A/N: Eric is back! Maybe unfortunately? But I really am all about the HEA! We just gotta get there. ;)
Chapter 31
April 2, 1996
Eric had been on his best behaviour for more than three months. He did everything Stan asked of him, and more. And, slowly, Stan was giving him more and more freedom. Strangely enough, the better he behaved, the more Godric worried and the less he trusted Eric. But fortunately Godric wasn't the one who was holding his leash most of the time.
Part of being good meant not calling Sookie. He had told himself that he had to stop all contact with her so that he could get the Texas vampires to trust him enough to get away. And, really, that was true. But mostly he was too fucking scared to talk to her. And ashamed. Not just because she'd found out, either. It had taken him weeks to admit to himself that he had fucked those girls, in part, just to show off for Hadley. Because he got off on performing for her.
Worse was when he realized that part of him had been glad that he'd hurt Sookie. And that part of him had known all along that Hadley would run right to her and tell. He didn't even really know why he'd done it, except that he had wanted her to hurt the way he was hurting. And by the sound of her voice on the phone, he'd done a hell of a job. And he was afraid that he'd fucked up even worse than he had that night in the shed.
He couldn't reconcile that with who he was as a person. Or, at least who he'd thought he'd been. But he wasn't even a person any longer. And he was scared to death that his remaining humanity would just slip through his fingers until he was nothing but urges and instincts and depravity. He had never been this impulsive. This short-tempered. This edgy, and moody, and dark. This selfish, and compelled by his desires. He needed her, but did he deserve her? He was pretty sure the answer was no. But he couldn't lose her. She was his. And maybe she could keep him human, a little bit. He felt like he was running out of time. He was losing himself without her.
But tonight was finally the night. Stan had gone to Houston the night before and wouldn't be back until late. Isabel Beaumont was locked in her room with Hugo most of the time.
And Eric had discovered that he could fly. Fast. He figured he could make it to Bon Temps by 9:30, easy. From there, they could be most of the way to Kansas by dawn. They would be long gone before he was even missed. He had made sure that nobody had seen him. Flying was his secret.
He knew he should have called and given her a chance to get ready, but he was too scared that she would say no. Stan had insisted on teaching him how to manipulate the bond when he'd heard about it. Stan was all about vampires first, and he wanted Eric to be able to control it as much as possible. To control her. Eric didn't even know if that was possible, but he knew that he didn't want to. But he was going to use what Stan had taught him to feel her out. He would keep his end of the bond closed, so she wouldn't be able to feel him coming. He didn't want her to run away. And he didn't want her to feel how scared he was.
Sookie was surprised to hear a knock on the door when she hadn't heard a car coming. There was a void outside. She wasn't expecting Godric or Pam, but she would certainly welcome the visit. Gran was at the funeral home, and Sookie was kind of lonely. Ok, really lonely. She had brought the baby home after the first half hour of the visitation when he'd started to fuss. She was thankful for the excuse; everyone was there to see her and the baby and not Aunt Linda.
She got up and answered the door with Leif asleep in her arms. Bill Compton was standing outside. What in the world was he doing there?
"William Erasmus Compton. What can I do for you?"
He smiled. "I just wanted to let you know that I moved into my ancestral home across the cemetery."
Sookie smiled back. "I guess we're neighbours, then. Welcome back to the neighborhood."
"Thank you. I will be letting the Sheriff know as well. I also wanted to pay my respects to you and your grandmother. I understand your aunt passed away recently."
"She did. She was sick for a long time. Thanks, Bill. That's really kind of you."
She thought about inviting him in, and probably would have if it was just her, but she didn't know him well enough to trust him with the baby.
"Would you mind if I called on you again sometime?"
She hesitated. "Um. I have a boyfriend, Bill. He's just in Texas for a little while." She hoped she still did, anyway.
"As a friend and neighbour, then."
"Then, I guess so."
He said goodbye and left back toward the graveyard, and Sookie went back inside.
Leif was such a sweet baby, and so easy. He only cried if he needed something. And she was starting to figure out his mind a little. What hungry or wet or tired looked like in his brain. She was getting better at anticipating his needs. Gran said that she was going to spoil him, but she didn't agree.
So far, he hadn't shown any signs of having her disability, and she was so very thankful for that. For his sake, and for hers, too. She had seen what a burden it was to raise a telepath. Godric and Pam both said that he just smelled like a baby, pretty much. Maybe a little bit sweeter, but not as much as Jason, even.
Leif started to fuss again and she changed his diaper and then sat down to nurse him. He really was beautiful. Everyone said that he looked just like her, but she really thought he looked more like Eric. He had blue eyes, of course, and a fuzz of light blond hair. Her heart almost ached with how much she loved him. She could just stare at him for hours, daydreaming about Eric coming home and them being a family. Pam had hinted that they would let her and the baby move in if everything went Ok. Eric would need to stay with Godric for a while.
She switched sides, and soon the baby's eyelids were getting heavier until he was asleep. She kissed his forehead and just snuggled him. Loving him. And missing his daddy more than anything.
Eric was a few miles outside Bon Temps when he opened her end of the bond. It had been months since he had felt her like this. It was the way she felt when she looked at him sometimes. When she made love to him. He closed his eyes and savored it. Basking in her love.
But she didn't know he was coming. That he was nearby. His end of the bond was still closed tight. Somehow, he flew faster, and landed just outside the glow from her front porch light.
The yard reeked of vampire. It was very fresh, not more than an hour old, and seemed to lead right up the porch to her front door. He was in there with her. And she loved him.
He was filled with rage and jealousy. Consumed by it. His first instinct was to go inside and rip them both apart. To bathe in their blood. He was halfway to the porch when he stopped himself.
If he killed her, he knew that he would lose himself. Stan had told him that some makers forced their children to slaughter their whole families. And some never recovered after. His humanity would be completely gone. And he knew that wasn't inevitable. He had met enough vampires to know.
But she would pay. For breaking her promise. For going behind his back and finding another vampire whose mind she couldn't read. For giving someone else what belonged to him. And if he found the vampire that smelled like that, he would rip out his throat and tear off his head. Or die trying.
He went through the woods until he reached Merlotte's. And he waited.