FLUFFED

14: Vigilante

ERIC

Walking into Sookie's house made my blood boil. I had a feeling something bad was going to happen with Hadley around but I didn't think it was going to be this bad. She tore Sookie's house to shreds. If there was one way to get on my bad side, it was fuck with what's mine. Sookie was mine, so I considered myself fucked with. Hadley was going to be a lucky bitch if someone else found her before me.

It might have been the blind rage I had over Sookie's house getting ransacked talking, but if I saw her the meeting wasn't going to end well. I wasn't going to say that to Sookie. She didn't need me angry and ready to murder her cousin.

"Sookie, you can't stay here," I told her once the crime scene techs left. The windows had been smashed out. "Not until you get the windows and locks replaced."

"I don't want to be a burden–"

The look I gave her shut her up. "You are not a burden, Sookie. You are..." The first thing I think of in the morning. The best part of my day... "You're my favorite person, Sookie. You are anything but a burden. I'll help you pack what's left and we can take it back to my place. If you want I can even make some of the harder calls for you."

She nodded with fresh tears in her eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"You don't need to thank me," I assured her. I reached up to run my fingers through her hair. "You're important to me, baby. I have to make sure you're safe above everything else."

"I still want you to know I appreciate you," she said. Sookie wrapped her arms around me. "I don't know if any of my clothes are wearable anymore," she sniffled.

"I can go through them with you," I offered. I rested my hand on the back of her head, massaging lightly. The other arm wrapped around her shoulders trying to hold her as close and tight as possible. "If they're not wearable, I'll even go shopping with you, or for you if it's too much right now." I knew it was my job to make sure she was safe and well taken care of. If that meant I had to go shopping for women's clothing, so be it.

"Let's go through them first. Did you see Kennedy's room?" Someone had spray painted 'I'm a cunt' above the bed. It was classy.

"I did. She didn't deserve that," I frowned. "Neither did you." I kissed her forehead. "I have room for Kennedy at my place too until you get your windows and locks changed."

"I think she's going to stay with Sahara," she said. Sookie wiped the tears off her cheeks. "God, I'm so stupid. I was so set on helping her because I needed to. I should have seen she was casing the place. Then my dumbass just leaves her here by herself overnight? Stupid, stupid, stu–"

"Stop," I growled. "You're not stupid, Sookie. You're a good person with a huge heart. You didn't fuck up, Hadley did. She didn't give you any reason to think she was up to something."

"You knew," she pointed out. "You knew she couldn't be trusted. I'm usually pretty good at seeing through bullshit. I didn't see through hers. I just... This is why I don't trust anyone."

"I don't trust very many people either," I told her. "You trusted her because she's family. No matter what they've done to you, they're still blood and sometimes that can blind you. It's not your fault you trusted her. If she was my family, I probably would have done the same thing."

"I should have been seeing the heroin addict and not that she was family. What if my insurance won't cover all this? I'm pretty sure I'll never see my mom's necklace again. She'd be a moron to pawn my stuff around here," Sookie ranted. "And what the fuck is this brown shit everywhere?!"