“BRRIIIIIIIIIIIIINGGGG. BRRIIIIIIIIIIIING. BRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIING.”
The shrill scream blaring from the speaker on Sophia’s phone jolts her to consciousness. Always the same sound, always the same reaction. Gasping for breath from the sheer dump of adrenaline that always accompanies the experience of being screamed awake, she reaches blindly to her side and grasps the phone. She squeezes the buttons, careless of which one will make the noise stop, until eventually one of them provides the result she sought. Heart racing, taking big calming breaths, she becomes cognizant of the room around her. The stiff bed creaks as she rolls over towards the night-stand. The blanket sticks, refusing to move with her. Glancing behind her she remembers there is a charcoal-colored pitbull lying in bed with her, hogging up an entire side.
With a sigh, she disentangles herself from the mess of sheets and blanket and swings her feet onto the floor. The click-clacking of toenails on hardwood notify her that her other dog’s arrival is imminent, having been awoken as well by the raging of the alarm. The golden retriever barks a good morning at her, entreating her to put on shoes and go for a walk. Always the same routine every morning.
“Give me a minute Stella,” she sighs, dropping her head into her hands as she is forced to acknowledge that yes, she woke up this morning. The pain is already starting, right now merely a pinch directly behind her temples. Soon, Sophia knows, it will blossom into a full-blown tension headache that feels like white-hot railroad spikes trying to escape her brain through her forehead and neck. The disappointment she feels in being awake is only surpassed by the heavy feeling of dismay that there is another full day to get through before she can drink herself unconscious again.
The alarm blares again, temporarily startling her out of the funk she was sinking into. “Fuck!” she exclaims, annoyance at the device overpowering her despair over her reality. Turning off the alarms and snoozes, she suddenly has a face full of Stella insistently pushing her nose into Sophia’s hands in order to be pet. This action triggers Oliver, previously content to lounge on the bed, now licking her face to compete with Stella for affection.
Between the two of them denying her the opportunity to mope, she forces herself off the bed and shuffles over to the dresser to grab a fresh set of clothes. Donning a t-shirt and shorts, Sophia slips her feet into a pair of flip-flops and slowly makes her way over to the entryway. She grabs the leashes hanging on a hook next to the door, which excite Oliver and Stella so much that barking begins anew. Each one making her flinch slightly as the sounds drive themselves like nails into her head, exacerbating the emerging headache.
Stella sits patiently by the door, calmly being maneuvered into her harness. Oliver makes two laps around the living room in excitement before coming to a stand next to Stella, tongue out, panting lightly in anticipation. Contending with the licks she knows are unavoidable, Sophia bends down to get Oliver into his own harness. Coming up for air, she grabs a handful of plastic bags from the shelf above where the leashes hang, as well as her keys. Opening the door she almost loses her grip on their leashes, so eager are they to go out that they don’t want to wait for her to lock the door.
The glare of the sun rising slowly on the horizon feels like an additional punishment for being awake.