Eric's POV
As Eric settles down on his bed ready for the sun to rise and for him to fall into his restful death, he thinks about how his night went. It started just as any other night would go, he awoke, he fed, he got dressed and he left for the club. Then for a couple of hours he dealt with any business he needed to as the sheriff; sorted out squabbles, greeted those new to the area as they presented themselves, so on and so forth. Then the club opened, Eric spent the first couple of hours in his office doing some much needed paperwork and then he moved to the stage and sat on his throne.
It was just as mind numbingly boring as it is every other night, rarely does sitting there and looking pretty (according to Pam) ever feel exciting. He'll sometimes call someone up, most of the time it's humans that seem to stand out in the crowd. Whether that's because of their confidence, their scent or their fear. But some of the time he'll have to call up a vampire, speak with them, threaten them, depends on who he's talking too. But this night Eric found himself having far more fun.
He had been considering leaving his seat to go back to his office, despite the scolding he'd get from Pam, when Bill Compton had come waltzing in with two pretty young things. Two pretty young blood bags that smelt phenomenal. It wasn't just because of the confidence that both girls obviously felt despite being prey surrounded by predators. No, it was their very blood that sang beneath their skin. Eric hadn't looked at either girl for a while, wanting to try and identify which girl smelt like what.
It was difficult in a crowded room and they'd both smelt of each other enough that it was clear they were sisters. But he soon figured it out. Perky blond, that looked like vampire bait, smelt of sunshine and morning dew. If Eric didn't revel in being a vampire so much he may have felt drawn to girl, but he did enjoy being a vampire which is why his attention was drawn to small, short and diddy. Even in those heels she was tiny compared to him. She smelt like moonlight and chaos. It set off something deep and primal within him.
It took a lot of Eric's control to keep his fangs in, he'd felt like a new born struggling with control again. He'd wanted to grab the girl, lay her over one of the tables then drink from and fuck her until the sun came up. But he couldn't because she'd been Bill's, at least he'd thought she'd been Bill's right up until the point she'd claimed otherwise, claimed freedom. Eric had wanted so badly, he was going to offer right then and there for her to be his, would have convinced her how much more fun it would be to belong to him.
And then she'd gone and ignored him, turned completely away from him. Eric might have let that go, might have allowed her to stare into the dance floor if her top didn't cover her neck. He would have been given the perfect view of it turned, muscles stretching, veins pulsing. But he hadn't, so the ignoring annoyed more than anything. Turning her head back around should have brought her attention back on him, he'd expected it to. It hadn't, but he's almost grateful it hadn't. Because if it had he never would have learnt, been witness too, something new. Something he'd never seen before.
She'd known something was wrong with the man in the baseball hat before her sister appeared to read the mans mind. She'd snapped at Bill to shut up and then she'd known something was happening in the bathroom and directed them towards it. Eric had heard Taryn drinking from the man he kicked just as the sister informed him of it. Her sister, her bright and sunny sister was obviously a mind reader. That knowledge made him uncomfortable until he realised that she likely couldn't hear vampire's thoughts or she would have pulled her sister out of the club the moment they'd stepped inside.
Petra, though, Pet was something else. Able to hear something if the way she tilted her head said anything, but what she was able to hear, that intrigued Eric. The curve of her ass, smell of her blood and the view of her breasts through her mesh top most certainly didn't hurt Eric's curiosity either.
Petra's POV
She found that she couldn't sleep much if at all last night which is why she's up, nice and early, helping Gran cook breakfast. Petra's just got the bacon done, while Gran works on the eggs, when the phone rings.
"Got it." Petra says as she moves to the phone.
"Thank you Pet." Gran smiles at her.
Petra smiles back before picking up the phone.
"Shame on you, Adele Stackhouse! Shame on you!" a female voice practically screeches down the phone.
"Why, what she do?" Petra inquires.
"You…you…you tell your grandmother that a vampire is a perversion of humanity. And that you vampire lovers are polluting our community by bringing one into the open." The caller starts off stuttering but soon finds their footing again.
"Really? That's fascinating." Petra nods her head as Sookie comes walking into the kitchen.
"Are you being sarcastic with me! You Stackhouse's are freaks, bringing abominations into our church." The woman continues.
"Fascinating, well I'm sure we'll see you later tonight, Bill's talk starts at 8. Bye now, good talk." Petra says before hanging up.
It would be so easy to murder the old biddies that wanted to yell her her Gran, so fucking easy.
"Phone's been ringing for a while today." Sookie says smirking at Petra's thoughts.
"Yes, everyones excited about meeting the town vampire tonight." Gran grins.
"Sure are." Petra smiles as she takes her seat.
"I didn't hear you girls come in last night." Gran states.
"You went to bed early." Petra points out.
"You didn't want to hear us come home." Sookie continues.
"Well, I just thought I'd give you a little privacy, is all. I'm surprised you came back at all considering what you were wearing." Gran teases them.
"I'll have you know, that Bill called Sookie vampire bait, I fit in perfectly." Petra smirks at her sister.
"Especially on Eric's lap." Sookie mocks.
Petra goes to smack her sister when Gran asks, "Eric? Did you find someone Pet?"
She sounds so delighted at the thought that Petra honestly considers lying to her. But she can't give her Gran false hope.
"No, Eric is…" Petra isn't sure how to finish that sentence, she can't call a person an asshole in front of her grandmother, she'd get spanked. "…not my type."
She finishes lamely.
"Is it because he's a vampire? I did not raise you to look down on others, Petra." Gran says.
"It's not because he's a vampire." Petra defends herself before quickly changing the topic, "Bill and Sookie got into a fight last night."
"Oh, why? He seems like such a nice man." Gran inquires as Sookie glares at her.
"Well, he's not." Sookie states.
"He's not nice?" Gran checks.
"Or a man." Sookie huffs.
"My, what happened? What did you two fight about?" Gran questions.
"Nothing," Sookie lies. "I just don't think Bill and I have very much in common. He doesn't think like we do, he doesn't feel like we do, if he even feels at all."
"Did you cause this?" Gran demands.
"No!" Petra exclaims. Honestly you cause trouble in school a couple of times and your suddenly getting blamed for everything.
"Well then, Sookie, if I had the chance to know somebody who'd experienced the world differently, I'd see it as a blessing and not something to be scared of. Or hate." Gran says whilst giving Petra some serious side eye.
Petra wants to melt into a puddle on the floor but then she'd get yelled at for causing a mess.
"I don't hate him. I just don't want to be his girlfriend." Sookie informs.
"Hi there, munchkins! I reckon you're the youngest history buffs we've had at the DGD." Gran greets as Arlene, Rene and Arlene's kids come into the church.
"Yeah, well, they wouldn't stay home for nothing. The minute they heard 'vampire', they had to come." Rene says, smiling.
'Fake'
The voices whisper.
'Liar'
"Yeah." Arlene says, giving off an uneasy laugh.
The family continue on to the church and next in is Mayor Norris.
"Evening, Adele, Petra. Quite the turnout." Mayor Norris smiles.
"Isn't it just." Petra chuckles as she looks at the faces of people who'd called up a storm earlier and demanded this be canceled, hypocrites.
"Good thing my Myra made extra ambrosia." Mayor Norris states.
"Oh, Andy Bellefleur will like that." Gran informs. "He's with the Dearbornes."
"Is our vampire friend here?" The Mayor's wife, Myra, inquires.
"He's in the kitchen waiting. Gran gave him a bottle of Tru blood." Petra informs hoping that calms the nervous woman.
"Adele? Do you think we've taken enough precautions?" Mayor Norris asks.
"Against what?" Her Gran asks, sounding every bit the confused old woman.
Petra knows it's a con made to lure you into saying something you'll regret.
"Well, to make sure everybody's safe." Mayor Norris falls for it. "Ordinarily I wouldn't pay much mind, but there's young folks here."
"Sterling." Gran says, first naming the mayor, "We don't have anything to be frightened of, Mr Compton is a perfect gentleman."
'Lies' 'Murderer'
"Frankly I am more worried about what we might do to him." Gran continues.
The Mayor nods before he and his wife continue on inside.
"Why do you trust him so much Gran?" Petra asks quietly.
Gran sighs and gives Petra a look of understanding and a pat on the hand.
"You're terrible at trusting people Pet. You think your voices will never lead you wrong but I've watched you grow up and I've seen the consequences of you listening to them. And sometimes I can't help but worry that they cause more harm than good." Gran says.
Petra looks away from her Gran. She hates it but she understands where her Gran is coming from. The voices in her head have always been more blood thirsty than not. Their solution to things being violence, it's why she stopped asking for solutions and just for information.
"Wow! Gran, look at all the people!" Petra's moment thankfully gets interrupted by the sound of her sisters voice.
"Isn't it exciting?" Gran grins.
Petra is surprised to see Sam standing by her sister, smiling like the cat that caught the canary.
"Sam Merlotte, what a nice surprise." Gran greets.
"When she told me she was coming here tonight, I thought it would be a shame if she came without an escort." Sam informs.
"How very gentlemanly of you." Gran chuckles.
"I agree, who are you and what have you done with my boss?" Petra jokes.
"Haha, you're hilarious." Sam chuckles.
"Okay, we're gonna go sit down now." Sookie says.
"Right, you should sit down too Pet." Gran suggests, "We're gonna be starting soon."
"Oh no, I'll be standing at the back." Petra nods. "Make sure people back there can still hear you, if they can't I'll wave my hand. You'll know to speak up."
"Thank you Pet." Gran smiles at her.
"Welcome." Gran starts as she looks towards Petra at the back.
She gives a thumbs up to indicate that she can hear her just fine.
"It certainly is a please to see so many new faces here this month. But Mayor Norris assures me that there will be enough ambrosia and tipsy cake for everyone." Gran says making people in the room laugh. "Now our guest tonight is a gentleman who, despite what you might have heard, is one of us."
'Wrong'
Petra fights not to shake her head, she doesn't want to deal with the voices right now. She wants to be focused and present for her Gran.
"His family was among the first to settle in Bon-Temps and he bravely fought for Louisiana in the war for southern independence. Let us welcome one of the original sons of Bon-Temps back to the town that he helped build. I give you First lieutenant William Thomas Compton." Gran introduces.
"Thank you, Mrs Stackhouse. If you'll pardon me for a moment." Bill says, confusing Petra.
She and the crowd watch as Bill moves over to the flag pole and moves it back to it's original place. Doing so allows the large cross in the church to show. Petra hadn't even realised that was there, she's never been the biggest fan of church.
"As a patriot of this great nation, I wouldn't dream of putting myself before Old Glory." Bill states.
'Liar'
Petra can't help but agree with the voices.
"As you can see, I did not burst into flames." Bill jokes. "We vampires are not minions of the devil. We can stand before a cross, or a Bible, or in a church, just as readily as any other creature of god. I am honoured to stand before you tonight."
'Lie'
"Vampires have traditionally been very private, perhaps to our detriment. But I believe, if we reach out to one another, that we can co exist and even thrive together." Bill continues.
'Liar'
"I served in the 28th Louisiana infantry, formed in Monroe in 1862, under Colonel Henry Gray. It was there that we learned the value of human life, and the ease with which it can be extinguished…" Bill informs.
Right, because that doesn't sound vaguely threatening, Petra inwardly scoffs.
The speech is thankfully finished. Petra feels dead on her feet and it's still not over yet. Now is the mingling, eating, talking, gossiping. You know, small town things. Petra is currently standing with Her Gran which also means standing near Bill but she can handle that. Besides Sookie's coming over with Sam, that's sure to be interesting.
"Hey! Great job tonight!" Sookie tells Bill.
"Wasn't he just marvelous?" Gran gushes.
"Yeah, that was…that was quite a show." Sam agrees.
"Bill, you remember Sam, right." Sookie introduces.
Petra has to stop herself from laughing at the way the two men are looking at each other.
"Yes, you're Sookie's employer aren't you?" Bill says, first shot fired.
"Not when we're off duty." Sam denies putting an arm around Sookie.
"No, legally you still are." Bill corrects.
"Well, I just wanted to congratulate you. You seem to have won everybody over." Sam glares.
"Well, some, I hope." Bill agrees, looking at Sookie.
Come on Sam, get your act together, Petra scolds in her head.
"Well, we better get going. We're gonna grab a cup of coffee before we call if a night." Sam states.
"Coffee. Sounds delightful." Bill says, sounding like someone is pulling his teeth out.
"Good night Gran, Petra. I'll see ya later." Sookie waves and than walks out of the church with Sam.
"He seems nice." Bill offers, half-heartedly.
"Oh, he is." Petra chuckles.
"Gran, go home. I can clean all this up." Petra promises.
"I helped create this mess, I will help clean this mess." Gran denies.
"So did everyone else, you don't see them staying behind." Petra points out.
"I'm not leaving you alone to clean up this mess whilst someone is out there killing girls your age." Gran declines.
"Is that your only issue because if it is I can stay with Pet, Mrs Stackhouse." Petra turns so fast she gets head rush.
But how could she not when Eric is standing in the doorway to the church with a charming smile on his face that screams of falseness.
"And who would you be young man?" Gran asks with her usual amount of niceness and a smile on her face.
"You didn't tell your grandmother about me Pet? I'm hurt." Eric, says placing a hand over his dead heart.
"Petra? You know this man?" Gran inquires.
"Yeah…no…I mean." Petra stutters as she looks up at Eric's amused face. "Gran this is Eric, the vampire who owns the bar I went to yesterday."
"The vampire who's lap you sat on?" Gran questions.
Petra sighs as she looks up towards the ceiling, she's going to kill Sookie.
"That would be me." Eric says.
Petra doesn't need to look down to know the bastard is smiling.
"That would be lovely, thank you for looking out for my Granddaughter for me Mr…" Gran agrees.
"Northman." Eric answers the unspoken question. "I'll take great care of your granddaughter, Mrs Stackhouse."
Petra looks back down to find Eric giving her grandmother the most ridiculously charming smile. That is not the vampire she met last night.
"Thank you dear. See you at home Petra." Gran waves and then walks off to her car.
Petra waits until she hears the car door open, then close. She waits as the car starts running, she only says something once she hears it pulling away.
"You lied to my grandmother." Petra states.
"I can assure you Pet, I most certainly did not. I fully intend to make sure that you're safe under my watch." Eric says, smile going from charming to smirking.
"Does that include safe from you?" Petra inquires before turning to continue stacking chairs.
"Do you feel unsafe around me?" Eric asks instead of answering.
No, Petra doesn't feel unsafe around Eric. Her voices seem to like him too, it's very disconcerting. Petra's not quick to trust, the voices always pointing out peoples lies. Eric has yet to lie. It's throwing her off. Instead of answering the question Petra changes the subject.
"What are you doing here?" Petra asks.
"Heard that Bill would be talking to a room of humans, as the sheriff I had to make sure he wasn't giving away any secrets." Eric answers.
"What would you have done if he had?" Petra prods.
"Talked to him of course." Eric says.
'Lie' 'murder'
"Sure, Bill said that your were the oldest thing in the bar, and you spoke Swedish with Pam…can I assume Viking?" Petra questions, already knowing full well that Eric was a viking.
"You can." Eric says. "Do you speak Swedish?"
"Nope. Can't speak any language except for English…and even then my old English teacher would disagree with me." Petra jokes.
"Then how did you know it was Swedish?" Eric questions and Petra has to fight not to freeze.
'Internet' 'Old Norse'
The voices whisper, giving her a way out.
"I remembered a word you said, Googled it when I got home. Google said it was Swedish. Well no, Google told me it was old Norse. And from there I guessed." Petra bullshits.
"Funny, it certainly sounds like the truth." Eric hums. "And yet your heart practically leaped out of your chest. Want to tell me why?"
"Want to help me clean all this up?" Petra asks back.
Petra places some more chairs in the corner and turns to do the rest, but when she turns she find the place cleaned up. Next thing she knows, Eric is standing in front of her, staring down at her.
"What are you?" Eric questions.
"Human." Petra answers, probably a little too quickly.
Eric smirks down at her.
Feeling uncomfortable, Petra attempts to move around Eric. Eric doesn't stop her and that has her feeling off kilter. She didn't think he'd let it go. Still, Petra continues forwards to where her purse is. She picks it up and starts to make her way towards the door.
"I know your sister can read minds." Eric informs.
Petra freezes.
"I just can't figure out what it is you're hearing. Because you are hearing something, aren't you Pet?" the way Eric says Pet has shivers running up and down her back.
Petra shakes herself out of it and continues walking out the door and to her car.
"See you soon Pet!" Eric calls out.
Petra is about halfway home when the whispers start up. They usually start quiet and build in volume as things become more urgent. But this time they start screaming. It's so loud that Petra has to stop the car to keep from crashing. When Petra finally parses out what they are trying to tell her she floors it. She doesn't care if she gets pulled over, she doesn't even care if she hits someone, she needs to get home now.
She's out of the car the moment she arrives, she isn't even sure if she turned the thing off. She needs to get to her Gran.
"Gran! Gran!" Petra yells as she rushes up the porch steps and to the front door.
'Kitchen'
The voices urge.
She goes as fast as she can making it into the kitchen and almost slipping over something wet. She keeps her balance by holding onto the wall.
"Gran." Petra calls out, voice cracking.
'Behind you'
The voices scream.
Petra tries to turn but whoever it is is faster and she's soon gasping out as pain shoots through her. She falls to her knees as she hears the back door open and close. Her hands shoot towards where she can feel the most pain and come back wet.
"Gran, Petra!" Sookie's voice calls out. "Do you guys know the cars still running?"
The lights in the front of the house turn on causing some to slip through the doorway into the kitchen. Petra screams as the light reveals Gran dead, bloody on the kitchen floor. Petra is kneeling in her Gran's blood. Foot steps coming rushing towards the kitchen and then she hears a gasp. She looks up, away from the corpse…Gran's corpse and towards her sister.
"Sookie, I need you to call for an ambulance." Petra instructs, her words sound hollow to her own ears.
"She's dead, what's an ambulance gonna - Oh God! Pet!" Sookie gasps.
"Sookie!" Bill's stupid voice calls out.
The voices in her head rise up and riot at the sound.
"Bill." Sookie replies as she goes towards the kitchen phone.
"Sookie I smell blood, whats…?" Bill stops talking when he walks into the room.
He seems to take in the chaos, Gran's dead body, Sookie's shaking form and finally Petra's bleeding side. His fangs pop out with a resounding snick as he takes in a deep breath. Petra's muscles tense, prepared to grab a knife at a moments notice. She knows it will hurt like a bitch to move, but alive and in pain is better than dead. In the next second though Bill is biting into his wrist.
'No.'
The voices revolt.
'NO!'
They scream as Bill is suddenly kneel in front of her and shoving his wrist into her mouth. Petra tries to pull back, to move away, to not swallow a sip. Bill places his hand on the back of her head and refuses to let her move until she takes a gulp. The moment his wrist is out of her mouth, she hacking and coughing.
"Is she okay?" Sookie asks.
"She'll be fine." Bill assures.
Petra disagrees. She disagrees vehemently.
Her eyes fall back down to her Gran and she can't help but ask the voices, who?
They don't answer and for a second Petra thinks they're refusing to answer her until she realises she can't hear anything but white noise. Then she passes out.
Petra has a smile plastered on her face as she greets people at the door. Many people have been coming over with food to give their condolences. Petra thinks if she could hear the whispers they'd be telling her just how fake everyone is being. But she can't hear them, not since Bill gave her his blood, it's left her feeling empty and alone. Well, it's either that or the fact her Gran is dead.
"Pet, I heard what happened. Are you okay? I heard you were stabbed!" Arlene exclaims as she rushes through the front door.
Her words cause anyone who already didn't know to start looking at her. They likely had been seeing her pale complexion and slight shaking as grief. And to be fair it is, vampire blood heals everything after all. But now they're all looking at her like they expect her to lift the side of her shirt to show them a stab wound.
"I'm fine Arlene. The rumours are greatly over-exaggerating." Petra says.
"You're fine?" Arlene checks.
"I just mean physically, I've already had a good long cry and will likely have another once everyones gone on home." Petra lies.
She hasn't cried yet, hasn't had the time. She found Gran, got stabbed, passed out and then woke up in the morning with people already coming over. Neither she nor Sookie have had the time to do much other than sleep. Sookie had somehow found it in her to clean up the blood. Petra isn't sure how she managed it, the very idea makes her want to throw up.
"Sookie's in the kitchen." Petra informs in an attempt to get the ginger to stop holding her hands.
If people would stop touching her all together that would be great.
Arlene nods before bounding off towards the kitchen. Petra stays, stood in the doorway waiting. She may have the whole town in her house right now but she's gonna stand there and pretend more people are coming, so she doesn't have to deal with any of them.
It's been maybe five minutes since Petra told Arlene where to find Sookie when she hears her sister yelling.
"Maxine Fortenberry! You put that pie down right now!" Sookie exclaims.
It takes Petra a second to understand what is going on. No one, and Petra does mean no one, had brought pie. Meaning the pie in question is the pie in the fridge…Gran's pie. The last pie Gran ever made. Petra is off through the crowd so quickly.
"That is Gran's Pie!" Sookie continues.
"Well, I'm sorry. I was just making some room…" Maxine apologises.
Petra can hear people agreeing with the bitch, calling Sookie crazy for reacting when all throughout the day they've been calling her crazy for not reacting.
"And since when is it customary to go rooting around other peoples fridges whilst paying respect?" Petra demands.
That has people shutting up and has Maxine looking guilty. Good.
"Now if y'all excuse us, I need to speak with my sister. And if anyone touches something they shouldn't I will be having words with them." Petra states before grabbing Sookie's arm.
She walks herself and Sookie out of the kitchen through the living room and up the stairs. She keeps her head up, eyes forwards and does not allow anyone of these small minded folk make her feel like she's crazy. They make it up the stairs and into Sookie's bedroom, Tara and Lafayette following along behind them. The moment the door is closed, Petra's legs turn to jelly and Lafayette has to catch her and sit her on the bed.
"You okay Hookah?" Lafayette inquires.
"My Gran is dead, I was stabbed yesterday and I can't hear them." Petra whispers.
"You can't hear them at all?" Lafayette asks, needing no explanation.
Petra shakes her head as finally, finally the tears come to the front.
"I can't believe Gran's gone. She's really gone." Sookie says as she reaches a hand out to hold hers.
"Yeah she is." Tara sighs.
"I don't know what we're supposed to do." Sookie admits. "Can't even think straight."
"Of course you can't. Not with these blizzards circling." Tara huffs.
"I should have let her stay to help me clean up." Petra sobs.
"If you'd done that the first one to be back home would have been me." Sookie points out.
Who do you think they were trying to kill in the first place, Petra thinks venomously before what she's thinking catches up to her. It just goes to make her cry harder.
"I wish I could cry." Sookie says. "I just…I just feel numb."
"Numb is good. A perfectly reasonable response." Tara assures.
"I miss numb, can I go back to numb?" Petra chokes out with a shaky laugh.
"Your wish is my command." Lafayette grins before pulling out a bag of pills.
"Petra doesn't do drugs." Sookie informs.
"Hush." Petra tells Sookie before looking at her best friend. "What are you giving me and what does it do?"
"Valium, one pill and it helps…numb the jagged edges." Lafayette explains.
"One pill…don't want me to end up like your customers?" Petra asks.
"You can't afford a drug problem." Lafayette teases.
"Knew you cared." Petra huffs before dry swallowing the pill.
"Do you want me to call anyone? Your cousin Hadley?" Tara asks.
Petra is still laid out on Sookie's bed. The Valium is doing it's job quite nicely. So nicely that it takes Petra a second to realise that she's hearing buzzing.
"No one has heard from her for over a year, since she ran away from that rehab Gran paid for. I don't even know how to get hold of her." Sookie says.
Petra looks around the room trying to find where the buzzing is coming from.
"What about Bill? You wanna invite him?" Tara questions.
"Can't go." Petra mutters, still looking for where the noise is coming from.
"Right." Tara sighs.
"It's not like you know a lot of vampires." Sookie soothes. "It takes some getting used to."
"I'm not sure I'll ever get used to it." Tara admits. "What? Not everyone is as open-minded as you."
"She is opened minded, she can read peoples minds." Petra giggles, before huffing. "Can you guys not hear that?"
The buzzing has gotten louder and slightly clearer. The noise is making her dizzy.
"I do hear what people think. And Bill did not kill our grandmother!" Sookie exclaims.
'True'
Petra holds her breath in hope that she's not losing her mind and the voices are actually back.
"Don't get mad at me, that's just what everyone is saying. And…and didn't you say Bill had some scary-ass friends?" Tara defends herself.
"Not all vampires are like that." Sookie states.
"I'd fucking lose it if anything happened to you. You know that right?" Tara says.
"Tara last night was so horrible. I came in to find Gran dead and Petra stabbed. I don't know what I would've done if it weren't for Bill. I don't know how to explain it exactly, but it's like I almost feel normal." Sookie admits.
"Normal would have been calling an ambulance." Petra whispers to herself, so quietly she doesn't even hear her own voice.
'Jason'
Petra feels so thankful that the voices are back that she almost misses her big brother walking into the room. She most certainly doesn't miss Jason smacking Sookie across the face.
"What the fuck!" Tara and Petra exclaim.
"It's your fault!" Jason yells. "Gran is dead because of you."
"Jason!" Petra stands in the middle of her two siblings.
"It should have been you!" Jason continues.
"Don't you lay your hands on her!" Tara yells.
"She's fucking a vampire, Tara…" Jason snaps, "A fucking vampire."
"Jason stop. Stop!" Petra pleads.
Jason does not stop trying to get around Petra to get to Sookie. But he doesn't push Petra, doesn't raise his hand to her. Doesn't change the fact that he just hit Sookie, but Petra is thankful that she's not on the wrong end of Jason's anger.
"You oughta be ashamed of yourself!" Tara exclaims as she pulls Jason back away from both of them. "Is that how your grandmother raised you? To beat on you own sister? Look at you! I don't even recognise you anymore! Get the hell out of here!"
Jason huffs and puffs as he looks at them all before he shakes his head in disgust, turns tail and leaves. Sookie and Petra both relax the moment he's left and flop back down onto the bed.
"Got more Valium?" Sookie inquires.
"God I wish." Petra replies.
The moment Petra opens her eyes she knows something is wrong. Sitting up in her bed, she looks around the room but finds nothing out of place. Petra still can't shake the feeling that something is wrong, so she grabs the empty glass of water by her bed and decides to head tot he bathroom. She turns on the light and heads towards the sink. Filling up her glass is easy and the sound of water helps her relax.
Petra looks down at her glass before bringing it up to her mouth to take a sip. When she looks back up into the mirror she startles as Petra find Bill standing behind her. The glass of water slips out of her hand and shatters in the sink, but Petra barely notices, to busy staring at the man behind her.
"Everything all right?" he asks.
'Wa…up'
"Get out." Petra demands.
'…ke…p'
"I don't think you want me to leave." Bill says as he steps closer and wraps his arms around her, pulling her back against his chest.
'Wake up'
"No, get off of me." Petra struggles.
Bill ignores her as he brings his mouth down towards her neck. She hears his teeth extend and her breathing turns fast and panicked.
'WAKE UP!'
Petra shoot up, looking around the room bleary eyed. She's still in Sookie's bedroom, her sister sleeping besides her. She can't help but sigh in relief as she brings her hands up to rub at her face.
"Lord, we gather here today to remember the life of Adele Stackhouse. To celebrate the times that she enjoyed here on earth." The priest informs everyone present. "And to thank you for each precious moment…"
"Pet." Sookie whispers.
"What?" Petra inquires quietly.
"…the family, the friends, the community. But even as we grieve, we shall be conforted, knowing that she is in peace in Lord's kingdom."
"Uncle Bartlett is here." Sookie informs.
Petra's whole body freezes before she turns her head slowly to look. All she sees is a monster in a wheelchair. A wheelchair she put him in. Not that anyone bar Gran knew of that of course. The whispers were right, it really was so easy to cut the breaks on the monsters truck.
"And there shall not be more death…" The priest continues.
"Uncle Bartlett, what are you doing here?!" Sookie hisses at the man.
"She was my sister." The monster states.
"And you were our Great-Uncle." Petra says, "But you haven't been family in a long time."
"Pet, Sook, come on. Give the guy a break." Jason jumps in.
It takes a lot of Petra's considerable emotional strength not to deck her brother in the face.
"…Sookie Stackhouse has prepared a few words." The priest says.
Petra manages to come back to the present first and nudges her sister. Sookie quickly gets up and makes her way over to the stand.
"Adele Stackhouse was…everything to me. She wasn't just my grandmother. She was…my parent, my teacher and my best friend." Sookie pauses and looks around the room.
Petra watches as she flinches and quickly realises that Sookie is stuck in front of a room full of people thinking really loudly.
"To say she'll be missed…just doesn't cut it, because…I can't even imagine a world without her in. She was always there with a kind word, and a hot meal, and a shoulder to cry on. Not just for me but…" the quiet goes on a little to long. "…for everyone who knew her."
Petra watches as the cracks slowly form in Sookie's demeanor. Petra quickly gets up and walks over to her sister.
"Go outside, get some fresh air." Petra whispers. "I'll finish this for you."
Sookie nods before rushing out of the church. The crowd murmurs at the sudden theatrics.
"I'm sorry for that. Sookie hasn't given herself time to properly grieve yet. What with having been given no time to herself." Petra can't help the dig.
Some in the crowd duck, looking sheepish. Others raise their heads, sitting strong like they've done nothing wrong.
"Our grandmother was an amazing woman. She was kind and caring and open to helping anyone who needed it. We did not deserve her, no one in this room deserved her and most of all she did not deserve what happened to her." Petra states.
She watches those who shift in their seats. Those who don't agree with her, because any one of them could be her grandmother's murderer. She'd tried asking the voices who killed Gran once they came back she got a name, but not one she recognised. Drew Marshall better watch is fucking back.
"Thank you all so much for coming to pay your respects. I mean that is why you're all here right, to pay your respects? I'd hate to think that some of you were here just for the drama surrounding my grandmothers murder. We appreciate your time." Petra smiles at the crowd.
More than half of them look uncomfortable now. Good, assholes deserve to feel guilt for making her grandmother a spectacle. With that finished, Petra turns and exits the church.