It had been a full 24 hours since she stepped foot on Bon Temps soil.
Well technically 18.
The sun wasn't quite down, but it was slowly descending as she sat and watched from the river bed. Eden, just as every other college student, was down right broke. A motel was simply out of the question so she had slept in her car. If you could call it sleep. Being spoiled by a bed her whole life, sleep was hard to catch sitting upright in the driver's seat.
Once the sun had risen, her eyes could no longer stay shut. She wondered around the small peculiar town, stopping occasionally at a store that caught her interest. But for the most part of the day she had allowed herself to doze in and out of consciousness at the side of the small river she'd stumbled upon near Merlotte's.
Now as the sun slowly vanished behind the trees, her stomach growled. Checking her wallet she grumbled when she found six dollars. That was it. If she planned on getting back Ohio anytime soon, or eating for that matter, she'd need to find a job. But she'd take a bullet to the knee before she took a position at the same bar where her sister worked.
Eden was surprised that their three hour conversation the night (early morning?) before had resulted in more acceptance than they had accomplished in their entire lives. It was easier for her to understand her sister now. Not because she was a vampire, but because she was an adult... and so was Eden. She realized quickly that their age gap as children had been the cause of most of their disfunction. Eden had been a moody teen who wanted to be left alone, and Jessica was an energetic adolescent who wanted to play. Not a good match.
Maybe there was still time in their adult lives to make up for that. But of course, Jessica had all the time in the world.
Making her way back into the bar, she was relieved to find that Tommy was nowhere in sight. She definitely didn't get enough sleep to deal with the little punk.
"Eden, right?" Sam called from the bar. There were no other patrons so she felt comfortable to respond from across the room.
"That's right." She smiled and walked over. "And... Sam?" She pretended to think about his name. She never forgot a name. Idly, she wondered if that had anything to do with her "gift". She was always able to get an automatic feel of intentions, good or bad or neutral, so why not instinctually know their name? I
"You got it." He stepped in front of the tap. "Can I getcha a drink?" Eden still wasn't sure how to read this man. He was different somehow. His mind wasn't as clear, like he was stuffy or underwater. She couldn't get a clear picture or read.
"No thanks. " she thought of the cash, or lack there of, in her wallet. "But I'll look at a menu." He handed her one with another smile and then went back to his work cleaning off glasses from the night before. She tried to study him, his movements, his mannerisms, to see if she could pick up on anything out of the ordinary, but her stomach forced her eyes to the menu.
"Hey Sam!" As feminine voice greeted as the front door opened. Eden peered over shoulder at the woman. A rather short, rather thin blonde came bouncing by her. The girl was beaming and a wide smile was plastered across her face.
"Evenin' Sook." Sam's lips pulled back into a longing smile.
Immediately, Eden liked this new woman. She could feel the goodness radiating off of her. If there were ever a pure heart, it was her.
"Hi there, I'm Sookie." The woman turned around and held out a hand for Eden to shake. Even though it seemed impossible, her smile widened.
"Eden." She replied with a firm shake. The blonde was certainly pretty, no wonder why Sam couldn't stop staring at her. But Eden could see the fight hidden behind her big dark eyes. Yeah, she looked all rainbows and butterflies by the bitch would take you down in a heartbeat.
She liked her.
Sookie chuckled out of nowhere, bringing Eden back to earth.
"Welcome to Bon Temps." She said with a gracious nod before sauntering towards the back. Eden wondered if she knew Jessica well. Maybe she could give her some insight into her little sister's new life as a vampire.
Her stomach prompted her focus back to the menu. Even a salad would cost more than what she had. Maybe she'd try the general store she'd seen back in the part of town.
" I'll just stick with the peanuts." She handed the menu back to Sam and pulled the small bowl of bar peanuts towards her. He gave her a skeptical look but remained silent. "Jessica's working tonight?" She asked for the sake of conversation. She already knew her sister would be in at 7.
"Sure is." Sam nodded with a smile at the same time Sookie came bouncing back into sight.
"Sam, I'm gonna need to take off next Friday." She flashed a dazzling smiling. "Bill is taking me... well I don't know where yet! He's surprising me."
Eden's ears instantly tuned in to the conversation. Was it the same Bill that Jessica had talked about last night?
"Aw Sook, a Friday night?" Sam sighed. "What am I gonna do with one waitress on a busy night?"
Oh yeah, Sam was in love. With a capital L. The way his eyes peered soulfully upon the little blonde was just sickening to Eden. To anyone else, it would have been sweet. But it made Eden's stomach churn.
"We'll figure it out." He resigned. With the never faltering smile still plastered on her face, Sookie wrapped her arms around her boss's neck.
"Thanks Sam. I owe you." She whispered happily before scampering off to fill salt shakers.
Eden couldn't help herself from asking Sam about Bill. "That Bill guy she mentioned," she popped another peanut in her mouth, " he the same Bill that turned Jess?" Sam gave her a cautious look, unsure if t was smart for him to answer.
"Yeah." He drawled. "Bon Temps' first resident vampire." Eden nodded but kept quiet while she thought that over for a few moments. But Sam had more to say. "He's seein' Sookie now." The resentment was very clear.
"I take it you're not a fan?" She prodded. He didn't answer, but his eyes glanced up at the waitress with hooded eyes.
Nope. Not a fan.
"Listen Sam," Eden leaned forward on the bar. "my sister is caught up with this guy. Give me something to work with here." Her voice was tough but her heart ached for the truth. He must have seen it because he heaved his shoulders and leaned closer as to not be overheard.
"I just don't trust him. I can't explain it to ya, but it's just my instinct. And my instincts never let me down before." His voice was soft but stern. Following her own instincts has saved Eden's life a time or two. And right now, they told her to trust Sam.
At least on this subject.
Before she knew it, the evening crowd started to tumble through the front doors of the bar. Among them was Jessica's boyfriend, Hoyt.
When his wandering eyes found Eden at the bar, he claimed the stool beside her. Hoyt was oddly easy to read. His genuine kindness was a relief from the exhausting amount of assholes in the world.
Jessica was late, which according to both Sam and Hoyt, was strange. Eden was about to get up and go find her when the redhead came hurdling through the door, a dark haired man on her heels.
"He can't just expect people to drop everything and..." she said angrily over her shoulder at the man.
"He is our sheriff, Jessica. We have no choice but to follow his orders." The man's voice was deep and husky. She knew instantly that this was Bill.
"He's a dick." Jessica turned and hissed. "If he needs to talk to me, he can come and find me."
"Jessica," he said warningly.
"Bill." She countered in a mocking tone.
"Everything alright?" Eden interjected. The man's eyes shot to her, but Eden's focus remained on her sister.
"Yeah, just vampire drama." Jessica laughed it off, but Eden felt the annoyance and fear inside her. She raised her eyebrows, pushing for more information. "Our sheriff 'summoned' us." She rolled her eyes.
"Why?" Eden questioned.
"It's none of your concern." Bill snapped suddenly. "The why is not important. We can't keep Eric waiting."
"Jess?" Eden kept her focus on her sister, ignoring Bill's interruption.
"It doesn't matter." She rolled her eyes. "I'm not going like some little puppy."
"If we don't appear in front of him, then Eric will come here. To Bon Temps. To Merlotte's." Bill held Jessica's gaze. "Is that what you want?" There was a hidden threat that Eden could feel in his words.
"No." Jessica finally sighed. "I don't want him here." Her eyes flickered to Hoyt, filled with young love. She was protecting him. Whoever Eric was, he wasn't good for Hoyt or anyone else in this bar.
"Then we need to go." Bill wrapped his fingers around Jessica's wrist and made to pull back to the door.
"Whoa, Jess?" Eden slipped off her stool. "Where exactly..."
"This has nothing to do with you." Bill's voice sounded polite, but Eden felt the disdain dripping from every word.
"It's fine." Jessica ripped her hand away from her Maker. "We'll just go bow down and be back before things get to crazy over here." Sam had come to stand behind Eden, and that's who Jessica's promise was to. Not to Eden. She was promising her boss that she wouldn't leave him short handed on a busy night, not promising her sister that she'd be back to talk and catch up. Why wouldn't she promise Eden anything? She barely knew her.
When Eden looked over her shoulder, she found Sam's eyes latched to Bill's. There was a challenge behind those eyes.
"Jessica." Bill nudged and Eden watched her little sister roll her eyes and stomp out the door. As grown as may look, Jess was still just a kid, and that broke Eden's heart.
As soon as the pair was out of earshot, she sipped around on Sam.
"Where are they going?" She questioned, rushing to grab her wallet off the bar.
"Shreveport probably." He answered with a shrug and curt shake of his head. Eden actually growled at him.
"But where? A real location, Sam." Exasperation was clear in her voice.
"You can't seriously consider..." be began but was cut off.
"Following them?" Eden raised her eyebrows in mock question. "Absolutely."
"Eric owns a fangbanger bar." It was Hoyt who answered rather than Sam, who was busy issuing her a disapproving look. "Fangtasia."
"Thank you, Hoyt." Eden said pointedly, never breaking eye contact with Sam. "Hope I see you soon." She added for good measure before she hurried out the door without a second thought.