Chapter 6 – Vampires and Guardian Angels

Maybe I should have known that Sookie wouldn't be that quick to forgive me. Maybe I should have known that it wasn't going to be easy getting Sookie to trust me. But for once in my life I just wanted something to be simple I was tired of always having to struggle. She may have forgiven me but she had not forgotten. Was it too much to ask that for one stinking second of my life I could be completely care-free and not have this giant weight pushed down on my heart. I felt like I was suffocating and was going to pass out any minute. I had completely healed except for my rips and my wrist and it felt good that I wasn't in excruciating pain for a change but it didn't really matter. Everything was absolutely screwed up.

Sookie and I had woken around noon and since it was our day off we had decided to spend it together at home before she went completely crazy on me. I mean I didn't blame her one bit for not trusting me, I wouldn't have. I was more upset with myself for being blindsided by her outburst instead of expecting it. I had gotten too comfortable. Ahh, if only Dad could see me now. He would probably lecture me on not being prepared for every possible situation imaginable and although I hated my Dad with a passion he did have a point there. You just couldn't rely on anyone other than yourself.

I walked down an outlined path with trees on either side of me. It had been a hot day and I had been walking for a good hour, fuming over the fight I had with Sookie. After I had gotten over my initial session of self-pity I had moved on to being angry at everything under the sun. Cursing under my breath and kicking small rocks every now and then. I was wearing shorts and a loose tank top and I was extremely glad that I had decided to wear that since the heat was virtually unbearable.

And then there was the deal with my birthmother. Sam had done a real good job at digging up information about her. He even had a last known address! It was in Shreveport, not even thirty minutes away, so I guess I did have some luck. I mean I wasn't sure if I wanted to find out more about her. She had been killed in a hit-and-run a couple of years ago so there wasn't really a chance of ever meeting her but I still wanted some sort of closure. I just had to know what kind of a person she was, why she left me and what could possibly have possessed her to marry my father. He was an evil man and she must have known that when she left me in his care or lack thereof.

I sat down in the shadows of a large oak tree and closed my eyes for a little while. I breathed in deeply and exhaled, I still had the occasional thought of Justin but for each day that passed he drifted further and further into my subconscious, warning me of how comfortable I had gotten. I had been in Bon Temps for two weeks now without a trace of Justin or my father and for a brief moment I thought I was safe and that I never had to worry about either of them finding me but I knew I was lying to myself. It was only a matter of time before one or the other showed up. I just had to be prepared.

I took a few deep breaths and calmed myself, sensing an unexpected jolt of calmness roll over me and I felt absolutely relaxed before everything went dark and sleep took over.

I woke up a little confused. Night had fallen and I could barely see my own hand in front of me. I stood up, brushing the dirt off my shorts and trying to find the path to Sookie's house. I took a few steps away from the oak, scouting the area for any land marks to indicate where to go. Great job, Andy! Get yourself lost in the woods with god knows what lurking out there. I was too busy scolding myself to notice branches break behind me.

I finally reached a clearing where the moon light shone brightly. Oh yeah, it was a full moon tonight. I gasped at the sight. I slowly walked into the clearing, where flowers grew stunningly. There where all sorts of flowers that I couldn't name. Gran probably knew the name of every single one of them. She had always loved gardening. The clearing was beautiful. It wasn't like the one in my vision. That seemed like more of a meadow with roses only. Here there were all sorts of flowers.

I couldn't help but think back to the guy in my vision. He was so beautiful but in a manly way. I wondered what he was doing with me, he seemed so perfect. My visions did have a track record of being unreliable so I hardly believed that I would ever find myself in that kind of a situation. Especially after Justin. I just couldn't bring myself to trust anyone anymore, and certainly not in a romantic way. That chapter in my life had passed and I was done with it. I was going to die alone and I had come to grips with it. Why dwell on a subject you didn't think was for you. I would keep my waitressing job at Merlottes for as long as Sam would have me and I would stay with Sookie for as long as she would have me. Although I was pretty sure she was a few sweet words from moving in with Bill.

She had refused when he first asked her, seeing as she didn't completely trust him again. She told me about Bill being kidnapped by his maker, Lorena. She had told me about going to save him after he had disappeared. She told me about Alcide, the extremely hot werewolf (huh, who knew. I guess if there are shifters and telepaths and vampires and me… there would be werewolves too. Wonder what else is out there. Scratch that, I'd rather not know) and Eric, seemingly the guy who now owns our house, and how she killed Bill's maker to save Bill from meeting his true death. Go, Sook. She told me about Russell Edgington, the crazy vampire king of Mississippi. Apparently he had ripped a newscaster's throat out on national TV, claiming all sorts of cracked up things. I had missed it since Justin banned me from watching TV. Sookie said that he only did that because 'Eric' had killed his partner in cold blood and he lost it, she didn't look like she liked this Eric and by the looks of it I didn't think I did either. I had never met this Eric-guy, but I knew I didn't want to.

I reached down to pick one of the flowers up; it was different than all the other ones. It was lavender with petals that were heart shaped. It smelled amazing. Like vanilla and cinnamon and happiness and warmth, it was intoxicating. I turned around at the sound of quiet growling sounds, my heartbeat picking up rapidly. Not even three feet away from me stood a silver haired wolf. It was snarling and barking at me, foaming at the mouth and getting more and more agitated by the second. I took a step back and the wolf suddenly stopped. I turned to make a run for it but I didn't get very far. Before I knew it I was tackled to the ground, the wolf biting and scratching at my back.

I screamed at the top of my lungs, the pain was unbearable. I fought back as best as I could, elbowing the wolf on its nose and struggling underneath it. This only served to make the animal more vicious and it clawed even deeper into my back. I felt myself begin to fall in and out of consciousness, tears streaming in a heavy flow as I screamed until my throat hurt.

I was going to die. I was going to be eaten alive by a wolf. I couldn't die, not like this. I wanted to go home. And no matter how pathetic it sounded, I wanted Sookie. I just wanted it to end. I felt as if I was floating and begged to fall unconscious. The wolf had suddenly gotten off me and disappeared into the tree line, leaving me bleeding profusely on the soft grass in the clearing. It almost felt like I rested on a cloud, like I was weightless. Maybe it was going to get its pack and bring them back here; I'd watched enough shows on National Geographic to know that wolves didn't travel alone like everybody thought. Though it was weird to find one in Louisiana, we weren't exactly known for having wolves in our backyard. They were supposed to be up in the North. With that I tried getting up but I couldn't. I began crawling around aimlessly; trying to get out of the openness of the clearing even though I was pretty sure that the wolf would easily find me with the amount of blood I was losing. After what felt like forever I gave up. The pain was so bad I just wanted death to come take me. I wanted it over with.

I thought about the people I was leaving behind. Sam, Jason… Sookie. I just knew she would blame herself for this. She always did. I was so mad at myself. God, why do I always do this to her! I felt a familiar pull in my limps and let it take over. I felt a shiver go down my spine and warmth enveloping me in an invisible blanket. The last thing I hear is Sookie's frantic voice calling my name.

'What is she?'

'I don't know what you're talking about.'

'Don't lie to me, Sookie. I can smell it.'

'Well that's too bad 'cause I'm not telling you anything.'

'Let's not forget who saved her life here. Now tell me what she is.'

'Sell me my house back.'

'No.'

'Then I'm not telling you anything.'

Pain seeped through every nerve as I slowly came back to consciousness. I tried desperately to stay unconscious but I was stuck in a plan between the two. I tried squeezing my eyes shut but it only succeeded to make me wince in pain. I could hear Sookie somewhere in the distance, arguing. I was laid very uncomfortable; my skin sticking to whatever it was I was placed on. The man she was arguing with had a smooth voice; almost caressing every syllable. He sounded Southern but there was the odd word that gave away that he wasn't. His voice was husky and sensual and I wanted nothing more than to wake and see who the voice belonged to. My head was pounding and I felt sore all over.

'What happened?' I groaned, interrupting the argument. Sookie shot straight over next to me.

'Hey Andy,' she said, brushing my damp hair from my face 'it's okay. You're safe now.'

'Where am i? What's going on?'

'You're in Fangtasia, you were attacked by a werewolf.'

'A werewolf?'

'Yes. It seems you have a niche for getting into trouble Ms. Smith.'

I searched the floor for the owner of the voice my eyes finally resting on a tall figure leaning against a bar. He stood casually against the bar top, arms crossed and an indifferent look on his face. I could tell he was thinking, hard. That look had been my go-to expression whenever I was caught off guard or confused. He was tall, very tall even though he wasn't standing up straight. He had broad shoulders and muscular arms. He was pale too, a vampire, but somehow it managed to suit him. He was wearing dark jeans and a black T-shirt, a little skin showing where his pants and shirt would meet. I felt a pang of lust hit me but was quickly replaced by shock as my eyes settled on his face. He had a strong jaw, a five o'clock shadow making him look all the more divine. He had short, slicked back blonde hair and piercing blue eyes that burned a hole in me. It suddenly hit me. I'd seen him before; in my vision. He was the man that had lain with me in the meadow; only he didn't look like him. The man I'd been with was happy and sweet and nurturing. The vampire in front of me seemed hard and cold; ruthless.

He caught my gaze and I quickly shifted my stare elsewhere. I took in my surroundings. I was placed on a leather couch next to a stripper pole. The walls were painted red and black, decorated with tacky vampire posters. Fangtasia? Guess this is a vampire bar. Great, I thought sarcastically. The one place I could have been taken to and it had to be a vampire bar. How did I even get here?

'How did I get here?'

'We don't know. One second you weren't the other there was this white shimmer kinda thing and there you were, lying on the floor.' Sookie said, she moved in closer to me, hugging me tight to her and brushing pointlessly at her eyes and the tears that kept falling. Must have been bad then. A part of me wanted to ask a million questions. How am I not dead? What did she mean white shimmer? Why here of all places? But the other part, the bigger part, just didn't want to know. I didn't want to know why I was alive; I didn't want to know simply because I didn't care. I was alive and that was all that mattered. I knew that the second I started asking question it wouldn't only be about a werewolf attack but about my mental health too. I didn't want to know because that automatically assured me that I wouldn't be constantly worrying about it.

'I'll agree to give you your house back… if Annabelle here agrees to work for me.'

'No.'

'Who are you? How do you know my name?' I said, this guy was really creeping me out, he was nothing like the guy in my vision.

'I am Eric Northman Sheriff of Area 5' he said confidently. 'And what kind of a landlord would I be if I didn't know the names of my tenants' he said in a mock-accusing way.

There was a whole lot wrong with those two sentences. So much that I felt my brain melt a little. I was too tired for this. Sheriff? Area 5? Landlord? Tenants? I was definitely too tired.

'My offer still stands Ms. Stackhouse… Ms. Smith.'

'Not a chance in hell.'

'May I remind you that Annabelle wouldn't be alive without my help.' He saved my life. Ugh. Something told me you didn't want to be indebted to this vampire or any vampire for that matter. And I had had enough of that to last me a life time. All I really wanted to do at that moment was to tuck my tail between my legs and high tail out of there but I knew there wasn't a way out of this. I could see it in his eyes.

'I don't care.'

'I am only asking to be polite, Ms. Stackhouse.'

'It's okay, Sook. He did save my life. And that house has been in the family for 200 years.' I interjected before Sookie could answer. He looked like he was about ready to kill her even though he hadn't left his casual stance at the bar.

'Yeah, Sook. Listen to Annabelle' He said smugly, eyeing Sookie before turning his stare to me and smirking. I could feel myself blush.

'No, I'm done with your shit Eric,' Sookie said firmly.

'Perhaps we should let Annabelle decide for herself.'

Sookie tensed while still holding me in her arms. They held a stare match neither of them backing down. The room fell dead silent for what felt like an eternity. Only the clicking sounds of heels approaching breaking the wall of silence. It was the Barbie, Pam.

'Oh, joy, the human awakens.' She said, the sarcasm rolling off of her. She was pissed. 'You owe me some new pumps Eric.'

'Is it taken care of?' Eric said, shifting his gaze to me. I stared back at him, if there was one thing my Dad had taught me it was; show no fear. And I was pretty sure that with this vampire, fear was a pretty big part of his persuasion tactics. Well that and one other thing I could think of. And by the way he had looked at Sookie I wasn't the only one thinking about it.

'The wolf is no longer. Size 6, Manolo Blahnic, fall collection.' And with that she had sped off, leaving Eric to stare at me and Sookie looking between the two of us. I felt a sudden shiver down my back and up my arms before my vision rapidly blurred

'We have to go' I said hysterically. I could tell Sookie was freaking out because of my sudden outburst. I got up, weakly tucking at her arms.

'What's wrong Annabelle?' Sookie said, she was still sitting and I just didn't have the energy to pull her up. She was looking at me like I was crazy and I was probably going to be if we didn't get out of there soon. Sookie yanked me down so I was face to face with her, she was looking at me intently, trying to listen in on my thoughts.

'Did you have a vision?' Sookie whispered. I was pretty sure the vampire heard because as soon as Sookie had uttered the words he stood straight up. I ignored him.

'We just have to go before… Uh-oh.' Before I had even been able to get the sentence out I felt warmth engross me and goosebumps forming rapidly on my arms. She was here. A bluish white light arose in the middle of room, almost blinding me. And there she stood: Sophia.

'Sophia' I gasped, staring wide-eyed at where she now stood. I could hear Eric let out a growl from somewhere behind me but I was too busy trying to find out ways to get out of here to notice.

'It's been too long, little one.' She said, her calm voice travelling across the room, almost making me forget my initial fear. She looked so serene, so at peace. She was wearing a white gown, her dark hair flowing effortlessly around her shoulders except for a few tendrils that were pulled back in a clasp on the back of her head. I saw her cast a dirty glance in Eric's direction, an odd expression on her face seeing as she never felt anger towards any living being. Not that Eric was living or anything.

'I don't want to be rude but… who the hell are you?' Sookie exclaimed after a moment of silence. Eric's growls had seized, his eyes glazed over with a look of hunger.

'I am a tutelary deity, a patron saint.' Sophia said, her spanish accent beaming through her otherwise neutral tone. She held her head high as she said this, her hands folded together in front of her stomach. She was the poster women for serenity.

'It can't be. You're a myth.' Eric said incredulously, stepping forward cautiously.

'So were you, Vampire.'

'I don't understand. What does that even mean?' Sookie all but screamed, confusion written all over her face. Sookie didn't like being confused and right know she was the only one who didn't know who this stunning creature in front of her was. I didn't blame her. To humans they rarely went by their original title. The one given to them by humans was deemed to a lesser degree. I had tried so hard at keeping away from her, at hiding my existence. I didn't need her finding me and I had done a good job at hiding for the last three years. I knew once she had found me that it would only be a matter of time before she would take me away for the benefit of my powers. I did not want that. Every time I had accidentally used my powers I had always been struck by an almost crippling fear of being detected, but I had managed and I didn't understand why she had found me now. I breathed in deeply.I guess it was time to bite the bullet.

'She's my guardian angel.'

Please, please, please review! Pretty please?