I am incredibly sorry to the long delay and beg your forgiveness to those who have stayed with this story. I have to admit that I had some writer's block for some reason with this chapter. Not sure how it went, but hope ya'll enjoy it nonetheless. Please review and let me know if you like it. Thank you. And again, I'm sooooo sorry!
….
By the time I had woken up, Sookie had already left to go get ready for Arlene's engagement party. Arlene had an all-day 'pampering' planned for her bridesmaids, which probably entailed tons of booze, painting each other's nails, some sort of nude male entertainment, and then even more booze. Poor thing… knowing what Arlene had in store for her bridesmaids, I knew that Sookie was so going to be out of her element. She was never into that kind of partying, even in high school when everyone tends to let loose. In truth, I hoped that Sookie was even up for dealing with Arlene. Last night was traumatic to say the least. The dead body in the parking lot was a lot for all of us to handle, but then to find out in the same night that you were partly responsible for someone being turned into a vampire as well as still dealing with a killer on the loose who had their sights on our family, well, that was a lot to take. As at ease as I was trying to be, I knew that I was beyond worried on the inside, scared of what could come next. I may have looked calm and cool on the outside, but on the inside I was a mess. Not to mention I was dealing with my budding feeling s for a certain Mr. Tall, Blonde and Handsome. Sookie though… I was beginning to wonder if she was starting to crack under the weight of everything. After we got home from Bill's I had asked her if she wanted to talk, but she insisted she was fine and went off to her bedroom. Even though she tried to hide it, I could hear her whimpering through the thin wall that separated our bedrooms. She was, in vain, trying to be strong, trying to cry silent tears, but the emotion behind them just couldn't be contained. I wanted to go in there and comfort her, like she had done for me so many times growing up, but Sookie was prideful. She never wanted to be perceived as weak. To her, having someone see her breakdown would be some sort of certification of her inherent weakness, or so she thought, so I let her be. I wondered if that was the right thing to do or not. Maybe she needed me to tell her she didn't need to worry about what others thought of her; she was great the way she was. In the end, I waited too long and the crying ceased as she fell into slumber. The weight of the night finally took hold of me as well as I too fell into a deep sleep. Hopefully tonight would be a heck of a lot better than last night. ….
The morning went by quickly and soon I found myself at Merlotte's again. You would've never known that there was a murder here just last night. There were black and white paper lantern lights strung all around the parking lot and picnic tables placed around the perimeter of a makeshift dancefloor covered in black table cloths. The hurricane candles placed in the middle of each table cast a beautiful glow all around. It actually looked elegant. Sam had a stage set up at the end of the dance floor where the local band I used to sing with when I was in high school, Pulse, was set up to entertain. There were over a hundred and fifty RSVP's. Arlene was a popular girl, especially because of all the gossip she seemed to be able to gather, so the place was going to be jumping tonight. I prayed that there was going to be more than enough help because having Daphne working was going to be like being another man down. Hopefully she makes Sam really happy, because otherwise it's so not worth having her work here. I wondered if she's as much of a klutz at home as she is here. How's she's still alive, I don't know seeing as she practically set Merlotte's on fire twice, cut herself five times picking up silverware from the tables, and nearly broke her leg tripping over the welcome mat. Seriously, who can be that clumbsy?
"Thank you again for working tonight Chere." Sam said to me as I was getting the buffet table set up.
"Sam, it's really no big deal, but since you seem so thankful, how about a little extra for tonight?" I said with an extra big smile aimed at him. I didn't know if he would bite or not, but hell, it was worth a shot.
"Sure Chere, I have a feeling you're going to have your work cut out for you tonight. Oh, besides Daphne, Layla and Mary Clare, there's also going to be a new girl working tonight as well. Her name is Holly." Sam said as he eyed Daphne dropping a couple of plates on the other side of the lot. So, it seemed that despite his obvious affection for Daphne, he knew she was hell to work with.
"Well, it better be worth it Sam. Daphne and a new girl…" I said as Sam walked away with an 'I'm sorry' look on his face. So, I returned to setting the buffet table up. Normally this would have been something that Lafayette would do, but he didn't show up for work tonight and Terry was too busy cooking to do set up too. And, well, Terry was a nervous sort of fella since returning from the army, so doing a few things at once wasn't a good thing for him. Where was Lafayette though?
After about an hour of set up: stacking plates, silverware, cups, getting napkins, cleaning, etc., the place looked amazing. As I took it all in, I wondered if Arlene would appreciate all of it, after all, this wasn't her first time at the rodeo, so to speak, and in all likelihood, it wasn't about to be her last. At least I hoped not. Rene gave me the creeps. God that was horrible to think wasn't it, but it was the truth. Arlene could be incredibly catty, a gossip hound and self-absorbed at times, but she could also be a good friend, was frightfully loyal and she most definitely was a good mother. She deserved someone better than Rene. After a few moments of spacing out I finally heard the "Hi there" that the blond woman standing next to me in a Merlotte's uniform said to me.
"Uh, hello?" She said again while waving her hands in front of my face.
"Oh… my… I'm sorry, just spacing out here." I said to the new girl. "Are you the new hire Sam told me about?"
"Yeah, I'm Holly Cleary." Said the new waitress as she extended her hand to shake mine.
"Arabella Stackhouse. It's a pleasure to meet you Holly. Have you waitressed before? Do you have any questions?" I replied with a smile as I took her hand and shook it hello.
"Yeah. I've been waitressing for over seven years. It's like it's in my blood now." She said with a wink. "Sam filled me in on the particulars; so I think I'll be okay."
"Good, because I hate to have to tell you this, but that Daphne over there is an incredibly horrible waitress. We're going to be really busy."
"Well, it'll make the night go faster I guess." Holly said with a genuine smile.
"Yeah, I suppose so." I replied back with a sigh as we both went back to our duties.
…
Night had fallen and most of the guests had finally arrived for the party. The other waitresses and I had kept the food and refreshments coming in a timely fashion and cleaned up as fast we could behind everyone. Arlene, Rene and their bridal party (Sookie included) seemed to be having a great time getting down on the dancefloor. My old bandmates had really gotten better over the past couple years. They always had wanted to hit it big with their music. I loved music, but never enough to pursue as a career.
I finally was able to take a much needed break and decided I would text my MIA brother. I hadn't seen Jason in forever it seemed. With the murder investigation still looming over him, I was surprised that he had been so blasé about it and never seemed to be around. Also, he seemed really caught up in that Amy girl. I was glad that he found a connection with someone, but wanted to know more about her. After completing my text, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
"Hey there Arabella." Said Alcide looking as handsome as ever.
"Alcide! I didn't know that you were coming." I said as I wrapped my arms around him in a friendly hug.
"Yeah, well, I did some work for Sam yesterday after you passed my number to him and he said I should come. He thought that it'd be a great way to meet some of the locals and get more business." He replied.
"Well, he's right. Most of Bon Temps and some surrounding cities are here tonight. I hope you brought lots of business cards with you." I said, sincerely hoping that he'd get a few jobs from the party.
"Brought all I had on hand." Alcide replied before he was swiftly pushed aside by a force that appeared out of nowhere.
"What are you doing here dog? You should know better than to pursue what is MINE, especially after our conversation." Eric said with his fangs out. Where did he just come from, I thought?
"Eric! What on earth…" I said, but was cut off by a very mad vampire.
"You invite this dog and not me to accompany you to this… well… whatever this is?" Eric said so loudly that he was getting stares from those standing around us while he looked disdainfully at what he deemed to be a bunch of redneck fools. He clearly was not only angry with Alcide, but also with me.
"For your information, I didn't invite either of you to this party because I'm actually working it. Sam invited Alcide. I didn't even know he was coming until I just saw him here a minute ago." I said, even louder than Eric was talking before because he had now gotten my blood boiling with his attitude.
"Well, I saw you hugging this dog… When did you two get so chummy?" Eric replied. Was he jealous?
"Honestly Eric, I give my friends hugs hello and goodbye all the time. It's no big deal. And yes, we've become friendly since he's worked on our house, but my goodness, you're acting like I just rode Alcide like a porn star." I now yelled at Eric. This of course crashed the party to a grinding halt with the music stopping and everyone staring at us with their mouths wide open. While Alcide shook his head and rolled his eyes in frustration, he knew better than to get in the middle of this spat right now. He thought, 'Vampires and their damn pride.'
Sookie, noticing the situation (I mean really, how could she not) ran up to me and put her two cents in as well. "Eric, my sister can be friends with whomever she chooses. Alcide's done wonders on our house and he's a nice guy. What's your problem?"
Eric looked around and saw that his reaction to seeing Arabella and Alcide together was causing more of a scene than he would have ever intended and decided that the best course of action was to back down.
"There's evidently no problem here. Arabella, may I speak to you in private? I'll deal with you later, dog." Eric said retracting his fangs as he grabbed my arm and walked me swiftly towards the back of the property.
….
Eric stopped us when we finally got far enough away from the prying eyes of the partygoers.
"Eric, what the hell?" I asked, but before I could continue, he quickly bent down and kissed my lips. Normally this would have melted me right there on the spot, but I was still pissed off at him and frankly a little afraid for Alcide. So, I kept my lips shut, denying him entry to the warm, wet opening he desired while trying in vain to push him away.
He finally got the picture and withdrew his lips from mine. "What?" He asked, trying to act innocent.
"Are you kidding me?" I asked incredulously. "Eric, you just created a huge scene back there for no reason. What are you even doing here?"
"No reason? You were in that dog's arms. YOU ARE MINE. Do you know what that looks like when you so brazenly hold another man in your arms? It is an disrespect that won't do." He said looking at me like I was stupid to not understand. Then he continued, "And, I came because I wanted to see you" not realizing until that moment how true that simple statement was.
"Eric, while I'm flattered that you came by to see me, I truly am, I have to ask, do you think that I'm some sort of slut?" I asked as a look of surprise crossed his face quickly. He obviously wasn't expecting that response.
"No, of course not. Why would you ask that?" He replied.
"Because that is what you are insinuating when you react like the way you did tonight. I am very attracted to you Eric. I've gone out… with YOU. But, I have lots of friends, some of whom are male. Just because I give one a hug does not automatically mean that I'm going to strip naked and hump them right there and then. If you can't trust me enough to understand that, then there's no point in my pursuing us any further. I don't want to date someone who doesn't trust me."
Eric looked at her for a moment. Unfortunately while running his bar and in his other dealings with female humans, well, also female vampires, he had run into his fair share of sluts, users, etc. It was hard for him to trust anyone other than Pam or his maker, Godric. That was just his nature and what he had learned through his many years. However, looking into the eyes of Arabella, he knew that she was telling the truth. She wasn't like the rest. While he would concede that only to himself, he also did not want to crush the opportunity to bed her just yet either. He knew in order to have her give herself to him, he'd have to let her think that she was important. That she was right sometimes. He'd have to let her think that they were actually… dating. He chuckled to himself softly. Humans… always so messy with their emotions he thought. If only he could just glamour her… Oh well.
Arabella caught the soft chuckle and asked, "What's so funny?"
"This situation." He replied honestly. While he would not apologize to her, he would say this, "There are worse friends you could have, I suppose. Just don't get too friendly with that dog."
Knowing that was as close to an apology that she would get from Eric, Arabella replied back to him, "So, no more yelling about my friends and how I treat them, right? And… you promise not to hurt Alcide."
"For now. As long as he behaves." Eric said with a smirk as he slipped his arm around her waist and pulled Arabella closer to him.
"And why would he not behave? I don't usually make friends with dishonorable people. Alcide's actually a gentleman, Eric. Not to mention, he's totally hung up on his ex-girlfriend. They were together forever and she broke his heart, no, more like shattered it." Arabella replied hoping Eric would finally get that she and Alcide were just friends.
"Have you looked in the mirror lately? Any man would consider themselves lucky to have you on their arm. And while Alcide may indeed be hung up on his ex, that doesn't mean that he can't appreciate your… attributes." Eric said taking a stray lock of her hair and tucking it behind her ear while then bending down to run his nose slowly down her neck smelling her sweet, luscious scent, sending shivers down to her most private of areas.
"I bet you say that to all the ladies. Anything to get in their good graces, right?" Arabella replied flirtatiously while moving her hands up his back, creating an even closer embrace; letting him know that she had forgiven him. Even though she didn't necessarily believe that he thought she was 'so beautiful' and that he probably was only interested in her for her gift, she couldn't help but feel, in a strange way, that it was thrilling to know that he couldn't stand the thought of another man touching her. No one had ever made her feel so wanted before, no matter the reason.
Eric retorted while reminiscing on some of the more inferior conquests he had over his many years, "No. I really don't." He didn't have to. Ladies dropped their panties with just a look from him. He didn't need to win them over, at least not like the Stackhouse girls. But, he thought about what she had just said, and realized that she had no idea just how beautiful she was. So, slowly he moved his head upwards so that he could claim the lips that were denied to him earlier; the same ones who were now calling him... home.
"Is everything alright Chere?" Arabella heard Sam ask as Eric and she pulled away from their kiss.
Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she quickly replied, "Yeah Sam, just a misunderstanding."
"Okay, well, I need you back at work; Daphne's cut her finger on the ice sculpture." Sam said eyeing Eric, while deciding they looked fine and walked back to the party.
"I'll be there in a minute Sam." Arabella replied hurriedly while thinking, 'honestly who cuts their finger on an ice sculpture?'
Turning back to face Eric, Arabella asked, while tracing her finger around the buttons of his shirt, "Do you want to stay for a little while? The party isn't supposed to go for that much longer. I'll be off then." After getting so fired up with the situation she felt like she could use a release, wink wink. It had been a loooooong time and she was feeling majorly horny for the man (vampire) standing before her.
Sensing her arousal and interest in pursuing some carnal activities later, Eric said with a smirk, "How could I refuse?" This was going better than he planned, he thought.
"Okay, but I have to get back to work now." Arabella said as she took his hand and led him back to the party.
….
Holly, I and the other two waitresses busted our butts off over the next half an hour. It didn't help that Daphne was out of commission now. I had to admit, I was glad that Holly caught on quick because it would have been even shittier if she didn't. Sam better give all of us, well not Daphne, awesome bonuses for tonight I thought.
During this time, Eric was caught up in conversation with Bill and Jessica, who had arrived sometime after our public spectacle. Sookie joined them as well. It seemed that all was forgiven amongst her and Bill and Jessica as the conversation seemed to be jovial. Alcide remained at the party, though he was obviously avoiding Eric like the black plague. He had succeeded in getting some new business after a few of the locals were impressed by him not sulking away during the shouting match with Eric. Alcide certainly didn't want to stir up trouble with any vampires, especially not one as powerful as Eric, but he was glad to get the business nonetheless. Alcide came up to me as I was cleaning up a beer spill to say a quick goodbye and that he'd call me soon.
About ten minutes after Alcide left, my brother Jason showed up to the party, looking like a drowned rat. It appeared like he had taken a shower in all of his clothes. In fact, he was still dripping wet, shivering in the cool night air.
Sookie and I ran up to him and practically said in unison, "Jason, oh my word, what happened to you?"
Eric, Bill and Jessica all turned to the direction of the Stackhouses, each smelling that distinct smell on the male Stackhouse. Eric and Bill, being older, knew that the smell could only be one thing: dead vampire. Jessica knew instinctively the smell was wrong, but didn't know why. The three of them were compelled at an instant to join the Stackhouses in their conversation.
"Yes, Jason, do tell what has happened." Eric demanded with intensity so great that it made Jason cower. As sheriff, it was Eric's duty to maintain the peace in his jurisdiction and bring offenders to justice, no matter who the offender was.
"Aaaaammmyyyy, she, oh my God, she, she, she… I can't even believe she did it. She killed him." Jason stammered in a whisper of a voice, obviously upset by what he had seen.
"Jason, who did Amy kill?" I asked dumbfounded by my family's lack of luck these days.
"Eddie. She killed Eddie. He was… Oh my God, it wasn't his fault. She just went nuts." Jason continued.
"I think that we need to continue this conversation at Fangtasia; away from prying eyes." Eric said to the group as he noticed people were starting to get curious about what was going on.
"I can't leave just yet. I've still got at least a half an hour here and Daphne's out already for the night. Sookie, you're going to go with them, right?" I asked nervously. I didn't want to leave my brother high and dry, especially since it looked like he was in a jam, but I couldn't leave Sam without help tonight either. After all, the party was slowing down and would be over soon. What could go wrong in that short of a timeframe?
"Of course. Bill will you give me a ride so my sister can take my car?" Sookie replied.
"Yes, that would be no problem." Bill replied earnestly.
"I'll be there as soon as I can. I promise Jason." I said as I gave my brother a big bear hug, getting my shirt a little wet in the process, making it a little transparent, which didn't go unnoticed by Eric judging by the leer and smirk on his face.
Reluctantly looking away from Arabella's chest, Eric turned to face everyone and said, "Well, if we're all ready, let's head back to Fangtasia." He then grabbed Jason by the collar and added, "You, of course, are riding with me." There was no way he was letting this potential murderer of a vampire out of his sight. From the smell of Jason, it was obvious that he was a user of V at the least, which was an offense in and of itself.
And so Eric, Sookie, Jason, Bill and Jessica all left for Fangtasia leaving me terrified about what trouble my brother had gotten himself into this time.
….
Most of the food had been eaten at this point, so it really only left getting drinks to people and picking up glasses for me and the other three waitresses. At least this was easy work now.
"We're out of ice Arabella. Can you get some?" Asked Wendy, who was acting as bartender for the night since Tara was at a party hosted by Maryann tonight. Evidently she and Arlene had a fight about something (typical for Tara) and so Tara decided she'd rather go to Maryann's. Boy was I glad she wasn't around to see some of the action tonight because I'm sure I would've gotten an earful from her about how bad vampires were.
"Sure Wendy, no problem." I replied, grabbing two ice buckets as I headed towards the entrance of Merlottes.
It was eerie walking into the place that I knew so well because no one was in there; not a soul. I quickly tried to push the uneasy sensation I was feeling out of my head rationalizing that I was just being childish to think that way and continued on towards the ice machine behind the bar. I filled the first bucket quickly and then started to grab for the second one when the lights went out.
"Hello? Is anyone there? This isn't funny." I said while trying to get my bearings in the dark restaurant.
No one replied, but that didn't mean that there was no one there. Even though my eyes betrayed me in not adjusting to the lack of light as quickly as I would have liked, my ears could hear the faintest of steps heading in my direction. Before I could formulate a plan, someone grabbed at me from across the bar. Though the action was quick and took me by surprise, I was able to grab a glass that was nearby and hit my assailant upside the head with it, causing them to back off and allowing me to run out of the bar area and into the kitchen.
In the kitchen I found a nook to hide in, finally able to see somewhat better now that my eyes had at last adjusted to the lack of light. I tried to focus on the thoughts of the person trying to attack me. I saw a flash of a woman being attacked; strangled. She looked like she was a waitress like me, but with darker hair and a different uniform from my own. It chilled me to the bone to see the life escape her eyes as seen through the eyes of my attacker.
Unfortunately for me, I couldn't figure out who my attacker was even though I was able to see that memory of theirs. The rest of their thoughts were jumbled, black and red and angry. Nothing made sense. As I focused back to reality, I realized that the attacker was now in the kitchen with me. 'Shit' I thought as I tried to move to another, safer spot. The attacker sensed, or saw, not sure which, my movement and started for me. I grabbed onto one of the shelving units near me and pulled as hard as I could, dropping it and its contents behind me while mentally screaming, "Sookie, someone's trying to kill me in Merlotte's!" I hoped to God that she heard my cries and would send help as I ran as fast as I could through the dark towards the entrance, all the while praying I'd make it to the door before the attacker could catch me.
…
While Arabella remained at Merlotte's, the other group at Fangtasia sat in Eric's office finding out what happened with Jason.
"Jason, I'm not going to beat around the bush here. I know that you were involved somehow with the death of a vampire. I can smell it on you, as can Bill, Jessica and Pam (who had now joined the group). I want answers. I want the truth. And, trust me when I say that if you are lying, I will know and your sentence will be worse." Eric said, sitting with his elbows on his desk and his fingers pointed at his chin. His shoulder length hair framed his face in such a way that he looked pretty damn menacing. He added, "I suggest you start at the beginning.
Looking around nervously and then seeing Sookie's nod to go ahead, Jason started, "Okay… Well, you know Lafayette, right, he's a fry cook at Merlotte's?" Jason paused, and when no one said anything to him to acknowledge his question, he continued. "Well, Lafayette had a special 'relationship' with a vampire named Eddie. Eddie wasn't that handsome, in fact, and I mean no disrespect by this, he was downright ugly, for a vampire that is, but he knew that; said so himself, or so Lafayette told me. Anyway, he was unhappy with his situation and thought that if he had lot of money that he'd be able to make up for the things he didn't have, like sex. I don't know how he met Lafayette, but the two of them came up with a plan to sell Eddie's blood, you know, V. I think that Lafayette also traded some other… stuff… with Eddie as well, like sex. Anyway, after Lafayette told me about their situation I told Amy about it. She was my girlfriend, so I didn't think nothing about telling her, but, as soon as I told her about them, she got a look in her eye and I knew something was going to go really wrong, but I didn't know what until it was too late. We had used V in the past. I'm sorry you had to find out about this Sook. It just kinda happened. Anyway, all she started talking about was scoring more V, or trying to find our own vampire to make a deal with. I tried to get her mind on other things; I wanted to get clean; get off the V; but nothing worked to convince Amy to do the same. I even took her fucking camping to get her away from here, but when we came back, she was more determined than ever. Well, while I was at work, she followed Lafayette one night to Eddie's. After Lafayette left, she went up to Eddie's door and pretended like she was in on his and Lafayette's secret. Because of what I had told her, she knew enough to get his trust and let her in. After Eddie let her into his home, believing she was helping them with their scheme, she silvered Eddie."
Eric stopped Jason here and asked, "How do you know what she did at Eddie's unless you were there?"
"I only know because she called me and asked me to come and help her. She was crying hysterically and going on like she was going to be hurt so I rushed to Eddie's after she gave me the directions. When I got there, she said that Eddie had tried to attack her and that she silvered him to stop him."
"Didn't you wonder why she was there in the first place?" Eric asked.
"I… I didn't think. I loved Amy. I didn't want to see her get hurt. I didn't know what she was capable of until later. But yeah, I did ask how she got there and in. She confessed to following Lafayette and the rest, but swore that Eddie had tried to attack her. I believed her, at that point." Jason replied.
Eric rolled his eyes. It seemed that while all three Stackhouse children were blessed with an abundance of good looks, only two were blessed with brains. "Continue."
"Well, she said that now that Eddie knew who we were, there was no way we could leave him be, or he'd kill both of us. I didn't know what to do, so I followed her lead like a puppy dog and we carried Eddie into my truck and drove back to my house. Once we got there, we dragged Eddie down to my basement and chained him in silver to a chair. After that Amy said to wait with Eddie and she'd be right back. This was the first time I was alone with Eddie. He seemed so… afraid. He didn't seem at all like he was going to attack anyone, let alone Amy. I asked him what happened at his house before I got there and he told me that Amy silvered him, unprovoked, and that she was evil, a psychopath. He guaranteed me that if I let him go, he wouldn't hurt me. I didn't want to believe him about Amy, after all I was in love with her, but then she came down the stairs with a blood draining kit. I mean there were all these needles and vials and Lord knows what else. I knew then that he was right. I told her that what she wanted to do was wrong; that we needed to let Eddie go. She tried to convince me that Eddie was nothing, that he was dead already so what did it matter if we took his blood. I couldn't believe this was the same girl I fell in love with. She was the evil one, not Eddie. So I told her that I wasn't going to have any part of this. That I was going to let Eddie go. As I began to take the silver off of Eddie and he started to get free, Amy started screaming that there was no way that Eddie was going to just leave and not kill us. Before I knew it, she grabbed a wooden ruler that I had in my tool box and stabbed him in the heart. He exploded all over both of us. I yelled at her to get the fuck out of my house; which she did. Then I ran to my shower and tried to shower off everything. After that I went to Merlotte's. That's what happened; the God's honest truth. I never wanted anyone to get hurt. Eddie didn't deserve what happened to him." Jason said as he bent his head down into his hands and started softly crying to himself. He knew that he was in a shit load of trouble, all because of that stupid drug addict girl and V.
Eric stared at the sight before him. He hated human tears. They were useless and repugnant, especially from a man. Before he was able to get a word in though, Sookie spoke.
"Eric, please, you can see that Jason didn't kill that vampire and was going to free him. Please don't hurt my brother." But before she could say anything further to plead for her brother, she got a jarring sensation and then heard her sister's telepathic scream of being attacked. All the vampires in the room noticed her sudden stiffness. She then screamed out, "Oh my God, someone's attacking Arabella at Merlotte's. We've got to do something!" Before she knew it, Eric flew out of the room like a bat out of hell.
….
Just as I got to the front door of Merlotte's, it sprung open. Sam had seen that the lights went out in the restaurant and wanted to know why. I ran right into him and screamed at the top of my lungs, desperately trying to break free of his quick embrace. He grabbed onto my arms trying to calm me down saying, "It's me Chere, It's Sam."
My mind was still frantic, but as it sunk in that it was Sam, and not someone trying to kill me, I said to him, "Sam, the killer's here! The killer's here in Merlotte's!"
Sam held up his pointer finger to his lips to shush me while still holding one of my arms with his other hand. That's when we both heard the back door open and shut. The killer had left. This was also the exact same moment that Eric arrived. Seeing Sam holding onto me, he grabbed Sam and threw him across the room.
"No Eric!" I screamed as I ran over to Sam, placing my body protectively over his so that Eric wouldn't inflict any more pain on him. "Sam just saved my life. Someone tried to attack me in the bar a few moments ago. If he didn't come in when he did, I don't know what would've happened."
Eric was livid, to say the least, but relieved that the situation turned out okay. Arabella was safe. The shifter saved her though. She would be beholden to him now, whether she knew it or not. This made Eric feel… no, he wasn't going there.
"Tell me EXACTLY what happened." Eric commanded both me and Sam.
After we explained to Eric what happened, he told us to go back out to the party and pretend that nothing happened. Yeah, easier said than done, but at least I wouldn't be alone out there. He then began to examine the crime scene himself.
Eric walked around, sniffing the air and looking for any clues that could help him figure out who attacked Arabella. He saw the ice buckets strewn around the bar area and the broken glass that she had used to hit her attacker with. He noticed it shattered on the floor, but there was no blood on it, so it must have broken on impact with the floor, on not on the attackers head. Unfortunate, he thought. Getting a sample of the attacker's blood would've been helpful. He then continued back towards the kitchen, again sniffing the air, looking for clues. Damn restaurant… too many people had been in here tonight. There was no way he'd be able to discern which smell was the attacker's signature smell. He saw the overturned shelving unit. Pots and pans littered the floor. Smart girl, he thought. She successfully got out of a situation that could have easily taken her life. As smart and resilient as she was, however, she was still human, and therefore fragile. There was no way that he was going to leave her alone, not tonight and especially not until he found the bastard after her. He then exited the back of the restaurant and sought Arabella out.
Once he found her, standing with Sam, Eric said "We're leaving."
"Sam, is that okay?" I asked, hoping Sam wouldn't mind as I really wanted to get the hell out of there.
"Chere, of course. Don't worry about things here. I've got them covered. You'll take care of her, right?" He said looking at Eric, slightly suspiciously, but also hopeful that this vampire actually cared for his friend. Eric seemed murderous before when he thought Sam had attacked her. If he didn't care, he probably wouldn't have reacted with such intensity, Sam thought.
"She will be safest with me." Eric said as he took my hand and led me away from the party.
"Bye Sam, and thank you," was all I could get out before Eric started taking me away from the scene.
"And, thank you for coming Eric. By the way, how did you know?" I asked, confusion setting in on my face.
"Your sister heard your cry and let us know about your situation." Eric responded and added, "quite a unique, and dare I say… valuable… trick."
There was no use in trying to hide what I had done so I said, "Yeah, well, I didn't know if she would hear me. I've never tried to enter her mind from so far away before."
"Well, you clearly are stronger than you think." Eric said, and thought, 'stronger in more ways than one.'
Once they had gotten far enough away from the prying eyes of the locals, Eric, without warning, swept Arabella into his arms, bridal style, and the two shot up into the night sky.
She couldn't believe it. She was flying. Well, not she per se, Eric was doing the actual flying, but there she was, alongside him, in the air. It was scary, but amazing. You could see so much from up here. She was curious about how he was able to fly, seeing as he didn't have any wings that she could see. This more than made up for the shitty night she had thus far. As they slowed down, she was able to focus on the Fangtasia sign. Shit… Jason, she thought. In everything that had just happened, she had forgotten about her brother's situation. "Eric, is Jason going to be okay?"
"I'm still figuring that out. Let's go inside." Eric responded honestly as the two lightly landed at the entrance to his bar.
…
Everyone else had remained in the same places they were in before Eric left to assist Arabella.
Once the two of them entered the office, Sookie jumped up and hugged Arabella. "Oh my God Arabella, what happened?" Sookie asked as she backed slightly away from her sister while still holding onto her arms looking her over to make sure that she was indeed okay. Jason looked over at his sister and gave a small smile, acknowledging that he too was grateful that she was alright, but the wetness in his eyes indicated that he still was troubled by his own plight.
Arabella looked at Jason and then to Eric who indicated with a slight swipe of his hand in the air to tell her story. "Well…." Arabella began reluctantly, as she wanted to know what happened with Jason, but nonetheless recapped her story to the group. Pam looked at Eric with a sly smirk that only he caught. She then said, "Ditt husdjur verkar segt, för en människa. Jag är imponerad, men inte berätta för henne det. Jag skulle hata henne vackra lilla huvud bli för uppblåsta."
Eric just smiled at Pam and then spoke to the rest. "Yes, well, Arabella is safe for now, so let's get back to the other issue at hand." He then looked intently at Jason. The other vampires in the room knew that he was glamournig him, but didn't say anything. Eric knew that he could've asked Arabella and Sookie to enter his mind, but being that they were his sisters, they would most certainly lie to save his stupid ass. And for now, Eric wanted the truth.
"So, Jason, is what you told me the truth? Have you told us everything?" Eric asked while Jason was captivated by his glamour.
"Yes." Jason replied simply, but truthfully.
"Hmmm. This is an interesting situation that we have here indeed. Jason, normally V users are not treated… well… for their transgressions, especially when they are involved with the silvering and murder of a vampire. In fact, most are never heard from again, for various reasons." Eric said, cryptically, but still getting his point across that this was a serious matter. His comments inspired a gasp from Arabella and a mouthful from Sookie about how he wasn't being fair, yada, yada, yada.
"Enough!" Eric said with authority to Sookie. "I wasn't finished. While that would be the case normally, this of course is a different circumstance given that Jason here is your brother. You're a lucky man Jason Stackhouse and this is your lucky day. You will be given the chance to redeem yourself and expunge your record with me."
"Huh?" Jason replied.
Eric and Pam shared a smirk and an eyeroll as they both knew the kid was as dumb as a bag of rocks, no, dumber. "Again, I wasn't finished. Since I can't very well let you leave here with no punishment whatsoever, this is what you will do to make amends. There is a sheriff in Dallas that is in need of assistance in getting information about a nuisance in his territory. I'm sure you all have heard about the anti-vampire church, the Fellowship of the Sun. Well, they've been secretly attacking vampires in the Dallas area. Someone needs to infiltrate the church, get close with the leader, Steve Newlin and his very attractive wife, Sarah, who we have heard likes attractive men. We need more intel on what their end game is; what they are after. Jason, you will the person to get it."
"Ummm, no offense here Jason, but Eric, Jason would probably not be the best choice for something like this. " Arabella said, saying, but not saying, what everyone in the room was thinking. Jason was a dim bulb. How was he going to succeed? She didn't want to see her brother get killed.
"Yes, well, he does have certain… impediments, but honestly they may play in his favor. Once the Newlins and others in the church get to know him, they would never suspect that he was playing them for fools." Eric replied, thinking this may work out better than he thought.
"I can do this sis, I can. Eric, let me do this and prove that I'm not some dumb V-head. I'll serve their asses to you." Jason said, too eager as far as Sookie and Arabella were concerned to jump from the frying pan into the fire.
"Then it's settled. You will travel to Dallas in two days. Pam and I will make your arrangements. Pack lightly and be ready to go." Eric said to Jason, who looked relieved to not be in more trouble than he thought he would be. Sookie and Arabella knew better and realized that this 'punishment' was probably going to be worse than Jason thought.
"And as for the two of you" Eric said looking at Arabella and Sookie, "You two should not go back to your home tonight, or at all actually, until Arabella's attacker is found and taken care of. They may try to come back and finish what they started. Bill, I suggest you take Sookie back to your house where you can have better tabs on her. I'll send a day person to assist during the day. Arabella, you will stay here at Fangtasia with me."
"Now wait just a minute here Eric. I will not be sent out of my own home by some psycho." Sookie started to say with that stubbornness that for sure had gotten her into trouble in the past. But, before Eric could counter her stupidity, Arabella chimed in…
"Sookie, I don't think that Eric is trying to say that we can't take care of ourselves. He's just trying to help us. And honestly, I don't know that I can sleep in that house right now, what with Gran and Tina being killed there, and me being attacked, again. I just want to get a good night's sleep and not wake up to every sound the house makes. Let's just do this until the killer is found. I don't want you or me ending up at the morgue anytime soon."
Sookie didn't like the situation, but she relented, knowing her sister was right. Defeatedly she said, "Okay sis, but just until that bastard is found. After he's caught, we're moving back home."
"Definitely." Arabella replied, relieved that Sookie didn't put up as much of a fight, as usual.
"Well, if we're done here, I will take Sookie and Jessica back to my home." Bill said.
Jessica added, "Wow, this is the most excitement I've had in a long time. Who knew a po-dunk town could be this interesting?"
Pam and Eric let out a chuckle, because the new vamp was right. Bon Temps was a little shitty back-ass town, but they had to admit, there was a whole hell of a lot going on there lately. Arabella, Sookie and Jason however glared at her, not exactly liking the way that Jessica just described their hometown.
"That's fine Bill. And seeing as your heading in the direction already, see to it that Mr. Stackhouse here gets to his home as well. Oh, and Mr. Stackhouse, don't get any funny ideas about trying to run. I WILL FIND YOU. And, if you could, gather up as much information about your AMY. I believe she and I need to have a little chat."
"Sure Eric, no problem." Jason responded. He didn't like the idea of that crazy bitch running free. Who knew who else she might kill…
After that group left, Eric noticed Arabella had trudged over to the leather couch getting ready to lie down and go to sleep. She looked exhausted, to say the least.
"No Arabella, you don't need to sleep on that couch. I have better accommodations. Come." He said as he gently took her hand and led her out of the office and down the hall to another locked room. He punched in a number into a keypad and opened the door to a well-equipped bedroom.
"Wow, I wasn't expecting… this." Arabella said as she looked around the room. It actually was very tastefully decorated with a masculine, modern flare.
"Not all vampires sleep in coffins. If I have to sleep at Fangtasia, this is where I do it. I don't show this room to many. Vampires do not like to let others know where they sleep for obvious reasons, so I trust you'll keep this information to yourself.
"Of course." Arabella replied with a yawn.
Eric himself was starting to feel the pull of dawn approaching. It had been a long night indeed, and didn't appear to offer the desserts that he had hoped it would earlier, but there would still be time for that later. Eric was after all a very patient vampire. He always got what he wanted, in the end.
"The sun will be up within the hour. You can freshen up in the bathroom over there if you would like." Eric said as he pointed to the en suite bathroom attached to the back of the bedroom.
"Thank you Eric, for everything." She said as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and then turned to enter the bathroom.
Eric in the meantime stripped down to nothing and got under the sheets. It wasn't that he was trying to bed her tonight; he wasn't stupid enough to think that would happen and honestly he was tired; it was just the way he always slept, nude.
A few moments later, Arabella came out in her Merlotte's shirt and her boy short underwear. She had taken off her shorts because she knew they would be uncomfortable to sleep in. She looked mighty temping to Eric, but still, both were exhausted and needed the sleep.
Arabella sleepily walked over to the bed, lifted the covers enough to get under them herself, said goodnight to Eric, rolled over and fell asleep. Eric didn't think that he ever saw someone so tired that they just conked out like that, but then again, she had one hell of a night. He chuckled to himself while thinking about how she might react the next day when she no doubt would find him lacking any clothes. He couldn't wait.
….
Pam's Swedish line in English: Your pet seems resilient, for a human. I'm impressed, but don't tell her that. I would hate for her pretty little head to get too inflated. (I got this translation from Google Translate so I have no idea if it's correct or not.)