“That’s not true! Oliver, you can’t believe this—she’s been unconscious for months, she’s mixing up dreams with reality!”
But my mother’s gaze didn’t waver. “I remember dates.
You told him you loved him.”
I felt my chest tighten, air refusing to fill my lungs. Patrick. My best friend since college.
The man who had been by my side through the darkest days of my mother’s coma. He’d brought food, driven me home when I was too exhausted to drive, and even sat with me through the longest nights. “Tell me it’s not true,” I whispered to Julia, my voice cracking.
Her eyes darted everywhere but mine. “Oliver, please—your mother’s confused. She’s… she’s just come out of a coma!
You can’t let her put ideas in your head. She doesn’t know what she’s saying.”
But my mother’s words had landed like daggers. I remembered odd moments—times when Julia would step out of the room for hushed phone calls, claiming it was work.
The way she seemed nervous when Patrick dropped by unexpectedly. There was unexplained tension when the three of us were together. Pieces I’d ignored began falling into place.
“Julia,” I said slowly, my voice trembling with something between fear and rage, “did you cheat on me with Patrick?”
That night, I couldn’t sleep. I sat in the hospital parking lot for hours, staring at the glow of the ICU window, replaying every memory, every conversation, every laugh I’d shared with both Julia and Patrick. The betrayal cut deeper than anything I’d ever known.
Julia tried to call me repeatedly, but I let the phone ring. When she finally showed up at the hospital, begging to talk, my mother asked the nurse to keep her out of the room. I needed time.
Space. But what I needed most was the truth. So I called Patrick.
When he picked up, his voice was too casual. Too normal. And I couldn’t stomach it.
“Don’t lie to me,” I said flatly. “Did you have an affair with Julia while my mother was in a coma?”
The silence on the other end told me everything. After a long pause, he whispered, “Oliver, I’m sorry.”Continue reading…
