Chapter 11

It's been a great week … but it's time to say good-bye.

I just wanted to let sbinez know that the comment was not aimed at her. A guest was just trying to guess how the story was going to go but it's great to hear that you're going to keep reading until the end. That's what I want to hear.

Thank y'all so much for reading and reviewing and for making this story one of your favorites. I appreciate y'all so much. I hope that y'all enjoy this chapter. And please, let me know what you think.

So, here we go. Happy reading!

So far, we'd had a great week. We did things that I never thought that I'd do … ever in my life. We went hiking; though I've never been a fan of heights. We went camping even though I hate bugs and other critters. We went to Bossier and we gambled on the river boats. I've never been a big fan of gambling either but to be with Eric, I would have done anything. Anyway, we were able to gamble because of my law abiding best friend. Pam has a contact that got us better fake IDs and luckily he was the one that let us onto the boat. Though he was the same idiot made me forty-five, it was still the best time of my life. I won $600 from the slot machines. Eric and Pam didn't win anything. Eric was cool with it. He was happy to see me happy about winning the extra money for college but not Pam. She played until she'd lost more than she should have. It was a great night. The night before Eric was to leave; that was the best and the saddest night of my life.

I and Pam threw this huge pool party for him. We invited everyone from school. And unbelievably, they all came. I have to admit; I was shocked that they would even consider speaking to me. From what I've heard, many of the kids were insulted by my words; though I meant no harm. Regardless of how I meant my words, according to them, I was wrong. I may have been wrong but they weren't angry anymore. Some of the kids said that they thought that it was cool that I'd finally stood up for myself. The others; the popular kids, well they didn't think that it was nice of me to say that they were going to be failures even though that's not exactly what I said.

This one guy called Anderson said that his mom told him that he needed someone to tell that he'd amount to nothing if he didn't buckle down. He said that she'd been telling him that all of his life and he wouldn't listen to her. "I guess after hearing someone else say it to me, it really dawned on me, ya know?" he asked as he shrugged his shoulders. "I was mad at you at first but I ain't mad no more. I'm cool with what you said. You were right."

I wanted to tell him that's not what I meant but I decided against it. If he was willing to change because of something I didn't say, who am I to stop him?

He even thanked me. He said that he's going to start taking classes at the community college in the fall. "I'm going to have to buckle down but I think that I can do it. And if I fail, at least I can say that I tried, right?"

Smiling, I said, "Right."

"You're not all bad, Sookie. Forgive me for being an asshole?" he asked meekly.

"Forgiven," I answered.

Now, he was appreciative. Some of the others … not so much.

Arlene kept giving me the stink eye. I could tell that she had a lot to say to me but she wasn't sure if she should say it so I decided to make things easier for her. I walked over to her and said hello. "How are you doing, Arlene? I hope that you've been doing okay."

I know. It hasn't been a full month since graduation but hey, anything could have happened since then.

Arlene said, "I'm not going to be a failure, Sookie Stackhouse. I'm going to do something with my life. I'm going to be a movie star. I'm going to win an Oscar award and I'm going to marry Ryan Reynolds."

I almost laughed but held my tongue.

She continued on as she glared at me. "I'm going to be the most successful person to have ever left Bon Temps. I'm going to make it and when I do, you're going to regret what you said about me. You're going to be calling me and asking me for favors and I'm not going to take any of your calls. You're going to be upset by it that you are going to have other people call me so that you can speak to me. You are going to regret what you said to me."

"Okay," I said.

She frowned. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"Who am I to say that you won't make it?" I asked. "You might be the next Imogene Coca for all I know. I don't want you to fail, Arlene. I hope that you do make it. I hope that you are a great success. I hope that you achieve all of your dreams. That's all I've ever wanted for you ... for any of you."

"And I will too," she said.

"Good," I said as I walked away. "I wish you the best." I waved at her over my head one last time.

"And who in the hell is Imogene Coca?!" she yelled.

"Watch National Lampoon's Vacation. She played Aunt Edna," I yelled back. "You'll see! You look just like her."

I went into the last empty cabana and flopped down on the bed. I haven't been so tired in so long but it was a good tired. We'd been having a ball all day ... dancing, singing, laughing, and talking. All day long it's been a hectic day and it didn't help that we'd been up since 5:00 this morning getting everything ready and I was beyond tired. I needed to rest. I covered my eyes with my arm and closed my eyes but not for long. I soon had company.

"Hey," Eric said as he closed the door behind him. When I heard the door lock, my insides turned into Jell-O. I knew what was coming and I couldn't wait.

Lifting my arm from over my eyes, I waved at him. "Are you having fun?"

"A blast," he said as he lay next to me. "Why are you in here all alone?"

"Tired," I whispered. And sad but I kept that to myself. I less than twenty-four hours left with the love of my life before he's gone.

"Liar," he said.

"I am," I agreed.

He leaned down and kissed me.

Tears began to fall from the corners of my eyes. Since the night that I learned that he's leaving, I've been crying nonstop. I know that it's getting on his nerves but I can't help it. He's leaving me.

"Don't cry, lover," he said as he brushed the hair from forehead. "We'll write and call each other every day. It'll be just like we're still together. You won't even have time to miss me."

"Telephone calls and letters don't compare to being with you," I whimpered.

"I know," he said.

I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him on top of me. Looking into his eyes, I said, "Make love to me."

The kiss was sweet and sensuous. It was exotic yet familiar. More than anything, it was love. It was pure, unadulterated love and it was ours. The way that he pulled my bottom lip into his mouth as he lightly nibbled at it, sent chills through my body.

I don't remember him removing my bikini at all. I don't even remember him removing his swimming trunks. I just remember how we held onto each other. I remember how it felt to have him in my mouth and inside of me. I can remember every part of his body that I touched. I can remember how he touched me, where he touched me. I can remember screaming out his name as he whispered mine. I can remember holding onto him for dear life after we'd made love; never wanting to let him go. I can remember the silent tears that fell onto my face as he looked down at me. I can remember all of that but I can't remember how we got out of our clothes.

I started to laugh.

With a confused look on his face, he asked, "What's so funny?"

"You're leaving tomorrow," I whispered. I squeezed my eyes closed. "You're leaving me and I get the strangest feeling that this is good-bye. I feel like we're not going to get our forever. Our love story ends tomorrow."

"Don't say that," he said as he kissed the tip of my nose. "This isn't good-bye for us. We are not going to give up on us. Our love story will go on forever. We'll be the love of all ages. People will look to us when they wonder what true love is. Romeo and Juliet were young idiotic children. Antony and Cleopatra were mere myths compared to what we are. Scooby and Shaggy. Puh. They wish that they'd had what we have. You'll see."

As I laughed, I nudged him a little so that he could get off of me. We then got under the cover and stared at each other. I wanted to believe him but I knew what it was. I knew that this was it. After today, there's no going back.

"Sookie," he said as he moved in closer to me. "Don't give up on us, okay? We are still going to be together. We will visit. We will call each other. We will write every day. This is not it. Tell me that you won't give up on us."

I shook my head and said, "I won't give up. Don't you forget about me."

He laughed and asked, "How could I ever do that? You're mine."

After making love once more, Eric and I lay in bed and talked for what felt like hours. We didn't expect to be able to have any private time together but not one person knocked on the cabana door. No one bothered us. Pam must've put out a warning. And we appreciated it.

"You're going to miss me so bad when you leave me," I said to him.

"I know," he replied. "My world will cease to exist."

"I know," I said.

He leaned in and kissed me. "I've got something for you," he said as he got up from the bed. He slipped on his trunks and ran out of the cabana before I could ask him where he was going.

I propped myself up on my elbows and looked at the closed door. I laughed because I've never seen him move that fast. He blurred from the room with supernatural speed. And he came back just as quickly.

As I sat up in the bed, he kneeled down in front me and his hand he had a red velvet box. I looked from the box to him and shook my head no. "What are you doing?"

"I want to marry you," he said as he held the box tightly in his hand. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I've always told you that you are going to be my wife and you are going to be my wife, Sookie Stackhouse. You are going to be the mother of my children. You are going to be my wife. I give you my word."

"How do you know that I want to marry you?" I asked as I smiled at him.

"Because we are meant to be," he said. "You're my best friend. You are the love of my life." He then opened the box and asked, "Will you spend the rest of your life letting me love you? Will you give me your heart just as I have given you mine? Will you be my wife?"

I'd never seen a ring so beautiful. I don't know what kind it was or if it was a ring from a bubble gum machine but I didn't care. It was from Eric and that's what hurts most of all. "You're leaving," I said.

"But I'm coming back," he said. "I won't be gone forever. Tell me that you'll marry me. Tell me that you'll be mine."

"I'm already yours," I said. My heart was shattering into a million pieces. It hurt me to know that he would ask me to marry him when there's a great chance that he won't return. "Don't do this if you're not coming back."

"I'm coming back for you," he promised. "Tell me that you'll marry me. Don't break my heart."

I gripped my naked chest and nodded. "I will marry you. You already have my heart and I will spend the rest of my life with you. I will be yours. I'm already yours," I confirmed.

He slipped the ring on my finger and smiled.

"I love you so much," I said.

Before I knew it, Eric had me in his arms and we were making love once again. Three times in a row; we were on the way of breaking our weekend record. Afterward, we showered and dressed in our bathing suits and went back out to join the others. The only thing was that everyone was gone. Pam's crew of workers were cleaning up the mess that had been left behind.

He looked down at me as I looked up at him. "We can still tell Pam," I said.

"Let's do it then," he said.

He held my hand as we ran towards the house. Pam, Amelia, and Jason were sitting on the back porch as they were laughing and talking. "Where in the fuck have you two been?" Pam yelled as she leaned over the railing. "I throw this fucking party for you and you run off to fuck your girlfriend? Neither one of you selfish assholes gave me one fucking thought, did you? While you were off fucking your boyfriend, you forgot all about me, didn't you?"

I guess she didn't block off the cabana.

Jason turned red and said, "Really, Pam? That's my sister you're talking to."

"I know who she is," Pam said as she snapped at him. "She's the sweet piece of ass that has my best friend losing his fucking mind. What the hell, guys? This was supposed to be a special day for all of us and you two ruin it by fucking all day. You two fucked the entire day away. Never mind Pam! We don't care about her feelings! Let's go and fuck and fuck and fuck and forget about everyone else!"

"Pam!" Jason yelled. "Come on!"

"It's still our special day," I said.

Eric lifted my hand up in the air for them to see my engagement ring. "She said yes," he said.

"Well, shit fire!" Jason shouted. "I guess if you're going to be fucking her you may as well marry her."

"Jason!" I bellowed.

Pam and Amelia ran over to give us hugs. Jason walked over and raised his beer to us. "Congratulations," he said as he handed Eric a beer.

"So when is this going to happen?" Amelia asked.

"After we graduate from college," I said as I looked up at him.

"Yeah," he said as he leaned down to kiss me. "I'm going to marry her as soon as we graduate. It's our life's plan. It's a plan that we will follow."

"Well, I'm going to be the maid of honor," Pam announced. "That will allow me to have a little control over what's going to happen and who's going to be there. Come, my friend. We must talk."

The rest of the night was spent talking about our engagement and the engagement party. Pretty soon we were talking about Eric's trip to Sweden. We all exchanged addresses so that he could send souvenirs and postcards. We were planning trips so that we could go and see him. There was a lot of laughter and joy. For the first time since we found out that he was leaving, I didn't cry. I didn't have time to. I fell asleep … again. I guess the busyness of the day and the excitement of the engagement was more than I could handle. I didn't know how long I slept.

Eric woke me up and told me that we needed to go. "It's time."

I sat up in bed Pam's bed and saw that he was dressed differently than he was when he'd left to get ready for his flight. I felt as if I was about to hyperventilate. I squeezed my eyes closed and counted to twenty before looking at him again. "How long did I sleep?"

He laughed. "About six hours. The sun came up over an hour ago," he answered. "I went home to pack and came back and you were still sleeping." He placed his hand on my knee and said, "I guess we'd better go. My flight's leaving soon."

I nodded but found that I couldn't move. I tried not to cry but I couldn't help it. Eric pulled me onto his lap and held me. We didn't speak. I draped my arm over his shoulder and rested my head against his chest. Right then I knew that the engagement was no more than a dream.

In a voice that was barely above a whisper, I said, "I love you so much. Don't forget about me, okay?"

He tried to laugh and asked, "How could I ever forget the love of my life … huh? We're getting married. Listen. I've been meaning to ask you something. Pam said that you and my dad were talking on the night that we found out that I was leaving. She said that you were upset. Did he do or say something to you?"

I shook my head no. What would be the point in saying anything? Nothing's going to change. "It doesn't matter anymore. Come on," I said as I stood up from his lap. "We have to go."

"Sookie," he said.

"It's nothing," I said. "We have to go."

I could tell that he didn't believe me but what did it matter? It wasn't going to change anything. He was still going to leave and he was never coming back. The idea of marrying him was just something for us to hold onto because it was never going to happen. I said yes because I needed to. I had to. What else was I going to have to hold on to? Memories? What used to be? I had nothing else.

An hour later we were at the airport. All three of us stood around in a circle and said our good-byes and our 'I love yous'. We hugged each other until our arms ached. We kissed until our lips were chafed. An announcement soon came over the loud speaker stating that Eric needed to board his plane.

"Be careful, Dick. I love you," Pam said to Eric. She hugged and kissed him one last time before giving us a little time alone. She went and stood by the window and watched us as she cried.

"I'll be back before you know it, lover. You won't have time to miss me for too long."

I felt completely sick. "Call me … you'll call me every day … and write every chance that you get."

"I will." He leaned down and kissed me gently.

"It's been a great week," I said as I ended the kiss.

"It has," he agreed.

"But it's time to say good-bye," I added.

He shook his head no. "It's not good-bye. We'll never say good-bye." He leaned down and kissed me again. "No good-byes, Sookie."

I didn't agree.

"No good-byes, Sookie," he repeated sternly.

"Okay," I whispered.

Another announcement came over the loud speaker. It was the last one. He took my hand into his and kissed it. It fell from his hand as he walked away. "I love you."

I walked towards him as he walked away. "I love you!" I yelled out to him. "I love you, Eric Northman! Don't you forget about me!"

He blew me a kiss and said, "Never! I'll be back before you know it, lover."

"Yours," I yelled at him as I placed my hand over my heart.

"Yours," he repeated as he mimicked my movements. "Always."

Always didn't last that long because that was ten years ago and I haven't seen him since.