Mom Knew
Punk and AJ left early the next morning and headed straight to the station where Dean had been released after no charges were pressed and no further action was going to be taken. AJ knew that would be the case. It was a petty bar fight. They happened all the time.
Dean didn't say much on the way home and when they got to the apartment he headed straight to his bedroom.
"Is he ok?" AJ asked him, sitting her overnight bag down.
"I'll check in on him." Punk assured her, "Do you still have that meeting with the realtor?" He asked her as she nodded, taking a bottle of water from the fridge.
"Yeah." AJ nodded. She was still in the process of selling her house and finding her best way around it, as well as having her divorce filed, "I can cancel though, maybe we should both check on Dean." She said as he shook his head.
"No, it's fine. You go see her and sort it out." He nodded, "He'll be alright. He's probably just got a hangover." He smiled as she sighed.
"Ok." AJ nodded, "Well call me if you need anything, I shouldn't be long anyway. I'll pick some things up for dinner." She said casually. It was nice being back to their old comfortable ways. There was no need to get used to it. She felt like she'd never even left sometimes.
"Ok. I'll see you later." He said, kissing her softly as she grabbed her keys and left the apartmet.
Punk took their bags into the bedroom and dumped them on the bed, walking back out of his room and over to Dean's, knocking on the door and hearing no response.
"Hey, man. Can I come in?" Punk asked him, hearing no response, "I'm coming in anyway." He said, opening up the door as he saw Dean sitting on the edge of the bed, running his hands over his face, "Rough night, huh?" Punk asked him, folding his arms.
"Yeah." Dean nodded, "My head is bursting." He sighed, "Sorry I ruined your night."
"You didn't." Punk said, "I'd already had my fun." He let him know.
"I don't need to know that really." Dean said as Punk laughed a little and nodded, "I just lost it."
"What'd he say?" Punk asked.
"Just that he wasn't surprised that you were in prison and getting the penalty." Dean said, "And that we were lone wolves… outcasts." He said, "Rubbed me the wrong way. And… And I was this close to going home with Anna Ferris. You remember her?" He asked as Punk smiled and nodded.
"My only remembrance of her is her telling me I looked like a recycled chip packet." Punk nodded.
"Yeah, well she's nice now." Dean said as Punk nodded.
"You should have let it go over your head." Punk said, "Who cares what anyone else thinks? I'm innocent. We all know it. They got their killers." He said, "You don't have to defend me." He reminded him.
"I know that." Dean said.
"I know you know what today is." Punk said as Dean looked at him, "Maybe… some fresh air will do your head some good? We can buy some flowers on our way there." He said as Dean nodded.
"Alright, let me get a shower first." He said as Punk nodded.
AJ got home later on, walking into the apartment with some bags from the grocery store as she felt it oddly quiet and empty. She'd managed to sort out her situation with the house, and was still waiting on an update from her divorce. She couldn't wait for it to be all out the way, although, she was debating back and forth about going to visit Ben. She figured it may be the best way to give herself some closure, but she also wasn't sure if it would benefit her much. She was scared in case it would mess with her even more. But he was where he was because of the choices he had made.
"Phil?" AJ said, dumping the grocery bags on the kitchen counter and walking through the apartment, "Dean?" She called, but got no response.
She figured maybe they had gone out for food. She knew better than anyone that Punk was an extremely loyal and dedicated big brother. He put his little brother before him in every aspect of life. It warmed her heart in that way and she figured maybe he had taken Dean out to talk about things.
She walked back into the kitchen and unpacked the grocery bags, putting things in the fridge when she noticed the calendar hanging up, looking on at the date and sighing to herself, placing her hand on her forehead and leaning against the kitchen counter. She hadn't even realised, not because she didn't remember, but because she didn't even know the date until she saw it just now.
She abandoned the shopping and left the apartment.
"What do you think she would have done?" Dean asked, sitting on the grass whilst Punk sat across with his legs crossed, looking on at the headstone of their mother's grave which they had laid some flowers on. They only came when it was her anniversary and her birthday. Other than that, they tried to avoid it, for the soul reason that it was just too upsetting to constantly be reminded.
"About what?" Punk asked.
"You being on death row." Dean said, "What do you think she would have been like?" He smiled.
"Like AJ." Punk nodded, "Determined." He said, "You know… eighteen years and I don't think I remember her crying once. Even that time dad came around. She was cold as ice." Punk smiled to himself.
"Must be where you get it from." Dean said as Punk nodded.
"Well I don't think dad had many emotions either if that contributes." Punk shrugged.
"Where do you think he is?" Dean asked.
"Who cares?" Punk said bluntly, "He's probably dead."
"Surely we weren't that bad. Why'd he not want to stay?" Dean shook his head as Punk shrugged.
"Cause he was an abusive drunk. Didn't know what he had in front of him." Punk said, "We done just fine without him, and so did mom."
"I don't think she was happy." Dean shook his head as Punk looked over at him, "From what I remember as a kid, she was always exhausted, working all those hospital hours, and then as a teen she was always busy making sure we weren't getting mixed with the wrong crowd." Dean said, "Did she even have time for herself?" He wondered. They both had a lot of questions about their mother. Questions they'd never get answered. She left at a very unfortunate age for them. An age where they knew the important of her, but in a way, still didn't really know her.
"Yeah." Punk nodded, "Well she went out with friends, didn't she?" Punk said, "And she didn't let dad put her down, that was for sure." He said, "And I know we made her laugh." He nodded as Dean smiled.
"You made her laugh." Dean corrected.
"She was happy." Punk answered him, "I don't know much but I know she loved us." He nodded as Dean smiled, "She would have been so desperate to see us get married and have kids." He nodded.
"Yeah, she would have lived for that shit." Dean agreed, "Instead, here we are, you've just gotten off of death row, I just got released from an overnight stay in jail, you're unemployed and I'm in a job that I hate." He shook his head as Punk looked over at him.
"None of that would have mattered to her. You know that." Punk said, "I'd say we done not bad for having no one." He said, "That would have probably eased her mind. She knew we always had each other." He nodded as Dean smiled.
"What was the last thing you said to her? The night she left for work… when we last saw her?" Dean asked him curiously.
"I was talking to her about air fresheners." Punk shook his head, "She'd uh… she got a new one for her car… I didn't like it." He remembered clear as day, "So she said she'd pick a new one up on her way home." He sighed.
"I told her she had to stop working night shifts because you didn't get up for school anymore. She just laughed and told me not to worry about you so much." She smiled.
"Well she was right… you don't have to worry about me." He nodded to him as Dean sighed.
AJ eventually caught Punk's eye as he saw her walking up the graveyard row, holding a small bunch of flowers in her hand as she smiled to herself.
Dean turned around when he noticed Punk looking over, smiling as he saw AJ appearing.
"Hey." AJ said softly, "I didn't even realise the date." AJ shook her head.
"It's ok." Punk nodded to her, watching as she sat down the flowers beside the ones they had lay down. She then sat down on her knees beside Punk, kissing his cheek as he smiled to her.
One way he always knew she was still there for him when they had broken up, was when he would visit his mother's grave on the certain occasions, and notice that AJ had sat down some flowers on her grave. It meant a lot to him and Dean, and he was glad she was here with them this time again.
"Uh mom." Sixteen year old Dean announced, walking through to the kitchen where his mother was starting her second attempt at dinner. She liked to cook homely foods, but sometimes they didn't' always work out.
"Mhm, what is it?" Vanessa asked, concentrated on her cooking.
"This is AJ." Dean announced as Vanessa dropped her wooden spoon, turning her head quickly as she looked over at AJ standing with Dean.
"Oh my God. You're gorgeous." Vanessa raised her eyebrows as Dean rolled his eyes, "I'm Vanessa." She smiled, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel as AJ smiled to her. She had just recently befriended Dean who she sat with in most classes, and she had also gotten to know his older brother too, and after an argument with her mother last night, Dean told her it was ok for her to come for dinner at their house.
"Thanks for having me for dinner, Mrs Brooks." AJ smiled to her.
"Oh, sweetie that's alright." Vanessa smiled, "Just call me Vanessa. Brooks came from that horrible thing called my ex. That's about the only thing he gave Phil and Dean." She shook her head.
"We don't need a sob story." Dean reminded her as Vanessa made a face at him.
"So you two are… friends?" She smirked to her son.
"Yeah, friends." Dean nodded bluntly, "Where is Phil?" He asked.
"In his room. He came home at lunch apparently. Free periods." She shrugged as Dean scoffed.
"His free periods were this morning." Dean shook his head.
"Go get him anyway, dinner is ready." She told him, "Honey, make yourself at home." She nodded to AJ who smiled.
AJ was nervous about starting a new school and living in a new city, but meeting Dean and Punk had really calmed their nerves, and their mother was so lovely. It was such a change of scenery from her own home, "So you're new?" Vanessa asked, dishing out the dinner whilst Dean had gone upstairs to get Punk.
"Yeah." AJ nodded, "I came from New Jersey." She said, taking a seat at the table, looking on at her. She was definitely a young mom like her own, and she was beautiful. She noticed different pictures on the fridge, ones that looked like Phil and Dean as kids, some recent ones also. There was a warm atmosphere in the house.
"And what's Chicago got that New Jersey doesn't?" She smiled.
"A new start. Well, that's what my mom says." AJ said, "She wanted to go back to Puerto Rico but I managed to convince her to stay somewhere in the states." She nodded, "Just by luck she found a job here at the same time I suggested it." She nodded.
"It's good to wipe the slate clean." Vanessa smiled, "I've thought about it myself, but before I knew it the boys were too old and settled. I didn't want to disturb that." She said as AJ nodded, "Here you go." She said, putting down the dinner plates down.
"Thank you." AJ smiled, "It smells really great."
"Well it was my second attempt." Vanessa smiled, "Boys!" Vanessa yelled out of the kitchen, "Hurry up!" She said as AJ laughed a little, "I swear, I think twins would have been easier than them." She admitted as AJ smiled.
They had dinner and whilst Vanessa pretty much held up the conversation, she noticed a lot of things which caught her eye. One being that her eldest son couldn't keep his eyes off their guest. Everytime she looked over to him he was gazing over at her and that made her smile.
She knew her sons weren't very good at making friends, and so having a friend of theirs home for dinner meant the world to her as a parent, even if it wasn't a friend she expected.
"Ok, you two, washing up." Vanessa looked to her sons.
"Oh, I can help." AJ said timidly.
"Oh, absolutely not." Vanessa laughed, "The washing up is their job." She said as the boys grumbled and collected in the plates, "What they don't tell you about being a single mother, is that we all become feminists, isn't that right, boys?" She looked over to her sons.
"Mhm." Punk said as Dean nodded.
AJ just laughed to herself. Their mom was perhaps a little crazy but she loved it. She was fun and sweet, and clearly a very good mother.
"We can go sit down." Vanessa nodded to AJ, walking on out of the kitchen and into the living room as AJ turned back to Dean and Punk who were splashing one another with the water. She was almost jealous that they had such a warm home to come home to.
She made her way out of the kitchen and into the living room where Vanessa was already sat on the couch, "Oh my Gosh, is that Phil?" AJ couldn't help laugh as she looked at the framed picture of Punk on the mantel. He had longish hair with glasses and the most dorkiest little adorable smile she'd ever seen in her entire life. It didn't match his frame now, that was for sure. She thought he was the cutest boy she'd ever seen right now, in fact.
"Oh, yeah." Vanessa laughed, "I keep that up to annoy him." She nodded, "Poor thing had terrible eyesight and he wouldn't part ways with his hair. Still won't." She said as AJ took a seat beside her, "Dean isn't much better actually." She nodded as AJ smiled.
"You have such a nice home." AJ said as Vanessa smiled.
"You're almost too nice to be hanging around with my boys." Vanessa said, "Is there a catch? Are they paying you?"
"No." AJ laughed, "I wasn't really fitting in. They gave me somewhere to sit at lunch, Dean helped me with my biology work in class... they've been good friends to me." She said as Vanessa smiled.
"Well I'm glad they're nice to someone." Vanessa nodded.
"They uh… they don't talk about their father… is he just not around?" AJ asked.
"No. He never was." Vanessa said, "We're much better without him, trust me." She said, "No good drunk." She whispered to herself as AJ looked at her.
"My mom feels the same about my dad." AJ nodded as Vanessa turned to her, "He's never been in the picture either."
"Sometimes we're just better off." Vanessa nodded, "I think you could do my boys the world of good." She nodded, "I just hope it doesn't turn into some teen drama love triangle." She laughed to herself as AJ laughed too.
"I don't think you have to worry about that." AJ smiled to her as she nodded.
"Go on, stick the TV on." Vanessa nodded as AJ grabbed the TV remote and sat back on the couch.
Vanessa smiled, looking from AJ and then turning back, looking through the kitchen door where she saw Punk drying a plate and putting it back in the cupboard, smiling to herself as she looked back to AJ.
A/N: Let me know what you think!