Finally
"So she really left." Punk sighed, standing in Bob's apartment, looking into the now empty spare bedroom where he and AJ had spent the past year in.
"Yeah." Bob nodded, "Just yesterday." He said as Punk nodded slowly.
"She said she wasn't going to stay at the college." Punk said.
"That was before you broke it off with her." Bob said, "She said it'd be good for her to get out of this place for a while. And… I agreed." Bob nodded.
"Bob, I swear… I did this for her." Punk nodded, "I didn't want to break up with her but… I don't want to disappoint her or hurt her anymore than I… than I already did." He sighed.
"You don't have to justify to me." Bob assured him, "It's a private matter." He nodded, "It's not like you're gonna forget one another. What you've gone through isn't just a relationship. It was a lot more than that." Bob nodded, "I'm sad for you both." He admitted truthfully, "I thought you both handled this all… extremely well for your age." He said. He admired both of their courage, their bravery and their strength throughout everything. He was sad to see AJ leave, but happy for her to go embark on a new journey. He knew they both weren't ready to split up however, and he had a feeling that would come back to bite them in the future.
"She'll thank me one day." Punk nodded, "She can go be herself. Enjoy her life-"
"Phil, she enjoyed her life with you. She was… really heartbroken." Bob nodded.
"I know that." Punk shook his head, "It wasn't easy for me either. I love her. I'm… I'm always going to love her." He sighed as Bob nodded, "But it wasn't healthy. I was just dead weight."
"She didn't think that. You know that, right?" Bob asked.
"Well I did." Punk said, "I came into her life and turned everything upside down. Her parents cut her off, she had to quit on school for a while, we had a baby that she was never ready for, that we're always gonna think about forever… if I just stayed away from her-"
"No, because what you both had was something really beautiful. Who came on to who at first?" He asked curiously.
"Uh.. neither of us. Seven minutes in heaven." Punk shook his head as Bob just smiled to himself.
"I see." Bob smiled, "I know you're trying to do the right thing. You want her to be happy and free and… maybe she will be." He nodded.
"I hope she will be." Punk sighed. Things just felt wrong without AJ. He felt like part of him was missing and he hated that they weren't together. He really thought he was doing the right thing for her. He loved her so he was letting her go.
"She might come back. You never know." Bob nodded, patting Punk on the back as he sighed, "I'm sure I don't have to tell you but… you're welcome to come back and stay with me."
"Really?" Punk shook his head, turning to him.
"Yeah, you're no trouble, kid." Bob nodded, "I'd rather you here than your own place."
"Yeah, I think it's gotten worse over there. Dean has permanently moved in with his friend. My mom is back in hospital and my dad is just… sitting on the floor drinking."
"You're staying here now." Bob nodded to him as Punk smiled, "I'll start dinner."
"What is it with this old guy?" Joanne asked, lying on Rey's couch in her apartment, reading a magazine and drinking a glass of wine, "Are you attracted to him?" She questioned as Rey looked over to her, doing some washings.
"He's 68, don't be weird." Rey rolled her eyes.
"You slept with a 40 year old before. Who was married, might I add." Joanne scoffed, "I wouldn't put any of it past you." She said, flicking the magazine to the next page.
"I didn't know he was married, in my defence. That guy knew what he was doing." She nodded to herself as Joanne shook her head, "But no… I've known Bob since I was little. He'd always give me free ice-creams and water. He still does." Rey smiled, "I think he's pretty much alone so… I've been visiting him most days and nights." She nodded, emptying her laundry into the machine, "I like listening to him talk."
"What do you talk about with a 68 year old?" Joanne shook her head.
"Everything." Rey said, "Honestly." She nodded.
"Does he tell you war stories?" Joanne asked as Rey screwed her face up.
"He didn't live through the war." Rey shook her head, "No."
"Oh." Joanne shrugged, "Well what do you talk about?"
"I don't know, my life I guess. How tragic it is." Rey rolled her eyes.
"It's not that tragic." Joanne shook her head.
"Gee thanks." Rey laughed a little as Joanne smiled, "I think he talks to all the foster kids and homeless kids around here." She nodded.
"Why do you think that?" Joanne asked.
"I don't know, I just get the feeling." Rey shrugged.
"Hey, have you heard from Zac?" Joanne asked, sitting up on the couch as Rey walked over to her and shook her head.
"No, not since he called me a whore and went off on a bender." Rey shook her head, grabbing the bottle of wine and pouring more into her glass, "I'm worried about him."
"He calls you every name under the same and you worry about him? There's something wrong with you." Joanne scoffed.
"No, there's not." Rey assured her, "He's messed up but only because he has no one-"
"You always say this but… you have no one and you're not messed up." Joanne shook her head.
"I do have people, Jo. I got you, you're like my sister. I have people who look out for me. Zac has no one and for the most part I get that. You grow up without a family and you think no one will ever want you. So I get why me ending things with him, for good, would send him off like this-"
"So you're justifying him calling you a whore and a stupid bitch and all the other horrible things he's said to you before? Or the fact he constantly steals your shit for drugs?" Joanne asked.
"I'm just trying to understand him." Rey nodded.
"You've been trying to understand him since you were sixteen. I don't think it's gonna happen." Joanne shook her head, "I get it, he's attractive, he's nice when he wants to be but when he's not… he's a terrible person. That's toxic and you don't wanna be trapped with that." Joanne said as Rey sighed.
"I can't stop thinking about him." Rey shook her head, "I'm worried about where he is and what he's doing." She sighed.
"He's probably snorting coke off some hookers tits." Joanne said bluntly as Rey rolled her eyes, "Just drink your wine and forget about him. He's a grown man. He should be able to take care of himself."
"Well that's the thing, he can't." Rey sighed.
"You need someone new in your life, to forget about this guy." Joanne groaned, "I'm gonna set you up on a date."
"Oh, don't." Rey groaned.
"No, I'm doing it." Joanne smiled, grabbing her phone.
"Ok, but not through tinder. The last time you did that I had a virgin asking to take pictures of my feet." Rey said as Joanne chuckled to herself as Rey smiled.
"The medicine is in the cabinet above the sink in our bathroom." AJ said, rushing down the hospital, holding her phone against her ear with her shoulder whilst trying to put her keys in her purse, "One spoonful. Make sure she's drinking plenty." AJ nodded, on the phone to her husband who explained to her that Amelia appeared to have some cold like symptoms, "If things get worse just take her to the doctors. I'll call back later tonight." She said, walking down the corridor to Bob's room.
"Yeah, ok. Love you." AJ nodded, opening up the door to Bob's room, hanging up on her phone call with her husband as she paused, looking on as Bob appeared to have company, watching those eyes catch onto hers just like she remembered that first day she met him, just like she remembered looking into whilst holding the baby girl they couldn't take care of.
"Uh…" AJ, stumbled forward a little, dropping her phone as Punk looked across at her, "Shit." She shook her head, crouching down and picking her phone back up whilst looking across at Punk. He'd somehow gotten even more attractive, and he definitely wasn't a boy anymore. He was all man.
Punk couldn't believe he was really seeing what he was seeing. He hadn't saw her since she was eighteen years old, before she left for college and never returned. He was confused as to how she'd managed to get more beautiful.
Bob smiled to himself. Yes, he had called them to both visit him at the same time. No, he wasn't going to tell them that.
"I… I didn't know you had visitors." AJ shook her head, "I'll come back."
"No, I can go." Punk stood up as AJ watched him.
"Don't leave on my account." AJ shook her head.
"I've been here for a while." Punk nodded.
"Why don't you both stay?" Bob smiled.
"No."
"No."
Both Punk and AJ said immediately as Bob frowned, watching as they both appeared to be just staring at them. He assumed it was a lot to take in after all these years, to see one another.
"Well shut the door, April. There's a draft." Bob said as AJ rolled her eyes and walked further into the room, closing the door over.
"Nice of you to mention she was here." Punk nodded to Bob who just smiled innocently.
"She? I have a name." AJ screwed her eyes up as Punk turned back to her, "Bob, I can come back in the morning, it's ok." She nodded to him.
"No, I'm leaving anyway. I've been here for hours." Punk assured her, continuing to stare at her, not being able to help it. She was absolutely gorgeous and the exact same girl he fell in love with so many years ago.
"Why are you staring at me?" AJ shook her head.
"You're staring at me." Punk replied as Bob raised a brow. This wasn't how he expected it to go.
"I have scones. Do you both want a scone?" Bob asked them.
"Dressed a bit fancy for the hospital." Punk folded his arms as AJ scoffed.
"I've been doing some work whilst I've been here. Not that it is any of your business." AJ made clear.
"If it's not my business then don't tell me." Punk shrugged with a smile as AJ shook her head. Was it possible that he had gotten even more smug? Yes, it was. Because he had. And yet, she still found his smirks incredibly weakening in her knees. And those eyes. She was pretty sure it was those eyes that really got her pregnant.
Punk could tell just by looking at her that she was living her best life, and that made him incredibly happy, because it meant the heartbreak of letting her go was worth it. She'd gone onto live her life, but he could see behind her eyes… there was no real happiness. Not like they had. Not like he saw her when they were together.
"Are you both just going to stand and stare at one another?" Bob questioned after more awkward silence, "I had the heart attack here. Talk to me." He told them.
"You called and told me no one would be here." AJ looked at Bob.
"Funny. He said the same thing to me." Punk turned to Bob who looked at both of them.
"Must be that dementia acting up." Bob shrugged.
"Oh, I'm sure it is." Punk nodded sarcastically.
"Bob, I'll come see you in the morning, ok?" AJ nodded as Bob sighed.
"So you can't bear to stand in a room with me?" Punk questioned as AJ sighed and smiled to herself.
"I don't care for this." AJ told him honestly, "I'm not a teenager anymore. I can't be bothered with the drama." She said, "But for the record, the last time you and I were in a room, you broke my heart." She nodded honestly as Punk looked across at her, going a little tense, "So no… I don't really want to see your face." AJ nodded.
It was hard for Punk not to feel like the bad guy. Breaking heart was something he really wasn't proud of, but if it helped, he broke his own in the process.
"Ok, well go then." Punk shrugged.
"I'm going." AJ nodded, still not moving as Punk stared at whilst Bob watched them both whilst eating a scone.
"Nice to know you come back out of the shadows when someone is in hospital." Punk said.
"You aren't helping yourself." Bob whispered to him as AJ laughed sarcastically.
"Oh, I'm sorry I did what you told me and moved on with my life. How terrible of me." AJ shook her head, "You know what… you're not even worth it, getting angry or upset over." She said as Punk folded his arms, "I'll see you in the morning, Bob." AJ nodded, leaving the hospital room for real, closing the door behind, taking a deep breath and placing her shaking hand over her mouth. Seeing him again was nothing she was prepared for at all.
"Jesus Christ." Punk took a deep breath, relaxing his shoulders and running his hands through his hair. He wasn't prepared to see her like that again.