The Right Thing
A couple of days later Punk was still raking his mind around the entire Maria situation but he was also thinking of AJ who he knew hadn't been feeling well. He had also been thinking about the ring situation and didn't want to just pass her back her wedding band.
"Seems flashy." Colt snorted as Punk showed him the ring he had for AJ. "And that's an engagement ring are you proposing? Because I'm about to save you some money and remind you that you're already married."
"I've had this for years." Punk confided. "I got it a few months after PJ was born I had always promised her a big diamond and this was it but things fell apart and I never got the chance to."
"It's nice." Colt nodded. "Are you going to get remarried?"
"We had discussed it years ago." Punk sighed remembering. "She always wanted a big wedding even though her family wouldn't go. She was going to carry PJ down the aisle since her dad wouldn't walk her." He smiled.
"Does she still want that without PJ?" Colt asked unsurely.
"We haven't discussed it, maybe after I give her the ring." he said admiring the ring he picked out so many years ago.
"Where is she by the way? I thought she was working here now?" Colt questioned.
"She's been sick." Punk said to him. "Besides she doesn't have to work here she's insisting on it."
"So what's going on with Maria?" Colt asked as he sat at Punk's desk and ate a burger that was brought up from the bar.
"She's convinced it was me." Punk shrugged. "Swears she saw my tattoos."
"You're not the only man in Chicago who has sleeve tattoos." Colt pointed out.
"She knows my tattoos." Punk said to him. "She's asked for the story behind every single at least twice."
"Maybe she's just trying to get back at you for AJ." Colt suggested.
"That's what I thought but I know her and she really does believe it was me." Punk said to him.
"She's fucking crazy." Colt scoffed and watched as Punk stood up. "Where are you going?"
"My wife is home sick. I'm going to bring her hot soup and a bunch of those crappy gossip magazines she likes to read." Punk said putting on his jacket.
"Right back into domestic bliss even though you two kind of acted the same way. What's really the difference by the way?" Colt asked. "I mean you worshiped her before what's the difference?"
"The difference is that we communicate more." Punk told him slipping the ring into his pocket. "And she's in my bed every night not some other guys."
"It's the sex." Colt laughed.
"It's not just the sex but the sex is nice." Punk smirked. "I forgot how amazing she is."
"Yea she was so amazing you knocked her up the first time." Colt laughed. "Trying to do it again?"
"No." Punk said to him. "We talked about it just last week and I thought maybe she did but she's as dead set against it as I am thankfully. I'm just not father material."
"That's insane you were great with PJ." Colt said to him.
"Yea I was great with him until I let him die." Punk remarked.
"You didn't let him die you would have done anything for that kid." Colt said almost disgusted. "Stop with that shit I hate that you both beat yourselves up over this. "2,500 children die from SIDS every year and did you know that over 2,000 children die mysteriously in their sleep? Are you saying over four thousand parents are bad parents?"
"Of course not." Punk said to him. "Why are you talking about this? And how do you know that?"
"I looked into it." Colt said to him. "I was actually obsessed with it and there's nothing you could have done. You really have to stop blaming yourself now and don't call yourself a bad father because you were amazing in that short time." he told him seriously.
"We agreed." Punk said to him. "We tried being parents and it clearly wasn't meant to be for us. I'm completely fine without children and so is AJ."
AJ was in her parked car and had the light on inside as she looked at the picture. The sonogram photo was given to her today after her appointment and she had gotten the confirmation that she was almost 7 weeks along which meant there was a greater chance that Punk wasn't the father of her unborn child, a child she didn't want. She placed the photo into her jacket pocket and turned off the light and her car and grabbed her gym bag.
AJ walked over to the little hut like stand where she could rent a room. She walked over to the man and he seemed very uninterested in any customers.
"Hello?" AJ asked annoyed knocking on the glass as she tightened her jacket around her because it was freezing out.
"Yea?" the man asked looking at her.
"I need a room. Your sign says you have vacancy's." She said to him. "I need it open ended." she told him.
"$745 a week." He said reaching for a key and AJ pulled out cash. She knew saving that money from the gym would come in handy.
"You guys are discreet here right?" she asked slipping him the money.
"Are you hiding from the cops?" he asked her. "They're always around here."
"No I'm hiding from my husband." She said and he nodded.
"We're discreet." he said with a faint smile and slid the key under the window. "He's not going to show up here with a gun or anything is he?"
"No he hates guns." She said to him. "He's not even violent. I'm the one that messed up. I can't face him." she blurted out nervously.
"Right." he said to her. "Room 15."
"Thanks." She said slightly embarrassed by her outburst.
AJ walked across the lot and unlocked the door to her room. The room was absolute trash but that's what she felt she deserved. She dropped her bag by the bed and fell into the stiff bed. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the sonogram again and frowned. Having this baby was going to be hard enough, doing it without Phil was going to be next to impossible but Billy being the father would make this impossible.
When Punk arrived home he went up the stairs with soup he had picked up on the way home. The new bed that had just arrived was empty and a note was lying on it by her pillow. Punk placed the soup down and read the note. It was short, sweet and to the point just like AJ's natural personality.
"I'm so sorry, you'll never know how much. -I love you, April."
Punk read the short note at least a hundred times then folded it up and slipped it into his back pocket. He moved around the room and under the bed where he knew she had kept her spare money from the gym. The lock box was still open but empty then looked in her closet and saw most of her clothes were still there, if she took anything it wasn't much. He also saw her phone was left on the side table. He grabbed his keys and ran out the front door.
Punk walked into the police station and was arguing with the officer at the front desk.
"She left a note." The officer reminded him. "She left you. I know this is probably hard to hear-"
"No you don't understand she didn't take clothes, she didn't take her phone and her cash was gone. Somebody clearly broke in and hurt her."
"Was there anything broken in the house to prove forced entry?" The officer asked him with a sigh.
"No but-" He began.
"We can't file a missing persons report for an adult for at least 24 hours." The officer told him.
"That's not true." Punk said shaking his head. "I know that's not true but you're just trying to get me out of here but I'm telling you right now that I'm not going anywhere my wife would never just up and leave like this and there's this guy who has been harassing her she filed a report on him."
"What's your wife's name?" The officer asked typing at his computer.
"April Mendez-Brooks." he told him and the officer looked up at him.
"Hector Mendez's little girl?" the officer asked.
"Yea I guess." he said annoyed. "Will her being his daughter quicken this process?" he asked him.
"The compliant was against Billy Fisher?" the officer asked.
"Yes. He's a fucking lunatic and he's stalking my wife." Punk told him. "And my ex-girlfriend was assaulted too what if someone is trying to hurt people I'm connected to?"
"Please Mr. Brooks calm down." The officer said to him.
"I won't calm down until I see you and three more officers racing out of here to search for my wife!" Punk yelled.
"Phillip." Hector Mendez boomed and he rolled his eyes. "What's happening with April?"
"Someone took her." Punk told him and Hector narrowed his eyes.
"She ran off." The officer behind the desk told him.
"She wouldn't do that." Punk repeated to that officer.
"She left a note." The officer told Hector.
"She also left her clothes and phone." Punk told Hector.
"Let me see the note." Hector said holding his hand out and Punk gave it to him.
"She didn't say she was leaving she just said she was sorry." Punk said to him. "If she was leaving for good she would have said that."
"I'll take it from here." Hector told the officer who nodded.
"AJ told you about the artist didn't she?" Punk asked him.
"She did." Hector said passing him back the note.
"He hasn't let up probably because you didn't do anything about it." Punk told him. "He's showed up at her job forcing her to quit, he painted the side of my club in honor of her, he was at my family's gala taking pictures! You know AJ wouldn't just pick up and leave."
"When April's back is against the wall she runs." Hector reminded him. "She did it to me and her mother and now she's doing it to you."
"She ran to me." Punk reminded him back slowly. "She never has to run from me and she knows that. Something has to be wrong and I know you're still pissed at her for getting pregnant and married and ruining your dreams from her but she's still your daughter and you should want to find her as much as I do."
"Maybe the relationship wasn't working out for her." Hector suggested and Punk just huffed in anger. "She didn't want to hurt your feelings."
"She didn't take all of her clothes." Punk reminded him. "She's not using her credit cards, she's been sick and we've been trying. We've been going to therapy."
"You have?" Hector asked him.
"Yes!" Punk yelled. "We're both committed to our relationship."
"If she left-" Hector began.
"She didn't willingly leave me. She's had her chance to do so plenty of times something is wrong." Punk insisted and Hector just eyed him.
AJ was fast asleep in her bed still fully dressed but exhausted. She heard loud banging at her door and her eyes shot open. She slowly got out of the bed and reached into her purse for her mace.
"I have a weapon!" AJ yelled without even looking outside the door. "I will use it if you don't go away!"
"Mace isn't going to keep me away." Punk said from outside the door.
"Fuck." She muttered in shock that he had tracked her down so quickly.
"Open the door AJ or I'm kicking it down." He warned her.
AJ sighed and removed the chain from the door and opened it for him. He passed right by her and began searching the room.
"What are you looking for?" AJ asked him.
"The person who clearly kidnapped you." Punk snorted walking into the bathroom.
"No one kidnapped me." She sighed sitting on the bed knowing she was going to have this conversation with him whether she wanted to or not. "How did you find me?"
"I went to the police station and believe it or not I convinced your dad to help me. A patrol officer told him that your car was in this lot so here I am." Punk said to her. "I want a damn good explanation as to why you snuck out of our house after you swore to me you wouldn't, I want to know why you left me some shitty note, I also want you to apologize for giving me a heart attack and making me beg your dad for help."
"I can't do this right now." She said shaking her head.
"Do what? Was it something I did?" He asked her and she didn't respond. "If you weren't happy with us being back together you could have told me AJ what did you think I would have done?"
"I love you." AJ said to him. "That hasn't changed."
"Well something has clearly changed." He scoffed pacing back and forth in front of her. "Talk to me AJ!" he yelled stopping in front of her.
"I don't deserve you." She said looking up at him with swollen puffy red eyes. "You can do so much better than a fuck up like me."
"We've discussed this." Punk sighed. "If you're getting cold feet about us-"
"I'm not!" She yelled. "This isn't about our relationship."
"It must be if you left me." Punk said to her. "What was your big plan by the way? Were you going to live here forever?"
"I was considering it." She shrugged. "The bed isn't too bad."
"This isn't funny." he scolded. "What happened today? If it's not about us what the hell is it about?"
"Phil I'm pregnant." she sobbed out and he froze. "I found out last week."
"I thought we talked about this." he said quietly.
"I know." She cried out.
"We were careful right? You were careful?" he asked her.
"I guess not." she scoffed shaking her head. "I'm having a baby."
"So you leave?" Punk asked. "What were you planning on doing?"
"I wasn't going to sneak off to have an abortion." She insisted knowing that's exactly what he was thinking.
"So you were going to what? Raise the baby here?" He asked her. "You thought that was the most logical step?"
"It's so much more." AJ cried.
"We can work this out." Punk said to her quietly. "We weren't planning this or wanting it but it's happening and we're going to-"
"There is no 'we'." AJ snapped standing up.
"What do you mean?" he asked her.
"I went to have a sonogram today." She told him.
"Oh god." he said going pale. "Something is wrong isn't it?"
"You could say that." She replied sarcastically as she cried.
"What's wrong with the baby?" Punk asked her nervously. "Something already happened?"
"No." She said shaking her head. "The baby is healthy so far."
"Jesus AJ." He groaned. "Stop pussy footing around it and spit it out!"
"I'm seven weeks pregnant!" She yelled out.
"So?" he asked her.
"I wasn't just with you during that time." she reminded him and his face dropped.
"Oh god." He muttered as the realization hit him.
"It's might not be yours." she pointed out sadly and could tell he was devastated. "Billy could be the father and I'm scared of him." She admitted. "I left so he wouldn't find me."
Punk just moved and sat on the bed and looked straight ahead.
"Say something." She begged dropping to her knees before him and her hands rested on his one knee. "If you're mad at least yell at me." She pleaded as she cried. "I'm scared enough having this baby and now you might not even be there to help me through it-"
"Why didn't you tell me when you first found out?" he asked her.
"Because I knew there was a chance it wasn't yours and I didn't want to put you through what I'm going through." She insisted. "You don't want a baby and you're certainly not going to want one that isn't even yours."
"How can we find out?" he asked looking down at her but his face seemed so drained.
"I could do an amnio at around six months but there's a lot of risks." She told him. "I'm afraid to do it. I'd have to wait until the baby is born."
"Does Billy know?" Punk asked her.
"Are you kidding?" She asked him. "He's never going to know that's why I left. Who knows what he'll do to me or the baby." she said to him. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm numb." he said simply.
"It's ok." She said to him standing up. "It's why I left to begin with. You don't have to be involved and I don't blame you I'll figure this out on my own." he didn't say anything but looked away from her.
She stood up and looked at his sad face and her heart broke from him. He loved her so much and she literally ripped his heart out of his chest. He couldn't stand the idea of her with other men but if she was raising another man's baby he'd never be ok with it and she didn't blame him.
"I'm sorry." She whispered. "You can go now." she told him and walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind her because she couldn't stand to see him leave.
An hour of being in the bathroom AJ opened the door and saw Punk was sitting on the floor leaning against the wall closest to the bathroom with his head in his hands.
"Phil." She sighed sadly feeling his pain. "I told you to go." she said standing over him. "The longer you stay here the more it's going to hurt."
"I got you this." he said finally looking up at her and pulling the box out of his jacket pocket.
"What is it?" she asked kneeling on the floor next to him.
He opened the box and she saw the beautiful diamond ring.
"I've had it for years." He told her looking at the ring. "I was going to give you this tonight finally."
"It's ok." She whispered as tears fell from her eyes and she closed the box for him. "I understand."
"No you really don't." He said opening the box back up and pulling the ring out. "I loved you so much when I picked out this ring. I was an awe of your strength when you left your home and had PJ. You were so extraordinary."
"I wouldn't say that." She scoffed.
"Nothing has changed." He said looking at her. "I love you and I want you to put the ring on your finger and I want to remarry you properly."
"Phil you don't-" she began.
"I found this on the floor." he said showing her the folded sonogram. "That's my kid." he said to her.
"I can't ask you to do this." She said shaking her head. "I won't."
"You're not asking me to do anything." He said to her. "You're having my child regardless of who helped you create it." AJ felt her heart swell up so much she thought she'd pass out. "I've never turned my back on you and I'm not about to start now we're a family in good times and bad that's what we promised each other five years ago."
"If Billy finds out-" She started.
"He'll never know." He promised her. "You don't have to be afraid anymore I'm here now."
AJ fell fully to the floor and wrapped her arms around him and cried into his chest.
"There's a 50% chance this baby is yours." She reminded him.
"It's mine no matter what." He said as he held her.
"I'm not just scared of Billy." she admitted.
"Yea me too." He said softly.
"Do you think PJ hates us?" AJ asked lifting her head to look up at him. "Like he feels we're replacing him?"
"No I think he's probably really excited. Him and my dad." he said with a sad smile.
"I miss him everyday I don't know if I can do this again." She admitted.
"We're going to have to." he said to her. "And we've got each other which is the most important thing. And the doctor told you everything was good?"
"Yea." She nodded taking the sonogram. "I keep looking at it but I can never find the baby." she admitted and he smirked.
"Just like with PJ's sonograms." he said then pointed. "That little dot AJ." he pointed.
"Are you sure?" she asked squinting her eyes at the black and white photo.
"Yea I'm sure." He said amused keeping an arm around her as she practically laid in his lap.
"It's awfully small." She mumbled.
"It should be otherwise you'd be having an abnormally large baby and that labor won't be fun." He teased.
"You really want to remarry me?" she asked him.
"Yea I do. It's only fitting that I ask you the same day you announce you're pregnant." He chuckled. "That seems to be our thing." he slid the ring onto her slender finger and looked at it.
"Pregnant, in trouble and you always come through." She smiled looking down at the ring.
"You're not in trouble." he assured her. "It's not going to be easy and I wish I could tell you it would be but it won't be but I promise to not give up on us."
"Me too." She promised back. "It's really pretty."
"I'm glad you like it." He said to her.
"What about my band?" she asked him.
"You'll get it back when we get remarried." he said to her.
"A real wedding." She laughed. "And I'll be pregnant- I feel 18 again."
"We could wait until after the baby is born." he said to her and she shook her head.
"No." She said to him. "Sooner than that."
"Alright." He agreed.
"You're the most amazing in this world I'm going to give you anything you want." she said to him.
"Just don't sneak out again." He said to her.
"I'm sorry." She said as she laid across his lap. "I was scared."
"I know you were." he said to her. "Did you really think I'd let that psycho get to you?" he asked her. "Or I'd throw you out in the street?"
"I didn't want to break your heart." She admitted.
"I'm shocked." He told her honestly. "That's a lot of information to take in but my heart isn't broken."
"Are you sure?" she asked him. "I don't want you to be in any pain Phil."
"I won't be." he said to her.
"If the baby isn't yours you're going to resent it." she warned him.
"That baby is mine." he said firmly. "I don't need a test to me what I already know and feel."
"But if-" she began.
"It's my baby." he said yet again. "Our baby."
"Tell me the baby is going to be ok and we won't lose it like we did PJ." she requested.
"I can't promise you that." he told her honestly. "But I promise we're going to do better and try harder."
"Ok." She said to him.
She felt him wrap his arm around her and placed his hand over her belly and place a kiss on her head. She was safest with him and knew this wasn't going to be easy no matter what he said about being ok with all of this. She just had to pray that Billy never found out...
A/N:
Thanks for the reviews!
Still to come...
-Who really attacked Maria?
-Who is really the father?
-How will the Mendez and Brooks family react to the baby news?
-Better question, how will Billy take the news?