It's almost nine in the evening and this is the first breath of silence I've had all day. Last night I had dreams of scorpions and never-ending, winding white halls. At first my dream started with Maddie, she was driving the truck just a little too fast for my liking to the point that I yelled at her to pull over. She gave me the look that's infamous for making my fists clench and denied driving recklessly to the point she spat out a few insults. The next thing I remember is sitting in the park in front of the building with long, bright white halls. The man in front of me had a pet snake and I was enraptured by his pet, he decided to show me his other reptiles. He had snakes, scorpions, all kinds of creatures. He said that they made good security system if anyone ever broke in, which I couldn't deny. Then my parents were following me through the winding white halls, and I remember hearing Taylor Swift playing through speakers on another story of the building. I wanted to find the source of the music, but the white walls lead me through obstacle courses and staircases that were just a pinch too small for me. Somehow, we found our way out, but it wasn't any better because you made your presence known in my tame dream. You made my glorious reunion with my mentally designed sunlight into purgatory. My false reality fell into a haze as I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. My dreamt up parents dragged me into illusion of a hospital, but it looked like a graffitied garage from my perspective. How did nurses emerge from the dark painted walls? Why couldn't they answer any of my questions? Couldn't they hear me? My silenced questions clicked into place as your face came into focus. However, your eyes fell out of focus as my mom yelled above the chaos and I tried to answer the questions I also wanted to ask. I couldn't pay attention as your face flashed in and out of my mind like a strobe light.

The fresh breath of morning was caught in my throat when I woke up. My heart skipped over my lack of oxygen as I tried to comprehend what just happened. Or didn't happen. My fate for today had already been chosen without my input. It wasn't going to get any better.