Chapter Six: Don't Forget
It felt like everything was going in slow motion. I could feel the stabbing pain as the fangs sunk deep into my neck, the blood flowing right out of me as the vampire drank hungrily. I let out a whimper, my eyes squeezing shut as the pain increased. I couldn't think of using my powers at all, but thankfully didn't need to as only seconds later the vampire was ripped off of me. I lost my balance and sank to the ground, my hand immediately rising to cover the bleeding wounds. I kept my eyes closed however, not wanting to watch the brutal death of the vampire for the second time in a row. Instead, I focused all my attention on my breathing, trying to regulate its pace as well as my racing heart. I could faintly hear the ripping of flesh, and even found myself starting to open my eyes, but firmly kept them shut. I was covered in enough blood, I didn't need to see the death of another vampire that from what I could hear, Eric was prolonging for as long as possible.
"It's done." Eric finally spoke, his voice low.
I slowly opened my eyes, only to yelp in surprise at how close Eric was. He was kneeling down beside me, his face merely inches from mine. His eyes were searching my face before falling down to my hand covered neck. I winced as he gently pulled my hand away, inspecting the fang wounds closely. He pressed his fingers lightly against the wounds, earning a louder wince to emit from my lips. I tried to squirm away from him, but before I could, Eric ripped right through the flesh of his wrist and shoved it against my mouth. I tried to struggle against him, to push his wrist away with my hands. But Eric gripped my wrists in his one large hand as he forced his blood passed my lips. I glared at him as I ceased struggling, knowing it was no use. Even if I were to use my powers, he would only try it again. I shouldn't have been angry. The man I loved was trying to heal me. He had swept in and saved the day, just as he always had. But I couldn't help but feel frustrated with Eric, angry even. What gave him the right to just run off to god knows where, only to come waltzing right back into my life when there was trouble? I could have taken care of the vampires eventually. But no, he just had to pop up and cause my heart to break even further. Because I knew this didn't mean anything. I knew that this wouldn't change a damn thing.
Why the hell was he here in the first place? I thought he was supposed to be in Sweden not caring about anyone else but himself? What was he doing in Jackson, and at the same time that I was? Was this just some coincidence?
"You're stubborn." He mused as he pulled his wrist away, the skin healing immediately.
"And you're an asshole." I pushed myself up onto my feet quickly, taking a few steps back away from Eric. I watched as he stood with grace, his tall figure towering over me. I narrowed my eyes at the vampire, part of me wanting to just kick his ass. "What the hell are you even doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing?" He crossed his arms over his leather jacket.
"I'm looking for Godric, who you apparently couldn't care less about."
Eric growled as he took a step forward, his eyes narrowing down at me. "You have no right to assume such things."
"And you have no right to try and save the day." My hands clenched at my sides. "You can't just do that. You can't just break my heart and think you can pop in and save my life whenever you want to. You just can't, Eric!"
"I wasn't going to let those vampires kill you."
"I was handling it." I defended. "Just like I've been handling everything since you left."
"Is that so?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, that is so." The anger was bubbling inside of me. "So you can just go back to that shit hole of a country. No one wants you here."
"Why do I not believe that?" he took another step forward.
I took a step away from him, making sure to keep my distance from the Viking. "A Month, Eric. It's been a god damn month since Godric has gone missing and you're just now popping up? What the hell is wrong with you, he's your maker!"
Another growl sounded from his throat and before I knew it, his hand was wrapped tightly around my throat as I was shoved down onto the ground. Eric was straddling me in an instant, his fangs extending as he flashed them at me. I struggled beneath him as he tightened his grip, his face lowering down so his fangs could graze across the skin that had only just been healed. There was still a hint of pain as he nipped at the skin before his tongue flicked out to lick away the blood. I was squirming on the ground, just wanting him to get off of me before I found myself aroused.
"Get off of me, Eric." I tried shoving at his chest.
"Don't you dare assume that I don't care about Godric." He growled into my ear. "You know absolutely nothing, do you understand, nothing. He means more to me than you'll ever understand. Never assume that I don't care about his well being. I care just as much about him as I do you."
I didn't allow myself to look too much into it. Because if I allowed for those walls to start breaking down, to allow Eric back into my heart, I knew it would only be worse after he left again, breaking my heart in the process. I just looked away as Eric continued to clean up the blood. I didn't fight, I barely even moved a muscle. I just laid there beneath him, trying desperately not to start crying right then and there.
After longer than I would have liked, Eric finally released me and stood. I stayed on the ground for a brief moment, my eyes closed as I tried to catch my composure. Once I was sure I wasn't going to start breaking down, at least yet, I pulled myself back up to my feet and put a good few feet between Eric and I.
"Now pray tell, what the hell were you thinking coming here?" Eric demanded.
"I'm going now, just leave me be Eric." I turned on my heel and started towards the end of the wreckage. Before I could go very far however, Eric flashed before me, staring down at me with the very same blue eyes I had fallen in love with. I started straight at his chest, unable to meet his gaze. Because I was sure the moment I looked into those orbs, I would find myself unable to stop crying. Why did he have to come here? I was doing so well. I had hardly thought of Eric this past month. I was starting to move on with my life, and then suddenly he had to pop up and save my life. And now all of these horrible feelings, the heartache, the agony I had felt for so long, was worming its way back into my life and I didn't know how to stop it.
"Why are you here?"
"The same reason you're here it seems." I sighed. "Just go, Eric. You didn't care before and I doubt you care now."
"You're an idiot for coming here at all. You should just leave this alone."
"Leave this alone?" I looked up at him angrily. "He's my best friend, Eric. How the hell do you expect me to just sit around and do nothing?"
"It's what he would want. You're only going to find trouble. Like you did tonight." he waved his hand at the bloody remains of the vampires who had attacked me.
"I don't care. Godric is my best friend." I argued. "Like you even care about my well being. You left remember."
"Because I needed to." He defended.
"Oh that's right, because you're a coward and a pussy, right I almost forgot." I rolled my eyes. "Well you can just go run away again, no one cares."
He looked like he wanted to attack me again, and he very well could have if he wanted to. I was ready. I could feel the power vibrating inside of me. If he even laid a hand on me I would snap, unable to stop the strength that was surging through me. It was easier to be angry with him. It was easier to want to hurt him, to want to hit him into oblivion. Because if I wasn't angry, than I would have been on the ground, curled up into a ball bawling my eyes out.
"Just go back to Sweden, Eric. Just go back to not caring because it's a whole lot easier." I shook my head, dropping my gaze. "I just want to go home, so if you could just move..."
I was surprised when he did move, when he just stepped right out of my path. I tried to hide my surprise as I took a step around him and began towards the road. As I went to grab my phone, hoping it hadn't gotten wrecked during everything, I felt a slight rumble beneath my feet. Frowning, I paused where I stood, looking around before gazing down at the ground. Before I had a moment to fully understand what was happening, the ground beneath me gave away completely. I let out a scream as gravity took a hold of me, pulling me down into complete darkness. I tried to grab something, anything that would keep me from falling, but it was no use. I fell to the hard ground beneath the hole, landing right on my right ankle. I yelped as I crashed to the side, my entire body shaking in pain. I was blinded by the splitting pain that was shooting up my leg from my ankle, my hands scrambling around to try and loosen the pressure by pulling off my shoe. Tears were sliding down my cheeks as I tried to look around. But between my teary eyes and the pure darkness that surrounded me, I couldn't see a damn thing.
"Ellie?" Eric's voice sounded from above me. "What happened? Are you alright? Talk to me damnit!"
"I-I..." I couldn't form words, the pain just too much. I knew my ankle had to be broken. There was no way it could be hurting this much and not be broken after a fall like that. I tried to understand what in the world just happened, but all I could think about was my throbbing ankle.
"Don't move, I'm coming down." Eric instructed before I heard the sound of his feet dropping to the ground. A cold hand fell to my ankle and I let out a sob as the pain was nearly unbearable. I tried to crawl away from his touch, but wasn't able to get very far. "Shh, Ellie, I'm just making sure you're alright."
"I'm not okay!" I yelled at him, trying to wipe away the tears but knew it was pointless. "Stop, please just stop! It hurts!"
"You broke it." Eric sighed. "I'll need to heal it."
"No!" I threw my arms out to where I thought he was, and was happy when I was met with his hard chest. "I don't want any more of your blood!"
"Ellie, your ankle is broken. You're in pain, I need to heal it."
"Why do you even care?" I whimpered as his hands continued to try and massage away the pain. But it wasn't working. It only created more agony. "Please, please just stop."
Eric sighed but his hands dropped from my throbbing ankle. I sighed in relief as I closed my eyes, trying to get a handle on the situation. But it was incredibly hard when my ankle just wouldn't stop throbbing.
"Where the hell are we?" Eric grumbled as he stood, my hands dropping back down to my sides. I tried to feel around, my hands meeting with damp dirt. It could have been a thousand different places. The ground itself could have just given away, and we could be in hole of dirt. Or we could be in some underground passage. It wouldn't be unusual for a vampire to have some sort of secret escape route, should anything happen. And it was the perfect place to go to ground should a vampire need more protection.
And that's when it hit me.
An underground escape route.
One that may or may not have survived a bombing. Considering I had fallen into what appeared to be one, and all I could feel around me was dirt, it made me believe that the majority of the tunnel could be perfectly intact.
And who else had an underground tunnel that I just happened to escape through with the late Andre?
"Eric!" I tried to get the vampire's attention, my mind buzzing as the idea seemed more and more likely.
But of course, the damn Viking wasn't paying me any attention. I didn't even know where he was. He was able to see just fine in the dark, but I was stuck feeling blind and in tremendous amount of pain.
"Eric, where the hell did you go?" I called out to him angrily. "Hello, injured girl here!"
"Shut up, Ellie, I'm trying to concentrate." He growled at me from a few feet away. "I wasn't aware of this...of wherever we are."
"It's an underground tunnel."
"It appears to be some sort of tunnel built underneath the mansion." He mumbled to himself, not listening to a word I was saying.
I rolled my eyes as I tried to shift my position, only to let out a whimper of pain. "Fuck."
"Stop moving, Ellie and let me figure this out." He shot at me.
"Oh you are an idiot." I muttered. "We're in an underground tunnel you idiot."
"Don't call me an idiot." He hissed.
"Well you are one! Don't you know what this means, Eric!"
"Hush, before that ankle of yours isn't the only thing broken." He warned.
I shook my head. Why did I have to fall in love with an idiotic stubborn Viking? That was my own fault. I could have fallen for the calm and sweet vampire. Or maybe even the gentleman of a shifter I had met tonight, Quinn. Yes, Quinn would have been such a simpler relationship choice. I wouldn't have found myself in half of the situations I had in the past few years, and I probably would have been happier. Damn my life choices.
"We're in an underground tunnel. The King must have built it when he bought the mansion. A wise move." Eric informed, even though I had already figured that out.
"Thanks captain obvious." I snorted. "Now can we please get on the same page now?"
"What, Ellie?" He sighed, sounding annoyed.
Well join the damn party, Eric!
"Don't you get it, Eric? This is how Godric survived!" I threw my hands up in the air, or at least that's what I hoped I was doing. I still couldn't see a darn thing.
"Godric wasn't here." Eric reminded me as if he was speaking to a confused five year old.
"Well I know that, Sherlock." My patience was wearing thin. "But don't you remember when you sent Godric and me to New Orleans when you came here? And then the King attacked the palace and to get me out without him knowing, you sent me with Andre and we went through..."
"An underground tunnel." He finished for me, finally seeing where I was going for this. "You think Godric could have..."
"I told him about the tunnel awhile back. Maybe Sophie-Anne and some others were able to get out through it. Or at least Godric anyways."
"How do you know they would have had enough time?" Eric questioned, and by the sound of the crunching dirt, he was approaching me.
"Well I don't, but he sounded weird when he called me only a few hours before the bombing. I think he knew something was wrong, so for all we knew, he was able to escape before it happened." I started explaining. "Or at least maybe he got there just in time."
"Why hasn't he come to us then? Where is he now?" Eric began pacing beside me. "This makes no sense."
"Well it makes a whole lot more sense than what I had before tonight." I pointed out. "This would explain how Godric might still be alive. It's probable anyways."
Eric didn't say anything for awhile. He just paced while I awkwardly sat there at his feet, my ankle's throbbing turning to a dull ache for the time being. I knew the moment I tried to move it, there would be excruciating pain. So I kept my leg straight, trying desperately not to move a muscle in my foot or leg. It seemed to be working, but I was becoming restless just sitting there, trying to figure out what was going through his head.
"Why are you here anyways?" I wondered softly.
"I'm searching for Godric, just as you are." He answered swiftly.
"Why now though? It's been a month."
"I've been...looking for him elsewhere." He admitted. "When I found no trace of him, I came here to search for clues."
"Can't you feel him?" I questioned, hoping that Eric was still able to feel him, that there was glimmer of hope that Godric was indeed alive."
"No." He answered quickly, but I had been able to catch the sadness in his tone. He was just as desperate as I was to find Godric. He was Eric's maker after all. He meant more to Eric than I really could possibly understand. Just like Pam would always mean a great deal to Eric. It was just a bond that not even I could ever truly understand or even have with any of the vampires. If he couldn't feel Godric through their blood bond, then either Godric truly had died, or something else was going on here. I was praying for the latter to be true.
"Is he...is he dead?" I squeaked out.
"No." He was confident as he said this. "No, he is not dead. He can't be."
I nodded, though I wasn't sure if he was able to see it. I stared down at what I thought to be my lap for awhile, Eric muttering to himself in Swedish. After a bit, a cramp began forming in my leg and I needed to move. The moment I did however, the pain shot right back up my leg and I let out a yelp.
"You should really let me heal that." Eric sighed as he knelt down beside me.
"No. But you can get me the hell out of here."
I felt his arms slide around me and before I knew it, Eric was flying up into the air. I clutched onto his jacket tightly as he rose out of the tunnel and into the night sky. I was surprised however, when he never stopped. He didn't land us on the ground, oh no, he just kept going. My eyes grew wide as I shoved Eric's arm, trying to get him to stop.
"If you continue to do that, I will end up dropping you." Eric warned.
"What are you doing, put me down, Eric!" I tried peaking down at the ground, only for my heart to drop and I quickly squeezed my eyes shut. "Eric!"
"You can't walk. I'm not about to leave you in the open for anyone to come along and harm you." I felt his eyes on me as his pace in the night sky slowed.
"Where are you taking me?" I slowly drew my eyes open, my green orbs meeting his shining blue eyes.
"To my apartment." He answered before turning his gaze away and continued to fly.
I swallowed back the lump in my throat as I clung to him like my life depended on it. Closing my eyes once again, I was unaware of where we were going and how long it took. But soon enough, much to my pleasure, Eric was landing on solid ground. He refused to set me down however, as I opened my eyes and watched as he walked us into an empty lobby of a fancy apartment building and right on over to the elevators. I was surprised when he pushed the penthouse suit button once we had stepped into the moving contraption. Though I really shouldn't have been surprised, this was Eric after all. He wouldn't live in some dinky apartment. Everything had to be lavish for this vampire.
My eyes grew as wide as saucers as Eric took the first steps into the penthouse suit. It was amazing. I had thought the house in Shreveport was extravagant and beautiful. But this place, it was just something else entirely. It was more modern than the house in Shreveport, but it still had Eric's taste throughout the entire suite. There was a large living room attached to a small, but very impressive looking kitchen. Almost every single wall was lined with windows, allowing the starry night sky to shine into the dimly lit apartment. I was still looking every which way as Eric set me down on a comfortable black leather couch across from a large widescreen TV.
"You can't just live somewhere simple, can you?" I looked up at the vampire, only to realize that I was now alone in the room. I frowned as I looked around, careful not to knock my ankle on anything. Where the hell did that Viking go? I nearly jumped a foot in the air when I turned back around to check on my ankle and found Eric there, lifting the throbbing limb onto a pillow that was resting on the coffee table. "Where the hell did you come from."
He flashed me a smirk as he ran a finger down the side of my ankle, earning a whimper of pain from my lips.
"You should really just let me heal this." He advised, straightening to his full height as he stared down at me. "You wouldn't be in pain."
"You forced enough of your blood down my throat tonight." I glared at him. "I'll go to the hospital, it doesn't matter."
"It can be healed in the matter of minutes but you would rather go to a hospital and let incompetent doctors work what little knowledge they have on you?" he raised an eyebrow at me, shaking his head in amusement. "You don't cease to amaze me, Ellie."
"Shut up." I grumbled. "Can I just go now?"
"I brought you here so you couldn't find yourself in trouble." He shook his head, walking over to the front door and began pressing in a code in the number keypad beside the door. I watched him closely, but his fingers moved too quickly to distinguish which numbers he pressed. I slumped down in the couch, knowing I was officially trapped here. If it wasn't the broken ankle holding me down, then it was the obvious lock or alarm he had just set. Fantastic, just fantastic.
"When can I leave? I need to go to New Orleans. Sam never knew about the underground tunnel. I need to go there."
Eric spun around, his eyes narrowing into slits. "You're going nowhere near New Orleans."
"You can't stop me." I looked him dead in the eye defiantly. "There could be some clues there. Maybe he's still in New Orleans stuck or something. I have to go."
"You don't have to do anything of the such." He shook his head.
"Yes I do!" I clenched my teeth together as I moved my leg off of the coffee table and tried to stand up. "He's my best friend, I need to find him!"
"He's my maker, I'll find him." Eric was beside me in a flash, pushing me back down onto the couch. "You're only going to hurt yourself further."
"Go away Eric, I need to go there. You can't stop me."
"I believe I can." He lowered himself down to my level, his arms resting on either side of me on the couch, effectively trapping me. "I'm not about to let you run off and find trouble."
"What trouble?" I glared at him.
"Do you not realize that those vampires were there for you for a reason?"
"Why? What did I ever do to them?" I asked in confusion. Why were more vampires trying to attack me?
"It's not what you've done to them. It's what you could do for them." He explained, tilting his head to the side. "These people, these vampires, they're very dangerous, Ellie."
"How do you know all of this?" I frowned. "How do you know any of this?"
"Because I've been Sheriff for many years. I know the threats the state has received time and time again. It seems not all of them were empty threats."
"Well why would they want me?"
"Because you're a lucrative being to acquire. You're the Phoenix, who wouldn't want you?"
I shuddered. Well this was just great. More people wanted me for what I was. Couldn't I just catch a break? "I can take care of myself."
"Like you took care of yourself tonight?" Eric shook his head as he straightened and look down at my ankle. "Your ankle is broken and I've already healed you once tonight."
"I never asked you for your help." I crossed my arms over my chest. "I didn't want it."
"But you needed it. Just as you always do." He rolled his eyes as he moved around the couch and into the adjacent kitchen.
I mumbled a few choice curses, knowing he could hear every single one of them. What was I supposed to do now? I needed to get to New Orleans. I needed to check that underground tunnel. Maybe Godric was trapped down there, or maybe it would give me clues as to where he could be. I was certain that was how he had survived. It would make sense. He knew about the tunnel. He knew that it could be his only escape route. So of course he would take it. This was the lead I've been waiting for. Maybe it wasn't a total waste coming here after all. I hadn't thought about that tunnel at all until I found myself sitting in a similar one (with a broken ankle of course). This could be it. This could be how I found Godric. But how in the world was I going to make that possible with a broken ankle and an annoying vampire who I was desperately trying not to cry over.
"Please Eric; I need to go to New Orleans." I tried begging him. "I can't just sit around and do nothing. I need to find him. This could be the only way."
"And I shall go there myself. I was planning on doing so anyways." He shrugged, appearing beside the couch with a bottle of true blood in one hand.
"What am I supposed to do then?" My face fell.
"I'll drop you off in Bon Temps on my way there tomorrow." Eric informed.
"But...please, I need to go there. You never would have known about the tunnel if..."
"If you hadn't of been stubborn and walked off and fell into the tunnel." Eric took a sip of the blood with a smirk plastered across his face. "Oh yes, I never would have known about it if it hadn't of been for you."
"Oh just stop it, Eric." I was not in the mood for his attitude right now. "I want to go."
"It's too dangerous."
"My entire existence is dangerous, Eric!" I let my anger just explode. "No matter what I do, I'm always going to be in danger! I'm always going to have people after me because of what I am. But this time is different. This time it's about finding Godric, the only one who actually cares about me."
"I care about you." Eric muttered.
"No you don't." I snorted. "You left, remember? When things got a bit too tough, you ran. You don't care about me at all."
"Maybe I don't, you're right." He stared down at me, an unpleasant look in his eyes. "But I still will not let you do something so idiotic."
"Why the hell not!"
"Because, you silly little girl." He had me up in his arms in a flash, his bottle of blood being set down on the coffee table. I struggled against him as he took a seat on the couch, placing me on his lap. "You'll only manage to get yourself killed. And I can't let that happen."
"Let me go, Eric." I pushed at his chest, only for him to wrap an arm around my waist, trapping me against him. "Eric, let go!"
He shook his head as he raised his free wrist up to his mouth, his fangs extending before sinking into his own flesh. I knew what he was going to do and I continued to struggle. He forced the wrist against my lips, just as he had done earlier, and I tried to just shove it back away. He was being forceful however, one hand clamping down on my thigh to stop my kicking. Of course, that only caused me to struggle harder, which earned a whimper of pain to escape my lips as my ankle was knocked against the couch. Eric used that opportunity to push the blood passed my lips, forcing me to drink his life force. Much like earlier, I was glaring darkly at him as I had no other choice but to drink his blood. I hated it at first, wanting to just spit it all out. But as I began ingesting it, his blood intertwining with mine, I began to feel differently. He hadn't given me enough earlier for me to remember just how sweet his blood tasted, but now, now I remembered perfectly. I couldn't help myself as a moan escaped my lips, my eyes closing as I held onto his wrist with both of my hands. His blood was thick, and was just intoxicating. I wondered if this was how Eric felt when he drank my blood, or if it was even better than this possibly was.
"I may have left, my sweet one, but that doesn't mean I wish you any harm." He lightly kissed the base of my neck, causing me to moan even louder. Damn him for earning such a response out of me. "I think that's quite enough."
I almost found myself pouting when he pulled his wrist away. I kept my eyes closed however, not wanting to see the look of satisfaction on his face. I licked my lips, wanting every last drop of blood, as I began to feel the familiar drowsy feeling. It had been a long night before I found myself attacked and falling into the underground tunnel. Now I was exhausted, and would give anything for just a nice long sleep.
"Come, Ellie." He lifted me back into his arms, and before I knew it, I was being set down on a large comfortable bed.
I was barely paying any attention as Eric placed the covers up over my body before he joined me in the bed. His arm slid across my waist, and at that moment, he wasn't the asshole who had walked away. At that moment, he wasn't the one who had ripped my heart out, stomp on it, only to shove it back into my chest. No, at that moment, he was just the vampire who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I knew I wouldn't have this for long. I knew this wouldn't last. So I enjoyed every last second of it that I could.
I would figure everything else out in the morning.