Them

"Rey." Joanne knocked at the door, "You in there?" She kept knocking on Rey's apartment door.

Rey lifted her head from the bed, blowing her hair out of her face as she looked around, staring at the guy beside her in bed and rolling her eyes, looking across at the bottle of wine on the night stand.

"I swore there was…" Rey paused as she heard the toilet flushing, turning around, "Two of you." Rey groaned, placing her hand on her forehead as she got off the bed and put some clothes on.

"Reylissa, open this god damn door!" Joanne yelled whilst Rey watched the other guy come from her bathroom, tying her hair back as he nodded to her.

"Can you… wake your friend up and leave?" Rey asked, tidying around the room as the guy laughed and nodded, waking his friend up as they got their things together as she watched, walking them out to the door which Joanne was about to break down any second.

She opened it up as Joanne folded her arms, her mouth widening as she watched the two guys leave the apartment, still putting on some of their clothes as Joanne turned to a guilty faced Rey.

"You did not." Joanne walked into the apartment as Rey quickly closed the door over and nodded.

"I did." Rey groaned.

"Rey, what the hell? Is one not enough?" Joanne shook her head, taking her coat off as she walked on into the apartment, "God, it smells like booze and sex in here." She said, "I know you got stood up last night but you didn't have to go off the rails like this." She shook her head, "Your poor liver. No… your poor vagina." Joanne shrieked.

"I know, I… I had a rough night." Rey explained.

"Yeah, clearly." Joanne shook her head, sitting down on the couch.

"Joanne I think I know who my mom and dad are." Rey nodded, "Well not that I know them but…" She ran her hand through her hair as Joanne looked across at her, "Bob, the guy in the hospital, I think he… I think he knew them." She said as Joanne looked at her with confusion.

"Why do you think this?" Joanne questioned, "Maybe you're still drunk." She suggested.

"I found this." Rey said, rushing into the kitchen and grabbing the picture she'd taken from the photo album, walking over to Joanne and handing it to her, "Bob called and asked me to go to his place for something, and that it was under the bed. When I got here, I pulled out this photo album and it had a note on it saying for Reylisssa." She said, "So I looked through it and it's these two kids in it and that girl she's pregnant and then… there's a baby and Bob is in the pictures too and my name is on the back of that picture with my birthday." She said, "My full name."

"All I can say is… hello hot dad." Joanne nodded as Rey sighed.

"Please, take this seriously." Rey nodded as Joanne looked down at the picture.

"Babe, what do you want me to say? Maybe these are your parents." Joanne nodded, "And you actually look a lot like that girl." Joanne admitted.

"Well that girl ended up in Bob's apartment last night, whilst I was there. What if… what if that was actually mom mom? And the guy… the guy works in the garage across the road. I've grew up here my whole life and my dad was like… a few footsteps away from me all this time?" Rey questioned, "I… I just… I can't-"

"Why would this old man have this information and since you two are best friends, why wouldn't he tell you something sooner?" Joanne questioned.

"I don't know. I don't. I need to go talk to him." Rey shook her head, "Like right now, I need to go talk to him right now." She said.

"I thought we were going for breakfast?" Joanne questioned.

"Jo." Rey shook her head, "C'mon this… these people… they could be my parents-"

"Who you said you hated and wanted nothing to do with." Joanne reminded her.

"Yeah and I do but… I can't ignore it." Rey shook her head, "Right?"

"No, of course not." Joanne agreed, looking down at the picture, "No, you're right. You should… you should get your answers." She nodded, "Go shower, I'll make you some breakfast before you leave." She said as Rey nodded, running off into the bathroom.

She knew this was a huge thing for her friend. She always just assumed, like Rey, that she'd never get her answers, but it appeared they were a lot closer than she thought.

"I hope that's the t-shirt you meant." AJ nodded, visiting Bob in the hospital like she had planned to.

"That's the one." Bob smiled.

"Oh and there was some strange girl in your place when I got there. Don't worry, I looked around the place, nothing was touched so… I don't know-"

"Oh that would be… Sarah. She comes into the store all of the time, I asked her to go look for the t-shirt too. I forgot." Bob laughed, "Must be this dementia."

"Bob, you don't have dementia." AJ tutted as Bob just nodded, "Well whoever she was, she looked terrified of me. Like she'd seen a ghost." AJ shook her head as Bob nodded slowly.

"So nothing was touched?" Bob asked her, wondering about the photo album. He figured if AJ saw that left out, she'd maybe figure it out.

"No, everything was fine." AJ shrugged, "And hey, I don't appreciate what you did last night. Pulling that stunt." She shook her head as Bob just smiled, "I didn't want to see Phil. That's why I don't come here, to this side of town anymore." She explained.

"I thought it'd be nice to have us all in the same room again." Bob said, "But if it's so damn difficult-"

"It is difficult, Bob." AJ nodded, "I do my damn best every day to not think about him and you put him right in front of me." She said, "I'm married, I moved on, I have a kid, I'm-"

"What?" Bob turned to her as AJ closed her mouth, kicking herself mentally, "You had a baby?" He asked her as AJ sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I did. She's six." AJ nodded.

"Why wouldn't you say?" Bob shook his head with confusion.

"Because." AJ sighed, "Because I didn't want to be the woman who… her first kid wasn't good enough for her but the second one was." AJ shook her head, "It… a part of it will always feel wrong to me-"

"April, no one would think that. You and Phil… that was different back then. You weren't ready. Neither of you." Bob shook his head, "What's her name?" He smiled.

"Amelia." AJ smiled, "I was ready to have her." AJ nodded, "And I hate feeling bad about that. But I was. I had money, I had the space, the house, a supporting husband… it was different." AJ nodded.

"Of course it was." Bob nodded as he watched AJ wipe her tear running down her face, "Oh, honey don't feel bad about this. Not this of all things. It's a great thing. I'm sure she's… beautiful and amazing." Bob smiled as AJ just smiled and nodded.

"She is." AJ smiled, "I uh… I have a picture of her here." AJ nodded, getting her phone out and showing Bob who took the phone from her and looked on.

"She's beautiful. Looks just like you." Bob smiled, "A little angel." He nodded as AJ smiled.

"She is." AJ nodded, taking the phone back, "I wasn't keeping it from you because… because I didn't want you to know, I just… I see how it looks-"

"You're just paranoid. You were in such a different place back then. You were a child and the world was closing in on you. It was the bravest and smartest thing you and Phil could have done." Bob said as AJ nodded. She was glad to be reminded of that.

"I always think about her." AJ nodded, "Every day. I think about… where she is, what she's doing… who she's with." AJ nodded to herself, "What her parents are like." She smiled and nodded as Bob looked across at her.

"Y-Yeah, me too." Bob nodded, "And I know Phil thinks about her." He said as AJ looked across at him.

"Does he have… a wife or kids?" AJ asked curiously but casually, even though she was desperate to ask. To wonder who was lucky enough to have his wonderful self.

"He's divorced. No other kids." Bob said as AJ looked down, "He uh… he's done some stupid shit, I won't lie to you. He's his own worst enemy sometimes." Bob said as AJ nodded.

"Yeah, I know that." AJ shook her head, "I always wanted him to be happy. Even… Even with him ending things. I mean I hated him at the time but I… I wanted him to find happiness somehow." She sighed.

"I'm sorry to say I don't think he has." Bob said as AJ nodded slowly, "You were always his happiness. His escape." He smiled as looked down, "And he still loves you. That little front he had on last night, it's just his behaviour problems I think." Bob teased as AJ laughed a little and nodded.

"Yeah, you know I thought he would have worked on that." AJ smiled.

"He is who he is." Bob shrugged.

"I missed him." AJ nodded, "And I never forgot him. Just like Reylissa. He was always on my mind." She said, "He still is."

"You still love him?" Bob asked her.

"I'm married." AJ shook her head.

"Wasn't really my question." Bob said as AJ looked across at him.

"Of course I still love him." AJ nodded, "I'm always going to love him and I hate him for… for giving up on us." She said angrily as Bob looked past her, looking over at the door where Punk stood.

AJ turned around, standing up as she saw him standing at the door.

"I actually didn't plan this, this time." Bob cared to tell them as AJ looked across at Punk.

"I-I should go." AJ shook her head.

There was no denying. She absolutely still loved him. She never wanted to break up with him in the first place. She knew deep down he didn't either. They were so fixed on being responsible that they thought maybe being apart was for the best, but she missed him every single day. She would never replace the life she had. She loved her daughter so much, her husband and the life they built. But he was still her weakness. The thing she wanted most.

"You… you don't have to." Punk nodded, having had time to reflect on things during the night, he realised that acting like this didn't phase him was stupid. Seeing her again made him feel like a kid again. A kid who was crazy in love.

"I-I really should." AJ nodded.

"Bob, we need to talk." Rey burst through the door, smacking Punk in the process as he held his head.

"Oh what is it with this kid?" Punk shook his head, rubbing the back of his head, looking at Rey who froze. She quickly slid the picture she was holding up the sleeve of her hoodie, pausing as she looked at AJ and Punk who stared back at her with confusion.

Bob smiled to himself, relaxing his head back on the pillow. Having all three of them in the same room was something he couldn't describe even if he tried.

"This was the kid in your place." AJ said as Rey looked at her, turning to Punk who was also looking at her. They had no idea who she was, that was very clear.

"Uh… yeah." Bob nodded, "This is Sarah." He said as Rey looked over to him, "She helps me out sometimes with different things around the apartment." He said as Rey just nodded along, gulping, "You two leave us alone now. Off you go. Sarah came to see me. I've had enough of you both." He told Punk and AJ who looked at one another.

"I just got here." Punk laughed a little.

"I don't care." Bob said, "You can visit me later on." He said as Punk just shook his head, watching as AJ got her things together.

"Ok, fine." Punk shook his head, turning to Rey, "Come in, no one is gonna bite you." He shook his head as Rey looked up at him, walking further into the room as she kept her eyes on them both.

"Off you go." Bob hurried Punk and AJ off as Punk just nodded, opening up the door as AJ walked out, Punk following behind as Rey watched the door close over.

"That's my parents." She turned to Bob.