A/N: So I have a myriad of excuses for the outrageous amount of time that has past since I posted last. 1) I moved in April and now I have to move again because the apartment I moved into is a shit hole, so that's annoying. 2) Everyone's birthday is in the summer and then there's work events and BBQ's and RL nonsense. 3) I'm engaged! My boyfriend of 5 years and I have decided to get married next year so planning the wedding is taking up loads of time. 4) I'm hella lazy. 5) I started writing 3 new stories because I'm a scatter brain and can't focus on anything. 6) I kinda fell out of love with this story, it changed from what I originally wanted it to be and I started panicking about your response to it so I took a step away. The longer I was away the harder it was to jump back in.

The next chapter may not come quickly. I have written bits and pieces of all the chapters all the way up till the end. I'm not sure if I'll just post chapter to chapter or wait till I've written the rest of it and then post week to week. We'll see.

I want to thank msbuffi, marilyn81459, wendy1969, Humag, mindy781, RedJane12, ljhjelm49, outinritefield1, LissaP, anonymouscsifan, ashmo2000, LostInSpace33, nordiclover, ericplenty, bttrflybelle, cembria, Shantigal, bloodamber, Katherine and the guest who reviewed for reviewing. Hopefully some of you are still with me.

I hope this was worth the wait. There is no beta on this one so I'm sorry if the grammar is bad and it's not very good. I think I just need to post this chapter so I can move forward. I also need a new beta. If anyone has time to beta please let me know.

We left off with Sookie telling her Dad she didn't want to live at home if he didn't approve of Eric and she told Bill that they were over.

Enjoy!

SOOKIE

I knocked three times on Eric's door and waited the fifteen seconds it took before he answered it. "Hey." He said looking at me then at my bag. "What's up?"

"My father and I are no longer speaking to each other which means I'm not staying at the house." I paused to let that information sink in. "Can I maybe stay with you?" I was nervous as I gripped the handle of my bag so tightly my knuckles were turning white. "I mean I can stay with Tara if you think it's weird, I just need some time away from him to sort out my shit." I rambled.

He laughed. "Stackhouse it's fine, you can stay here." He moved out of the way and motioned for me to come in.

I noticeably relaxed and stepped into his home. He took my bag and put it down as I sighed with relief. "Thank you." I moved towards him and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"You're welcome." He exhaled as Toby began sniffing around our feet. "Are you okay?" He asked me.

I nodded against his chest. "Yeah, just annoyed."

"I just don't get it, I don't understand why he hates me so much. A little, okay, but he seems to despise me." He said placing his lips at the part in my hair.

"My father thinks he knows everything and what's best for him must be what's best for me. I'm a child in his eyes and every decision I make is the wrong one." I looked up at him, my chin resting on his chest as he looked down at me.

"It'll be fine." He tried to reassure me as he stroked my hair.

I sighed. "I just wish everything didn't have to be so complicated all the time." I confessed.

"Money and power complicates everything." He said as we stood in silence together until he spoke again. "Would you take it?"

"Take what?" I questioned.

"Sonnet. If your father named you as his successor, would you take it?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Jason knows more about the business so I don't understand why my father would give it to me, but if he offered, I would consider it." I answered honestly. "Or maybe I'll just stay here," I smiled and shrugged, "maybe Bon Temps elementary needs a new teacher."

"You'd be a good one." He grinned.

I smiled back and took a deep breath. "What do you want to do today?" I inquired, happy to change the subject.

"I have to make some calls. I'm overdue to speak with the people at my fathers company and I can't put it off anymore. Then I have a shift tonight." He took a step away from me. "Feel free to do whatever you want around here."

I nodded slowly. "Wait, what day is it?" I asked panicked.

"Monday." He responded.

"Mother fucker." I mumbled as I crouched down beside my bag and began rifling through it.

"What? What's the matter?" He asked me like I was nuts as I pulled out my uniform and began changing in his foyer.

"I'm late for work." I said stumbling over myself as I tried to get into my shorts.

"Don't worry, no one is ever on time." He said with a smirk as he watched me struggle with my clothing.

"I'm the only opener so I need to be there on time. Sam is gonna kill me." I threw my hair up into a ponytail and grabbed my purse and car keys. "I'll see you when you come in." I pushed up on my tippy toes and kissed him before running out the door.

I sped towards Merlotte's hoping that Sam wouldn't notice I was over an hour late. I ran in through the back door putting my things in his desk and tied my apron around my waist. I walked out into the dining room to find Sam talking to a brown haired girl dressed in a waitress uniform.

"And you'll have your own section and you'll be in charge of that." Sam smiled down at her.

She was pretty, slim, dark brown skin, wide brown eyes, broad nose, full lips which smiled widely back at Sam. "I can do that!"

"Hey," I said cautiously as I approached the two of them before looking at Sam. "Sorry I'm late." I beamed at him hoping he'd take mercy on me.

"Nicole, this is Stackhouse, the waitress you're inevitably going to replace after I fire her for never being on time." He sneered at me. "Stackhouse, this is Nicole, the new waitress. You'll be training her."

I nodded at him and looked over at her. "How much has Sam already gone over with you?"

"Too much." He responded before Nicole could.

"I'm sorry I was late Sam, I had a really fucked up morning and this shift slipped my mind. I'm here now and I'm going to train her." I said picking up a serving tray.

"I'll be in my office. Call me if you need me to tend bar." Sam turned and went into the back.

"So have you ever waitressed before?" I asked her putting the tray down. There was no one in the bar, therefore nothing to do. I would have to make up work to have something to teach her.

"Yeah a few places, it shouldn't take me too long to pick this up." She said confidently before a concerned look swept her face. "Is Sam always that surly?"

I laughed. "That's actually a really good word to describe him but I wouldn't worry, he's nearly all bark and no bite. I show up to work late almost every shift and he hasn't fired me." I grabbed a wet cloth and started circling the dining room. "Okay so first of all you want to go around and make sure all the tables are wiped clean. The closing waitress should have done it but it's important to make sure that they did a good job." I said cleaning off one that looked a little grungy.

"And you're Sookie Stackhouse of the Sonnet Stackhouse's?" She questioned as I handed her the cloth and pointed at another table.

"Sure am." I said unenthused.

"Do you know Taylor Swift?" She asked me with a huge smile on her face.

"I've met her a handful of times, yeah." I was growing tired of this conversation, the conversation I had with everyone I met.

"Cool." Nicole smiled, "my daughter is obsessed with her."

"How old is your daughter?" I asked.

"Eleven." She said wiping down a table Arlene did a terrible job of cleaning.

"How old are you?" I asked. She couldn't be more than twenty-seven.

"Thirty-six." She sang as she went and threw the rag in a bucket of cleaning liquid and water.

"You're thirty-six!" I was shocked. "Do you wash you face with baby tears or what?"

She laughed. "I have good genes."

"Well if you have a way to bottle those genes, I want some." We both laughed as I turned to face the door when I heard it open. I watched as Bill walked in and came to a stop behind the 'please wait to be seated' sign.

My reaction to seeing him was pure and utter annoyance. It was in that moment I realized getting rid of Bill Compton wouldn't be as easy as sending a breakup text. Of course he would show up here, the one place I couldn't leave.

I stood there and stared at him as he stared back at me. I would have stood there my entire shift if Nicole didn't come up behind me. "Should we seat him?" She asked.

I sighed. "Yeah." I walked towards him and grabbed a menu, Nicole trailing right behind me. I plastered on my phoney waitress smile. "Good morning and welcome to Merlotte's! Is it just you today or are you expecting someone else?" I was going to pretend that nothing happened, that we never together and he was just a guy I had to wait on.

"Just myself." He said calmly.

"Right this way." I said leading him to a booth that was going to be in Nicole's section.

"Can I grab you something to drink?" I asked.

"Sookie, please stop this." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'd like to talk to you about the text you sent me this morning." He smoothed out his hair and the opened the menu.

"Can I get you something to drink?" I asked again as I ignored his comment.

"Sookie, I said I was going to fight for you and I meant it."

"Bill, I really don't care what you do, I'm not interested." I snapped. "Now, can I get you something to drink?"

"Sweet tea." He finally said.

"Great choice." I turned on my heel and walked away from him.

"Do you know him?" Nicole questioned when we reached the bar and I prepared his drink.

"Sort of." I dismissed as I put the drink on a tray and pushed it towards her. "That's your first table." I pointed in Bill's direction.

"Am I shadowing you?" She asked me with enthusiasm.

I shook my head. "Nope, this one is all you."

A look of horror came across her face. "I haven't even looked at the menu!" She sputtered out. "How am I supposed to serve him?"

"This is the only way you're gonna learn!" I pushed her towards Bill and slunk down behind the bar.

I watched as she took his order and he stared at me. Why did I always pick the worst men? What if Bill was going to Fatal Attraction my ass? Boil my bunny.

Luckily I was distracted by the large lunch rush. Holly was in at one and together the three of tackled all the tables.

Bill never left.

"What is Bill doing?" Holly asked as she glanced at Bill secretly from time to time. "He's never waited for you like this before."

I sighed. "He's a little peeved cause I broke up with him today." I grabbed a tub full of dirty dishes and brought it into the back where Terry was also recovering from the lunch rush.

"Why did you break up with him?" Holly whispered, following me.

I shrugged. "He wasn't the man I thought he was and we grew apart, he spent most of the summer in New York." That wasn't a lie, I just left out the part about falling in love with someone else.

"Wow, a lot of people thought you two were going to get married." Holly looked blown away.

"Yeah, well, a lot of people were wrong." I went out into the dining room and saw Nicole staring at a wall of customer and employee photos while Bill continued to look at his laptop. He had taken it out after his first hour at Merlotte's.

"Guys, who is this? Nicole was pointing to a picture of a shirtless Eric giving the camera "fuck me" eyes. I couldn't help but roll mine.

"That's Eric, he's a bartender here like three nights a week." Holly said.

"Is he single?" Nicole asked with her mouth slightly agape in awe. I guess this was something I was going to have to get used to.

"Eric really isn't the relationship type." Holly smirked, "he's more the 'love em and leave em' type."

Nicole frowned.

"I don't know, I heard he's seeing someone." I said as nonchalantly as possible.

Holly's eyebrows knitted together. "Who the hell could he possibly be seeing? The only girl I ever see him hang out with is-" she gasped in shock, "oh my god it's you."

I grinned, I couldn't stop grinning.

"How long has that been happening? Is that why you and Bill broke up?" She brought her hand to her forehead. "That makes a lot of sense." Holly smiled at me. "I guess that's why Bill's got a shiner?"

I nodded. Bill had a really bad black eye, if you mixed that with his suit and haircut it made him look like a 1920's mobster.

"I'm assuming Eric has similar wounds?" She probed.

"You'd assume right." I smiled at her.

"So you're dating the hot bartender?" Nicole asked me.

I nodded. "Yes, yes I am."

"Good for you, I never thought you and Compton were well suited. He always came off to me as kind of a-"

"Blowhard?" I cut Holly off.

She shook her head. "I was gonna say asshole." She smiled sweetly.

"You used to date that guy too?" Nicole asked pointing at Bill.

I nodded.

"You can have my genes if I can have your luck with men." She pouted.

"Believe me it's not as awesome as you think it is." I lamented looking over my shoulder in Bill's direction, he was looking at me again. "Holly do you mind if I go clean out the back room?" I asked, directing my attention towards her.

"Sure sweetie." She smiled touching my arm softly. "I'll try and talk his ear off, bother him so much he'll leave."

"You're the best." I beamed as I turned on my heel and headed for the back room.

The back room was a mess. Stray bottles of liquor, condiments, mismatched cans of vegetables and sauces. Everyone hated the back room but right now it was better than the dining room. I was in there for awhile, my headphones covering my ears, wasting out the rest of my shift in peace.

I screamed when arms wrapped around my waist and I turned quickly so I could look at who was touching me. I relaxed when I realized it was Eric. "Don't do that, you scared the shit it out of me!" I scolded him, slapping his arms.

He grinned. "I'm sorry but you look so good in those shorts." He said palming my butt as I slid my arms around his neck.

Our lips met and we kissed passionately as he pushed me up against the wall. "Eric, we're at work." I said, only half caring as he began kissing down my neck.

"I know, that's what makes this fun." He said picking me up and wrapping my legs around his waist. I loved our size difference. I loved how easily he handled me.

"What the fuck are you two doing?" Sam shouted at us.

Eric put me down instantly and we quickly separated. "Hey Sam, what's up?" Eric asked as casually as if Sam had walked in on us actually cleaning the back room.

Sam shook his head. "I don't care what you two do in your free time but I don't want you doing it here." He shook a finger at us more like a parent than a boss. "Now get out of there. Northman work, Stackhouse go home."

We both giggled as we strolled out to the dining room. Eric found his place behind the bar and I walked around to sit at one of the stools.

That was when he saw Bill.

ERIC

"What is he doing here?" I asked her with a clenched jaw.

Sookie shook her head. "I don't know, I think he's trying to torture me with proximity."

"Then ask him to leave." I said to her like it was completely obvious.

"I can't, he's not doing anything wrong. He keeps ordering and he's not harassing or bothering anyone. Other than taking his drink order he hasn't tried to speak to me. I can't kick him out." We both looked over at him. He was looking at us over the top of his laptop.

"It's creepy and weird and I don't like it." I said grabbing a rag, wiping down the top of the bar. "I feel like he's up to something."

She laughed. "I don't think Bill is smart enough to be up to something." She grabbed my hand. "Let's just ignore him, okay?"

I looked over at Bill one last time before my eye was caught by a waitress I had never seen before. "Who's that?" I asked her.

Sookie looked over her shoulder and then back to me. "Oh, that's Nicole, Merlotte's newest waitress."

I nodded slowly. "I guess we do need the extra help."

"That or Sam's getting ready to fire me." She joked. "What did you do today?"

"I made some calls." I didn't want to elaborate any further, the calls were less than stellar and I was going to have to make some big decisions soon. Decisions I didn't want to make. Decisions I wasn't sure I was qualified or prepared to make. It was easier not to think about it.

Sookie must have sensed my unease, "are you okay?" She asked.

I nodded and smiled at her. "Yeah everything's fine, I think Bill being here is throwing me off is all."

She sighed happily. "Okay, I'm gonna leave. I'll make something for dinner and leave you a plate for when you get home. I'll take Toby out and get settled, if that's okay with you?" She asked me with an unsure tone to her voice.

I couldn't blame her for feeling that way, she really had no reason to believe that I was in this for real, that I wanted a relationship and all the bits that came with it given my track record. I knew her uncertain would fade with time, I just had to wait.

"Okay." I smiled at her as she came around the counter to give me a kiss. I wrapped my arms around her tightly and breathed her in.

I let go and she swayed slightly, a dopey grin on her face. "I'll see you later." She giggled before disappearing into the back.

LaFayette stuck his head out of the kitchen and smirked. "'Bout fucking time."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah." As I went around the bar and began getting ready for my shift. Not even a minute later a few twenties were slammed down on the bar.

I looked up to see Bill standing in front of me with his eyebrow cocked. "What do you want?" I asked him.

"I want to leave but the idiot waitresses who work here have not come around to give me my bill. I think this should do it." He smiled that slimy Bill Compton smile.

I took his money from him and put it in the register. He didn't move from his spot and continued to stare at me as I busied myself with imaginary work. "You think you've won, don't you?"

"What?" I spat, looking over at him with irritation.

"Then again, I suppose it's nice that you get some time with her before she leaves you. Get a fuck or two in." He looked me up and down.

"Get out." I said sternly.

"Her mouth is amazing isn't it?" He smirked. "That thing she does with her tongue around the tip just as you're about to come." He breathed out with appreciation. "Makes you wanna start believing in God doesn't it?"

I stared at him as he smoothed out his perfect pin-striped suit. I didn't know how to fight this Bill Compton, he was completely the same as he was in high school but so utterly different he nearly frightened me. I didn't agree with Sookie, I believed Bill was smart enough to be planning something. He wanted Sookie for whatever reason and he was on a mission to get her. "Bill, get out or I will throw you out." I was gritting my teeth to keep myself from shouting at him.

"Awe come on Northman, it's just locker room talk, boys will be boys and all that shit. When did you become such a tight ass? I just want you to get your use out of her."

I felt my lips purse at how he spoke about her, like she was a thing. "What makes you so sure she's gonna leave me?" I asked him.

He pulled on the cuffs of his sleeves and smirked maliciously. "I'm a man who secures his bets."

"Bill Compton!" LaFayette shouted from the kitchen. "Get your stuck up, mother fucking ass out of this restaurant before I chop you up and put you in the stew." LaFayette was sticking his head and arm out of the order window pointing a butcher knife at Bill.

Bills eyes lingered on LaFayette before drifting back to me. "I'll see you around, Eric." His smile never left his face as he turned and left the bar.

I watched him leave before looking back at LaFayette. "What was that all about?" He asked.

I shook my head not wanting to get into it. "Have you noticed how different he is?" I questioned.

"He's one of the only people who left the Bon Temps bubble, he's still an asshole but it's not it's not on the same level like in high school, that fucker is out for blood; yours by the sounds of it." Lafayette said stepping away from the window to stir the stew.

"He seems more savvy, confident and sure of himself." I ran my hand through my hair. "It used to be so easy to make him mad, all I had to do was steal his girl. I've done that, I stole his girl-"

LaFayette cut me off, "you fell in love with her, there's a difference."

"Anyway, she's with me now and it hasn't even phased him. Like I'm this bump in the road, all he needs to do is smooth me out."

"You think he's up to something?"

"I think plan A was getting her to fall in love with him but he knew there was a chance of that not happening because of-"

"You?"

"Yeah and now he's moved on to plan B."

"What's plan B?" LaFayette questioned out loud.

A million possibilities went through my head, none of them good, but I couldn't be sure of any of them. "I don't know."

"Well plan for everything baby boy, you can't lose her to him."

"She has a choice too." I reminded him.

"In the end she might not." He cocked an eyebrow at me. "Rich people are all shades of fucked up and manipulative, if he is planning something who knows what's coming her way." He stared at me. "Or you could just be paranoid and Bill is all talk. This is the first time you actually cared about losing someone in a long time."

I nodded taking his food for thought and headed back towards the bar. The rest of my shift passed uneventfully but busy enough for me not to dwell on Bill.

I came home to find a plate of chicken, rice and mixed vegetables waiting for me in the fridge. I put it in the microwave and went searching for her. "Sook!" I called out walking towards the living room. She didn't respond the second time I called for her and when I saw her I understood why.

Sookie was asleep on the couch spooning Toby while the blu-Ray menu of GiGi played over and over. I couldn't help but smile, she looked so blissful. Her hair over her eyes, her mouth slightly parted, her arm draped over the dog.

This was going to be my life now, coming home to a sleeping girlfriend. I suppose that's what she was, my girlfriend, but maybe it was a little too soon for that. I could do this, I could handle this but having someone else in your life meant responsibility and the decisions that I wasn't ready to make might have to be made sooner. I couldn't be a bartender forever and that wasn't the type of man she deserved.

The phone calls I had made that morning were to the board of my fathers company and the calls weren't good. The company was failing and I had two choices; sell my stocks or take control and try to make it successful again. Selling meant I could follow her anywhere but I would have to find a new way to bring in money. We were both used to a certain way of life and no matter how simple we thought our lives were there was extravagance at every turn. We could go for periods without it but not forever. Sookie took her waitressing job because she knew it was an experience, something she could look back on fondly, but it wasn't how she wanted to live her life.

On the other hand, if I decided to take over the company I'd be rooted in Houston and that might change what she wanted to do. Could we spend years apart if she went to Africa? Would she give that up for me? What if she was given Sonnet? There were too many what ifs and questions for a relationship so new. Shouldn't we be allowed to enjoy each other if only for a little while?

I ate quickly in the kitchen before sitting down beside her, lifting her feet onto my lap and pressing play. I fell asleep almost instantly letting myself enjoy her closeness.

The rest of the week passed quickly, she worked, I worked, we worked together. We made out a lot, whenever we could spare a moment but it always stayed innocent, nothing as risqué as our first morning together. It was extremely hard not to touch her, not to pleasure her. That was all I wanted to do, I wanted to please her.

I was working the late shift Friday night and I was stuck in a weird limbo of wanting the night to end but not wanting the next day to begin. I didn't know how the next two days were going to play out now that Sookie was in my life. I handled the anniversary of my parents death the same way every year, I got insanely drunk for two straight days and went through periods of intense sadness and furious anger. Whatever happened the usual events were not going to fly with Sookie around.

I finished my shift and drove home quickly. Once inside I climbed the stairs to my bedroom and found Sookie asleep in my bed. I slipped into my bathroom and had a quick shower before putting on pajama bottoms and sliding into bed with her.

She stirred and turned her body towards mine and draping her arm over my abdomen. "How was work?" She slurred.

"Fine." I said lightly rubbing her arm.

"Good." She placed a lazy kiss on my jaw before falling asleep again.

I shifted her slightly so I could wrap my arm around her and pulled her close as I pushed my lips into her hairline. I closed my eyes and tried to match my breathing to hers.

In and out. In and out. In and out.

To my surprise I slept. I had never, not since they both died, slept on these days. Nothing, no matter how long I had been awake, no amount of alcohol, no drug, no woman, nothing could get me to sleep on these days but she did. I looked over at the clock, it was ten in the morning and Sookie was still fast asleep.

I got up and brushed my teeth before heading to the room I only went into on these two days. I opened the door and sat on his brown leather couch. I was never allowed on this couch as a child but I sat on it now as I looked at a photo of her, on her day, the day she died.

I took out my fathers favourite brand of scotch and poured myself a glass. I stared at the caramel liquid as it swirled in the glass. I felt so different, these days had always felt the same for the past ten years but on this one, for reasons I totally understood, I felt less alone.

I wanted to be sad but I didn't want to wallow, I wanted to share their life with her in hopes that she would learn a little bit more about myself before everything had to change. My choice with my fathers company would change a lot of things, it would change my future with her.

"Eric?" Her groggy voice shouted from the hallway.

"In here." I managed to squeak out.

She came into view and leaned against the door frame. "What are you doing in here?" She questioned but a look of understanding swept her face before I had a chance to answer.

SOOKIE

The sun was high in the sky by the time I woke up. I stretched out my arm to find that Eric was not asleep beside me. I sat up and ran my fingers through my hair trying to tame the tangles.

I walked into the hallway with the intention of going to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get some water but instead I stopped and called his name. "Eric?"

"In here." He breathed back. I almost didn't hear him but then I noticed the door to the room beside his was open, the room that he didn't want me to go in the first time I came over to his place.

I approached the room slowly and leaned up against the doorframe. "What are you doing in here?" I asked him as I took in the random things in the space. There were a lot of photographs, a woman's vanity, a large wood desk, an old oil painting with a man and woman I didn't recognize but I knew who they were immediately, his parents.

Sebastian looked exactly like Eric, tall, blonde, blue-eyed. He was broad chested, stood tall and he looked proud. Astrid didn't look the way I imagined her, she had raven black hair, electric blue eyes and she was slightly heavier set. The thing that was most striking about her was her smile, slight askew and devious. Everything that made Eric, Eric came from his father but his smile was his mothers.

I gasped bringing my hand to cover my mouth. I walked over and kneeled in front of him. "Today is the 9th." I looked into his eyes, they were red rimmed.

"Today is the 9th." He confirmed.

"I totally forgot, I'm so sorry." I said wrapping my arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

"It's not your job to remember." He whispered.

"It is now. I want to know and remember everything about you." I whispered back, kissing his ear and any other place I could reach. "What do you normally do on these days?" I asked him.

He shrugged leaning back onto the sofa. I stood and sat beside him. "Usually I get really drunk, break half of my glassware, look through their things, watch movies that remind me of them, go through black out rages of anger that they left me and then hate myself for feeling that way."

I looked around the room. It made sense why he freaked out when I tried to enter it. "Do you mind if we change those series of events?" I asked, treading as lightly as possible.

"How?" He eyed me suspiciously.

"Let's take some of the stuff out of this room and put it around your house. You bottle up everything and you tuck it away. Allow yourself to feel them everyday and these days won't seem as horrible." I leaned toward him and brushed the hair away from his eyes. "Don't drink and don't break your glassware." I smiled at him as he looked up at me. "You have nice glassware.

He laughed for a moment before his pain reclaimed it's place in his expression. "I don't know if I can do that." He shook his head. "I don't know if I can look at them everyday."

"Five things." I said standing. "Pick five things from this room and put them out." He stared at me and I continued. "And when you look at them instead of remembering that they're gone, think of a happy memory and day by day it'll get a little easier." I smiled, holding out my hand.

He took it and stood, putting his drink on the floor. "I don't know, Sook."

"If you can't handle it or it's not working after a month then we'll put them back." I put my hands on either side of his face as his eyes locked with mine and he nodded.

In the end we chose three photographs, a set of pens that belonged to his father which we placed in Eric's study and a blanket that his mother had not only loved but made herself.

After throwing the blanket on his couch I pulled him into the kitchen and made us breakfast. He ate slowly not saying much. I watched him having no idea what to do or say, hoping my presence and silent support would be enough.

"Do you want to watch my favourite movie?" He asked suddenly, causing me to jump.

I nodded taking the plates and cleaning up while he cued up the movie. I walked in to find the Batman Forever disc menu playing and I looked over at him with a furrowed brow.

"I thought you said that Cool Hand Luke was your favourite movie." I walked over to him.

He sat down in the corner of the couch and held out his hand out for me. I sat against him, my back to his chest and our legs tangling out in front of us as Toby curled up at our feet.

He pressed play as he began to talk. "I tell people my favourite movie is Cool Hand Luke but it's not, it's this." He motioned to the screen as Tommy Lee Jones delivered his ridiculous lines in a campy style, half of his face covered in ghoulish fuchsia makeup. "I watched this movie like crazy when it came out and while my dad was gone a lot he always made time for me when he was home and we would watch this together. He would received phone call after phone call and deny them all so he could watch this movie with me." I could feel him laugh as his chest rose against my back. "This movie is so stupid to an adult, it's not a good movie but he watched it every time I put it on. He would play with me, I would be Batman and he would be whatever character I asked him to be and when he died and I watched it to feel close to him again. I watched it with my mother to feel like a family again and then she got sick."

I angled my head to look at him and watched as his tears felt silently down his cheeks.

"I watched it when I couldn't be with her, I watched it to feel close to him, I watched it to feel less alone and when she died it was all I watched for months. I know it sounds stupid."

"It doesn't sound stupid." I reassured him. I turned my body so I was straddling him and put my arms around his neck hugging him tightly.

"It just makes me so angry that they were taken from me. My parents loved me and not just because I was their child but because they actually cared about the person I'd become. They actually wanted to spend time with me, they were interested in what I had to say, they were my best friends and they were snatched from me." He choked on his last word and I could feel his tears puddling where my arm met his jawline. "LaFayettes father bailed, his mother used to beat him, Tara's mother is a drunk, Pam's parents won't speak to her since she came out, your parents treat you like an employee and you all hate them but they're all still here." He tightened his hold on me. "It's not fair."

"No it's not." I was crying now too. There was so much pain in his voice and I knew there was little I could do to cure it.

We sat silently together for some time before he spoke again. "I've never told anyone those things." His voice was hardly a whisper. "I'm usually alone when I go through these days."

I looked down at him. "From now on you won't be."

"I'm sorry I cried." He said wiping his eyes.

"Eric don't apologize for having emotions. I hate that bullshit about men having to be manly men and never feel anything. You have feelings and thoughts about your parents so please don't censor yourself around me." I hugged him tightly as he kissed my neck.

"Let's watch the movie." He suggested as I nestled back against him.

We didn't say anything to each other until half way through the film. "I haven't watched this movie in quite awhile actually." He admitted.

"Why?"

"You have saturated every aspect of my life and made me feel like I was worth the things I wanted just like they always did. Since the first night I stayed over at your place, The Expendables night, I haven't really felt alone. I think for the past couple months instead of looking for comfort in this movie I found it in your smile." He was looking down at me the way a woman wants the man she loves to look at her, there was love in his eyes even if he wasn't ready to say it.

His words brought tears to my eyes and I pulled his head down so our lips could meet. The kiss was sweet and tender, I knew anything more than that would be inappropriate. "I feel the same way." I exhaled when our lips parted, it was the closest I could get to 'I love you too'.

We watched Aladdin after that, another movie he had watched endlessly with his parents, and around six I made him dinner. For the rest of the night he told me stories about growing up in Sweden and how difficult it was for him when he moved here, the language barrier and how badly he was teased.

"I was tall, super skinny, had a mushroom cut and I couldn't speak proper English till I was twelve." He said laughing, shaking his head as he put a piece of steak in his mouth.

"I thought you were cute." I lied.

"No one though I was cute." His laughter died down. "But I turned out alright."

"Yes you did." I confirmed with a winked.

We slept late on the 10th, he spooned me as our limbs tangled together. "I'm going to the cemetery today." He whispered to me when he knew I was awake.

I nodded and moved away from him. "I'll get ready."

He grabbed my arm as I moved to get out of bed. "Do you mind if I go alone?" He asked.

"Of course not, do what you need to do." I smiled reassuringly as he got dressed and left the house.

ERIC

I hadn't been to see them in awhile. The longer I stayed away the harder it was to go back. It was a beautiful day, sunny, not to hot - just beautiful.

I had no flowers, I brought nothing as I strolled to where their headstones were, side by side in the empty Bon Temps cemetery. I sat down in front of them and said nothing, I just picked the grass and threw it away.

I wasn't a spiritual person, I didn't believe in God or Heaven or an afterlife. I think that was why I never came, I knew they couldn't hear me, so why would I come? Something about today felt right, it didn't matter if they couldn't hear me, I just needed to talk, to vent to someone or something who wouldn't judge me and who would hear me out.

"I met a girl." I said out loud, continuing to pick the grass. "And I'm in love with her." I took a deep breath and continued. "And I'm terrified because I've never wanted anyone this bad and I'm so afraid she'll go away." I ran my hand through my hair. "Her father dislikes me which is an annoyance, Compton isn't letting up which is irritating and she has this huge responsibility looming over her head and I don't know how that's going to affect us. It might not at all." I shrugged. "I think I'm more afraid I'll mess it up. I have no idea if I'll get bored or if I'll say the wrong things at the wrong times or just not be attentive enough. I don't know if I'm enough for her. I hate not knowing." I huffed and lied down on the grass.

"I want to be enough for her." I said after some time. "I wonder if you'd like her, if you'd both approve." I laughed and sat up. I focused on the outlines of their names in the granite, "I think you would." I nodded a few times before I looked at my fathers headstone. "I'm going to sell the company, my shares at least." I took a deep breath in. "I think it's time I go my own way, be my own man." I bit my lip. "I think I want to write music, at least the lyrics. I think I'd be good at it and so does Sookie. That's her name by the way, Sookie." I explained this to two pieces of rock with their names on it. The thought made me feel silly so I was quiet for a long time.

"I miss you both everyday, to point where I can't take it." I finally croaked, blinking the tears out of my eyes. "I love you both so much and I'd hope you'd be proud of me." I stood feeling good out what I had said and placed my hands on the top of their headstones for a moment before I walked back to my car.

On the way home I texted Pam, LaFayette and Tara asking them to come over for dinner. I wanted people to be around. I was done being alone.

When I got home Sookie was in the living room watching Never Been Kissed, I sat down beside her and began petting Toby when he greeted me. She smiled warmly at me but didn't say anything, she didn't pry when she knew she shouldn't and I loved that about her. "Thank you." I finally said, looking over at her. "For these two days."

"You're welcome." She said softly.

"I invited Tara, LaFayette and Pam over. I figured we could order some pizza, drink some beer and swim." I smiled at her. "I don't want to waste these days in sadness anymore. You made me realize I don't have to." I kissed her softly on the corner of her mouth. "I hope that's okay."

"That's more than okay." She smiled back.

I stood and left the room to get things ready for my guests. For the first time in along time things felt right, things were good and everything was going to be okay.

I still hate this chapter as a whole. I think it has sweet/funny moments but for the most part I hate it. I think it's just easier to post and move forward like I mentioned above.

I'd love to hear what you all think. Don't you just want to punch Bill in the face?!

We have one more happy chapter before things get shitty. The chapter is titled Blame It On Me.

I have what might be a stupid question but I'm thinking of posting this story to A03. Can you just post whatever you want over on that site? Everything I've read about this website makes it sound like it's really elite and you have to be invited to post or something. Is this just nonsense? Can I go ahead and do whatever I want?

Thanks for reading and sticking with this silly little story. I really appreciate it.