A/N: Hello everybody. There's actually a couple of important things I have to tell you so I hope everyone reads this. If you read my other story you'll have seen that I re-edited that story and that I was going to re-edit this story before I posted any more chapters. Well, that happened so I need to tell you about some things that were edited.
The biggest change is that I added a conversation between Sookie and Jason in chapter 5. After rereading the story I realized I had mentioned Jason several times but he never actually made an appearance. The actual conversation isn't that important but it's there.
The only other major change I made to the storyline is I had completely forgotten about the underwear Sookie had bought so I added a scene in chapter 8 where Sookie found the underwear that Eric had hidden away.
I feel like such an idiot for adding in these scenes after I already posted the chapters but I was not very organized when I first started writing and it showed. After rereading both of my stories I took a ton of notes to make sure I won't have those kinds of mistakes again and I'm MUCH more organized now.
I think that's all I had to tell you other than this chapter is really freaking long. It had 8,945 words before the A/Ns and it ended up being 22 pages long.
Anywho, as always, I don't own the characters and any remaining mistakes are my own.
I came awake slowly and felt completely surrounded by something warm and hard.
"Eric?"
"Yeah, Sookie?"
"What time is it?"
"It's about 2:30 p.m."
I nodded and took notice of my surroundings as I became more awake. Once again I was lying on my side and Eric was spooned behind me. I was lying in the nook of one arm while the other was wrapped around my waist. It seemed like I was waking up like that a lot these days.
"Are you feeling better?" Eric asked.
"I guess. I didn't really mean to fall asleep that long."
"Don't worry about it. You probably haven't been getting enough sleep lately and it has been a stressful day."
Eric's reminder brought it all back to me. The fun, carefree morning I'd had with Eric had been interrupted when I saw Bill staring at me through my kitchen window. He didn't look like the man I'd spent the last four years with. It was like he had removed his mask and I was finally getting a look at the monster he really was.
"Hey, it's okay. Nothing happened while you were asleep. He hasn't shown up again," Eric said as he felt me tense up.
"You've been lying here awake this whole time?"
"I said I would, didn't I?"
"But I've been asleep for almost three hours."
"Well you must have needed it. And believe me, it was no hardship watching over you while you slept."
I grabbed the hand that Eric had wrapped around my waist and squeezed it. I didn't know how to express the gratitude I'd felt toward Eric. I couldn't believe a man I had just met four days ago was sacrificing so much just to help me. I wanted to lay in bed with Eric forever and forget everything else going on but unfortunately that wasn't an option.
"Whoa, where are you going?" Eric asked when I sat up in bed.
"I have to go to work today."
"What? You never told me you had to work today?"
"It must have slipped my mind. I guess I just wasn't used to having someone to answer to since I broke up with Bill."
The look on Eric's face made me regret saying that. He looked like I had just slapped him.
Eric didn't even bother responding. He just got out of bed and started to leave the room.
"Eric wait!" I yelled as I jumped out of bed after him.
"Sookie, I don't think I even want to talk to you right now. Christ, I've uprooted my life for a girl I met less than a week ago and yet here she sits comparing me to the psycho I'm trying to protect her from just because I didn't know she had to go into work today?"
"I'm sorry, okay?"
"No, it's not okay. It's like you're two different people. One minute you're so happy and carefree and the next minute I'm scared to be near you because I'm afraid I'll say something to set you off."
That was what I was scared of most when I thought of having a relationship with Eric. I didn't think he would be able to handle the baggage of me being in a relationship with Bill.
"I know how I am. I know I get defensive, and I'm working on it. But for goodness sakes Eric, I just got out of a mentally abusive relationship a month ago. And Bill may never have laid his hands on me but he wasn't far from it. For three and a half years of that relationship Bill kept constant tabs on me. He would always question me about where I was going and whom I was going with. He would get pissed at me for going to work because he thought Sam liked me. He tried to get me to quit but I would never do it. I didn't want to be dependent on Bill. Then I would never have been able to get away from him. I know I lash out at you sometimes when you say things that remind me of Bill but I can't help it. I need you to have patience with me. You're trying so hard to wiggle your way into my life when I don't think you can handle it. You're so eager to chase after Bill but you don't want to deal with the mess he left behind!"
By the time I was finished I felt the tears welling up in my eyes and I was feeling choked up. Would I ever be whole again after what Bill had done to me? Would I ever be able to find someone that could handle this emotional wreck I'd turned into?
Before I could contemplate the answers to my internal monologue, I was crushed against Eric's chest.
"I'm so fucking sorry, Sookie. Sometimes it just hard to believe that you'd been in a relationship like that. When you're laughing and smiling it's so easy to forget the hell you'd been living in for years."
"Eric, stop. You don't have to apologize," I said as I tried to pull away from him.
"No, I do," he replied as he held me tighter. "After you told me about Bill I knew there would be things that still bothered you. I'm not used to dealing with something like this but that doesn't mean you're not worth it. The way we were at the zoo showed me that we can be good together, but every time Bill pops back up everything falls apart. And that's what he wants, Sookie. He doesn't want you to be happy and to find someone else. Once Bill's out of the picture once and for all, it'll be easier to move on and to heal."
"You're right," I said as I hugged Eric tighter. This was a conversation that we needed to have. We had been dealing with Bill's physical appearances but ignoring the toll it was taking on me emotionally.
"Are we okay?"
"Yeah. I feel like such an idiot for completely blowing up like that."
"Don't. It's completely natural considering everything you've been though, and now that we talked about it, we can moved passed it. Okay?"
"Yes."
After our little pep talk Eric went to his room to call Alcide and I started getting ready for work. It was my first day back to work since the day of my party and I was a little nervous to be going back. Things with Bill had definitely escalated since the last time I was at work.
I had just finished putting on my uniform, throwing my hair up into a ponytail, and applying a little bit of make-up when Eric came back into my room.
"I just got off the phone with Alcide. He starts his shift around six tonight and he's going to talk to Bill right away. Like Alcide said before, he can be arrested for violating the restraining order but he probably won't remain in jail for long."
"I know," I sighed.
"How is this going to work out, with you going to work? Should I come to work with you or should I stay here?"
"I think it would be best if you stayed here, if you don't mind. Bill won't be able to do anything to me while I'm at work. There are too many people around and I'm never alone at work. Besides, once Alcide starts his shift, Bill will be in jail. And this way I won't have to worry about Bill doing something to my house because you'll be here."
"I still don't like that idea of you going to work by yourself."
"I'll be fine. Sam'll be there and he's too watchful to let anything happen to me, especially where Bill is concerned."
"What time do you leave?"
"I have to be there by four so I'll have to leave soon."
"It's going to be weird being in your house without you."
"I know but I bet you'll find something to entertain yourself with. Buffy is still in the DVD player if you get bored."
When it was finally time for me to leave Eric stood in the doorway and watched me leave for work. He didn't shut the front door until I was already driving away. Before I left, we exchanged phone numbers after realizing we didn't have each other's numbers. Eric only had the number to my house phone from the police report and I'd never had a reason to call Eric so I didn't have his number.
Eric: Text me when u get 2 work so I know ur ok.
Me: Not really safe 2 text while driving… I texted back when I'd stopped at a red light.
Eric: Didn't ask u 2 text while driving. Text me when u get there.
Me: If u want me 2 stop texting u u should stop responding. I texted when I'd stopped at a deserted intersection. As much as I liked to tease Eric, I was not one of those reckless people that texted while driving a moving vehicle.
After my last message Eric didn't text back and it made me laugh. I couldn't help but to tease him. I wanted to break the tension we had created when I'd woken up from my nap. One way to do that was not to freak out about Eric wanting me to text him when I got to work. I knew it was only because he wanted to make sure I got to work okay, and not because he was keeping tabs on me. Eric was nothing like Bill and I needed to remember that.
I pulled into the employee parking lot of Merlotte's and saw Sam waiting at the back door.
"What are you doing out here?" I asked as I got out of my car.
"With all this crap happening with Bill I wanted to make sure you made it into work okay and I didn't want you to have to worry about Bill sneaking up on you out here."
"Thanks Sam," I said as I beamed at him. It was a little overwhelming having everyone fuss over me like they were but it was nice to know I had so many people that loved and cared about me.
Once I got inside the building I headed straight to the bar to grab my apron.
"Hey Sookie!" Tara said as she spotted me. "I haven't seen you since your birthday party. What've you been up to?" Tara asked me with an amused smirk on her face.
"Before I tell you anything, tell me what you know," I replied. I didn't want to show her my hand until she showed me hers.
"Well, I know you disappeared with one of the strippers and didn't emerge until after we all left. And I know I haven't heard from you since then. So spill it. You've been shacked up with that hot blond or what?"
So it wasn't about Bill then. If Tara wanted a little bit of gossip about Eric I'd be glad to give it to her. I didn't have many friends to confide in and I'd already told Amelia everything. Besides, I knew better than to mention Bill around Tara. She hated him almost as much as I did.
"Well, after we went upstairs, he did a little show just for me… and then we kind of had sex," I mumbled.
"SOOKIE!"
"Shh. Keep it down!"
"Sorry but I didn't think you were going to say that. I would expect it from Amelia but not from you. Damn. I can't lie though, I'm a little jealous."
"Oh stop. I haven't had sex with him since that first night so there's nothing to be jealous about."
"So you've seen him since then? You've been holding out on me!"
"It's complicated and I can't get into it right now. I have to get to work," I said as I walked toward my section of tables.
I didn't really want to tell Tara the full story about Bill and Eric, but I was finding it harder to lie to everyone. The longer this situation went on, the more likely it was that someone would come by my house. Once they got there they would see the cameras and lights and start asking questions. Not the mention the fact that all my doors and windows would be locked up tight in the middle of the summer.
The fact of the matter was, my relationship with Bill made me feel like a loser, and it was hard to admit such a weakness to my family and friends. I knew they all hated Bill while we were dating and Bill had convinced me that it was because they were jealous of our relationship. I was ashamed of the person I had become while dating Bill, and now that I was out of the fog of that relationship, I felt like the ghosts were still haunting me. I felt like I would never get rid of the stain on my life that was Bill Compton.
While I contemplated what to do when people started asking questions, I got to work waiting on tables and cleaning up messes. My shift moved pretty slowly with nothing exciting happening, and for once I was grateful for the boring shift. It meant nothing was going wrong.
It was almost time for my break but I wanted to get the order started on the new table that had just walked in before I passed it over to Arlene. Thankfully Arlene had been so drunk at my birthday that she didn't realize I had run off with Eric. If anyone were going to be judgmental or start rumors, it would have been Arlene.
"Hi, I'm Sookie and I'll be your waitress this evening," I said as I approached the table.
"Sookie!" yelled Portia, Andy's sister.
"Oh hey! I didn't recognize you behind the booth. How've you been?"
"Oh gosh, I've been busy. Andy's been out of town and the Sherriff was sick so I've been helping out at the station answering the phone. I'm just glad Shreveport was able to spare a few cars around here. Thankfully the Sherriff is feeling better and Andy's coming back in town tomorrow so everything should go back to normal."
"You mean the cops from Shreveport are leaving?"
"Oh yes. They've been a big help but they don't know much about Bon Temps and how we do things here."
Portia placed her usual order and I hurried to the kitchen to get it started.
"Hey Sook," Lafayette called from the kitchen. "You've been flying in and out of here your whole shift. I haven't even had a chance to say hello."
"I've just been busy. Gotta make those tips," I said as I ran away from him again. I didn't feel like answering everyone's questions and I still didn't know what I was going to do about everyone questioning why I'd become such a shut in. The whole point of me lying to everyone was to keep them as far away from Bill as possible but it was starting to seem like that wasn't as good of an idea as I'd hoped. Everyone was used to me being outgoing and happy since I'd broken up with Bill and now it seemed like I was doing a complete 180. I'd have to talk to Eric when I got home and see what he thought I should do.
Fuck, Eric. I doubt he knew about the Shreveport cops going back. He had been texting me off and on throughout my shift asking how things were going and keeping me updated while I was away. I doubt he knew Alcide would be going back to Shreveport full time since he hadn't mentioned it to me. And that meant Eric would be going back to Shreveport too come Saturday.
I was on my way to the break room when I saw Amelia walk into Merlotte's.
"Hey Ame, I was just about to take my break."
"I know. I need to talk to you."
Her tone of voice made me think something was wrong so I slid my phone out of my apron to make sure I hadn't missed a text from Eric. Without any missed calls or texts, I at least knew it wasn't about Bill.
"Okay, come on back to the break room."
"Are you sure Sam won't get pissed at me again? Every time he catches me back there he always bitches at us. 'Sookie, I've told you a million times, no non-employees in the break room,'" Amelia said, doing her best Sam impression, which was horrible.
"Sam won't even notice you're back there if you keep it down. No more of what happened last time."
"Well last time I wasn't expecting my girlfriend's boyfriend to call and cuss me out. I wasn't going to sit there and let him talk to me like that."
"Well stop dating people that are already in a relationship," I told Amelia as we stepped into the back room.
"You know what they say, all the good ones are either gay or already taken," Amelia joked.
"If they're a girl it would benefit you if they were gay, and if they're taken and cheating with you, they can't be that good. Besides, Alcide seems nice and he's not gay or taken."
"Eh, Alcide's a good fuck but I don't see it going anywhere. Which is actually what I came here to talk to you about."
"I don't want to hear about you and Alcide fucking again."
"Not that!" Amelia said as she rolled her eyes at me, like she hadn't been calling me with all of the details of her sex life. "He called me today and said tonight was going to be his last night in Bon Temps. By tomorrow Andy and the Sherriff will be back and they won't be needed."
"I heard. Portia came in right before I went on break and told me."
"At least you get a couple more nights with your cop. Tonight is my last," Amelia sighed.
"Eric's not my cop and it's not like we're exactly together like you and Alcide are. And besides, Eric's only got a few more days here anyway."
"You don't sound exactly excited to be getting rid of him."
"Why would I? We may have had a few misunderstandings but that doesn't mean that I don't like him. He barely knew me before he volunteered to stay at my house and protect me from Bill. Plus he's been doing everything to make sure that Bill gets put behind bars. Not to mention the fact that my house hasn't been so lonely since he's started staying with me. To be honest, when he leaves I'm going to miss him."
"Don't you think you should tell him that?"
"No way. You don't see anything happening between you and Alcide and I don't see anything happening between Eric and I." The argument Eric and I had had before I'd left for work proved that we weren't completely good together.
"When things don't work out between Alcide and I, it's not because I didn't try. Alcide isn't ever going to settle down and as much as it seems like I like jumping around from person to person, I don't. I'll admit, I was a bit scared of relationships in the past. That's why I dated a lot of people already in relationships. I was an outlet for sex, not someone they were looking to settle down with, and that was safe. But Alcide's been practically living with me and I haven't felt like killing him yet."
"Damn. When you first moved to Bon Temps and stayed with me we weren't able to live together long before we felt like killing each other."
"Exactly."
"Well did you tell Alcide how you feel?"
"Believe me, I tried. We don't just have sex all the time, we actually talk. Do you know what he said when I confessed that I was bisexual? He said, 'Well maybe we can finally have that threesome I've wanted.' He doesn't see me as anything more than someone to have sex with."
"Amelia…"
"And I'm okay with that, really," Amelia interrupted as if I'd never started talking. "I've spent my entire life jumping from bed to bed, so it's only fair that when I meet someone I actually like, they can't wait to jump from my bed to the next."
"I'm sure it's not like that," I said trying to console her. I could tell she was getting upset talking about Alcide and it was starting to make me upset. Amelia was always so open about her relationships, never caring to settle down. To see her now, so emotional about Alcide leaving her was something definitely out of character.
"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Amelia said, wiping any trace of emotion from her face. "Have you heard from Eric today?"
"He's been texting me every so often just so I won't get worried," I said, letting Amelia change the subject even though we'd already talked about Eric texting me. I would be sure to mention the topic of Alcide and Amelia to Eric later.
"I bet that's a relief being able to come to work and not worry about Bill. Alcide's already had enough time to talk to Bill so I'm sure they'll have good news when you get home."
"I hope so. I would like nothing more than for this to be over."
"Have you talked to your brother since Saturday?"
"I talked to him the other day. I still haven't told him about Bill because I know Jason and he'll try to take the law into his own hands. I can't deal with having my brother in jail on top of everything else."
"You have to tell him something. You know Jason stops by your house all the time unannounced. What are you going to tell him when he pops up and sees you've got your house guarded like Fort Knox?"
"I haven't thought that far ahead yet. I know I'm going to have to tell everyone eventually but I just don't know what to say to them. You know they all hated Bill anyway and I'd basically be confirming their suspicions."
"Who cares? Nobody blames you for being with Bill or for what he did. You need to tell everyone what kind of person he is and what he's been doing to you so they know it's not safe to be around him. It'll be better for everyone that way. I know better than to show up at your house at night because I don't want you to have to open the door to let me in but Tara doesn't know that. What are you going to do if she pops up at your house and the lights come on? You're going to have to open the door because you can't leave her out there with Bill lurking around but it's putting you in danger to have to open the door."
"It shouldn't have to be like that Ame."
"It shouldn't but it is. Until Bill is caught and you're safe, you have to live like that. You can't be hardheaded and live recklessly just because you don't want to give Bill the satisfaction of knowing he's scared you."
"I know. I have to go back to work but I get off in a few hours. When I get home I'll talk to Eric and see what ended up happening with Bill. When I get word I'll call you and let you know."
After Amelia left I got back to work and before I knew it it was time to go home. I tried to avoid Tara and Lafayette for the rest of the night, which wasn't easy. I think Sam could tell I was uncomfortable because whenever Tara or Laf stopped me to talk, Sam was there to run interference.
When I was ready to go to my car, Sam walked me out to the parking lot. I was surprised to find Amelia waiting for me.
"What are you doing out here?"
"I figured I would follow you home from work and see what Eric and Alcide had to say about Bill."
Amelia was fidgeting and wouldn't look me in the eye so I knew there had to be something she wasn't telling me.
"Why would Alcide be at my house? He's still working, isn't he? Have you talked to him? Did he tell you anything about Bill?"
"No… Can we just go to your house and see what they have to say?" Amelia's demeanor had changed since I saw her on my break and it made me wonder what had happened since then. She kept looking around us and it was freaking me it. It was like she was looking for someone.
"They arrested Bill and he's already out, isn't he?"
"Sookie, just get in your car and talk to the cops when you get there," Sam interrupted. He all but ushered me into my car. "You don't know if they arrested Bill or not and you're standing around here talking about him looking like sitting ducks."
I would have snapped at Sam for telling me what to do except I tried to keep the talk I had with Eric in mind. Sam was right and he was only trying to help me so I bit my tongue and got in my car. I immediately called Eric.
"Sookie? Is something wrong?" Eric asked as soon as he answered.
"I don't know Eric, you tell me. Is something wrong?"
"Is Amelia with you?" Eric asked, completely ignoring my question.
"Yeah, she's following right behind me. What's going on?"
"We'll talk when you get here."
"Why can't you just tell me now?! You're all freaking me out!"
"Just calm down and get home, okay? The last thing we need is you getting into an accident just because I want to wait to tell you anything until you get home."
"I don't like being managed Eric."
"I know and I'm glad you're not biting my head off right now. So, how was work?"
Eric was changing the subject but I knew he wasn't going to tell me anything until I got home. Between Amelia and Eric, I knew something had gone wrong and I was really worried. When I pulled up to the house I hung up from Eric and he came out onto the front porch. I had almost made it up the steps when I saw someone emerging from the woods. I screamed before I realized it was only Alcide.
When I looked back at Eric, I was surprised to see he had his gun drawn. I was even more surprised to see Amelia wielding a gun.
"What in the fuck is going on around here!?" I yelled, completely done with being out of the loop.
"Get in the house and we'll explain," Eric said as he led me into the house, followed by Amelia and Alcide.
As soon as we all got inside Alcide shut and locked the door. Eric led me into the living room and sat me on the couch. He sat on one side of me, Amelia sat on the other, and Alcide sat in the chair.
"Sookie, Alcide is going to tell you what happened today and I want you to listen to him without interrupting. Got it?" Amelia asked. She was probably the only person that could get away with talking to me like that.
Happy to finally be getting some answers, I nodded.
"As soon as I started my shift I headed over to Bill's house since I'd just gotten the call that we would be going back to Shreveport at the end of the night. I wanted to make sure I was the one that talked to Bill and would deal with him once he was arrested since the case is personal. Unfortunately, when I went to Bill's house, he wasn't there."
"I hope you didn't just knock on the door and leave when he didn't answer. Did you wait around to see if he would show up?" I asked completely ignoring Amelia's orders, which earned me a glare from her.
"You don't understand. He wasn't there, at all. His house didn't look like it'd been lived in for a while. I thought it was strange that his house looked so deserted so I went to where Bill works and they said that he had been fired a few weeks ago for not calling and not showing up. We have no idea where Bill is staying but I think it's somewhere close. Like really close."
"What does that mean?" I asked, obviously not getting what he was hinting at.
"For God's sake Sookie! Alcide thinks Bill is living in the woods around your house!"
"WHAT!?" This conversation was not starting out how I'd imagined. This was even worse than I could have ever expected. "What makes you think Bill's living in the woods?" I asked after I had a second to process what was being said to me.
"When I went to Bill's house his car was in the driveway but there was no answer at the door. I thought I smelled something burning so I had probable cause to check inside the house." The look Alcide gave me told me he was just using that as an excuse to legally be able to go inside Bill's house without a warrant. "Once inside it was obvious no one was living in the house. There were no groceries, no used dishes, and no garbage. I walked through the woods connecting your houses to talk to Eric and I noticed an area disturbed in the woods where it looked like someone had been camping. But then I thought, 'Who would be camping out between two residential houses like that?' So I walked through the woods a bit more and found more areas surrounding your house that indicated someone had been staying in the woods. We're assuming it's Bill since you've seen him at your house and when he'd leave he'd walk into the woods, but he's not living at his own house."
What I was hearing was so chilling I felt like I was going to be sick. Eric reached his arm around me. I hadn't realized it but I was physically shaking.
"That's why we sent Amelia to pick you up from work," Eric interrupted. "Alcide called her and told her what was happening. I wanted to wait at the house to make sure Bill didn't pop up, Alcide was combing through the woods trying to find signs of Bill and he thought it would be best to send Amelia with a gun to make sure Bill didn't try to attack you when you left work."
"Why did you trust Amelia with a gun, exactly?"
"Believe it or not, the girl knows how to shoot," Alcide said. "Besides, it's unlikely she would have even had to use it with Sam there."
"I can't believe this is happening," I said, still in shock. It was like I couldn't focus on one thing for too long because all of this information was coming at me at once. "It was scary enough knowing Bill was walking across the woods to stalk me. It's even scarier knowing he's living in the woods around my house so he can stalk me all the time. What am I supposed to do? Knowing this makes me scared to even walk past the doors and windows."
"I know you don't want to leave your house, but I'm not comfortable with you staying here," Eric said.
"To be honest, I'm not really comfortable staying here either," I replied.
"Sook, I know you didn't want anyone to know about Bill but after Alcide told me about him living in the woods, I called Jason," Amelia said.
"You what? Ames, the last thing I need is for Jason to be involved in all of this."
"Well like it or not, we're all involved in this," Amelia said gently. "Alcide, Eric, and I were talking about it while you were at work and I think you should go with Eric to his apartment tonight. It's not safe for you to stay here and honestly I don't know how you're going to be able to sleep in this house knowing that Bill is out in those woods watching you. I already called Sam too. He said he was going to tell Tara and Laf after you left because we all know this embarrasses you. Honestly Sookie, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. None of us blame you. When you first started dating Bill you didn't know he was going to end up like this and even though we all didn't like him, we didn't see something like this happening either. The smartest and safest thing to do is to get the hell out of this house and to warn people until Bill is caught."
"How can I do that?"
"Well you don't have to worry about your friends and family anymore because I handled that. Jason's pissed but he's happy you're safe. He wants you to call him by the way. I talked to Sam on the way over here and he said Tara and Laf are worried about you. Since Bill knows where Tara lives she's going to stay with Laf for a few days. She's worried Bill would come looking for you at her house if he can't find you here."
"But Bill knows where you live too…"
"I know and I've already thought about that. I'm going to go down to Orleans for a bit. I'm going to catch up with Octavia and my dad."
"You're leaving?" I asked panicked.
"Not for good, I could never leave for good. But you're safe with Eric and you know if Bill's gonna be looking for you anywhere it's going to be with me. I don't want to be alone in my house when he shows up."
"I'm basically running everyone out of their houses!" I couldn't believe this was happening. Tara was going to live with Lafayette and Amelia was leaving town?
"Sookie, stop. It's not your fault. We're all just doing what we have to to be safe. I'll be safe with my dad and Octavia. Tara will be safe with Laf and you'll be safe with Eric. It's not forever, it's just until Bill's caught."
"But no one knows how long that'll take. And Alcide is leaving back to Shreveport tonight. No one else is going to take this seriously. Bill has Andy and the Sherriff fooled."
"Actually, I talked to our captain today and he's had a talk with the Sherriff in Bon Temps. Since Eric filed the restraining order, they're allowing him to stay in Bon Temps to finish out the case. Since Eric's on vacation and the case kind of fell to me, I can keep working on it, even after the rest of the cops go back to Shreveport," Alcide spoke up.
"How are you going to do that? You can't do this by yourself. Bill is dangerous."
"My temporary partner has agreed to work with me. It's just until Sunday when Eric starts back. Tray's a good cop so I'm not worried about being left in Bon Temps. When Amelia called your brother he offered to let us stay with him so I don't have to worry about driving back and forth to Shreveport. I'm driving back to Shreveport tonight though to pick up my stuff and Tray and we're coming back here."
"I bet you're lucky Jason never let Bill come to his house now, aren't you?" Amelia teased, trying to lighten the mood.
I was just trying to wrap my head around everything that had happened since I'd gotten off work.
Amelia basically came to pick me up from work loaded with a gun, everyone I was trying to keep in the dark about Bill now knew, Amelia and Tara would be moving, temporarily at least, to keep safe from Bill who was apparently living in the woods around my house, and everyone wanted me to stay with Eric in Shreveport. It was a lot to handle.
"Sookie, I know you don't like having your choices taken from you so I'm going to give you a choice. We can leave tonight for my apartment or we can stay here in Bon Temps and hope Bill doesn't do anything drastic before he's caught."
I couldn't believe what he was saying to me. After everything I'd put him through and after them telling me how dangerous Bill had become, Eric was still giving me the option of staying in my house. I don't think what I was feeling at that moment was love but it wasn't far off. Eric was such an amazing person and I would be an idiot to throw that away because of my own insecurities.
"I appreciate the option but honestly, I want to get the hell out of here. If I didn't think Bill was unhinged after everything else he'd done to me, this would have proved it. Camping out in the woods outside someone's house is completely insane."
"Thank God," Eric said, relieved.
"You made a good decision Sookie," Alcide said. "Staying out here where you're secluded with Bill isn't safe, even with Eric."
"I'm going to go upstairs and pack a bag," I said as I stood up. It was hard looking through my house and knowing that Bill could destroy it all. But there wasn't a point in preserving all the history and family memories if you had no one to pass it down to because your ex-boyfriend killed you.
"I'll come with," Amelia said, as she followed me upstairs.
Once we got to my room and I shut my door I sighed. "Oh my God, Ames. What am I going to do?" I asked, feeling overwhelmed.
"It's okay honey," Amelia replied as she hugged me. "You're going to go with Eric and you're going to be safe. That's what matters, that we're all safe."
"Why don't you come to Shreveport too? I'm sure you could stay with Eric and I, unless Alcide decides to commute."
"Sookie, Alcide and I are on our last leg and I'm not about to intrude on you and Eric. I know you and you're trying to be tough and accept all of this but I can practically see the gears working in your head. The less people you have to worry about, the better. You know I'll be safe with my dad. Bill wouldn't have a reason to go all the way down to New Orleans when you're up here and even if he tried, he wouldn't be able to get through my dad's security."
"But what about everyone else in Bon Temps? And what if Bill follows us to Shreveport?"
"Bill's not going to attack everyone in town just because you're missing. The only people that know where you're going is us four and Jason. Bill doesn't know where Laf lives and him and Tara are going to be on the lookout for Bill so they'll be safe. Lord knows Jason can handle himself. I would almost feel sorry for Bill if he ever tried anything with Jason. Besides, Bill doesn't even know where Jason lives. After Bill attacked Sam the first time, Sam's more prepared than ever. Nothing is going to happen to any of us while you're gone. Taking you out of the equation is going to make this safer for everyone. And based on everything I've heard about Eric from Alcide, he's pretty damn capable. I doubt Bill would be able to follow you all the way to Eric's house without him noticing."
"I hope you're right. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to anyone I cared about because of Bill."
"It's going to be okay. Now let's pack your bags. How much stuff do you think you're going to need?" Amelia asked as she started going through my clothes while I got my luggage from the closet. "Oh my God, Sookie. I can't believe you've been holding out on me!"
I poked my head out of the closet to see what had riled Amelia up and I saw she was holding up the lingerie I had bought on impulse.
"When did you get this and why didn't you call me to go shopping with you?" Amelia asked as she pouted at me.
"I wasn't planning on buying it, I was just window shopping and it happened."
"Any particular reason you decided to pick up some sexy lingerie?" Amelia asked with an amused smirk on her face.
"No, sometimes a girl just likes to look nice."
"Oh please. You'd look 'nice' wearing a potato sack. You are definitely packing these," Amelia said as she threw the lingerie into my luggage.
"Amelia! I can't pack something like that! If Eric sees it he'll get the wrong idea!"
"Or maybe he'll finally get the right idea. There's nothing I'd like more than to see you happy and I'm convinced Eric can make you happy."
"I don't need a man to make me happy."
"Well of course not but it's always nice to have someone provide you will unlimited sex and favors."
"Hardy-har-har."
"Oh suck it. No really, suck it, it helps put them in the mood."
"Oh my God!" I yelled, laughing at Amelia. Leave it to her to keep me laughing even in a time like this.
After we finished packing my bags we went downstairs to meet back up with Eric and Alcide. Eric was on the phone.
"Really? She'll be glad to hear that. We appreciate it. I'm sure she'll be happy to know she doesn't have to worry about coming into work. It's nice to know she has so many people that care about her. I'll text you his number and we can all keep each other updated. Okay. Bye."
"Who was that?" I asked once he got off the phone.
"That was Sam." At my confused look he continued. "Amelia helped us all exchange numbers so we could keep each other in the loop. Sam said you can log on to the cameras surrounding your house from the Internet so you'll be able to check in on your house even when you're not here."
"Really? That's great!" I was so glad I'd be able to keep an eye on my house. Even though there wasn't much I would be able to do from Shreveport, being able to see what was happening would give me a peace of mind.
"I'm going to run up and pack my bags really quickly and then we can get going."
While Eric ran upstairs to pack his bags I went through the house to make sure everything was in order. I grabbed my phone and sent a quick text to Jason to let him know I was going to be okay.
Me: Hey, talked 2 Ames. Sorry I didn't tell u b4. Was trying to keep every1 safe.
Jason: Not mad just worried. Don't want u 2 feel like u have 2 keep things from me.
Me: R we ok?
Jason: Yeah. Coming by house tom to pick up fridge food & a few important things.
Me: Shouldn't b here by urself…
Jason: Bringing Hoyt.
I really didn't want anyone coming over to the house while Bill was lurking through the woods but the fact that Jason was coming to clear out the refrigerator and grab some important things did make me feel better about leaving the house. I knew Jason could take care of himself, plus the fact that he was bringing his best friend, Hoyt, instantly made me feel better.
Me: Thnx. Luv u. Call u 2morrow?
Jason: K. Luv u 2.
After I finished texting Jason I continued looking over the house for anything else I wanted or needed to take. I'd already packed picture books and Gran's jewelry. When I walked back toward the living room I overheard Alcide and Amelia talking.
"Why won't you talk to me?" Alcide asked.
"I don't have anything to say. I appreciate you helping Sookie out, but there really isn't anything left to be said between us. We had fun and now it's over."
"It's not…"
Alcide stopped talking when Eric started coming back down the steps.
"All set?" Eric asked once he reached the living room.
"Yep," I answered. You could feel the tension between Alcide and Amelia and it was making it awkward.
"Well, let's head out then…" Eric said, looking between Amelia and Alcide. I think he could tell something was going on between them too.
On the way to the car I kept wondering if Bill was watching from the woods at that very moment. I didn't think he would try anything with Eric and Alcide around but it was still creepy. Amelia and Alcide got in their own cars and I got into Eric's. Amelia was leaving for New Orleans and Alcide was going to follow us back to Shreveport.
The night had definitely turned into a nightmare but I felt my nerves start to calm down as I rode in the car with Eric. I was amazed at how comfortable I felt around him. No matter what was going on Eric always seemed like he had the ability to make me feel better.
We had been riding in silence until Eric spoke up.
"So, I have something to tell you but I'm pretty sure you already know about it."
"What's that?" I asked, totally confused.
"That day when I helped you carry in the groceries, I carried in a bag that didn't have groceries in it. I didn't think much of it until I found that bag the morning I made you cereal. I kind of peeked in the bag and then hid it from you."
I started to smile once I realized what he was talking about. "It might have given away the fact that you'd found the bag when you brought me the cereal. Especially considering I threw the bag in the cabinet with the cereal when I heard you coming."
"I didn't mean to keep it from you for so long. I was hiding it from you just to tease you but then everything started happening and I forgot about it. I'm bringing it up now because when I was packing my clothes, I found the bag in my drawer and remembered I put it in there. This sounds so creepy saying it out loud. I hope you don't think I'm a pervert… The thing is, the bag was empty when I took it out of my drawer today so I'm assuming you found it."
"Yeah, I might have looked through your things when I realized the bag was missing," I said as I smiled over at Eric. "And I never thought your intensions were creepy. I knew you weren't like that."
"That's a relief. So, what did you do with the stuff in the bag?"
"That's none of your business," I said, feigning shock. "Only a pervert would ask a lady about her underwear."
Eric busted out laughing and it made me laugh too. I loved hearing him laugh. It completely lit up his face. Before Eric could say anything else, his phone rang. He talked on the phone to Alcide most of the way up to Shreveport while I texted Amelia. I was a little worried about her taking the four-hour drive so late but Amelia had always been a night owl so I wasn't worried about her falling asleep while driving. Amelia also had Bluetooth in her car that allowed her to speak her messages rather than texting them out. Because of that I didn't have to worry about her being able to watch the road and text at the same time.
By the time we made it to Eric's apartment building I had already started to doze off. I hadn't even realized it until Eric had to shake me awake.
"Sookie, wake up. We're here."
I opened my eyes to see where Eric lived but all I saw was the inside of a parking garage.
"Where are we?"
"My apartment. Come on. Let's get your stuff inside and get you to bed."
Eric helped me out of the car and then grabbed my bags. The cars in the garage all looked like pretty nice cars. I wished I'd been awake to see the outside of the building.
We went into an elevator in the garage. Eric pulled his keys out of his pocket and inserted one into the keyhole on the elevator's panel. I had no idea how this elevator worked but it was unlike any elevator I'd ever seen before.
When we the elevator doors opened, they opened right into Eric's apartment. Eric's apartment was fancier than I would have imagined a cop would be able to afford. How in the heck did he manage to afford an apartment like this?
I heard Eric chuckle beside me and realized I'd spoken out loud. "Oh my God, please don't answer that. That was so rude."
"No, it's okay," Eric said as he continued to laugh. "I co-own a few clubs in the city that help pay the bills. I'm a police officer because I like to help people, not because I have to do it."
Eric being a person that liked to help did not surprise me. He had helped me out so much already when he'd barely even known me.
"You look dead on your feet so the full tour can wait until tomorrow. Let me just point out the essentials as I show you to your room."
We started in the living room and Eric showed me the kitchen before leading me to a hallway.
"Your room is going to be here. My room is at the end of the hall incase you need anything and you have a bathroom attached to your room."
"I can't tell you how much I appreciate all of this."
"You don't have to keep thanking me, I want to help. Is there anything you need before you head to bed?"
"No I think I have everything," I answered as I stepped into my new room.
"Okay, if you don't mind, I'm going to head to bed. I've got to get up early tomorrow and touch base with everyone."
"I'll be fine. See you tomorrow."
"Night," Eric said as he left the doorway.
I wanted to try to stay awake until Amelia texted me and told me she made it to New Orleans but I knew I wouldn't be able to stay awake until then. I pulled out my phone and decided to text her before I fell asleep.
Me: Made it to E's house. Feel like passing out. How's it going?
Amelia: There's not much traffic so I'm making good time. How's Eric's apartment?
Me: WAY nicer than I thought. Send you pics 2morrow.
Amelia: Sounds good. Are you heading to bed?
Me: I think but want 2 know u make it ok.
Amelia: If it makes you feel better I'll text you when I get there. I've been talking to Alcide off and on so I'll be okay.
Me: I'm heading 2 bed then. Nite.
Amelia: Night Sook.
I dug my phone charger out of my luggage and plugged my phone up. I wanted to check on my house but Eric forgot to tell me how exactly I was supposed to do that. I grabbed some pajamas out of my luggage and changed my clothes before I got into bed. I was so tired but I was having the hardest time falling asleep. I tossed and turned for a while before I started getting irritated. There was only one thing that I knew for sure would help me sleep.
I got out of bed and peeked into the hallway. The apartment was quiet so I could only assume Eric was asleep. With my goal in mind I crept into Eric's room. I slowly opened his bedroom door and could see that he was asleep in a huge bed. It had to have been a king. I didn't even bother to look out of the window in my bedroom but Eric's curtains were open and it looked like we were in the middle of the city. The lights from the city helped to illuminate Eric lying in his bed. I could tell that he was shirtless but I hoped he was wearing pants.
I slowly crossed the room until I got to Eric's bed. Without giving it a second thought I crawled inside. I felt Eric shift before he spoke.
"Sookie? What's wrong?"
"I figured out what favor I wanted to ask. I want to sleep with you."
"I thought we agreed that we couldn't ask for sex?" Eric asked, still teasing even when he was half asleep.
"I don't mean sex and you know it. I can't sleep so scoot over and make room for me," I told him as I cuddled into his side. The moment I was settled next to Eric, I finally felt comfortable enough to sleep.
With Eric's body wrapped around mine, my back against his chest, his arms wrapped around me, and our legs entangled, I finally fell asleep.
A/N: Does anyone else feel like I end a lot of chapters with people going to sleep? *raises hand* I do! lol
It's probably because I have sleep on the brain every time I write because I write in the middle of the night. It's almost 5 am right now and I'm still going to have to answer some reviews before I post this so I hope no one has an issues with me posting in the middle of the night, or really early morning, because that's usually when I post...
I'm done rambling so see you at the next update! And don't forget BOE is up next, after I finish it.