Chapter 31: Happy Birthday Colt!
Punk and AJ arrived back in Chicago on Wednesday morning and as much as they wanted to stay in bed and rest they were going to Colt's birthday party. He was turning 35 and wanted to have a big shindig at a local club and insisted on Punk and AJ going even though it wasn't their scene.
"What about this?" AJ asked stepping out of her closet to show Punk her outfit
"Looks good" Punk said looking at his phone and not even bothering to look up
"You're not even looking" AJ huffed placing her hands on her hips. He peered over his phone and nodded
"I like it" Punk said then looked back at his phone. She was wearing jeans and a joker t-shirt.
"Is it clubby?" she asked looking in the mirror "I've never been to a club"
"Seriously?" Punk chuckled "You can either completely dress up or dress down. It doesn't matter"
"I want to impress your friends" AJ admitted "I've already conquered the family end and now I have to work on your friends"
"I really don't care what anyone thinks of you" Punk admitted as he searched his Twitter. "But I'm sure they'll love you regardless"
"Ugh" she groaned and headed back into the closet. A few minutes later she stepped back out. "What about this?"
"Perfect. I like it better then the last outfit" he said without even picking his head up
"Ok" she shrugged simply. She was wearing a low cut tank-top that showed off her midriff and tight jeans and a pair of boots over them. She was never usually one to show off her stomach but she was going to a club she just assumed this was how people dressed there. "I'm ready"
"Great" he said turning off Twitter and getting off of the bed. He finally looked over to her and froze.
"What?" she asked
"You can't wear that" Punk said pointing to her outfit
"You said you liked it better than the last one" she pointed out annoyed "You said you'd help me pick something to wear and this is what you picked"
"I wasn't paying attention" Punk defended "If you wear that to the club I'm going to get into a lot of fist fights so go change"
"Again?" she sighed throwing her head back in defeat and walking back into the closet.
"Wear anything in there as long as it covers your skin" Punk informed her shaking his head "She wants me to get arrested" he muttered to himself
"I heard that!" she shouted from inside the closet "You said it was fine to wear! Now you've learned your lesson and when I ask for your opinion you'll really pay attention" she said stepping back out of the closet wearing a lose t-shirt. Her long hair and red lip-gloss made her look even more beautiful. "Better?"
"Much" He smiled "Don't be nervous most of my friends already know you"
"I still want them to like them" she said grabbing her bag and slinging it over her body. "I don't drink so we won't have that in common"
"I don't drink either" Punk smirked
"Well they already like you I'm still working on it" AJ reminded him nervously as they walked down the stairs together.
"What's not to love?" Punk asked seriously
Once they arrived to the surprisingly crowded club Punk made sure to find a small table in the corner for just him and AJ.
"Colt really knows all of these people?" AJ asked looking around
"Of course he doesn't" Punk laughed
"Hey!" a voice cheered and Punk rolled his eyes. He had forgotten Colt and Trent were friends. He walked right over to AJ and gave her a kiss on the cheek just as he always did. "You look great! How are you feeling?"
"Much better" She said forcing a smile
"Hey Punk" Trent said shaking his hand "I'm surprised you two came to this" he said holding a drink in his own hand
"You think I'd miss my best friends birthday?" Punk questioned
"No of course not it's just not really April's scene" Trent shrugged simply "Oh what happened to your lip kiddo?" he asked using his hand to tilt AJ's chin up so he could examine her face
"Wrestling" she said jerking away
"Anyway it's good to see you two and congratulations by the way on the engagement" Trent told them "You deserve all of the happiness in the world" he said to AJ placing a hand on her shoulder then walking away
"He's not so bad" AJ noted to Punk who looked annoyed by her exes presence
"He's better then my ex that's for sure" Punk agreed "But does he have to constantly kiss you hello?"
"It's respectful" AJ defended "Oh so my sister messaged me today did you know that another woman was attacked in my old building in Tampa?"
"No I hadn't heard that" Punk said to her "Is she ok?"
"She's alive but she was beat up and raped" AJ informed him and Punk frowned. He hated hearing those stories but now he was also thinking how that could have been AJ. "My sister told me they were going to run the DNA from her against the one I got to see if it was the same guy"
"In the same building huh?" Punk asked and she nodded
"Two floors down from where I was" AJ said to him "Isn't that so scary?"
"You left at the right time" Punk said seriously "Obviously they'll inform us if the DNA matches?"
"Yea my sister is staying on top of it" AJ said to him and he nodded
"Sorry" Cliff Compton smiled making his way over. "Miss. April!" he cheered and AJ stood up and gave him a hug "How have you been?"
"Good" She smiled pulling away
"I told you once you dumped Trent to give me a call" Cliff teased "You decided to not only date this grouchy bastard but you agreed to marry him!" he laughed
"I'm right here" Punk chimed in
"Yea and can't you see I'm trying to steal your fiancée?" Cliff asked him "I asked her to marry me the first day I met her"
"I used to hang out with Cliff all of the time when I was with Trent" AJ told him and Punk nodded
"She said she'd marry me" Cliff said to Punk
"Yea well you should have gotten her a ring" Punk shot back. Cliff picked up her left hand and looked at the ring
"Holy shit" Cliff said looking at the large diamond "In one year I'll be able to afford you this ring" he teased "Wait for me for a year"
"Get your own girlfriend" Punk said tugging AJ so she was sitting on his lap and Cliff took the seat AJ was in across from him.
"I'd rather yours" Cliff said waggling his eyebrows and Punk just rolled his eyes while AJ giggled "Oh heads up Trent is here" he added quickly
"Thanks" Punk remarked
"I mean Trent, Amy- I wonder if Maria and Lethal are showing up next" Cliff laughed taking a sip of his drink
"Did you say Amy?" Punk asked him alarmed and AJ felt his entire body tense.
"Yea I mean she came by like an hour ago but Colt asked her to leave, I'm pretty sure she did" Cliff said to him simply
"It's important to know if she's still here" Punk said very seriously and Cliff could tell he wasn't messing around. "I can't have her around AJ"
"It's fine" AJ said to him
"No it's really not" Punk remarked
"I'll take a look around" Cliff volunteered "Just hang out here ok?"
"Thanks" Punk said to him and watched as Cliff searched around the club
"It's fine" AJ said to him
"I don't want her here and I know Colt doesn't either" Punk said to her
"I'm in good hands tonight" AJ said to him wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. "I know you won't let any of her buddies jump me"
"No I won't" He confirmed "Just have a good time tonight"
As the night progressed AJ mingled with all of Punk's friends and was having a great time. But even though Punk was assured Amy had left the building he still felt uneasy and spent most the night watching his back but more importantly AJ's.
"You need to loosen up" Colt said to his friend "This is a party not a funeral"
"Sorry" Punk said to his friend "I just don't like that Amy was here"
"She's gone I kicked her ass out" Colt laughed "Relax"
"What if she's outside waiting" Punk said to him
"I'm sure you could handle her" Colt smirked
"It's not me I'm worried about" he said and caste his eyes over to the other end of the room where AJ was laughing with Cliff and Trent about something.
"Hey this isn't Tampa" Colt reminded him "If anybody considers putting their hands on AJ there's a club filled of professional wrestlers that will kick somebody's ass" he assured him "We've got her back don't worry"
"I can't let her get hurt again" Punk said to him seriously
"She won't" Colt said to him "Now try to lighten up you're bringing down the entire party"
"Fine" Punk groaned
"Go over there and get your women because I'm pretty sure Cliff is trying to talk her out of marrying you" Colt laughed
"Asshole" Punk mumbled making his way over to AJ.
AJ headed into the bathroom to freshen up. There were a few girls in there a lot of them were throwing up from drinking too much and AJ just stepped over them.
"Hello" Amy said walking over to AJ. She looked surprised to see Amy there.
"Amy" AJ said politely "You're not supposed to be here"
"I was kicked out of the party which is upstairs" Amy informed her "The rest of the club downstairs is public and I have a right to be there"
"Just leave me alone" AJ said looking into the mirror and adjusting her hair
"I want to see it" Amy said to her and AJ looked over to her confused
"See what?" she asked Amy
"The ring" Amy said to her "I want to see the ring"
"No" AJ said almost defensively
"Let me see it" Amy said grabbing her hand and AJ jerked it away
"You really are insane" AJ said to her "I'm going to see to it that not only do I get a restraining order against you but so will Phil. So your little games of showing up in Chicago and in our home is over"
"Our home" Amy scuffed "Must be nice to have my life"
"It was never your home" AJ reminded her "He didn't want you then and he doesn't want you know" she said coldly "Just leave us alone"
"Just like how you left me and Phil alone?" Amy asked bitterly "You never stayed away even after you promised you would!"
"He didn't want me to go!" AJ yelled out at her "He wanted me, he's always wanted me"
"You never gave us a chance" Amy said to her
"Stay away from him" AJ warned then turned and headed towards the door but she felt Amy grab her arm
"I want to see my ring!" Amy yelled out
"Are you insane?" she asked trying to pull away from her. Amy bent AJ's arm so she could have a good view of the ring
"That's supposed to be mine" Amy said coldly
"Get off of me!" AJ yelled and the two ended up in a scuffle on the bathroom floor.
AJ and Amy were rolling around for five minutes when security came in and broke the two up.
"She stole my ring!" Amy yelled pointing at her as one guard held Amy back and the other was holding AJ.
"It's my ring you psycho!" AJ shouted
"How about we call the police and have them sort it out?" the guard asked that was holding AJ and dragging the two out of the bathroom. AJ was being held around her waist but the burley security guard held her high so her feet couldn't even touch the ground.
"No I just want my ring back" Amy said reaching for AJ's hand
"Get off of me!" AJ yelled trying to kick Amy away while the guard pulled Amy away
"What is going on?" Colt asked walking over "Amy?" he asked surprised
"She took my ring" Amy cried "Make her give it back"
"Are they with your party Cabana?" the guard asked
"The little one is" Colt said pointing to AJ
"Please Colt make her give it back" Amy pleaded
"Hey!" Punk shouted walking over her. Clearly his attention was caught by seeing AJ being held by a security guard "Get your hands off of her" Punk demanded taking AJ from the guard. He hadn't even noticed Amy at first.
"Phil" AJ hissed and nodded over to a distraught Amy
"She's not going anywhere" The guard said to Punk and Colt referring to AJ "The red head said she stole her ring. We're calling the police"
"What ring?" Punk asked looking over to Amy "Amy what the fuck are you talking about?"
"She has my ring" Amy whispered pointing to her own left hand and both Colt and Punk looked alarmed
"This is my fiancée" Punk said looking at the guard and pointing to AJ "I bought her this ring she is wearing. This woman is delusional" he said pointing at Amy
"I am not delusional!" Amy yelled trying to free herself of the guards grip "I am not crazy!"
"She needs to leave" Colt said to the guard holding Amy
"She stole my ring and attacked me in the bathroom!" Amy yelled "I want to press charges!"
"You can call the police from your house" The guard said pulling Amy away
"You will pay for this!" Amy screamed causing a lot of heads to turn and look at her "You both will! I am not crazy!" she continued to scream until she was bought outside.
"Are you ok?" Punk asked her
"Yea" AJ said to him
"Are you sure?" Colt asked concerned
"Yes I'm fine" She chuckled "Let's just get back to the party" she said walking past them and back up the stairs to the party
"Wow" Colt said to Punk. Punk shot a glare towards the guard that had touched AJ then followed her back up the stairs.
"Hey" Punk said walking over to AJ who was back at their table "Let's just get out of here"
"No we just got here" AJ argued "We're not going to let Amy pull you away from your best friends birthday" she said firmly
"Are you sure you're alright?" Punk asked examining her face
"Yea she didn't get any hits in" AJ assured him "And most importantly she didn't get my ring" AJ said looking proudly at the large diamond
"You have your priorities all out of order" Punk said to her and she just shrugged
"Let's just have fun ok?" she said pulling his hand and he nodded
Once Punk and AJ arrived back at their home it was well into the next morning.
"I've never stayed out all night partied before" AJ admitted removing her jacket
"I never would have guessed it" he teased "Did you have fun?"
"I had a blast" she said to him
"Good now it's time to sleep" Punk said to her
"No I'm too wired to sleep I want to eat" AJ said to him
"Eggs?" he asked her and she nodded "Come on" he said nodding for her to follow him into the kitchen
"I told Amy earlier that if she didn't stay away you'd file a restraining order" she told him "Maybe you should"
"I don't know" Punk said to her as he pulled the eggs out of the refrigerator
"I think it's for the best" AJ said to him "I'm really afraid for you"
"I'm afraid for you" Punk said to her seriously "It's not me she's attacking it's you"
"She wants you" AJ said to him "You need to protect yourself and if you get one you can put me on it as well and we'll both be safe"
"Alright" Punk agreed "I'll call my attorney later"
"Good" AJ said to him "I don't want hear around you while she's acting like that"
"As long as the restraining order works for you as well I'll do it" Punk said to her
"You should put your entire family down" AJ said to him seriously "Make sure she stays away from your mom and sisters too"
"Yea I don't want her dragging them into this too" Punk said to her "I feel bad enough she showed up at Colt's birthday"
"It's not your fault" AJ assured him
"Isn't it?" Punk asked her "I cheated on her and then I promised I never would again and yet I still cheated" he said to her "I'm the reason she's like this"
"No you're not" AJ said to him "I've been cheated on and never acted out that way and so have you" she reminded him
"Amy is fragile" Punk argued mostly to himself "I should have been more sensitive to her"
"You went to Atlanta and she told you to leave" AJ reminded him "And being cheated on doesn't give you a free pass to act insane. Trent doesn't act that way" she pointed out "We're still friends actually"
"I just can't help but feel like if I went about this differently this wouldn't have happened. You never would have been attacked either" Punk said shaking his head
"So get the restraining order" She shrugged "That'll make everyone feel better. Besides the attack might not even be her"
"She hasn't denied AJ" Punk sighed "Me, you, Colt- we've all asked her about it and she never said she wasn't behind it"
"Well if the DNA comes back and matches the DNA I got then that clears her name" AJ said to him
"It's not going to" Punk said to her "Your attack has Amy written all over it. And she did that because I was dating you I can't even imagine what she'll try to do with you now that we're engaged"
"Nothing because you'll have the restraining order in place" AJ said calmly. She really wanted him to do this and not for her benefit but his. If she had to make it seem like it was for her in order for him to do it then so be it.
"I'll take care of it" Punk promised
"So speaking of engagement…" AJ trailed off "My brother is getting another leave in March"
"Ok" Punk said confused
"I want him to be at my wedding" AJ said to him "More than anyone else I need him there to walk me down the aisle. I mean we can always wait until he gets another leave but I'm not sure when that's going to happen"
"You want to get married in March is what you're telling me?" Punk asked and she nodded nervously "Ok I think I can wait that long" he said simply
"You thought it would be sooner?" AJ asked
"I wouldn't mind" Punk shrugged "Seriously though I know your brother being there is a big deal for you so let's do it in March"
"Are you sure?" she asked
"I'll marry you tomorrow morning" Punk smiled "As long as the end result is the same I don't care when or where"
"Ok" she said smiling "But it's going to be right after Wrestlemania so that's a lot of planning and being busy"
"I'll help anyway that I can" Punk assured her "Just tell me what to do and I'll do it"
"You're the best" She said happily jumping of the stool and hugging him "I can't wait to be Mrs. Brooks"