Daytime Nightmare
Alex has been super busy with the new born baby. If he was lucky his head would hit the pillow for a tireless four hours. He’s learned the meaning of sleep deprivation over the past six months.
With Stephanie being six months old Alex was back to work and doing his best to maintain a workable schedule. Although, each night when he arrived home his wife Gina would constantly ask him if he was able to have the car washed. She wants him to use the good car wash with the larger brushes which seem to engulf the car as it cleans. He's been putting it off for a few weeks because he felt like a drained battery after work and didn’t have any energy.
That afternoon Alex and Gina were on the floor with Stephanie to play with her various toys. Alex was sitting with legs crossed, his back against the base of the couch in their living room. Gina was in the middle of the floor; this allows Stephanie to sit in between the two of them as they played with the toys. Alex dozed off; his head fell forward which jolted him awake. Gina told him that she would clean up so he could go lay down.
The next morning Alex’s alarm illuminated 6:15 am on the display with annoying beeping sounds which got louder with every passing second. He turned on his side and violently smashed the top button on the alarm clock so the beeping would cease. “I’m up,” he mumbled as he threw his tired legs over the side of the bed and encouraged himself to stand up. His feet shuffled on the plush carpet of their bedroom floor as he gathered the clothes to wear for the day. Each time he lifted his arms they felt as though 100-pound weights were tied on in an attempt to hold them down.
As he headed into the kitchen his feet were still shuffling while his mind was in a clouded fog. He mumbled a good morning to Gina, kissed her on the cheek when she handed him a cup of coffee. Somehow his feet carried him out to the car where he made himself comfortable in the driver seat. It was as if someone had control of his hands as he started the car and steered his way onto the highway. The fog from this morning was lifting and he finally realized that today was Saturday, his one day off. He let out a sigh, shook his head, and decided to go ahead and get the car washed while he was out and about.
With a short twenty-minute drive he was pulling up to the Clean Ride Car Wash and selecting the deluxe wash. As the machine in front of him lit up green he slowly pulled the car in as water was shooting up from the floor. He could hear the blasting of water as it cleaned the undercarriage of the car.
The light quickly changed to red indicating where he should stop the car for the best wash. The machine made two passes over the care as it spit out streams of water to coat the car. The machine came to a stop for a few seconds then it was spitting out a blue stream of foam which would also cover the car. The machine made a few noises as it switched back to water again and was slowly washing the soap away, like a steady rain. But, as the machine came back toward the front of the car, he suddenly felt a drop of water.
He reached up to wipe away the droplet of water from his forehead. His hand was almost to his forehead when he noticed the crack beginning to form on the windshield. He quickly pushed a finger against the crack but that just made it worse. Now water was coming in at a steady stream and was hitting him in the eyes. He began to frantically wipe away the water but it was no use and he was unable to see in front of him.
Just then the brushes on the machine outside began to spin and started to grind against the car. The car started to slowly rock side to side. Meanwhile the crack on the windshield was now letting in more water and was hitting him all over his face. His hands were on the steering wheel gripping it fiercely as his knuckles began to turn ghostly white. His head was wildly thrashing from side to side while the brushes began to get more violent.
His heart began to pound as the water was getting more frequent and the brush on the driver side of the car busted through the window. The brush was spinning as it cut into his cheek and now Alex could hear the gentle voice of Gina calling out to him.
“Alex. Wake up.” Gina whispered to Alex as she sat beside him on the floor. He had Stephanie’s play car in front of him and was gripping the steering wheel. Stephanie was sitting a few feet away spraying him with her squirt bottle while Gina was gently rubbing Alex’s cheek with a feather duster trying to wake him. His head bolted up quickly and he was looking around wildly. “You dozed off for a few minutes. I told you that you should go lay down.” Gina said softly.
Alex has been super busy with the new born baby. If he was lucky his head would hit the pillow for a tireless four hours. He’s learned the meaning of sleep deprivation over the past six months.
With Stephanie being six months old Alex was back to work and doing his best to maintain a workable schedule. Although, each night when he arrived home his wife Gina would constantly ask him if he was able to have the car washed. She wants him to use the good car wash with the larger brushes which seem to engulf the car as it cleans. He's been putting it off for a few weeks because he felt like a drained battery after work and didn’t have any energy.
That afternoon Alex and Gina were on the floor with Stephanie to play with her various toys. Alex was sitting with legs crossed, his back against the base of the couch in their living room. Gina was in the middle of the floor; this allows Stephanie to sit in between the two of them as they played with the toys. Alex dozed off; his head fell forward which jolted him awake. Gina told him that she would clean up so he could go lay down.
The next morning Alex’s alarm illuminated 6:15 am on the display with annoying beeping sounds which got louder with every passing second. He turned on his side and violently smashed the top button on the alarm clock so the beeping would cease. “I’m up,” he mumbled as he threw his tired legs over the side of the bed and encouraged himself to stand up. His feet shuffled on the plush carpet of their bedroom floor as he gathered the clothes to wear for the day. Each time he lifted his arms they felt as though 100-pound weights were tied on in an attempt to hold them down.
As he headed into the kitchen his feet were still shuffling while his mind was in a clouded fog. He mumbled a good morning to Gina, kissed her on the cheek when she handed him a cup of coffee. Somehow his feet carried him out to the car where he made himself comfortable in the driver seat. It was as if someone had control of his hands as he started the car and steered his way onto the highway. The fog from this morning was lifting and he finally realized that today was Saturday, his one day off. He let out a sigh, shook his head, and decided to go ahead and get the car washed while he was out and about.
With a short twenty-minute drive he was pulling up to the Clean Ride Car Wash and selecting the deluxe wash. As the machine in front of him lit up green he slowly pulled the car in as water was shooting up from the floor. He could hear the blasting of water as it cleaned the undercarriage of the car.
The light quickly changed to red indicating where he should stop the car for the best wash. The machine made two passes over the care as it spit out streams of water to coat the car. The machine came to a stop for a few seconds then it was spitting out a blue stream of foam which would also cover the car. The machine made a few noises as it switched back to water again and was slowly washing the soap away, like a steady rain. But, as the machine came back toward the front of the car, he suddenly felt a drop of water.
He reached up to wipe away the droplet of water from his forehead. His hand was almost to his forehead when he noticed the crack beginning to form on the windshield. He quickly pushed a finger against the crack but that just made it worse. Now water was coming in at a steady stream and was hitting him in the eyes. He began to frantically wipe away the water but it was no use and he was unable to see in front of him.
Just then the brushes on the machine outside began to spin and started to grind against the car. The car started to slowly rock side to side. Meanwhile the crack on the windshield was now letting in more water and was hitting him all over his face. His hands were on the steering wheel gripping it fiercely as his knuckles began to turn ghostly white. His head was wildly thrashing from side to side while the brushes began to get more violent.
His heart began to pound as the water was getting more frequent and the brush on the driver side of the car busted through the window. The brush was spinning as it cut into his cheek and now Alex could hear the gentle voice of Gina calling out to him.
“Alex. Wake up.” Gina whispered to Alex as she sat beside him on the floor. He had Stephanie’s play car in front of him and was gripping the steering wheel. Stephanie was sitting a few feet away spraying him with her squirt bottle while Gina was gently rubbing Alex’s cheek with a feather duster trying to wake him. His head bolted up quickly and he was looking around wildly. “You dozed off for a few minutes. I told you that you should go lay down.” Gina said softly.