Chapter 26: Hello Old Friend
The following week April had to work some NXT tapings so she was going to be staying at her old apartment. Since she had to work Wednesday Punk was going to fly down and meet her so they could still be together. Every since their fight Punk had been even more attentive to her and honestly she could really get used to it. He was always a gentleman but he was truly spoiling her. He took her out to one of the most expensive restaurants in Chicago last week then topped it off by taking her to a comic book shop and to the Blackhawks game.
When April reached her apartment and walked in she was surprised to see a pillow on her couch and a blanket as if someone had been sleeping there. She turned on the kitchen light and saw there was food in the refrigerator and the garbage was full. Someone was clearly staying here. She reached for a pot and tiptoed passed her bathroom towards her bedroom and she saw someone sleeping in the bed. She quickly turned on the light and raised the pot high to the intruder.
"Don't hit!" the voice screamed rolling out of the bed "Jesus it's me!" he yelled
"Jason?" April asked lowering the pot
"What are you doing?" April asked lowering the pot "Why are you here?"
"I tried calling you" Jason reminded her standing up "I needed a place to crash"
"So I didn't answer my phone and you took that as an ok?" April asked "You need to leave before Phil gets here"
"He's coming?" Jason asked nervously
"Yea he'll be here soon actually" April said to him "He will kill you on sight" she warned
"Fuck" Jason mumbled running his hands through his hair
"What is going on?" April asked him "I thought the gym was doing well?"
"It is- it was" Jason said frantically "But it took a lot of money to get that placed put together"
"How did you get the money?" April asked
"I borrowed" Jason said to her
"And you haven't paid back?" April asked and he nodded "Are you stupid or something?"
"I couldn't get a loan from a bank" Jason said to her "So I got in touch with some guys…"
"How much trouble are you in?" April asked him
"So much so that I've been hiding out here for over a month" Jason admitted
"How much do you owe?" April asked folding her arms
"Ten thousand" he told her bluntly and she almost passed out "I only got five from them but interest kept building and because I kept dodging them the price kept going up- I don't know what to do" he said sitting on the bed resting his head in his hands
"I don't have that kind of money" April said to him "I couldn't help you even if I wanted to"
"I don't blame you" Jason said to her "I really fucked up the last time we were together" he said to her "I was in a bad place but getting the shit kicked out of you almost every night for a few weeks really puts things in perspective"
"They're beating you up?" April asked
"I do have to leave once in a while" Jason said annoyed "I need food and fresh air, one of them got me last night" Jason admitted
"How bad?" April asked and she watched as he reached for his shirt and pulled it off. He had large purple bruises all over his chest but mostly on his ribs
"I think they're cracked" Jason said lightly touching his ribcage
"You need to go to a hospital" April said to him
"And be a sitting duck?" Jason laughed "No fucking way" he said standing up
"You're all banged up" April sighed shaking her head "I can't believe I'm falling for this again" she muttered to herself walking out of her bedroom and into the kitchen. She placed the pot back on the stove and opened the freezer.
"I don't want your help here April" Jason said to her "This is too much for even you to get involved in."
"Here" April said passing him a frozen bag of corn "Put it on your ribs"
"I really-" Jason started
"Put it on!" April yelled and Jason just quickly accepted the bag and placed it on his ribs
"I'm leaving tonight" Jason said to her
"And where are you going to stay?" April asked
"I'll find somewhere" Jason said to her
"What if you just give them half?" April asked feeling herself start to break for her former friend and trainer
"They'll only barely kill me" Jason teased "Don't worry about it April I've got a plan"
"Is your plan to borrow more money from other people? Because if it is you're just going to end up in the hospital or dead for sure" April scolded
"I'm not going to stay here and not juts because your boyfriend made some very scary threats to me the last time I saw him" Jason said to her
"Hey you deserved it" April defended "He was looking out for me"
"He wasn't wrong" Jason agreed "I guess this is called karma" he said with a laugh which immediately hurt his ribs and he keeled over slightly
"Just sit down" April said helping over to the couch and at that exact moment the front door opened and in walked Punk. To walk in and see his girlfriend holding up her shirtless ex-scumbag friend was surprising. "Hey honey" she said with a smile as Jason sat on the couch
"April" Punk said slowly closing the door behind him. He really didn't want to snap, not again at her. He owed it to her to hear her out before he reacted. He plastered on the phoniest smile he could muster up and looked towards her "What's going on?"
"I can explain" Jason said "I've been crashing here for a while" now Punk looked more pissed off "April didn't know" he added quickly "She just found me herself"
"Why is he here?" Punk asked April refusing to speak to Jason
"He's in trouble" April said to him
"Don't tell him my business" Jason instructed her
"If your business involves her it becomes my business" Punk spat at the man looking at him with disgust. He could see he was beat up and clearly April had morphed into 'caring' mode.
"I'm leaving" Jason said standing up
"Good" was Punk's cold response
"Phil" April said walking over to him "Look at him" She said as they watched him hobble into her bedroom
"Well maybe he tried to force himself on someone and that's what he got in return" Punk reasoned
"He owes money" April said to him and Punk rolled his eyes
"Of course he does" Punk scuffed "Let him figure it out" he said to her
"Look at what they did to him" April said to him
"This is wonderful by the way" Punk laughed "This guy I'm assuming took money from loan sharks that he can't pay back so he decides to hide out here in your home"
"We can't just kick him out" April said to him
"He's lucky we don't call the police for breaking in here" Punk argued in a low voice "Not one cent April" he warned
"I didn't give him any money" April promised "But he has nowhere to go tonight"
"So?" Punk asked
"Phil" she warned
"Oh hell fucking no" Punk said to her "This guy tried to force you into sex!"
"So he should die for that?" April asked
"Yes" Punk said simply
"Let's just let him stay the night" April said to him and Punk just let out a frustrated laugh "Just the night and he'll leave tomorrow. This way maybe he can set something up" she reasoned "Please?" she asked sweetly
"You are the most incredible person I have ever met" Punk said in awe "Are you kidding me?" she just glared at him "Fine" he said to her "He sleeps on the couch, he doesn't talk because if he says something stupid which I'm sure he's going to I'll be inclined to give him more bruises"
"Ok" April agreed
"And he doesn't get a penny" Punk repeated "You're not getting involved with loan sharks now"
"I couldn't afford it even I wanted to" April said to him
"How much?" Punk asked hesitantly
"Ten thousand" April said to him and Punk just shook his head in disbelief
"Holy shit" Punk muttered "And he fucking hid out here?"
"I wasn't here" April reminded
"You're here tonight" Punk pointed out
"It's fine- I'm going" Jason said limping out of the room
"You can stay" April said to him "Just for the night though. On the couch"
"Really?" Jason asked
"And the other thing" Punk said to April
"Oh try not to talk too much because- well you know" she said nodding towards Punk
"Done deal" Jason smiled "I don't care what the dirtsheets write about you two- I think you're great" he said plopping on the couch
"Good thing she didn't have to 'twist your arm' or anything" Punk muttered referring to Jason twisting April's arm a few months back.
"I'm really sorry-" Jason started
"Not a fucking word" Punk warned him then headed off into the bedroom
April followed him inside the bedroom and watched as he unzipped his bag and tossed out some clothing.
"You don't have to stay if he makes you uncomfortable" April offered closing the door behind her to give them some privacy
"You think I'm going to leave you here alone with him?" Punk asked with a laugh "No fucking way" he muttered
"Don't be mad" April insisted with a worried face
"I'm not mat at you this is who you are" Punk said to her "But I really don't like the idea of him hiding out from god knows who here at your place"
"I'm only here for a few days" April reminded him "And I'll be working most of the time"
"It doesn't matter. Your name is on this place and if these people look into that they look you up and find out your worth a lot of money" Punk said annoyed
"I'm not worth that much" April reminded him taking a seat on the edge of the bed
"You're with me that makes you worth a lot" Punk pointed out
"I don't want you to get into any trouble over this" April said with a frown
"It's not me I'm worried about" Punk said to her "I mean can you understand why I hate this guy so much?"
"Yes, yes" April sighed "Just one night"
"Just one night" Punk mocked "I had plans for this night" he said to her seriously
"And what were those plans?" April asked
"It doesn't matter now" Punk remarked bitterly
"You didn't have plans" April smiled
"I planned on doing that think you like" Punk said casually
"I like a lot of things I actually like everything you do" April smirked waggling her eyebrows
"Well I'm not going to be doing anything now" Punk said tossing his bag on the floor "Now I'm going to have to sit up and watch the door"
"Oh stop" she laughed grabbing his hand as she leaned back on the bed pulling him with her. "You haven't even kissed me hello yet"
"Hello" Punk said rather coldly and when she reached up to meet his lips he turned his head
"Don't be like that" she laughed as he propped himself up so he was hovering over her
"Do I have to remind you how he used to rip you off for money?" Punk asked her "Or how he left you alone and let you sleep when you had a concussion? Stole from you?"
"He's a human" April sighed "And he does have faults but he still helped me out a lot"
"I think you've paid your debt sweetheart" Punk said to her seriously
"I don't want to talk about him anymore" April said "Give me a kiss hello" Punk leaned down to give her a quick kiss but she held his mouth captive. He was soon putty in her small but very capable hands.
"We can't do this with him here" Punk said as he felt her reach for his shorts
"Sure we can if we stay quiet" April said to him "Don't you want me?" she asked innocently
"I always want you" was Punk's honest response and he hungrily kissed her again this time not stopping…
It was about two in the morning when Punk stepped out of April's room. She was out cold but Punk couldn't sleep. When he walked into the kitchen he saw Jason sitting there with a cup of coffee.
"Feel at home?" Punk asked casually
"What do you want from me?" Jason asked defeated
"I want you out of her life" Punk said seriously "For good. I don't want you to stop talking to her for a few weeks then call her up because you need cash"
"I had nowhere else to go" Jason said to him honestly "I don't really have many friends"
"Well if you treat all of your friends the same way you treat April I can see why" Punk remarked pouring himself a cup of coffee.
"I fucked up" Jason said to him "And not just with these guys but with her"
"You did" Punk agreed "You can't come back from what you did to her. She may be forgiving but I'm not" he said to him "I'm not going to let you back into her life"
"I just needed a place to crash" Jason reminded him again "She's a good person I knew she wouldn't toss me out"
"She cares about what happens to you" Punk said sipping his coffee as he leaned against the counter "I on the other hand do not"
"I don't know why I'm like this" Jason said to him "I have anger issues" he admitted "I have a temper- I love April she was like my kid sister"
"I don't think brothers touch their little sisters the way you used to grab at April" Punk shot at him
"April was like this enigma" Jason said with a laugh "Who wouldn't want a virgin like her?" He laughed sadly "I was more attracted to her innocence then her clearly that's long gone" He noted "She's pretty loud" he laughed but Punk didn't find it funny at all. "I'm happy she's happy I don't want to ruin that for her and I don't want her involved in this. I'll be gone before she wakes up" he promised
"I'm going to give you two thousand dollars in cash" Punk said to him "You're going to go down to the bus station and get the hell out of here before you get killed or worse you get April hurt" he warned "And you're not going to call her ever again" he warned
"My life is here" Jason said to him "My gym-"
"Do you have the money to pay off these guys?" Punk asked him
"No" Jason said annoyed
"So you'll be dead and won't get to enjoy it anyway and let's be honest your gym sucks" Punk said to him "Take the money and get far enough to start over I'm not giving you more than that"
"I appreciate it thank you" Jason said to him
"Don't thank me because I hate you" Punk said to him "If it were up to me I'd let you get killed but April cares about you for some ungodly reason. Like I said you leave and you never look back."
"Deal" Jason said to him
"I don't give a shit where you go as long as it's not here or Chicago" Punk said to him "And if I find out you took my money and blew out on something stupid I'm going to have you arrested for breaking in here" he threatened
"I get it alright" Jason said to him "But I should probably get out of here now" he said to him as he stood up "It's probably the safest time to get around without being seen and I don't want April to see me in the morning" Punk just quietly walked into the bedroom and a minute later walked back out with cash before handing it to him Punk he had a few more words for him.
"Do you have any idea how lucky you are to have her on your side?" Punk asked him
"Yea" Jason admitted "She's great and when she wakes up tell her I'm sorry and not just for crashing here but for everything."
"I really hope this is the last time we see each other" Punk said placing the money in his hand.
"Take care of her" Jason said grabbing his bag "She deserves to be happy"
"Don't talk to me about her" Punk warned "You're already pushing it" he said
"Fine" Jason smirked walking to the door "Thanks" he said to Punk then walked out the door.
The next morning Punk was woken up by April shaking him.
"Huh?" Punk asked waking up and looking around "Something wrong?"
"Jason is gone" April said to him
"Oh" Punk said closing his eyes and trying to go back to sleep
"Phil!" April hissed
"He's a big boy April and he left last night he said to tell you thanks" Punk said to her
"Well where did he go?" April asked
"I really don't know" Punk sighed "Just go back to sleep"
"He didn't say a word?" April asked
"I think he said the bus station, he was going to leave or something" Punk mumbled trying to drift back off to sleep
"He didn't have money-" April started then looked towards her sleeping boyfriend and smiled "You said no more money"
"I said you couldn't give him anymore money" Punk reminded her
"You are the sweetest man on the earth" April said kissing his cheek then laid right next to him
"I'm not sweet I just couldn't stand to look at his stupid face anymore" Punk muttered
"I love you" April said grabbing his arm so she could curl under it and into his body.
"Yea, yea" Punk muttered. He looked over to his gym bag on the floor and only he knew what was inside, a ring. One that took him three weeks to pick out and it was burning a hole in there. He wanted to propose last night but obviously that didn't work out. He hadn't really planned it since he had never proposed to anyone before. He wasn't nervous surprisingly he was just excited. "Love you too" he whispered back before they both fell back asleep.