Melanie:

“I’m so sorry, babe.”

I knelt down beside her, wrapping my arms around her as she held Eggs’s hand. Her tears flowed freely as she stared at his cold, dead body. Lafayette came back outside with a jacket, throwing it over her shoulders before he joined our hug.

We walked back inside after the coroner took the body. Lafayette and Tara sat at one end of the bar while Arlene gave Sheriff Dearborne her statement. I poured the three of us a drink while Tara stared at Arlene sucking up to the police. I could see her hands shake as she downed her drink and I didn’t hesitate to fill her another one.

“Because without law enforcement, we would be nowhere as a society!” Arlene finished saying before Tara got up.

“What the fuck, Arlene? This ain’t a goddamn beauty pageant.”

“Oh shit.” Lafayette looked at me as we each drank from our cups.

“The only man I ever loved was just zipped up in a bag and you don’t even have the decency to pretend you give a fuck.”

Lafayette walked over to Tara, trying to calm her down.

“I give a fuck.” Arlene defended but Tara scoffed.

“But what did I expect? Trash is as trash does.”

“Tara!” I tried to hush her.

“Arlene stood. “I’m sorry you fell in love with a serial killer, alright? But honestly, who here hasn’t?”

“Bitch, Eggs wasn’t no killer!” Tara screamed causing Arlene to jump back.

“Tara!” Andy stepped forward. “He confessed.”

Tara and Arlene looked ready to go at it before I stepped from around the bar, standing in between them. “We’re going to take Tara to my house. Bud, if you need anything, you can meet us over there.”

 

---

Eric:

“Holy F-”

I heard Sookie’s voice behind me as I rammed my dick into my new employee. After being told to stay away from Sookie and Melanie, I’d been trying to do anything I possibly could to get her off my mind. The urges to go to her were too great, especially considering the amount of shit she’d been experiencing with the maenad. Tonight I could sense her sadness and the only way I could ignore the overwhelming need to comfort her was to keep myself busy.

“Sookie, meet my new dancer, Yvetta, from Estonia.” I introduced, walking over to her.

“Hi.” Sookie said as politely as she could while trying to avoid eye contact.

“Don’t go anywhere.” I told Yvetta while I dried off my hands and walked over to her. “So, what brings you to Fangtasia on this balmy summer night?”

“Bill’s been kidnapped and I think you did it.” She said blatantly.

“I didn’t. Any other theories?”

“I’m still on this one, thank you very much. Where were you tonight around 11?”

“Here. With Yvetta.” I put my hands on my hips letting the fan cool me off.

“Doing this?” She asked incredulously. “For the last six hours?”

“You seem surprised.” I smirked. “Is Bill’s stamina not up to snuff?”

“Tell me where I can find Lorena.” She changed the subject. “If you don’t have him. She does.”

“Solid theory, but given the tenor of your last run-in with Miss Krasiki, I think it’s better if I dealt with her instead.”

Last time she ran into Lorena, Melanie had to save her ass just like everyone else does. If Sookie went looking for her, Melanie would undoubtedly be with her and who knows what Lorena would do to them. As much as Melanie could hold her own, she was still no match for a vampire.

“How do I know you will?”

“Because if Bill was, in fact, kidnapped, by human or vampire, I am duty-bound as sheriff of the area in which he resides to find him.” I bullshitted.

I couldn’t give two fucks where Bill was but Sookie was trouble and my chest ached at the thought of that falling onto Melanie. What was becoming of me? What the fuck was this feeling?

“Then do it.” Sookie demanded before going back up the stairs. “By the way.” She stopped at the top. “You owe me $10,000.”

I smirked at her cockiness. If it wasn’t for my interest in the younger one, I would’ve drained her a long time ago.

 

---

Melanie:

The doors opened around 5 in the morning. I could see Sookie’s car in the driveway from the kitchen window while I made coffee for Lafayette and myself. After pulling another all nighter with Tara, we were exhausted and the best we could come up with for for Lafayette to give her some drugs to calm her down. I was still so angry at Sookie. I told that girl. I told her and once again she didn’t listen. Now Tara had to suffer.

“Tara?” She said seeing her laying on the couch.

I walked into the living room, handing Lafayette his mug while I took a sip from mine, leaning against the doorframe. Tara started sobbing again. The pain working her way back up. As numb as we tried to get her, it was all still so fresh.

Sookie walked over, sitting on the table in front of her.

“It’s Eggs.” Tara started.

“Come here.” Sookie reached her arms out, helping Tara sit up. “What happened?”

“They shot him.” Lafayette answered for her.

“What? Who?” She asked,

“Andy Bellefleur. Said Eggs came at him with a knife, confessing to killing them women and cutting out their hearts.” He took a sip of his coffee.

“The fuck he know any of that?” Tara asked through her tears.

“Oh my God.” Sookie came to the realization I’d already known. “Tara, he came to me earlier today, said he needed help remembering what Maryann made him do. So … so I helped him.”

Lafayette tilted his head at her stupid decision. It hadn’t taken a genius to see nothing good could’ve come from that but Sookie never thought about anybody but herself.

“You fucking did not!” Tara’s tone instantly turned hostil.

“I’m sorry!”

“Oh, you sorry?! You signed his death warrant and that’s all you got? Fuck you!” She screamed at her before knocking her onto the ground and trying to hit her.

I knew I should’ve stopped her but the fact was I wanted to do it myself. Lafayette on the other hand jumped up to help, grabbing Tara by the waist and pulling her away.

“We’re in the same boat!” Sookie tried to reason. “Bill’s gone too!”

My eyes widened at her audacity to put them in the same category. Tara had lost her loved one forever. Eggs wasn’t coming back but yet Bill was more important to Sookie so that’s all she cared about.

“He didn’t need to know!” Tara screamed out, ignoring her stupid comment.

“Get her out of here!” Sookie yelled.

“I was just fucking leaving!” Tara walked out.

Lafayette looked at me, sighing before he put the drink down and following Tara out.

Sookie stared at the door, still not wrapping her mind around what happened. I grabbed Lafayette’s mug and walked to the kitchen where she followed me. As I washed the cup, I could hear her tapping her foot expecting me to ask her what’s wrong.

“Bill went missing. He asked me to marry him. I needed a minute to think and when I came back from the bathroom he was gone.” She said without me asking.

I put the mug down turning around to look at her like she had 3 heads.

“Well? Aren’t you going to say anything?” She threw her arms out.

I reached my arm back before slapping her hard across the face, my palm stinging from the impact as she fell to the floor.

“How do you live with yourself?” I asked her, leaning on top of her as she held her cheek, fighting back tears. “Your best friend just lost the love of her life forever because of YOU. I told you that man was unstable. He didn’t have to know! Yet you insisted. Eggs fucking DIED! Then you kick her out for being mad at you!? And you think Bill disappearing on you because you didn’t fucking say yes is in the same boat? Fuck you Sook. Since these fucking vampires came around, you’ve become the biggest piece of shit I know. Tara fucking needed you and all you can think of is your own selfish bullshit. Good luck with your life.”

I wiped my hands with the towel before grabbing my car keys. She yelled something after me but I couldn’t bother to find out what it was as I got into my car and started driving. I should’ve gone to Lafayette’s been there with Tara and Lafayette, but the lord knew I needed time to cool off before I could focus on that again.

Instead, I drove and I kept driving until I pulled into a lot with a familiar red sign came into view. I didn’t know what brought me there. It’s almost like it called me too it. I hadn’t seen Eric in weeks. I hadn’t expected to. Our night together was more than amazing but that was it. At least I thought so. I felt for him on our trip to find Godric. I could see the sliver of humanity left in him. Fighting for him. Eric was a deeper man than he even knew, but my life didn’t allow for me to help him discover that.

Fangtasia was blacked out. Even though the sun would be rising soon, there was still a chance Eric and Pam would be awake. I knocked on the door, shivering at the cold bitter air before Eric opened it, shirtless in boxers and a red silk robe.

“Melanie?” He said, sounding surprised to see me. “What do I owe this pleasure?”

He stepped out of the way to let me in, shutting the door securely behind me to make sure light wouldn’t come through. I shrugged my shoulders, as I turned around to face him.

“I – I don’t know.” I answered honestly. “I need a place to crash.”

“Not that I mind, but what’s wrong with your house?” He asked.

“I can’t be there right now and who knows who Jason has over.” I made my way in further.

Eric followed behind me obviously sensing my anger and anxiety.

He nodded his head towards the door. “Does this have anything to do with Bill being missing?”

“What? No.” I raised my eyebrow. “How do you know?”

“Sookie came by earlier, thought she might have sent you to double check I didn’t have him.” He shrugged his shoulders, causing his chest muscles to move. I couldn’t help but notice his impeccable form but the anger I held wasn’t allowing me to change focus.

“No. Look it’s almost dawn. You should be going to ground. I just need a few hours of sleep before I have to get to work.”

“I’m not exactly sure where the extra coffin is, but mine is roomy enough if you’re up to it.” He watched for my reaction.

His eyes still full of concern but he let it go as he walked me down the back hallway of the club. I opened the door to the room to see a large almost bed-like coffin. I looked back at him before nodding my head.

“Yeah. Should be fine. Thank you for this.” I nodded, taking off my shoes as I sat on the edge of it.

He smiled, walking over to his dresser to pull out a t-shirt, setting it next to me before he took off his robe and hung it behind the door. I slipped off my shirt and shorts, slipping on the t-shirt before taking off my bra from underneath it and laying back down next to him. He closed the coffin and leaned back beside of me, his arm instinctively wrapping around my waist.

It was weird sleeping in a closed coffin. It was weird sleeping next to Eric again. It was the most weird how none of it felt weird at all. I curled into him. His smell calming my senses as his fingers traced the curve of my back. As mad as I was at him, as mad as I was at Sookie, all of it seemed to be washed away.

“You okay?” He whispered after a few minutes.

I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply as I shook my head no. The last thing I wanted to do was talk about it and after being up all night, my eyes were to heavy to even try and stay awake. His lips pressed against mine softly then my forehead before I managed to drift off.

OOO

“How’s Tara?” I asked Lafayette through the kitchen window.

He shrugged his shoulders, stirring the pot of chilling and dispersing it to a few bowls.

“Ain’t doin’ too hot. Didn’t get a wink of sleep last night. Kept calling for her mama so I called her before I came to work. Figured it was better than leaving her alone.”

“Jesus Christ.” I mumbled wiping a few cups dry. “I had it out with Sookie last night.”

He looked up from his pot. “Over what?”

“Hey, Lafayette.” Arlene sniffed her bowl of chilli. “There something different about the chili tonight?”

“Actually, yeah. It was tasting kind of flat, so I put a pinch of -”

“Cinnamon.” They said simultaneously.

I looked between the two of them confused.

“Yeah, how the hell you smell that? I put a half a teaspoon in the whole pot.” He said, coming up to her.

“Shit.” She froze. “I’m pregnant again.”

The two of us raised our eyebrows as she took off into Sam’s office before turning back to one another.

“You were saying?” He asked.

I sighed, moving on to the next cup. “Since Bill came into the picture, Sookie has forgotten her loyalties to everyone but him. She didn’t think twice about how it would affect Eggs to know all of that. She was too busy thinking about her date with Bill. Then we tell her that Eggs is dead and she says they’re in the same boat because Bill went missing? Like are you kidding me?”

“Yeah,” He nodded. “I caught that too. But she’s in love, Mel. Love makes you act in strange ways.”

“Yeah, only when it applies to her and her needs. Tara was in love too and Sook didn’t give two fucks last night that she had her heart ripped open.”

“Melanie!” I heard her voice as she ran through the front door to me. Turning to face her, I could see a visible bruise from when I hit her on her cheek last night. “Jessica felt Bill last night. He called her to this place. We’re going to find him. Come with me? Please.”

“What part of good luck with your life did you misinterpreted to mean we’re okay?” I asked, placing my hands firmly on my hips.

“I don’t have time for this Melanie! Bill is missing and I’m going to find him! As your sister, I’m begging you to come with me.”

“Get out of here Sook. You haven’t been a sister to me since that man came into your life.” I turned back around to finish drying off the dishes. Lafayette gave her a look of pity as she huffed and stormed back out the door.