Today is For Me

Erica

I felt a little more alive when I opened my eyes the next morning. The hangover was almost a welcomed pain seeing that it demanded my attention over the emotional bullshit I was still suffering from.

Kent and Karen's wedding had played in my mind's eye all night, the trip to Jamaica the first time I got to be part of a family. They'd pulled me in and put me to work. I was there to support them, but more than anything else, I wanted Matthew to see me. Really see me.

A smile lifted my lips as I rolled onto my side. He'd been a hot mess on that trip, and all the others after it. I intimidated him something horrible, but it was all part of the story, part of my charm.

"Not anymore." I closed my eyes and pulled the covers up around my throat. He wasn't intimidated by me now that I belonged to him, or used to. He saw me as a woman, as a partner, as someone he could protect and cherish.

I had to fight for us. I couldn't just let the shit lie where it was.

Rolling over, I reached for my