SOOKIE AFTER DARK
CHAPTER 4: There Goes My Outfit
SOOKIE
I woke up the next morning still disillusioned. Apparently, a solid nights sleep couldn't shake the indignation I felt toward Debbie Pelt. After that whole Jerry incident, we left Club Dead but when I went to grab my new black pashmina, there were holes burnt into it and when I looked for Debbie, she was gone which only confirmed her guilt in my mind. It was ruined and I cried. Of course I waited until I got to the truck and did it as silently as possible, but I still cried. Alcide saw and thought it was about Jerry. I told him what Debbie had done and he was truly apologetic. It wasn't his fault.
Spending the money to buy myself something was a big move for me, especially considering I could have easily made Eric pay for it. Not that I normally go around accepting handouts or letting anyone buy me anything, which is why this gets my goat even more! I had a rare moment of clarity and despite what was going on, I took a moment to think about myself. I am always considerate and gracious to others. Usually, I'll run straight back into the hands of trouble if that helps out someone who means even the tiniest bit to me. Foolish? Maybe, but that's just how I am. I'll look at the psychological reasons later.
That damn wrap represented my independence despite the jams I seem to be getting into since Bill entered my life. It symbolized that I, Sookie Stackhouse, can take care of myself. It was mine and it was bought by me, with only myself in mind. I felt… crushed. Not only that, but a little scared. I felt like it was an ominous sign that my life would no longer be my own no matter how hard I try to carve out safe places for my spirit to stay warm and nurtured. I wondered if the people I continue to encounter would constantly try and encroach upon me and pick apart bits of my person by any means possible. Maybe I am overreacting, but I just have a bad sense that my life is about to take a critical turn for the unexpected. Why do I feel like I need to protect my soul at all costs?
As I make my way into the kitchen, I notice this rancid smell. What the hell is that? I check the garbage in each room, the fridge for rotting food and even under Alcide's bed. Who knows? Maybe he's like Jason and just sticks his leftover pizza boxes under there. I decide to clean. As I open the closet door, Alcide walks in and it's a good thing too because Jerry falls to the floor at my feet like a sack of potatoes!
"What the…?"
"Oh my god."
"Sookie, Is that who I think it is?"
I just stare at Alcide open mouthed and finally answer, "Alcide, I was just looking for cleaning supplies because it was smelling to high heaven in here!"
"Shit, Sookie! Who could have done this? What the hell is he doing in there? I don't even know where to begin!"
It was at this point that I knew we had to get it together and get Jerry out of here. The great mystery of how Jerry ended up shoved into Alcide's small, dark closet like veal, will have to be solved another time.
Before I know it, I am looking down at the largest larva I have ever seen which only adds to my disturbance level tenfold. I don't know whether to laugh or cry but I end up laughing quite hysterical when I take in the irony. By all accounts, it's the web Bill has woven and trapped us in, which has led Jerry here and I become astonished. Not only with the whole scenario but mostly with myself.
Somehow, I have managed to block out the steps it took to wrap up a dead biker Were in a shower curtain while internally problem solving how to get him out of the apartment, buried somewhere in the sticks and back in time to sanitize Alcide's place all before leaving for Club Dead. How did I get here? Is this some sort of instinctual form of self-preservation? It's either that or a mighty pragmatic work ethic. You just get on with it and do what you have to do. This is beyond what I ever thought myself capable. I feel like a horrible Christian.
I won't get into detail of the lengths Alcide and I went to, to dispose of Jerry's body, but let's just say it was teamwork at its finest. We were like a bumbling Starsky & Hutch, Batman and Robin, a regular ole' Amos and Andy.
We decide that we have no idea how he ended up in Alcide's cupboard, but that someone is blatantly trying to set us up. Of course, I suspect Debbie but Alcide couldn't go that far. Denial is not just a river in Egypt in case you didn't know.
Although I am shaken and stirred, I notice it's already time to put my game face on and with a couple of hours to spare, I start getting ready to go back to Club Dead.
I put on my bra, thong and stockings and slide into my heels to break them in a bit more. As I am blow-drying my hair, I hear a wrapping at my window. Eric! Lo and behold, floating outside the window with a leering smile is the blonde Viking vampire in glasses (glasses?), wearing what looks like a three-piece suit. What the hell? I yelp.
As I quickly throw on my short, silk robe and hastily fasten it, Alcide, meanwhile had already run into my room. Clearly, he is on high alert considering what just happened but that doesn't stop him from ogling my assets as he comes through the door.
"Let me in," Eric loudly whispers.
"Why? What are you doing here?" I snipe back.
"We need to talk. Let me in."
"Alcide? It's up to you." I tell him.
Then I ask Eric, "Can he rescind his invitation after you leave?"
Eric rolls his eyes, "Yes."
Alcide walks over to the window, opens it and gives him wide breadth, "Come in, Eric, " he says flatly.
As he straightens, Eric's already assessing me, "Mmmm, Sookie. I love your outfit," His fangs have run out.
I look down and realize there is a gaping hole in the front of my robe and I scramble to cover up, tucking one side under and clasping the other side closed with my hand in a vice like grip. I look to Alcide whose eyes are also burning with heat and I blush furiously.
Eric looks between the two of us and asks with a low growl, "Am I missing something?"
Um… well… yeah, he was. Last night when we got home, Alcide made a pass at me. Not that I minded. I had asked Alcide to help me with my zipper and as his warm fingers ran the length of my spine, all of a sudden, I felt a gentle kiss on the back of my neck. I stiffened.
"Sookie." He sounded contrite. "I can't help but think that we would make a great couple if only the timing weren't so bad. I think it's obvious there's attraction between us."
I gulped when I turned around to look at him. His eyes were practically glowing and he was thumbing my shoulders with the barest of touches. When I looked at his lips that was all the invitation he apparently needed.
Oh. Ohhhh. His lips were so soft and his breath was so hot. He kissed my bottom lip and lightly sucked on it. When he let go, he moved to my top lip and as he did, his tongue came out and grazed the tip of mine so softly, my knees went weak. He pulled back slightly, came back smoothly and opened his mouth fully as his tongue sought mine and entered my mouth. His kiss was so beguiling, I hadn't even noticed that I let go of my dress as my hands moved up and into his curly hair. I grabbed it by the roots and he let out a low growl. He attacked my mouth with more languid intensity and as he was slowly sliding away from our kiss, I sucked and bit on his tongue teasingly and then his bottom lip. We both shuddered.
"It's not the right time." I whispered while shaking my head.
He looked down at me, then my breasts and lightly traced the tops with the pads of his index and middle fingers. He let out a long, shaky exhale. I got goose bumps. Oh yeah, my body reacted to Alcide all right.
"No. Not the right time but so help me Sookie, when it is…. you're mine."
As my blush intensified at the memory, Eric's growl was getting louder. He turned to Alcide and states, "I need to speak with Sookie." Alcide looked to me.
"In private," he snaps. It's a dismissal if I ever heard one and I nod my head for Alcide to leave before things get really awkward.
Eric studies me silently for a long while before speaking and I hate to admit it, but I feel a bit cowed…probably because I'm a little ashamed of my reaction to Alcide the night before.
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you made another friend. You do seem to collect them."
"Oh, what the hell is that supposed to mean, Eric? And frankly, what business is it of yours?" I am angry now.
"You are in my care Sookie and Alcide is working for me. It is absolutely my business. I take it he did nothing too untoward for you to be reacting to the Were the way you are."
It's more of a statement then a question.
"Oh, Eric! For God's sakes! Nothing happened."
He is in front of me in a blink and his face is partially nuzzled in my hair and I realize he's sniffing me. He moves to my neck, then my face… my lips… hovering over them with his eyes closed taking in my scent. It's more than a little unnerving and completely erotic. My nipples harden and I'm instantly wet. God damn it! Eric's eyes snap open, his eyes brilliant. He stays an inch from my face.
"Seems you're in a bit of a conundrum, my dear Sookie." His fangs are down again.
I try to deflect.
"What's your point, Eric? Why are you here anyway and in glasses and a suit no less? Are you in disguise or something?"
Eric straightens and looks pleased with himself.
"Why yes. What do you think? Do you like it? "
"You look very nice, but dare I ask what you're doing in disguise?"
Alcide knocks on the door and comes in again.
"Eric, what do you mean by leaving the dead man in my closet?"
I have seldom seen Eric at a loss for words, but he is definitely speechless – for all of thirty seconds.
"It wasn't Bubba in the closet, was it?" he asks.
It's our turn to stand with mouths open, Alcide because he doesn't know who the hell Bubba is and me, because I can't imagine what could've happened to the dazed Vampire or that he is even in town to begin with.
I hastily fill Alcide in on Bubba.
"So, who was in the closet?" Eric asks, getting straight to the point. I do love that about him.
"The biker who marked Sookie last night," Alcide says. "He made a pretty rough pass at her while I was in the men's room."
"Marked her?"
"Yes, a blood offense," Alcide says significantly.
"Why didn't you say anything about this to me right away?" Eric raises an eyebrow at me.
"I didn't think it was relevant. Besides, it wasn't much blood." I say, maybe playing it up a teensy.
"Alcide." Eric's upset, "You know you should have informed of this right away. She is in your care and now you tell me the biker who Sookie spurned winds up dead in your closet? You didn't think this information was relevant either?"
Eric looks back to me, "Let me see."
I huff, but I know darn good and well that Eric won't let up so I pull my robe off my shoulder. The fingernail gouges are crusted half-moons, puffy and red, though I'd scrubbed the area carefully the night before. I know how many germs are under fingernails.
"See," I say. "No big deal. I was more mad than scared or hurt."
Eric keeps his eyes on the little nasty wounds until I pull my robe back up.
Then he switches his eyes to Alcide. "And he was dead in the closet?"
"Yes," Alcide tells him. "Had been dead for hours."
"What killed him?"
"He hadn't been bitten," I say. "He looked as though his neck might have been broken. We didn't feel like looking that closely. You're saying you aren't the guilty party?"
"No, though it would have been a pleasure to have done it."
I shrug, not willing to explore that dark thought. "So, who put him there?" I asked to get the discussion going again.
"And why?" Alcide asks.
"Would it be too much to ask where he is now?" Eric looks as if he is indulging two rowdy children.
Alcide and I shoot each other glances. "Um, well, he's ..." My voice trails away.
Eric inhales, sampling the apartment's atmosphere. "The body's not here. You called the police?"
"Well, no," I mutter. "Actually, we, ah ..."
"We dumped him out in the country," Alcide says. There just isn't a nice way to say it.
We have surprised Eric a second time. "Well.." he says blankly, "aren't you two quite the duo?"
"We worked it all out," I say, maybe sounding a tad defensive.
Eric smiles. It is not a happy sight. "Yes, I'll bet you did."
"The Packmaster came to see me today," Alcide says. "Just now, in fact. And he didn't know that Jerry was missing. In fact, Jerry went complaining to Terence after he left the bar last night, telling Terence he had a grievance against me. So, he was seen and heard after the incident at Josephine's."
"So, you may have gotten away with it."
"I think we did."
After more assurances that the scent is gone and that we did, in fact, do the best we could've, Eric informs us he will be at the club tonight, as Leif, Alcide's friend from out of town who been invited to meet me specifically.
Huh. I wonder if Eric had planned on being front and center in this charade all along or if he was trying to go incognito until he found out about Jerry? After all, he assumed it was Bubba in the closet. Does that mean he sent him to keep an eye on me? If so, why is he even here? So, I ask him.
"There may be something I can pick up on that you won't hear of, or that Alcide won't know because he is not a vampire," Eric says reasonably. "Excuse us for a minute, Alcide. Sookie and I have some business to discuss."
As soon as Alcide leaves, Eric says abruptly, "Do you want me to heal the marks on your shoulder?"
I thought of the ugly, crusty crescents, and I almost say yes, but then I have second thoughts. "How would I explain that, Eric? The whole bar saw him grab me."
"You're right." Eric shakes his head, his eyes closed, as if he is angry with himself. "Of course. You're not Were, you're not undead. How would you have healed so quickly?"
"Sookie," Eric takes my hands tenderly and looks me in the eye, "I have searched high and low for Bill following any and all vampire scents throughout Jackson and I am afraid that it is likely Bill is dead. Finally dead."
I rock backward and Eric swoops me up quick as tripe and carries me to the rocking chair in the corner. He cradles me in his lap and says, "I am sorry about my approach. I thought it would be best to rip the band-aid off quickly. Instead it was…"
"Shocking. Inhumane." A tear slides down my face and Eric licks it off. I still don't get that.
"I think it's time you tell me about Bill's secret project."
"Is that what all this is about?" I shoot off his lap and stand glaring at him.
"You pretend to look out for my welfare, get on my good side so you can manipulate me into giving you what you really want? You God damn vampires! You know, you'd save a lot of time and effort if you tried things directly, but I guess because you guys feel you have all the time in the world you have to make it more interesting! Must get tedious having it all figured out, huh? If this is how you choose to amuse yourselves! Pathetic… sick excuse for living if you ask me!"
Eric gets up slowly and toweres over me. His fangs are huge. I have never seen them that big. I guess they get longer the more excited or angry the vamp is?
"You. Stupid. Naïve. Woman. I think Bill is gone and I am trying to save all of our lives!" His anger is simmering to a boil.
"I. Will. Find. Bill. You do your spying tonight and I will do mine and mark my words, I will find him and I will bring him back, Eric. We are invited to sit with Russell as his personal guests and I know he is on his compound."
"He is gay, Sookie, you cannot charm him in your usual ways." He hisses.
He better not be talking about my chest.
"I'll do what it takes and I hope you will too."
"They have had him for days now, Sookie." Eric is looking at me with pity.
I know that look. It's similar to the "crazy Sookie" looks I am used to getting. He thinks I'm foolish to have hope but I would know if Bill was dead. I would feel it. Right?
As we make our way to Russell's table, I recognize my first problem of the evening. Tara Thorton. What the hell is she doing here? I have to think fast and I don't have much time. Thankfully, Russell stands to greet us before Tara turns around.
"Arlene! Alcide! It is good to see you both again and I could make up for last night's incident!"
Tara turns and she immediately gasps, so I interrupt her.
"Tara! Do you remember me? Your old friend Arlene! It's been ages girl!"
I have to give Tara credit. Despite a momentary twitch at the corners of her mouth, she plays it off. Thank you, Jesus. Maybe I do have a guardian angel looking out for me after all
"Arlene? Oh my goodness! You look amazing! It's been so long. What are you doing here?"
"I am here visiting my new boyfriend. Alcide Herveaux, meet a close friend of his from out of town. We were here last night and Russell kindly invited us to join his party this evening after a little…incident." I tell her, praying she is getting the message. Considering she herself seems to be with a vamp, I am hoping she is sharp enough to hold her tongue until we have some privacy.
After more introductions, I excuse myself to the ladies asking Tara if she would join me. Once I make sure we we're safely ensconced (Word of the Day), I beg her.
"Tara, please, don't say anything about Bill or anything about Bon Temps."
"You want to tell me why?"
"Just ..." I tried to think of something reasonable, can't. "Tara, it'll cost me my life if
you do."
She gives me a steady stare. Who wouldn't? But Tara has been through a lot in her life, and she is a tough, if wounded, bird.
"I'm so happy to see you here," she says. "It was lonely being in this crowd by myself. Who's your friend? What is he?"
I nearly forgot that the public don't know about Weres and shifters and I always forget that other people can't tell in general. "He's a surveyor," I say, "and a Were. Most of all, Tara, please just play along and don't forget to call me Arlene. Oh…I also used your last name so you can say were distant cousins."
She looks a little appalled, can't say I blame her, but I plead with my eyes and I can see her relent. Again.
When we go back to the table, it's her turn to introduce me to who she is with.
"Arlene, this is Franklin Mott."
"A pleasure to meet you," I say, "Do you live here in Jackson, Mr. Mott?" I am determined not to embarrass Tara.
"Please call me Franklin," he says. He has a wonderful mellow voice with a light Italian accent. When he died, he had probably been in his late fifties or early sixties but he looks vigorous and very masculine. "Yes, I do, but I own a business that has a franchise in Jackson, one in Ruston, and one in Vicksburg. I met Tara at a gathering in Ruston."
Gradually we progress through the social do-si-do of getting seated, explaining to the men how Tara and I had attended high school together, and because we have the same last name and live in the same area, people assumed we must be distant cousins of some sort even thought we don't know our full family history. I just pray they buy that and got to ordering drinks. The waitress, a shifter, is moving in an odd, almost slinking manner as the night of the full moon makes itself felt in all kinds of ways.
The other human in Russell's entourage is Talbot and he is the man I happened to hear the night before. I sandwiched myself between him and Alcide, and thankfully, Talbot is a talker as well as a big broadcaster. His thoughts tell me he is a man in love, and furthermore, a man addicted to vampiric sex ... the two states are not always combined. He is a ruthless, intelligent man who cannot understand how his life has taken such an exotic turn.
He tells me about the spell on the bar. "But the way, what happens here is kept a secret, that's different," Talbot says, as if he is considering a long answer and a short answer. I looked at his pleasant, handsome face and remind myself that he knows Bill is being tortured, and he doesn't care. I wish he would think about Bill again, so I can learn more; at least I would know if Bill was dead or alive.
"Well, Miss Arlene, what goes on here is kept secret by terror and punishment," Talbot says this with relish.
He likes this fact. He likes that he has won the heart of Russell Edgington, a being who could kill easily and deserves to be feared.
"Any vampire or Were - in fact, any sort of supernatural creature, and you haven't seen quite a few of them, believe me - who brings in a human is responsible for that human's behavior. For example, if you were to leave here tonight and call a tabloid, it would be Alcide's bounden duty to track and kill you."
"I see." And indeed, I do. "What if Alcide couldn't bring himself to do that?"
"Then his life would be forfeit, and one of the bounty hunters would be commissioned to do the job."
Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea.
"There are bounty hunters?"
"Sure. You certainly know them, the Weres who wear the motorcycle gear. In fact, they're asking questions around the bar tonight because ..." His expression sharpens, becomes suspicious. "The man who was bothering you ... did you see him again last night? After you left the bar?"
"No," I say, speaking the technical truth. I hadn't seen him…last night. I knew what God thought about technical truths, but I also figure he expects me to save my own life.
"Alcide and I, we went right back to the apartment. I was pretty upset." I cast my eyes down like a modest girl who's unused to being approached in bars, which was also a few steps away from the truth.
"You were sure plucky when it looked like there was going to be a fight," Talbot observed. Talbot's thinking that my courage last night didn't jibe with my demure demeanor this evening. Darn it! I've overplayed my role.
"Plucky is the word for Arlene," Tara rescues. It's a welcome interruption. "When we danced together on stage, about a million years ago, she was the one who was brave, not me! I was shaking in my shoes."
Thank you, Tara.
"You danced?" asks Franklin, his attention caught by the conversation.
"Oh, yes, and we won the talent contest," Tara tells him. "What we didn't realize, until we graduated and had some experience in the world, was that our little routine was really, ah…"
"Suggestive," I fill in, calling a spade a spade. "We were the most innocent girls in our little high school, and there we were, with this dance routine we lifted straight off MTV."
"It took us years to understand why the principal was sweating so hard," Tara says, her smile just rascally enough to be charming. "As a matter of fact, let me go talk to the deejay right now." She springs up and works her way over to the vampire who's set up his gear on the small stage. He bends over and listens intently, and then he nods.
"Oh, no." I am going to be horribly embarrassed.
"What?" Alcide is amused.
"She's going to make us do it all over again."
Sure enough, Tara wiggles her way through the crowd to get back to me, and she is beaming. I thought of twenty-five good reasons not to do what she wanted by the time she seizes my hands and pulls me to my feet. But it was evident that the only way I could get out of this is to go forward. Tara has her heart set on this exhibition, and Tara is my friend. The crowd made a space as Pat Benatar's "Love Is a Battlefield" begins to play.
Unfortunately, I remembered every bump and grind and every hip thrust.
I can't believe I am doing this, but here I am shaking my assets in front of every Supe in the room. I decide to just allow myself to go with it. I love to dance and I do it well so I might as well enjoy myself. Tara and I sway in time against each other and circle each other like prey. I feel the tension rise in the room and I have to admit, it feels good to be an object of attraction. Normally people dismiss me, except for the lewd opinions I hear others thinking about my body parts and those are usually accompanied with a proceeding thought like; 'if only she wasn't so crazy because…'
When the song ends, Tara's standing behind me caressing my hips and I catch Eric watching us intensely. There is obvious desire in his eyes and for a moment I feel clear longing. I'm just not sure if that's coming from me or him.
As we make our way back to the table, I'm stopped a few times by some vamps asking for a dance. I politely decline and in my periphery, I catch Eric inching forward. When I sit in my seat next to Alcide, he looks angry. I lean into him, playing my part and behaving as if I was in the mood and ask, "What's wrong?"
He's tense and I read clearly that he is pissed over admitting how hung up he still is on Debbie because if he played his cards closer to his chest, he would have made sure to have me in his bed this evening. Presumptuous much?
Before we left tonight, Alcide had surprised me with a gift. He replaced the pashmina Debbie ruined. At first, I was so touched by the thoughtful gesture that I teared up. But then the worm turned a little. Alcide said he was taking some responsibility for his part in all of this. He told me he knows Debbie would never have acted so aggressively if Alcide wasn't trying to kid them both about the fact that it was over between them. He said that if he didn't make such a show with me, she would've been content to be her normal bitchy self but because she knows him like a book, she was forcing his hand.
I wasn't quite sure what to think about his confession. The night before he seemed determined to get over her and when the time was right, come back for me his when he did. His act was out of guilt, more for making Debbie feel the way she did to behave that way in the first place, than because of her slightly frightening violation toward me. I decided I could never be with Alcide, not as long as Debbie was in the picture in any capacity. Not that I really wanted to be anyway. I have my hands full with conflicted men. I don't really need another one waiting in the wings.
Talbot notices Alcide being rude to me and clearly feels badly. He compliments my dancing and tries to flatter me by saying that if he was a straight man, he would go to great lengths to be by my side all night. I thank him, thinking that was a very graceful dig Alcide.
I decide to go to the bar to get a drink. Alcide is still sulking and frankly, it's really starting to irritate me. As I made my way, I hear thoughts.
"Make sure to send a message. Stake the woman in the hat. She is the closest."
I scan the area panicked and see the vamp I was introduced to earlier - at the end of the bar by the darts board. Her name is Betty Jo Pickard and there is a human standing to her left who looks edgy. I am surprised none of the Supes picked up on what seems to me, an obvious high state of anxiousness. Then again, when you're top of the food chain, I suppose it's harder to get over yourself.
I move quickly as I see him reach into his jacket and I read from his brain that he is pulling out a stake, so I scream; "STAKE!" and all vamps hit the deck.
The human spins on me, my eyes go wide and before I know it, I am reading his thoughts as he plunges the stake into my left side.
As I drop to my knees in shock and awe, I realize he thought nothing of me and reacted more on instinct to defend himself. But then he thinks, "Someone is better than no one. I don't want to die for nothing."
At that point, Betty Joe plucks him backward and throws him against the dartboard. She punches him straight in the face and crushes his skull.
My hands are furiously shaking and look down at my side in pure horror and touch the stake jutting out. I hear Tara screaming in the background to call 911 and know that's impossible.
As I collapse to my knees and then sink on my heels to my butt, I have the wherewithal to brace myself on my hands and crabwalk backward to lay myself down. I am bleeding profusely and I am dying. I have an outer body experience of what I looked like from above.
I am a glorious blonde, broken down doll with a pool of blood seeping through her clothes and onto the floor. I imagine what it looks like to see the vamps descended on me like vultures and wait for that to happen.
This is it. This is my life so far.
It's a lot to process and I am choking on my anger. The tears in my eyes are not from the pain, I feel none yet, but because of outrage. My fucking life so far has been a series of massive fits and starts and I die on a fruitless mission alone, betrayed and unloved. The person who would mourn me most is dead and this causes me to feel wrath, as I've never known. This fact makes me scream out of self-pity and pure unadulterated anguish.
Tara is over me, "They won't let you die! You just saved a vampire! They can't! They owe you!"
I pray she won't use my real name in her panic.
I am being surrounded and a wolf comes over and licks my face. He sniffs my side, howls and takes off like a shot.
Alcide. I hope it was Alcide.
"Tara," I whisper, "There is a good looking blonde vampire name Leif. Get him. He is in the corner."
I look through clouded eyes; Eric is stock still and yet on the verge. He hears me direct Tara and does an upright knee slide over to me. He looks like he wanted to pick me up, take me, lick me, bite me and fuck me all at once and doesn't know where to begin. I never imagined seeing a vampire so human in their indecision.
"Leif…you can't. Don't. Please."
"I know. It's just so hard. You have no idea…" Eric whispers.
"I can imagine, but if you do, they all will. Help. Will you help me?" I beg softly through whimpered tears.
Eric turns to Russell who sits transfixed looking upside down at me, with his knees on either side of my head like a vice.
"I am a friend of Alcide's. I have to get her out of here."
"We owe her the healing." Russell seems to slur but in the next instant shakes himself and says, "you will bring her to my home. Let's go."
Eric moves to my other side to lift me and avoid the stake sticking out of my left. He seems to regain his composure and I feel his determination. Or maybe I read it from his face. Either way, I feel nothing but pure gratitude. He has made a decision and he is helping me.
More tears fall from my eyes and I feel oddly comforted because at least I know I won't die alone now. I raise my limp hand over his heart to try and tell him that I won't forget this. That I know I am indebted. He looks down at me, but I can't read the expression on his face before I black out.
A/N: Eric's POV next
There Goes My Outfit by The Dears
All right, all right already you got me
Broke inside and took it all away
Had a speech prepared and everything
Tapped phone calls from God
And now I've found a new connection
Being bored is really such a chore
Some of us out here don't know shit
Some of us don't even want to know
Clearly this is my life
There goes, there goes, there goes my outfit
And I was only trying to help
I was only trying to help
Just admit, I've got you by the lapels
They trashed me over over and again
You stood there and you said nothing
That's what shattered my heart to bits
Clearly this isn't my life
I'm in the dirt and in the gutter
I've got mud and blood all over my face
Clearly this isn't my life
There goes, there goes, there goes, there goes my outfit
And I was only trying to help
Clearly this isn't my life
Clearly this can't be my life