Page 211 of Phobia
No Sleep
Nyla K.
Chapter 1
It’s too hot.
I’msweating.
The sheets are sticking to my skin.
Rolling over, I suck in a deep breath and rub my eyes.
Oh fuck…
Did I sleep?
Did I??
Lifting my head is difficult, and I feel groggy, which must mean I did. My pulse immediately slams and I gulp down the sour taste in my mouth. The taste ofsleep… Of being unconscious, for at the very least a half-hour.
“Fuck…Fuck fuck fuck.” I scramble onto my hands and knees in bed, eyes catching the blue stains on my white pillowcase.
I just dyed my hair… And I crawled into bed for just afewminutes.
Or so I thought.
“God dammit.” My hands are shaking, fear clawing my throat. “Lena??”
Staggering out of bed, I rush to the door and fling it open, stomping out into the hall. I stop with my knees wobbling, hand falling to the doorknob as I inhale shakily.
“Lena…?” My voice sounds young.Childlike.
It’s all I can hear now…
“Lena…? Where are we going?” Tears run down my cheeks. “What happened?”
Twist.Slowly push open the door. Peer inside.
My eyes close in a hard blink, heartbeat rocking my entire body.
She’s not here…
I slam the door shut and rub my eyes.
This is what I get for letting it happen…
For fallingasleep.
“You fucking did this,” I weep to my own brain, smacking myself in the head. “You were supposed to behelping her!”
I fall against the wall with my face in my hands.
This is all so fucked.
My sister, Lena, is all I have. She’s troubled, but I mean… So am I.Clearly.
Our parents left us when we were teenagers. Lena was sixteen, and I was thirteen. We came to live with our aunt Ursula down here in the goddamn bayou, and after she died five years ago, we just stayed because we didn’t have much choice.
