A Second Chance

The front door opened and I could hear them talking although I couldn't make out anything being said. Then the door closed and I could see the guy make his way towards his car. I walked back out to the lounge room, Jodie was in the kitchen pouring a glass of water.

"Thanks again Mark, I appreciate it."

"Yeah, well next time you need to arrange a babysitter."

Jodie stood there looking at me as she took a mouthful of water.

"I said before you don't get to play the jealous card Mark."

"I don't care what you say, I'm not your backstop so you can go fuck other guys. If you want to fuck other guys apart from Saturday mornings when I have Sienna, you need a babysitter. This was the last time."

Jodie didn't respond to that, she just watched me like she was trying to figure me out. She took another mouthful of water.

"Does it hurt Mark?"

"What?"

"To still be in love with someone while they go out to find someone else to fuck?"

I glared into Jodie's eyes. How can she be that much of a bitch? She's never been that mean to me before.

"Are you enjoying turning the knife, I never picked you for being so cold Jodie."

"I'm not, but at least now you know just a fraction of how I felt. Doesn't feel good, does it?"

I looked away before I might say something I regret.

"Besides Mark, I didn't do this to hurt you, it isn't about you at all."

"Clearly." As I then made my way to the front door.

"Mark." I stopped and looked back at Jodie.

"I mean it, I'm not doing this to hurt you, I know you still love me. I see the way you look at me, the same way like before we were married."

"But you clearly don't still love me, do you?"

"That's not true. I just can't let myself get hurt like that again. I've tried to convince myself to give you a second chance, but you hurt me too much for me to do that just yet."

"When will you be ready? It's been two years now, will you be ready after three years, four years? I can't do this anymore, begging to be forgiven, hoping that one day you might give me another chance to prove myself. Waiting for you while you see if some other guy can help you to forget me. This is it I swear, I'm not asking anymore. Sign the divorce papers and let's end this."

The next day Jodie texted me, asking if we could talk. I ignored her text. I got a few more over the next day or two, and like the first one, I ignored them as well.

On Saturday I showed up to pick up my daughter, I barely said a word or acknowledged Jodie during the few uncomfortable minutes I was there. When I returned Sienna, Jodie was now giving me the cold treatment as well.

A few weeks later I had been over a buddy's place playing poker on a Wednesday night, he lives two streets away from my old home. Not sure why, but on my way home around midnight I drove past my house. The guy who picked up Jodie a few weeks back for a date, his car was in the driveway, all the house lights were off. It was clear that Jodie was now sleeping with this guy, any chance for us getting back together really is over.

The Saturday pickups over the next two months remained cold and uncomfortable between Jodie and myself. The texting, the friendly chats, were now a thing of the past. The only contact I made with Jodie was to confirm the pickup time for Sienna, and I no longer stayed at my old home when seeing my daughter, only to pick her up or drop her off.

During this time I contemplated filing for the divorce finalization myself, just so it would be officially over. Not sure why I didn't, in the end I just ignored it.

I also started dating again, the latest a woman named Kasie. She was a few years younger than me at twenty-two years old and was great in bed. But I have to admit that we really didn't have that much to talk about outside of the bedroom though. I knew from the first five minutes after we had met that she was only going to be a bit fun for a while at best.

This Saturday was going to be my daughter's second birthday and Jodie had arranged for some friends and family to be there before lunchtime. I showed up at 8am as usual though to enjoy some father daughter time before the birthday party kicked off.

When I arrived at the house, the guy who Jodie is dating was there, no doubt from the night before. I found out his name was Brett, a former college footballer and all round asshole. That was my impression anyway, the smugness and arrogance oozed off this guy, I hated him from the moment I met him.

I quickly left with Sienna, and we went to the local park for a while before having to return before the party guests began to arrive. I stayed of course, but it was the most uncomfortable feeling I have ever been through. All of our friends and family were all wanting to get to know Brett, enamored by his football career and all round handsome charm. Even my own mom spent more time chatting with Jodie and Brett than she did with me. This is what it's like to be on the outside looking in.

Once the two candles had been blown out, the presents opened, the food eaten and one or two people had already left, I decided to leave as well. After saying goodbye to my mom and a few other relatives, I wished my daughter the best for the rest of her birthday and gave her a big kiss.

As I approached Jodie and Brett, I could see the conceited grin across his face, fuck did I hate this guy. Jodie thanked me for coming and said that she would see me next Saturday, Brett didn't say anything, he just gave me that shit-eating grin of his.

So that night I found myself out with Kasie, she was a good distraction after the events of today. We went to a club and spent the night with her friends, dancing and drinking. The night ended with both of us back in my apartment for some fun, so the day was not all bad after all.

Another two months had passed since my daughter's birthday, and nothing had changed. I still kept the Saturday pickups short and quick, I still said next to nothing to Jodie, even less to Brett. Kasie and I were still seeing each other now and again, but it was only a matter of time before one of us found someone we would rather be with. My life felt like it was on autopilot, I was going through the motions without really being alive.

Today was the one day I looked forward to, Saturday morning, the time I could spend with my daughter Sienna. I arrived at 8am, Brett's car was not in the driveway for once. I stopped unlocking the front door myself when Jodie began having Brett sleep over, it felt wrong to just walk in unannounced.

I had knocked for the third time, and still no-one had answered. So this time I did use my key and go inside calling Jodie's name. I got no response, so I made my way to Sienna's room to see if she was there. Before I could even leave the lounge room Sienna came running out to give me a big hug. After picking her up, I looked down the hallway to Jodie's room and saw that her door was shut.

"Is mummy home sweety?"

"Yes, she's sad daddy."

I walked down the hallway carrying Sienna and knocked on Jodie's door.

"Are you in there Jodie?"

"Just take Sienna and leave."

"Do you mind opening the door for a minute?"

"Just leave Mark."

"Alright, we'll be back in about two hours, okay?"

I got no response.

With that I left with Sienna to the shops. I had promised her a musical toy, hopefully it would be noisy and piss off Brett no end.

Sienna was growing quick at over two years old, she ran everywhere and her vocabulary was growing by the day. She no longer slept in a cot and had her own bed which made her feel like a grown-up. I was now missing not being with her even more, feeling that I was missing a big part or her life by only seeing her for a few hours every Saturday.

I had spoken with people in child services about how to gain more custody so I could have Sienna for the entire weekend at least, if not have her for more if possible. It basically came down to Jodie having to agree and approve any change to the current agreement. So, I decided that I would bring it up with Jodie when I returned with Sienna today.

When we returned home, I let myself in with Sienna and placed her new noisy keyboard toy on the kitchen table. I had a smile on my face thinking about how off note and noisy Sienna was sure to be while Brett would be trying to get lucky with my wife. Maybe it would be enough to make him want to leave.

I noticed that Jodie's bedroom door was open, so I walked down the hallway to talk to her about Sienna and our custody arrangement. Jodie was not in the bedroom, I could hear water running in the adjoining bathroom.

Then Jodie stepped back into the bedroom, obviously not expecting to see me standing there. She was naked except for her panties, and she clearly had large bruises on different parts of her body, including a fat lip and a black eye.

"What the fuck Jodie?"

"You're not meant to be in here, get out!"

"No, I'm not moving until you tell me what all these bruises are from, it's that asshole Brett isn't it?"

"Leave Mark, now. Please." As Jodie asked that, she began to tear up and ran back into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

I stood there, stunned by what I had just seen. That huge asshole had beaten up Jodie, what sort of fucking coward does that to a woman? And with my daughter in the house.

I sat on the bed, waiting for Jodie to come back out. This was not a conversation she was going to avoid. A few minutes later the bathroom door cracked open and Jodie looked in, seeing me sitting on the bed waiting. She quickly closed the door again.

"I asked you to leave Mark, please."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'll sit here all day until you come out. We're going to talk about this."

The bathroom door slowly opened and Jodie came out, covered in a bath robe. She quietly sat down on the bed beside me, not saying a word. I looked at her face, she had tears rolling down her cheeks, her eyes were glassy.

"What happened?" I asked as calmly as I could muster.

Jodie leaned forward and put her head in her hands, I could hear her sobbing quietly.

"You have to talk about this Jodie."

"He got pissed off with Sienna last night, she wanted to play while he was watching football. He yelled at her, and I yelled at him. We had an argument, then he went back to watching his football. Then later he yelled at her again, so I slapped his chest, telling him to leave, that it wasn't okay to yell at my daughter. He got up and grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me to the bedroom."

Jodie was crying a lot more now and I placed my arm around her. Jodie then continued.

"He started to hit me, then pushed me down onto the bed and ripped my dress off."

Jodie then sat back up and looked at me, tears streaming down her face.

"He raped me Mark, that fucking asshole raped me!"

I wrapped both of my arms around her and pulled her in against my chest.

"Have you called the police yet?"

"No."

"We have to call them Jodie."

"I don't want to go through that Mark."

"You don't have a choice, both you and our daughter are here. If you don't press charges, he can come back."

I handed my phone to Jodie, dialing 9-1-1 for her. After the call, I left her to get dressed, sitting in Sienna's room with her. I heard a car pull into the driveway, expecting it to be the police. It was not, it was Brett. I quickly made my way out to the front door just as Brett approached the house.

"What the fuck are you doing in my house little man?"

The fucking arrogance of this prick.

"Get the fuck off my property now asshole! You're no longer welcome here."

"You don't get to decide when I come here to fuck your wife little man. This is my house now!"

I stood there, blocking the doorway as Brett walked up to me. He then shoved me backwards onto the floor. While I'm no UFC fighter, I know how to look after myself a bit, however Brett was far bigger and stronger than I was. I scrambled to my feet as Brett landed a punch on the side of my head, knocking me back to the floor. I got up again and threw a few punches of my own, hitting him in the ribs, but he blocked my follow up punch.

Then he headbutted me, I staggered backwards falling to the floor and everything started going hazy as I then felt more punches hitting my face and ribs. I blacked out.

As I started to come around, there was a paramedic leaning over me in our lounge room. As the dizziness began to clear I noticed a policeman standing beside the paramedic. The paramedic shone a light into my eyes, then both of them helped me up on to the couch to sit down.

I looked down at my shirt and noticed that it was covered in blood, and my nose began to throb terribly.

"Mr Thompson, Mark is it? Are you able to answer a few questions?"

"Yeah sure. Where's my wife and daughter? Are they okay?"

"Your daughter is fine, there are paramedics and detectives in with your wife, they said she will be okay."

I nodded trying to take everything in, then realized what the policeman just said to me.

"That fucking asshole, did he attack Jodie again?"

"She will be okay, right now I need you to answer a few questions, can you do that for me Mark?"

I nodded yes.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"That fucker raped and assaulted Jodie last night, I got her to call the police when I found out."

"When was that?"

"After I dropped off my daughter this morning."

"So your wife didn't tell you after the rape happened last night?"

"No, she told me after I saw bruises on her body and the black eye this morning."

"What is the name of the man that did this?"

"Brett, Brett Wagner I think."

"So after your wife called the police, what happened next?"

"I was in my daughter's room, when he arrived. I went to the front door to stop him from coming in."

"Yes, go on."

"We exchanged a few words while he walked up to me, then he shoved me to the ground and hit me. I got up and hit him back, but I think he headbutted me, then started punching me again when I was on the ground. I don't remember anything after that."

"Thanks, Mark. we will need you to come to the station shortly to give your statement, along with your wife, okay?"

"Sure, have you arrested him?"

"Yes we have, he was still here when one of the squad cars arrived. He's in custody at the station already."

"Did he hurt Jodie?"

"One of the detectives will talk with you shortly Mark, she is in with Jodie right now."

"Did he hurt her?"

"She was attacked, yes. She will be alright though."

"My daughter? Is she okay, he didn't touch her, did he?"

"No, your daughter is fine, she is very upset though. She is going to need you to be strong for her as soon as we get you cleaned up, okay?"

I nodded in agreement.

Shortly they let me into Sienna's room where a policewoman was sitting with her, Sienna ran to me and jumped into my arms and started crying again.

"It's alright baby, we're all going to be fine. Did you meet a nice policewoman sweety?"

"Yes, her name is Mary." Sienna responded in between sobs.

I held her in my arms, rubbing her back to soothe her.

Before they let me see Jodie, one of the detectives spoke with me in the kitchen. She filled me in that when the police showed up, they found me unconscious just inside the front door, and they found the assailant in the bedroom in the act of raping Jodie.

She advised me that Jodie was coping okay considering, and that Jodie's mother was on her way over to help take care of Sienna while we went to the hospital and then police station to give our statements. She then looked me directly in the eyes, and said that Jodie would need my support, to not question her about what happened, if and when she is ready to talk, to be there for her.

As the other detective and paramedics came out to the lounge room, they told me that Jodie had asked for me, she was getting dressed. I walked into the bedroom, Jodie was just getting done buttoning up her top.

When she saw me standing in the doorway, she came over and hugged me tight.

"Just hold me for a minute Mark, please don't say anything."

I hugged her back, giving her the time she needed.

After a while she looked up at me.

"God, you look terrible. I think your nose is broken."

"Probably, it hurts like hell right now."

"It might be an improvement." I started to chuckle at Jodie's jibe before feeling the pain in my ribs.

"Don't make me laugh please, I'm a bit sore right now. How are you Jodie, really?"

"If I'm being honest, not too good. This has been the worst day of my life."

I nodded an acknowledgement to Jodie, giving her a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you, Mark, if you didn't force me to call the police, it could have been even worse."

"We're going to get through this, okay Jodie. Whatever you need, just let me know."

"Can you just be here with me, with Sienna. Just us together when we get home later?"

"Of course I will. Your mom will be here soon as well to look after Sienna."

"No, I mean once we get back, I don't want to be coddled or asked about this. I just want you here with me, is that alright?"

"Yeah, I understand. Not sure your mom will understand though."

"I'll speak with her when we get back."

After we had been to the hospital to fix my nose and get a scan of my ribs, then to the police station to give our statements, Jodie's mom had reluctantly agreed to go home. We sat in the lounge room with a kids show on for Sienna. Jodie joined me on the couch and curled up beside me resting her head on my chest.

We didn't talk about what had happened the night before or during the day. I think both of us wanted it to go away as if it never happened. I knew this was not Jodie and myself getting back together, it was just that it was me that she needed right now to help get her through this. She knew I loved her and would do anything to protect her and Sienna, even if it meant I ended up unconscious on the floor covered in my own blood. Right now I made her feel safe and loved, and that's what she needed.

Later that night when we had all gone to bed, I was trying to get to sleep in the spare bedroom when I saw Jodie quietly walk in and lay on the bed with me.

"Can you hold me Mark, I don't want to be alone."

I put my arms around her and pulled her into me.

"I'm sorry I didn't give you a second chance, if I had none of this would have happened."

"Don't think like that. None of this is your fault. The fault lays with the asshole behind bars, okay?"

Jodie let out a sigh, she took a few seconds then continued.

"Last night after what happened, I laid there trying to figure out how I got myself into this position with a guy I didn't even like that much. I thought back to the night I had my first date with him, I wasn't planning on seeing him again after that first date."

"Then when I got home from the date and we talked, and you told me you were done waiting for me because I wasn't ready to give you another chance. Then you wouldn't talk to me after that. I felt so alone, I wanted to talk to you so that I could find a way to say yes to you. In the end I only agreed to go out with him again just so I didn't feel so alone."

"God I wish that I could go back and just have said yes to you that night, that I wanted us to be together again, and told you that I was still in love with you."

I could hear Jodie begin to cry softly in my arms.

"Hey come on, I wish I would have taken your calls now too, but that's not how life works. We're going to get past this I swear. Tomorrow we are going to have a barbeque in the back yard, just the three of us. And we can go for a walk at the lake. We will keep going okay, no asshole will stop us from enjoying our lives, alright?"

Jodie gave me a nod as we both drifted off to sleep.

The next two months were difficult waiting for the court case. I had basically moved into the spare room at home and was spending as much time with Jodie and Sienna when not at work. Jodie and I were not intimate sexually at all during this time, although she was showing me plenty of affection with hugs, cuddling and even holding hands when we went for walks.