Disclaimer: All characters depicted herein are the sole property of Charlaine Harris and HBO.

Chapter 2 - Break Up

I woke in the morning with the puffy eyes of someone who had cried themselves to sleep. I didn't feel too rested though, having spent more time tossing and turning than sleeping. In the light that filtered in through the window, my room looked empty. Or maybe it wasn't so much that it looked empty, as it felt empty- like I did. Somewhere in the night my mind filtered through the complicated relationship that Eric and I have had since we met. If Eric had truly loved me, or at least loved me the way I wanted to be loved, he would want me to be happy more that he would want something for himself. I would never be happy as a vampire. I was human, mostly, and truly wanted to stay that way. Eric may say he loves me and he may truly believe it, but his version of love is not enough for me; at least not anymore.

My shift at Merlotte's didn't start until evening, so I had the whole day to myself. My bedroom wasn't the only room that seemed empty. As I walked into the kitchen to start the coffee, a fresh wave of tears burst from my eyes as I saw the piles of clothes Eric and I had left on the floor last night, before everything went so wrong. I wiped the tears away with the sleeve of my t-shirt as I waited for the coffee to brew. I took my coffee out to the porch, as I did on morning that the weather was nice. I hoped the sun would help lighten my mood because I was sad, and hurt, and angry from the revelations of last night. I also felt drained, because I was laying in bed not sleeping last night Eric's utter fury (and there was no other word to describe it) drained my energy through the bond.

The damned blood bond! Sometimes it was exhilarating; like during sex when I could feel my passion and lust, as well as his. It made everything steamier, and raised everything to a level that was previously unimaginable. Sometimes it was sweet, the way just being physically close to him could cause something inside of me to relax that I didn't even know was tense, or on the rare occasion that Eric would have more tender feelings for me and I could sense them. But a lot of times it was just annoying. Eric was 6'5 of pure Viking, vampire. He had a temper and was easy to anger as well as annoy, and I often felt this through the bond, especially as of late with the new regime taking over. Today the stupid blood bond was just annoying. Not truly annoying while Eric is dead to the world in his day sleep; but annoying the being yoked to him in a tangible way even if I didn't want to be. Eric had never said it was such but a conversation with Andre, the former Queen of Louisiana's second in command, also gave me the distinct impression that blood bonds should give the vampire who was in one the ability to physically control the human they were bonded to. A lot of those nuances (got to love the word-a-day calendar) didn't work on me, but I was afraid that if the bond was stronger maybe it would. Eric the high-handed control freak would love that.

How much could I really trust Eric? I knew he wouldn't hurt me, at least not physically. I also knew that the blood bond and our 'marriage' was to protect me from other vampires, but it wasn't all just to protect me. Before we were involved I used to think Eric was annoying, but at least you knew where you stood with him. He made it clear from the get go he wanted me. In order to get me though, it was one trick after another. He took a bullet for me while I was with Bill for the purpose of convincing me to suck the bullet from his chest and ingest even just a few drops of his blood in the process. The bullet would have pushed itself out as he healed, but no – he wanted his blood in my system. He wanted to start this damned blood bond, even while my heart belonged to another. More recently he sent his day man with a package he asked me to present to him, and naïve me did just that. How was I to know that in the vampire world it only took the presenting, and acceptance of a ceremonial knife to constitute a marriage? I wasn't, and that was by Eric's design. He did what he thought was in my best interest – for his best interest, and it seems like he would just do it again. He would encourage me to drink from him and hope I would turn. I would never forgive him if changed me, but it sometimes happened by accident. Amelia had reminded me to be careful of that before she left to go back to New Orleans.

Amelia! Of course! As if a light bulb had clicked on over my head, I had a great idea. Amelia might be able to help me out with this situation. She told me she would discuss with Octavia – her mentor, how they might find a way to break the blood bond. Maybe they had already found something. I pulled out my cell phone to call her – the red one Eric had given me when he smashed my previous one. I dialed her number as I made a mental note to get a new phone.

"Hey Sookie," Amelia answered. "How are you?" she asked with in an upbeat voice.

"Hey Amelia. Not so good actually," I told her, fighting back the tears again. I didn't realize how much I truly missed her, but now with what was going on with Eric, it really made itself apparent to me.

Amelia sounded truly empathic when she responded, "Oh no, what's wrong?"

"Long story short, I guess I broke up with Eric last night." I half sobbed. "Tell me everything!" she replied in a way that assured me I had her undivided attention. I told her about him wanting me to drink, and his response when I didn't, the fight, and me telling him to leave. It took longer than I expected, as I was crying.

"Oh, honey!" Amelia responded when I was done. "I wish I was there to give you a big hug. It will be ok." She told me in voice that was meant to help reassure and soothe me. "I know it's rough right now, but if he doesn't respect your wishes, than you did the right thing. No matter how gorgeous he is." She threw in, in an attempted to lighten the mood. It worked and a laughed for a second.

"Yeah. I have really bad luck with men I guess. I get the hot but messed up ones." I told her trying to cheer myself up a bit.

"Don't worry, Sookie, you'll find the right one someday. Just keep in mind, all of them are the wrong ones until you find the right one." She told me. I laughed. "Thanks for the great revelation Amelia." "Anytime," she responded.

"So, have you and Octavia found anything out about how I can get out of the bond?" I asked her. Not 100% sure I was ready for an affirmative answer. I was in luck though, "We have found some things, but nothing concrete. We think we're getting close to an answer though. I'll let you know as soon as we come up with something," she told me.

"Thanks Amelia." I told her meaning it.

"No problem. It's what friends are for. Let me know if you need anything else, and you know I'm always here to talk." She told me. I thanked her, and we said our goodbyes before I hung up the phone.

I looked down, and while we had been on the phone longer than I had realized, I still had a few hours before I would have to get ready for work. My coffee mug was empty, so I took it into the kitchen and rinsed it before setting it into the sink. I stared at the piles of clothes on the floor, and decided I wasn't going to let this bring me down. I have made it through far worse things than breaking up with someone I loved. I had been hurt worse both physically and mentally, and I was going to be strong. I grabbed an apple from the counter and started to eat it as I collected to clothes and took them to the hamper in my bedroom. I grabbed a book from off my nightstand, a mystery, and took it to the couch to read until I had to get ready for work.

It was busy at Merlotte's when I arrived, which suited my mood just fine.

"Thank goodness you're here, we're swamped," Holly said by way of greeting. She smiled at me as she carried a tray with food and drinks past me. I smiled back. "I'll just let Sam know I'm here, and I'll get to it." I responded.

Spending the afternoon reading had relaxed me enough that I was able to put my shields up with little effort, and if my smile was plastered on a little more stiffly than was natural, it wasn't an unaccustomed sight to most of the patrons. Though as the night wore on and I got into the swing of the busy evening, my true smile occasionally made an appearance.

Through the bond I could feel when Eric rose for the night. He was still enraged, but he was working to get a handle on his emotions, it seemed as if he were now just seething. I didn't have much time to reflect on that, and pushed the connection we shared to the back of my mind when Antoine called one order after another up.

When the bar cleared out some leaving us a little less busy, Sam called me over to the bar. "Are you doing ok, Cher?" He asked me. My smile faded, I thought I had done a good job at staying ok, and in the moment, and I told Sam as much. He was taken aback "You misunderstand me, Sookie. I'm asking because I'm concerned. You're doing fine. I just know you, and I can smell tears on you a bit."

"I just had a rough night, is all." I told him, not wanting to go into detail. Sam would know eventually, but I didn't want to go there tonight. It was too fresh. Sam put his arms around me, giving me a hug, I didn't realize I needed. We stood there for a moment, before I felt a rush of rage run through me. Confused I went to take a step back from Sam, but before I could move, I heard a voice colder than ice from behind me.

"Remove your hands from my wife, shifter." Of course Eric had come tonight, and walked in right at this moment. Sam let go, but I could feel the anger from him as well. The bar got quiet when Eric spoke, not that he yelled, but his tone seemed to have killed most of the conversations that were taking place.

"Eric. I'm at work. Please go." I said trying to keep my anger in check, not wanting to make any more of a scene than there already was.

"We need to speak, wife of mine." He told me in the same chilly tone, he previously used.

I didn't appreciate him coming into the bar, interrupting my working, and I was beyond tired of being called his wife. "I made my feelings clear last night, Eric. There is nothing more to say." I said firmly. "I don't want to be with you anymore. Please don't make this more difficult," I whispered, hoping the whole bar would go back to whatever they were doing before Eric had walked in. Eric's face twitched almost imperceptibly. I felt a ripple of anguish, before it was replaced with defiance.

"You are my wife. We will talk." Eric demanded. At this point Sam stepped in "Eric, Sookie said she didn't want to talk. I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Stay out of this, Shifter." Eric growled, not taking his eyes from mine.

"Eric, go." I breathed, fighting back the tears. I cried when I was angry, and when I was embarrassed, both of which I was feeling right now. With my head held high, I turned and walked towards Sam's office, not sparing Eric another glance. I could feel when he left a few minutes later. I wasn't surprised when the office door opened and Sam came in.

"A rough night, huh?" He asked, shaking his head. I started to tell him I wasn't up to hearing it, but he waved me silent. "I'm not judging, Cher. I'm just sorry that it didn't work out the way you wanted, and that he upset you tonight. You mean the world to me Sookie, and I just want you to be happy." He told me. I could tell he wanted to give me a hug. "You know I'm here if you need me." He told me as he walked past me and out the door, leaving me alone in his office.