Don't Give Up

This is the second chapter that I promised you all for today and I promise Eric is coming. He'll be here soon. I don't want to rush it. I'll have him with Sookie pretty soon.


"Sookie," Bill said. "Are you still awake?"

What she was doing was watching television when Bill knocked on her bedroom door. She wasn't in the mood for company and she definitely wasn't in the mood for Bill's company. She just wanted to be alone. That's why she moved to a quiet and off the grid little town. That's why she never invited any of them to her home in that quiet and off the grid little town. She wanted to be left alone. Why wouldn't they just leave her alone? "What do you want?"

"I want to come in."

"I'm tired, William. I don't feel like company right now. Leave me alone, please." She turned the television up louder in the hopes that maybe Bill would catch the hint. Unfortunately, he didn't. He continued talking. He felt that he needed to explain the reason for his impromptu visit.

"I tried to tell Rasul to leave it alone without betraying your confidence but he wouldn't listen. I'm sorry, my friend. I knew that it would bring up …"

"I just want to be alone."

"I know that you think that that's what's best for you but I don't agree. You need a friend on a night like this and I just so happen to be that friend. So, what I'll do is sit right here until you're ready to invite me in or until I have to go to rest. Are you ready to meet with your husband?" Bill's body soon thudded against the bedroom door.

Tomorrow Sookie was supposed to meet her soon to be husband, the illustrious Mr. Peter Threadgill. "Not particularly."

"I'll be right by your side; if you want me to be."

Sookie sighed happily at the sounds of those words. "I want you to be. Thank you."

"I'm always there for you if you need me."

Sookie turned down the television and decided to join him. So she sat on the floor on her side of the door and sat as he did. For a few minutes, the old friends sat in silence. "I hate her, William. She's destroyed me. She was cruel but not in a physical way. She caused emotional and mental cruelty and was joyous about it. I've never known such malice and vindictiveness in all of my life." Sookie shuddered as she thought of what Sophie Ann made her do. Her heart was breaking as she thought of what Sophie Ann did to Wybert and Seigbert.

"You're wrong Sookie," Bill said. "She can't destroy you unless you let her. If she had, you would have met your demise long ago. Forgive me for saying this but Sophie Ann couldn't take what you didn't give."

Bill was right and Sookie knew it.

"Was she aware of your gift?

Sophie Ann never knew any of what Sookie could do. Sookie knew that she was different when she was human but those differences were enhanced when she was made vampire. Sophie Ann only knew that Sookie was braver than any human she'd ever met in all of her existence. Other vampires weren't aware of her gifts either. They would have killed her. So, when Sookie moved to Bon Temps, she practiced her talents when she knew that she was alone. No one knew what she could do until tonight.

"If she'd known, I never would have been released. Do you remember the other night when we were talking about her? You asked me how I knew when she needed me? She had the ability to call her children to her with or without the bond. So as long as I promised to come to her when she called, she said that she would release me. I promised. She released me."

Bill leaned his head back against the door. He didn't want to talk about Sophie Ann. He wanted to know about the man that had captured Sookie's heart and how he'd done it. Rolling his head to the left, he asked, "Did you love him?"

"Yes," she whispered. "I do love him."

Bill squeezed his eyes closed when he heard those words. He realized at that moment that he never had a chance of winning her heart. She'd given it to someone else centuries ago and she'd never gotten it back. "Were you two together long?"

She laughed quietly. "Three days; only three days and I fell in love with him. I was promised to him. My father chose him because of his family background. His family was very well known in their village. They were very strong and very protective of what was theirs. Father knew that I would be well taken care of with him. My mother was happy because they were quite wealthy. I was happy because I could have been promised to his one of his other brothers." Rolling her head to right, she continued on with her back story. "I'll never forget the day that he came to my father's home. He wanted to see what he was getting into. He must've liked what he'd seen because he came back to visit me for the next three days. He'd stay each day until dusk. After that third day, we were to be married.

"That night before he left, he begged me for a kiss. It was the sweetest kiss of my life. It was the only kiss I'd ever received from a man. I couldn't wait to marry him. I wanted more kisses from him. And after that, I couldn't wait to learn his name. I just assumed that waiting until we were married would make things better. It would leave a little surprise in the marriage ceremony."

"You didn't know his name?"

"Oh, no. We weren't supposed to know about each other until the day of the wedding. When he tried to give me his name, I stopped him." Falling silent, she added, "I didn't learn his name until after ... he was already dead.

"For so many years, William, I thought that we were looking for him but we weren't. I should have known better but I trusted her. She promised me that we would find him. I gave her my life and my soul just to find him. She cheated me out of everything and I let her. For so many years, I'd run away from her to try and find him. I wanted him so desperately." With a heavy sigh and heart, she added, "I'm lonely, William."

The friends sat in silence once more. As Bill thought of what they'd just discussed, his heart was breaking. He knew that she had never loved him but he'd held on to hope. He'd gone so far as to tell her that he loved her. For a vampire to tell another being that they loved them was unheard of. He'd never even said it to Lorena. He finally decided to speak.

"You didn't have to be lonely, Sookie. You had me."

Sookie could hear the sorrow in Bill's voice. "I'm sorry, Bill."

"Lorena never called me to her. I went to her on my own because I couldn't bear to make love with you knowing that you were only filling a void in your life. To make love with me with your back to me; that was the hardest thing that I had to go through. But I loved you and I wanted to be with you. The last night that we spent together helped me to make my decision. I was determined that if you didn't tell me that you loved me, I was leaving. You didn't say it. You asked me if I wanted a blood. When you looked up at me and traipsed to the kitchen as if you were about to feed the cat, I knew that you didn't love me and that you never would." Silently he added, "You didn't have to be lonely."

"I never meant to hurt, Bill."

"I know."

"I'm holding onto a dream that will never be, aren't I?"

"I've never known for you to give up. Don't give up now."

She ignored that comment. The time had passed for them to be together. He was probably no more than a coffin filled with decaying bones. "The dawn's coming."

"What was his name?"

"Erik Northman. His family name was Northman. He was from Orland."

Bill stood up and said, "Well, I can feel the tug of the sun and I must go to rest. I'll stay with you if you insist."

"I don't."

"I thought I'd ask. And might I add, I noticed that you've called me Bill twice tonight. I hope that you keep this up because it pleases me." Bill laughed as he placed his hand against the door. "Good night, my friend."

"Good night, William."

They both laughed but before Bill walked away, he said, "Don't give up, Sookie. If it's meant to be, you'll see him again. I promise and when it comes to you, I've always kept my promises."

"I know, Bill. I won't give up."

That was the first time she'd ever lied to Bill.


I hope that you all enjoyed. I hope that your weekend has been wonderful.