Chapter 30: Making A Pass
April watched in shock as her mother who she hadn't seen or spoken to in years looked around her large home. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun and she was wearing a ladies business suit.
"So this is your home?" her mother asked coolly turning to look at her daughter
"What are you doing here?" April asked still clutching the blanket around her
"I was invited to Chicago" her mother said with a shrug "The woman I spoke to was so…let's just say colorful on the phone that I had to see this to believe it"
"Let me just go get changed" April said to her
"No" her mother said firmly "You feel uncomfortable? Good you should now you stand there and talk to me" she demanded
"Mom-" April started
"This is what you left home for?" her mother questioned cruelly
"Yes" April said to her "I have a job at WWE"
"Please let's not even address that" her mother said holding up her hand "You wanted to be a wrestler for some unknown reason and all I know is that you run around and kiss different men"
"It's like a TV series" April defended
"You're not even wrestling April" her mother scolded "You're using your body to make money like a common hooker!"
"It's not like that" April argued
"Well let's see you went from being homeless in Tampa to being engaged to a man who clearly has money" her mother noted "Were you that desperate for cash?"
"How dare you" April said to her "Do I look like Julia Roberts in Pretty Women to you?"
"You're standing her naked in front of me April" her mother mocked "Look at you! Didn't your father and I teach you anything?"
"I love him" April argued
"And clearly he loves you" her mother remarked eyeing her daughter "Young, pretty and stupid"
"Mother" April sighed sadly "Why did you come here?"
"Because I wanted to tell you in person to stop calling" her mother said to her "Stop calling your sister and do not give my phone number to anyone. That woman was horrid"
"That woman has been more of a mother to me than you ever have been to me" April shot at her
"Look at you" her mother said now holding back tears "Engaging in pre-martial intercourse, whoring yourself out of on national TV- where did I go wrong with you?"
"Hey I got-" Punk started walking in the house but stopped talking when her noticed the unfamiliar person talking to his fiancée who was still not dressed. "Who the hell are you?" Punk asked bluntly placing a brown bag on the table and pulling off his headphones
"He certainly isn't Richard Gere" her mother noted glaring towards Punk
"This is my mother" April said to him "She just-"
"Wanted to see how her daughter was living" her mother finished for her "And I think I've seen enough. You do know girls like you end up alone in the long run"
"Hold up" Punk said walking over to them "Don't walk into my house and talk to her like that" he warned "You don't even know her"
"I know here better than you" Her mother shot at him clearly not at all bothered by Punk "Her father would drop dead of a heart attack if he came in and saw his youngest daughter naked with some thug"
"Don't call him that" April roared out surprising both her mother and Phil
"April-" Punk started
"No" April said looking at him then turning back to her mother "You want to walk into our home after god knows how many years and judge me and call me names? That's fine but do not ever insult him." She warned
"I call it like I see it April" her mother said to her
"Well if you looked hard enough you'd see how happy and how in love I am" April said to her "Phil has been the only family I have ever had and if it wasn't for him I'd probably be homeless on the streets of Tampa not that you'd care"
"And it came with a price" her mother noted "Your innocence, your virtue"
"Yea I gave that away to him a long time ago" April confirmed and now Punk was looking nervous. No matter the strain between them Punk wasn't ever comfortable talking about sex with one of his girlfriends parents. "And you want to know something else? It's amazing" she said happily "I crave sex now"
"Dear god" her mother said disgusted
"And we do it a lot" April said to her mother proudly "Tell her Phil" she said to him
"Yea" Punk said quietly scratching the back of his head
"You aren't my daughter" her mother said to her shaking her head "You've bough far too much shame to our family"
"She has a family" Punk informed her "One that genuinely loves her, she's not used to that you know it's taken a long time to get April to feel like she isn't replaceable or to even feel loved."
"She was loved very much" Her mother said to Punk "She turned her back on it and her entire family"
"You turned on her" Punk spat
"Don't even bother Phil" April said to him
"If you marry this man and continue this lifestyle there's no coming back from it" Her mother warned
"I don't want to come back" April said to her honestly
"Fine" Her mother said coolly "Take care of yourself April" she said to her not even acknowledging Phil as she walked to the door. She stopped and looked towards her daughter one last time "I hope you don't plan on wearing a white dress in God's house on your wedding day"
"Oh we're not getting married in a church" April said to her mother who looked stunned
"I'm an atheist" Punk told her proudly
"You'll both burn in hell" she said coldly then stormed out of the house.
"I'm sorry about that" April said to him
"She's ice cold" Punk said seriously "It got ten degrees warmer in here all of the sudden. Are you ok?"
"Yes" April said surprisingly "I needed to hear all of that just so I knew it was really over. And I can't be around people who are disrespectful to you"
"She was pretty crude" Punk admitted "Are you sure you came from her?"
"Yea I've seen the birth certificate" she smirked "At least it was my mom and not my dad" she said to him
"Is your dad a big guy?" Punk asked and April nodded
"Yea was in the Marines" April confirmed
"Then I'm really glad it was your mom too" Punk said seriously
Punk was backstage at Raw warming up for the night. He was going to be having match and Jericho was going to come out and blindside him then cut a promo on him. He still hadn't spoken to Jericho about what he could and could not discuss but it was best he didn't see Jericho until he was legally able to hit him.
"So you all set?" Paul asked walking over to him
"Yep" Punk said bouncing on the heels of his feet
"Have you seen Jericho yet?" Paul asked
"Nope" Punk said in the same tone
"How's April?" Paul asked "I'm just looking for more than a one worded response"
"She's good" Punk said to him "Met her mother the other day actually"
"I imagine April comes from like hippie parents" Paul chuckled
"Yea she's just like that only the complete opposite" Punk said to him "Uptight religious woman"
"No kidding" Paul laughed "She must have liked you"
"She didn't" Punk smirked "But I think she still liked me better than April"
"Ouch" Paul said to him "She ok?"
"It was kind of closure to her" Punk said to him "She actually seems better"
"Wonderful" Paul cheered "And I heard at Wrestlemania she's being put in the Diva battle royal for the title"
"Good" Punk said with a faint smile "She gets her first pay-per-view match at Wrestlemania"
"I heard Celeste is leaving" Paul said to him "She's probably dropping the belt there"
"I doubt they'd give it to April" Punk said to him
"They love surprises" Paul reminded him "But enough about that you need to worry about your own Wrestlemania match"
"I'm not worried" Punk said smugly "Jericho should be worried"
"You should really go over a list of do's and don'ts for him to say" Paul insisted
"It's fine" Punk said to him "I spoke to Hayes and he told Jericho he can say whatever he wants about my parents"
"It's just-" Paul started
"I'm going on now" Punk said to him handing him his headphones "Don't worry so much Paul" he said then headed towards the curtain
April was in the back watching Punk's match with Langston and Seth Rollins.
"So am I getting an invite to the wedding?" Seth asked her "Technically if it wasn't for us you wouldn't have even met him"
"Yea sure" April shrugged keeping her eyes on Punk who was battling Kane.
"You should get married at the diner" Langston teased "It would bring it all full circle"
"No way" April said to them "We're going to have a big classy wedding"
"Classy?" Seth asked with a laugh "You are marrying CM Punk right?"
"Classy for his standards" April corrected with a smile
"That sounds better" Seth laughed
"What color suit should I wear?" Langston asked her
"I haven't had one thought about planning the wedding" April said to them
"He's in the wedding party?" Seth asked offended "And I'm not?"
"He's my maid of honor" April said to him
"That's right" Langston said smugly
"Well what about me, Dean and Roman?" Seth asked "We've been there since the start too"
"Do you three want to be bridesmaid or something?" April teased
"Maybe we do" Seth said defensively "I mean we're the ones that used to listen to you gush about him when he wasn't around we were like your girlfriends" April was now watching as Jericho attacked Punk causing for a DQ in the match.
"You can all be bridesmaids" April said but was far too distracted to pay attention to him.
"He's going easier on Punk then he did on you last week" Seth noted
"I hope so" April said keeping her eyes glued on the TV.
'Let me tell you something Punk I am so sick and tired of your crap every week! You're the best in the world? No I'm the best world!' Jericho yelled standing over Punk's body 'You have this façade but I see right threw you Punk! You don't drink? You don't do drugs? Wonderful! But your daddy and mommy can't say the same for themselves. But I don't even want to discuss them Punk even though it does prove what a hypocrite you truly are! Let's talk about how you take in strays' he said slowly and now Punk's eyes opened and he looked towards Jericho from the mat 'Let's talk about your fiancée- that's right ladies and gentlemen WWE's most eligible bachelor is getting married!' the crowd cheered and Jericho made a face
'That's right cheer your hero' Jericho mocked 'Why is it no one knew about this? Is it because CM Punk is ashamed of his future bride to be? Maybe because she's a homeless waitress from Tampa Florida. I'd be ashamed of her too' he seethed and now Punk was furious 'Not only is she a homeless waitress from Tampa but-' Jericho's back was to Punk as he spoke to the crowd and didn't even see Punk coming to his feet and pushing him to the mat. The two rolled around for a bit before refs came in and broke them apart.
"Well damn" Langston said quietly "Did you know about that?"
"No" April admitted "I don't think Phil knew about it either"
"He didn't say your name" Seth reminded her "Don't worry about it kid" he said trying to cheer her up
"It's not true" April said to them "I wasn't some homeless stray that Phil picked up-"
"Hey you don't have to explain anything to us" Langston assured her "We know how hard you worked"
"He's a jackass" Seth said to her "He was looking to make this story personal and he did."
April turned her head when she heard yelling coming from Punk.
"What the fuck Jericho?" Punk demanded giving the man a hard shove
"I should be asking you that" Jericho said just as mad "Why did you hit me from behind?"
"Because you were talking about shit you know you weren't supposed to talking about!" Punk yelled
"You said talk about anything I wanted to" Jericho reminded him
"No I meant family wise" Punk spat at him
"You don't consider your fiancée your family?" Jericho asked seriously
"Oh fuck you" Punk said annoyed "Leave her out of the fucking story!"
"Too late Punk!" Jericho yelled back "I didn't even say her name and I won't"
"You're not going to say shit about anything" Punk warned "Don't mention it again!"
"This is the job Punk" Jericho reminded him "If you don't like it go back down to mid card"
"April is in a story right now" Punk said to him "You're fucking everything up!"
"I didn't even say her name!" Jericho laughed out in frustration "And I don't plan on it I think that adds a little mystery. But I've got weeks of material"
"What are you talking about?" Punk asked
"Um let's see your little April was your waitress when you met her, you followed her around Tampa like some love sick puppy, her family hates her- oh but by far the best tidbit I have- which I'm saving for the last Raw before Wrestlemania is the fact that you took her virginity away from her" Jericho smiled "I mean what the hell was she waiting for anyway?"
"You mention any of that shit out in the ring and there isn't going to be a Wrestlemania match" Punk threatened in a low voice "Kiss that giant payday goodbye because I'll see to it you won't be wrestling me"
"Since when did you become a sheep back here?" Jericho asked
"I'm not going to let you parade my personal life on stage for millions of people and I'm not going to let you share personal details of her life either" Punk said to him
"I'm not even going-" Jericho started
"You don't think when we get married people aren't going to eventually figure it out?" Punk mocked "It's not happening!"
"You don't really think you're going through with this wedding do you?" Jericho asked in a quiet voice "I mean come on"
"Fuck you" Punk spat
"It's enough" Hunter said walking over to them
"Oh great" Punk marveled
"I'm on your side here" Hunter said to Punk
"Good tell him what he did was wrong and not to do it again" Punk said to Hunter
"Come on Jericho what was that?" Hunter asked with an annoyed sighed "We discussed this already"
"You discussed this?" Punk asked
"Jericho bought it up earlier he wanted to bring April into the story" Hunter admitted "We told him no that we had other plans for her" he said glaring towards Jericho
"You said not to even mention her name on TV and I didn't!" Jericho defended "I did exactly what you told me to do"
"Is anything I said out there not true?" Jericho asked them
"That's not the point" Hunter said to him
"And yes actually it wasn't true" Punk said to him "She wasn't homeless when I met her and she was already training to be a wrestler"
"Well I couldn't mention the wrestling part or that would give it all away" Jericho said to him
"So you just picked out all the bad parts?" Hunter asked
"And I'm not ashamed either" Punk said to him coldly "How fucking dare you!"
"It's over now" Hunter said to them "Jericho come with me and you go cool off" he said to Punk then walked away with Jericho.
"Are you ok?" April asked walking over to Punk
"I'm sorry" he said to her "I had no idea he was going to say things like that"
"I know" April said to him "It's fine really"
"It's not" Punk said to her "I'm not ashamed of you"
"Oh come on I know that" April laughed "It really isn't a big deal and honestly it wasn't all a lie either"
"I hate him" Punk greeted threw clenched teeth
"Hey come on now" April said to him "Go shower so we can get on the bus."
"It's not going to happen again" Punk promised "I'm not going to let him embarrass you to piss me off"
"It's not really an embarrassment" April said to him "Unless you find my story to be embarrassing?"
"Of course not" Punk said to her
"I mean I was homeless and a waitress when I met you. Are you upset because you were afraid I would be? Because you know I've been very vocal and pretty damn proud of my past. I worked really hard to get here" she reminded him
"Hey I get that" Punk said to her "You don't embarrass me but he's not going to point out how you worked yourself to the bone to support yourself or how hard you tried to get here"
"Are you sure that's it?" April asked him "I mean I get it I'm not ideal especially if you add the virgin card on top of it-"
"Don't be ridiculous" Punk said annoyed "There's nothing about you that I'm ashamed of"
"Then why are you acting like he said something so horrid?" April demanded
"He wasn't supposed to that's all" Punk said to her not wanting to argue
"Ok" April said to him "I'll be back at the bus when you're ready" she said turning and walking away
"Could have handled that better" Langston noted
"She's crazy if she thinks I'm embarrassed by her I won't even entertain that ridiculous thought" Punk said to him then stormed off himself
April just wanted to get to the bus unnoticed, she now felt like people were watching her and waiting for some kind of a reaction.
"April wait up" Jericho said jogging over to her
"What's up?" April forced out as nicely as possible
"Hunter instructed me to come over and apologize for talking about you tonight" Jericho said to her
"It's not necessary" April said to him
"See that's what I told him" Jericho said to her with a smile "I want you to know that I didn't mean anything by what I said"
"I have nothing to hide Chris" April said to him
"Clearly Punk thinks you do" Jericho said to her
"You don't know the first thing about him" April said to him "He's just trying to protect me"
"Clearly you're a strong girl and don't need your big bad boyfriend to protect you" Jericho laughed "If it was me marrying you I wouldn't hide it either"
"He's not hiding it- we're hiding it so I can continue to work here without people constantly wondering if Punk is the reason for it" April said to him
"Still though" Jericho said making a sympathetic face "And I won't bring up the virgin thing either"
"Again Chris I have nothing to hide or be ashamed of" April said to him coolly
"So it is true?" Jericho asked amused "Good for you honey"
"Thanks" April mustered out
"You know being with one man your entire life is going to hang over your head" Jericho said easing into her personal space
"I doubt that" April remarked smugly
"You'll never know if you could have had better" Jericho said to her simply "And I know for a fact that you can" he said running his finger down her cheek
"What are you doing?" April asked him
"Just extending the invitation to you" Jericho said to her "When you're ready to be with a real man- and I mean someone who isn't selfish like your boyfriend you can call me up and believe me little April you'll be screaming my name for hours and by the time we're done you'll say 'CM Who'?"
"I suggest you not touch me again" April said to him "The last time a man did that I made sure I decreased his chance in having children"
"You're very fiery I can see why Punk likes you" Jericho said "Just remember what I said" he said to her then walked away from her.
Punk was surprised when he made it back to the bus before April. He opted not to shower at the arena because he really just wanted to talk to April in private. A few minutes later she climbed onto the bus and saw him sitting there waiting for her.
"Hey" Punk said to her "Before you say anything I want to make it clear to you that you don't embarrass me" he said seriously "I am prepared to tweet out the picture of us from our engagement party right now-"
"It's fine" April said to him "I know you're just trying to protect me. I really get it now. I had no idea what a shark tank this place could really be"
"That's all I want- ever" Punk said seriously "You're my number one priority and I don't give a shit what people say about it"
"Just look out for yourself" April said to him "I have a feeling Jericho is going to continue to think of ways to get under our skin"
"I don't really care what Jericho says or does" Punk said to her
"He made a pass at me" April said to him and Punk was caught off guard by it
"Excuse me?" Punk questioned slowly
"When I was leaving he came up to me and offered me this empty apology then offered up his services to show me what it would be like to be with a real man" April said to him Punk just nodded and stood up
"Wait where are you going?" April asked standing up and grabbing his arm
"I'm going to punch Jericho in his stupid fucking face" Punk said seriously
"That's exactly what he wants" April said to him "Don't give into that"
"I don't give a shit what he wants unless its for me to beat him bloody because in that case I'm more than happy to oblige" Punk said again trying to make his way to the bus door
"Phil don't" April said pulling him by the wrist "I didn't tell you so you'd go beat him up I told you so you could know that I finally understand where you're coming from"
"Ok cool" Punk said to her "I get that you get it and now I need you to understand that I have to go and talk to Jericho"
"Phil" she said in a voice that even startled him
"Fine" Punk said bitterly "I'll see him eventually" he said turning around and sitting on the couch. April took the seat next to him and looked over to him
"You're a good man" April said to him
"Yea whatever" Punk mumbled. His knee was jumping and he was playing with his hands
"I've never seen you this upset before" April noted "Don't worry about any of this it's nothing"
"It's something" Punk said to her
"You said this company and job doesn't matter" April reminded him "We are what matters"
"I stand by that" Punk said honestly
"So don't let jealous guys like Jericho have this power over you" April said to him "It would hurt him more if you didn't react at all"
"That would piss him off" Punk agreed lightly
"And the more you react the more likely he'll keep bringing me up" April said to him
"Again that is true" Punk said to her "It's going to be real hard for me to not say anything April" he admitted "I mean it goes against everything I believe in"
"Oh relax" she laughed
"I wish I could" He said then looked over to her so their faces were only centimeters apart "I mean I could use some help relaxing I'm pretty tense"
"A back massage?" April offered
"No my back feels fine" Punk said innocently
"Come on" she said standing up and taking him by the hand "I'm sure we'll figure something out"
"Yea I'm sure we will" he said happily as he let her lead to the back