Chapter 2
Sookie woke up shortly after three later that afternoon. She was pleased to find toilet paper and hand soap in the bathroom and bottled water and a few grocery items in the fridge, snugged up next to a six pack of synthetic blood. She was not pleased to find that she still didn't remember who in the hell she was.
The kitchen was immaculate, as if it had never been used. And that had likely been the case, except for the microwave, the refrigerator, and maybe the fancy glasses up in the cabinet.
She found the laundry room and threw her clothes into the washer. She hated to do such a small load but she couldn't go around wearing nothing but his T-shirt and her underwear.
After that she looked around the house some more, not worrying too much about seeming nosy. She was trying to make something jog her memory. She had no idea if this was her first time there or not. She figured that she may have been a regular guest if they had been lovers, but she didn't think so. Maybe he had come to her place, wherever that was, in someplace named Bon Temps.
She admired the jewel-toned furniture in his living room. The pieces didn't match but somehow they just fit together beautifully. It all seemed very him, as far as she'd seen, anyway. She paged through a book about vikings on his coffee table and saw that a vampire named Eric Northman had written the foreword about life a thousand years ago. If it was her Eric, he certainly looked the part of a fierce Viking warrior. She marveled at how much he must have seen. How many memories he must have, while she had nothing but a blank space before early that morning.
Her stomach growled and she made herself a peanut butter sandwich and drank a bottle of water. There wasn't much to eat, but there was bread and peanut butter, anyway. She turned on the lights when it started getting dark inside. She tried not to notice the anticipation.
The sky was navy when he finally came upstairs. She was so glad to see him. It was very lonely not even knowing who she was. Scary. She was surprised at just how relieved she was when he'd walked into the room.
She was struck again by how handsome he was. She could certainly understand why she might have had sex with him. He was, she was sure, the best looking man she'd ever seen, even if she couldn't remember any others. He was beautiful in a very masculine way. And he had been very good to her the night before. Respectful. She wouldn't mind having sex with him again, but that was completely off the table until she got her memories back and figured out what in the hell had happened to her.
He didn't often let humans into his home, but he liked seeing Sookie there, curled up in his favourite chair, reading the book about his people.
"Hello, Sookie."
"Hi."
He went into the kitchen to get a bottle of blood and she followed him. Now that he was there, she didn't want to be too far away from his side.
He looked at her and smiled.
"You have eaten?"
She nodded.
"Yes. Thank you."
It hadn't been much, but it felt good that he had thought of her like that and arranged for some necessities while she was asleep.
He drank his blood straight from the bottle, standing at the sink after he'd warmed it for a few seconds in the microwave. He rinsed it out and set it aside on the counter.
He looked at her.
"Now we have to figure out what we're going to do with you. Do you want to go back to Bon Temps? I'm not sure it's safe to leave you there alone. If there was foul play, they knew where to find you at Merlotte's. They could find you at home just as easily."
"You won't be staying?"
"No. I was planning on heading to the bar tonight. It is New Year's Eve and I will be needed there. You are welcome to come."
She swallowed. Neither of those ideas sounded good. She certainly didn't want to be left alone in a strange place with some unknown danger waiting for her around the corner, nor did she want to go to a vampire bar on the busiest night of the year.
"Oh…"
He could feel how lost and afraid she was.
"Would you be comfortable staying here on your own?"
She shrugged.
"I guess so."
It was, as far as she was concerned, the best solution so far, but she didn't want to be by herself. More than that, she didn't want to be away from him.
He sighed and pulled out his cellphone and called Pam.
"I will not be coming into Fangtasia tonight."
"Why in the hell not? Everyone is expecting you."
"They will survive. I will explain everything at another time."
He hung up the phone knowing Pam was likely cursing him out.
He could feel how relieved Sookie was. In fact, he was, too. He would much rather spend an evening alone with Sookie than endure the craziness of the bar on the last day of the year.
They stood awkwardly for a moment and then he went back to the living room and sat down in his favourite chair. She sat across from him on the couch.
"I'm sorry I screwed up your night."
He shook his head.
"No. Part of me is relieved. I don't enjoy the crowd."
She was relieved too. She wrapped her arms around herself to try to calm down. Everything was so overwhelming. Terrifying. Sometimes the fear hit her in waves.
He wished he knew whether or not she was still in danger. He couldn't decide whether or not to take her back to Bon Temps. He could use the resting place Bill had made in her spare bedroom closet, but that would leave her alone in the daytime. He could enlist Sam to watch over her, but he wasn't fond of that idea in the least. Sam would attempt to take over and he didn't want to play tug of war with Sookie in the middle. But he did need to find out what had happened to her.
He steepled his fingers.
"We should go to Bon Temps and check out your house. You can grab a few things before we come back here for the day. It's possible whatever-it-was happened after you got home from work."
As long as they went together, that was fine with her. Maybe something in her own home would seem familiar.
Eric thought for a moment.
"I should call Sam and have him check the bar as well."
He did. The phone at Merlotte's didn't finish its first ring before it was picked up.
"What?"
It was Sam. He sounded very stressed and out of breath. Eric could hear the country music playing in the background.
"Sam. This is Eric."
"I don't have time for your bullshit, fanger."
Eric frowned.
"You have time for this. I found Sookie last night running past Fangtasia at two in the morning. She has lost all of her memories."
"Oh, Jesus. Oh, Jesus Christ."
Eric heard the receiver clatter onto the desk. Sam's breathing hitched. Eric heard him pick the phone back up again a few moments later.
"You have her with you? She's alright?"
"Yes. Physically, she's fine."
Sam's breathing still wasn't back to normal.
"When I got here this morning, I found her car with the door open. Her keys were on the ground next to it, streaked with blood. There was a trail that led out to the woods."
Eric wasn't really surprised. His instincts had been right.
"I'm afraid she might still be in danger. She obviously injured someone if there was blood by her car. They might still be after her. Nobody will find her here."
"And she's okay?"
"Yes. Besides the loss of her memories, she is completely unharmed."
"Thank God. Can I speak to her?"
Eric raised an eyebrow. She shrugged one shoulder. He handed her the phone. She swallowed.
"Hello?"
"Oh, Chère. I was so afraid. We've been trying to find you all day. What in the hell happened?"
"I don't know. I don't know anything, really. I don't even know who you are. Hell, I don't even remember who I am."
There was a pause. She heard him swallow.
"I'm your boss. And your friend. How about you come here and we'll figure this out together. I can even stay at your house with you, if you like."
She shook her head, even if Sam couldn't see it.
"No. No, thank you. I want to stay here with Eric."
Eric smiled smugly.
Sam sighed, sounding annoyed.
"Sookie, your brother has been going crazy searching for you. He is out in the woods behind the bar right now. The cops have been called. They're looking for you, too. Please come back to Bon Temps and we'll try to figure out what's been going on together.
She stepped a little closer to Eric.
"No. I'm sorry but I am staying here."
She handed the phone back to Eric. He put it to his ear.
"She has made up her mind, shifter."
"Don't you dare take advantage of her."
"I will take care of her and keep her safe. We will be in touch."
"Dammit, Northman. You'd better."
Eric hung up the phone. He tried hard not to smirk.
"Come. Let's go to Bon Temps and see what we can find."