The flowers should have warned me that something was up. A bouquet of daisies. No name no message just delivered by the local flower company to my door. I had no clue who they had come from. None of my friends had put my life in mortal peril yet that month so I wrote them off.

They had to be for Amelia.

I put them in one of Gran's vases in the middle of our new table. The kitchen smelled sweet and I breathed it in. It was nice not to have to worry about anything for once.

I hummed a song I had heard on the radio the other day as I went through my human motions. I painted my nails a soft pink, vacuumed, and scrubbed down my bathroom all with a spring in my step.

I pulled on my uniform of black pants and a Merlotte's tee and skipped out the door. The summer was hanging on for all it was worth. It was early October and the air was still warm.

I got to work early even though I took the scenic rout. There was something to be said for not having your life in peril. It made even the most mundane things seem peaceful. I knew that my life had become too exciting when the familiar routine of working at the bar made me so happy. I mean I hadn't even seen a dead body for a month…human or vampire.

But as life's proven to me again and again, good things don't last long. I was half-way through my shift when my brother Jason came into Merlotte's. He walked in alone glancing around and went to sit by himself in my section. He looked sheepish and I fumed.

What was here doing here?

After his disaster of a marriage when he had set me up to take the fall for him, I had sworn him off. I told him we were through and here he was, not a month later, trying to force himself back into my life.

For a second I debated passing him off to Holly but my anger got the better of me. I didn't bother plastering a smile on my face, which said something. Even at my most furious I could always fake a smile.

"What are you doing here Jason?" I yelled. Immediately everyone's eyes were on us. I was used to this, it seemed like people were always staring at me for one reason or another.

"Sookie," he glanced around at the others in the bar. "Come on, don't be like this."

"How should I be Jason? I thought I told you to leave me alone. Coming into my place of work would be exactly the opposite of what I asked." I knew I may have been overreacting a bit but when I lose my temper I don't exactly see clearly.

"I said I was sorry," he said. I glared and her hurried on. "I mean it Sookie, I really do. But you're my family. You're all the family I have."

"Is this supposed to make me feel sorry for you?"

"No. No, of course not. I just wanted to talk."

"Well I don't." I turned to leave, hands clenched into fists.

"I need your help Sookie," he called after me. That was the last straw. I stormed off to the bar and whipped my apron on it.

"I'm taking a break," I mumbled to Sam and I rushed out the back entrance.

Standing there in the dim light I wished I had a cigarette. Not that I smoked or anything but it would be really nice to have something to do with my hands. They were trembling and I kept clenching them and relaxing them.

I slumped down into a crouch, bracing my back against the wall and I heard rather than saw the door squeak open. It was Sam, my boss. I could tell by the foggy quality to his mind.

I usually tried to block out the thoughts of others but at the moment I was too tired to care.

"Go inside Sam," I said without looking up. He didn't listen…when did he?

"I'm sorry Sookie."

"Yeah, well so am I."

"You deserve better." I deserved better than a brother who would manoeuvre me into a position where I would find his whore of a wife cheating. And who would then make me administer justice werepanther style. I didn't even answer Sam, the answer was obvious.

"I know you don't owe him anything but maybe you should hear him out."

"I don't want to hear anything he has to say." Sam was starting to get on my nerves now. I didn't need someone telling me what to do. He was one of my closest friends but at that moment I wasn't feeling very charitable towards him.

"I know you're angry with him, and you have all the reason in the world to. But don't you think that if he was willing to come down here and beg that it must be something pretty serious." He stood there staring at me. He was waiting for me to do the right thing. I could read it. That smug feeling of being right. "Sookie, he's your brother."

I didn't feel like being noble.

"From now on Sam, I have no brother." Sam stared at me in shock. I ignored him. I knew if I looked at him too long I would start to feel bad about my words. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have tables to wait."

Jason was gone by the time I got back in. Everyone had gone back to their meals but I could tell from the glances they through me that they were still thinking about what had happened. There was nothing like the daily dose of Sookie craziness to give the town something to speculate about for the night.

Needless to say I was in a mood after that. I plastered my smile on my face like a good little bar maid and went around topping up drinks, bringing out food, and wiping off tables but my feet stomped a little harder than usual against the floor.

Sam didn't try to talk to me again but I could see him watching me every now and then and that did nothing to calm down my temper. After we closed I hurried though my chores and rushed out the door. No one tried to stop me.

Amelia was out when I got home and Octavia was usually asleep by ten. I tiptoed into my room to wash up for bed. Having to be quiet in my own home was still something I had to get used to. I would be lying if I said it didn't bother me, but I had yet to think of a good way to get the old witch out of my house.

I grumbled all the way to bed. It was a good thing Amelia wasn't home. I probably would have insulted her considering the mood I was in. It took me a long time to fall asleep.

My blinking digital clock informed me it was past two before I finally went to sleep. And it grudgingly told me it was half-past eight when I woke to the sound of screams.

TBC.