AN: Yeah yeah yeah, I know, you've been waiting forever for this update… So sorry, guys, But really, life's a bitch sometimes, you know…
They were strolling around the woods surrounding Eric's house and held hands as they talked. The air was crisp and fresh, the unpolluted snow almost white enough to blind them, if they had had eyes for anything but each other. Adoring smiles and gazes caressed, and icy breaths mingled, hearts filled with newly found love keeping them both warm.
Eric drew a deep breath of cold air into his lounges and thought about what Sookie had told him. "Bill's my ex. My cheating and unfaithful ex" she'd said with mild sorrow in her voice. "I left Bon Temps after discovering him and Lorena together, actually jumped at the chance to get the hell out of there. I haven't spoken to him since. Amelia told me he's been trying to find me, but I want nothing to do with him, nothing at all." She'd left it at that, obviously not wanting to talk about the mess any more. Eric was almost drowned in his love for Sookie, and he felt almost sure that she loved him too. But an itty bitty little piece of his mind kept wondering… What if I'm the 'rebound-guy'? He pushed the thought away, and focused on the here and now. Sookie was here, she was everything he wanted. He could easily see himself going down on one knee for her, asking her to be his in every sense of the word. But he had matters to attend to before he was free to do so.
"I have to go away for a couple of days, sweetheart. No more than a week, I think. "
Eric had left the remote house two days later. Sookie didn't know where he was going, and he seemed somewhat reluctant to tell. She didn't want to pry, so she let it go. He'd tell her eventually, she thought, or he wouldn't. She wasn't sure she had the right to know. Their relationship was so new. Actually, when she thought about it, she didn't even know what their relationship was. Lovers, yes, but boyfriend/girlfriend with stings and commitment? She just didn't know. Normally, these kinds of things evolved naturally, but so far, her and Eric and whatever they had, was nothing like 'normal'. It had been instant, violent attraction followed by an equally violent struggle not to give in to each other. He'd saved her life. They had made earth-shattering love to each other, practically consumed each other for hours and hours. They had been secluded during all of this. Nothing seemed normal about them.
She missed him a lot. She worked hard, kept herself busy like she had that first month of excruciating longing, but now she knew, she knew Eric in every way, and her body and mind hummed with that knowledge. She wanted him, and her body wanted him like it had got used to. She slept in her own bed, in her own room. His bed seemed even emptier than her own, and she couldn't bear the smell of him on the sheets, and on the pillows. Her room was empty too, but at least, in there, her senses weren't assaulted.
He hadn't called. He hadn't e-mailed. He hadn't said he would, but then again, he hadn't said he wouldn't. She felt she had no right to feel uneasy about it, since she had no idea if it was a "them", out there in the real world. But she felt a bit sick to her stomach.
Tuesday, about noon, three days after Eric's departure, Sookie heard a car pull up on the gravel outside the house, and she leapt to her feet in her office, and sprinted across the house to get to the front door, almost tearing it off its hinges in her eagerness to see Eric climb out of his car. What she saw made her skid to a halt, her brain almost in disbelief of what her eyes was seeing.
"Bill?"
Her dark-haired ex-boyfriend gave her a lewd smile and casually strolled towards her in the door.
"Happy to see me, honey-bun? Must be, if you're running to greet me."
"What the hell are you doing here, Bill?"
The powerful engines of the jet roared as it broke the speed down the strip, and finally silenced as the plane came to a stop at gate 4, Shreveport Airport. Sookie ran a tired hand over her forehead, trying to relieve herself of the stress she was under. Her eyes tinged with unshed tears, but she refused to give in to them, she wouldn't give Bill the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She would break down, eventually, but she would sure as hell do it in private.
"Ready, honey-bun?" Bills sleazy voice dripped all over her as he stood to retrieve his carry-on. Sookie drew a steadying breath and turned her head to face him.
"Ready as I'll ever be, Bill, but cut the shit and stop with the honey-bunnying. We both now that's an act. You've got me here; Bon Temps is where I'll call home. But I don't even begin to pretend to want to be here, and you know I wouldn't be, if it wasn't for your blackmail."
"Oh, honey-bun, don't be like that. You know I love you. And it's not blackmail. I call it 'light coercion'."
"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the hold you claim to have on Jason, Bill. You know better than most how much my loser brother means to me, and there for you knew just the way to get your will. I will not pretend to be here under false pretenses, and you shouldn't either. Don't say you love me; you wouldn't know love if it jumped up and bit you in you in the face."
Sookie exited the plane and moved towards the baggage-claim, not checking if Bill was behind her or not. But as she spotted her suitcase, he appeared beside her, and suddenly it hit her. This was what life was going to be from now on. She would have no life away from Bill. He owned her. Bought and paid for, at the bargain price of her brother's freedom. She had had no choice.
When Bill had made his surprise visit to Varglyan, he had proposed. He wanted her to marry him, and if she agreed, he would grant Jason his financial freedom. Stupid, reckless, imbecilely Jason, Sookie thought. How could he be so stupid? Where was his brain when he needed it? Gambling had always been Jason's biggest weakness, but to gamble on borrowed money? On Bills money? Now, Bill held the deeds to Jason's house, and it still wasn't enough to square Jason's debt. If Sookie wanted to save her brother, all she had to do was agree to marry Bill, and he would free Jason. She had to trade her freedom against his. And she did. But not until Bill's final blow.
"Come on, Sookie, marrying me can't be that bad, considering you're whoring yourself to that creep Northman!"
"What do you mean, Bill? I'm no one's whore, I'm not Lorena!"
"Silly little girl. Why do you think he keeps you out here in nowhere-land? He doesn't want anyone to know about his little affair on the side." Bill looked gleeful as he watched Sookie go pale.
"What are you talking about? We're not hiding; he's not keeping me from anything!"
"Does he say he love you, Sookie, does he say he wants to marry you? No, I thought not, because that would prove impossible. He's already married, Sookie. Eric is married, and you are the secret, other woman!"
"Eric isn't married! He… He would have told me!" Wouldn't he?
"Oh, but he is, Sookie dear. Do you want to see the weeding-pictures? She's quite the exotic beauty." Bill had retrieved a file from his case, flipped it open and handed it to her.
There he was. Eric Northman, her Eric. Blazing, sincere, honest eyes; not looking at the camera but adoringly smiling down on a woman dressed in gauzy white. Her pearly whites were showing in a dazzling smile, her dark, doe-like eyes seemingly lost in his. Long, black and shiny straight hair and skin of glowing ember. Yes, she was beautiful, and Eric… Her Eric! Was holding her hand where a huge diamond adorned her finger.
Eric was married. Sookie felt her heart drop as the truth got to her.
She fled Sweden, left the same day. There was nothing for her there any longer. Her chest had been ripped open, twice, in less than two months. Bill's betrayal was nothing compared to this one. Eric was married. He hadn't told her. He had slept with her, made love to her and… It meant nothing to him. Sookie realized she had given her heart to Eric, and now she had to pay the price for being gullible. She would never make the same mistake again.
To save her brother, she agreed to Bill's proposal. Her brother would be free. She would be Bill's prisoner in marriage, but she couldn't care. She was dead. A dead woman has no need for freedom.
Eric felt like the last two hours of his drive home took forever, and he pushed the car to go faster in order to shorten the time. He hadn't called Sookie, not even to let her know he was coming. He wanted to surprise her. It was late at night, and he hoped to be able to sneak his way in to bed with her and waking her with a kiss. He longed to be with her. These few days apart had been torture for him. He had missed her so much. He hadn't called her, because he didn't want to tell her over the phone where he was and what he was doing. He planned to tell her all of it as soon as he got back, and he had her in his arms once again.
He had his speech prepared. Sookie, you are the best thing that ever happened to me. I feel like I've known you forever, and I think you know me too. I love you. Will you do me the extreme honor of becoming my wife? Will you be mine, Sookie?
He eyed the square velvet box on the seat beside him. The ring was an antique; it had belonged to his grandmother before his father gave it to Eric's mother on the day he proposed. The diamond was not huge, but exquisitely cut and the sapphires on the sides reminded him of Sookie's eyes. To Eric, it was as if the ring had been forged with Sookie in mind.
Finally, he saw the lights of his house appear through the trees and his excitement grew even bigger. Sookie, Sookie, Sookie his heart chanted and he couldn't go to her fast enough. Janne appeared out of nowhere, as if he had been waiting around the corner. Eric happily greeted his friend as he got out of the car, but felt he didn't have the time to chit-chat. Long strides towards the house were suddenly stopped as he registered the painful look on Janne's face. Eric heard his words, but couldn't decipher their meaning.
"Hon har åkt. Sookie är inte här."
"What?"
"Sookie left, she's not here, Eric."
"What are you talking about, Janne?" Eric turned to look at the man, the man talking in words that made no sense.
"Some guy showed up, a couple of days ago. She left with him within the hour. No explanation, no good-bye. Seemed upset, though."
"What? Wha- Some guy? And she left? Didn't say anything?" This has to be a joke, a cruel joke, but a joke none the less, Eric thought. "What did he look like? Was he American?" He was sure he knew who the mystery guy was. It had to be Bill.
"Ja, American. Dark-haired, kinda short. Generic."
Bill. Sookie left with Bill. "She didn't leave a note? A phone number?"
"No."
Eric went straight to his office to look, but there was no trace of Sookie there. No note.
He passed through the living-room and entered his bedroom. The bed was made. The room was in perfect order. No note.
Eric almost ran up the stairs and opened the door to Sookie's bedroom, saw something on her tidy bed and felt the air whoosh out of him when he recognized the picture laying there. He sank to his knees. The world stopped turning. The air felt thick and un-breathable. His fingers stretched out and grabbed the photo and he discovered the small note beneath it. Her neat handwriting screamed at him.
You made me something I hate. I AM NOT LORENA!
Sookie's cellphone chimed as she entered Bill's apartment. Her Swedish cellphone. She had turned it on when she got off the plane, without even thinking about it. No one here knew the number, and she had almost been sure that it wouldn't even work here. No one knew the number, except… Eric. She dug through her purse and found the phone.
New text-message received.
Sender Eric Northman.
Before she had time to check the message, the display lit up with an incoming call.
Eric Northman Calling.
Eric Northman Calling.
Eric Northman Calling.
Eric Northman calling.
Hesitation. Indecision. He had lied to her, made a home-wrecker out of her. She hated herself for being so weak and gullible. Eric had no business calling her, but something deep inside of her wanted to pick up, wanted to hear his voice and his explanation. The call ended before she could decide. Some seconds later, the phone chimed again.
New voice-mail received.
Her phone was snatched away before she could react, and Bill held it out of her reach. He tore away the battery and pocketed it before handing the phone back to Sookie.
"You are to be my wife. You are mine."
The Louisiana heat felt suffocating. Sookie missed the cold, crisp air of northern Sweden. She missed the snow, the way it creaked under her feet and the way it blanketed and softened everything. She missed Eric, too. Don't go there, Sookie. Eric is no more.