PPOV
I really did not want to make the phone call I was about to make. But there was no point in avoiding it. I dialed with a perfectly filed nail. He answered on the first ring. Damn.
Yes, Pamela? It was never a good thing when he called me Pamela.
Are you alone?
Just a moment. I could hear him moving through the crowd; he must be on the floor at Fangtasia.
Go ahead.
You can speak freely now?
As freely as one can in a bar full of vampires, yes.
The situation is as I thought. It is much more dire than you expected. She will not come back to Louisiana, I think.
You think, or you know? I sighed. Stubborn man. He had spent years watching her, but did he really know her at all?
Eric, I will be blunt. She feels she has suffered greatly at the hands of vampires, and not just Compton. She feels you abandoned her during the Fairy war, to be perfectly honest. And even before that, in all honesty, we did use her greatly for her gift and did not provide her adequate protection. She wishes to stay here, keep her gift a secret and live as normal a life as she can. Eric she has started a nice life here. She has a job where she is treated as a person, not just some blonde beer slinger with nice boobs. She has a little apartment that is quite cute, and an adorable little car. She wants a normal life, with a husband, a home, a cat.
I see. She feels quite strongly about this?
Very strongly, yes. She was not happy to see me. She has cried herself to sleep both nights I have been here.
Pam, you know she leaks quite frequently.
Not like this. This is the way I sobbed when I was told I was not allowed to marry the boy of my choosing when I was human.
I see. He was quiet for a moment. I knew what was coming. Has she mentioned me?
She has. It is clear she cares for you Eric, but it is also clear she hasnt allowed herself to realize the depth of her feelings for you, much like you for her. It is also clear that she feels abandoned by you. Amelia was right – you were supposed to be her vampire in shining armor and ride in, make her feel pretty again and save her.
Eric, Sookie feels that she has never come first with anyone in her life. With her parents, they came first with each other. Her grandmother tried, but she worked at not treating Sookie or her brother differently, and she was trying to make ends meet. With Bill, he left her for Lorena, and even before that he ignored her to work on his database. I did point out all the times you have put her first, but she worries that with you being a Sheriff, she will never truly come first with you – your area will. She worries that she will always be seen as an asset in our world, something to control or covet. And, as she so rightly point out, every time she ends up involved in our vampire shit, she ends up getting hurt. Which is, in the end, the reason she left. Not because she didnt care for you, but because it was the only way she could see to stop the crazy cycle that had become her life.
I am sorry, Eric. I said, softly. I know this is not what you wanted to hear. But I would be remiss if I did not tell you the truth. Sookie is my friend, as well as you, and I want the best for both of you. Im not sure how to make that happen, exactly, right now – how to make you both happy. But I do want you both to be happy. So all I can do is to tell you what I have learned and trust you will make the best decision with that information.
I know you want the best, Pam. You are my best decision, by far. I could hear all his years of existence in his voice, and they were weighing him down. Where is Sookie now?
In the bath. I smirked, and I know he could hear it in my tone.
And you arent trying to ogle her? He was trying to lighten the mood.
I dont need to – I ogled her all night last night as she slept next to me. I couldnt resist the jab.
He groaned. That is hitting below the belt, Pamela.
Just trying to give you a little mental imagery to make you feel better, Master.
About time you remembered who is the Master here, Child. Stay there a few more days, take Sookie out, try to get her to have fun. I will let you know when I come to a decision.
Of course, Eric. I hung up and went back up the stairs.
Knocking on the bathroom door, I decided to have just a tiny bit of fun now.
Room for one more in there, Sookie?
PAM!
Chuckling, I shut the door again.
