Snowball by Andre Gonzalez

Author:Andre Gonzalez [Gonzalez, Andre]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781732776289
Publisher: M4L Publishing
Published: 2019-10-28T16:00:00+00:00

12

December 18

Brandon tossed and turned through the morning’s early hours, and when his alarm sounded, he thought he might cry. He needed another day off from work—there was no way he could function after another long, horrific night. But the last thing he wanted to do was stay home alone again.

I have to try. I need sleep.

During the hour of reading, his mind had waited for more banging on the walls. He did learn that sleep deprivation had a direct link to both visual and auditory hallucinations. Lack of sleep can, in fact, lead to symptoms that mimic mental illness. Brandon had never felt so close to the brink of insanity during the prior night, even more so when Erin claimed to not hear any sounds.

Sleep was the only solution. Deep, beautiful, undisturbed sleep. Half awake, Brandon sent a text message to his manager to inform he would need one more day at home. He didn’t help get the kids ready in the morning, and Erin didn’t ask. She had seen the crazed look in his eyes during the night and understood the dangerous depths to where her husband’s mind was headed. She kept their blackout curtains closed, engulfing Brandon in near darkness, even as the sun tried to claw its way into the bedroom with no success.

He slept right until noon, getting a solid five hours undisturbed and waking up naturally, no alarm, no crying kids, no haunted house. Sure, he was still tired, but his mind felt refreshed and able to form a clear thought. Hopefully the hallucinations were gone for good.

Brandon remained in bed for another hour after waking up, basking in the dark silence, partly hoping he might fall back asleep, but gradually accepting that he was now awake for the day. His stomach growled, but he ignored it, enjoying the weightless feeling of having no responsibilities for the day ahead. The house was still clean from his cover up a few days earlier, and snow blanketed outside, leaving nothing to be done as far as yard work. He’d lay in bed until four o’clock, alternating between Netflix and reading books, and he did doze off for a quick nap at some point.

At four, he rolled out of bed, got ready for the day—or the evening, at this point—and headed downstairs to eat a snack and prepare dinner. No haunted sounds, no tipped over knives, just a house how it was supposed to be in the middle of December with its Christmas decor setting a festive and joyful mood. He snatched Snowball off the counter and paced around the house to find a new place for him. He couldn’t help but laugh as he looked at the toy elf with a clear mind, wondering just how close he had been to lunacy, like not knowing a shark is swimming twenty feet below you while you splash around the ocean.

Brandon hung the elf on the top edge of the TV, making him appear like he was sneaking a peek at the screen.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.