60

Gwyneth Dad woke up. Dad. Woke. Up. I still can’t believe it and keep mentally shaking myself during the entire ride to the hospital. I think I’m dreaming. That’s what I did when he first had the accident, I slept upside down and dreamt about Dad tilting his head and telling me that sleeping in that position isn’t healthy. Then I woke up and he wasn’t there, but there were tears in my eyes. So that’s what I think during the entire ride. I think that this is a dream—I’ll eventually wake up and Dad will still be in a coma. My nails clink together and I dig them into my skin. Pain means it’s not a dream and that the call Nate got was real. That my father is back. We don’t talk the whole way. I just listen to my NF and Twenty One Pilots playlist and count the minutes until we get to the hospital. Anytime he opens his mouth, I raise the volume until he gets the memo and stops trying to speak. I don’t want to talk to him, I don’t want him to spout more words that will cut me open. Because yo