"𝐖𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐞."
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Alyssa, Alessandro and Alessio Smith have gone through hell.
They've been fighting to survive from the moment they'd first opened their eyes. Six...
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MY EYELIDS DROOP as I fight to sit upright in class, the teacher's low voice droning on in the background, lulling me further into the welcoming darkness. I couldn't get a wink of sleep last night, there were too many thoughts that chased after another like little children, all too eager to win this game of chase and enrapture my attention fully.
I think my passing out back at the old house, the being unconscious after - or sometimes even during - sessions, did help with my sleep after all. Not much, but more than I had assumed before coming here and experiencing what it's like without those small periods of 'rest' my body was forced into on occasion.
It feels terrible. I think about a week has passed now since we first arrived here, since we escaped that hellhole just to be sent off right into another. Or maybe it's been two weeks? A little while ago, the days had started blending into another, like I lost track of when they started and when they ended. I was only aware of my whereabouts, which was in bed most of the time, or upright, in a chair, just like right now. So, ultimately, I lost track of the days we've spent here, in Seattle.
I feel like I'm constantly in that state one finds themselves in just before they fall asleep, it's like I'm balancing between the two states, not fully awake, but never slipping into a slumber either.
And it's tiring me out.
A small squeeze to my thigh captures my attention, causing me to look to my right where San keeps his worried gaze fixated on my face, his schooled expression giving away not an ounce of the storm brewing inside his eyes. "It's lunch time," he whispers delicately, as if afraid I would startle if he spoke too loudly.
I nod my head, shaking it lightly in a feeble attempt to get rid of at least a bit of the drowsiness looming over my head, before I slowly get to my feet. Not without the assistance of my brothers though, who keep me steady by my waist when I stagger slightly.
"Let's try taking a nap in the library, yeah?" Ale suggests tentatively, holding my hand in his, but I shake my head.
I won't be able to fall asleep, and trying is only going to leave me more sleepy for the rest of the day. I know I can't go on like this, especially because I think Francesco is starting to notice my excessive sleepiness, having sneaked multiple glances at me at breakfast this morning, but for now, I'm only thinking about how to get through the rest of the day. Everything else will be a worry for another time.
Or in other words, for this evening.
"I'll be fine after splashing on some cold water," I respond, my voice as determined as it can get. Ale opens his mouth to protest, but San shakes his head at him before he can get a word out, causing him to close his mouth and sigh in defeat.
