Finding My Own Way: Chapter 8
Title: Finding My Own Way
Summary: Sookie's world gets turned upside down by her handsome, yet very mysterious, new neighbor. Will she be able to help him face the demons of his past, and maybe help herself in the process?
Pairing(s): Eric/Sookie
Genre(s): Drama/Romance
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me.
Chapter 8
“Okay, what’s wrong? You’ve been painting that same spot for the last twenty minutes, and you’ve hardly said a word to me.”
She let out a breath, putting her brush down. “If I ask you something, do you promise to be completely honest?”
Eric raised his eyebrows in confusion. “Of course, I’ve been nothing but honest with you.”
“Why did you hit Bill?”
That was the last thing he expected. “I know I shouldn’t have done it, but he kept talking shit about you with my boss, it just pissed me off. I wanted to shut him up, and sometimes I don’t think before I act.”
Sookie sat down on the couch, taking in a deep breath before revealing to him her entire conversation with Bill. Once she finished, Eric had pure malice on his features, but somehow knew it wasn’t directed at her.
“I’ll kill him, apparently punching him wasn’t enough. I don’t even want to know how the fuck he knew about my family, but to make it seem like I made everything up is the last straw. I have always been honest with you, Sookie; everything he said was a lie. Pam is my sister, and Emily was very much my daughter. I have several scrapbooks that I started since the day she was born if you don’t believe me; I’ll show them to you right now. I haven’t been with another woman since my wife’s death, the only thing I do at that construction site is my job. Quinn is the player he accused me of being, Bill was just humiliated by the fact I nearly knocked him unconscious, that’s probably why he made all this crap up.” Eric’s heart just about broke at the sight of her tears, wishing more than anything to beat Compton to a bloody pulp for his accusations. “Please, don’t tell me you still believe him. He’s only trying to turn you against me.”
“What did he say about me that got you to hit him?” she wondered softly.
He knew what she was referring to and really didn’t want to tell her, but this moment was all about honesty. When he confessed the truth about her relationship with Compton, her sobs became even harder.
“Why won’t he stop hurting me? This whole time and I never saw it; I didn’t do anything to deserve being treated that way. All I did was love him.”
Eric couldn’t take it anymore and pulled her into his arms, letting her cry against his chest.
“God, I’m such a baby. You lost your family, and I’m crying because my boyfriend was a prick. What’s wrong with me?” Sookie asked, not really wanting a response as she buried her face in her hands.
He stroked her hair, whispering soothing words in her ear. “There is nothing wrong with you, dear one. You are a strong, beautiful woman. Don’t let him take that from you. He’s going to end up a very lonely, bitter, old man, while you will be loved and cherished for the rest of your days. It’s his loss, I promise you that.” He held her for a while longer as her sobs finally started to die down, rocking her gently back and forth. This was probably not the best time, but Eric had to tell her how he felt before he lost his nerve. “I don’t just want to be your friend anymore.”
She pulled away to look at him, rubbing her eyes. “What?”
“I want to be everything for you, Sookie. I know it’s still really soon and neither one of us is probably ready for such a commitment, but I’m willing to take the risk if you are. Ever since you first wandered over here, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. I tried to fight it because I felt that I was betraying Felicia’s memory by wanting another woman, but now I know that she would have wanted me to be happy.” He wiped a tear with his thumb, moving closer to press a chaste kiss to her lips, pulling away and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “What do you say? Are you willing to take the risk, or am I just making a complete idiot out of myself?”
Sookie smiled through her tears, cupping his cheek and meeting his mouth with hers in a tender caress. She didn’t know how they ended up in his room, but suddenly found herself lying on his bed as he continued to kiss the breath out of her. He was currently nibbling her neck, but when his hand slipped under her shirt, Sookie finally pulled back. “Wait, I think we need to slow this down.”
Eric stopped his ministrations, giving her a nod. “You’re right; I got a bit carried away.”
She shook her head. “I don’t mind that, but this is just all happening so fast. I’m not ready for more yet. Sex tends to complicate things, and I’m pretty comfortable with where we are right now.”
He agreed. “I completely understand. We’ll take things slow.”
Sookie rested her head on his chest, content when he wrapped an arm around her. “I’m sorry for avoiding you. I just needed to do some thinking, but I never really believed anything that Bill said. How did he even know all of that personal stuff about you? He knew Pam’s name, told me that she visited the site a few weeks ago.”
“She did, it was her last attempt to try and convince me to move back to New York. The only reason I can think of is that he must have read my work file. Since he’s such good friends with Quinn, it wouldn’t have been very hard to access.”
“I can’t believe anyone could be so cruel. I wasted almost five years with that man,” Sookie spat. “He played me for a fool this whole time. I’m tired of Bill getting away with everything; he’s practically friends with everyone in town. No one would ever believe anything negative about him, even when the evidence is right in front of their face. He embarrasses me twice in Merlotte’s, and these people just assume it must be my fault. They’re talking shit about how you beat the crap out of him, when they don’t even know what really happened. He’s probably spreading those rumors himself to try and get some sympathy, it’s sickening.”
Eric held her tighter, touching his lips to the top of her head. “He’ll get his soon enough, love. He’ll screw up and do something that he won’t be able to talk his way out of. As for everyone else in this town, I wouldn’t let them get to you. I could care less what they think of me, and you are far more superior than any of them give you credit for.”
Sookie nuzzled his chest. “I actually had a huge crush on you when you first moved in. It took weeks for me to get up the courage to come over and talk to you.”
He laughed. “I noticed you my first day here, and always secretly hoped that you would come by. When you never did, I just figured it was because you believed those rumors about me.”
She shook her head. “Never, it was just basically me being shy and nervous. No one has ever been able to get that reaction from me.”
“I will take that as a compliment.”
Sookie smiled up at him. “If you don’t mind showing me, I would really like to see those scrapbooks. I’d love to get to know Emily.”
Eric smiled as well; this woman had come to mean so much to him in only a short amount of time. It made sense that he would introduce her to the other most important person in his life.
Summary: Sookie's world gets turned upside down by her handsome, yet very mysterious, new neighbor. Will she be able to help him face the demons of his past, and maybe help herself in the process?
Pairing(s): Eric/Sookie
Genre(s): Drama/Romance
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me.
Chapter 8
“Okay, what’s wrong? You’ve been painting that same spot for the last twenty minutes, and you’ve hardly said a word to me.”
She let out a breath, putting her brush down. “If I ask you something, do you promise to be completely honest?”
Eric raised his eyebrows in confusion. “Of course, I’ve been nothing but honest with you.”
“Why did you hit Bill?”
That was the last thing he expected. “I know I shouldn’t have done it, but he kept talking shit about you with my boss, it just pissed me off. I wanted to shut him up, and sometimes I don’t think before I act.”
Sookie sat down on the couch, taking in a deep breath before revealing to him her entire conversation with Bill. Once she finished, Eric had pure malice on his features, but somehow knew it wasn’t directed at her.
“I’ll kill him, apparently punching him wasn’t enough. I don’t even want to know how the fuck he knew about my family, but to make it seem like I made everything up is the last straw. I have always been honest with you, Sookie; everything he said was a lie. Pam is my sister, and Emily was very much my daughter. I have several scrapbooks that I started since the day she was born if you don’t believe me; I’ll show them to you right now. I haven’t been with another woman since my wife’s death, the only thing I do at that construction site is my job. Quinn is the player he accused me of being, Bill was just humiliated by the fact I nearly knocked him unconscious, that’s probably why he made all this crap up.” Eric’s heart just about broke at the sight of her tears, wishing more than anything to beat Compton to a bloody pulp for his accusations. “Please, don’t tell me you still believe him. He’s only trying to turn you against me.”
“What did he say about me that got you to hit him?” she wondered softly.
He knew what she was referring to and really didn’t want to tell her, but this moment was all about honesty. When he confessed the truth about her relationship with Compton, her sobs became even harder.
“Why won’t he stop hurting me? This whole time and I never saw it; I didn’t do anything to deserve being treated that way. All I did was love him.”
Eric couldn’t take it anymore and pulled her into his arms, letting her cry against his chest.
“God, I’m such a baby. You lost your family, and I’m crying because my boyfriend was a prick. What’s wrong with me?” Sookie asked, not really wanting a response as she buried her face in her hands.
He stroked her hair, whispering soothing words in her ear. “There is nothing wrong with you, dear one. You are a strong, beautiful woman. Don’t let him take that from you. He’s going to end up a very lonely, bitter, old man, while you will be loved and cherished for the rest of your days. It’s his loss, I promise you that.” He held her for a while longer as her sobs finally started to die down, rocking her gently back and forth. This was probably not the best time, but Eric had to tell her how he felt before he lost his nerve. “I don’t just want to be your friend anymore.”
She pulled away to look at him, rubbing her eyes. “What?”
“I want to be everything for you, Sookie. I know it’s still really soon and neither one of us is probably ready for such a commitment, but I’m willing to take the risk if you are. Ever since you first wandered over here, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. I tried to fight it because I felt that I was betraying Felicia’s memory by wanting another woman, but now I know that she would have wanted me to be happy.” He wiped a tear with his thumb, moving closer to press a chaste kiss to her lips, pulling away and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “What do you say? Are you willing to take the risk, or am I just making a complete idiot out of myself?”
Sookie smiled through her tears, cupping his cheek and meeting his mouth with hers in a tender caress. She didn’t know how they ended up in his room, but suddenly found herself lying on his bed as he continued to kiss the breath out of her. He was currently nibbling her neck, but when his hand slipped under her shirt, Sookie finally pulled back. “Wait, I think we need to slow this down.”
Eric stopped his ministrations, giving her a nod. “You’re right; I got a bit carried away.”
She shook her head. “I don’t mind that, but this is just all happening so fast. I’m not ready for more yet. Sex tends to complicate things, and I’m pretty comfortable with where we are right now.”
He agreed. “I completely understand. We’ll take things slow.”
Sookie rested her head on his chest, content when he wrapped an arm around her. “I’m sorry for avoiding you. I just needed to do some thinking, but I never really believed anything that Bill said. How did he even know all of that personal stuff about you? He knew Pam’s name, told me that she visited the site a few weeks ago.”
“She did, it was her last attempt to try and convince me to move back to New York. The only reason I can think of is that he must have read my work file. Since he’s such good friends with Quinn, it wouldn’t have been very hard to access.”
“I can’t believe anyone could be so cruel. I wasted almost five years with that man,” Sookie spat. “He played me for a fool this whole time. I’m tired of Bill getting away with everything; he’s practically friends with everyone in town. No one would ever believe anything negative about him, even when the evidence is right in front of their face. He embarrasses me twice in Merlotte’s, and these people just assume it must be my fault. They’re talking shit about how you beat the crap out of him, when they don’t even know what really happened. He’s probably spreading those rumors himself to try and get some sympathy, it’s sickening.”
Eric held her tighter, touching his lips to the top of her head. “He’ll get his soon enough, love. He’ll screw up and do something that he won’t be able to talk his way out of. As for everyone else in this town, I wouldn’t let them get to you. I could care less what they think of me, and you are far more superior than any of them give you credit for.”
Sookie nuzzled his chest. “I actually had a huge crush on you when you first moved in. It took weeks for me to get up the courage to come over and talk to you.”
He laughed. “I noticed you my first day here, and always secretly hoped that you would come by. When you never did, I just figured it was because you believed those rumors about me.”
She shook her head. “Never, it was just basically me being shy and nervous. No one has ever been able to get that reaction from me.”
“I will take that as a compliment.”
Sookie smiled up at him. “If you don’t mind showing me, I would really like to see those scrapbooks. I’d love to get to know Emily.”
Eric smiled as well; this woman had come to mean so much to him in only a short amount of time. It made sense that he would introduce her to the other most important person in his life.