Weak
"Hey, please don't listen to my mom." Josh shook his head, driving home where Rey seemed to be strangely quiet. It wasn't like her to go quiet and he knew her feelings were hurt. It upset him because he really didn't want her to think his parents views were how he saw her, "She's wrong. She just… she judges people, she opens her mouth before she knows them. They're so used to a life above that they forget that not everyone is lucky and fortunate enough to be born with a silver spoon in their mouth." He rolled his eyes, "It's why I moved away from them. I didn't want to get caught up in all of that."
"Is that what you think of me?" Rey asked him.
"What? No. I think you're amazing." Josh shook his head, "You're amazing and smart. And beautiful." He said.
"You sure you didn't just take me with you to be different?" Rey questioned, "Go against your parents' wishes and bring home a poor girl?" She questioned.
"Rey, no." Josh said, "You're not poor-"
"I mean." Rey scoffed, "Compared to all of that, I'm poor." She nodded.
She was a tough individual. She never let things get to her. She'd been patronised before, many time actually, but for some reason this had really hurt her. She knew it was because she actually liked Josh. He wasn't like his parents. But feeling so unwelcomed the way she was made her feel small and incredibly insecure.
"They're all so small minded." Josh shook his head, incredibly angry by the way his parents acted, "And they think everyone should be living how they live but you know what? The truth is they're lazy. They wouldn't know hard work if it slapped them on the face." He said, "I had to get away from all of that because I couldn't bear to become so… complacent and judgemental the way they are."
"Why the hell did you bring me if you knew they'd treat me like that?" Rey questioned, "If you know how awful they are, why take me? A girl who has pretty much nothing." She said.
"Because I don't care about any of that. I like you. I'm spending time with you." Josh said, "And I don't care what they think." He said as she nodded slowly.
"Or I'm just something for you to shove in their face, to rub it in that you're being different. You're not rich, you're gonna hang with the poor people now?" Rey questioned.
"No, that's not it." Josh shook his head, "I mean can you blame me for leaving them? I wanted to get out and just live my own life without them telling me what to do. I don't care what they think, I still care about you." He said, pulling up outside her apartment.
"Well honestly I just feel stupid." Rey nodded.
"Please don't. You did nothing wrong." Josh sighed.
"Maybe they're right." Rey shrugged, "Maybe you do deserve more. I don't have much going for me." She nodded.
"Ok, stop it." Josh said, "I'm not letting her get into your head. I know you. You work extremely hard. You have for so long. You're nineteen and you have your own place. That's amazing. Not a lot of kids can say they have that." He said, "I think you're amazing and I wouldn't change a single thing about you." He made clear as she turned to him and nodded.
"Thank you." Rey nodded, "I'm gonna get in." She said, taking her seat belt off.
"Hey, please believe me when I say that." Josh sighed, noticing that she seemed to just be nodding and giving him small answers. He could see she was hurt and he hated it so much.
"Yeah I believe you." Rey nodded briefly, "I'm just real tired." She said, "I'll see you around." She nodded, getting out of the car and shutting the door over, walking into her apartment building and getting her keys out of her purse.
She opened up her door, never wanting to get home and lock her door behind her so much. She'd never felt so small before. She couldn't understand why. She'd been looked down on before but somehow this hurt way more. Really hearing what someone thought about her life, how negative they looked at it, it really hurt her feelings.
She tossed her coat over onto her couch with her purse, unzipping her dress immediately and letting it fall off her, kicking it across the room and walking into her bedroom. She felt so stupid for trying to dress appropriately, trying to change her appearance just to be looked down on anyway.
She grabbed some make-up wipes and her mirror, sitting down on her bed and taking her make-up off quickly. She knew there was no reason for her to listen to people who were really strangers to her, she knew she shouldn't have cared about their opinions but somehow she still felt hurt. Trying to be liked was never something she enjoyed, and she'd spent so much of her life doing it. In different foster homes, different schools, different jobs. Trying so hard to fit in and be more than a lonely kid was how she grew up. It brought it all back.
She got off the bed and put on some shorts and t-shirt before leaving her bedroom, walking over to the couch and collapsing down on it, grabbing her blanket and switching the TV on.
"Here, you want this?" Punk asked, walking into his bedroom which had really turned into AJ and Amelia's, walking over to the side of the bed with Amelia's teddy bear.
"Yes please." Amelia nodded, reaching out for him as Punk gave it over to her, "Thank you." Amelia smiled, tucking her teddy bear in beside her as Punk smiled.
The past few days he had found himself really gravitating towards her. It was strange to be taking care of someone else. He was so used to just concentrating on himself. He didn't even realise how involved he was getting with AJ and Amelia, and he was concerned that it would all disappear soon.
"Phil." Amelia whispered.
"What?" Punk said, turning on the light beside the bed.
"Don't you get lonely here?" Amelia asked him as he crouched down by the bed.
"Yeah, I guess sometimes. But I have my little brother." Punk nodded, "He's ok, sometimes." He smiled as Amelia giggled.
"Well I like staying here with you." Amelia said as Punk smiled. Hearing that, for some reason meant so much. He'd gotten to know her over the week and she really was an amazing little kid. He'd gotten to be in her life and he really felt like he was connecting with her on some level.
"You do?" Punk smiled, "Why is that?" He asked.
"I don't know, you talk to me a lot." Amelia shrugged, "And you make mommy laugh." She smiled, playing with her teddy bear, "I like when she laughs." She nodded as Punk smiled to himself.
"Yeah, me too." Punk agreed, "You get some sleep, kid." He nodded, rubbing her little shoulder softly before standing back up and leaving the room, turning back for a second as he watched her cuddle into her teddy, watching as Spike strolled by him and jumped up on the bed to watch her sleep, causing him to smile.
He closed the door over a little and walked into the living room where AJ was.
"Is she ok?" AJ asked as Punk sat down beside her.
"Yeah, she's good." Punk nodded as AJ smiled. She felt so helped in the past week. She never thought that drifting from her husband was when she'd find the most help with parenthood, but Punk had really helped her out, emotionally and literally with Amelia.
"I was just off the phone with Tom." She nodded as Punk looked across at her, "I'm gonna go see him tomorrow at the house with Amelia." She said as Punk nodded slowly.
"Ok." Punk nodded, trying not to show that he was upset about that. Having her around again, it made him realise just how much he still loved and adored her. It had been like old times.
"But I won't be staying at the house." AJ said, "I uh… I think I'm gonna look for places around here actually." She admitted as Punk raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah?" He smiled.
"Yeah, I mean… Reylissa is here so if we're gonna start seeing her then it's better I'm close. And I think Amelia's found a new friend in you so… I can't take that away from her." She teased as Punk smiled.
"Of course." Punk smiled. He'd never been so glad to hear her say what she was saying. He thought that maybe he could actually make things right between them. Maybe he could make up for letting her down all those years ago. For giving up. Maybe this was his time.
"You've been really good to us this week. Thank you." AJ smiled, "Most importantly for helping me with Amelia. You didn't have to do that."
"I don't mind. She's great." Punk smiled, "And hey, you stay here for as long as you need until you find a place." He said as she smiled.
"Thank you." She nodded. He had really been there for her during such a difficult period. He instantly had made her feel stronger. Like she was the one in control and she was the one who got to decide how this played out. Having that type of support meant everything, and seeing him with Amelia made her heart warm. The fact that he spent so much time with her and put so much effort into a child that wasn't even his really touched her.
"So have you decided what you're gonna do? What you're gonna say to him?" Punk asked her.
"Well I'm going to… ask for a divorce." She nodded, "Because I'm never going to trust him again and if we don't have that… but we don't have anything." She said, "I'll arrange for him to see Amelia when it suits him and I will… start packing my things." She said as Punk nodded slowly.
"I'm sorry about all of this. It's gotta be tough." Punk nodded. He wasn't going to forget that she was married to this man for a long time and he was supposed to treat her like a queen when he had done anything but that. It made him angry and it hurt him to see her treated this way. She truly deserved so much better.
"Yeah, it's not been great." AJ agreed, "But I'll… I'll get through it." She took a deep breath as he nodded,
"Yeah, you will." Punk nodded confidently.
"This week has just… it's made me think about how different things could have really been if we just… if we tried that little bit harder." She turned to him as he nodded.
"Yeah, tell me about it." Punk nodded, "I should never have gave up on us. I shouldn't have decided what was best for us without even thinking much about it. I just… I thought you'd get more from someone else out there and I didn't want to keep you down." He shrugged.
"You didn't keep me down." AJ shook her head, "I was so happy with you." She nodded as he looked at her.
Through the past week there had been 'almost' moments as Punk liked to think of them. Moments where they stared into each other's eyes just that little too long. Or they got just that little bit too deep into conversation with one another. But it was things they both missed. Things they clearly missed.
"I never thought this would be how things turn out. Finding our daughter. Seeing one another again." Punk shook his head as AJ nodded.
"Yeah, I know." AJ said, "It's crazy." She nodded.
"Yeah." Punk agreed, "I… I like it." He nodded, "I feel like I'm finally getting to put things right." He admitted as AJ turned to him.
"You never made things wrong." AJ shook her head, "You had my best interest at heart. I always knew that. And you had Reylissa's too. We weren't ready to be parents, we weren't really ready to have a serious relationship. It was so much at such a young age." She said as he nodded.
"I thought we were supposed to have moved on after all this time." He laughed to himself, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly as AJ looked at him.
"You've not moved on?" AJ questioned as Punk shook his head.
"I've not moved on." Punk shook his head honestly, "It's all came back to me, hasn't it?" He shrugged as she nodded.
"Yeah, I guess so." AJ nodded with a small smile, looking at him in those eyes that always found a way into her heart. She had a feeling this would happen. Spending more time with him just reminded her of how much she suffered when she lost him. She suddenly felt this desperate need for him again. She'd healed from everything they had gone through, she'd found ways to get through it but somehow she found herself right back where she started.
She looked at him and no longer cared about the consequences of any actions. She quickly pressed her lips against his, caressing the side of his neck as he deepened the kiss, pulling her on top of him as she straddled his hips, getting lost in his kiss.
They groaned in sync when they heard the front door open. AJ pulled back and sighed as he rested his forehead on her shoulder, causing her to laugh a little.
"Excuse me but not on my couch." Dean walked into the living room whilst AJ was shifting from Punk's lap, "Aren't we a little old for that?" He raised a brow, particularly looking at Punk.
"Here's a thought, move out." Punk nodded as Dean scoffed.
"Like you could afford rent on your own." Dean laughed, "I brought food home, unless you're both find with each other's saliva." He nodded.
"Oh, go away." Punk scoffed as Dean chuckled to himself and walked off to the kitchen whilst AJ and Punk just smiled to one another.