"I don't even know why I'm surprised! There's nothing you can't do with money," Mason huffs, propping his elbow on the edge of the car's door, and leans his head to his palm.

I sigh and focus on the highway ahead. Cars pass us at blinding speed, I drive slowly to stay behind Dad's car. The vehicle he loves but has to sell soon.

The thought tightens my chest, iron fists grip my heart and airways. "We're officially broke," I mumble as I tighten my fingers around the steering wheel. The words stick to my throat, adding to the forming lump.

Mason exhales sharply. "I can't believe he double-crossed us. But don't fret over it, Rae, we'll fix it. You don't have to worry about anything," he promises with a smile.

But his forced smiles and false reassuring remarks won't fool me.

The green light turns red. I hit the break and drop my gaze to my thighs.

"Hey, Grassy, nothing's going to change." He pinches my cheek and I swat his hand away. "On the bright side, you still have your car, Mom and Dad won't ever sell your stuff," he adds.

I look out the window. The brilliant blue sky stings my eyes. It's not fair, on such a beautiful summer day, we lost the remaining of our fortune too.

"I hate this house we moved into," I mutter.

He rolls his eyes. "We're not going to stay there forever." Mason shrugs.

The red light turns green, and we move.

"It's common in business, Rae, a lot of businessmen go bankrupt and then rise anew. It's just a couple of months. I'll land a job, Mom and Dad will too. And all you have to do is find a roommate to pay half of the bills. It's that easy." He waves his hand as he talks.

I hope he's right. With every single fiber of my body, I wish he's correct.

We drive down the lane, my eyes on the freeway, occasionally tapping on the wheel.

"But once we're rich again, I won't let any of these bastards have a peaceful life," he mutters darkly.

I glance at him, but then suddenly the bright blue sky turns black. My eyes widen as my arms get glued to my sides, the speed of my car keeps escalating no matter how hard I push down the brake pedal. Mason calmly sits beside me, as though nothing's happening while I struggle to unbound my hands. Icy sweat breaks on my forehead.

The back windows burst; the glass shards fly in every direction.

"Mason!" I shout. He turns to me with unnerving calmness, his eyes glacial. "Help," I cry out as my car spins in the middle of the highway, spiraling out of its lane.

"You ruined our lives, my life," he speaks in a robot-like voice.

"Mason," I beg and struggle frantically, unable to move an inch as we keep spinning at an impossible speed.

Sharp yellow headlights cut through the pitch-black sky, engulfing us. A truck speeds to us, right towards Mason's side, and every second it drives faster.

I shriek just before a powerful force hits the car.

I scream and jolt awake. Panting, I scan the place, only to realize I'm in my room, on my bed. My duvet is tangled around my thighs and calf. My shirt sticks to my body as sweat dribbles down my temple.

Still trembling, I pull my legs to myself and press my shut eyelids to my knees. Breathe in, hold. Breathe out. I rock myself back and forth as I chant it in my head until my ragged breathing turns normal and I stop shuddering.

It was just a nightmare. Nothing else. It's over now.

I remind myself and get to my feet, hurrying to the switch, and flick on the lights. Bright yellow and white light dissolve the darkness, and I lean to the wall, my eyes fluttering shut.

Flashes of the dream blare past my vision, making my eyelids fly open. The nightmares have been worsening. Each week the number of my sleepless nights climb higher. Maybe I need sleeping pills or therapy, but not now, not when my family needs me as their only support line.

I force my hands through my tangled hair as I stare at my study desk across from me. I have to stay strong. For them and for myself.

I push myself off the wall and pick out a fresh pair of PJs from the drawer on my left. The living area's lights are off as I make my way to the shower. It can only mean one thing, Melody's not home, probably crashing at her boyfriend's place. Not that I'm complaining, she gets too concerned after my nightmares and I don't want that.

I turn on the faucet and the lukewarm water pours on my head and travels down my body. It eases my tense muscles and washes away the remnants of the awful day and the nightmare.

I stand under the showerhead, blocking out every thought and letting my brain go blank, and only focus on the sense of the water rushing down my frame.

As seconds tick away, the question I came across in Professor Wright's office resurfaces. Functions, figures, equations pop up in my head and run round in circles.

The sound of the water hitting the floor of the shower fades, I keep my eyes shut as the water flows down, my hair sticks to my face. But none of it matters as a solution slowly forms in my mind, sharp enough to cut through the fog of my jumbled thoughts.

My eyes snap open. I gasp, "Eureka!"

Not wasting another second, I shut the running water and hop out of the shower. I dress up and run to my bedroom to gather the nearby papers and pens and hurry to the living area. I scatter them on the small coffee table before perching on the floor and jot down everything that crossed my mind while I was showering.

Paper after paper fills with my scribblings of the potential solution, and the method to reach it. I scratch my head and nibble on my bottom lip, explain the routes to myself aloud and change my sitting posture. Time flies while I wander in the maze of the possible correct answer.

A cup slams on the table, startling me. I jump back and shriek.

"Morning to you too, math nerd," my idiot roommate laughs and I look up, seeing Melody grinning at me. Her jet-black hair is tied up in a high ponytail and her orange shirt does a great job of highlighting her dark skin.

With my hand pressed to my chest, over my thundering heart, I glare at her and she chortles. "What time is it?" I ask and straighten myself, still glowering at her.

She moves to sit on the couch behind me. "Nine thirty. You didn't even notice when I came home. What if it was a thief?" she complains.

I pick the mug and shift on my spot to face her. My fingers ache from writing too much without any breaks in between. As I hold my cup in my right hand, I stretch and curl my left hand's fingers to ease the pain.

"I've been back for an hour Gracie, and this entire time you were only blabbering nonsense shit like your life depended on these stupid nonsensical equations." She waves her arm and leans into the sofa.

"Math is not nonsense shit," I point out as I take a sip from the black coffee, savoring its scent and warmth.

She rolls her eyes before arching an eyebrow at me. "Did you even sleep last night?"

"Of course I did."

She sighs and props her elbows on her knees, her features softening. "Another nightmare?"

I push my hair behind my ear and readjust my sitting position. "So how was Jack? I hope it wasn't awkward with his roommate around."

Melody stares at me and purses her lips, her brows furrowing. She hates it when I dodge her questions, but I don't want to talk about it. And I already know what she'll say if I admit I couldn't sleep because of another nightmare.

Her shoulders drop, and she leans back into the backrest. "It was good," she says with a soft smile. I grin at her. "It was great actually," she adds.

I plant my elbow on the couch next to her thigh. "Tell me the details!" I squeal and she giggles and without hesitation spills everything from the moment he picked her up from work until she left his apartment. Her brown eyes gleam as she says his name, her cheeks turn rosy when she gets into their very eventful and not so restful night activities.

A satisfied sigh slips from her parted lips as she dreamily gazes at the ceiling, her mind clearly still with Jack.

"He's the perfect boyfriend." She smiles and looks back at me. "You need one too," she points out before sipping her drink. I roll my eyes, ready to object when she continues, "Or get laid."

I laugh and nod. "Yeah, that sounds better." And we both break into laughter.

"When was the last time you slept with a guy? Maybe you just need to blow off the pent-up energy, be a little active." She winks at me and it's like we're both teenagers, giggling about sleeping with someone. I can't help but be grateful for having her in my life. After everything, I definitely needed somebody like Melody. Without her, I don't know what I would've done.

"It's been a while. Even before Alex and I split up, things had become pretty stale between us, but I've got no time for casual hookups."

"Girl, you don't need ti-" she starts, but I interrupt her.

"I have more important stuff to do."

"Yeah, like what? Solving math problems like a madwoman? Oh, come on," she huffs. "You need fun in your life. Live a little, Rae."

I scoff and place the cup on top of the stack of papers. "Mel, I have to take care of my family and it's a huge responsibility." I study my palms, noting the blue ink lines and dots smeared over my both hands.

"Give a break to yourself," she softly says and lays her hand on my shoulder. "Anyway, I thought you had no assignment deadlines coming up." She inclines her chin to the mess on our coffee table, and asks, "what's all this about?"

I shrug. "Nothing, just a question I came across in my Professor's office."

"He gave this to you?" she questions with surprise, her voice rising a notch.

Slowly, I shake my head, avoiding her intrigued eyes.

She gasps and jumps a little from her spot and comes closer to me. "Holy shit, did you snoop around your professor's room?"

"I wanted to check my grades!" I defend myself in a pitched voice.

"You've lost it! Mathematic has officially driven you out of your mind," she announces with such seriousness as though she has cracked the world economic crisis.

"See? At least I'm living and doing my kind of fun stuff." I point my index finger at her as a satisfied smile curls my lips.

"You're insane," she mumbles.

I laugh. "Say something I don't know." And I push myself to my feet.

My butt hurts from sitting on the ground for so long. As I stretch my legs and my arms over my head Melody half shouts, "I told you to have fun, not to take stupid ass risks!"

Leaning down to her, I place a palm over her shoulder and in the 1930s accent I respond, "Oh darlin', what's life without risks?" I wink at her and straighten myself.

"You're crazy."

With a giggle I make my way to my bedroom. "I'm gonna get ready and leave for work," I tell her and enter my room. Not waiting for a reply, I close the door to change my clothes, knowing full well she's planning my murder in her head for making the coffee table that messy and not tidying it up.

Life still has its bright sides.

∞ ∞ ∞

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, don't forget to tell me what you think about the chapter.