While You Were Sleeping

All characters in this story are fictional and any that engage in sexual activity are over the age of 18. I hope you enjoy reading it!

This is a continuation of While You Were Sleeping, a tale of a loving family possibly torn apart by a coma and an unfaithful wife. The wife has just confessed to her family and is now going to be paying the price for her betrayal. The whole family will now have to deal with this huge problem, and will they survive?

A huge thank you to my new editor Guinahart for graciously spending time working over my stories. Without her efforts, this work would be a much more difficult read.

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Matt wakes up to a new, nightmarish reality.

Reality really sucks, at least mine does. What the hell am I supposed to do now? The woman that I love more than anything, and that I thought loved me the same, fucked my former best friend Jim. How the hell do we get past this? Can I get past this?

First thing I need to do is get healthy again, then go kick Jim's ass. How dare that asshole? He was supposed to be my best friend. Instead, he takes the first chance he can while I was in a coma to nail my woman.

How am I supposed to get better when I can't stand to be near the woman who SHOULD be the one helping me? I tried to get up the best I could, but only managed to sit up against the headboard. I probably wouldn't be able to get out of bed and walk without falling down, so I had no choice but to ask for help. This shit was getting old fast.

"Jenn! Sidney! Could one of you come help me please?" I yelled out to the house. At first no one responded, and then I heard a muffled response from the hallway.

"Yeah, dad, I will be there in a second," my daughter replied.

She came into the room, and I put my arm around her shoulders so she could help me up to go into my bathroom. As we were walking through the doorway, I looked to the hallway and saw my wife in tears, holding her hand over her mouth. I would have felt bad for her, but that was her damn fault.

My daughter helped me get onto the toilet and then left the room for a minute to let me finish up. When I was done, I pulled up my pants the best I could and flushed the toilet. Sidney came back in and helped me to the sink to wash my hands and face.

We walked together out to the living room where she helped me sit at the table, and went into the kitchen. Today was the first day of the rest of my screwed up life, and damn was I still tired.

"Honey could you brew me some...oh, never mind." I was going to ask her to brew some coffee but she was already putting the grounds in the filter. "Thank you," I said.

Once she got the pot going, she came in and sat down across from me. I could tell she wanted to say something but looked very uncomfortable.

"Sidney, yesterday must have been a tough day on you. Do you want to talk about it?"

She sat for a second looking at her hands on the table, and then looked up at me. "Dad, I want to stay with you. If you and mom split up, I want to stay here, with you."

I didn't know what to say. My heart filled up with some much needed love at that moment, and my eyes started to water a little. Hers did too.

"I really don't know what is going to happen, but I will do whatever I can for you kids. You guys are my life."

About that time my boys came into the room, and started getting cereal for breakfast. I sat drinking my coffee and my wife came out, dressed for work already. She still looked miserable, but smiled for the kids' sake. She looked like she wanted to say something, but nothing came out. She finally sputtered out a quick, "I love you guys," and then left the house.

As her car drove off, the kids all got ready for school, and Sidney helped me get situated back in my room. My mom was going to stop by, and help out during the day while the kids were at school.

While I lay in bed watching some movie, I started thinking about how shitty my life has been lately. I had nothing but time on my hands to get stuck in my own thoughts. I thought that I had a pretty good life up until that accident. I was married to the love of my life, and had three wonderful kids. Where did I go wrong?

Before I could get too wrapped up in things, I heard the front door shut and my mom yell out, "Matt, where are you? I'm here!"

"Back here mom, in bed." I yelled back.

She came back and sat on the edge of the bed. "Honey, I know you are going through a tough time right now, but you will get better. I am here to help you too!"

She still didn't know about Jennifer and what she did to me. When I didn't respond right away she looked at me closer, like mom always does. She squinted a little, then asked, "What's really bothering you? You look like someone just died."

"My marriage probably did," I managed to get out, before getting a little choked up. I wasn't big into tears, but the pain was almost too much to bear.

"Jennifer cheated on me, mom. She confessed last night. I have no idea what I am going to do, but she broke my heart. The boys seem to be handling it ok, but Sidney is a mess. How could she do this to us?"

Mom took a minute and then said, "I'm so sorry honey. I never would have thought she would do something like this. I know you two love each other very much. You can see it when you look at each other. Honey, I don't know what advice to give you, other than no matter what happens, your father and I will be here for you and the kids."

She got up and kissed my forehead, then left the room for a bit. She told me she would make me some hot soup for lunch. Why is it that all mothers think a hot bowl of noodle soup will fix everything? I guess it can be a remedy for just about anything, including colds, comas, and a broken heart. She ended up making a really good soup actually, nice and warm. It made me feel better, even if only for a few minutes.

She came back to the room to get the bowl a bit later, and told me she would sit out in the living room watching some TV while I rest. I put my head on my pillow and before I knew it, I woke up to hear the front door shut.

I heard my mom talking, and I had to guess it was my wife home from work. "My son told me. I am very disappointed in you, Jennifer. Now, I have to get home to start dinner for my husband, but will be back at the same time tomorrow. Good night."

The whole time, I hadn't heard a peep out of my wife. The door shut as my mom left, and my wife came back to check on me. She still looked like death warmed over, and I felt like she looked. Man, if I could move around better, I would probably choke her out right now.

She must have seen the scowl on my face as she set her purse down on the dresser. She sat on the edge of the bed, but didn't say anything immediately. She looked up at me, and I asked her, "What? What do you want?" I knew I was being a dick, but there wasn't a lot of compassion in me right then. She just stared at me for a minute longer, then sighed and started talking.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. "Your first therapy appointment is tomorrow. The kids have spring break coming up next week, so will be home from school."

"I feel like shit. Why do you care anyway?" I asked.

"Matt," she started, sniffling a little. "I have cried a lot lately, and you're right and wrong. I care very much, but obviously that didn't stop me from failing. How can I prove to you that I still love you with all my heart?"

"Jenn, I don't know, but right now I can't think straight about anything. I need time to think, and get better. It might be better if you weren't around so much right now." I know the words had to sting, but at the moment, I really didn't care much.

She got up and went to the closet to change out of her work clothes. As she got down to her bra and panties, I started getting aroused. My cock was betraying me, with no regard for my emotions at all. I looked down at it, and thought, traitor.

As she was standing there looking in the closet, it reminded me of the first year we were married. Before we had the kids, we lived in a small two bedroom apartment. She used to walk around almost every night with just her bra and panties on.

Jenn had always been the more relaxed one of the two of us. I'm not saying she was a party animal back then, but she initiated sex almost as often as I did. Of course, we used to have sex almost every night back then, but after our daughter was born we cut back a lot. I am sure it is pretty common for most parents, but still wasn't great. I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

I really couldn't think straight with her in the room, in the house for that matter. I really wasn't sure what to do, but definitely still mad at her for betraying me with my shitty-ass supposed friend Jim. I will kill that fucker when I get better; that much is for sure.

Honestly if I had to make a decision right this moment, I was seriously considering killing my cheating-ass wife too, love or no love. Then I thought of the kids and what that would do to them. If they lost their mom, and their dad was sent to prison, where would that leave them?

I audibly sighed, and my wife looked at me before finishing getting dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt. She left the room without a word. About this time my daughter Sidney came in to check on me. Funny how I never even heard the kids get home.

"How are you feeling dad? Can I get you anything?" she asked.

"Man, I am glad to see you. Yeah, could you help get me up to go out into the living room? I would rather spend the evening with you guys than laying here in bed."

"Sure dad." She helped me get up and walk down the hallway. I was starting to feel that I could walk a little on my own, but still would probably fall down unassisted. It was a miracle I made it last night by myself.

I spent the night in the living room with my kids watching TV, and listening to them explain some of what they did during the day. My wife stayed in the kitchen busy cleaning up. I still wanted to both choke her and hug her. After turning my attention back to the kids, they all wished me good luck tomorrow for my therapy, and then went to their rooms to do homework.

I sat and watched TV for an hour or two, until I got hungry and thought about dinner. My wife was our main cook, but I didn't smell anything cooking. Regardless of the past few days, I wondered what was going on. I called out for her, "Jenn!"

She came in from the kitchen and stood in front of me. She had a different look on her face than I had been seeing since she admitted her cheating. She almost looked sad but determined. I really wondered what was up now.

"I called my parents, and told them that we were having some problems. I decided it would be best if I went to stay with them for a little while. I know you need help, now more than ever, but right now I don't think you want me to be that person."

You could see she had watery eyes but was holding in the tears this time. I had no comforting response for her, so just said, "That might be best, actually. I have never been as uncomfortable as I have been since yesterday around here. You should still call, and come by to see the kids."

She just kind of nodded, turned, and walked off towards the bedroom. After a couple of minutes, she came out with a suitcase packed, and said she would go talk to the kids and say goodnight to them. After she came out of each kid's room, she came over to me and leaned down to give my forehead a quick kiss before I could complain. She said, "I love you Matt, please remember that. Good night."

With that, she left the house and drove off. I was still in turmoil as she left, but decided that this would give me the time that I needed to cool off and think about things. I really didn't know if I would ever forgive her, let alone stay married to her.

******

Jennifer goes home

It was one of the hardest things for me to do, but I knew that I had to give him some space. I could clearly see that my being in the house was just going to constantly remind him, and cloud his judgement.

I had been crying a lot lately, but at this point might have been all cried out. I guess I had a little left as I got to my parents' house, and cried when my mom came out to hug me on the porch. My dad came out and got my suitcase and purse, and we all went inside.

We didn't talk much that first night, but it was probably the worst night of sleep I had since the accident. I had nightmares about Matt and a funeral, about Jim and that horrible night. I woke up before my alarm went off in a sweat, and couldn't get back to sleep.

I sat thinking about the last few days, and where I went wrong. Obviously having sex with Jim was something that should have never happened, but how did it get to that point? I started thinking about the time that I had been spending with him, and it slowly dawned on me that he had played me from the start. Why did I let that snake near me? How was I so blind to see that he wasn't really trying to be my friend? Instead of helping me deal with things, he wanted to take advantage of me.

At that moment I had no answers, but felt I should start writing these questions down so that I could try to explore them further. I wanted...no, I needed to have these answers, if there was any hope of saving my marriage and family.

I got out of bed and got ready for the day. If I was to be awake early, I may as well get to work to get my mind off of things. If there is any place on earth that can keep a person busy, it's a hospital. After getting myself a cup of coffee at Starbucks, I drove to work and went to the trauma center. I told the out-going charge nurse that I would take over early for her, and she could go home early.

I sat at the desk, reviewed all the current patients and my nurse roster for the day. I didn't often get to work with the third shift nurses, but the early hours of the day are usually quiet and pleasant. Today there were quite a few patients in rooms, but nothing that spelled out a crazy shift.

One thing most people don't seem to understand is that the Emergency department is a very difficult place to keep organized. Most of the time is spent reacting to the types of patients that show up at our door. I'm not complaining here, I just wish every day could be more structured. Maybe it was time to start thinking about finding a job in a normal doctor's office, with normal business hours only.

As the sun came up and the morning progressed, I hadn't stopped to think about my home situation much, and before I knew it, it was time to leave. I talked with Donna towards the end of my shift. She was a somewhat larger, older woman, but one of the nicest people I knew. She was one of the nurses that I had worked with for the last few years, and I valued her friendship.

"I suggest if you are having trouble, you could get some counseling or something? I know that when Doug and I had some problems early on in our relationship, we saw a marriage counselor. You never know, it couldn't hurt to try right?"

"Thank you for listening and being a good friend, Donna. I might just look into that."

I gave her a quick hug, and we both left for the day to get in our cars. As I walked from the building to the parking garage, I heard someone yell out from behind me, "Jennifer! Wait!"

I turned around and it was that asshole, Jim. What the hell did he want?

"Jim what the fuck do you want? Haven't you caused enough damage already?"

"I'm sorry Jenn, but I just couldn't stay away. I know Matt is awake now, but you have to know that I have wanted you for a very long time."

"I don't give a shit. Leave me alone, or I will call the cops on you and file for a protection order." With that, I ran the last few steps to my car and got in. He was yelling how much he needed me as I sped off. That guy had a lot of damn nerve to try to come back to me after what happened. The first thing I thought to do was call Matt, but what would I tell him?

I knew he deserved the truth, but would he want to talk to me right now? Would he even believe me, or would he just assume that I fucked him again? I decided to go back to my parents' house, and call to talk to him and the kids. I got home and told mom and dad that if Matt's buddy, Jim, ever came over or called for me, to tell him to go to hell. Without any further explanation, I went into my bedroom and mom followed me in. It was time to come clean to my parents.

"Mom, I did something terrible. I cheated on my husband."

"With that Jim fellow, I'm guessing?" she asked in terse reply.

I simply nodded. I could see the disappointment in her eyes as she sat down on the bed next to me and put her arm around me. Regardless of how badly they screw up, mothers will always take care of their children, I guess.

"I won't go into detail about it, but I told him afterwards that it was the worst mistake I had ever made and to stay away from me, forever. As I was leaving work tonight, he tried to confront me in the parking garage, so I told him to go to hell and leave me alone. What should I do?"

"Jennifer I can't tell you what to do. You have to determine that for yourself. I will suggest that you never lie or keep anything from Matt. The key to my marriage has always been to communicate. We haven't had a perfect life, lord knows that, but we have stayed together because we love each other, and we talk everything out."

Mom's words made me want to cry again, but I held it in. Everything she said was like more weight on my back, just piling up. I hugged her, then asked if I could be alone for a bit. I took out my cell phone, and pulled up the number for the house. I stared at that number for at least ten minutes, debating whether to hit the call button or not. Finally, I hit the green button and it started ringing. My daughter Sidney picked up on the second ring.

"Hello, Jordan residence."

"Hey honey, its mom. How are you doing?" I was trying to keep it together and sound positive.

There was a pause, and then she answered, "I'm ok mom. What do you want?"

"How is your dad doing? Did he get back from therapy yet?"

"Grandma took him earlier today while I was at school, but he is home back, in the bedroom now. Mom..." She paused for a long time, "GOD I HATE YOU!" and hung up on her mother.

I stared at my phone for a minute, and then set it down. I knew that I deserved that, but it still hurt a lot. My own kids hated me. My husband hated me. I am sure on, some level, my parents were pretty mad at me. I just wish this nightmare would end, and I would wake up to the way things were before Matt's accident.

I went to bed crying again, wishing that I could just give up.

*****

Matt starts therapy hoping to get better soon.

After the kids left for school, my mom showed up to get me ready and take me to my therapy appointment. She was great, helping me out when I needed it the most. We got to the hospital and went into the physical therapy clinic to check in. They rolled out a wheelchair so that I wouldn't have to try to walk all the way into the clinic.

While we were waiting, I thought of my wife. She was somewhere in this building, at that big desk in the E.R., doing her thing. I wonder if she even thought of me while she was here. I sat in the wheelchair thinking about my kids. Thank god for my daughter. Right now she was helping out more than any kid should have to. I know she is almost an adult, but it still bothered me that she might have to grow up a lot in a very short time.

The nurse came out and called us back. We had to go sit in one of the exam rooms and wait for a few minutes before the doctor that had operated on me came in.

"Hi Matt, I am very glad to see you doing so well. I just stopped in to talk with you about your head injury, as well as check on how you are doing. The therapy specialists will come in after we are done to get you examined and setup on your program.