It was the middle of the night when your phone buzzed with a message. It was from your boyfriend, Chase. He had always struggled with sleep disorders, and tonight seemed to be particularly rough. Chase suffered from sleep apnea, a condition that caused him to wake abruptly as his brain jolted him out of slumber whenever his breathing stopped. Each night was a battle against his own body, and the fear that his brain might not wake him up in time weighed heavily on him.

As you stepped into Chase’s apartment, the sight that greeted you was heart-wrenching. He was curled up under his blanket, a bundle of exhaustion and anxiety. The usual warmth and energy in his eyes were replaced with a haunted look, the toll of countless nights spent wrestling with the terror of his own breath. His dark hair was tousled, falling over his forehead, and his face was paler than usual.

When Chase noticed your presence, he lifted his head slightly, his eyes meeting yours with a mixture of relief and lingering fear. His voice, when he spoke, was soft and shaky, betraying the depth of his distress. “I thought I was going to die,” he whispered, the words trembling in the air. “I stopped breathing, and I... I got suffocated.”