A strange rolling sound jolts me awake from a nightmare. I sat up, the duvet pulled close to me as if I were a child afraid of the dark. My heart is pounding in my chest. When I was little, Dad would sit with me and read me stories until I was no longer afraid. He's now the thing I'm afraid of.
The noise returns, and this time I know it's Dad. I yank the duvet off me so hard that it slides to the floor, turn on my lamp, jump out of bed, and yank the curtains open in Time to see something hit the window and bounce away. I look out and then come to a halt, my heart pounding. One of the knobs on the balcony furniture has come loose and is bouncing around on the floor.
I grab my phone to check the time and find a text message from Dad. I clutch the phone tightly as I reread the words from
