"Oh, man," I huffed, catching my breath quickly. "I knew that one wasn't real."
Sitting straight up in bed, my chest finished heaving as I looked out the window. There was no full moon, but there was still a sliver of light shining across my arm as I propped myself up with it.
After a minute of calming down, I finally rested my head on the pillow once more and exhaled. I placed my hands behind my head, then stared at the dark ceiling. I shook my head slightly as I closed my eyes for a few seconds then reopened them.
"Whatever happened to the good dreams?" I asked myself.
They're gone, Sam, my inner voice replied.
"Oh, so nice of you to join me," I responded with sarcasm.
That was a nightmare you were aware of, Sam. I wasn't going to intervene like the last one.
My mouth curled down as I sighed. "Good to know."
Your dreams can't hurt you, Sam. Not physically, anyway.
"I know," I assured my inner voice. "In the beginning I had dreams of longing when I was staying at my parents place. Then when I moved here I struggled to sleep and my dreams were random and didn't make any sense. And now, well... you know what they're like now."
They don't mean anything though, Sam. Marta is going to arrive and things will be fine. Unless of course you overthink things because of mere dreams. Then you will set yourself up for failure.
I removed my hands from behind my head and reached for my phone, checking the date and time. It was 2:23am on the Friday of Marta's visitation weekend.
"It's today, already?" I asked in disbelief, squinting at the bright display on my phone.
It sure looks that way.
Setting my phone back down on the nightstand, I readjusted my position on the bed, turning onto my side to face the window.
"I can't believe she's going to be here. My baby's coming back home."
My inner voice laughed at me. And you said you didn't love her anymore in a dream. Sam, you're excited to see her.
I smiled and withheld a laugh. "I am," I replied. "I just–" Sighing, I didn't know how to finish the sentence.
You just what?
"There's so much uncertainty, you know?"
I know exactly what you mean, Sam. It's called letting things be. You can't worry about things that aren't in your control. I'm sure we've been over this before.
"Probably," I acknowledged. "I guess I'll try to sleep for another five hours or so." I yawned as I closed my eyes and got comfortable.
Don't forget to have your morning tea, mocked my inner voice.
Mumbling in response, "Very funny. I think I'm going to break the cycle and have apple juice instead."
YOU ARE READING
The Blood Barn (Book #2 in trilogy)
Mystery / ThrillerSam is haunted by his decision to leave his wife after a phone call from her. One day she shows up out of the blue, free as a bird and ready to start over. There's only one problem: she didn't come alone. #Wattys2019 Word count: 55,092 #11 in Barn o...
