Let Me Sleep

Chapter 1

"You're still awake?"

"Yeah," I said with a yawn. My eyes have been closed for hours but I couldn't fall asleep for a minute.

My roommate closed the apartment front door. I sat in the silence for so long that the sound of the door shutting jolted my eyes open. I was blinded when she opened the curtains to let in the light for a new day. I closed my eyes again, wanting my dark, quiet room back.

"Come on, Sophie." I heard her shuffling her feet over toward my spot on the couch. "Normally I'd say 'Good morning' since it's six-thirty, but get to bed. You need to lie down and relax."

She gently took my hand and tried to lead me off the couch and into my room. I was reluctant because the couch and all its pillows were a lot more comfortable than my cheap mattress.

"I have to leave for class soon. There's no point in going to bed now." I tried to take a step away.

"You need to rest before you go to school. Don't make me go all nurse on you again. You know I just had my shift at the hospital. I shouldn't have to come home and still do my job. I don't get paid to be a nurse at home."

This was a common lecture I got from her. I was annoyed because I was an adult who could make my own decisions, but I guess I appreciated that she cared so much about me.

"Okay," I glared at Michelle as I crawled on to my bed. "I'll lie on my bed in darkness for 20 minutes, then I'll be off to school." I only did what she asked so she would leave me alone.

- - -

"I'm home!" I marched through the door with a smile. There was nothing as relieving as coming home from school after a long day. Especially a day that consisted of a five-hour lab and a three-hour study session. Man, I was tired.

Michelle didn't look up at me right away from the kitchen. The clock on the microwave read 7:30 PM. She was shoving her snacks and other belongings into her bag before heading off for another shift at the hospital. I couldn't imaging have such a hard job at night.

She finally looked up to greet me. "You sound like you're in a good mood," she said while analyzing my face suspiciously, "and energized for once."

"I took a nap between my class and studying with my friends. You know Jeff, right? He suggested that our group should study at this big table near the chemistry offices. It's super close to our pharmacy classes and fits the whole group so it made sense. Anyway, I fell asleep on a couch by the meeting spot before everyone came and--Wow!--I feel so much better from that nap. I felt so focused while studying."

"Oh, Sophie," she frowned. "That nap is going to mess your sleep schedule up again. I thought we talked about fixing it last week."

"I know, I know." I didn't want her to give me a nurse lecture again. I wondered if I wasn't allowed to be happy for five seconds.

"You gotta sleep at a normal time tonight. Pharmacy school is difficult and you know how I feel about you staying up all night thinking about Spencer."

"You don't have to say his name," I said icily, with my hands now in fists. "I'm trying to forget about him and move on. So, please, let's never say his name again."

"Okay, fine. But look, you took a nap, messed up your sleep schedule, and you'll be up all night thinking about the breakup over and over."

I inhaled and exhaled deeply, then picked up her bag. "Okay, thanks for this brand new information. I wasn't aware of any of these things. Here's your bag. It's time for you to go to work." I nudged her toward the door to leave.