Chapter 9: Solitude

A/N: I am so terribly sorry it's been so long since I updated! Writer's block hit me like a ton of bricks….and so did laziness! I apologize and I hope you leave some reviews! Thanks for coming back to read more even though I take too long! Mwah!

"What do you mean 'all flights are cancelled for tonight?'" Trina asked over the phone in a state of panic. Janet and Susan sat on the couch in their hotel room, staring up at the pacing woman. "Well, can't we switch to an earlier flight?" She waited for the answer as she put a hand to her forehead and continued pacing. "Listen, I am a former flight attendant. Can't you give me a break?" Susan frowned at Janet who frowned back. "We need to be back home in Chicago by at least tomorrow night." Janet reached a hand up, forcing Susan's hand down into her lap to stop her from biting her nails as she looked up at the anxious raven haired woman.

Trina slammed the hotel phone back on its hook and rubbed her head as she felt a small headache coming on. "Well?" Susan asked with uncertainty.

"Well, it seems that we can't get another flight until tomorrow night because all the ones for this afternoon and tomorrow morning are completely booked and our flight for tonight was cancelled because of this damn tornado warning!"

"Breathe." Janet began as she noticed her friend almost ran out of breath during that long sentence. Trina took a deep breath and plopped down on the couch next to Susan, placing the redhead in the middle. "It's gonna be fine. It's not a big deal. We don't absolutely HAVE to be home by tomorrow night." The former Thompson wife stated.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Trina felt that to be untrue as she thought of many different scenarios of Pamela arriving at their hotel at night to kill them in their sleep. One more night, and possibly two more nights due to more bad weather the next day, terrified Trina more than she cared to admit. "That's it!" She stood up once again. Walking over to the table by the door, she took a card out of her purse and returned to pick up the phone once more. Once the numbers were dialed, she stood, tapping her foot and waiting for someone on the other end to answer. "Hello, Shreveport Limousine?" She waited for an answer. "Yes, I'd like to hire a limo driver….Right now." Susan took ahold of Janet's hand beside her and squeezed it. For once, Janet believed she was the only one not losing it at the moment. Trina's attitude was making Susan nervous for some reason and Janet was trying her best to keep it together. Mrs. Decker looked at the card in her hand. "Could you please send the driver Duke Krandall, if he's available?...He is?...Oh, thank god! Please send him to the Chateau Suite Hotel right away….Thank you." She hung up and both of her friends already noticed a hint of a small change in her attitude. She let out a puff of air as if she had been holding her breath all morning and she was relieved, slouching down on the sofa again.

"Where are you going?" Susan asked in a bit of a panic.

"I'm going to Fangtasia to drop off those damn clothes and then we're never returning to that place ever again." She leaned her head back against the couch cushion.

"Trina, they're not open during the day," Susan began with an intense look, "...you know that."

"Yes...but I also know how to pick a lock." The former flight attendant smirked at the woman next to her.

"Trina, no. That's a terrible idea." Susan stated.

"That would not be a smart thing to do." Janet agreed.

"Sneaking into a vampire bar? That's very dangerous!" The redhead exclaimed.

"It is not. Not during the day. They're sleeping right now. And besides...I'm pretty good at not getting caught." She basically winked at them and they both winced.

"I don't know, Trina." Susan still protested.

"How do YOU know how to pick a lock in the first place?" Janet wondered curiously.

"I did some things in college with some of my boyfriends." The brunette couldn't help but smile as she shrugged a shoulder. "It doesn't matter, alright? What does matter, is that I give that damned outfit back to that psycho bitch and we never have to see her again, okay?"

Shocked at her sudden snap, the other two women decided not to speak anymore and they let it be as they sat and waited for the call from the front desk about the arrival of their limo driver.

The three women stood outside the door to Fangtasia and Trina knelt down to pick the lock with a hair pin and paperclip she took from the hotel. Janet looked around anxiously, making sure no one was coming and Susan stood frozen, her eyes locked on the doorknob as her friend worked on unlocking the door. The limousine driver was paid extra to stand watch by his vehicle and not tell a soul about their shenanigans. "Trina?" Janet whispered. "Why is this such a big deal, anyway? You don't even really need to give her back her clothes, do you?"

"Yes, I do. Because if I don't, there's still a chance she'd come looking for us one day. And I'm not planning on ever seeing her again after last-" She stopped herself from speaking, remembering that she had no intention on telling the other two what had happened.

Janet and Susan gave each other a strange look. Just as they looked away from the door, it was opened and Trina smiled up at them before leisurely walking in. Still unsure of themselves, the other two women decided they'd better go in as well to make sure she wouldn't get into anymore trouble and Susan took Janet's hand as they followed the dark haired woman inside. They quietly snuck into the office, Janet looking around to see if any vampires would attack. Once they entered the back room, Trina placed the garments in hand on top of the desk and they turned to exit. She felt a weight lift from her shoulders and she couldn't help but grin as they headed for the door.

Walking as silently as possible, the three women looked around the empty club and reminisced in a few of their memories of this place, remembering how young it made them feel again. Just as they reached the door, Trina stopped. Janet and Susan turned around, wondering why she wasn't following. "What is it, Trin?" Susan whispered.

"I-I'll be right there. Go on. There's just something I have to do first." She turned to walk away from her friends who tried to protest.

"Trina, no." Janet exclaimed as quietly as possible.

"Get back here!" Susan whispered loudly.

"I'll be fine, just go." She whispered back to them as she continued to head for the basement. She knew this wasn't a smart idea, but something was pulling her toward that door. Just before opening it, she looked back to see that her friends had listened to her and finally left the building, closing the entrance door behind them.

The dark room below caused her to hesitate entering it, but she knew that she had to. That feeling of a magnetic pull bringing her to that room was stronger than anything she'd ever felt. She held onto the doorframe as her right foot slowly stepped down the first stair. Taking a deep breath, the left foot made its way to the one below it and her hand slid down the wooden frame and onto the railing beside her. One foot after the other, at a snail's pace, she made her way to the bottom of the staircase, clinging to the cold bar. Once she could see them, she looked down at the two coffins in the open space below the club. She was a bit shocked to see the room as clean as it was, considering when she left the floor was stained with her own blood.

Looking up at the torture device she knew so well made her feel a bit faint and she shook it off, stepping down to the floor and beginning to step toward the casket she recognized to be Pam's. Hearing every click of her heels, she bent over to gently slide off her stilettos and carry them as she moseyed over to the pink sarcophagus, barefoot.

Stopping at the box, she lightly set her hand on top of it. A battle began inside her head on whether or not she should open it. Seeing the dead woman might make her feel better, she thought. But she also didn't want to risk the vamp waking up and attacking her. Briefly, her mind changed and she fantasized about the woman arising and fucking her again. She sort of hoped it. Picturing it in her mind, she saw Pam's eyes opening and grabbing her, the blonde's fangs protruding from her mouth and biting down on her warm, soft skin.

What the hell is wrong with me? She asked herself, knowing that she hated this woman. Well...she didn't hate her actually. She was just scared and she didn't want to be scared anymore. Immediately, another feeling hit her. It was something she hadn't felt this whole trip until now. It terrified her and she wished it would never come crawling back as it had. That feeling of loneliness. She knew she had Janet and Susan, but it still wasn't the same as when she had Tom and all of Tom's friends made her feel welcome and loved. Now that they'd divorced, they all left her and she was stuck in a town all by herself. Standing in between two caskets made her realize that she had always pictured her grave right beside Tom's. And now knowing that it'd be beside no one, she felt the solitude consuming her. Pam scared her, yes...but she also made her forget her own problems. Especially, when she was relieved that at least she was still alive.

Her eyes filled with tears, and being alone, she didn't care if they'd fall. And so they did. She stood there and cried, thinking to herself that she had nothing to feel lonely about. It was her choice that she'd give up the baby and it was her choice to leave Tom, not wanting him to cheat ever again. She wanted the vampire to awaken and numb her pain once again...the pain she hadn't realized she had until now. Again, she pictured it. The long dead woman hearing her cries and popping open her own coffin, telling Trina to shut up and stop being such a baby before drinking her blood and making her forget. But nothing happened.

Finally, her tears stopped and she looked down at the casket once more, sort of hoping it would open and the loneliness would soon be forgotten. Now knowing that she'd be leaving Shreveport and going back to an empty house she'd no longer call home made her wish she were in one of those death boxes, and she immediately felt ashamed of herself. Ashamed of everything she had become. She ruined her career by sleeping with a pilot. She ruined her life by marrying him and becoming a sex crazed housewife. She ruined her friendships by starting a life of a swinger and she ruined the one thing she had left of a possible happy life by giving it up for adoption. Loneliness wasn't even close to what she was feeling. It was now that she realized, she felt dead. She wanted to be dead. Somewhere she never ever thought she'd see herself.

She was quickly snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of a door opening. Looking up the stairs, she saw Janet looking down at her. "Trina? What are you doing? We need to go." The other brunette sauntered down the stairs and grabbed her hand off the coffin, pulling her up the staircase. "Come on."

Immediately disappointed, the dark haired divorced Decker followed her friend out of the club and back into the limousine as the man drove them back to the hotel.

"Trina?" Janet and Susan stood, staring down at the woman on the couch after they got back to the hotel. She opened her tired eyes and saw them there.

"What?"

"Trina, honey. We need to talk." The former Mrs. Thompson stated.

"We need to know what's going on with you." Susan jumped in.

Both women sat on either side of their friend. Susan placed a hand on the woman's knee and her other arm rested on the couch behind Trina's head. Janet held onto one of Mrs. Decker's hands in her lap. "We're not stupid, Trina. What did Pam do to you?"

"What are you talking about?" Trina asked with a groggy and sleepy voice.

"Don't. You know what we're talking about." Susan responded.

"She bit you, didn't she?" Janet assumed. Trina didn't answer, but apart of her knew she didn't need to. "I told you." Janet said to Susan.

"I know, I know." The redhead replied as Trina looked back and forth between the two on either side of her.

"I thought we made a deal with Pam. She agreed she wouldn't bite her."

"What?" Trina asked confused.

"Well, haven't you girls already noticed…" Trina looked ahead of her and saw Pam standing right there, her heart began to pound faster. "...I don't keep promises very well." The blonde burst out in laughter as well as the two women sitting beside Mrs. Decker.

"What's going on?" She asked in a panic. No one answered her.

"Shall we, ladies?" Pamela asked and Trina turned to see Janet and Susan nodding.

Looking back up at Pam, she saw her fangs appear. "No!" She protested, feeling the other two holding her down. She looked to them and they each had a set of their own fangs. Pam used her vampire speed to attack the defenseless woman on the couch and the other two bit down as well.

"Trina!" Janet's voice broke through and the dark haired woman startled awake. "Sweetie, you need to get more sleep." She sat on the sofa beside her friend.

Clearing her throat she answered, "Yeah. I know."

"What's going on with you?" Susan wondered sitting in a chair across from the couch.

Trina sighed and decided she might as well take the risk of her friends lecturing her and tell them. "Pam and I had sex." She didn't expect it to come out like that.

"What?" Susan asked, a bit in shock.

"A couple times." She admitted.

"Seriously? I didn't know that you were-" Janet stopped herself from continuing.

"No, I'm not. I mean...I don't think I am. It was just for fun. I guess. And, well...vampires get overexcited and they, um…" She casually pointed to her teeth and Janet let out a tiny gasp.

"Really?" Roger's ex wife was exasperated, while Susan didn't say a word. "Did it hurt?"

"Yes? But after awhile it, uh...it gets you horny." Trina giggled.

"No way." Janet exclaimed.

"It's true." Susan said and they both turned to look at the woman blushing.

"What?!" Trina sat up a bit.

"You too?" Mrs. Thompson responded.

Susan nodded with an embarrassed smile.

"Who with?" Trina wondered.

"Just some guy. I don't remember his name." Her cheeks grew even more red as she knew that wasn't like her at all.

"Wow." Janet stated awkwardly. "Where was I?" She asked Susan, as at Fangtasia the two of them were usually together.

"I'm pretty sure you were passed out at the bar." The redhead laughed.

"Oh, great. You two got to have sex and I was passed out. Wonderful."

"Well, you don't really hold your liquor too well." Trina laughed along with Susan.

"Shut up!" Janet pushed on Trina's shoulder beside her.

After they stopped laughing, Trina continued her story. "Well, yeah after she and I...you know, I called her a bitch and she almost left me to die. That's why I'm now terrified of seeing her again."

"But why did you go down to the basement by those coffins? That pink one was hers, right?" Janet wondered.

"Yeah, I don't know. No matter how much I don't want to...I keep fantasizing about her. It's annoying. I keep having dreams about her too. Well, more like nightmares." She sighed.

The other two didn't know how to respond and Janet squeezed her hand. "That's why you want to go home so bad, isn't it?"

"At first, yeah. But...now I don't know." She admitted.

"Why not?" Susan stood from her chair and sat on the coffee table in front of the sofa to be closer to them.

"I'm used to going home to Tom. Now, everytime I walk into that huge empty space...there's no one there. I'm alone."

Susan looked at Janet and she slowly moved to sit on the other side of Trina, resting her head on the dark haired woman's shoulder and taking her other hand in hers. "You don't have to be."

"We'll be there for you." Janet added, scooching closer to the woman in the middle.

After about five minutes of silence, Trina finally fell asleep and Susan and Janet slowly stood from the couch. Janet laid a blanket on top of the sleeping woman while Susan wrote a note telling the future, awake, Trina that they went out to get some food and they'd be back soon.

A couple hours passed and Trina Decker slowly opened her eyes. She dreamt of Pam again, only this time she forced herself to stay asleep and enjoy it one last time in the dream world as she'd never get to see her again in the real world. When she looked around, she noticed the silence and the blanket that covered her. Slowly removing it from her body, she stood, setting down on the sofa. Walking into the dining room of the hotel suite, she found the note left for her on the glass table. Thunder rolled outside and she suddenly remembered the approaching storm. She roamed over to the large window of the suite and opened the curtains, revealing the dark night sky and she wondered how long the other two had been gone. A bit refreshed from her long nap, she ran her fingers through her hair looking down at the city below her. Taking a deep breath and stretching, she turned around.

And it returned, that sudden feeling of loneliness. She forced herself to forget it and she walked up the spiral stairs into the bedroom, removing her dress and walking into the bathroom to take a nice hot shower.

When she got out, she put on a plump, soft, white hotel bathrobe and combed her short, dark locks. Stepping out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, she picked up her suitcase and looked through it for some comfortable clothes when she heard the door open downstairs. "Where'd you go?" She yelled, opening the door and starting down the staircase.

Once she reached the bottom step, her heart stopped. "Nowhere." Trina blinked, staring at the blonde in front of her.

"What are you doing here? How'd you get in? I thought you had to be invited in." The human clung to the staircase railing.

"Oh no, Dear. That's only in someone's private home. Which this," Pam looked around the hotel suite, "...isn't." She smirked and raised an eyebrow to the brunette.

"Where are Janet and Susan? What did you do to them?"

Pam chuckled. "Who?"

"My friends. Where are they?" Trina narrowed her eyes at the vampire.

"Those two pathetic humans? What makes you think I have them?"

"Don't you?"

A small giggle escaped the blonde's lips. "No, hon. I do not. I just came here to ask you a question."

Relaxing just a bit, Trina loosened her grip on the staircase railing. "What?"

"Were you at Fangtasia this mornin'?" Pam took a small step toward the younger woman.

"What? No? Why?"

"Don't lie to me. I heard someone by my coffin, cryin'. And if I didn't know any better," she got even closer to the human. "...she smelled a lot like you. And I heard someone yellin' your name. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" Pamela squinted as she was now face to face with the other woman.

Trina swallowed hard and cleared her throat, not sure how to answer. So she didn't. Looking up into the vampire's eyes, she felt lost and her hands began to shake as she wasn't sure what the woman might do. "Why were you cryin'?" The southern blonde finally asked as she placed a hand on her hip and the other hand on the railing, basically blocking Trina from leaving the last step of the staircase. She would've asked her what she was thinking sneaking into the bar, but as she found her clothes on her desk later on, she knew the answer.

Trina ignored the question and asked one of her own. "You love this, don't you?"

"Love what, Dear?" The smug woman smiled down at the still, shorter one (even on a step higher).

"Scaring people. You think it's funny." Trina said with frustration.

Laughing, Pamela replied, "Well, of course I do. Wouldn't you?"

"No. Being alone hurts. Well, I guess that doesn't really matter for you because you don't feel pain." Trina felt her pride coming back and she moved to the other side of the stair, stepping down passed the vampire and closing the curtains to shut out the gloominess outside. Turning around she saw the grin on Pam's face.

"I'm not alone." The blonde stated. "I have Eric."

"Please." Trina scoffed. "If you had him the way you thought you did, you wouldn't go looking for pleasure from hurting others. You just hurt us so you can pretend that it's him because he barely pays attention to you anymore." She instantly regretted saying that when the vampire used her speed to grab her by the throat and press her mouth to the human's ear.

"You know nothin' about me. Or Eric." Squeezing her throat a bit harder, she reveled in the look of fear that returned to Trina's face before releasing her. "You're the one who needs attention. Not me."

Her hand still on her neck, Trina responded. "You don't know anything about me either, Pam."

"Please, I know more than you think! You came to my coffin because you wish you could trade places with me. You want to be dead so you can forget your problems. Well, guess what? You won't. You'll just live with them even longer." The blonde's voice cracked a bit and her smile was no longer present. "You think you have problems, girl? You have no idea." There was a small moment of silence between the two and Pam sped up to the door to leave. "Take your little friends and go home."

Just as Trina heard the door opening behind her, she turned around. She had no idea why, but she shouted. "Wait!" And the vampire did.

A/N: Thanks again for reading this. Please leave some comments in the review section! I'd really love to hear your thoughts on this chapter.