She sat in the car outside Merlotte's, awaiting a familiar face to come out.
She needed to be very aware of her surroundings. She made it this far from New York to Bon Temps without any harm and she intended to keep it that way.
A blond, dressed in black shorts and a white tee came out the front door and the girl in the car was relieved she didn't have to wait any longer. She climbed out of her car and closed the door just as the blond looked up.
"Who's there?"
The blond stood up straight and walked a few steps forward, "You better come out right now. I'm not afraid of ya."
The girl from the car smiled at the familiarity of that southern accent that came out of the blond's mouth. She walked up towards her as the light from Merlotte's gave the blond a good view.
"Riley?" She said
The girl smiled, "Hey Sookie."
Sookie studied the brunette in front of her. She looked different from the time she came with her parents to visit. Her long hair had been swopped for a pixie cut and she no longer wore glasses.
"Riley… What are you doing here?" Sookie asked, "Are your parents here too?"
Riley felt like she was about to start crying again but she held back her tears.
"That's what I need to talk to you about…" Riley said
Sookie looked at Riley and said, "Well, my shift ends in 10 minutes so why don't you have a bit of something to eat while I finish up?"
Riley nodded. She didn't want to have to wait alone in the car again and her stomach was growling.
Riley sat at the booth in Sookie's area and held the glass of iced tea between her hands on the table. She usually didn't act this way but she was feeling unsafe and the only way to feel like she had a grasp of something was to do that.
Sookie came with a plate of burger and fries and placed it in front of Riley.
"Eat up." Sookie said
Riley gave her a grateful smile, "Thanks."
Sookie smiled and walked back to the bar where she placed the tray by the side. She was about to head off to fill up some coffee when Sam, her boss, stopped her.
"Who's that?" Sam asked
"That's a family friend. Riley." Sookie replied
"A family friend?" Sam said, "I've never heard you talking about a family friend before.."
Sookie shot him a look, "That's because it's none of your business."
"I didn't mean to pry, Sookie… But, she smells strange." Sam said
"You were smelling her?!" Sookie said
"It wasn't intentional." Sam said, "When she walked in, my nose picked up her scent."
He looked at Sookie, "Something's different about her."
Sookie looked at Riley, who was concentrated on eating even though she looked a little spaced out. Using her 'special' ability, Sookie tried to read Riley's thoughts. She didn't want to do it but to know if something bad happened, she needed to do it. Unfortunately for Sookie, it wasn't a success.
"I can't do it." Sookie said, "Her mind is silent."
"Like Bill's?" Sam said
Sookie looked at Sam, "Are you sayin' that Riley is a vampire?"
"I don't know." Sam said, "I can't tell."
Just as Sookie was thinking about the problem she had, her eyes glanced at the clock and she realized she was already off duty. She took off her waist apron and put it on the counter.
"Well, Sam, I'm off now." Sookie said
Before Sookie turned around, Sam held onto her hand.
"Be careful, Sookie."
The drive back to Sookie's house was a little weird since Riley had insisted on taking the rented car to the house. So, Sookie drove ahead while Riley followed behind.
Riley got out of her car with her backpack and locked the car door as she followed Sookie into the house. Once they were inside, Sookie asked Riley to take a seat on the couch while she went to get them some iced lemonade.
When she returned, she could see Riley was uncomfortable but she didn't know why.
"Okay. Spill it, Riley." Sookie said, "What's going on?"
Riley braced herself as she said, "My parents were murdered."
Sookie looked at Riley, "What?! When? Did you tell the police?!"
"Two days ago." Riley said, "I went to visit them and I broken lock on the door. I walked in and I found them dead."
She held back her tears as she continued, "I couldn't tell the police because I think I know who did it."
"Then you should tell the police who it is." Sookie said
"I can't." Riley said
"Why?" Sookie asked
Riley held a breath before she said, "They're vampires."
"Vampires?" Sookie said, "Why would your parents get involved with vampires?"
"Because my father's a vampire, Sookie." Riley said, "That's why you never saw my father unless it was in the night."
Sookie sat back and processed everything Riley just said. Was that the reason why Sam said Riley smelled different? Was it because her father was a vampire and living in a house with a human and a vampire gave off a different smell?
"So aunt Sutton is a human who married a vampire?" Sookie asked
"Yeah." Riley replied
"And you're from the previous marriage?" Sookie asked
Riley sighed, "No."
She looked Sookie in the eyes, "I'm a human and a vampire."
Riley sat next to Sookie, leaning over to see if she was okay. After she told Sookie what she was, the blond fainted without a word.
Sookie slowly stirred as she opened her eyes.
She sat up and smiled seeing Riley.
"You know… I had the weirdest dream about you telling me that you were a human and a vampire." Sookie said, "I mean, is that even possible?"
Riley turned to look at her and Sookie's smile faded.
"It wasn't a dream?" Sookie said
Riley shook her head, "Sorry, Sookie."
"Well, is that the reason why your parents were murdered?" Sookie asked
"I don't know." Riley replied
She sighed, "My parents and your parents were the only people who knew about me. And they never told anyone else."
"Vampires are pretty efficient when they want information." Sookie said, "And you are something the vampire authority would want."
Sookie looked at Riley, "Do you drink blood?"
"No." Riley said, "I could but I choose to only feed my human side."
"You only need to feed one side?" Sookie asked
"That's what my father told me." Riley said, "The half breeds are lucky because they get to choose which side they want to be."
She sipped her lemonade, "I didn't want to lead the life of a vampire so I don't give in to it's desires."
Riley put the glass down, "It can be hard at times… Especially when the hunger for blood comes in the night."
"So what do you do?" Sookie asked
"I sleep." Riley replied, "It's the only thing I can do to maintain a balance."
"If I feed just once, there is a possibility of me turning fully." Riley said
"Well, let's hope that day doesn't come." Sookie said
Riley nodded, "Same here."
"So, why did you come here?" Sookie asked
Riley reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out a note. She handed it over to Sookie.
Riley,
Whatever you just saw means that New York is no longer safe for you.
Go and find Sookie.
Stay with her and you'll be safe.
Love,
Mom and dad
"This was in my parents' mailbox." Riley said, "It was as if my mom knew what was coming for her."
"We gotta let Jason in on this." Sookie said
"Jason?" Riley said
"He's a cop now." Sookie said, "It'll be better for him to keep an eye out for any out of town vampires."
Riley nodded as Sookie stood up to make a phone call to Jason.
For now, Riley could feel a small sense of relief.
She was safe… For now.