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Chapter 4

"Eric?" I repeated as he began to advance forward. I raised the gun and pointed it directly at his chest.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you," I warned. He stopped, but I could recognize the bloodlust in his eyes.

"Why do you smell like that?" he asked. I didn't respond as he took a step closer. I put my finger on the trigger. A voice in my head told me that I should just pull the trigger after everything he did to me. But I needed answers from him.

"You smell like the ocean, lavender…and sunlight," he said as he inhaled the air around him. He was now about a foot away from me. Then, he let out a low growl as he took a few more steps. He obviously wasn't getting the message. Before he was inches away from me, I aimed at his shoulder and pulled the trigger. The shot rang throughout the woods and was followed by a piercing scream from Eric. The bullet pierced his skin and exited through his back. He reached for his shoulder and looked down at the gunshot wound, blood pooling around the area.

"What did you do that for?!" he yelled. "You hurt me!"

"Because!" I retorted back while lowering the gun and sliding it into my backpack. "You weren't listening to me and I know you're hungry. Plus, after all the fucked up shit you've done to me, you deserved it!" I spun on my heel and stomped away, furious at his behavior.

He cried out in pain, causing me to turn around. From what I could see, he was already healing.

"Oh shut up," I said, while rolling my eyes. "You're a vampire for crying out loud. You're already healing."

"I know what I am! I just don't know who you are…or who I am, for that matter."

That got my attention. "Wait, what? What do you mean you don't know who you are?" At that moment, I wasn't sure if I bought into this act, but clearly there was something off about him. He lacked the arrogance and coolness he once possessed. He looked utterly confused. Vulnerable, even.

"If this is some sort of act," I continued, "Eric, I swear I'll—"

"It's not an act!" he interrupted. "It's true."

"Okay," I sighed. "Then what's the last thing you do remember?"

"I don't know," Eric said, frustrated. "I don't know," he repeated. "The sea maybe…home."

His eyes trailed off past me as if he was trying to remember something. Something that was already lost.

"Eric, focus!" I said, bringing him back to the present. "What happened?"

"Her eyes…They were reaching into me…emptying me," his voice was unnatural. He sounded nothing like the vampire I had met all those years ago. There was something in his voice that sounded foreign to me. It took me a moment, but I recognized that what I heard in Eric Northman's voice was fear.

"She was in a circle with others. They were chanting," he continued. "And everything I was…was taken from me," he concluded.

As broken as his story was, it scared me. This clearly wasn't the Eric Northman that I knew. The one that had destroyed my life and along with it, my identity. He just looked so…helpless. I never imagined that was even possible for him. It was so foreign…to see him look like this… look so human.

"Alright," I said after a moment. "We'll figure this out. We'll get to a phone and give Pam a call. She'll know what to do."

"Who's Pam?" he asked. I stared incredulously at him.

"She's your progeny. You made her," I answered. For a brief second, I saw his eyes drift to the base of my throat.

"Hey!" I yelled. "If I'm going to help you, you will not bite me. Got it?"

He nodded. "I swear it," Eric said.

"Okay. Well, we'll head back to the motel I was staying at, and we'll go from there."

I turned to walk back to Shreveport and he followed, trailing closely behind me.

"I am grateful for this," he mumbled.

"Yeah," I replied nonchalantly. I was somewhat in a daze as we walked back to the motel. I had no idea what could have possibly happened to Eric. I couldn't help but wonder if vampires could suffer from memory loss.

"I do know you?" Eric asked, breaking the silence between us. A couple of hundred feet ahead of us, I saw the motel.

"You do," I said as I kept walking. We were now within a couple feet of the motel. As we neared the reception desk, I turned to Eric.

"You wait here," I told him. "You shouldn't go in the office looking like that."

If my appearance last night had thrown off the person working at the front desk, then Eric would have frightened them to death. His hair was messy and his feet were caked with mud. Not to mention, the blood that stained his skin from when I shot him.

He hesitantly nodded and I left him standing on the side of the building. I walked into the office to see that the same man from last night was behind the desk.

He looked up at me. "You again, huh?" I shrugged. He slid keys across the counter and I signed the ledger. I gave the man one last look before exiting the office. Eric was still waiting for me in the shadows. I waved over to him and he followed me to the room.

I opened the door and went inside, flicking the lights on. Eric followed close behind. I turned to look at him and saw that he had left rather large muddy footprints in the doorway.

"Shit," I said, looking at the stains and shaking my head.

"Sorry," he mumbled, looking apologetic.

"So…how about we get you into the bathroom and we can get you cleaned up, okay?" I walked to the bathroom and turned on the tub. When it was nearly full, I waved him over. He sat on the edge of the tub and turned to put his feet in the water.

"Wait here," I said. "I'll call Pam."

He nodded and I walked into the bedroom to the phone and dialed the number from memory. After two rings, the person who I needed answered.

"Good evening. Fangtasia, northern Louisiana's most fantastic club, what do you want?" Pam sighed annoyingly.

"Pam! Hey, it's Carson. I don't know if you remember me, but—"

"Carson," she purred. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, it's Eric. I found him walking on the side of the road and he doesn't remember anything. He doesn't know who I am or who he is. We're at the motel outside of town in the first room." The other side of the phone went dead.

"Pam? You there? Hello?" I breathed out heavily and shook my head. Hopefully, she was on her way here. I turned my attention back to Eric who was still sitting on the edge of the tub, his blue orbs focused on me. I walked over to him and looked in the water, pleased to see that the majority of the mud had soaked off of his feet. But there was still the blood on his shoulder. I grabbed one of the towels from the towel rack and dipped it in the water. By now, the water had cooled and it was cold. I winced, wondering if it bothered Eric.

"It's fine," he said, reading my expression.

"Let me clean that for you," I said with a nod towards his shoulder. I lifted the towel to his shoulder and meticulously began to scrub the dried blood. After I had gotten most of it off, I rinsed the towel and started to wipe his skin more gently. He jerked and I looked at him to see he was smiling.

"It tickles," he said simply. I shook my head and shrugged. I cleaned him for another minute or so, refusing to let my eyes meet his face. Something in my head clicked and I started to remember my dream from earlier today.

"You're blushing," Eric said, causing me to look him in the eyes. I tried to look away, but he captured my face in his large hand. I didn't jerk away like I had during our first encounter.

"You are very beautiful," he said slowly as his eyes trailed my face. I was beginning to get lost in his eyes…

I opened my mouth to respond as the door swung open and Pam rushed into the room.

"Whothefuckisshe?" Eric yelled, and propelled himself up and out of the tub with his vampire speed.

"Fuck!" Pam exclaimed.

"Sorry, that was rude of me," Eric apologized and looked down at his feet. I looked from Pam to Eric and back to Pam.

"You found him like this?" Pam asked me. I nodded.

"What do you know about what happened to you?" Pam asked Eric. He said nothing, just stared at her for a moment before he looked at me.

"You have to hide him," Pam told me, her voice distressed. My eyes widened and I gaped at her.

"Pam, no fucking way! After all he did—"

"He's in danger!" Pam retorted.

"He's your maker and that makes him your responsibility!" I shot back.

"Carson, I'll be the first place they look."

"They?" I asked.

"The witches!"

"The witches…" I paused. "First I get involved with vampires, then werewolves, and now witches? No fucking way. Not for you and especially not for him after he royally fucked up my life. This," I pointed at Eric. "This is not my problem!" I crossed my arms across my chest, refusing to back down. I'd be damned if I'd let Pam push Eric off on me.

"Well, actually it is your problem seeing as he bought that shitty little house of yours!" Pam snarled. I looked at her in disbelief.

"H-he wouldn't have," I whispered. I looked at Eric, searching for an answer that right now, in his current state, he couldn't give me. A part of me refused to believe that he had bought my home…but as I remembered how possessive Eric Northman once was, it made sense.

"Carson, I think that Eric was set up to go to that coven here in Shreveport. I think that King Bill Fucking Compton tried to get rid of him."

"King who?" I asked. I was barely familiar with vampire hierarchy, but I thought that there had been a Queen of Louisiana, not a king.

"That doesn't matter right now," Pam said shortly. "Just promise me that you'll keep Eric safe. If Bill knew, he would use this as an excuse to get the AVL to sign off on assassinating Eric, I know he wants to. Eric needs to stay with you in your house and no one can know."

I stared at Pam, not sure how to respond. My life was complicated enough without all of this going on. But as much as I hated to admit it, I needed Eric's help. Maybe I could help him get through this and then when he was back to normal, get the answers I needed. He would definitely owe me one. I turned to look at Eric and I couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt. He looked absolutely miserable.

"Fine," I said after a substantial amount of silence. "I'll do it."

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