Crimson Notion

one

Emera Payne

"Emera..." A faint voice echo in my thoughts. I turn over and ignore the voice, knowing I don't have to be up for another couple of hours.

"Emera wake the fuck up..." The voice appears again, now louder. I feel a hand grasp my shoulder and shake my body a little bit.

I finally stir awake, accepting the fact that I need to get up. I rub my eyes with the back of my hands and prop myself up with my elbow, allowing myself to get adjusted to the lighting of the room.

I open my eyes to look up at Eric, seeing that he is dressed in his mechanics' button-up shirt and his greased up jeans with unintentional holes all over the legs. He also has his large steel-toed boots on with his goggles sitting on top of his head.

"What time is it?" I say into a yawn while stretching my arms and legs out.

"Almost eight." He responds. "I need you to drop some bills off at the post office before you go to work. I'd do it now but I'm in a bit of a rush." I look up at him and sigh.

"E, you know I have a twelve-hour shift tonight." I really need to go back to sleep for a couple more hours so I'm not so exhausted this evening and tonight.

"It wasn't a request." He shoots me an irritated glare as he places the bills on the nightstand before walking out of the room. I sigh and fall back into the bed, letting my body melt in the warmth and comfort it brings me.

Eric and I have been dating for almost a year and it has been challenging to say the least.

He doesn't do too much around the house because he expects me to do it all which is rather annoying. He says it's a woman's job to do all the work around the house but it is hard when I have a full-time job.

I want to stand up to him but I've learned that doing that isn't the best decision.

He and I have known each other our whole lives because of our families and he was always such a great guy. As he and I grew up, we became closer and closer until we started having feelings for each other but once he and I started dating, his true colors finally started showing.

I get snatched out of my thoughts when I hear Eric's truck start outside and take off, on his way to work. I guess I was too lost in my thoughts to even hear him close the front door.

I swing my legs to the side of the bed and stand up. I slowly walk over to my nightstand and grab the bills to place them in my purse so I don't forget them later on.

Once I enter the living room, I can truly see how messy the room is. I look into the kitchen and notice that the sink is full of dishes and that there is stuff all over the table and counters. I guess I should clean the apartment since I have a while until I need to go to work.

It will make Eric happy and as long as he's happy, I'm happy.

I walk over to the coat rack by the front door and retrieve my purse to place the bills in it. I put my purse back in its rightful place and head over to the laundry room to grab all of my cleaning supplies.

I might as well start with the living room since it will be the quickest to do. Plus I fucking hate doing the dishes so I'd rather avoid them for as long as possible.

I make my way over to my Victrola in the corner of the living room and put on my favorite album Godsmack. Once the needle makes contact with the record, I smile at the first song that plays. I start to move my head to the song.

"I'm not the one who's so far away
When I feel the snakebite enter my veins
Never did I wanna be here again
And I don't remember why I came."