Battle of the Band Classes

Chapter 16

Midnight, Saturday turning to Sunday

Cam woke up in the middle of the night in the pitch dark. The haunting sounds of the wind and the wind chimes his mother insisted on leaving outside. He laid in his bed and stared at the dark ceiling. He pushed his hand over his drowsy face and left it covering his right eye. On the weekends, for some reason, he was restless, waking up almost every night at the same time like clockwork.

He laid in his bed and watched his own unclothed chest rise and fall. Even though the only noise cutting through the night was the wind chimes, it was practically silent. It felt like Cam was lying with earplugs in. He yawned and rubbed the dark circles under his right eye.

Instead of staying and lying and bed, he kicked off his sheets and pulled himself out of bed. She stood and opened the door his room and crept out into the hall. He quietly made his way down the stairs, skipping the seventh and second step because they creaked, and he didn't want to wake his parents. He walked down the back hall and out the back door onto the porch, where he sat on the steps. He stared out at the forest that surrounded his yard. Nothing ever went through there. All he ever saw in those trees were a few birds and the cars passing by on the street behind it.

He rubbed his dark circles and breathed in the warm summer air. His eyelids felt heavy, but he wasn't really tired. He rubbed his dark circles again. Sleep was something he desperately needed, but could only get it in fits and bursts. He got up off the steps and went back inside the house, crept up the stairs skipping the second and seventh, and got back into his bed. He closed his eyes and tried his best to sleep. After about two hours he finally fell asleep.