Her Voice


"Who is this?" An older man jumped down from the top bunk, looking on at the new pictures sitting on the small table in the cell.

"Don't touch them." Punk said immediately, sitting up on the bottom bunk nervously as his cell mate, Tom, or famously known as T-dog within the prison, looking on at the pictures AJ had given him.

"Is it your family?" Tom asked.

"Yeah." Punk said, leaning against the wall.

"Damn, that's a nice lady friend you got there." Tom noticed the picture of AJ as Punk extended his leg out and kicked him on the knee cap hard, watching him collapse over a little and chuckle.

"Quit it." Punk warned as Tom chuckled a little.

"Alright alright, I'm just messing with you." Tom insisted as Punk looked over at him.

He'd only been inside for two months. His wife was feverishly working on appeals for him which continued to be denied. He missed her, he missed his girls, his brother, his whole family. It was terrifying how much his life had changed overnight, certainly not for the good.

"If I see you touch them I'll stick your head in that urinal." Punk made clear as Tom looked over at him.

"This isn't your first time in a cell, is it?" Tom realised, leaning against the wall and folding his arms.

"And how would you know?" Punk asked defensively.

"Because you know things. I've had two cell mates before you. Fresh meat. Not a clue about how all this works." Tom said, "You do. You got your wits about you. You know how sacred a picture is in here." He said as Punk looked at him, "So tell me… how long ago were you in here?" He asked curiously.

"A while back." Punk said, "I was nineteen at the time. Just a kid." He shook his head, "I was in for just over a year. Drugs." He said briefly as Tom nodded.

"So you never learned?" Tom asked bluntly as Punk looked at him.

"Excuse me?" Punk narrowed his brows.

"Well… you've seemed to find your way back here, same offence, same situation-"

"No, this… this time was different. This time wasn't my fault." Punk shook his head, looking over at him, "It's not for you to understand."

"Maybe not." Tom nodded, "How was it the last time you were in here?"

"It wasn't the greatest." Punk scoffed, "I guess I wasn't in long enough to see anything too crazy." He said as Tom nodded slowly.

"Do you mind if I… look at the pictures?" Tom pointed as Punk looked at him wearily, "Dude, I'm not gonna jerk off to them. They keep those crazies far away from this wing, trust me." He shook his head as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, go ahead." Punk nodded. The only good thing on his side was the fact he knew how prison worked. He knew the system, the things to watch out for and be careful of. But that didn't mean he wasn't still terrified.

"What's your girls name?" Tom asked, taking the few pictures from the table.

"April." Punk said as he nodded, looking at the picture of AJ on her own, one he remembered taking of her on their honeymoon. He knew seeing her sweet smile via photograph was never going to be enough for him. Ever.

"And these must be the offspring?" Tom smiled, looking onto the pictures of Thea and Jude as Punk nodded, "This one looks old." He looked at the picture of Thea.

"She's thirteen." Punk nodded, "Had her when we were young." He said as Tom nodded, "That's Thea and the younger one is Jude. She's six." He said as Tom smiled and nodded.

"They're cute kids." Tom said respectfully.

"I think so." Punk nodded, "Got another one on the way too." He said stressfully.

"Damn, son." Tom laughed a little, "You after a big family?" He questioned.

"We wanted three kids." Punk nodded, "Wasn't anticipating this happening, though." He shook his head.

"Well, I bet." Tom said, "How long you got?" He asked.

"Fourteen years." Punk said as Tom nodded, "What about you?"

"Well I got eighteen. Already done seven." Tom said as Punk nodded slowly, "I didn't murder or rape anyone." He promised, "Drugs too." He said as Punk nodded, "It can… suck you right in." He shook his head, "And there's really no way out."

"Yeah, I know." Punk understood.

"I won't touch your pictures." Tom promised as Punk nodded, "I know what can happen if… they end up in the wrong hands." He said.

"So do I." Punk nodded. He'd lived in prison before, he'd saw the horrors that came with it all. The people, the packs, the politics and the cruel behaviour. He was very protective of himself right now more than ever.

"If a riot breaks out or… something happens up in here, put them in here." Tom said, opening up a crack in the wall as Punk looked on, "I keep mine in here."

"Surprised they haven't fixed that yet." Punk said.

"They don't know it's there." Tom scoffed.

"You got a family?" Punk figured.

"Kids, yeah. Not that I see them anymore of course." He said, "They're all grown up and… want nothing to do with me." He said, "Still, they're my kids." He shrugged as Punk nodded.

"I just wanna see them." Punk shook his head, leaning it back against the wall and closing his eyes, "I wanna be home." He dreamed, "I wanna hear my kids fighting with each other and… I wanna hear Ape say, Phil do something don't just let them fight." He smiled fondly as he thought about his wife.

"Yeah this whole thing would be a lot easier if you were a loner, huh?" Tom said as Punk opened his eyes and nodded.

"Yeah, probably." Punk nodded, "I just don't really know how I'm gonna do this." He said. He could barely even think about what was at stake. It was very hard to take it all in. It was surreal to think this was where he was spending his life for a very long time.

"You gotta, somehow." Tom said, "You a believer? In God?" He wondered.

"No." Punk said bluntly.

"Well, I believe God has a plan for all of us. We all end up where we're supposed to be-"

"Thanks, that really helps me out." Punk shook his head.

"Have some faith." Tom encouraged as Punk shook his head.

"I think it's a little too late for that." Punk nodded.

"Well… maybe having a decent cell mate is one less thing you gotta worry about." He said sincerely, "There's a lot of… challenged people in here. You gotta be careful." He warned.

"Yeah, I know." Punk nodded bluntly.

"No. You don't." Tom said, "But you will." He scoffed, "Make sure no one sees those pictures." He made clear as Punk nodded.


"April, what the hell are you doing?" Punk walked into the kitchen, looking on at his wife standing on a chair trying to reach one of the top cupboards.

"I can't reach one of my cook books." AJ complained.

"Then shout on me to help. I swear, you're gonna give me a damn heart attack." Punk groaned as AJ smiled deviously.

"What if I did this?" AJ asked, standing on the chair, taking her hands off the back of it and balancing.

"April." Punk said, unimpressed.

"Oh, what about this?" AJ smiled, only standing on one of her legs as she lifted the other one as Punk folded his arms and took a deep breath, "How much would you pay for me to start hopping?" She smirked.

"I'll beat your ass, Mendez." Punk warned.

"You'll kiss my ass." AJ scoffed, turning around and slapping her ass at him as he rolled his eyes.

"Just come down. I'll get the book." Punk scoffed.

"No, I've got it." AJ said stubbornly, reaching for the book, getting her hands on it and jumping down on the ground.

"God, don't jump." Punk panicked.

"When did you turn into such a nervous wreck?" AJ shook her head.

"When my wife's head almost caved in in a car accident." Punk said bluntly as AJ made a face at him, "Please behave."

"I always behave." AJ said, moving the chair back under the table.

"What'd you want this book for anyway?" Punk asked.

"There's a recipe for chilli I want to make in it." AJ said.

"Oh, so a real emergency?" Punk scoffed.

"Yeah well this is how bored I am." AJ shook hr head.

"You're supposed to be resting." Punk shook his head, sick to death of hearing himself say it, "You're the worst patient ever."

"I've done my resting. I'm all good now." AJ promised as Punk shook his head.

"You've still got pain, that doesn't make you all good." Punk said, "Take it easy or I'll tie you to the bed." He nodded as AJ smirked.

"Keep talking." She smirked, interested as Punk laughed to himself.

"You're ridiculous." He nodded.

"Phil, I'm literally going out of my mind. I can't sit still. Daytime TV is shocking. Horrifying actually." She said, "And I'm… eating more. I can feel my ass getting bigger." She sighed, holding her ass as Punk laughed a little.

"Sounds good to me." He nodded as she shoved him.

"No." She whined childishly as he chuckled, "I'm already talking about going back to work next week."

"No way." Punk shook his head, "Don't be stupid. You need to content yourself until you get the all clear from Doctor Burns." He warned her.

"Content myself by doing what?" AJ rolled her eyes.

"Making chilli and stuff." He shrugged as AJ looked at him, unimpressed as he laughed a little, "What? It sounds nice." He said as AJ scoffed.

"You take care of me too well. I can't stand it." She shook her head teasingly as Punk smiled.

"I just want you to be healthy." Punk said, "It's all I care about." He nodded.

"I am healthy." AJ nodded, "I am feeling a lot better." She said, "I get the occasional headache but that's pretty normal."

"You're still pretty fresh out of hospital, Ape. I don't want you downplaying it." He said, "You gotta give yourself some time." He said as she nodded. She knew he was right.

"I know." AJ sighed a little, wrapping her arms around him and leaning her head against his chest as he kissed her head, "I hope you took care of yourself when I was out of it." She said.

"Me taking care of myself? You know I've never been good at that." Punk scoffed as she looked up at him.

"Yeah, I know." AJ said seriously as he saw the worry in her eyes.

"Lucky we got some kids who like me." Punk shrugged, "They kept me good."

"I knew they would." AJ smiled.

"This place felt so weird without you in it." He said, "Felt like I was in a place I'd never been before." He said as she nodded.

"I know the feeling." She reminded him as he nodded, leaning down and kissing her softly, deepening the kiss as she chuckled against his lips, "Phil." She patted his arm, "I'm making chilli." She insisted as he laughed a little, leaning his forehead against hers.

"You can't multitask?" He wondered as AJ chuckled.

"Oh, something really dangerous could end up happening. I could be chopping onions and-"

"Yeah, alright." Punk nodded as she laughed, smiling as he watched her laughing. He hoped that laugh. That smile, never left him. It was the best thing on earth to him.

"I promise I'll rest once I'm done." She told him, pecking his lips back and forth as he smiled.

"Ok, go do your thing." He nodded, tapping her ass as she chuckled, walking off to the fridge as Punk watched her with a smile. He owed his sanity to her throughout his life, even when he was in prison.