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"Jason?" I yelled. It was around noon now, and Jason was scheduled to be off for lunch. He didn't normally come home for lunch, but I assumed that Claude and Niall knew better.
"He is on his way." said Claude. I nodded. I started looking around at my childhood home, thinking of all of the LSU basketball games Dad watched while he sat in the same seat Claude was in right now, yelling at the same TV. Jason hadn't changed much of anything, just a few electronics here and there. He had even put in a surround-sound stereo system. But Crystal had made some alterations. She put red slips on the living room furniture and changed the white sheer curtains to blue. At least she didn't bring anything in with a pattern, poor thing had no taste.
I saw on the fireplace mantel a family picture with me, Jason, Mom, Dad and Gran. This picture was taken a month before they had died. Dad was even wearing the same plaid shirt he drowned in.
I didn't want to wait in the living room, so I wandered into the kitchen. I sat down at the chair where Dad had me listen to that con artist's mind. I sunk low in the chair and buried my head on folded arms. There were so many memories in this town, and I was about to make another heart-wrenching one. I felt overwhelmed. Slowly, I felt a hand press down on my shoulder and give it a gently squeeze. I recognized the magical signature of his presence, and I stood up.
"Niall," I said as he embraced me. I buried my face in his neck and sobbed. For some reason, when I was around my fairy relatives I was more emotional than usual. He rubbed a free hand soothingly up and down my back until my sobs faded to stressed breaths.
I pulled away and swatted the few remaining tears away. "Thanks." I mumbled. I heard a door slam, and then Jason said,
"Who the HELL are YOU and WHAT are YOU doing on MY COUCH?!" I looked at Niall and said,
"Looks like Jason is home." He gave me a fragile smile and walked out to the living room.
"You," Jason snarled at Niall.
"Be calm, young panther." Niall put his hand on Jason's shoulder, as he had mine, and I watched as his muscles relaxed. "We are here to say our final goodbyes."
"Good." said a subdued Jason. I gave him a look, and then Claude stood by my side.
"Please, both of you have a seat." Jason automatically sat in his La-z-boy recliner and I sat on the couch diagonal from him. Claude and Niall looked very official as they stood in front of the fireplace. Claude had his hands together behind his back.
"There really isn't much I have to say to you, Jason. As I was absent for the majority of your life, I was never of any use to you, and for that I apologize. Since Claude and I will be leaving this world, we have decided to give you," he made a wide sweeping gesture indicating the both of us, "What earthly possessions we have. I have sold my possessions and Claude has given his to Sookie. For my part, I am leaving you both an inheritance. The account transactions have already been made and I have taken the liberty to pay any necessary taxes. Your inheritances are equal. I will leave you to check you accounts for the total."
"Thank you, sir." Even Jason could be practical about this. No one could honestly say that they didn't like gifts of money (I should know).
"Thank you." A new home, a new car and an inheritance; I was fixing to have a good life here on out.
"It's time for us to go." Claude said. I smiled at him, and gave him another hug. When he let me go, Niall was letting Jason go. Claude went over to Jason as Niall came to me.
"I am very proud of you." He embraced me, and kissed my cheek when he pulled away. I felt a shock of energy thrill through me, and I stumbled a bit. When I looked to Niall, he just smiled. Huh.
Claude nodded at Niall and they stood together.
"Bye." I said, one last time. I felt like there was something left I had to say, but when I tried to form the words nothing came to mind.
They smiled at me, and with a whoosh! and loud cracks and swirling wind all around, they were gone. I was bereft and I felt exhausted.
Jason let out a long breath.
"Well, I'm gonna head over to the bank. Do you want a lift?"
"Yeah, thanks."
We hopped into his ostentatious truck and sped off down the lane. Neither of us attempted to make small talk. I was still mad at my bastard brother.
As we walked in all of the tellers straightened up and plastered smiles on their faces. Uh-oh.
"Hello Ms. Stackhouse! Hello Mr. Stackhouse!" they chimed. I let my shield down a bit to see what was going on. …boss said to be nice to the Stackhouses, I wonder why…come into a lot, a LOT of money, where from I don't know…never did like Jason, even if he is so danm good looking. God he has a nice ass… I immediately drew up my shield. That was where I drew the line. Now I was anxious to see just how much money Niall had left us.
I walked up to the first cheery teller, some red-head I went to high school with. I glanced at her name tag.
"Hello, Sookie." Said Julie.
"Hey. I'm here to check my account balance."
"One moment." She bent over the computer and typed in a few things. Then her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. She smiled at me and tried to regain her composure. Julie grabbed a post-it-note and wrote down the amount, which she slipped to me quickly.
When I looked at the note I was speechless.
Fifty. Million. Dollars.
Fifty million American dollars.
"WHOOO HOO!" Jason screamed. "I am SO quittin' my job."
Oh, Sweet Baby Jesus.
"Jason, before you get ahead of yourself, I need a ride home."
"Yeah, Sook, sure," He had the most stupid grin on his face. He was going to celebrate tonight. I was going to worry.
***
When I stepped out of the shower I was not as calm as really hot showers usually got me, and the reason? My life had done a 180. Before I had met any Supes I was just Sookie Stackhouse, Louisiana born barmaid, just struggling to make my monthly payments. For all of the perks that came with my introduction to the Supe world, I had stood at Death's door more than once, all because of one vampire: Sophie Anne Leclerq, the late Queen of Louisiana. She put Bill Compton's nose to my trail, and like an idiot I welcomed him into my quiet life, unaware that his intentions had (at least originally so he says) an ulterior motive. But was it really Sophie's fault? Maybe it was Hadley's. But then again, I received my powers from the Fairy blood I had, so maybe it was Fintan's fault.
This was very un-Christian of me. I needed to stop blaming other people (if you can call them that) and take responsibility of my life, and with all of the money I had, I could quit my job and move on with my life. Thanks, Niall. Or I guess, thanks, Fintan.
I laid down in my bed, still in my towel, and stared at my ceiling. I needed to make a plan. But before I was going to do that, I needed to go see Sam.
I threw my wet hair in a pony-tail and neglected my make-up bag. With my recent intake of Eric's blood, I really didn't need it, my skin was completely clear and held a soft glow, barely perceptible. I found some clean black yoga pants and a blue tank-top and finished my I'm On the Run look with pink Crocs. I don't think the Fashion Police made any rounds in Bon Temps, so I figured I'd be safe. But Pam did live in Shreveport, so I had to be careful.
I stepped out of the house with my keys in hand, and noticed immediately that my new Benz was sitting in my drive way. That reminded me, I should probably sell my old car.
I walked over to the driver side and surely enough, the car was unlocked and the keys were sitting in the ignition. I got in and prayed that it was automatic, and to my delight, it was. I figured that I needed to practice driving this monster, so I turned the keys and listened to the engine roar. I could get used to this. I rearranged the rear-view mirror and backed out of my driveway.
The Benz, as I dubbed it, drove like a dream. When my old cars accelerated, they kind of dragged you along, but the Benz, it pulled you. I know it isn't much of a distinction, but when you've driven a Mercedes, you'll see what I mean.
I made it to Merlotte's in less than ten minutes and I parked in the back lot in front of Sam's trailer. For what I thought would be the last time, I went in through the Employee entrance, where I saw Sam with his legs crossed on top of his desk reading the paper.
"Hello Sam," I said cheerily.
"Hey Sookie," He threw me his signature smile. "What can I do you for?"
"Um, well I need to talk to you. Are you busy?" He uncrossed his legs, brought them to the floor and laid the paper on his desk.
"For you, never, what do you want to talk about?"
"I want to give you notice."
"My best waitress is quitting?" He gave me a sweet smile as he crossed his arms.
I didn't know what to say. Sam was a big part of my life; I've worked for him going on five years. So I just shrugged sheepishly.
"I knew this day was approaching," he sighed. "But I didn't think it would come this soon."
"If you ever need a waitress, I'm here for you." That was the best I could do.
"So what do you plan to do?"
"For a job? My cousin Claude left me his strip-joint in Shreveport." Sam's eyes widened.
"A strip-joint? You won't be working there, will you?" I laughed out loud.
"You won't be so lucky! I own Hooligan's. I am no stripper!" Gran would roll in her grave!
Sam had himself a good laugh at that image, one I chose to block.
"So are you going to move up there?"
"Yeah. Claude also left me his penthouse, and his car, so I'm all set."
"Both? Wow, Cherie, you've got a whole new life ahead of you."
"Yeah, I guess I do."
As I drove back, I used the XM radio and picked the all Country station. I sung along to Jason Aldean's "She's Country" all the way home. I guess I'm a Raging Cajun. I'm ok with that.
I got scared when my phone vibrated in my pocket, and I grabbed my butt to make it stop. Speaking of butts, Eric was calling. I looked at the dashboard clock, it read 6:30.
"'Sup." I answered. Eric snickered.
"Good evening, Lover. Would you like to come to Fangtasia tonight?"
"Sure, Eric. When do you want me?"
"I want you right now. But I'd like you to be here by eight o'clock." I chuckled.
"See you then."
"Not soon enough." He disconnected. I made a U-turn and headed for Shreveport. This was going to give me a good opportunity to check out my new wardrobe.
***
When I finished looking through the cavern that was my new closet, I had half an hour to get to Fangtasia; yes, the closet was that big. But the finished product was stunning (maybe I was going to like being a Narcissist). I wore a gold Michael Kors mini cocktail dress with tiger-eye detail at the neck, red Christian Louboutin peep-toe-sling-back-pumps and finished off the look with a gold Coach clutch, which only held the penthouse and Benz keys.
I used minimal make-up; just cherry lip gloss and mascara, and I left my hair down. It was dry now, and very wavy.
It took less than five minutes to reach Fangtasia from the penthouse. I parked in the back, but decided to enter through the front. Since I had been in Shreveport after Eric had awakened, I could feel him all the while I was dressing. I could sense that he knew I was here and I felt waves of joy and anticipation roll over me like waves.
When I reached the front door a male fangbanger opened it for me, giving me the I'm Available look all the way past.
"Thanks." I skirted past him, nearly running. I reached out with my mind the minute he locked eyes with me. He thought I was a vampire! Did my skin really glow like that?
Pam was in a full-length black chiffon dress with plunging cleavage and flowing sleeves. I really felt sorry for her. She had an eyeful of me. When she smiled, her fangs were fully extended.
"My, don't we look edible tonight?" I laughed and gave her a peck on the cheek.
"I cater exclusively to Vikings; sorry, Pam." She waved me through the line without a cover charge.
I exited the alcove into the main floor. KDED was on and George Benson's Give Me the Night was blaring, giving Fangtasia a jazzy atmosphere. I even bobbed my head to the beat. While I was looking for my Viking, I scanned the crowd, noticing how every vampire that I locked eyes with had his or her fangs exposed. This was unusual; if the fangbanger in the entrance thought I was a vamp, why did every vampire seem to alert on my scent?
Suddenly I sensed apprehension mixed with intense longing, and I followed the feeling to Eric's usual table, where he was waiting for me. He stood up to receive me.
"Lover." He whispered in my ear when he pulled me close. He took in a deep breath and I felt his fangs graze my neck. In that instant, I caught a rare glimpse into Eric's mind, it was very faint, but it was intensified by our Bond and our proximity. …mine…
I realized immediately that he was letting every vampire in the room know that I was claimed, so I indulged him. I exposed my neck to him. Thank God, he didn't bite me in public. He kissed the nape of my neck and pulled back. His fangs were fully extended, and he looked worried. I felt all of the tension in the room and said,
"Let's go to your office." I was no longer in the funky mood that George Benson's music put me in; I was worried. Something was going on.
Eric nodded and pulled me in front of him, gesturing with a wide arc of his arm that I lead the way. When I heard him hiss behind me I chose not to turn around, only to keep going. By the time Eric closed his office door behind us, the feelings of longing and anxiety had been replaced by possessiveness and anger. When I turned to face him, his face had changed. I reached out to touch his cheek, but he whipped his head away, growling. For the first time since Dallas I was afraid of Eric. But I could feel the fight within him. I didn't know what to do and I didn't know what was going wrong.
"Eric," I half whispered, half moaned, "what is it?" His face had been parallel to the ceiling until I spoke. Now it snapped in my direction, and I saw his eyes. They were dilated, just as they are when he drinks from me.
I stepped back, but it was too late. He pounced and had me on my back with his hands restraining my arms and his knees between my legs in half a second. I breathed heavily now, which seemed to excite him more.
"Eric!" I screamed. "It's me! It's Sookie! Don't do this!" He roared with his fangs fully extended, terrifying me to my core. Hot tears streamed down my cheeks, and I began to sob.
"Eric, Eric, Eric." I gasped out. He went rigid and stopped moving completely. I couldn't feel anything from the Bond so I didn't know how to react.
"Eric, I love you, please don't do this." When he didn't move, I slipped my arms from his soft grasp and wrapped them around his neck, pulling him to me. If I was going to be drained I was comforted by the fact that it was going to be Eric and not a total stranger. I closed my eyes and tensed in anticipation of his fangs.
But they never came. Instead, a still rigid Eric collapsed on me. After what seemed like hours he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me up with him into a sitting position and laid me in his lap. He buried his face in my neck, and with that contact I could feel our bond again and with that a surge of intense shame.
"Are you alright?" I asked in a husky whisper. He looked up then, and his eyes were rimmed with pink.
"Don't be so selfless my Love, you nearly died." You think?!
Sorry it took me so long to update! I hope this longer-than-usual chapter makes up for that!
But I don't know if it really will… Considering that I left you with a cliffie. Haha!
Please review!
~ChristiAnthemum
