Chapter 3

Sam went ahead and hired the both of us. Daphne didn't start until tomorrow, but I had asked Sam if I could start today. I had nothing better to do.

I picked up on the waitressing fairly quickly, I was always a fast learner and it didn't require a brainiac to know how to wait tables. I thought of my vision about Daphne struggling at this job wondered how anyone could really be that bad at it.

And then I thought about my vision of Sam. After the Great Revelation, I knew there were supernatural things in the world we weren't aware of. But shape shifters? I wondered if he could only turn into a dog or if he could shift into other beings. Could he shift into bird? A plant? Another human? What else was out there in the world besides vampires and shape shifters? I definitely wasn't used to any of this; back where I lived in Alaska there was daylight for most of the days, so vampires really weren't a problem. I hadn't even seen one in person. And from all my years of having visions, I'd never seen anything supernatural in one.

I decided to push my thoughts aside and not overanalyze them too much. It was just Arlene and I working, which wasn't too overwhelming, until dinnertime came and people came pouring in. Luckily, two other girls came in for their shifts right on time.

The dark-skinned girl was a bartender. When I introduced myself to her, she came off a little cold and mean-spirited. She wasn't rude to me, but I could tell she wasn't much of a people person. She told me her name was Tara and went about her business without another word. And I was totally okay with that.

The blonde waitress, though, was warm and friendly. The second she had a chance, she came up to me to meet me. I couldn't help but notice an ugly looking bruise on her eye. What kind of trouble did she get into to land her with a black eye?

"Hey, you must be our new waitress. Thank god you're here, we could really use the help 'round here," she said as we stood at the window waiting for our orders. "I'm Sookie."

"Lissa," I said as I shook her hand.

The engine roared as the yellow car swerved down the dark road.

"Bill, slow down, please," Sookie said, looking over at the driver, presumably Bill. He was pale with dark hair and his lips were pressed together in a line. He looked extremely angered as he jerked the car around the windy road, ignoring Sookie's plead. "Stop this. You're scaring me."

Bill pulled over abruptly, but didn't make eye contact with Sookie. In the backseat of the car, a redheaded girl wept tears of blood.

"I'm sorry," Sookie told him. "She promised she was just gonna look in the window. I know I made a mistake, but they're her family."

"She is a vampire!" Bill roared. "She has no family!"

"I'm a monster and I'm gonna be one forever because of you!" the teenage girl spat. "I hate you so fucking much!"

"Be quiet."

"Eat shit!"

"I said, be quiet!" he yelled as the girl slumped down in her seat. Bill turned to Sookie. "You undermined my authority as her maker. You risked those peoples' safety and your own. If I had not glamoured them within an inch of their sanity, all of our lives would have been shattered."

"I know. I'm sorry," Sookie said.

"You keep saying that! And I am expected to what? Forget this ever happened?"

"What else would you like me to say? I knew when she asked me to take her I should say no, but all I could think about was Gran and what I'd give to see her again."

"That does not give you the license to behave like an irresponsible child!" he spat. "She is a loaded gun, Sookie. Not a doll for you to dress up and play with!"

At that, Sookie turned and pushed open the door.

"What are you doing?" Bill asked, annoyance laced in his voice.

"Walking!" she threw back at him, slamming the door shut. Bill got out of the car as well.

"Don't be ridiculous. Bon Temps is nearly 20 miles away," he yelled.

"I'd rather walk all night than spend another second in that car with you," she said as she stormed off and started down the dark and wooded road. She got only so far before she stopped from a strange sound.

"Bill?" she called out nervously, but she was already well out of sight from the car. She gulped and started walking again. "Bill, if you're trying to scare me so I get back into that car with you, it isn't gonna work."

There was some rustling and a growling sound and Sookie turned around. Her eyes widened with fear and confusion.

When I came back into reality, I blinked my vision away and smiled at Sookie. She was squinting at me and appeared to be focusing really hard. I went to pull my hand away, but she tightened her grip and grabbed on with her other hand as well, closing her eyes in concentration. I sweated nervously.

Oh no, I thought. Somehow she knows my secret.

I managed to yank my hand away fearfully, but tried to hide my awkwardness with a laugh. She wasn't buying it.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, but better get back to work!" I tried to say convincingly as I turned to make my escape.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Sookie said and grabbed my arm. She quickly pulled me into Sam's office, which he had apparently deserted, and shut the door.

"What's wrong?" I tried to ask innocently.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I don't mean to get off on the wrong foot here, but, do you mind?" Before I could ask what she was talking about, her hands were on my face and her eyes were shut. I stood frozen, wondering what was happening.

"I can't hear you," she murmured.

"I didn't say anything…"

"No, I mean I can't hear you."

What?

"I don't know what you mean…" I said nervously.

"Are you a vampire?" she asked suddenly. I laughed.

"What? No, what makes you think that?"

She sighed and looked at me in all seriousness. "Look," she said. "I don't mean to scare you, but you should know that I'm a telepath. I can't-"

"A telepath?!" I cut her off. "Wait, what?"

"I can read people's thoughts," she said, pausing for a moment to let me digest everything. "I can hear everyone except for vampires… and you."

My mind was racing trying to take everything in. But amazingly, I wasn't having as much trouble learning that this girl I just met is a telepath, as much so that I was the only human she couldn't hear.

"Why?" I asked.

"I don't know," Sookie said. "What are you?"

"Nothing. I'm perfectly human," I lied through my teeth. Well, I was human as far as I knew, but seeing visions was not exactly a human ability. Still, I had never thought of myself as anything more than human, despite my condition. Sookie, though, was not convinced.

"Lissa," she said to me. "It's okay, you can tell me. I know we just met, but I just told you my secret. You can tell me yours, I can help you."

Was I really considering telling this girl that I just met my biggest secret? No one knew about my visions, only my mother had and she took that secret to the grave. Why should I tell this lady? I didn't even know her. But she said she could help me. How? She was different too, so if I was to tell someone, she would probably have been the one to understand.

I sighed.

"I'm a psychic, I guess you could call it," I confessed. "I have these visions of the future. I don't get them consistently, but always when I touch someone for the first time."

Sookie's eyes widened, but she didn't scream or run away or even look overly shocked at what I had said. "A psychic?" she repeated. "Do your visions come true?"

"Most of the time," I admitted. "But the future's not set in stone. It can be changed."

She was silent for a minute, thinking. Then she asked, "Did you see a vision of me?"

I bit my lip nervously. I was very uncomfortable with talking about my visions, especially since I had never really done it before.

"Yeah, when we shook hands," I told her.

"What was it about?" she asked curiously.

"Uhm…" The fact that it wasn't a necessarily happy vision made it a lot harder to talk about. I gulped. "You and some vampire, Bill, I think, arguing."

I expected her to get upset, but she just laughed. "What else is new?" she said jokingly. "Bill's my boyfriend. We fight all the time, we're actually in one right now." She paused thoughtfully. "But that's what makes us stronger."

"Oh," I said relieved.

Before either of us could say something else, there was a knock on the door. Tara peeped her head in.

"Sookie," she said. "Jason's here to see you."

"Tell him I'll be right out," Sookie replied. She waited for Tara to leave, before turning back to me.

"What time do you get off?" she asked.

"Eleven."

She walked over to Sam's desk and grabbed a pen and paper. She scribbled something down as she told me, "Listen, I have to go see Bill tonight to settle things. This here's my phone number. Call me tomorrow morning? Maybe we can meet up?" She handed me the paper as I considered her offer. "Don't worry, you can trust me, okay? You and I ain't all that different."

"Thanks," I said. Sookie seemed like a sweet person. And I had to admit, it was kind of exciting to have someone to talk to who shared a similar secret. "I'll call you," I assured her.

I was a bit shocked when she gave me a quick hug. We had just met and already she was so kind and loving. As she walked out to talk to Jason, I thought of how different Louisiana was making me feel. And boy, I had no idea how different it was going to get.

Author's Note: I'm sorry if this is slow-going and boring. I felt like I really needed to establish Lissa's character before I could get to the good stuff. I promise it will pick up in the upcoming chapters, particularly in chapter 8. Sorry for the slowness and any mistakes.