The next morning I woke up feeling much more refreshed. I still had a strange knot in my stomach, but it was the only thing that felt out of place. I hopped out of bed and hit the shower quickly. After drying my hair I got dressed for work. I was scheduled for the lunch shift today and I felt well enough to work. Just was I was pulling on my socks, the house phone rang. I ran to the kitchen to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Sookie?"
"Sam! Hey, what's up?" I asked. Sam didn't normally call me up out of the blue unless it was important or he wanted me to come in to work early.
"I was just wondering how you were," he said. I walked to the coffee maker and turned it on. Even on a slightly queasy stomach, I didn't think one cup would hurt.
"I'm feeling much better Sam. I really don't know what came over me. It was terrible though. I'm so grateful Amelia was here," I told him.
"Yeah, you have a great friend in her," he said. I nodded at the phone.
"Was there anything else Sam?" I asked.
"No, just wanted to see how you were," he said.
"Well, I'm feeling better. But if you want me to make it to work on time, I'm going to have to let you go so I can grab a bite to eat before I head out," I explained.
"Oh! You don't have to come in if you don't feel up to it Sookie," he told me.
"Don't worry Sam. I'll make it. I'm sure I can handle my shift," I said. We said our goodbyes with promises of seeing each other in just over half an hour. I gobbled down two delicious slices of toast with orange marmalade and one and a half cups of coffee. I then rushed to the washroom to brush my teeth and put on just a touch of make-up. I left Amelia a quick note next to the coffee maker telling her I was feeling so much better and I'd be back before dinner time. I rushed out the door, remembering to lock it as always and hopped in the car for the quick drive to work.
The lunch crowd was fairly quiet today, which was a blessing because while I felt better and was eating somewhat normally again, I was still feeling a little weak from being so sick in such a short period of time so I was welcoming the random small breaks I was getting between tables. The afternoon passed by quickly. Towards the end of my shift I was able to chat with Sam as he worked behind the bar making drinks. Soon, my replacement arrived and I was able to head home. I threw my apron in the laundry bag and waved goodbye to all my coworkers. I hustled home, anxious to be in comfy clothes and relaxing for the evening. I was happy to see Amelia was in when I pulled up behind the house. I let myself in and was greeted with a wonderful smell coming from the oven and the sound of the vacuum competing to be heard over Amelia's blasting music. I stepped into the living room and watched Amelia dance around with the vacuum until I caught her eye. Embarrassed, she blushed and ran to turn the music down, stopping to unplug the vacuum along the way.
"How are you feeling today?" she asked as she wound the cord up for the machine.
"Better," I told her. "What's in the oven?"
"I wasn't sure how you were feeling so I made a simple chicken casserole. I hope you can have some," she said. I nodded. I felt confident about dinner tonight. I went to my room and switched my work uniform for some sweat pants and a Fangtasia promo T-shirt Eric had given me. I shuffled back through the living room, noting Amelia's absence, and into the kitchen where I found her pulling dinner out of the oven. I grabbed our plates, glasses and cutlery and quickly set the table. We ate quickly and it was delicious. When we finished I cleared the table and rinsed the dishes before popping them in the dishwasher. I reminded myself to run it the next day.
"What are your plans for tonight?" I asked Amelia.
"Nothing. I was hoping to hang out with you," she said. I cheered. After a lengthy discussion, we decided to raid my movie selection and throw in a couple different romantic comedies while we played a game of Monopoly. We played for hours, eventually blocking out the TV completely. I got up to stretch and grab a glass of water and saw it was nearly three in the morning. I delivered this news to Amelia who squealed.
"I have a meeting with the insurance agency early in the morning. I'm going to see if he's willing to hire me temporarily again. I may not know how long I'm staying, but maybe he'll have something for me to do," she said. I nodded.
"I don't have to be up early really. I work the late shift tomorrow but I do have errands to run and some things to do around the house," I told her. We agreed it was definitely time to head to bed. I bid Amelia goodnight as she headed upstairs. I stayed up only long enough to tidy up the game and put the movies away. I fell into bed without changing into my normal pyjamas.
I woke up the next morning when Amelia slammed the door on her way out just before nine. I hoped she would make it to her appointment on time. I got out of bed and did the usual morning routine of bathroom, brush my teeth and turn on the coffee maker. I decided to have yogurt and fresh fruit for breakfast as a change, so I got to work on peeling and cutting the fruit while my coffee brewed. After I finished, I cleaned my mess and took a quick shower. I dressed in a grubby T-shirt and an old pair of jeans and headed to town where I did some grocery shopping and exchanged books at the library. When I got back home I put away the groceries before getting to work on some household chores I'm sure were unnecessary with Amelia being in the house for now but it felt good to do them. I worked hard and didn't even realize I'd missed lunch until my stomach began to protest. I made myself a large snack before getting ready for work and heading out.
Work that evening was pretty busy for a Wednesday night and I hustled all night. Eventually the crowds left though and we were able to do our clean up and head home. When I got home I was surprised to see Pam's car parked in the front driveway. I parked around back and headed into the house. I found Amelia and Pam sitting on the couch, whispering. When they saw me, they stopped talking and stared at me.
"What? Do I have something on my face?" I asked, giving my face a bit of a wipe with my hands.
"Sookie, I think you need to sit down," Pam told me. I shook my head.
"I don't know what you two are up to, but I don't really want to be involved," I said.
"No, Sookie, I think you need to come sit down and hear what Pam has to say," Amelia said, standing up. I shook my head again.
"No! look, I just got off work. I'm exhausted and all I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep. So if you'll excuse me. Pam, it was good to see you again, sorry I can't stay. Amelia, I'll see you tomorrow," I said, spinning on my heel to leave.
"Sookie! Eric is dead!" Pam blurted out. I stopped in mid-step.
"You're kidding," I said, turning back to them. This time Pam shook her head.
"No, Sookie. I wish I was. Eric has met his final death," she said softly. I felt the floor meet my knees before I'd realized I had fallen. Amelia rushed to my side, helping me to the chair. I began to shake uncontrollably all over. Eric couldn't be dead. He'd just proposed to me the other day. Well, a letter he had Pam deliver, but it was still the same thing. I put my head between my hands and rested my elbows on my knees. I watched as little drops formed on my legs from my tears that were racing at an incredible speed from my eyes. I was having a little trouble breathing. I did my best to calm down so I could ask Pam the details.
"I received a call from the cleaning crew that does cleans Eric's house. They said they found his front door wide open and a pile of ashes on the threshold. Upon further investigation, they found a letter from Eric. It was basically a suicide note. He explained that he couldn't live without you, blah, blah, blah and that if he couldn't have you that he might as well meet his true death."
"But I don't understand. He had me," I said.
"But I don't think he saw it the same way," she said. "First, you essentially banished him Friday evening. Then, he gave me the ring and letter to give to you but I saw it too late to get it to you. I'm assuming when you didn't call him directly at sundown on Saturday night, he assumed you meant no, so he jumped to conclusions and met the sun shortly afterwards." She had tears forming in the corners of her eyes. My tears were still flowing freely.
"I still don't understand. This is Eric we're talking about! How could he do this? How could he leave me like this when I was finally realizing what he meant to me?" I shouted. Amelia came over and sat on the arm of the chair, holding me while I cried. We stayed like that for what seemed like forever, until Pam cleared her throat.
"I do want to stay here, be with you through this, but I have some business to take care of regarding this. I need to get back to Shreveport. I wanted you to find out from me before anyone else and I didn't want to delay it," she said. She stood and bent to give me a hug, something vampires don't usually do. And then she was gone. Not long after, Amelia made sure I was going to be ok, despite the tragedy. She helped me change into my pyjamas and helped me crawl into bed where I cried for hours, all through the night.