VILE

Chapter 3: The Present

Tomike cursed as she sat up on her bed. These stupid nightmares again. She checked her nightstand, the neon green clock glowed in the dark. 3:45.

She didn't even get up to 5 hours of sleep. Now she wished she had had that coffee, worked till late and slept late. At least she would have woken up later in the morning. It was better than waking up so early and feeling dreadful. Whatever. She was still going to work anyway. Not like there was any possibility of her falling back asleep, not happening.

What was she thinking. She hadn't had any nightmares for almost a week now and thought she could get some extra sleep since it was the weekend. Well, so much for a nightmare free sleep.

She reluctantly got out of bed, headed to the table at the corner of her room and picked up her laptop.

Her co-workers always told her she worked way too hard and finished jobs long before deadlines. Some of them even asked what her secret was. Haha! That's pretty easy, Insomnia.

Her inability to get proper sleep was the secret. When she couldn't sleep, she worked. She'd rather do that than roam the house aimlessly at the dead of night or stay scared in bed.

She reached out for a box of cigarettes on her night stand. She took out one, and lit it. As she drew in the smoke she couldn't help but remember Iya Bose's scoldings.

"I don't even know where you learnt this from. Your mates are running from cancer, you are running towards it. Stop this smoking Tomike, stop it! You are not a baby, I cannot force you to do what you don't want to. I won't kill myself, I won't die for you. If you like.... "

Tomike chuckled. Iya Bose could be a nag sometimes. Scratch that, not sometimes, every time. But she meant well, her intentions were always pure. She was a good woman.

As she picked up her phone to verify some information she was working on, she saw Iya Bose's missed call. Ha! She sighed inwardly. She wasn't going to call back. She'd make some excuse later about working or sleeping or something.

She didn't feel like talking to Dayo. She never did. Couldn't he just lead a normal life like every other teenager his age? Why so troublesome? Unbearable like his fa ....

No. Not today. She wasn't going to think that far.

She stepped into her kitchen and took out a glass cup from a cupboard. She opened another cupboard and took out a bottle of vodka. She poured herself a glass and downed it all immediately. The burning sensation went from her mouth down to her throat and then to her stomach.

"That's more like it. The last thing I'm going to have is a sad night. Or morning"

With the glass cup in one hand and the bottle of vodka in another, she went back into her room. She picked up her burning cigarette from the ash tray she had dropped it on and took a long draw. She followed it with another shot of vodka, and then continued on her laptop.

Her shoulders were hurting now from all the typing and she was feeling a little woozy. She checked the time on her phone. It was 6:30. She decided it was time to get off the computer. She'd get back to it later, she wasn't doing anything meaningful with her weekend anyway.

She picked up the pack of cigarettes again, and lit what would be her fifth cigarette, or was it sixth? She had lost count. The ash try was now covered with what was once long white sticks of tobacco wraps. She wasn't a chainsmoker, in her opinion that is. She only did it when she was stressed, scared or angry. In this case she was all of these. It helped clear her head.

She moved to the head of her bed and put a pillow behind her. Now quite drunk, she held her glass high, above her head and said "Cheers to the weekend."

********
What do you think Tomike's nightmare was about? I could think up a hundred things.. Lol. I hope you are enjoying the story😊. Don't forget to vote, comment and share.
Xoxoxo. 💕💕💕