I See Red

Chapter One

The alarm sounded louder than usual, and all Axel could do was uncover his hand to search blind for the alarm. Once his hand hit the button the alarm came to a stop, and the room filled with silence. He shuffled around and uncovered his head, letting out a sigh before sitting up and looking around. The sun was setting and peaking in through his blinds casting an orange glow in his room. Boxes scattered about and clothes tossed here and there, he hadn't had time to unpack and start making this his home, but he was still trying to heal from the abuse he had endured for a decade in his previous relationship and was unsure what the boxes held because the last thing he wanted to see was any memory of his past. A buzz came from his phone bringing him back from his thoughts to the real world. He picked up his phone and saw random notifications that he chose to ignore. After hitting clear all, he sat there staring at his phone. The thought of skipping his last night at work came to mind. It would give him an extra day to unpack and start making this his new home, but then he would lose money to help buy stuff to make this his new home.

"Eh, screw it." He said aloud. "One night won't hurt." He opened his messages and sent a text to let his boss know he wasn't coming in before putting down his phone. He got up and went into the kitchen and opened the fridge to see the lonely almond milk carton and soup that his friend gave him. He sighed and grabbed the almond milk before shutting the fridge and walking over to grab a paper bowl and a box of cereal.

His adjustment to this change was sudden. Life was not like this for him the last ten years. He thought he had found his happiness and was going to marry the woman of his dreams. They spent a decade together, and he was only months away from proposing when things began to go downhill. After they split, many told him he never saw the red flags prior to it. The more he sat and thought about it, the more he realized how many there were. The break up wasn't pretty, his quick packing and move had to be done quickly because of the break up, and he knew he had left stuff behind that meant a great deal to him. He also didn't know what some of the boxes had in them because they had been packed months ago when they were looking for a new home and he had just tossed more things in them to get out. He didn't get much of the furniture either. He got the spare bed, a dresser, a side table, a small TV, and a mirror. She took everything from him and tore him down leaving him with no choice but to build himself back up. As he took the last bite of cereal he saw the scar on his hand, the scar that led to the break up.

Knock, knock, knock.

He jumped and stared at the door. No one knows where he moved to except his two friends out of state. He carefully walked towards the door afraid that maybe his ex sniffed him out and was back to cause hell. He carefully looked through the peephole to see some woman standing there smiling. He unlocked the door and opened it.

"Hi! I'm your neighbor across the hall. I saw you move in last week and I wanted to give you a week to at least settle down more, but I brought you this welcome basket!" She held out a basket to him, filled with goodies and other things.

He smiled and took it from her. "Thank you, that's really kind."

"You're welcome! My name is Rachel."

"I'm Axel. It's nice to meet you Rachel." He held his hand out and she grabbed his. "I would offer you to come in but I actually don't have any furniture for you to sit."

"That's okay, do you need anything? I am good friends with some of the management girls and could get you some furniture."

"Uh, that would be great actually."

"Mind if I come in? I can make a list of some stuff you need."

Her smile was warming and welcoming and Axel for once, felt safe around someone. Something he hadn't felt in a long time. "Sure!" He moved over and let her in shutting the door behind her. "I'm sorry it's still a mess. I work nights so I haven't had a lot of time to really sit and organize things and see what all I have."

"That's okay, I can help if you need me to?"

"Well, I would say yes tonight but I was going to get ready to go out and get some food. I haven't had a chance to do that even."

Rachel was looking around at the empty apartment, almost as if she was decorating it in her mind. "So you have absolutely no furniture?"

"Um...no...I..." His voice trailed off.

"You don't need to explain. It's okay." She pulled out her phone. "Give me your number and text me some stuff you need and I will let my friends know. How does that sound?" She handed him her phone and he smiled and entered his number in.

"That sounds great. I really appreciate it." He handed her phone back and she walked to the door to leave.

"If you need anything, I am right across the hall. Okay? Just send me a text, you'll have my number in a moment." She opened the door and left with a smile. He stood there looking at the door before he realized that he, too, had a smile. There was something about her that made him feel warm inside. He went back over to the gift basket and dug around in it. There was snacks and other quick meals, a candle, hand soap, and a $50 gift card to Wal-Mart. He stared at the gift card, confused on why someone would go out of their way to do something like this. Did she do this for everyone or did she see how he had nothing when he moved in and wanted to help? He was thankful for it, because this would buy him some food and maybe a few other things, but it made him wonder all at the same time. His phone buzzed and he looked at his phone. It was Rachel letting him know that he now had her number.

He put his phone down and looked around at his empty apartment and the boxes he had. He let out a sigh.

"Guess I should start unboxing this stuff and putting what I can away, and separating it where it needs to go."