Chapter 12

When Sookie finished talking, she sat looking down at her hands. It hadn't taken long. She hadn't really gone into specifics, of course. This was already awkward enough.

Eric was looking at her intently. He was finding it hard to stop. Finally, he said, "My child is just outside. Invite her in."

Sookie looked up at him. She seemed very unsure, but nodded and got up and opened the front door. There was an ethereally beautiful vampire with a very wide grin outside. Sookie's voice was little more than a whisper. "Please, come in. I'm Sookie."

She stuck out her hand to shake. The vampire looked down at it in distaste and then back up at Sookie.

"Pam. Charmed, I'm sure."

Sookie frowned a little and stepped aside. Pam walked in, looking around. She was equal parts nosy and amused.

Sookie cleared her throat a little. "Eric is right in there. Can I get you some True Blood?"

"Yes. Please."

Sookie went into the kitchen and poured and heated Pam's drink. When she got back into the living room, Pam was sitting in the easy chair. Sookie handed her the mug full of blood and then glanced at the only other available seats — the empty spots on the couch on either side of Eric. She decided to stand.

Pam looked at her maker with an eyebrow raised and then smiled at Sookie.

"So, Eric has been staying here with you for the past three weeks?"

It was more than obvious that he had been; his scent was all over the house and the girl. Inside her, as well — both his blood and his semen. The girl glanced at him and Pam caught the look of love and longing and confusion and pain. This could be trouble.

"Yes. Since about three on New Year's morning."

Pam glanced at Eric. The cocky bravado would have fooled everyone else. It didn't fool her. He was certainly amused and extremely pleased with himself, but he was also confused. And very fascinated with the human. The bond was closed, but she could tell. The girl was definitely going to be trouble.

Unfortunately, trouble was one of her maker's favourite things.

Pam looked back at Sookie and her smile widened. Sookie was more than a little unnerved. Pam looked almost predatory.

"Why didn't you contact Fangtasia?"

Shit. Sookie stood stock still so she wouldn't shift foot to foot and made sure to keep her hands at her sides so she wouldn't wring them together. "That was my plan, but Eric told me not to. He said that we didn't know who we could trust."

Sookie looked at Eric, a note of pleading in her voice. "I tried to convince you, but you wouldn't listen. And I couldn't go behind your back."

He held her gaze for a few moments and then nodded. He turned to Pam.

"Sookie has told me what has happened while I have been here. I will fill you in later. Now, tell me about the witches."

Pam glanced at Sookie and then back at Eric. He wanted her to tell him everything right then? In front of the human? Apparently so.

"You remember meeting with Hallow and her brother? The Weres?"

"Of course."

"She sent one of her lackeys on New Year's Eve. She told you that Hallow had agreed to accept only one fifth of the business instead of half if she could have you for seven nights. You refused. Chow and I tried to… persuade you to change your mind, but you wanted nothing to do with it. Chow attacked the witch and you vanished. She'd been spelled."

Eric made a noncommittal noise. Pam continued. "They were causing so many problems. We were trying to find you before they did. They grabbed Clancy and then Gerald. We received proof of their final deaths. They also went after…" She glanced at Sookie. "others in the area for more payouts. We joined together with Flood and eventually we found them and attacked last night. There was a battle. We lost Bubba and Chow. Flood lost more, including Jackson Herveaux's son, but we were victorious in the end. I killed Hallow and made her brother undo the curse. It worked, thank goodness."

Eric shook his head. "Clancy, Chow, and Gerald. A terrible loss. And we are certainly going to hear about Bubba."

Pam snorted. "We already have. I have had angry calls from the palace, Mississippi, and Tennessee so far this evening."

Eric sighed. "What a mess."

Pam turned to look at Sookie.

"He didn't remember anything?"

Sookie shrugged. "Well, sure. He could speak several languages. He knew that he was a vampire. He knew what things were called and how to use them…"

She cut her eyes at Eric and blushed a little, thinking about a specific thing that he knew how to use very well. He smirked back, obviously on the same page, and she blushed a little harder and looked back at Pam.

"He didn't remember his life, though. Not who he was or where he came from or what he did for a living."

"You are very comfortable using his name. You obviously didn't just learn it today. You saw the posters, then?"

Sookie looked a little startled and quite confused, but then she smiled a little.

"You know, it didn't even penetrate. That he really is an Eric, I mean. It's what I've called him almost from the very beginning. Since his second night here." She blushed again but didn't look at him this time. What they'd done on the second night was written clearly on her face. "I don't know anything about a poster, though. I guessed that he was Scandinavian and threw out a few names. We both agreed that Eric just fit."

Pam smiled a little. She was relieved. The girl would have likely demanded the reward money if she'd known about it. "The witches hung wanted posters all over Northern Louisiana, looking for Eric. It took days for us to find them and take them all down."

Sookie remembered the flyer that Andy had torn off the bulletin board that day at work a while back. How mad he'd been. Holly had just left and Sookie had been run off her ass for the rest of her shift. And Holly was a Wiccan…

It didn't matter. She just wished that she hadn't been reminded that she was out of a job and had about eighty-seven dollars in the bank, on top of everything else.

"My boss… ex-boss won't allow anything like that to be posted at the bar. I haven't really been out of the house much, other than for work."

When she glanced at Eric again, she caught his eye, and his smirk had grown a little. "Too busy?"

He was making fun of her. It cut harder than a lighthearted tease, and God, it hurt. It also pissed her off. She swallowed the pain and glared.

"Yes. Keeping you fed, housed, and safe after I took you in. But you looked so scared and followed me around like a little lost puppy, so how could I resist?"

Pam snorted. Eric set his jaw. Sookie crossed her arms. "It's getting late. I think it's time for you to leave."

Eric regained his composure and slapped his palms against his thighs as if he were about to stand up and leave. He smiled and made sure to hold her gaze. "Yes. We must be on our way. Thank you for your hospitality. Before we go, though, I would like for you to tell me about how you read your boss's mind."

Sookie froze. That was absolutely not information that she wanted this Eric — or vampires in general — to know. It broke her heart, but she didn't trust him. Not even a little bit. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He could feel her dread and he grinned a little. He was back on higher, solid ground. He discovered that the more he ignored his inner conflict, the more he ceased to notice it. "Your boss. Earlier, you said that he thought terrible things about you."

Sookie shook her head. "You misunderstood. I said that he said terrible things to me."

"No. You didn't. Now, tell me, Sookie. Tell me how you read his mind."

He leaned forward and her brain began to tingle. It had been a terrible day, she was completely exhausted, and she was just done. And, dammit, he had promised he wouldn't try to glamour her again. Her voice was ice cold. "Get out. I rescind your invitations."

Eric was still trying to process what had happened as he and Pam were being pushed outside. He had thought that the power had shifted back in his direction. When they were out on the front porch, Sookie stood inside the doorway, out of reach.

"That doesn't work on me, so it's useless to even try. I would appreciate it if you both just left and didn't come back. I… I don't want to see you again."

Pam was obviously amused, but Eric wasn't. He was angry. He couldn't have known that she was immune to glamour, but she'd still made him feel like a fool. And every time he had thought that he'd regained the upper hand, she'd knocked him down again. And not seeing her again wasn't an option.

"What are you?"

The last time he'd asked that question, she'd told him that she was a waitress. She couldn't even say that any longer. She shrugged her shoulders and then they fell. She was completely exhausted. Completely defeated.

"I'm just me. Goodnight, Eric."

She put her hand on the edge of the door and started to swing it closed. He didn't want to end it like that. He needed to know more. He didn't like being dismissed. "Wait!"

She paused and looked at him. He looked back but didn't say anything. After a few moments, she finished pushing the door closed. They heard the deadbolt lock.

Eric stood looking at the door for a minute or two longer and then stalked to the Corvette. Pam had driven it from Shreveport. She got in the passenger seat and had barely closed the door before he'd thrown the car in reverse and spun the tires, whipping the steering wheel around in his haste to get away. He shifted into first and the tires spun again as he shot up the driveway. The bottom of the car scraped on the ruts and Eric's head bounced against the ceiling.

"Jesus, Eric. Slow the fuck down."

He ignored his child and pulled onto Hummingbird Road. He kept ignoring her all the way home.

Sookie leaned back against the front door and then slid down until her bottom was on the carpet. She wrapped her arms around her knees, put her head down, and sobbed until she was all cried out. She had no idea what in the hell she was going to do, but whatever it was, it was going to have to wait until tomorrow.

A long time later, she made herself get up on stiff and wobbly legs. She stumbled down the hall and then nearly fell into bed. She was even able to get some sleep. Eventually.

Sookie was woken up the next morning by some noise outside. She opened her eyes and then winced, slamming them shut again. Her head was pounding like a rotten tooth. She kept them squinted and managed to get up, heading for the kitchen. She had cried long and hard enough that she felt hungover. She couldn't bear the thought of eating, but she didn't like taking Tylenol on an empty stomach. She washed two down with a glass of milk and then looked out the window to see what the ruckus was.

Randy Burgess was just closing the tailgate of his pick-up truck. He waved at her before jumping in the cab and closing the door with Burgess and Sons painted on the side. She slowly waved back, watching him and his crew caravan back towards town on her brand new gravel driveway.