"Always," Punk answered before getting out of the car and going to unlock his front door.
"You sure?"
"Mmmhm." He opened the door and left it open for Colt before discarding his jacket and heading deeper into his house.
Colt knew not to press him, that if he wanted to talk he would. He took a seat on the couch, and waited.
"So, I guess you are staying?" Punk asked with a raised eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his voice at the way that Colt was making himself comfortable.
"Yeah, I'm not leaving you alone, man."
"Right." Punk dropped down on the couch next to him, the frown forming on his face again. "I think Bryan's changed more than I thought," he blurted out suddenly. He'd been wanting to say the words since Colt had picked him up.
"What do you mean?"
"Saw a bruise on AJ and then she lied about how she got it," Punk revealed with a sour taste in his mouth. He'd known Bryan almost as long as he'd known Colt...
"How did she say she got it?"
"Kelly," Punk said with a scoff. "I saw it, though, and I'm telling you. There's no way Kelly could have put that bruise on her."
Colt was shocked silent for a moment by this. "Bryan? Are you sure about that? I mean...it's Bryan."
"Yeah, I'm sure." He replied, "When I went to ask Kelly myself, AJ clammed up and asked me not to do it, that I didn't need to do this."
Colt's jaw clenched. He'd never been a cynical or as confrontational as Punk but there were a few things he'd start a fight with someone twice his size over. Hitting a woman was one of them.
"You need some help taking care of this?"
"I don't think violence would be such a good idea." There was a hint of regret in Punk's tone as he said it but Colt nodded.
"Yeah, I get that."
"I just don't know what to do." Punk admitted. "If I'm not able to convince her to leave him..."
Colt nodded, his brow creasing with worry, for this girl that he didn't know but mostly for Punk. He knew why Punk would be so invested in something like this, even though he'd never heard Punk talk about AJ before now.
"Well, you'll have to get her to trust you."
"That's going to be hard, most women in these types of relationships find it hard to trust anyone," He replied with a sigh as he put his face in his hands. "They're afraid to leave, they think they can somehow change the person, but it'll never stop."
Colt eyed him, studied his body language and the way he was staring off into space and was convinced, for that moment that Punk wasn't just talking about AJ.
"Well, you have to try, right?"
"I'm going to try my hardest," he whispered, "I have to save her."
The vehemence of that statement convinced Colt that he wasn't entirely in the conversation, that he wasn't talking about AJ alone and Colt's concern heightened.
Colt hesitated a moment, unsure if he should go this far. "This just about AJ or your mom?"
Punk's head snapped up, eyes wide. "What the hell are you talking about?" Anger immediately made its way into his tone.
"How long have we known each other?" Colt asked calmly. "I know-"
"Shut up," Punk practically growled, standing.
"Okay, I'll shut up."
"Good." Punk scrubbed a hand through his hair, suddenly looking restless and causing guilt to squirm in Colt's gut.
"You need to sleep," he finally spoke up, noting for the first time how exhausted Punk actually looked.
"I can't sleep," Punk answered, letting out an almost hysterical laugh.
"Please try?"
"I can't."
"Will you at least try and eat something?"
Punk finally met Colt's gaze and he must have seen the real concern in his eyes and the hint of guilt there because he finally relented.
"Yeah, alright."
"What do you want?" He asked, "I'll make it while you shower.""
"Whatever's fine. I don't care." He started out but paused, turning to Colt with a frown. "Thanks," he managed before leaving the room without waiting for a reply.
Colt simply nodded before walking into the kitchen.
Chapter 2
Start from the beginning
