Chapter 12

They kept me overnight and when they released me Amanda was there to pick me up. “You’re staying with me and the kids for a while. Your house needs a little work and Jim, bless his heart, is going to fix everything for you. Guess having a neighbor that owns a construction company can come in handy.”

She stopped smiling and looked me in the eye. “Just so you know, if you take that scumbag back you’ll be shunned. No one, and I mean no one in the community will have a thing to do with you. In fact, it would be in your best interest to move as quickly as possible. Jim has a long memory and he gets really touchy when someone hurts his wife or kids. Understand?”

I must have still been a little dopey because I grinned at her. “I love you, honey. I mean that. I’ve never had a true friend until I met you and Chloe. I think you better get used to me because I intend to be around for a long, long time.”

She smiled and held my good hand all the way to her house.

It was two weeks before I could go back to work. Jackson had continued to deposit my pay into my account, saying it was medical leave pay. I knew he was paying it out of his own pocket. My arm was still in a cast and even after all that time the bruises were still evident, as well as the shaved spot on my head from the stitches I had to have to sew my scapl shut. Jackson took one look at me and I could see the emotion running across his face.

“That ass! I hope he gets what’s coming to him. I just sorry someone didn’t teach him a lesson about putting hands on a woman.”

I smiled. “Oh, Brian gave him a taste. A broken nose, a broken jaw, three teeth missing, and just before the cops got there he kicked him, breaking four ribs. If his sister hadn’t held him back he would probably have killed him.”

Jackson gave a grin and pointed to a photo hanging on his wall. It was Brian standing in a boxing ring, an opponent at his feet, as blood ran out of a corner of his mouth. “That’s him after knocking out the the number twelve ranked fighter in his division. He was a regional champ and national runner up in amateur boxing before he went pro. If it hadn’t been for an accident that slowed his leg movement, he would have eventually been champion. He had a twelve three and one record as a pro before the accident. I was his corner man. I see he still has his hand speed.”

I looked at that picture of a bloodied warrior, trying to reconcile it with the gentle man I knew. Then I remember the sound of Mark’s ribs breaking and smiled. My hero!

Mark was locked up and bail was set so high no one tried to get him out. He tried calling me but after the first time I blocked his number. He sat in jail for two months and was served with divorce papers the second week. When the trial started the Judge had little mercy. Mrs. Roseman had come to me when I got settled in Amanda’s house, showing me what she had recorded on her phone that afternoon. “I hope this helps when It goes to trial. The man is evil, honey, and he needs to never see you again.”

He had a public defender because the first thing I did the Monday afterwards was move all the money. Truth be told I don’t think the P.D. tried that hard. He did try to get him to accept a plea deal but Mark wanted a trial. The Judge looked at the video, heard the first three witnesses, and sent it to jury. Mark tried to convince the Judge that he went temporarily insane over the fact he may have lost me, which led to testimony about what triggered the confrontaton. The prosecuting attorney had interviewed his friend and the woman they had been with and everything was now a matter of public record.

They deliberated thirty minutes before reaching a verdict. I found out later it took that long because they argued over how many years they would reccomend he get. The Judge also signed off on a restraining order good for five years. If he contacted me in any way or got within five hundred feet of me he went back to jail.

He got six years because of the severity of my injuries, but with probation and time served he could be out after two. Mark later tried to sue Brian, Amanda, and Chloe and have them charged with assault but the D.A. refused, saying video clearly showed Mark hitting Brian first, and Amanda was defending her child and Chloe were defending me, so there was no case. The divorce became final while he was in jail and I never saw him again after the trial.