"Do you know where else there is a shower?" Annie asked Eric as soon as they returned to Fangtasia.
She had moaned as Eric carried her back to the bar, telling him to slow down. She had asked him to think of her motion sickness and Eric had told her to think of everyone who would stare at them whilst they returned. She had kept quiet then, grunting softly at him before closing her eyes and trying to let the nausea pass.
"My apartment," Annie answered as Eric turned the hot water on in the small shower. "My apartment has a shower."
"I don't doubt it," Eric mumbled and wiped his hand on the towel which hung over the radiator. "But you're not going back there. You're going to climb into the shower and wash the dried blood from you and then you're going to sleep."
"During the day?" Annie asked of him. "I can't, Eric. I need to go home."
"I thought that we had discussed this," Eric said, moving his hands to her shoulders and holding her tightly. "You are staying here. I would glamour you, but I don't want to."
Annie rolled her eyes and huffed. She folded her arms over her chest and dropped her hip. She continued to stare at him and she knew that it was pointless to argue with him. Eric Northman would always win. Besides, Annie was still tired and Eric had promised her that her parents would be safe. That was all that counted.
"Fine," Annie spoke. "Leave me to shower in peace."
"You can barely stand, Annie," Eric reminded her. "Will you be safe in here by yourself?"
Annie shook her head and placed her own hand into the running flow of water. She sighed at how warm it was before nodding. Eric slowly left her alone and stood outside of the small bathroom which was attached to his office. He found Pam lounging in his chair at the desk, her brows arched and her legs resting on the table.
"What is it about her?" Pam decided to ask. "I can see nothing special about her, apart from the fact she has a psychotic ex vampire boyfriend after her."
"Leave it, Pam," Eric demanded and he raked a hand through his hair.
He found another jacket which sat on the back of a chair and shrugged into it. He checked his reflection in the mirror on the wall before noting Pam in his reflection. She was wearing a tight fitting red dress and her perfectly manicured hands were on her hips. She had that look of annoyance on her face. It was the look Eric had grown used to seeing with her.
"How can I leave it?" Pam demanded. "I need to know why she is so important to you. She is nothing but a weak human. She doesn't even have the best physique. You go for skinny girls...I can see that her stomach isn't entirely flat and she isn't stunningly beautiful."
Eric sighed and turned back around to look at his progeny. He was well aware that Annie wasn't a size zero and he knew that she was average looking. But there was something more to her. She was witty. She was entertaining and she wasn't scared of Eric.
"I don't know what you want to hear from me, Pam," Eric shrugged. "I'm not in love with her, nor will I ever be. She is a human. I know that, but I am also sheriff of this area. I cannot let her be attacked by some-"
"-Don't feed me with bullshit," Pam snapped out. "You would have gone after her regardless of you being sheriff. You know that and I know that. So what is it?"
Eric could have lost his temper. He was about to lose it, but he didn't have the chance to. Annie had stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body. She stood behind the door, one hand clutching the towel and the other holding the door. Her hair hung limply down her back, droplets of water hitting her shoulders as she looked to Eric.
"Do you have anything I could wear?" she dared to ask. "It's just that Jonathan took everything."
Eric noted that her eyes were rimmed red and her cheeks looked puffier than normal. He was no idiot; he could see that she had been crying and he was shocked he hadn't heard her. He nodded and grabbed a Fangtasia top from the pile on top of the drawers. He handed it to her and she smiled gratefully.
She was about to retreat into the bathroom again, but Eric caught her cheek in his hand. He could hear her heartbeat quicken and her pulse race. He bent slightly to whisper down to her.
"You've been crying," he noted and she shuddered.
Her eyes couldn't meet his and her mind was whirling. She could either tell him the truth or she could lie to him. She didn't know which one would be easier. It was only when she had seen the water turn red did she scrub ferociously and rush from the shower as quickly as possible. She had cried at the sight of the dried blood and then she had caught sight of the scars on her torso and neck.
She didn't know why she had acted so hysterically. Eric had come for her. He had saved her from Jonathan. He had stopped anything from happening to her. Somehow she worried that it had not been enough and it had caused the tears to flow.
"I'm fine," Annie nonchalantly lied.
Eric frowned, "I don't believe you."
"And you don't need to," she promised him and pushed his wrist away from her. "But I am fine."
She slammed the door shut and wondered if he would try to push in. Eric didn't bother. He knew that there was no point in demanding to know what was running through her mind. The chances were that he could have a good guess already.
Pam had changed her defensive position and now had her arms folded over her chest.
"What?" Eric snapped, his annoyance now truly showing.
Pam considered pushing him further, but the narrowed blue eyes and the face of thunder told her not to bother. She shrugged and tossed her hair over her shoulder before turning elegantly on her heel.
"I'll lock the bar up before the sun rises," she called back to Eric.
Eric slumped into his chair and ran his hand down his cheek before pinching the bridge of his nose. He tried to inhale a sharp breath, his mind wondering back to Pam's question. His progeny did have a point. What was it about Annie that was so captivating? Why did he care so much for her? It had been a chance meeting between them that should never have materialised. But it had done. It had grown into something more, but Eric didn't know what.
"The shirt is a bit tight, but I suppose I'm larger than your typical fang banger," Annie's voice suddenly spoke.
Eric looked up as she closed the door to the bathroom and tucked her hair behind her ears. He was amazed that she was still coherent and able to talk. The amount of blood she had lost had worried him to begin with, but she seemed able to speak coherently in comparison to before.
She was right about the shirt, however. It rode up her thighs and just fit over her chest, emphasising every curve in her body.
"And how do you know what the typical fang banger looks like?"
"I was just guessing."
Eric stood up and motioned to his coffin which sat in the corner of the room. Annie had been used to sleeping in coffins. She had done it with Jonathan often enough. There had been a time when she had enjoyed it too. And then the coffin grew restricting and it always felt as though it was suffocating her. She resented it and feared it.
She stopped thinking as Eric's hand rested on the small of her back.
"You need to sleep."
"A bed would be nicer," she muttered.
"It's as comfy as a bed," he assured her. "Don't make me-"
"-Glamour me...yes...I get it," Annie promised him.
She groaned before walking over to the coffin and allowing Eric to hold the lid open for her to climb into it. It was quite vast and it was full of cushions. Eric left the lid open before grabbing a blanket from the drawers again. The cold didn't bother him, but he suspected Annie would want something to keep warm.
She took the blanket and nestled herself into it before resting her head on the cushions.
"Do you not have pyjamas or anything?" Annie spoke as Eric climbed into the coffin without changing.
"I don't see the need," Eric rested next to her and Annie nodded.
"They're more comfortable than a suit." She commented and Eric noted that she was resting on her side and facing him.
He remained sat up for a moment, a smirk on his face at her comments. She truly was an entertaining thing.
"Get some sleep, Annie," he urged her. "You need it."
"Charming," she muttered and he began to lie down, pulling the lid down with him.
It was then when Annie began to panic. She sat up and Eric stopped lowering the wood so that he didn't crush her. She shook her head and the tears soon began. Infuriation took hold of Eric along with exhaustion. She began to try to stand, but he grabbed her by the wrist and stopped her.
"I can't," she said in a small voice. "I can't sleep here...the darkness...the confined space...not again...please, Eric."
Eric shook his head and he took hold of her by the cheeks.
"This is the safest place for you," he promised her. "You're with me. I told you that I wouldn't let anything happen."
She gulped and Eric rubbed the tears from her eyes. She was like a fragile little bird with a broken wing. Eric could see that. He usually had no time for weakness. Having strength was the only way to survive, but he was not a human anymore. He was a vampire and he was strong. Annie was still just a human, and a young one at that.
"Just lay down," Eric urged her. "Lie down and close your eyes."
"But-"
"-Just do it," Eric urged her, not sure if his voice was too harsh. "I'm right here and when have I ever hurt you?"
Annie didn't answer his question, but she did move herself down the coffin after taking a deep breath. Eric noted how her knuckles turned white from gripping the blanket harshly and her eyes were alarmingly tightly shut. He began to close the lid again, and this time she didn't stir. He did hear some form of whimper come from her, but he said nothing.
Darkness engulfed them and all he could hear was the sound of Annie's heavy breathing. Eric remained on his back, his hands folded over his stomach as he closed his eyes. Annie remained on her side, nestled against the pillows and shivering from fear, cold and worry.
"You're breathing loudly," Eric mumbled.
"I can't help it," she whispered. "It's creepy in here...it's dark...cold...not to mention I can't even see you or anything."
It was then when she moved a hand out and it bumped against Eric's arm.
"Ow," he mock complained when she rested her fingers against his forearm. "I bet this is a dream come true for you...especially after all those sex dreams..."
She scoffed then and Eric's lips tugged upwards at the sound. At least he had managed to stop her from crying.
"I'll try my best not to throw myself at you in the middle of the night," she promised him.
"I doubt you'll be able to restrain yourself," Eric continued to mock her.
He caught her hand before she could hit him and she rolled closer to him at the sudden force. Eric could practically feel her heat next to him as he kept her wrist inside of his fingers, his thumb on her pulse as he did so.
"Your pulse is quite high."
"Shut up," Annie muttered. "I'm tired."
Eric chuckled and placed her warm hand on top of his on his stomach. He placed his other hand on top of hers, stopping her from contemplating moving. She was about to ask what he was doing, but the feeling of his cold fingers sandwiching her warm hand didn't bother her. She closed her eyes again and sleep soon found her, but Eric remained awake, his thumb running along her knuckles as he wondered about Pam's words. What was it about Annie Walters that held his attention so?
...
A/N: Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing. I hope you're still enjoying it!
