The car ride home was filled with the unmistakable sound of silence. Loud, overbearing silence. I'd never understood the term "deafening silence" but I now knew. It was awkward silence, rather than the comfortable one where all had been said. Oh, no – this silence was filled with what wasn't being said. And thank God.

Who was I? When did I become so judgmental and high-handed that I could tell a thousand year old vampire – who hadn't really done anything that bad to me – to do anything, let alone something he wasn't comfortable with doing? Who the hell was I to say anything about how he lived his life? I knew that I wouldn't be seeing him again, and for that I was thankful. I more than likely humiliated him, and more than that I'd become someone unrecognizable. I felt like asking Bill to stop driving and turn around so I could apologize, but I knew that would solve nothing. What's done is done.

We arrived to the house I now called home, and as soon as the car was turned off I leapt out and ran inside, knowing it was already open since it had been invaded. Who invades a house and then locks it on the way out? I heard Sookie calling my name from the porch as I ran up the stairs but I ignored her. I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone right now. I locked my bedroom door as soon as I was inside and then I just stood there, facing the door as though it held all the answers. I must've stood there, not moving a muscle for at least ten minutes, my breathing the only thing I could hear apart from the crickets outside.

I thought about my whole life. I'd come from this small town, moved to a large city, lost almost everyone who somewhat cared about me, and then moved back. Somewhere during all this, I'd lost touch with who I was...and that scared the shit out of me. I wanted to blame everything on Eric, who appeared to be the catalyst to my completely premature mid-life crisis. I wanted to say it was him who made me this way – into a brat who acted as though nothing could touch her. But I was tired of pretending, and placing blame onto someone I'd only known a few days counted as pretending. It was no one's fault but mine. For some reason, I'd thought that coming here would make me mature. I thought living alone, earning my money, not depending on anyone would do this. Like if I did all that, I'd magically become what society knew as mature. In reality, maturity was subjective. I technically became a "grown up" at the age of eighteen, and since I was fourteen that was when I thought I'd mature and become a "grown up". Not much had changed since I was fourteen since I still somewhat believed it. Maturity didn't mean I could drink, or I had the right to vote, or I became a certain age. Hell, I knew people who were well past sixty who still hadn't 'matured.' For me, this was maturity – when you realized that you really had no freaking idea what you were doing. Because I really didn't.

I came to life slowly, and mechanically walked to the bed, sat down on it cross-legged and slumped over so my head was resting on the mattress. I heard someone knock on the door.

"What?" I mumbled, my voice muffled from the duvet.

"Evie, it's me, can I come in?" Sookie said softly through the door.

"I'd rather be alone right now, Sookie," I told her truthfully. I heard her sigh through the door. I expected to hear her footsteps walk down the corridor, leaving me to my misery, but instead she burst in the door, looking quite pissed off.

I sat upright and looked at her in confusion.

"You can't sit in here feeling sorry for yourself. I don't know what the hell happened to you in that office, but don't throw yourself a pity party over it. It's only Eric. Stop moping about shit that in the long run really doesn't matter and do what you came here to do – build a life."

When Sookie finished her piece, she walked straight out the door and slammed it shut.

I sat, stunned. She was right, in a way that made my premature-mid-life-crisis pointless. Ì groaned and flopped onto my bed, hating the fact that I was just utterly clueless. I closed my eyes, almost as though I could open them again and this would all be a fucked-up dream, and really it was my first night here again, rather than having been nearly raped, bitten by a vampire against my will, argued fruitlessly against said vampire and then insulted and humiliated him in a place where every vampire could hear with their super hearing.

I felt my finger drift up to my neck and glide over the almost disappeared lumps. It wasn't even that I really, really minded. I mean, it had to have some perks, right? People might even be scared of me for a while. Treat me in other ways rather than the spoilt brat from the big city. And if not it was just a reminder of the most eventful days of my life.

Somewhere in the middle of my pity party, I fell asleep, dreaming dreams of piercing blue eyes and blonde hair.

The sun streamed through the open curtains, left open since I'd forgotten it got light in the day, and poked relentlessly at my tired eyes. I turned away from the intruding sunlight and groaned sleepily, throwing my arm over my eyes for extra protection. It did no good. The sun seemed to be everywhere, just secretly wanting my ass to get out of bed. I slowly opened my eyes, glared at the window, and sat up, making everything spin. I noticed I was still in the same clothes as I had been for the last few days, and I knew that was pretty disgusting. I swung my legs over the side and stood up, heading towards the bathroom. Once there, I turned the shower on, setting the temperature so it was nearly scalding and stripped. I studied myself hard in the mirror, mainly focusing on the red marks in my neck. They added character, I guess. My eyes looked tired despite the fact that I'd just woken up, and my face looked thinner somehow – gaunt, and sallow. I shook my head, dismayed by my appearance alone, and got under the spray, wincing slightly as it hit my skin. I scrubbed my scalp meticulously once the shampoo was on, and the same went with my body and the body wash. I felt like this was new day, a new start – and I needed to be clean for it. It was like I was fucking baptizing myself. After that I just stood there. I knew Sookie would kill me when the water bill came, but I'd pay for all of it. The water made me calmer – it was constant and never ending. Well, I knew that eventually it would turn freezing cold without warning, but I'd wait until then, remaining constant with the continual water.

Soon, though, the water turned ice cold and I shrieked a little, hopping out the shower with a haste that would make a NASCAR racer proud. Once out of the bathroom and dried off, I quickly got dressed in a simple jeans and a t-shirt, throwing my hair up into a loose ponytail.

I went down the stairs with caution, slightly scared as to what Sookie's mood would be like today. I needn't have worried, because I saw a note on the kitchen table, saying that she was at Merlotte's and that my starting time was at three and I would be working until nine. It was signed with an, "I'm sorry. Love, Sookie," and I felt really bad since she'd done nothing wrong.

I was a vegetable all day. I sat in front of the TV, watching cooking shows and Oprah, and I marveled at how quickly things could change. At half past two, I hauled my ass off the couch and started to get ready for work. As I did so, I thought up several apologies to Sam as to why the hell I hadn't been at work. I'd not really gotten off to a good start. Just as I pulled my t-shirt over my head, it struck me as to the state of my baby, since those morons had been left alone with it. I gasped, and quickly dashed down the stairs, grabbing my keys as I went and jumped out the door, locking it. I ran down the porch steps and around the corner. I let out a massive sigh of relief when I saw that it was there. It was followed by an angry huff, however, when I saw that those fuckers had scratched it. Who does that to a Ferrari?

Huffing once more for good measure, I climbed in gently, stroking the wheel like it was a real person. I started her up and pulled out, heading towards Merlotte's.

*

"Hey, stranger," Sam called to me from behind the bar when I arrived. I winced and put on an innocent smile.

"Hey, Sam..." My voice was shaky which gave me away. I walked over to him, remembering that today was a new one, and looked him straight in the eye as he dried off a beer glass.

"I'm sorry for just disappearing. I know that you went out on a limb when I came here and gave me a job regardless of the fact that I was new, and you knew nothing about me. I appreciate that a lot because I know that trust has to be earned. What I did was completely unprofessional, and if you feel as though it would benefit your bar if you fired me, then...that's what you should do." I nodded at the end, averting my eyes now that my courage had ran out.

I looked up when I heard him laugh under his breath. "Evelyn, it's okay. I can't say I wasn't pissed when I found out that not one, but two, of my waitresses had upped and left, but Sookie's explained it to me. You might not have had the chance to earn my trust but she has, and what she says, I believe. You're fine to stay here working, if you're still okay with it."

I felt like hugging him.

I looked back up at him and smiled widely, thanking him profusely and promising things that I would try my damnedest to do, and I went into the back to start taking orders out to the public. I had a small, motivated smile on my face the whole time.

My shift finished too early, in my opinion. I was in the state of mind where I just wanted to work. I'd bumped into Sookie soon after starting and I apologized to her, also, for my 'pity party' and she apologized for butting in when it was none of her business. In all honesty, it was her business because I was at her house, but I just wanted to put it behind us so I kept my mouth shut.

The people of this town were starting to grow on me, even the rowdy ones. They were gossipers but good people, and the perk of that was that I got the lowdown on everyone. It was a small town, and things got around.

Well…except what happened in Dallas.

*

The next few months passed without much ado. The town was still reeling from the murders that I didn't witness, but the drama had died down. People were still mourning and upset, but the hype had gone. Nowadays, people were more interested in the fact that Arlene had gotten herself pregnant again. She was thrilled with her new boyfriend, and even more so about her baby. We all threw her a party at Merlotte's at which her boyfriend, Daniel, proposed to her. It was sweet.

I'd sort of shrunk into myself a little bit since…that day. I no longer mouthed off at people (except the one's who really had it coming) and I didn't depend on anyone but myself, and to an extent, Sookie. She'd become less of a cousin these last few months and more of a sister. She'd helped me become someone I'd started to like and I was beyond grateful to her for it. I enjoyed my job – and the money it brought to pay for the bills – and I liked being back in Bon Temps. Jessica had become a permanent fixture at home, which was great for both her and me as it meant that neither of us had to watch Sookie and Bill be soppy with one another.

I'd considered, more than a few times, going to Shreveport and apologizing. Whenever I did, it was like a silent war raging in my head. The part that wanted to go, to see him, to apologize, and the other, more rational side, that said that it would be pointless and it'd only make things worse. Recently, I listened to the rational side. The irrational one made me end up nearly getting raped.

It was closing time at Merlotte's. The air was warm – it was July – and humid, which meant we were all sweating profusely with our hair tied back and frizzy. Unfortunately, the air conditioning had broken a few days back, and Sam was trying desperately to fix it. In the mean time, though, we all had to put up and shut up.

I was the last person out of the bar, which meant I had to lock up. I always like being the last one out. It made me feel important, and it was nice to see the bar clean, tidy…and quiet. There were no old men coming onto you, no drunken fights. It was just a nice place in a nice town. I turned around the doors and started towards my car when I heard a noise that sounded horribly familiar in the trees nearby. I froze, for lack of a better thing to do. I didn't want to be clichéd and shout out, so I stayed quiet. After a few moments of silence, I started walking again, a little quicker, towards my baby.

It happened again.

I sighed, threw my arms up a little and placed them on my hips. "If you're going to kill me, just do it already. I don't like this game." My voice shook a little, which kind of gave me away. I was scared – sue me.

When nothing happened I took the last few steps to the Ferrari, and I was suddenly shoved up against the car door with something tall and cold pressing against me. I felt breath on my neck and hands on my now bound wrists.

My breathing was the only sound I could hear. It was erratic, as though it knew it could be coming to an end soon. After what felt like hours, but in reality was only a few minutes, I heard and felt a chuckle on my neck, and the weight lifted from me.

I whirled around to face my attacker to see familiar blue eyes staring back at mine with amusement.

I frowned. "Eric…you—" Usually I would follow this up with 'fucking asshole' but it was Eric…and I was not that person anymore. "— scared me."

"I could see that," he informed me, bowing his head and raising his eyebrows. My stomach flipped and my breath caught; I berated myself.

The silence penetrated the air between us, neither of us knowing what to say. I coughed. "What are you doing here?"

He said nothing and continued to look at me, as though he wanted to see my soul. It was nerve wracking to say the least. I was still all shook up from the apparent attack and I was half expecting him to be angry for what I'd said. I couldn't say that I blamed him.

I bit my lip and looked around, bouncing my leg slightly with quelled impatience. When I let my eyes slip back over to Eric he was still watching me with an expressionless face. Maybe he wanted me to start.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. His face did not change. "I had no right to say anything I did. I-You—" I sighed. "You saved my life. Thank you for that. I treated you like a child would, and I think the only reason you put up with it is because it was different." He frowned slightly in question. "You're used to people kissing your ass," I supplied. "What happened in your office was the adrenaline from the day." I looked down, not wanting to look at him when I said it; otherwise I got flashbacks to the moment on his couch.

He still remained silent. I waited, somewhat patiently now that I had said everything I needed to say.

"What you said didn't really phase me, Evelyn, don't think it did. I've had people say worse."

Well…okay.

"What did concern me, however, was that you pulled away."

I waited for him to continue but…nothing.

"Right…" I said, frowning. This was like pulling fucking teeth. It was like we were thirteen again on a first date. "Well, if that's it, I think I should, um, leave." I pressed the button on my keys that unlocked my baby and turned to get in. I'd just opened the door when I heard a 'whoosh' and Eric was stood next to me.

"My maker is coming to Shreveport."

I paused and raised my eyebrows as though that meant something to me. "Awesome."

"It's important," he told me.

I was sure it was, but I didn't understand what it had to do with me. I nodded.

"We're holding a…party of sorts, at Fangtasia. Sookie and Bill are attending, of course, and I was here to enquire about your presence."

My frown had become a permanent fixture now. "Oh."

A part of my vaguely wondered why Sookie had not mentioned this, but I knew that Eric was a taboo subject right about now, so she wouldn't have done.

He waited for my answer.

"Er…not wanting to sound rude, but…why? Why do you want me there?"

His eyes widened the tiniest amount, so that nobody else would have noticed. But I did.

His mouth set in a straight line. "Will you, or will you not, be attending this event?"

I struggled to find an answer, but my voice seemed to find one for me.

"Yes."

He smiled, not showing his teeth and leaned forwards slightly. "Good," he breathed, his cheek right next to mine. I took a shaky breath, because this was…different. There were no pretences – not on my behalf anyway – and no defenses. Just him and me. He pulled back a little so that our faces were no more than a centimeter apart and I could feel my breath rebounding off his face back onto mine.

"Eric—"

"Do you really think I'm an 'asshole', or were you just angry whenever you called me one?"

I bit back a smile. "You can sometimes be, I'm not going to lie. But—"

His lips were on mine once again and I didn't know what to do. Again. But before I could analyze this from every angle like I usually did, he pulled away and said, "I'll see you Friday night at 10 pm. Dress smartly; Godric's…looking forward to meeting you," and then vanished.

"...Asshole."

Heh. Sooo…who wants to go To Kill A Mockingbird on me and send a lynch mob to my house? *raises hand slowly*… I can't say I blame you. I won't go into detail, but to put it blankly, my life has been beyond busy, as it will continue to be for a while now. It's Easter Break soon, though, and while I am going on holiday, I'll try and get another one out by next week. I am SO sorry for taking for-fucking-ever to get this out. To those who are still with me, thank you. To those who encourage me (you know very well who you are), thank you. To those who review, thank you (ya'll make my FF life. Seriously.).

I'm so sorry, once again. I actually suck (and not in a good way, like Eric.)

I know this chapter isn't exactly "come back with a bang" but…it was necessary. My character was starting to piss me off. I had to change her a little. Things will get less "woah, the world is out to get them" to "ah…a realistic relationship". Hopefully. Plus…*put on Jack Nicholson voice in The Shining* Heeeere's Godric! And lots of Eric in the next one. Good times, eh?

Once more, I'm sorry A review would be awesome (I want to know how you feel about this new Evelyn), but I'll get it if not. If there are any errors, I apologise; it's late, and I wanted this out. Sorry…again.