Second Chances

"I can't believe you did that to me!" Alice cried, turning away so Rebecca couldn't see her eyes begin to water.

"Come on Al; it was an accident. I didn't mean to." Rebecca reasoned, turning Alice around to face her.

"Didn't mean to?! How do you 'accidentally' sleep with your best friend's boyfriend?! And don't tell me you were 'wasted' or whatever you were going to say, because I know you were perfectly sober!" Alice screamed, pushing Rebecca away as she shook with rage.

"I......" Rebecca looked down, unable to come up with a decent excuse as to why Alice had found her best friend in bed with her boyfriend this morning.

"See! You can't even come up with anything. All the excuses finally run dry. Don't worry though: you got what you wanted. Tell Daniel he can fuck around all he wants now because I never want to see either of you again!" Alice stormed, before marching smartly out of the room.

As the tears streamed down her face, her steps began to falter, until she was nothing but a crying heap in the middle of her mother's sitting room.

As Alice cried, she thought of all the good times. All the times Rebecca had been there for her; when her parents split up, when her Grandmother died, when she had her heart broken time and time again. None of that, though, would make up for the broken hearted betrayal she felt when she remembered. 

She'd been so happy as she made her way up to Rebecca's apartment. She'd just gotten a letter from UCD, accepting the request herself and Rebecca had made for shared housing on campus. They were going to be room-mates for their second year in college.

"Honey, what's wrong? What happened?" Alice's mother questioned as she rushed into the room, dropping her keys on the table, before pulling Alice into a hug. Alice just continued to cry, soaking her mother's pretty shirt as she did.

"What is it, honey?" Alice's mother asked eventually. "You know I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on."

Alice took a deep breath to answer her mother, but let it out again almost immediately as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Alice muttered, wiping the tears from her face as she got to her feet.

"Are you sure?" Her mother asked, concern clear in her voice as she stood to give Alice's shoulders a quick, comforting squeeze.

Alice nodded mechanically as she dodged the edge of the table on her way to the door. As the door swung open, Alice sighed in defeated turmoil. There, standing in the doorway, was Rebecca, whose eyes were gleaming with apologetic tears.

"I thought I'd find you here...." Rebecca sniffled pathetically. "Please, Alice, just let me explain. I didn't mean to hurt you; it just happened."

"Just happened?! You think that makes it any better?! So, what? You just forgot about me? Didn't know how much it would hurt?!" Alice shrieked, balling her hands up into fists and seriously considering punching Rebecca in the nose.

"I-I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking. Just......can you give me a second chance? Please?" Rebecca pleaded, flinching away from the hostile look Alice was watching her with.

".......I'll think about it. Just......give me some space. I need time." Alice muttered, shutting the door with a soft thump, before trudging back into the sitting room.

"It was Rebecca at the door." Alice sighed, hugging a cushion to her chest.

"Oh. Could she not come in?" Alice's mother asked, shock clear in her voice. It was unusual to see Alice without Rebecca, especially when she was upset.

"I wouldn't let her," Alice replied, sighing at the confused look her mother gave her. "Daniel cheated on me, with Rebecca. I went over to tell her our request for shared housing was accepted and found them."

"Oh honey! I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" Alice's mother cried, pulling her into another hug.

"No!" Alice wailed, tears coming to her eyes again. "What do I do? She wants a second chance but I don't think I'll ever be able to trust her again!"

"Don't give her a second chance," Alice pulled away from her mother at that with an expression that clearly wanted guidance. Her mother sighed, before taking her hands and rubbing soothing circles into the back of her hands. "The same thing happened to me when I was your age. She was my best friend and I trusted her with my life. Until I found out she'd kissed my boyfriend. I gave her a second chance and things went back to normal. We were as thick as thieves again, but she did it again. Except this time I'd married him."

"She.....She was the one Dad had an affair with?" Alice asked, thinking back to when they'd first found out. They'd both been so heart broken and Alice's father had left not long after.

"Yes, she was. I know what you're going through is tough and you just want to have a pity party with your best friend, but no matter how bad it is now, it'll be twice as bad the second time round. And you know what they say: a leopard never changes its spots."

"O-OK. I'll call her. And Daniel. Tell them to......forget about it. I will......once I've taken them out of my life." Alice decided, jumping up with a new purpose.

That night she called them both, told them never to talk to her again, to lose her number because she'd lose theirs and to forget. Just like they did the night they broke her heart. She got over it eventually. It may have taken some time and a lot of tears, but she did. She also moved into campus housing with a girl she met on her course, who quickly took Rebecca's place in her life.

When she took chances, she had Amy to thank and she had a lot to be thankful for. And, if she ever looked back on her life, she focused on the good, not the brick that came crashing through her window.

Maybe everyone does deserve a second chance, but maybe Rebecca had already used hers too many times already. And maybe some things are just too big to get around for that second chance to be given at all.