Begin Again {Sequel to Sleepless Nights}

Chapter Two

   Listen to the song above during the coffee shop part. :')

I sat across from Mark at a booth away from everyone else, he wasn't drinking his coffee, instead he watched me drink mine.
"Mark?"
"Yes baby?" He shook his head and sighed. "Sorry. What is it?"
"Who was it?"
"Sorry?"
"The girl. Who was she?"
"Do you really want to talk about this now?" He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.
"I do."
He sighed and took a drink of his coffee, his body was tense as he leaned back, squeezing his eyes shut and exhaling.
"I don't remember her name."
"What did she look like?" I snapped.
"She had  black hair and blue eyes, that's all I really remember."
"Was she pretty?"
"No." He reached across the table and tried to grab my hand and I almost let him. I pulled my hand away and rested it against my head.
"Do you actually want full custody of Jackson?" I asked, breaking the silence.
"Yes I do."
"So do I."
"Anna, I don't want things to be like this between us."
"Well it's your fault." I could tell that was a low blow, Mark squeezed his eyes shut and winced.
"I deserved that. Anna, please come home. I miss you and Jackson so much. I haven't been able to sleep that well, nor have an appetite, my house isn't a home anymore. I love you so much."
"Mark." I breathed out,"I'm sorry. I will always love you, you're the father of our child, and we have beautiful memories together, and that's all their going to be. I'm sorry." He nodded, twiddling with his thumbs, not wanting to make eye contact with me.
"I should be the one apologizing. I hurt you in a way that will never fully heal. You were and still are the best thing to ever happen to me, and I fucked it up." He said as his voice cracked, he cleared his throat."It's as simple as that. I'm starting to get the vibe of how you feel now. The entire time we've been separated, I haven't thought about anyone but you, but you—" A lump formed in his throat. "You've been sleeping in one of my best friend's beds. You're over me."
"Mark–" He wiped the corner of his eyes and threw the suit jacket back on his white button up and stormed out of the coffee shop. I held my head in my hands, I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, but I wouldn't allow them to escape. I grabbed my cup of coffee and stood outside in the warm sunlight, I texted Shane and asked if he could walk to the coffee shop. I smiled at my phone when he said he was on his way.
"Excuse me miss?" I turned to see a woman and a younger girl, the younger girl was smiling ear to ear. "My sister was obsessed with your channel when you were a YouTuber. She's a little timid, but can she have your autograph?" 
"Of course." I smiled and shoved my phone in my bag, and took the drawing of Jack from the girl's hand and signed my sloppy signature on it.
"Thank you so much." I gave them a small wave and Shane walked into the small parking lot, his hair was a mess on his head, a plaid shirt was tight on his arms, a pair of tight jeans hugging his legs. He got in the passenger seat and sighed, looking over to me.
"How was the first day of court?"
"It wasn't as bad as I thought."
"Tomorrow you take the stand right?"
"Yep." I said, popping the p.
"What were you doing at the coffee shop?"
"I was with Mark."
His head quickly turned as shock was written all over his face.
"Oh bitch." He snorted. "What happened?"
"We just had coffee and we talked a little I suppose."
"I need details." He said as I turned on my turn signal, heading towards the highway.
"We talked about the mistress."
"Oh my god."
"She had black hair and blue eyes. That's all he remembers."
"I doubt that slut is even attractive."
"Shane." I scolded at him.
"What?"
"It's not her fault. She probably didn't even know he was married."
"And if she did?"
I sighed, my shoulders falling low.
"Let's hope we never find out."

"Joey I'm—" I put my bag on table beside the door and I was shocked to see a clean house, with the boys nowhere in sight. "Joey?" I called down the dim hallway, no answer. I set my bag on the couch and took out my phone, turning on the flashlight. "Where could he be?" Shane whispered, causing me to giggle.
"Why are you whispering?" He snorted and tried to explain, only to snort and hold his side.
"You're the one acting like we're in a horror movie or like we're cops." He snorted, flipping the light switch. "Sorry officer, there's light switches for a reason." He joked and smirked to himself as we walked down the hallway. I opened the door to Jackson's room to see that everything was in place, and that his crib was empty. I furrowed my eyebrows and pulled the door shut, opening the guest bedroom door. Nothing. I opened the bathroom door and saw Jackson's bath toys lining the sink, I grinned as I started picking them up and putting them in the small wooden basket.
"He gave Jackson a bath? Has he ever done that?"
"Nope." I said, turning off the light.
"Maybe someone broke into to your house."
"And bathed my son?" I asked sarcastically.
"Yes actually."
"Shane, just because you would do something, doesn't mean anyone else would." He snorted.
"Girl, your right." I opened the door to Joey's room, and heard a lullaby playing. The only light in the room was coming from one of Joey's lamps. I started to wake up Joey and I stopped myself when I saw he was laying next to Jackson, sleeping soundly. I smiled a small smile and covered Joey up, he shifted in his sleep and coughed. I tiptoed out of his room and pulled the door close.
"That was fucking adorable." Shane said. "Come on, let's go plan for tomorrow." We walked into the kitchen and Shane grabbed a beer, opening it and sitting down at the kitchen table.
"What do you think they're going to ask you about?"
"My lawyer said it can get really personal."
"I wonder what their going to ask me." Shane muttered, taking a drink of the beer.
"Just about how I take care of Jackson. They asked for Joey to be there."
"They want Joey there?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Anna, I love you dearly girl. But that's a huge step for your–" He stopped to think."Whatever the hell you two call what's going on between you two." He snorted."You think he's up to that? Like this is it, this is seriously going to determine if you and Mark are done, you seriously need to remember that okay? Because you know how I believe in soulmates, where one person is made just for you. And you have one opportunity to fall in love with them, and if something happens, sure, you'll date again, but I bet you anything, you'll always remember them, and it'll eat you alive one day years down the road, and you can't eat your Taco Bell anymore because you're crying your eyes out."
"Damn boy, who hurt you?"
He snorted and clapped his hands together. "This is a serious matter Anna. I've watched a lot of court shows, they will pull some shady shit. You need to be prepared for that. They could throw something in your face that not even your mama knows." I sighed and ran my fingers through my short brown hair.
"This is going to be a war. There's no way any of us can come back from this." A tear slid down my cheek, and all the emotions I endured today spilled out of me. Running into Mark, seeing Dee in the elevator, the look Mark gave me when he was under oath, it shattered my heart, I watched the light fade from his eyes and be replaced with tears, I watched his body sink into the chair, trying to make him as low in the seat as how low he felt. Shane set the beer on the table and pulled me into a tight hug, I buried my face into his neck and sobbed.
"Hey, hey. It's okay." He said as he rubbed my back. The door of Joey's bedroom creaked open, and then another door be opened. Joey walked down the hall and entered the kitchen,
"Anna." Shane let me go and Joey wrapped me in a tight hug, making me feel secure.
"Hey, it's okay. Tell me what's wrong."
I sat down on the couch, sighing and wiping my eyes.
"I'm just worried about tomorrow. That's all."
He nodded and rubbed my thigh, trying to console me, and I exhaled as I started to calm down.
"Hey, look at me." He wiped a tear away with his thumb. "It's going to be okay, I promise you. No matter what happens, I will be by your side."
"Yeah Anna." Shane sat down next to me. "Everything is going to work out. You need to just calm down, maybe take a long shower, and go to sleep. We all have a big day tomorrow." I nodded and sniffled, taking a second to recollect myself. I walked to the bathroom and took off my clothing,
I felt twenty times better already, I turned on the shower and waited for it to warm up.

Mark
I sat at the kitchen table, my mind replaying Anna's words.
It's your fault.
My grip tightened on the table.
I will always love you.
I ran my fingers through my hair, tugging at it.
We had some good memories.
I stood up and started walking upstairs. My legs were restless, my heart was pounding as I opened the door to the room I haven't seen in months. I sat on the carpet, looking around at the empty bedroom. I stared at the blue and white patterns going along the wall. I leaned against the wall and leaned my head against the empty dresser where Jackson's clothes used to be.
I'm sorry.
I screamed out of frustration and elbowed the wall, a huge hole in the drywall. It's all my fault. I'm the reason she's gone. I never wanted to hurt her. And now that I did, each day that passes, she's happier and I'm falling lower and lower.
"I can't do this anymore." I tugged at my red hair as tears streamed down my face.

Anna
I let the hot water roll off my tired, heavy body for almost twenty minutes before getting out. I threw on Joey's team edge shirt and put on a pair of panties. I could hear Shane and Joey laughing down stairs, the sound of their laughs bringing a smile to my face. I opened the door to my room and plopped down on the bed. I hate to admit it, but I didn't like sleeping in separate rooms, but Joey didn't want me to do anything I wasn't comfortable with. I laid down and wrapped in the comforter, sighing with relief as I closed my heavy eyes.

Mark
I looked at the clock, court is in two hours and I haven't slept. I crushed the beer can and tossed it into the trash can. I reached into my hoodie pocket and lit a cigarette, almost cursing to myself when I thought about Jackson being here, then I remembered, I'm alone. I chuckled to myself and picked up a picture Anna left. It was a picture of me and her. I ran my fingers over the glass and tossed it at the wall, sending shards of glass everywhere. I sat on the couch and laid down on the arm and reminded myself to get up early this time, I couldn't wake up twenty minutes before court and hope for the best.
"I can just get a cup of coffee." I said to myself as I put out the cigarette. I wrapped myself in the light blanket, listening to the sound of my stomach rumble as I closed my eyes.

Hey guys! I know this is a filler chapter but I really wanted you guys to see how both Anna and Mark were doing. I've been putting my all in this and I'm very proud of myself.