The Schmidt Diaries

5/26/15, 11:15 PM

Well, I talked to Macey about my insomnia right after my last entry. I was actually surprised she was willing to listen, especially since she has a history of punching anyone who wakes her up before sunrise in the gut.

I explained my nightmares in detail. The fear of being cornered. The reality of my bones snapping. The pain of being stuffed in a Freddy Fazbear suit. All the while, she sat there with a worried look.

"Oh, Mike..." she said quietly when I finished. "Is that really what's been keeping you awake at night?"

"Yeah," I replied as I sat down on the edge of the bed. "I mean, it's been MONTHS since that happened, but I feel like it'll be in the front of my mind forever..."

Macey took my hand and squeezed it tight. Her eyes were starting to water up. Honestly, so were mine.

"Look...I'll call Dr. Pinbine in the morning, okay?" she finally told me. "We'll see what he has to say."

I sighed as I slowly shook my head in agreement. A smile grew on my big sister's face as she squeezed tighter.

"You'll be okay, Mike," she said softly, but not soft enough to be a whisper.

"I hope so," I replied as I felt a drop run down my eye.

"Now, try and get some sleep," she ordered. "Nightmares or not, you still need energy for work tomorrow."

"Right..."

"I'll be right here if you need me. Okay?"

"Okay."

God, I felt like a child talking to his mother. Of course, Macey always did treat me like a mother more than my actual mother; to say I wasn't her favorite child was an understatement.

I walked back to my bedroom and tried to sleep. After thinking about Macey and all she's done for me, it was easy to get that godforsaken restaurant out of my mind for a while. In fact, I opened my eyes after what seemed like a few minutes and saw the sun shining through the window. I also saw that the clock read 10:00 am. Which wouldn't be bad if I didn't start work at 10:30.

I quickly jumped out of bed and got ready. I had to skip breakfast, but oh well. I barely managed to get to work and punch in on time. After that, it was time to work.

I felt like I was doing well, despite my recent sleeping problem. Of course, Claire did point out that I almost put Ranch dressing on the burger instead of mayonnaise. Good thing she caught me.

Other than that, I don't think I had any problems, which is good. I clocked out at 4:30 that afternoon and went straight home, where Macey was hanging up her phone.

"That was Dr. Pinbine," she told me. "He said he'd see you this Friday."

"Great," I mumbled. "3 more nights of nightmares and/or lack of sleep."

"You'll be fine," she reassured, but her face showed signs of doubt. "Just drink some hot chamomile tea before bed, okay? It'll relax you."

"Alright," I said with a shrug.

After that, we had an early dinner and watched TV for several hours. Finally, we both were tired enough to go to sleep. Or, in my case, try to go to sleep.

I took Macey's suggestion and made some chamomile tea. I never used to like tea, but I've slowly come to tolerate it. Plus, if it'll help me sleep, why not?

I'm going to try and go to bed now. Maybe this time I'll dream about tea instead of pizza!

-Mike