Second Chances

Finding out the truth

Jack spends the whole day in a bad mood. He threw things around and screamed at everything. Mary was worried that he was still upset with her, so she tried to stay out of his way.

After dinner, Mary was cleaning the kitchen when Jack's phone rang. Alanna was calling him, so Mary called Jack, “Jack Alanna is calling you.” Jack didn’t answer, so Mary thought that he didn’t hear her. She grabs Jack's phone and takes it to him in Hunter’s room.

Jack was rocking Hunter to sleep, so Mary put his phone next to him and whispered, “Alanna was calling you.” Jack looked at Mary with an angry face. Mary thought he was mad at her, so she rushed out of the room and went back to the kitchen.

Then the phone rang again. Jack grabbed it and saw that it was Alanna, so he threw it out the door. Mary saw the phone flying out the door and smashing against the wall. That is when Mary realized that he wasn’t mad at her but at Alanna.

Mary wondered what had happened now. She finished in the kitchen and goes to pick up the shattered phone from the floor. She laughed as she picked up the mess and Jack asked angrily, “what is so funny?” Mary looked at him and said, “That you and Alanna are the same.” Jack shouted, “We are not.” Mary saw the hurt in his eyes and asked him, “What happened?” Jack left Hunter sleeping in his crib and walked out of his room quietly. He closed the door behind him and walked to the pool area. He came back inside with a bottle of scotch. He grabbed two small cups and lifted the bottle towards Mary and asked, “ Do you want some?”

Mary shook her head and said, “after what happened last time I drank. I don’t think I’m drinking ever again.” Jack smiled and poured himself a cup. Then he said, “ Don’t feel bad, you were just one of many.” Mary didn’t understand what Jack was saying, so she asked him, “What do you mean?”

Jack sat on the sofa with the bottle in one hand and the cup in the other. He taps on the sofa next to him, calling Mary over. Mary sat next to him and asked him again, “Jack, what do you mean by one of many?” Jack laughed and replied, “Alanna is not who I thought she was. She is actually the man-eater.” Mary looked at Jack confused, and Jack continued, “I can’t believe I was so blind. She has been playing with me all this time.”

Jack finished the cup and went to serve himself more scotch. Mary stands and tries to take the bottle away from him. Jack pulls away and pours himself more. Mary grabs his face and tells him, “Jack, don’t say those things about Alanna. You know her well and she would never play with you. She loves you.” Jack laughs loudly and wakes up Hunter. Mary gets upset at him and tells him to stop. Jack grabbed his keys and asked Mary if she could take care of Hunter because he needed some air. Mary took his keys away and told him that she would take care of Hunter, but he was not going to drive after drinking. She called him a taxi and told him to please be careful.

The taxi arrived and Jack asked the driver to take him to a bar outside of town. He didn’t want anyone that knew him to see him like that. The taxi driver took him to a small bar. There were only a few cars in the parking lot. Jack gave the driver a good tip and entered the bar.

The bar was dark, and it had a strong smell. Jack walked to the bar and asked for a scotch. He handed the bartender his credit card and instructed him to keep the drinks coming. Jack turned around on the stool with his drink in hand and looked around. There was an old man at the end of the bar and two older women sitting at a table. Another old man sat at a table alone and a heavy-set man sat at the back with his arms crossed taking a nap.

Jack looked around and saw how depressing everybody looked, so he asked the bartender to give everyone another round on him. The women heard Jack and thanked him. Jack drinks and stares at the wall. A door noise caught his attention. Jack turned towards the noise and saw Matthew coming out of the bathroom.

Jack could not believe it. He goes as far as possible to have a drink in peace and forget about Alanna, and her fiancé appears. Jack makes a disapproving face and begins to walk away when the bartender stops him. He called, “ Sir don’t forget your credit card.” Then Matthew sees Jack, and calls him, “Hey Jack, what are you doing here? I thought you were with Alanna?”

Jack looked at Matthew confused. Matthew smiled and said, “She tries to hide it, but I know she has been seen you.” Jack walked toward Matthew and told him, “I’m so sorry, body.” Matthew smiled, tapped Jack’s shoulder and said, “I know she doesn’t want to hurt me but there is nothing she can do. I love her.” Jack looked down and told Matthew, “I’m so ashamed. I can’t believe that you put up with that. We shouldn’t let that man-eater play with us.”

Matthew stood in front of Jack making a fist. He wanted to punch him for calling Alanna a man-eater. Matthew interrupted Jack, “wait, wait, wait... hold on. Why are you referring to Alanna like that? I won’t let you treat her like that.” Jack looked at Matthew and laughed, “I can’t believe you are still defending her after she cheated on you.”

Matthew looked at Jack and saw his sad face. Then he asked Jack, “You know Alanna left me a long time ago?” Jack's eyes widened and he put his drink down. He quietly stared at the floor as he processed the information. Matthew noticed that Jack had tears running down his face, so he realized that he didn’t know. Matthew asked Jack, “are you okay?” Jack looked at Matthew and said, “ I have been judging her so harshly thinking that she was still with you.” Matthew tapped his shoulder and told Jack, “bro she picked you and she has been trying to be kind to me by not running back to you, but I know that she can't help herself. She loves you and I just need to get used to the fact that she will never be mine.” Jack couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Jack regrets not trusting Alanna. He wishes he had known.

Matthew took a sip of his drink and asked Jack, “wait, so you thought that she was sleeping with you while she was with me?” Jack nodded. Matthew shouted, “you don’t know Alanna if you think she is capable of something like that.” Jack covered his face with his hands and grunted, “I’m an idiot.” Matthew took another sip of his drink and responded, “Yes you are. You can be with her right now and you are wasting your time in this sad bar.”

Jack jumped up and asked the bartender to call him a taxi. He thanked Matthew and on the way to the door he stopped and asked, “But why are you always in her house.” Matthew smiled, “I’m waiting for my apartment renovations to be finished, so she offered me the guest room.”

The taxi beeped the horn and Jack rushed out of the door. He gets in the taxi and gives the driver Alanna’s address. He arrives at Alanna’s house and pastes around the porch for a few minutes thinking about his apology. He knocked on the door and Alanna didn't open, so he walked away. Then Alanna opened the door. Jack gets startled and Alanna laughs. She asked him, "Is everything okay? I called you earlier today but you didn't answer."

Jack rubbed his face and looked at her with tears. Alanna sees him crying and rushes to him. She embraced him and asked with a shaky voice, "What is wrong? Is Hunter okay?" Jack didn't answer. He holds on to her and cries in her arms. Alanna pushes him back and asks him, "Please tell me what's wrong?"

Jack pulled her closer and whispered into her ear, "please forgive me for doubting you." Alanna let go of Jack and asked him, "What do you mean? You doubted me? Jack looked at her eyes and explained what had happened.

Alanna walked away from him and exclaimed, " You thought I would be with you while I was with Matthew? What kind of person do you think I am?" Jack apologized and begged for forgiveness. Alanna grabs his hand and took him inside the house. She took him to the kitchen and showed him the plumbers working. Then Alanna told Jack, "I understand how it looked, but I will never do something like that. I called you today to apologize for earlier. The kitchen plumbing exploded and I didn't want to hurt Matthew by letting him know that I was with you." Jack caresses her face and tells her, "I'm such an Idiot."

Alanna kisses Jack's hand and tells him that after breaking Matthew's heart she didn't want to run back into his arms and rub it on Matthew's face, but every time she saw him she couldn't resist. Jack hugged her and told her, "you are so sweet but he knows." Alanna smiled, and slid her hands inside Jack's shirt and asked, "So does that mean that we can stop hiding?" Jack kissed her neck and Alanna moaned quietly. Then a tool dropped and they remembered that the plumbers were there. Alanna laughed, covering her mouth. Jack asked her to call Matthew and tell him to come home. He felt bad for leaving him in that depressing bar. Then Jack grabbed Alanna's car keys from her purse. He grabbed her hand and took her to her car.

Jack asks Alanna to drive him to his house. Alanna did as Jack asked. They arrived at Jack's house and Mary was sitting on the sofa with Hunter sleeping on her chest. Mary smiled when she saw Alanna and asked Jack, "You feel better now?" Jack nodded with a big smile. Mary smiled at Alanna and told her, "please don't leave this guy again. He is the worst without you."