Lights flickering.

You open your eyes. You're still tired, but it must have been at least a few hours, because you're not as freakishly exhausted as you were before. Moreover, you're not hallucinating anything anymore. That last thought is immediately challenged by what you see next.

Kneeling next to you as you're lying on the couch is Ashley, who's staring at you with what can only be described as a bizarre mix of fear and hunger. You're extremely weirded out, but you stay silent, hoping that she'll just go away. You make out the sound of her saying something under her breath. You sit up, trying to listen.

Ashley notices your movement and fear flashes over her face for a second as her arm moves over your chest and gently presses down.

"What is it, Ashley? I've already paid next month's rent. I even paid some extra. Did I forget to do the dishes? Does the toilet need scrubbing again? I can do whatever it is you need done, just like we promised."

Ashley's eyes go wide as she cringes from something and whispers something under her breath. She's not looking at you anymore.

"Um, Ashley. You're scaring me. Did I do something? Did I forget to do something? I'm sorry for whatever it is. Can we just talk about this?"

Ashley abruptly stands up and turns around, looking away. "It's nothing. Go back to sleep."

She then walks away, off to her own bed. You breathe a sigh of relief and turn over, trying to go back to sleep.

You're about to fall back asleep when there's the sound of small, sharp gasps from Ashley's room. You want to go to sleep, but...

You sigh, reluctantly sitting up. You know it's probably nothing, and that Ashley will probably scold you for it, but you know your subconscious well enough that it wouldn't shut up over this unless you made sure that it really was nothing. You trudge over to the door and knock. "Is everything okay in there?"

Ashley's voice fills the air. "Go away, Chris! Go back to sleep!"

You hesitate. Her voice is shot through with an undercurrent of fear. This is extremely unusual for the self-centered, self-assured woman on the other side of this door. Usually, she'd curse you out for even knocking. "Ashley, you didn't answer my question."

"I SAID GO BACK TO SLEEP!" You flinch at the volume, but retreat. If she's that insistent, it probably wouldn't matter if there was something you could help with, there's no way she'd let you. You tell yourself it's probably something about her stupid pride. You take a deep breath and retreat back to the couch, covering your ears this time.