After your first run-in with a violent vampire, you're in the basement of Fangtasia, sitting in Pam's open coffin. One of the lids is closed, and Pam is sitting on top of it, looking down at you with a look that almost resembles worry. It almost makes you want to laugh, you didn't think she was capable of being worried about anything, least of all you, "What happened?" You ask, sitting up and clearing your throat as you hear how horrible your voice sounds. Like there was sand stuck in your throat. Pam furrows her eyebrows, looking even more concerned. You wish you had a glass of water or something.
After a moment, you remember you forgot to order Eric's blood and you curse your stupidity, you could've done it before you were attacked at least. You didn't know exactly what happened, all you remember is a sting in your neck and a hand on your throat. You pull your hand up to your neck, feeling the giant piece of gauze taped to your neck, you wince, feeling a throbbing heat spread through your body and to your throat. Looks like Eric didn't heal you in your sleep or anything. Your bite still hurt.
"You don't remember?" Eric asks, stepping out of the shadows so you can finally see him. You're sort of... angry at him. He never made it to you in time, he wasn't able to save you, despite not being very far away. You look away from him and back at Pam, who's looking at Eric now too. You roll your eyes and turn to face him again, trying to seem less angry. Being angry wouldn't help in the long wrong, and it would only serve to embarrass you when you snapped. But you had a right to be angry, or at least you told yourself that you did. You didn't even know who saved you, it was a woman and that's all you knew. You remember hearing a yell, it was more of a war cry. But that's neither here nor there.
"All I remember is a vampire attacked me." You say, voice still a little scratchy from the dead vampire's bruising grip on your throat. At the mention of him, your heart starts to beat faster, a natural reaction. And you weren't lying, that's all you remembered. Just the feeling of his teeth tearing into your skin and his grip on your throat was horrible. You wished you had the same courage you had when you attacked 3 men in the warehouse. Speaking of the warehouse, you're wondering where Sarah is at, and where Henry's at too.
Pam nods, tilting her head as she looks down at you, "Well that's exactly what happened, and then I killed him." You hear a voice from behind you and you turn around to face the source, it's the bartender you saw earlier. The one with high cheekbones and light blonde hair, she's pale and tall. She's wearing a black mesh top over a black cropped tank top, paired with a black leather skirt. Just from looking, you knew she was a vampire.
For a second you remember all the blood and gunk that splattered everywhere, you're still covered in the blood of the dead vampire. The gunk isn't there anymore, and a towel is lying under you, protecting the interior of Pam's coffin from stains. Probably a good idea, the blood on your face is dry but the collar of your shirt is still damp with your blood. And your jeans aren't much better, you shift your legs uncomfortably, and peeling them off your legs would be annoying. They were soaked when the vampire died, the bartender pinned him to the floor right next to you before driving a stake through his heart. And unfortunately, now you looked like Carrie.
You recognize her voice, it's soft and airy, and her accent is strange, like she was born somewhere else but grew up here in Louisiana. Kind of like Pam's, "You're the one who saved me," You reply softly, looking over at the girl sitting on Pam's couch. She smiles at you, a kind smile, and stands up, strolling over to the side of Pam's pink coffin. Margot looks down at you, hands resting on the side of the coffin. She looks very different from the other bartender you saw, younger and more attractive. Her eyes are large and dark brown, her lower lids are lined with white eyeliner, making them look even bigger. Her nose is thin and upturned, slightly wider near the end. You wondered why they wouldn't employ only attractive people, but that made you seem vain. You're not the hottest person in the bar by far, but you get by, and that vampire that attacked you seemed to like you. Finally, you were meeting someone that rivaled Eric in looks, she was by far the most attractive person in the bar and probably in the entire state, in an unconventional way, kind of like a doll. If you were gay, or even bisexual, you would probably have a crush on her, "Thank you," You say to the woman, tentatively smiling back at her.
"This is Margot," Pam introduces from atop the coffin lid, legs crossed, "My progeny." She says. You recognize that word, but you don't remember from where, it means offspring or child. But in this world, it means vampire child. Pam turned this girl into a vampire, either by killing her or doing it some other way.
Politely, you nod your head, remembering that you can't shake hands with vampires, "Nice to meet you, Margot." You say, your smile is more genuine this time, and you're more sure of yourself because the vampire seems genuinely happy to meet you, it was a welcomed change. She seemed nice compared to other vampires you met. You were surprised you haven't met her sooner, considering her connection to Pam. And if she was willing to save you without knowing you, you'd trust her with your life. And to distract yourself from Eric, who's too close for comfort, you look at Margot and think about her instead. Wondering how old she is when she was turned, where she was born, if she always lived in Louisiana or if she moved, and what her life was like before. It was better than feeling butterflies flutter around in your stomach, every vampire in the room would realize and it would be humiliating for you. They would hear your heartbeat skip or something, you knew that was far-fetched yet you couldn't help but think so.
"I uh, I saw him follow you inside I'm sorry I didn't come save you!" A voice wails from behind Margot, on the couch, it's Elvis— Bubba. Standing with his cowboy hat in his hands, placed right over his heart, "Please forgive me, Sheriff." He says, looking down at the floor. It would be hard to remember his name wasn't Elvis anymore, but you would have to if you didn't want to die.
"It's nice to meet you, Bubba." You say, glad you're finally meeting him. The last time you laid eyes on him you fell unconscious, it was easier to process now though, so you didn't pass out from the shock this time. Your heart did skip a beat, though.
He looks up at you, putting the hat back on top of his head, "It's so nice to meet you too, I'm sorry I didn't make it in time." His face shifts into a smile and he bows a little out of respect. He didn't seem to have anything against humans, that was nice. Some vampires seemed to envy or just hate humans in general, not Eric's friends. Except for Pam, who only liked a select few.
"It's okay, at least I didn't die." You say sarcastically, and Margot tenses up, a dark look in her eyes like she was remembering something horrible. The vampires don't seem to like that joke, save for Pam, who chuckles into her fist.
Bubba stands from his seat on the couch, "Well uh," He begins, heading over to the coffin to stand next to Margot, "Now that you're awake, I'll be taking my leave, I have got cats to eat, and people to protect. Goodbye, Mr. Northman." He speeds out of the room, and a gust of wind ruffling your hair is the only trace of him left. You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding and shift uncomfortably, jeans sticking to your damp bloody skin. You clumsily climb out of Pam's coffin, almost tripping in the process, but the owner of said coffin is there to rush over to you, taking your hand so you don't fall on the floor.
Everyone's in the same place, so you assume the bar is closed by now, it must be late, "Is there a bathroom anywhere?" You ask, eager to get to a sink and clean all the blood off your face and maybe get a change of clothes. Pam, still holding your hand, tells you yes and leads you further into the basement, over to a door and a small half-bath.
"Thanks, Pam," You smile at her while looking over your shoulder and close the door behind you, weakly stepping in front of the mirror and staring at your reflection. Your eyes are red from crying while you were being attacked, and your complexion is lighter than normal. You lift your hands and try to smooth out your hair, running your fingers through it with a wince as flakes of blood fall in the sink. It's knotted because of the blood, and because of your time asleep in the coffin.
You turn around and take a step over to the toilet, leaning down to grab a handful of toilet paper and ripping it off the roll. Using the warm water in the sink, you wet the pieces of toilet paper and start to rub the dried blood on your cheeks and forehead. It doesn't take very long and your face and neck are free of dead vampire blood. You look better than you did before you walked into the bathroom, but your clothes were covered in dry and semi-dry blood.
After a few moments of looking at your reflection in the mirror, you take a deep breath and open the bathroom door, walking out into the cold basement. You got used to the warm air in the bathroom, and you shiver as you weakly amble back over to Eric, Pam, and Margot.
"I called Sarah, she's still at the warehouse," Pam says, speaking to all of you. Margot didn't seem confused, so she must've known about everything that happened. Why you haven't met her before now, you don't know. But you were glad to. You walk over to Pam's coffin, she's standing in front of it, and her arms are crossed as usual. You grab the towel used to shield the interior and ball it up in your arms, walking over to the couch where Bubba sat previously.
You don't say anything, Margot looks at you over her shoulder, still in the spot she was before, leaning against Pam's extravagant pink coffin. If you died, you wanted Pam to arrange your funeral. She has good taste, "Did you find anything when you went?" Pam asks, looking at Eric, he's leaning against a pillar in the basement, legs crossed casually. This surprises you, and you feel bad for being angry that he didn't make it to you in time. He must have felt your pain, maybe, you didn't know. He was too far away, but at least Margot was there to save you.
Eric shakes his head, "No, but I didn't stay for long, I came as soon as I felt her pain," He nods in your direction before directing his gaze back at his progeny, "They're still searching." He says. Margot turns around and walks over to you, sitting down on the couch and facing you. She's smiling, a gentle smile, a smile that comforts you.
"Can I see?" She asks, reaching forward and touching the edge of the gauze on your neck. You pull your shirt down and tilt your head to the side pulling your hair back with your other hand. She peels the tape from your skin and you wince, she does the same as she looks at your wound, smile dropping as she pulls the gauze off. A piece of tape near your neck catches on your hair and rips it out as she pulls it off and you flinch.
"Ouch," Pam says, in front of you now, leaning over you to look at your wound. It's not bleeding anymore, but it doesn't look good. If he drank any more of your blood, you would probably be dead right now.
Eric walks normally, unlike Pam, over to you. When he stands in front of you, Margot stands, resting a hand on your shoulder. You look at her pale, thin, delicate fingers and then at her, "Will you let me heal you?" He asks and in an instant, the weight of Margot's hand is gone from your shoulder and Pam has disappeared from your view. Strange, them assuming you'll let him feed you his blood. They're not wrong though. How would you explain a chunk missing from your neck and a lack of blood in your body to a doctor? Anyone with an imagination would immediately think of vampires.
"Let me think about it."
He understands, and disappears from the room, leaving you alone to think about whether or not you wanted to dream about him for the next month. You could say a coyote or a wolf or something bit you, that could explain the blood loss, maybe. But you felt so weak, you didn't think you had much blood in you at all. Eric could perform a blood transition, by him biting his wrist and shoving it against your lips. Getting it done at the hospital would be better, but you didn't like IVs much. The first time you got one, your blood spurted all over the place, onto the white sheets and the paper-thin blanket they gave you. You had to ask for more than one, and the IV made you tremble for a reason you couldn't identify.
Maybe the hospital wouldn't be better than drinking blood. It didn't taste horrible, it was better than human blood. Childlike curiosity brought you to lick the blood from one of your wounds, it tasted like iron, it was salty and warm. Eric's blood was different, the iron taste was there, faint. But instead of salty, it was sweet and it made you feel warm and content like you were laying out in the sun on a hot summer day in your bikini. You couldn't wait for it to get warm again so you could tan. You shake your head, trying to get back on track. The sex dreams you had about Eric weren't horrible, you enjoyed them. But they happened almost every night and it was starting to irritate you just a little bit. At this point, you'd take a sex dream about the vampire that attacked you over one about Eric. It was an irrational thought, one that disgusted you after another moment of thinking about it. It isn't like Eric isn't attractive, he's very good-looking. He looks like a Greek god actually, the more you looked at him the better looking he got. It didn't help that he was tall, you were usually attracted to taller men, not an uncommon preference. But Eric is very tall, standing at about 6'4 or 6'5. And that made it harder not to be attracted to him.
While you're thinking about the dreams, Eric reenters the room, footsteps soft. You don't notice him until he closes the door behind him and strolls over to you, sitting down on the couch next to you where Margot sat previously, "So, did you decide?" He asks, rolling up his sleeves and resting his shoulder against the couch cushion. He's too close for you to be comfortable, and your heart begins to beat faster as you think about his proximity to you.
"Yeah," You clear your throat, "I'll drink your blood, Eric." You say, taking a glance at his arm. He brings it up to his mouth, not taking his eyes off of yours as he drops his fangs and bites into his wrist. You lick your lips as he pushes it toward you, grabbing his arm. You lift it to your lips, taking a moment to look up at him before you start drinking his blood. The taste of it is familiar, like a home-cooked meal from your mother. You didn't know it until now, but you missed this, being alone with Eric, drinking his blood. Maybe you would start getting hurt on purpose so you could see him more often and share this moment with him.
It doesn't last as long as you wanted it to, he pulls his arm away from your lips and you wipe the back of your sleeve on your mouth and chin to get the blood off, "Oh yeah, my car broke down so I had to walk here, you wouldn't know anything about fixing cars would you?" You ask sarcastically, looking over at him as he watches his wrist heal itself. He pulls his sleeves down and stands up, making a face at you.
"I can call someone," He offers, smoothing out the wrinkles in his sleeves, "I'm sorry this keeps happening to you, but remember, you can leave at any time." He reminds you, crossing his arms as he looks down at you. You won't accept his apology because you didn't want to leave. You wouldn't leave, you wouldn't quit your job. The money was good, you could get therapy or something if it ever got too bad.
You shake your head, pursing your lips, "No, don't worry about it, everything's fine." He nods his head but doesn't look like he believes you much. And he had every right, you didn't even believe you.
The door opens and Pam peeks inside the room, "Sarah and Henry are here." And then she leaves, the door closing behind her loudly. You and Eric look away from the door and back at each other, he holds out his hand and you grab it, allowing him to pull you up. He let go once you stood up and you were disappointed, but you head upstairs without another word.