Every night, my girlfriend wakes me up to tell the exact same joke. Last night, she didn't.

I met her three months ago, and it's been the moststressful 90 days of my life.<br><br>After dating for six weeks, Rachel suggested we move in together. That's when it started.<br><br>I work night shifts in a warehouse. By the time I get home each evening, I'm dead tired. I fall straight into bed, so I can get a bit of sleep before 'my' shift starts.<br><br>Every night, I set multiple alarms so I don't oversleep. But no matter how many I set, they never work.<br><br>You see, every night, Rachel wakes me up for work.<br><br>*Every* night.<br><br>This ridiculous ritual has played out an exhausting number of times already, but the first time it happened, things were different.<br><br>"Hey baby," Rachel said, sitting on my bed, "did you forget about work?"<br><br>I'm a deep sleeper, and it takes me a while to wake up. By the time I'm fully conscious, I'd already recognised the sound of my alarms and the feeling of my phone buzzing on my nightstand.<br><br>"Just give me a minute," I replied.<br><br>"No, I'm not leaving until you get up."<br><br>She sat on my bed, watching me struggle to wake up. I was starting to get annoyed at her, but I knew she was right. I had a shift starting soon, and I couldn't miss it.<br><br>With Rachel watching, I got dressed, grabbed my breakfast, and left for work.<br><br>It was a typical night. When I got back, Rachel had made breakfast for me. We had sex and fell asleep together.<br><br>I *loved* having her around. She was my dream girl.<br><br>The next night, I set my alarms and fell asleep. When I woke up, I was groggy and a little disoriented.<br><br>"Hey, hey, wake up baby."<br><br>It was Rachel. Again.<br><br>This went on for weeks, until I started questioning my sanity. I knew she wasn't doing it on purpose, but I couldn't explain why she kept waking me up.<br><br>One morning, as we were eating breakfast, I decided to take a chance.<br><br>"Hey Rach," I said. "Thanks for waking me up every night."<br><br>Rachel looked at me, confused. "What do you mean?"<br><br>"I appreciate you waking me up."<br><br>"Why would I do that," she said. "You're unemployed."<br><br>My jaw dropped. "I'm not unemployed."<br><br>Rachel burst out laughing. "Just stop trying to make dad jokes and focus on getting a job, okay?"<br><br>We dropped the subject, but I couldn't let go of what I thought she said.<br><br>Each night, I'd set my alarms, go to sleep, and Rachel would wake me up for my (non-existent) shift at the warehouse.<br><br>It was driving me crazy, but I couldn't explain why she was doing it, or why she insisted I was unemployed.<br><br>I started writing things down. Notes, reminders, anything I could use to prove my reality.<br><br>I talked to my therapist about it. I talked to friends, family, people at work... anyone who would listen.<br><br>But no one believed me.<br><br>"You don't have a job, buddy," my dad said.<br><br>"Honey, you're just stressed out at work," my therapist said.<br><br>Rachel just laughed it off. "You don't work at night. Stop trying to make me laugh."<br><br>I had no one to turn to. I was trapped in a world that didn't make sense.<br><br>But I knew I was sane.<br><br>Last night was different. Last night, something unexpected happened.<br><br>As usual, I went to sleep and woke up to Rachel's voice.<br><br>"Hey, hey, wake up baby."<br><br>I tried to ignore her and go back to sleep, but she kept going.<br><br>"Wake up, you'll be late for work."<br><br>I ignored her.<br><br>"Wake up, please."<br><br>I ignored her again.<br><br>Rachel's pleas grew louder, more urgent. I'd never heard her so scared, so desperate.<br><br>I stood up, looked her in the eye, and said, "You're not real."<br><br>Rachel collapsed to the ground, crying.<br><br>"Who are you?" I asked her.<br><br>"I'm...I'm your girlfriend," she replied. "I was your girlfriend..."<br><br>"Who am I?"<br><br>"You're...you're an employee at the warehouse," she said. "You work night shifts. You do the best you can."<br><br>"What warehouse?"<br><br>"I...I don't know," she said.<br><br>"You don't know?"<br><br>"No. I'm sorry," Rachel replied, tears streaming down her face.<br><br>"Then who am I?"<br><br>"I don't know."<br><br>"Then what am I?"<br><br>Rachel stopped crying. She looked at me with cold, empty eyes and said, "Then you're...then you're nothing."<br><br>As she spoke, her body began to glitch. Her face contorted, her limbs twisted.<br><br>"Then you're nothing," she repeated.<br><br>Rachel's glitches grew more and more intense, until she disappeared into nothingness.<br><br>I stood there, frozen.<br><br>I've been frozen for what feels like hours.<br><br>My phone is ringing.<br><br>I think it's time to go to work.