True Colours
"I do not trust her one bit." AJ made clear, standing in the living room with Punk, "She's just had some sort of… epiphany where she wants our help. And she's defending her mother who tried to take our children from us?" AJ spat, getting angry.
"Ok, calm down." Punk nodded, "I don't trust her either but what would she get out of coming here?" He questioned, "And we don't know what's going on in that house." Punk said, "They might be trapped like she said."
"Except she's out there every night collecting girls to take them back to the house." AJ said, "And your mother is the one running the damn place. You can't expect me to feel sorry for her?"
"I don't." Punk said, "But if anyone should understand the desperation you should." He said as AJ looked at him, "She did what she done so she wouldn't have to… live that life anymore. I'm not defending her-"
"Well it sure sounds like it." AJ said.
"This guy is who we want. He's the one taking the money. He's the one controlling everything going on." Punk said as AJ nodded in agreement.
"Yeah and I want my hands on your mother too." AJ said, "For what she did to the kids."
"And you can, but we need to help those girls first and clear out that house." Punk nodded, "Get rid of your anger because you know it doesn't help us in these situations." He said as AJ folded her arms, "We should still follow through with the plan. Let Tara go check it out and keep Michelle here." Punk said as AJ nodded.
"Yeah." AJ nodded, "Yeah, ok." She said as Punk nodded, "God, this is all just a mess. It's one from messy to even messier."
"Well that tends to happen with us." Punk rolled his eyes, "It's fine, we can… we can get to the bottom of it and we can help the girls in the house and take them to one of the safe houses. That's the important part." He said.
"And then we can deal with your mother." AJ spat.
"I think the best idea might be just to… send her to prison with this Paul guy." Punk nodded as AJ looked at him.
"I-I didn't think you'd want that." AJ said.
"She wanted to hurt our kids?" Punk questioned, "You think I'd let her just get off with it?" Punk asked, "She's not my mother." He made clear as AJ nodded slowly. And she could see he was being serious. Even though he was trying see his mother's point of view, there was still no way he could ever connect with her or sympathise with her after what she had done to their children. There was just no way.
"I still want my hands on her." AJ made clear as Punk nodded as they made their way back into the kitchen where Michelle was sitting with Tara standing over her.
"You're gonna stay here for the time being." Punk nodded.
"What? No, I can't." Michelle shook her head, "They'll know something is up." She said.
"Oh well boo hoo." AJ said, "You're staying here because we don't trust you. Even though you've told us when the house is empty, where the girls are when they go out, we still don't trust you." AJ nodded, "So Tara is gonna go check things out."
"I'm telling you guys the truth. I want your help." Michelle begged.
"We're not helping you or your mother." AJ spat, "We're helping all those poor girls you helped recruit. And then we're gonna put your mother and father in prison. Maybe you can join them too?" AJ questioned coldly.
"What?" Michelle shook her head, "No, I came here to ask for help to… to help me and my mom-"
"Your mother got our children taken from us." AJ spat, "So she's not getting our help, ever. You can pretend she's brainwashed all you like but maybe, just maybe… that's who she is as a person." AJ nodded as Michelle shook her head.
"You don't know what it's like." Michelle shook her head as AJ's eyes widened at such a reply, "You don't know what any of it feels like to… to be in that house, to go through what we go through-"
"I know." AJ spat, grabbing Michelle by the jaw, "I know exactly how it feels like." She spat, "I've been kept in worse places." She said as Punk watched.
He'd never hold his wife back, he knew this was her operating area and she had every right to feel the way she did.
"I'm gonna get going and start checking things out." Tara nodded, "Call me if she's any trouble." She said as AJ nodded. Tara knew what she had to do, so she left the house.
"Are you really going to let your mom go to prison?" Michelle looked up at Punk, "Our mom."
"She's not my mom." Punk shook his head, "The second she interfered with my kids, she just became my enemy." Punk nodded, "So I don't care what happens to her."
"And what about me? I'm your sister." Michelle shook her head, "You're just gonna leave me for dead?"
"That's the plan." AJ nodded as Michelle began to smile whilst AJ and Punk both stared at her, watching her as she began to laugh, "What?" AJ spat.
"There's… there's two of you." Michelle chuckled to herself as Punk and AJ looked at her, watching her expressions change, listening as there was suddenly a knock on the door, "Oh… I think there's someone at your door." Michelle smirked as AJ turned to Punk.
AJ woke up from being blacked out. All she could remember was the chaos that occurred after there was a knock at the door. Watching her husband get beat up, taking a beating herself whilst trying to crawl up the stairs to the kids. But it all got too much and suddenly she had woken up in a different location, and to her horror, she was lying on a bed with one of her hands cuffed to the bed post.
"N-No." AJ moaned a little, shaking her hand as the handcuff clattered against the post, "No." She cried in a panic as she sat up, trying to get her hand free, looking around the bed post to see if she could unscrew it anywhere.
She got immediate flashbacks to everything she worked so hard at to forget. It sent her into a panic. That feeling of not being in control. Of not having the ability to protect herself. It brought back terrible memories of growing up and she felt her heart rate get faster and faster as she tried to pull her hand off the handcuff.
"What is the racket in here?" Michelle asked as she burst through the bedroom door as AJ turned around.
"Let me go." AJ warned as Michelle closed the door, "Let me go, you bitch." AJ spat, "Where… Where is Phil? And my children?" She spat. It was all she cared about. She remembered a few guys coming into their house, beating on her husband who tried so hard to fight back, and then they moved on to her. After that everything went black.
"Don't worry about them." Michelle smiled.
"You best hope that when I get out of these, you aren't around." AJ warned her, "Because I'm gonna kill you, and your mother." AJ spat.
"You've been out of the game so long, April." Michelle smiled as AJ looked across at her, "You've forgotten how to read people. I sat there and I saw how much you wanted to believe me in your eyes. You almost did. You never saw any of it coming." She said, "But I bet April twelve years ago would have saw all of this coming." She nodded as AJ tried to extend her leg and kick her as Michelle moved back and smiled.
"Fuck you." AJ spat, "This isn't a game. This is people's lives." AJ shook her head, "These girls deserve a chance to live. You're taking that from them." AJ shook her head.
"Business is business." Michelle nodded, "You ever think the reason you want to help all of these girls is because you… you still feel like that little girl, deep down. The reason you want to help these girls I because you still haven't figured out how to help yourself." She nodded as AJ looked across at her, leaning against the bed post, holding onto the handcuffs and staring at Michelle, "Deep down you're still that… poor, used, broken little girl. And you can be a mom, a wife, a hard worker all you like. That's never gonna leave you no matter what you do." She nodded as AJ looked across at her, "And the reason you act so tough is because… you can't stand anyone knowing how broken you really are." She said as AJ looked across at her.
"Where is my husband?" AJ spat.
"He's here." Michelle nodded.
"Listen to me." AJ nodded desperately, "Don't do this. Whatever it is you want… he's your brother. If you hurt me or you hurt our children, he'll kill you, not me." AJ nodded, "He's a good man, he has a patience and he always listens to someone's side of the story. But if I leave her with a mark on me, he will kill you." AJ made clear.
"Well that's ok because… you aren't leaving here." Michelle shrugged as AJ looked across at her, "Phil is here. We left your kids in the house unharmed." She told her honestly, "And I'm telling the truth."
"They're alone?" AJ shook her head, "Please… please let me go." AJ begged.
"No." Michelle smiled, "I'm sure you would make a lot of customers happy." She nodded as AJ shook her head, "Because let's face it, April. This is all you've ever really been worth." She nodded, walking over to her as AJ looked across at her, "It's all you really deserve." She said as AJ spat on her, trying to kick her as Michelle shook her head and wiped her face.
"I'll get out of here." AJ promised, "And then I'm gonna kill you, and your mother." AJ promised as Michelle smiled to herself.
"Ok." Michelle nodded, "Good luck." She nodded, leaving the room and slamming the door shut behind her, walking across into the kitchen where Hilary stood.
"Is she awake?" Hilary questioned as Michelle nodded, "Do you think she'll give up fighting after a while?"
"Her? No." Michelle scoffed, "She wants to know where Phil is. I told her he was here."
"I'm going down just now." Hilary nodded, "Your father will be home soon. He won't like this."
"We did what we had to. They were going to blow the whole business up." Michelle said as Hilary nodded, "If we have them here, they can't do shit."
"Yes, Michelle. But people will notice they're missing." Hilary said.
"So what do we do?" Michelle shook her head.
"It's your father's decision." Hilary nodded, pouring a cup of water as Michelle watched her, "Just stay here. The rest of the girls will be going out for the night soon. Get them ready." She ordered as Michelle nodded, watching as her mother disappeared out of the kitchen.
Hilary opened up the door which lead down to the basement, walking down the stairs and turning the light on as she looked over at Punk sat on the floor, tied to a post with his hands behind him.
Punk looked up, screwing his eyes up at the bright light. Like AJ, all he remembered was chaos coming into their house, trying so hard to fight but the numbers were against them. He was bruised and bloody but he all he was interested in was his family.
"Where is April?" Punk spat. When he looked at this woman, his mother, he felt nothing. He just saw an evil woman caught up in such a corrupt and illegal business. This wasn't his mother.
"She's upstairs." Hilary folded her arms.
"Is she ok?" Punk asked desperately, "Let her go. Just… please let her go." He nodded, "Where-Where are my kids?" He asked.
"We left the kids at the house. They should be fine." Hilary told him truthfully.
"They're on their own?" Punk exclaimed.
"Would you rather I brought them here with you?" Hilary spat as Punk looked across at her.
"Let April go." Punk demanded.
"I can't do that I'm afraid." Hilary shook her head, "I think you're forgetting… I'm not the one in charge of all of this."
"You're just as bad." Punk spat, spitting some blood out beside him.
"I'm doing what I need to, to survive." Hilary said, "I'm safe here now-"
"As long as you're ok." Punk nodded sarcastically, "So what are you gonna do? Kill us?" Punk questioned.
"It's not up to me." Hilary nodded, "Paul will be here soon. He'll decide what to do."
"You're just his puppet. You all are." Punk spat as Hilary just smiled, walking over to him and crouching down in front of him.
"I'd speak carefully to him. Your wife is upstairs tied to a bed. I wouldn't want to give him such an easy way to make you suffer." Hilary warned as Punk glared at her.
"Let her go." Punk gulped, "Please." He nodded as Hilary stood up straight.
"It's not up to me." Hilary shrugged casually, heading back over to the basement door as Punk rolled his head back against the post he was tied to, trying to break free from the ropes tying him up as Hilary took a look back at him, "It's nice to finally meet you. Son." Hilary smiled as Punk looked across at her, watching her walk out of the basement door.