I'm back baby! I really hope you guys aren't too discouraged by my absences. Well, I've been working on my writing and have posted a few new stories. Right now I am making a promise; there will be a new chapter every two weeks. No matter what I'm doing or who I'm with- there WILL be a new chapter. And each will be at least three thousand words (Starting next time- this'll be another short chapter). I will not slack off! Now that I've started again- I remember how much I love reviews and the feedback. I also remember how much I love all of you guys! Thanks so much for all your support! (Don't forget to vote for baby names at my profile.) Okay- I'll get to the story now.
Eric was good on his word. He did talk to somebody. Unfortunately- they had no answers for us, and as the weeks went by, the magic incidents increased in number and intensity. It was surprising to say the least- and concerning.
At first it was little things, like a little boost to help me reach something but soon they grew to be bigger things- like visions of the future. Hard as I tried, I could think of no explanation to this phenomenon that was occurring inside of me. And as for the other phenomenon happening inside of me, well- she was growing. Every so often I could feel a kick. It was amazing and wondrous.
"Are you scared?" Eric asked me one night as we sat on the couch. Before that we hadn't even been talking – I had just been laying on his lap while he played with my hair in comfortable silence. The question startled me. It was something I had to think about. There were things about it that scared me. What would the baby look like? Would anything be wrong with her? Then other parts excited me, like getting to see her for the first time and getting to name her. So was I scared? "Kind of," I replied.
Eric just nodded. "It's so strange going through this again. The whole baby thing. Especially it being centuries later." He chuckled a bit- no doubt recalling things from the past. Sometimes I wondered if he missed his children- but I was scared to ask. Once he had told me that in his century children were just a novelty to vikings. A necessity to carry on your name and fortune, but sometimes I wondered if that was entirely true.
"Are you?" I asked. "Scared, I mean." Eric looked down at me for a minute, thinking about his answer. "No," he said. "With my looks and charm I can only assume she will be as good as I am." I looked at him, trying to gauge how serious he was. When I saw the amusement in his eyes I realized he was only kidding and allowed myself to crack a grin.
"Honestly, I'm a little afraid," he admitted. "But as beautiful you are I can only assume she will be gorgeous." This time when I searched his face I found nothing but seriousness. I smiled up at him. He could be so sweet- which kind of made up for his tendency to be cocky and sometimes murderous at times. Eric cupped my chin. "I love you, Sookie."
"I love you too," I replied. He didn't kiss me though. Instead he moved me off his lap and rose to his feet. "Would you like something to drink." I nodded. He listed off a bunch of beverage options. I chose tea and then he walked into the kitchen. As soon as he was out of sight I began to shake. Red rimmed my vision before it left all together. The blackness was soon replaced by a image- but not the one of my living room. It was of Eric in the woods behind my house.
In the vision Eric looked around nervously, as though searching for something or someone. I suppose something out of my range of sight came into Eric's view, for the expression on his face twisted into fear. His eyes went wild and he broke into a vampiric run at unimaginable speeds. Apparently, the thing chasing him was able to keep up, because even after looking back, Eric didn't slow down his pace.
After what felt like hours, the thing caught up to him, pouncing. The vision blurred for a second and when it returned Eric was a bloody pulp lying on the ground and whatever the creature was- it was gone. Just as Eric twitched the vision ended- leaving me unsure as to whether or not Future Eric was still alive.
When I could see my surroundings again, I sat up. "Eric!" I yelled. He ran in from the kitchen, my tea in hand. He looked around the room, as though searching for a threat. "Are you alright?" he asked, eyes still running back and forth across the living room.
I nodded meekly. "But you're not," I whispered. He looked at me, confused. His glacier eyes peered into my own similarly colored ones, searching for some clue as to what I was talking about. Finally I told him. "Somethings going to happen to you." Eric stared at me intently for a second before bursting into laughter. Not little chuckles either. No- this was the gut rocking kind that makes tears spring into your eyes. "I don't think that's something you have to worry about, Sookie. I'm perfectly fine and I will remain that way."
I shook my head vigorously. Why wasn't Eric taking me seriously? I know what I saw- and I told him as much. "I seen it, Eric! I had another vision!" He shook his head and took a seat next to me, wrapping his arms around my body. "You probably just dozed off for a second, Sookie. It was just a dream."
"No! It was about you. You were being chased through the woods out back. Then this... thing pounced on you. I couldn't tell if you lived or died."
"And all this happened in the minute and a half I was in the kitchen?" he asked, rubbing my back. I turned and glared at him. "Don't be an asshole."
He picked up both of his hands in an 'I give up' sign. "I never mean to, my dear," he told me, voice low and endearing. I rolled my eyes blatantly.
"Trust me, Sookie- I'll be just fine. You have nothing to worry about." I peered over at him. He looked so at ease and carefree sitting back on the couch, one arm behind his head, the other around me. Like there was nothing in the world that could harm him. Eric could be so dumb at times. "Just promise me you'll be careful? I don't want to be a single parent," I plead. That seemed to soften him up a bit. He looked at me, an expression on his face that I couldn't read. Sometimes I wish I could read vampire's minds. "If you're really this concerned, then I promise I'll keep an eye out for trouble. I wouldn't want you to worry."
"I'll worry regardless- but I still want you to be safe." He looked down at me and laughed. "I'll be safe, Sookie." I didn't respond. What was I supposed to say? I was genuinely concerned for his life. (If that's what it's called... Un-death, maybe?) Nevertheless- I needed more information as to what was going on, but I doubted Eric was going to help me out on that particular mission.
The rest of the night went by normally with no other talk about visions and when I awoke in the morning Eric was holed out in the guest room closet.
"I've got something to tell you, Sookie," Amelia said as we sat at the kitchen table, sipping coffee. The tone in her voice scared me a little. Rarely was she ever so serious. I looked up and met her eyes. I gave her a weak smile. "What's up?"
She slid across a piece of paper. I looked down at it, reading the small print. "A lease?" I ask her, confused. She nodded then stood up and poured herself another cup of coffee. She lifted the pot to me, wordlessly asking if I'd like a refill. I shook my head no and she shrugged the sat back down. She sipped from her mug a few times without speaking to me. Finally, I asked the question that had been playing on my mind for the last two minutes. "What's the lease for?" Amelia bit her lip, deciding how to answer the question.
"You know Josh?" I nodded, recalling a tan, burly man with black curly hair from my memory. It was her latest boyfriend, the one she'd had since about the time I'd found out I was pregnant- so close to five months. "Well," she continued with her story, "we decided to rent a house together. Things are getting pretty serious between us." I sat completely still, trying to process the information. Josh was a nice enough guy, but not the type that would make a real good boy friend much longer. "Okay, but if you ever need to come back, my door is open."
Amelia laughed. "I remember not too long ago when you wanted so bad for me to leave and to have the house to yourself again." Yeah, I remembered that too. That was a long time ago, though, and Amelia was probably the best friend I had anymore. "Be that as it may," I told her, "my door is still open for you." She nodded and hugged me. "Thanks, Sookie." Then she looked down at my coffee cup. "Want a refill?" she asked. I put my hand to my heart over-dramaticly. "Would you?" She rolled her eyes and took my cup, filling it with my sweet, (Well, bitter) black nectar. She placed it in front of me then sat back down. "So, anything exciting-" she raised her eyebrows- "happen last night?"
"Well, now that you mention it... something did." Amelia smiled, hankering for some juicy details as to last night event- little did she know they were more supernatural, as opposed to sexual.
"I had a vision." Her smile faded from her face. "Another one?" she asked, a worried expression on her face. The last one had been about a young boy being killed. I didn't know who the boy was and just figured it was a dream. Until the next day. There had been an entire five minutes dedicated to the gruesome death of the boy. Just as in my vision, he had been decapitated by an unknown culprit. Then his body had been cut down the middle, organs removed. Afterward he was stuffed with vials of vampire blood and sewn back together. That had been a month ago. The case was still unsolved, but it was assumed the killers were just psychopathic drug dealers who wanted a new- and very disgusting and odd- way to store their products.
She reached out and held my hand. "What was it about?" Her voice came out as a whisper. Fear and amazement shone through in her eyes. "Eric," I answered back. "He was killed." She put her hand to her gaping mouth. "Oh, God." After another second she moved her hand. "Did you tell him?" I nodded, giving her a summery of what happened last night. I told her about how he brushed it off and laughed about it before finally promising me that he'd be careful. "Well, at least he promised to be careful," she said, doubt in her eyes. She obviously knew Eric. We were both painfully aware he'd hardly do anything to avoid danger. I wasn't even sure when this whole ordeal would happen. This much stress can't be good for a pregnant woman...