"April… I'm not standing out here all day." Punk said whilst standing outside AJ's bedroom in the upstairs hallway. As soon as the car stopped outside her house, she ran away in, not letting him reach her in time. She'd locked the door and it was just completely silent.
So many things were happening at once. He felt like he was all over the place. His dad had just announced that he was dying a slow death, and mere seconds later, he was throwing his (to be confirmed) pregnant girlfriend on the bed and pulling at her dress.
"April, I know how to break down a door. Just open it up. We have to talk." He said, standing leaning against the door, stumbling a little when she opened it, straightening up as she stood with bloodshot eyes from her tears. She had changed already into leggings and an oversized hoodie, looking up at him and shrugging.
"What?" She cried, "Was I asking for it?" She said as he sighed, "Why are you even here? To apologise on behalf of your disgusting, repulsive father, or because you feel it's your job now because I'm pregnant with your baby." She spat, "Either way, none is out of love, so you might as well just leave right now." She said.
"You haven't given me a chance to say anything." Punk argued.
"I did!" AJ yelled, "You knew about this before we went out tonight, and you insisted to forget about it and pretend it never existed." She spat, "You looked at me like I was some sort of disease the full night, and then… and then your father goes and..." She bit her tongue and turned away to pause her anger, "I think you should just go." She told him.
"I'm not leaving." He shook his head,"What? You think just because it fits my character that I'm going to leave you on your own with a baby."
"Yeah." AJ chuckled sadistically, "I do. It's clear you don't want it. And I do not want you here out of pity." She said.
"I'm not here out of pity. I'm here because I love you." He said, "What my dad done tonight… he's… he doesn't think. He was drunk, he was a mess, he's dying… I'm sorry, on behalf of him, but it isn't it more important we figure out what we're doing about our own situation." He said.
"You're defending him?" She looked at him in the eye, "You're really going to stand there and point out things that justify what he done to me. What if you hadn't came? Would you have stuck up for him then?" She shook her head, "I want you to get out, Phil." She pointed to the door.
"I'm not defending him. I'm horrified at what he done. I've never had to raise my hand to my dad before. He's disgusting and there is no good excuse for what he done… all I'm saying is-"
"I don't care what you're saying, Phil. I want you to get out of my house." She spat as he looked down at her, "You don't care. Don't pretend you do. If I said I was getting an abortion you would pay extra for next day service." She spat, "Just get out."
"Ok." Punk put his hands up, "Ok. I'm gonna give you your space. But I will come back in the morning. And we're gonna talk about all of this."
"Nothing to talk about." AJ shook her head, "I'm getting rid of it." She shrugged as he blinked twice, "I do not want a baby that has your DNA in it. It would be unfair to me and the baby itself." She spat, "Just get out of my sight." She walked away into the bathroom, banging the door shut as Punk stood with his hands in hair, never feeling so helpless in his life.
"Ok, well everything is confirmed. You're definitely pregnant." A sweet, lady doctor smiled to AJ the next morning. As soon as Punk had left she had called for a doctors appointment for the next day, and here she was, getting given the news she was already sure on anyway.
"How far along?" AJ asked.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that. You can get that from your gynaecologist when you go for your first scan." The doctor smiled, "Is there anything you'd like to ask me?" The doctor asked politely.
"What are my options?" AJ asked curiously, even though she had a good idea.
"Ok, well besides the obvious there is adoption. Very professional if you've seeked help from the right people. It's done very discretely and you can choose everything you want for your child, from who it's going to, to if and when you would like to see it." She said, "Or there is abortion. If you are thinking about termination, you'd have to think about it in the next week or so. As you can understand it's better to do in the early stages of pregnancy." She said as AJ nodded.
"What's it like?" AJ asked timidly.
"Well… It's a question I really can't ask, I've never gone through it, but… I have had a miscarriage in my earlier years, and take it from me, it's the worst feeling in the world. You really do feel like you lose a piece of yourself in the process. It would not be my first suggestion, Miss Mendez." The doctor said as politely as she could, "May I ask your doubts?"
"I just don't think I'm ready." AJ said.
"Are you alone?" The doctor asked.
"I will be." AJ sighed.
"Well, It's really none of my business, but really take your time thinking about it. It's not a decision you can possibly make over night. If only I could describe to you how wonderful it is being a mother. I would. But there are no words that could ever do it justice." She smiled, "You think about it." She said, placing her hand on AJ's arm comfortingly.
Punk burst through the doors of Invictus the next morning, walking through the club and bursting through his fathers office where Jack indeed sat with Dennis.
"Can I speak to my dad for a minute?" Punk asked his uncle who nodded, standing up and leaving the office as Punk glared over at his father, watching him spin around on the chair behind his desk.
"How can I help you, Phil?" Jack smiled.
"You bastard." Punk shook his head, "How dare you put your hands on her like that. There isn't… there isn't one caring bone in your body." He spat.
"In my opinion, Phil. She came on to-"
"She came on to you? Did she? Because from what I could see… you were holding her down, and forcing yourself on her. Was it her dress? Was it too short? Was it because she had been quiet all night? Did she deserve you putting your hands on her like that?" He spat.
"Yeah. She did. She was mouthing off to me. Telling me stuff about my own family. I wasn't just going to take it." He spat, sitting up and pausing himself on the spinning chair.
"What about when she told you she was pregnant? Pregnant with my kid. You're grandchild." Punk pointed out, "Would you have stopped then?"
"I did stop." Jack said, as if that made everything alright, "I stopped as soon as she said she was pregnant." Jack said as Punk began to clap slowly and sarcastically.
"Well, that just clears everything up then, doesn't it." Punk spat, "You're a filthy animal." He said as Jack stood up.
"I don't know why you're pretending to be a saint in all of this. You've done despicable things to women too, Phil-"
"I have never forced myself on a woman. And I never will." He admitted.
"You aren't a saint. You're evil. She's been trying to convince you these past few months that you're a good man. And perhaps you are to her, but I know the real you. I know the Phil that's had blood upon blood on his hands. That has killed young children's fathers, that has tortured people for information… I know you. And I know that child you've foolishly planted inside her, is just going to be the same. I wouldn't be surprised if she got rid of the damn thing."
"She is." Punk spat, "She is getting rid of it. Not because of me, but because of you, because of this world I've come from."
"Well, good. All you'd create would be some devil child anyway. Her purity and innocence couldn't battle the demons you've inherited that child with already. She'd be a fool to keep it." Jack laughed.
"You think this is all just a big game? Don't you..." He spat, "This is my life. This is the girl I love, feeling isolated and alone, because of you, and the way we live." Punk said.
"Then let her move on. If she can't take it anymore, then let her move on. You'll get over her, there's plenty of other fish in the sea." Jack shook his head as Punk grabbed him by the shirt collar, slamming him against the wall and holding him up slightly off the ground.
"I don't think you get this." Punk spat as he looked his father in the eyes coldly, "You stay away from her. You stay away from her, and you stay away from the baby, or I swear to God, I'll kill you before your ALS does." Punk spat, dropping his father down and storming out of the office.
Later on Punk had drove to AJ's house, and had sat outside the house for about an hour, just thinking about what he could say. He didn't want her to abort their child. He had no idea how to be a father or what it took to be a parent, but he knew the child was made from love. Wasn't that enough? Of course he was going to support her, whatever root she wanted to take.
He knocked on the door as she came immediately, as if expecting him, swinging the door open and walking away into the house, leaving him to close the door behind him and follow her into the living room where she was sitting on the couch.
"You ok?" He asked quietly as she nodded.
"I went to the doctors today." She told him whilst looking at the tv, not showing her complete need for him and his help, despite what he had said and what his father had done. He was still here, wasn't he?
"Did… did everything go ok? You didn't… you haven't already..." He hoped he wasn't too late.
"No." AJ shook her head immediately, "I just had to go to get it confirmed." She said as he nodded, taking a seat beside her on the couch as she shuffled away to the edge, keeping her eyes on the tv as an awkward silence filled the room.
"I'm sorry I've put you in this position, April." He apologised as she turned to him.
"It wasn't your entire fault." She said, "It takes two."
"I know it does, but… it's your body." He pointed out as she nodded, "I don't… April, I don't want you to get rid of it. I don't think you'd be able to live with yourself, I don't think I could live with myself-"
"I'm not going to get rid of it." She said. She was glad to hear him express how he felt. She supposed she never gave him a chance at first, but he was the one that chose to ignore it before they went to his father's house for dinner. She had decided that, it wasn't right to use the excuse of him being this child's father, as a reasonable excuse to get rid of the baby. Deep down she knew she could never go through with it. And she knew the baby was made from nothing but love. She was just angry and caught up in a moment where saying she was getting rid of the baby made all her problems go away. But she knew it wouldn't.
"I'm gonna be here." He promised her, "I don't know what I'm doing. You're gonna have to keep me right. But I am not going to leave you. Ok?" He made himself clear she she nodded.
"Ok." She sighed, shuffling over to him and leaning her body onto him as he wrapped his arm around her, letting her concave against his body as he comforted her, the way he supposed he should have when he first found out about the baby.
It had nothing to do with anyone but them both. Not his father, not his sister, not his friends or anyone else who felt the need to share their opinions about it. This was their life, their doings and responsibilities, and he was going to be there to do his best for AJ and the still surreal baby that was growing inside her.
Review and let me know what you guys think! Hope you enjoyed. Stay tuned for more soon.