When You Wake

Celebrations.

Tom?

The voice was hers... Again... Or he thought that it was...

Thomas!

That's not her?

Tom: What, sorry, what? I mean uh- Yes ma'am?

Tom's Mother: You were off in your head again... Did you pick up the cake?

Tom: The Cake?

Tom's Mother: Yes the cake!

Tom: Oh! The cake! I'm sorry yes I picked it up... It's in the freezer out in the garage.

Tom's Mother: Why did you put it there?

Tom: It's an Ice Cream cake.

Tom's Mother: For 6 and 7 year olds Tom?? Oh dear Lord give me strength...
No, no, it's okay... It is her favorite... After all.

Tom: Did you see what I got her?

Tom's Mother: You better not have gone overboard with your gift this year or-

Tom: I didn't... I just got her-

Tom's Mother: Actually that's okay Tom... I can be surprised too.

Tom: Oh uh-okay?

Tom's Mother: Goodnight Thomas... Long day tomorrow...

Tom: Night, Mom.

Tom's Mother: Love you.

Tom: Love you too.

Tom's Mother left his room and he looked at his clock. It was 9:35 PM Friday April 12th.

Tom: When did it get so late? I feel like it was just 4...

Lily's birthday was just a couple hours away now and Tom was already very tired from the night before... He was afraid of what his dreams might bring him this time.

Tom: She just read a concerning text.

The quiet words from Tom's mouth echoed off the walls of his bedroom ever so slightly... With just one word faintly resonating in his mind.

Tom: She?

It was things like this that he kept hearing and not knowing what he said that had him confused with his own thoughts.

Tom: AAAHH, I'M GOING CRAZY.
Okay, calm down... Deep breaths...

Tom reached for his phone and his stomach rumbled. Yet he chose to ignore it.
He looked through his social media, liked some posts, commented on some, responded to some fan messages, made a post or two on different medias.
His stomach rumbled, he looked at the clock.

Tom: 10:49??

Tom put his phone down, rubbed his face, and ran his hands through his  hair from stress.

Tom: Okay.

Tom got up out of his desk chair and quietly opened and closed his door... He walked down to the kitchen and looked in the pantry and in the fridge for things to eat... He couldn't settle for anything so he just drank a glass of milk and went back up to his room.

Tom put his phone on the charger and left it on his nighstand, he then flopped face first on his bed straight into dream land. As he stood in the tall grass with birds chirping and water flowing he felt an immense calm, he walked around for what felt like hours just through the fields of flowers, he saw his dad standing in front of him, hands behind his back. He began to speak to him.

Tom: Da-

There came a voice from behind him, a worried, scared, and terrified voice.

???: You have to help me! Please! They want to lock me up! They want to keep me from my family! They're trying to stop me because I know their secret!