Chapter 16
Emma and Punk sat in the living room together, neither of them had much to say to each other after the little spat they had had in the car after they had left her mother's house. Emma was refusing to speak to Punk right now because of that rude comment he had made about her keeping legs her closed. It wasn't like she had been sleeping with the whole neighborhood or anything; she had just made a mistake with Scott. A mistake that resulted in the creation of Jenna.
She sat on the couch, absentmindedly flipping through the channels while he sat in a chair and played with his phone. "What are you doing tonight?" she asked quietly, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence between them.
"I don't know. Thinking about taking a nap then maybe hit the gym later."
She rolled her eyes at him. "It's five in the afternoon, are you really going to take a nap right now?"
"Yes. What are you doing tonight? Making me some dinner?"
She stood up from the couch, "Going to get ready," she said as she started for the stairs.
"Get ready for what?" he called after her. "Kitchen's the other way, baby."
"Going out tonight."
"With who?"
She sighed, stopped and turned to face him. "Why does it matter?"
"Um. Because I'm your husband. Duh."
"It shouldn't matter who I'm going out with tonight, Phil."
"Ah, here we go again. For the last day and a half I was Punk, now you're back to bitch mode and calling me Phil."
"Please don't start fighting with me," she requested quietly.
He took a few steps towards her. "Why don't you want to fight?" he asked just as quietly. "Used to turn you on when I would pick a fight with you."
"I'm tired of fighting with you, Phil. I made a mistake, I really fucked up, I lied to you, and I filed for divorce. What do we have to fight about? I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. But you and I both know that no matter what those test results say later this week, we're still going through with the divorce because it doesn't matter how much I apologize and maybe Scott really didn't lie about the results and that little girl isn't yours."
Punk shook his head. "No, we're not. I've spent the last six months trying to convince you to not give up on us; I'm not going to stop now. Despite everything that's happened in the last couple of days, I still freaking love you. And I love our kids. It doesn't matter what those results say, Jenna is still my baby girl." He walked over to her and pushed her bangs out of her eyes. "You promised me forever and a day, and forever isn't over yet," he whispered. "Do you remember when you promised me that, Emmy?"
As much as she wanted to just push him away and be done with this conversation, she found herself nodding and thinking back to that day...
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"I can't believe we just did that..." Emma murmured into Punk's neck. He pulled back and smiled at her. They had just gotten back from the courthouse where a Justice of the Peace had married them in a quick ceremony. The only other two people present was Punk's friend Scott and her sister Melanie. Her mother had refused to come, stating that she couldn't stand to watch her daughter throw her life away by marrying someone like him.
"I know...Mrs. Brooks..." he trailed off as he captured her mouth in a passionate kiss; it was time for the second round of lovemaking. Tonight was the end to a perfect day; he had married his Emmy Sue. She was his and he was hers for now and forever.
As he hovered above her, placing soft kisses on her collarbone, he stopped and brought his face close to hers. "Emmy...I need you to promise me something..."
"Anything," she whispered.
"Promise to love me?"
"Always..."
"Forever?" he whispered.
"Forever and a day..." she whispered back as she pulled him closer to her.
"I'm holding you to that, Emmy. No matter what happens, no matter where life is going to take us, it's going to be me and you. Forever and a day. I'm never going to stop loving you..."
"I promise..." she whispered as she gazed into his eyes. "Forever and a day..."
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"You do remember..." he asked as he watched the expression on her face.
"Yeah, I remember," was all she said before she headed upstairs to get changed for a night out with her girlfriends.
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With a disappointed looking on his face, Punk walked back over to the chair and sat down. He put his hands in head; what did he have to do to get through to this woman? They had been getting along so well yesterday and part of today, then he had to pick a fight with her. Why couldn't she just admit that they belonged together and that he wasn't going anywhere; no matter what happened. He had to get out of here; it was killing him to be in the same house with her when he she didn't want him around right now. Without telling her that he was leaving, he locked the door behind him and headed down the street to the bus station. He needed time to think.
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After a quick stop at his shitty apartment to change into his workout clothes, he headed to the gym. As he started his routine, he put his headphones on and tried to get lost in his thoughts. Unfortunately for Punk, his thoughts always wandered back to his beautiful Emma.
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Punk's flight had just landed in Chicago; he had been overseas on tour for the past two weeks and he missed his wife and kids terribly. He stopped at a floral shop on his way out of the airport. He smiled as he thought about the look on Emma's face when he showed up a day early with flowers in hand.
Emma was trying to convince the kids that it was past eight o'clock and that they had to go to bed. She desperately needed ten minutes alone. She had been a nervous wreck all week after she had visited the lawyer's office on Monday. Scott had finally convinced her to file for divorce. After everything that had happened with her and Scott, she had finally gave in to him and had agreed to divorce her husband. That was the easy part; the hard part was going to be telling Punk that it was over and she wanted out.
She was just about to scream out loud in frustration when the front door swung open and her mouth dropped when she saw who was standing there. "Daddy!" Josh and Jenna screamed as they ran full force into their father's arms, practically knocking them over. Emma watched in disbelief as her husband stood in the doorway, hugging two of his three children with one arm and the arm held a huge bouquet of beautiful red roses. Punk let go of his two younger kids and pulled his oldest in for a manly hug. Punk managed to get in the door and shut it behind him all while listening to his kids babble and giggle about everything that had happened to them in the last two weeks and what kind of fun they were going to have now that daddy was home. Emma was still standing there by the couch in shock. This threw her whole plan out the window. She still hadn't worked up enough nerve to tell him that she had filed for divorce, she was going to work on what she was going to say tonight and practice it tomorrow before he came home.
After catching up with the kids for another half an hour, Punk and Emma managed to get the kids up to their bedroom and tuck them in for the night. Emma watched Punk tuck Jenna in last. "Good night, princess," he whispered as he kissed her forehead and slowly walked out of her room. Emma felt like her heart was going to break. She had been holding in the secret of Jenna's conception since the child was six months old; she had just turned three a few weeks ago. Emma wasn't sure how much longer she was going to be able to keep it from him. Part of the reason she wanted the divorce was, yes, she wanted to be with Scott and hold him to all of the promises he had made her, the other part wanted to push Punk away so she wouldn't hurt him by hearing the awful truth that his wife had been hiding from him.
"Now...Your turn..." he whispered as he pulled her in close for a hug and started backing them up towards their bedroom. They had two weeks of love making to catch up on and he intended to start right now. As he started kissing her neck and unbuttoning her shirt, she started to panic. She had to do this now. "Punk...stop..." she whispered in between kisses.
He shook his head, "Nope, need to feel you," he mumbled into her ear. She pushed him away. "Whoa. What's the matter, Emmy?" he asked with a confused look on his face.
"We need to talk," she said quietly as she sat down on the edge of the bed.
It was never good when a woman said 'we need to talk', Punk thought to himself as he sat down next to her. "What's the matter?" he asked softly.
"I want a divorce," she whispered.
He looked at his wife in disbelief. "I'm sorry, Emmy, can you repeat that?"
"I want a divorce," she whispered again, still not looking at him.
He placed a hand on her chin and forced her to look at him. "What the fuck are you talking about?" he growled.
"This isn't working. I want out," she whispered while avoiding his eyes.
"Damn it. Look at me, Emmy. What are you talking about? Why the hell would you want a divorce?" he said as he started to raise his voice.
"I just want out."
"Bullshit. Tell me why."
Emma moved away from him and stood up. "I already filed the papers. They're on the kitchen table," she said quietly before she walked out of the room and headed downstairs. Punk followed her. He had to remind himself to not start raising his voice; his kids were sleeping.
He caught her arm in the living room and turned her towards him. "Why?" he asked again.
"It's over, Phil. I just...I want out. This isn't working anymore. You're gone all the time and I'm stuck here with the kids...and...I just want out."
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Punk shook his head as he thought about that horrible night. The months following that night weren't any better. His beautiful and loving wife had turned into a cold-hearted bitch all of the sudden and he couldn't figure out why. She wasn't talking to him, so he had no idea what he had done wrong and why she wanted 'out'. For the entire time during the separation, he still didn't know why. Until late Saturday night when she finally told him the awful secret she had been keeping from him. The word betrayal didn't even begin to describe what he felt when she told him. He felt betrayed, not only from her, but from his best friend as well. Despite everything that had happened, he still wanted to be with her. Call him crazy, call him a fool; he called himself a man desperately trying to hold onto the woman he loved.
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Punk and Emma stayed away from each other until the test results came back. On Thursday morning, Punk showed up on Emma's front door step bright and early, ready to call the clinic to see if the results were ready. "Morning..." he mumbled as she let him inside the house. She rolled her eyes and headed back into the living room to resume her laying on the couch. She had gone out last night with her girlfriends and actually had just gotten back a few hours ago and wanted nothing more than to just lay down and sleep. Punk watched her backside with interest as she walked away from him; she had on these little gray shorts and a long t-shirt. Her brown hair was down and hanging in her face. He could tell right away that she was hungover and that made him want to annoy her, just so she could see how awful the effects of alcohol really was. Maybe she would learn her lesson.
She snuggled up on the couch and wrapped a blanket around her, intent on going back to sleep. He sat down next to her and pulled her close to him. She let out a soft groan of protest and he kissed the top of her head. "We have a big day today, Emmy," he whispered. She nodded. "You should take a shower and get dressed."
She shook her head. "No...too tired," she mumbled as she closed her eyes and laid her head on his shoulder. Punk sighed and looked down at his wife; she had already passed out. The things he did for love, he thought to himself as he settled back on the couch and was content to let her sleep on his shoulder for a while. He grabbed the remote for the television and turned it on, making sure to keep the volume down low so he wouldn't wake her. As he watched her sleep, he was reminded about how much he loved this woman; and no matter what she had put him through, he was going to keep loving her. That's all there was to it.
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A few hours later that morning, the phone rang. Glancing at the caller id, he saw that it was the clinic. They were probably calling with the test results. Emma was still sleeping soundly on the couch beside him. Should he wake her up? Deciding that he wanted to hear the results alone, he walked into the kitchen and answered the phone.
"Yes, Mr. Brooks. This is Abigail from Dr. Smithfield's office. I have your paternity test results from Monday."
Punk swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat. This was it. He was going to find out if Jenna was his or not. "All right. Go ahead," he managed to stutter.
"Based on the samples from yourself and from Jenna Sue. It has been determined that we are 99.9% positive that you are the father of Jenna. Congratulations."
Punk let out the breath he was holding and remembered to thank the nurse before he hung up the phone. Jenna was his. His little girl was really his. Forgetting for a moment that he needed to go kick Scott's ass for lying to him, he rushed out into the living room and jumped on the couch. "Emma. Emmy!" he said loudly as he shook her shoulder to try and wake her. Very slowly she started to wake up.
"What?" she mumbled as she struggled to open her eyes.
"She's mine!" he said with excitement written all over his face. "She's really mine."
A small smile broke out onto her face. "Thank God," she mumbled as she let him pull her in for a big hug. Inside she was ecstatic that her husband was actually the father of her youngest; she was starting to realize what else this meant though. It meant that Scott had been lying to her for the last three years and that she was going to have to confront him about it. It also meant that now she had to make a decision about whether or not to stop the divorce proceedings and go back to the suffocating life she had been living for the past eight years, or if she still really wanted 'out'.
"What happens to us," she said softly, not fully believing that those words had just come out of her mouth.
He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know..." he said softly as he moved away from her but his eyes never left hers. While finding out Jenna was really his was a huge relief to the couple, they still had to deal with Emma's infidelity. Was their marriage really strong enough to overcome that?