[🌸] Admit It | Riren/Ereri AU

01 | one step behind

u n e d i t e d
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If it isn't the aroma of hotcakes that wakes me every morning, it is my mother's yell.

"Levi Rivaille Ackerman! If you don't get up right now I'm going to go up there and force you out of that library of a room!" My mother's voice echoes through our two-story home.

I chuckle. What she doesn't know is that I've been up since three o'clock. I normally don't sleep, being cursed with the great gift of insomnia, I don't seem to know what sleep is. I normally sleep for a few hours at night, maybe three or four hours total. However, when I do sleep soundly it's usually during the day, and at the worst times. Last night the excitement of attending a university overwhelmed me to a point of explosion so I only slept for an hour. That and the page-turning brilliance of the book I am reading. Well, read.

I've always been drawn to literature. My taste varies from Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe to this centuries most recent best-selling novels. Reading has been my pass time since primary school. I've always had a high reading score, often reading books that teachers don't assign until secondary. Books are my life, and is the main reason why I have only two friends. This is the center of my mother's concern. Even she says I need more friends and constantly nags about how much I need to socialize even though I'm perfectly fine with being alone.

I am lazily draped over my bed, two suitcases are neatly packed with my clothing and are resting by the open window. An autumn breeze passes through the half-open curtains sending a slight chill down my spine. I lay on my stomach, my elbows supporting my upper body as I read the remaining pages of my most recent novel. The sweet aroma of hotcakes mixed with the damp earthy smell that flows from my open window creates a calming scent.

"Levi!" My mother's voice roars.

"I'm coming! Calm down!" I shout in response. My hoarse throat cracks with my first words of the day. Maybe some morning tea will help.

"Don't talk back to me, mister!"

My lips are tugging themselves to a grin. Even though mother and I constantly argue, we have a wonderful relationship. We don't actually fight, instead we disagree on several topics often leading to arguments to who's right. My father has never been in the picture, so mom is all I have. She can be a pain, but I love her.

I roll onto my back and lift my upper body like a rising corpse. I'm still dressed in my usual nightwear: baggy sweatpants and a loose T-shirt in contrasting colors, my favorite lazy look. It makes me look shorter than I actually am, but I'm always at home so my appearance doesn't need to meet society's expectations.

I stretch my upper body and let out a heavy sigh. I collect a few books that I completed these past few days, including the one I'm about to finish, and slip on my open-toed sandals. I look over to the window. The view of the backyard was great and all, but there is something more to it. I scan the grassy area for a golden retriever. It is around this time when mom let's him out. Frowning, I leave my room and down the hallway to the steep stairs that challenges my mornings.

I always ask my mother why she had to install such steep stairs. Every step I take feels like I'm trying to climb a mountain- which isn't too bad until you have to go back down. Each step makes it feel like I'm about to slip. I take every step cautiously, hanging on to the smooth railing for support. Mother is still in the kitchen, God forbid she sees me struggling to get down the stairs. I'll never hear the end of it, especially if she tells Mrs. Yeager, our next door neighbor.

Reaching the last step I stroll into the kitchen, tossing the pile of books onto the kitchen table. The thundering sound of twelve, hardcover books startles my mom. She immediately smacks my arm, alarmingly yelling my name.