Hello! So here's chapter 19 - my first (and probably last too) David's POV. Please bear in mind that David is telling things his way (and "He who tells a tale adds a tail" and all that). I hope you'll like this chapter. And please review if you can. Take care! :) Célia

David "Lie to Me"

Mondays had always been the staff's rest/closed day of Brown's Rest & Grill ever since my parents helped me buy the place 15 years ago, when I was 27. If I knew back then the work I'd have to do to give the place a new clientele, I'd have opened a new eating place from scratch. The previous owner had managed the place poorly and so I had to fight against all of the bad opinions about the restaurant that he had created. And that's why for the first four or five years, I had to work my ass off just to make enough money to pay the bills and the staff's wages. And so, Mondays had turned out to be the perfect night for me to work the books of the restaurant and other bureaucratic shit. And there's lots of bureaucratic shit when you have a restaurant.

You must have the Shop & Establishment license up to date, as well as the frequent visits of both the Fire and the Electrical departments. Besides, there's the Municipal health permission, PAN Card, Professional tax registration, VAT, the Insurance and so on. And, obviously, the books. Add to all these formalities the need to make some cash to pay for all that, plus all the staff documents and the fact that you must have everything that you might need there (food, beverages, cleaning stuff, etc.) without exaggerating it (because you don't want to waste space stocking stuff – you need to maximize the number of tables). So, yeah, during those first four or five years I worked every Monday night. I'd have the day off, but then I'd go back to the restaurant at 6 or 7 pm and stay there until at least 11.30pm.

But then, all of a sudden, people started trusting the place because we had a good quality-price relationship. And when things started calming down, I mean, when all the bureaucratic shit started calming down and the client flow started to expand, I just increased my staff and stop working the tables or the bar counter. Instead, I'd mainly focus on the management of the place and not so much about the operational part of it. And I stopped working on Mondays nights.

I had had the place for seven or eight years when Sam Merlotte called me about this chick. I knew Merlotte from some time ago. We'd worked together in a bar in Texas when we were in our early twenties and we had managed to stay more or less friends ever since. Besides, we had something else in common: we were both the first-born of a two-natured couple and neither of us had any interest in this inheritance – the capability to change. And now, he was calling me because of a girl. Apparently, she was a waitress at his place but she needed a "new start" – something about a nasty break-up with a boyfriend or some shit like that.

"She's more than a good waitress Brown. She's a good friend too. And I'm really sorry that she's leaving Bon Temps. But I know that this is what she wants and she'll leave no matter what . I'd feel better if she was somewhere with a person who could keep an eye on her." He was saying on the phone.

"All this because of a boyfriend you say?"

"Yeah… Sort of." He answered.

There was something there. I could tell. Perhaps Merlotte was the boyfriend and he just wanted to get rid of her. I could understand that. I had met a couple of chicks before that I had really wished they'd move out of state. But I didn't need someone else's problem at my restaurant. And so I said: "Sort of? Listen Sam, I am looking for a new waitress. I need one. But I don't want some bimbo who only wants to nail a stupid guy willing to pay her bills," he tried to interrupt me saying that she wasn't like that but I was on a roll and I kept talking, "and truthfully, I find it hard to believe that a girl would move like that to a completely new place just because her boyfriend messed up with their anniversary date or some similar shit."

"It's nothing like that at all. She and the guy, they… they have this weird, strong connection. And when things didn't work out it was a hard blow for her. And she doesn't have any family, except for a wild brother. She just needs a fresh start, that's all. And I completely vouch for her. She's my best waitress Brown."

I kept trying over the phone for him to acknowledge if he was "the guy" with the "weird, strong connection" but he didn't say one way or the other. And so I said that I'd meet the girl. She'd stay a couple of months as a trial to see if she was indeed a good waitress and then we'd go from there.

And just a couple of weeks later this blond hot piece of ass comes into my restaurant saying that she's "Sookie, sent by Sam". And let me tell you: she had the perfect rack. And in just a couple of minutes Merlotte raised in my consideration because he had probably been there and done that, if you get what I'm saying.

And better yet, the cute thing was a good waitress too. She hardly ever made any mistakes, either with the orders from the clients or the money, and she lightly flirted with the clientele and made them feel welcome at Brown's.

Because Merlotte was two states away and I was her new employer, I immediately made my move. But she was shy and at first started to say 'no' to me. But soon she accepted my invitation and we had dinner together. Nothing happened, but I had a good time, so I asked her again, and again. And a few more times. And suddenly, the hot piece of ass with the perfect rack was not only a blond babe, but rather she was Sookie, my friend. My without benefits friend. But I didn't mind. Sookie was nice and funny and we always had a good time together. And about a year later our dates started to include some action. Some sexual action.

And that was how I found myself with a girlfriend that was actually a friend too and had great tits. When I realized all that, I asked her to move in with me. And that was when I had to deal with the first (and by no means last) Sookie-bomb. And unfortunately for me, it was not a Sookie-sexual-bomb. It was a Sookie-lie-bomb. She could… listen to this: read minds. Yeah, read minds. As in, hear people thoughts. Jeez.

I almost ended everything with her because of it. Not so much because of the mind-reading part of it, but more because of the "not-telling me" detail. I mean, yeah, the fact that she could read my thoughts bothered me, but she gave me her word that she could hardly hear me, and most times not at all. And she was already a good friend and she had a great body. I mean, she was already my girlfriend, you know? Besides, being telepathic wasn't her fault any more than being a bear was my fault. About keeping it a secret… Well, yeah, she should have told me about it (namely when we first started talking about my full moon nights) but I let it be.

In retrospective, that was the first sign - crystal clear first sign (and my easiness to forgive her secret was my first mistake - my first big mistake). The second sign were her old friends that included a fucking vampire and a mousy witch. The fact that they were both her friends really bothered me because I really hated all supernatural things (my double nature included). I should have seen that it was strange that Sookie, who claimed to hate the supernatural world as much as me, was best friends with a vampire and a witch. I mean: she hated supes but was friends with those two? However, I didn't see it either because back then I was already way over my head with Sookie Stackhouse.

And soon we were married and a couple of years later we were celebrating her pregnancy. We had been talking about kids for a while but this baby in particular was the product of her flu-antibiotics' interaction with her birth control pill. Either way, we were happy and celebrating with non-alcohol champagne when we were attacked by fairies. By. Fucking. Fairies.

And after the attack I found a few more Sookie-bombs. It turned out that she had worked for vampires for at least a couple of years (she had even been out of state because of her "work"), she had dated one of them and had even married another vampire. Married him. Jesus. "The guy" that she had actually run away of Louisiana for apparently was a dead guy. And she was a fairy. A fucking fairy. How lame was that? No. The fact that she was a fairy was not lame. I was lame. I was a fucking doormat and I had been totally clueless about everything. Shit.

I, again, forgave Sookie for her half-truths, of course. Hell, she was my injured, pregnant wife. And I loved her. I truly loved her. And I believed that she loved me too then. So I had to forgive her. But I didn't forgive myself. My unborn child might not have even been born because I had allowed that attack. My ignorance of the supernatural world had put our family in danger and I wouldn't allow that to happen anymore. And so I started hanging more with Cleveland's werewolves' pack master, Walter "Nurget" Williams. He had a choppers and motorcycles' shop and because of my beautiful 1940's Indian Scout (that came with very large fenders) we were already acquaintances.

And that was the beginning of the end for Sookie and me, as a couple. Even after our attack (and don't get me talking about all the other shit that had happened to her in Louisiana when she had been "working" for the vampires), Sookie didn't want to be close to other supes. Not even for protection. On the other hand, I started feeling much safer because I knew that the guys would cover our back if we considered it necessary, because I was also available to help the packs whenever it was needed. And so, we just started arguing about it. All the time. And whenever I suggested that Liz might have to turn on full-moon nights because she was particularly fast and showed great resistance in her swimming lessons (were-bears are strong swimmers even in our human form because true bears swim across bays or wide leads without hesitation and they can swim for several hours at a time over long distances), Sookie would lose her mind. And we'd either be almost screaming at each other, or not talking at all.

Suddenly we were no longer the Sookie and David from before. We still lived together, but we were just a little more than room-mates. And even that was only because of Liz. But eventually, not even that situation was enough for us. We separated. I left the house I had bought with my wife and moved to a close by apartment. And without a house with a wife and a kid, soon I was working Mondays evenings again.

And there I was, on a Monday evening at Brown's, when my cell rang. I looked at the screen and saw Sookie's name. I had already talked to her that night. I knew that both she and Liz were at home. What the hell did she want now?

"What is it now Sook? Is Liz alright?" I said as soon as I answered the phone.

"Yeah, she is. Aahh…"

She was still trying to figure out what to say when I asked: "What? What is it now? If Lizzie's okay, what the hell do you want Sookie?" Yes, our current relationship was that bad.

"I… I…" And then she started crying. Well, not crying-crying, but quietly sobbing. "I'm just not feeling so good right now. I won't be going to Brown's tomorrow. I'll stay at home. I just… I wanted to tell you that."

"What is it? Are you sick?" I asked. Bad relationship or not, Sookie was my daughter's mother and I wanted her to be alright.

"It's probably just a stomach bug or something. I just need a day off, that's all."

For a second I wanted to insist. To ask her what was wrong. Maybe even go there personally. But we were way past that. That train had long derailed. And she'd call back if she really needed something.

"Okay. We'll talk again tomorrow then," I called every night right before Lizzie's bed time, so I could talk to my daughter, "and don't worry, I'll call Anna right now and tell her to fill in for you tomorrow."

"Thank you David. Goodnight."

"'Night."

For a couple of minutes I stayed there just wondering what the hell might be going on with Sookie. And I almost prayed that she wouldn't be keeping anything else from me. After that Fae shit (when she had been pregnant with Liz) we had talked and talked and talked. And I had made her promise me dozens of times that she would always trust their safety to me. It was my job to keep my family safe. And with the Were community I now knew, I was in a position to protect my family if necessary.

And she did promise me that she'd trust their safety to me. So I dismissed my concerns about her phone call. Hell, maybe it was just a stomach bug. Or she might have eaten something not fresh, or it might be the flu…

Unfortunately, however, that was not the case. And I discovered it two days later because on Wednesday morning, at 7 am, she called me back. I had stayed on the restaurant until a little over 1 am on the night before. And she knew that that was our schedule. But now she was calling me at 7 am. That had to mean that some shit had happened. I grabbed the cell phone and immediately pushed the green button.

"Is Liz okay? Are you?"

"Yes David, we are."

On the previous evening, when I called, Liz picked the phone and I hadn't talked to Sookie. My daughter had told me that Sookie had a head-ache and she was laying on the couch, with a wet cloth in her forehead. But she also said that her mom that told her to say that she was coming to work on Wednesday. And that had given the "stomach bug or flu theory" more credibility. But now Sookie was calling me at 7 am. Shit. "You sure you're both okay?"

"Yes, we are. But I need you to come here now. Can you?"

That still didn't sound good. Not at all. "Why?"

"I thought that we could both take Liz to school and then we'll talk."

What the hell…? "Talk about what?"

"I just… I need you David. There's something we have to talk about. And it's very serious. Can you please come home right now? Just for a while?"

"I need you David"? Was she…? Was this a reconciliation attempt? I had thought that she'd never forgive me for Ashley. When Sookie had found out about my affair she had totally lost her shit. Ashley was way younger than Sookie, she was a were-bear and she had had my son. Now... had Sookie somehow let go all her resentment against me? Would she start doing things my way? I realized that I didn't know if I was happy or pissed with that possibility. Probably both. Shit. Either way, I had to know what she was talking about. I had to go to Sookie. "Give me half an hour and I'll be there."

So? What did you guys think about this chapter? And about David's character? He does say "shit" a lot, right? :-) Well, next chapter, a Sookie's POV, will start right after the end of chapter 18. See you then! Célia

"Lie to Me" is a single from Bon Jovi's 1995 album "These Days". "If you don't love me - Lie to me / 'Cause baby you're the one thing I believe / Let it all fall down around us, if that's what's meant to be / Right now if you don't love me baby - Lie to me."