The next day, AJ and Punk met up with Elise and Toni in a local café. The bond between Elise and Punk had grown stronger since he had clearly shown to her that he did have feelings, and those feelings were sprawled out for AJ. She always thought he was too insensitive to even so much hold a girls hand, but she was really glad he was treating AJ right.
"Toni is so devastated you haven't been teaching the class." Elise mentioned, "Are you taking a break or something?" She asked whilst sipping on her drink, facing across from AJ and Punk, Toni sitting beside her enjoying her milkshake that her Uncle Phil had bought her. Elise also enjoyed Punk being more involved with his niece.
"Actually… that's why we wanted to talk to you." AJ turned to Punk who nodded, "Well I'm not going to be teaching for the next few months, if not up until the end of the year." AJ said as Elise frowned.
"Why? What's wrong?" She asked. She knew AJ well enough to know that were would have to be a really large, important reason for her to stop dancing.
"I'm pregnant." AJ said, "We're gonna have a baby." She smiled as Elise gasped.
"Shut up." She shook her head sarcastically, "Seriously?" She turned to Punk who was smiling.
"Very serious." Punk nodded, "April is already eleven weeks gone." He said.
"Oh, I can't believe this." Elise said, "I'm gonna be an auntie." She gasped, putting her hands over her mouth. She was extremely excited. Just when she thought her brother had matured to the max, he was now going to be taking on lives greatest challenge. She so proud of him, and she was so excited to meet her first niece or nephew.
For AJ and Punk, it was a wonderful experience to see Elise so happy. It brought them their own joy. It was nice to know at least one person was happy for them. Jack was still claiming that the baby was the devil. But he wasn't going to change.
After finished up late lunch in the café was Elise, and calming her down after her excitement, they parted their ways and AJ and Punk got home to a delivered basket sitting outside their front step.
"What the hell is this?" AJ looked up at Punk who picked up the basket and shrugged, not really being able to see it.
"I'm not sure." He said, opening the front door with his keys and walking straight into the kitchen, placing the basket on the dinner table as he unwrapped it.
"Is that-"
"Who the fuck would send this?" Punk asked as AJ pulled out all the tiny white baby grows for new born babies, as well as diapers, bottles for formulas, pacifiers and other new born baby essentials.
"There's a card." AJ spotted, taking the small car and reading it out loud for Punk, "Here is something to get you started. I'm sorry for what I've done these past few days. I really wish to be a part of my grandchild's life. I promise I'll do better. Love dad." AJ spoke, looking up at Punk, "In brackets, Grandpa Jack." She rolled her eyes, not touched at all by the card.
"I suppose that was nice." Punk shrugged, taking the card from her and looking at it, "There's tons of stuff here-"
"Why are you sticking up for him, Phil? It's bad enough you forgave him last night and went back to work with him, but why are you acting like nothing happened. Can't you see he's scum." She shook her head.
"Well at least he's trying, April." Punk defended.
"I don't want him to try. Because in a few weeks, or maybe even days, he'll fuck up again, and then what's he gonna do then? Send us another basket? Bribe us with money?" She shook her head, "It's the same viscous circle that you've been living in with him. Can't you see it?" She asked.
"He's trying his best. He fucked up, April. He'd just got told he was going to die."
"So that gave him a right to throw me on a bed and attempt to-"
"No." Punk said immediately, "No it doesn't. I want to kill him just now thinking about it. But it's reasonably understandable when you consider the position he's in. He's clearly scared. He was drunk." Punk said as AJ just shook her head.
"You know what… why don't you go be with him right now? You seem to care about him more, and understand him more than you do me." She spat.
"What are you talking about?" Punk asked.
"I think I made a mistake." She admitted, "Being ok with your job and your work. I-I don't think I can deal with that with a baby in the house. I don't want you using your drug money, or your blood money on our child, Phil." She said.
"You promised me you wouldn't do this." Punk said frustratedly.
"Well things change." She said, "I don't want to mess this up. I want to be a good mom, and I want you to be a good dad." She said.
"And you don't think I can whilst working with my dad?" He asked.
"No." AJ shook her head bluntly, "You can tell me that you won't bring it home. You can say that, you do your job professionally. But it doesn't change the fact you go out and kill innocent people late at night, to earn your money." She said.
"So this is you asking me to step away?" He asked her, "Because that isn't going to happen, AJ. Because I hate to break it to you, but I didn't make it through school. I didn't go to college. This is all I know. And to be honest, it's all I want to know. I have my friends working with me, I have a good time-"
"A good time?" She shook her head, "A good time getting blood on your hands?"
"You know what I mean." He spat, "And when my dad does die. The whole place is going to be mine. I can… I can buy you that bigger house. We can afford a marriage and more children. If that's what you want."
"Not with your money, I don't." She shook her head.
"Why are you being like this?" He asked, "I get it." He paused suddenly, "This is just a hormone thing isn't it? That book I was reading last night said they're gonna be going crazy, and the things you say, you might not mean." He said.
"You're reading the books?" She shook her head, dropping the subject quickly, extremely stunned.
"Yeah, I am." Punk nodded, "Look, my job doesn't change the fact that I love you, and I want to be here for you and this baby. I want to be a good dad." He promised her.
"I don't want you to have two sides, Phil. I don't want you hear singing nursery rhymes with me, and then going off at night to go slit someone's throat." She gasped at her own words.
"I don't do that." He said at her horrific terms, "Why are you being like this?" He asked, "You can't tell me one thing, and then something else the next. It doesn't work like that." He said.
"Well the baby is putting a lot of things into perspective for me." She replied.
"April… you know me." He took her hands in his, "You know me better than I've let anyone else know me. I can't walk away from this. I told you from the start. This is- This is who I am." He said.
"But it's not. You're a good man." She cupped his cheeks.
"I'm a good man for you. And I'll try to be the best dad I possibly can be. But you have to understand, baby. I can't pull away." He told her, "I'm not going to let it come between us." He promised her.
"What if I lose you one day?" She asked tearfully.
"Ok, now you're just being stupid." He said, "What's this all about? We're supposed to be happy, and celebrating." He said, "Here's what we're gonna do. You're gonna go upstairs and get ready, and we're gonna go out into town for the night." He said as she nodded with a smile.
"Ok." She nodded, walking away and heading upstairs to get ready. She guessed her point could never be put across with him. He was always just going to come back with the same shit everytime. Maybe she just had to accept it. There was really no changing him.
The next morning after a quiet but romantic night in the town, AJ and Punk enjoyed a long lie in. They were both exhausted, and sleeping naked together was never something they wanted to part ways from.
It was all rather peaceful and still, both of them were out cold. Punk was even snoring whilst on his back with AJ curled into him, the sheets over them for heat. Suddenly however, Punk felt a hard tug on his arm, and a painful connection to his face as he immediately caught the blood that flew out his nose, wakening AJ who immediately squealed at the sight of another man in their bedroom, gathering the sheets and holding them to her body.
"Where's my rent money?" The larger man said as Punk leaned over the bed, his nose dripping as he tried to shake it off.
"Dude, I moved out." He choked, "How the fuck did you get in here?" He looked up at his former landlord.
"No one told me you moved out." He spat, "Are you lying to me?"
"I'm not fucking lying. I live here now." Punk said, "Get the fuck out." Punk said.
"You're up to something, Brooks." He pointed as Punk rolled his eyes.
"I fucking moved out!" He yelled as AJ shuffled away with fright, looking over at the clock, noticing it was 11am.
"You better have. If I catch you going into that apartment you're a dead little man." He said as Punk just shook his head.
"Yeah, yeah yeah… get the fuck out. And fix whatever you've broken on that door downstairs." Punk said, "Stupid prick." He muttered as the man grumbled his way out of the bedroom and down the stairs, "You alright?" Punk asked, turning round to AJ who was clutching the covers to her chest.
"Who-Who was that?" She asked, noticing the bed sheets now stained in blood.
"Oh, it's just Marty." Punk rolled his eyes, grabbing a few tissues from the box on the bedside table, cleaning his nose up the best he could whilst AJ got out of bed and put on a light and satin bath robe.
"Just Marty?" AJ looked across at him, "How did he get in here?" She asked.
"I don't know." Punk shrugged, trying his best to stop the blood from running out his nose as she sighed, rushing over to him and helping him out.
"Stop tilting your head up. Let it come out." She told him, taking another few tissues and cleaning around his bruising and standing back up straight.
"I swear to God, Phil… if that happens again-"
"Oh, here we go again." Punk collapsed back down in the bed, "Is this you coming back at me for round two?" He asked.
"A man just broke into my house, came upstairs into our room and punched you whilst we were asleep. Should I just shake that off?" She shook her head.
"I told you. It's just Marty. He's a prick. It's nothing to worry about." He said casually as she just shook her head and walked away into the bathroom, slamming the door shut.