Page 2 of Murphy's Laws of Attraction
Finn
Three Months Later
The last three months have been hell to say the least. I’ve worked my ass off, but I’m still not close to where I want to be. The wheelchair is my friend, but I am able to walk with a walker pretty damn good. Savannah isn’t happy with my progress at all. Which is probably why at this very moment she is packing her shit to leave. It could also be because I suggested we move home so our parents could help us with Paisley and my recovery.
“I married you to get out of that shithole of a one-horse town and see the world. Now you’re saying let’s move back, fuck no. I should have done this before you deployed but I was hoping some time apart would be good for us.” She continued throwing things into a huge duffel bag. This isn’t the first time she’s threatened to leave me. Typically, I apologize for doing whatever it was I did to piss her off, we kiss, we make up, and she doesn’t leave. She’s pissed because I suggested moving back to our hometown so she could have some help.
“Babe, please listen. I only suggested it because you’ve been working so hard. You take care of me, you take care of Paisley, and you’re working full-time. If we move home, our families can help with Paisley and me so you have less on your plate. I thought this would be a good thing, but if you are so against it we won’t do it. That simple babe, I love you and I want you happy above all else.” She rolls her eyes when I tell her I love her and huffs out a breath before zipping the duffel bag closed suddenly.
“He said you would try something like this, but I wanted to believe you wouldn’t. How long have you known?” I blink up at her in confusion. Who was he and how long had I known about what? A smile slowly crawls across her lips, not a happy smile but the kind you expect the psychopath to have right before they slit your throat.
“You didn’t know, well the cats out of the bag now. Not that you weren’t about to find out anyway when he comes to pick me up and take me the fuck out this pathetic apartment. I’ve been seeing someone else for a while now Finn. I’m leaving this time; he’s coming to pick me up right now.” Thinking back, I try to recall anything out of the ordinary for her behavior. I noticed it in the hospital, and I chalked it up to the stress of the situation. Then I chalked it up to dealing with working full-time, something she’d never had to do before my accident. I kept making excuses after excuses for her because it never occurred to me that she’d found someone else. The reality of what she said hits me square in the chest and I see red.
“What the fuck Savannah? You’ve been fucking someone else since before I was wounded?” My heart feels like it’s about to burst out of my chest, it feels like it’s caving in. I’ve loved this woman, I love this woman, and she just admitted to fucking around on me while I was deployed and continuing to do so after I was home. FUCK!
“You know what Finn, yeah if you want to be vulgar about it. I’ve been fucking someone else since before you were wounded. I didn’t plan it, it just happened.” She gives me a look that says I should have known or I should have at least suspected then starts to make her way out of our bedroom.
“So you were what, just standing there one day at the grocery store and he just fell into your pussy? Is that what happened Savannah, he just slipped right in while waiting in line to checkout? Please explain to me how it ‘just happened’, shit like that doesn’t ‘just happen’.” I follow her down our small hallway, thankful Paisley is in school and can’t hear this shit. Where did she meet this guy? How did she fucking meet this guy?
“No dumbass, we met down at the bar. He was there for me and listened to me when I felt alone because your ass was gone again. When you were wounded, he was there for me. When I needed to get a job to support your sorry ass, he helped me get one. I planned to wait ‘til you were back on your feet again before I did this, but once you suggested moving home that went out the window. I love him Finn, and I won’t let you take me away from him so you can be closer to your mommy while you sulk about your injury. God, grow up!” My whole body is vibrating with anger, there are things I want to say to her, words I want to use to hurt her, but instead I just sit there asking myself how I can fix this.
What can I do to make her love me again and not this asshole? Didn’t I love her enough? I thought I had, but maybe I didn't. Maybe this was all my fault, maybe I’d fucked up and she just found comfort somewhere else. I’m about to lose the two things that mean the most to me in my life: my daughter and my wife. Then I realized Savannah hadn’t gone into Paisley’s room to pack her a bag. She’s just standing there with her arms crossed looking out the window every few seconds, probably for the asshole that’s coming to pick her up.
“What about Paisley? What are you going to tell her when you take her away from her daddy?” I already have a feeling I know what she’s going to say.
“She’s your problem now Finn, I only had her because you begged me to. I wanted to see the world, to travel with you to all the different countries. What I got was beingstuck at home with a baby to take care while you did all the traveling without me.”Yeah, because all those places I visited were excellent vacation spots to take a family. How did I not see how selfish she was? The woman I met and fell in love with in high school was not the same person standing in front of me.
“My problem now. Do you hear yourself right now Savannah? Are you on something? That’s our fucking daughter you are talking about. Your little girl, the baby you carried inside you for nine months. How can you call her a problem? I don’t know you anymore.” She puffs out a laugh before looking out the window and smiles really big, like the Cheshire Cat. I guess the fucknut finally arrived to pick her up.
“I’m out of here, when the divorce papers come just sign them. Don’t fight me on this Finn, I want a clean break. I’m not even going to fight over custody with you, it will be a quick and easy process. Give this to me, because if you don’t I will claim abuse and take everything away from you including Paisley.” If I was standing, I probably would have fallen over. I’m too shocked to do anything else but stare after her as she walks out of the door with a twisted smile and a wave.
I don’t know how long I sat there staring at the door she walked out of, but it felt like the next instant Paisley was walking through the door. Her smiling face found mine as she flung her backpack onto a kitchen chair. Walking over to me, she hugged me tightly. When I got home, she was so afraid to even touch me until I explained she couldn’t hurt me with a hug. I pasted on a smile I did not feel after the day I had, but I knew I needed to be there for my little girl.
“Hey Sugarpop, how was school today?” She walked back over to the kitchen table and started pulling out her folder and lunch box.
“It was fine, Misty was a jerk to me today, and Caleb blew chunks all over the place during our math test. Ms. Howard had to evacuate the classroom while the custodians came in to clean it up. It was so gross.” She made her way over to the refrigerator and grabbed out a bottle of water and an apple before sitting down at the table.
“It sounds like you had an interesting day. Do you have any homework?” Usually her mom helped with her homework when she got home from work, but Savannah wouldn’t be coming home from work. She probably wasn’t coming home again at all. I needed to keep things as normal as possible for Paisley though.
“Nope, no homework today. I think Ms. Howard was so grossed out by Caleb’s vomit that she forgot to give us any.” Well, that was one thing at least I didn’t have to worry about for now. How was I going to tell her that her mom left? That not only did she leave, but she left without her and had no plans of coming back for her. Nope, definitely not telling her that. There was no way I would hurt my baby girl like that. Some things she didn’t need to know.
Chapter Two
Finn
Present day
I would like to say things were smooth sailing once Savannah and I filed for divorce, but the truth was not even close to that. Over the course of six months, she tried every tactic to get money from me. Her claim of wanting a clean break was complete and utter bullshit.
“Twelve years of marriage should be worth something.” She’d yelled across the table at me during one of our meetings.
The judge didn’t think so and denied her request for spousal support, due to infidelity. Then she tried to fight me for custody, and again the judge told her no because she only wanted Paisley for the child support she would get. To top off her epically failed attempt at getting money out of me the judge ordered her to pay child support. Needless to say, we weren’t on speaking terms.
Meanwhile Paisley thinks I’m the bad guy because I refuse to tell her the whole story. She knows her mom left us, but I made it sound like I refused to let Savannah take her. Thankfully, Savannah has never corrected her during the few visits she has made to see Paisley. Visits that if it weren’t for the court ordering them, I probably wouldn’t let happen.
Paisley and I moved back to my hometown shortly after the divorce was finalized. I bought a small home near my parents so they could help me with Paisley. After months of hard physical therapy, I was able to walk again. Unfortunately, thanks to the damage done working a regular job was out of the question.The government stamped me permanently disabled with all the lovely benefits to go along with that. Things like frequent trips to the local VA hospital, injections every few months to help with the migraines I got, and of course pain meds for home.
When Savannah’s ‘man’ dumped her ass right after the divorce, probably because he realized she wasn’t getting any money. I wasn’t sure if I should congratulate him on figuring out what a useless piece of human, she was long before I did or just do a happy dance that she got what she deserved. After she got dumped, she had no choice but to move back in with her parents. Watching karma work against someone who has wronged you, I won’t lie, felt pretty fucking fantastic. Having to deal with my ex-wife in our hometown is not so fantastic.
