Coming Out

"How can this be happening?" AJ shook her head, sitting down on the closed toilet seat with Lyla standing in front of her. Becca and Shiv had gone back out to attend to the customers, and figured AJ needed a minute to herself after finding out what was clearly shocking news.

"It's not the end of the world." Lyla nodded to her, trying to find the right words to say to assure her friend.

"I was taking the pill. Consistently." AJ shook her head.

"It's not always effective. I mean… does he not pull out?" Lyla asked as AJ rolled her eyes.

"Not all the time." AJ said, "What the hell am I going to say to him? We've only been dating for… five months." She shook her head at the mere thought of the situation.

"You love him, right?" Lyla nodded.

"Yeah but-"

"And he loves you. It's obvious." Lyla said, "I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"I think I have lots to worry about, Lyla." AJ sighed, placing her hands over her face, "We live in a one-bedroom apartment."

"You can move." Lyla said, "You're rich, incase you haven't noticed."

"It's not about the money." AJ shook her head, "It's… just so soon. I thought I'd be married before I had kids."

"There are other options." Lyla reminded her, "If you really don't feel ready, you don't have to have the baby."

"God, what a nightmare." AJ sighed with a lump in her throat.

She knew she was deeply and madly in love with Phil. One day, she did imagine them marrying and having kids, but their relationship was still relatively new. Even though it felt like they'd known each other for a lifetime, this was still such a huge thing for them to deal with.

"Whatever you decide, you know you'll have the support of all of us." Lyla reminded her, "I know it's quick but… Phil is your person. I have no doubt about it. He'll support you."

"You don't know that." AJ shook her head.

"I do." Lyla said, "I see how much he cares about and loves you."

"That doesn't mean he's ready to have a kid with me." AJ said, "I'm not ready to have a kid."

"I don't think anyone ever is." Lyla said, "If you got pregnant ten years from now, married with a huge house… you'd feel just as scared."

"I doubt it." AJ sighed.

"Maybe you should take the rest of the day off." Lyla said, "Just go home and chill."

"Chill? Are you kidding." AJ scoffed, "I don't think I'll ever be chill again." She said as Lyla looked at her with a frown.

"Are you going to tell him tonight?" Lyla asked.

"I'll have to. I'm not going to keep it a secret from him." AJ rolled her eyes, "I need to figure out where his head will be."

"Do you think you'll have it?" Lyla asked curiously.

"Yeah." AJ nodded, "I'm not going to terminate it." She shook her head.

"If you really don't feel ready, you wouldn't be a bad person for making that decision." Lyla reminded her.

"I know that." AJ nodded, "I can't go home, I need to just keep working. Keep busy." She shook her head.

"Ok." Lyla said, "I'm here for you. No matter what." She nodded seriously as AJ looked up at her.

"I know." AJ forced a smile, feeling like her brain was turning to mush by the second.

"What did the sheriff say?" Finn asked after Punk came back into his now closed coffee shop after speaking with the town's sheriff.

"Pretty much that he can't do anything since no one saw him." Punk shook his head.

"Do you have any idea who it could be?" Daryl asked, "It just seems so random. Doesn't make any sense."

"Unless it's that stupid fuck Luke." Punk said, "He's been too quiet lately. Don't you guys think?" He asked.

"Because he's due in court soon." Daryl said, "Why would he do something stupid like this?"

"Because he is stupid." Punk concluded, looking over to the windows which were smeared in paint, "You guys have any idea how we could get the paint off?" He asked them.

"Maybe just some hot water and a brush?" Finn shrugged, "Might be better to let it dry so we can just scrape it."

"Google says white vinegar and baking soda. With hot water." Daryl looked at his phone.

"I'll see if we have the vinegar." Finn said, heading away into the kitchen.

"You don't think this has anything to do with the fact you were named in the paper?" Daryl suggested as Punk turned to him, "Someone who might not have known your location, now does." He pointed out as Punk thought to himself, then shook his head.

"Well, no one comes to mind for doing something like this." Punk said.

"A client you pissed off, maybe?" Daryl suggested, "Remember you were a lawyer."

"I remember, Daryl." Punk said, "But that life is behind me."

"Maybe to you." Daryl said, "Hey, I'm just trying to make sense of it like you are." He put his hands up in defence.

"Well, whoever it was is gonna get away with it since nobody saw their face." Punk shook his head, feeling incredibly frustrated and angry, especially since they had to shut the shop midday and lose out on lots of business.

"What exactly did the sheriff say?" Daryl asked.

"That he'd keep a close eye on things." Punk rolled his eyes, "Dude is like seventy."

"I suppose there isn't much he can really do." Daryl said.

"I found some vinegar and baking soda." Finn came out from the back of the kitchen as Punk sighed.

"Let's get scrubbing then." Punk said.

"I just want to get into bed and hide under the covers." Punk said, getting into the apartment later that night with AJ.

Him and the boys had spent the rest of their day and night trying to get the paint from the shop windows. Even with all the time they spent on it, they knew they would have to go back and scrub it again one final time to really get the red glimmer off.

"Tough day, huh?" AJ asked.

"I smell like vinegar." Punk smelt his t-shirt and groaned as AJ laughed a little.

"You go take a shower and I'll start dinner." AJ told him as he smiled.

"I haven't even asked how your day went." He shook his head, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. The only thing that had got him through the day was knowing he got to go home with her.

"My day was fine. Just like any other day." She lied.

"Yeah, don't rub it in my face." Punk pouted as she smiled.

"Go shower. You do smell like vinegar." AJ nodded, leaning up and kissing him sweetly before he headed off into their bedroom to go take a shower whilst she started on dinner.

AJ started on dinner, basically doing anything to distract herself from the nerves she felt. Punk eventually came out from the bedroom after showering, his hair wet and slicked back, some shorts around his waist and a t-shirt which he was in the process of putting on.

"What we got tonight?" He asked her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind as she smiled.

"I'm just using some chicken up." AJ said, "You smell much better, by the way." She nodded, appreciating the warm soapy scent coming from him.

"Good. I think Finn tipped four bottles of white vinegar into our buckets." Punk shook his head.

"Seemed to do the trick, though." AJ said, "You got most of it off."

"Yeah and we lost pretty much a full day of business." Punk shook his head, wandering over to the fridge to grab a soda out.

"You'll make it back up. You got the open-mic night in a couple days. And we've got the Fair tomorrow. Don't worry." AJ said, frying some chicken and veg in a pan.

"Was I hallucinating, or did I see Shiv coming out of your place tonight?" Punk asked her.

"You haven't gone mad yet." AJ said, "She got back in town today. Came over to the shop and worked for a few hours. She's got a deathly flu, though." She shook her head.

"Is she gonna make the Fair?" Punk asked her.

"Yeah. Well, that's what she said." AJ nodded, taking their dinner over to the table as Punk joined her and sat down.

"Daryl seems to think that someone from my past is out to get me." Punk said, "Since my location and picture was in the paper."

"It's not a wild assessment." AJ said, "Is there anyone that comes to mind?" She asked him curiously.

"No. I mean… why would someone travel all this way from the city to pour paint on my shop? At least try and shoot me or something." Punk scoffed as AJ glared at him.

"That's not funny." She said seriously.

"I'm just saying… it's so stupid. I think it's that stupid dummy Luke." He said, "Feels like it's something he'd get a kick out of doing."

"I don't disagree but… would he risk it? Considering he's going to court soon for what he did to Daryl?" AJ asked, "Me and Lyla talked about it being him too but… like you said, it's just so strange and random."

"Unless it really is just someone's idea of a weird prank." Punk shrugged, "If the person was on foot, I would have got him." He said with determination.

"Maybe now would be a good time to think about putting CCTV outside." AJ said, "It doesn't just help you, but it actually helps the community as a whole. Anything can happen on the streets."

"Yeah, I'm definitely thinking about it now." Punk nodded, "This is what I get for saying this town is quiet and peaceful. I've already had two encounters with the damn sheriff." He shook his head as AJ smiled a little.

"Trouble seems to follow you." She smiled, "You don't think it's to do with your past as a lawyer?"

"That's what Daryl was hinting at but… I never made any enemies. I was always fair with clients, and they were always fair and decent with me." Punk said.

"What about the witness? From your brother's case?" AJ asked.

"Yeah, that did cross my mind but… he was like a corporate business dude. It didn't look like him from the back." Punk shook his head, having already considered the possibility.

"Then it might just be a Halloween prank." AJ shrugged.

"Yeah, maybe." Punk nodded, "You got everything set for the Fair?" He asked, enjoying dinner together, his favourite part of everyday where he could unwind with the woman he loved, discuss their days and worries, and then happily tumble into bed together.

"Yeah, all good to go." AJ nodded, the more time ticked by, the more nervous she grew. All she could think about in her head was the fact she was pregnant. It was the only thing going through her brain as she sat talking to him. It was hard to concentrate. She wasn't even that worried about the paint incident because she was too busy thinking about telling him about her own incident of the day.

"Finn's soup is ace." Punk nodded, "I reckon it'll go down well." He said as AJ nodded, trying hard to eat, her worries curbing her appetite indefinitely.

"So I uh… I took a pregnancy test today." She gulped nervously as he looked across at her, "It was pregnant… I'm pregnant." She explained shakily as Punk stared at her.

He could see her lips moving but it was as if he'd gone deaf. Like he couldn't fully hear or comprehend what she'd actually just said.

"I'm sorry…" He shook his head, "What?" He said with a shaky voice.

"I'm pregnant." AJ said, "I was late for my period and… I did a test today. It was positive."

"You're…" Punk said, not managing much else as he just stared at her with confusion and surprise. It was truly the last thing he thought she'd say.

There had been talks of their future between them both, but he was pretty sure they were both in agreement that marriage and children wasn't something they were looking to do anytime soon.

"I am… terrified." She admitted truthfully, swallowing the lump in her throat as she tried not to cry like a baby in front of him.

"You're pregnant." Punk stated, falling into a daze as he tried extremely hard to process this news, "How? I mean… don't you take stuff?"

"Yeah, I do." AJ said with frustration, "Apparently it's not always effective which I think is the dumbest thing ever because why… why do we, as women, even bother taking it then?" She shook her head as Punk stood up from the table. He needed to make sure he could still feel his legs properly.

"So you're… I mean… a baby?" He said with confusion.

"I know it's not something we expected this soon." AJ said, watching him wander over to put his trainers on, "What are you doing?" She shook her head.

"I need to take a walk." He nodded.

"Can we talk first?" AJ stood up, "I mean… I think we probably have a lot to talk about." She said.

"Yeah, I just… I need some air or something." He nodded to her, opening up the apartment door and leaving as AJ sighed to herself, looking up at the ceiling to try and coax her tears back into her eyes.