chapter 32!

As they were effectively under house arrest you would think that getting out of the mansion would be a difficult job, but as Lou had already suspected, the guards were useless and therefore easy enough to avoid. They only needed to wait four or five minutes until somebody wasn't keeping an eye on the back forests and they had their window out of there. When they were in the woods Lou took hold of Eric's hand and lead him to their less than likely destination.

Merlotte's Bar and Grill.

Coming up to the outside of the parking lot, Lou paused to get a look at the place before they headed any closer, keeping hold of Eric's hand as she did to make sure he didn't go wandering off. Though a little more weathered around the edges than it once was, it looked to be standing as strong as ever, the dulcet tones of Johnny Cash drifting out through the always open windows - it must be a quiet night, she thought. Sam only let them play slow music on quiet nights. That would certainly help though.

Lou's plan was simple - find Lafayette and see if he could help them.

No, she had no concept of what his powers were or if he even had any at all, but with no one else to turn to she could only hope that he had it in him to do something. With Godric having still not made an appearance and Bill now throwing himself head first into finding an Antonia solution, this was as good as they'd got to work with. They'd had to come to Merlotte's because she couldn't risk going to his home. Jesus could have been there, or worse, Sadie herself.

No, she needed to get him away from any outside influences who could persuade him into turning them away.

"Right," Lou said, confident that it was safe after watching the building carefully for five minutes. "I'm gonna go inside and get a friend. You're gonna wait here." She looked up to Eric as she spoke.

"I'm not going to do that, Louisa." He replied.

"Of course you're not, that'd make this too simple." Lou instantly grumbled, having been an idiot to expect any less from him.

"You need me, in case someone tries to hurt you." He tried to rationalise.

"If that happened I'd be more than capable of looking after myself, thank you." But as Lou spoke she watched Eric fold his arms over his chest in a very immature show of stubbornness. "I'll be fine, Eric, I use to work here. I know almost everyone who's gonna be in there."

"I don't care," He shrugged off. "I'm stronger than you, and I'm not letting you go in there alone."

"Well now you're being a little condescending, and you don't actually know you're stronger than me, you're just making assumptions and hoping you're right." Lou warned, a hint of resentment building to hear him lay out the ways in which he was superior.

"Am I wrong?" He asked a little too confidently. Lou's eyes narrowed.

"... That's not the point." She rebutted, having nothing better to throw at him.

"I think it is." Eric quipped.

Their ability to squabble seemed to be as strong as ever, and Lou wasn't sure how she felt about that. What she did know was that it was already pushing 9:30pm, and in her experience Lafayette preferred the earlier shifts, so they didn't have that much time to stand around arguing.

"Fine." Lou grumbled, decidedly more annoyed when she saw his satisfied smile. "But you don't touch anyone Eric, understood? No fighting whatsoever. Everyone in that bar is a human, which means no matter how loud they get, they couldn't hurt us even if they wanted to, alright?" After their run in with Jason earlier that evening the warning felt very justified.

"No fighting." He repeated with a small nod, glancing in the direction of the bar. Lou guessed that was about as good a promise of peace as she was going to get, so with the smallest roll of her eyes lead the way. When she made it to the front door, she heard Eric quietly mutter from behind her as she pulled it open, "Unless one of them touches you." Picking up on it Lou was about to turn around and demand that he wait by the trees, but unfortunately they'd already been caught.

"Well I'll be," Arlene Fowler said. Of all the people to be working the door that night, it had to be her. Lou had never had an issue with the waitress, in fact they'd been friendly once, but she was very aware of her thoughts on vampires. "Fancy seeing you, Lou. Oh, and you brought a friend with you. Fantastic." Her voice dripped with sarcasm, bristling her nerves. A few years prior and Lou would have busied herself with small talk to keep up appearances, but she had neither the time nor the patience for rednecks pushing their luck.

"Is Laf working?" She asked her very pointedly.

"He is, and he won't be off for another half hour, so you might wanna wait outside if you're just here to see him." Arlene suggested, busying herself with plastic menus so she needn't look at them. Perhaps that would've been sensible. Lou was quite aware of how unwelcome they were there, and she didn't intend on basking in that feeling. She was about to turn back out, deciding it was for the best, but then Arlene had to go and open her mouth again. "Y'know how it ended the last time you stuck around. We wouldn't want a show like that again, would we?"

Lou was very aware of how her last real visit had turned out, as it ended with her alcoholic father pronouncing her dead to him, for all of them to hear. The fact that she didn't swipe for Arlene's head at the snide reminder was a downright miracle.

"Yeah, I do remember that actually," Lou remarked instead. "But I guess you of all people can empathise. I can only imagine showing your face after finding out the guy you were fucking had murdered half the women in town was a rough one, huh?" Arlene audibly gasped at her words, neck snapping to look at her. "Don't worry, I ain't judging. I'm a Christian see, it's not in my nature." Lou's smile could've melted butter, and it only grew as she imagined steam coming out of the redheads ears. Her mouth opened and closed again like a fish as she desperately tried to think of something to say, so Lou interjected. "We'll take a booth."

Arlene remained motionless for a second or two longer before she stormed off.

From behind, Eric leant down to speak quietly into Lou's ear.

"I thought we weren't fighting anyone?" He asked.

"It's not a fight if it's one-sided. Besides, it doesn't count so long as you don't hit them." She shrugged back. Eric chuckled a little as he leant back again, and Lou could envision the smirk that was pulling at his lips.

Realising they weren't about to be shown to a table, Lou lead through, keeping her head high and eyes forward as she headed for one of the empty booths. Luckily the bar was quiet with it being mid-week, but the few patrons who were in stared intently all the same. She slid into one side, and with ease Eric slid into the other.

"Do all humans glare so much?" His question came as his jaw tensed a little, clearly uncomfortable by the attention they were receiving.

"It'll stop in a couple of minutes," Lou assured him. "They don't get vampires in here. It's always a bit of a mind-fuck for them when it happens, even if it is the same vampire they see every time." She added, pretty confident that no other undead had walked through the doors since she last had. "It's better in other places. When I was in Scotland I lived in a big city, and there no one stared at all."

"Where's Scotland?" Eric's eyes still glanced around the men in the room, his posture rigid, like a man who was on alert. Lou would happily entertain the questions if it meant distracting him enough to put those nerves at ease.

"A long way away," She responded, not about to get into geography with him. "It's colder there, and calmer. The nights last longer than they do here, which is nice. They hardly blink an eye at our kind." Talking about it made her miss it, and Lou found herself wondering if she'd ever see it again.

"You'll have to take me." Eric said, clearly not appreciating the implication of his own words as he said it. He was looking at Lou now, his air a little easier now than it was before. Thinking about it, she could imagine Eric in Edinburgh. He'd probably walk through the rain holding one of those big umbrellas the business guys from the city always seemed to have, and a long coat that cost more than an entire year of her wages. No one would know who he was, so they wouldn't shrink to the corners of the room in fear when he walked in. He'd just be another vampire, and like her, people wouldn't so much as look twice in his direction. He could almost be normal.

And that thought made her smile wider.

"I will." She agreed without really thinking.

As if on cue, along came Sam Merlotte to quietly interrupt them.

"Lou, good to see you again." He greeted very formally. His body language was awkward, guarded, but that would be the case whether two vampires had just walked into his bar or not. He'd never exactly been known for his ease in social situations of any kind.

"You too, Sam." She replied with a softer smile. He said nothing to Eric, but nodded slightly. Picking up on the gesture he copied, nodding back at him. "Don't worry, we aren't here to cause any bother, we just need to see Lafayette."

"Well, you say that, but I've got a crying Arlene sat in my office refusing to come out 'til the two of you leave, so I'd beg to differ about not being a bother." He raised his brow as he said it, to which Lou shrugged, trying her best to look very innocent.

"She's always been a sensitive one I guess." She responded. There was no way she was offering to go, not until she'd covered all her bases there. "Soon as we speak to Laf, I promise, we'll be out of your hair again."

Sam paused, weighing his options, but in the end nodded. "I'll go get him right now then."

Apparently the sooner they were gone the happier he'd be, but Lou didn't care all too much. It meant they were getting what they needed and possibly quicker than they would've done otherwise, so she had no issue. Without waiting for thanks Sam walked off again.

"He's an odd human," Eric said, watching as he went. "He smells off compared to the rest of them." He also noted. Lou's nose scrunched a little, trying to pick up on what he meant.

"Really? I've never noticed." She had to admit, because even now all she could smell was stale beer and the overwhelming scent of humans in need of a good shower. Before she could quiz him further, Lafayette had moved quickly over to their table and had sunk into the booth next to them. His hand came up as though to shield his face from anyone outside their booth from seeing, and Lou was instantly suspicious of his sketchy behaviour.

"What are-" She went to question, but was cut off almost straight away.

"I can't be seen talking to you," Lafayette said over the top of her. "If they find out I have and I haven't told them about it, I'm about as good as dead too, so I'm only here to tell you to leave me the fuck out of whatever bullshit ya'll have got going on."

What he said jarred her, because a part of her expected an adverse reaction to them showing up, but not one that gave so much away.

"So it is them sending us into the sun?" She queried, but he needn't answer. Lou had already known as much, it was just the first time she'd heard anyone practically confirm it. "And by 'them' I guess we're both talking about the Coven here?" Lou added. Laf may be saying that he wanted nothing to do with them, but even a blind man could sense his fear, and the fact that he'd sat down told her he wasn't so reluctant to keep away after all. She'd capitalise on her chance to ask him as many questions as she could for however long this lasted.

"Oh, we're still calling them that? Cause I personally prefer bat-shit-fucking-insane-brain-washed-zombies, I think it's a little more accurate, don't you?" He bit back.

"Brainwashed? So what, they're all just blindly following Sadie now?"

"Not blindly," Lafayette corrected with a shake of his head. "They want to follow her, got it in their heads she's the motherfucking messiah or something... It's just that anyone with two eyes and a little common sense can see she's tapped, so yeah, brainwashed is about the only explanation I've got for them turning a blind eye."

"But they wouldn't turn a blind eye to you talking to us?" She queried. "Because we're what? Blacklisted?" Lou couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped her, because the notion of it was just so ludicrous - did they intend to kill everyone so much as seen to be talking with vampires now? Did you only need look at one to suffer the consequences?

"Do I look like I'm fucking joking here, Lou?" Lafayette urged through gritted teeth, his eyes going wider still as he tried to, in a quiet way, stress the gravity of the situation to her. It was certainly enough to stop her chuckling. "Ever since you're little run-in with Sadie in the shop, and yes I did hear about that, she's gone super-fucking-nova, okay? Today's little show, the handful in Shreveport, it ain't nothing compared to what'll come. And she's made it pretty clear that if we see a vampire, we stake a vampire, especially if it's Mr-fucking-Northman over there." He waved towards Eric as he spoke, who had said nothing since Laf had sat down, but seemed very intent on his every word.

"She took his memories," Lou said, trying to divert away from his worry and move him back to the real reason they were there. "And you're just about the only person we know who might help us right now, so-"

"Are you not listening to a damn word I'm saying?" Lafayette interrupted, even more on the defence now than he was before. "They'd have my ass just for sitting here, let alone helping you. Anyways, I'll say the same to you as I said to them. I do not fuck with magic, okay? It's a kinda ju-ju that I ain't getting fucked up in, so no, even if I wanted to, I couldn't help you." Lou would be a liar if she said her chest didn't drop a little at his words, but in the same breath she wasn't entirely sure that she believed him. "Coming in here asking me to put my life in danger for some psycho, 'fuck outta here." He mumbled mostly to himself now in complete disgust.

"Do not call him that." Lou warned firmly, her demeanour shifting a little as she felt her own defences threaten to go up. Eric was a lot of things, a psycho wasn't one of them. Lafayette rolled his eyes at her touchiness, which again, rubbed her the wrong way.

"Whatever - I ain't getting involved. I'm sorry, but ya'll better go." Laf began to shuffle back out of the booth, and she could feel in temper flaring in turn. Every instinct told her that he was lying - that he could help, but he just chose not to. Up until they'd gone to the bar Lou wasn't even sure if Lafayette possessed real magic, but with his impassioned insistence that he didn't, she oddly found herself more convinced than ever that he did. He just didn't want the trouble, which was understandable, but like him Lou had found it paid to be selfish in life.

So she couldn't care less about the kind of trouble he'd get himself into by helping them. She only cared about getting Eric's memories back.

Lou's hand came down on Lafayette's wrist to hold it against the table.

"Laf, please-" She tried to plead, but violently he snatched his arm away, standing with the abrupt jolt of action.

"Are you not listening?! I said go fuck yourself!" Lafayette spat in response. Eric stood too, moving with the kind of speed that in addition to the raised voices lulled the rest of the bar into a worried silence, all eyes on them. He glowered down at the smaller man, and Lou felt her nerves ripple as she remembered what he'd said at the door. In turn Lafayette glared back up at him, standing his ground. If he was intimidated by Eric he didn't let on, not even a little.

Eric glanced over at Lou, who silently warned him with a small shake of her head to let him go. His fingers flexed into fists by his side, but beyond that he did nothing.

Lafayette didn't spare another word for Lou before he turned and stalked back off to the kitchens, taking what little hope she still had with him.

The rest of Merlotte's continued to stare, waiting for something to happen. She found herself wanting to lash out at them, to scream in their faces that she'd rip the throat out of any man who was still looking at them in next five seconds - it was a sure sign that she needed to get out of there.

At a normal speed, Lou stood and walked back out of the bar, trying to keep her head as high as she had when she walked in whilst avoiding the eyes of everyone there. That short walk felt like it never ended, and so the second she was out of the door, she started to sprint.

She needn't look behind her to see if Eric was following because she already knew he would be.

Lou didn't run for long, just going far enough that the temptation to run back to Merlotte's and drag Lafayette out of there kicking and screaming felt distant enough that she wouldn't do it. They were in a clearing within the woods when she skidded to a halt, Eric stopping a little steadier a few paces behind her.

At first Lou said nothing, just standing there instead, breathing heavily.

No, Lafayette didn't owe her anything. They weren't even particularly close during her human life, just friends who enjoyed their hours at work together and seemed to have a knack for making one another laugh. Yet still there was a part of her that told her he was out of line - that he had the opportunity to help and he refused to all the same.

"Fucking coward..." She whispered to herself. Her knuckles began to turn white they'd been balled into fists for so long, and she knew she needed to let it out before she went back.

The closest thing to a punching bag was a large oak tree a few feet away from her.

"That spineless, pathetic, fucking coward!" She shouted louder as her fist swung around and landed square on the trunk of the tree. Lou threw it with such force it broke through the wood with ease, splinters flying around her head and grazing her cheeks. "Fuck me?! Fuck me?!" She shouted again, landing another blow. Every time she hit her body ricocheted with the force, and before she knew it she was throwing punches over and over again, shouting profanities into thin air.

This anger was different to that which she was use to. That familiar burn that set her alight and kept her going was now a cold slab of ice, growing from her gut and leaving her feeling frozen, and Lou knew why it felt so different. This rage wasn't routed in passion, but in fear.

Because Lafayette was the only one left. The only person she thought might help them.

And without him, what were they going to do?

Her mind had gladly blanked Eric out until he came up behind her, and with firm hands he held her arms at her sides.

"You're hurting yourself." He said ever so gently.

"Get off me!" Lou shouted, writhing against him, her small hands not done yet.

"Louisa, you're hurting yourself." He repeated, turning her around to face him with ease despite her protests. Of course he didn't mean she was doing herself any physical injury, the wood being no match for her. Instead he was talking about the clear way in which she was torturing herself in that moment. He leant down just a little as to better catch her eyes, his own perfectly calm, but they did nothing to sooth her.

How could they, when bar the odd fleeting moment, she didn't see him inside them?

"No!" She shouted, pushing him away with what strength she had. If she weren't so wrapped up in her own emotions she might've felt bad at the obvious hurt that flashed across his expression, but that only seemed to make things worse, because Eric didn't look like that when he was hurt. He kept it quiet, and private. His expression now only served as another reminder of everything that had been lost. "Stop trying to make out like everything is okay, nothing is okay! My sister is literally possessed by a fucking witch! More and more of us are dying by the day, and it's only going to get worse! And you're a shell Eric, you're a fucking shell, and I need you back right now! I need you back, so I need someone to help us to get your memories back, because I can't do this on my own any more! I am not strong enough!" The tears ran from Lou's eyes in warm streaks, and she neither had the will nor the desire to stop them. As they flowed so did her words, saying at last everything that she had been holding in. She began to pace, her behaviour bordering on the hysterical. "And what if I can't?! What if I can't bring you back? And I can never tell you..."

Lou didn't finish her sentence, because there was so much to say, and none of it felt safe admitting yet. The reasons she'd left were still there, and tested though they felt now, rejecting them entirely felt foolish.

But god did she want to.

As tears continued to fall her feet came to a stop, and she turned to look over at Eric, who in turn had managed to conceal his emotions a little better, though she could still see the sadness in his eyes.

"I don't know what to do," She cried shaking her head. "I don't know how to fix this."

The sobs broke from her lips, and despite having pushed him away once, Eric walked over again and this time gently wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her tightly against him. Lou wanted to tell him no, but there was that growing feeling of comfort at his touch, and she needed that now more than ever. Her arms wrapped around his middle, and she pushed her face into his chest, staining his shirt with more bloody tears. His head moved gently to rest his lips against the top of her hair, which only made her cry harder. It wasn't really Eric, but for a few seconds it was easy to pretend that it was.

And Lou found herself wishing she'd never ran away from that embrace in the first place.

"We should go back." Lou whispered from where she laid on the dewy grass, eyes still staring up at the sky above her. Eric laid by her side, staring at the same stars.

She'd cried for a long while, and Eric's strong arms didn't falter for a moment of it. He held her as tightly as he could until her sobs slowly turned into sniffles, and she stepped away from him. Her face was well and truly marred with dried bloodied tracks, so feeling rather embarrassed, she took herself off to a stream a few meters away to clean up. There was no doubt in her mind that she'd regret feeling so vulnerable around him, but that never came. To be honest with him, it felt like second nature.

When she walked back over she found him laid there looking up at the sky, and with no other sense of a plan, Lou laid down beside him. The two remained there silently for some time, and she found her emotions slowly finding their proper place again the longer she laid. Bottling up her fear and anger wasn't quite as straight forward as she'd hoped, as the burning questions of what was to happen to them kept screaming through my mind, but Lou forced them down, and when the last hint that she might lose it was quietly quelled, she'd finally spoken up.

"Do you think they'll be mad with us?" Eric asked, looking across to her.

"Bill probably won't be happy, but with any luck he's got more on his plate than a pair of runaways." Lou stood up as she spoke, hoping she was right because she wasn't sure she had it in her to endure a berating when they got back. "Anyways, he might've found someone who can help us." The hope that he had sparked her desire to return sooner rather than later.

Eric stood as well, but when Lou began walking he remained motionless. Noticing, she glanced over her shoulder, about to tell him to follow, but with that subtle look she could tell something was off. His posture was tall, rigid almost, and his stare carried intent.

"You okay?" She asked, turning back.

Eric hesitated, but it was clear something was on his mind. Her only strategy was to wait for him to find the confidence to say whatever it was that clearly troubled him, but in the end, Eric softly shook his head and started walking. Whatever his intentions were, he'd clearly thought better of them, and the brief moment was gone.

It was a struggle holding back the sigh of defeat, because at that point she'd have listened to just about anything he had to say.

On arrival, Bill's mansion wasn't the frenzied scene Lou had anticipated and worried over. A guard spoke into his radio when he saw the two of them approaching the front door, no doubt alerting the others of their return, but other than that there was no apparent worry over their whereabouts which came as a relief. Though he might not let on, Bill clearly trusted her more than he showed, or else he'd have certainly sent people out to look for them. Instead it seemed he'd accepted they would be back in their own time. Surprising though it was, his trust was very welcome.

"Where's Bill?" Lou asked the usual guardsmen who let them into the house.

"His Majesty is in a meeting, he said you should join them on your return. They're in the study." He informed. Though she didn't doubt her hope was naïve, Lou still found herself believing that Bill may have found someone after all, and they might not be alone in this. Wondering who it might be she glanced back at Eric, who of course shrugged, knowing no one so having even less clue than she would.

The two followed instructions and walked through unannounced to the study. Upon seeing who Bill was speaking with, Lou felt the brief hope slip away as quickly as it had appeared.

Sookie Stackhouse sat on the sofa across from Bill, the two talking intently.

"You've got to be kidding..." Lou mumbled to herself, unable to fathom how this was Bill's big lead.

Since their run in, Lou hadn't spared much thought for Sookie, mainly because whenever she did she found her already frayed nerves were aggravated by the memory of her former friends opinion of her. Yes, she may have realised that some of what she'd had to say was true, but a lot had happened since then, which only added fuel to the fire in regards to Lou's disdain for Sookie's own self pity.

The ever incandescent blonde looked over, and unbelievably gave Lou a very timid smile.

"So what, we're going to chastise Antonia out of my sisters body, or-?" Lou's sarcastic question was aimed at Bill.

"I can help," Sookie tried to insist, in more of a way that sought to justify her presence than it did to be snarky, which was a total turnaround to her previous attitudes. "I'm fae, remember? What I can do isn't the same as the witches, but I've been working on controlling it. I think it might help, and Bill... Well, he said any help is something right now."

Lou wanted to be on board, really she did. It was news to her that Sookie possessed any kind of magic, and the fact that she was willing to help them was more than could be said for anyone else. Letting go of resentment without an apology was proving easier said than done though.

"And why the fuck would you want to help us?" Lou's words were biting. Contained though they were, her emotions were still bordering on the erratic, and she was just about begging for an excuse to fire them in somebodies direction.

She felt a hand gently take hold of hers, fingers weaving together before softly squeezing. Eric. Her growing irritation was palpable to anyone in the room, and such a gesture had served well in the past few days to ground her and keep her calm. He remained silent but with this careful touch he pulled her back from the edge of losing it again, so Lou squeezed back, both to silently say she was okay and to thank him for it.

"Because this is what friends do, Lou. We help each other."

Now she outwardly scoffed.

"We're friends again? Huh, I must've missed that memo." She was entirely exasperated with this conversation, and the evening as a whole, so before what little resolve she had left cracked for good she dropped Eric's hand and exited out of the study. She would've invited him to come with her, but if she didn't get some space there was a very good chance she was going to incidentally start taking it out on him instead. "I'm going to bed - come find me when you have an actual plan, Bill!"

Lou ran for the spare bedroom she should've gone to the night prior, nearly taking the door of it's hinges as she slammed it shut behind her. For the first time in days she was truly alone, and yet the buzzing in her mind didn't stop. Of course she knew she was being petty and spiteful, turning her nose up at Sookie's offer of help so bitterly, and yet she didn't care. Lou was so impossibly tired of debating the merits of forgiveness. Shutting the idea out entirely was far easier.

A soft knock came from the door.

"Go away." Lou warned, having no desire to speak to whoever it was.

"I'm not going anywhere 'til you talk to me." Sookie insisted from the other side. Unfortunately, Lou knew that she wasn't exaggerating when she said that. She'd sit outside that door all night and all day if she had to.

And for that, Lou wanted to curse her out even more.

Stomping back to the door, she pulled it open again a little too swiftly, evoking a small squeak of surprise from the girl on the other side, who clearly hadn't anticipated it being that easy to make her cave.

"Are you sure you're allowed to talk to me?" Lou inquired with clear sarcasm. "Or do you want to go fetch your boyfriend to come and glare at me some more first? God forbid I should be allowed to stand in your presence without being made to feel less than shit."

Sookie waited for her to finish, not even trying to interject.

"Or maybe you feel confident in your own abilities to make me feel like shit! Maybe you've perfected the art to such a fine niche that you know just what to say without him around! Maybe you're capable of calling me a selfish fucking bitch all on your own!" Lou continued, feeling a small sense of relief for making her contempt clear.

Again Sookie waited patiently, biting the inside of her cheek a little as she waited for her turn. When Lou didn't carry on, she saw her chance.

"I want to say that I'm sorry," She very feebly replied. "For being so rude to you. I was hurt, and you were right. It wasn't fair of me to think you should've put me before you... I guess I just never really thought about it like that that, that you needed to go and look after yourself for a while. I was too busy being angry with you for leaving." Her words were earnest, eyes wide and filled with quiet sorrow. "But I was only so mad because I missed you, Lou. I missed you so much." Tears began to gather at the rim of her lashes, and Lou's anger dissipated.

She hated that she couldn't hold onto her grievances when it came to Sookie.

"And I understand if you're still angry with me. I was awful to you, but I needed you to know that I really, really am sorry. And that I would also really like my best friend back." Closing the door in her face would've been easy. Shutting people out was a temporary fix to a long term problem, one that Lou had mastered quite well in three years. In fact when it came to shutting the world out, some would go as far as to call her the master. However, if her time home had taught her anything, it was that life was simply too short to stay mad at those you love. Even when they hurt you.

Words didn't feel like they would get her point across sufficiently, so instead she stepped forward, and with gentle arms she wrapped Sookie into a tight hug. Her own slender arms found Lou's body in turn and with no hesitation, holding her tightly as a very small sob slipped from her lips.

"I'm sorry too." Lou murmured, breathing in the scent that was exclusively Sookie's - like pure sunshine. "I'm so sorry I left the way I did... And I missed you too, Sook." It felt freeing to finally say it to someone, and admit that life had not been as care free as she would like them to believe. Lou had missed her chosen family, Sookie more so than most, and it was an unbelievable relief to finally tell her as much.

The world might be burning, but this was more than passing moment of peace. Lou had Sookie. Her best friend.

And that made her realise that maybe they could do this after all.

ooooh this week has been a long one lads - i won't lie i'm a little exhausted, but i'm still quite happy with how this one turned out! i think we're beginning to see lou crack a little, but not all together for the worst, so i'm looking forward to the next few chapters.

the next chapter is ready but i'm debating moving some things around, so it may be tonight or it might be early next week i get it live. anyways, as always i hope you enjoyed and love to you all xoxox

ALSO nearly forgot, i 100% made a spotify playlist for lou and eric because i'm a sad slut and i fucking love them okay. i have no idea how to share a link on here, so if anyone does, please let me know because i would love to share it with you guys xoxo