“Babe, you are sitting.”
“No, on a chair. I need to think. I…Can you get me some water please?”
“Sure. Come here.” Steve helped Matt over to a chair and rushed back inside the house. He turned a moment later with a bottle and took off the cap before handing it to him. “Here, now just relax and try to calm down. Tell me what’s going on.”
After taking a drink, Matt set the bottle down on the table and got a good look at his trembling hands. “I don’t know where to start.”
“Start anywhere. I don’t care. Just tell me what’s going on. Please.”
“Okay, that was…the hospital.”
“The hospital? What happened?”
“Steve, please. Just let me get this out.” Matt wiped his face dry from tears and took a deep breath. “Yes, it was the hospital. Aaron just woke up.”
“I’m sorry. Who’s Aaron?” Steve asked.
Matt looked Steve in the eye, wishing he’d had the courage to tell him about Aaron before tonight. “He’s my boyfriend.”
Steve’s once soft and worried expression was replaced with suspicion and something that looked similar to anger. “He’s your what?”
“Steve.” Matt reached out for his hand, but Steve quickly placed distance between them and stood a few feet away.
“What do you mean he’s your boyfriend? And what do you mean he woke up? What the hell does that mean? I wake up every day and I don’t see you get all—”
“He was in a coma!” Matt blurted the words out. The frustration and confusion were beginning to overwhelm him. “Damn it! He was in a coma. For the past two years he’s been sound asleep at Valley View Medical Center with machines helping to keep him alive.”
“What? I…How…Why…”
“Jesus Christ. How the hell do I know? But he just woke up, okay? I am the reason he is in there in the first place. Me! It’s my fault and even though they wanted me to give up on him, I wouldn’t let them. I knew he’d come back. I knew…” Matt suddenly stood up and shook his rambled thoughts in his head. “What the hell is wrong with me? He’s awake. Aaron is finally awake and I’m sitting here talking to you. I have to go.”
Steve grabbed his arm and turned Matt back to face him. “What do you mean you have to go? Baby, what does this mean?”
Matt shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m sorry. I just…don’t know. I have to go, Steve. I’m sorry.”
Matt broke free from Steve’s hold and ran into the house. He grabbed a T-shirt from his closet and grabbed his keys from the front table. In less than a minute he was in his car and pulling out of the driveway.
Aaron. Oh, Aaron. I love you. I’m coming, honey. Just hold on. I’m coming.
Chapter Three
Steve Pierce watched in shock and disbelief as his boyfriend ran out the door so fast he was nothing more than a blur. The news that Matt had someone else in his life had been startling enough, but to find out that same person had also been in a coma and was now suddenly awake as well. It was just too much for him to take in all at once.
He walked over to the couch and sat down on the cool leather. His damp swim trunks weren’t the best thing for the exquisite piece of furniture, but in his present state of mind, he cared for little else other than trying to figure out how his life had changed so drastically by nothing more than the ring of a telephone.
With his elbows rested on his knees, Steve allowed his face to drop into his open and trembling hands. For the past several weeks, he had been slowly falling in love with Matt Caynor. Until five minutes ago, he actually believed they had a real chance at a solid relationship and future with one another. After what he just learned though, he had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next.
For several minutes he sat there in Matt’s living room, replaying the words over in his head, hoping that he would somehow find a way to convince himself that he’d merely misunderstood what Matt had told him. His wishes had been fleeting at best, because the more he remembered what was said, the more his stomach churned and knotted with a pain he couldn’t begin to define.
“Ahh!” Steve let out a howl.
He stood from the couch and looked around the living room that he’d come to know so well. For the past couple of months he and Matt have been nearly inseparable. They spent almost all of their free time together. Even on the nights they would work late, they found a way to at the very least cuddle in one another’s arms before they fell asleep. They had sex, made love, and were so affectionate with each other that he never would have imagined that Matt had anyone else.
As Steve stood there, something came to him. It was a hint of something else that he never noticed, but in looking back on it now, he realized it should have been a clue to him that Matt had a secret he was keeping.
For months there were nights when Matt would have to work late. He’d always know ahead of time, telling Steve to go ahead and eat dinner without him because he’d be late getting home. Being a chef, Steve understood that in work sometimes one would always have to make allowances for putting in extra hours here or there. Somehow Matt always seemed to know ahead of time what those days would be. For people in the culinary world, that wasn’t necessarily unheard of. For those in the banking world, like Matt, Steve couldn’t help but wonder if that was out of the norm and something he should have been suspicious of from the very beginning.
Steve began pacing the living room. He wore a path into the carpet and then turned his attention down the long hallway, which led to the bedroom. With every step he took, he fought the urge to hurl. His nerves were tied up into tight little knots.
They had only been together for three months, but in that time, it had been so wonderful. In the beginning they had gone through the normal growing pains like all couples do, but over time, they had worked through them and become closer than he’d ever been with any of his previous lovers.
Steve knew why it had been so easy to fall into a relationship with him. Matt was different than any of his previous boyfriends, or even his casual flings. He wasn’t just some hot and sexy honey for him to get off with. Matt Caynor had depth to his personality and a sex appeal that went much deeper than mere looks. Together they shared a chemistry that Steve had never known before. The very idea that he may be in jeopardy of losing that was something he couldn’t stand the thought of.
As he walked up and down the hallway, he had passed Matt’s home office for what had to be the hundredth time and suddenly stopped in his tracks. The first couple of weeks they dated, Matt had never invited Steve over. They’d always gone over to his place and it wasn’t until just then that Steve realized just how adamant Matt was that they go to his place instead.
With a curiosity that he couldn’t control, he stepped inside the small room and began opening the drawers to Matt’s filing cabinet. He wasn’t suspicious by nature. In fact, he couldn’t remember a time he’d ever gone snooping into a lover’s files. His sudden inquisitiveness over who this Aaron was to Matt was fueling his concern for their future together.
Steve thumbed through various files, all of which lending to his personal finances or things relating to the house. He closed one drawer, and then opened another. Each time he found much of the same thing, completely innocuous and unimportant files that gave him no real answers.
He all but slammed the drawer in frustration. He had no idea what he had expected to find. Perhaps he was hoping for a thick folder filled with a complete dossier of the life of Aaron Whatever-His-Last-Name-Was. Since his first night as a guest in Matt’s place, he hadn’t seen one picture that looked out of place. There were a few family photos here or there, but definitely nothing that lent to him having another man in his life. Steve would have noticed it if he’d seen one. That much he was sure about.
Looking around the office, he knew he wasn’t going to find any answers in there, so he made his way back out to the hallway. At first he walked back to the living room. He scanned the minimalistic furnishings looking for evide
nce of drawers or even secret compartments where one would hide their deepest and darkest secrets. For forty minutes he went from room to room, opening drawers, closets, and any nook and cranny he could see in hopes of finding answers to a million questions which flooded his mind.
Who was Aaron? How much did Matt love him? Does Matt still love him? Does Matt love me? What the hell does this mean for our future? Do we even have one?
The questions were making him crazy and further fueling his paranoia and anxiety. He needed to get control of his emotions before he made himself crazy. There was no sense in tearing Matt’s house apart. That wouldn’t answer his questions or make him feel any better. All he could do was trust in Matt, in their relationship, and hope to hell that he heard from him soon.
After a few calming breaths and silent words of encouragement, Steve went outside and cleaned up after their poolside dinner. He brought the dishes inside, clearing off the table and wiping it down. After a quick rinsing, he loaded everything into the dishwasher and wrote Matt a small note on the dry erase board he kept up on the refrigerator. Not wanting to put too much pressure on him, he simply wrote that he hoped everything was all right, and that he’d be there for him when Matt was ready to talk.
There was nothing more that Steve could do. Knowing that was the hard part, but he needed to wait for Matt, and give him whatever time he needed if they were to have a chance at making things work.
He made his way back to the bedroom to change his clothes and head home. A heavy realization hung over him, weighing him down like a blanket of doom. He was scared, truly and completely scared that he might lose Matt. From the moment he first laid eyes on him that night, Steve felt an instant attraction to him. Talking to him, getting to know him, spending the night with him, it only added to the pull that he felt for Matt.
Fear wasn’t an emotion he was used to. Maybe it was because he’d never known anyone like Matt before. Then again, maybe it was because somehow he had managed to fall head over heels in love with the man. Hell, there were probably tons of reasons to explain it away. None of the explanations mattered as much as Matt and their relationship did though. As Steve hung his still-damp swim trunks over the bar in the shower he knew that nothing else came close to meaning as much to him as Matt did. If Steve loved him, he was just going to have to wait for his answers. No matter how impatient he felt.
He had just finished dressing and was about to leave the room when something occurred to him. Like a bad rash, it hit him so unexpectedly that he didn’t have time to prepare for the burn. He turned his head and looked across the room to the door, which led into the walk in closet. He’d only been in there once or twice, but the memory of seeing some large square boxes stacked in the far corner came back to the forefront of his recollection.
Steve stalked across the bedroom and opened the door. He turned on the light and walked to the back where they still sat, one on top of the other, closed, sealed without tape, and unlabeled. How he hadn’t put it together before he had no idea, but here it was staring him in the face.
Matt Caynor was a consummate neat freak. He was obsessive compulsive when it came to cleanliness, appearance, and above all organization. His entire closet was compartmentalized just like his sock drawer was. To have several large cardboard boxes left unlabeled and stacked in the back of his closet was definitely not normal behavior for his handsome but anal-retentive boyfriend.
Steve knew he could have and should have walked away, but his curiosity over those pressing questions weighed too heavily on him to do the honorable thing. Instead, like a jealous boyfriend who was out to unlock the mystery of all that Matt had hidden from him, Steve grabbed the first box and carried it back to the bed.
He made quick work of the flaps which kept it closed and opened the lid. The box was filled with clothes and all sorts of things that he might have sorted through if the item on top hadn’t been staring him right in the face.
Like a neon flashing sign announcing the demise of their relationship and the break in his heart, Steve reached in the box and pulled out the silver frame. In the center was a picture of Matt hugging a brown-haired man while each of them smiled with something that could only be described as complete and total happiness.
On the bottom of the frame there was an inscription. The four-word message spoke volumes and answered all of the questions that were swirling around in Steve’s mind.
All my love, Matt.
Steve closed his eyes and fought against the tears, which stung at his eyelids. He had never cried for another before and he wasn’t about to start now. He would be strong and patient. He’d do whatever he had to, but he wouldn’t give up hope that he may still have a chance with Matt.
A small tear slid down his cheek and fell onto the frame. Almost poignantly, it landed on Matt, blurring his smile as Steve stared at the man he’d fallen in love with.
He hoped to God this didn’t mean the end. Damn if he didn’t know how he’d ever be able to get over Matt. And the fact of the matter was, he didn’t want to even try.
Chapter Four
It had been just three hours since he woke and already Aaron felt a little bit stronger. The heavy veil of lethargy didn’t weigh him down and urge him to shut his eyes. He’d been checked over by the nurses and Dr. Prescott several times, been taken down to radiology for a CAT scan of his brain, and even managed to get some ice chips down.
The news that he’d been asleep for two years still hadn’t quite sunk in. Or maybe it had and he just wasn’t sure what to do with it. He didn’t feel like he’d lost twenty-four months of his life. If anything, he felt nothing more than a little weak and sleepy. He felt no different than if he’d been run down with the flu for a day or two. It seemed almost unbelievable that he had been taking the world’s longest nap while the outside world went on living without him.
Countless times over the past hours, his thoughts had gone to Matt. They were so in love and such a huge part of one another’s lives that he never imagined either of them would ever have to go it alone. Now he couldn’t help but wonder what Matt had been doing with his life. The doctor had played down Matt’s absence, explaining that he’d needed to get on with his life. What that entailed filled him with a black hole full of worry.
Two years. Jesus, how on Earth could I have been sleeping for two damn years?
Nurse Nguyen had tried to fill in some of the holes of his memory, but it didn’t help bring anything back. Not only did he have no memory of the accident, he had no idea of their last night together. He had a ton of memories, but it wasn’t like waking up and knowing what you did the day before. It was like his brain was a hard drive filled with hours of memories that had no date sequence to them. They were just there, just memories filling his mind without any knowledge of when they occurred.
Dr. Prescott had said he was going to call Matt as soon as they took him down to radiology. That had been nearly an hour ago and he’d been nervously waiting for some sort of an update on what that call entailed. Had they gotten a hold of him? What did he say? Was he on his way? This waiting and wondering was maddening and doing little for the headache, which still resided in his head like an unwelcome guest.
“How are you doing in here, hon? Can I get you anything else?”
Aaron looked up to see Nurse Nguyen standing in the doorway, her expression both soft and sympathetic.
“No. I think I’m okay. I’m a little nauseous. Is that normal?”
“Very much so. You’ve been sleeping for a long time. Your body is still adjusting.” She walked over to the small bathroom and came out with a rainbow-shaped bucket. “Here. You keep this by you just in case. And if you need anything at all don’t hesitate to call me using that button.”
“Thanks. You’ve been very kind.”
“Honey, you don’t spend all the years I have in nursing if you have a bad attitude. Bedside manner is my middle name. So just call if you need anything.”
“Okay. Thank you. I really appreciate
it. Have we heard anything more?”
“About your test results?”
“Yeah.” Aaron nodded, although he really wanted to hear if they’d gotten a hold of Matt. He needed to see him. Knowing that they had been a part for so long didn’t sit well with him at all.
“First radiology needs to go over your scan. Then they’ll call up to Doc Prescott. Together they’ll go over what they found and then he’ll be in to talk to you. Sometimes it can be a waiting game. And in your case, well, they don’t want to take anything to chance.”
“Pretty wild, huh?” he replied, trying his best to ignore the circus freak feeling that he was having.
“Wild? More like a miracle. They didn’t think you’d pull out of it. The hospital administrators all but insisted that your support should be cut off. But…”
Aaron didn’t miss the way her voice trailed off and her eyes looked away from him. “What? But…what? Did something happen?”
“Well, it’s not really my place to say. It’d be best if you just wait.”
Aaron reached out, took her hand, and asked sympathetically, “Please?”
“All right, but you didn’t hear this from me. I’m really talking out of turn here.”
“I swear to you, you have my word. I just really need someone to fill in the blanks I have. It almost seems like a bad dream that I can’t wake up from. Even though waking up was exactly what I did.”
Nurse Nguyen pulled one of the chairs closer to his beside and sat down. She patted his hand in understanding. “You poor thing. Okay, I’ll tell you what I know. But it might not be enough to help you remember.”
“That’s okay. Just give me something, anything to help make sense of my foggy mind.”
“All right. Well, you and Mr. Caynor were involved in an automobile accident. The details of that I don’t know, but what I do know is that he wasn’t hurt too badly. You on the other hand were thrown from the car when it rolled over. They said you landed around thirty feet from where the vehicle stopped. The injury to your brain was fairly severe. You had swelling and internal bleeding.”
When He Woke (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting ManLove) Page 3