Powering OFF

3

During the long ride home, I lean my head up against the window and watch the city lights flash by. It's been five years since I moved to Maryland, but the bright lights and tall buildings still manage to amaze me.

The skies are dark now; several hours have passed.

Neither of us bothers talking on the way home, leaving the car somewhat quiet. Quiet enough for me to fall asleep in the backseat.

"How could you be so insensitive?" I hear Leah say to Audrey. I rub my eyes and look around. Leah's burgundy Impala is right beside us. We're back at the house.

"I wasn't trying to be rude. I just wanted to know if the girl looked for a security system."

Leah huffs. "Well, you definitely came off as rude!" She pauses and turns around, noticing that I'm awake.

"You're up. Good. We're back at your house. Do you still want to watch the movie?" I reluctantly clasp the silver handle under the window and pull.

When the door swings open, my body shivers. The wind is getting chillier now that the sun went down.

Although the nap was needed, I know the rest of the night will be dreaded while I'm awake and everyone else is sleeping.

"Ride's over girlie," Audrey giggles.

"Come on Cassie, it's freezing out here and I have to be at work early tomorrow."

Leah taps on the car window. She's rubbing her hands against her bare arms, trying to provide a source of warmth.

I place my feet on the ground and move them step by step until I'm in front of my door. "I got it," Leah says as she takes her copy of the house key out of her purse and pushes it in the lock.

Once she hears the mechanical click, she walks in while I closely follow behind her. Audrey's headlights begin to fade as she backs out of the driveway.

It turns out that the movie wasn't that good. Or maybe I wasn't interested.

Leah faces me, her heart-shaped lips curling into a smile. "That was terrible!"

We both laugh.

The clock under the TV catches my attention. It was getting pretty late. All of the commercial breaks extended the one-hour movie into a two-hour movie.

"I guess I can't hold you hostage any longer."

She smiles. We both have to work tomorrow. She has morning shifts, I work in the afternoon because I know my sleep deprivation would not allow me to function early in the day.

Leah lives about eight minutes away from her job, which was really convenient.

My job was almost an hour away near the entrance sign of Munui. The sign was so old that some of the letters had lost their jet black color, leaving the sign to read "Welcme to Mun." I doubt they were going to fix it any time soon.

As Leah stands up, she apologizes to me. "I'm sorry about what Audrey said earlier. She meant no harm but her words just come out kind of harsh sometimes."

"It's fine. I get it."

Leah heads toward the door. "Be safe!" I call out.

A little portion of her face is peeking through before she closes it completely. "You too! Don't forget to take your medicine!"

The door slams shut.

I look around and repeat my routine from last night of returning the bowl to the kitchen and turning all of the lights off. Lastly, I drag my feet upstairs into my room.

Tonight, it took me a while to fall asleep, as usual.

As I lay in bed, I feel for my phone that was left on the stand beside me. 1:07 AM. Another late night.

No pills, again. I start scrolling. The apps pass by with each swipe. My finger stops on the fourth swipe. The reminders app. I open it and enter "call in pills."

There is one other thing to do: search for security systems.

A list of them pops up. I click on each website to find out more information. Some prices are high; some are very high.

There would have to be a lot of weighing the options before I could ever consider buying one.

When I back out of one of the websites, something unusual happens.

A strange ad pops up on the screen. It's advertising something called WGR Security. I pull the phone closer to my eyes. In small print, the words at the bottom read, "Not only does it stop others from coming in, but it also stops you from getting out!"

Wait. That couldn't be right?

Did I read it too fast? I skim through the words a second time. This time the words change. "Not only does it stop others from coming in, but it also helps you get them out!"

Okay, this makes sense. I figured. This is my third night in a row staying up late. My eyes were just playing tricks on me.

I continue looking for signs to reestablish my sanity. Ah, the name of their website. I open another tab to type in the address.

It brought me to a pretty normal looking page. A few more scrolls bring me to pictures of the equipment. Cameras, locks, digital keypads, and of course, yard signs.

I scroll all the way down until I see some of the deals and packages. Woah! The prices were great. I bookmark the website to send it to Leah tomorrow. Well, later on today.

The white noise machine is tempting. No, it's fine. I don't need it. I can wean off this machine.

Maybe soon I could wean off of my medicine too.

I slowly close my eyes, pull my comforter over my head, and take deep breaths until I fall out of consciousness.