Before I respond to the most recent reviews, I just wanted to remind everyone that I have a poll about whether or not to include Nora in this story. Majority rules so if you can, please vote!
To Chibichibi98: Thank you again for your wonderful review! I hope that people like when I take something that happened in the show and tweak it a bit, like the bombing, or Rene and so forth. As for Jessica, I really thought that Bill was a crappy maker, especially in the beginning. I wanted to show how Godric was definitely a better maker, though we all knew that already right Godric will be moving to Bon Temps, so I'm sure their paths will cross again. I haven't mentioned Bill's background yet… it'll come up eventually though.
To Mistress Vixen 101: Thank you! I hope you continue to read and like it!
To Jofrench22: Well, she was pretty freaked out when she ran out of the nest. But don't worry; Godric will understand not leaving a note or anything. Yeah, Eric… He was a mess, right. But, he isn't going to let that stop him from trying to win her back.
To Emzy2k11: Eric has been a vampire for a long time, and a pretty selfish one at that. Arabella has broken through all that and worked her way into his heart, but he wasn't prepared for that. Old habits die hard and he makes some mistakes, some big mistakes, but he will learn from them and grow. Will it be enough? I hope you continue reading to find out ;)
To Madge: It seems that Nora is not a favorite of anyone's that's voted so far. It's not looking good for Eric's sister…
To Guest: Yes, they do deserve to feel all that guilt. I hope that it didn't seem too odd to have Bill forgive Sookie so easily, but he is coming from a different place than Arabella would. Bill is a vampire who's done horrible, horrible things. He also has a blood bond with Sookie and can feel if she is telling the truth or lying and can feel exactly what she's feeling, so he knows that her words are true. I don't want to say too much more here though…
To Robin: Thanks! It gets harder to write these the further I get into the story because there's so much to think about now, but I'm going to try to be good about getting them out quicker.
To Blake: Yeah, she didn't really click with me either.
To Cam: I'm working the blood bond just a little differently in this story, where the older the blood is, the more potent and also an older vampire can control the intensity of the bond, making it even more potent, which Eric did to Sookie. Again, not an excuse, but it did not help the situation. I wrote a little bit about why I had them hook up in my A/N for chapter 31. It was necessary for the story.
To Guest: Memory loss, that'll be interesting. I don't want to give away too much here, but I will say that Sookie will not be involved with that. What I will say though is that Eric will not fall in love with Sookie in this story, ever.
Thank you all again for reading and reviewing! And thank you to those who recently favorited or followed the story. I hope you all like the ride!
…
When we got off the plane we were able to drive home in Jason's truck. He had parked it in extended parking at the Shreveport airport, where it waited to take us home. I was glad for it because it made getting home that much easier. 'I could use easier right about now.' I thought to myself, trying not to think about anything else.
The drive home was a blur and thankfully it was blissfully quiet as well, since both of us were pretty tired. However, once we hit the country roads leading to Bon Temps, my senses perked up. It was early, just before sunrise, but you could already start to see specks of sunlight trying to poke through the mask of night. I rolled down the windows knowing that this time of day was the best to smell the sweet jasmine and honeysuckle that soaked the air. I inhaled deeply; taking it in, reminded once again of the beauty and simplicity that home had to offer.
As we got closer to my house, we drove through town. Nothing was open yet, but it felt so good to be around places that felt familiar, safe, and loved. It wasn't much of a town, but it was ours, and these people, our friends and family.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, we arrived on my street and soon Jason pulled his pick-up truck onto the gravel drive. At this point, I saw the sun rising in the distance. 'It's a new day. I need to make the most of it.' I thought to myself, taking in the sight of the beautiful rays of gold that peeked through the trees on our property. I was home. I was safe. I was away from the pain… well, at least physically. Unfortunately, there was no running from my mind. But, I was determined to keep moving on. I wasn't going to let Eric bring me down. He broke my heart, but he wasn't going to break me, not now.
"Do you want me to stay here until Sookie comes home?" Jason asked when the truck came to a stop beside the house, bringing me out of my reflection of the morning.
"No, I'll be fine Jason. Thanks for the offer though." I replied before asking him, "Hey Jase, I'm going to need to get a new phone today, do you want to come with me?"
"Uhhhh, yeah, sure. What time?" He responded quickly.
"How 'bout noon? We could grab lunch and then go to the mall." I replied.
"That doesn't give much time for sleep." He said, counting on his fingers how many hours of sleep he could get between now and then.
"No, but I wasn't going to sleep, not yet anyway. If I go to sleep now, I'll be up all night and I do not want that." I said aloud thinking I don't need to be on a vampire schedule.
"Yeah, I guess you're right about that. You know, noon 'ill be good. I'll quit my job with the Renard Parish and then head over to your house." Jason said nonchalantly.
"Wait, what? You're going to quit your job? Why?" I asked, confused.
"I want to change my life Arabella, make it worth more… mean more. How can I do that being a supervisor for a road crew?" Jason said with thought.
"Okay, I get that, but shouldn't you have something lined up before you up and quit your job? How are you going to pay your bills?" I said, hoping he'd see the logic in that.
"Oh, I got that planned out already." Jason said, looking pretty happy with himself.
"Okay, you got me, what's your plan?" I asked, a little worried at what the answer might be.
"I'm going to be a deputy for the Bon Temps police department." Jason answered proudly.
"What? No offense here Jase, but how are you going to do that? Don't you have to go through sheriff school or do some sort of training?" I asked, pretty sure you don't just walk in and get a job like that.
"Naw, I mean, yeah normally, but I got an in." Jason said with a wink.
Now I was really worried. "Jason, what kind of 'in' do you have?"
"I've got pictures of Sheriff Andy and Jane Bodehouse let's just say…en fla-tu-lence." Jason said, giving me a 'you know what I mean look' by moving his eyebrows up and down.
I stared at Jason for a moment confused, because I really didn't know what he meant, I mean, how do you take pictures of people breaking wind, before it dawned on me, "Oooohhhhh, you mean en flagrante."
"Yeah, that. Isn't that what I said? Anyway, it was some real nasty stuff too." Jason said.
"They were having sex? Wow. I mean, Andy could do so much better, well, maybe not a lot better, but better than Jane." I said out loud thinking about the town drunk. Even one-eyed, five-toothed Pete would have second thoughts about taking a tumble with her. She's been ridden more times than the Tea Cups at Disney World.
But then it also dawned on me what he intended to do with the pictures. "Jason, let me get this straight, you want to extort your way… onto the police force?"
"Yeah... that's sorta like a bribe, right?" Jason said without batting an eye before continuing, "Anyway, you know, I thought that I'd have to use those pictures to get myself out of trouble. But ain't it something that I'm going to do something good with them."
"Why didn't you use them when everyone thought you were the Bon Temps killer?" I asked thinking since he was going to extort Andy now; you would have thought he'd have done it back then.
"Well, I didn't have them then." Jason responded simply. It was obvious he would've if he had them then.
"Okay, when did you get them then? And, Lord help me for asking, how did you get them?" I asked, kinda not sure if I really wanted the answers.
"When I went back to my house after the whole Amy killing the vampire…" Jason started to say, suddenly getting a little sad.
"It's okay to be sad Jason. Even though she was a crazy V-addicted psycho, you still cared for her…." I responded softly, seeing now just how much Jason had cared for the crazy girl and how sad he was at what happened. 'It's too bad that the first girl Jason really cared for turned out to be literally a psycho bitch. Looks like Sookie's the only one lucky in love right now.'
"Yeah, I did. She wasn't always crazy. When she wasn't on V…" Jason said, nodding his head up and down. He couldn't help that he cared for her. They shared some good moments together.
But then he cleared his throat and continued, "Anyway, when I went back to my house to pack after Eric said I needed to go to Dallas, I saw that Amy had ransacked my house. I guess she was in a hurry to pack and get out of Bon Temps. While I was trying to clean up the mess a little before leaving, I found the pictures under my bed. You know, I have to say that I didn't think Andy was into that kind of shit. Jane on the other hand, I wasn't surprised." Jason said, snickering, thinking about the images.
"Okay Jason, I don't need to know any more about what's in those pictures. I'd actually like to be able to sleep tonight. But anyway, how would Amy get those pictures? I didn't even know she knew them." I asked.
"Yeah, those pictures freaked me out a little when I first saw them, but after I flipped them over, I saw there were notes written on back, like dates, times, places. Did you know that Maryann lady has been having parties? And not just any kind of parties, like orgy parties." Jason answered sounding like he was thirteen again.
"What? Holy cow! How do you know that?" I asked, shocked. 'Oh God, Tara's been totally under her spell.' I thought to myself. 'I'm going to have to get a hold of Tara once I've got some sleep under my belt.'
"The notes on those pictures… they all had different dates and times, but the place was always the same, Maryann's. And, Amy wrote on each what was going on, like if there was a lot of drugs, or sex, or both and so on." Jason said, looking like he felt like he missed out on a helluva good time.
"So how did Amy get these pictures and you didn't know about them? I thought you two were attached at the hip for a while." I asked suspiciously.
"Yeah, we were, but V took more out of me than her. I guess she musta had a higher tolerance or something. Anyway, she'd usually come down from the high faster than me, and when she did, she was always antsy. She said that taking photography eased her mind, so she'd run out with her camera while I was still riding the high." Jason said, a little embarrassed to be sharing this with his sister, but she already knew about his use, so what harm was there in letting her know this part of it.
"So she must have stumbled on the parties while looking for photo opportunities." I said, thinking aloud.
"Yeah, that sounds good." Jason agreed, but then asked, "But why wouldn't she just join in on the parties.. or tell me about them?" He knew he would have, had their roles been reversed.
"I don't know why she didn't tell you about the parties. Maybe they freaked her out a little if there were orgies going on. But it doesn't surprise me about the pictures though. She probably figured since she was into some illegal activities; why not get some blackmail material to keep just in case." I reasoned. "It's what you're planning on using them for now anyway, aren't you?"
"Well, yeah. I guess she was pretty smart to get those then." Jason thought sadly.
"Speaking of which Jason, do you really think it's a good idea to extort your way onto the force? I mean, first off, it's illegal and secondly don't you think that Andy, who'd be your boss, would be pretty dang po'd at you?" I asked, hoping he'd reconsider.
"Look, I know it's not the best way to get the job, but I know I'd be real good at it sis. I never did good in school, not like you. I pretty much had to screw Miss Steeler to pass senior English."
"What!" I exclaimed.
"I was failing and she was pretty and lonely and horny. I couldn't fail and not graduate Arabella. I was the high school quarterback, a hero. I would've looked like a complete idiot if I didn't graduate." Jason said, ashamed, not only for fooling around with the teacher, but also for not being smart enough to get through school with his brains instead of his cock.
"I had no idea that happened to you Jason. Teachers aren't supposed to do that with students. She took advantage of you." I replied sadly, sorry that he went through that.
"Yeah, maybe. But I was eighteen at the time and I graduated. I've made my peace with it. But that wasn't my point anyway. My point was that I'm no good with school and tests. If I tried to get into the police academy, they'd laugh my ass out with just the entrance exam." Jason said.
"But if you studied real hard…I could help." I replied, grasping at straws, although I knew deep down he was right. He'd never get in the regular way.
"Naw, …it wouldn't work." Jason said, kind of angrily, but then continued with determination, "It don't matter how I become an officer, I just know I'd do real good at the job. You know, when I was in Dallas, I actually was able to get them vamps some useful information and those jerk church people never even knew I was a spy. Everyone always underestimates the dumb guy."
"Okay Jason, I get it. For what it's worth, your hearts in the right place and I think you'd make a pretty darn good officer too." I replied, knowing he needed to do this and needed reassurance.
"Thanks sis. That does mean a lot to me." Jason replied with a big smile. "Ummm, if you could keep this all to yourself, I'd be much obliged. I don't need Sookie getting all judgmental on me."
"This isn't my story to tell Jason. The only way she'll know is if you tell her, or Andy arrests you." I replied with a soft smile. I knew that Sookie could be hard on Jason at times. She would go through the roof if she found out about this. But really, this only affected Jason. It wasn't my place to blab this to anyone.
"Andy ain't gonna arrest me. You should see those pictures… there ain't no one that'd want them to come out." Jason said, shaking his head. 'God, what was in those pictures?' I thought to myself.
"Okay, okay…no need to go there. Anyway, come back around noon." I said as I opened the door of the truck. "Oh, before I forget, I'll call Sook and let her know we got home okay."
"Oh yeah, good thinking. See you later sis." Jason said as he turned around and drove off to his house, leaving me finally alone, with my house.
…
As I walked into my home, I couldn't help but feel the soothing in my soul that I always felt when coming home, a strange sensation that said that everything was going to be okay. Maybe the house took on its warmth from Gran. She made our house a home, nurtured us, made us feel loved and wanted. And even though she was gone now, I could still pick up those feelings every time I stepped foot into our home. And now more than ever, I was so very grateful for it. But today the feeling was something more; it felt like the house was letting me know that it was okay to finally let the heartache and anguish loose so I could free my heavy heart from their hold on it.
I had a feeling before we left for Dallas that it wasn't going to be an easy-peasy lemon squeezy kind of thing, but I wasn't prepared in the least for everything that happened. The crazy V-dealing church, the basement from hell, Jason being kidnapped and tortured in that nasty basement, the would-be rapist I killed, the guy who blew himself up, and then Eric; any one of those things would've made for a really fucked-up bad day. I got them all at once. And, while all of those things were horrific and came out of nowhere, I thought that Eric would at least be there for me, looking out for me. He was the one person there I thought I could count on and he was playing me for a fool. He didn't care about me; he was using me to find his maker. Eric had completely blindsided me with his ramblings about me being nothing but a plaything to him. I wasn't stupid enough to think that maybe he loved me, but I thought he cared, at least on some level. But he had a thousand years on me to perfect whatever game he was playing; a game that I didn't even know I was playing. I didn't stand a chance.
Now, as the thoughts and feelings that I had successfully had kept at bay would no longer be held back, I knew I needed to find a quiet place to hide for a little while, away from the world and its issues. So, I emptied out my pockets into the blue porcelain bowl that was on top of the antique chest in our foyer and ran up the stairs to my bathroom. Once I got into the bathroom, I turned on the faucet to the porcelain claw foot tub and stripped as quickly as I could, wanting to get the final reminder of that awful night off of me. I threw Luna's sweats into the garbage, knowing I never wanted to see them again. 'I'll buy her a new pair at the mall.' I thought to myself. I just wanted to wipe the slate clean.
I then stepped into the filling tub, feeling my body and mind relax as the warm water flowed onto me. Finally being alone and able to let go of everything I had been keeping at bay, I cried and cried and cried. I cried so much that I wondered if my tears filled up at least half the water in the tub. I just couldn't hold them back anymore. I had to hold them back at the nest, the ride to the airport, at the airport, and then on the ride home. I just didn't have anything left to hold them back anymore. I cried over my heartbreak. I cried over feeling like a fool. I cried over killing another man. I cried over watching someone blow themselves up. I cried over having another vampire claim me, not really knowing what was going to happen with that. I cried until my tear ducts were as empty as I felt inside.
By the time my tears ran dry, the water in the tub had grown cold. I hadn't noticed at first because I was so lost in my grief. Finally coming back to my senses, I quickly cleaned myself and unhooked the drain stop. I sat holding my knees bent with my arms wrapped around them, as I watched the water slowly go down the drain, wishing that my troubles would do down the drain with the water. I knew it was just wishful thinking, but I vowed that the tears I shed here would be the only tears I would shed over all that. I knew the hurt wouldn't go away easily, or quickly, but I wasn't going to waste any more tears on things I couldn't change or people who weren't worth them.
…
I kept myself occupied after the draining bath by doing busy-work. I left a message for Sookie on her cell phone letting her know that Jason and I were back home safe. I figured she wouldn't answer and would still be sleeping because she was with Bill. She always slept later when she was with him. Then I paid some bills, checked the fridge for what we needed at the grocery store and made a list, and picked out a new purse from my closet, seeing as my old one was full of glass back in Dallas. Before I knew it, noon came around and Jason walked through the front door.
"Hey sis, you ready?" He asked, somehow looking refreshed.
"Yeah, I guess." I replied feeling more tired than I was trying to let on. The crying didn't help my already exhausted state.
"You sure you don't want to catch a nap? No offense, but you look like hell." He asked, looking at my bloodshot eyes.
"Gee, thanks. But, no, I meant what I said before; I want to be able to sleep through the night tonight." I said, meaning every word, as I grabbed the new purse I brought down from my room and headed towards the door.
"Okay then… You want to head to Merlotte's?" He asked.
"Yeah, I need to talk to Sam anyway about getting my hours again." I said before asking, "Hey, did you quit?"
"Uh-huh. They were real nice about it too. They're gonna throw me a party." Jason said real happy with himself.
"Annnndddd…. Did you talk to Andy?" I asked, wondering if my brother was able to pull that off.
"No, not yet. He's gonna meet up with me at Merlotte's." Jason said like he was going to meet up with Andy for a beer and not shake him down for a job.
Since he didn't seem to be worried about Andy, I figured I wouldn't be either. It's not like I had the energy to anyway. "Okay, then let's go." I finally said as we walked over to his truck and headed to Merlotte's.
…
When we got to Merlotte's, the place was empty. I couldn't remember ever seeing it look like that, well, besides when it was closed. The only person I saw in the whole place was Daphne, who was trying to refill some of the condiment bottles, and failing miserably, getting mustard all over the place.
"Oh, hey there Arabella, you hear to eat?" Daphne asked, still trying in vain to get another bottle filled. "Ohhhh!" She moaned loudly as some mustard squirted on her face.
"Uh, yeah. You're open, right?" I asked looking around again. I was a little unsure because there was literally no one in the place.
But then I turned my attention to the other voice that just entered the room, "Yeah, we are, it's just the Bayou Open Rodeo is going on today in Monroe." Sam said as he walked over to check out the mess that Daphne made on the bar. He sighed and grabbed a dishcloth, quickly wiping the mess up, knowing he'd have to clean it up swiftly before it stained the bar.
"I'll get ya'll in just a sec. Why don't you two grab a seat wherever." Daphne said, wiping the mustard from her hands on her apron and heading to the bathroom to clean up.
I cocked my eye up as I looked at Sam while he tossed the dirty dishcloth in the bar sink.
"I don't want to hear it chere…" Sam said with a hint of humor in his voice. He knew Daphne sucked at her job, but he was sleeping with her and couldn't fire her.
"I didn't say a word Sam." I said, trying to look angelic.
"Uh-huh." Sam said suspiciously, but with a smile (he knew he was busted) as we all walked over to one of the many open booths.
Jason and I sat down while Sam stood next to the booth. "The usual for you two?" He asked. Sam was the kind of owner who knew what most of his good customers (and in my case waitresses) liked to eat. It was one of the things that made Merlotte's feel like home.
"Yeah Sam, that'd be great." I said smiling tiredly up at him.
"Yeah, thanks Sam." Jason said while Sam nodded and walked back towards the kitchen to put our order in and let Daphne know she could take a break.
While Sam was walking back to our table with a beer for Jason and a diet coke for me, the door opened. My back was to the door, so I didn't see who it was, but I could tell from the way Sam's face dropped that trouble just walked in. 'Great. Just what I need.' I couldn't help but think to myself.
"I thought I made it clear to you already Maryann, you're not welcome here." Sam said irritably to who I now knew was the possible Maenad.
"Sam, now I thought we were all kosher after I forgave that $100,000 loan." Maryann said with flirtatious frown as she walked up next to Sam. Sam looked like he wanted to jump out of his skin at her nearness. 'What's going on between these two?' I wondered to myself.
Jason and I just sat there quietly looking at each other for a moment, because we didn't know what was going on. But, of course, Andy decided to show up at that exact moment. "Stackhouse! What you bothering me for? You better be paying for lunch!"
"Wish me luck sis." Jason said as he got up and walked Andy over to a booth on the opposite end of the restaurant. 'Great, now it's me, Sam and weirdo lady.'
"If you take a seat somewhere, I'll get you a menu." Sam relented. I could tell that he didn't want her anywhere near Merlotte's but evidently he felt obliged to her.
"Thanks Sam. I am rather hungry and I heard that your place was the place to eat at…" She started to say as she looked around and noticed pretty much what Jason and I did when we stepped in. The place was dead. But she continued, "Ummm …. at night?"
"Most people are at the rodeo in Monroe today." Sam snapped at her obvious slight, although I had to admit, the place looked like a ghost town.
"Ohhhh. Well that explains it. Anyway, I am looking forward to eating quite a bit." Maryann said with a Cheshire cat smile. "Arabella, you look like you could use some company, why don't we sit together; my treat. You know, Tara has nothing but good things to say about you and your sister. I feel like I know you a little already, but it's always better to hear from the horse's mouth, right?" Now it was my turn to have my skin crawl at her nearness.
I looked to Sam for some help, but he seemed to be in his own world as he walked off to get Maryann a menu, brought it back to the table, threw it down and hustled back to the kitchen. 'Thanks Sam.' I thought because now I was stuck with Maryann by myself.
"So Arabella, Tara told me all about how you all grew up together. Your grandmother sounded like such a strong woman, raising her grandchildren by herself, no man to help. I admire that a lot. And you, travelling across the states, unafraid; it's inspiring, truly. You know, I could tell that Tara was envious of your travels. I'm really working to help her become that strong woman that I know she is and that you are. It's hard though, her mother really ran a number on her with the drinking and neglect. She's lucky she had you all and your grandmother in her life." Maryann said with such a sincere look, that it was hard not to believe that she meant her words. I could see how Tara would get sucked into Maryann's web. It was like she knew what to say to make you feel good about yourself, or someone you loved, which in turn may make you think well of her.
"Well, we love Tara. She's like a sister to us." I replied simply. As tired as I was and as much as I didn't want to play mind games with this woman, I knew that I needed to make nice and try to find out as much as I could about her; find out if she was indeed a Maenad.
Sam walked back to the table with a pad to take Maryann's order. "Do you know what you want?" He asked somewhat rudely before saying to me in a warmer manner, "Arabella, your food's almost up."
I was about to say thanks, but before I could I heard Andy shout from across the room, "Aaawwww Shee-eettttt Stackhouse!" All three of us turned our heads in Andy and Jason's direction. He had what looked like pictures in his hands. Seeing us turn our attention his way, Andy gathered up the pictures quickly and started talking real low to Jason.
Now that we couldn't hear them anymore, Maryann began to place her order. "Let's see, I heard the stuffed flounder with shrimp topping was amazing, so I'll have that. Oh, and the blackened catfish, and the red beans and rice, the chicken fried steak, the Greek salad… I know that it says here that the smothered pork chops are only for dinner, but is it possible to have them for lunch?"
"Yeah." Sam answered grudgingly.
"Oh good. Then I'll have that too. Well, let's start with that and I'll let you know if I need more." Maryann said, looking satisfied with her selections and I sat there slack-jawed. Any one of those meals would have been filling. Maryann was not a big woman. Where was she putting all that food?
"Fine. I'll put that in." Sam said as he turned and went back to the kitchen.
"You seem pretty hungry Maryann." I couldn't help but say. She just ordered half the menu.
"Oh, you have no idea." Maryann replied with a smirk.
While Maryann started to ask me small talk type questions about Bon Temps and the people, I decided it was time to see what she was thinking.
"Lo Lo Bromios, Lo Lo Dendrites, Eleutherios, Enorches, Bacchus." Maryann chanted in her mind, over and over again. I had no clue how she was even carrying on a conversation with me with that chant going on in her head.
I knew that the chant had to mean something, but I was never going to remember it, especially with me being so tired, if I didn't write it down. "Maryann, if you could excuse me for just a moment, I just remembered that I needed to get something from behind the bar."
"No problem. I'll be right here." She said with a sickeningly sweet smile.
So, I walked over to the bar and grabbed a piece of paper and pen and opened my mind up to hers again, writing down the chant on the paper and then sticking into my pants pocket. Once I was done, I closed the connection again, because honestly that chant was the only thing going on in her mind, other than images of a white bull. Then I sighed as I unenthusiastically walked back to the table.
Sam returned to our table shortly after I returned, with my order. He didn't stay though; just turned around and headed back to the bar.
I didn't know if I should wait for her food to come before eating or not, so I didn't touch mine. If she was the Maenad that scratched the hell out of my sister's back, then I certainly didn't want to piss her off.
"Oh sweetie, that's so polite of you to wait for my food to come, but honestly, I'm going to be eating for quite a while. Go ahead and dig in. I don't mind at all." Maryann said, realizing my dilemma.
"Oh, okay. You sure?" I asked, just wanting to be extra polite.
"Yes, of course." She replied in a creepily motherly fashion.
"Thanks." I said as I drove into my burger.
After taking my first bite, we could hear Sam speak really loudly into the phone by the bar, "Arlene, I just had Holly cancel on me too. Fine!" Sam then slammed the phone down on the receiver and said "Shit!"
Maryann didn't look surprised at the turn of events, but rather humored by them. She definitely had a look on her face that said she was up to something. What that was though…
Sam then hesitantly walked back over to our table. "Arabella, would you mind working today? Pretty much everyone has bailed that was supposed to work today, and the other's I can't reach. It's just Daphne today." He said, giving me the puppy dog eyes.
Normally I would not have hesitated in the least to help him out, but I was working on over 24 hours of no sleep and I was emotionally drained. I felt like a zombie. "Sam, honestly I'm exhausted. The only reason why I'm even out today is to get some food because the fridge is bare and get a new phone because I lost mine. You sure you can't find someone else?"
"Do you know where your sister is then? I can't reach her." Sam said, grasping at straws.
I took in a deep breath and then let it out. "She's probably still out of town." I finally said, knowing that was the case, given the fact that her boyfriend can't travel easily during the day.
"Chere, I wouldn't ask if I wasn't desperate. After that rodeo lets out, I'm sure they'll be a ton of people coming here and Daphne…" He started to say.
"Yeah, Daphne…" I said rolling my eyes, no words were needed. "I still need to get my phone though Sam."
"If you could be back in an hour and a half, that'd help out big time." Sam said pleadingly.
I couldn't believe I was actually thinking about doing it, but then I figured keeping busy would help me stay up until bedtime. "Okay Sam, but if I fall over…"
"You'll be fine. I know you will. Thanks Chere! And your meal is on me." Sam said, looking relieved as he went to pick up Maryann's meals from the pick-up counter.
"You know, you shouldn't let him or anyone else take advantage of your good nature. I can see how tired you are, and so can he. You should go back there and tell him no." Maryann said, obviously trying to create discord between Sam and I.
"Maryann, I understand how it can look that way, but I know that Sam wouldn't be asking if he really wasn't in a bind. He's helped Sook and I out a lot in the past. It's what friends do. Just like how you're helping out Tara." I responded, hoping my choice of words would help her to drop the subject.
"Well, I certainly hope that Sam knows just how good a friend you are and appreciates it. You haven't forgotten about the party I told you and your sister about, have you?" Maryann asked.
"Ummmm, no, but I don't think we got a date, time or place." I said, thinking about when she mentioned it before we left for Dallas.
"Oh, details, details. The date and time is this Friday night, it's going to be a full moon. Full moons bring out so much in people you know. The place though, that I'm still working on. It'll be spectacular though. I guarantee it!" Maryann said as Sam brought over four huge plates of food and had to go back for a couple more plates.
My eyes went all over the food that now covered the table. 'Is she really going to eat all this?' I wondered to myself.
"Ooohh, doesn't this all looks so good? Where to start?" She said as she grabbed her fork and dug into the rice and beans.
So I took that as a cue to finish eating, the whole time praying that Jason would finish up with Andy so we could get out of there. Sitting here with Maryann was creeping me out and I was starting to feel the tiredness really hit again. I knew that I needed to start moving if I was going to be able to stay up, let alone work today.
…
As it turns out, Jason did successfully extort a job from Andy. 'Those pictures had to be pretty bad.' I thought to myself with a shudder. And after we left for the mall and I got my new phone, Jason dropped me off back at Merlotte's.
"You sure you're up to working today? Jason asked me with a worried look on his face. He knew what I'd been through and how tired I was.
"No." I replied honestly, but then added, "But I think that it'll be good to stay active until I go to sleep tonight."
"Uhhh, okay then. You want a lift home after work?" Jason asked.
"Yeah, I don't want to bother Sam. He seems like he's got a lot on his mind." I said but then thought, 'About Maryann that is.'
"You know sis. You really should get your own car." He replied.
"Yeah, it's on my to-do list. See ya later Jase." I said as I got out of his truck and closed the door.
"See ya later sis." He replied before driving off, probably heading home to get another nap.
…
When I walked into Merlotte's now, it was like I walked into a different restaurant than before. The rodeo obviously let out and the place was packed to the gills. Sam looked absolutely flustered and Daphne, well, Daphne looked like a two year old looking for her mama at the park.
"Oh thank God you're here Chere. Your uniform's in the backroom. Quick get changed and help out with tables 1 through 10. Thanks again Chere!" Sam said as he whizzed by me with a tray full of beer and food.
Before I walked to the back, my eye caught Maryann, still eating. She smiled really big my way before biting into a chicken wing. I nodded politely with a small smile and headed back to get my uniform on, the whole while wondering if she was bulimic or something because there was no way she could eat all that and not be sick or throw up.
Once in back I quickly changed and hopped to it, getting right back into the swing of things even though I was exhausted. The energy of everyone there and the need for service overtook my tired bones.
The next couple hours were a blur as the rodeo crowd kept flowing in and out right into the dinner crowd. It was good for me though, because it kept me too busy to concentrate on everything else going on in my life.
When the crowd finally lulled a little, Sam asked me to help him get some extra supplies from back because we were running a little low from all the people that stampeded into Merlotte's. "Sure, no problem Sam." I said as I walked into the back with him.
…
While we were getting boxes from his storage shed and bringing them back into the supply closet in the back of the kitchen, I asked him, "Sam, what's going on between you and Maryann?"
"It's none of your concern Chere. Don't worry about it." Sam said, trying to end the conversation right there.
"Sam… look, there's something not right about her and I'm worried about Tara. Tara's been living with her; you know that right? Jason says that Maryann's been throwing wild parties, like wild sex parties. So, can you please let me know what you know about her?" I asked, pleading. I just didn't have the energy to beat around the bush.
Sam moved closer to me, making sure there was no one around us when he finally said, "Look, I… I don't know what she is, but it ain't human, that's for sure. We all need to stay away from her."
"That's fine and all for you to say Sam, but she seems pretty good at getting people to think she's the cat's meow. Look at Tara; she's totally taken in by her. And besides, you couldn't get her to leave here today either." I said, reminding him about earlier today.
"Yeah, I know. I just wish I knew what she was doing here." Sam said, wondering aloud.
"Look Sam, I'm going to tell you what I think I know so far. Before Sookie and I went out of town, she was scratched or clawed badly on her back by… something." I said before getting interrupted by Sam.
"What! Is she okay?" Sam asked horrified and concerned.
"Yeah Sam, she's fine, but whatever it was, it wasn't a normal animal or human. One of the theories we came up with was that it may have been a Maenad that did it. Maryann may be a Maenad." I said real low, knowing that she was still in the dining area.
"A Maenad? What the heck is that?" Sam asked stumped, but glad to finally possibly have a clue about what Maryann was. Maybe now they'd be able to get rid of her.
"Well, all I know is what I read in Wikipedia. Basically they are women who worship the Greek god Dionysus, who was the god of having a really… really good-ole time. They usually travel alone, looking for tribute to their god. If they don't feel that the tribute they receive is good enough, they'll leave a place in utter chaos, making everyone in the area go sex-crazy, completely losing their minds acting like they're drunk as skunks. They also have a set of talons when they're in a frenzied state, which I don't exactly know what that means, but when they're in that state, they can claw someone with a really awful poison that usually kills. When Sookie was clawed, there was poison in her system…" I reported to Sam all I knew, hoping he'd share with me what he knew.
"Shit. This is all my fault. She's here because of me." He said sadly while pacing around the room nervously.
"How is this your fault Sam?" I asked curious.
Sam wasn't ready to share the whole story with Arabella, so he abbreviated it to only the parts that were necessary. "When I was a teenager, I ran into Maryann. I knew something was off about her, and it freaked me out. But before I left her, I took that money she was talking about earlier today. I was desperate at the time with no money, no job and nowhere to go. I'm not proud of it, and after I made a go of it here with the restaurant I vowed to pay her back if I ever came across her again. But, she didn't want the money back. She wants something else now, but she won't say what that is and that worries me." Sam said in hushed tones.
"Wow, a hundred thousand dollars…" I said. It just seemed so unbelievable that Sam would do a thing like that, but then again, I guess being desperate can make you do some crazy things.
"Look, I said I wasn't proud of it." Sam said in defense.
"Sam, I'm not judging. In fact, if you knew some of the things I've seen lately, I bet you'd be in shock too. It's just, taking that money is so not… you. You're the one always trying to keep us out of trouble." I said with a soft smirk.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." He said with a small chuckle and then continued seriously, "But what if I fucked up by taking that money? What if that money was a tribute and I took it. Now, the money's not enough? Shit Arabella; what does she want for tribute now?" Sam asked extremely worried.
"I don't know Sam, but we need to figure this out quick. She mentioned a party this Friday night and that it'd be really big. She didn't say where it would be though. It seemed like she didn't know where it would be yet; which is weird right?" I replied.
"Yeah. I'm not going to lie Arabella, we're probably going to need help with this. Can you ask Eric…" Sam started to ask before I cut him off.
"No! I'm not asking that asshole for anything!" I said angrily. I was NOT asking him for anything.
"Oh Chere, he broke your heart, didn't he?" Sam said while he put his hand on my shoulder. He had hoped that the vampire would've been different, but figured that this would happen at some point.
"Yeah, but I don't want to talk about it or him. And, I definitely will not talk to him. I guess if you wanted to talk with him, I can't stop you, but I won't go with you. I can't Sam. It's just too soon." I said honestly, anger and sadness all over my face.
"Okay chere, if we need to ask for his help, I'll go alone." Sam said before adding, "We probably need to get back out there and help Daphne out."
I nodded my head and rolled my eyes, thankful for the change in conversation. Lord knows the trouble that girl must've gotten into while we've been restocking and talking.
…
When we walked back to the dining area to check on things, we were both floored. The place had gone buck wild. People were dancing seductively either alone or with a partner all around the tables. A couple of people were actually dancing on the tables after having kicked their plates full of food and drinks onto the floor. A few girls were getting all Coyote Ugly on the bar while a couple of guys were drinking beer straight from the spigots. Even Terry, who was subbing for Lafayette in the kitchen, was dancing out front. And, in the middle of it all was Maryann, dirty dancing with Mike Spencer, the town coroner and funeral director. My mouth dropped to the floor at the sight as Sam just lost it and went after Maryann, grabbing her hand and leading her to his office. I stood immobilized for a moment because I didn't know what to do.
I knew I couldn't leave Sam alone with Maryann in his office, not with him being so obviously pissed, so I hesitantly walked back there, wondering if my telekinesis would work now with me being so tired.
When I got closer to the office I could hear Sam yelling at Maryann, "What the fuck is going on out there Maryann? What have you done to those people? My people!"
"I don't know what you're talking about Sam, but I don't like that tone you're taking with me." Maryann said as she began to do something that Sam didn't like. I couldn't see what it was because I didn't enter the office yet.
"Stop that. You did that before. Stop!" Sam yelled and then said nothing else.
"You see that Sam, I can do that whenever I want. Now you don't want the rest of your people to know your little secret, do you?" Maryann said with a laugh as she opened the door to the office just as I was about to open the door, taking me by surprise.
"Oh, Maryann." I said quickly. "I thought Sam was in here with you." I added because when I looked into the room, it was just her and a dog. But then it dawned on me, 'Oh dear God, Sam's a shifter!' I thought to myself, my eyes wide in shock.
"Oh he's still here. See you at the party on Friday Arabella." Maryann said with a shit-eating grin before sauntering off.
"Sam, are you okay? Can you shift back?" I asked the dog in front of me, knowing that if anyone in their right mind walked in right now I'd look like I was off my rocker. I guess thankfully no one was in their right mind in Merlotte's right now. Sam just doggie whined in response. I took that as a no.
"Shit." I said out loud because the place was crazy right now and he was the only one besides me who wasn't nuts. "Look, stay here. I'm going to try to empty out the place, if I can. Wish me luck."
Evidently luck was on my side, because Maryann was acting like the Pied Piper, leading everyone out of the restaurant, to where, Lord only knows. People were following her in a line, waving their hands up in the air and swaying their hips. It was amazing and scary at the same time. These were people who normally couldn't walk, talk and chew bubble gum at the same time and now they were dancing and heading out the door with no problems whatsoever. Everyone was facing forward, so I didn't see it at first, but after I moved to get a better view of what was going on, I was shocked to see that Terry's normally blue eyes were black as night, and not just the iris, but the whole eye. It freaked me out and I jumped back a step at seeing it. Then, my attention headed out the window as I heard Maryann laugh wildly and saw her wink at me. Fear flowed through me. The only thing my mind could think about the situation was, 'We're fucked.'
"Is everyone gone?" Sam asked, breaking me out of my stupor.
I was about to answer, but as I turned, there was Sam, naked as the day he came into this world. "Holy shit Sam! How 'bout some clothes?" I yelled at him.
"Sorry, I was worried about you being out here by yourself." Sam said quickly before dashing to his office to get his clothes. After he got back into them, he came back out.
"I'm sorry you had to see, well, all that." Sam said, referring not only to his nakedness, but also about him being a shifter.
"Well, I didn't need to see you in all your glory." I said kinda jokingly, but then added, "But you don't need to worry about seeing the other thing Sam. I actually just met a shifter in Dallas, and she's awesome, just like you."
"So you know about shifters now? And it doesn't bother you?" Sam asked reluctantly. He didn't have great responses in the past when people found out about his ability.
"Why should it? You know that Sookie and I aren't exactly normal. I'm actually kinda jealous. I mean, you get to shift into any animal you want. You can fly like a bird, swim underwater like a fish, run like a horse… who wouldn't want to do those things if they could?" I replied, trying to let my friend know that I was okay with it and him.
I could see the relief on Sam's face, but then he said, "I'm glad that you feel that way, real glad. But, I'm no fool Arabella. Not everyone's going to be so open-minded about what I am. I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone."
"Sam, even if I sang it from the rooftops, who's gonna believe me?" I said with a smirk and slight chuckle.
Sam finally laughed a little too. He knew I was right. "Okay, I see your point. Thanks for being so understanding."
"No problem Sam. What are friends for?" I replied and gave him a big hug that both of us seemed to need. "Now, what did she do to you that made you shift?"
"Oh… she kinda… I don't know how to put it. She kinda shook real fast, kinda like she was vibrating. It felt like it disrupted me somehow and forced me to shift." Sam said, trying to put the experience into words, but feeling like he missed the mark somehow.
"Okay… that's weird. I didn't read anything about that on Wikipedia, but something tells me I was reading the non-supe Wikipedia site." I said while Sam laughed at it.
"Yeah, I'm not surprised that you didn't read anything about it on the internet." Sam said with a smile.
"Sam, since we're obviously not going to figure this out tonight and everyone's gone, can I go home? I'm beyond tired and no offense, I could give a shit right now about cleaning up." I asked, desperately wanting to go home and sleep.
"You know what, I don't want to deal with this now either. I'll take you home." Sam said, looking around at the mess and figuring he'd do better with dealing with it in the morning.
"Thanks. Let me call Jason before we go so I can let him know he doesn't have to pick me up." I said as I went to get my stuff and my phone. One quick call to my brother later and we were out the door and on the way to my house.
…
"You sure you don't want me to stay here tonight, just in case Maryann shows up or something?" Sam asked, hesitant to leave me here at my house by myself.
"Sam, if she wanted to do something to me or more to you, don't you think she would've done it already? I highly doubt she's coming back, at least not tonight. Let's talk about this tomorrow, okay?" I said, exhausted and done.
"If you're sure." Sam said, still reluctant to leave me alone.
"Sam, I'll be fine. Now go home and get some sleep. The restaurant is going to be a bitch to clean up tomorrow." I replied.
"Yeah, no shit. Okay, well, are you coming in?" Sam asked.
"Are you putting me back on the schedule?" I asked.
"Yeah, be there at 10:00 am." He said with a smile.
"Okay, but I can't guarantee that I'll be all happy and stuff." I said with a smirk.
"If you aren't, I'll completely understand." Sam said with a smile back and I got out of his car.
"Goodnight Sam." I said as I started walking towards my door.
"Goodnight Arabella." He said, still watching to make sure I got into my house okay.
…
When I entered the house, I threw my purse on top of the chest in the foyer and walked back to the kitchen to get a glass of water and some Tylenol. My head had started pounding, from what I could only guess was the extreme lack of sleep my body had, so I wanted to take the pills before it got out of control and actually kept me from sleeping. While I was swallowing the pills down, I heard knocking at the front door.
'Sam… I told you I'd be okay.' I thought to myself as I headed towards the front door. I was surprised however by who was actually standing there when I opened it.
"Hello Arabella." Eric said in a low voice that I couldn't read if he was trying to be seductive or if he was unsure about being there. It was odd to say the least and very unwelcome.
"Look Eric, I don't know why you're here, or what you want, but I'm done with you. I had a really shitty time in Dallas and a really weird night tonight. Just leave me the fuck alone." I said with a disturbingly calm anger directed at him as I tried to slam the door in his face. Unfortunately he held his arm out so quickly, that it stopped the door from shutting completely and in fact the force of it made me fall back onto my ass.
"Ouch!" I yelled out in pain from the floor. "WHAT THE FUCK ERIC!" I yelled out again, pissed beyond comprehension.
When I finally looked up at him, he actually looked shocked and upset that he had caused my fall, but I didn't care. I was seething.
"Arabella! Are you alright? I didn't… I didn't mean for that to happen. I just need to talk to you." Eric said quickly, trying to assess my injury from outside the house.
"Are you kidding me Eric? What is there to talk about? I think you made your feelings about me pretty clear in Dallas. Or wait, did you come here to berate me some more? Because boy did you pick the wrong day for that." I said as I got up and rubbed my now sore butt.
"If I could take back what I said, glamour you to forget the words, I would, but I can't. It was a mistake." Eric said, regret clear on his face.
"Do you regret the words or that I heard them?" I asked huffily.
"Both." Eric replied honestly.
"Well, you said them, whatever the reason and they can't be taken back now. Goodbye Eric." I said as I tried to close the door again, this time slower because I didn't want a repeat of what just happened when I tried to close the door before.
"Look, I get that now's not the time to talk about that, but I need to know what happened with the bomber." Eric said, trying to switch tactics in order to get her to talk to him. It worked, because she didn't close the door all the way.
"Right now? Eric I'm exhausted, and not to mention pretty pissed off at you." I said, glaring at him.
"What if another bomber goes to the nest and someone is hurt or killed? Would you be able to live with yourself if you did nothing now because you're mad at me?" Eric replied, hoping she'd come out and talk.
I hated that he was right. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if caused another life to end because of a delay on my part. "Uhhh! Fine." I finally said, but I refused to go outside the safety of my house. 'He'll have to deal with that.' I thought to myself.
"Tell me what happened. We know that the bomber came to the front door of the nest, but not what happened." Eric requested.
"Who's we?" I asked confused.
"Godric and me." Eric replied.
"Oh." I replied simply and then began telling him what happened at the nest. "Someone was banging on the door of the nest and wouldn't stop so I answered it. It was a young guy. He said his name was Luke McDonald and he was a Soldier of the Sun and it was his mission to get rid of vampires and stuff. I'm pretty sure he was sent by Steve Newlin. He said that Steve gave him the address to go blow up."
"But he blew up down the street. Why did he leave?" Eric asked as he interrupted me.
"Because I convinced him that he had the wrong address." I responded with a yawn.
"And that worked?" Eric asked incredulously.
"Yeah… it did." I replied, a little annoyed that he didn't seem to believe that.
"How?" Eric asked, still wondering how she convinced him to leave. Did she have some other powers, like glamour, that he wasn't aware of?
"Do you think I'm lying?" I asked, now really pissed.
"No. I'm just curious, that's all." Eric replied, trying to backpedal as he saw she was getting really mad again.
"Eric, he was young and going to end his life in like two minutes when he showed up at the door. He was nervous and obviously already confused. Godric had sent all the vampires out of the house, so only me and Jason were there, and Jason was in another room making sandwiches. It didn't look like a vampire nest. It was pretty easy to convince him that he had the wrong house. I just told him that he transposed the address numbers." I told him, pissed that I was having to relive the night again.
Eric was again impressed with her ability to quickly gage a situation and survive. "That was good thinking on your part and saved Godric a lot of hassle, as well as your and Jason's lives." He finally said.
"Well, you know, as long as Godric's not hassled." I responded sarcastically.
Eric couldn't believe how badly this conversation was going. He never had so many problems trying to talk to someone, but then again, he never wronged someone that he cared for as much as he had Arabella. But maybe right now, anything he said would be taken badly by her. He was about to ask her if she noticed anything else about the bomber, but before he could, he saw a shadowy figure in the distance inside her house, human in height, but with a bull head and clawed hands… the Maenad.
"Arabella, get out of your house now!" Eric commanded; his eyes open with fear for her because he couldn't cross the threshold of her house and grab her. She was too far in.
I thought that he might be trying to pull a fast one on me, but I turned around to check just in case. Sure enough, the bull person was coming towards me, fast. I moved closer to the door, at which Eric grabbed my arm once it crossed the threshold and yanked me out at vampire speed, holding me now bridal style. I knew that he was trying to fly us away from the Maenad, but unfortunately we didn't get far. Just as we were about five feet in the air, I saw the Maenad shake frantically (that must be her in a frenzy), and it caused Eric to drop both of us to the ground. Eric then ran at vampire speed towards the Maenad and tried to attack her, but she used her claws on him at an even faster speed, slashing at his chest and back. He screamed out in agony and white foam started to come out of his mouth as he dropped to the ground in pain. I could only assume that she had poisoned him.
Once the Maenad was convinced he was no longer a threat, she started to come my way. I was terrified. Eric was over a thousand years old and she basically swatted him away like he was a fly. The closer she got to me, the more resolve I got to not let her win. I instinctively held up my hands, palms facing her and as I did that, a blue glow emanated from them, getting bigger and brighter as she got closer. Finally, when she was about two feet away from me, I felt the energy leave my hands and hit her square in the chest, sending her back fifty feet. She didn't get back up immediately, so I took the opportunity to see if I could get Eric and myself out of there. I may have been severely pissed off at the prick right now, but that didn't mean that I was going to just leave him there to die with the Maenad either.
"Eric, can you get up?" I asked frantically when I got to his side.
He gurgled up some more of the white foam from his mouth and shook his head no.
"Shit!" I said, trying to think about how to get us out of there. Finally I did the only thing I could think of. I searched his pockets for his car keys. Of course they were in his front pants pockets, and even in his state of being poisoned, I could feel him get hard at my touch while searching his pockets. 'Figures.' I thought to myself as I rolled my eyes. I quickly clicked the door open button to make sure the doors were unlocked and ran over to the car to open the passenger side door. Then I did something I had never done before. I used my telekinesis to lift him and place him on the passenger seat of his car. I had never lifted and moved something as big and heavy as Eric, but I tried not to think about that. I just needed to get us out of there. Once he was in the car, I slammed the door and ran over to the other side, got in and started the car. I glanced in the direction of where the Maenad landed and saw she was starting to get up. Knowing we needed to get out now, I threw the gear shaft in to drive and sped away like a bat out of hell. As I put the pedal to the metal, increasing the speed to over eighty miles an hour, I saw the Maenad in the rear view mirror try to run after us, but eventually she turned and ran in another direction.
"Oh shit!" I said as I slammed the breaks. I pulled out my cell phone from my wallet and dialed Sam's number. Once he answered, I started driving again.
"Arabella?" Sam said groggily. It was obvious that he had gone to bed.
"Sam, get out of your trailer NOW! Go somewhere else, anywhere else! The Maenad showed up at my house and clawed Eric. Just get out!" I yelled into the phone.
"Yeah, o…" Was all I heard Sam say before I think he dropped the phone. I could only hope my call got to him in time.
I started to speed dial Jason when Eric started convulsing in the seat next to me. It was getting hard enough to drive while evading a crazed Maenad and talking on the phone let alone with a six foot plus behemoth of a man convulsing next to me. I felt like I was in a horror drivers ed movie, having all sorts of weird and crazy shit thrown at me while taking a driver's exam. I could only hope I passed.
Knowing I couldn't hold the phone anymore while driving with Eric in his state, I put on the speakerphone and prayed Jason would answer.
"Hey sis, everything okay?" Jason mumbled into the phone.
"No! Jason get your ass out of bed and meet me at Fangtasia. NOW!" I screamed so that he knew I meant business.
"Yeah, okay. I'll be there right quick!" Jason said and hung up.
I didn't have Fangtasia or Pam's number on speed dial, I mean, why would I after how things were left in Dallas. So, I had to pray that she'd be at Fangtasia when I arrived with Eric. I also said a prayer that she would know what to do with him, because I hadn't the slightest idea. Wikipedia didn't cover this shit.
…
.