Aimee woke before the alarm, she couldn't sleep because her body no longer understood the meaning of sleep. It felt like it had switched into some unfamiliar mode overnight, one where rest was shallow and thinking came too close to the surface.
Her hand moved before her mind caught up.
She reached for her phone.
The movement stopped halfway.
Her body felt heavier too.
She shifted under the covers, trying to get comfortable, but a strange awareness lingered in her lower abdomen, subtle, not painful, just present. As though something inside her had quietly claimed space.
Her stomach rolled.
She pressed her lips together and sat up slowly, waiting for the wave to pass. It did, eventually, leaving behind a faint nausea and a sense of exhaustion that didn’t match the hour.
“Already?” sh
