Trust In Forever (Book 12 in the Forever Series)

Chapter 23

Demi

When you suffer from depression, sleep is often welcomed. For me, it was always a way for me to escape from my demons, other than drugs, alcohol or cutting. I have been on medication that keeps my moods stable, since I was diagnosed with Bipolar, decades ago. Now, I don't need sleep for the same reason I used to. Or at least I didn't need it, until my marriage crumbled & my husband became someone I didn't recognize.

Ever since I found out about Nick's indiscretion with Eden, I have enjoyed my sleep, for the most part. The first night I had some unpleasant dreams, but then I started to dream about being happy again. I started dreaming about the past, when my relationship was less complicated, even feeling perfect, some days. While I was dreaming of being in Nick's arms, I felt warm. My hand found his, then I intertwined our fingers & sighed, contently. I smiled, then my eyes opened & I realized I was holding someone's hand. Someone had his arm around me, which would normally comfort me. This morning, it irritated me, so I moved, quickly, throwing Nick's arm over me & squirming away from him as I sat up.

"Nick! Get on your side." I grumbled, sleepily.

Nick's eyes opened & he looked confused as he lifted his head off the pillow. "What? What's wrong?"

"You had your arm around me." I spat at him as I pushed his body again.

Nick sighed, groaning at the same time. "Jesus, Demi, I was sleeping."

"So? You shouldn't be that close."

Nick sat up, angrily. "I've been sleeping next to you, for more than twenty years, so it's kind of hard to just stop putting my arm around you or over you. In my sleep, you're not mad at me." He ran his hand over his face, in frustration, then took a few deep breaths. "I'm sorry."

I didn't respond, as I threw the comforter off of me & jumped out of bed. I stomped all the way to the bathroom, then had to remember we had sleeping children that would hear a slamming door. When I came out of the bathroom, Nick was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor. I cleared my throat. "My alarm is going off in ten minutes, so I'm going to go get the girls up, now & then you could get the boys up."

"Yea, I can." Nick's reply was quiet & I felt bad.

"I'm sorry I reacted so harshly. I was just upset remembering what you did."

"You acted like I was attacking you, in your sleep." Nick's voice cracked as he lifted his head to speak over his shoulder.

I clicked my tongue, "I would have done more than shove your arm off of me, if you were attacking me. Especially since I started doing martial arts." I smirked, trying to make light of the situation, so we weren't in bad moods when we went to deal with the kids. Nick barely smiled, so I sighed. "Come on. We have to pretend to be okay, for the kids. If we are in bad moods they will know something is up, eventually."

"I think Mercy already knows something."

"Why do you think that?"

"She's been watching us, with a look on her face & then the way she was asking about our trip, at dinner last night...."