A/N: hello everyone I'm back! Sorry for the long delay but like I had said on Twitter I've had a busy couple of weeks and simply didn't have time to update but here's a new chapter! I kind of got writers block so I've jumped right back in to what I write best- drama. Try to enjoy and thank you everyone for the birthday wishes!
Chapter 13: One Week Later
AJ opened her eyes slowly and the first thing she felt was pain- and it was everywhere. Her arm, her legs, her face and her head- it was even painful to open her eyes. But once she got her eyes opened she realized that she was in a hospital room, the beeping sound next to her gave it away. She was now alarmed and reached for the switch near her bed and pressed the button. Less than a minute later a nurse appeared.
"Oh good you're up" the friendly nurse said to her "How are you feeling?"
"In pain" AJ admitted
"I'll call your doctor and he'll give you something that" The nurse said looking at her chart
"What happened?" AJ asked weakly
"You don't remember?" the nurse asked and AJ shook her head no. The nurse just frowned. "That's common with your head injury" AJ felt the side of her head and felt the bandage
"Did I fall?" AJ asked sadly
"We were hoping you could tell us" the nurse said to her sympathetically "But don't worry it'll come back but if it doesn't you just might be better off"
"What is that supposed to mean?" AJ asked her
"What's the last thing you remember dear?" the nurse asked walking closer to AJ
"I was getting of the plane and going home" AJ said giving it thought
"You were found in your home" The nurse informed her
"Found how?" AJ asked her starting to grow frustrated "What the hell happened?"
"You were beaten pretty badly" the nurse said to her
"I was robbed?" AJ asked surprised
"I don't know you're going to have to speak to the police" the nurse said to her
"But why can't I remember any of this?" AJ asked fearfully "I don't even remember being home"
"Try to just relax and it will come back to you" the nurse assured her. "Is there someone we could call for you? We tried to contact your family but we weren't able to get in touch"
"My boyfriend" AJ said to her "But he lives in Chicago" she suddenly remembered that they agreed to spend the week apart so he could start getting into shape for his return
"Do you have his number?" the nurse asked her
"I….I can't remember all of it" AJ admitted
"What's his name?" The nurse questioned
"I can call my job and they can get in touch with him" AJ said to her and the nurse nodded
"Well call them later because the doctor is on her way in" the nurse said to her and at that moment a young female doctor walked into AJ's room
"Hello Ms. Mendez I'm Doctor Reed" the woman smiled warmly as the nurse stepped outside to give them privacy "How's the pain?"
"I don't care about the pain the pain I can handle" AJ informed her "I want to know what happened to me"
"I wasn't there Ms. Mendez" the doctor said to her
"But you know what's wrong with me right?" AJ asked
"You were assaulted Ms. Mendez" the doctor told her bluntly
"What do you mean?" AJ asked "Are you saying I was raped?"
"No" the doctor said quickly "But whoever roughed you up tried you fought back"
"I did?" AJ asked trying to think back to earlier in the night
"You had some skin under your nails and we already passed it off to the police. Hopefully they can find the animal" the Doctor said to her and AJ just nodded "The police would also like to speak to you"
"But I don't remember anything I swear" AJ said to her sadly
"I know that but they're going to want to know who has access to your home stuff like that" the Doctor said to her "The man who bought you in is also still here"
"Who was that?" AJ asked her
"Your landlord" the Doctor said to her "He seems pretty worried, is he your boyfriend?"
"No" AJ said to her "My boyfriend isn't in town"
"We'll get in touch with him if you'd like" the doctor said to her
"Ok" AJ said to her "Can I just have a minute? This is a lot to take in-"
"Sure" the Doctor smiled lightly then stepped outside to give AJ her privacy
As soon as Punk had gotten the call from corporate he was on the first flight back to Tampa. After staying there a few days after she left to make sure her plumbing had gotten fixed he flew back home to Chicago and both agreed to spend the week apart. He was already mentally kicking himself because he wasn't sure how badly she was hurt or what even happened but he knew it was bad enough where she wasn't able to contact him or the company for that matter. He was told by a high up official that there was some sort of nurse or employee of the hospital that recognized AJ and posted the info on Twitter. WWE called the hospital and was able to confirm it was AJ but they refused to tell them anything else since they weren't related.
The flight wasn't long but to him it felt like ages and he quickly hailed a cab and headed to the hospital where she was in. He had tried to call the hospital numerous times but they refused to give any information to him either. Once he arrived at the hospital he was once again getting the run around.
"You don't seem to understand the fact that she doesn't have any family here" Punk said annoyed to the nurse behind the desk "I mean her sister lives in Tampa but she's out of town- I'm all she has ok? Go and ask her!"
"She's in with her doctor" the nurse said to him simply
"What's her room number?" Punk demanded
"We have privacy rules when cases like Ms. Mendez come in" the nurse informed him
"What the hell does that mean?" Punk questioned. As far as he knew AJ could have tripped or been in a car accident but now the police were involved?
"Punk" the voice of AJ's landlord caused Punk to turn around
"What are you doing here?" Punk asked walking towards him
"I found AJ" James informed him
"What do you mean found her?" Punk demanded "I want some answers!"
"Her apartment door was left slightly open so I went to check it out and I checked around and found her on the floor" James informed him
"Someone beat her up?" Punk asked feeling sick to his stomach
"Yea pretty badly" James said to him "I can't get the image of her out of my head"
"Is she ok? Is she awake?" Punk asked
"I don't know much" James said to him
"Well I need to see her" Punk said to him "Do you know what room she's in?"
"She's in 467" James told him "But the police are-" before he could even finish Punk was already racing down the hall
As soon as he found her room he swung the door open and saw two uniformed officers talking to AJ who looked up as soon as he walked in.
"Sir you can't-" the officer started
"No let him stay" AJ said to them "I told you everything"
"Alright" the officer said to her "And don't worry we'll get the guy"
"Thank you" AJ said and watched the two officers pass Punk on the way out "How bad do I look?" she asked him honestly. She could tell just by his face that she must look bad.
"You look…" he trailed off as he slowly walked over to her
"It's ok be honest" AJ said to him and watched as he took a seat at edge of the bed
"You look beautiful" Punk said to her "But someone really gave it to you" he admitted "What happened AJ?"
"I don't remember anything" she said to him "I'm trying but I can't"
"What did the police say?" he asked her
"They said I was attacked in my apartment" AJ told him "James found me and called for help. I don't know if someone was inside or robbed me or followed me in-"
"-just rest" Punk said cutting her off
"How can I do that?" she asked holding back tears "I hurt everywhere I can't remember anything-"
"You need to relax" Punk insisted "Don't force yourself to over think"
"How did you know I was here?" AJ asked him
"WWE found out and contacted me" Punk said to her
"How long have I been out?" AJ asked him
"I don't know. I got the call a few hours ago and got here as fast as I could" Punk said to her "I tried calling but no one would talk to me"
"You didn't have drop everything" AJ said leaning back in the bed
"Where else would I be?" Punk asked seriously "I've got your back- always"
"I'm glad you're here" AJ said to him and he smiled lightly at her
"What did the doctors say?" Punk asked her "How bad is it?"
"It's superficial wounds" AJ said to him
"Um-" Punk started off nervously "-if you don't really remember-"
"I wasn't" AJ said knowing where his mind was going and just like her she saw him ease up slightly "I apparently fought back" she said to him
"Of course you did" He smirked
"I got some of the guys DNA under my nails too" AJ said to him "So hopefully this guy has a record and is in the system"
"What kind of fucking monster does this?" he asked disgusted and mostly to himself as he ran his hand gently over her bruising cheek
"Speaking of that- do you remember anyone weird hanging around the building? The police are going to want to talk to you too" she said to him
"Everyone in your building is weird" Punk said to her "I told you I hate that fucking place"
"There's never been a crime in the building" AJ said to him
"That you know of" Punk said to her "They should really be talking to your landlord"
"Is he still here?" AJ asked
"Yea I saw him when I came in" Punk said to her
"I should talk to him I heard he was shaken up" AJ said sitting up but Punk eased her back down
"No you should just lay down" Punk instructed "Don't worry about him"
"He found me" AJ said to him "If he didn't come in and check on me who knows how long I would have been in the building" she pointed out "he also told the police there was a shady guy in and out of the building all day and gave them a description"
"So there's weird people lurking around his building and he just lets them?" Punk asked annoyed
"Please Phil" she said lightly "I can't have you fighting with him he helped me out tonight can't you just be grateful?"
"Yea" he said calmly. He didn't want to add to AJ's stress anymore. "I was so worried about you" he admitted looking at her frail state but thrilled she was seemingly alright
"I know" she said faintly "But I'm a tough chick" she teased lightly
"I know that" Punk said seriously "What can I do?"
"What do you mean?" she asked him
"How can I help you?" Punk asked her
"Can you just stay with me?" she asked him nervously "I know it sounds childish but-"
"That goes without saying" Punk said brushing off her request
"I know you're training to get back to work" AJ said to him "You don't have to stay long just until they let me out of here. Hospital's really creep me out"
"I'm not going anywhere until you're better" Punk said to her
"Ok" she said unable to hide her small smile "I need to call Mark at the office-"
"I'll take care of all that" Punk said to her
"Randy is going to be so pissed-" AJ started off
"I'll take care of Randy" Punk said to her "But speaking of him he wasn't in Tampa at all was he?"
"Actually he was" AJ said to him "He was going to the performance center"
"Really?" Punk asked her
"He flew in with me and the last thing I remember is getting into one cab and him in another" AJ said to him "He had nothing to do with this"
"How can you be sure?" Punk asked her "Did you tell the police about him?"
"There's nothing to tell" AJ said to him "He's been really nice to me these last few weeks"
"Doesn't change the fact that he has an agenda" Punk pointed out
"He wanted do this" AJ said firmly "And I know you know he didn't either. Randy Orton is a lot of things but he doesn't hit women"
"I wouldn't put anything past him" Punk said to her seriously
"Please Phil" she groaned "this was probably some guy that watched me walk into the building and thought he was going to rob me"
"But he didn't rob you" Punk pointed out "He attacked you and by looking at just your face alone it was clearly personal"
"He might have robbed me" AJ said to him "I need to get back to my apartment and check things out there"
"You need to relax" Punk said yet again "Let me take care of things for you, let me help" he insisted
"Just being here is helping me" AJ said to him "I hate being in a strange place alone"
"Maybe if I was here before you got home or picked you up from the airport this wouldn't have happened"
"Oh Phil-" She started knowing he was feeling guilty
"I don't want to talk about me right now" he said to her "I want to talk to your doctor" Punk said to her "Is that ok with you?"
"Of course" she said to him
"After I talk to your doctor I'll call Vince and let him know what's going on" Punk said to her "Then I'll get us a hotel or something-"
"I want to go back home" AJ said to him
"It's not safe there" Punk said to her shaking his head
"You'll be with me right?" AJ asked him
"Yea" he said to her "I still don't like you being there" Punk said to her
"It's my home I'm not going to run away from it" AJ said to him
"I'm not going to argue with you" Punk said to her "We'll follow your lead for now"
"Good" she said satisfied then winced in pain
"You want me to call you the nurse?" Punk asked with a concerned look "You've got to be in so much pain" he muttered eyeing her carefully
"I am" she admitted "I wish I was still asleep actually"
"Well I'll talk to the doctor and see if she can give you anything stronger" Punk promised
"I thought you were anti pain medication" AJ remarked
"Not when you're in this much pain" Punk said to her "I just want you to feel better. I can see how much pain your in just by looking at your face" he noted with a frown "I hate seeing you like this"
"You're a good man" she said grabbing his hand gently but he didn't respond to the comment even though he looked like he wanted to "You are" she insisted
"Well I'm going to go find your doctor" Punk said to her
"Her name is Doctor Reed" AJ said to him and he nodded
"And I'm going to call the nurse" he said standing up and pushing the call button "Tell her about your pain"
"Ok and you'll talk to James too?" she asked "Nicely?"
"Yea I promise" he leaned over and kissed the top of her head
"Is this the Chicago boyfriend?" the nurse asked walking in
"Yes" AJ said to him
"You got here fast" The nurse noted "I just got your information to contact you"
"Yea I got a heads up a few hours ago" Punk said to her
"I don't have family here so anything medical going on with me can all go through him" AJ told the nurse
"I'll let Dr. Reed know" the nurse told her
"She's also in a lot of pain" Punk said to her
"I'll take care of that" the nurse said to him
After talking to AJ's doctor for about half an hour he called WWE to let them know what was going on and to inform them AJ wouldn't be around for a little. As he was heading back to AJ's room he passed James who he completely forgot about.
"You're still here?" Punk asked James who stood up from his seat
"Yea I wanted to make sure she was ok" James admitted
"She's messed up but she'll be fine" Punk said to him "What do you know?"
"I don't know anything" James said quickly
"AJ said you saw someone" Punk said to him
"Just some guy lurking around the lobby" James said to him "He's the only person who stuck out to me"
"What did he look like? How old was he?" Punk asked
"I didn't get a good look Punk" James admitted "I wish I had"
"Thank you for helping her" Punk forced out
"Of course" James said to him "It just sickens me that this happened in my building and to April of all people. She's so nice to everyone there"
"Yea" Punk agreed "Did it look like her place had been robed at all?"
"I have no idea but the place wasn't really a big mess. There was a broken coffee table in her living room but I'm assuming that's from the struggle" James said to him
"Look AJ is going to want to go back there" Punk started off "I need you to change her locks and guarantee me that this won't happen again"
"I'll change her locks" James told him
"I need to know she's safe there" Punk said to him
"I'll look out for personally" James assured him
"That doesn't make me feel better" Punk told him bluntly "I'll be there to look out for AJ personally" he told him firmly "You make sure that animal doesn't get back into that building because if he does and I see him I will kill him"
"Understood" James said to him
"Good" Punk said eyeing him again as if he was trying to read his mind "Look she's not up for any visitors right now but she is grateful you helped her out" he said extending his hand to the man "As am I"
"No problem" James said accepting the hand shake "If she needs anything- and I mean anything-"
"-I get it" Punk said annoyed "You can go now."
"Right" James said to him "And I'll have the locks changed by tonight"
"Thanks" Punk said as he watched the friendly landlord walk over the elevator. He was another one that Punk didn't trust at all but he did find AJ so he couldn't jump all over him for that. Punk felt his phone vibrate and quickly answered it "Hey…yea I'm here now….she's in bad shape but she'll be ok….no, I don't know when I'll be back…no I didn't ask her yet…I don't give a shit Colt I'm not leaving Tampa until she's boarding a flight with me or they find whoever did this I don't care how long it takes…"
And Punk meant every word. The guilt was eating away at him slowly but surely especially every time he looked at AJ's bruised and cut face but he was going to make it up to her by making sure it never happened again he was also going to prove how much she meant to him but not leaving her side until she was a 110% ready and he knew that was going to be a while. He was also going to make it his personal mission to make sure the police find whoever was stupid enough to put their hands on his girlfriend.
A/N 2: So we have a classic case of 'who did it?'. Who do you think did it? Was it Randy, James, a neighbor, Trent- let me know what you think!