Rosie & Eric - A More Savage Passion
[Authors' note: Rosie and Eric have history. Lots of it. Some of it they may even remember.
Theirs is a story of two people clinging to each other like a life raft in a tempestuous sea. The story has thematic elements regarding drug use, domestic violence, and physical abuse. There is rough sex.
Remember, dear readers, these two really do adore each other, but they do have some shit to work through.]
Shattered remains of a dinner plate and half-eaten spaghetti marred the white tile of the kitchen floor. Seeing the damage Eric's anger had caused brought on a sudden calming effect, like all the anger had left him when he threw the plate, dissipated by the sound of shattering pottery. In his moment of tranquility, he almost forgot that Rosie was still screaming at him from the other room.
"I've told you three times, motherfucker, Felix doesn't want me
that
way anymore. He's just being friendly," Rosie's shrieked as she stamped her little foot down hard on the floor of their shared apartment. She was only dressed in a band T-shirt she'd DIY cropped so that it ended just above her waist and a pair of cotton panties that were only a shade or two darker pink than her bright, bubblegum pink hair.
In their on again, off again relationship, they were just coming back to on again. While Rosie and Eric had been briefly broken up this time, Felix and Rosie had gone to a rave together. Eric had gone through her phone when she'd forgotten it while working at the art gallery she was employed at. Eric knew that was a prick thing to do, but he felt that his guilt about invading her privacy was absolved when he found photos of her on Felix's lap. In one picture, Rosie was throwing a peace sign, her pupils saucer-like while wearing only nipple pasties and the shortest of short-shorts, her body decorated with enough accessories and glitter that it looked like she'd been covered in glue and thrown into
Claire's
.
Felix was shirtless but otherwise dressed, displaying a strange variety of tattoos that varied from photorealistic animals to a traditional "MOM" heart across his upper body. In the photos, Felix's arm was around Rosie's waist, but in all fairness it was at waist height and appeared to be for Rosie's stability. Felix's was full of piercings and his hairstyle was unmistakably edgy, almost like he was trying too hard. It rankled Eric that Felix was one of those vegan surfer guys, too - the kind who regularly brought over homemade pot brownies or vegan treats, claiming he just had a little extra to share.
Rosie and Felix had been romantic in the long past, but Rosie knew that there were no lingering amorous feelings, at least on her side: Rosie regarded Felix like a brother now. Her excuse for sitting on his lap had been that the warehouse space where rave had been hosted didn't have much seating. It had been a stupid E-induced mistake, but in Rosie's eyes it certainly wasn't worth the fucking mood that it had put Eric in.
"Felix has a
boyfriend
now, if you must know!" Rosie roared, stamping her foot again, her cheeks bright pink as she shouted. "Besides,
you
went through
my
fucking phone and hurt your feelings jumping to conclusions, asshole! Now come back here and apologise for doubting me!"
The serenity in Eric's moment of calm passed as Rosie stubbornly pressed on with the argument. He had been ready for it to be over, maybe even felt a little bit smugly pietistic in that transient moment, but her shrill demand for an apology instantly set him off again.
"Show me something to stop me from doubting then," he retaliated hotly. "You fuck off all night, acting like a little slut with your friends, what the hell am I supposed to think?"
"Acting like a little slut? I'm the one who worked all day, you fucker!" Rosie shrieked, the most unhelpful thing she could have done given the situation. Her pretty blue eyes stared back at him, incredulous that he could even consider what she'd done acting like a little slut. Sitting on her friend's lap was utterly harmless, it was a rave in an abandoned warehouse, not a fucking sex party. It wasn't like he had his cock out, cumming on her full tits or something.
"You punched that blonde girl in the fucking mouth for less, if I remember correctly," he snapped. He wasn't sure if he did remember it correctly, but he was pretty sure he had a sense of a night when a little blonde had been somewhat taken with him and Rosie had, in turn, taken exception. He was pretty sure it had ended violently, but, like many nights together with her, the images in his mind were a bit hazy.
"Yeah, I
punched
her. I didn't
stab
her. I'm learning!" Rosie replied hotly, gesturing to the Hello Kitty flick-knife she had left on the table by the door, with her keys, beside her Breakfast at Tiffany's DVD. It was a white lie, the only reason she hadn't stabbed that bitch was because the knife had been at the bottom of a chaotic mess in her purse but Eric didn't need to know that part.
Eric was a bit dumbfounded by Rosie's remark, but in a moment of paranoia, he fixated on the knife. Suddenly worried that he might find himself on the receiving end of the powder pink blade, he lunged for it, convinced that
this
time he was only trying to make sure it was put away safely.
Rosie let out a shrill, wordless cry and leapt at Eric, thanks to her defective fight or flight instinct that was always jammed in fight mode. She came at him like a wildcat, pouncing and finding a hold on his body, sinking her teeth into his shoulder firmly. By her standards, it was merely to express her displeasure rather than to really hurt him, but the bite was painful nevertheless.
"Affhoe!" Came Rosie's muffled screech, her mouth still stuck on him mid-bite. Her powder-pink eyebrows that matched her hair were drawn into a furious V-shape. Her flamboyant look was made complete with glittery barrettes made to look like tinfoil: Rosie was an eclectic dresser with a personality to match. Where most people saw rage, Eric saw beyond her vivid existence to the core of her fear that made her feel as though she had to fight everything and everyone. Eric was the only one who could withstand Hurricane Rosie.
Eric had reflexively tried to push her away before she could truly clamp down with her sharp little teeth. It wasn't the first time things had gotten physical between them and Eric had almost expected her to go for the bite - it was a classic Rosie opener. Rosie was a fearless brawler and had given him his share of the hurts, little and large. He gripped her chin, pushing his thumb and forefinger into her cheeks to get her to release his shoulder.
"Fuck off, Rosie!" he shouted. "I'm just trying to put the knife away for fuck's sake. Neither of us need another trip to the hospital right now."
Rosie's pupils, wide and lightless as they were, underscored the reason for his sentiment: given that she was high and there was a significant amount of drugs in the apartment, there was no way she wanted to go anywhere where law enforcement was almost certainly lurking. Rosie obliged and released the hold her mouth had on Eric's muscular shoulder guiltily, immediately kissing the bitemark she'd left to soothe it. Rosie's mood had cycled once more and she was being every inch the sweetest kitten she could be while staying clung to his body like a rabid koala. Rosie cooed while her soft lips pressed against Eric's tattooed skin apologetically.
"Don't put the knife away, leave it there. What if
someone
comes to the door?" Rosie asked, equally paranoid that this hypothetical
someone