Warning: Violence at the end of the chapter...Two pissed off vampires
Chapter 9 – Forgotten Promises, Extended Threats
There are many ways of breaking a heart. Stories were full of hearts broken by love, but what really broke a heart was taking away its dream - whatever that dream might be.
Pearl Buck(1892 - 1973)
Pam had given Eric a small tour of his house and explained how the security system worked; all the while Eric carried Sookie in his arms. He didn't want to let go of her. He asked Pam a couple of questions that consisted of taking care of Sookie and their bond; once he was satisfied with his answers, Pam left them alone. He cleaned Sookie in his bathtub. She was still unconscious and he didn't like that. He had no idea how to care for her other than what Pam had instructed, he felt helpless. Once they were both clean, he took her to his bed and lay on his side waiting for her to wake up. Her eyes didn't open, but at least her heart was beating at a constant rhythm.
He was uncomfortable from the strange feelings he was having. He was upset with her for endangering her life to help him and mad because she hadn't followed his orders. He was angry at Bubba for taking her to the warehouse, but he was also mad at himself for not protecting her. Why couldn't she do as she was told? Would she be alright? He didn't give a damn about his curse anymore. All he cared about was that she came out okay from this. If she did, he was going to let her be. His way of life was clearly not for someone like her. Finally, dawn came and he had to die for the day, full of fear for his wife's well being.
Sookie woke up late in the afternoon, when she turned in the bed she saw Eric was next to her. His gaze, even with his eyes closed was fixed on her, as if still watching over her even in his deep sleep. She was mad at him for trying to control her life, for making decisions for her, but they all had been right. She was no Wonder Woman as Alcide had told her, but no she had to go on and prove she was helpful, and she did quite the opposite. She killed Hallow and she had no idea if Mark had survived. She had ruined their only way to remove Eric's curse. She started crying for being so stupid.
She believed he was going to hate her and she would never get him back now, because she was so freaking stubborn. When she was in the bathroom she saw she had no scars on her stomach, no sign of Hallow's rage marked her skin. She wore one of his shirts and a pair of sweat pants that were too bight for her, but she tightened them around her waist and made her way downstairs to find something to eat. She watched the day go by so slowly and her heart sank as she knew Eric would wake soon and give her a piece of his mind. And he had every right to, but he didn't.
He came out of his room completely dressed. "I will drive you home," he said. His tone was cold and distant that she shivered before nodding. She got in the car and he started driving, following her directions. She pointed out his workplace as they passed the exit to Fangtasia.
"I'm sorry. I was just trying to help," she said with tears in her eyes. He didn't say anything; he didn't even turn to look at her. She cried the whole way to her house. She preferred he yelled at her and command her to do something instead of this eerie silence that was hurting her.
When he parked outside her house, he finally spoke. "Thank you for helping me, but I think it is better if we don't see each other again. We won't bother you anymore," he said, coldly. More tears fell on her face. What could she say to him? She looked into his eyes, but they were cold. They stared at each other, until she lowered her gaze, as she found no hope. There was nothing left, nothing to talk about, nothing to fight for.
She ran inside her house and closed the door behind her; she didn't want to see her lover drive away from her life. She started crying from her broken heart. Jason went to her immediately; he had been waiting for her since Sam had told him what had happened. Sam had assured him that Eric and Pam would look after her and while physically she looked fine, Jason knew something bad had happened to her.
Eric felt her pain as his own and he didn't understand why if she was hurting, it hurt him too. Was it because they were bonded that he felt this unspeakable pain? Was he making a mistake by leaving her? He closed the bond, as Pam had instructed. If he was to leave her alone, he didn't want to feel anything she felt. He started driving away towards Fangtasia, Sookie had told him how to get there and he found it easily.
"Where is Sookie?" Pam asked.
"She is home," he simply answered.
"We found Hallow's spell book," an old lady said. She approached him and gave him the book. "This is the curse she put on you," the lady said. Pam and Eric read the page over and over. Even knowing there was hope for him, he still would keep his word to keep Sookie safe.
"You have to tell her Eric," Pam said. Now they knew that Sookie was the only one who could break the curse.
"No, I promised her we would leave her alone and I'm keeping my word. I forbid you to tell her," he commanded.
"What about the other promises you made to her?" Pam yelled, upset. "What about you?" She asked.
"It does not matter. You will teach me what I need to do and we will leave her alone," Eric commanded. Pam gave everyone the free drinks she had promised and then they left Fangtasia.
Before leaving though the old lady approached Pam again. "A vampire came to me a few days ago, asking if I knew how to curse someone," the lady stated. "He said his name was Bill, but what he didn't tell me was that it was the Sheriff he wanted to curse. Had I known what was wrong, I would've come forward sooner," Octavia said somewhat apologetically.
So Sookie had been right, he was behind this. When he returned from Peru, he was going to be in a heap of trouble.
"He is quite stupid to leave you having knowledge of him," Pam said to Octavia, who was smiling at Pam.
"I casted wards around myself to avoid being glamoured, so he believes he succeeded. You call me if you ever need help," Octavia offered sincerely and then left.
"He doesn't want you anymore?" Jason asked. Sookie nodded.
"But he is cursed Sookie, he doesn't know you and he doesn't remember you," Jason said.
"I messed up Jason. Now he will stay cursed for the rest of his life because of me," Sookie said.
"You need to sleep and think about this. Maybe now is not the time to make a drastic decision. You will figure it out, I know you will. You're smart," Jason said. She sat at her dinner table, as Jason explained what Sam had told him. She learned that Pam and Eric had saved her, she had guessed as much, but still she didn't understand why they had saved her at all after she had killed Hallow. She learned of Chow's demise and the other losses. She also saw she had a new TV in her room, then the tears started falling again.
"Umm, Crystal drove your car," Jason said and gave her the keys back. Sookie nodded, as Jason kissed the top of her head and left. She had never felt like this before, so empty, so cold. It was a coldness that hit her deep inside her heart and no matter what she did, she couldn't get warm.
The next couple of days, Sookie tried to return to her regular life. She returned to work and went about her daily routine, except there were things that were missing from her life, mostly Eric things. She didn't get text messages from him, especially since his cell phone was on her night stand. She had stared at it for numerous minutes every night. She had been thinking of going to Fangtasia to return it, though by now he probably had another anyway.
Jason came to visit her every night for at least an hour and had even introduced Crystal to her. Just like Jason said, she was funny and was a nice girl. Now that Jason was bound to be a were-panther, Calvin had accepted him as a possible suitor for Crystal, so Felton's doing only served to bring them closer. Sookie thought maybe it was better for Jason. He said his strength had increased since he had been bitten and he felt much better, so Sookie was happy for him.
One night Jason couldn't stand her depression and he did what he thought any good brother would do in his case, he went to see Eric. When they were alone in Eric's office Jason started yelling. "You can't just leave her," Jason screamed at Eric. Eric had explained to Jason why he had left her, but Jason persisted. "You promised me you would take care of her," Jason declared, as he hit Eric's desk, upset.
"My lifestyle is not for her. She deserves better," Eric told Jason.
"You should've thought about that before you married her. Who do you think is going to give her what she deserves? Who is going to protect her? I can't be with her all the time. She is heartbroken because of you. If she doesn't get out of this, I'm going to make good on my promise and drive a stake through your dead heart," Jason warned.
"I'm doing this to protect her, because I care for her and because I hated seeing her hurt and dying in my arms because of me," Eric yelled at Jason.
"If she comes to see you, you better not hurt her. I mean it," Jason said angrily and left. Pam heard their argument and stepped into Eric's office. He groaned, knowing Pam was going to give him the same speech as Jason because night after night she did the same thing.
"It seems I am not the only one who disagrees with your decision, but I can't blame you. You were meant to break her heart and now that you have done it, I hope you come to your fucking senses," she bellowed.
"Stop this, Pamela," Eric ordered. She approached him and slapped him. Eric hissed at her.
"I've seen humans do it to talk some sense into someone. Did it work?" She asked, hopeful.
"Leave!" he ordered her.
"I'm going to fucking curse you, Eric. Why don't you go to her? I hope that when you realize how much she means to you, it is not too late for both of you." She said and stormed out of his office.
He threw something at her that was on his desk. He couldn't stand being alone. He wanted Sookie, but her safety meant much more to him. How many more nights could he stand to be without her? Every single night when he woke, the first thoughts that came to his mind were about her. He knew Pam was right. He wouldn't last much longer without her, especially when Pam made a point of saying her name to him every single night.
Her beautiful face was engraved in his mind and refused to leave him alone. He missed her mouthwatering scent. He had even asked Pam if there was a type of True Blood that matched Sookie's. Pam had made fun of him, saying if such a thing existed, vampires would not feed from humans anymore. It wasn't that he just missed her blood, he missed her, her smile, even her stubbornness. And of course, he missed not being able to touch her soft, warm, curvy figure. No other woman appealed to him. She was unique and he wanted her, needed her like he needed blood to survive. Perhaps he should go to her and beg her to take him back. Would she? Even after what he had done to her.
Sookie was at work sulking. She missed Eric terribly and she knew she had made a mistake. She wanted Eric back in her life. Sam sent her home early that night because he told her she looked like a vampire; her usual perky personality was gone.
"How long are you going to wait for?" Jason asked her. "Go to him Sookie," Jason suggested. He thought if Eric saw how hurt she was, he would feel bad and take her back. Jason was sure, Eric loved his sister.
"You don't understand, Jason, it's complicated," Sookie said.
"You make it complicated in your head, Sookie, it is actually very simple, do you love the man or not?" Jason asked. Sookie stared at her brother.
"Of course, I love him," she said.
"Well then, go tell him," he ordered.
"Jason!" She exclaimed.
"If you really love him Sookie you will forgive him for anything he did and he will do the same. Yeah, you screwed up and so what, people do that every day. I do it on a daily basis and you forgive me, don't you? So what, he might send you away, he might tell you he doesn't want you, but he will be lying. I know he has feelings for you. If he didn't give a shit, he wouldn't have been upset with you for leaving him here," Sookie couldn't believe Jason of all people was actually telling her this. "Think about it, Sook," he said and left her abruptly. She sighed and went to her room.
She picked up the letter from her night stand and read it again. She touched her necklace and remembered what Eric had told her that night. It was a gift of everlasting love for his beloved. She loved him and she missed him.
She knew now what to expect from a life with him. So, she would be in danger all the time, but she knew he would be there for her. She had told him she was his and she had meant it, so it was time she put her big girl panties on and confronted him. She couldn't make a decision and take it back the next day. She knew there must have been a reason why he had hidden the vampire marriage from her, probably because he feared her reaction. If she was honest, she had tried to do the same out of love; she had tried to leave him behind to protect him.
They both had made mistakes, but who was perfect? And she didn't want someone perfect, she wanted Eric. They were married and he was hers so she was going to get him back. She had no clue how she was going to accomplish that, but she had to start somewhere. She took a quick shower and got ready. She wore a pair of blue jeans and a silver blouse with a blue coat. She put light make up on. She gave herself a pep talk about possibly being rejected, but she was going to see him tonight and no one was going to stop her. She didn't get very far.
She was locking her house when she felt cold hands on her mouth and then she passed out, as she felt something hit her from behind.
At Fangtasia, Pam's phone rang "Miss Pam, Bill has returned and he has taken Miss Sookie with him. I'm following them," Bubba said.
"Good job, Bubba. Stay with her and don't lose her. We will be there shortly," Pam said and hung up. She approached Eric at his throne.
Pam had been instructing him about his life and his position. She tried to take advantage of the situation, but he wasn't stupid and he had caught her lying to him. He found it amusing. One thing was pissing off Pam though, he still declined to go and see Sookie.
Pam knew Bill was bound to come back sooner or later and when he did, he was going to go after Sookie. She instructed Bubba to watch over Sookie without Eric or Sookie finding out. She had been right.
"We have a problem," she said and gestured for them to go to his office.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Open your bond with Sookie, Eric," she pressed, but Eric refused.
"Alright, leave her alone, but there won't be much left of her if you don't act quickly. She has been kidnapped," Pam told him.
"How do you know this?" He asked, furiously.
"I was keeping tabs on her and I was right to do so. Her gift makes her very desirable, Eric, and you are not the only one who wants her. You have two options, let her be taken or get her back. That is if she is still alive when you get there," Eric thought she was joking, but Pam was very upset.
"Open the damn bond if you don't believe me," she yelled. She wasn't even sure why she cared so much about Sookie, but she did. Eric opened the bond and he was consumed by Sookie's fear.
"Where is she?" Eric growled at Pam.
"You find her," she spat at him and walked out of his office. She felt him pass her at vampire speed. She smiled with satisfaction and just hoped he got there in time.
"Why did you rescind my invitation into your house?" Bill asked Sookie. With her mental radar, she found they were alone. No one was going to save her this time.
"Something happened to Eric and I didn't trust anybody. It wasn't just your invitation," Sookie said, fearing for her life. Bill had bound her to a chair and was staring at her angrily. She saw a blur and then she the felt pain on her face, he had slapper her.
"Don't lie to me," he said.
"It didn't work, did it?" Bill asked. When he came back, he found Hallow, the witch he had hired to curse Eric, was dead.
"What didn't work?" Sookie asked.
"What happened to Eric? And don't lie to me again," he warned.
"A witch cursed him. He doesn't remember anything. He left me," she said with tears in her eyes. Bill smiled.
"See darling, I told you he was going to leave you. He killed Hallow then," Bill said. Sookie shook her head.
"I killed that bitch for cursing him," she spat at him. Bill growled at her.
"I will kill your precious Viking and then you will be mine again," Bill promised. Sookie feared for Eric's existence and though she knew Eric could defeat Bill, she wasn't going to let it go that far.
"No matter what you do, I will never love you again, you pathetic dead piece of shit," she spat at him. He was enraged and slapped her again, her face was wet with tears and her lips were bloody.
"I'm sorry, darling, but you make me do this. Leave him and we will be together again, break the bond with him and I promise I won't hurt you again," She nodded. Bill had no idea that Eric and Sookie were bonded and pledged so their bond could not be broken.
"I...I," she stammered and took a deep breath, "I relinquish your claim on me…Bill Compton," she said. Bill dropped to the floor in agony, feeling his bond with her disappear. He glanced up at her.
"Stupid woman, I will create the bond again," he promised.
Sookie smiled at him wickedly. "No matter what you do Bill, I will always be Eric's. There is nothing you can do to make me hate him. You can't make me stop loving him. He will always be in my heart. You can feed me your disgusting blood, but that won't change anything," she promised.
"I will drain you and turn you. You will be mine and your pathetic Viking won't be able to take you from me," Bill warned. Sookie laughed, loudly.
"He will stake your ass and then I will be free to be with him for an eternity. Face it, Bill, you can't win," she said. Bill growled.
"I will kill him. I will find a way to kill him and you will be mine," he promised.
"But I will never love you again. Never, no matter what you do and if you lay a finger on Eric I will rip your fucking dead heart from your chest, even if it is the last thing I do in my life," she promised. She wasn't sure how she was going to accomplish that since she was bound, but Bill would eventually make a mistake and she would take advantage of it.
Bill walked towards her and in that moment Sookie saw how truly Bill truly was. He was evil. Sookie closed her mouth, as Bill tried to shove his blood in her again. He hit her and pulled her hair, but she didn't give in, she resisted. More tears started falling on her face, as she realized he was going to kill her and she would never get to see Eric again. She prayed to live and see Eric's face one more time, even if he hated her. Just once more, she wanted to see his silky, golden mane, his cerulean blue eyes and his soft lips.
Bill removed her bindings and threw her against the wall. She felt most of her bones cracking before she passed out, but the last thing she saw was Bill's evil stare. Now he was going to shove his blood into her and claim her. He was atop her, about to shove his bleeding wrist into her mouth, when the door flew open and a feral roared alerted Bill to his imminent demise.
At the entrance of the warehouse, Eric stood with a murderous look on his face. Eric was growling menacingly at Bill, and promising a swift dead. In his life, Bill had never seen a vampire look as frightening as Eric looked in that moment. Bill stopped what he was doing and stepped away from Sookie slowly, but that didn't matter to Eric anymore. Bill had hurt Sookie and he was going to pay for it.
Eric was on him faster than Bill's vampire sight could register. Eric broke his arms and hit him so hard on his face that Bill thought his head might have been removed from his shoulders. Eric removed one of Bill's limbs savagely, before throwing Bill's broken body against the farthest wall.
Eric made his way to Sookie's side and lifted her broken body in his arms. What if he was too late? What if his blood couldn't save her this time? Afraid, he called Pam.
"Just give her your blood, Eric. There is nothing more you can do," she said. Eric bit his wrist and fed her his blood. He shouldn't have let her alone and unprotected.
"Sookie," he said softly and showered her swollen face with soft kisses. Her heartbeats were so slow that he feared for her life. He didn't want to lose her. He cradled her limp body in his arms and started rocking her back and forth. He didn't remember if he believed in any deity, but he prayed to whomever he had prayed before that she could stay alive for him. His heart ached, and he welcomed the pain, he would endure this pain if that saved Sookie's life.
A\N: Let me know what you think. I love reading your reviews...