Dexter, discharged from the hospital, got home and walked into the house quietly. He took a peek and saw no one was in the living room, and he quietly walked into his room. He showered quickly, changed into a fresh set of clean clothes and picked up his phone. He went through his call logs and text messages. He shook his head sorrowful, knowing that no one had called him or even sent him a text. He walked out of his room and went into Ronnie's room. The little boy was asleep peacefully with his ash brown hair covering a part of his face. Dexter smiled weakly. Ronnie was the only good thing that had happened to him. He remembered four years ago when Lena had announced her pregnancy to him in tears. It was two days after they got married, and he was quite startled a little that she was already pregnant. But the thought of him being a father wiped out all uncertainties. Having a family was all he ever wanted. He would be loved and respected by his wife, while his children would look up to him for guidance and support. He had consoled Lena and assured her that that was the best news he ever had. Dexter had spent weeks coming up with ideas about how he was going to raise his kid. He would come home from work early enough to spend time with Lena and their unborn child. He'd listened to the sounds his wife's stomach made and had felt Ronnie kick. He had spent months counting till the delivery. And when Ronnie came into the world he was the happiest man on earth. His heart swelled with love as he held his newborn in his arms. He had sworn to never let him experience the pains and trauma he had experienced as a child. A year and four months later, he had discovered that Ronnie seemed to have slipped into another world. He was a blank. Dexter was frantic. He had thought at first he had a brain tumor which they hadn't noticed in time and had caused his blankness. He took Ronnie to different specialists and for many months Ronnie underwent a battery of tests of all kinds, but they could find nothing wrong with his brain. Dexter hadn't given up. He had him taken to doctors in Florida and a psychiatrist in a children's hospital in Florida had told him he was autistic. Dexter was a loss. He didn't understand what it meant, but months later he got to understand he might never be able to reach him. It broke Dexter's heart to know he had to live without his child being able to talk to him or even recognize him. He tried all he could to establish a relationship between them, but it was to no avail. Ronnie was in a world of his own.
Dexter looked around the room. There were the same strange, dark paintings as on the wall in his room, but here they were strewn on the floor. He had taken and studied some of Ronnie's drawings to have a connection with what went on in his mind but couldn't understand. On the wall, a small shelf held a row of toys and games which Ronnie never used or even touched. Also on the floor were several other scraps of drawings and paintings. Dexter sighed dejectedly. He'd do anything for Ronnie to live a normal life. Suddenly, he heard a thud on the bedroom wall like someone had banged something on it. He thought for a second. The next bedroom was Lena's. It was theirs when they got married but became Lena's alone after Karen banned them from having sex. Dexter had asked her why she was doing all she did and Karen had retorted she would prevent, at all costs, another 'misfortune' from happening. Dexter's heart was filled with pain. Karen had referred to Ronnie as a misfortune and Lena saw nothing wrong with it. Dexter heard the noise again and tried to come up with reasons that could be the cause, but couldn't come up with any pleasant reason. He didn't want to go into her room without her permission as that was one of Karen's rules. He waited to hear if the banging on the wall would continue and it did. Dexter swore under his breath and hurried out of Ronnie's room. Whatever was going on he had to know because Lena was still his wife, and it was his duty to protect her. He yanked Lena's door open and was shocked by what he saw.
Lena was pressed against the wall with a leg on a man's shoulder, and he was fucking her. That was the cause of the banging on the wall. Dexter stood transfixed on the spot as he stared at them, eyes widened in astonishment and disbelief. His head swarmed when he recognized the man as TERRY. Holy shit. It was motherfucking Terry Kingston, his best friend. Dexter felt his heart squeeze in horrifying pain. Terry and Lena had frozen when they heard the door open. Terry sluggishly withdrew his dick from Lena's voluptuous ass, smacked her ass, grabbed his trousers and sat on the bed while Lena turned in Dexter's direction and began to cry.
" I'm so sorry Dex," Lena said, sobbing. " I didn't know what came over me,"
Dexter choked a cry. This is unbelievable.
"What the hell Terry?" Dexter screamed, boiling in fury.
Terry didn't look at Dexter as he fell back onto the bed. Dexter was flabbergasted. Terry was fucking his wife in his matrimonial home and acted like he hadn't done anything wrong.
"Dex look at me Dex," Lena wailed, reaching to cup Dexter's face in her hands.
Dexter looked at Lena with pain in his eyes.
"Why?" Dexter asked. "Why do this to me?"
Lena stared at him for a few seconds then suddenly burst into a peal of hysterical laughter, a sound that pierced Dexter's soul, destroying him. Terry sat up and chuckled. Lena was a clown. He grabbed his hard dick and began jerking off.
Dexter stared at them bewildered.
"What the fuck is going on here?" Dexter cried out, his eyes welling with tears. He had never felt so humiliated in his entire life and humiliation from people close to him was like a knife stabbed in his heart.
"What do you think is going on here?" Lena snapped maliciously. "What have I done? Tell me what the hell have I done" Lena screamed in his face.
Dexter was baffled by the sudden change. He realized he was a joke to them.
"I caught you cheating on me in our house with my best friend, and you asked me what have you done," Dexter said, his voice filled with disbelief. "This is unacceptable,"
"What pre-ci-sely is unacceptable?" Lena retorted with a sudden burst of annoyance. "Is it the fact that I've endured you all these years without receiving anything in return?" Lena's voice resonated with fiery intensity.
"What are you talking about?" Dexter asked, every word shattering his heart. "I'm your husband,"
Lena looked up at him with a mixture of surprise and cruel amusement.
Tears welled up in Dexter's eyes, on the verge of spilling over. The growing rift between them had been evident, but he never knew that she would betray him to such depth.
"You dare call yourself a man," Lena uttered icily. Her words cut through him like a sharp blade.
"A boy is a more befitting description. A man that cannot provide for his family is unworthy of the word 'man'," Her stern tone reverberated in his ears and testified his anguish.
Terry laughed.
Dexter's body pricked with goosebumps. He struggled to comprehend what he was hearing.
"Terry!" Dexter yelled, staring at Terry in rage. He felt betrayed. How could he do this to him? How could he? He was more than a friend to him. He was like a brother to him. Why?
Terry stood up still jerking off. He turned to Dexter and eyed him all over in disgust.
"Come on D, Lena has always been in my bed," Terry said mockingly and laughed.
"What?" Dexter asked. A violent buzzing resonated in his head.
"Was that a surprise?" Terry asked, faking a concerned look.
Lena giggled.
They were having an affair all this while right under his nose and he didn't know? How he be so dumb and blind? His trusting people had left him in a mess.
"Oh.. My bad," Terry said chuckling. "I thought you always sent her to me for a good sex-up. You know this ass needs a good digging."
Lena stooped down beside Terry and took his hard-on into her mouth.
Terry closed his eyes and groaned.
"Yeah....baby..yeah," he moaned in pleasure. "Besides Dex," he said, opening his eyes and staring at Dexter in his eyes. "Lena needs a real man,"
Dexter couldn't believe his eyes. This was the final straw. He stormed out of the bedroom, trying hard to keep back the tears from running down his face. He wouldn't let them see how much he was hurt. He had to be strong for Ronnie's sake. As he turned around the corner he ran into Karen, HIS NIGHTMARE