I walked with Eric back to our room and I kept our fingers linked. I could tell he wanted to cry so when we arrived back, I turned to walk out. "Listen, I'll stay with Jessica in her room tonight. I know you probably want to be alone," I said. He was sitting on the edge of the bed and he grabbed my hand and pulled me back.
I turned and looked down at him. The blood tears had stained his face darkly and were falling onto his chest. Instinctively, I hugged him to me. I didn't care about the blood getting on my clothes at that moment, although I certainly would later. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I felt him sob into me. I sank down so that my face was mere inches from his and I pulled him in. I kissed his cheeks all over where the tears had been falling and I slightly kissed his lips then I pulled him close for another hug. He had stopped really crying and I figured that was good.
I'm not sure what I was thinking when I kissed him. Maybe I had figured that it was just another dream. Deep down though, I had known it wasn't. But I had been sleeping in the same bed with the man the past few days and the blood had definitely affected me. I just couldn't bear seeing him in pain like that. It was just unusual. He laid beside me in bed that day until I moved to hold him.
I wasn't sure what this night meant but I figured that if Eric had been anywhere near his coherent, devilish self, then he would consider this like a couple or an invitation for sex. This was the first time I'd thought about Eric as more than something that could hurt me and it was because he was showing raw emotion. I wondered whether he actually felt strongly about anything deep down and now I knew that he probably did. In his own way, maybe Eric really did care for me, just like in my own way, I really cared for him. This trip had proven that to me.
The next night we all travelled back to Bon Temps. Surprisingly, Eric didn't mention that I'd kissed him and in fact, when Sookie asked him how he was holding up, he made it seem like he hadn't shed a tear. Although, when I emerged from the room after he did, I was still wearing the blood stained clothes I had on earlier and Bill blatantly asked what happened. I shrugged and mentioned that Eric had been distraught on the rooftop the night before and we'd unintentionally touched each other. Bill didn't press for more answers and I could respect that.
Eric had gone back to Shreveport and Jason, Sookie, and I were all in Bon Temps. The place was a wreck and Jason gave me the advice of staying in my house until everything passed over. I didn't much like the idea but I did it. Something had infiltrated Sookie's house though and I made her stay with me too. Yet again, I seem to miss all the fun. I missed a maenad and a whole lot. The only part I saw was when I walked to Sookie's house to make sure that Jason and Sookie were okay and there were all these people with black saucer looking eyes. They looked at me like they were expecting me to change into whatever they were. It was really freaky.
It was only afterward that I learned from Sam that the maenad's powers affected everyone around her, unless they were supernatural.