Thanks to SexyKnickers for reviewing and everybody else who put my story on their alert! I really appreciate it :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

This story starts around season 4 but it will have elements of the other season in it and I am going to make some changes to it so I can incorporate Annabelle. :D PLEASE REVIEW!

Chapter 5 – It hurt me too

We walked into Merlottes fifteen minutes later. Sookie told me to go sit in a booth and not disturb anyone. Although she knew I wouldn't go unrecognized for long. She had told me Sam was going to anger management courses and that she had just gotten her job back after being away for a year. I asked her about it, but she would just brush me off, saying that she had needed some time off after she had gotten into a huge fight with Bill due to Bills 'indiscretions', basically he cheated on her. I swear I'm liking this guy less and less by the minute. She wouldn't tell me where she had gone but I didn't want to push her on the subject seeing as my slate of running away wasn't exactly clean. Sookie was four years my senior and right about now she was really acting like it. When we were younger she had seemed so innocent and me, well, not so much. I had always seemed older, at heart, than I really was.

She gently pushed me down in a booth in the furthest corner still in her section, away from prodding eyes.

'Don't talk to anyone just yet.' She said, pointing at me, and talking to me as if I was a five-year old. 'Nobody knows you're in town yet and you really upset some people when you left.'

'You mean Sam.' I said. Sam and I had been really close. Sam had been adopted too and he would always feel protective towards me since my experience with being in the system wasn't exactly pleasant. His parents had kicked him out once they found out what he was. Sam is a shifter. He can turn into any animal he wants as long as he has imprinted on them, meaning seeing them personally. Sookie had told me after I had asked her. Not on purpose, but once Sookie gets started she seriously doesn't know when to quit. At first I had been a little wary, I mean who does that? Granted Sookie can read minds and I can… don't go there I thought to myself. I didn't want to sit in a bar, dwelling on what I can and cannot do. I'd been doing that more than enough lately.

'Yeah, it really hit him hard when you left' Sookie said, pulling me back into our conversation. 'He really cared about you. A lot.' 'Cared' as in past tense? Oh boy. I felt extremely guilty even though I knew Sookie wasn't trying to make me feel that way. Sam and I had been close but not in a romantic way. He had always had a thing for Sookie and I suspect that that was part of the reason he had been so caring towards me. He was the only person apart from Sookie that I had truly trusted with everything. I knew he was upset that I hadn't come to him with my troubles instead of just leaving.

'Can't I just talk to him,' I pleaded with Sookie 'I only want to see how he is.'

'Andy, don't make me regret bringing you here' Sookie said, she looked extremely tired, like she just wanted to sleep for days.

'Okay' I said softly, grabbing her hand and squeezing it lightly 'I'll behave.' Sookie let out a breath before giving me a small smile.

'Do you have anything to do?' She asked after she realized I was going to do what she said for once.

'Got a book with me' I said before she squeezed my hand back and left to start her shift. I got out my book and started reading. The bar was pretty much empty at this point, there were a few women with their babies sitting and talking about fabric softeners. Small town living I tell you.

It had been a good three hours before I had to go to the bathroom. Sookie had snuck over an Ice tea at some point and now I was feeling the effects of it. I had been needing to use the restroom for about five minutes but I had been too afraid to go seeing as I would have to walk past Sam's office to get there. Sookie was on her break so I couldn't ask for her car keys to get me home though it wouldn't matter as Sookie's house was easily ten minutes away and I couldn't wait that long. I didn't want to disappoint Sookie by going back on my promise but I really didn't see any way around it. I slowly got up from the booth after I had swept the floor for familiar faces but in a small town everybody was familiar. I had changed a lot since I left I was 20 years old now considerably different than the shy 16 year old girl I left as. I had been a tomboy, only wearing loose fitting khakis and baggy T-shirts, my hair coming to right beneath my chin. Today I was wearing a light blue sundress with a white cardigan over it, looking very feminine. My hair came down to the middle of my back and I had pulled it up in a clasp, letting a few strands fall in my face. Sookie had helped me and tried to cover up the bruises with make-up, but they were just so severe that it didn't cover them up completely. I was still pretty sure nobody would recognize me.

The bar was deep in its lunch rush so I was convinced that I could slip by undetected. I maneuvered myself over to the wall closest to the kitchen pass before running by as fast as I could, earning a few odd glances from the customers. I caught a glimpse of Jason sitting at a table with Hoyt Fortenberry eating lunch. Hoyt was Jason's best friend. He was quieter than Jason, but I think he was fine with that since Jason liked to talk. A lot.

I made it into the hallway and prepared to make a run for it. If I was fast enough Sam would only see me from behind and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't follow me into the ladies' room. I leaned in close to the doorframe into his office, the door was open. I peeked in only to see that his office was empty. That was weird. Usually, if Sam wasn't behind the bar he would sit and do paper work in his office. I was sure he wasn't out there, I had checked. I mean he wasn't –

'What are you doing?' A deep familiar male voice said. I jumped, surprised by the sudden company. While I had wondered where he was I hadn't noticed that I had walked further into his office. I was in trouble.

'N- Nothing' I mumbled quickly before I turned around and tried to push past him. He stood in the doorway, his arms crossed and a guarded look on his face. 'I'm sorry.' I had my eyes directed at my shoes trying to hide as much of my face as possible, the hair was already doing a great job at it.

'I know it's you Annabelle,' he said, he almost sounded exhausted or relieved but mostly angry 'the whole bar is going crazy out there talking about you.' I was really nervous about letting him see my bruises, Sookie had done a good job with the make-up but you could still see they were there.' Don't try and hide from me.' I didn't say anything. We just stood there, him staring at me and me staring at my feet.

'Look at me' he said firmly.

'No.'

'Annabelle.'

'No.'

'Please.'

My head snapped up. Sam was pleading with me? I should be the one on my knees, begging him to forgive me for leaving him. He had done so much for me. He had given me a job, talked to me about his past even though he didn't have to and shared his biggest secret with me. Granted I found out on my own but still… He had helped me with everything even trying to figure my power out. Squirm. Don't want to think about that right now.

'What?' I asked him, a look of confused anger washing over his features, he was frowning deeply.

'What happened to your face' he said, as he stepped forward and grabbed my chin in his hand, moving my head from side to side. Ow!

'Nothing' I said, swatting his hand away and stepping back. 'You're not mad?' I asked him confused. He seemed a little too relaxed. Why was everybody so quick to forgive me? Jason hadn't even brought it up at breakfast, which kind of made me think he hadn't even noticed I had left. With Jason you just never knew. Even Sookie had forgiven me, though she had been angry for a little while. Sam didn't look angry at all, not at me at least. He walked passed me, sitting on the chair behind his desk.

'No,' he said, placing his elbows on his knees 'Sookie told me everything'.

' Oh' was all I could manage to get out. 'So you're not mad?'

'I told you: No'

He still looked uneasy though.

'I don't understand…'

'Look Andy, I understand why you left and though I'm not happy about the way you went about it I am glad that you are back,' a smile crossing his face as he said that last part.

'Sookie told you to go easy on me, didn't she?' A sheepish expression crossed his face as he stood up to hug me, gently. Yup, Sookie had told him everything. And I mean everything.

'Well… Do you need some help around here' I asked, after he had let me go and held me back at arm's length to look at me.

'We always need help around here,' he smiled warmly 'you good with waitressing' he asked me, I could see his eyes light up a little.

'Yeah, sure Sam' I smiled.

'Hey Andy, can I talk to you for a minute?'

'Sure Sam. What's going on?'

'I never got a chance to give this to you before you left. I was able to track down your birthmother and this is everything I found about her.' He pushed a manila envelope towards me.

'Uh.'

'I know it's a lot to take in but just look at it.'

'I-I don't know…'

'I just thought you might want it now that you are back. I don't want to put pressure on you, just open it when you are ready.'

'Tell me what's wrong. And don't tell me it's nothing, because I now there is something. I can feel it' Sookie said, in that demanding voice that meant that there was no way around it anymore. 'It was that thing you and Sam were talking about, wasn't it? Why won't you just tell me what it was about?'

I slowly got up from the chair I was perched at by the kitchen counter and dragged myself into the living room, throwing myself on the couch while feeling a headache coming on. I couldn't feed her another lie. She'd just keep going until I told her the truth and Sookie is nothing if not persistent.

'You wouldn't understand,' I drawled, feeling tired even though I'd woken up not five minutes ago. I hated this feeling, I'd been feeling worn-out for a week now and I'd only just arrived a week before that. I hadn't really done much except for covering a couple of shifts a Merlottes when they were a waitress short.

'Annabelle Amelia Smith,' Sookie said, stalking after me into the living room, holding the spatula she had used to make eggs in a death grip, her voice taking on that angry motherly tone it usually did, when she disapproved of something I'd done. I squirmed in my seat,' you tell me what's wrong this instance because I can't…' She stopped talking, a defeated look on her face as she plumbed down on the couch next to me ' I can't keep going on knowing that you're hurting and that I didn't…' Tears filled her eyes before falling relentlessly down her cheeks, her voice broken. 'Sookie, please….' I whispered softly, leaning in to comfort her 'it's nothing really, I'm just… having trouble adjusting to being back here', which wasn't a complete lie. I was having trouble adjusting. Nightmares of Justin finding me or worse, hurting Sookie, broke my heart every time I woke up at night, shaking as sweat beads trailed down my back. He couldn't hurt Sookie, he just couldn't.

'You're thinking about leaving again' Sookie whispered. So quietly, that I almost didn't hear her.

'No,' I said, wrapping my arms around her 'I could never do that to you' I said, shocked, that she would even think that.

'You already did, remember?' Sookie said, hurt and betrayal gracing every contour of her voice. I was a little taken aback, seeing as she had refused to talk about that since the night I had returned.

'I was stupid,' I muttered, more to myself than her 'I was stupid and selfish and I've realized how much I hurt you and I know – 'I was cut off by Sookie standing abruptly, turning towards me with an angry look on her face. Her voice icy; 'You don't know shit,' Sookie said, the tears replaced by a fuming expression. I had never seen Sookie like that.' You left us. You were the one who decided to up and leave the second you got a chance to! You can't even begin to comprehend all the nights Gran and I stayed up, wondering if you were alive or not! You broke Grans heart so bad and after Aunt Linda – '

'Don't you think I know that'! I screamed back at her, shooting up from the couch 'Don't you think it breaks my heart to think that my last words to Gran were; I'm going for some milk. A LIE! A freaking lie. After all those years where she was nothing but kind to me. I –'

'Don't even think for ONE SECOND that you get to play the victim here-'Sookie started. The anger swelling inside me. How could she even think that?

'I'M NOT PLAYING ANYTHING!' I screamed, clenching my fists tightly.

'Honestly… I don't even know why you care' Sookie said superiorly, shifting her weight to her left leg and crossing her arms. I felt myself at a loss for words. Her words punching the air out of me and leaving me floating in the dark. The way she'd said that, the way she had believed that I didn't care, hurt me more than anything she could have said. I felt my heart break a little, though I didn't think I had any left to break. We stood there staring at each other, neither of us uttering a word for what felt like an eternity. I felt my legs begin to give in and tears welling in my eyes and realized that I had to get out of there before I fell to my knees and started balling my eyes out. She hated me enough as it was, I didn't need for her to think I was weak too.

'Because it hurt me too' I choked out, pushing past her and running outside. Leaving a dumbfounded Sookie behind, as I walked past my car and ran straight into the woods.