Dead Ever After Re-write (Sookie Stackhouse and Eric Northman)

Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of these characters. The original story and the characters belong to Charlaine Harris. I am only borrowing them for a little while.

Chapter 10

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Sookie's POV

The day was longer than usual and I couldn't take Eric off my mind. It was a little over an hour after sundown when Bubba showed up in the back yard. As always, he was polite and happy to see me. My heart skipped a beat thinking about Eric. Bubba's presence meant news about him.

"Bubba, please come in," I invited him while I set up a bottle of True Blood in the microwave. He sat on the small table, waiting without saying a word. In no time it was ready and he gulped it down without giving it a second thought.

"Any news about Eric or Pam?" I broke the long silence. I couldn't wait any longer to find out the reason for his visit. Not that he wasn't welcome to visit me, but this time I wanted to know fast.

"I have a message," he replied and then he went silent again. I waited for him to continue, but impatience was getting the best of me.

"Master Eric said "I'll come to you tomorrow or the day after, and we will talk."

He's alive! A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

However, something was not right because Bubba looked thoughtful and remained silent.

"Is that all the message?" I asked confused.

"Yes," he stated.

"You aren't as talkative as usual. What's going on in Fangtasia?" I asked puzzled.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Sookie," he then stood up and left without saying another word, and I was left with too many questions and a storm of feelings that ranged from anger to happiness to sadness.

I took the empty True Blood bottle to the kitchen and started doing the dishes. I scrubbed the plates and the cooking pans until they were beyond shiny. I had been worried to death about him and all I got was a one sentence message delivered to me. Not even a phone call from him. Nothing!

Maybe I have been too stupid to realize that I actually didn't matter to him like I wanted to. Maybe I was one more thing in his 'to do' list.

No. I was one more thing to do in his 'if I have time' list.

I have been too busy pounding with my thoughts while doing the dishes that I didn't realize that there was somebody in my backyard. I opened my mind to find out who it was, but it came back empty. A vampire.

I peeked through the back door and it was Bill. I quickly finished with the last few dishes and dried my hands before hurrying up to meet him who was looking both intent and focused.

"Where have you been and everybody else?" I didn't waste time asking him. He stood there silent while I continued, "I went to Fangtasia, Eric's house, and yours and found nobody! What's going on?" I took a deep breath after dumping my frustration on him.

It was easy to see that Bill had something important to tell me. Maybe he had information about Eric and his disappearance. We both sat in the lawn chairs as he started talking, "I don't know if you've spared a moment to wonder about my efforts to find out who killed the young woman, but I assure you I'm trying to find out. She died while I was patrolling, and I won't be easy until I understand why it happened."

Taken aback, I could only nod slightly. He didn't reply to my questions and instead he continued, "Heidi and I went over Eric's backyard with great attention," Bill said.