Pam
I love Eric. I'm sure I know him better than anyone, including the very few family members he has left. Sometimes it feels lonely being the only person who truly appreciates him.
I can see that he has it bad for Sookie Stackhouse, and I can see why. She is sweet and smart and beautiful without knowing it and I can see that she is crazy about Eric. I don't think she has really admitted that to herself though, but anyone in the room with them can see it. You can feel it. It's as if there's a lightning bolt of energy connecting them. I love to see that look in his eyes when he's watching her. That's the look of hope and it warms my heart.
Unfortunately, he is too immature to realize what he needs to do to win the ever-elusive Miss Stackhouse. I know he can't help that. He's a guy.
I used to watch them together at Bill's house. It was so obvious to me that they had it bad for each other. I think Bill was too clueless to see it, fortunately. I hinted to her that I wished a girl like her for Eric and I saw her blush. I knew she had thought of it herself. I tried many times to sit Eric down and explain the ways of the world to him. I told him that he needed to stop collecting nameless vaginas and displaying them in front Sookie's innocent face. I knew that he was going to creep her out, scare her off. Why would a girl ditch her perfectly reasonable boyfriend to be with a horny skirt chaser? He had heart-breaker written all over his crotch-eating face. When will guys ever learn? She needs to know that he would be good to her, and I know he would be. But his ridiculous behavior did not indicate such potential.
Then I saw her one night at Bob's house. Bob lived just off campus in a big house that was always full of fun. I knew that he occasionally dated Sookie's roommate, so I wasn't terribly surprised to see Sookie there. But I was surprised at her condition when I got there. She had clearly had a huge head start in the party department and was very very drunk or high or both. I tried to talk to her, but she mumbled something about Eric and Bill and needing to get kissed. I could see that she was headed for trouble and by the time I had whipped out my phone to call in the troops, she had already kissed two guys and was gathering a horny little fan club. I seriously considered taking matters into my own hands, but Eric said he was on his way and I knew he'd be more likely to scare the little fuckers off of our girl. He's a lot bigger than I am.
It broke my heart to watch him walk her out the door. I had never seen her like that and by the look on his face something was terribly wrong. He was in pain. I told her roommate that Eric had taken her home and that he would take care of her. I secretly hoped that something might happen between them. But then I rethought that and knew that he would never take advantage of her while she was so drunk. Not that I hadn't seen him leading many a drunk girl up to his bed before, but I knew how he felt about Sookie.
When I found him on my couch the following morning he looked like he had had a rough night and needed some pancakes. I was shocked when he asked if he could stay on my couch for awhile. I knew how much he loved living in that house. It was cheap and close to campus and full of pretty girls—one in particular. I told him that of course, he could stay as long as he wanted and didn't even need to ask. After a few days, he told me what had happened to Sookie. Then the whole drunk episode made sense and I understood why he had wanted to move out, although I was still surprised by that. He had it worse for her than I thought. At first I thought, oh good—Bill's probably out of the way. And then that was immediately followed by, oh shit—it's probably going to be awhile before she's ready to date.
Eric moved in with a guy in my building which was great. I got to see a little more of him than when he was at Bill's. I kept hoping that I'd see Sookie there some as well, but after awhile, I started seeing different girls instead, skanky ones in fact. The kind he had usually preferred when he was at Bill's house. I watched one leave one Sunday morning and then knocked on his door. After a reasonable amount of small talk, I asked, "So what's with the vagina train again? I thought that since Sookie was unattached that maybe you'd settle down. She didn't go back to Bill did she?"
"Why don't you mind your own fucking business." But then the look on my face seemed to snap him out of his assholeness. "Jesus, I'm sorry. You know what, honestly, I don't know. I'm assuming she didn't stay with Bill, but I really don't know. I gave her my number but she never called. If she doesn't like me, fine. There are plenty of other girls who do."
"Why don't you just call her?"
"I don't want to talk about it anymore."
God I hated to see that look in his eyes. He was hurting.