••••
It takes both Tina and Loveth bouncing on my bed to wake me finally. I was dead to the world, sunk deep into sleep, and yet my mind refuses to rest. Nightmares cling to me like a koala. Demons were tearing apart everyone I care about, ripping off limbs with casual brutality, feasting as if it's nothing more than a meal. The screams echo endlessly in my head, folding over one another until they blur into a single, unbearable sound.
It took me a moment to realize the scream was mine.
I jolt upright in bed, my chest heaving as air rushes painfully back into my lungs. My shirt clings to me, soaked through with sweat, and my heart feels like it's trying to break free of my ribs. For a few seconds, I don't know where I am. The shadows in my room even feel wrong to me, too deep and too sharp. Until the familiar shape of my dresser and the faint glow of morning light steady me.
