I Remember You
Chapter 52
Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. This chapter will be from Sookie's PoV. She has finally made it home and she's trying to get an understanding of her surroundings. I hope that you all enjoy.
What did you all think of True Blood Sunday? I was impressed! My favorite part was when Jason rescinded Steve Newlin's invitation and what he said as he was gliding out the door. I laughed for about twenty minutes.
The voice whispered, "Wake up child. It's time for you to wake up."
Sookie opened her eyes. She was lying in a bed that was not her own. Though the room was dark and she didn't know where she was, she knew that she was safe. Eric had seen to that. She knew that Eric would always put her safety first. He would always put her first. He has always put her first. There were guards patrolling the house. Cameras were everywhere. And Mustapha was standing outside of her door. She felt extremely safe …and empty.
She reached within herself but she couldn't find him. She couldn't feel him. For the first time since meeting him, she couldn't feel Eric. He was gone. No matter how she tried, she couldn't feel him. She wanted to go to him but she knew that the only way to get to Eric was to go home. She wanted to go home.
Just as her feet hit the floor, Mustapha was filled with uneasiness. Something was going on in that room. For some reason, he knew that Sookie was not the same as before. Something was different about her; he could smell it. He knew that something was going on in the room; just not what.
When he heard the strange voice telling her to wake, he tried going to her. He wanted to go to her but he couldn't move. What if they take her again? He knew that if anything happened to her, Eric would not survive. He wasn't sure if any of the vampires would survive if she left again. As a matter of fact, he wasn't too sure about himself.
Eric had ordered him to protect her at all costs. That was not a problem for him; he had agreed to it. He vowed that he would give his life for hers and he was ready to do just that but there was a problem. He couldn't move. No matter how he tried, he couldn't move. He tried shifting but found that he couldn't. He'd never had that problem before. He has always been able to …. She had taken over his mind. She was controlling him.
"I have to go," she said to him.
When he heard her voice inside of his head, his eyes widened. "How are you doing this, Sookie? What's going on? Why can't I move?"
She ignored him and his questions. She didn't want to but there was something that she needed to do and she needed to do it now. "Mustapha, I need to go home. There are some things that I have to take care of. When I'm gone, take Eric the note that I'm leaving for him on my pillow."
"You can't leave. You're not well."
Again, she ignored him. "You know that I'm well. You can sense it. I will leave and you will not come after me. You will send no one for me. No one but Eric can come for me. Do you understand that? You have to do as I ask."
"Anything for you," Mustapha said.
"Mustapha?" she whispered.
"Yes, my queen."
"You must go to him as soon as I leave."
"Anything for you," he repeated once more.
She smiled. He was the best bodyguard she'd ever had. Well, he was the only bodyguard she'd ever had …as far as she can remember. And she was starting to remember. The memories that she was having, were the most painful memories she's ever known.
As she got out of bed, she heard Eric's voice. "How can you be so cruel?"
Sookie knew that he was speaking to her. What did she do to him that was so cruel? Had she hurt him? Her only thoughts were of her leaving him alone. She is the one that he has been waiting on. How could she have left him as she did? What happened to make her leave?
She didn't have an answer for any of her questions. Her stomach was completely twisted in knots. She grabbed at her chest just as heartbreak took hold of her. She didn't bother to change her clothes. She took off her pajamas and put on one of Eric's Fangtasia t-shirts. She needed to feel close to him. She needed to smell him on her. More than anything, she needed to feel him.
Within seconds, Sookie had poofed herself home. Soon, she was standing in the driveway. The cobblestoned driveway led to a two car garage. Azalea bushes lined the driveway. A small, blue modest Toyota was parked alongside Eric's over the top, red corvette. Sookie turned to look behind her to see an old lady standing at the end of that driveway watching her; mouth agape. The dog that she was walking was wagging his tail happily as he looked at Sookie. Sookie looked at the little old lady and smiled; placing her finger to her mouth in the shushing motion.
"You never saw me."
The little old walked on and never looked in the direction of the house. The dog watched Sookie until they were no longer in sight.
When Sookie was in the front yard of the unfamiliar house, she knew that she was home. The yard, the trees, even the skies that blanketed the house was home to her. The yard was perfectly manicured and the flowers were lined perfectly around the front porch. As she looked at the colorful plants, she wondered if she planted those. The furnishings that decorated the porch had to have been her idea. It had a woman's touch to it. The new porch swing and the rocking chairs added a touch of old southern charm. They reminded her of her Gran. The hanging plants were of varying colors.
The house had the homiest feel to it. It felt as if a family lived there. She thought that if she looked through the window, she might've seen a mother and father sitting on the couch watching TV. The children would be lying on the floor eating popcorn. One would never guess that a vampire lived there. The house held love, peace, and happiness. It looked inviting. It looked like a home.
Sookie began to walk up the stairs that led to the front door of their home and she let her hands stroke the familiar wooden door as her fingers grazed the knob. She was ready to go inside. After closing her eyes to check her surroundings, Sookie popped herself inside.
When she entered the house, she looked studied her surroundings. She didn't recognize the kitchen. The appliances were new; stainless steel as far as the eye could see. The furnishings didn't exactly blend with the state of the art appliances. They were old and worn. They looked as if they'd seen many Sunday dinners and quite a few holidays.
Sookie ran her hand over the kitchen table and a flash of her and Jason ran through her mind. Other memories soon came to her; her grandma and her grandpa eating lunch with them or grandpa carving the turkey. She could see them sitting around the table eating breakfast before school or sitting there are school eating afterschool snacks.
She could see Gran sitting on her familiar bar stool and talking on the phone; gossiping with the ladies of Baton Rouge. They never really gossiped. They caught up on what was happening in town. Gran used to always say that real southern women don't gossip. It's unbecoming of a lady. Sookie giggled as she continued to run her fingers over the table.
In her next memory, she could see her gran and her elderly lady friends sitting around the table discussing the upcoming trip to Civil War sites. Her grandpa was running from the kitchen after snatching a chicken salad sandwich from the platter after Gran had swatted his behind. She then frowned. Her grandpa didn't look like her grandpa. He was different. It was if he wasn't the same man she's always known. What if …?
"It's nothing," she said as she walked to the living room.
She slowly walked into the living room. Just as she did in the kitchen, she touched each piece of furniture that she encountered. Unlike the kitchen table, these furnishings didn't invoke any emotion. She could only use her imagination.
As she sat down on the couch, Sookie imagined the nights that she and Eric would sit there together and share. She imagined that he would have held her in his arms and after a long day at work, she would rest her head on his shoulder and tell him about her day. She would in turn stroke his hair as he would tell her about the vampires and what they expected of him and from him. He would then move on to the topic of the fangbangers that would have come into his club to meet and have sex with strange vampires. Sookie began to imagine that a night of sharing with Eric would have been a great night. Sookie then took notice of the pictures that decorated the cocktail table.
There were pictures of her, Gran and Jason. There were pictures of her dad holding Sookie on his shoulders while she picked apples from the big old tree that stood out back of their old home. There were pictures her, Jason, and her parents. They were sitting around a pond and enjoying a family picnic. She and Jason were laughing and eating strawberries. Their lips and fingers were stained red from the fresh fruit.
The next picture was of their mom and dad. They were staring into each other eyes; lovingly studying each other's faces. Sookie picked up the picture and instantly she remembered that day. It was the first day of summer and it was the last summer she and Jason spent with their parents. They were killed two months later in a car accident. Sookie gently placed the picture back on the table and looked towards the fireplace; more pictures.
Sookie walked to the fireplace and looked at the pictures sat on the mantle. This time, there were pictures of her and Eric. She and Eric were holding hands in one picture. In the other, she was wearing at-shirt that read Home Sweet Home and Eric was wearing a goofy look on his face. Their cheeks were pressed together when the picture was taken and they had smiles on their faces that matched those of maniacs and people in love.
In the next picture, Eric was nuzzling Sookie's face and her eyes were closed. Anyone could clearly see that they were truly in love. She touched the frame but couldn't remember when or where that picture was taken. She continued to touch the picture frame but nothing came to memory. She didn't remember posing for any of those pictures. Maybe she would remember the others.
The next picture was of Sookie with her head resting on his lap. Eric was stroking her hair as he talked on his cell phone. He was looking at the camera and didn't look happy to have his picture taken in such a vulnerable position. Sookie could only assume that Pam had taken the picture. He wouldn't have allowed anyone else to take it. His face held a scowl but his eyes were happy.
With each picture, Sookie could see that they were in deeply in love. She wanted desperately to remember those times that had been captured in those pictures but she couldn't. She decided to continue her tour to see if anything else in their home would jog her memory.
Sookie walked down the hall and looked into an abandoned room. There was only a bed in there but there was nothing that she could remember. Nothing in the room jogged her memory.
She wanted to go upstairs but she was being led to another room. She walked through a hidden door and she almost fell to her knees. She hadn't even entered the room yet but the pain saturated the space. The room was calling her name and it was vibrating with pain and sorrow. She didn't want to go in there but she had no choice. She had to go in there to see what happened in that room.
When she opened the door and went inside, she did fall to her knees. She couldn't believe what was before her. Images of his pain began to flood her mind. The images of Eric suffering was so much more than she could bear. His pain was all that Sookie could feel. She realized what he meant when it asked how she could have been so cruel. The pain and suffering that Eric had gone through was her doing. She screamed out in agony.
"I'm so sorry, Eric," she cried.
Sookie had soon folded herself into a ball. She let the misery that she was feeling take hold. That was why she needed to go into that room. She deserved it for what she'd done to him. It was her pain to bear and she would bear it willingly. Sookie had never been so unhappy in her life. Being alone in that room night after night after night; it had to have been pure hell for Eric.
How could he have survived such pain? How could he go on night after night and suffer so? Sookie cried even harder when she thought that she didn't deserve his love. She didn't deserve him. How could he possibly love the one that has caused him such pain for five years? Why did she do this to him? How could she do this to him?
"Why can't I remember?"
Sookie finally picked herself up from the floor. She left the room and went to the kitchen to brew a cup of tea. Once it was done, she went into the living room and looked around. Her eyes drifted back to the couch.
She could see their happiness. A life of pure happiness is what they had. They had their problems but they were happy. Their problems didn't stop them from loving each other. They didn't stop them from wanting to be together because they knew that as long as they were together, they were going to be alright. Everything was going to be alright. A small smile appeared on her face. That's when she saw it.
She saw a something white hiding underneath a pillow. Placing her tea on the table, she went over to see what it was. It was a gown and it had belonged to her. She could smell a very faint scent of her former self on the gown but the scent of Eric was extremely strong. It was covered in his bloody tears. She held the gown to her face and closed her eyes. She could see the many nights that he held the gown in his arms as he slept. He would hold it to his face when he'd awaken. She could see him holding onto her pictures; tracing them with his finger. She could see him listening to the voicemail on her cell phone over and over again until the sun took him under.
Sookie cried as she held his painful memories in her hands. "My dearest Eric," she whimpered.
For the first time since she'd been there, Sookie realize how empty she felt inside. She couldn't feel him; not like she did before. She was feeling what he felt when she was gone. She couldn't feel his love for her just as he couldn't feel hers. She couldn't feel the happiness he felt when he saw her at the Sit and Spin or how he felt as he held her in bed their first night in New Orleans.
She could only feel his pain. What she felt at that precise second, was pure hell. Emptiness was by no means the sensation that Sookie wanted to experience. But she knew that she had to suffer the same fate as Eric. She had to feel what he felt. Over and over again, she wondered why she left him.
Eric loves her passionately; even after all she's done. She's always been the one for him. Even though she had no idea why, she knew that she was the one that filled the lonely place inside of Eric's soul. She knew that Eric would cherish her until the day that she died and she left him. She left all alone.
As she cried, images of Eric smiling at her were all that she could see. Though he sounded far away, the sound of his voice was all that she could hear. She closed her eyes and allowed her mind to take her to him.
"Turn around, lover," he said.
When she turned to face him, he leaned down and passionately kissed her. It was their first kiss and he sent goose bumps throughout her body. "Are you frightened of me? Is it because of what I am?"
"No," she said into his mouth.
"My lover," he said hoarsely.
She opened her eyes and looked around the room. Sookie could have sworn that Eric was right there with her.
"Eric?"
There was no answer.
It was only her imagination.
"Lover," the voice called out to her.
In order to go to him, she closed her eyes once more. They were lying in bed and holding each other. Sookie said something funny that made Eric's eyes widen with surprise and caused him to fill their bedroom with laughter. As they talked and shared the events of her day, she was at peace. Her day hadn't been the best day. Sookie had brought home some issues from her job and some problems with Jason but being with Eric made her forget about her worries. Nothing else mattered. He made everything okay.
Her next image was of him defending her honor. She and Eric had gone to a bar. They noticed that the other patrons were watching them but they didn't care. The only thing that mattered was that they were together. As they left the restaurant hand in hand, there were whispers and comments being made. Eric was becoming angry.
Because of his vampire hearing, he could hear the whispers. She was used to whispers and the ugly thoughts. He could hear the derogatory comments being made about his lover. He was hearing what she has always been used to. Over time, she'd learned not to care. She was happy. She didn't want anything or anyone to destroy their time. It was good. It was good night.
Sookie gripped Eric's hand and said, "We're the only ones that matter, baby."
"They are insulting you," Eric said.
Sookie only smiled. "I'm used to it."
Sadness filled his eyes. "You shouldn't be."
She sighed and shook my head. "It's okay. They don't matter. It's just you and me. Everyone else in the world is gone."
Just as they were leaving, Sookie caught the mind of Were that was sitting by the door. She couldn't read the lady's thoughts but she knew that the color red wasn't the color of well wishes. She knew that the were-bitch hated her.
"Fucking vamp humper," the woman said.
Before Sookie could approach the woman herself, Eric had leapt into the air and had the woman sprawled out on her back. "You will respect her," Eric said. Sookie could hear the danger dripping from Eric's voice and she loved it. "Apologize to her or I'll rip your fucking throat out."
Sookie stood by Eric; smiling. She looked down at the whimpering Were and smiled. "Apologize as he said." Sookie then added, "Or I'll watch him rip your fucking throat out."
The Were snarled at the two lovers before she apologized. Eric slowly stood over the wounded Were and glared down at her. It was easy to see that he still wanted to kill her for insulting his lover. Instead, he stood by Sookie's side and held her hand in his.
After the Were had apologized, Sookie offered the Were her hand in order to help her up from the floor. "I have no beef with you," Sookie said. "I only wanted to have a night out with my boyfriend without any persecution and we're not going to let you ruin that. There are no hard feelings. We just want to be left alone. Now, please, take my hand."
The Were looked from Sookie to Eric and couldn't decide on what she was going to do. She looked to her table of friends and they looked away from her. She knew that she was wrong, so the embarrassed Were took Sookie's hand.
As Sookie helped her up from the floor, the Were looked at the lovers and apologized once more; sincerely this time. "No hard feelings," she repeated to Sookie.
Sookie and Eric proceeded to leave the bar once again; hand in hand.
As Sookie thought of those moments, she laughed. She went into the kitchen to make herself another cup of tea and it hit her like a ton of bricks. She remembered something on her own. She dropped her teacup in surprise.
"He said that I was beautiful. After kissing me goodnight, he told me how beautiful I was. He said that to me that very night. We were standing in the living room. He told me that I was smart and brave and beautiful."
No one had ever told her that she was beautiful before. She went out on dates and the guys told her that she was pretty and that she had a banging body but not one man had ever looked into her eyes and told her that she was beautiful; no one but Eric.
As she smiled, she remembered other things that he'd said to her that night. "He told me that I was smart and loyal. He even told me that I had a sense of fun and adventure. Eric really loves me. He told me that I had a beautiful body." She began to giggle. "He told me that I had a beautiful body after he'd given me the other compliments. So he wasn't after my body. He really liked me."
Sookie went to the broom closet and grabbed the dust pan and the broom to clean up her mess. After she emptied the debris into the trash bin, she said, "He loves me. He's always loved me."
She then thought of what happened that night when they'd gone to bed as he held her in his arms. "Thank you," she said to Eric.
"No lover, thank you. When you stood with me tonight, I knew that you would be willing to fight for me. I know that you will love me for as long as you live. I can't believe my luck. What have I done in all of my existence to deserve a woman such as you?"
As he spoke, Sookie looked up at Eric and that was the night that she fell in love with him. "I love you," she said for the first time.
"I love you, lover. You will always stand by my side as my friend, my wife, and my lover. You will stand with me as my equal. Everything that I have, I will share with you. Every vampire that owes me fealty will honor and respect you. You are mine in every sense of the word."
As she stood in the kitchen, she said aloud, "You have made me very happy."
"That's all I've ever wanted to do," Eric said from behind her.
Sookie dropped the broom and the dustpan onto the floor and turned to face Eric. She ran to him and jumped into his arms; wrapping my legs around his waist.
"You knew where I was," she cried into his shoulder. After a moment, she leaned back and looked at him. "You knew to come to Shreveport. Oh, baby, I love you. I love you so very much and I'm so sorry."
She released herself from him and took a step back from him. Sookie's heart began to hammer away in her chest and she then drew her breath in sharply. There stood the man that she was meant to love for the rest of her life. He had the most beautiful blue eyes she'd ever seen. His smile melted her heart. She loved the way his blond hair fell over his shoulders. She loved the way he laughed at her jokes; even the ones that weren't funny. She loved that he looked in her eyes when he spoke to her. She loved him.
As her eyes took in every inch of the man that stood before her, he smiled. She walked to him and said, "Tonight our new lives begin. You are mine."
A/N: Did you like it? Are you ready for the next chapter? Let me know.
