Chapter 10
The next evening, Sookie Stackhouse sat in the car in her driveway. The small town of Bon Temps had been abuzz all day: Vampire Bill had returned. Bill Compton had been seen getting into a limo at the airport early this morning. She had known that he was coming back. The sounds of workmen repairing and remodeling the old Compton house seem to go on around the clock for the last four weeks.
Sookie was conflicted; she wanted to see Bill to thank him for all he had done for her, but she wasn't sure she should. She twisted the wedding ring on her finger. She was married to Sam now and they were expecting a baby; Sookie was three months pregnant.
Earlier today Sam told her it would be all right for her to make a visit to Bill, in fact, it was the decent thing to do. After all, he felt that they both owed him a lot. Once again, Bill had come to Sookie's rescue when she needed him. Still Sookie hesitated; she didn't know how Bill would react. Finally, Sookie made her mind up, and started the car. In a few minutes, she was knocking on Bill's door.
Bill was in the back of the house when he heard the door bell. When he got to the door, he was surprised to see Sookie standing there, and he stood aside as she entered. Bill thought he was over Sookie, but when he saw her beautiful face on the porch, an urge to take her into his arms and kiss her came over him like a body memory burnt into his brain. Just as quickly as it arose, the feeling was gone. He saw the ring on her finger, and noticed the slight bulge of her stomach.
"Who's the lucky man, Sookie?" Bill asked. He had a sick feeling, and he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer. "Sam." she answered, "We were married three months ago." Bill visibly relaxed and said, 'Sam's a good man." Bill pointed at her stomach and asked, "When is the blessed event?" "The baby is due in December." she said proudly. Bill congratulated them both.
Sookie started to thank Bill for sending Justin to help her and for the money he left with his letter, but he stopped her. "There's no need for that Sookie. It was the least I could do. You look happy now Sookie, I am so happy for you." Bill's earnest face showed he was telling the truth. Sookie relaxed, and began to talk, and she began to tell Bill all that had happened since he left.
After she broke the blood bond with Eric, Sookie went into hiding with the help of Justin Grenville, Bill's friend. She had traveled around Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas for more than a week. She slept by day and traveled by night to accommodate the vamps who were hiding her. She never slept in the same place more than once. Before dawn each morning, her protector would turn her over to another vamp and leave. They never asked her any questions. Sookie didn't like the constant need to move, but she knew it was necessary. On the tenth night, Justin contacted her and told her that it was safe to go home.
The first thing she did when she returned to Bon Temps was stop at Merlotte's Bar. The bar's sign was unlit, but the lights inside the bar were on. There was a lot of activity going on inside. She noted a large contactor's dumpster on the side of the bar filled with broken glass, pieces of wood and broken furniture. She walked in the door and saw that place was in shambles.
Her heart sunk; she instinctively knew what had happed: Eric. Everything in the bar that could be broken was. Smashed equipment, ceiling tiles, broken stools, chairs and tables were heaped in the middle of the floor ready to be carried out. She could hear the sound of hammering and an electric saw from the back room. Dust was everywhere, and she started to cough.
Sam was talking to Alcide Herveaux, a werewolf they both knew, when he heard the door open. "Sookie!" he cried as he ran toward her. He grabbed her and hugged her tight. "Sookie, I am so glad you are all right! I was so worried about you. Why didn't you let us know where you were?" Sam asked in a deliriously happy voice; his thoughts were tumbling wildly in Sookie's head. Sookie didn't answer him; instead she asked, "What happened, Sam?", but she already knew the answer to her question.
"About a week and a half ago, Eric and Pam came into the bar demanding to know where you and Bill were. Eric was manic and in a rage; I've never seen him so worked up. I thought Bill was still recuperating at home, and you weren't scheduled to work that night, so I told them I didn't know. Eric grabbed me; I think he would have killed me, if Pam hadn't pulled him off. "He's telling the truth, Eric. Let's go." Pam told him.
Eric put me down, but he kept asking where the two of you were. I asked him what this was all about. "They're gone, both of them. Somehow she has mange to break our blood bond, and she is gone! If I find the two of them together, Bill is dead"" Eric raged.
I told him I had no idea what he was talking about, but that just seemed to make him even angrier. He went on a rampage. He tore through the bar like a tornado, smashing everything in sight. A few of the customers got slightly hurt, but everyone managed to get out of the door. I called the police, but by the time, they got here, Eric and Pam were gone." Sookie grimaced at that; she knew that an army of policemen could not stop an angry vampire on a rampage; Eric would have killed them all faster than they could say "Stop!"
Sam told her that Eric had torn up Bill's house too. Apparently he was looking for clues to their whereabouts. "Just what the hell is going on Sookie?" Sam demanded; he sounded angry now. "You should have let me know something was going on. I would have helped you."Where is Bill, anyway?"
"Bill is gone, Sam. I don't know where he is. We didn't leave together. As for breaking the blood bond, Eric is right; I did it with help from Amelia and Octavia and some friends. Bill had nothing to do with it, but I just couldn't tell you about it Sam. I didn't want to endanger you any more than I already have." Sookie explained.
"That was my choice to make, Sookie; my choice. You know you can always count on me when you are in trouble. You should have let me help." He was hurt and even angrier now. Sookie started to cry, and when Sam saw the tears in her eyes, his face turned red. "I am sorry, Sookie" he said.
Sookie explained everything to him, including Bill's departure, the separation ritual and the help she had received from Justin Grenville, Bill's vampire friend. Sookie asked, "Where's Eric now? Justin said it was safe to come home, so I know he's not in Shreveport."
"I heard that de Castro called him back to Nevada; apparently he is very angry with Eric for something, but I don't know what it is. It looks like Eric's in quite a bit of trouble." Sam said with a savage smile on his face. Sookie guessed it had to do with Bill. Then a thought occurred to her, "What if de Castro knows that she and Eric are no longer bonded." De Castro had shown a great deal of interest in her in the past, and he may try to take her for his own. The thought chilled and nauseated her.
Eric returned to Shreveport a few days later, but now he was a vamp on a very short leash. He had orders from de Castro to never set foot in Bon Temps again or to ever go anywhere near Sookie Stackhouse. Punishment for even the slightest disobedience would be severe.
Furthermore, since Bill's services were no longer available to him, de Castro forced Eric to give his percentage of ownership in Fangtasia to him. Eric was expected Eric to continue managing the bar, and make sure it was profitable. He also had to hand over a large part of his personal fortune to de Castro.
Eric was still Sheriff of Area Five, though. De Castro thought he was doing the Viking a favor by letting him keep his rank. Eric obeyed the orders from his king; Sookie had not seen him since the night Bill left. Whether he liked his new situation or not, Eric knew better than to defy Felipe de Castro.
The bar was soon rebuilt. Sookie returned to work, but she felt lost and alone. She thought Bill was never coming back and she grieved for him as if he had died. The deep love she had for him when they were together surfaced again; the blood bond and her feelings for Eric only masked it.
She wished now she had given Bill a real chance to explain about Lorena and the reason why he came to Bon Temps. She was ashamed to remember how demanding and flighty she had been. She remembered how even early in their relationship, even before Lorena called him away, she was always breaking up with Bill over something or other. Bill was often confused by her behavior; he usually had no clue why she was so angry with him.
Although she was twenty-five when she met him, Sookie never had a real boyfriend before Bill. She thought perhaps it was because of that she had often acted like an immature teenager, and ran at the first sign of trouble. She wished now she had stayed and worked things out. She remembered how she expected Bill to live by her rules, but how could he, he was not human; he was vampire.
For weeks after she returned, Sookie was short tempered and closed herself off from everyone. The only thing she did was go to work and then go home to bed. Finally, Sam who had supported her through it all finally had enough. "Sookie, I am sorry that Bill is gone, but he's not coming back. You can't keep going on like this." Sookie knew he was right; she couldn't live like this the rest of her life. She had to get on with the business of living.
Shortly afterwards, Sookie and Sam started dating. Sookie knew Sam had loved her long before Bill and Eric came into her life. She had always been attracted to him, but he never said anything. Sookie wasn't the type to make the first move. Sam had seen her through a lot of rough times; it only seemed natural that he was there for her now. Nature took its course, and her feelings for him deepened into love. Sam moved in with Sookie, and they were married shortly after she discovered she was carrying his child. Sookie Stackhouse was Mrs. Sam Merlotte now.
An hour passed, and Sookie and Bill chatted quietly like old friends who hadn't seen each other in a very long time. When Bill's phone rang, she excused herself and left. She was shaking when she got into the car; she had seen the look on Bill's face when he first saw her. She knew instinctively what he was feeling, and she was surprised how strongly she felt the same way. She knew she would never have acted on that feeling. She was married now; she loved Sam, and she was carrying their child. Sam trusted her, and he did not deserve to be betrayed.
Bill's phone call was from Justin. They made plans to meet an hour later at his bar, Jake's Place. Bill showered and dressed and was at the bar within an hour. The bar was crowded, and Justin was sitting at a table in the back. Bill approached the table and sat down.
As the two vampires talked, the band started to play. A tall, slim blonde woman began to sing. The song and the sound of her voice made Bill turn in his chair to look at her. She was singing a Reba McIntire song, One Honest Heart. Bill liked her voice, and her rendition of the song. "She's really good." Bill said. "Who is she?" "She's my sister-in-law, Carolyn. Would you like to meet her? She's a good woman, Bill. I think you would like her." Justin said. "That's all right, Justin; some other time, perhaps." Bill replied. The last thing he needed right now was to meet another human female.
As he watched Carolyn sing, he felt an eerie feeling. He knew he had never met her, but she seemed oddly familiar somehow. He felt strangely drawn to her. It wasn't a sexual attraction, exactly; she really wasn't his type. She was kind of pretty, but she was too tall, as tall as he was. She was too thin for his taste. She had long shapely legs and a nice rear end, but her bust was too small. He liked women to be well rounded like Sookie. He also thought she wore her blonde hair too short. Bill was old fashioned; he was attracted to women who had long flowing hair.
Bill kept watching and listening. He realized, it wasn't her face that was familiar, it was her voice. He knew he had heard that voice before. Bill continued to talk to Justin; all the while his mind searching for answers to the many questions he had about the young woman on the stage. By the time he left an hour later, Bill was mystified, and he was determined to solve the mystery. Carolyn never looked at him once.
As he walked out the door, Carolyn began to sing Reba McIntire's song, "Forever Love." He stopped and listened until she was finished. The plaintive love song uncovered beautiful memories from long ago. Bill came back to the bar, night after night.
2
