Part 6
My memory is excellent, I dial Sookie's cell phone without even thinking about what I am doing. Even though it is late I know she will answer, she is a part of our world now. When she does though, it does not give me the fortitude to speak immediately.
"Hello?" Her voice, which I haven't heard in so very long, sends a shiver through my body. "Hello?"
"Sookie?" I answer, clutching the phone like it is the only thing holding me upright.
"Bill?" her surprise is palpable.
"Hello Sookie."
"What's happened?" I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that her first instinct is that something bad has transpired. Of course, I am also calling her from her home, if she has caller ID, and I imagine she does, her instinct is absolutely correct if not quite psychic.
"It is Elizabeth." I am actually glad that she has moved what could have been an awkward conversation to its heart with little distress for either of us. Of course, I am making the assumption that the sound of my voice has not distressed her. I am hoping it has been long enough and that her gentle nature has transcended the hurt I heaped on it.
"Is she alright?" The concerned tone is one I remember, once she used it for me.
"Someone is trying to kill her Sookie." I see no reason not to be blunt; I can make this conversation as direct as Sookie needs, so she can be rid of me. I explain my concerns quickly, mostly because I know Elizabeth can hear me as well, and I do not wish to cause her any more fear than I already have.
"I know you and Eric can offer her more protection in Shreveport than I can here, even with Calvin's assistance. She does not deserve this kind of terror when she is only trying to help people, Vampires included."
"I agree Bill. Let me speak with Eric." She leaves me on the line for only a few seconds, but of course I had not expected she would be far from him, and their bond has likely alerted Eric to the trouble. Sookie has never been well able to hold in her emotions. "We will be there within the hour Bill. Eric has a place where she can stay."
"Thank you Sookie. Truly, thank you." I make to hang up the old Bakelite phone in her kitchen, to go and tell Elizabeth to pack quickly but I hear Sookie stutter on the other end of the line.
"Bill?" I bring the receiver back to my ear slowly.
"Yes Sookie?"
"How," she pauses, "how have you been Bill?"
I can think of no answer for her.
"Thank you for asking after me Sookie. And thank you for helping Elizabeth." She seems to understand that I do not wish to pursue that line of inquiry.
"She is an amazing woman isn't she Bill?" She asks instead.
"She is. I have had the great fortune to have met several here in Bon Temps." That makes her quiet, perhaps uncomfortable, but it is honest.
"We'll see you soon then?"
"I will tell Elizabeth to be ready."
She lets me hang up the phone that time.
"Eric Northman and Sookie are coming to pick you up Elizabeth." She has been puttering around the sitting room, packing up her computer. I marvel at the way she deposits everything in its own little cubby in her bag. Her fingers fly almost as quickly as my own might, and no less accurately. Only when she hears my voice does she fumble slightly. I go to help her. My hand brushes hers as I retrieve the power cord that has slipped from her fingers to the floor, hardly making a sound as it lands on the woven throw rug. She starts at the cold and then apologizes.
"I'm sorry William, it isn't you, I'm just upset."
"I understand. Would you like me to finish packing your things for you?"
"Perhaps if you could just get my suitcase, I put it in the hall closet. You could bring it to the bedroom for me?"
"Of course." I feel the need to move quickly, my own nervousness at seeing Sookie and Eric again driving me. I would like to be gone, or at least well into the shadows by the time they arrive. The suitcase is easy to find, and taking it to the master bedroom seems another easy task until I am in the middle of it and I stop to look it over. It is not as I remember it, and I don't know if that comforts or saddens me. Of course Sookie has taken away her grandmother's things, the quilt, the stitching on the walls. She will have wanted them in her new home; those things were the most personal parts of Adele Stackhouse. But the bed has been moved, and now sits so that the light from the window falls on it crosswise. The throw rug is gone exposing the bare hardwood floors in their faded years of glory. The vanity is also gone, replaced with a large plant, something tropical, with wide red flowers that have little scent. What I do smell is the lavender that seems to cling to Elizabeth, and a quick inspection finds several bowls of potpourri that hold the faint grey leaves I do recognize. Otherwise the bureau and side table are bare of everything but unused lamps and a clock of sorts, it has speakers and a little white rectangle seemingly supported at the front, I assume this little device plays music for her. I suppose she has no need of pictures and knick-knacks. It is her room now, and not Sookie's. As I look around I find the memories of us there harder to find. That gives me comfort. Not that the room seems sterile, far from it, but it seems tactile now, as is, I suppose, appropriate. The bed has numerous pillows on it, each with a different soft texture; the quilt is another patchwork of different fabrics. Even the curtains have beads in them; something I imagine produces a gentle rustle as the wind hits them from the open window. There is a silk robe laid on the end of the bed, and I can see now that the sunlight must cross her body as she sleeps through the sunrise, warming her. I brush my hand across the robe carefully as I lay the suitcase down on the bed, the silk seems flawless, and it must feel wonderful against her skin. I am lost in that thought when she enters the room. It is so easy to get lost all of a sudden.
"William?"
"I'm here." I speak to the bedspread, not turning around, even though I know she cannot see my embarrassment. I feel her warm hand find my shoulder.
"Is it difficult for you to be in here?" She is so perceptive, or perhaps I should say, so thoughtful, because it is really not the room that is distressing me, or the memories of making love to Sookie here, it is the thought of losing her, Elizabeth, so suddenly. And that isn't fair.
"I am fine." I put on my best smile, hoping she will be able to hear truth in my voice if she cannot see what I am trying to convince her of.
"You are not fine William. Tell me?" The depth of her perceptions is incredible.
"I am concerned for you Elizabeth."
Her gentle smile makes my heart melt.
"I will be fine, I have the best protectors of any underpaid researcher out there. I have Eric and Sookie, and I have you." She does not know about the panthers, I choose not to enlighten her.
"I just want you to be safe." Looking at her face I cannot help myself but to brush my fingers down her cheek. I just need to know what it feels like before she leaves me. She trembles, but turns her head into my hand.
"I'll miss you too William."
"You should finish packing, I'll go watch for the car."
"We have time William." She tells me, her voice suddenly very quiet and unsure.
"Time for what?"
She turns her face to my palm, which I notice I haven't moved, and kisses it. Her hand, once on my shoulder, slides down to my other hand and grasps it, pulling my body close to hers, I yield.
"Please kiss me before I go." She whispers. I am weak, and I do.
Her mouth is so soft, and her lips crush under mine even though I am too frightened to exert any type of pressure. My mind explodes at me, cursing my action and selfishness. Not that I fancy myself some type of powerful lover whose kiss would drive a woman to distraction. But I am a broken lover, and I cannot imagine what I could have to offer her, beyond the baggage of my past. But still I kiss her because it feels so wonderful and because I know I am going to lose her in only moments. She pulls away from me, I know it is because she needs to draw a breath, and I take the opportunity to step away as well.
"You should finish packing Elizabeth." I don't want to hurt her.
"William?" She reaches for me, I take her hand. I cannot walk away like I should.
"Please Elizabeth, please, I need to make sure you are safe."
"You want me to go?"
"I need you to go." I kiss her hands and I walk away.
"Are you going to walk into the sun when I leave William?"
I say nothing.
"Answer me!" It is the first time I have heard her raise her voice, except in a scream.
"Elizabeth?" I plead.
"You saved my life, you can't just walk away from me!"
"I don't want to walk away from you. I have to, you have to be safe." I am feeling anxious, I need her to understand why I am doing what I am doing.
"You're responsible for me William, you saved my life. You can't die now."
"I'm already dead."
"You know what I mean!" She is beginning to sound hysterical; I find that makes me feel even worse.
"Please Elizabeth." I return to her, I have never meant to make her unhappy. I should not have kissed her. But I don't know what else I've done wrong, to make her feel this way about me. No, that isn't right, I should have walked away from her after I took down that man, I should have never stayed the day in the house, I should have never told her about myself. As these mistakes flood my mind I hear something, and before I can apologize I have to run from her.
"Stay here!" The command is simple as is my tone; there is someone outside and it is not Eric or Sookie. I throw open the door and tear down the steps, on the lawn there is a beast pounding towards me and all my anger and confusion suddenly has an outlet.
The wolf is huge, his mouth is agape and my fangs drop with no hesitation. I want him to tear at me, and I want to tear at him and we meet, midair and tumble to the earth, snapping and snarling. He is strong, but I am stronger, and his blood wets my hands first. I give him credit as his jaw snaps around my upper arm, but the pain feels good. I rip at his fur, pulling chunks out, listening to his roars. For a few moments I forget myself. He has come to harm Elizabeth and I am going to kill him for it.
In changed form his neck is broad, but I can still get my arms around it, even if it means offering another limb to him as I maneuver him into place. My own cries match his as his fangs take my flesh, but my grip does not loosen and I tighten it even as I dig my fingers beyond the fur, into the muscle. We fight for a great while, shedding blood and flesh, crying into the dark. It takes time, but his strength and his posture begin to slacken, and finally he falls to the ground, breathless and lifeless. When I stand, it is to greet the black car rolling down the driveway, and Elizabeth, who I know cannot see me, standing on her porch, her face a picture of fear. I am covered in blood, and the mass beneath me has shifted back to the pale flesh of the man and not the beast, quite dead, and quite torn. Part of me wants to feel proud of what I have done. Part of me knows that I will have to face Eric and Sookie, which is something I had hoped to avoid, and I look like a monster now that I have to do it.
"William!" Comes the call from the porch. She is frantic, she has heard the roaring and the fury and she does not know if I have survived now that the quiet rules.
"Well Bill," comes the second voice, a tainted respect from the man I lost Sookie to, my sheriff, Eric Northman as he steps from the driver's seat to survey what I have wrought. "It seems you weren't exaggerating the seriousness of Miss Elizabeth's predicament."