Alright, here comes the Eric talk!

Chapter 45: I Won't Give Up

Eric

Eric paced the dressing room, holding one of the shirts Sookie had worn the day before, inhaling her scent. It was one thing that was able to lessen his feelings of panic. He heard the click of the door to the room open, meaning it could only be Sookie.

He exhaled in relief, thinking she wouldn't come back to him before he went to his day rest. Eric had been tempted to go to the airport and find out if Sookie had been there to book the first flight back to Bon Temps, but he didn't want to risk missing her if she should return to the hotel.

Eric moved quickly to the living room to Sookie in less than a second and began to embrace her, but she shot her light and hit him. He stumbled back and clutched the place her light had hit. That shit hurt. It was like concentrated sunlight to where ever it hit you.

Sookie held her hand in warning. "I am speaking tonight, Eric. Last night I gave you the floor. You have made me feel like a fool. You have hurt me when you promised you wouldn't."

Her words cut him. He tried to take a step toward her, his arms reaching for her and his eyes pleading, but she flexed her hand to remind him to stay away.

"No. You will listen. You will explain to me when I say you can. You told me I wouldn't regret choosing you, but Eric last night I began to regret my decision."

Dread filled him and he felt a gaping, black hole begin where his heart was. She was breaking up with him? No.

"Sook-"

"Silence. Eric I bonded myself to you. I told you I would love you. I am honestly praying that you have a good explanation for me. Because I need to trust you. I need it. And right now…I'm not sure."

Eric wanted to speak, but he knew better than to say anything. He wanted to beg her to stop speaking. She was killing him.

"It hurts me that you asked me to be honest, and promised it to me in return. While you didn't lie outright, you withheld. Which is even worse, especially because you know that is how Bill deceived and betrayed me for so long."

Eric did not like being compared to Bill. But he deserved it. She was right. He nodded and she said, "Now, I am willing to listen to your explanation. But I can't promise forgiveness or that I will want to stay with you. Because so help me God, I will not forgive you cheatin' on me when you told me you only loved me," Sookie said, tears welling in her beautiful eyes.

Eric was in pain. But he did feel some relief knowing his explanation at least didn't involve him being unfaithful to Sookie.

Sookie sat on the sofa, and waited for him to begin. Eric sat in the chair across from Sookie, feeling that she needed him to remain on the other side of the coffee table.

"Sookie, I have never, and will never cheat on you. I have an apartment that I used to have for Yvetta, and I let one of the bangers I saw while you were gone use it. After a few months of sleeping with her, I stopped because I couldn't even fathom it. She was the last person I slept with until you had returned and told me there was no hope for us," he began.

"Then when we were together, the only night and day I spent apart from you, I had area business that Bill ordered me to see to before we left for the summit. I swear on my own existence that is the truth. It was wrong of me to keep the banger in the apartment, I know that now. I just hadn't even had the time to think about it since I was spending so much time with you and dealing with the area business. I have informed her to vacate the premises by the end of the month otherwise she will be evicted."

Sookie was still and Eric found he wished her end of the bond was animated because he couldn't gauge what she was feeling. "I am so sorry, Sookie. And I am sorry about Pam and Nora. I believe Nora wasn't exactly aware of Pam's game."

"I have spoken to Pam. She has apologized and I have accepted it. She will need to earn my trust, but that is between her and me," Sookie said.

Eric was surprised that she had spoken to Pam first. "You spoke with Pam?" he asked.

"I did."

"What did you say?" he asked.

"That's between Pam and me."

Eric looked down at his hands as he processed this. Sunrise had come and he felt his body fighting him to go to rest.

"Will you stay? Will you forgive me Sookie?" he asked, terrified for her answer.

"I will eventually. You have to earn my trust like Pam. I love you and I bonded myself to you. I don't give up on the people I love," she said. Eric felt relief wash over him.

"You need to go to your rest," she murmured. He stood and looked at her, wondering if she would come.

She shook her head. "I am not tired right now."

He nodded and walked to her, kissing her forehead. "I love you Sookie."

She nodded and he walked into their room. He brushed his teeth and then grabbed the shirt he had clutched earlier. He placed it on his pillow so her scent was near and he fell into day rest.

Sookie

Sookie was tired, but she wanted to stay up and think things over. And she wasn't ready to sleep with Eric yet. She needed both physical and emotional space from him.

Sookie clicked off the lights and walked into the room where Eric slept. She grabbed the phone off the bed stand and called the front desk, asking for extra bedding to be brought up along with some breakfast. Sookie didn't realize how hungry she was until she smelled the pancakes, sausage, and bacon.

She ate her entire plate and left it outside of the door to be picked up. She then took the pile of bedding and walked into the room that Pam had transformed into a closet. She made up the fainting sofa, figuring it would be the most comfortable.

After getting ready for bed, she laid down after turning down the lights and began processing her talks with Bill, Pam, and Eric. She thought her talks with Pam and Bill had been successful. She knew with Eric that he was sad, remorseful, incredibly guilty, and desperate. She could tell from the bond.

It had hurt her to feel him feeling these things, but she was hurting too and he was the cause for both of their pain. Sookie thought that Annabelle would be proud of her. Their phone conversation earlier this evening came back to Sookie:

"Sookie how is the summit? I know something is wrong from your voice. Tell me that you are safe," she demanded the minute Sookie answered.

Sookie sat up in bed and turned on the lamp by the motel bed. The whole night rushed back to her and she sighed into the phone.

"Annabelle, I am sorry to bother you. So much has happened just in the couple of days that we have been here and almost none of it is related to the summit."

"Okay, well start from the beginning please."

Sookie did start from the beginning and ended with her answering Annabelle's return call. "Well that is a lot. Let's get right to it, shall we?"

"Please," Sookie said, relieved to have Annabelle to talk to and give her perspective.

"I am very worried because you have now shown your abilities twice in front of both humans and vampires that you don't know that you can trust. I would think about talking to Eric about damage control, even though I am sure he has probably already taken care of what he can. My advice is to only use these when you feel you are in danger or in front of Eric and Pam. Now, Sookie, I need you to answer me honestly," she said in her stern voice.

Sookie waited. "Are you willing to listen to Eric's explanation? To his side of the story? Because he is your bonded, and breaking a bond like that will be a lot harder than a simple spell you have Lafayette or his witch friend do. Sookie, we have spoken about your tendency to run when things become complicated or unpleasant for you to deal with."

Sookie didn't like to admit that she was right, but she was. It was how Sookie had ended up in Fae and almost trapped and imprisoned there. She nodded, even though she knew Annabelle couldn't see her.

"You are running again, and I think you should return to Eric and allow him to offer you some kind of explanation. If you don't feel like staying with him after that, the re-assess your options and decide your next steps. Sookie, you can't keep running from these things. And more importantly, running from people. The last time almost got you worse than killed from what you have told me. You are lucky right now you are safe, but you might not be for long. Go back to Eric, Sookie," she advised. "If he has no explanation that satisfies you, you will feel it in the bond."

"What do I say?" Sookie asked. "I…if it's true, it will kill me," she said, her voice trembling.

"No it won't. Sookie you are a lot stronger than you know. After every hard thing in your life you have had to deal with, a cheating boyfriend is nothing. What you will do is what you have done in the past. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and begin again. And take comfort in the fact that you have people who love and care for you and will help you. Jason, Lafayette, and me. Now get back to safety."

"Bill is gonna be furious with me about leavin' when I shoulda been workin'," Sookie said.

"Well, I wouldn't advertise that there is something amiss between you and Eric if you can help it. Bill will use that information for his own advantage. Tell him you would be willing to take a pay cut for the missed work or renegotiate the contract. Whatever gets him off your back so you can deal with the bigger issues at play here."

Sookie nodded, feeling better already. "And Sookie?"

"Yes Annabelle?"

"Don't you let that Pam walk over you anymore. Right now you are not even her equal. You are her superior. She needs to respect you and she should know that you are not going anywhere if you don't want to, no matter what shit she pulls. Set her straight Sookie. If I were there I would slap the shit out of her until she begged me to stop."

Sookie gasped in shock, but then laughed. She had never heard Annabelle speak so viciously.

"I am serious. She has no respect or maturity. If her maker won't smack some sense into her, I sure as hell will."

Sookie was laughing now so hard she was crying. "Thank you Annabelle. I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart."

"I know, Sookie, and you are very welcome. Now repeat what you are going to do so I know you have a plan."

Sookie repeated that she was going to go to the hotel, and set the Louisiana vampires straight. After she had spoken with all three is when she would decide what her next move was. Annabelle wished her luck and instructed her to call afterward to tell her how everything went.

Sookie now played with the necklace with the 'E' on it and knew she would forgive Eric. She found she already did. He hadn't cheated on her, but he needed to know she was not okay with him hiding things from her. She would get through this summit, and then decide her next move with Eric. Sookie found herself missing her small corner of Louisiana as she drifted asleep.

Was Annabelle spot on again?