When the morning came I took a shower and dressed before I called Alcide. It rang twice before he picked up. There was a long ragged sigh.
"Ella?" He asked, his deep voice sounding rough in my ear. "Hey. Alcide." I said awkwardly knowing how weird it must be for me to call him after a year of nothing. "Oh my god." He muttered. "I wanted to ask a favor." I said holding the phone with slightly shaking hand. "Why don't you come by." He said. Afterwards he gave me his address in Shreveport and told me he couldn't wait to see me.
I drove to the address and looked over the house that seemed a little to suburban for him, a single man. I walked to the door feeling a little weird as I gave two short knocks. When Alcide opened the door he seemed taken aback. He looked the exact same, and I knew that I did as well.
"Goddamn." He said, I smiled in return. "I'm so glad to see you." He said grabbing me up in a tight hug. My feet dangled in the air as he squeezed me. I could smell the cologne on his shirt. But I saw no memories, which was weird. Before I had time to go into deep thought on why, he let me down and invited me in. "Sweet setup you have here Alcide." I said smirking up at him. "Thank you." He said gesturing to the couch. I sat down and looked up at him as he came to sit next to me.
"I thought you were dead." He was blunt about it. But, I smiled. "Sorry, I just, needed some me time, I guess." My excuse was shit but Alcide didn't seem to mind. "So, Shreveport, and in a suburb too." I muttered, this conversation felt a little awkward. Alcide was being a little weird and kind of fidgety, but I overlooked it, just because of the special circumstances. "Yeah, I was ready to get out of Mississippi after everything. You know." He looked pained at the memory. I nodded.
"Okay, uh you said on the phone you had a favor to ask of me." He said sitting back a little. I really wanted to just reach over and grab a hold of his hand just to probe into his memories, there was defiantly something that he was not telling me.
"Yeah, I was wondering if maybe you could take care of Eric, Sook is just really put off by him." I muttered in a rush. "Take care of him? You want me to kill him?" Alcide asked with seriousness. I felt shock in his words and I immediately felt the need to reject. "No, no. I mean take him in. He's lost his memory and he needs a place to lie low for awhile." I said. Alcide was listening when his eyes moved away suddenly.
"So nice to see you again, Ella." The voice I had heard say my name with such hate before came from somewhere behind me. I turned with a gasp to see Debbie standing no more than five feet from me with blonde hair and a sweet smile. I stood quickly looking back at Alcide who seemed well enough with the situation. Then, again, he wasn't there when she tried to kill me.
"Ella, just hear her out." Alcide pleaded behind me. Debbie smiled weakly and stepped forward. "I know that I owe you and your cousin a big apology." She said with a nod. I didn't feel comfortable with her being that close to me. "And, I would've made amends along time ago if I didn't think that you two were dead." I wondered how much she liked the thought of that.
"Debbie's been clean and sober for almost a year." Alcide said giving me the same weak smile Debbie had. I moved a little towards the door. "That's good, really. I uh, gotta go, I have work and stuff." I stumbled back towards the door feeling kind of overwhelmed and a little pissed at Alcide.
I half ran to the Jag before Alcide came out of the house. "Ella, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you me and Debbie were back together." He said. I shrugged feeling torn between guilty for blowing Debbie and Alcide off, and angry that Alcide would side with the bitch that tried to kill me.
"It's cool, hope you two have cute little wolf babies and live happily ever after." I said turning back to towards the car. He placed his hand on my shoulder. "Ella, come on." He said flashing a lovely smile my way. "Alcide, I'm okay with this, just don't expect me to be at the wedding." I said turning from him again.
"What about Eric?" He asked as I opened the door to the Jag. "He's fine." I muttered. "He's in your house?" Alcide seemed worried. "Don't worry about it Alcide." I called to him and got into the car. I drove away feeling lightheaded.
I cursed myself for being such a little bitch when it came to facing Debbie. She had tried to kill me, I know, but I couldn't just skitter away every time I came into minor contact with her, could I? I mean she wasn't the scariest thing I've encountered, and she wasn't the one that came the closest to killing me, so what was there to fear?
As I went over myself from afar the one issue of jealousy reared it's ugly head. I had kissed Alcide, okay, I had also kissed Hoyt Fortenberry and that didn't make me bitter for seeing him with tall, slim, striking, red haired Jessica. Maybe, it was just fear for Debbie that sent me running from the house instead of upright jealousy, deep down I was hoping that it was only fear.
I gave up the gun on thinking over my long trip to Alcide's house where he was harboring a murderous wolf-she-bitch as I pulled into the parking lot of Merlotte's. I clocked in and looked for Sookie. She and Tara were talking intensely at a table, I decided not to but in and just went on with my workday. The afternoon passed quickly.
When I got off of work I drove to a nearby gas station and filled the tank. I went in passing the older guy at the cash register to find the freezers in the back. I grabbed a four pack of Tru Blood B-negative and walked back to the front sitting it on the counter. I paid the guy and went back to my car.
Before I got in I saw someone standing just in the tree line across the street. Claudine retreated back into the woods as soon as I recognized her. I got into my car brushing off the creepiness. I supposed Athenodora had sent her to spy on me for whatever reason. I drove home and went inside the dark house.
I went to the kitchen putting the Tru Blood in the fridge and walking back into the living room. "Eric, where are you?" I yelled. I saw the doors to the wardrobe sitting wide-open. "Fuck." I muttered. I walked out of the house looking for Eric with no hope.
"Hey Ell." Sookie said, I jumped and sighed when I saw her standing behind me. "Oh hey." I said with defeat. "What is it?" She asked quietly. "I lost Eric." I sighed walking into the house after her. "Well, he'll come back, I'm sure." Sookie said, and for a while I sat on the couch and to my amazement worried all the while he was gone.
When I finally got up and went outside I saw Claudine on the front porch. I stepped forward. "I thought I said to stay the fuck away." I yelled at the fairy standing in front of me. "Yes, Athenodora relayed your wishes." Claudine said carelessly. Before I could say anything else to her Eric tackled her to the ground.
"Eric!" I yelled, he didn't listen to me, he just held her tightly in his grasp as he sucked the life out of her. I watched as Claudine's body changed and burst into embers in Eric's hold. Eric looked up with a bloody smile. The look of a child after he broke his mother's favorite vase, shameless but sorry.
Sookie's footsteps were heavy as she ran to my side. "Please do not tell me he just killed my fairy godmother." Sookie murmured as if the air had just been knocked out of her. I shrugged looking painfully at the awkward scene in front of me. Eric, with blood smeared all over his mouth smiling as if had done nothing wrong.
"S-sorry." He stuttered to Sookie, I couldn't hide the small smirk that tugged at my lips. Sookie looked at me angrily before she stomped up the porch and into the house slamming the door. The smirk was wiped from my face as I looked over at Eric's wide bloody smile.
"Great as if she wasn't mad enough already." I muttered slouching a little. I really was okay with the death of the fairy, it was one less I had to worry about kidnapping Sookie. Eric stood and stumbled forward with a goofy smile upon his face. I watching him with a frown. He seemed a little off, even for the new amnesiac Eric.
I stopped where I was at and looked over Eric's tall frame as he laid on the ground. After a few long seconds of him simply groaning into the dirt I stepped forward slowly and placed my hand on his shoulder. He grabbed it quickly and drug me to the ground bringing me to him and holding me there.
"Lay with me." He said in a hushed slur. I felt my heart running miles in my chest. I was nearly sure that he could hear it. "Eric, I." I muttered wriggling in his grasp. After a few long seconds he let me go and he stood up, his stance was a bit tilted. He seemed drunk, but I didn't think vampires could…fairy blood, the purest kind, well that makes perfect sense.
"You're very beautiful Ella." He said almost shyly as he walked around me. "Thank you Eric." I said quietly. He smiled brightly and flashed out of sight. I looked all around me, he was gone. I heard a whip of wind and he was right in front of me making my heart jump.
"Eric, you need to go inside now, the sun will be coming up in a few…" Before I could finish he zipped off again. "Fuck." I hissed. Then he came back giggling like a child. "Run with me Ella." He smirked, still his lips covered in blood. "Eric, the sun." I sighed moving my bangs out of eyes. "The sun doesn't frighten me Ella." He said matter-of-factly before running again. I stood and waited for him to flit back.
"Shit. Shit!" I muttered when he didn't return. I ran inside to find the living room empty and the kitchen, so I darted up the stairs straight to Sookie's door. "Sook, Sook!" I yelled, she opened the door and looked at me with wide eyes. "What is it?" She asked. "I lost Eric, again." I mumbled with defeat.
As I stared helplessly at Sookie she crossed her arms over her chest. "Good. Maybe he'll get baked and I can have my house back." Sookie said with acid dripping from her tone. I frowned. "You can't be that angry with Eric. He didn't mean to drain Claudine." I defended Eric and all the while in my head I cursed myself.
"What if it was your fairy godmother?" Sookie asked me. I shook my head and backed up a little. "Athenodora, she is…" I shrugged for a second, for some odd reason I felt like I couldn't tell her. Instead of finishing what I was saying I gave Sook the cold-shoulder walking down the stairs not looking back to her. I stopped in the kitchen and snatched a flashlight out of the drawer next to the backdoor.
As I stalked through the silent woods in search of a certain amnesiac Viking vampire, I felt cold in the haunting October breeze. My work pants were soaked at the bottoms from dew and the sun was approaching far to quickly. My hair had fallen from the ponytail I had it in for work and I looked like a mess. I pulled out my cell-phone to see it was four-fifty-three in the morning, I had to think quickly as I found myself back on the porch. Alcide's name popped up in my mind, he was a wolf, he could pick up a scent, Eric's scent.
As I dialed his number I felt another chill from the near morning breeze. "Hello?" He said groggily. "Alcide, I'm sorry to call this early and all, but I need help." I rushed feeling the oncoming pressure of finding Eric before the sun did. "Are you okay?" His voice was thick with concern. "Yes, I'm fine, I just, I need you to help me find Eric." I sighed wiping my stinging eyes. "Okay." He said, and hung up before I could thank him.
As I sat on the step in wait of my furry hero I heard the front door open timidly with a long creak. "Ella, I made you some coffee." Sookie said with a smile handing me the steaming mug. I took it and looked up at her remorseful face. "I shouldn't have said that last night, it's just that Eric has treated you so badly." Sookie said. I wanted to retort with one of Bill's mistakes, but I realized that Eric's previous actions were far worse than Bill's.
"He's different now." I muttered watching the gravel road again. "I know." She said patting my shoulder. After a few seconds she sat down next to me. "You have feelings for him, don't you?" I shuddered at the sureness in her tone, was it that obvious? I nodded brokenly. "What are you going to do when he gets his memory back, will you still have feelings for him?" Sookie asked looking casually at the yard. "No." The lie slipped easily making it sound completely truthful.
When Alcide pulled up I was grateful, seeing as the sun was reaching it's peak in the morning sky. Sookie handed me the thickest blanket she could find and hugged me tightly before she left for work. Alcide looked at me with a confused air.
"Why the hell is Eric out in the sun anyway?" Alcide asked. I shook my head. "No time for an explanation, I just need you to catch his scent and lead me to him, please." I felt the urgent need to find Eric, I was truly frightened for his safety. "Alright." He said, taking off his newly ironed shirt. I had to imagine Debbie being a nice little housewife, cleaning, ironing clothes, cooking, it was quite bizarre to say the least.
As Alcide reached for his belt I turned feeling blood rushing to my cheeks. When a white wolf trotted in front of me I followed behind him. As he reached the path in the woods he sped up and so did I. We ran for about ten minutes before I lost sight of Alcide. I worried looking from side to side. When I heard a loud laugh booming from the river I walked quickly over.
As if it were a dream Eric stood in the glistening water, naked and beautiful, smiling widely like the real Eric would never be caught dead doing. "Eric! Get out of there!" I yelled after a few long seconds of being completely awestruck. "Ella! Join me, it's beautiful here!" He called cheerfully. I shook my head. "Eric come on, now!" I called. For a second I recalled when Jason, Sookie, Hadley, and I went swimming in that same spot. How gran told Jason there were gators in the water that would bite his you know what off. A smile swept across my face with the distant memory.
Alcide changed back beside me as Eric went back under water. "He really has lost his memory." Alcide said unbelievingly. As Eric came back up his fangs shot out. "Get away from her!" He screamed with a hellish glare. Alcide bucked beside me and I suddenly felt awkward. "Fuck you!" Two naked men fighting over me was the last thing I wanted at this moment. "I will rip your fucking throat out, dog." Eric said stepping forward. Alcide still stood defensively, now even growling. I rolled my eyes unfolding the blanket.
As I looked up I saw Eric's shoulders turning a bright red. He stopped, his face changing, his eyes turning down with discomfort. "I'm burning." He murmured with pain, bloody tears welling in his eyes. "Ella." He whimpered. I trudged through the water to his side throwing the blanket over his shoulders. "Eric, you'll have to run back to the house and get into your room." I cooed to him as I walked back out of the water holding onto his waist.
"But, I don't want to go back into the dark." He pouted, I felt my heart twist with sadness at this, I didn't want him to go back either. But, I wanted him alive. "You'll have to." I said nodding. He lowered his eyes and ran back to the house. Alcide turned back into a wolf and ran after him leaving me empty handed and staring at the water around my ankles.