The Truth

"Busy day?" Punk asked, waiting outside The Brewberry Café for AJ the next night where she eventually emerged from.

"Every day is a busy day here." AJ said with a cocky smile, locking the door to the shop and pulling the shutters down, "You?"

"Busy enough." Punk nodded, "Although I think I gotta employ someone else. I think Daryl was pretty run off his feet yesterday when we were at the farm. I don't want him to be running himself into the ground."

"Yeah, you don't want to be a bad boss." AJ agreed, putting her keys in her purse as Punk watched her. She had some grey pants on with a crop top vest and baggy white shirt serving as a jacket. She was so naturally beautiful, it was hard not to keep staring.

"I don't want to be a bad boss." Punk nodded, "So where are you taking me on this tour?" He folded his arms.

"I'll show you the different shops here. The one and only park. The old, abandoned church where kids go to drink and smoke weed." She said, "And then the best pizza place."

"Sounds lovely." Punk nodded sarcastically as she smiled.

"I told you. There's nothing to see." She shrugged, beginning to walk down the street as Punk followed beside her.

"So what made you want to come here then?" Punk asked her curiously.

"I knew I wanted to open a coffee shop, and this was the cheapest place for renting." AJ said, "Me and Lyla took a road trip first to check the place out and I… I guess I loved how quiet it was. How there was nothing going on." She shrugged, "I assume that's why you came here."

"Pretty much." Punk nodded, "And I knew I didn't want to open in a city. Too much competition."

"So you just came to compete with me?" She turned to him with a smile.

"Yes, my sole purpose for moving here was to annoy you." Punk nodded.

"Then you've fulfilled your purpose." AJ nodded as he chuckled.

She promised herself she wouldn't let her conversation with Lyla last night take over her. She had tossed and turned in bed all night, thinking about all the feelings she had built up in her over this man. How conflicted she was in how she felt. Enjoying his company but not understanding his desire to be a defence lawyer. Feeling incredibly attracted to him but not being sure she was ready to act on her physical feelings with a man yet. She was trying her best to cast aside all the loud thoughts in her brain and just enjoy the day.

"How do you manage the balance between being a boss and being a friend to all the girls?" Punk asked her.

"I guess they're such good workers… it never feels like I have to be the boss." AJ shrugged, "They respect that the coffee shop is mine but… technically it belongs to all of us. I try make it a fun place for them to work." She nodded.

"Have you ever had any other employees?" Punk asked her.

"No. In the beginning it was just me and Lyla. We weren't as busy so we could manage just the two of us. Then we hired Becca who was always at the shop, anyway. She was looking for a job and it was the perfect time. The about a year and a half ago we hired Shiv for the weekends and Summer work." AJ nodded, "It really has become like a little family."

"Yeah, sure looks like it." Punk said.

"I think Daryl really enjoys working with you." She turned to him.

"Yeah?" Punk said.

"Yeah. His mom comes to my book club every Thursday. She's said more than once how great the job has been for Daryl. Really turned things around for him." AJ nodded, "Why did you hire him? I'm assuming you had other people who applied for the job."

"Honestly, not many people applied." He said, "And… it sounded like the kid just needed a chance. He really is a great worker." He nodded, "He's hyped about trying out some breakfast sandwiches. He's really invested in the shop, which I didn't expect."

"That's good." AJ nodded, "So you're gonna try the breakfast sandwiches out?"

"Yeah, we're gonna test some combinations out this week and maybe start selling at the beginning of next week." Punk said, "What's your favourite breakfast sandwich?" He asked curiously.

"I'm basic. Sausage and egg. And then I put a hashbrown on it, too." She nodded, "This first shop might be useful to you for your sandwiches." She pointed as they approached the town's one and only butchers.

"Hopefully Daisy the cow isn't hanging from a rack in here." Punk groaned, opening up the door to the shop for her.

"That isn't funny." She warned him seriously as he just laughed, letting her enter the shop first as he followed behind.

"What is the need for a sewing shop in such a small town?" Punk shook his head.

"You won't be saying that the next time you need something sewed." AJ said.

"I've never needed anything sewed in my entire life." Punk assured her as she made a face.

So far, she'd taken him into all the different stores and local businesses the town had to offer. The butchers, the florists, the bookstore (which she may or may not have picked up several), the sewing store and the antique store. Now they were headed for the only clothing boutique in the town.

"Last shop." AJ said.

"Is that the church over there?" Punk pointed to the old, run-down church sitting amongst overgrown grass and weeds.

"Does it look like the church to you?" AJ asked him, walking into the boutique as he followed.

"You bought anything from here?" Punk asked her.

"No, but I like looking." AJ said, "I order most of my clothes online."

"These are pricey." Punk said, looking at some of the price tags on the clothes.

"That's why I just look." AJ nodded, picking a pair of sunglasses up and trying them on, "What do you think?" She asked him as he turned to her.

"It's missing something." Punk said, looking around the store, rushing over to the hat stand where he picked up a beret hat, smacking it down on her head as she looked up at him, unamused, "Perfect." Punk nodded as AJ walked over to the long mirror in the corner of the shop.

"You know… I don't hate it." AJ admitted, taking her sunglasses off, reaching up and putting them on him, "Very mysterious."

"I used to have glasses in high school. Blind as a bat." Punk nodded, "Finally got laser eye surgery when I was twenty-one."

Although the focus for AJ was to show him around the town, they were both sharing little personal details with each other as they went. It just felt natural to share with each other.

"I have contact lenses in right now." AJ nodded.

"I thought I saw you with glasses one day." Punk remembered, not even noticing AJ had wrapped a pink scarf around his neck.

"I'm too much of a baby to get laser eye surgery. I have an emotional attachment to my glasses." AJ said.

"The dumbest thing I've ever heard." Punk told her as she wrapped another scarf around him, "I'm really feeling the pink one." He nodded, putting his hands on his hips as he looked in the mirror.

"I think I've seen you wear the same three t-shirts since you moved here." AJ admitted. She loved that they could tease each other without it coming across as offensive. Before, their teasing was a weapon, now it was almost enjoyable. Heart-warming even.

"You're probably right." Punk nodded, "I'm a man of very few clothes." He said as she smiled.

He had the usual cargo shorts on he always wore alongside a Violent Gentlemen t-shirt, which she wasn't particularly comforted by.

"What's that t-shirt you're wearing anyway?" AJ asked curiously, taking her hat off whilst Punk unwrapped the scarfs from his neck.

"It's just hockey merch." Punk said, "Not some weird right wing cult group." He assured her.

"Good to know." AJ nodded with a smile, "You like hockey?"

"Love it." Punk said, "And baseball."

"I'm not much of a sports person. I like running in the morning to clear my head sometimes. That's about as sporty as I get." She nodded.

"You… look like you work out." Punk said, taking the sunglasses off, realising it might have been an odd thing to say.

"I did use the gym a lot in college. Got into weightlifting." AJ said, "I have some dumbbells in my apartment if I feel the urge to lift something. Lyla says I have mixing muscles." She laughed a little.

"She's probably right." Punk nodded, "I gotta travel forty-five minutes to get to the nearest gym from here. The only downside of moving to the middle of nowhere."

"The only downside? What about no McDonald's nearby? I haven't had chicken nuggets in so long." She whined as he laughed.

"What are you? Twelve?" Punk asked as she made a face, "This place is nice. A little fancy, though." He said to her quietly, hoping the lady behind the cashier desk wouldn't hear.

"Yeah, it is." AJ agreed, "But… I said I'd show you everything, didn't I?"

"You did." Punk said, "I'm more interested in the creepy church across the road."

"You would be, wouldn't you?" AJ shook her head, "Let's go then." She announced, heading for the door of the boutique as Punk followed.

"How long has it been abandoned?" Punk asked her, walking along the street in direction of the church.

"It's been abandoned for years, apparently. No idea why it's not been knocked down." She said, "Apparently it was built in the 1800s." She nodded.

"You religious?" He asked her curiously.

"Brought up catholic but… no, I wouldn't say I'm religious at all." She said, "You?"

"Not a religious bone in my body." Punk replied.

"Then we might get zapped to hell if we go inside." AJ said, standing outside the church.

"You seem scared." He said.

"I'm not scared." AJ scoffed, "It's just very creepy. Becca told me she went here in high school to drink, and she swore she heard voices." She nodded.

"Maybe she was just drunk." Punk said.

"I'll just wait out here. You go." AJ nodded as Punk turned to her.

"It's starting to rain. You can't stand outside here. Plus, what if I get possessed when I go in there?" Punk asked.

"I don't think there's much I'd be able to do about that." AJ scoffed, putting her hood up as the rain began to lash down heavier.

"Come on. You're not standing out here by yourself." He said, walking up the steps to the entrance of the church whilst AJ hesitated for a moment. She didn't enjoy spooky things. She hated horror movies, didn't see the point of them.

"Fine." She shook her head, walking up the steps to the entrance and following him into the church, a little relieved to be out of the torrential rain.

"What is with the weather lately, anyway?" Punk asked, slicking his hair back with his hand as it had gotten a little dishevelled and out of place by the rain.

"We do sometimes get storms around this time. And lots of rain." AJ nodded, "It's forgivable when we get such nice Summer's, I suppose."

"Look at this." Punk said, a little amazed as they walked into the main part of the church, "Everything looks so untouched." He said whilst AJ looked around.

The church still had its rows of benches. Some were broken but they were very much all still in place. The stain glass windows had been boarded up, making it incredibly dark. It was strange for AJ, having lived in the town for five years, yet here she was experiencing something new with this man she thought she hated.

"It's weird." AJ nodded, wandering down the aisle whilst Punk followed.

"If this was in the city, this place would be knocked down and some rich person would have built a mansion on top of it." Punk said.

"Yeah, you're right." AJ said, "Weird to think that a hundred years ago there was probably people sitting in here, going about their lives." She said, looking towards the altar at the top of the church which still had a dusty chair sitting beside it.

"And now kids use it as a place to get wasted and stoned." Punk nodded as AJ laughed a little, turning around to him and noticing he'd sat down in one of the rows.

"You were never a kid who got wasted and stoned?" AJ asked curiously, walking over to him and taking a seat beside him on the creaky bench.

"Never." Punk said, "Living with a raging alcoholic will give you a little bit of the fear when it comes to alcohol." He nodded.

"Your dad was really that bad?" AJ asked.

"Pretty bad, yeah." Punk nodded, "Drank every day. I remember watching him take his cans into the shower with him in the morning before work." He said, "It was all he cared about."

"How did he die?" AJ asked.

"Choked on his own vomit." Punk said, "I found him."

"That must have been awful." AJ shook her head.

"It was." Punk agreed, "But… I always feel this guilt… that I was never more upset about his death. I kinda just… I assumed it was always gonna happen at one point. I don't think I shed a tear." He admitted.

"Sounds like you didn't really know him. You didn't have a normal father son relationship. It's understandable you felt withdrawn from it all." AJ nodded.

"Yeah." Punk nodded along. Her words were genuine. He could feel, just by how she looked at him and spoke so softly, that she genuinely meant everything she said, "When we were at the farm… you said you don't really date or have boyfriends… you struggle with that." He said. He hadn't forgot how she'd been interrupted before telling something to him that felt important.

"Yeah." AJ said, swallowing a nervous lump in her throat.

"Is there a reason? Or… you just don't enjoy meeting new people?" He asked her casually.

"There's a reason." She nodded, turning to him as he looked into her eyes. She felt like he was somehow reading her mind, like he knew she was dealing with something beyond comprehension. There was understanding and patience in his expression, and this time, no one was there to interrupt her.

"You don't have to tell me, obviously." Punk made clear, "Just… I can't fathom why no one has swept you off your feet."

"Because I actively make sure no one can come close enough to sweep me off my feet." AJ said as he looked at her, not saying anything, "When I was in college, I started seeing this guy. He was a year older. I thought he was funny and sweet." She nodded.

"We went on a few dates, and it seemed to be going well." AJ nodded, "He showed up at my dorm one night. I was studying for exams whilst everyone was out partying. Like you, I don't really care for alcohol." She said as he nodded, "He showed up and asked me why I wouldn't come out. I just told him I was studying. So he suggested he spend the night with me at my dorm." She said.

"I'd only been on three dates with him. We barely knew each other, really." AJ said, "I didn't want to sleep with him. I shouldn't have had to explain myself for why. I just didn't want to." She shrugged, "So then he raped me, beat me up, trashed my room…" She said as Punk swallowed the lump in his throat, "He broke my laptop which my Aunt had saved up so much money to buy me. Then he raped me again." She said, looking down, not being able to look him in the eye just yet.

"He raped me six times in total. I kept count." AJ nodded, "He eventually left my dorm at around 5am. Lyla found me a few hours later. She took me to hospital right away. I had three broken ribs, a broken nose, he… ripped out a clump of my hair." She said, tears welling in her eyes. It had been a very long time since she'd told anyone new about what had happened to her. She knew it meant something that she felt safe enough to tell him.

"I was in hospital for a few weeks, mostly because I had so much trauma to the head." AJ said, "Lyla never left my side. Neither did my Aunt Nico." She nodded, picking at her nails with trembling hands.

"I…" Punk began, stopping himself to clear his throat a little. He felt nauseous listening to her story. How dreadful it all was. And the fact she had lived it. Experienced it. He couldn't imagine how awful it had been.

"You don't have to say anything." AJ shook her head.

"I'm so sorry." Punk said as AJ finally turned to him, "I can't begin to imagine… I'm so sorry that happened to you." He shook his head. It was all he could think to say. He knew nothing would make her feel better.

"He's in prison. He got thirty years. And a criminal defence lawyer tried to insinuate I was being dramatic." She looked into his eyes, "Which is why I… why it's so hard for me to understand you."

"I never took on a rape case." Punk assured her, "I was a criminal defence lawyer but… primarily for drug related crimes." He told her.

"You never said that." AJ said.

"The firm I worked for… different lawyers were assigned different types of crimes." Punk explained, "I never took on any rape or homicide cases." He explained.

"You probably should have mentioned that." AJ told him as he nodded.

"I realise that now." He said, feeling stupid.

"I've never told anyone about what happened to me. I honestly don't know why I'm telling you." She admitted, "I live with it every day. I spent years in therapy. I dropped out of college because of it. I've not slept with a man since it happened. Whenever I get a little close to someone I just… I go running in the opposite direction. Because there was no signs that he was capable of what he did to me. It's hard to trust anyone after that."

"Thank you for telling me. For trusting me enough." Punk nodded sincerely, "I'm just so sorry and… so angry." He admitted honestly, "You are the bravest person I've ever met." He nodded.

"I don't know about that." AJ shook her head.

"Really, you are." Punk said as she looked at him, "Look at the life you've built here for yourself. The success you've had with your coffee shop. You really are incredible." He nodded.

"I feel really alone." AJ whispered.

"You're not alone." Punk said, placing his hand on her leg, "You've got friends who adore you. Like… those girls would go to war for you, I'm sure of it." He nodded as she chuckled a little, drying a tear which had escaped down her cheek, "And this town loves you. You've made a huge difference here, bringing people together."

"Sometimes it's not enough." AJ shook her head.

"What would be enough?" He asked her as she looked up at him.

"To not feel scared every time I get close to someone." AJ said.

"Are you scared right now?" He asked her quietly.

"No." She whispered, looking up at him, "In fact… I think if you kissed me right now, I wouldn't mind." She nodded. And that was the truth. Never had she got this close to a man in six years without freezing and backing away. This was different, completely different. With any other man she would have made an excuse to back away, to get out of his company, but with him, all she could think about was how much she wanted to kiss him right now.

"I wouldn't mind either." Punk nodded.

"Ok." AJ nodded encouragingly.

"Ok." He smiled, placing his finger under her chin to tilt her head up a little, looking into her huge brown eyes as he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. Soft and gentle, allowing her to deepen the kiss if she wished, and she did.

He felt her hands cup the sides of his neck, pulling him a little closer as she turned her body into him, deepening the kiss as he obliged with her and felt her tongue clashing with his own. He'd never kissed this passionately before. He'd always thought of kissing as a necessity for a relationship, but right now, he could have sat and kissed her all night.

AJ had never felt this ready and relaxed in another man's arms since her attack. The feeling of his lips against hers was so warm and inviting, that she had simply just melted into him. All of those conflicting feelings she had about him vanished. Nothing was conflicting about how much she enjoyed kissing him.

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! Hope you're enjoying. Lots of love.