waste his anger or any sort of emotion on two people who weren't worth it in the slightest.

Thea stood on her own, looking across at her grandparents who she'd only met once, on the night her father was arrested, which was hazy in her brain.

"You're a beautiful young girl." Janet nodded to her as Thea looked across, slowly walking by them both, heading into her mother's room and closing the door over behind her.

"They're so weird." Thea shook her head.

"Shh." Punk said as Thea turned around, noticing her mother was asleep.

"Oh." Thea noticed quietly, sitting down the bag she had packed at the bottom of the bed, "Dad, why the hell are they here?" Thea asked him quietly.

"I don't know." Punk shook his head quietly, "But they better stay the fuck away." He said.

"You two have the loudest quiet voices ever." AJ said, her eyes still closed as she lay up in bed.

"I thought you were sleeping." Punk smiled, looking on at her as she opened her eyes.

"I was just resting my eyes." AJ said as Punk leaned in and kissed her, "Hi." AJ cupped his cheek.

"How you feeling?" Punk asked her.

"Like my head weighs thirty stone." She nodded.

"Hi, mom." Thea smiled, leaning over and hugging her mother softly.

"Hi, baby." AJ smiled, stroking the back of her daughter's dark hair, "I hear you bumped into my parents." She said.

"Yeah, what-what are they doing here?" Punk shook his head.

"Apparently to see me." AJ said, "Trust me, I thought I was having hallucination side effects when I saw them walk in the door." She said.

"Why would they come now?" Thea asked, "They haven't spoken to you guys in years."

"They probably thought I was about to die." AJ said, "If you feel like there's no air in this room it's because they stayed in here for over an hour, sucking it all out." She said unhappily as Punk sighed, sitting down by her bed.

"Why didn't you tell them to leave?" Punk shook his head.

"I did." AJ said, "I would have threw them out myself but… I wasn't feeling up to it." She said tiredly as Punk smiled a little, "You didn't cause a scene out there, did you?" She asked him.

"Me? I don't cause scenes." Punk exaggerated as AJ smiled.

"What'd they say to you?" Thea asked curiously.

"That they'd missed me. And that they were sorry for not being there over the years." AJ shrugged, "Honestly I… I didn't have the attention span to listen to much they were saying." She said sleepily.

She didn't have the mental capacity to even be bothered by her parents surprise showing. They weren't people she held close to her heart. In fact, she hated them, for everything they had done to her and put her through over the years. Their visit meant nothing to her.

"Why would they randomly show up like this, though?" Thea shook her head, "What is with everyone?" She whispered to herself.

"See what happens when everyone thinks I'm about to kick the can?" AJ smiled tiredly, "They all get excited." She whispered as Punk watched her.

"That's not true." Punk said. He couldn't' help notice she seemed sleepier, more drugged out than yesterday, which was perhaps why she hadn't really registered her parents being here very well.

"It is true." AJ said, "I bet they just flew out here to attend my funeral." She nodded, "In fact, I'd go as far as saying they probably brought outfits for it." She said as Thea looked over at her father, "Well jokes on them. Bastards." She mumbled.

"Ape, have they upped your drugs, babe?" Punk asked, trying to look around the room for AJ's medicine intake.

"I'm not sure." AJ said sleepily, "Where are my other girls?" She asked.

"Cassie is gonna stop by later and Jude is… busy figuring out baby stuff." Thea smiled, "She's doing real good."

"I knew she'd be fine." AJ nodded, "She's the most responsible out of the three of you." She said as Thea laughed a little.

"I thought Cassie was." Thea said.

"No, she's… she's sneaky." AJ said.

"Yeah well… I'd have to agree." Punk nodded, looking over at Thea who scoffed, "Babe, why don't you shut your eyes over? Get some sleep." He said, holding AJ's hand in his.

"Maybe." AJ said quietly, closing her eyes over, falling asleep almost instantly.

"I want whatever she's having." Thea said as Punk shook his head with confusion.

"Why is she so out of it?" Punk wondered, "I'm gonna go talk to her doctor." He said, getting up and leaving the hospital room, walking down the corridor to find her doctor, "Hey, Paul." He finally found him.

"Hello." Paul nodded.

"Hey, why is April so out of it? Is she on stronger drugs?" Punk asked.

"She is, yeah." Paul said, "She had a bit of a rough night. Terrible pain in her head so we upped her morphine. It's totally normal for her to be sleepy." He said, "We'll slowly decrease the dose of medication she's getting, just to see how the pain in her head progresses."

"Why didn't anyone call last night? If she had a bad night?" Punk asked.

"It was nothing to be worried about. It's normal for her to feel pain. Think of it as her head being extremely bruised and tender right now." Paul said, "We got it under control and she's been resting good." He said as Punk nodded slowly.

"Ok." Punk said, "Hey, can you do me a favour?" He asked.

"Sure. What?" Paul asked.

"That man and woman who were in visiting April just there, can you make sure they don't come back. Don't let them in to see her." Punk nodded.

"If you say so." Paul nodded, "Excuse me, I have a patient to see." He said as Punk nodded, watching him walk down the corridor.

Punk returned back to AJ's room where Thea was unpacking the bag she'd packed for her mother. Leaving some pyjamas piled over on the chair.

"She wanted a hairbrush, right?" Thea asked her father, sitting a hairbrush by her mother's bed on the night stand.

"Yeah." Punk nodded.

"Ok, that should be everything." Thea nodded, "If she needs anything else she can let me know." She said, sitting the empty bag under the chair, "Hey, did Paul say anything about upping her meds?" She asked, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Yeah, they upped the dosage. She had a rough night last night." Punk said as Thea nodded.

"That's normal, dad. She might be like this for a little while." She said as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, I know." Punk understood, "Why the hell would they come here?" He asked himself as Thea looked over.

"Maybe they were just concerned." Thea said as Punk shook his head.

"No, trust me… wherever they go, trouble follows after." Punk said, "It literally makes me anxious that they're here." He shook his head.

"Isn't that just because of everything that happened?" Thea asked.

"Maybe." Punk nodded, "Nothing they do is genuine." He said.

"Why didn't mom ever get along with them?" Thea asked him as he sat down by the bed.

"There's a lot there." Punk nodded, "It'd be better coming from your mom." He said as Thea nodded.

"I'm gonna go get a coffee. You want one?" Thea asked him, taking her cigarettes out of her purse as Punk scoffed.

"Does a coffee come hand in hand with a cigarette for you?" Punk questioned.

"Yes, problem?" Thea asked calmly, "You want one of these?" She asked him.

"I'm good." Punk assured her, "I thought you quit."

"I did. Then my pregnant sister almost got shot and my mom was in a coma." Thea said, "You want a coffee or not?" She asked.

"Yeah, go on." Punk nodded.

"Ok, I'll be back soon." She said, leaving the hospital room as Punk sighed to himself.

There was a lot going on in his head. A lot to think about and consider. All he wanted to do was be there for his wife. That was all he really cared about.

"Phil." AJ whispered, opening her eyes back up and turning to him.

"Hey… you ok?" Punk smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Why'd my parents not care about me?" She asked him drowsily as Punk looked across at her, "Did I do something wrong? As a kid?" She wondered.

"No… no, of course you didn't." Punk shook his head, "No, you're just… unlucky, I guess." He nodded, "We both were." He said.

"I wish I had nice parents sometimes." AJ admitted, looking away from him. Even at her age, in her weak state, she still longed to be cared about by a parent. The strong medication she was on was making it easier to express that aloud.

"Yeah, me too." Punk nodded.

"My mom used to tell me that no one would love me." AJ said as he nodded.

He knew all about the psychological abuse she suffered as a child. It wasn't something she talked about much, but something she'd definitely told him about. He wasn't aware her parents were so manipulative, not until they grew out of their teens and into adulthood.

"Well how wrong was she, huh?" Punk smiled, stroking her cheek softly, "You got a whole family who love you. Our own family." He nodded.

"I do." AJ nodded, "I just… I couldn't imagine saying the things my mom said to me as a kid to our girls. I don't understand it." She sighed.

"Some people just shouldn't be parents." Punk nodded, "I don't want you to worry about them."

"I'm not." AJ assured him with a small smile which made him smile too, watching her as she drifted back in and out of sleep.